Whee

A few months ago, I was supposed to get some help on my job. Specifically, someone to work on the .NET side of things, which would free me up to do the job I was actually hired to do: PHP development. He wasn’t my first choice, but he was second, in large part because of […]

Cynicsm for Fun and Profit

Glenn Greenwald is discussing the stunning hypocrisy of Republicans, as they decry the viciously partisan Democrats for outing a gay Republican—ostensibly because dragging personal sexual conduct into politics will drive good people from governance. Color me cynical, but why is this such a shock? This is the same crowd that spent a large chunk of […]

The Use of Color

In an earlier post, I had noted that I would write some more on a photograph I had posted to provide a graphic illustration of the kinds of regimes that decided on trials when it was in the best interest of the state, rather than, for example, the interests of justice. When you look at […]

Dangerous Territory

via Rad Geek: Inskeep If you’re an enemy combatant, who decides if you ever get a full-blown trial—a military commission trial as it’s been called? Fmr. Bush Counsel Yoo That’s ultimately up to the President. I think it’s still up to the President and the Secretary of Defense who’s going to be tried by a […]

Sanity Has Left The Building

It’s actually pretty amazing how crazy TV has gotten since I stopped watching it. Obviously, I can’t know for certain how crazy it is, since I don’t own one, but I read bloggers talk about ABC putting on shows about “how soon is the apocalypse,” and supposedly some CNN anchor was recycling bullshit from WorldNetDaily […]

Dying Democracy and Dehumanization

Last Wednesday night, I was calling friends to try and do a little street theater downtown Chicago, in the hopes of providing a particularly gritty infomercial and generating pressure on the Senate to not pass S.3930 (aka the “Just Confess to Something Act of 2006″). It appears I wasn’t the only one with the same […]

Kabuki Dance

Friday, on the way home from work, I figured the U.S. would try to shoot down the North Korean missile test. The NPR story mentioned that possible outcome, and they wouldn’t do so unless one of their sources mentioned it. Further, since the sources for this story would come from the foreign policy establishment, AKA […]

Fear, Laziness, or N/A

Inspired from from a comment on Ezra Klein: A Bit More On Gore, I went looking for Sartre, first as a tool in service of blame, until about three paragraphs in, when it became a tool in service of knowledge. This caught my eye: Tomorrow, after my death, some men may decide to establish Fascism, […]

Changing Gears

I’m done blogging particularly on politics. I’m done because (essentially) all political blogs are turning into the minor leagues of punditry, letting propagandists hone their craft before being wrangled, branded, and paid to use those same skills as the future Priesthoods of Power. This is not a contest between the two parties, this is simply […]

A Developing Nation

Good to see more evidence that America is now a third-world/developing nation (albeit with toys on credit). Social services continue on the brink of collapse, the government violates its own laws in the name of “security from terrorists,” wealthy corporations with tight connections to the government get bid-less contracts while the country accumulates ever larger […]

Two-Minutes Hät

Targeting America in Iraq in terms of economy and losses in life is a golden and unique opportunity. Do not waste it only to regret it later.Osama bin Laden, December, 2004. (via A Tiny Revolution) Whatever one can say about Osama bin-Laden, he is not stupid. He is smart enough to understand that the U.S. […]

Missing the Point

Sigh. After only a few short months of paying attention to them, I have already tired of the Democrats and their assorted minions. If nothing else, the idea that it’s somehow in the Bush Administration’s best interest to claim the NSA spying program was some advanced data mining procedure—and thus be able to wave the […]

Royale With Cheese

You know what the funniest thing about America is? The little differences. Example? Well… They don’t say “Merry Christmas,” they say “Happy Holidays.” Really? Well, a large chunk of the populace doesn’t celebrate Christmas [lots, according to a recent poll, and there are three and a half other holidays in that two-week span—New Years, Hannukah, […]

Schadenfreude

I watched a clip of Condoleeza Rice on Meet The Press yesterday, and though the video was pretty bad, the tone of voice certainly sounded like she was on the verge of tears while she rattled off a string of excuses—ranging from “inherent powers of the commander in chief” to “can’t wait to get a […]