And the plot thickens

BBC - Rule by decree passed for Chavez

Venezuela's National Assembly has given initial approval to a bill granting President Hugo Chavez the power to rule by decree for 18 months.

. . .

The bill allowing him to enact laws by decree is expected to win final approval easily in the assembly next week on its second reading.

Just more evidence that Chavez is consolidating an authoritarian regime in Venezuela, as Matthew Shugart so rightly pointed out in his comment here. Steven Taylor offers more such commentary here.

Nation-States

Today in the World Politics class I have been observing this semester, the professor talked about the difference between nations and states and what makes a nation-state. I was already familiar with the differentiation, and it reminded me of a discussion I had with my sister last week after Governor Schwarzenegger's inauguration speech. In the speech Schwarzenegger says:

And yet here in this nation-state of California, people from all over the world live in harmony. I call California a nation-state because of the diversity of our people, the power of our economy and the reach of our dream. Every race, every culture, every religion has been drawn to California.

When my sister told me what he said in the speech I responded with "that's ridiculous! It is obvious that the governor of California has no idea what a nation-state really is." (I then had to explain the difference to my sister.) Anyway, a state is a legally defined territory that has a government that is recognized by and can enter into diplomatic agreements with other states (there are other legal criteria, but I won't bore you with all the details.) A nation is defined by a homogeneous culture not a diversity of cultures as Schwarzenegger posits. A nation-state is when a state is made up of citizens that are all part of the same nation (as defined above). So technically speaking, California is neither a nation nor a state (in the international sense that the governor was alluding to) and is certainly not a nation-state. His argument simply illustrates his ignorance of terminology on the subject.

I would have mentioned that in class today if I were allowed to comment in class, but I'm not so I didn't.

I also would have said "not if it is held in place by art". I'll let the professor decide where that comment would have been interjected. :)

Cartoon of the Day

My oldest son has to find political cartoons once a week for school. Yesterday he found this one which I thought was particularly good, so I decided to share. This and other cartoons can be found at caglecartoons.com

Helping the homeless in France

BBC News - French bill to fight homelessness

The French cabinet has adopted a bill to create a legal right to housing, after a series of high-profile protests by campaigners.

The demonstrations prompted President Jacques Chirac to promise action in his New Year's address.

If approved by parliament, the bill will legally oblige local authorities to provide accommodation for the homeless from the end of next year.

People facing eviction or living in squalid conditions will also be helped.

The bill would also create a new repatriation and resettlement package to allow immigrants with no family ties in France to return home.

I'm all for a right to housing. I feel like if we call what live in "civilization" we should provide for the less fortunate. If we don't, can we really call ourselves civilized or are we just living by the law of the jungle.

This was not the thing that particularly struck me about this article. It was the last sentence of the blockquote above that really caught my attention. The "repartiation and resettlement package" makes me wonder. Is this an excuse to deport people or is it really just help for those that want to return to their home country? The article really doesn't say. It is just kinda stuck in there. It makes the deal seem all progressive and liberal, but I wonder if there is an ulterior motive attached.

An interesting timepiece

CNN - 'Doomsday Clock' moved forward

The world has nudged closer to a nuclear apocalypse and environmental disaster, a trans-Atlantic group of prominent scientists warned Wednesday, pushing the hand of its symbolic Doomsday Clock two minutes closer to midnight.

It was the fourth time since the end of the Cold War that the clock has ticked forward, this time from 11:53 to 11:55, amid fears over what the scientists are describing as "a second nuclear age" prompted largely by atomic standoffs with Iran and North Korea.

It is all very dramatic indeed, but I doubt that we are seriously that much closer to atomic holocaust than we were yesterday. Now I will grant that I am no nuclear physicist, but I am a political scientist. Just because Iran wants to get nuclear weapons, it doesn't mean they will succeed, nor does it mean they would be any more willing to use them than anyone else who already has them. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see nuclear weapons go away, but until the big boys are willing to get rid of them, the little boys are going to want to get them too.

The article also notes some other instances when the hands of the clock have moved.

Since it was set to seven minutes to midnight in 1947, the hand has been moved 18 times, including Wednesday's move.

It came closest to midnight -- just two minutes away -- in 1953, following the successful test of a hydrogen bomb by the United States. It has been as far away as 17 minutes, set there in 1991 following the demise of the Soviet Union.

Like a Stone

The chorus of "Like A Stone" by Audioslave has been going through my head ever since I woke up this morning. I'm not quite sure why. Here is the chorus:

in your house i long to be
room by room patiently
i'll wait for you there
like a stone i'll wait for you there
alone

It is a good song, with some really interesting lyrics; some of which I can identify with, others not so much. I think, for some reason, this morning I particularly identify with the title.

34000 Civilians killed in 2006

NYT - Iraqi Death Toll Exceeded 34,000 in '06, U.N. Says

The United Nations reported on Tuesday that more than 34,000 Iraqis were killed in violence last year, a figure that represents the first comprehensive annual count of civilian deaths and a vivid measure of the failure of the Iraqi government and American military to provide security.

The report was the first attempt at hand-counting individual deaths for an entire year. It was compiled using reports from morgues, hospitals and municipal authorities across Iraq, and was nearly three times higher than an estimate for 2006 compiled from Iraqi ministry tallies by The Associated Press earlier this month.

Numbers of civilian deaths have become the central indicator for the trajectory of the war, and are extremely sensitive for both Iraqi and American officials. Both follow the tallies, but neither will release them.

We like to keep track of the number of Americans killed but it is important to remember how many Iraqi civilians are loosing their lives as well.

Afghan Civilian Heroes

CNN News - Afghan civilians stop terror attack at U.S. base

Two civilians thwarted an attempted terrorist attack Tuesday when a vehicle loaded with explosives attempted to crash through the front gate of a U.S. base in the Afghan capital, according to the U.S. military.

The two men, an interpreter and a security guard, dragged the apparent suicide bomber from the vehicle before he could detonate explosives, said Col. Tom Collins, the chief spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

"I think it's a pretty amazing and heroic event," Collins said.

He said that at about 9 a.m. Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET Monday) a driver crashed his vehicle into Camp Phoenix, the base where the Afghan National Army and police are trained. The driver reached for what appeared to be a cord to detonate a bomb, he said.

"Amazingly, a couple of Afghans who just happened to be on the scene there realized what was happening," Collins said.

"Anyone's inclination would have been to run away but these guys are genuine heroes," Collins said.

It is always good to hear about bombing that are stopped. It is also good to hear that there are people willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to save other people.

Additionally, it is nice to have an example of people in the country we are trying to help that are willing to help us in return. I never doubted that they were there, it is just good to have an example to point to.

The Passive Personality Principle

BBC News - Spain seeks US soldiers' arrest

Spain has issued an international arrest warrant for three US soldiers accused of causing the death of a TV cameraman during the Iraq war.

Jose Couso, 37, died in April 2003 after a US tank fired on a hotel used by foreign journalists in Baghdad.

The US has admitted its tank crew fired at the Palestine Hotel but has cleared Sgt Thomas Gibson, Cpt Philip Wolford and Lt-Col Philip De Camp of blame.

How can they do that, you might be asking yourself. The person was killed in Iraq, how could Spain have any jurisdiction to file an arrest warrant?

Well, the answer is the Passive Personality Principle. This is one of the 5 customary practice principles of international law on jurisdiction. This principle holds that a state has jurisdiction when one of its own citizens or nationals is harmed, even if that harm happens in another country. The logic behind this principle is that states (countries) have the right to protect their citizens no matter where they go.

It is a controversial principle of international law and one that the United States strongly opposed until relatively recently. In 1985, when Palestinians hijacked the Achille Lauro and killed an American citizen, the US decided that it had the right to try the hijackers based on this principle. This does not, by any means, indicate that the US will recognize the right of the Spanish to try the American soldiers. They undoubtedly will not. However, the Spanish are well within their rights to try.

How is Castro doing?

Well, apparently it is unclear exactly what his health status is at the moment.

BBC - Castro 'worse after failed ops'
The odd thing to me is that no where in the story does it say where that quote is exactly from. It does say:

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in a serious condition after three failed operations, a Spanish newspaper says.

President Castro - who has temporarily handed power to his brother Raul - is suffering from a serious intestinal infection, the report in El Pais says.

The article continues on to give details of Castro's surgeries and condition (which I won't quote because it is sorta gross, but you can read the article for yourself if you'd like), but ends with the assertion 'No change', stating that the Spanish surgeon who attended to Castro in December says that his prognosis has not changed.

Whether one goes with the "worse" or the "no change" assessment of the situation, reading the details of his condition really makes it sound BAD.

Iran Courts Latin America

CNN - Iranian, Nicaraguan leaders meet, vow to work together

Ahmadinejad was in Managua as part of a whirlwind series of meetings with Latin America's newly inaugurated leftist leaders.

He visited fellow OPEC member Venezuela on Saturday, vowing with President Hugo Chavez to spend billions of dollars financing projects in other countries to combat the global influence of their common enemy, the United States.
. . .
On Monday, the Iranian leader will attend the inauguration of Ecuador's new president, Rafael Correa, and meet with Bolivian President Evo Morales. Both are both outspoken critics of the Bush administration's policies in Latin America.

I'm not quite sure what Ahmadinejad is hoping to accomplish here. I guess the idea is to make people nervous that they are "in our own backyard" like during the Cold War days. It never really worked out too well back then, now did it.

I did find this statement in the article rather interesting:

Ortega, however, did not match Ahmadinejad's confrontational rhetoric in his remarks Sunday.

The Nicaraguan president instead focused on how Iran and Nicaragua should work to help the developing world.

He spoke of "constructive agreements to combat hunger, unemployment and poverty."

While pledging close ties with Ahmadinejad, Ortega has tried to start his new government on a cordial note with the U.S. government.

Who would have thought that Daniel Ortega would be a voice of moderation in Latin America?

How do they do it?

How do people sit and watch T.V. all day long? Yesterday afternoon I spent 6 hours straight watching a marathon of Psych episodes. (The marathon was actually 7 1/2 hours long, but I missed the first 30 minutes and the last hour.) Anyway, before I had even sat through the first 4 hours I was getting a headache, and by the time I stopped watching I just felt totally "out of it". Now don't get me wrong, Psych, rocks, or else I wouldn't have watched them. I had never seen it before, but it turned out to be a really great show. I would recommend watching it, just not for 6 hours straight. Television can be a good and enjoyable thing, but I think I need to remember to partake of it in moderation from now on.

Sleuthing out trouble

Washington Post - Amateur Sleuthing Lands Grisham in Real-Life Court

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled yesterday that John Grisham must face a jury for his actions in a real-life whodunit.

From what I can gather from the article, John Grisham, best-selling author and lawyer, decided to try to find out who was sending anonymous letters to his friend's wife. In so doing, he used his position on the board of trustees of his son's school to obtain confidential information from school records. He then used that information against a person who later proved to be innocent.

Both sides agree that Grisham and Alan Swanson then obtained enrollment and medical release forms from the school filled out by Almy and stamped "strictly confidential." They provided the forms to the handwriting expert, who issued a report saying the letters "possibly" were written by Almy, the lawsuit states.
. . .
The lawsuit says that Almy provided handwriting samples to another examiner, who cleared her, and that she passed a polygraph test.

I personally think that he should be called out for that type of behavior. First, he's a lawyer so he should know the law. If it was illegal, he should have known it. Second, just because you write novels doesn't give you the the appropriate expertise to carry out a proper investigation. I don't know what the possible consequences are, I'm sure they are relatively minor, but I think he deserves to feel some repercussions from his actions.

Just for the record, I've read some of his novels, and I wasn't overly impressed.

Reacting to the Carter book

Washington Post - Carter Center Advisers Resign Over New Book

Fourteen members of an advisory board to the Carter Center in Atlanta resigned yesterday in protest over former president Jimmy Carter's best-selling new book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying that they could "no longer in good conscience continue to serve."

Obviously, if what the former President has written bothers them that much they should disassociate themselves with him.

The resignations were the latest episode in an escalating controversy over the book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," published in late November. It has been criticized within the American Jewish community as tilting sharply toward the Palestinians. Scholars have found fault with his fact-checking on small and large points. At least one former Mideast negotiator expressed outrage over what he called "misrepresented" history.

I haven't read the book, so I can't actually speak to its bias or lack thereof, or its accuracy. However, I have two things on this point.

1) Many people have the tendency to assume that something that is not biased in their favor is biased against them, even when it is an honest attempt at a fair, unbiased appraisal of the situation.

2) I will say, as a trained historian, that history is often misrepresented by those who record it. The winners tend to write history and they like to portray it in the way that makes them look the best. This is nothing new. I'm not saying it is right, but it is a fact of life.

The deciding factor for board member Steve Berman, he said yesterday, was a passage on Page 213 that he quoted easily from memory: It was imperative, Carter wrote, that Arabs and Palestinians "make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals" of an internationally proposed peace accord "are accepted by Israel."

"What does that say to you?" asked Berman, a commercial real estate developer in Atlanta. "It says they can stop when they get their state. He's condoning terror as a means of obtaining the objective of a Palestinian state."

I'll answer Berman's question, it doesn't say to me what it obviously says to you. It says to me that the Palestinians need to make it clear that they intend to stop when they get their state. That does not mean that they have a free pass to continue bombing until they get their state or that Carter is suggesting that they should continue until they get their state. However, many believe that they won't stop even once they get a state. This is important. Many believe that the Palestinians want the state of Israel gone and that they won't stop until it is. And my understanding is that many do feel that way. It is one of Hezbollah's stated goals. However, I think that Pres. Carter is trying to convey the idea that if Palestine wants to succeed in its goal of achieving statehood, it needs to make it clear that getting rid of Israel is not its ultimate goal.

Now, as I said before, I have not read the book and I am not defending the book, per se. I can only comment on the article and the quote that Berman offers. He asked "what does that say to you" and I simply offer my opinion.

Parenting Woes

An update on yesterday's Oh, the Irony post.

I talked to a counselor today at the college of his choosing (and my alma mater) and found out that it is NOT too late for him to apply for the fall and still receive a full scholarship based on his ACT score. However, the bad news (and there is always bad news) is that his GPA may not be high enough to qualify for the scholarship even though his ACT score is. UGH! Again!

Speaking of Embassies. . .

BBC News - Tunisia gunmen 'had embassy plan'

Tunisian police have found plans of embassies and explosives after a gun battle with suspected Islamic extremists, the interior minister says.

A list of names of foreign diplomats in the country was also discovered after the 3 January clash in which 12 gunmen were killed, said Rafik Haj Kacem.
. . .
Mr Kacem described the men as "Salafist terrorists" - a reference to the Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, a radical group opposed to Western [?] which aims to create an Islamic state in Algeria.

It is not clear which embassies or diplomats featured in the seized documents.

Attacking embassies is a good way to get attention, I guess. I'm not sure what it is designed to accomplish beyond that, if anything.

After-thought: Obviously the take-over of the US embassy in Iran accomplished more than simply getting attention. Without knowing what the terrorist involved planned to do with their information, it is hard to fully evaluate the situation.

US Embassy in Athens attacked

MSNBC reports - Rocket slams into U.S. Embassy in Athens

An anti-tank shell was fired at the U.S. embassy early Friday, striking the front of the building but causing no injuries. Greece's Public Order Minister said the blast was probably an act of domestic terrorism, raising fears of resurgent violence by far-left Greek militants.
. . .
Polydoras said police were examining the authenticity of phone calls to a private security company claiming responsibility on behalf of a militant left-wing group.

"There are one or two telephone calls, from unknown callers, who claimed that the Revolutionary Struggle assumes responsibility," Polydoras said. "We cannot rule out that they were genuine."

Revolutionary Struggle claimed responsibility for a May 2006 bomb attack on Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis, in which nobody was injured.

I heard about this story just before going to bed last night, but there were no details at the time. I'm glad to hear that there were no injuries, but acts of terrorism are never really a minor thing. When political actors turn to violence, it is harmful to the democratic process.

And what you didn't hear last night. . .

Via the NYT - Bush Adds Troops in Bid to Secure Iraq

The article reveals:

“If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people,” Mr. Bush declared.

He put it far more bluntly when leaders of Congress visited the White House earlier on Wednesday. “I said to Maliki this has to work or you’re out,” the president told the Congressional leaders, according to two officials who were in the room. Pressed on why he thought this strategy would succeed where previous efforts had failed, Mr. Bush shot back: “Because it has to.”

Yeah, that's democracy at work at Iraq and rational thinking on the part of the President.

H/T: Ratoe in a comment at Poliblog

The article also pointed out:

But on the same page, the report warned that “adding more American troops could conceivably worsen those aspects of the security problem that are fed by the view that the United States presence is intended to be a long-term ‘occupation.’ ”

It seems to me that if the idea is to clear the area of insurgents, maintain the area, and rebuild the area, that is going to require long term occupation. Sometimes what it looks like is what it actually is.

Raising Minimum Wage?

Via WaPo: House Passes Increase in Minimum Wage to $7.25

The House yesterday overwhelmingly approved the first increase in the federal minimum wage in nearly a decade, boosting the wages of the lowest-paid American workers from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years.

The 315 to 116 vote could begin the process of ending Congress's longest stretch without a minimum-wage increase since the mandatory minimum was created in 1938. In the past decade, inflation has depleted the value of the minimum wage to the lowest level in more than 50 years.

Not everyone is happy with the idea.

Republican leaders, backed by small-business lobbyists and restaurant groups, argued fiercely that raising the minimum wage would cripple the economy and must be accompanied by significant tax cuts for small businesses to lessen the effect on them. Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) predicted that a wage increase "will leave recent economic growth dead in its tracks."

There is, however, reason to believe the nay-sayers are wrong. A related article in the New York Times, For $7.93 an Hour, It’s Worth a Trip Across a State Line, suggests:

Nearly a decade ago, when voters in Washington approved a measure that would give the state’s lowest-paid workers a raise nearly every year, many business leaders predicted that small towns on this side of the state line would suffer.

But instead of shriveling up, small-business owners in Washington say they have prospered far beyond their expectations. In fact, as a significant increase in the national minimum wage heads toward law, businesses here at the dividing line between two economies — a real-life laboratory for the debate — have found that raising prices to compensate for higher wages does not necessarily lead to losses in jobs and profits.

I think a minimum wage increase is a good thing. The more money that workers at the lower end of the pay spectrum earn, the more they are going to spend. That is a good thing, isn't it?

Oh, the Irony

Yesterday my oldest son (a senior in high school) received his ACT scores. He is a really intelligent boy, but he has been a real slacker since he started high school, getting As, Bs, and Cs when he could have been a straight A student with minimal effort. Anyway, he got his ACT scores yesterday and he made a 31 composite score! The bad news is, it is too late to apply for a scholarship in the fall. What is a mother to do. . .

The State of Diplomacy

Robert D. Novak has an interesting article in today's Washington Post: The Mess of State
It addresses the move for Negroponte from intelligence to State and talks about the wholesale bailing-out of State officials. It is worth a read.

It is quite scary to me to think about the sad state of the State Department during this time of international crisis when diplomacy is so important. War may be diplomacy by other means, but that doesn't mean it should be our only means.

Presidential Address Commentary

Several things struck me as I listened to Bush speak tonight. First was what a horrible public speaker he is even after 6 years in office, but the others are more important. (The full text of the speech can be found at The Drudge Report.)

Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.

This comment was something of a surprise just because Bush has been so reluctant to admit any mistakes. It is, however, probably the best move he could make for the party as a whole at this point.

This new strategy will not yield an immediate end to suicide bombings, assassinations, or IED attacks. Our enemies in Iraq will make every effort to ensure that our television screens are filled with images of death and suffering.

This says to me: "It's gonna look bad, but take my word for it that it's really getting better. Believe what I say, not what you see."

To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country’s economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis.

I thought that in a democracy the outcome of votes in a legislature were the result of debate and the act of the members of the legislature, not the dictates of a foreign president. I guess I was wrong. . .

Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity – and stabilizing the region in the face of the extremist challenge. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

I have to wonder, what exactly does this mean? Especially the "seek out and destroy" part. We obviously can't afford to start wars with two more countries at this point. I certainly hope that is not what he intends.

More commentary can be found at Poliblog and my thanks to Steven for posting a link to the text of the speech so that I didn't have to find it myself.

Update: The video of the speech is available at The Washington Post website

Swearing in

I know this is old news, but it is to facilitate getting information to my sister. Here is a list of the texts Presidents have been sworn in on.

H/T: Poliblog His whole post is definitely worth a read if you are interested in the subject.

Why does he do that?

I have a beautiful fluffy black cat (part Angora, part Manx I was told) who hardly ever goes outside, because he scares very easily. However, when he does go outside, the first thing does is roll around and get completely coated in dirt, sand, and/or pollen (depending on the season). He then comes back inside, carrying nearly a pound of dirt in his fur. Okay, I over exaggerate, but you get the picture. Why does he do this? Does he think I have nothing better to do than clean up after him? UGH! CATS!

A Show of Hand, but little else

NYT - Democrats Plan Symbolic Votes Against Bush’s Iraq Troop Plan

Democratic leaders said Tuesday that they intended to hold symbolic votes in the House and Senate on President Bush’s plan to send more troops to Baghdad, forcing Republicans to take a stand on the proposal and seeking to isolate the president politically over his handling of the war.

I know that symbolism does have some power, and often times symbolic measures can't be distinguished from actual measures in the mind of the population as a whole, but I personally would like to see something more than symbolic gestures come from the new Congress on the Iraq War.

In both chambers, Democrats made clear that the resolutions — which would do nothing in practical terms to block Mr. Bush’s intention to increase the United States military presence in Iraq — would be the minimum steps they would pursue. They did not rule out eventually considering more muscular responses, like seeking to cap the number of troops being deployed to Iraq or limiting financing for the war — steps that could provoke a Constitutional and political showdown over the president’s power to wage war.

I know that politically (and practically) it is difficult to take back what has been given away, but I would love to see the Congress take back much of the war power they have given away over the decades. Not just because of Bush, but because I think an executive with too much power can be a dangerous thing. The founding fathers intended for the people to make the supreme decision on going to war, not one man. It was an important part of the separation of powers that has now been almost completely eroded.

Healthcare for all in California?

NYT - California Plan for Health Care Would Cover All

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday proposed extending health care coverage to all of California’s 36 million residents as part of a sweeping package of changes to the state’s huge, troubled health care system.
. . .
Under Mr. Schwarzenegger’s plan, which requires the approval of the Legislature, California would become the fourth and by far the largest state to attempt near universal health coverage for its citizens. The other three states are Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont.

This seems like an odd move for a Republican governor. Now universal health care could mesh with Republican interests if it took the burden of providing health care off of employers, but this is not what Schwarzenegger's plan does.

The plan, which Mr. Schwarzenegger estimated would cost $12 billion, calls for many employers that do not offer health insurance to contribute to a fund that would help pay for coverage of the working uninsured. It would also require doctors to pay 2 percent and hospitals 4 percent of their revenues to help cover higher reimbursements for those who treat patients enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.

This does not sound like a Republican plan. And the article points out that Republicans in the California legislature are not pleased with the idea.

Mr. Schwarzenegger’s plan includes elements that quickly provoked opposition from many powerful interests, including doctors and the governor’s Republican colleagues in the Legislature.

What this says to me is that Democrats and Republican are not necessarily as diametrically opposed on all issues as some people like to think. A Democratic in one part of the country is not necessarily the same a Democratic in another part of the country, and the same is true of Republicans. (Or I guess it could say that Arnold is really a closet Democrat and Maria is rubbing off on him. )

The article also suggests that this move could put health care firmly in the 2008 Presidential debate. I hope it does. In 2008 we need to remember that while the war in Iraq is important, we still have a country here at home and what happens here matters too. There is more than one type of security to be had in the world. It is true that no one wants another 9-11 to happen, but no one wants to see their children or their other loved-ones sick and not be able to afford medical care. Health care matters. Domestic social issues matter. I hope we all can remember that, Democrats and Republicans alike.

New York Stinks and no one knows why

CNN - Mystery smell settles over Manhattan

New York officials evacuated a number of buildings and shut down some trains after a mysterious gaslike odor was reported Monday.
. . .
Authorities are investigating the source of the smell. Several buildings were evacuated, and the PATH commuter trains along the Sixth Avenue line were temporarily suspended. The odor had no effect on subway service in the city.

Utility company officials said a comprehensive search found no gas leaks.

Steven Jones of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management said officials were looking at facilities involved in the production of mercaptan, the chemical additive put in otherwise odorless natural gas to gives it a "rotten egg" smell.

Hopefully the authorities are right and there is actually no danger from the smell. However, you have to admit it is a little funny to hear that New York City smells like rotten eggs.

It does seem somewhat odd to me that there could be something causing a smell so pervasive that it can be smelled all the way to Jersey and no one knows what is causing it. It does make one lack confidence in the their ability to secure the area from an actual airborne attack, or even locate it if there were to be one.

Book Review

I thought I'd start posting book reviews of some of the books I read. This weekend I finished reading The Open Spaces of Democracy by Terry Tempest Williams. When we went to the Western Literature Conference in Boise, she was the honored author at the conference. We heard her read some passages from older works (including this one) and she read a chapter from her newest manuscript. Hearing her read from her work prior to reading this book added to the experience of reading it. I could imagine her voice saying the words as I was reading them. Considering that the middle section of the book is almost poetic in form, it seemed fitting to imagine it read in her voice.

The book consists of three somewhat short essays. The first essay focuses on her experience of giving the graduation address at the University of Utah on May 2, 2003. The entire text of the speech is reprinted in the essay. Her speech was political in nature and had a definite liberal angle. The speech was meet with both boos and cheers. Afterward, she had a discussion with a Utah politician (Utah is a conservative state) which later continued through letters between the two. Some of which were also reprinted in the text.

The second essay is something like a journal of her visit to the Arctic and the much disputed 1002 region of the Wildlife Preserve.

The last essay deals with political activism. She discusses her personal experience with land development issues in her own community and her experience observing demonstrations in Italy against U.S. intentions prior to the invasion of Iraq.

The first and last essays were more linear and politically focused. The middle essay was more stream of consciousness and focused on nature, both the human being's place in nature and preservation of open spaces.

The author takes a very environmentally focused view of life and democracy. She equates democracy with the equality and cooperation she sees in the natural world. She also looks to nature as a guide for personal spiritual and even political growth.

Although this book would not be especially useful for scholarly work in political science, it does provide some first hand accounts that could be useful. It is, however, mostly a work of literature, and as such, it is stimulating and intriguing.

Avalanche in Colorado

Via ABC News - Colo. Avalanche Buries, Sweeps Away Cars

A huge avalanche buried several cars and sent others over the edge Saturday on U.S. 40 near 11,307-foot-high Berthoud Pass, Colorado highway officials said.

"Our crews said it was the largest they have ever seen. It took three paths," said Stacey Stegman, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

My kids love the idea of snow, but they have never had to really deal with it. It is amazing the power that it can have.

A Friday Fun Challenge

It's really only a meme if someone copies it, so I'll just call it a Friday Fun Challenge. Here goes, look at your site meter and see what the last 5 visitors that reached your blog through a search engine were searching for. Here are mine:

1) hida scan
2) nessy - elephant?
3) alabama constitution "amendment 2" autauga county schools 10 mill
4) irrational women in relationships
5) alabama football coach "nick saban"

Join in and let me know what you found. It is always funny to me to see what people are searching for and how they accidentally find me.

Sounds Reasonable to Me

Jim at Coldflame had a pretty good idea. Go check it out.

NNSA Administrator fired

NYT - Administrator Is Dismissed From Nuclear Security Post

The Energy Secretary fired the head of the department’s nuclear weapons program on Thursday, citing a series of security failures at national laboratories, including the discovery of a computer device containing thousands of classified documents in the home of a former worker during a drug raid by the police.

The official who was dismissed, Linton F. Brooks, had been administrator of the National Nuclear Security Agency since May 2003. The agency was established in 2000 because of chronic security problems in the weapons program.
. . .
Describing the gaps revealed by the drug raid, in New Mexico, the new report on the Los Alamos laboratory, a center for nuclear weapons research, concluded, “In a number of key areas, security policy was nonexistent, applied inconsistently, or not followed.”

Obviously, security in our nuclear weapons agency should be a very high priority. We worry that if Iran got nukes they would leak info out to others, but I think we need to get the log out of our own eye first.

Will this move fix the problem? Probably not:

Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, said in a statement on Thursday evening, “While it may be appropriate to begin to address the incessant string of security, safety and management lapses at Department of Energy nuclear weapons facilities with the removal of high-level managers, I am afraid that it will take more than a new boss to fix the problems, which are far more systemic and pervasive in nature.”

It is easy to change management, it is much more difficult to fix problems. With this, as with the Iraq issue and the intelligence community issues, more than just a cosmetic change is needed. However, when problematic behaviors become ingrained over time, change can be next to impossible to achieve. Firing Brooks may be necessary and a step in the right direction, I don't know, but certainly more needs to come with it.

My Map

At home on our refrigerator each family member has a map of the US with the states they have visited shaded. Oddly enough, everybody's map is different except for my two youngest boys (and theirs were different until this summer when Middle son finally caught up with Youngest son). A friend told me about a site where you can make the same sort of thing for your blog. Here is mine (I'm actually in the lead at my house).


create your own visited states map


I didn't count states where I have only been at the airport and changed planes. If I did I could add Utah and Ohio.



In this map (which I edited) I added the states I've only landed in (yellow) the states I plan to visit next year (purple), the state I most want to visit but haven't (green)

h/t: Poliblog

Congressional Ethics in the Spotlight

NY Times - Ethics Overhaul Tops the Agenda in New Congress

Democrats, who campaigned relentlessly last year on the theme of a Republican culture of corruption, introduced the proposed ethics rules as part of a week of choreography designed to deliver the message that they did not intend to do business as usual in Washington. In some cases, like restrictions on the use of corporate jets, the rules on gifts and travel by lobbyists go further than what Democrats had pledged earlier.

Another part of the Democrats’ package called for detailed disclosure of pet projects or special-interest tax benefits that individual lawmakers insert into major bills. On Wednesday, President Bush jumped into the debate on such spending projects, called earmarks, urging that their number and cost be cut in half this year, a proposal that Democrats immediately rejected.
. . .
But the ethics rules do not address the most valuable gifts that come from lobbyists and others interested in legislation: campaign donations. And the Democratic Party’s fund-raising machine — revved up by the advantages of being in the majority — continued apace this week with individual members inviting lobbyists and other contributors to a host of events.

I'm glad to see that they are at least planning to make an effort toward ethics reform. I'm not really fond of earmarks, but I'm also aware that they are an integral part of how elected officials get things done for their home states and how they get re-elected. I'm not naive enough to believe they will, or even can, ever go away. I do feel like full disclosure is a step in the right direction.

I do wish that they were more willing to do something about campaign finance reform. The problem is that no one really wants to bite the hand that feeds them. Elected officials want to get re-elected. Money makes the world go 'round. It is a sad but true fact that it is easy to criticize those in charge and say that changes should be made when you are not the ones in charge. It is much harder to actually change things once in charge, especially if it requires changing the very thing that helped you get there in the first place. That is true of campaign finance and electoral rules, and probably many other things in politics as well.

Negroponte to move to State Department

NY Times - Intelligence Chief Is Shifted to Deputy State Dept. Post

John D. Negroponte, whom President Bush installed less than two years ago as the first director of national intelligence, will soon leave his post to become the State Department’s second-ranking official, administration officials said Wednesday.

Mr. Negroponte will fill a critical job that has been vacant for months, and he is expected to play a leading role in shaping policy in Iraq. But his transfer is another blow to an intelligence community that has seen little continuity at the top since the departure of George J. Tenet in 2004 as director of central intelligence.

The article goes on to say:

The administration has had great difficulty filling the State Department position. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked several people who have turned down the post, according to senior State Department officials.

I can understand why Negroponte might want to make the switch. My guess, and the article suggests as well, that as a career diplomat Negroponte feels more comfortable in the State Department than in the intelligence community.

To me, the important things illustrated by this move are:
1) the Bush Administration is not good at appointing people to their best possible posts in the first place (I never thought Condi was appropriate as Sec. State, but that's another story I guess)
2) People willing to jump on board a sinking ship are hard to come by
3) the Bush Administration is actually less interested in intelligence reform than they would have us believe. And it could be equally true that Negroponte has realized that intelligence reform is impossible to achieve and just wants to go somewhere that he feels he can actually accomplish something, regardless of what the rank is "on paper."

One of the most interesting things to me about the article is the picture they chose to put with it. The way Bush is standing behind Negroponte in the photo it makes him look rather small and less significant. To me it is just an odd photo.

Another Heroes Update

I'm almost completely caught up on Heroes now. I watched the marathon on NBC on New Year's Day and last night I watched episodes 8-9 that a friend of mine was nice enough to record for me. I'm really looking forward to watching the last two (also recorded for me). The next one in line is "Six Months Ago" which my sister tells me will answer a lot of my questions. It is really turning out to be a great show. I'm even considering going back and watching the first two over again. They were confusing at the time, but I think they would make more sense now. If you haven't watched, go check it out. All the episodes are available here.

To answer my last question. . .yes it is.

Saban accepted Alabama's offer to be their new head coach, but at what price? Well, I've heard numbers as high as $50 million and as low (if you can call it low) $32 million. Either way, it's a high price to pay.

From what I've recently read about Saban, it seems that he is a good coach and does have a good record in college football. But I stand by my assessment that he will never live up to Alabama's standards. No coach can. Even if you cloned "Bear" Bryant and brought him back to coach the Tide today, I doubt he could live up to Alabama fans' standards. And if, by some chance, Alabama is thrilled with him, the chances seem good that he could skip out on them. The previously linked ESPN article notes:

For instance, Saban, for all his success, has found a reason to leave the last three coaching jobs he's had. At Michigan State, he didn't like being The Other School to Michigan. At LSU, he felt underappreciated after winning the national championship and he left for the money and the challenge of the NFL. At the Miami Dolphins, he didn't like the lack of control he had over his adult players. Why would he be happy at Alabama when he has had trouble being happy everywhere he has coached?

And I have to agree with how the article starts out as well.

The power of college athletics once again ran right up the middle against higher education. Alabama's hiring of Nick Saban takes everything that is skewed about college football, shines a spotlight on it and says, "Hey, watch this!"

As the wife of a professor, I'm always appalled to see how much coaches get paid in comparison to how much rank and file professors get paid. I know that athletics brings in a lot of money for universities, but as a college graduate, my donations to my alma mater has NEVER been tied to how well the football team does.

Well, at least his name isn't Mike. . .

Will it be Saban?

From WSFA News - Report: Tide Offers Coaching Job to Nick Saban

According to a published report, the University of Alabama may be close to hiring a new head football coach. The Miami Herald is reporting Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban is considering a huge offer from the Tide -- $40 million to $50 million to be exact, including endorsements.

That would make Saban the highest-paid college coach in the nation. The length of the proposed contract is unclear tonight. Some speculate it would last for eight years.

It is certainly not a done deal at this point however.

In recent weeks, Saban continually denied any interest in the job. He also announced during a news conference Sunday he had no plans to leave Miami.

One source told The Herald the Dolphins organization would be "absolutely shocked" if Saban were to leave.

The article concludes by suggesting that University of Louisville coach Bobby Petrino is next in line should Saban turn down the deal.

Okay, I must admit, I don't follow football very closely and I have no idea who this guy is. But still, to make him "the highest-paid college coach in the nation," to coach at Alabama just seems ridiculous. Alabama has got to be desperate at this point. And with the expectations they have, I'm sure they will be buying this contract out in a few years too no matter who they hire. They just need to learn to give a guy some time and give a guy a break every now and then. I mean, honestly, even Bear Bryant went through a dry spell.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Let me be the first to say Happy New Year!! May your 2007 be blessed with much luck, happiness and joy.

Saddam Executed

As we all should know, Saddam was executed last night (or this morning, the time difference still confuses me). I thought about blogging about it last night, but I really didn't have anything to say about it. But after what I over heard today, I do.

I was in Wal-mart today and I was walking through the fabric department. I overheard the woman who cuts the fabric talking to a customer about the people who had died in the last few days. I hear her say James Brown and Gerald Ford and then she says another name, which neither I nor the lady she was actually talking to caught. The other lady asks her to repeat the last name and she says "Osama Bin Laden". The other lady then says "Oh yeah" as if she now knows exactly what she's talking about. Now either I missed something REALLY HUGE while I was away or they both meant Saddam Hussein. It was a temptation to correct them, but I just walked away.

I have to wonder if she really didn't know the difference or if the names just got confused in her mind. I've seen that sort of thing happen before, where a person says one name when they mean another and everyone seems to know who they mean and not really realize that they've misspoken. But it seems just as likely in this case that neither one really knew what they were talking about. If so, that's really pretty sad. Let's hope that one misspoke and the other was just being polite.

I'm back!

I'm back from journey into the technology-free zone that is my mother-in-law's house. I had some early withdrawal pains, but I survived relatively unaffected.

We actually had a very nice visit, but it was a whirlwind tour. We were on the road as long or longer than we were actually there. That is usually the case at Christmas because the window of opportunity is so small.

I'm finding that road trips really wipe me out. I hope I can survive our planned trip to Yellowstone in the summer. That one will be two weeks long. Geez, I wish we could fly. I love flying, I hate interstate highways!

Merry Fake Christmas!

Today was fake Christmas in the Cooper household. It is an odd tradition that I married into. The years that we travel north to New Jersey for actual Christmas Day, we have "fake Christmas" before we leave. Maybe it's not that odd, but it seemed odd to me at first.

Anyway tomorrow morning we will be leaving for our long journey northward. While there I will be without internet access. My mother-in-law has no computer, no cable t.v., no DVD player (although we are taking a portable one of those) and no VCR. But I guess it's not that bad to have a little technology-free time.

Anyway, have a Merry Christmas when the time actually comes for the rest of the world and hopefully I'll be blogging again before the New Year!

Why are women irrational?

Finally, my answer to the question that you have all been searching for. (I have noticed that since I started this blog, many people who find it do so by searching for an answer to that very question.) Now, I'm not a psychologist or anything, so I'm not really trained to answer the question, but I'll give my take on the situation, none the less. So here it goes.

First issue: If someone is asking "why are women irrational?" it is probably safe to assume the person asking is male, so I'll begin there. The real question at hand is "why do men view women as irrational?" I'm sure that not all men do, but for the purpose of this blog post, I'll be working from that assumption.

Second issue: What do you mean by rational/irrational? Not everyone means the same thing when they use the term. I'll give my understanding of the term and go from there. And yes, I know that at least one reader out there will disagree with me, but that is okay, too.

There are two main sources of my understanding of rationality/irrationality.
1) Notes from one of my professors in graduate school:
The four steps of rational action:
a) state an objective
b) look at options
c) evaluate the likelihood of success
d) evaluate the cost of pursuing options
(Rinehart, class notes, Intro. to Int'l Relations, Sept. 8, 2004)

2) Plato's Republic (I couldn't find a complete copy on line to link to but this site has a decent overview of the part I'm talking about).
Plato suggests that there are three parts to the human soul (or three souls) that guide human behavior. These are the rational, the spirited and the appetitive souls. For Plato, the rational soul is the logical decision-making part of human beings, the linked site equates it with the mind or the intellect. The appetitive soul equates to emotions or desires. Plato sees these forces as constantly in conflict with the rational soul. These attributes are often equated with irrational behavior.

So, to bring the two sources together, rationality is using reason and intellect to weigh options on the path to achieving a stated goal. When emotions and desires (often carnal) cloud an individual's ability to think logically and intellectually weigh options, that individual can be understood as acting irrationally. This can include emotions such as jealousy or love and desires like lust or greed. Also included in irrational motivations would be superstition or blind faith. These are beliefs that cannot be verified using empirical data.

Finally, my answer: Both men and women are irrational at times. We allow ourselves to be distracted from our goals by emotions, desires and non-rational motivations. I believe, however, that men are inclined to view women as irrational, and believe themselves to be wholly rational, because they tend to be distracted from rational pursuits by different irrational forces. Men understand the irrational forces that distract them, like jealousy and lust, but they tend not to understand the irrational factors that affect women. (And of course, there is always the hormone issue, but I'm not gonna go there right now.)

I repeat, I am not saying this is true of all men, I'm just addressing the many men who ask that particular question on a regular basis. Stop and think for a minute, "Is everything I do rational?" The answer is, probably not. Don't use the term to label women, try to understand that it affects all of us, just in different ways.

And although I'm not a trained psychiatrist/psychologist, here is a quote from someone who is.

Heroes Update

It would appear that the Heroes marathon on January 1st, on NBC will only be 3 hours long (from 7PM central to 10PM central) and will only include episodes 5, 6 and 7. So, I guess if I'm going to get caught up I'm going to have once again brave the world of Internet viewing. It must be my Internet connection, but when I tried to watch the first one on the NBC website the video portion kept freezing up. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.

What to watch. . .

I'm getting a little tired of the shows I normally watch on T.V. I mostly watch crime dramas and they are just getting so predictable. Every now and then they throw me a curve, but usually I can figure out "whodunit" or what "the twist" is going to be less than half way through the show. Often time I can pick out the guilty party within the first scene where that character appears. It's not quite so interesting as it once was.

I watch some comedies too. I'm getting a little tired of Two and a Half Men, it's just gone way over the top with its raunchiness. I do, however, still love How I Meet Your Mother and The Class.

Anyone got any suggestions of shows I should switch to.

UPDATE: I watched the first episode of Heroes and it was very interesting. I may have to wait for the marathon to see the rest of them. Watching on the computer was problematic.
H/T: Steven

Judith Regan FIRED!

Via MSNBC - O.J.’s would-be publisher Regan fired: Former insdustry force sacked in wake of canceled ‘If I Did It’ book

O.J. Simpson’s would-be publisher, Judith Regan, was fired Friday, her sensational, scandalous tenure at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. ending with the tersest of announcements.

“Judith Regan’s employment with HarperCollins has been terminated effective immediately,” HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman said in a statement.

I know she expected the O.J. book to be a big deal, but I'm quite sure this is not what she had in mind.

Poliblog Update

I am pleased to report that Verizon has informed Poliblog owner Steven Taylor that they will be changing the name of their blog from poliblog to Policy Blog.

Congratulations Steven on your triumph over Verizon and their attempted thievery!

Are women more irrational?

I came across this quote and felt that I had to share, given the name of the blog and all.

There's no evidence whatsoever that men are more rational than women. Both sexes seem to be equally irrational.
-Albert Ellis

Professorial Funnies

Some funny stories from professors around the blogosphere.

Dr. Richard Scott Nokes has two stories here and here.

Dr. Steven L. Taylor links to one here and has his own here.

I'm sure I find these particularly amusing because I'm married to a professor and I hope to be one myself someday. Enjoy!

Show your support!

Steven Taylor is having some issues with Verizon over the name poliblog. It would appear that Verizon thinks it is appropriate to steal the name of an established blog and use it as their own. Get the whole story at the REAL Poliblog. Show your support by linking to his blog and getting the word out in the blogosphere.

Verison = thief

Chiming in on the Pinochet debate

But only sort of.

In reading all the many, many, many post and comments on Pinochet over at Poliblog these last few days, I'm reminded of a quote from Abraham Lincoln during the Lincoln-Douglas debate (quoted in The Open Space of Democracy). Lincoln says:

What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our crowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, our army and our navy. These are not our reliance against tyranny. All of these may be turned against us without making us weaker for the struggle. Our reliance is in the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustom to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you.

Those who would praise Pinochet are obviously forgetting these words of wisdom. Now Lincoln was certainly no saint, but his words still ring true. (Turning the military against the liberty and independence of Chile's people is exactly what Pinochet did.) When we forget to prize liberty, we forget who we are and what we stand for as a nation.

It's official

It is now completely official, I have my Master's degree. I received the diploma today in the mail (I didn't walk in graduation because I forgot to order my cap and gown). It feels good. I really feel like I have accomplished something, much more so than getting my BS degree.

And yes, there are signatures on the diploma, but it was too big for my scanner to get the whole thing.

The Crimson Tide

Steven Taylor posted some commentary on the University of Alabama's head football coach search. He suggests:

The ongoing assumption that the Alabama job is the job in college football continues to permeate Bamanation, despite the fact that it simply isn’t what it once was, and probably won’t be again, given the way college ball works these days.

And I really can't argue with him. However, it did make me think of an old song and something that one of my friends once told me. My friend's husband is Italian and she says that Italians are still caught up in the illusions of grandeur that hearken back to Roman Empire. I think Alabama football fans suffer from the some problem.

There was a time when the phrase "The Crimson Tide" was synonymous with "winner". And the fact was immortalized in song, "Deacon Blues" by Steely Dan.

They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call alabama the crimson tide
Call me deacon blues

That is a hard thing to let go of. If my friend is right that the Roman Empire still shapes the psyche of Italians today, it will surely be many a generation before the grandeur of Bear Bryant releases the psyche of Alabama fans.

Joy-Riding on a Zamboni

Have you ever wanted to take a Zamboni out for a joy-ride? Well don't try it in downtown Boise, even if it is the middle of the night. Someone will probably turn you in. Check this out. KTVB News reports:

Two employees have been fired from the city's ice skating rink after making a midnight fast-food run -- in a pair of Zambonis.

The ice-groomer jockeys, both temporary city employees whose names and ages weren't released by Boise Parks and Recreation, had to negotiate at least one intersection with a traffic light on their late-night creep from Idaho Ice World.

An anonymous caller who alerted a telephone hot line set up by Boise Mayor Dave Bieter was gassing up his car at a nearby service station at about 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 10 when he saw the Zambonis roll through a Burger King drive-through, order food, and then return to the skating rink. The rubber-tired vehicles, whose top speed is about 5 mph, drove about 1 1/2 miles in all, said Parks Department Director Jim Hall.

Apparently this isn't the only case of reckless Zamboni behavior in the country either. The article points out an unrelated case in New Jersey:

Last year, Morristown, N.J., Zamboni operator John Peragallo was charged with drunken driving after another employee at the Mennen Sports Arena called police to report the machine was speeding and nearly crashed into the boards. Peragallo, 63, lost his Zamboni privileges.

I think my favorite quote from the whole article is this:

Strange things can happen on a Zamboni.

I never would have guessed it, but I guess it is true, Zambonis can just do strange things to a person's mind.

It's a little hard to believe

I turned in my last assignment today. I'm now finished with graduate school. It's really kinda hard to believe. In some ways, it seems like I just started and in other ways, it has become such a huge part of my life that it seems odd for it to be over. I'm really glad that I did it. I think it has been good for me. I'm really looking forward to having the time to do all the things I haven't had time for lately. But it really seems odd not to have that push of a paper I have to write, a book I have to read in under a week, or something. Maybe I can remember how to relax, but then again, I'm not sure I've ever really known how to do that.

Hum. . .I guess I need to change my profile information now, don't I? What should I call myself now that I'm not a graduate student anymore? Anyone got any ideas? Educated bum sounds promising. . .

A good laugh

Today was the last day of international law class and we had the best laugh. One student, at the begining of class, asked the professor what she should do with the rest of her life and we spent the next hour or more having a group therapy session. His advice was to do whatever you want to do and tell everyone who tries to tell you what to do to go to hell (including your mother!) It was so great to have the chance to just talk and laugh at this hectic time of the semester. I think we all needed it.

Unfortunately, now I have to return to the grindstone of paper writing. :(

Prenatal programming or just a bad example?

MSNBC - Future smokers may be programmed in womb

Future smokers may be programmed in the womb to take up the habit later in life, research published on Tuesday said.

Scientists in Australia have discovered that children of women who smoked during pregnancy were more likely to become smokers than other youngsters.

They suggest nicotine from cigarettes passes through the placenta and may act directly on the developing brain of the unborn child.

. . .

The researchers studied the smoking patterns of more than 3,000 mothers and their children who took part in a long-term study in Brisbane, Australia.

Children of the 1,000 women who had smoked during pregnancy were three times more likely to start smoking by the age of 14 and twice as likely afterwards compared to other children.

I really feel like this report is missing some vital information. What is the nature of the "other youngsters"? Are these other children ones whose mothers smoke now but did not smoke while pregnant? What about if the father smokes and the mother is exposed to second-hand smoke while pregnant, but does not personally smoke? What if she only smokes in the first few weeks of pregnancy, but stops as soon as she finds out she is pregnant?

It seems fair to me to think that if a woman smokes while she is pregnant, she is likely to continue to smoke after the child is born. If these are the only cases that were tested against the children of women who were never smokers, it seems hard to defend the idea that it is "preprogrammed in the womb" and not just picking up the habits of the parent.

I have never been a smoker. However, when I was pregnant with my middle child (now 15 years old) I was around second-hand smoke a lot. That's why I would be interested in knowing the real results of such a survey that was really scientific and had appropriate control groups.

Again I say, more information in the report would have been helpful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let us remember today to take the time to count our many blessing and think about all the things we should be thankful for.

I'm thankful to have a wonderful husband and great kids (that really don't give me too much to worry about).

I'm thankful for my extended family and friends that make my life a much happier place than it could possibly be without them.

I'm thankful to be almost finished with graduate school, but I will be so much happier when I can say that I'm thankful I actually finished graduate school.

I'm also thankful that I don't actually have to cook Thanksgiving dinner today (thanks to the extended family I already mentioned).

God bless you all and again, Happy Thanksgiving.

Check out some others giving thanks around the blogosphere.
Poliblog
Politics in Alabama

A Sad Day

Today is a sad day. We had a kitten show up at our house a week or so ago. We tried to give it away, but no one wanted to take it. We had basically decided to keep it, but now it is gone. Some dogs came into our yard this afternoon and killed it. The vet said they broke its back.

A warning to anyone out there who lives in my neighborhood. Troy has a leash law. Follow it! I will be calling the cops if I see anymore dogs in my yard. I have a dog, but I keep her either in a fenced yard or on a leash. You can do it too. If you don't like it, move out of the city limits!

What is the ultimate answer?

NY Times - Democrats Split on How Far to Go With Ethics Law

After railing for months against Congressional corruption under Republican rule, Democrats on Capitol Hill are divided on how far their proposed ethics overhaul should go.

Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate, mindful that voters in the midterm election cited corruption as a major concern, say they are moving quickly to finalize a package of changes for consideration as soon as the new Congress convenes in January.

. . .

Senator Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat tapped by party leaders last year to spearhead ethics proposals, said he was pushing for changes with more teeth. “The dynamic is different now,” Mr. Obama said Friday. “We control both chambers now, so it is difficult for us to have an excuse for not doing anything.”

He is pushing to create an independent Congressional ethics commission and advocates broader campaign-finance changes as well.

. . .

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who will oversee any proposal as the incoming chairwoman of the Rules Committee, for example, said she was opposed to an independent Congressional ethics watchdog. “If the law is clear and precise, members will follow it,” she said in an interview. “As to whether we need to create a new federal bureaucracy to enforce the rules, I would hope not.”

I suppose the question is whether to let the political process deal with corruption, as it obviously did in the mid-term election, or to create even more bureaucracy in Washington. It is a difficult question actually. We, of course, want to feel like there are laws that govern what our elected officials do and some mechanism, other than self-policing, to enforce those laws. However, one has to ask whether this new bureaucracy would really accomplish anything, or if it would just put more people on the government payroll that could be tempted by the same corrupting forces that are currently at work.

What is the ultimate answer?
42 - okay, not really.

The Thumb

Auburn wins 5th straight 22-15 over Bama

The loss left Alabama coach Mike Shula winless in four tries against his team's biggest rival and answering questions about his job security.

That's what I'm wondering about. How long can Shula keep his job if he keeps this up? My guess, not long at all.

Maybe I was wrong

In a post I wrote at the beginning of the semester I said that I wasn't going to miss being in graduate school. I'm realizing that I was wrong in making that statement.

It is the time of the semester when students are registering for next semester's classes and it is actually making me a little sad to know that I won't be taking classes next term.

It is true that I won't miss the deadlines and the papers. (I should be working on papers right now and I'm not.) But I am going to miss going to class. This has been a good semester and I have really enjoyed my Developing Nations class (even though it is a double listed class) and the Theory and Ideology class I was unoffically auditing to prepare for my comps. The classes have been fun and interesting and the group of people has been great too.

I suppose one might argue that I'm suffering from a fear of the unknown. But I think it is equally, or possibly more so, a fear of the known. Before I started back to school I just stayed at home and I really don't want to go back to that. I look forward to the idea of getting a job, but as I mentioned in the previous post, my options are geographically limited. I know I need to have a way to be out of the house and around other adults. Hopefully it will all work out well and I'm sure it will.

But I just really felt the need to say that I was wrong. I will miss it.

Is this really necessary?

MSN - T-Shirt Turns Air Guitar Into Music

Scientists announced Monday that they have developed a high-tech T-shirt that turns the strumming of an air guitar into music.

The T-shirt has motion sensors built into its elbows that pick up the wearer's arm motions and relay them wirelessly to a computer which interprets them as guitar rifts. . .

And this will be good for what? one might ask. Well, they have a plan

Helmer said sensors could be used in the future to reproduce a person in the virtual world so they could get feedback on their actions and improve their sporting techniques.

Unbelievable.

well, duh!

Everyone always tells me I have a Southern accent. When I recently went out to Idaho, people thought I was from Texas.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
The Midland
Philadelphia
The Northeast
The Inland North
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

The results box they give you to post is screwy. The one you see when you take the test gives you red line indicators by the other possible accents, but they don't show up in box above when I view it with Mozilla. Oh well.
My red line on Southern was almost all the way across.
Midland and Philadelphia were only slightly shorter than Southern.
Northeast and Inland North were just over halfway across.
The West about 1/3 across.
Boston was about 1/4.
I didn't registar at all in North Central.

H/T: Poliblog

I PASSED!!!!!

For those of you following my graduate school saga, I PASSED MY COMPS!!!!! I just recieved notification from my advisor that I successfully passed all four sections of my comprehensive exam. Let's just say I'm rather happy about that fact.

Now in the next four weeks I just have four papers to write and a final exam to take and I'll be done! That's a lot of work. I'd better get busy!

Odd but interesting

Someone from 'Thoughts and Rumors' decided to leave a quiz in the comment section on one of my previous posts. It is totally unrelated spam but I decided to keep it anyway. It kinda fun if you want to check it out. Click here.

Allen Concedes

MSNBC - Allen concedes in Virginia Senate race

Republican Sen. George Allen conceded defeat Thursday to Democrat Jim Webb, sealing the Democrats’ control of Congress and the political downfall of a man once considered a White House contender.

“I respect their decision,” Allen said of Virginia voters during a speech to supporters. “I called to congratulate Jim Webb and his team.”

I'm really glad to hear it, and not just because I'm glad to see the Democrats take control of the Senate (although I am glad of that fact).

It is important to remember that democracy has to have winners and loser. Losers have to be willing to accept the will of the people and bow out gracefully for the system to work. It is nice to see the system work the way it is designed to work.

County-by-county results

Looking at Poliblog's list of counties affected by Amendment 2 on yesterday's election and Al.com's county by county election results, I compiled this list.

Autauga - yes (54.58%)
Barbour - yes (54.92%)
Bibb - no (57.52%)
Blount - no (58.60%)
Chilton - no (53.65%)
Conecuh - yes (59.94%)
Covington - yes (52.75%)
Crenshaw - no (by 3 votes) (50.05%)
Cullman - no (67.75%)
Dale - no (52.83%)
Elmore - yes (51.08%)
Fayette - no (64.79%)
Hale - no (51.35%)
Houston - no (59.20%)
Jackson - no (51.09%)
Lamar - no (61.48%)
Lawrence - no (59.67%)
Limestone - no (54.42%)
Marengo - yes (54.57%)
Marion - no (58.29%)
Montgomery - yes (61.03%)
Pike - yes (60.85%)
Tuscaloosa - yes (51.01%)
Walker - no (64.95%)

Out of 24 affected counties, 9 voted in favor of the Amendment. I didn't list the totals or the percentages, but some of the counties that passes it did so by a good margin, others were close. The same was true of the ones that did not pass it. It was really a mixed bag.

I did not check the counties that were not affected, but obviously there was substancial support for the amendment even in the counties that were affected.

Update: It just seemed incomplete without the percentages so I went back and added them.

Webb carries Virginia

Democrat Webb wins Virginia Senate race: AP
The AP has called the Virginia Senate race in favor of Democratic challenger James Webb. From what I can find, Allen has not yet conceded, however. All the talk seems to indicate there will be a recount, but it seems that for the moment the Democrats have won the Senate as well as the House.

Rumsfeld Resigns!!

Washington Post - Rumsfeld to Step Down as Defense Secretary

President Bush today announced he is replacing Donald H. Rumsfeld as secretary of defense, saying a "fresh perspective" is needed at the Pentagon to deal with the war in Iraq.

I do wonder about the timing of this announcement. Although Bush says that it was a foregone conclusion before the election

He added later, "Win or lose, Bob Gates was going to become the nominee."

I haven't believed what he had to say before and I really see no reason to start believing him now. I think that it is just as likely that they were waiting to see how the elections went. If the Republicans had held the Congress, I think Bush would have held onto Rumsfeld.

For some alternate opinions on the subject, check out Poliblog and Outside the Beltway.

Tester wins in Montana

National Post - Democrats win Montana Senate seat

Democrats erased the Republican Senate majority Wednesday with a cliffhanger victory in Montana, hours after taking control of the House in an election that delivered a rebuke of GOP scandal, the Iraq war and the course of a nation.

With Democrats now assured of 50 Senate seats, the battle for outright control came down to Virginia, where the party's candidate, Jim Webb, held a small lead.

I can't say as I know that much about Montana, but I have been there before. When I think about it, it doesn't really surprise me that they ousted their Republican. I think that in the West there is a strong sense of personal accountability. I think that is what ultimately did Burns in.

Too close to call

NY Times - Democrats Seize Control of House; Senate Hangs on Virginia and Montana

But the fate of the Senate remained in doubt this morning, as races for Republican-held seats in Montana and Virginia remained too close to call as Election Day turned into the day after. Democrats would need both seats to win control of the Senate as well.

In Montana, Senator Conrad Burns, a Republican, was trailing Jon Tester, a Democrat, by a narrow margin. The race in Virginia — between another Republican incumbent, Senator George Allen, and Jim Webb, his Democratic challenger — was so close that some officials said it would have to be resolved by a recount.

I think it is interesting that the Democrat is actually in the lead in the states that are too close to call. Things are looking better than I thought they might be at this point. It is certainly going to be interesting times ahead.

Returns update

In the Alabama election returns it appears that the close races I commented on last night have now been called.

With 98% reporting, Folsom retains 51% of the vote.

With 99% reporting Cobb has a slightly larger lead with 52% or the vote.

The Amendment actually passed pretty handily. With 99% reporting, the "yes" vote had 59% of the vote. (It had actually been called before I even went to bed last night.)

There are, of course, other states with Senate races still too close to call.

Election Returns

From what I've seen, it looks like Amendment #2 will pass. It is currently 90% reporting and 58% voting in favor. I guess Tal was better informed than I was. I am, however, pleasantly surprised.

I'm also happy to see that Jim Folsom, Jr. is in the lead. I hope he pulls it out. With 92% reporting Folsom has 52% of the vote.

Also with 90% reporting, Sue Bell Cobb is leading with 52% of the vote.

I'm going to bed now. Maybe nothing will have changed drastically by the time I wake up in the morning.

All returns stats via WSFA.

Remember to Vote!!

I know it is a little late in the day to be making this suggestion, but REMEMBER TO VOTE TODAY!!!

An Idea

I had an idea this morning as to how we could increase voter turnout, maybe even get full participation.

Congress just needs to pass a full participation law with the enforcement mechanism being that the political ads don't stop until everyone has voted (or at least some high percentage). I really think that candidates should get about 2 weeks to run their ads and then the electorate could start voting. Once the required percentage had voted, the candidates would be required to stop campaigning.

I think a lot more people would be willing to vote if they knew it would make the commercials and political telemarketers and pollsters stop. What do you think?

I guess I should have mentioned. . .

I took my comps on Friday. They were long and exhausting. I don't feel too bad about how I did on them. Maybe I'll know how I did on them soon.

My youngest son (who is 9 years old) asked me last night if I knew yet what I made on them. I told him that I didn't and that the professors didn't even have a copy of them yet. He responded by saying that he hoped they would tell us soon. He ended with saying "Don't they know that the suspense is killing us!"

He's so cute.

A four finned dolphin

MSNBC - Dolphin reveals an extra set of "legs"

Japanese researchers said Sunday that a bottlenose dolphin captured last month has an extra set of fins that could be the remains of hind legs, a discovery that may provide further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once lived on land.

I'm never quite sure what to make of "throw-back" characteristics like that, but it is interesting none the less.

The verdict is in

MSN News reports Saddam sentenced to death by hanging.

Iraq's High Tribunal on Sunday found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to hang for the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail.

I'm not generally a supporter of the death penalty, but I think I can make an exception in this case. The whole thing's not over just yet though.

The death sentences automatically go to a nine-judge appeals panel which has unlimited time to review the case. If the verdicts and sentences are upheld, the executions must be carried out within 30 days.

Although Saddam made a call for Iraqi unity after his sentencing, I can't imagine this will really give them any unity or peace.

Boise Trip Pictures

I finally got around to uploading some of our pictures from our trip to Boise.

by rainbowjane
Feel free to go check them out.

As always, there are amendments

For any of you interested in Alabama politics, there are 3 amendments on the upcoming ballot. #1 and #3 appear to be local issues that, due to the idiocy of our current constitution, require a statewide vote. #2 is a bit more confusing to me. It appears that it will raise local property taxes in certain, undisclosed locations around the state in order to properly fund schools. I am, of course, in favor of using property taxes to fund school instead of using the ever popular (and regressive) sales tax. However, I wish the amendment was a bit clearer. I fear that anything that even hints at raising property taxes will be voted down.

UPDATE: from what I can gather from reading this RSA article, combined with Tal's comment, I'm assuming that this amendment will change the funding requirement from allowing the equivalent of 10 mills from local property tax, to actually requiring the collection of 10 mills of property tax to fund education.