affordable justice

Redskins 14, Cowboys 13

2005-09-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

Redskins 14, Cowboys 13.

also: the child ballads

NL East constantly updating chart

2005-07-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

A Baseball Game

2005-05-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

A BASEBALL GAME, PART 7
by Richard Brautigan

Baudelare went
to a baseball game
and bought a hot dog
and lit up a pipe
of opium.
the New York Yankees
were playing
the Detroit Tigers.
In the fourth inning
an angel committed
suicide by jumping
off a low cloud.
The angel landed
on second base,
causing the
whole infield
to crack like
a huge mirror.
The game was
called on
account of
fear

Major League Baseball : Video : MLB.TV

2005-04-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

I've been studying for exams, and therefore not blogging too much. In two weeks I'll be done. In four, I'll be packing up and heading home to DC for the summer, working at the FCC during the day and going to Nats games at night.

I've been putting in about 12 hours of work a day getting ready for exams. The only break I allow myself each day is 3 hours to watch the baseball game.

Over the winter, right before my Property exam, Linda Cropp's amendment looked like it would derail the Nats for good. Now, a semester later, the Phillies are about to play their first regular season game at RFK.

I never realized how much I missed baseball until this season started. I grew up going to O's games at Memorial Stadium, chanting "Eddie, Eddie," for Eddie Murray, and watching Cal Ripken's whole career. I managed to catch his last game in Anaheim while I was living in LA.

But sometime in the early 90's I lost the game, or the game lost me. The strike had something to do with it, as did Peter Angelos running the O's into the ground and showing a palpable hate for DC while he did it. I found in rock and roll what I lost in baseball.

The Nats are bringing me back home. I no longer have to hang on every Redskins off-season move to feel some connection to DC. Instead, the rhythm of baseball will rule my summer.

Bernard Levy has an article in the newest Atlantic retracing the steps of de Toqueville 200 years after his birth. I'm aboaut half a page from the section entitled "On religion in general, and baseball in particular." What a feeling, after over a decade in the wilderness, to know, again, what he means before reading a word.

Unofficial Election Results

2005-04-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

I was one of 2,255 voters in this wack ass election. 8% of the registered voters came out. I think the 3 people I voted for won. Democracy is lame, even when it's on the march.

A wack morning for democracy

2005-04-05T03:30:00.000-07:00

It's 5:30 AM in St. Louis. In half an hour, I'm going to the polls to vote in what I am willing to wager will be the wackest election of my life. I usually don't vote in the lame elections, but I woke up this morning at 1AM and haven't gone back to sleep. I slept all evening, because I was up most of the night sunday night finishing up a paper.

Also, as the kind of jerk that crosses the country for democracy, to not walk halfway down the block to vote would be embarassing.

But what is there to vote for? you might ask. I was curious as well. I checked the web page. Holy shi'ite, is this a wack election. Click on the link above to take a look at the ballot I'll be facing in 25 minutes. Freedom and democracy are truly on the march. I can't wait to see the look on the faces of the election workers when I'm there waiting as the polls open.

Same As It Ever Was

2005-04-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

"Washington has now lost three straight, six of seven, and has not won since Sept. 28, 1971. We have not won since Joe Grzenda pitched three innings of one-hit relief as the Senators pounded out 10 hits to beat Stan Bahnsen and the Yankees, 4-2."

We'll end the streak soon. Until then, though, it's nice just to have another reason to hate the Vet in Philly.

TV deal partners Orioles, Nationals

2005-04-01T09:08:00.000-08:00

The 90%/10% split might just be an april fools day prank, but I don't think so.

The upshot of the O's having all the risk on this is that TV networks like this have failed in the past. And if this deal, as it plays out, truly looks like a stinker, then DC's fans, as the larger market, can sink the network in an instant by refusing to watch. A boycott of the network called by any of the DC sportswriters could sink the zeppelin pretty quickly, and although Angelos might try to sue every resident of the city of DC individually, I doubt that he'd get too far with that. (I'm reminded of an old Mr. Show bit about Coupon: The Movie, where a movie studio successfully sued all of America for not watching their crappy movie.)

Notes on grokster oral arguments

2005-04-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

One of the first bits of fallout from Grokster, says Timothy Armstrong, is that you will always be able to rip your CDs legally for use on other devices:

How, some of the Justices asked MGM, could the inventors of the iPod (or the VCR, or the photocopier, or even the printing press) know whether they could go ahead with developing their invention? It surely would not be difficult for them to imagine that somebody might hit upon the idea of marketing their device as a tool for infringement.

MGM’s answer to this was pretty unsatisfying. They said that at the time the iPod was invented, it was clear that there were many perfectly lawful uses for it, such as ripping one’s own CD and storing it in the iPod. This was a very interesting point for them to make, not least because I would wager that there are a substantial number of people on MGM’s side of the case who don’t think that example is one bit legal. But they’ve now conceded the contrary in open court, so if they actually win this case they’ll be barred from challenging “ripping” in the future under the doctrine of judicial estoppel.

SCOTUSblog: MGM v. Grokster: Background and Analysis

2005-03-29T06:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Grokster day.

Click the link above to get some background while watching an old episode of ALF on your Betamax VCR.

Who likes maths?

2005-03-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

Go see my friend Ed give a math lecture:

In the unlikely event that you find yourself in western Massachusetts this Wednesday, come check out my talk about the concept of duality in projective geometry.

WHERE?: Lederle Graduate Research Tower, Room 1521D, UMass Amherst

WHEN?: Wednesday, March 30, 2005, 7:00 p.m.

WHAT?: Projective geometry is a non-Euclidean geometry where there is no such thing as parallel lines, and no concept of distance or angle measure. Duality is a valid concept of projective geometry where points and lines are mathematically indistinguishable from each other. This is cool because if you prove a theorem, it can be dualized to give you a new theorem that will be true (unless the theorem is self-dual to begin with)! It's like a 2-for-1 sale on mathematical concepts.

Happy Easter

2005-03-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

from our friends in FLA protesting the rule of law....

Win or Lose (washingtonpost.com)

2005-03-26T23:27:00.000-08:00

"Yet another franchise came along in 1901, now in the American League. This time, Washington did something we had never done before: signed a bona fide star still near the peak of his powers. Ed Delahanty was a strapping, square-jawed slugger, the best hitter of his day. An esteemed authority on baseball history, Bill James, has compared Delahanty to the seemingly incomparable Joe DiMaggio. The man batted .346 over 16 seasons. He once went 9 for 9 in a double-header.

But after just one full season in Washington, Big Ed started drinking even more heavily than usual. Suspended from the team during a trip to Detroit, he boarded a train for home. Blotto, he brandished a straight razor at other passengers. The conductor stopped the train near the Canadian border and dumped Delahanty trackside. Our star went reeling into the night, plunged from the International Bridge into the Niagara River, washed over Niagara Falls, and was pureed by the propeller of a sightseeing boat."

Breakpoints the official blog of the botz

2005-03-18T06:26:00.000-08:00

just so you know, the robots are back.

Hunter S. Thompson v. Richard M. Nixon v. DJ Buck Wheaton

2005-03-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

So here's the psychedelic disaster. It's in two parts.

Part One
Part Two

Enjoy it. Like I said, listen to it in a dark room, alone.

hot hot heat

2005-03-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

yes they're canadian but they're stand up fellows and they know how to trash a hotel room. this is a link to a page with a new mp3 from a new album. it's really poppy and I'm not sure how I feel about it, which along with singer steve bay's growing gheri curls gets me worried, but hopefully there'll be some rockers on the rest of the album.

DURKL

2005-03-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

the clothes are aight but the song is absolutely off the chain. buy something.

Comments

2005-03-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

The old comments system seems to have died, so this is a test of a new one.

Skype

2005-03-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

Do any of you use this thing? If you don't know it's free voice phone calls over the internet. I just called someone who didn't have a mic, and she could hear me while I talked to my computer.

It felt strange and dirty in a futuristic sort of way.

If you're on skype, and I know you, holler at your boy: skypename: derekteslik.

An aside

2005-02-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

There is really nothing like a 'dormant commerce clause' case about contoured mudguards in IL to welcome one back to another thrilling week of law school. For real, when I read about this case as an aside in America: The Book I thought is was a joke. I was wrong. Bibb v. Navajo Freight Lines, Inc., 359 U.S. 520 (1959), ain't no joke, people. Look alive, and watch out for heat buildup in the brake well caused by the interlining.....

Blink O Rama

2005-02-28T00:33:00.000-08:00

There is now officially a blog for everything.

Coming later this week: a two hour psychedelic disaster named Hunter S. Thompson v. Richard M. Nixon v. DJ Buck Wheaton.

It was recorded live on location in St. Louis, MO, on Saturday, February 26th, 2005. My parents were listening to it from a parked car in a hotel parking lot. An anonymous 52-year-old called it "the most creative radio [he] had heard in years." I don't believe him.

The aforementioned psychedelic disaster will be presented in .mp3 format, and it is suggested that you listen to it alone in the dark.

This always cruel month is almost over.

Debunking Punk - What the Clash meant to rock 'n' roll. By Stephen Metcalf

2005-02-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

great rock writing is a pleasure to encounter in a world of garbage reviews and limp glossy magazines.

Metcalf does a nice job tying the birth and death of rock and roll up in a bow shaped like London Calling, and driving a socio-historic highway from elvis to the clash passing directly though the beatles and the stones.

it's not the history of rock in 2500 words, but it's a nice picture, and it's worth your time.

Author Hunter S. Thompson Commits Suicide (washingtonpost.com)

2005-02-21T06:24:00.000-08:00

he shot himself in the head.

what a jerk.

i thought he'd have the cajones to take whatever fear he faced like a man, to just deal with things getting weird or hard.

I guess he didn't.

what a jerk.

he talked such a big game......

Nationals Inquirer

2005-02-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

lots of nats blogging a gwan. word.

Major League III: A New Beginning

2005-02-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

Everything I've been reading about the Nats, by which I mean everything I can find, reminds me of the movie Major League. A franchise that has been disrespected moving to a city that has been disrespected. A team that's actually a team, even though, or because, they've been written off and f'd with and told they don't even deserve to exist. And a city that is the seat of representative government that is unrepresented in that government. Even Larkin moving to the front office smacks of Tom Berenger managing the Indians in the embarrassing Major League II.

And even though Major League II sucked, I've got a feeling that this season, which I'll refer to from here on out as Major League III, will be awesome.

word

2005-02-14T23:43:00.000-08:00

if we make it past 2012 then we've got somthing to look forward to.

A good five minutes

2005-02-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

I use a band-aid
as a bookmark
for the bukowski poetry
i read on the can.

it seems appropriate.

Radio Free St. Louis Super Bowl Preview

2005-02-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

There was yet another great Super Bowl on Sunday. But on Saturday, there was a great Radio Free St. Louis, a super bowl preview. Click the link above for an mp3. guests:

New England Bureau Chief: Mike Abbott
Philidelphia Bureau Chief: Joshua Lipes
Prime Minister of Fairy Tales: Selena Nelson
Senior Arlington, Mass. Correspondent: Matthew Rebholz
Chicago Bureau Chief: Adrian Trela

My highlight is the last 15 minutes, where Trela takes a look back at the 85 bears on this, the 19th anniversary of their super bowl run. He called this year's game for the Pats because they have more Italians on the squad, and named all 22 starters on the 85 bears, drunkenly, from a sidewalk outside some bar on Lincoln. Classic. More shows from last year will be put up in due time. Go Nats.

Monkeys Pay to See Female Monkey Bottoms

2005-02-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

word. i guess this is about as conclusive proof of evolution as you can get......

Another definition

2005-02-01T09:56:00.000-08:00

comicide [cohm*ih*side] (v.): 1) slaying the vibe; 2) buzzkilling.

really, I'm making up new words like ghostface over here.

Talking Points Memo: GOP Social Security playbook

2005-01-31T17:21:00.000-08:00

You may have already seen this, but if you haven't, TPM has posted a copy of the Republican "playbook" for selling their plan to take the "security" out of social security. An excerpt:

Keep the numbers small: Your audience doesn’t know how trillions and billions differ. They know these numbers are large, but not how large nor how many billions make a trillion. Boil numbers down to “your family’s share.” Also avoid percentages; your audience will try to calculate them in their head—no easy task while listening to a speech—and many will do it incorrectly.

(from p.6 -- but I thought the president was already on board with this....)

From page 35-40 almost every single word is capitalized. It's almost unreadable. Whoa. It stay like that till page 45.

There are two canned speeches at the end of the document. If you like, you can put on a nice suit and pretend that you, too, are a mouthpiece of the Bush administration. I'd recomment going out to a nearby public park and convincing the squirrels that we are facing a crisis.

The NFL Stadium Guide - Future NFL Stadiums

2005-01-31T15:04:00.000-08:00

Dream of the future of football. Vikings stadium, when built, will be off the hook. It is a little thugly, though (see below).

A Definition, and other hot new slang for oh-cinco

2005-01-30T22:12:00.000-08:00

You might have heard about the hot new words for '05 from who let the blogs out, who introduced about a month or two ago the concept of getting "iced."

Here's another one:

thugly (adj.) [thuhg*lee] - 1) characterizing attire or attitude that, in trying too hard to be "down" with the "street," ends up just looking really silly or stupid; 2) of or relating to preposterous gangster rap fashion.

also, "thuggs" are dumb looking furred boots work by rappers.

we make money not art

2005-01-28T13:29:00.000-08:00

a quick and dirty link. everything there is "holy smokes" level cool and fascinating....

MSNBC - Jan. 24 called worst day of the year

2005-01-24T06:17:00.000-08:00

good morning. it's all downhill from here.

also, I am the guacamole king of university city, mo. pics later.

and misadventures of

2005-01-18T21:18:00.000-08:00

Look: Are you paying attention to this? Click above, because in the years ahead it will be either a book or a legend and, well, these sorts of things don't happen in law school.

I am planning something new, which will be both amazing and funny and famous and will more or less run itself. But that is for the future.

Tonight I make sure that all facts which I reference in analysis paragraphs are introduced in precedent case discussion paragraphs.

And that is why, for now, my stories aren't quite as interesting.

This friday, I will compete in an Iron Chef guacamole battle. That's about as good as it gets for a while.

Wait for me then, with a touch of cilantro on your breath, and read well what I linked above.

2004-12-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

pre-sale tickets for the NYE party are available here.

save $10, get free shrimp, and party....information 2 posts ago.

aight later....

D.C. Council Approves Deal to Finance Stadium (washingtonpost.com)

2004-12-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

The D.C. Council gave its formal blessing to a deal to bring the Washington Nationals to the city today, ending two months of acrimonious debate by approving financing to build a baseball stadium along the Anacostia waterfront.

By a vote of 7 to 6, the council adopted a stadium package that contains several amendments to the deal Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) struck with Major League Baseball in September to move the former Montreal Expos to Washington.

jeah....go nats....

NYE in NYC//Colin Steel & the Sports//DJ Buck Wheaton//Shrimp//Champagne//$20 pre-sale////

2004-12-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

Bar is called The Orange Bear. 47 Murray St in
Tribeca. A block from the Chambers street stop on the
ACE and 1239 subway lines.

Colin Steel and the Sports
(the sports are Noah Deutch and Garth Hallberg)

DJ Buck Wheaton (on the wheels or the iPod)
(DJ Buck Wheaton is Derek Teslik)

Champagne Toast at Midnight
(Champagne gets you drunk)

Free Shrimp
(shrimp are delicious)

$20 pre-sale.

anyone in NY got some turntables I can borrow?

Love to liz.

JONATHAN RICHMAN - DEMOS 1973

2004-12-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

I'm done with exams and won't get notice that I've failed out of law school until February or so. I'm also currently nursing a hangover.

In celebration, here's an mp3 of Jonathan Richman covering "Do You Believe in Magic?" acapella from '73. It's from the tapes that are currently being distributed via BitTorrent at the link above (registration required).

Also, here's a demo version of Queen/Bowie's "Under Pressure" that sort of sounds like Brian May had been hanging around at the Guitar Center for too long and couldn't decide whether to thrash or noodle.

both the above via largehearted boy.

Video: A Message From The Iraq Resistance

2004-12-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

Well, the Iraqi resistance forces/ba'athist regime remnants/evil terrorists (pick your poison WRT what to call them) have a pretty good propaganda division.

And part of the message, encouraging nations and people sympathetic to their cause to put their money into the euro instead of the dollar, could be more effective than another 9/11 at hitting the US where its/our power lies. And, given the inherent weakness in the dollar right now (shrinking US manufacturing base, huge defecits and debt, etc.) this straw might go a long way towards breaking Uncle Sam's greenback.

It doesn't matter too much if the markets agree with the message or the reasoning. If the markets fear a crash in the dollar, they'll pull out and percipitate exactly what it is they fear.

And this message, this video, is in English, the language of the global market.

p.s. one of the rumored "real" reasons that the US went into Iraq (I heard/read about this in the weeks leading up to the invasion) was to keep Iraq/OPEC from switching their Oil trading to a Euro-valuated system from the current Dollar-based market. By invading and occupying Iraq we got a seat at the table or at least a sympathetic regime sitting at the OPEC table. The fewer commodities globally that are pegged to the Dollar, the greater the inherant weakness in the Dollar, since the rest of the world loses incentives to prop up the Dollar. Merry Christmas.

Eggnog (click to listen)

2004-12-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

here's the B-Side to the possibly never to be released Walkmen "christmas party" 7". It is the Bad Brains to the first song's Pogues. It also features jingle bells.

Dropping science:

2004-12-13T15:28:00.000-08:00

Making a distinction between mass culture and consumerism. Edumacation.

Very little blogging because of law school exams. Sorry. But they'll be done on Thursday.

Merriam-Webster Online

2004-12-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

yeah, yeah, "blog" is the word of the year. who cares. the exciting thing about Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2004 list is that an old favorite and completely badass word broke the top ten for no apparent reason at all. That word ranked #10 this year and that word is......"defenestration." From MW:

Pronunciation: (")dE-"fe-n&-'strA-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: de- + Latin fenestra window
: a throwing of a person or thing out of a window

also awesome about this word is that it, like me, is somewhat czech in its origins. from britannica online's "concise encyclopaedia":

Defenestration of Prague

(May 23, 1618)

Incident of Bohemian resistance to Habsburg authority.

In 1617 Catholic officials in Bohemia closed Protestant chapels in violation of the religious-liberty guarantee of 1609. At an assembly called by the Protestants, the imperial regents were found guilty of violating the guarantee and were thrown from the windows of the council room of Prague Castle. Though the victims were not seriously hurt, the incident sparked the Bohemian revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II and led to the Thirty Years' War.

(emphasis mine).

word.

China to Set Up Wal-Mart Union Branches

2004-11-29T15:24:00.000-08:00

China's Communist Party-controlled union is ready to help Wal-Mart Stores Inc. set up union branches at its Chinese outlets 'as soon as possible,' reports and union officials said Thursday.

The 123 million-member All-China Federation of Trade Unions plans to push ahead with its demand that foreign enterprises such as Wal-Mart set up trade unions, its officials say.

The officials applauded an announcement Tuesday by Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart that it will allow the federation to set up branches in its stores on the mainland.

'We have not obtained any union-related statements from Wal-Mart itself. But we learned from media reports that they have changed their attitude on the issue and we welcome that decision,' said Li Jianming, division chief at the union's international liaison department in Beijing.

'After all, it is the right of the workers to establish workers' unions, and no company or employer has the right to deprive them of that,' Li said."

What gives? Wal-Mart has fought unionization in the US ferociously, but allows unionization of their Chinese stores. Are American workers less worthy of the protections unions provide? And will this announcement spur greater unionization here in the US?

Internet Archive: Wayback Machine

2004-11-29T10:04:00.000-08:00

when you really should be doing something else, take a trip down memory lane to simpler times, when the internet was all about "under construction" signs and such, before there was CSS and RSS &c.

you could find my dumb home page from college, for example, if you knew where to look. or my proto-blogging on the KWUR hip-hop page......

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev

2004-11-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

With their websites and stickers, their pranks and slogans aimed at banishing widespread fear of a corrupt regime, the democracy guerrillas of the Ukrainian Pora youth movement have already notched up a famous victory - whatever the outcome of the dangerous stand-off in Kiev.

Ukraine, traditionally passive in its politics, has been mobilised by the young democracy activists and will never be the same again.

But while the gains of the orange-bedecked "chestnut revolution" are Ukraine's, the campaign is an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in western branding and mass marketing that, in four countries in four years, has been used to try to salvage rigged elections and topple unsavoury regimes.

whoa. and they're doing it with "street teams" like a mid-90s rap record label:

"Stickers, spray paint and websites are the young activists' weapons. Irony and street comedy mocking the regime have been hugely successful in puncturing public fear and enraging the powerful."

BBC NEWS | UK | Ukraine state TV in revolt

2004-11-26T15:37:00.000-08:00

Journalists on Ukraine's state-owned channel - which had previously given unswerving support to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych - have joined the opposition, saying they have had enough of "telling the government's lies".

Journalists on another strongly pro-government TV station have also promised an end to the bias in their reporting. The turnaround in news coverage, after years of toeing the government line, is a big setback for Mr Yanukovych.

Bull Moose

2004-11-25T11:04:00.000-08:00

gobble gobble

punk rock case law

2004-11-23T04:28:00.000-08:00

from Ross v. Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 152 Cal. App. 3d 971 (1984):

We accept as true the following facts, as alleged in the complaint...Appellant and respondent entered into a contract whereby Kristie's funeral and burial would be handled by respondent, a corporation engaged in business as a cemetery. At the time the arrangements were being made appellant advised respondent that she wanted the funeral and burial services to be private. Only family members and invited guests were to be permitted to attend. In particular, [**2] appellant requested that no "punk rockers" be allowed at the services. Kristie had been a punk rocker. Appellant was fearful that her daughter's former associates would disrupt the private services, and so advised respondent. Respondent agreed to use all reasonable efforts and means to comply with appellant's request.

Many punk rockers attended both the funeral services in the chapel and the grave-site burial services. Neither their appearance nor comportment was in accord with traditional, solemn funeral ceremonies. Some were in white face makeup and black lipstick. Hair colors ranged from blues and greens to pinks and oranges. Some were dressed in leather and chains and twirled baton-like weapons, while yet another wore a dress decorated with live rats. The uninvited guests were drinking and using cocaine, and were physically and verbally abusive to family members and their guests. A disturbance ensued and grew to the point that police had to be called to restore order.
***
Appellant's allegation is not deficient for failing to show a causal connection between respondent's failure to timely perform certain acts and the punk rockers' failure to refrain from certain actions.

Opinion Backs Davis's Effort To Grant D.C. Vote in House

2004-11-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

A former senior Justice Department official in the Bush administration has concluded that a constitutional amendment is not needed to grant the District voting representation in the House.

The 25-page opinion by Viet D. Dinh, a former assistant U.S. attorney general, was commissioned by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) as part of his effort to grant the District a vote in the House.

Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, called Dinh's conclusion a key development.

via election law

Gawker Stalker: Bungalow 8, NYC's Best Crack Den

2004-11-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

"Freemans, tuesday night the 16th of nov. the bush twins , along with 2 massive secret service men, tried to have dinner. they were told by the maitre'd that they were full and would be for the next 4 years. upon hearing, the entire restaurant cheered and did a round of shots... it was amazing!!! [Ed: We're hearing that this is actually true.]"

Who Let The Blogs Out? :: Main Page

2004-11-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

All I have to say is "It's Judgment Night, fools....."

2004-11-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

jeah

I like Journey

2004-11-20T17:10:00.000-08:00

you like this band? I like journey....

you can run, and have your fun

2004-11-18T23:22:00.000-08:00

Cheers to the Walkmen for their stunning set last night at the Bait Shop on Fox's The OC.

My favorite parts:

Whatever the criminal grandfather/father/creepy guy said right before the 2nd Walkmen song. It was something about someone becoming a lawyer but he has a voice that sounds like it should be introducing a song from a rap album, like "you'd better be down with the family, Shiney, or you know we'll come after you...."

There was also something great about the canned, non-Walkmen music that, inside the club, overpowered the band when the loser kissed his ex. He was thinking that pushing a mop for a week for Walkmen tickets would win her back, but his dreams died and cruel reality set in.

Q: So, do you like this band?
A: I like Journey.....

and some other Walkmen odds and ends:

The Christmas Party is their new single. The spoken interludes ensure that it will soon become a Xmas classic.

And they're also going to do a cover of "There Goes My Baby" for a video game about zombies from the retrofuturistic late 50's. via Max.

gobble

dubya -- the movie

2004-11-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

genius......

Japanese business man spend valuable time ????????????

2004-11-09T21:18:00.000-08:00

I get tired, sure, but don't spend time like japanese businessman.

Keith Olberman on election fraud

2004-11-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

As I suggested, this is the first time one of the Fix stories has moved fully into the mainstream media. In so saying, I’m not dismissing the blogosphere. Hell, I’m in the blogosphere now, and there have been nights when I’ve gotten far more web hits than television viewers (thank you, Debate Scorecard readers). Even the overt partisanship of blogs don’t bother me - Tom Paine was a pretty partisan guy, and ultimately that served truth a lot better than a ship full of neutral reporters would have. I was just reading last night of the struggles Edward R. Murrow and William L. Shirer had during their early reporting from Europe in ’38 and ’39, because CBS thought them too anti-Nazi.

with all that's coming out about this, it's shocking that this is the only coverage in the mainstream media, but cheers to Keith.

Bummed out about politics? Click here.....

2004-11-08T16:23:00.000-08:00

get your cheer-up on with Tommy Seebach.......click above

Dan Ratherisms - Election Night Dan Rather Quotes - Danisms

2004-11-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

'We used to say if a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun.'

'No one is saying that George Bush is not going to win the election, and if you had to bet the double-wide, you'd have to bet that he'd win.'

'In southern states they beat him like a rented mule.'

awesome

Return of the Original: Radio Free St. Louis

2004-11-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

So some of you might know me from college. Those who do know I used to do a radio show at the college station.

Well, I'm back on campus, and my radio show is back.

And here's an mp3 of my first show of the semester. Click on the link above to listen. More shows will follow.

And cheers and congratulations to Pete "Papa" Bauer....

Dollar expected to fall amid China's rumoured selling

2004-11-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

The first rumblings of the second great depression? I only took intro to Macroeconomics, so I don't know all the ins and outs of world financial markets, but a tumbling dollar isn't the greatest thing to look forward to. On the other hand, we can all sneak across the Mexican border, work as nannys and cleaners, then wire the money back to the US to pay off the defecit.....

"However, the market has been rife with rumours that the latest wave of selling has been led by foreign governments seeking to cut their exposure to US assets.

India and Russia have reportedly been selling US assets, as well as petrodollar-rich Middle Eastern investors.

China, which has $515bn of reserves, was also said to be selling dollars and buying Asian currencies in readiness to switch the renminbi's dollar peg to a basket arrangement, something Chinese officials have increasingly hinted at. Any re-allocation could push the dollar sharply lower and Treasury yields markedly higher."

Black Box Voting

2004-11-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

"BREAKING -- SUNDAY Nov. 7 2004: Freedom of Information requests at http://www.blackboxvoting.org have unearthed two Ciber certification reports indicating that security and tamperability was NOT TESTED and that several state elections directors, a secretary of state, and computer consultant Dr. Britain Williams signed off on the report anyway, certifying it."

We will return to regularly scheduled blogging soon enough. Until then, enjoy the election fraud and new leather background.

2004-11-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Singer Sues Rapper Jay-Z Over 'Sabotaged' Tour:

"'It's punitive-damages bling,' said Mr. Kelly's lawyer, Edward Hayes, referring to the astronomical size of the claim."

from the modern age, who's back, by the way.

2004-11-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

Authentic GOP

Nothing like creepy comodification to heal the divide in our country, right?

2004-11-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

OOPS! Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes...

No...no....don't get me wrong. I think you're mishearing me. Kerry already conceded. That's done. I've moved on. My entire apartment is clean as a whistle. I ate my bacon and eggs off my kitchen floor this morning, it's so clean. I've moved on. Promise.

But......why not.....as, say, proof of concept, for example.....why not, since we're not doing anything right now, just count all the votes. We'll make sure that we got this one right.

that way, next time that it's really close, we'll have confidence. And, say, if there was massive e-voting fraud this time around, we'd find it before the electoral votes are counted and avoid a massive constitutional crisis. So it's really win-win, right?

The best part about this election is that now I don't have to root against the Redskins four years from now.

2004-11-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

HST owl farm party tuesday

"Their army is how much bigger than mine? Three percent? Well shucks, Bubba. Now is the time to establish a network and an attitude," he said. "You make friends in moments of defeat. People in defeat tend to bond because they need each other. We can't take the attitude that it's over and we give up. We're still here."

2004-11-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

Black Box Voting - Bev Harris - one of the leading groups doing voting machine investigations. A nonpartisan, nonprofit, consumer protection group for elections.:

kerry's already conceded. that's done. but let's make sure we count this right. just to make sure it can be done.

"THURSDAY Nov. 4 2004: If you are concerned about what happened Tuesday, Nov. 2, you have found a home with our organization. Help America Audit.

Black Box Voting has taken the position that fraud took place in the 2004 election through electronic voting machines. We base this on hard evidence, documents obtained in public records requests, inside information, and other data indicative of manipulation of electronic voting systems. What we do not know is the specific scope of the fraud. We are working now to compile the proof, based not on soft evidence -- red flags, exit polls -- but core documents obtained by Black Box Voting in the most massive Freedom of Information action in history.

We need: Lawyers to enforce public records laws. Some counties have already notified us that they plan to stonewall by delaying delivery of the records. We need citizen volunteers for a number of specific actions. We need computer security professionals willing to GO PUBLIC with formal opinions on the evidence we provide, whether or not it involves DMCA complications. We need funds to pay for copies of the evidence."

2004-11-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

The Living Room Candidate

Campaign ads from Bush/Gore 2000. Certainly an interesting watch today.

2004-11-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish

fight for federalism. let blue states be blue......

2004-11-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

Daily Kos :: Phony flyers in Franklin County Ohio

vote

2004-10-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

Yahoo! News - The Planets Have Made Up Their Mind: Kerry Wins

Packers beat Redskins=Kerry wins

Kerry pulls ahead in Fox News RV poll, a 6 point swing in a week.

JFK has the mojo.

2004-10-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! News - Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store

I wonder if they're coming after my mp3 player next? Buying knock-off merchandise is so letting the terrorists win. On the other hand, so is letting them go and giving them 380 tons of high explosives.

2004-10-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

2004's Scariest Halloween Costumes

2004-10-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

Rovian Slip?

Who brought the confetti to the 9-11 remembrance? nothing like a little falling debris and a president caught off guard to bring this presidency full circle. video above.

2004-10-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

Voter suppression time

nothin like some good old "ground attack." wouldn't be a presidential election without crap like this.

2004-10-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

NDN's Memorable Media

My favorite ad of the election season. Hands down. But watch out, it's caliente!

2004-10-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

Daily Kos :: The fake troops in Bush's new "Whatever It Takes" ad

It's Photoshop Thursday over at georgewbush.com!!

2004-10-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

A Sunday Win May Foreshadow Tuesday's Victor (washingtonpost.com)

So I have to root for the Packers this weekend against my heart. But when the Sox break their curse, that should take some of the sports curse mojo out of the air.

P.S. I see you, Fred Smoot. What up.

2004-10-27T06:32:00.000-07:00

36 Papers Abandon Bush for Kerry (washingtonpost.com)

2004-10-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

Terrorists hope to defeat Bush through Iraq violence - The Washington Times: World - October 27, 2004

The most pro-Kerry, he said, are the former Saddam Hussein loyalists — Ba'ath Party members and others who think Washington might scale back its ambitions for Iraq if Mr. Kerry wins, allowing them to re-enter civic life.
The most pro-Bush, he said, are the foreign extremists. "They prefer Bush, because he's a provocative figure, and the more they can push people to the extreme, the better for their case."

Read that a few times.

As I read it, the Washington Times is saying that the Islamic Extremists (Al Qaeda, Zaquawi, etc.) are pro-Bush.

The real Iraqis, non-terrorist resistance fighters who want to go back to living a regular life in peace, support Kerry.

So a Kerry presidency, according to terrorists, would hurt the terrorists' recruiting efforts....

2004-10-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Love Cats, But Suffer From Allergies? ALLERCA Inc. to Develop the World's First Hypo-Allergenic Cats as an Alternative to Current Allergy Treatments

Finally, I can get a cat. I hope it doesn't mind a warm saucer of Lactaid Milk.....

2004-10-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Same-Sex Marriage: Bush Says His Party Is Wrong to Oppose Gay Civil Unions

anyone have a pair of fashionable beach sandals that won't explode if they step on, say, 380 tons of high explosives?

2004-10-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

DEAD LETTER OFFICE: GeorgeWBush.org: Bush/Cheney in 2004!:

e-mails sent to georgewbush.org instead of georgewbush.com

"----- Original Message -----
From: 'dullain Ehrlich' [dullainehrlich@wsrp.org]
To: ''Donald Povia'' [dpovia@georgewbush.com],''Peter Abbarno'' [peterabbarno@wsrp.org],'Jon Seaton' [jseaton@georgewbush.org]
Sent: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 21:07:52 -0700
Subject: FW: RE: Federal Campaign Law FYI DULLAIN

-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Humphreys [mailto:ash439@gte.net]
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 7:03 PM
To: Dullain
Subject: Fw: RE: Federal Campaign Law

----- Original Message -----
From: 'ardean anvik' [ardeananvik@hotmail.com]
To: [ash439@gte.net]
Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 10:08 AM
Subject: FW: RE: Federal Campaign Law

> FYI - I sent a request to Chris and here is his reply
>
> Ardean Anvik
>
>
> >From: 'Chris Vance' [chrisvance@wsrp.org]
> >To: ''ardean anvik'' [ardeananvik@hotmail.com]
> >Subject: RE: Federal Campaign Law
> >Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 12:52:54 -0700
> >
> >Will do!
> >
> >CV
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: ardean anvik [mailto:ardeananvik@hotmail.com]
> >Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 12:47 PM
> >To: chrisvance@wsrp.org
> >Subject: Federal Campaign Law
> >
> >
> >Chris,
> >
> >I took the information you gave me regarding usage of County Party
> >assets
> >(e.g. newsletters, phone banks) for federal candidates to my County
> >Central
> >Committee and asked for direction as to accepting ads from campaigns or
> >individuals. I explained the information you had provided. Steve
> >VanDenover, Mason County Chair, asked me to check with other counties as
> >to
> >how they are handling national candidates, such as Nethercutt, Bush and
> >Congressional Candidates. I called a few counties and discussed this
> >issue
> >in detail with the State Committeewoman and Editor of the Skagit County
> >Republican newsletter, Ann Marie Humphreys. She was unaware of the
> >prohibiitions that you had outlined to me for newsletters. IN fact she
> >had
> >an ad for George Bush in her latest Newsletter. I told her what you had
> >
> >explained to me about newsletter prohibitions.
> >
> >May I request that you or someone on your staff send directions
> >regarding
> >what Counties can and cannot do as it pertains to newsletters and phone
> >banks usage for federal candidates. There is a great deal of ignorance
> >out
> >here and many counties are violating the campaign law as I understood it
> >
> >from you. God help us if the Democrats find out. I think we all need
> >direction. Can you help us?
> >
> >Thanks, Chris
> >
> >Ardean A. Anvik
> >State Committeeman, Mason COunty"

2004-10-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

ABC News: Bush: Several States Could Swing Election:

"'I wouldn't discount Michigan,' Bush says. 'I wouldn't discount the influence of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and New Mexico."

He almost sounds like Howard Dean after he lost Iowa. The wave might be breaking.....

2004-10-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: October 24, 2004 - October 30, 2004 Archives

Apparently the explosives being used for roadside bombs in Iraq was under IAEA lock and key, "sealed," before the US invasion. But soon after the invasion 350 TONS of high explosives were carted off for use by the insurgency, and, although the Department of Defense has known all along that this stuff was missing, is hasn't told anyone, because of the political implications. Click above for more.

2004-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Candidates Hit Key States With Election Still a Tossup (washingtonpost.com)

GOP officials who talked to Bush-Cheney campaign leaders said the leaders had grown more worried about Ohio, Florida and other key states where Bush lacks a lead with just 10 days until the election. A poll by Ohio University's Scripps Survey Research Center, completed Thursday night, found Kerry leading 49 to 43 percent among registered voters, with a margin of error of five percentage points.

Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), campaigning with Vice President Cheney in northwestern New Mexico, told the crowd the GOP ticket will lose the state without a lopsided local victory in San Juan County, because of heavy Democratic activity elsewhere in the state. "Without a huge margin in this county . . . we can't win this election," he said.

One Republican official described the mood at the top of the campaign as apprehensive. " 'Grim' is too strong," the official said. "If we feel this way a week from now, that will be grim."
***
That Republican official said polling for Bush showed him in a weaker position than some published polls, both nationally and in battlegrounds. In many of the key states, the official said, Bush is below 50 percent, and he is ahead or behind within the margin of sampling error -- a statistical tie.

"There's just no place where they're polling outside the margin of error so they can say, 'We have this state,' " the official said. "And they know that an incumbent needs to be outside the margin of error."

2004-10-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

Lie Girls... call 212-875-7000

This is absolutely mindblowingly awesome.

2004-10-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

RollingStone.com: Politics - Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004

hst is batshit crazy, and this doesn't touch his work from '72, but it's worth a minute of your time.

2004-10-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

KR Washington Bureau | 10/22/2004 | Former workers dispute Bush's pull in Project P.U.L.L.

70's Texans for Truth? Bush says in his autobiography: "My friend John White ... asked me to come help him run the program. ... I was intrigued by John's offer. ... Now I had a chance to help people."

But White's administrative assistant and others associated with P.U.L.L., speaking on the record for the first time, say Bush was not helping to run the program and White had not asked Bush to come aboard. Instead, the associates said, White told them he agreed to take Bush on as a favor to Bush's father, who was honorary co-chairman of the program at the time, and Bush was unpaid. They say White told them Bush had gotten into some kind of trouble but White never gave them specifics.

"We didn't know what kind of trouble he'd been in, only that he'd done something that required him to put in the time," said Althia Turner, White's administrative assistant.

"John said he was doing a favor for George's father because an arrangement had to be made for the son to be there," said Willie Frazier, also a former player for the Houston Oilers and a P.U.L.L. summer volunteer in 1973.

Fred Maura, a close friend of White, refers to Bush as "43," for 43rd president, and his father as "41," for the 41st president.

"John didn't say what kind of trouble 43 was in - just that he had done something and he (John) made a deal to take him in as a favor to 41 to get some funding," Maura said.

"He didn't help run the program. I was in charge of him and I wouldn't say I helped run the program, either," said David Anderson, a recreational director at P.U.L.L.
***
Other accounts have suggested his service was involuntary. A book published in 2000, largely discredited, said Bush was there to serve out a community service sentence for a drug arrest. At the time, however, Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located, had no formal community service program. A 1999 book, by a political reporter for The Dallas Morning News, said Bush's father had insisted on the service after Bush was involved in a drunk-driving incident.

2004-10-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

WolfpacksforTruth.org: The Real Story on George Bush's "Wolves" Commercial

2004-10-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

what do you call a bear....
holding a daisy under a mushroom cloud?

So you may have seen the new Bush ad, the one that looks like it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, called "Wolves."

It's amazing. They're literally "crying 'wolf.'" Apparently when they showed the ad on Crossfire this afternoon the audience laughed at it.

It's admittedly scary, until the part at the end where W shows us that he can approve a message while reading a piece of paper AND talking on the phone. If he had approved at the top of the ad it would be much more effective.

And.....aren't the wolves getting into this country by hiding in uninspected freight cargo? how else did they get into that field in the first place?

And what about all the Wolves of Mass Destruction that we were supposed to find in Iraq? Apparently they weren't under the President's desk.

Maybe they were thinking of Paul Wolfowitz, but he's already breached the perimeter...

2004-10-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hip-Hop Debate

word to cspan

2004-10-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

Political Poseur - Pretending to be a Republican in Blue California. By Richard Rushfield

A story about wearing a Bush/Cheney t-shirt in my old neighborhood.

2004-10-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

RollingStone.com: News - John Kerry:

"Do you have a favorite Beatles song -- or Stones song?

I love 'Satisfaction' and 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and 'Brown Sugar.' I love 'Imagine' and 'Yesterday.'

You're a greatest-hits kind of guy.

My favorite album is Abbey Road. I love 'Hey Jude.' I also like folk music. I like some classical. I love guitar. Oh, God. I mean, you know -- Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Buffett . . ."

he had me till that last sentence.

2004-10-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

Monster Slash | The New Monster Mash

watch dick cheney do the dance from "thriller."

2004-10-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

Regret The Error

a blog about newspaper corrections.

2004-10-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

Daily Kos

desperate Bush to fly to Kabul/Baghdad? October surprise?

2004-10-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

I'm Just Sayin': Poop Valhalla

triumph the insult comic dog in spin alley