Did New Orleans Catastrophe Have to Happen? 'Times-Picayune' Had Repeatedly Raised Federal Spending Issues

Federal government wasn't ready for Katrina, disaster experts say

A Failure of Leadership

US won't let Canada help Katrina victims

Do Unto Others

Black people
loot, white people borrow.

Posted by Norm at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)

Victims of Your Hurricane Katrina Need Your Help

There is work to be done. Your mission if you choose to accept it.

Bush is Missing

Poverty Rate Rises to 12.7 Percent Good job George.

Math for Believers: 'Deometry' is Hot Subject for Fall

American Scientists

Scientific Illiteracy Rampant

Lately, people who advocate the teaching of evolution have been citing Dr. Miller's ideas on what factors are correlated with adherence to creationism and rejection of Darwinian theories. In general, he says, these fundamentalist views are most common among people who are not well educated and who "work in jobs that are evaporating fast with competition around the world."

Posted by Norm at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

The right-wing doesn't do irony, at least not intentionally. The Protest Warriors a group of young freepers that show up at anti-war rallys to protest the protestors with signs sporting 'ironic' messages such as “War Has Never Solved Anything (except for everything).” were in for a surprise when they showed up to support the Cindy Doesn't Speak For Us Rally in Crawford. The irony impaired crowd took them for anti-war protestors and despite their protestations that they were on their side, knocked their signs to the ground, and chanted "Get Out of Here Liars" The Protest Warriors shaken by the less than friendly welcome left.

Read the whole story at Indybay They have Windows Media Video of the event filmed by Jeff Paterson. I've made a Quicktime version for those who prefer that format. (hat tip to Josh for the link)

Still photos of the scene here

Posted by Norm at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (40)

Notes: The Daily Show is running repeats and the networks are showing hurricanes 24/7 so don't blame me for the sparsity of video clips. If you have sent me email lately and it was important, and I haven't responded please resend. Yahoo has managed to lose a fair number of my recent messages.

Here is todays must read link

Is intelligent design a hoax? And if so, how was it perpetrated? Daniel Dennett on ID thanks to Frank for the link and he has more on the topic read it here here and here.

Oh and this is also a must read

THE MORAL-HAZARD MYTH

The bad idea behind our failed health-care system.

The issue about what to do with the health-care system is sometimes presented as a technical argument about the merits of one kind of coverage over another or as an ideological argument about socialized versus private medicine. It is, instead, about a few very simple questions. Do you think that this kind of redistribution of risk is a good idea? Do you think that people whose genes predispose them to depression or cancer, or whose poverty complicates asthma or diabetes, or who get hit by a drunk driver, or who have to keep their mouths closed because their teeth are rotting ought to bear a greater share of the costs of their health care than those of us who are lucky enough to escape such misfortunes? In the rest of the industrialized world, it is assumed that the more equally and widely the burdens of illness are shared, the better off the population as a whole is likely to be. The reason the United States has forty-five million people without coverage is that its health-care policy is in the hands of people who disagree, and who regard health insurance not as the solution but as the problem.

And I know you don't want to miss Mad Kane's latest, she has written two limericks about two different Pats, and two poems on Dub's vacation and reading list.

Bottom line, read them all.

What's that you're saying, you want video even if it is about the hurricane. Okay Crooks and Liars posted this amusing bit. Please report back does CNN suck or do they blow?

Posted by Norm at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

A Child's Primer of Intelligent Design

In the beginning, there was Intelligent Design. And Intelligent Design said, Let there be Dick. And there was Dick. And darkness was upon the face of Dick. So Intelligent Design said, "Let there be Jane." And Jane said, "Come, Dick, come! Let us be fruitful and multiply! Multiply, Dick, multiply!"

"Yes, Jane," said Dick. "But first, you must bring me a beer." And Intelligent Design said it was good.

Christian Schools Bring Suit Against UC

Under a policy implemented with little fanfare a year ago, UC admissions authorities have refused to certify high school science courses that use textbooks challenging Darwin's theory of evolution, the suit says.

According to the lawsuit, UC's board of admissions also advised the school that it would not approve biology and science courses that relied primarily on textbooks published by Bob Jones University Press and A Beka Books, two Christian publishers.

Instead, the board instructed the schools to "submit for UC approval a secular science curriculum with a text and course outline that addresses course content/knowledge generally accepted in the scientific community."

Bare feet and bearded worms

In the flesh, Dawkins is far more congenial than his awesome intolerance of "the irrational" suggests. He is eloquent and so dauntingly persuasive that he has the audience in the palms of his expressive hands. His well-known raging antipathy towards religion forms the core of his new work-in-progress, a book to be called The God Delusion, and when he mentions the title there is not even the merest shiver of disapproval among the crowd.

Homeopathy No Better Than Placebo Shocking, just schocking.

Rove's Role

Iraqi activist taken up by Bush recants her views

Posted by Norm at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

via AmericaBlog Just heard the promo from Matt Lauer on our local news about the Today show this morning. Okay, here it is: a look inside the jail in Aruba where that kid is being held; an update on Olivia Newton-John's missing boyfriend; and what life is like on Death Row for Scott Petersen. Wow. A major news trifecta.
Who says the MSM doesn't cover real news?

Jon Stewart makes the same point in this short piece about Bob Costas refusal to do yet another story on Aruba and how CNN tried to spin that into the idea that they were the real news network, and finally in the second clip Bill Maher takes his whacks at the posers.

Posted by Norm at 4:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

An irreverent look at the problem of evil.

The question is if God is all-loving, all-knowing, all powerful then how do you explain all the horrible things in the world? The list is long disease, hunger, starvation, painful fucking deaths, to name just a few. Is this God just a bit retarded? The suffering goes on and he does nothing. Is it because he can't, then he's not all-powerful, is it because he doesn't want to, then he is not all loving, is it because he doesn't see the problems, then he's not all knowing. So how is it the believer reconciles the problem? The standard answer is that if God eliminated the hardships we wouldn't have the freedom to grow. But surely a tweak here and there could be made without jeopardizing the freedom thing. The atheist would say God could have designed us to feel less pain, or made us more empathetic so we weren't such nasty bastards, or made the process of learning a bit easier to help us avoid some of the common pitfalls. Natural disasters could be made less disastrous. No category 2,3,4, or 5 hurricanes would be a good start, I'm sure Louisiana wouldn't mind. And it is really not all that difficult to suggest other reasonable changes that would not steal our precious freedom and yet improve our situation. But if you're a believer it is a more difficult question because after all if you believe in God you believe him to be infinitely wise and who the hell are we to even pose the question. It may seem irrational but from a divine point of view it may just prove we simply don't know enough to see the wisdom of the plan. So now we've reached the crux of the problem. To believe God knows what the hell he is doing requires dismissing the role of rationality. Listen up this is the important part, you can't have it both ways. You can't defend your beliefs using reason when it's convenient and then not accept that a reasoned argument against belief has equal force. This is where the problem of evil leaves a believer. The best attempts at an explanation are just versions of it will be better for us in the long run. But that explanation defies reason becuase reason tells us that God could do better. If atheists can be accused of believing they know more than God, then believers are guilty of claiming to know better than reason, which to my mind is the more serious charge.

Posted by Norm at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (53)

When Maher asked her if she didn't get satisfaction from George Bush, would she consider going over his head to Cheney or Rumsfeld, she replied: "You know what Bill, I have gone over his head, I've gone to the American people. And we employ him, he's our employee."

Posted by Norm at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)

Jon Stewart on Bush talking points, including the talking points dance.

Posted by Norm at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

A CIA Cover Blown, a White House Exposed This article provides a good summary of the events leading up to what is now known as the Plame affair.

Powell told prosecutors that he circulated the memo among those traveling with him in the front section of Air Force One. It is believed that all officials in that part of the aircraft had high-level security clearance.

US general sees significant withdrawal in Iraq Will George and his Generals ever get on the same page.

Religion: good and bad (free registration required ) or use this link

Without religion there would still be art. Without religion there is still beauty and goodness. And without religion, mankind will find reasons to go to war. Yet it remains the case that the best societies in the world are secular societies. And given that some people's religious certainties are putting everyone in danger, governments have a responsibility to keep religion low-key. Our government should not be promoting and favouring religion in the way it does.

Posted by Norm at 2:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Jon Stewart does a pretty good job of calling Christopher Hitchens on his bullshit.

Related: The Liberal Avenger analyzes Hitchens arguments from his appearance on Ron Reagan Reagan's MSNBC show 'Connected Coast to Coast.' When responding to the question of terrorists in Iraq Hitchens used the same arguments that he used with Jon. Jon did a good job on the Abu Nidal reference, but it would have been nice if he'd nailed the Zarqawi reference as noted in the Avenger's post.

Note Hitchen's "answer" to the first question. He tosses in a kitchen-sink-full of examples of Islamic extremism that have little to do with our current predicament. He failed to note that prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Zarqawi operated out of Northern Iraq, where Saddam had no control. As bad as Abu Nidal was (he died in 2002, before the invasion), He was hardly the reason we invaded Iraq. That occurred because of the "grave threat" posed by Saddam's large collection of chemical and biological weapons and his drive to get nuclear weapons.

Posted by Norm at 1:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (50)

Jon Stewart covers the latest on Pat Robertson. I don't know why the others even try. Jon nails it everytime.

Posted by Norm at 1:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

Tell me you aren't still shopping at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Inc., which bills itself as a champion for bringing low prices to blue-collar consumers, wants its proposed Utah bank to be free from a federal law that says banks must reinvest in the communities where they get their money.

Specifically, Wal-Mart Bank wants to be exempt from making at least some credit available to low income and minority communities, a requirement under the Community Reinvestment Act. And that, opponents say, is reason enough to deny Wal-Mart's Utah banking application.

Read more about Corporate Accountability

Posted by Norm at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Two enchiladas short of a combination plate and a liar too oh there's more now he's apologizing for using the term he claims he didn't use.

Posted by Norm at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

How Jon Stewart is Reinventing Televison

True Disbeliever
If you don't get the entire article check the extended entry here.

Grasping the Depth of Time as a First Step in Understanding Evolution

Accepting the fact of evolution does not necessarily mean discarding a personal faith in God. But accepting intelligent design means discarding science. Much has been made of a 2004 poll showing that some 45 percent of Americans believe that the Earth - and humans with it - was created as described in the book of Genesis, and within the past 10,000 years. This isn't a triumph of faith. It's a failure of education.

The purpose of the campaign for intelligent design is to deepen that failure. To present the arguments of intelligent design as part of a debate over evolution is nonsense. From the scientific perspective, there is no debate. But even the illusion of a debate is a sorry victory for antievolutionists, a public relations victory based, as so many have been in recent years, on ignorance and obfuscation.

Although they embrace religious faith, these scientists also embrace science as it has been defined for centuries. That is, they look to the natural world for explanations of what happens in the natural world and they recognize that scientific ideas must be provisional - capable of being overturned by evidence from experimentation and observation. This belief in science sets them apart from those who endorse creationism or its doctrinal cousin, intelligent design, both of which depend on the existence of a supernatural force.

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary theorist at Oxford, said that even scientists who were believers did not claim evidence for that belief. "The most they will claim is that there is no evidence against," Dr. Dawkins said, "which is pathetically weak. There is no evidence against all sorts of things, but we don't waste our time believing in them."

It is brave of the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin in Primrose Hill to welcome Dr Jonathan Miller. The title of the talk by the veteran doctor turned humourist, opera director and TV presenter is: “Is one God dangerous? An atheist’s view of world faiths.” It is the last in the series of lectures that the London church holds each summer.

Ironically, the proceeds from the £10 ticket price go towards the work of the Anglican church’s youth leader. An anti-God rant is funding the propagation of religion. Miller doesn’t get a fee but he gets to plug his latest works: a book on Darwinism and a BBC series on embryology.
The Reverend Robert Atwell introduces the learned doctor. The two men stand under a crucifix of a fully robed Christ. “Let it never be said that here in St Mary’s we are not open-minded,” says Atwell, to chuckles.
The 200-strong audience are mostly over 50 and nearly all white. Pearls and tweeds are not out of place. Miller is dressed in a casual navy linen jacket, ivory slacks and an open-necked, sky-blue shirt. His spectacles hang on a cord around his neck, where they stay. He looks his 71 years.
He reveals that the title of the talk was not of his choosing. He would like to talk more generally about “disbelief” - last year he did a series for BBC4, A Rough History of Disbelief. He is “reluctant” to call himself an atheist. (”It scarcely deserves a name. There are hundreds of things in which I do not believe but which I do not have to find a title to account for my disbelief. I don’t believe in witches. I don’t believe in fairies.”) He also despises the “cowardly and feeble” term “agnostic”, which he says people often feel happier to adopt as if the word “has a conceptual condom around it”.
Miller’s notes-free delivery is casual, chatty and laced with comments that raise a titter and the odd eyebrow. His tone is learned but a little hectoring and, for those who do believe, possibly verging on arrogant. His satirical dismissal of the beliefs of many of the audience as “nonsensical”, “meaningless” and “not buttering any parsnips with me”, brings looks of dismay.
He talks of the history of atheism. “Until 250 years ago, atheism was an accusation rather than an identity.” As late as the 17th century in Britain, a man was hanged “for affirming disbelief”. He recalls his own personal history: how, as a child, “the notion of a deity never occurred to me at all”.
School prayers meant no more to him than “lewd” playground rhymes. He suddenly quotes one: “Temptation, temptation, temptation. Dick Barton went down to the station.” There are bemused looks from the audience and a few polite laughs. Later, he talks of seeing his nanny praying at night while getting undressed, and the “rasping of elastic”.
Behind the wooden lectern, he bounces on his toes and gesticulates as he recalls his days at Cambridge University. Here he became interested in “ontological issues” and philosophy with a biological twist.
With his teacher, he discussed involuntary and voluntary movements and “sub-intentional actions”. He points out his own, now increasing, hand movements as an example.
To the man who wrote and presented the TV series The Body in Question, life is solely physical. He rubs his thinning white hair. “Bodies make us what we are and we are inconceivable without bodies.”
He talks a lot of “intentions” - how humans are always looking for a reason for being. But Miller can’t explain this. “Intention is a late arrival in the history of the universe,” which only exists when there is life. “To say that life itself is created by something that has intention is to create a deeply vicious conceptual circle.
”Looking for a disembodied creator of bodies is as absurd as it would be to look for a circular rectangle.”
When it comes to the meaning of life, he freely admits that he hasn’t the faintest idea. He is not interested. Rather, he is “a passionate addict of the negligible”.
He winds up his half-hour talk. “I do not believe that atheism or disbelief requires any proof at all.”
Afterwards there are multitudes of questions, some indignant, many in the same vein. How does he explain miracles? Superstition? Consciousness? Morality?
He slaps his palm as he says passionately that when it comes to things that science doesn’t know, “God is not an explanation.” He jokes about “the clergyman in the laurel bush” who pops up whenever something seems inexplicable.
”Our appetite for seeing the extraordinary is because we’re so bored with the ordinary.” We should be satisfied with what we’ve got. Life “ends with dying and that’s pretty damn good because it brings some sort of urgency as to why you’re here. Imagine what it would be like if there was never going to be an end to it!”
The Reverend thanks the doctor for “coming into the lion’s den”. The lions haven’t touched him. It’s a miracle.

Posted by Norm at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

When you think of Utah you think of Orrin Hatch and the state that gave Bush his greatest margin in the past election, but that would only be part of the story. Salt Lake City proper is actually quite liberal, how else do you explain our Mayor Rocky Anderson. Rocky was energized today. I was ready to head out for the demonstrations when I got a call from work. The short version, everyone picked the day to call in sick. So off to work I went. After work I was having a cup of coffee with my son at the Roasting Company a local coffee haunt when Rocky came through the door. He and a companion ordered their coffee and turned to find a table. I caught his eye, "great speech Mayor," I said, "were you there," he asked. I was there in spirit, I said. The Mayor was obviously in good spirits. It's not often you get a national stage to voice your opinion of the president's failed policies. Go Rocky.

Anyone who was worried that Monday's Pioneer Park anti-war protest would embarrass either the visiting Veterans of Foreign Wars or their special guest, President Bush, can relax. For all the president was able to see or hear of the contrarian event, the protest may as well have been on Mars.

The only worrisome aspect of the well-attended protest, which doubtless drew both more supporters and more ire once it became known that Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson was among its backers, was the suggestion heard here and there that there is something wrong with protesting a president, a war or a president's policy toward a war.

There isn't. And, as long as this is the kind of nation that was worth the sacrifice of VFW members, there won't be.

Patriotism does not mean blind loyalty to whoever happens to be in power at the moment. Support for the troops does not mean uncritical support for the mission they have been given. Not in a democracy.

Patriotism means people taking their responsibility as citizens seriously, looking at the facts, searching their hearts and deciding what course their nation should follow. Those who thoughtfully support the president and his policies, and say so, are being no more or less patriotic than those who oppose him, and say so.

Support for the troops means taking responsibility for what is happening to them by insisting that they receive the best leadership, the best equipment and weaponry, the best medical care and, perhaps, a rapid end to a war that, in many patriotic minds, was ill-conceived and now risks becoming a prolonged and fruitless death trap.

The need for this true form of patriotism is not less important in time of war. It is more important.

Because the actual bleeding and dying is being done by a small fraction of the population, and because the rest of us are not being asked to sacrifice in any way, too many of us may be lulled into a sense that the war doesn't matter to us.

But a war fought in our name, paid for by our taxes (or, more precisely these days, our national debt), endangering the lives of our fellow citizens, if not our near and dear, is the very thing that should move Americans away from apathy and toward some level of involvement.

Mayor Anderson was correct to speak out for the right as he sees it. Citizenship in a free society does not just allow it. It demands it.

Posted by Norm at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Jon Stewart on our victory in Iraq

Posted by Norm at 7:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another great post by Digby on what we are fighting for in Iraq, hint it's not Women's rights

The Big Picture How's Intelligent Design doing as science? What has it produced in the way of scientifically useful information. You know the answer, but check out this piece by Zimmer.

Pat Robertson wants to assinate the democratically elected president of Venezuela Hugo Chavez.

Thanks to the onegoodmove reader who calls himself Fu for the next two links

Millions embezzled at Iraqi ministry

British officials are seriously concerned about the level of corruption in the Iraqi defence ministry, after the embezzlement of vast amounts of money earmarked for the country's security forces.

Under US noses, brutal insurgents rule Sunni citadel

The executions are carried out at dawn on Haqlania bridge, the entrance to Haditha. A small crowd usually turns up to watch even though the killings are filmed and made available on DVD in the market the same afternoon.
One of last week's victims was a young man in a black tracksuit. Like the others he was left on his belly by the blue iron railings at the bridge's southern end. His severed head rested on his back, facing Baghdad. Children cheered when they heard that the next day's spectacle would be a double bill: two decapitations. A man named Watban and his brother had been found guilty of spying.

Posted by Norm at 2:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Convicted U.S. felon's 'Cures' tops book charts

Kevin Trudeau is a Charlatan and Jon Stewart has some fun exposing him.

Posted by Norm at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

Victory is Whatever We Say it is. Mark Fiore (flash)

The Texas Chain Saw President (flash) rated V for Violence.

In The Texas Chain Saw President, George Bush and Dick Cheney battle for control of the universe. Come with us as we take our hidden cameras behind the scenes to witness decision making in the Oval Office. Coming August 17, 2005.

Hillary for Prez 2008 (flash)

Del. state trooper helps enforce Rick Santorum's 'family' values

COUNTER-RECRUITMENT DEMONSTRATORS SHOT WITH TASERS, BITTEN BY DOGS thanks to Ian for the link

Video of taser

Bill Maher thinks it's just fine that Dub takes long vacations. So I had to write my own new rule about the practice.

New Rule:

Elected officials don't get more vacation days than the rest of us. George is enjoying five weeks at his ranch, again. He's setting records. He's up at the butt-crack of dawn riding his bike when he should be in the oval office attending to the business of the country. Hey we're the employer he's the employee. Since when does the employee get more time off than the boss.

Posted by Norm at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)

U.S. conceding to Iraqi Islamists, negotiators say Islam will be "the main source" of Iraq's law and parliament will observe religious principles, negotiators said on Saturday after what some called a major turn in talks on the constitution and a shift in the U.S. position.

Digby writes, Whose freedom is it anyway. placing the blame for this debacle squarely where it belongs on George W. Bush and all the fucking simple-minded Republicans who never saw the writing on the wall.

And now read about those Noble Causes from Billmon, who makes much the same point as Digby, and the two taken together pretty much sum up my feelings about the assholes leading our country and their toadys

The topic was discussed on Bill Maher's show friday night with Kellyanne Conway pulling talking points out of her ass and Asa Hutchinson accusing Bill Maher of wanting Saddam back when he suggested that women had more rights under Saddam than they will under the new Iraqi government. And yes, Asa and Kellyanne are two of the simple-minded fools I spoke of earlier.

Click on the picture to play the video
Quicktime Video 4.18MB 4'13


Quicktime Required (free download)

Posted by Norm at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

Genetically Modified Seed and Local Control I think Betty has it about right. The issue is protecting agricultural land from cross contamination by Genetically Engineered seed, the corporations are for protecting and increasing their profits. The coporate PR machine is in high gear and as usual not playing fair. Unfortunately some short-sighted politicians are more concerned with the financial support their corporate cronies provide than the people they represent. The issue of GMO food is a complicated one to be sure. Frank has provided some useful links to bring you up to speed on the subject. GMO food is a subject that needs to be discussed openly, but the burden of proof is on corporations, and the standards they must meet should be high ones. Standards that to date they have failed to meet, both in California's wine country and around the world. We need to end corporate rule and take back our democracy. I'm with Betty. Give em hell cuz.

Posted by Norm at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Go David Gregory. Finally the media challenges an outrageous statement from the right. Hosting Hardball, David Gregory moderates a little debate between Melanie Morgan (talk show host) and Mark Green (New Democracy Project). Mark did an excellent job avoiding the common pitfalls the Left normally falls victim to. Gregory set the tone in this exchange with Melanie Morgan.

David Gregory: Melanie is she an authentic voice. Is Cindy Sheehans voice larger than her own tragic situation, losing her son.

Melanie Morgan: I think that she is not an authentic voice. The reason why is because Cindy Sheehan really is a media creation, and I say that because she didn't float from the bottom up as Mr. Green just referred a moment ago she came from the top down. she's been hooked up with the people form MoveOn.org and Michael Moore who created Farenheit 9-11 a movie filled with propaganda , and inaccuracies. She's part of the anti-Bush movement in this country, and please don't get me wrong because I'm not a Bush supporter in terms of being a raw raw cheerleader. She's part of an organized movement to undermine the authenticity of the president of the United States, the commander in chief.

David Gregory: But Melanie she lost her son, I mean to her you (Melanie: yes she did) speak its as if there's no credibility when you walk in the door. This is a women who has sacrificed. She's made the ultimate sacrifice in this debate over real not just ideas but life and death, and you just write her off as being a creation of the left

Melanie: No, that is not what I said at all

Gregory: You said exactly that, she's a creation of Moveon.org and Michael Moore.

The media are wrong. The people who have come out to Camp Casey to help coordinate the press and events with me are not putting words in my mouth, they are taking words out of my mouth. I have been known for sometime as a person who speaks the truth and speaks it strongly. I have always called a liar a liar and a hypocrite a hypocrite.

"If you fall on the side that is pro-George and pro-war, you get your ass over to Iraq, and take the place of somebody who wants to come home. And if you fall on the side that is against this war and against George Bush, stand up and speak out."

Posted by Norm at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (44)

• Ignorant Over Stupid or Stupid Over Ignorant
• Bush a Chickenhawk, the facts are the facts
• Limbaugh, a 'recovering' drug addict
• Can We train the Iraqis. Only with enough troops
• Will we train the troops. We haven't done it in 2 1/2 years and probably wont do it in the future
• What now, more troops or less. Look It's not working, civil war, newsflash the war's over bring em home.

Posted by Norm at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

Brain of the Blogger
Fifteenth Skeptics' Circle

Wing Commander Will Durst

Q. Wouldn’t you think a President this media savvy would just invite Cindy Sheehan inside for some cookies and lemonade and get it over with? My theory is he’s spent too much time grilling cheese sandwiches on the hood of his pickup and might be suffering from heat stroke. Besides, what kind of a man takes his family to Crawford Texas for a vacation...

At War in Bomb Field, at Peace in Field of Dreams

Bring em home, bring them home right now. Staying is not going to change anything. The war is over, the most we can hope for is an Islamic Republic along the lines of Iran, and not one more American should die for that. I know how to boost their morale. Tell them they're coming home now, they know the score. They have Dub's noble war figured out.

"We need to trick our minds that we're somewhere else," Sergeant Harterson said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to go on, knowing today might be our last."

The 122 soldiers in the 467th, from places like Tennessee, Mississippi and Puerto Rico, came together this year in Baquba, a city 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. They range in age from 19 to 58, and at home, they have jobs like FedEx package handler, prison guard, Kellogg's waffle inspector and horseshoer. About one-third came from the inactive ready reserve, soldiers who do not have to train but can be called to active duty at a moment's notice.

"The only reason we got this nasty job chasing roadside bombs is because we are expendable," said Staff Sgt. Jeff Rayner from Nashville. "They need bodies, and we provide them. We clear the roads, but we're still treated like dirt here."

Soon after they arrived, the soldiers were moved from containerized housing units, aluminum shipping containers that hold two or three soldiers, to tents, the most primitive housing on the base.

They bonded on convoys down the treacherous roads and turned to sports to boost sagging morale.

Posted by Norm at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My Flag is Bigger Than Yours

Democrats Closer to Independents in All Fifty States This you must read, the implications are awe inspiring.

Bush on Timetables from the shoe is on the other foot department.

Onegoodmove reader Josh relates an interesting experience he had dealing with the
corporate media after they stole his footage of a protest last month.
You've got a love it, he simply sent them a bill, and they paid. Josh writes, Now my footage has resurfaced as the story rears its way back into the public mind here in San Francisco and what a biased tale they're spinning. Go read Fuck the Corporate Media

Religious belief 'falling faster than church attendance'

I find this news very encouraging, and think it would make a wonderful product for Britain to export to the U.S.A. (Thanks goes to Paul for the link)

Organised religion is in near-terminal decline in Britain because parents have only a 50-50 chance of passing on belief to their offspring, a study claimed yesterday.

By contrast, parents without faith are successful in producing a new generation of non-believers, it said.

The report identified institutional religion as having a "half-life" of one generation, as children are only half as likely as their parents to say that it is important in their lives.

The generational decline is too advanced to reverse, the report suggested, as the proportion of people who believe in God is declining faster than church attendance.

Bookworm Bush's holiday reading

As well as brush cutting, mountain biking and fishing, the president will also be tucking into Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky during his five-week summer sojourn on his Texas ranch. The other tomes are reported to be Alexander II: the Last Great Tsar by Edvard Radzinsky and The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M Barry.

Now if we could require a book report, or a quiz or two, just to see if he really reads them.

Posted by Norm at 1:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

My Beautiful Loss of Faith Story Julia sweeney's new book.
San Francisco Chronicle Review

With conservative Christians calling the shots in Washington, creationism crawling back into the nation's schools and even normally decadent Hollywood hopping onto the spiritual bandwagon, it's a beleaguered time for atheists in America.

Comedian Julia Sweeney, a former Roman Catholic who lost her faith in God, tries to keep her sense of humor. Best known for her portrayal of the androgynous character "Pat" on "Saturday Night Live," Sweeney recently completed a successful run in Los Angeles of a one-woman show, Letting Go of God, which chronicles her own disillusionment with religion.

PZ Myers has the lowdown on William Dembski Intelligent Design superstar, oh and William is more than a little full of himself. "I gave a talk at the prestigious Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark." Find out what the Danes thought of him.

There was a time when satirical pieces were obviously satire these days they are sounding more and more believable. Evangelical scientists Refute Gravity With Intelligent Falling Theory Thanks to Mike and Ray who sent me the link within 15 minutes of each other and then Kitty this morning.

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Media Liars Quicktime Video

Justice Sunday Marred by Appearance of Satan

A telecast organized by conservative Christians to warn the public about activist judges attracted an unwelcome guest: Satan. The appearance by the Dark One left some audience members wondering if he is a supporter of Supreme Court Nominee John G. Roberts, or if the many mentions of sodomy perhaps lured him to the scene.

The Republican War on Science

IN THE SUMMER OF 2001, long before his reelection and even before he became a "wartime president," George W. Bush found himself in a political tight spot. He responded with a morsel of scientific misinformation so stunning, so certain to be exposed by enterprising journalists (as indeed it was), that one can only wonder what Bush and his handlers were thinking, or whether they were thinking at all..

Terror's Greatest Recruitment Tool

The words of one of the alleged July 21 bombers in London reveal that the war on Iraq is exactly the opposite of what Bush predicted -- and exactly what progressives feared.

Hussain Osman, one of the men alleged to have participated in London's failed bombings on July 21, recently told Italian investigators that they prepared for the attacks by watching "films on the war in Iraq," La Repubblica reported. "Especially those where women and children were being killed and exterminated by British and American soldiers ... of widows, mothers and daughters that cry."

Death in Stockwell: the unanswered questions

He wasn't wearing a heavy jacket. He used his card to get into the station. He didn't vault the barrier. And now police say there are no CCTV pictures to reveal the truth. So why did plainclothes officers shoot young Jean Charles de Menezes seven times in the head, thinking he posed a terror threat?

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This article is outstanding and gets a post of its own. It's that good, thank you Justin Cartwright.

"You cannot have a sensible discussion with fundamentalists.", indeed.

Beyond Belief

Near the end of his life, Isaiah Berlin wrote these words to a correspondent who had asked the great imponderable:

"As for the meaning of life, I do not believe that it has any. I do not at all ask what it is, but I suspect that it has none and this is a source of great comfort to me. We make of it what we can and that is all there is about it. Those who seek for some cosmic all-embracing libretto or God are, believe me, pathetically mistaken."

It's time that we acknowledged honestly what most people believe, that religion is at bottom nonsense. I do not deny the good work of religious people, nor the cultural effects of religion, nor its deep penetration into our consciousness, but what I think we should acknowledge is that religion contains a massive falsehood, namely that there is a God who determines our actions and responds to our plight. As AJ Ayer said, if God has constituted the world in such a way that he cannot resolve the phenomenon of evil, logically it makes no difference whether we are believers or unbelievers. The hypocritical respect now being accorded to Muslim "scholars", people who believe that the Qur'an was dictated word for word by God, is just one example of the mess we have got ourselves into by pretending to take religion seriously. Disagreements about society can only be resolved in the here and now on liberal principles of discussion and compromise. You cannot have a sensible discussion with fundamentalists, be they Christian, Jewish or Muslim, because they start from a different point...

Muslims - and indeed any other religious group - should be treated in a secular fashion: if they stray into crime, that is what it is, crime, nothing else. We should make it absolutely clear that there are no special political or religious crimes, and we should make it clear that we do not tacitly promote religion in government or in schools. What we have to promote above all else is the liberal society, and this is best done by observing scrupulously the principles of that society. And that demands that we acknowledge that religion is, at base, nonsense. The sooner we eliminate the idea that life has "some cosmic, all-embracing libretto", the better.

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Al Gore has his own cable channel, Current TV. Dave Letterman is not sure it is as non-partisan as Al claims.

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What Now, Karl? Murray Wass

Rove and Ashcroft face new allegations in the Valerie Plame affair

Banksy Bombs West Bank more on Bansky thanks to Michael for the link

Mad Kane's Ode to Cindy Sheehan

U.S. Lowers Sights On What Can Be Achieved in Iraq

The Bush administration is significantly lowering expectations of what can be achieved in Iraq, recognizing that the United States will have to settle for far less progress than originally envisioned during the transition due to end in four months, according to U.S. officials in Washington and Baghdad.

The United States no longer expects to see a model new democracy, a self-supporting oil industry or a society in which the majority of people are free from serious security or economic challenges, U.S. officials say.

Someone Tell the President the War Is Over

Like the Japanese soldier marooned on an island for years after V-J Day, President Bush may be the last person in the country to learn that for Americans, if not Iraqis, the war in Iraq is over. "We will stay the course," he insistently tells us from his Texas ranch...

A president can't stay the course when his own citizens (let alone his own allies) won't stay with him. The approval rate for Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq plunged to 34 percent in last weekend's Newsweek poll - a match for the 32 percent that approved L.B.J.'s handling of Vietnam in early March 1968. (The two presidents' overall approval ratings have also converged: 41 percent for Johnson then, 42 percent for Bush now.) On March 31, 1968, as L.B.J.'s ratings plummeted further, he announced he wouldn't seek re-election, commencing our long extrication from that quagmire.

hillbilly video addictive via BoingBoing

update: Some have written that the link to the Hillbilly video is mean-spririted, that we are all a product of the institutions and culture we are born into. Point taken, and I certainly intended no offense. That said, I think many of the images in the video are more about the extremes within that community rather than a characterization of the community as a whole. That's how I took it, and the reason I found it amusing. Perhaps the term hillbilly is the problem.

Posted by Norm at 6:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

A sincere thanks to all of those who have used the Amazon Link in the sidebar when making your Amazon purchases. Your purchases of framing Coil Nailors, Digital Cameras, Vacuum Cleaners, as well as an interesting selection of books and CDs certainly help with the costs of maintaining onegoodmove.

Novices take on Booker all-stars

DAVID took on Goliath yesterday when three first-time authors found themselves up against literary heavyweights on the longlist of the £50,000 Man Booker Prize.

The publishing debut of Harry Thompson made such a dramatic impact on the Booker judges with his historical novel about Charles Darwin, This Thing Of Darkness , that they considered him worthy of comparison with J.M. Coetzee, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003 as well as the Booker in 1983 and 1999.

Answers sought in death outside Wal-Mart

"He was begging, 'Please, I'm burning, let me up,' " Portz said of Driver. "He'd push himself up off the blacktop, like he was doing a push-up. "About 30 people were saying, 'Let him up, it's too hot,' " Portz said. He said another employee brought a rug for Driver to lie on, but one of those holding Driver said he was fine where he was. "After about five minutes, (Driver) said, 'I'm dying, I can't breathe, call an ambulance,' " Portz said...

"Finally the guy stopped moving" and the employees got off him, Portz said. "They wouldn't call an ambulance.

"I looked at him and said, 'Hey, he's not breathing,' but one guy told me (Driver) was just on drugs. I told them his fingernails were all gray, and finally they called an ambulance."

There are further details in this KOS diary
Wal-Mart kills man for allegedly shoplifting diapers

Garbanzo beans... going down in Plames

Mix a little peak oil, petrodollars, an "Iranian bourse," topped with a little Paynter paranoia and you have a neo-con wet-dream.

Click on image to visit Dick Eats Bush You'll find some interesting videos there, not all to my taste but then that might be a recommendation. I found the image compelling for some reason.

Posted by Norm at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Steve Carell a forty-year-old virgin meets Jay Leno a spelling champ. "Mom, I'm in college I can spell divorce."

Posted by Norm at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Robert Birbaum one of best interviewers around talks to Sarah Vowell her latest book is Assassination Vacation I liked it, but then I've liked everything Sarah has written. If you're new to Idenity Theory you'll find it is a site you'll enjoy.

Video: Mother of fallen soldier asks questions of President Bush ad to air in Crawford.

Energy Vacation Mark Fiore (flash)

A couple from TNR (free registration required) thanks Lara

THE CASE AGAINST INTELLIGENT DESIGN: The Faith That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Exactly eighty years after the Scopes "monkey trial" in Dayton, Tennessee, history is about to repeat itself. In a courtroom in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in late September, scientists and creationists will square off about whether and how high school students in Dover, Pennsylvania will learn about biological evolution. One would have assumed that these battles were over, but that is to underestimate the fury (and the ingenuity) of creationists scorned.

Creation

Now I must suppose that the Church's unsophisticated new construction of God's will is a manifestation of God's wisdom. For His agents on Earth have cultural uses for anti-Darwinism. They think it will make us good, because Darwin makes us bad. No doubt this is why President Bush wants "to expose people to different schools of thought," and have intelligent design taught alongside evolution: to retard our corruption. But isn't the idea that morality is founded in nature itself a sin of materialism? And are we to teach other false ideas alongside other true ones? I do not want my son to waste his time on phlogiston. I mean, what is truth? The question is begged yet again, this time by the pomo of Crawford.

Free Documentaries Quite a collection, check it out (thanks to Ray for the link)

Posted by Norm at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Richard Dawkins on Coming Out Against Religious Mania

Giving Darwin The Finger Framing the debate with images.

'Vanity Fair' Rips Media 'Conspiracy' in Covering Up Role in Plame Scandal

Closer to home, kaboom!

A huge crater in the middle of Highway 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon, after a truck carrying explosives exploded Wednesday afternoon.
(Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune)

CNN commits iChat AV experiment hmmm

Liberals Are So Intolerant!

The Right loves to sling this smug accusation at critics from the Left. Mark Morford has a reply

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

If democracy only works when there is open discussion of opposing ideas and policies, and if the opposition party, in this case the Democrats, has hand-cuffed, blind-folded, gagged, and hog-tied itself to a failed invasion and occupation in the Middle East, where will the expanding majority of Americans look for a representative, a spokesperson, a voice for their anger, frustration, and distrust at being misled?

Green Day Video When September Ends. Oh

How to fold a shirt (flash) Just thought you should know.

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Excellent, Nightline did a great job on this program. Evolution is the only scientific explanation.

"For two hundred years there has been a consensus among the practcioners of science that doing science meant explaining the phenomena naturlistically and a scientist would go as far as he or she could along those lines and if you douldn't do it, if something was too complicated to explain that constituted a scientific puzzle, a challenge for your sucessors down the road to solve, and It's cheating to say oh, okay, this is really a tough one so let's just quit and say God did it."—Ronald Numbers - University of Wisconsin-Madison

related: P.Z. Meyers

Giving Darwin The Finger Framing the debate with images.

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Debate Over Intelligent Design was really quite an enjoyable program. It wasn't really a debate but rather back to back interviews with the guests, first George Gilder and then Richard Dawkins. I was particularly impressed with Dawkins uncompromising but reasonable approach to the subject. I think the out he provides for Christians in this exchange with the host of the program Tom Ashbrook is a good one.

Tom Ashbrook:

What about this , at the very point of origin there of life which you describe as a lucky chemical accident, you know and you can hear many religious americans, really struggle with that. As an atheist what's added, even as an opponent of religion, a great advocate of science, an illuminator of life, attitudinally, lets leave the education, the reading aside for a moment attitudinally what's your advice to a very religious person someone who wants to reach out and embrace science, what's the attitude that allows those to co-exist knowing that you're not one of those religious people.

Richard Dawkins:

Well, if I were one of those religious people what I'd probably say is that evolution is God's method of creating life. I've personally always found that a very unconvincing line of argument but it's a very widspread one. I would suggest reading maybe Kennth Miller's book Finding Darwin's God I haven't recommended one of my own books but Kenneth Miller is a very devout Christian, his book, Finding Darwin's God contains the finest and most devastating destruction of design theory that I've read. I would recommend that.

Here is the direct link to the Real Audio stream

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60 year old rockers taking swipes at the neocons

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They're just people like you and me.

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Bush: Students Should Learn About Creationism, Inteligent Design

Don't accuse President Bush of being one-sided when it comes to the question of who created the earth. In recent remarks, Mr. Bush has encouraged school districts to incorporate both sides of the debate regarding the development of humanity: creationism, the belief that God created the earth in six days, and Inteligent Design, the idea that an unseen force has been guiding our development.

World Torture Tour

Arar drags Bush's policies into court (thanks to Cherie for the link)

Rendition, a practice used with some frequency by U.S. President George W. Bush in his war on terror, is the name attached to a policy by which terrorist suspects are sent to other countries for interrogation, and often face torture.

Rendition was on trial in U.S. district court during three hours of oral arguments in the case known as Arar vs. Ashcroft.

Mayor of Baghdad Is Deposed The new Iraq, the new democracy in action.

Armed men entered Baghdad's municipal building during a blinding dust storm on Monday, deposed the city's mayor and installed a member of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia..."This is the new Iraq," said Mr. Tamimi, the deposed mayor. "They use force to achieve their goal."

Why No Tea and Sympathy?

There's an angry mother of a dead soldier camping outside his Crawford ranch, demanding to see a president who prefers his sympathy to be carefully choreographed...It's hard to think of another president who lived in such meta-insulation. His rigidly controlled environment allows no chance encounters with anyone who disagrees. He never has to defend himself to anyone, and that is cognitively injurious. He's a populist who never meets people - an ordinary guy who clears brush, and brush is the only thing he talks to.

Posted by Norm at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

One Mother in Crawford

Summertime often produces unexpected media figures, and this is Cindy Sheehan's season. Ms. Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq last year, is camping out near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Tex., and says she won't leave until Mr. Bush agrees to meet with her to discuss the war. There are many reasons for the flood of media attention she is attracting: she has a poignant personal story and she is articulate - and, let's face it, August is a slow news month. But most of all, she is tapping into a growing popular feeling that the Bush administration is out of touch with the realities, and the costs, of the Iraq war.

Camp Casey
Day 3
The Peaceful Occupation of Camp Crawford by Cindy Sheehan

Amen

Mad Kane has some new limericks for you. Vacationers , Bullshiters , and a duck that's Lame

Parrot placed in solitary

A foul-mouthed parrot who stands on top of his cage shouting rude words at passers-by has been isolated after swearing at the mayoress, a lady vicar and two police officers.

"When he saw the policemen coming, he said: 'Hello, you two w*****s'. He told the mayoress and the lady vicar to f*** off. He stands on the top of his cage swaying his head backwards and forwards, singing 'B*****ks', "B*****ks'."

Here is an English to American Dictionary for those who need help with the slang.

Posted by Norm at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Cindy Sheehan to Be Arrested Thursday if true I must say that Bush and Company are even dumber that I gave them credit for, and you all know how I feel about that crowd. Do it, oh please, throw em in the hoosgow. Even Fox News would cover that.

The day onegoodmove reader Monkey found religion

The Judy File and more Judy Judy Judy

Time has a couple of interesting articles on the hotest topic around,ID and Evolution, and don't miss the memo from Moses, link in the blogad to your right.

The Evolution Wars

Can You Believe in God and Evolution?

First causes and such, here is some suggested reading for any with an interest in such topics David Hume Dialogues and Natural History of Religion

The Dialogues ask if belief in God can be inferred from the nature of the universe or whether it is even consistent with what we know about the universe. The Nautral History of Religion investigates the origins of belief, and follows its development from harmless polytheism to dogmatic monotheism.

The President and Intelligent Design What a great rant, the President just got kung fu'd.

Darwin and Design: The Flawed Origins of a Critique

Scientists are dull people who lack imagination and creativity.

Turner writes:

The evolutionists' sin, as I see it, is even greater, because it is three sins rolled into one. The first is a profound failure of the imagination, which comes from a certain laziness and complacency.

Paula Bourges-Waldegg responds:

I can’t think of anybody with less imagination than those who believe that God is the ultimate answer to every question. Scientific discovery is largely based on creativity and imagination. From Einstein’s thought experiments and Crick and Watson’s beautiful double helix structure to Edison’s technological innovations, science is full of inspiration and inventiveness.

If someone can be accused of laziness and complacency it is in fact those who believe only what they are told to believe or those who think they already know the answer to all the mysteries of the universe. Scientists are constantly questioning their assumptions and challenging their own findings. Religious fundamentalists, on the other hand, can only survive in a question-free environment. So, the real couch potatoes are those who claim to have the truth but don’t bother to go out there, do the research, and find some real evidence to support their claims. These people tend to be satisfied with what they already know “in their hearts” and will never experience the kind of restlessness, anguish, excitement and joy that comes along with scientific quest.

Posted by Norm at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

President's Radio Address as transcribed by our good friend Billmon.

Scooter Libby and Judy Miller met on July 8, 2003, two days after Joe Wilson published his column. And Patrick Fitzgerald is very interested.

Have you signed a petition yet today this one is in opposition to using Nukes in Iran or why not TELL PRESIDENT BUSH TO SUPPORT SCIENCE EDUCATION AND OPPOSE INTELLIGENT DESIGN!

Guns, Germs, and Steel' Reconsidered

Galloway's Views on terrorism. (Real Audio Link)

Design for Confusion

I'd like to nominate Irving Kristol, the neoconservative former editor of The Public Interest, as the father of "intelligent design." No, he didn't play any role in developing the doctrine. But he is the father of the political strategy that lies behind the intelligent design movement - a strategy that has been used with great success by the economic right and has now been adopted by the religious right.

The important thing to remember is that like supply-side economics or global-warming skepticism, intelligent design doesn't have to attract significant support from actual researchers to be effective. All it has to do is create confusion, to make it seem as if there really is a controversy about the validity of evolutionary theory. That, together with the political muscle of the religious right, may be enough to start a process that ends with banishing Darwin from the classroom.

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The only thing that was a miracle in that situation was the lightening that hit the plane, that was the act of God. If anything God was trying to kill these people. His plan was foiled by the crew's satanic competence.



Click on Picture to Play
Quicktime Video 4.2MB 3'07

Quicktime Required (free download)
related:

Toronto jet escape redefined 'miracle'

If any of you happen to be looking for the definition of "miracle," you need look no further than Flight 358.

An evacuation by the book — but no miracle

Survival in jet crash like fiery accident in Toronto not so unusual

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A debate on contemporary uses of liberalism

I disagree with the claim that "liberalism does not have a clearly defined long-term utopian goal or an end-station as other ideologies do." Marxism was never very clear about what things would be like once full-fledged communism had been achieved. Christianity has never been very specific about what the souls in Heaven spend their time doing. No Buddhist can tell you much about what Nirvana is like. There are lots of science-fiction and fantasy books that describe societies in which liberal fantasies have become actual, and in which liberty, equality, and fraternity are salient features of social life. I am not sure why striving for the latter ideals should be thought insufficiently inspirational.—Richard Rorty

Skeptics Circle # 14

Intelligent Design another view. ( thanks goes to Marc )

Cherokee court dismisses gay marriage suit

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- A Cherokee Nation court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to
The Judicial Appeals Tribunal in its ruling yesterday said that tribe member and attorney Todd Hembree had no standing to sue and could not show that he suffered any harm by legal recognition of the same-sex marriage.

Thanks to Bryan for the link.

Here is an entertaining post from Pandagon on the proposed text for Bible study classes in Texas Schools.

Posted by Norm at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A Rove smoking gun ?
an ounce of Dylan is worth a pound of pot rage on

Who Loves Creepy Megachurches?
Stadium crowds, thousands of rabid devotees, all chugging Jesus like Kool-Aid. Should you be afraid?

Liberality For All #1

It is 2021, tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of 9/11 It is up to an underground group of bio-mechanically enhanced conservatives led by Sean Hannity, G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North to thwart Ambassador Usama Bin Laden's plans to nuke New York City ...And wake the world from an Orwellian nightmare of United Nations- dominated ultra-libe

Chess players in the movies

Chess shows up a lot in the movies, often for no other reason than to make the protagonist seem smart or sophisticated. It's frequently used in advertisements for the same reason...

How a kid in a Cubs cap saved a would-be chess bum

To outsiders, chess may seem to be just another hobby. To those who play the game, it's a sport with elements of art and science.

Bobby Fischer, the reclusive former champion who fostered a chess renaissance in the United States when he defeated Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky for the world crown in 1972, said it simply: "Chess is life."

That may be overstated, but chess can easily become an obsession...

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Susan breaks all records
03.08.2005 She strode 9.1 miles, in high-tech sneakers, drinking orange juice. She faced 321 opponents simultaneously, scoring an unprecedented 99.03%. After breaking the Guinness Book's simul record Susan Polgar went on to break a few more, like 1,131 consecutive games played in one session.

1,131 Consecutive Games Played: Overall statistics which included 551 opponents: 1,112 wins, 16 draws and 3 losses = 99.03% (previous record: 1102 games by WGM Anna-Maria Botsari, Greece)

Posted by Norm at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Fighting in northwest Iraq claims lives of 21 Marines in 3 days. How can anyone believe we are winning and that the talk of withdrawing is anything more than declaring victory and running.

Family Values Republican Style what a guy, uses his family for PR all the photos face out, see I'm a family man, meanwhile Mitt gets the back of the frames to remind him what an ass he is.

Surprise Bush endorses Intelligent Design I like Billmon's take on it The Decent of Man and be sure and follow the H.L. Mencken link. (thanks to Rob for heads up)

Nanotechnology kills cancer cells

Learn Without Thinking

I don't know if it is the same, but there are phone numbers that I don't consciously remember, at least not reliably, but my fingers seem never to forget. I put the phone to my ear place my fingers on the keypad and by some miracle my fingers punch out the correct number. Perhaps this information is being stored in the same area of the brain as the habitual learning discussed in the article. Fascinating isn't it?

Humans learn without explicit thought

Humans can learn skills without remembering what they have done, according to a study of patients with severe amnesia. Such learning is seen in monkeys, but experts were unsure whether humans retained this ability, because of our tendency to think consciously about whatever we are learning.

Posted by Norm at 2:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

a new the party party track, "My Generation Rx", is now availble and it sparkles. It features George B vs. Hillary C. and in my opinion is one of rx's better efforts. Here is the link to Download

Posted by Norm at 7:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Starting a little after 10 a.m. EDT Monday, chess grand master Susan Polgar walked from chess player to chess player in The Gardens Mall, making move after move in her quest for the world record of most chess games played simultaneously.

Here is a short clip of Susan in Salt Lake earlier this summer giving a simul for some Junior chessplayers. In the Salt Lake event she only played against 30 players at once. In the record setting event in California she's playing against 10 times that many, 326 simultaneous games. For the record she will have to win at least 80 percent of the games.

Posted by Norm at 12:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

The War is Over, and We ...

We have run out of troops and money, the rest of the world has run out of patience with our stupidity, and the upper regions of the Bush administration may be crumbling under the pressure of a prosecutor's investigations and eroding public support.

Terror suspect gives first account of London attack

One of the men accused of taking part in the failed terror attacks in London on 21 July has claimed the bomb plot was directly inspired by Britain's involvement in the Iraq war.

Picture This

Here's why you can't buy the News Journal at Wal-Mart

Uzbeks Order U.S. From Base in Refugee Rift My bet is that Bush and company will buckle and start accomodating human rights abuse in Uzbekistan. Watch for the headline in next couple of months that we have come to an agreement to continue using the air-base. The details of the agreement will be secret.

Civil War? Whatever

Carburetor breast fantasy wins bad writing contest

As he stared at her ample bosom, he daydreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintage Triumph Spitfire, highly functional yet pleasingly formed, perched prominently on top of the intake manifold, aching for experienced hands, the small knurled caps of the oil dampeners begging to be inspected and adjusted as described in chapter seven of the shop manual," went Dan McKay's winning entry in the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.

The Christian Paradox

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