First Looks category archive

Regarding the naming of the carriers Bush and Ford:

People are not going to know the Bush’s namesake was a brave Navy pilot who served admirably in World War II; they are going to think it was named after ‘Dubya,’ a draft-dodging, Cheney yes-man. Ford’s claim to fame was giving President Nixon a full pardon. Why does he (sic) deserve to have a carrier named after him?

I would not want to be the navigator of the Carrier Bush. I wouldn’t be able to believe anything the instruments told me.

You know him as Phillybits and know his photography from Scene In Philly.

His computer’s power supply is kaput and his economy is like everyone else’s.

If you can, please help him out.

Details here.

This reminds of the Forensic Files episode about the mold-infested house.

These days, the Dunaways spend as little time as possible in the house.

Two months ago, Jason discovered the walls were built with dozens of sheets of Chinese-made drywall, which has been the focus of complaints in several states by people who say it emits a corrosive gas that damages household electrical systems and causes respiratory problems.

Now, electric fans hum throughout the house in an effort to dissipate the unpleasant odor. Sheets of plastic cover large scars cut out of a half-painted living room wall. And the Dunaways debate moving their children to West Virginia to get them out of the home.

And, in related news in the same part of the world,

Five Hampton Roads home-owners filed a lawsuit Friday against a local developer, a distributor and a Chinese manufacturer of defective drywall, seeking damages in excess of $5 million and class-action status.

Among the allegations in the lawsuit, filed in Norfolk’s U.S. District Court, is that the companies were negligent for selling the drywall and not warning homeowners and customers that it was defective.

Such wallboard has been the focus of complaints in several states by people who say it emits a corrosive gas that damages household electrical systems and causes respiratory illness.

“The heart of the complaint was that these companies installed drywall into homes that was unfit for the purpose and in fact has now caused these homeowners to have houses they can’t live in,” said Richard Serpe, the plaintiffs’ Norfolk attorney.

Somehow, this doesn’t pass the smell test.

Boeing Co., the second-largest U.S. defense contractor, is leasing drones to government agencies and militaries seeking to bypass years-long purchasing processes, a market the company says may grow to $10 billion in a decade.

What makes procurement “years-long” (if, indeed, it is so) are redundant and cumbersome procedures enacted to protect the purchaser from vendors who try to game the system.

Not that Boeing would ever do something like that.

Oh. Wait.

An interesting article on Enlightenment (as in Voltaire) values, creeds, and violence in this morning’s Guardian. A nugget:

The real problem is not religion, but a propensity of human nature: we tend to be very attached to the belief systems and worldviews that provide us with meaning, and we are willing to go to great lengths in order to defend them. This human tendency can become lethal by virtue of a simple fact of logic: the very existence of competing worldviews constitutes a threat for any belief system that claims unique validity.

Not just a novel by John Dos Passos.

Tuesday, Triumph Brewing Company, 2nd and Chestnut, Philadelphia, Pa., 6 p.

I’ll think about y’all while I’m in Virginia.

New grandson born last night 8:39 p. m. PDT.

The music starts 35 seconds in.

Since the Republican Party was kind enough to send me a business reply envelope, I figured I’d put it to good use by sending them a subscription form for the Nation.

Maybe they’ll get a clue. Forget that.

There was a Republican from Nantucket,
and ev’rything he touched he’d–never mind.

Read something from someone who knows writing:

Republican planning is plain.
They want to rebrand, they explain.
So on Sunday’s TV
New faces we’ll see:
Folks like Cheney and Newt and McCain.

’nuff said.

The retailer (Marks and Spencer in the UK–ed.) has come under heavy criticism after charging customers an extra £2 for bra sizes DD and larger, which they say is to cover extra material and engineering costs. Naturally the move has upset bigger-busted women, including Ulrika Jonsson, who claim they have been discriminated against.

(snip)

Under pressure M&S dropped its £2 surcharge last night, signalling a win for frustrated campaigners.

I first saw this song performed in its context in a high school play.

In its context, it is one of the saddest songs I know.

I think I’ve read People Magazine once. I was trapped in a waiting room at the time.

This pretty much explains why I don’t read it.

Aside: There’s enough stupid that comes along as part of day-to-day life. I don’t have to send out invitations.

No there there:

A federal judge has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a conservative group against an organization that promotes voter participation through registration drives.

Via Raw Story.

Unless you are a Republican or a Southerner.

Then, not so much.