No easy answers

As the semester comes to an end, my students are handing in papers where they had to analyze a presidential candidate (history and political platform) and determine, based on the real powers of the office, whether this candidate is making empty promises or suggesting real solutions to the nations problems.

As the students presented their papers to the class yesterday, it was obvious that at least some of them had come to realize just how complicated politics really is. Some of them were coming to the conclusion that party labels and party stereotypes aren't as cut and dried as they had always assumed (or been led to believe) that they were. Others were realizing that the president will need major cooperation from Congress to achieve many of their goals and campaign promises. And some were even coming to the conclusion that their are no easy answers to the problems that face our country. I actually felt good about being a teacher yesterday.

This morning I read an article in WaPo (Running on Sweet Nothings) that is lamenting the emptiness of campaign promises and asks why the candidates continue to lie to us and act like there are easy answers to all of our many problems. I think the answer is fairly simple. The average American believes that there are easy answers to be had and so they expect to be told that those easy answers exist and what the answers are. When someone tries to explain to them that it is a complex process, like Kerry tried to do to some extent last election cycle, they get ridiculed by their opponents for supposedly saying stupid things, like Bush did to Kerry when he tried to explain why he would vote for a bill and then against a bill in the Senate.

In short, Americans tend to be drawn to the KISS approach to most things: Keep It Simple Stupid. Keeping it simple is the best, and possibly only, way to get votes. My hope is that which ever candidate makes it to office this go-around he or she will actually realize that simple answers don't really exist, unlike the one we have in office now. I think the problem with Bush is that he actually believed (and possibly still believes) that those simple answers are out there.

I must be a rare person

I came across a quote today, from Dick Cavett of all people, that really struck a chord with me.

It's a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn't want to hear.

If Dick is right in his assessment, then I guess I am a truly rare person. And I say that because I almost always want to hear what people assume I don't want to hear. Partially it has something to do with my masochistic tendencies, but mostly it is just because I hate not knowing the truth.

Cheryl Sabel for Congress - AL District 2

On Monday I attended the candidate forum here at Troy University. Before attending, I didn't even know who was actually seeking to replace our retiring Congressman. It was a long and painful process to listen to a group of politicians all answering the same questions and most all of them giving the exact same answer.

But one candidate really stood out to me. Her name is Cheryl Sabel and she is running for the Democratic nomination for the 2nd Congressional District here in Alabama. If you are interested in voting for a true progressive Democrat on June 3rd, your only choice is Cheryl Sabel. Check out Cheryl Sabel's website at Cheryl Sabel for Congress

I was amazed at how much Bobby Bright did not sound like a Democrat at all. In my opinion, he is at best an Independent in Democrats' clothing. He basically said that if elected he did not intend to caucus with the Democrats. I believe his exact words were "Nancy Pelosi will not tell me what to do." I can understand that congressional representatives sometimes have to vote against their party to do what is in the best interest of the their district and all that, but a comment like that sounds like it should be coming from a Republican not a Democrat.

Life Lessons - The Golden Rule

Everyone is familiar with the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, or in more modern terms, treat people the way that you want to be treated. My recent realization is that one shouldn't take the Golden Rule too literally. From some recent experiences I have determined that people don't want to be treated the same way that you may want to be treated. In fact, most people have a certain perception of how they want to be treated and it has nothing what so ever to do with how you might personally want to be treated. And it may, in fact, not even have any direct correlation to how they say they want to be treated.

And in addition to that, I've recently determined that people often don't like to be treated the way that they treat other people, and I'm not even referring to the way they treat people when they are being rude or unkind. It has often been my observation that people with certain personality types can't stand other people that have their exact same personality type. But I've recently decided that there are people who act very friendly and inviting, but then don't appreciate it (and in fact resent it) when you act the same way in return.

So my take on all of this is that the Golden Rule should probably just be interpreted to mean that you shouldn't do things to other people that you wouldn't want done to you, or put more simply, don't be mean. But you must always remember that most people don't really live by the Golden Rule.

I wonder

Goethe once said "As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live." I have to wonder if that will ever happen to me.

Some Higher-Ed News

From Inside Higher Ed we get some info on the size of the full-time professional employee population in Higher Ed and what jobs they are mostly performing.

Every other year, data released by the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics provide a snapshot of the growth of part-time positions in the professoriate. This year — an off-year for that data — the federal statistics provide evidence for another shift, in which the majority of full-time professional employees in higher education are in administrative rather than faculty jobs.

Very interesting, or at least I think so.

A comment on capitalism

I really enjoyed this op-ed column over at the Washington Post. It begins like this:

Never do I want to hear again from my conservative friends about how brilliant capitalists are, how much they deserve their seven-figure salaries and how government should keep its hands off the private economy.

The Wall Street titans have turned into a bunch of welfare clients. They are desperate to be bailed out by government from their own incompetence, and from the deregulatory regime for which they lobbied so hard.

I definitely think it is worth the time to read the whole article.

It reminds me of something I was thinking about recently. I was thinking just the other day about the economic stimulus checks that are scheduled to be sent out this summer and mentally comparing it to FDR's programs. At least with many, if not most, of those programs the people who benefited from them had to work to gain the benefit. Programs like the CCC and others involved public works programs that employed people who couldn't find work elsewhere. The current plan just gives people money to go out and spend. How is that so much more conservative than the programs FDR initiated that conservatives seem to hate so much and have worked so hard to get rid of? Just wondering.

WOW!!

And no, it's not a post about World of Warcraft. Check out these awesome pencil carvings. All I can say is: WOW!

Who said what to whom?

My sister told me this evening that she had heard some new info on the story about the Canadian leak that an Obama aide had supposedly told Canadian diplomats not to take his stance on NAFTA seriously. She had heard that it was actually a Clinton aide that had made the statement originally. I decided to see what I could find about it on the internet and I came across this article from Canada.com: Canada's NAFTA leak is regrettable: U.S. envoy. From what I can tell, this would seem to back up that position, if I'm reading it correctly.

Canadian media reports said on Thursday that the furor was triggered by private remarks that Ian Brodie, Harper's chief of staff, made to the CTV Television network last week about Clinton's criticism of NAFTA.

They said Brodie revealed someone from the Clinton campaign was "telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt." CTV investigated the remarks and then ran a story focusing on Obama, saying his adviser had privately told Canadian diplomats that a promise to reopen NAFTA was solely aimed at winning votes in the Ohio primary.

I'm not sure if that is saying that both campaigns have supposedly said the same thing or that it was actually an act by the Clinton campaign that got attributed to the Obama campaign. If it is true that the real story is the reverse of what voters were told, I would think that any momentum Hillary gained from Tuesday's primaries would instantly evaporate.

How clean is too clean?

I found this article in today's WaPo very interesting: Immune Systems Increasingly On Attack. The article seems to indicate that we may be keeping our immediate environments too clean for our own good, or particularly our kids' own good. It would seem that sterilizing everything isn't such a good idea after all. Of course nothing is known for certain at this point, but the article is interesting nonetheless.

Blood and Soil

After a couple of days of discussing the McCain issue via blog comments, emails and telephone, I've decided that it is time to finally blog about it myself. So here goes. I have always felt that being a natural born citizen simply meant that you were a citizen at birth, whether by blood or by soil. And I still feel that that is what it should mean. That being said, I'd like to weigh in with my take on all the arguments that are being made about the McCain issue at the moment.

First, I don't think that anyone is arguing that McCain is not legally a citizen, as it is obvious beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is and has been from the time of his birth. If that is all it takes to be a natural born citizen then he is one, end of argument. However, the argument does not end there. Some assert that in order to be considered a natural born citizen you must be a citizen by soil.

Therefore a new question arises. Is McCain a citizen by both blood and soil or simply a citizen by blood? In a recent article from the AP, McCain states his position on the issue:

McCain himself insists the issue was put to rest when fellow Arizonan, Barry Goldwater, ran for president in 1964.

"Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona when it was a territory, Arizona was a territory, and it went all the way to the Supreme Court," McCain told reporters Thursday on his campaign plane. "And there's no doubt about that. And it was researched again in 2000."

The Panama Canal Zone was a U.S. territory when McCain was born on Aug. 29, 1936.

Again, this new information would seem to put the issue to rest, but again, it does not. Yet another question arises, was the Panama Canal Zone truly a US territory? I personally am not convinced that it was. Let us check the law on the issue.

On the issue of citizenship, US Code Title 8, Chapter 12, Subsection III, Part I, §1401 states:

The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth:
(a) a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof;

This makes no distinction about the parentage of the individual, and in fact, even the children of illegal aliens born within the boundaries of the United States are indeed legal US Citizens. And given the US Supreme Court's ruling an Goldwater (which I would reference if I could find, but try as I might, I can't find it), it would seem to include territories of the US as well.

So, if the Panama Canal Zone was a US territory in 1936 as McCain and the above quoted article indicate, why does §1403 of the same US Code state the following?

(a) Any person born in the Canal Zone on or after February 26, 1904, and whether before or after the effective date of this chapter, whose father or mother or both at the time of the birth of such person was or is a citizen of the United States, is declared to be a citizen of the United States.

Why does there need to be special instructions on the canal zone and why does at least one of the parents of a child born in the canal zone have to be a US citizen for that child to acquire citizenship at birth if it is indeed US soil? This would seem to me to indicate that individuals born here do not acquire citizenship by right of soil.

And then there is the text of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty itself which states:

ARTICLE III

The Republic of Panama grants to the United States all the rights, power and authority within the zone mentioned and described in Article II of this agreement and within the limits of all auxiliary lands and waters mentioned and described in said Article II which the United States would possess and exercise if it were the sovereign of the territory within which said lands and waters are located to the entire exclusion of the exercise by the Republic of Panama of any such sovereign rights, power or authority. [emphasis mine]

So that leads to the question of what exactly counts as a US territory? This treaty does not give the US actual sovereignty over the canal zone, but the same rights it would have if it had sovereignty.

In addition to that, the land was leased with annual lease payments due to Panama from the United States.

As the price or compensation for the rights, powers and privileges granted in this convention by the Republic of Panama to the United States, the Government of the United States agrees to pay to the Republic of Panama the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in gold coin of the United States on the exchange of the ratification of this convention and also an annual payment during the life of this convention of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in like gold coin, beginning nine years after the date aforesaid.

Is this not the same type of arrangement the US has about Guantanamo? And does the administration not argue that Guantanamo is NOT US territory? It seems to me that you can't have it both ways. Either leased areas are territory or they are not. How can the Canal Zone be and Guantanamo not be?

For those who would point to the fact that he was born on a military base as proof that he was in fact born on US soil, we must take a brief look at the Foreign Affairs Manual which states in 7 FAM 1116.1-4:

c. Despite widespread popular belief, U.S. military installations abroad and U.S.
diplomatic or consular facilities are not part of the United States within the meaning of the
14th Amendment. A child born on the premises of such a facility is not subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States and does not acquire U.S. citizenship by reason of birth.

Now of course this is irrelevant to McCain's citizenship, as it undoubtedly is referring to the children of non-US citizens born in such locations, but it does address whether such citizenship is acquired by right of soil, which it obviously is not.

So in conclusion I will reiterate. I think that McCain should be eligible for the office of president because I believe that either right of blood or right of soil should suffice for meeting the "natural born" requirement spelled out in Article II of the Constitution. However, if it is determined that right of soil is necessary, then I don't believe he is eligible under the current law as is stands.

I think that if the case were brought before the Supreme Court they would probably find in McCain's favor, but I think that a very reasonable argument could be brought against such a ruling. I think that if, on the off chance, they did find that he did not qualify, there would be an immediate uproar for a Constitutional Amendment to either define "natural born" as including right of blood in addition to right of soil or to remove the "natural born" requirement altogether. I would be fine with removing it altogether, personally. But if it were removed, I think that the time requirement should be extended beyond a mere 14 years.

Anyway, that's my opinion and my argument given the information I currently have at my disposal. If someone has some other pertinent info that I'm missing I'd be happy to consider it. And I would really appreciate a link to the Supreme Court case involving Goldwater if anyone has it. Until then, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Looking Ahead to the Veepables

Chris Cillizza over at WaPo's The Fix suggests a list of possible VP candidates for McCain and Obama (He's projecting an Obama nomination at this point). If you are interested in the potentially veepable, go check it out.

The full moon

More amateur photography for you. I've been wanting to take some full moon pictures and this is the first good chance I've had since I had the idea. Unfortunately I really don't know how to properly adjust my camera or what setting I should use to take pictures in low light and still get the colors to turn out right. This was the best shot out of several, or at least it was the one I liked the best. Any tips, pointers or detailed step-by-step instructions would be greatly appreciated.

Now that's what I call momentum

Via The Chicago Tribune - Obama wins Hawaii caucuses

Maybe they should've called it " Hawaii 10-0," as Sen. Barack Obama now has ten straight wins after besting Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's Hawaii caucuses.

[...]

On Tuesday night, in an e-mail to his supporters before the Hawaii victory was announced, Obama said winning there could foretell future successes: "If we win in Hawaii, it will be ten straight victories -- a streak no one thought possible, and the best position we can be in when Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont vote on March 4th."

It will be interesting to see what March 4th will actually hold for the two remaining Democratic candidates. Hillary's campaign has gotten awfully negative lately. So far it doesn't seem to be having her desired effect. Hopefully that will continue to be the case. Honestly, I fear that stupid things like this will ultimately have more of an effect than Hillary's negativity:

NBC News said Tuesday it has reprimanded the employee responsible for mistakenly flashing a picture of Osama bin Laden on MSNBC as Chris Matthews talked about Barack Obama.

Accidents happen, but I wouldn't buy the, "oops, my bad" line too many times, if I even buy it at all.

Blurring the line between science and science-fiction

Via WaPo - Their Deepest, Darkest Discovery

Researchers in New York reported this month that they have created a paper-thin material that absorbs 99.955 percent of the light that hits it, making it by far the darkest substance ever made -- about 30 times as dark as the government's current standard for blackest black.

The material, made of hollow fibers, is a Roach Motel for photons -- light checks in, but it never checks out. By voraciously sucking up all surrounding illumination, it can give those who gaze on it a dizzying sensation of nothingness.

Maybe that whole "Washington black" line from Psych the other day was more than just a joke. It was the first thing that came to my mind anyway. But the story soon leaves Psych far behind and moves into the realm of Harry Potter and Star Trek:

But scientists are not satisfied. Using other new materials, some are trying to manufacture rudimentary Harry Potter-like cloaks that make objects inside of them literally invisible under the right conditions -- the pinnacle of stealthy technology.

Both advances reflect researchers' growing ability to manipulate light, the fleetest and most evanescent of nature's offerings. The nascent invisibility cloak now being tested, for example, is made of a material that bends light rays "backward," a weird phenomenon thought to be impossible just a few years ago.

Known as transformation optics, the phenomenon compels some wavelengths of light to flow around an object like water around a stone. As a result, things behind the object become visible while the object itself disappears from view.

Honestly, if the article were written on April 1st instead of February 20th I wouldn't believe it. It would seem that they can't yet make things invisible to the naked eye, but I'm guessing it will be just around the corner. Amazing!

Fidel Castro will not accept another term

Via WaPo - Fidel Castro retires

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he will not return to lead the communist country, retiring as president 49 years after he seized power in a revolution and became a central figure of the Cold War.

Castro, 81, who has not appeared in public since undergoing stomach surgery almost 19 months ago, said he would not seek a new term as president or leader of Cuba's armed forces when the National Assembly meets on Sunday.

"To my dear compatriots, who gave me the immense honor in recent days of electing me a member of parliament ... I communicate to you that I will not aspire to or accept -- I repeat not aspire to or accept -- the positions of president of the Council of State and commander-in-chief," Castro said in a statement published in the Communist Party's Granma newspaper.

This is an interesting development I guess. Of course on the one hand it can't be too surprising given his obvious failing health and the fact that Raul has been de facto president for over a year now. But on the other hand I really expected him to die in office. Who knows, maybe he already is dead and they just aren't telling anyone yet.

What I find most interesting in the story is the seeming lack of a reaction, or at least lack of a visible reaction, from the Cuban people. The story notes:

In a deserted Revolution Square, the site of many hours-long speeches by Castro to massive crowds, a lone soldier stood guard at government headquarters. The city was calm.

It would seem that the transition has been gradual enough for the people to be able to accept it. I will be curious to see what Raul does once Fidel dies and is totally out of the picture.

Stormy Sunday Afternoon

We've had a stormy Sunday afternoon here in southern Alabama. I thought the rain was all gone, but apparently it's not, as it has started to rain again as I type this. It did stop long enough for us to get a beautiful rainbow out of it. Not only that, it was a double rainbow! I took some pictures, so enjoy!

Averting danger or testing a new weapon?

Via the BBC - US spy satellite plan 'a cover'

The US said last week that it would use a missile to destroy the satellite, to stop it from crash landing.

Officials say the satellite contains hazardous fuel which could kill humans.

But Russia's defence ministry said the US planned to test its "anti-missile defence system's capability to destroy other countries' satellites".

You can hardly blame the Russians for distrusting US motives. If roles were reversed we certainly wouldn't trust them. Plus, considering Bush's history with pulling out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and all, it is quite understandable that they would feel the way that they do. And while it may not have been a setup from the beginning, I'm sure it is at best a convenient excuse.

The end of the strike

Via CNN - Strike over, Hollywood writers head back to work

Striking Hollywood writers will be back at their keyboards Wednesday after voting overwhelmingly to end a 100-day walkout that essentially shut down the entertainment industry.

[...]

"The strike is over. Our membership has voted, and writers can go back to work," said Patric Verrone, president of the WGA's West chapter.

[...]

It's unclear how soon new episodes of scripted programs will start appearing, because production won't begin until scripts are completed, the AP reported.

It will take at least four weeks for producers to get the first post-strike episodes of comedies back on the air; dramas will take six to eight weeks, the AP said.

Honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about the strike being over. On the one hand, there are some shows that I will be happy to see return with new episodes, but on the other hand, I have so little time to watch t.v. as it is, it will just put me that much farther behind. Good thing I have TiVo!

Happy Groundhog Day!

And in celebration of the this most unimportant holiday, a YouTube clip of one of the best movies ever made about an unimportant holiday. I love this movie!I'm not sure why it has German subtitles, but that's really unimportant. The movie still rocks! Maybe I'll go see if Movie Gallery has a copy I could rent. . .

I hope it works

Via the NYT - Kennedy Chooses Obama, Spurning Plea by Clintons

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, rejecting entreaties from the Clintons and their supporters, is set to endorse Senator Barack Obama’s presidential bid on Monday as part of an effort to lend Kennedy charisma and connections before the 22-state Feb. 5 showdown for the Democratic nomination.

Both the Clintons and their allies had pressed Mr. Kennedy for weeks to remain neutral in the Democratic race, but Mr. Kennedy had become increasingly disenchanted with the tone of the Clinton campaign, aides said. He and former President Bill Clinton had a heated telephone exchange earlier this month over what Mr. Kennedy considered misleading statements by Mr. Clinton about Mr. Obama, as well as his injection of race into the campaign.

Mr. Kennedy called Mr. Clinton Sunday to tell him of his decision.

The endorsement, which followed a public appeal on Mr. Obama’s behalf by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, was a blow to the Clinton campaign and pits leading members of the nation’s most prominent Democratic families against one another.

I agree with the sentiment that the Clinton campaign has taken an ugly turn that was totally uncalled for. I've never supported Hillary Clinton in this race and I'm not about to start now. I originally supported Bill Richardson, but since his candidacy never really took off and he has now dropped out of the race, I now have to throw my support behind Barack Obama. And while his inexperience has given me pause in the past, his charisma and the sense of personal convictions he conveys has won me over. I fear that if elected, his attempts to bring unity to Washington will fair about as well as Carter did, and I dearly hope that while he apparently reminds Caroline Kennedy of her father that he will not end his political career in the same tragic way as her father. But I feel that he has more to offer to this country than does Hillary Clinton or any of the Republican candidates. I hope that the endorsement by the Kennedy family and their active support of Obama will be enough to counteract the power of the Clinton political machine.

I'd like to propose an amendment

I'd like to propose an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. I propose that we should consider banning the immediate members of a former president's family from seeking that same office. I think this should include the children of former presidents, the siblings of former presidents and the spouses of former presidents.

It seem to me that if the fact that FDR managed to get himself elected to 4 consecutive terms as president was potentially threatening enough to democracy to merit a constitutional amendment, then a Bush presidency, followed by a Clinton presidency, followed by another Bush presidency, potentially followed by another Clinton presidency, is even scarier. We have only had one other case of a father and son presidency (John Adams and John Q. Adams) and no other related presidencies that would have been affected by my proposed amendment (although it would have stopped Bobby Kennedy from running), but one event was enough to ban a three term president.

It just seems to me that political families are bad enough as it is. We do not need to develop some kind of dynasty mentality in this country when it comes to electing presidents.

A little levity

One of the quotes on my google homepage today is a quote from Dick Cavett:

If your parents never had children, chances are you won't, either.

It's just a silly quote, but it reminds me of something someone said to me many long years ago when I was a teenager. I forget the girl's name now as she was only a casual acquaintance, but I swear she was absolutely serious when she said this. She told me that she knew that she would never be able to have children. When I asked her why, she said "It runs in my family, but it skips a generation." Hum. . .let's just think about that one for a minute. And she wasn't even blond!

"The Girl in the Fireplace," Hillary Clinton and feminism

Despite the assumptions of some, due to the name of my blog or from posts I've written here, I have never really considered myself a feminist. I have, however, tended to admire strong, independent women ever since I was a young girl. The two in particular that come to mind are my great-grandmother and Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth I because she never married, largely due to the fact that she did not want power to pass to a husband. And my great-grandmother, because even though she did marry (and at a very young age), she lived alone for 31 years after my great-grandfather passed away. She never remarried and lived by herself until her health made it impossible to continue to do so. So, what does this have to do with Hillary Clinton or an episode of Dr. Who? Well, I'll tell you.

A couple of nights ago, I watched the episode of Dr. Who entitled "The Girl in the Fireplace". I thought it was a very good episode and particularly interesting in terms of insight into the character of The Doctor. In fact, I saw it as something of a microcosm of what The Doctor's relationships are like because, in the story, Reinette knows The Doctor for her whole life (practically), but for The Doctor, the events all take place within the span of about one day.

Anyway, since the character in the story, Reinette, was actually an historical figure, Madame de Pompadour of 18th Century France, I decided to look up Madame de Pompadour. I found this site which had some information on her life. It includes two brief articles written by different people about Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's mistress. The site seemed to be in conjunction with a women's history class. I found it striking how the first of the two articles ended:

The Marquise de Pompadour, who had put all of her energy towards the affairs of the state, was physically fatigued and became quite ill. She died on April 15, 1764. Through her influential twenty years at court, she truly became an example of rising above the traditions given to women.

Why I find this so interesting is because she received this position due to the fact that she was the mistress of a powerful man. That does not mean that she did not have talent and skill that helped her achieve her goals, because certainly she did. But what it boils down to is that her power came from her relationship, and a sexual relationship at that, with a powerful man. And in fact, if you actually read the articles, it would seem that much of how she gained favor with the king was through throwing parties and arranging dinners. If that is stepping out of the traditional roles of women, I'd like for someone to explain to me how.

So anyway, this brings me around to Hillary Clinton. I am not a supporter of Hillary Clinton and I never have been. I would hate to see her win the Democratic Presidential nomination for multiple reasons that I won't get into at the moment. But the thing that strikes me at the moment is the fact that so many people seem to think that a Hillary Clinton victory would be such a great feminist victory, but I disagree. It is certainly true that, if elected, she would be the first female president of the United States and it would be a great accomplishment. But until we can elect a woman who is capable and accomplished in her own right and not mostly known and seen as electable and experienced because of the accomplishment of her powerful husband, I really feel like we, as a country, have not accomplished some great feminist victory. I thought that dynasties were an old idea, not something that we should look to establish in this country.

Iowa results

Or at least official projections.

Via CNN - Obama, Huckabee win Iowa caucuses, CNN projects

Barack Obama will win the Iowa Democratic caucus and Mike Huckabee will be the Republican winner, CNN projects.

With 95 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had the support of 37 percent of voters, compared to 30 percent for Edwards and 30 percent for Clinton.

[. . .]

With 78 percent of Republican precincts reporting, Huckabee had the support of 34 percent of voters, compared to 25 percent for Mitt Romney. Fred Thompson had 14 percent, John McCain had 13 percent and Ron Paul had 10 percent.

I have to say that it is nice to see Hillary loses, even if it is only the Iowa caucus. It will be interesting to see how the final numbers rank Hillary and Edwards. It is also interesting that Paul came in ahead of Guiliani.

Merry Christmas!

It has been such a busy day today that this is the first chance I've had to blog and I don't have much of a chance now. Mostly I just want to say Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a joyous and blessed day!

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Via KOMO News 4 - KOMO 4 News Special Report: Inflammatory Breast Cancer

SEATTLE - Breast cancer is something women think they know all about: Look for lumps; have mammograms; see our doctors.

But none of that will save you from one silent breast cancer killer that women know virtually nothing about.

It's called "inflammatory breast cancer," and it's something every woman must know about.

[. . .]

Andi was just 16 when she died from IBC. She was too embarrassed to tell her mother her breast looked funny. It was slightly enlarged and her nipple was inverted -classic IBC symptoms.

Other symptoms include: rapid increase in breast size, redness, skin hot to the touch, persistent itching, an orange peel texture to the breast and thickening of breast tissue.

I had never heard of inflammatory breast cancer before. It definitely sounds like something that all women should make themselves aware of. Especially since, according to the article, many women with IBC are misdiagnosed as having an insect bite. The whole article is definitely worth reading.

H/T: Sherry Taylor via email.

What an odd choice

Via Reuters - FACTBOX: Vladimir Putin - man of the year

Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2007 on Wednesday for bringing stability and renewed status to his country.

And for the record, it would seem that the authors of the Reuters article find it an odd choice as well. The majority of the article actually talks about all the things that Putin has done while in office as President, none of which seems particularly good from a Western view point. What was Time magazine thinking?

No answers in Aruba

Via MSNBC - Aruba ends probe into Holloway disappearance

Authorities have closed the investigation into the disappearance of Natalee Holloway and do not have evidence to charge anyone, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The three young men who were last seen with the Alabama teenager have all been notified that they will not be charged, prosecutors said.

"The public prosecutor's office and the police have gone the extra mile and have exhausted all their powers and techniques in order to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the girl," it said.

Real life is seldom like television. On TV they almost always get the bad guy, but in real life they often get away.

Comprehensive v. Abstinence-only sex education

Via WaPo - Abstinence Programs Face Rejection

The number of states refusing federal money for "abstinence-only" sex education programs jumped sharply in the past year as evidence mounted that the approach is ineffective.

At least 14 states have either notified the federal government that they will no longer be requesting the funds or are not expected to apply, forgoing more than $15 million of the $50 million available, officials said. Virginia was the most recent state to opt out.

Two other states -- Ohio and Washington -- have applied but stipulated they would use the money for comprehensive sex education, effectively making themselves ineligible, federal officials said.

[. . .]

The jump in states opting out follows a series of reports questioning the effectiveness of the approach, including one commissioned by Congress that was released earlier this year. In addition, federal health officials reported last week that a 14-year drop in teenage pregnancy rates appeared to have reversed.

I find this article interesting because I've never thought that abstinence-only education was a very wise idea. I have not looked closely at the numbers, but I'm also well aware that both sides will find numbers and ways to use the numbers to their own advantage, so I'm not that interested in seeking them out either. The one thing that I do know is that no education program is ever going to get all teenagers to abstain from having sex. I have no problem with schools teaching that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases, but sex is also a natural human behavior that begins to appeal to individuals when they enter puberty. If all they know is that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid these problems, but then they decide they are not willing to go that route, they will not know how to protect themselves and are more likely to find themselves in bad situation. I believe they should at least know that there are other options that will help them to protect their health and well-being. I think that is what health education (and as a subset sex education) is all about.

We should teach them about the physiological aspects of our sexuality, the psychological repercussions of engaging in sexual activity, and the physical consequences that can result from both protected and unprotected sex. But it is also of the utmost importance that they know how to protect themselves if they decide to engage in these activities. It should not be about morality. Let their parents teach them about morality. Some would say that we should let their parents teach them about sex education, but I disagree. We should have trained professions who can teach them about the scientific aspects of sex and leave the moralizing at home.

Mutilated Christmas songs (Ron Paul Edition)

Did you ever want to take possibly the most annoying traditional Christmas song ("Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer" is possibly more annoying)around and make it even worse? Well, obviously these people wanted to, and they succeeded!

However, I must say, if he could do most all those things (I'm not really in favor of getting rid of the FDA) I would vote for him. However, the President doesn't really have the power to do all that stuff by himself, and there is no way in Hell that the Congress is going to go along with most of it.

Fun with flowers

My husband bought me a dozen roses yesterday and I decided to take some pictures of them. I know the pictures are similar, but if you have a favorite, tell me about it. I was thinking about enlarging one of them to frame and put one the wall in my living room (it's rose themed), but I'm not sure which one would be best.




I think I'm most partial to the middle one. I think it has the crispest image for enlarging, too. What do you think?

Really?

Via CNN - Huckabee apologizes for comments on Mormons
Huckabee states:

"I'd like to think that my being a Baptist isn't a factor in people voting for or against me."

Somehow this statement strikes me as somehow disingenuous. I think that he is counting on the fact that he is a Baptist minister to garner him quite a few votes from the Religious Right. And while I completely agree with Romney's position on the issue of religion in the campaign, at least in principle,

He continues to believe that this campaign should not be about questioning a candidate's faith. While it is fair to criticize an opponent's record or policy positions, it is out of bounds for one candidate to question another's personal faith.

I think it is ridiculous to think that it isn't or won't be an issue.

Oh the irony!

Via CNN Money - Fed cuts rates by a quarter point

The Federal Reserve lowered an important short-term rate by a quarter of a percentage point Tuesday, the latest in a series of rate cuts that the central bank hopes will stimulate an economy some fear is on the brink of a recession.

But stocks plunged following the Fed's announcement as Wall Street was disappointed the Fed did not act more aggressively. The Dow dropped nearly 300 points, or 2.1 percent, while the S&P and Nasdaq each fell about 2.5 percent.

No real commentary on the issue, as I avoid discussions of economics at all cost, but I found the reaction ironic. I guess you just can't please Wall Street.

Six things to remember

On the last day of my world politics class, I told my class that there were some things that I hoped I would remember and take with them from the class (because I knew they wouldn't remember the specifics of the class). I thought they were some good things to keep in mind when dealing with politics in general and with world politics in particular. So here they are, for what it's worth:

1. Be willing to doubt - that includes the things that your government tells you, other governments say about themselves and others, and especially the things that we are so willing to believe with little or no proof. The things that we want to believe are often the things we should analyze the most closely.

2. Don't let emotion rule your mind - human beings are always going to have emotional responses to stimuli, but we do not always have to act on those emotions. Especially in the realm of politics, it is best if we can take a step back and look at the possible ramifications of our actions before we proceed. In particular, a state has certain responsibilities and core objectives that have to be considered, and emotional responses can often be work against these objectives.

3. There are few absolutes in life - most things in life and all the people you will encounter, either personally or in the political arena, are neither all good nor all bad. Sometimes good people do bad things and sometimes bad people do good things. We can't always disregard something just because it doesn't fit our ready made mold and not everything fits neatly into our preconceived categories.

4. The whole world is not just like your home town (or home country) - it is so easy to develop a provincial attitude. We must always consider that other people in other countries are not always going to see things the way that we do, and that does not necessarily make them wrong, stupid or backwards.

5. It's easy to criticize from an easy chair - an armchair warrior is no different from an armchair quarterback. It's easy to second guess the actions of other people when you are not in their position. I know that it is cliche at this point, but it is still true: you shouldn't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. And, it is much easier to tell someone what to do than to do it yourself.

6. Justice does not equal revenge - so often when we say we want justice what we really want is revenge, but they are not the same thing.

Now if nobody has any questions, class is dismissed.

Kring speaks about Heroes Volume 3

Caution - Very slight spoiler alert

Via TV Guide - Exclusive: Tim Kring Explains Heroes' "Generations" Finale

The fate of Nathan, who was shot during a TV press conference, and of Niki, who may have died in an abandoned building explosion, are "up in the air and will be determined when we come back after the strike," Kring says.

[. . .]

Not to worry. There are plenty more baddies coming after the writers' strike concludes. In fact, the title of Volume 3 — "Villains" — says it all.

"We've introduced a cadre of them over the course of the show and we're going to see them rise up," Kring says. "Just as the heroes have found each other to save the world, the villains will do the same with the opposite intent." And their numbers may be legion. "The Company has catalogued many of these people over the years. There may be more of them down in that basement than we have alluded to so far."

And there is an upside to the writers' strike:

Originally, Quinto was not going to be available for much of Volume 3 because of his commitment to the new Star Trek film. Now, with the strike dragging on, he'll likely be done playing young Spock by the time Heroes returns to production.

Christianity and Heroes

On last night's episode of Heroes, Adam/Kensei said that God had wiped the Earth clean with the flood and that he was trying to do the same thing with the virus.

Prior to that, my middle son and I were discussing the use of Biblical names for characters in the show. And my sister had previously suggested that maybe Kensei had taken the name Adam because he was the first person to have a power like the current "heroes" and we discussed the possibility that he could actually be the common ancestor of all the current characters that have powers, considering that he has been around for 400 years.

So, anyway, my son and I came up with a list of several characters with Biblical names including: Peter, Isaac, Noah, Micah, Matt (if his name is Matthew), Nathan, Gabriel (aka Sylar), Eden. Then after Adam made the reference to the flood, I really wondered if Mr. Bennett being named Noah had any significance.

So, what do you think? Does it mean anything?

Standoff at Clinton office ends peacefully

Via Yahoo News and AFP - Hostage-taker at Clinton office surrenders

A man claiming to be armed with a bomb took over one of US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's campaign offices for more than five hours Friday before surrendering to police.

The man, believed to have a history of mental illness, walked into the New Hampshire office at around 1:00 pm (1800 GMT), taking three women, a man and a baby hostage and reportedly demanding to speak to the former first lady.

[. . .]

US media said that Eisenberg was well known locally, had a history of mental problems and wanted to draw attention to the state of psychiatric health care in the United States.

One has to wonder about such a stunt. What exactly is the point of pretending to (the articles says it was actually road flares not a bomb) try to blow up the campaign office of a presidential primary candidate that is more likely to actually do something about his supposed issue of concern than what the current administration is doing? Well, I guess if he really is mentally ill then logic might not be the place to look for an explanation.

I'm a bit surprised

I don't really have time to read the article in full or blog about it right now, but I was surprised when I saw this headline on my homepage this morning: CNN - Musharraf steps down as army chief

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf stepped down as the country's military leader Wednesday, the day before he was to be sworn in for a third presidential term -- as a civilian.

I knew he said he was going to, but I'm a little surprised he actually did it. However, I would be even more surprised if his stepping down actual changes his relationship with the army in any significant way.

Sean Taylor dead at 24

Via the Chicago Tribune - Redskins' Taylor Dies Day After Shooting

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday, a day after he was shot at home. He was 24. Family friend Richard Sharpstein said Taylor's father told him the news around 5:30 a.m.

[. . .]

Taylor was shot early Monday in the upper leg, damaging an artery and causing significant blood loss.

When you first hears that someone has been shot in the leg you don't normally think of it as being a potentially fatal wound if treatment is received right away, but obviously it can be. My prayers go out to his family and friends, especially his baby daughter who will never really get the chance to know her father. What a tragic loss.

Redskins' Sean Taylor shot in the leg

Via WaPo - Redskins' Taylor in Critical Condition After Shooting
Redskins' safety Sean Taylor was shot at his Miami home early this morning and is in critical condition. The motivation for the shooting is still unknown. I'm sure there will be regular updates at WaPo and other news outlets.

President of France or Lounge Singer, you decide

Today I was grading news journals that my students turned in Monday. One student had written about this article from the BBC. When I saw the picture in the article the first thing that came to mind was that Sarkozy looked like a lounge singer and it looked like he and Bush were performing some kind of dance routine when the picture was taken.


What do you think?

It seemed like a good idea at the time

Back at the beginning of the semester it seemed like such a good idea to have my students write news journals. And while I still think it is a good assignment, grading them is NOT fun. It really shows me who is understanding the material and putting real effort into the assignment and who isn't, however. Ah well, some day I'll learn. . .

That's interesting logic

Via WaPo - In Paul They Trust (The Feds May Differ)

Federal agents on Thursday raided the Evansville, Ind., headquarters of the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and Internal Revenue Code (Norfed), an organization of "sound money" advocates that for the past decade has been selling a private currency it calls "Liberty Dollars." The company says it has put into circulation more than $20 million in Liberty Dollars, coins and paper certificates it contends are backed by silver and gold stored in Idaho, are far more reliable than a U.S. dollar and are accepted for use by a nationwide underground economy.

[. . .]

News of the raid lit up Ron Paul online forums yesterday, the latest unlikely episode in a campaign that began as an idiosyncratic bid by the veteran congressman but has grown into a cause with the potential to influence the GOP contest. Paul, 72, has attracted droves of disaffected Republicans and independents to his platform, which includes ending the war in Iraq, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and adhering to a strict libertarian interpretation of the Constitution.

[. . .]

"People are pretty upset about this," said Jim Forsythe, head of the Paul Meetup group in New Hampshire, who said he recently ordered 150 of the copper coins. "The dollar is going down the tubes, and this is something that can protect the value of their money, and the Federal Reserve is threatened by that. It'll definitely fire people up."

So let me get this straight, this is an organization that is trying to undermine the US dollar in an attempt to bring back the gold standard or silver standard or some non-fiat currency. They have been circulating their private currency for some time now, as a way to undermine legal US currency. They are now using the falling exchange rate of the dollar as justification for their actions. This seems like self-justifying logic to me: "we can try to make something bad and then complain when it turns bad." Yeah, that's reasonable.

Some overdue pictures

Seeing Steven Taylor's pictures of fall color from his trip this weekend reminded me that I never posted any pictures from my trip to Washington last month. So here they are. Enjoy!

Addicted to the Internet?

I don't doubt it. I know a few people that probably fall into that category, myself included.

Via NYT - In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure for Web Obsession

Up to 30 percent of South Koreans under 18, or about 2.4 million people, are at risk of Internet addiction, said Ahn Dong-hyun, a child psychiatrist at Hanyang University in Seoul who just completed a three-year government-financed survey of the problem.

They spend at least two hours a day online, usually playing games or chatting. Of those, up to a quarter million probably show signs of actual addiction, like an inability to stop themselves from using computers, rising levels of tolerance that drive them to seek ever longer sessions online, and withdrawal symptoms like anger and craving when prevented from logging on.

I don't really get angry when I can't log on, but I often spend waaaay more than 2 hours a day on the Internet. But if I have to go to boot camp, I can think of at least a couple of people that I'm planning to drag along with me.

Which do you like better?

Here is an old FFM that I found by accident.

Which do you prefer:

01. CHEESE or CHOCOLATE? (that's a tough one)
02. BLUEBERRIES or STRAWBERRIES?
03. COFFEE or TEA?
04. CORN MUFFIN or ENGLISH MUFFIN?
05. PANCAKES or FRENCH TOAST?
06. YOGURT or CREAM CHEESE? (by itself, yogurt; in things, cream cheese)
07. RICE or PASTA?
08. CAKE or PIE?
09. GROUND BEEF or GROUND TURKEY?
10. HOT DOGS or HAMBURGERS?
11. JELLY or MARMALADE?
12. AMERICAN CHEESE or SWISS CHEESE?
13. DIET SODA or NO SODA? (I mostly don't drink soda anyway)
14. LEMONADE or ICED TEA?
15. CHERRIES or GRAPES?
16. CHOCOLATE QUIK or STRAWBERRY QUIK?
17. WAFFLES or PANCAKES?
18. WHITE BREAD or WHOLE-GRAIN/WHEAT BREAD?
19. PEAS or CARROTS?
20. PUDDING or FRUIT-FLAVORED GELATIN?
21. COLD CEREAL or HOT CEREAL?
22. KETCHUP or MUSTARD?
23. MUSTARD or MAYONNAISE?
24. MAYONNAISE or KETCHUP?
25. BLACK OLIVES or GREEN OLIVES?
26. ONION or GARLIC?
27. PLAIN BARBECUE or BARBECUE WITH SAUCE?
28. SCRAMBLED EGGS or FRIED EGGS?
29. EGGS or EGG REPLACEMENTS?
30. MEAT or VEGETABLES? (depends on the meal)
31. CHINESE TAKE-OUT or PIZZA?
32. SUSHI or DELI SANDWICH?
33. WHITE CLAM CHOWDER or RED CLAM CHOWDER? (don't know)
34. KEY LIME PIE or LEMON MERINGUE PIE?
35. PIE & ICE CREAM or CAKE & ICE CREAM?
36. WHIPPED CREAM or CAKE FROSTING?
37. HONEY or MAPLE SYRUP?

Feel free to join in.

Maybe that explains it

As a teacher I often wonder how it is that what I say can be so totally misunderstood or misinterpreted. Maybe this quote explains it.

A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.
-Bertrand Russell

It would explain a lot, that's for sure.

Speaking of things I like

I love this song!One line in the song talks about saying "I love you":

Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough

I can definitely understand the sentiment there. Sometimes saying I love you just doesn't seem to get the point across well enough.

On the other hand, I would say that while I love you is often said too much, it also isn't said enough. Too often in life we say I love you when we don't really mean it and we don't always say it when we do really feel it. It is okay to say I love you to your spouse or significant other, your child or your parent. But so often we have people that are so important to our lives, our dear and close friend, that we don't say I love you to, but we wouldn't know what to do without them.

So, to my dear friends, I do love you, even if I don't say it. You're the best!

I like this cartoon

Cartoon via WaPo

The Strike is On

Via CNN - Hollywood writers go on strike

The strike by Hollywood writers is on. Writers and studios broke off talks late Sunday after 11 hours of negotiations.

The talks between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were called by a federal mediator. The producers said a deal couldn't be reached.

The writers want more money from the sale of DVDs and a share of revenue generated by the sale of TV shows and films over the Internet. The studios say the demands are unreasonable and will hamper attempts to experiment with new media.

Picketing starts in the morning in New York and Los Angeles.

The walkout will affect late-night talk shows first, then daytime talk shows and soap operas. Studios have stockpiled movie scripts and prime-time TV has completed shows in hand to last until early next year.

As it won't affect things like reality shows and sports broadcast, I guess people won't have to go back to reading books right away. Who knows, if it goes on too long maybe the producers will turn to buying the rights to film fan fiction.

More reasons to fear a Giuliani administration

Today we have even more information on Rudy and his authoritarian tendencies from that wild-eyed democracy-loving, radical anti-authoritarian, Dr. Steven Taylor over at Poliblog. Check it out!

All joking aside, it is a serious issue and something that potential voters should make themselves acutely aware of before casting their votes.

Quote of the day

This quote doesn't come from one of those massive quotation database site, but from another blogger, Matthew at Like Cooking a Small Fish. The quote comes from his post that explains the name of the blog.

The story of the 20th century might well be that despite our self-conception as rational beings, most “rational” plans for ordering society produced undesirable results, whereas stable political and economic outcomes were generally obtained naturally and democratically, without constant top-down control.

The quote originally caught my attention because it uses the word "rational", but I really think he makes an excellent point about the importance of democracy and the limitations of rational action. Maybe in a democracy, the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

h/t: Poliblog

Truth in advertising?

Tonight for dinner we had the stuffed flounder pictured below. I just had to share what I thought was amusing.

The front of the package says "Proudly Made in the USA" (I know it's a little blurry, but I did the best I could).

Then when you turn the package over, you get the punchline, so to speak.

It says "Product of China, Further Processed in USA." Somehow that just doesn't seem like something that should be allowed to bill itself as "Made in the USA". What do you think?

More TV News

This should come as no surprise to anyone who struggled through watching the first episode of Viva Laughlin, the show was canceled after only 2 episodes. I have to think that if the show had debuted in its intended normal time slot and the next episode had been a week away instead of just 3 days away it wouldn't have made it to two episodes. I really hadn't intended to watch the show at all, but I was out of town and in the hotel room for the night and wanted to stay up to watch the local news. The musical-type nature of the show was something I couldn't imagine would last. There was a point when my husband thought that the two cops were going to bust out into song, but thankfully they did not. It was just so totally lame and the main character was such an ass, I would have been greatly surprised if it had lasted any longer than it did.

My thoughts on Bionic Woman

I finally got around to watching Wednesday's episode of Bionic Woman (full episodes available here). It is probably my favorite episode so far. As I was watching it I was thinking that I liked it better but I couldn't put a finger on why. Then about 3/4 of the way through it I realized what it was: no Sarah Corvus. In the last episode or so I've just felt like Sarah confused the storyline instead of adding anything positive to it. I don't have anything against Katee Sackhoff and I think the character of Sarah could be an asset to the show if they could ever decide how they want to play it. Until they do, however, I'd be happy for them to keep her written out.

Another thing I liked about this episode was the fact that there were not problems with the bionics. She's brand new for heaven's sake, just let her use the bionics and discover all that she can do. If they want to have the bionics start failing, they should really wait till the end of the season and have it be some kind of cliff hanger. I feel like they are doing it at this stage to try to make some sense of what they've done with the Sarah character, but it really just isn't working for me.

I do still have a few issues with the writing in this episode. They just make Jaime seem so naive. It would seem to me that someone with her life experiences wouldn't be quite so trusting at this point in her life.

Also, the scene with Antonio and the terrorist currier in the apartment didn't seem too realistic to me either. If he was willing to kill an American citizen just because he knew about bionics, it seems unlikely to me that he would be so understanding of a terrorist who is doing what he's does because his family was killed.

There is definitely some moral ambiguity in the practices of the company that Jaime now works for, but that doesn't really bother me at this point. It is sorta like HRG (Claire's dad) on Heroes. Sometimes he seems like a bad guy and you are rooting against him and then the next thing you know you are rooting for him. I think that is how the company is going to be on here too. I think it is illustrative of the ambiguities in real life. No one is all good or all bad.

FOX News and the "Don't Tase Me Bro" video

On Thursday I was at a local auto dealership having my new car serviced. I was waiting in the waiting room reading a book while they serviced the car. Like most local establishments in my hometown that show news channels, the television was tuned to FOX News (Ugh!). I was generally trying to ignore the TV and read, but then a news story came on about the "Don't tase me bro" incident in Florida and it caught my attention. The story was about the fact that the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement had found that officers to be within their rights to use a taser on the student (Andrew Meyer). As part of the story they replayed the latter part of the video where Meyer is being dragged off and then shocked with the taser. The news caster (I don't know who he was, but it was around 10:15ish in the morning) who was telling the story commented that he could just watch that video all day long and commented that Meyer should have "taken it like a man" instead of yelling like that. I was thoroughly disgusted. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the video (or are just like the news caster and enjoy watching it) here is the whole video:

Now I know that the video went viral and obviously many, many people enjoyed watching it, but I certainly couldn't imagine watching it all day long or even over and over multiple times. And particularly the tasing scene is something I don't want to watch again. What strikes me about the commentary is that if that guy were to be tased I have a hard time imagining that he would "take it like a man". My guess is that he would be suing the cops that did it just like Meyer is doing.

Now I can see that Meyer was over stepping the bounds a bit with his questioning (or his introductory commentary as it were), but John Kerry said that he wanted to answer the question. Plus, if his commentary was totally out of bounds then people like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh ought to be tased as well. They talk over people and make wild accusations all the time. If anyone who is rude or just has ideas that conflict with the mainstream should be arrested and tased then shouldn't we all just get to walk around with tasers all the time and tase most everyone we see?

It seems to me that if Meyer wants to be a journalist some day he is going to have to refine his questioning skills, but it hardly seemed like behavior that deserved being arrested for. Plus, if they weren't arresting him for it, how could he be charged with resisting arrest?

For anyone who mistakenly thought the CIA was made up of civilized human beings. . .

Via the BBC - Lock of "Che's" hair sold at Dallas auction

A lock of socialist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara's hair and related items were auctioned on Thursday in Dallas to a Houston-area bookstore owner for the very capitalist sum of $119,500 (52,000 pounds).

[. . .]

The curious collection had belonged to Gustavo Villoldo, 71, a former CIA operative who helped hunt Guevara down in the jungles of Bolivia in 1967 and who claims he cut off the lock before burying the guerrilla fighter with two of his comrades.

[. . .]

A scrapbook containing what Heritage says are previously unpublished photos of the dead guerrilla went with the hair. One shows a group of rag-tag soldiers brandishing rifles and standing proudly around his corpse like hunters posing with a trophy. Others show his corpse propped up, eyes wide open.

And Europeans had the gaul to say that Native Americans were savages for taking scalps over a century ago. Well, tell me how this is any different. But then again, what's more civilized than taking "fun" pictures with a dead guy? Puleez!

H/T: Yvette via e-mail

12 years and counting!

Today is my 12th wedding anniversary and I couldn't be happier. I'm married to a wonderful man who loves me dearly and whom I love dearly.

I looked back at my post from today a year ago and I am happy to report that today is indeed a much better day. No trips to the hospital for tests and no soccer games to get kids to. I don't even have to go to work today. In addition to that, it is a beautiful fall day with nice fall-like temperatures. I couldn't ask for a better day to celebrate my anniversary on.

Today we are again planning to have a nice quiet dinner for two in Montgomery. We are actually planning to spend most of the afternoon in Montgomery today. We were going to stop in and visit some friends, but since they are a little under the weather today, we will have to miss out on our visit, but I still anticipate a very nice day.

And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to. . .

Al Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Via WaPo - Gore, U.N. Body Win Nobel Peace Prize

Former vice president Al Gore and a United Nations panel that monitors climate change were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today for their work educating the world about global warming and pressing for political action to control it.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee characterized Gore as "the single individual who has done most" to convince world governments and leaders that climate change is real, is caused by human activity and poses a grave threat. Gore has focused on the issue through books, promotional events and his Academy Award-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth."

And if, like me, you are wondering what global climate change has to do with world peace, here's your answer:

As with last year's award to Bangladeshi banker Muhammad Yunus, whose pioneering use of small loans to the very poor contributes to the stability of developing nations, this year's prize focused on an issue not directly involving war and peace, but seen as critical to maintaining social stability.

I have to say that there is something a little ironic about the fact that the man who won the office of President in 2000 started a war and the one who lost the office won the Nobel Peace Prize. Interesting.

Voluntary Infant Cold Medication Recall

If you have small children (under the age of 6) you should check out this list of recalled infant cold medicines from Consumer Healthcare Products Association. It is especially important for children under 2 but also affects children up to age 5.

Don't send your toddler to Arkansas

Via CNN - Misplaced 'not' in Arkansas law allows babies to marry

An error in a new law that allows Arkansans of any age -- even toddlers -- to marry with parental consent must be fixed by lawmakers, not an independent commission authorized to correct typos, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The law, which took effect July 31, was intended to establish 18 as the minimum age to marry, while also allowing pregnant minors to marry with parental consent.

An extraneous "not" in the bill, however, allows anyone who is not pregnant to marry at any age if the parents allow it.

I just couldn't resist clicking on that headline. As it turns out, the law could stand until 2009. So if you just happen to have a toddler you want to marry-off, now's your chance.

I'm Mystique

Your results:
You are Mystique

Mystique 36% Mr. Freeze 32% Poison Ivy 28% Dark Phoenix 26% Dr. Doom 26% Riddler 25% The Joker 25% Catwoman 24% Magneto 23% Apocalypse 21% Lex Luthor 18% Venom 18% Green Goblin 12% Juggernaut 8% Two-Face 8% Kingpin 4%

Sometimes motherly, sometimes a beautiful companion, but most of the time a deceiving vixen.

Click here to take the "Which Super Villain are you?" quiz...


H/T: PoliSciFi

Well, at least he's tall

If you are not a big fan of Republican Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson, then you have to read this Op-Ed column by Gail Collins in the NYT. This was one of my favorite parts:

But at least the Democrats who nominated Kerry did not imagine that they were choosing him for his down-home personality. What exactly is the point of Fred Thompson? He once got elected to the Senate by driving around Tennessee in a red truck (which, critics carped, he ditched as soon as he was out of sight of the last voter).

He persuaded people that his opponent was wrong when he claimed Thompson was nothing but a “Gucci-wearing, Lincoln-driving, Perrier-drinking, Grey Poupon-spreading millionaire Washington special interest lobbyist.” Of course, that was some time ago, and things have changed. Thompson is now a Gucci-wearing, Lincoln-driving, Perrier-drinking, Grey Poupon-spreading millionaire Washington special interest lobbyist and actor.

It is not especially informative, but it is awfully funny.

However, if Thompson is YOUR MAN, then move on along, there's nothing for you to see here.

oops!

It would appear that I missed my own blogiversary. Well, happy blogiversary to me about a week and a half late (It was back on the 15th of this month.).

If you just can't wait for more Heroes

I found a site that has a little info on the next 3 episodes of Heroes. Not really spoilers, more like what the TV Guide might have as a description. And it does say that the info could change. For all of you Star Trek fans out there, Nichelle Nichols is scheduled to be on the Oct. 15th episode. Enjoy!

This is bothersome on so many levels

Via the BBC - Germany 'drops CIA extradition'

Germany has dropped a request to the US to extradite 13 suspected CIA agents accused of abducting a German citizen, officials and media reports say.
A justice ministry official reportedly confirmed an article in the German weekly Der Spiegel that said the US had refused the extradition request.

[. . .]

A spokeswoman for the justice ministry in Berlin told the Associated Press news agency Germany had decided against passing on to US authorities the extradition demand of the prosecutors in Munich.

[. . .]

"Mr Masri has pursued litigation for civil damages here in the US and this litigation is ongoing," he said.

"To date, US courts have barred his suit based on the US government's assertion of state secrecy concerns."

[. . .]

Mr Masri says he was kidnapped in Macedonia in 2003, flown to a secret jail in Afghanistan and tortured there.

He says he was detained for five months before being released in Albania after the Americans realised they had got the wrong man.

Okay, where to begin? The US sends CIA agents to kidnap a foreign national, take him to another country, and torture him. I have a problem with that right off.

Next, the man doesn't seem to have any legal recourse in his own country or in ours. This too seems wrong. The German are apparently afraid of pissing off the US, which seems a little odd at this point, but that's how they are telling it. And the US seems to have very little sense of justice anymore because everything has become a matter of national security. Where (or when) will it all end?

You are what you eat

Via CNN - If we are what we eat, Americans are corn and soy

Proteins and fats in your food are incorporated into your body and brain with potentially profound effects on your health and even your behavior.

[. . .]

"We are what we eat with respect to carbon, for sure. So if we eat a particular kind of food, and it has a particular kind of carbon in it, that's recorded in us, in our tissues, in our hair, in our fingernails, in the muscles," Dawson says.

[. . .]

"We're like corn chips walking because we really have a very, very large fraction of corn in our diets, and we actually can't help it because it's an additive in so many of the foods we find on the market shelves," Dawson says.

[. . .]

Americans also eat an extraordinary amount of soybean oil, another key ingredient in most processed foods.

Now apparently Europeans don't eat as much processed food as we Americans do. It makes me wonder, what the heck do they eat and how, as an American, do I avoid processed food. Also, it would seem that we could avoid anti-depressants if we just ate more fish.

Our bodies need a balance of omega-6 fatty acids like soybean oil and omega-3 fatty acids like fish oil, Hibbeln says. Over the last century, our diets have shifted almost completely to omega-6 fatty acids.

"It's quite likely that most of the diseases of modern civilization, major depression, heart disease and obesity are linked to the radical and dramatic shift in the composition of the fats in the food supply," Hibbeln says.

Our brains are composed of fatty acids, and an absence of omega-3 fatty acids can actually change our behavior, according to Hibbeln.

Hibbeln's research suggests diets containing omega-3 fatty acids found in fish reduce depression, aggression and anger, while improving mental well-being.

Now my question is, what if you eat fish that has been fried in soybean oil or corn oil? And I thought soy was supposed to be good for you anyway. Who knows anymore?

Melting Ice - Heating Debate

Via the BBC - Ice loss opens Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage is one of the most fabled sea routes in the world - a short cut from Europe to Asia through the high Arctic.

Recent years have seen a marked shrinkage in its ice cover, but this year it was extreme, Esa says.

It says this made the passage "fully navigable" for the first time since monitoring began in 1978.

[. . .]

Scientists have linked the changes to global warming which may be progressing faster than expected.

Whether global warming is due to human activity or just natural cycles, it would seem that the Northwest Passage opening up is a big deal. It seems clear that we going to have to learn to deal with the repercussions of these climate associated changes whether we like it or not. I find it interesting that it is already causing some international debate and disagreement.

The opening of the sea routes are already leading to international disputes.

Canada says it has full rights over those parts of the Northwest Passage that pass though its territory and that it can bar transit there.

But this has been disputed by the US and the European Union.

They argue new route should be an international strait that any vessel can use.

And I'm sure there will be more unforeseen circumstances that arise from these global climate changes that will require international attention and negotiation as time goes on.

So soon?

It is hard to believe that tonight is the season finales for Monk and Psych. It seems like they just started back, and in the grand scheme of things they did. The "new season" that is now ending just started in July. Oh well, I guess I'll have something to look forward to in January. Maybe I'll buy the first season of Psych on DVD so I can at least see the reruns, and I'm not normally a rerun type person.

Is there much interest in Fred Thompson?

Looking at my blog traffic, I have to wonder how much interest there really is in Fred Thompson at this point. Thanks to this post I wrote back in June, and the subsequent link I got from buzzfeed.com, my blog traffic has tended to almost directly parallel interest in Fred Thompson. When the media starts talking about him, my traffic increases drastically. Looking at my sitemeter, Fred's announcement of his official candidacy only garnered a 3 day spike in my blog traffic with a sharp drop off after that. In the past, the increased traffic has tended to last longer and taper off more slowly. Maybe it doesn't mean anything, but I found it interesting.

The Via Media

WaPo - Democrats Push Toward Middle On Iraq Policy

Democratic leaders in Congress have decided to shift course and pursue modest bipartisan measures to alter U.S. military strategy in Iraq, hoping to use incremental changes instead of aggressive legislation to break the grip Republicans have held over the direction of war policy.

As an Episcopalian, I have to admit that I'm fond of "the middle way." And really, if one is thinking logically, it was apparent that this day would eventually come. One can only do the same thing for so long without success before realizing that a different path is the only viable option. This is a democratic society after all, one designed to protect the rights of the minority as well as the majority. And this is true in Congress as well as society as a whole. It only makes sense that the Democrats in Congress would eventual come around to the notion that compromise is the best answer here, if not the only answer.

This, however, I find quite irritating:

MoveOn.org, a liberal activist group that has spent months pressuring Republicans to turn against the war, is now threatening to turn on Democrats who temper their positions.

I don't understand why MoveOn.org would prefer continually banging their heads against the wall to some incremental change. Isn't incremental change still "moving on"?

I couldn't resist

I know, I haven't blogged anything in over two weeks and I end my silence with something like this, but I just couldn't resist.

The question is: Do you know how American beer is like making love in a canoe?