2006 archive

Yeah.

Right.

From my weather sidebar, the weather as I write this:

Temp: 36°F
Wind Chill: 31°F
Humidity: 44%
Wind: N at 6 mph
Dew Point: 16°F
Barometer: 30.04″ Hg (1017 hPa)
Clouds: clear skies

A week ago Sunday it was 72 F. Tomorrow we might get snow flurries (but nothing like the lashing the midwest got today).

But the little red leaves are starting to come out on the roses, the birds have returned to the backyard, and daylight savings time will soon be upon us.

Warmer weather may be on the way.

Is this part of the negative news coverage Mr. Bush complained of today? Or is it merely a result of the negative news.

Even the most optimistic reporter can’t make a silk post out of a sow’s ear. And Iraq is a sow’s ear. From Mr. Will’s column today:

Conditions in Iraq have worsened in the 94 days that have passed since Iraq’s elections in December. And there still is no Iraqi government that can govern. By many measures conditions are worse than they were a year ago, when they were worse than they had been the year before.

Three years ago the administration had a theory: Democratic institutions do not just spring from a hospitable culture, they can also create such a culture. That theory has been a casualty of the war that began three years ago today.

Of course, this is nothing new; the Bush campaign started whisper campaigns against its primary challengers (from the Annenberg FactCheck.org). But this is more than a whisper campaign; it involves forged headlines:

A Republican candidate in Illinois is running TV ads using fake headlines.

Jim Oberweis launched the ads against the frontrunner in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary, Judy Baar Topinka. He accuses her of being part of a “culture of political corruption.” Besides Oberweis’s fakery, he misleads by resurrecting decade-old allegations that came to nothing.

Prices are up, and there’s far less variation between stations in the same geographical area.

Observed 3/17/2006

Gibbstown, N. J. Valero, $2.24.

Paulsboro, N. J., Exxon $2.18; BP, $2.25; Lukoil, $2.19.

Observed 3/18/2006

Penny Hill, Del., Getty, $2.35; BP, $2.34; Exxon, $2.35.

New Castle, Del., Wawas, Sunoco, Hess, $2.35; Texaco and Shells, $2.39; Citgo, $2.29; Exxon, $2.37;

Red Lion, Del., Valero, $2.37; BP, $2.45.

Odessa, Del., Sunoco, $2.31; BP, $2.35.

Blackbird, Del., Valero, $2.34; Valero, $2.33; Mobil, $2.35.

Smyrna, Del., BP, $2.48; Valeros, $2.35; 7-11, $2.36; Texaco, $2.39; Gulf, $2.49. (Historically, the 7-11 has had the cheapest gas in town. Not any more.)

Dover, Del., Royal Farms, Valero, $2.39; Exxons, Wawas, Valeros, $2.35; US Gas, $2.45; No-Name, $2.36.

Woodside, Del., BP and Exxon, $2.39.

Woodside and Canterbury, Del., Valeros, $2.39.

Felton, Del., Shell, $2.39; Mobil, $2.44.

Harrington, Del., BP, $2.39; Citgo, $2.35; Valero, $2.34.

Farmington, Del., Sunoco, $2.39.

Greenwood, Del., Valero, $2.39.

Seaford, Del., Tru Blu, Royal Farms , $2.39; BP, $2.41.

Laurel, Del., Shell (new station) and Citgo, $2.39; Sunoco, $2.44.

Delmar, Md., Shell, $2.35, Mobil $2.32

North Salisbury, Md., Wawa and Exxon, $2.32; Chevron, $2.36; Shell, $2.39.

Fruitland, Md., Valero, $2.32; Shell, $2.39.

Princess Anne, Md., Shell and Exxon, $2.35.

Pocomoke, Md., (missed the name) $2.34; Citgo, $2.35

On the Eastern Shore of Virginia, all but a handfull of stations were charging $2.35. The exceptions were:

Oak Hall, Va., Oceanic, $2.33.

Tasley, Va., BP, $2.69.

Onley, Va., Mobil, $2.25.

Onancock, Va., Chevron, $2.29.

Along US 113 in Maryland and Delaware, 10/15/2005.

Newark, Md., BP, $2.34.

Berlin, Md., Shell and Exxon, $2.35; BP, $2.33..

Shelbyville, Del., Exxon $2.43; BP, $2.49.

Frankford, Del., Amoco and Royal Farms, $2.39.

Millsboro, Del., BP, $2.44; Wawa, $2.39.

Georgetown, Del., Exxon, $2.42.

Ellendale, Del., Citgo, $2.39; Exxon, $2.43

Milford, Del., Royal Farms, $2.45; Shell, $2.39; Valero, $2.49; Shell, $2.79.

Frederica, Del., Valero, $2.44.

Dr. Dan Gottlieb has what I consider one of the most thoughtful shows around on psychological issues.

This past week, he looked at hatred and why people like to hate(Real Player format) on a sociological level:

Thousands of hate crimes are reported every year in the United States, and abroad, mass violence destroys communities from Sudan to Iraq. Martin Oppenheimer, author of the recent book “The Hate Handbook,” asks the question “why do people hate”? On the next Voices in the Family, we’ll talk with Oppenheimer about hate and bigotry throughout contemporary history and about how people have fought against it. Oppenheimer is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Rutgers University.

. . . are, I am convinced, the world’s most expensive cookies, pound for pound. $3.00 or more for 12 to 14 Samoas probably takes the cake.

This is the season to be shanghaied by little girls, their mothers (and sometimes their fathers) hanging about in the background, as we navigate our daily tasks.

I have no problem saying, “No.” I had my own girl scout and my ex was a troop leader. I camped with girl scouts, transported cookies, sat at cookie sales, even gave a presentation on bridge construction. I figure I’ve done my duty to the girl scout movement.

With that said, I think the most thankless job in any girl scout troop is the job of “Cookie Mother.” The Cookie Mother (or, sometimes Cookie Father) has to get the cookies when they come in, usually at a very inconvenient time, sort them out in piles for the girls, distribute them, and keep track of the money. In an active troop, finding some place to store several dozen cartons of cookies can be quite a challenge, and the paperwork demands accounting skills that, had Enron had them, would have kept Enron from getting caught.

And now comes a reader of the Washington Post worrying about expiration dates. And I thought I needed a life:

But no expiration or sell-by dates on those Thin Mints, Lemon Coolers, Samoas and Do-Si-Dos pose a problem for Koricki. “It is hard to come out of a business where [the Scouts] are outside and not buy from them,” says the Rockville resident. “I figure Girl Scouts is a real good outfit. . . . But when I find products that do not have expiration dates, I do not buy them.”

Apparently, they do not expire.

“Girl Scout cookies are not a potentially hazardous food from a food-safety perspective” so they don’t require an expiration date, says food-safety expert Paul VanLandingham . . . .

(The story has an interesting discourse on the difference between expiration dates and sell-by dates, as well as a nice tidbit on sign-up webpages that sucker people into subscribing to newsletters and stuff.).

Unless, of course, it’s a law they don’t agree with.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she and former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor have been the targets of death threats from the “irrational fringe” of society, people apparently spurred by Republican criticism of the high court.

All seriousness aside, as Steve Allen used to say, this is a logical outgrowth of the rantings of those who would claim that anyone who disagrees with them is unAmerican, whatever the hell that means.

American means tolerating disagreements. It means understanding that freedom of speech means, well, freedom of speech, even of speech one doesn’t like and of speech with which one disagrees.

American does not mean poison the opposition.

Those who would stifle freedom speech, they are truly unAmerican. And their actions threaten our freedom more than at any time since the McCarthy era.

My friends, the barbarians are at the gate. And they hide under the red, white, and blue. They speak with smooth tones, as did Wormtongue. And they would betray this nation and its founders.

Howard Stern is not only a disgusting twerp preternaturally concerned with his own gonads. He’s also a Bushie clone of the current Federal Administration:

When Stern was asked by a caller about the gag order, he confirmed it by admitting, “That’s right. I believe in censoring anyone who is my enemy.” He also added, “I believe in censorship when it benefits me.”

What are the priorities? Our troops or the cronies of the current Federal Administration. This item makes it clear:

Halliburton Co. failed to protect the water supply it is paid to purify for U.S. soldiers throughout Iraq, in one instance missing contamination that could have caused “mass sickness or death,” an internal company report concluded.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press, said the company failed to assemble and use its own water purification equipment, allowing contaminated water directly from the Euphrates River to be used for washing and laundry at Camp Ar Ramadi in Ramadi, Iraq.

Read about it here.

Now, we need a vote:

Should the next question be

Why bother?

or

Who cares?

Bring back rock.

From El Reg:

NSFW Last September we ran a shamelessly non-IT-related piece on UK sex toy e-tailer LoveHoney’s online (expurgated) pole* – a frankly preposterous survey of how many (expurgated) it took Linux programmers to achieve (expurgated) when indulging in a (expurgated) while perusing a Natalie Portman topless sunbathing snaps website.

Check it out here. (Warning: Silly, extremely silly, fatuous “adult” content.

Good Grief!

‘Nuff said:

Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, said today he has no evidence the Iranian government has been sending military equipment and personnel into neighboring Iraq.

On Monday, President Bush suggested Iran was involved in making roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices, that are being used in Iraq. And Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last week accused Iran of sending members of its Revolutionary Guard to conduct operations in Iraq.

World Weary Detective said: “It is therefore with deep regret and great sadness that I must announce that I will no longer be submitting posts to this blog. I cannot challenge Scotland Yard. I am weary indeed and cowardice is my bedmate.”

Remember, she was appointed by the God of Conservatives, Ronald Reagan:

Supreme Court justices keep many opinions private but Sandra Day O’Connor no longer faces that obligation. Yesterday, the retired justice criticized Republicans who criticized the courts. She said they challenge the independence of judges and the freedoms of all Americans.

It’s time to wake up, folks. Our country is being sold down the river for a few pieces–make that a lot of pieces–of silver, silver for them what has, taken from them what has not.

Apparently Richard Cohen heard the same interview I heard.

And it led him to some interesting observations. I couldn’t have said it better myself, which is why he works for the Washington Post. And I don’t:

Buckley mentioned the difficulty of writing satire in Washington, where the most outrageous idea is trumped by the next day’s headline. I heard the interview just as I was reading in the newspaper that Republicans were “distressed by the White House’s performance since President Bush’s reelection.” As the old saying goes, can you top that, Chris?

Republicans were not “distressed,” mind you, by the war in Iraq, which turns out to have been waged for no good reason. Republicans were not distressed by the massive intelligence failure that preceded the war. Republicans were not distressed, either, by the intelligence failure that produced the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, more than seven months after our MBA president took over as CEO of the federal government.

(snip–there is much more worth reading)

Lest you think I am a partisan hack, let me tell you what distresses the Democrats: an innocuous port deal that lent itself to demagogic mischief. This reprehensible exercise in Arab-bashing was led by New York’s two senators, Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, both of whom revealed themselves to be ill-suited to fill the Senate seats once occupied by the likes of Jacob Javits, Pat Moynihan, Bobby Kennedy, Herbert Lehman and Robert Wagner. They wound up taking the same side as Bill Frist, the Senate’s most nimble opportunist, a physician who took one look at a videotape of Terri Schiavo and rendered a medical opinion so wrong and so irresponsible that he violated the physician’s paramount obligation to “First do no harm” by simply getting out of bed that morning. If Frist is your doctor, seek a second opinion.

Truly, we — you and I — should be the ones distressed. This country has a bunch of fools for leaders.

From On the Media:

Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC’s Countdown, has a weekly segment called “the worst person in the world,” and frequently awards that honor to Bill O’Reilly, of Fox’s O’Reilly Factor. Recently, O’Reilly cracked. He said anyone who spoke Olbermann’s name on his program would hear from Fox security and apparently, at least one caller to his radio program already has. We gathered actual tape of the feuding hosts, set their voices to music, and yes, embellished the tale, just a little.

Phillybits has the clearest explanation of the US “terror threat levels” I’ve seen yet.

Here.