About a week ago I saw this on a mailing list

For any of you who really gives a damn, talk with, and listen to, teenagers about what is going on in high school. Talk to teenagers about what is happening in middle school. If you really want to loose sleep, talk with kids in elementary school.

Things are off the chain and loving parents have a right to be concerned about the madness that is going on.

So-called "homophobia" doesn't have jack s*** to do with it.

"Divide and conquer" doesn't have a thing to do with it.

Your kid thinking he/she is gay because they feel close to a friend, and being blasted with the overt sexual imagery going on, has a lot to do with it.

Yes, sir, I am quoting you from Afroam. But you won't mind because I bring corroboration of sorts. I'm sure parents around the country are terrified.

U.S. Is Set to Sell Jets to Pakistan; India Is Critical

By THOM SHANKER and JOEL BRINKLEY

WASHINGTON, March 25 - The United States will sell F-16 jet fighters to Pakistan in a deal that State Department officials said Friday would improve regional security. But the decision was immediately denounced by India as adding a fresh element of instability to relations between the nuclear neighbors.

The size of the arms sale has not been decided, State Department officials said, although Pakistan previously said it was seeking about two dozen of the planes, which can be used in ground or air attack roles and have a maximum range of more than 2,000 miles.

Illegal Nuclear Deals Alleged
Investigators say Pakistan has secretly bought high-tech components for its weapons program from U.S. companies.
By Josh Meyer
Times Staff Writer
March 26, 2005

WASHINGTON —  A federal criminal investigation has uncovered evidence that the government of Pakistan made clandestine purchases of U.S. high-technology components for use in its nuclear weapons program in defiance of American law.

Federal authorities also say the highly specialized equipment at one point passed through the hands of Humayun Khan, an Islamabad businessman who they say has ties to Islamic militants.

Even though President Bush has been pushing for an international crackdown on such trafficking, efforts by two U.S. agencies to send investigators to Pakistan to gather more evidence have hit a bottleneck in Washington, said officials knowledgeable about the case.

The impasse is part of a larger tug-of-war between federal agencies that enforce U.S. nonproliferation laws and policymakers who consider Pakistan too important to embarrass. The transactions under review began in early 2003, well after President Pervez Musharraf threw his support to the Bush administration's war on terrorism and the invasion of neighboring Afghanistan to oust Pakistan's former Taliban allies.

I have to admit they handled the Schiavo attack well.

Good Judgment
Saturday, March 26, 2005; Page A14

NEITHER CONGRESS nor President Bush acquitted themselves well last weekend in enacting a law to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo. But in the days that have followed, one institution of American government has distinguished itself in its handling of the matter: the federal courts.

As you see, a judiciary that does its job is a strong bulkward against extremists. It's the reason the judiciary has been under attack for so long.

Conservatives tell court domestic partner rights are illegal
- By JIM WASSERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Friday, March 25, 2005
(03-25) 19:41 PST SACRAMENTO, (AP) --

Lawyers for two groups opposed to same-sex marriage told a state appeals court Friday that a domestic partners law giving gay couples nearly the same rights as married spouses is illegal and should be overturned because lawmakers undermined the will of voters.

The law, which was signed by former Gov. Gray Davis and went into effect Jan. 1, represents the nation's most sweeping recognition of domestic partner rights after Vermont's recognition of civil unions for gay couples. It grants registered couples virtually every spousal right available under state law except the ability to file joint income taxes.

McDonald's is considering outsourcing its drive-thru ordering. There's only one reason to even consider routing your order from Ronald's nose to the kitchen via India...to automate the kitchen processes as well.

That's what they're called...not jobs, kitchen processes.

Automating or outsourcing the order taking was the hard part. The food preparation is an assembly line deal anyway. And I can think of several business cases for this. Rest stops along interstate highways would provide flawless service 24/7. Operating hours can be extended at manned shops as well.

But god. Outsourcing McDonalds. That's got to be symbolic of something.

Because if he isn't lying this:

Rebel Leader Forms New Kyrgyzstan Government
By David Holley
Times Staff Writer
9:58 AM PST, March 25, 2005

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan —  Kyrgyzstan's new authorities moved swiftly today to assert power a day after taking over the institutions of government, but local media reported a statement by ousted President Askar A. Akayev denouncing his political foes and vowing to return to this Central Asian nation.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, appointed acting president and prime minister today by the former opposition, said that swiftly restoring order in the country was the top priority.

"We have to form a government which is going to resolve all the problems," Bakiyev told reporters. "Above all we need to preserve stability. You can see what kind of unrest started yesterday, and we cannot allow this."

Bakiyev announced appointments of Cabinet ministers later today. Roza Otunbayeva, another key former opposition leader, was named acting foreign minister. Bakiyev and Otunbayeva indicated that new presidential elections could be expected in June.

...requires a response.

Medicaid Deal Worth $66 Million To Iowa
Associated Press
Friday, March 25, 2005; Page A07

DES MOINES, March 24 -- Iowa has struck a deal with federal officials that allows the state to retain $66 million in Medicaid funding it would have lost this summer because of a crackdown on an accounting gimmick.

Donna Folkemer, a Medicaid specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures, said Iowa is the first to strike an agreement that replaces money lost by the accounting change. "There are discussions going on between many states and the federal government," she said.

For years, Iowa and other states used an accounting practice -- awarding state money to hospitals and nursing homes, and then moving it back again -- to boost federal Medicaid matching funds. But Medicaid officials have told states that such transfers will not be allowed past July 1.

Quote of note

Noting that an Islamic militant group had said 11 insurgents were killed, Goldenberg said: "I would tell you that somewhere between 11 and 80 lies an accurate number."

Sounds like twelve.

Anyway...

Doubts Surface On Iraq Raid Toll
Claim of 85 Rebel Deaths Questioned

By Steve Fainaru
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, March 25, 2005; Page A13

BAGHDAD, March 24 -- New details about an intense battle between insurgents and Iraqi police commandos supported by U.S. forces cast doubt Thursday on Iraqi government claims that 85 rebels were killed at what was described as a clandestine training camp.

Quote of note:

Barbara Coulter Edwards, the Ohio Medicaid director, estimated that her state would have to pay the federal government $340 million in 2007. This, she said, exceeds the expected savings by $55.7 million.

"To come up with that money," Ms. Edwards said, "we are having to take benefits away from other people. I don't think it was deliberate by Congress, but the consequences are painful for states and for our beneficiaries."

Cost-Cutting Medicare Law Is a Money Loser for States
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, March 24 - In passing the new Medicare law, Congress intended to relieve states of prescription drug costs for low-income elderly people. But as states do the arithmetic, many find that they will lose money, because they will have to give back most of the savings to the federal government.

Too Much Capital: Why It Is Getting Harder to Find a Good Investment
Published: March 25, 2005

THERE is too much capital in the world. And that means that those who own the capital - investors - are in for some unhappy times.

That thesis may sound inherently unlikely, but it explains a lot. Those with capital find they must pay high prices for investments that are likely to produce only a little income. The relative importance of things other than capital, like commodities and cheap labor, has grown.

Evidence of the capital glut can be seen in interest rates. Market rates are low, and even when central banks set out to raise short-term rates, longer-term rates are slow to move. Little additional yield is available to those who buy very risky bonds. For the same reason, stock prices are high. Profit disappointments may not cause the stock market to plunge, since the capital will have to go somewhere. But the return on the underlying investments is likely to be below what investors have expected.

Trading Places: Real Estate Instead of Dot-Coms
By MOTOKO RICH and DAVID LEONHARDT

Real estate-crazed Americans have started behaving in ways that eerily recall the stock market obsession of the late 1990's.

In Naples, Fla., some houses have been bought twice in a single day, an early-21st-century version of day trading. Buying stocks on margin has morphed into buying homes with no money down. The over-the-top parties of Internet start-ups have been replaced by flashy gatherings where developers pitch condos to eager buyers.

Five years ago, the cable channel CNBC sometimes seemed like a backdrop to daily American life. Its cheery analysis of the stock market played in offices, in barbershops, even in some bars. Today, "Dude Room," "Toolbelt Diva" and other home-improvement shows are the addictive fare that CNBC's exuberant stock shows once were.

Okay, so I stole a Tom Toles cartoon.

I should have moved on, but there were two more too good not to share. Having stolen one already though, I have to do the work of making thumbnails and links.

Only you have to go see this one today before it disappears behind the financial firewall.

Quote of note:

If you think it's silly to put so much weight on a close textual analysis of conservative punditry, bear in mind that this is how conservatives chose George W. Bush as their 2000 nominee. It may have seemed to the outside world that we all woke up one day, long before the first Republican primary, to discover that the entire GOP establishment had coalesced all at once around Bush. In fact, Bush's anointing resulted from just the sort of subterranean machinations that we're seeing today.

That Rumbling Is Cheneymania
The columns hyping the VP seem to plead for Bush's OK.
Jonathan Chait
March 25, 2005

Why Schiavo's Parents Didn't Have a Case
By Andrew Cohen
Andrew Cohen is CBS News' legal analyst.
March 25, 2005

Terri Schiavo's parents did not lose their federal case because they didn't try hard enough. They didn't lose their case because everyone conspired against them. They didn't lose it because Congress ticked off the judiciary over the weekend with its over-the-top custom-made legislation. They didn't lose it for lack of money or because they failed to file a court paper on time. They didn't lose it because the laws are unfair or because bureaucrats sometimes can be arbitrary and capricious.

The Schindlers lost their case and their cause —  and soon probably their daughter —  because in the end they were making claims the legal system has never been able or willing to recognize. They lost because they long ago ran out of good arguments to make   those arguments having been reasonably rejected by state judge after judge   and thus were left with only lame ones. And they lost because in every case someone has to win and someone has to lose. That's the way it works in our system of government. It isn't pretty, and sometimes it's unfair. But it's reality.

Scientists Find Soft Tissue in T-Rex Bone
Thu Mar 24, 2005 05:22 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 70-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex fossil dug out of a hunk of sandstone has yielded soft tissue, including blood vessels and perhaps even whole cells, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

Paleontologists forced to break the creature's massive thighbone to get it on a helicopter found not a solid piece of fossilized bone, but instead something looking a bit less like a rock.

When they got it into a lab and chemically removed the hard minerals, they found what looked like blood vessels, bone cells and perhaps even blood cells.

For various reasons I've been spending a little more time at The American Street than I have in the past. Recently Dave Johnson sensed something wrong in the discussion about the biomass.

You're doing it again. You're not seeing what is really going on. You are missing the bigger picture. You are looking at trees and missing the forest. Do you really, after all this time and all these defeats, think the Right is stupid?

You mock the Republicans for blatantly acting politically, and ignore that they ARE ACTING POLITICALLY. In other words, they're acting in the way that will in the long term gain them more support for their candidates and issues.

You mock their politicians for flocking to this because of a Republican talking points memo telling them this will gain them a political advantage, yet you do not see that THIS WILL GAIN THEM POLITICAL ADVANTAGE.

You re nitpicking details and ignoring the larger narrative. They are  trying to save this poor woman.  They are  defending this poor woman s family.  Meanwhile, you are pointing out discrepancies in the finer details.  What about her husband?  you ask when they talk about her parents.  She can t feel pain,  you say, when they accuse Democrats of starving her to death. How many people hear that they are trying to save this poor woman? Everyone. How many people, over time, will pay attention to the nitpicking details?

CNN sounds like Fox on this issue. They're playing in the background and their coverage has crossed the line into sensationalism. I just had to say that.

I'm getting pretty fucking tired of these idiots invoking the civil rights movement to support everything from invading countries to keeping an iconic biomass alive.

The Supreme Court denied the stupid appeal without comment.

Klayman and Keyes to Ask Governor Bush to Grant "Pardon" to Terri Schiavo
Use of Executive Power Appropriate Under the Circumstances

To: National Desk

MIAMI, March 23 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Larry Klayman, former Chairman of Judicial Watch and 2004 U.S. Senate Candidate in Florida and owner of The Klayman Law Firm, and Alan Keyes, former Presidential Candidate, are asking Florida Governor Jeb Bush to use the powers he has been granted by the citizens of the state of Florida, under its Constitution, to save Terri Schiavo's life.

Larry Klayman stated, "Since Governor Jeb Bush is the supreme executive power of the state of Florida, he has the right and duty to step in and, in effect, pardon Terri Schiavo from the death sentence that has been unduly placed upon her by the court system."

The Schiavo case presents a vacuum for the judicial system -- because it failed to act to save Terri's life -- and Klayman and Keyes and all
Americans that want to see justice done would like for that vacuum to be filled before it is too late.

Larry Klayman will be meeting with the General Counsel to Governor Jeb Bush at 2:00 PM, today. During this meeting, he will lay out the legal justification for Governor Jeb Bush to act, and in so doing, will present what is in effect a legal brief prepared by Alan Keyes and approved by Klayman. In addition, Klayman will request a meeting with Governor Jeb Bush, which he and Alan Keyes would attend. Klayman will stress that time is of the essence, that Terri can die at any moment.

Larry Klayman represents RightMarch.com and Declaration Alliance, which has been very active in supporting life for Terri Schiavo.

Close the Spigot
Thursday, March 24, 2005; Page A18

EMBARRASSED BY revelations of the program's true price, Congress acted last fall to temporarily close loopholes in student loan laws that were costing taxpayers an unnecessary $1 billion every year. With a certain amount of fanfare, both House and Senate education committee chairmen declared their intention to stop "shortchanging students," in the words of Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), and to stop paying out huge, unnecessary sums to banks and other financial intermediaries that disburse student loans. At the time, we congratulated the lawmakers but nevertheless worried that the loose wording of the bill had ensured that some of the techniques banks had used to siphon money out of government coffers -- using an outdated law that once guaranteed lenders 9.5 percent interest rates -- would remain legal.

In case you didn't know, frequent commentor cnulan blogs at Vision Circle, where, in discussing the discussion about Roland Fryer's promotion in the NY Times, points out an article on the development of cooperation in humans.

The article in its entirety focuses on the structural and functional basis of cooperation. It's economics alrighty, or game theory at least, but anytime you add the fMRI data and watch what the old noodle is up to whilst the sapiens are sapienting, BLAM!!! it kicks it up just that extra little notch required to give me a mental buzz and make me feel like we're no longer in the land of just-so storytelling, but have meandered into the domain of an objective science..., oh, and I very much respect the Punisher role itself..., I think we'll see more and more of this as we enter the twilight of the western era..., and that's a good thing!!!

Damn good article. How good? Check the category assigned to this post.

Jesus, the rule of law just definitively lost out to oligarchic kakistocracy in California.

Gov. Wins Initiative Fundraising Case
A preliminary ruling lets Schwarzenegger raise unlimited money to push ballot measures.
By Robert Salladay
Times Staff Writer
March 24, 2005

SACRAMENTO   California politicians can raise unlimited amounts of money to promote ballot initiatives, a judge said Wednesday, handing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a significant victory as he promotes his political agenda this year.

In a preliminary ruling, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang said forcing Schwarzenegger to abide by fundraising limits for initiatives would unfairly trample on his right to free speech and would not subdue "the demons" of political corruption.

So I can mention a little anecdotal evidence.

I know for a fact that in San Francisco Black and Latino students that have almost any difficulty at all ate actively encouraged to "test out"...which means leave the school and take the GED test. I suspect those students represent the gap between the drop out rate reported by California (those that pass have "graduated") and Harvard's study.

Harvard again...

Nearly Half of Blacks, Latinos Drop Out, School Study Shows
By Duke Helfand
Times Staff Writer
March 24, 2005

Nearly half of the Latino and African American students who should have graduated from California high schools in 2002 failed to complete their education, according to a Harvard University report released Wednesday.

The Business of America Is to Stay in Business
General Motors provides a warning to Washington on fiscal irresponsibility.
By James P. Pinkerton

James P. Pinkerton is a fellow at the New America Foundation.
March 24, 2005

General Motors, once the symbol of corporate giantism, both admired and reviled, is now a shriveled husk of its former corporate self. And thereby hangs a tale of post-industrial America and a warning for America itself.

At one time, GM seemed synonymous with a nation whose business was big business. In 1955, Time named GM President Harlow Curtice as its "man of the year"; the magazine credited Curtice with steering the United States into a "new age of wide-open affluence." Because the company sold more than half the nation's cars, it could afford to pay high wages, offer generous pensions   and be grossly inefficient.

The Becker-Posner Blog has a nice digestible recap of a paper Prof. Becker participated in producing on the failure of the drug war. The full paper is available at his website at the University of Chicago.

After totaling all spending, a study by Kevin Murphy, Steve Cicala, and myself estimates that the war on drugs is costing the US one way or another well over $100 billion per year. These estimates do not include important intangible costs, such as the destructive effects on many inner city neighborhoods, the use of the American military to fight drug lords and farmers in Colombia and other nations, or the corrupting influence of drugs on many governments.

Assuming an interest in reducing drug consumption- I will pay little attention here to whether that is a good goal- is there a better way to do that than by these unsuccessful wars? Our study suggests that legalization of drugs combined with an excise tax on consumption would be a far cheaper and more effective way to reduce drug use. Instead of a war, one could have, for example, a 200% tax on the legal use of drugs by all adults-consumption by say persons under age 18 would still be illegal. That would reduce consumption in the same way as the present war, and would also increase total spending on drugs, as in the current system.

But the similarities end at that point. The tax revenue from drugs would accrue to state and federal authorities, rather than being dissipated into the real cost involving police, imprisonment, dangerous qualities, and the like. Instead of drug cartels, there would be legal companies involved in production and distribution of drugs of reliable quality, as happened after the prohibition of alcohol ended. There would be no destruction of poor neighborhoods- so no material for  the Wire  HBO series, or the movie  Traffic - no corruption of Afghani or Columbian governments, and no large scale imprisonment of African-American and other drug suppliers. The tax revenue to various governments hopefully would substitute for other taxes, or would be used for educating young people about any dangersous effects of drugs.

Study: Media Self-Censored Some Iraq Coverage
By Joe Strupp
Published: March 19, 2005 12:05 PM ET

NEW YORK Many media outlets self-censored their reporting on the Iraq invasion because of concerns about public reaction to graphic images and content, according to a survey of more than 200 journalists by American University's School of Communications.

The study, released Friday, also determined that "vigorous discussions" about what and where to publish information and images were conducted at media outlets and, in many cases, journalists posted material online that did not make it to print.

One of the most significant findings was "the amount of editing that went into content after it was gathered but before it was published," the study stated. Of those who reported from Iraq, 15% said that on one or more occasions their organizations edited material for publication and they did not believe the final version accurately represented the story.

Vatican says feeding tube removal like execution
By Alessandra Rizzo, Associated Press  |  March 23, 2005

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican pressed its campaign to keep Terri Schiavo alive yesterday, saying that removing the brain-damaged American woman's feeding tube amounted to capital punishment for someone who has committed no crime.

In a front-page editorial, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano criticized US District Judge James Whittemore's refusal to order the reinsertion of Schiavo's feeding tube and disparaged a ''society incapable of appreciating and defending the gift of life."

It said Whittemore had condemned Schiavo to an ''atrocious death: death from hunger and thirst."

Bush Opens Door to Changes in His Plan
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT

...In Tucson on Monday, Mr. Bush told the audience: "You can't liquidate your personal account when you retire. It's the interest off your personal account that will complement your Social Security check, no matter how big or little it is, that you're getting from the federal government. That's important to remember."

In Denver later that day, he cautioned that "when you retire, you can't pull all your money out." And in Albuquerque on Tuesday morning, Mr. Bush told the audience members that they "can't liquidate the plan upon retirement because it's a part of the retirement system."

"But your estate - you can leave it to whomever you want," he said. "You want to leave it to your daughter? Fine."

Doesn't that mean your private account isn't part of your estate?

Quote of note:

"My party is demonstrating that they are for states' rights unless they don't like what states are doing," said Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut, one of five House Republicans who voted against the bill. "This couldn't be a more classic case of a state responsibility."

"This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy," Mr. Shays said. "There are going to be repercussions from this vote. There are a number of people who feel that the government is getting involved in their personal lives in a way that scares them."

G.O.P. Right Is Splintered on Schiavo Intervention
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

The Struggle to Flee LAUSD
By Mona Gable
Mona Gable is working on a Southern California memoir.
March 23, 2005

About a year ago, along with a million other parents in Los Angeles, I was anxiously waiting to hear whether my 13-year-old son got into private school. We had applied to two Catholic high schools, and the process had been sufficiently grueling as to make me want to skip college applications altogether. There were open houses to attend, letters of recommendation, transcripts and test scores to collect. We could also write a letter pleading our son's "special circumstances." In other words, if he didn't have a 4.0 and the musical gifts of Yo-Yo Ma or the footwork of David Beckham, what did he have to offer that might win him one of those sacred slots? We wrote the letter.

And then there was the religion issue. My son had to go through interviews, but equally nerve-racking, so did his father and I. Would we pass? Would they care that my husband is Jewish and that I'm Episcopalian?

It was no small point, we thought. Applications to private schools in and around Los Angeles have soared, making the schools even more selective. Everyone we knew, it seemed, was applying where we were applying: boys on my son's soccer team who not only were bona fide Catholics but had Parents Who Knew People; most of his public school friends, including one whose siblings had already graduated from one of the schools, thus scoring legacy points.

"We should always err on the side of Life."

That sets the bar really, really high for death penalty cases, don't it?

Poor baby!

Bush Urges an End to Attacks on Plan
On a Southwest tour, the president and allies suggest that opponents of the Social Security overhaul are stalling.
By Peter Wallsten
Times Staff Writer
March 23, 2005

ALBUQUERQUE   At the start of a potentially crucial congressional recess, in which lawmakers will hear from constituents about President Bush's plans to overhaul Social Security, Bush and his allies asked Democrats and AARP on Tuesday to stop attacking their ideas.

"Stop HITTING me!! Wah!"

What a fucking wimp.

"I believe there will be a bad political consequence for people who are unwilling to sit down and talk about the issue," Bush told supporters during one of his "conversations" on Social Security, appearing with McCain and New Mexico's Republican senator, Pete V. Domenici. "I think the American people expect people from both parties to stand up and take the lead and solve this issue."

You should show more flexibility then because YOU are the one bringing forth a non-plan. YOU are the one suggesting things the public categorically rejects.

This is at Columbia University in New York City, and I have a dentist appointment on the 30th, dammit.

March 30 - April 1, 2005 9:00am-5:00pm The Italian Academy for Advanced Study (118th street & Amsterdam Avenue)

"International Civil Society, World Governance, and the State Conference"

The keynote event, to be held on the evening of March 30 (Time to be Announced), will feature Archbishop Desmond Tutu and renowned writer Toni Morrison in dialogue, with Professors Mary Robinson, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz and Dr. Shashi Tharoor as discussants. This dialogue will be followed by the conference in the Italian Academy for Advanced Study. In co-sponsorship with the Center for Contemporary Literature & Society (CCLS)

**This event is free, you must RSVP for attendance to the keynote event**
To RSVP contact Ella Turenne ([email protected], 212-854-4541).
Please visit the CCLS website: www.columbia.edu/cu/ccls/

Jesse responds flawlessly to the fiction that is Star Parker.

My elderly mom serves coffee in a local convenience store to earn a few dollars to supplement the pittance she gets from Social Security and the few extra hundred dollars per month she started getting after my dad passed away. He worked all his life. If he could have put all the money he paid in Social Security taxes into a retirement investment account over all those same years, my mom would be in a different situation today.

Parker is herself the founder and president of her own non-profit, an author of two books, a syndicated columnist, a regular commentator on all three cable networks, and virtually omnipresent across the television spectrum. Take care of your mother, you spoiled ass. Surely, with all that book and syndication money, you can give your mom enough that she doesn't have to work in a coffee shop.

The Republicans have finally jumped the shark.

Lester was talking about his boy Bomani Jones' reaction to Roland Fryer's appearance in the NY Times...and I had to find what he was talking about via Negrophile.

I purposely didn't draw any conclusions when the article first showed other than that he is one to watch, and I'd rather draw conclusions based solely on his work...

I worry greatly about anyone whose demeanor changes when white folks come around. Not so much word choice and things like that--most of us code switch, though I resolved long ago to do as little of that as possible--but his vibe. It wasn't the cool cat that I saw in the department conference room. I saw a cat performing. Here and there, he'd slip back to the cat I met, but it was mostly a performance.

...but stuff like this has bearing.

After Signing Schiavo Law, Bush Says 'It Is Wisest to Always Err on the Side of Life'
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT

TUCSON, March 21 - After a private bill-signing ceremony in the middle of the night, President Bush made a public case for helping Terri Schiavo on Monday, praising Congress for sending him the legislation that allowed federal courts to intervene.

Mr. Bush, who returned to Washington from his Crawford ranch on Sunday, was awakened after the House passed the Schiavo bill at 12:42 a.m. His staff secretary, Brett Kavanaugh, delivered the legislation to be signed, which Mr. Bush did while standing in a hallway. Seven hours later, he left on a previously planned trip to Tucson and Denver to promote Social Security changes.

Quote of note:

National Defense Strategy of the United States of America

Pentagon Reaffirms Globocop Role
Analysis by Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, Mar 21 (IPS) - March has been a bad month for the world's multilateralists who, encouraged by several early appointments to the State Department and a successful presidential tour of Europe, had hoped that George W. Bush would temper his unilateralist instincts in his second term.

But culminating in Friday's release by the Pentagon of a new  National Defense Strategy of the United States of America , the last few weeks have showered a bracing dose of cold water on that notion.

Dave Sifry (think Technorati) has run a series on current blog statistics on his blog. There's the number of blogs, the number of posts and the tough one.

The tough one is tough because rather than discussing the list of blogs ordered by the number of inbound links, Mr. Sifry says

Today I'll discuss the impact of weblogs on traditional media, the impact of the A-List, and the power of the long tail.

First off, some terminology and an understanding of what we're measuring. This graph is a measure of influence or authority of a site or blog as measured by the number of people who are linking to it. Note that this is not a measure of page views or website "hits". Rather, Technorati looks at linking behavior as a proxy for attention and influence. In other words, the more people who link to a site or blog, the more influence it has on others. Note that influence is not an indicator of veracity - lots of people link to The Drudge Report, for example, which implies that Matt Drudge gets a lot of attention and influence, but not necessarily that he is truthful.

Don't get me wrong, it's interesting stuff and I probably wouldn't respond to it at all bet for Jeff Jarvis' bringing it to my attention via his paradoxical declaration of colorblindness via listing all the non-white folks he knows. Mr. Jarvis says he asked Mr. Sifry for support of his statement:

Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh or Drug Slang
Find out if Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are gateways into heavier substances

Another Top Treasury Official Announces Resignation Plans

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS

WASHINGTON, March 21 - John B. Taylor, the Treasury Department's under secretary for international affairs, said Monday that he would resign on April 22, the latest in a series of top-level resignations at the department since the elections in November.

Administration officials are hoping to replace Mr. Taylor with Tim Adams, a former Treasury official who coordinated economic policy issues for President Bush's re-election campaign last year. Many of the other vacant posts have not been filled.

Mr. Taylor, a monetary economist who signed on at the start of President Bush's first term, had periodically been rumored as a candidate to lead the World Bank or even as a possible successor to Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

Quote of note:

Now, the DNA evidence from the semen found on her underclothes has proved that House was not a rapist; rather, it came from her husband. The victim's blood, it has since been shown, was not spattered on House's jeans during the homicide, but later in the crime lab.

Paul Gregory House

a case of actual Innocence

In 2002 the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, citing DNA evidence that raises the possibility that an innocent man might be on Tennessee's death row, asked the state Tennessee Supreme Court to review Paul Gregory House's case to determine whether there is a basis for giving him a new hearing.

Then recently discovered DNA evidence proved that House did not rape Carolyn Muncey immediately before she was killed in 1985 in Union County, north of Knoxville. Other evidence surfaced that might show that House did not kill Muncey.

New EPA Mercury Rule Omits Conflicting Data
Study Called Stricter Limits Cost-Effective

By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 22, 2005; Page A01

When the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a rule last week to limit mercury emissions from U.S. power plants, officials emphasized that the controls could not be more aggressive because the cost to industry already far exceeded the public health payoff.

What they did not reveal is that a Harvard University study paid for by the EPA, co-authored by an EPA scientist and peer-reviewed by two other EPA scientists had reached the opposite conclusion.

Cheney Joins the Social Security Campaign
Vice President, Rep. Thomas Tout Personal Accounts as Safe Way to Bolster System
By Jim VandeHei

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 22, 2005; Page A05

BAKERSFIELD, Calif., March 21 -- Two of Washington's most powerful politicians -- Vice President Cheney and House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) -- teamed up Monday to pitch personal Social Security accounts as a safe and smart way to shore up the 70-year-old retirement program.

The two men, who came to Congress together 27 years ago and now play major roles in shaping policy, said critics are misleading the public about the risks associated with allowing Americans born after 1950 to voluntarily divert about one-third of their payroll taxes into private accounts.

Quote of note:

What remains is a legal case that no longer is about Schiavo. Instead it's about the politics of abortion -- right to life -- and political opportunism. Terri Schiavo lives so that others, notably Frist, can run for higher office. I know that by watching the tape.

'A Great Political Issue'
By Richard Cohen
Tuesday, March 22, 2005; Page A17

Sen. Bill Frist watched a videotape last week of Terri Schiavo made by her parents in 2001. He did this in his capacity as Senate majority leader and as a renowned physician. In both roles he performed miserably. As a senator, he showed himself to be an unscrupulous opportunist. As a physician, he was guilty of practicing medicine without a brain.

Quote of note:

"This is a great political issue," the memo said, because it puts Democrats in a difficult position and because "the pro-life base will be very excited that the Senate is debating this important issue."

But the ABC poll, conducted by telephone Sunday as Congress was acting, found that 63% supported removal of Schiavo's feeding tube and 28% opposed it.

The poll also found that among Republicans, Congress' action did not win strong backing. According to the poll, 58% of Republicans believed the intervention in the case was inappropriate, and 61% supported removing Schiavo's tube.

The survey's margin of error for its entire sample of 501 adults was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Among the Republicans surveyed, the margin of error was plus or minus 8 points.

Some in GOP Fear Effort May Alienate Voters

Newsom wants rules on pot clubs
Moratorium sought; center plans to open in city-funded hotel
- Suzanne Herel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 22, 2005

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom called for a moratorium Monday on opening medical marijuana clubs in the city after learning that one plans to open on the ground floor of a city-funded welfare hotel.

Responding to Newsom's request, the Board of Supervisors is expected today to introduce an emergency ordinance instituting a 45-day halt on new cannabis clubs while the city investigates ways to regulate them. Passage will require a yes vote from nine of the 11 supervisors at next week's meeting.

Get real -- Just don't expect warts and all
- Tim Goodman
Monday, March 21, 2005

It's always stunning when people are surprised about how unreal "reality" shows are on television. Just when you think the whole world knows that they are, in fact, faked, along comes the New York Times or some other media outlet with the shocking news that, say, "Wife Swap," is staged. Even people who are professionally jaded sometimes indicate they, too, are alarmed at how there's so little reality in reality television.

Quote of note:

"Every possible issue has been raised and re-raised, litigated and re-litigated," Felos said. "It's the elongation of these proceedings that have violated Mrs. Schiavo's due process rights."

Judge Raises Doubts About Schiavo Case
He says that before he rules, her parents must bolster their appeal for reinserting her feeding tube. She is in her fourth day without nourishment.
By John-Thor Dahlburg
Times Staff Writer
March 22, 2005

TAMPA, Fla. —  Terri Schiavo's parents took their case into a federal courtroom Monday, where they were met by a seemingly skeptical judge who questioned whether the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube should be reinserted. She now is in her fourth day without food or water.

U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore, after a two-hour hearing, adjourned without issuing a ruling. He did not indicate when he might act.

"We are rushed, and we are somewhat desperate," David C. Gibbs III, who represented Schiavo's parents, told Whittemore. "Terri could expire as I speak."

But in order for him to rule in favor of Bob and Mary Schindler, Whittemore told Gibbs, there needed to be a substantial likelihood their case would prevail when heard in federal court. "I think you'd be hard-pressed to convince me," Whittemore said in asking Gibbs for supporting case law.

Well, I found some of Roland Fryer's work on the web. I started reading one the papers, On the Measurement of Segregation (pdf).

We propose a new approach to measuring segregation based on two convictions: (1) a measure of segregation should disaggregate to the level of individuals, and (2) an individual is more segregated the more segregated are the agents with whom she interacts. Having a measure of segregation with the flexibility to disaggregate to the level of individuals opens up windows of opportunity for empirical work, and a better understanding of the mechanisms by which segregation affects economic outcomes. We also desire a measure that gives a larger level of segregation for individuals whose contacts are more segregated. Consider Figure 1, which depicts the distribution of blacks across metropolitan Detroit. There is a large oval in the center of the city containing almost exclusively black households. Any measure of segregation should report that the household in the epicenter is more segregated than a household equidistant from the center and the edge, even when each household has all black neighbors. These are two features that are absent in all existing measures of segregation.

Segregation is a collective phenomenon; the requirement that a measurement of it should be applicable to an individual makes no sense. It's like trying to measure the air pressure of a single molecule of oxygen.

I heard the magic phrase during The News Hour on PBS.

They are protecting Terri Schiavo's right to life.

Right To Life.

This is to establish a firm base for rhetoric.

Destroying stare decis is a beneficial side effect.

Which is why, were I the federal judge in Florida, I would rule that the Supreme Court already ruled and I have to respect their precedent.

Climate Models Reveal Inevitability of Global Warming

How to best curb greenhouse gas emissions is a hotly debated topic. But new research suggests that putting the brakes on greenhouse gas levels is not enough to slow down climate change because the ocean responds so slowly to perturbations. The study results, published today in the journal Science, indicate that even if greenhouse gas levels had stabilized five years ago, global temperatures would still increase by about half a degree by the end of the century and sea level would rise some 11 centimeters.

"Many people don't realize we are committed right now to a significant amount of global warming and sea level rise because of the greenhouse gases we have already put into the atmosphere," says study author Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. "The longer we wait, the more climate change we are committed to in the future." Meehl and his NCAR colleagues ran two coupled climate models that link major components of our planet's climate and incorporate their interactions. The researchers then analyzed scenarios in which greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere at low, moderate and high rates. The highest rates of accumulation led to model results that included a 3.5 degrees Celsius increase in global temperatures and a 30 centimeter rise in global sea level.

Quote of note:

One of the things that makes black progress so hard is our insistence on seeing our difficulties as stemming either from outside forces or from our own bad choices. Is it so hard to figure out that it's both?

All the Nuance That's Fit to Print
By William Raspberry
Monday, March 21, 2005; Page A19

Those behind the ideology-driven rush to privatize everything from prisons to Social Security, I said in a recent column, ought to slow down a bit and admit the obvious: Private isn't necessarily better.

You'd be surprised (though I wasn't) by the number of e-mailers who thought I'd said public is always better.

You know, Tom DeLay has accused Michael Schiavo of trying to kill his wife to get a malpractice suit settlement. That sounds like slander to me.

All out noble Republicans seeking to build a culture of life keep saying "according to what I was told" to keep themselves personally clear of such problems but whoever told them slanders Mr. Schiavo. I do think most Congressmen have expressed themselves publicly such that they have deniability...Republicans pass out whole books of instructions on what to say and how to say it when they invent these issues.

It's one reason the whole "culture of life" thing is curious...that so regimented a group as Republicans would set forth a concept so soft it doesn't define anything (obviously this misuse of terminology to distort understanding is getting under my skin today). In strict terms I can have a culture of life in a thin scum on the bottom of a petri dish. And yeah no one links this but Terri is alive in the same sense that a 110 pound mass of plankton is alive...there's biological activity going on in there, but...

One response to my McCain-Feingold comment came in the form of a link to a blog. Of course.

This is Not Journalism
by Jarret McNeill

There seems to be some confusion about these things, and in truth there should be very little. This just ain t journalism. Blogging (fucking hell, that word again) is not journalism. It s not even an -ism.  Yet time again, both in the mainstream media and right here in this little living room, there seems to be comments that indicate people respond, at times, to blogs as though it were a reported piece instead of a faded Xerox copy of whatever happened to run through the writer s head at any given moment.

It seems a strange and unnecessary discussion to me. Blogging is no more journalism than poetry is fiction; than song lyrics are poetry. (Do you hear that Nobel panel? Song lyrics are not poetry. Bob Dylan s lyrics can be poetical and elevated, but by their nature, by the very fact that they were designed at the service of a tune, and not meant to stand outside the context of the strum and drum of music, they cannot be poetry. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest.)

Hell, blogging is not the same thing as an op-ed, though of any form of journalistic writing I would say this would come closest, but not even that should be taken too seriously.

In mathematics, we'd call "blog" and "blogging" undefined terms. Like parallel lines, its properties depend on the surface on which it takes place...it has no definitive meaning, not really.

Came up on a mailing list the other day. I've been thinking about it for a month now.

The problem comes from addressing "bloggers" rather than services rendered.  The word "blogger" doesn't denote any definitive thing other than the class of software you use to control your website.

An ad is an ad, whether it's on a blog or Fox News. A web site shouldn't be banned from raising funds any more than $1000-per plate dinners...well...no, the dinners should be left alone too. If you set up a web site to support your campaign it should be subject to the same disclosure requirements as your other media spending.

If the law specifically addresses "bloggers," the meaning of which is already changing  before our eyes, we will inevitably find we've included or excluded things we shouldn't have when the meaning changes again.

Seriously, the book review alone presents some food for thought...quite enough for a blogger that wants attention. Because all the blog linking and marketing discussions always say you've got to have good stuff for the sucking up to actually work. They just never tell you what good stuff is. Neither does the book review, but if you think about the quotes presented from the book you'll be on your way to finding out.

'The New New Journalism': Gonzos for the 21st Century

IN the three decades since Tom Wolfe anthologized a group of writers under the rubric ''New Journalism'' and identified them as rivals to the best novelists of their time, a next wave has been gathering. Robert S. Boynton calls this movement the New New Journalism, and he interviews 19 of its leading practitioners in his book of the same name.

I didn't know who da hell he was, to tell the truth. I just get this in my RSS reader:

Dissing Democracy in Asia

As long as we favor dictatorships like Pakistan over free countries like India, we are not putting liberty and democracy at the center of our foreign policy.

..and says to myself, "true, true..." So, editorial reading time.

From the late 1970's to the mid-1990's, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I repeatedly warned that Pakistan was selling nuclear materials to other nations. Administrations, both Democratic and Republican, turned a blind eye; they even got leaders of our intelligence community to say that I didn't know what I was talking about. Well, everything I said has been proved absolutely true - to an even more worrisome degree than I had described.

Our military-industrial complex, which I believe dominates our foreign policy, favors Pakistan not only because we can sell it arms, but also because the Pentagon would often rather deal with dictatorships than democracies. When a top Pentagon official goes to Pakistan, he can meet with one general and get everything settled. On the other hand, if he goes to India, he has to talk to the prime minister, the Parliament, the courts and, God forbid, the free press.

THAT is so human I can't help just taking it as an article of faith from now on.

Read this...but be aware that it nets to a suggestion that Democrats just stop fighting in return for Republicans acting like adults.

Minority Rules
By IAIN DUNCAN SMITH
London

AS Republicans in the United States decide whether to do away with filibusters by changing Senate rules - the so-called nuclear option - they would do well to cast their eyes at their Conservative cousins across the Atlantic. Britain's backbench members of Parliament, whom I led as head of the Conservative Party from 2001 to 2003, are virtually powerless before a determined government majority. Indeed, if it were not for the House of Lords, the second and appointed chamber, which has retained limited powers of delay, British government would be an elected dictatorship.

Quote of note:

Justice Scalia may believe that by repeating his radical views enough times, the nation will grow accustomed to them. But his approach would mean throwing out much of the nation's existing constitutional law, and depriving Americans of basic rights. Justice Scalia's campaign to be the next chief justice, if it is that, is a timely reminder of why he would be a disastrous choice for the job.

He has reason to believe his view will become acceptable by mere repetition. That's how The Big Lie works...and it does work. And given that throwing out much of constitutional law is exactly what the Bush regime is looking to do, he's right in line with the plan.

Anyway...

That Scalia Charm

US deadlock in right-to-die case

The US Congress has delayed debating a bill that would force doctors to keep a brain-damaged woman alive against her husband's wishes.

Democrats objected to an informal vote on the case of Terri Schiavo, whose feeding tube was removed on Friday.

The House had been convened in a rare Sunday session, but immediately recessed. It is expected to meet again early on Monday.

President George W Bush had cut short a holiday to sign the bill if passed.

'Political precedent'

On Saturday, Congressional leaders said that they had reached a deal that would allow a federal court to review the Schiavo case.

Lawmakers had been expected to try and push through their compromise bill over the next few hours, says the BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington.

Here we present a gentleman that sees the same connection between economics and race matters that I do...only he's got formal training and rigor and all that stuff I pretend to have.

His whole damn life story is in the NY Times. I think the story will convince most interested parties that he's at least worth attending to...it's surprisingly multidimensional but says little about his work...which I am genuinely interested in seeing.

I suggest you do as I have--read it to see if he seems to be the kind of guy whose opinion interests you then forget the whole story and see what comes of his work.

Toward a Unified Theory of Black America
By STEPHEN J. DUBNER

Hospitals can end life support
Decision hinges on patient's ability to pay, prognosis
By LEIGH HOPPER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

A patient's inability to pay for medical care combined with a prognosis that renders further care futile are two reasons a hospital might suggest cutting off life support, the chief medical officer at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital said Monday.

Dr. David Pate's comments came as the family of Spiro Nikolouzos fights to keep St. Luke's from turning off the ventilator and artificial feedings keeping the 68-year-old grandfather alive.

St. Luke's notified Jannette Nikolouzos in a March 1 letter that it would withdraw life-sustaining care of her husband of 34 years in 10 days, which would be Friday. Mario Caba-llero, the attorney representing the family, said he is seeking a two-week extension, at minimum, to give the man more time to improve and to give his family more time to find an alternative facility.

I linked to an L.A Times editorial by Jervey Tervalon, and asked who it is that's actually scared.

Mr Tervalon gave me a very brief answer by email yesterday:

Just wanted to note that at the high school I taught at in Los Angeles, a girl was shot in the head by some fool who wanted to shoot someone else. In LA, like many inner cities people are scared of the police, gangs, all them fools with guns.

Fools with guns. Everyone agrees that's unacceptable. But what can you do about the fools or the guns?

Revenge of the Perturbed II: Readers Offer Tactics
By IAN URBINA

As it turns out, frustration - not necessity - may be the true mother of invention.

An article that appeared in The New York Times last week about the things people do to deal with life's many little annoyances spurred a flood of responses from readers offering their own tactics.

While providing a telling look at the banal things that bother people, these reactions also shed light on the lengths people go to extract retribution for mundane infractions. But most of all, they revealed the creativity in passive aggression.

Dena Roslan was sick of a co-worker who kept helping himself to her lunch cookies. So Ms. Roslan, 30, a clothing designer who works in Manhattan, bought a bag of dog biscuits that looked like biscotti. "My only remorse was not being able to see his face after he ate the bait," she said.

General Myers just said on Meet The Press that though recruitment has fallen short of goals, retention exceeds expectation. Rumsfeld made the same point earlier of This Week.

I'm sure those retention figures include those guys drafted through the back door. I really wonder what the retention rate looks like without them.

Rumsfeld on Iraq: If we'd gotten the 4th infantry into Iraq from the north, we'd have seen a smaller insurgency. He forgets that they allowed the soldiers to walk away, intentionally.

"We've only used like 40% of the Army Reserve."

Rumsfeld is taking the "I don't know" defense an awful lot.

McCain on Schaivo: The tort reform bill is precedent for moving a state concern to a Federal level! And he's hoping it doesn't turn political...when the very presence of the issue on the national stage is due to politics.

On steroids, he's suggesting a national standard drug testing program for all professional sports.

On the nucular option, he's against it but it's everyone's fault. Yeah, right.

On Social Security, nuthin' new. Same old "to say that we should do nothing" nonsense when no one has said that...

Quote of note:

When surveys ask students which is more important, to be honorable and get a low grade or to cheat and get a high grade, she said, more students choose the A. "The parents will say 'no, no, no,' but the message they're sending says the opposite."

The use of performance enhancing drugs reflects a society where stress and striving have become the national pastime. Ms. Pope calls it the "credentialism society," exemplified in her book through a high school student who describes life as a quest to get the best grades, so you can get into the best college, so you can get into the best graduate school, so you can get the highest-paying job, which brings you happiness.

The Difference Between Steroids and Ritalin Is . . .
By KATE ZERNIKE

Beyond the Bullets and Blades
By MARC LACEY
Published: March 20, 2005

...The younger Innocent, just 12, was from another village overrun by tribal fighters, albeit several years ago. He got out in time to avoid injury. But ever since, this Innocent has lived in a camp, huddled together with other displaced people. Still, his survival is in doubt. His arms are covered with mosquito bites and his blood is full of plasmodium parasites. Malaria kills if left untreated, which it often is in war zones like eastern Congo.

This Innocent will likely survive for now because he made it to a hospital. But he will get malaria again, and the wars that surround him will continue, and who knows if he will have access to a doctor then? And if it is not malaria that kills him, maybe it will be meningitis or measles or AIDS. Those scourges already kill far too many Africans, even in tranquil areas where a fragile social order holds together. Add war to that picture, and the death toll rises calamitously.

That is the second way of death in Africa's wars.

Quote of note:

"If I think rationally," he said, "I know I have to prepare myself to go, because it might happen. But the irrational side is causing me to freeze in my place and take no action. Something could happen, some outside event - who knows? My wife and I try to talk about it; she looks at me and she doesn't have to ask."

Please, think rationally. It's the irrational side that made you start the illegal settlements in the first place.

Jews in Gaza Recoil at Idea of Expulsion
By STEVEN ERLANGER

NETZER HAZANI, Gaza Strip - The green tanks in their berms and the protective walls around the Israeli settlements here are surrounded by yellow daisies and deep pink oleander. But this is probably the last spring for the Jews of Gaza.

Visiting Korea Base, Rice Sends Forceful Reminder to the North

By JOEL BRINKLEY

COMMAND POST TANGO, South Korea, Sunday, March 20 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stepped off her airplane in Seoul on Saturday evening, boarded an Army Black Hawk helicopter and immediately flew to this underground command bunker from which military commanders would direct any war against North Korea.

"I wanted to come here to thank you for what you do on the front lines of freedom," she told more than 100 service members in the war room, carved deep inside a mountain south of Seoul. "I know you face a close-in threat every day."

'DRAGONS': Mythical beasts come to life
- David Wiegand, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, March 19, 2005

Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real: 5 p.m. Sunday, Animal Planet.

Animal Planet says it's expanding its "family-friendly programming" with its big-deal "Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real" on Sunday night, but if the kids watch the show -- and they'll want to -- be prepared to tell them that sometimes television tells falsehoods.

While "Animal Planet" viewers are used to seeing all sorts of critters that look as if they were invented by either Dr. Seuss or George Lucas, those creatures are either alive now or used to be. The dragons profiled in Sunday's 90-minute show have sprung almost entirely from the minds of producers Charlie Foley and Kevin Mohs, scientific adviser Peter Hogarth and a team of superb animators. That said, the framing of the show, which purports to depict the discovery of a centuries-old frozen dragon corpse in the Carpathian Mountains, so skillfully replicates an actual documentary, it's wise to listen carefully to narrator Patrick Stewart's warnings that it's all scientifically informed fakery.