So, I’m still recovering from my scandal screed, but I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the underlying question of why this series of scandal after scandal hasn’t seemed to hurt the Bush administration. My default theory is that something like 51% of Americans are crazy, but maybe there’s actually something deeper going on here. Peter Daou thinks so,… Read more →
Category: Political
Scopes Trial V2.0 has better result
From CNN, with bolding by me: “Intelligent design” cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, a federal judge said Tuesday, ruling in one of the biggest courtroom clashes on evolution since the 1925 Scopes trial. Dover Area School Board members violated the Constitution when they ordered that its biology curriculum must include the notion that… Read more →
Some Bush-hatin’
So, look, I’ve been good about this, right? I’ve gone several weeks without a rant. It’s been a while since I went off on how bad the Bush administration is. I haven’t quoted DeLong‘s Theory that “The Bush administration is not only worse than you imagine even after taking account of the fact that it is worse than you imagine,… Read more →
Foreign Policy: The Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2005
I don’t know if they’re the top 10 stories that I missed, but there are certainly several stories there that I hadn’t previously run into before. Here’s a snippet of one of the stories that I was aware of, albeit with some numbers that are new to me: Foreign Policy: The Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2005 …In 2005,… Read more →
Happy and Sad current affairs
Talking Points Memo has been tracking the what I hope is the beginning of the end of the Republican dominance, and some of today’s posts are really cheering me up: The recognition has sunk in: The president is unpopular and weak. And it’s every Republican for him or herself. And did I mention, pass the popcorn? On the other hand… Read more →
More on Kansas Dumbassery
(I’ve done so many entries on the whole “evolution in schools” thing that you’d think I would be getting tired of it. But, no. I am fuelled by sweet, sweet rage.) Lots of more rage after the jump. Read more →
Not this again
“We’re becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world.” I feel for her, I really do. Read more →
Three US political stories…
First, a story that is still giving me a happy–perhaps the second happiest U.S. politics story going after Fitzgerald’s perseverence: Texas Court Issues Warrant for DeLay A Texas court issued a warrant Wednesday for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to appear for booking, where he is likely to face the fingerprinting and photo mug shot he had hoped to… Read more →
Trial of Saddam Hussein to be televised – Wikinews
You know, I have the feeling Saddam’s TV Trial is going to be the dictionary definition of a kangaroo court, but Saddam’s lawyer’s legal strategy sounds pretty amusing: Hussein’s lawyers have outlined their defense which, according to defense team member Abdul Haq al-Ani, consists of four “pillars”: The first argues that the invasion of Iraq was illegal and as such,… Read more →
When I die
Note to self: arrange something similar for my obituary. The most awesome obituary I have ever read. Read more →
Your next president?
“You guys are missing out on a good deal if you kill me. See, I’m kind of an expert with just about everything” Sounds like a Tom Baker-era Doctor Who quote, right? Actually, it’s a quote from America’s next President. (“His solution for Iraq? A roll of toilet paper, a piece of coal and a bit of string.”) Read more →
Civil liber-what-nows?
USA PATRIOT Act, Domestic Security Enhancement Act, C-7 (see), etc. It just never seems to stop, does it? My thoughts, I’m pretty sure, can’t top the supposed Franklin quotation about people who would trade liberty for security. I’ll quote someone else, just as concise and valuable, for the sake of diversity: “Experience should teach us to be most on our… Read more →
Wednesday Linkfest
B3n (yes, that is a three), who is another online acquaintance from the Delphi days, is just as much of a language pedant as I am, and shows it while talking about the list of recent additions to the OED. I completely agree that they’re taking the whole ‘descriptive’ thing a bit far… While it does slightly warm my heart-cockles… Read more →
A Friday Miscellany
Best paragraph on technology I’ve read today: I don’t think we’ll ever have the feeling of the one place you have to be ever again… Increasingly, the name of the game will be software agents that bring the “places” to you and streamline their interfaces together for you, until it feels once again that there is just one place you… Read more →
Fiscally Conservative?
So I just want to make sure I understand things–is it the received wisdom that the Republicans are fiscally conservative, and the Democrats are the ones who spend money they don’t have? Interesting. Over at Calculated Risk there’s some posting going on about the US National debt: The US Treasury Department reports that the US National Debt increased $553.7 Billion… Read more →
