nebraska was the good life.
schultz's wedding was fun. posed pictures are ridiculous. i was forced to grab the lapels of my tux up above my nipples. i rebeled to this unnatural pose by making sure my smile featured both upper and lower rows of teeth. i saw the legendary troy conyers. we both slipped up and swore several times in the catholic church. i argued that i wasn't really cursing because i was quoting somebody. when troy asked who i was quoting, i had to admit that i was quoting myself. troy decided that it was okay as long as the original quote did not occur in a church. if you saw schultz's ring, you would think it was an ankle bracelet. he’s a thick guy.
my dad's brother vance died thursday november 18 and the funeral was monday, so it was nice to be there for that.
i saw josh cramer. we hung out at the reno bar. we reminisced. if two words that you have never heard sequentially are going to come out of someone's mouth, that mouth will probably be josh cramer's. peeps were discussing where two people had lived relative to each other and cramer ended the lively conversation with a definitive "caddywampus bitch." for those of you who know and are interested in the fate of the three-testicled brian litz, he is alive and well. litz sells used cars during the day, works at a bar during the night, and has promiscuous sex with many anonymous and extremely obese women later on at night.
in other news, i ate a lot of food.
while i was home, my parents referred me to an essay on pieter bruegel the elder's sixteenth century painting, landscape with the fall of icarus. my dad has a sort of encyclopedia set of artists, with a book devoted to each artist, so i actually got to see the painting. the focal point is a ploughman, head down, ploughing his field on a hill in the foreground of the painting. further down the hill a shepherd is gazing ponderously off into the distance. the background contains a flourishing city and a calm bay. a large merchant ship is sailing on your right hand side. in the water near the merchant ship you can barely perceive the legs of icarus just before they submerge into the water. i don’t know much greek mythology, but i know icarus escaped imprisonment on wings of wax, flew upward, but too near the sun, which melted his wings and sent him hurtling down toward his death in the sea. think of icarus what you will. in the painting, nobody gives a shit about icarus. as some of you may not know, i was hanging out with the ploughman in a pub later that month, and i told him what had happened, because he hadn't seen it in the vulpine news. the ploughman appeared to have the inclination to say something, but in the end he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, and then looked down into his tenebrous beer.
national 3d cross country meet results
regional teams:
7. stolaf
8. carleton
11. nebraska wesleyan
14. wartburg
congratulations to bucy, fulton, and richards. does anybody know what happened to sam hauck. i wouldn't expect viscosity and thermal breakdown in november, but it looks like he blew up, which could have cost stolaf 70 points; however, they still edged cross-town rival carleton.
congratulations to steve and yarrow. the williams men finished 9th and williams women finished 1st.
and lastly, i would like to congratulate to missy buttry and liz woodworth on their 1-2 finish and their awesome porn names.
outkast's andre three thousand says we need a glass of cold water to chase the hate away.
nebraska 20 - colorado 26
nebraska finishes the season with first losing record since my dad's sophomore year in college.
vikings 27 - yagwars 16
Monday, November 29, 2004
Thursday, November 18, 2004
woodspice
two things
first. i had to buy some deodorant because the building i work in keeps our office at 77 degrees, no shit. do you know what 77 feels like to my body in november in minnesota. my body says 86 and sunny. naturally, me being a man uber alles, i don't want my armpits to smell like roses. that's why i bought woodspice, a deodorant cloying of man musk (actually sage and lemongrass, but don't tell anyone).
second. if you're feeling down, visit rather good. i recommend giant bee. and you might recognize we like the moon from the quizno commercials.
i will be away on assignment until november 29. jude has agreed to write on my behalf while i am gone. just for the record jude, i think you're a love lover. sometimes i say things i don't mean.
first. i had to buy some deodorant because the building i work in keeps our office at 77 degrees, no shit. do you know what 77 feels like to my body in november in minnesota. my body says 86 and sunny. naturally, me being a man uber alles, i don't want my armpits to smell like roses. that's why i bought woodspice, a deodorant cloying of man musk (actually sage and lemongrass, but don't tell anyone).
second. if you're feeling down, visit rather good. i recommend giant bee. and you might recognize we like the moon from the quizno commercials.
i will be away on assignment until november 29. jude has agreed to write on my behalf while i am gone. just for the record jude, i think you're a love lover. sometimes i say things i don't mean.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
administer the discipline to me, hard
i just read that kmart and sears are combining forces to form the third largest retailer behind wal-mart and home depot. on that note...
i watched frontline on pbs last night. is wal-mart good for america?
wal-mart was born in the 1950s with sam walton's five and dime store. sam walton's formula: buy cheap, sell for less, and make your profit on high volume and fast turnover. wal-mart had 38 stores in 1970. now every week 100 million shoppers enter its 3400 stores. wal-mart had $256 billion in sales last year. that's one IBM, one hewlett-packard, one dell computer, one microsoft, and one cisco systems, with $2 billion left. in the past we had pennsylvania railroad, u.s. steel, and general motors, now we have wal-mart headquartered in bentonville, arkansas.
wal-mart has incredible efficiency and amazing logistics. wal-mart uses barcode data to its fullest potential. managers can monitor sales by time and by any product variable (color, fabric, size, etc.). wal-mart kicks ass as a business machine, but do machines have feelings.
how did wal-mart rise to power. people voted for wal-mart with their dollars, not just wal-mart, but big box retailers in general. as a result, manufacturers no longer sell to thousands of retailers, instead, like in the case of rubbermaid, 5-7 retailers represent two thirds of sales volume. big box retailers have incredible power, which has shifted production from push production to pull production. in push production manufacturers decide what to produce and then try to get retailers to buy and sell the products for them. in pull production retailers observe what is selling and then tell manufacturers what to produce and when. wal-mart doesn't negotiate on manufacturer prices. for example, rubbermaid needed to pass the cost increase of resin (raw material) on to the consumer. wal-mart said no. let's review the manufacturer's choices: accept wal-mart's price or see your products disappear from wal-mart's shelves. remember, wal-mart is about 25% of the retail market. so how do manufacturers acquiesce to wal-mart's price demands. they move production to china.
today wal-mart has 6000 global suppliers, 80% of which are in china. remember wal-mart's "buy american" campaign in the late 1980s. that was nice. then sam walton died in 1992 and wal-mart stock started to slide down. my precious, no, not the stock price. wal-mart increased profits through importing merchandise with huge profit margins, as in 60-80% profit margins versus 18-20%. chinese workers earn 25 to 50 cents per hour. cheap labor is cheap.
market forces, free trade, right. the u.s. signed an international trade agreement with china. china joined the world trade organization. maybe not free trade. the last remaining television manufacturer in the u.s. filed a court case against china for illegally dumping below market value. wal-mart sided with china. the manufacturer argued that china's currency valuation is too low, china has unfair labor standards, and the chinese government subsidizes like a mo-fo. the manufacturer won the case and import duties were imposed. duties saved the day. but can duties win the war.
china is the largest exporter to the u.s. economy in virtually all consumer goods categories. wal-mart is the largest retailer in the u.s. economy in virtually all consumer goods categories. china and wal-mart make out in public, and that's gross. at the long beach port in california, china ships $36 billion to the u.s. and the u.s. ships $3 billion to china. fair and balanced, like fox. americans have the income to buy, the chinese don't. the u.s. exports cotton and imports clothing, exports hides and imports shoes, exports scrap metal and imports machinery. hmmm. pray to the smiling curve.
for whom does the smiling curve smile
china: wrong part of the smiling curve
other stuff:
frontline focused on shenzhen, a rice field twenty years ago but now a city of seven million that will soon be the world's third busiest port. shenzhen is located by hong kong and macao. macao has the most desirable casino real estate in the world. but that's another story.
wal-mart has a strategy called opening price points. select advertised items have crazy low prices and will beat the competition, but other items don't necessarily have the lowest price. lure customers into the store with the crazy low prices on select goods and use these opening price points to establish the perception that all wal-mart products are cheaper than the competition's.
frontline didn't talk at all about wal-mart employees, wages, benefits, unions, etc. if you want to read a shitty but popular book about low-wage jobs, read "nickle and dimed" by barbara "all i want is a sinecure" ehrenreich. congratulations barb on you big fucking expose.
in other news. i read that there is an article in nature about how humans evolved to run. i read an editorial that compared colin powell to the guy who follows elephants around at a circus and picks up their shit. i don’t know if it fits, but it’s a good analogy.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
RIP ODB
reading update
i finished "all the kings men" by robert penn warren. it's a story inspired by the real huey pierce long, governor and then senator of louisiana. long was known for his dictatorial control of louisiana. he campaigned under the slogan of "every man a king, but no one wears a crown." true to his word, he soaked the rich.
i finished "as i lay dying" by william “mississippi” faulkner. a mother of five dies. the family takes her forty miles away to another county to be buried. the book is told in stream of consciousness style by 15 different narrators in 59 chapters. each chapter is narrated by one character.
i finished cat's cradle by kurt vonnegut. it's about religion. it's funny, but maybe not funny if you are religious because you don’t think religion is a placebo. anyway, vonnegut creates a religion (bokononism) and weaves a good story.
i read a book review of “the empire has no clothes: u.s. foreign policy exposed” by ivan eland, a guy from the libertarian cato institute. it sounds good.
from the nytimes
exercise can result in microscopic muscle tears, which can lead to inflammation. white blood cells repair the muscles, releasing chemicals that signal soreness. so.
from the september issue of american journal of sports medicine
1. stretching does not prevent muscle soreness
2. massage does little to improve recovery after eccentric muscle use
post run eating
"There is some evidence that consuming protein and carbohydrates in the immediate period after exercise may decrease subsequent muscle damage, but that research is in its infancy," said Dr. Tarnopolsky. "What has been fairly well established is that eating food in the post-exercise period is better than starving.”
and if a peculiar norwegian cross country runner asks you if he can compensate for running by training for cross country skiing, you can cite dr. tarnopolsky: "It's all about sport specificity."
i finished "all the kings men" by robert penn warren. it's a story inspired by the real huey pierce long, governor and then senator of louisiana. long was known for his dictatorial control of louisiana. he campaigned under the slogan of "every man a king, but no one wears a crown." true to his word, he soaked the rich.
i finished "as i lay dying" by william “mississippi” faulkner. a mother of five dies. the family takes her forty miles away to another county to be buried. the book is told in stream of consciousness style by 15 different narrators in 59 chapters. each chapter is narrated by one character.
i finished cat's cradle by kurt vonnegut. it's about religion. it's funny, but maybe not funny if you are religious because you don’t think religion is a placebo. anyway, vonnegut creates a religion (bokononism) and weaves a good story.
i read a book review of “the empire has no clothes: u.s. foreign policy exposed” by ivan eland, a guy from the libertarian cato institute. it sounds good.
from the nytimes
exercise can result in microscopic muscle tears, which can lead to inflammation. white blood cells repair the muscles, releasing chemicals that signal soreness. so.
from the september issue of american journal of sports medicine
1. stretching does not prevent muscle soreness
2. massage does little to improve recovery after eccentric muscle use
post run eating
"There is some evidence that consuming protein and carbohydrates in the immediate period after exercise may decrease subsequent muscle damage, but that research is in its infancy," said Dr. Tarnopolsky. "What has been fairly well established is that eating food in the post-exercise period is better than starving.”
and if a peculiar norwegian cross country runner asks you if he can compensate for running by training for cross country skiing, you can cite dr. tarnopolsky: "It's all about sport specificity."
Monday, November 15, 2004
whose house
congratulations mac. third place among miac teams at the region meet. stolaf and carleton took one-two overall. bo was 14 seconds away from an individual birth to nationals.
7. Macalester
20 Bo Rydze, Sr 26:05 5:15
28 Eric Olson, Sr 26:20 5:18
41 Roscoe Sopiwnik, Jr 26:41 5:22
55 Dylan Keith, So 27:04 5:27
60 Nate Crider, Fr 27:11 5:28
85 Matt Wegmann, Fr 27:38 5:33
104 Tim Stendahl, Jr 28:17 5:41
Time = 2:13:20 Places = 204
nebraska 3 – oklahoma 30
hey, they beat the spread.
minnesota politics
minnesota had the highest voter turnout in the nation at 77.3%. in minneapolis 78% of the voters didn't chose bush. the elections gave the minnesota house an extreme makeover. the democrats gained 14 seats, closing the republican majority to 68-66. democrats control the senate 36-31. governor tim "small testicles" pawlenty has started harassing native american owned casinos in an attempt to squeeze money out of them and into state coffers. pawlenty has been forced to do this because he apparently needs money but refuses to raise taxes. i emailed pawlenty and said "why don't you cut some programs, is it because you're a huge pussy." pawlenty emailed back with a timorous "yes."
tim "duplex" pavlish
marye and i helped tim move a few things to his new house on saturday. the place is nice. the inside is very new. tim is inhabiting the first floor. enter the front door, take a right into the right half of tim's floor. from front to back you have living room, dining room, bedroom. in the living and dining areas the floors are wood, the walls are yellow, and the ceilings are high. the windows are long, six feet maybe, and let in the winter sun. the only bathroom on the first floor is in tim's bedroom. if you are over 250 pounds, you can’t take a shit there. the left half of the first floor houses tim's spacious kitchen, where tim will be training for an appearance on iron chef. to the left of the kitchen is the laundry room. now for the upstairs. enter the front door, high knees, up, take a right, up some more and there you are. a bedroom occupies the front quarter of the second floor. it has a big closet and space for a desk. the middle half of the second floor is split with a living room on the right and a kitchen on the left. the rear quarter of the second floor has a bathroom on the left and bedroom on the right. tim has one renter already, a bibulous cousin. tim is also friendly with the neighbors already. a little too friendly if you ask me. friday afternoon tim had just finished toweling off after a shower and was walking into his bedroom when suddenly his 82 year old neighbor marge scared the bejesus out of him. “hi tim, i see that you’re naked. anyway, i brought some cake and icecream for you.” “marge, jesus!, i mean, thanks. how about you wait in the dining room.” the point of this story is that if you go to visit tim and the door is locked, he still might be home. marge is cool though, she has a basketball hoop. sometime tim and i will play her in 21.
in other news, i went shopping for schultz’s wedding gift at target on sunday. i bought him a sponge bob square pants soap holder.
7. Macalester
20 Bo Rydze, Sr 26:05 5:15
28 Eric Olson, Sr 26:20 5:18
41 Roscoe Sopiwnik, Jr 26:41 5:22
55 Dylan Keith, So 27:04 5:27
60 Nate Crider, Fr 27:11 5:28
85 Matt Wegmann, Fr 27:38 5:33
104 Tim Stendahl, Jr 28:17 5:41
Time = 2:13:20 Places = 204
nebraska 3 – oklahoma 30
hey, they beat the spread.
minnesota politics
minnesota had the highest voter turnout in the nation at 77.3%. in minneapolis 78% of the voters didn't chose bush. the elections gave the minnesota house an extreme makeover. the democrats gained 14 seats, closing the republican majority to 68-66. democrats control the senate 36-31. governor tim "small testicles" pawlenty has started harassing native american owned casinos in an attempt to squeeze money out of them and into state coffers. pawlenty has been forced to do this because he apparently needs money but refuses to raise taxes. i emailed pawlenty and said "why don't you cut some programs, is it because you're a huge pussy." pawlenty emailed back with a timorous "yes."
tim "duplex" pavlish
marye and i helped tim move a few things to his new house on saturday. the place is nice. the inside is very new. tim is inhabiting the first floor. enter the front door, take a right into the right half of tim's floor. from front to back you have living room, dining room, bedroom. in the living and dining areas the floors are wood, the walls are yellow, and the ceilings are high. the windows are long, six feet maybe, and let in the winter sun. the only bathroom on the first floor is in tim's bedroom. if you are over 250 pounds, you can’t take a shit there. the left half of the first floor houses tim's spacious kitchen, where tim will be training for an appearance on iron chef. to the left of the kitchen is the laundry room. now for the upstairs. enter the front door, high knees, up, take a right, up some more and there you are. a bedroom occupies the front quarter of the second floor. it has a big closet and space for a desk. the middle half of the second floor is split with a living room on the right and a kitchen on the left. the rear quarter of the second floor has a bathroom on the left and bedroom on the right. tim has one renter already, a bibulous cousin. tim is also friendly with the neighbors already. a little too friendly if you ask me. friday afternoon tim had just finished toweling off after a shower and was walking into his bedroom when suddenly his 82 year old neighbor marge scared the bejesus out of him. “hi tim, i see that you’re naked. anyway, i brought some cake and icecream for you.” “marge, jesus!, i mean, thanks. how about you wait in the dining room.” the point of this story is that if you go to visit tim and the door is locked, he still might be home. marge is cool though, she has a basketball hoop. sometime tim and i will play her in 21.
in other news, i went shopping for schultz’s wedding gift at target on sunday. i bought him a sponge bob square pants soap holder.
Friday, November 12, 2004
great garb
pictures from halloween are finally online. first we have tim pavlish displaying his check from the bocce tour, then the angelic marye, tim fondling his bocce ball, host matt gabrielson resting his beer cup on his huge godly rack, me as the new batman, cowboy and sub four minute miler luke watson, matt's favorite toy (don't worry it's not toxic), jason lehmkuhle as a hooters girl, slash (liz's boyfriend charlie) and sponge bob, some of team minnesota (spot the olympian), matt indulging the kimono clad liz connors, tommy trojan man, and sponge bob pissing off the edge of the deck. good times.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
i support hierarchy
"Winning the Oil Endgame offers a coherent strategy for ending oil dependence, starting with the United States but applicable worldwide. There are many analyses of the oil problem. This synthesis is the first roadmap of the oil solution-one led by business for profit, not dictated by government for reasons of ideology. This roadmap is independent, peer-reviewed, written for business and military leaders, and co-funded by the Pentagon. It combines innovative technologies and new business models with uncommon public policies: market-oriented without taxes, innovation-driven without mandates, not dependent on major (if any) national legislation, and designed to support, not distort, business logic."
the rocky mountain institute is a good site to visit.
check out the healthy forests web site. on an unrelated note, the senate passed a resolution allowing only "best yet" brand foods to be served in the congressional cafeteria. when bill frist was questioned about the resolution he replied "why not."
testimony of secretary of the interior gale norton before the house committee on resources on the arctic coastal plain domestic energy security act of 2003.
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wiki
A wiki is a website that allows a user to add content, as on an internet forum, but also allows that content to be edited by any other user. the term wiki can also refer to the collaborative software used to create such a website.
A wiki enables documents to be written collectively in a simple markup language using a web browser. Wiki software originated in the design pattern community as a way of writing and discussing pattern languages. The Portland Pattern Repository was the first wiki, established by Ward Cunningham in 1995. Cunningham invented the wiki name and concept, and produced the first implementation of a wiki engine. Cunningham named the term wiki for the "wiki wiki" or "quick" shuttle buses at Honolulu Airport.
A number of jargon terms have emerged in the wiki community.
WikiGnome: A friendly editor participating in a wiki by contributing helpful little edits and additions without much noise. Obviously, this can be seen as a role adopted more or less occasionally by a person who may or may not be otherwise active on the same wiki.
WikiFairy: Another friendly contributor working to beautify pages on a wiki.
WikiGremlin: Roughly the opposite of a WikiGnome: somebody wreaking havoc and perpetrating sometimes intelligent but always mischievous and malicious edits. Clearly a variant of vandalism.
A common defense against persistent "vandals" is to simply let them deface as many pages as they wish, knowing that they can easily be tracked and reverted after the vandal has left. This policy can quickly become impractical, however, in the face of systematic defacements born out of anger or frustration. As an emergency measure, some wikis allow the database to be switched to read-only mode, while others enforce a policy in which only established users who have registered prior to some arbitrary cutoff date can continue editing. Generally speaking, however, any damage that is inflicted by a "vandal" can be reverted quickly and easily. More problematic are subtle errors inserted into pages which go undetected, for example changing of album release dates and discographies on Wikipedia.
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"By challenging the arguments and ideas of our allies, we make them think about improving their own democratic discourse. Next time they'll come back with better discussion tools, not just talking like tools. Well, that or they will just punch us next time." -Eric Klinker
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2004 Federal Tax Rates
Single
Taxable income is over: But not over: The tax is: Plus: Of the amount over
$0: $7,150: $0.00: 10%: $0
7,150: 29,050: 715.00: 15%: 7,150
29,050: 70,350: 4,000.00: 25%: 29,050
70,350: 146,750: 14,325.00: 28%: 70,350
146,750: 319,100: 35,717.00: 33%: 146,750
319,100: 92,592.50: 35%: 319,100
Married Filing Jointly
Taxable income is over: But not over: The tax is: Plus: Of the amount over
$0: $14,300: $0.00: 10%: $0
14,300: 58,100: 1,430.00: 15%: 14,300
58,100: 117,250: 8,000.00: 25%: 58,100
117,250: 178,650: 22,787.50: 28%: 117,250
178,650: 319,100: 39,979.50: 33%: 178,650
319,100: 86,328.00: 35%: 319,100
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
it's a pickwickian blog... sometimes
login, inc. met its october revenue goals, so we had lunch paid for by the boss. however, because of that lunch, i don't have much time to write.
it is 77 degrees in my workplace. what do you think about that. it makes me angry.
my dad finished harvest last week. soybeans yielded slightly below average but corn kicked ass, above 200 bushels per acre.
i will be driving down to nebraska on friday november 19. schultz's wedding is on saturday november 20. i am in the wedding. it will be fun. then i will be in nebraska enjoying the good life until i return to minnesota on sunday november 28. i am disappointed that i won't be able to run the living history farm race and disappointed that i will not be able to stay at the ritz household. it breaks my streak of three lhf races. stupid weddings. kidding.
it is 77 degrees in my workplace. what do you think about that. it makes me angry.
my dad finished harvest last week. soybeans yielded slightly below average but corn kicked ass, above 200 bushels per acre.
i will be driving down to nebraska on friday november 19. schultz's wedding is on saturday november 20. i am in the wedding. it will be fun. then i will be in nebraska enjoying the good life until i return to minnesota on sunday november 28. i am disappointed that i won't be able to run the living history farm race and disappointed that i will not be able to stay at the ritz household. it breaks my streak of three lhf races. stupid weddings. kidding.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
it was close, 51-48, that's close
i read an article about supernovas. the theory is that supernovas evolve in double star systems, where one star becomes a white dwarf (one of the densest forms of matter) and accretes matter from its larger partner star until it hits the chandrasekhar limit, at which point degeneracy pressure cannot support the star, thus creating a type 1a supernova. but how does it happen. is the supernova a deflagration or a detonation. the answer is both. the star burns like a candle and then detonates, creating heavy elements. like my astronomy professor at mac asked us one day, is your outfit supernova-free. probably not. are you wearing a ring, do you have a zipper on your pants, do you have a filling in a tooth, are you wearing a watch, are you concealing a glock. thank you supernovas. anyway, the resulting thermonuclear explosion means the end of the white dwarf and sends its partner star speeding across the universe.
i don’t know if you saw the news last week that dutch filmmaker theo van gogh, who was widely known for his mocking criticism of conservative muslims, was murdered by a young muslim who had sought to make contact with militant groups in the past. well, monday in eindhoven a bomb damaged a muslim elementary school, in what authorities say they believe was intended as an act of revenge for the killing of van gogh. not good. van gogh was due to release a film about pim fortuyn. remember jean-marie le pen from france, that guy was crazy too.
and did you see the news about the upheaval caused by floresians, miniature people found to have lived on the indonesian island of flores until just 13,000 years ago. floresians stood about three and a half feet tall and had tiny brains, but they made sophisticated stone tools that demonstrate high intelligence. are floresians descendants of homo erectus, or are they descendants of homo sapiens downsized by island selection in an environment lacking predators but also lacking food sources. or maybe floresians are unrelated, like neanderthals.
good article by david brooks: the values-vote myth.
who will it be in 2008: candidates begin to jockey for 2008
this article was okay: bansai, debunking the kamikaze myth
demographics is destiny. liberals have fewer kids. liberals are a dying breed.
families join evangelical churches as a refuge against the septic tide of popular culture that threatens to carry away their children.
god, gays, guns.
am i an elitist.
i don’t know if you saw the news last week that dutch filmmaker theo van gogh, who was widely known for his mocking criticism of conservative muslims, was murdered by a young muslim who had sought to make contact with militant groups in the past. well, monday in eindhoven a bomb damaged a muslim elementary school, in what authorities say they believe was intended as an act of revenge for the killing of van gogh. not good. van gogh was due to release a film about pim fortuyn. remember jean-marie le pen from france, that guy was crazy too.
and did you see the news about the upheaval caused by floresians, miniature people found to have lived on the indonesian island of flores until just 13,000 years ago. floresians stood about three and a half feet tall and had tiny brains, but they made sophisticated stone tools that demonstrate high intelligence. are floresians descendants of homo erectus, or are they descendants of homo sapiens downsized by island selection in an environment lacking predators but also lacking food sources. or maybe floresians are unrelated, like neanderthals.
good article by david brooks: the values-vote myth.
who will it be in 2008: candidates begin to jockey for 2008
this article was okay: bansai, debunking the kamikaze myth
demographics is destiny. liberals have fewer kids. liberals are a dying breed.
families join evangelical churches as a refuge against the septic tide of popular culture that threatens to carry away their children.
god, gays, guns.
am i an elitist.
Monday, November 08, 2004
you have a nice face
the venerable and vulgar eric klinker, the recently converted and baptized kris johnstone (former coworker of mine), and the big fundamentals traveled down to ames, iowa, friday night to partake in the pre-game festivities of the iowa state - nebraska football game. we enjoyed ingurgitating quarter beers, savoring toothsome gyros, watching toothsome women put their christian values in motion on the dance floor, micturating in public, and of course, provoking the common species of choleric homophobe found prowling the ames bar scene.
iowa state 34 - nebraska 27
why do bad things happen to righteous people.
from today’s read of the news
here are some criminal justice stats from 2003:
1,470,045 state and federal inmates
2,212,475 inmates when city, county, and juvenile inmates are added to state and federal inmate population
state and federal inmate percentages
44% black
35% white
19% Hispanic
10% of african american men ages 25-29 are in prison.
a note on campaign finance:
In total, this year's races for Congress and the White House are estimated to have cost roughly $3.9 billion, about a third more than they did four years ago, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign spending.
the more you know:
three in four americans say if iraq did not have wmd or support al qaeda, us should not have gone to war. to read about this and other amazing misconceptions by the american public visit the program on international policy attitudes.
iowa state 34 - nebraska 27
why do bad things happen to righteous people.
from today’s read of the news
here are some criminal justice stats from 2003:
1,470,045 state and federal inmates
2,212,475 inmates when city, county, and juvenile inmates are added to state and federal inmate population
state and federal inmate percentages
44% black
35% white
19% Hispanic
10% of african american men ages 25-29 are in prison.
a note on campaign finance:
In total, this year's races for Congress and the White House are estimated to have cost roughly $3.9 billion, about a third more than they did four years ago, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign spending.
the more you know:
three in four americans say if iraq did not have wmd or support al qaeda, us should not have gone to war. to read about this and other amazing misconceptions by the american public visit the program on international policy attitudes.
Friday, November 05, 2004
environmentalist?
okay tim of the fourth estate, i want to figure out exactly why you want to protect the environment. let’s start a dialogue, although i will run roughshod over you and anyone who supports the environment.
tim, you made a lot of claims in your blog, but not as many claims as assumptions.
1. drilling ANWR is bad
why should i care about the arctic national wildlife refuge. you say anwr will be ruined. ruined for whom. ruined for caribou and marmots. ruined for tundra.
2. forests should not be logged.
why should forests not be logged. maybe you would retort that logging destroys flora and fauna. why are flora, fauna, and landscape so important to you. is it the aesthetic, the value you give it. surely you don’t believe in intrinsic value. do you have a nature calendar featuring seal pups in november and maggots putrefying them in december.
3. global warming is bad.
it isn’t that bad. and remember, humans are the great ameliorators, we can change and fix in a hurry if forced.
if you want to reduce emissions, buy a fuel efficient car or travel less. but i like to travel. write to xcel energy and minnegasco and tell them that you want to buy renewable energy. recycle, reduce, reuse. cut down your materialism. make purchases that reflect your values. seventh generation is a great company. do you buy their detergent, dish soap, or toilet paper. where do you buy your food. do you choose organic or pesticides. do you have energy efficient light bulbs. have you read about the energystar program on the department of energy web site. have you weatherized your house. do you donate to the trust for public land or the nature conservancy. i don’t have the money. you always have the money, it just depends what is more important. vote with your dollars. your money is their profit. without the preservation of values in consumption, there can be no values in production.
i want a cabin on the lake. i want a cabin in the pristine wilderness. if you universalize my decision, there would be no wilderness. there would be cabins on every lake and covering every site with a buena vista. i want to preserve nature for me, not for other people.
what the hell do you mean by greater good.
what distinguishes you as an environmentalist from a republican, besides your vote at the poll.
tim, you made a lot of claims in your blog, but not as many claims as assumptions.
1. drilling ANWR is bad
why should i care about the arctic national wildlife refuge. you say anwr will be ruined. ruined for whom. ruined for caribou and marmots. ruined for tundra.
2. forests should not be logged.
why should forests not be logged. maybe you would retort that logging destroys flora and fauna. why are flora, fauna, and landscape so important to you. is it the aesthetic, the value you give it. surely you don’t believe in intrinsic value. do you have a nature calendar featuring seal pups in november and maggots putrefying them in december.
3. global warming is bad.
it isn’t that bad. and remember, humans are the great ameliorators, we can change and fix in a hurry if forced.
if you want to reduce emissions, buy a fuel efficient car or travel less. but i like to travel. write to xcel energy and minnegasco and tell them that you want to buy renewable energy. recycle, reduce, reuse. cut down your materialism. make purchases that reflect your values. seventh generation is a great company. do you buy their detergent, dish soap, or toilet paper. where do you buy your food. do you choose organic or pesticides. do you have energy efficient light bulbs. have you read about the energystar program on the department of energy web site. have you weatherized your house. do you donate to the trust for public land or the nature conservancy. i don’t have the money. you always have the money, it just depends what is more important. vote with your dollars. your money is their profit. without the preservation of values in consumption, there can be no values in production.
i want a cabin on the lake. i want a cabin in the pristine wilderness. if you universalize my decision, there would be no wilderness. there would be cabins on every lake and covering every site with a buena vista. i want to preserve nature for me, not for other people.
what the hell do you mean by greater good.
what distinguishes you as an environmentalist from a republican, besides your vote at the poll.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
you think you know me
okay, time for a little biography of my religious upbringing for all you pagans out there.
i had been going to GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH before i was two, playing under the pews. i wasn’t baptized until age six. i was confirmed in junior high. i went to church every sunday and wednesday. i learned the old testament: genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy, joshua, judges, ruth, first book of samuel, second book of samuel, first and second kings, and the chronicles too, ezra, nehemia, esther, job, 150 psalms, and the proverbs too, eccelsiastes next, then the song of solomon, isaiah, jeremiah... i can't remember any more. i learned the new testament: matthew, mark, luke, john, acts, romans, first and second corinthians, galations, epehsians, phillippians, colossians, first and second thessalonians... i can't remember the rest. my mom always read the bible to me and my sister. we covered most of it, then i read it again myself. numbers was my favorite. i kid.
then i matriculated to the most pagan of institutions. one of the courses i took my first semester at dear old MACALESTER was cultures in conflict, taught by professor overman. one book that made a huge impact on me was “christians as the romans saw them.” i read books about paganism and i also purchased a bible containing the apocrypha, which i knew nothing about because protestant churches generally exclude the apocrypha. martin luther rejected the books due to some verses that seemed to contradict his views, especially a verse in second maccabees which alludes to purgatory: "it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins". by the way, the word APOCRYPHA, from the greek "hidden", refers in general to religious works that are not considered canonical, or part of officially-accepted scripture. such works are often believed not to have been "inspired" or to be in some way "less inspired" by divine processes or entities, such as holy wisdom or the holy spirit. am i inspired. hmmm. most works that are considered apocryphal in the hebrew bible were written in languages other than hebrew, such as greek or aramaic.
from the apocrypha i read the books of judith, esther, and first and second maccabees. judith dresses up all skanky and cuts off the head of an invading general. esther is a brave queen who prevents the genocide of jews. first maccabees tells the story of the conquest of palestine by the greeks under alexander the great, the attempt by the greeks to impose greek culture on the jews, and the jewish revolt against that domination. it’s not as exciting as it sounds. second maccabees focuses on the jews' revolt against antiochus and concludes with the defeat of the syrian general nicanor in 161 bc by judas maccabeus. catholics and orthodox consider second maccabees to be a canonical and part of the bible, while protestants regard it as apocryphal. most jews, while not considering it to be scripture, consider it useful as a historical supplement to first maccabees, but reject most of the doctrinal innovations present in the work. on a side note about MARTYRS, it should be known that the long descriptions of the martyrdoms of eleazer and of a mother with her seven sons (2 macc 6:18-7:42) caught the imagination of medieval christians. several churches are dedicated to the maccabeean martyrs, and they are among the very few pre-christian figures to appear on the catholic calendar of saints' days. the book is considered the first model of the medieval stories of the martyrs.
and moving right along. the summer after graduating from macalester i read the KORAN. it was repetitive and boring and i was provided no succor from the all clement. my reading of the koran provided me with good insight on the contrast between, on one hand, the intellectual analysis of text and, on the other hand, the indoctrination from growing up with religion, and the acting out of meaning and cultural observance of religion in everyday life through prayer, worship, fellowship, holidays (looks a little like holy days doesn’t it), etc.
would i recommend reading the bible. no. but, as the big fundamentals, i always believe that it’s good to know the basics.
i would recommend a few books of the bible. job is a good one, an exercise is theodicy, the reconciliation of the co-existence of evil and god. ecclesiastes is a good short read. it’s place in the bible always makes me laugh. everything is utterly senseless. i wish i was special. also, if you are named after a book of the bible, you should read that book. habakkuk should read habakkuk. jude should read jude, it’s the fourth shortest book in the bible. paul, you have your work cut out for you because you should read all the letters of paul. that goes for those of you named saul too. does anyone know why.
i had been going to GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH before i was two, playing under the pews. i wasn’t baptized until age six. i was confirmed in junior high. i went to church every sunday and wednesday. i learned the old testament: genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy, joshua, judges, ruth, first book of samuel, second book of samuel, first and second kings, and the chronicles too, ezra, nehemia, esther, job, 150 psalms, and the proverbs too, eccelsiastes next, then the song of solomon, isaiah, jeremiah... i can't remember any more. i learned the new testament: matthew, mark, luke, john, acts, romans, first and second corinthians, galations, epehsians, phillippians, colossians, first and second thessalonians... i can't remember the rest. my mom always read the bible to me and my sister. we covered most of it, then i read it again myself. numbers was my favorite. i kid.
then i matriculated to the most pagan of institutions. one of the courses i took my first semester at dear old MACALESTER was cultures in conflict, taught by professor overman. one book that made a huge impact on me was “christians as the romans saw them.” i read books about paganism and i also purchased a bible containing the apocrypha, which i knew nothing about because protestant churches generally exclude the apocrypha. martin luther rejected the books due to some verses that seemed to contradict his views, especially a verse in second maccabees which alludes to purgatory: "it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins". by the way, the word APOCRYPHA, from the greek "hidden", refers in general to religious works that are not considered canonical, or part of officially-accepted scripture. such works are often believed not to have been "inspired" or to be in some way "less inspired" by divine processes or entities, such as holy wisdom or the holy spirit. am i inspired. hmmm. most works that are considered apocryphal in the hebrew bible were written in languages other than hebrew, such as greek or aramaic.
from the apocrypha i read the books of judith, esther, and first and second maccabees. judith dresses up all skanky and cuts off the head of an invading general. esther is a brave queen who prevents the genocide of jews. first maccabees tells the story of the conquest of palestine by the greeks under alexander the great, the attempt by the greeks to impose greek culture on the jews, and the jewish revolt against that domination. it’s not as exciting as it sounds. second maccabees focuses on the jews' revolt against antiochus and concludes with the defeat of the syrian general nicanor in 161 bc by judas maccabeus. catholics and orthodox consider second maccabees to be a canonical and part of the bible, while protestants regard it as apocryphal. most jews, while not considering it to be scripture, consider it useful as a historical supplement to first maccabees, but reject most of the doctrinal innovations present in the work. on a side note about MARTYRS, it should be known that the long descriptions of the martyrdoms of eleazer and of a mother with her seven sons (2 macc 6:18-7:42) caught the imagination of medieval christians. several churches are dedicated to the maccabeean martyrs, and they are among the very few pre-christian figures to appear on the catholic calendar of saints' days. the book is considered the first model of the medieval stories of the martyrs.
and moving right along. the summer after graduating from macalester i read the KORAN. it was repetitive and boring and i was provided no succor from the all clement. my reading of the koran provided me with good insight on the contrast between, on one hand, the intellectual analysis of text and, on the other hand, the indoctrination from growing up with religion, and the acting out of meaning and cultural observance of religion in everyday life through prayer, worship, fellowship, holidays (looks a little like holy days doesn’t it), etc.
would i recommend reading the bible. no. but, as the big fundamentals, i always believe that it’s good to know the basics.
i would recommend a few books of the bible. job is a good one, an exercise is theodicy, the reconciliation of the co-existence of evil and god. ecclesiastes is a good short read. it’s place in the bible always makes me laugh. everything is utterly senseless. i wish i was special. also, if you are named after a book of the bible, you should read that book. habakkuk should read habakkuk. jude should read jude, it’s the fourth shortest book in the bible. paul, you have your work cut out for you because you should read all the letters of paul. that goes for those of you named saul too. does anyone know why.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
it's bush by a hair
people are crazy and i don't know why, so i asked god. god suggested that i talk with him more often. god also suggested that i study religion, especially christianity, and the constitution. i read the constitution the other night. its complete text is under C in the complete set of 1993 world book encyclopedia's that i picked up for twenty dollars at the hastings, nebraska, library book sale in the city auditorium in 2002. i joked with god about how the 18th amendment was the worst idea ever. i asked god why bush won the election and why the cornhuskers suck this year. i expected god to say that he was on bush's side and that's why bush won. but god must have seen the clever trap i had laid for him and quickly answered "because he got more votes and because they score less points." i said, damn god, i was ready to hammer you because i know you support the huskers but the huskers suck. why do the huskers suck if the huskers have a lot of christians on the team and the state is full of christians. we hate gays more than southerners and we are more zenophobic than southwesterners. how could you let a team like usc win, or any team from florida ever. blah blah blah
anyway,
here are results from my home county in nebraska:
adams county
bush 70%
kerry 29%
here are results from arthur county in nebraska:
bush 90%
kerry 9%
us house district three: osborne 97%
in other news
i am reading "ontogeny and phylogeny" by stephen jay gould. the book is a dry review of reproduction theories that have since been proven false. the main theory was recapitulation, which basically purports that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.
in case your are wondering... recapitulation is the theory that an individual organism's development of successive stages resembles the series of ancestral types from which it has descended. ontogeny is the development or course of development of an individual organism. phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a kind of organism.
the scientists believed in evolution but belief in god turned them into teleologists, and from there the crazy theories abound. it’s hard to read about something when you know it’s bullshit. it’s hard to take it seriously and try to learn something that appears to have no use. hmmm. i felt the same way when i was reading “a brief history of western philosophy.” those peeps were brilliant thinkers, but what would they think now.
anyway,
here are results from my home county in nebraska:
adams county
bush 70%
kerry 29%
here are results from arthur county in nebraska:
bush 90%
kerry 9%
us house district three: osborne 97%
in other news
i am reading "ontogeny and phylogeny" by stephen jay gould. the book is a dry review of reproduction theories that have since been proven false. the main theory was recapitulation, which basically purports that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.
in case your are wondering... recapitulation is the theory that an individual organism's development of successive stages resembles the series of ancestral types from which it has descended. ontogeny is the development or course of development of an individual organism. phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a kind of organism.
the scientists believed in evolution but belief in god turned them into teleologists, and from there the crazy theories abound. it’s hard to read about something when you know it’s bullshit. it’s hard to take it seriously and try to learn something that appears to have no use. hmmm. i felt the same way when i was reading “a brief history of western philosophy.” those peeps were brilliant thinkers, but what would they think now.
Monday, November 01, 2004
it's wet, damn wet...
4. Macalester
13 Bo Rydze, Sr 27:14.6
15 Roscoe Sopiwnik, Jr 27:25.2
23 Dylan Keith, So 27:58.7
24 Eric Olson, Sr 28:02.1
43 Matt Wegmann, Fr 28:26.0
48 Nate Crider, Fr 28:30.5
49 David Augustson, So 28:32.6
Time = 2:19:06.5 Places = 118
if you look at the results, the times appear astonishingly slow. i think everyone knew the times would be slow due to the wet fall, which produced a soggy course. the temperature was a nice fifty degrees. it was a little breezy. there was also some nice drizzle. congrats on the effort mac, but i won't congratulate you on your fourth place between st. thomas (115) and hamline (121) because i know you expected third. i'm not in a comfy armchair, but here it goes: it is difficult to place third if you don't have any top ten runners, the gap between 1-2 and 3-4 was a little bigger than i expected, and the number 5 runner was average. regions should bring redemption, if you believe in that sort of thing.
dan bucy took the lead immediately, followed by malcolm richards, kelly fulton, several jackasses, and the rest of the pack. the top three opened a lead quickly and the race seemed to spread out early on. outside the top three, runners looked more haggard than usual. the course really took a toll on the runners’ appearances, or maybe the runners this year are just uglier than in past years. but the top three looked smooth, working easy. malcolm took the lead from bucy just before heading into the last small loop. kelly fulton came out from under the stone arch with the lead, turned around, threw a large hammer at malcolm, which malcolm dodged but bucy took directly on the nut sack, and continued to blaze to victory. stolaf won easily and carleton won second easily, proving eliot, who approached people before the race to tout his predictions with the giddiness of the masturbating bear, wrong.
in other observations, i thought i noticed some changes on the course this year. i didn't think there were usually water stations at the conference meet but somebody handed bethel runner david borner a water bottle shaped like a cock. he proceeded to fade from 4th to 32nd.
the mac women took home fifth.
carleton was hosting the meet and took home the dishonor of shittiest finish line management ever. i came across a transcript on the carleton web site from a pre-race meeting about managing the finish line. here it is:
the women's 6k race is usually really spread out and when women finish they continue to charge down the chute. that's true. that means we can make our one and only finish chute two meters wide and taper it down to twelve inches after taking two steps across the finish line. good idea. hey, i have another idea. let's have a single file line of finishers that backs up twenty meters onto the course. yes, that would be hilarious, runners pouring on the surge down the finishing stretch only to have us tell them not to pass anybody else, just wait here please, just a minute. [chortling] they won’t know when to stop their watches, should i stop it now or should i wait until the line moves across the finish. yes, hilarious.
elections
i haven't really been paying attention to swing states and the electoral vote, so i took a look today. if kerry wins ohio, michigan, and wisconsin, i will be running around st. thomas with my willie hanging out. let freedom reign. free willie. i also looked at the senate races. three states with republican party incumbency are tight. five races with democrat party incumbency are tight.
aaron, did you see this article in the asian times. have you heard about it in japan. tokyo traduces history with toxic textbooks. basically, japan was trying to liberate asia from the west, and what japan did in world war two was not only morally right, but magnanimous.
jude, i have a halloween party experience that you should be yearning to hear about. i don't know when i will post about it. i want to build the anticipation.
13 Bo Rydze, Sr 27:14.6
15 Roscoe Sopiwnik, Jr 27:25.2
23 Dylan Keith, So 27:58.7
24 Eric Olson, Sr 28:02.1
43 Matt Wegmann, Fr 28:26.0
48 Nate Crider, Fr 28:30.5
49 David Augustson, So 28:32.6
Time = 2:19:06.5 Places = 118
if you look at the results, the times appear astonishingly slow. i think everyone knew the times would be slow due to the wet fall, which produced a soggy course. the temperature was a nice fifty degrees. it was a little breezy. there was also some nice drizzle. congrats on the effort mac, but i won't congratulate you on your fourth place between st. thomas (115) and hamline (121) because i know you expected third. i'm not in a comfy armchair, but here it goes: it is difficult to place third if you don't have any top ten runners, the gap between 1-2 and 3-4 was a little bigger than i expected, and the number 5 runner was average. regions should bring redemption, if you believe in that sort of thing.
dan bucy took the lead immediately, followed by malcolm richards, kelly fulton, several jackasses, and the rest of the pack. the top three opened a lead quickly and the race seemed to spread out early on. outside the top three, runners looked more haggard than usual. the course really took a toll on the runners’ appearances, or maybe the runners this year are just uglier than in past years. but the top three looked smooth, working easy. malcolm took the lead from bucy just before heading into the last small loop. kelly fulton came out from under the stone arch with the lead, turned around, threw a large hammer at malcolm, which malcolm dodged but bucy took directly on the nut sack, and continued to blaze to victory. stolaf won easily and carleton won second easily, proving eliot, who approached people before the race to tout his predictions with the giddiness of the masturbating bear, wrong.
in other observations, i thought i noticed some changes on the course this year. i didn't think there were usually water stations at the conference meet but somebody handed bethel runner david borner a water bottle shaped like a cock. he proceeded to fade from 4th to 32nd.
the mac women took home fifth.
carleton was hosting the meet and took home the dishonor of shittiest finish line management ever. i came across a transcript on the carleton web site from a pre-race meeting about managing the finish line. here it is:
the women's 6k race is usually really spread out and when women finish they continue to charge down the chute. that's true. that means we can make our one and only finish chute two meters wide and taper it down to twelve inches after taking two steps across the finish line. good idea. hey, i have another idea. let's have a single file line of finishers that backs up twenty meters onto the course. yes, that would be hilarious, runners pouring on the surge down the finishing stretch only to have us tell them not to pass anybody else, just wait here please, just a minute. [chortling] they won’t know when to stop their watches, should i stop it now or should i wait until the line moves across the finish. yes, hilarious.
elections
i haven't really been paying attention to swing states and the electoral vote, so i took a look today. if kerry wins ohio, michigan, and wisconsin, i will be running around st. thomas with my willie hanging out. let freedom reign. free willie. i also looked at the senate races. three states with republican party incumbency are tight. five races with democrat party incumbency are tight.
aaron, did you see this article in the asian times. have you heard about it in japan. tokyo traduces history with toxic textbooks. basically, japan was trying to liberate asia from the west, and what japan did in world war two was not only morally right, but magnanimous.
jude, i have a halloween party experience that you should be yearning to hear about. i don't know when i will post about it. i want to build the anticipation.
Friday, October 29, 2004
caricature of manliness?
my minatory friend jude informed me that he benched 135 for three sets of ten. that got me thinking about how manly jude is, which in turn got me to thinking about how manly i am. holy shit i'm manly. and i have a lot of manly friends. but little did i know that wednesday night while i was sitting around being manly, another friend of mine was about his business emasculating himself. i was watching the red sox defeat the cardinals. and while i watched, i scratched myself with a frequency that may have given an observer the visage of an unhealthy creature. during the fourth inning i filled up the cup of chew spit that i held in my right hand while i scrutinized a porno in my left hand. of course, i stopped staring at bare breasts and shorn beavers to watch the truck commercials. hemi.
meanwhile across town...
as you may have read on tim's blog, which masticated wednesday night's events, tim went over to the apartment of socialite liz connors, ever the gracious host who tries her best to entertain. “hey tim, let's go to a smoky bowling alley, drink beer, and hurl a heavy object to smash other objects.” tim just sat on the couch emoting rapid fire nays.
"no, no, no."
“hey tim, how about the vu, king of diamonds, or rick's cabaret.
"no, no, no."
“tim, do you want to stay here.” tim nods. “we could watch a action movie with ripping explosions, hundreds of cars twisted into mangled metal, decimating body counts, and rough romance scenes with supple women.”
"no, no, no."
“well how about a kung fu movie. how about the game.” both mentions for a moment drew a nonplussed reaction from tim.
“i want to watch sex in the city. aaaeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrroiiiiiiiinonononooiayneeeeeeee.”
when the reverberating noise of tim's tantrum ceased to echo in the apartment, liz offered a conciliatory “tim, we can watch whatever makes you happy and warm inside.”
“sex in the city, sex in the city, yay, yay” tim cheered as he pranced about the room like a high school cheerleader, the froufrou from his skirt and pom-poms filling the air. “the episode about balls, the episode about balls.”
see you at the dubliner tonight tim.
meanwhile across town...
as you may have read on tim's blog, which masticated wednesday night's events, tim went over to the apartment of socialite liz connors, ever the gracious host who tries her best to entertain. “hey tim, let's go to a smoky bowling alley, drink beer, and hurl a heavy object to smash other objects.” tim just sat on the couch emoting rapid fire nays.
"no, no, no."
“hey tim, how about the vu, king of diamonds, or rick's cabaret.
"no, no, no."
“tim, do you want to stay here.” tim nods. “we could watch a action movie with ripping explosions, hundreds of cars twisted into mangled metal, decimating body counts, and rough romance scenes with supple women.”
"no, no, no."
“well how about a kung fu movie. how about the game.” both mentions for a moment drew a nonplussed reaction from tim.
“i want to watch sex in the city. aaaeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrroiiiiiiiinonononooiayneeeeeeee.”
when the reverberating noise of tim's tantrum ceased to echo in the apartment, liz offered a conciliatory “tim, we can watch whatever makes you happy and warm inside.”
“sex in the city, sex in the city, yay, yay” tim cheered as he pranced about the room like a high school cheerleader, the froufrou from his skirt and pom-poms filling the air. “the episode about balls, the episode about balls.”
see you at the dubliner tonight tim.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
flat-earthers, we salute you
elections are about character. so i want to take a moment to talk about character, specifically character traits that i admire in a person. i admire the resolute, the steadfast, the implacable. most of all i admire the flat-earthers. flat-earthers think the earth is flat. the earth is not flat. i was told and believe the earth is an oblate spheroid (math and maps). but you have to admire the tenacious conviction of flat-earthers and the higher truths of their belief, for example, their belief in the existence of earth.
marye told me about some fun facts she read in the paper this morning. in america forty years ago the average male was 5'8" and 166 pounds. today the average male is 5'9.5" and 181 pounds. forty years ago the average female was 5'3" and 140 pounds. today the average female is 5'4" and 164 pounds. forty years ago the average 10-year old was 11 pounds lighter. what's my point. i'm exotic.
calling all minnesotans. vote for the incumbent judge alan page. page's opponent is mandatory-ten-commandments-in-everyone’s-house crazy. go to the star tribune and find out who is on your ballot. work it real good.
"men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a difference of purpose between them and the almighty." -abe lincoln
marye told me about some fun facts she read in the paper this morning. in america forty years ago the average male was 5'8" and 166 pounds. today the average male is 5'9.5" and 181 pounds. forty years ago the average female was 5'3" and 140 pounds. today the average female is 5'4" and 164 pounds. forty years ago the average 10-year old was 11 pounds lighter. what's my point. i'm exotic.
calling all minnesotans. vote for the incumbent judge alan page. page's opponent is mandatory-ten-commandments-in-everyone’s-house crazy. go to the star tribune and find out who is on your ballot. work it real good.
"men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a difference of purpose between them and the almighty." -abe lincoln
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
great clips
today’s blog features three clippings from the star tribune. the first is a reader response about health care. the second loses focus sometimes but centers on it’s title “history doesn’t excuse terrorism, but it sure is relevant.” the third is about the record deficit.
*
Falsely positive
During the last presidential debate I heard George W. Bush say that our health care system is “the envy of the world.” This is an absurd and false claim, and here’s some proof.
The World Health Organization ranks the United States 29th in the world in healthy life expectancy and 38th in infant and child mortality. Moreover, the 28 countries that do better than we do spend, on average, about $2,500 less per capita per year. Given our population, that $2,500 difference amounts to $712 billion every year. One can only conclude that $712 billion must be going to something other than health care.
Those 28 countries all have some form of single-payer, universal health care. They treat health care as a fundamental human right rather than a business opportunity. So when a candidate says our system is the envy of the world, I think he is lying to protect the $712 billion stake of the insurance companies, the HMOs, and other businesses that profit from health care but provide none of it.
-Steven Boyer, St. Paul
*
History doesn’t excuse terrorism, but it sure is relevant
By Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate
Austin, Texas – You open the paper and read the news from Iraq these days, and all you can say is, “Damn, damn, damn.”
I’m flat out of ideas about how we can fix this, but I maybe see a couple of wrong roads we should give a miss. I was much struck by a column by David Brooks of the New York Times written in an understandable rage against the perpetrators of the school massacre at Beslan, Russia. Condemning the perpetrators of Beslan with all the vigor at his command – hyperbole is impossible – leads Brooks to an unfortunate conclusion.
Brooks particularly blames the American media, which he argues are “averting their eyes” and being “quick to divert their attention away from the core horror of this act” by paying attention to what he regards as irrelevant: the grievance that served as a justification or pretext for these terrorists’ act of evil. In other words, he is so exercised at the utter, unmitigated evil of the terrorists, he thinks history is irrelevant.
History does not excuse terrorism, but it sure is relevant, if for no other reason than you have to understand an enemy in order to combat him. Of course we should pay attention to what shaped the Chechen terrorists – since when is learning about terrorists or trying to understand what motivates them the same as condoning them or their actions?
In the case of Chechyna, the history is so grim it draws dramatic attention to precisely how a cult of death can start. Chechnya has a long, bitter history of fighting Russia going back at least two centuries. Those of you who have been paying attention know that after World War II, Stalin deported almost the entire nation of Chechnya to Siberia and dumped most of them off in frozen fields with nothing. So most adult Chechens were born in Siberia. Because of the Chechens’ desire for independence, two hideous wars followed, one under President Boris Yeltsin and one under President Vladimir Putin.
Most of us remember the mind-numbingly desolate photos of Grozny, the capital, after the surrender – beyond Dresden. That’s how Chechen terrorism was born. Desire for independence is not something this country normally condemns.
Brooks blames the terrorism on the “death cult thriving at the fringes of the Muslim world.” At least in the case of the Chechens, that’s akin to blaming Catholicism for the IRA. On a larger plane, Brooks thinks we refuse to recognize the absolute evil of the Beslan terrorists because it “undermines our faith in the essential goodness of human beings.” Speak for yourself, Brooks.
Seems to me the one thing that does not change through history is human nature. Theologians and philosophers will continue to debate human nature. I’ve always like an observation about politics made by an old West Texas rancher: “I feel like I’m about equal parts good and bad. There’s just not many people appealin’ to the good in me.”
I think we’re all capable of evil under extreme circumstances. I do know that most humans are kinder and better people when they are healthy, well-fed, raised by loving people in a secure environment and taught it is wrong to kill. But that doesn’t change human nature.
One trouble with defining terrorism as absolute evil is, as the saying goes, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. Second, we appear to be stuck – permanently stuck – with war of unequal forces, since no country is dumb enough to declare war on the United States. So we need to learn every thing we can about how to fight these people effectively. Third, defining “terrorist” or any “other” as an absolute, irrational evil gives us a spurious and intoxicating sense of self-righteousness. We become the simon-pure contrast, thus missing any chance to consider if correcting or just changing our own conduct would be effective.
One of the things I know about human nature is that in order to kill strangers face to face – or, God forbid, their children – you have to either be very afraid or convince yourself that your enemy is completely evil, other, nonhuman. People seem far more capable of killing other people if they can’t see them, which is probably why war has gotten nastier as the technology has gotten better.
We have killed an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 Iraqis since “mission accomplished” and are bombing Fallujah today. For all I know, in some future I cannot envision, this will turn out to be the right thing to have done. Peace and democracy will flourish in Iraq, and we will all bow down to the great wisdom of Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. But so far, no good.
According to opinion polls both in Iraq and in the larger Arab world, our invasion of Iraq has increased hatred of the United states and fanned terrorism. Ignorance and condemnation are not a strategy for dealing with that.
*
Record ’04 deficit puts government at debt capacity
By Jonathan Welsman
Washington Post
Friday, October 15, 2004
Washington, D.C. – The federal government reach its $7.4 trillion debt ceiling Thursday, forcing Treasury Secretary John Snow to delay contributing to one of the federal employees’ pension systems to avoid running out of cash and possibly defaulting on government debt.
The situation will probably prove temporary, as it has in the past.
Congressional leaders said that when they return for a lame-duck session after the election, they will raise the debt ceiling to allow the government to borrow the money it needs to pay its bills. At that point, any overdue contributions to the pension fund will be paid, with interest.
But it also underscores the political sensitivity of record government deficits during an election year.
When Bush came to office, the debt ceiling was $5.95 trillion and had last been raised in 1997.
Since 2002, Congress has raised the borrowing limit by more than $1.4 trillion, as the government ran increasingly large deficits of $158 billion in 2002, $375 billion in 2003 and $413 billion for fiscal 2004, which ended in September. On Thursday the Treasury Department released its final 2004 deficit figure, which came in below initial forecasts but still at a record level in dollar terms.
If Republicans had hoped to avoid the issue before the election, Democrats on Thursday sought to make them pay with a litany of accusations.
“This is a heck of a burden to pass on to the next generation,” said Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
Campaign aides of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry noted that Bush’s 2001 budget anticipated the debt ceiling would not have to be raised until 2008. And, they charged, the government has run up more debt in the last 17 months than was amassed under all the presidents from George Washington to Ronald Reagan.
But budget watchdog organizations took both Kerry and Bush to task for what they see as a failure to take the deficit seriously.
“Following the presidential debate where more attention was given to the candidates wives than to the budget deficit… it is hard to see where the leadership to put the country back on the path of fiscal responsibility will come from,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
*
Falsely positive
During the last presidential debate I heard George W. Bush say that our health care system is “the envy of the world.” This is an absurd and false claim, and here’s some proof.
The World Health Organization ranks the United States 29th in the world in healthy life expectancy and 38th in infant and child mortality. Moreover, the 28 countries that do better than we do spend, on average, about $2,500 less per capita per year. Given our population, that $2,500 difference amounts to $712 billion every year. One can only conclude that $712 billion must be going to something other than health care.
Those 28 countries all have some form of single-payer, universal health care. They treat health care as a fundamental human right rather than a business opportunity. So when a candidate says our system is the envy of the world, I think he is lying to protect the $712 billion stake of the insurance companies, the HMOs, and other businesses that profit from health care but provide none of it.
-Steven Boyer, St. Paul
*
History doesn’t excuse terrorism, but it sure is relevant
By Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate
Austin, Texas – You open the paper and read the news from Iraq these days, and all you can say is, “Damn, damn, damn.”
I’m flat out of ideas about how we can fix this, but I maybe see a couple of wrong roads we should give a miss. I was much struck by a column by David Brooks of the New York Times written in an understandable rage against the perpetrators of the school massacre at Beslan, Russia. Condemning the perpetrators of Beslan with all the vigor at his command – hyperbole is impossible – leads Brooks to an unfortunate conclusion.
Brooks particularly blames the American media, which he argues are “averting their eyes” and being “quick to divert their attention away from the core horror of this act” by paying attention to what he regards as irrelevant: the grievance that served as a justification or pretext for these terrorists’ act of evil. In other words, he is so exercised at the utter, unmitigated evil of the terrorists, he thinks history is irrelevant.
History does not excuse terrorism, but it sure is relevant, if for no other reason than you have to understand an enemy in order to combat him. Of course we should pay attention to what shaped the Chechen terrorists – since when is learning about terrorists or trying to understand what motivates them the same as condoning them or their actions?
In the case of Chechyna, the history is so grim it draws dramatic attention to precisely how a cult of death can start. Chechnya has a long, bitter history of fighting Russia going back at least two centuries. Those of you who have been paying attention know that after World War II, Stalin deported almost the entire nation of Chechnya to Siberia and dumped most of them off in frozen fields with nothing. So most adult Chechens were born in Siberia. Because of the Chechens’ desire for independence, two hideous wars followed, one under President Boris Yeltsin and one under President Vladimir Putin.
Most of us remember the mind-numbingly desolate photos of Grozny, the capital, after the surrender – beyond Dresden. That’s how Chechen terrorism was born. Desire for independence is not something this country normally condemns.
Brooks blames the terrorism on the “death cult thriving at the fringes of the Muslim world.” At least in the case of the Chechens, that’s akin to blaming Catholicism for the IRA. On a larger plane, Brooks thinks we refuse to recognize the absolute evil of the Beslan terrorists because it “undermines our faith in the essential goodness of human beings.” Speak for yourself, Brooks.
Seems to me the one thing that does not change through history is human nature. Theologians and philosophers will continue to debate human nature. I’ve always like an observation about politics made by an old West Texas rancher: “I feel like I’m about equal parts good and bad. There’s just not many people appealin’ to the good in me.”
I think we’re all capable of evil under extreme circumstances. I do know that most humans are kinder and better people when they are healthy, well-fed, raised by loving people in a secure environment and taught it is wrong to kill. But that doesn’t change human nature.
One trouble with defining terrorism as absolute evil is, as the saying goes, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. Second, we appear to be stuck – permanently stuck – with war of unequal forces, since no country is dumb enough to declare war on the United States. So we need to learn every thing we can about how to fight these people effectively. Third, defining “terrorist” or any “other” as an absolute, irrational evil gives us a spurious and intoxicating sense of self-righteousness. We become the simon-pure contrast, thus missing any chance to consider if correcting or just changing our own conduct would be effective.
One of the things I know about human nature is that in order to kill strangers face to face – or, God forbid, their children – you have to either be very afraid or convince yourself that your enemy is completely evil, other, nonhuman. People seem far more capable of killing other people if they can’t see them, which is probably why war has gotten nastier as the technology has gotten better.
We have killed an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 Iraqis since “mission accomplished” and are bombing Fallujah today. For all I know, in some future I cannot envision, this will turn out to be the right thing to have done. Peace and democracy will flourish in Iraq, and we will all bow down to the great wisdom of Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. But so far, no good.
According to opinion polls both in Iraq and in the larger Arab world, our invasion of Iraq has increased hatred of the United states and fanned terrorism. Ignorance and condemnation are not a strategy for dealing with that.
*
Record ’04 deficit puts government at debt capacity
By Jonathan Welsman
Washington Post
Friday, October 15, 2004
Washington, D.C. – The federal government reach its $7.4 trillion debt ceiling Thursday, forcing Treasury Secretary John Snow to delay contributing to one of the federal employees’ pension systems to avoid running out of cash and possibly defaulting on government debt.
The situation will probably prove temporary, as it has in the past.
Congressional leaders said that when they return for a lame-duck session after the election, they will raise the debt ceiling to allow the government to borrow the money it needs to pay its bills. At that point, any overdue contributions to the pension fund will be paid, with interest.
But it also underscores the political sensitivity of record government deficits during an election year.
When Bush came to office, the debt ceiling was $5.95 trillion and had last been raised in 1997.
Since 2002, Congress has raised the borrowing limit by more than $1.4 trillion, as the government ran increasingly large deficits of $158 billion in 2002, $375 billion in 2003 and $413 billion for fiscal 2004, which ended in September. On Thursday the Treasury Department released its final 2004 deficit figure, which came in below initial forecasts but still at a record level in dollar terms.
If Republicans had hoped to avoid the issue before the election, Democrats on Thursday sought to make them pay with a litany of accusations.
“This is a heck of a burden to pass on to the next generation,” said Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
Campaign aides of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry noted that Bush’s 2001 budget anticipated the debt ceiling would not have to be raised until 2008. And, they charged, the government has run up more debt in the last 17 months than was amassed under all the presidents from George Washington to Ronald Reagan.
But budget watchdog organizations took both Kerry and Bush to task for what they see as a failure to take the deficit seriously.
“Following the presidential debate where more attention was given to the candidates wives than to the budget deficit… it is hard to see where the leadership to put the country back on the path of fiscal responsibility will come from,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
andersonville
i found an article on kofi’s old neighborhood, andersonville in chicago. andersonville commissioned an economic impact study to elucidate the importance of small, locally-owned businesses. "for every $100 spent in 10 locally owned shops studied there, $73 stayed in chicago's economy. for every $100 spent in a chain with comparable products, $43 appeared to stay, according to the study by civic economics, a firm that penned an often-cited 2002 report comparing a chain to a local bookstore in austin, texas. the chicago study found that money spent in local stores stayed local because employees were paid more, owners used more local goods and services for their businesses and contributed more to local charities." read the summary of the study. do you remember the buy american / made in the usa movement back when we were kids. walmart touted that shit. vote with your dollars.
i raked leaves last night, twelve bags worth. i used a rake, not a leaf blower. if you use a leaf blower, you are a huge pansy. that's right alf.
Monday, October 25, 2004
somebody stanch the bleeding
nebraska 21 - kansas state 45
mossless vikings 20 - titans 3
WWJDD
what would johnny damon do
as the big fundamentals, i have been doing some basic reading on economics. this post is for my own good, repetition through typing concepts.
the federal reserve
the federal reserve has two main mechanisms for manipulating the money supply. it can sell treasury securities. when it sells treasury securities it reduces the money supply (because it accepts money in return for a promise to pay in the future). it can purchase treasury securities. when it purchases treasury securities it increases the money supply. finally, the federal reserve can adjust the reserve requirement. (reserve requirements stipulate the amount banks need to maintain to service customer needs.) when the money supply increases interest rates go down. when interest rates go down businesses and consumers have lower cost of capital and can increase spending and capital improvement projects. this helps the economy. conversely, when the money supply falls the interest rates go up and reins in the economy. the federal reserve increases interest rates to combat inflation.
treasury securities
treasury securities are bonds issued by the u.s. federal reserve. they are debt finance instrument of the federal government. there are four types of treasury securities. they are treasury bills, treasury notes, treasury bonds, and savings bonds. treasury statistics indicate that foreigners bought 58% of the securities that the treasury sold to investors. holy shit. some 60% of that 58% was bought by central banks. a large percentage of that went to the central banks of japan and china. this exposes the united states to financial or political risk if either bank stops buying treasuries or sells them heavily.
interest rates
in general, the prime rate is 3% above the federal funds rate. the federal funds rate is the interest rate at which depository institutions lend balances at the federal reserve to other depository institutions overnight.
Friday, October 22, 2004
squirt squirt
i admit, being president is difficult. it’s hard work. the president issues executive orders, nominates a bunch of peeps (cabinet, judges, etc.), prepares the budget, holds veto power, pardons dirty crooks and turkeys, initiates much of the legislation drafted by congress, and leads foreign affairs by staring deep into the eyes of foreign leaders, because eyes are windows to the soul.
but a lot of people get so excited about bush's exceptional handling of 9/11 that pee squirts out into their shorts. the point i want to make is that bush's response to september 11th was not exceptional. bush's braggadocio reminds me of lauding the fact that you wiped your ass after you took a shit. i expect you to wipe your ass, and i'm happy you do.
the response to 9/11 is one of reflex.
who would not:
1. provide succor to victims of the attack
2. prevent another attack
3. find and defeat the aggressor
who wouldn’t: have a day of prayer and remembrance. salute heroes. provide emergency funds. sympathize. stop all flights. improve airport security. assess current security and implement improved security measures. freeze terrorist assets and disable terrorist financial network. restructure intelligence agencies to improve efficacy. condemn the attacks. build international coalitions and reach out to world leaders. find those responsible and bring them to justice. make no distinction between the terrorists who committed the acts and those who harbor them.
what kind of warped expectations do we americans have.
if you want to take a stroll down memory lane, read the white house news releases and news briefings.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
service
from the onion
millions of american lips called to service in fight against poverty
In response to the record number of American poor, Secretary of the Treasury John Snow called millions of American lips to service Monday. "Poverty is a menace to society," Snow said. "As the ranks of the nation's poor grow and more social programs are scaled back, it is crucial that all able Americans talk about how something must be done." Snow then entreated all able-voiced men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 to volunteer to periodically mention that the current poverty rate of 12.5 percent is too high.
1. trade balance, deficit, national debt
the u.s. imports more than it exports. but negative trade balances are not necessarily terrible news. in particular, an effect known as reserve currency status makes it possible for dominant currencies to run significant trade deficits with limited economic impact. because the united states dollar is generally regarded to be extremely stable, dollars which are exported are held by persons overseas and there is no pressure to return them to the united states. furthermore, countries running large trade surpluses (e.g. china and japan) use these funds to purchase us treasury notes (which fund our budget deficit), essentially allowing the united states to export pieces of paper and get real goods and services in return. the pricing of oil in us dollars also forces nations and institution to hold some of their reserves in us dollars in order to hedge against the rapid rises and falls in prices of this all-essential energy source. if, as some economists are speculating, current weakness in the dollar were to cause the shift of foreign exchange reserves or oil pricing into another currency such as the euro, then the reserve currency advantage would also switch to the european union.
the asian times always has a less than sanguine forecast for the u.s. economy. here's an interesting article i read last year. asia fills her boots: dollar reserves skyrocket. if you are going to read something i link to, you should read about the balance of trade in the hitchhiker's guide to understanding exchange rates.
2. bush misled us on iraq war.
the intelligence misled bush. was bush honest about his reasons. in my opinion, no. bush was searching for and shifting reasons on the hunt for justification. was it WMDs. was it freedom for iraqis, democracy in the middle east. was it oil. was it al-qaeda. was it power. naturally, i’m sure the old answer is all of the above.
3. iraq is a quadmire.
again, bad intelligence. okay, a dash of hubris and pinch of cultural ignorance too.
4. scare tactics. safer under bush.
this is something that nobody seems to talk about. how difficult was it to be president after september 11th. the answer is, not difficult. how difficult is it to be president, seriously. i don’t feel like writing more about that now.
5. environment.
true.
6. death penalty, abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, religion, etc.
the u.s. executes more juveniles than the rest of the world combined. i don’t have a good argument for abortion, but on a personal level i reserve the right to kill people whenever i fell justified. i kid. we all know i’m outraged by discrimination against gays. bush favors an old testament god, not the idol jesus. eye for an eye beeatch. open the earth to swallow people, bring fire down from the sky smite, spread pestilence to kill people, send hurricanes to drown people. there are a couple things i want to mention here. o'reilly is a freak. mary cheney is a lesbian. the o'reailly factor for lesbians. also, here’s an interesting web site about sodom and gomorrah. okay, one more thing. let us recall the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath/anger, sloth, avarice/greed, gluttony, and lust. U-S-A, U-S-A. sins are bullshit. i haven’t sinned in years. but hypocrisy makes me chuckle.
7. assault weapons ban.
true.
millions of american lips called to service in fight against poverty
In response to the record number of American poor, Secretary of the Treasury John Snow called millions of American lips to service Monday. "Poverty is a menace to society," Snow said. "As the ranks of the nation's poor grow and more social programs are scaled back, it is crucial that all able Americans talk about how something must be done." Snow then entreated all able-voiced men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 to volunteer to periodically mention that the current poverty rate of 12.5 percent is too high.
1. trade balance, deficit, national debt
the u.s. imports more than it exports. but negative trade balances are not necessarily terrible news. in particular, an effect known as reserve currency status makes it possible for dominant currencies to run significant trade deficits with limited economic impact. because the united states dollar is generally regarded to be extremely stable, dollars which are exported are held by persons overseas and there is no pressure to return them to the united states. furthermore, countries running large trade surpluses (e.g. china and japan) use these funds to purchase us treasury notes (which fund our budget deficit), essentially allowing the united states to export pieces of paper and get real goods and services in return. the pricing of oil in us dollars also forces nations and institution to hold some of their reserves in us dollars in order to hedge against the rapid rises and falls in prices of this all-essential energy source. if, as some economists are speculating, current weakness in the dollar were to cause the shift of foreign exchange reserves or oil pricing into another currency such as the euro, then the reserve currency advantage would also switch to the european union.
the asian times always has a less than sanguine forecast for the u.s. economy. here's an interesting article i read last year. asia fills her boots: dollar reserves skyrocket. if you are going to read something i link to, you should read about the balance of trade in the hitchhiker's guide to understanding exchange rates.
2. bush misled us on iraq war.
the intelligence misled bush. was bush honest about his reasons. in my opinion, no. bush was searching for and shifting reasons on the hunt for justification. was it WMDs. was it freedom for iraqis, democracy in the middle east. was it oil. was it al-qaeda. was it power. naturally, i’m sure the old answer is all of the above.
3. iraq is a quadmire.
again, bad intelligence. okay, a dash of hubris and pinch of cultural ignorance too.
4. scare tactics. safer under bush.
this is something that nobody seems to talk about. how difficult was it to be president after september 11th. the answer is, not difficult. how difficult is it to be president, seriously. i don’t feel like writing more about that now.
5. environment.
true.
6. death penalty, abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, religion, etc.
the u.s. executes more juveniles than the rest of the world combined. i don’t have a good argument for abortion, but on a personal level i reserve the right to kill people whenever i fell justified. i kid. we all know i’m outraged by discrimination against gays. bush favors an old testament god, not the idol jesus. eye for an eye beeatch. open the earth to swallow people, bring fire down from the sky smite, spread pestilence to kill people, send hurricanes to drown people. there are a couple things i want to mention here. o'reilly is a freak. mary cheney is a lesbian. the o'reailly factor for lesbians. also, here’s an interesting web site about sodom and gomorrah. okay, one more thing. let us recall the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath/anger, sloth, avarice/greed, gluttony, and lust. U-S-A, U-S-A. sins are bullshit. i haven’t sinned in years. but hypocrisy makes me chuckle.
7. assault weapons ban.
true.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
you are probably a terrorist
here are some traffic fatality statistics from nhtsa in 2002:
total traffic fatalities: 42,815
alcohol-related fatalities: 17,419 - 41% of total
fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT): 1.51
rollover fatalities: 10,666
motorcycle fatalities: 3,244
large truck fatalities: 5,111
child fatalities: 968
pedestrian fatalities: 4,808
2.92 million injuries
highway crashes cost society $230.6 billion a year, about $820 per person.
also, when a big car gets in a fatal accident with a small car, the big car is much more likely to kill people in the small car.
data analysis:
if you increase your statistical odds of causing a traffic fatality, you are a ticking time bomb of a terrorist. that's right, if you speed, talk on your cell phone, drive under the influence, run red lights, etc., then you are a terrorist. when you tell me that you speed because you are a good driver and it is appropriate under the conditions, all i hear is an ideology of hate. i hear you say that you hate my freedom and the laws of the united states of america. you hate my freedom enough to kill me with your automobile.
leading causes of death from the cdc:
Heart Disease: 696,947
Cancer: 557,271
Stroke: 162,672
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,816
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 106,742
Diabetes: 73,249
Influenza/Pneumonia: 65,681
Alzheimer's disease: 58,866
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 40,974
Septicemia: 33,865
data analysis:
the number of deaths in iraq isn't a big deal. think about how many people will die because of the inadequate supply of influenza vaccinations. think about the number of people who die smoking-related deaths. the september 11th world trade center casualties are not a big deal.
i'm not the first one making the statement about iraq casualties not being a big deal.
total traffic fatalities: 42,815
alcohol-related fatalities: 17,419 - 41% of total
fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT): 1.51
rollover fatalities: 10,666
motorcycle fatalities: 3,244
large truck fatalities: 5,111
child fatalities: 968
pedestrian fatalities: 4,808
2.92 million injuries
highway crashes cost society $230.6 billion a year, about $820 per person.
also, when a big car gets in a fatal accident with a small car, the big car is much more likely to kill people in the small car.
data analysis:
if you increase your statistical odds of causing a traffic fatality, you are a ticking time bomb of a terrorist. that's right, if you speed, talk on your cell phone, drive under the influence, run red lights, etc., then you are a terrorist. when you tell me that you speed because you are a good driver and it is appropriate under the conditions, all i hear is an ideology of hate. i hear you say that you hate my freedom and the laws of the united states of america. you hate my freedom enough to kill me with your automobile.
leading causes of death from the cdc:
Heart Disease: 696,947
Cancer: 557,271
Stroke: 162,672
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,816
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 106,742
Diabetes: 73,249
Influenza/Pneumonia: 65,681
Alzheimer's disease: 58,866
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 40,974
Septicemia: 33,865
data analysis:
the number of deaths in iraq isn't a big deal. think about how many people will die because of the inadequate supply of influenza vaccinations. think about the number of people who die smoking-related deaths. the september 11th world trade center casualties are not a big deal.
i'm not the first one making the statement about iraq casualties not being a big deal.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
dole
there was an article in the star tribune yesterday about the widening wealth gap between white families and minorities. you can read the press release or the entire report from the pew hispanic center. net worth accounts for the value of items such as a home, car, checking and savings accounts, and stocks, minus debts such as mortgage, car loans, and credit card bills. minority homeownership is low, and homeownership is a great way to build wealth.
here's a little colon delimited table about net worth.
category: 1996: 2002: % change
hispanic: $6,961: $7,932: 14.0%
black: 7,135: 5,988: -16.1
white: 75,482: 88,651: 17.4
all households: 53,160: 59,706: 12.3
there was also an article in the star tribune about a debate raging over need-based financial aid at macalester. macalester may soon move away from a need-based financial aid system. macalester admits students based on criteria other than ability to pay and then pledges to meet full financial needs of students if they enroll. macalester has been using earnings from its endowment to pay for the enormous cost of financial aid. after the expense of financial aid, mac has little money for other costs: faculty, staff, construction, maintenance, utilities, etc. the argument follows that the quality of education will go down and students will lose interest. opponents of need-based aid also point to macalester's rather lonely status as a provider of need-based financial aid. naturally, idealistic students are pissed. who doesn't think need-based financial aid is great. but the reality is the school has to pay for it, somebody has to pay for it. think of macalester as a business. labor, materials, product, market. labor=faculty. materials=campus/facilities. product=education. market=students. a need-based system reduces the tuition paid per student, thus reducing revenue. so, what compensates for this loss of revenue. you can eat away at the endowment, stimulate increased alumni giving, and/or reduce costs by decreasing spending on faculty, staff, campus facilities, etc. the endowment is like the environment, you don't want to plunder it too much. mac alumni don't give enough money. and if faculty salaries and investment in campus facilities decrease, school quality decreases. are smart kids with money willing to come to a school with mediocre faculty and campus facilities in exchange for associating with the likes of me. ask their parents, they're paying. macalester wants to create a finite budget for financial aid, a budget which would still dole out a nice wad of financial aid.
tuesday's tenet: gay marriage is bad and should be decided by the people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of the minorities. let's go for two on this tuesday. gay marriage is bad because is sodomizes the sanctity of heterosexual marriage, thereby jeopardizing heterosexual marriages. i can speak to that. marye and i have often cursed the specter of gay marriage that has left us with a tenuous marriage.
Monday, October 18, 2004
singh owns blums
the venerable dr. simon messing was in town this last weekend for the wedding of a whilom childhood friend of his. ziyad and i had the pleasure of hosting our esteemed comrade. one of the topics discussed over the course of our conversation was the global competitiveness report, which ranks the world's economies. i recommend reading the executive summary if you have time.
1. Finland, 2. USA, 3. Sweden, 4. Taiwan, 5. Denmark, 6. Norway, 7. Singapore, 8. Switzerland, 9. Japan, 10. Iceland, 11. United Kingdom, 12. Netherlands, 13. Germany, 14. Australia, 15. Canada, 16. UAE
it is clear that moral laxity has destroyed nordic economies.
sports
macalester ran at the jim drew's invitational at la crosse. the next race is conference. can mac claim third place.
9. St. Olaf
34 Malcolm Richards, Sr 25:50.5
37 Kelly Fulton, Sr 25:57.7
49 Sam Hauck, Jr 26:10.6
55 Marc Ellingson, Jr 26:26.8
56 Tony Hoff, So 26:30.3
74 Jason Havey, Jr 26:56.9
83 Jesse Horst, Jr 27:10.1
Time = 2:10:55.9 Places = 231
10. Macalester
48 Bo Rydze, Sr 26:08.4
53 Dylan Keith, So 26:20.2
59 Eric Olson, Sr 26:32.8
63 Roscoe Sopiwnik, Jr 26:44.4
88 Nate Crider, Fr 27:18.9
95 Tim Stendahl, Sr 27:27.0
116 Derek Loudermilk, Sr 27:45.5
Time = 2:13:04.7 Places = 311
other notable performances:
237 Paul Singh, Sr 29:12.3
241 Martins Blums, Sr 29:17.1
259 Ben Johnson, Jr 29:39.3
nice race paul.
i had a nice string of runs last week. 12-9-18-12. then i got really tired and unbearably hungry. i thought, why the hell am i running so much. i couldn't come up with a good enough answer. then i saw an article in runner's world that said you can run faster by running only three days a week. perfect, i thought. and that's where it stands.
huskers 59 - baylor 27
vikings 38 - saints 31
and i was guilty of schadenfreude when i saw this score:
gophers 17 - michigan state 51
aaron, i am certainly not deriding you, but i am trying to disappoint your hopes by defying your view of bush.
hey alf, i just read on the ap wire that only two thousand americans are voting on november the second. all other potential voters struck deals with their political foils, agreeing that a trip to the polls was a waste of their ass-fattening time, since their votes would cancel each other out.
klinker, i remember fondly the last time i hunted pheasants. i also recall the time i dropped a fat man on a chump who insulted the huskers.
Friday, October 15, 2004
dewey defeats truman
people who complain about outsourcing remind me of people who complain about losing after they got a head start. outsourcing is good.
in my brief adult life i have yet to be affected by politics. government does not affect me. the only thing that suffers is the nation’s probity, as defined by me. that's why, like jude, i am not going to vote. i already pay monthly fees to the city of minneapolis for water, solid waste disposal, and sewer use. i tread on local streets, arterials, highways, and interstates. i'll pay for that. i currently pay to use public transportation when i bus to work. but if i have to drive, i will. i'll buy a fucking CXT and drive that shit through people’s yards. i live in a safe neighborhood with lower-income families providing a buffer between me and crime. if the government would allow me to buy shoulder-to-air missiles and nuclear weapons, i wouldn't need national defense. i'm never sick. my body can convert light into chemical energy. i don't care who gets elected. unless a communist is elected. look what communism has done to alf. alf’s blog sucks. alf sits in front of his computer for at least an hour every day staring at the screen, searching his memory for a shred of something interesting in his life, only to find that communism has left him with nothing.
in the united states, my blog has developed a huge following. my inchoate political diatribes have generated thousands of succinct hate emails. recently, the tone has changed to praise due largely in part to the poignant commentary of king klinker. in case you haven't been reading the comments, click here for the best of.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
rube cred for bush
well, i watched the third and final presidential debate last night. kerry did a good job, while bush demonstrated his lack of rhetorical skill and inability to fustigate kerry on domestic issues.
bush did tell a funny joke during the debate.
"hey ben, pete and repeat were on a boat. pete fell off and who was left."
repeat.
"pete and repeat were on a boat..."
it would be easy to create a political platform to present to the american people. it would be easy to surround yourself with a competent staff. however, creating a tangible platform is beyond my abilities. at my core i am probably a centrist most closely aligned with the dnc. i am not a libertarian because libertarians apparently refuse to admit that people are irresponsible, and that leads to naive policy.
but anyway, the purpose of this blog is not to present my clarion political platform. i will write whatever i please, whether i believe it or not. i think most people realize that.Wednesday, October 13, 2004
parties
the bus was a little early today and i don’t think i have much to say. so here it is dark and early in the morning.
list of political parties in the united states
the big two: republicans and democrats.
biggest third parties in the united states in alphabetical order: constitution party, green party, libertarian party, natural law party, reform party.
then there is the party of bane.
it's good to check out these sites. maybe they will focus your political platform.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
sebaceous fat ass
it's time to get away from politics and sports for one day.
the last book i talked about was The Turn of the Screw by henry james. in the meantime i have read four books. i read the acclaimed Daisy Miller by henry james. then i read Main Street by sinclair lewis, Three Came Home by agnes keith, and The Martian Chronicles by ray bradbury. the books were, respectively, bad, good, good, good. maybe i will talk about them another time. right now i want to talk about one of the books i am currently reading, All the King's Men by robert penn warren. there are some hilarious descriptions of the character tiny duffy. here are some excerpts:
Mr. Duffy debouched massively from the Cadillac.
There was Tiny Duffy, who was almost as big back then as he was to get to be. He didn't need any sign to let you know what he was. If the wind was right, you knew he was a city-hall slob long before you could see the whites of his eyes. He had the belly and he sweated through his shirt just above the belt buckle, and he had the face, which was creamed and curded like a cow patty in a spring pasture, only it was the color of biscuit dough, and in the middle was his grin with the gold teeth. He was a Tax Assessor...
It ain't any secret that Tiny Duffy is as sebaceous a fat-ass as ever made the spring groan in a swivel chair.
Duffy's features exhibited the slightest twitch of interest, but the twitch was dissipated into the vast oleaginous blankness which was the face of Duffy in repose.
here's a random sentence that a guy i know liked:
How life is strange and changeful, and the crystal is in the steel at the point of fracture, and the toad bears a jewel in its forehead, and the meaning of moments passes like the breeze that scarcely ruffles the leaf of the willow.
the last book i talked about was The Turn of the Screw by henry james. in the meantime i have read four books. i read the acclaimed Daisy Miller by henry james. then i read Main Street by sinclair lewis, Three Came Home by agnes keith, and The Martian Chronicles by ray bradbury. the books were, respectively, bad, good, good, good. maybe i will talk about them another time. right now i want to talk about one of the books i am currently reading, All the King's Men by robert penn warren. there are some hilarious descriptions of the character tiny duffy. here are some excerpts:
Mr. Duffy debouched massively from the Cadillac.
There was Tiny Duffy, who was almost as big back then as he was to get to be. He didn't need any sign to let you know what he was. If the wind was right, you knew he was a city-hall slob long before you could see the whites of his eyes. He had the belly and he sweated through his shirt just above the belt buckle, and he had the face, which was creamed and curded like a cow patty in a spring pasture, only it was the color of biscuit dough, and in the middle was his grin with the gold teeth. He was a Tax Assessor...
It ain't any secret that Tiny Duffy is as sebaceous a fat-ass as ever made the spring groan in a swivel chair.
Duffy's features exhibited the slightest twitch of interest, but the twitch was dissipated into the vast oleaginous blankness which was the face of Duffy in repose.
here's a random sentence that a guy i know liked:
How life is strange and changeful, and the crystal is in the steel at the point of fracture, and the toad bears a jewel in its forehead, and the meaning of moments passes like the breeze that scarcely ruffles the leaf of the willow.
Monday, October 11, 2004
good lord
mac competed at wartburg over the weekend. the meet was split into 4k and 8k races. in the 8k the top four carleton runners were in before bo rydze. carleton is solid. i would say the favorite to win conference unless the olies have a good peak.
nebraska 10 - texas tech 70
worst loss in the history of history
vikings 34 - texans 28
it deserves repeating: the vikings have the worst pass defense in the nfl.
the twins lost their series with the yankees 1-3.
kerry got his ass kicked in the friday night debate. he lost all the ground he gained in the previous debate, especially on iraq and terrorism. bush cogently repeated his impregnable stance and successfully proved kerry to be a flip-flopper.
aaron, you have a hard time believing anyone can support bush. anyone except the christian middle to right and people who like tax cuts. how can a majority of americans not support bush.
let me tell you why i will vote for bush.
1. i feel safer with bush
2. bush puts money in my pockets
3. i share the same values as bush
in retaliation for 9/11 bush attacked the taliban in afghanistan. 75% of al-qaeda has been captured. afghanistan recently held elections. saddam hussein, a man with a hostile history, exhibited the desire to develop weapons of mass destruction, and it is possible that those weapons could have ended up in al-qaeda’s hands. it is best to attack the enemy when they are weak. so we attacked iraq and captured saddam hussein. the world is safer without saddam hussein, is it not.
bush's tax cuts put money in my pocket. i wasn't angry. i didn't donate my tax cut to charity. plus, tax cuts help stimulate the economy. the shitty economy is clinton's fault and september 11th hurt the economy too. but the economy is rebounding thanks to tax cuts.
bush supports my christian values. tell me how abortion is not murder, seriously. and do i need to remind everybody that gays are bad.
so far, the case for bush is strong.
Friday, October 08, 2004
viernes gigante
here are three lengthy articles from the boston globe.
Back-room dealing a Capitol trend
Energy bill a special-interests triumph
Medicare bill a study in D.C. spoils system
here are sebastian's grad school classes:
Accounting and Financial Analysis
Global Economic Environment
Finance Theory
Quantitative Techniques
everyone in graduate school should email me with a list of their classes or a synopsis of projects they are working on. i would like to know. perhaps the request deserves a personal email, we'll see.
if you don't want bush to be elected, go online at about 9:30 central time tonight and place your vote on fox, abc, cbs, nbc, and cnn affirming kerry's debate victory.
i apologize to all the conservatives and extremists (liberals) who have been sending me hate mail for writing with such narrow perspective. i now have a new gmail account, courtesy of sebastian.
Back-room dealing a Capitol trend
Energy bill a special-interests triumph
Medicare bill a study in D.C. spoils system
here are sebastian's grad school classes:
Accounting and Financial Analysis
Global Economic Environment
Finance Theory
Quantitative Techniques
everyone in graduate school should email me with a list of their classes or a synopsis of projects they are working on. i would like to know. perhaps the request deserves a personal email, we'll see.
if you don't want bush to be elected, go online at about 9:30 central time tonight and place your vote on fox, abc, cbs, nbc, and cnn affirming kerry's debate victory.
i apologize to all the conservatives and extremists (liberals) who have been sending me hate mail for writing with such narrow perspective. i now have a new gmail account, courtesy of sebastian.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
my pre-debate interview with bush
president bush, do you believe senator kerry demonstrated he can take firm positions in the war on terror.
"Last week in our debate, he once again came down firmly on every side of the Iraq war," Mr. Bush said. "He stated that Saddam Hussein was a threat and that America had no business removing that threat. Senator Kerry said our soldiers and marines are not fighting for a mistake - but also called the liberation of Iraq a 'colossal error.' He said we need to do more to train Iraqis, but he also said we shouldn't be spending so much money over there. He said he wants to hold a summit meeting, so he can invite other countries to join what he calls 'the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.'"
mr. president, do you believe senator kerry's statement that mexico is a country and is located on our southern border.
"of course mr. kerry would make a statement like that. cheney tells me kerry is vacillating, and that's disgusting. i personally think he's sitting on the fence, i mean, straddling the nuance. i've told the american people again and again that mexico is a country. but let me tell you something, they are not located on our southern border. if you listen to mr. kerry taking both sides, it just doesn't make sense. how can he lead when he doesn't make any sense."
mr. president, the second presidential debate shall be held as a town meeting in which citizens will pose domestic policy questions to the candidates. how do intend to respond after you disappointing first debate.
"you know, i've heard some people with their slogans say 'lick bush.' well, i'm gonna lick kerry tomorrow night. My opponent is a tax-and-spend liberal; I'm a compassionate conservative. My opponent wants to empower government; I want to use government to empower people. My opponent seems to think all the wisdom is found in Washington, D.C.; I trust the wisdom of the American people."
mr. president, please take a moment to discuss the central issues of domestic policy: health care, education, and environmental protection. we will not address tax cuts because tax cuts are good for every individual and the only way for a robust economy.
[HEALTH CARE]
"ben, I believe all Americans should have access to affordable, quality health care. I am working to address the root causes of rising health care costs, rather than shifting the costs to taxpayers or forcing Americans into an inflexible, one-size-fits-all bureaucratic system. my plan reduces the rising cost of health care; provides affordable coverage to those who need it most - low-income children and families, small businesses, the self-employed, and people who do not get health benefits through their job; and improves health care information, quality, and safety.
let me briefly list my accomplishments:
I established new, tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSA) which allow Americans to own and control their own health care.
I have opened or expanded community and rural health centers with the goal of serving an additional 6.1 million people who live in underserved and rural areas.
I granted waivers and flexibility to states to extend eligibility under Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to an estimated 2.6 million low-income Americans.
I implemented a new rule to lower drug costs for millions of Americans by strengthening competition between generic and brand-name drugs, saving American consumers more than $35 billion in drug costs over the next ten years.
And, I created a Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit to help seniors pay for their medicines.
I will also support the death penalty for trial lawyers chasing frivolous lawsuits in an effort to sink the entire american economy.
[EDUCATION]
as for education, it is the key to opportunity and America's best tool in an increasingly competitive global economy. This means that every child deserves a world-class education and every worker deserves the support of a Government that makes a lifetime of learning a top priority.
The No Child Left Behind Act demands accountability in exchange for the record levels of Federal spending now going to K-12 public education, an increase of 49 percent since 2001. These reforms are already beginning to show strong results, but I want to take the next steps to ensure that all high school students are better prepared to enter higher education or the workforce.
again, let me list my current accomplishments and goals for my second term.
I have and will reform america's High Schools by providing $250 million annually to extend state assessment of student reading and math skills.
I will continue my efforts to improve early childhood education through the Healthy Start, Grow Smart program, including his proposal to strengthen Head Start.
I have and will Strengthen Head Start by focusing Head Start more clearly on school readiness, and allow states to integrate Head Start programs into their existing pre-school preparedness efforts in order to make better use of combined Federal and state resources. I will give priority consideration for funding to states that have a coordinated early childhood plan involving Head Start, pre-K, and child care services.
I Promote Literacy by training parents in early literacy through Head Start.
I have and will Continue to Fund Research to development of the most effective curricula and programs for teaching children early literacy and math skills; establish developmentally appropriate measurements; and identify effective adult and family literacy programs.
I have and will Expand the Reach Out and Read Program, which seeks to make early literacy a standard part of pediatric primary care.
I have and will Expand Healthy Start, Grow Smart by continuing and expanding the distribution of Healthy Start, Grow Smart booklets to provide parents the information they need to enhance their children's early development.
I have and will engage Faith and Community-Based Organizations to help provide parents with the skills they need to advance their children's healthy development.
And lastly, I have and will increase Minority Outreach to minority families to better disseminate effective early childhood development strategies.
[ENVIRONMENT]
ben, I think my environmental record speaks for itself. Over the last four years, the air has become cleaner, our water more pure, and we have reversed the net loss of wetlands. In addition, our parks are better managed, better funded, and better protected. I have launched a series of climate change initiatives to improve scientific understanding and reduce emissions through the use of new, energy-efficient technologies. I have proposed several clean air initiatives that will dramatically improve air quality and public health.
In my first term I made a comprehensive, long-term energy policy a top priority. my goal was clear and far-sighted: to promote affordable, reliable, and secure energy supplies by increasing conservation, investing in new technologies, and exploring for new domestic sources of energy. That plan included over 100 specific recommendations - nearly half of which addressed conservation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.
I will work to secure passage of the Clear Skies Initiative to reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury by 70 percent and help the states meet tougher new air quality standards.
I will complete the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which will require the steepest emissions cuts in over a decade.
I was the first President to propose caps on emissions of mercury and he will finalize the rule that will cut mercury emissions from power plants by 70 percent. This rule will improve public health and protect children and pregnant women.
For Farm Bill Conservation Programs, I will aggressively implement programs that will dedicate a record $40 billion over a decade to restore millions of acres of wetlands, protect habitats, conserve water, and improve streams and rivers near working farms and ranches. This commitment will include early re-enrollment and contract extensions for the Conservation Reserve Program and expansion of quail and wetlands habitat.
To Initiate Environmentally Safe Exploration, I will seek to promote environmentally sound domestic oil production in just one percent of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which could provide up to 1 million barrels of oil a day for nearly 20 years.
To Ensure Greater Electricity Reliability, I will work to modernize our electricity grid, establish mandatory reliability standards, and encourage new transmission investment, in order to help prevent a repeat of last year's blackout that affected 50 million people.
To Encourage Use of Efficient Technologies, I will provide incentives for deployment of efficient technologies for storage and transmission of energy, further contributing to the reliability of our electric grid.
To Promote Conservation and Support Energy Technologies I plan to provide $4 billion in tax incentives to spur the use of energy technologies.”
[GOD]
wow, president bush. i’m impressed with your knowledge and frankly surprised by the extensive and positive impact of your administration. just one last question, what do you have to say to people who think you are a flamer.
“people want a president of strong religious faith with oblivious conviction. I am that man. god bless america.”
"Last week in our debate, he once again came down firmly on every side of the Iraq war," Mr. Bush said. "He stated that Saddam Hussein was a threat and that America had no business removing that threat. Senator Kerry said our soldiers and marines are not fighting for a mistake - but also called the liberation of Iraq a 'colossal error.' He said we need to do more to train Iraqis, but he also said we shouldn't be spending so much money over there. He said he wants to hold a summit meeting, so he can invite other countries to join what he calls 'the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.'"
mr. president, do you believe senator kerry's statement that mexico is a country and is located on our southern border.
"of course mr. kerry would make a statement like that. cheney tells me kerry is vacillating, and that's disgusting. i personally think he's sitting on the fence, i mean, straddling the nuance. i've told the american people again and again that mexico is a country. but let me tell you something, they are not located on our southern border. if you listen to mr. kerry taking both sides, it just doesn't make sense. how can he lead when he doesn't make any sense."
mr. president, the second presidential debate shall be held as a town meeting in which citizens will pose domestic policy questions to the candidates. how do intend to respond after you disappointing first debate.
"you know, i've heard some people with their slogans say 'lick bush.' well, i'm gonna lick kerry tomorrow night. My opponent is a tax-and-spend liberal; I'm a compassionate conservative. My opponent wants to empower government; I want to use government to empower people. My opponent seems to think all the wisdom is found in Washington, D.C.; I trust the wisdom of the American people."
mr. president, please take a moment to discuss the central issues of domestic policy: health care, education, and environmental protection. we will not address tax cuts because tax cuts are good for every individual and the only way for a robust economy.
[HEALTH CARE]
"ben, I believe all Americans should have access to affordable, quality health care. I am working to address the root causes of rising health care costs, rather than shifting the costs to taxpayers or forcing Americans into an inflexible, one-size-fits-all bureaucratic system. my plan reduces the rising cost of health care; provides affordable coverage to those who need it most - low-income children and families, small businesses, the self-employed, and people who do not get health benefits through their job; and improves health care information, quality, and safety.
let me briefly list my accomplishments:
I established new, tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSA) which allow Americans to own and control their own health care.
I have opened or expanded community and rural health centers with the goal of serving an additional 6.1 million people who live in underserved and rural areas.
I granted waivers and flexibility to states to extend eligibility under Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to an estimated 2.6 million low-income Americans.
I implemented a new rule to lower drug costs for millions of Americans by strengthening competition between generic and brand-name drugs, saving American consumers more than $35 billion in drug costs over the next ten years.
And, I created a Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit to help seniors pay for their medicines.
I will also support the death penalty for trial lawyers chasing frivolous lawsuits in an effort to sink the entire american economy.
[EDUCATION]
as for education, it is the key to opportunity and America's best tool in an increasingly competitive global economy. This means that every child deserves a world-class education and every worker deserves the support of a Government that makes a lifetime of learning a top priority.
The No Child Left Behind Act demands accountability in exchange for the record levels of Federal spending now going to K-12 public education, an increase of 49 percent since 2001. These reforms are already beginning to show strong results, but I want to take the next steps to ensure that all high school students are better prepared to enter higher education or the workforce.
again, let me list my current accomplishments and goals for my second term.
I have and will reform america's High Schools by providing $250 million annually to extend state assessment of student reading and math skills.
I will continue my efforts to improve early childhood education through the Healthy Start, Grow Smart program, including his proposal to strengthen Head Start.
I have and will Strengthen Head Start by focusing Head Start more clearly on school readiness, and allow states to integrate Head Start programs into their existing pre-school preparedness efforts in order to make better use of combined Federal and state resources. I will give priority consideration for funding to states that have a coordinated early childhood plan involving Head Start, pre-K, and child care services.
I Promote Literacy by training parents in early literacy through Head Start.
I have and will Continue to Fund Research to development of the most effective curricula and programs for teaching children early literacy and math skills; establish developmentally appropriate measurements; and identify effective adult and family literacy programs.
I have and will Expand the Reach Out and Read Program, which seeks to make early literacy a standard part of pediatric primary care.
I have and will Expand Healthy Start, Grow Smart by continuing and expanding the distribution of Healthy Start, Grow Smart booklets to provide parents the information they need to enhance their children's early development.
I have and will engage Faith and Community-Based Organizations to help provide parents with the skills they need to advance their children's healthy development.
And lastly, I have and will increase Minority Outreach to minority families to better disseminate effective early childhood development strategies.
[ENVIRONMENT]
ben, I think my environmental record speaks for itself. Over the last four years, the air has become cleaner, our water more pure, and we have reversed the net loss of wetlands. In addition, our parks are better managed, better funded, and better protected. I have launched a series of climate change initiatives to improve scientific understanding and reduce emissions through the use of new, energy-efficient technologies. I have proposed several clean air initiatives that will dramatically improve air quality and public health.
In my first term I made a comprehensive, long-term energy policy a top priority. my goal was clear and far-sighted: to promote affordable, reliable, and secure energy supplies by increasing conservation, investing in new technologies, and exploring for new domestic sources of energy. That plan included over 100 specific recommendations - nearly half of which addressed conservation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.
I will work to secure passage of the Clear Skies Initiative to reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury by 70 percent and help the states meet tougher new air quality standards.
I will complete the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which will require the steepest emissions cuts in over a decade.
I was the first President to propose caps on emissions of mercury and he will finalize the rule that will cut mercury emissions from power plants by 70 percent. This rule will improve public health and protect children and pregnant women.
For Farm Bill Conservation Programs, I will aggressively implement programs that will dedicate a record $40 billion over a decade to restore millions of acres of wetlands, protect habitats, conserve water, and improve streams and rivers near working farms and ranches. This commitment will include early re-enrollment and contract extensions for the Conservation Reserve Program and expansion of quail and wetlands habitat.
To Initiate Environmentally Safe Exploration, I will seek to promote environmentally sound domestic oil production in just one percent of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which could provide up to 1 million barrels of oil a day for nearly 20 years.
To Ensure Greater Electricity Reliability, I will work to modernize our electricity grid, establish mandatory reliability standards, and encourage new transmission investment, in order to help prevent a repeat of last year's blackout that affected 50 million people.
To Encourage Use of Efficient Technologies, I will provide incentives for deployment of efficient technologies for storage and transmission of energy, further contributing to the reliability of our electric grid.
To Promote Conservation and Support Energy Technologies I plan to provide $4 billion in tax incentives to spur the use of energy technologies.”
[GOD]
wow, president bush. i’m impressed with your knowledge and frankly surprised by the extensive and positive impact of your administration. just one last question, what do you have to say to people who think you are a flamer.
“people want a president of strong religious faith with oblivious conviction. I am that man. god bless america.”
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
keep on rocking in the free world
last night marye and i went to the vote for change concert at the xcel energy center in st. paul. bright eyes, REM, bruce springsteen and the e street band, john fogerty, and neil young performed. REM was good. people love the boss. max weinberg is awesome. neil young is a crazy, crazy old man.
twins 2 - yankees 0
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
you are probably as good as gay
nebraska 14 - kansas 8
i was watching halftime of the gophers football game saturday night waiting patiently for a glimpse of the nebraska score when norm coleman* tried to unctuously banter with me. norm oozed "i knew someone who played for alabama under bear bryant." then he proceeded with insolence "alabama beat nebraska by forty points in the orange bowl." serenity now. nebraska has never lost by forty points. apparently norm was trying to recall the 1967 sugar bowl in which alabama beat nebraska 34-7, a 27 point margin in my estimation. admittedly, that is a rather humiliating defeat. but not quite as humiliating as the 1972 orange bowl in which nebraska throttled alabama 38-6 in a battle of #1 vs. #2.
*it wasn’t really norm coleman, it was somebody else
Felony Convictions Disenfranchise Many Voters
voter-disenfranchisement laws may be disproportionately affecting black men, many of whom have felony drug convictions that prevent them from voting. drug arrests are inherently discretionary. previous research has found that blacks do not use drugs more than whites. however, blacks are arrested more often on drug charges, and are convicted more often.
John Graham heads an obscure agency in the White House called the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which reviews draft regulations submitted by agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Forest Service and directs agencies to consider alternatives and analyze both benefits and costs of regulation. With Bush facing stiff opposition in Congress to his energy and environmental legislation, the White House turned to rule-making to push much of its agenda.
on a side note, i support drilling for oil all over alaska, especially in wilderness areas. do you think i give a shit about caribou, tundra, and marmots that i will never see. no, i don't. people always bitch about protecting the environment. why do you want to protect the environment.
tuesday's truism: homosexuality bad because god says so.
i spoke with god last night and gained some real insight.
god, a lot of people reading my blog want to know why homosexuality is bad.
"i hates gays."
god, hate is a pretty strong word.
"yes, it is true. actually i hate the sin, not the sinner."
god, what exactly is the sin of homosexuality. is it the love, public display of affection, pure carnal bareback action, holding hands, tongues in low places, a furtive affectionate glance across the room.
"obviously ben, gay sex bothers me the most. in fact, it angers me. the wrath builds up inside. i want to smite. i am also against pda. it makes me uncomfortable."
god, i am loath to ask this next question because i know we have seen your unswerving logic in physics revealed to us in wonderful dynamics like the conservation of angular momentum, but what is your logic behind your dislike of gay cunnilingus, fellatio, and anal sex.
“all those acts of sexual abomination deny creation, life, my most precious gift. sex is the unity of man and woman to bestow the gift of life by creating a child in my image.”
does it follow that if people are having sex without the goal of fertilizing the egg with a sperm, then they are as good as gay.
i was watching halftime of the gophers football game saturday night waiting patiently for a glimpse of the nebraska score when norm coleman* tried to unctuously banter with me. norm oozed "i knew someone who played for alabama under bear bryant." then he proceeded with insolence "alabama beat nebraska by forty points in the orange bowl." serenity now. nebraska has never lost by forty points. apparently norm was trying to recall the 1967 sugar bowl in which alabama beat nebraska 34-7, a 27 point margin in my estimation. admittedly, that is a rather humiliating defeat. but not quite as humiliating as the 1972 orange bowl in which nebraska throttled alabama 38-6 in a battle of #1 vs. #2.
*it wasn’t really norm coleman, it was somebody else
Felony Convictions Disenfranchise Many Voters
voter-disenfranchisement laws may be disproportionately affecting black men, many of whom have felony drug convictions that prevent them from voting. drug arrests are inherently discretionary. previous research has found that blacks do not use drugs more than whites. however, blacks are arrested more often on drug charges, and are convicted more often.
John Graham heads an obscure agency in the White House called the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which reviews draft regulations submitted by agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Forest Service and directs agencies to consider alternatives and analyze both benefits and costs of regulation. With Bush facing stiff opposition in Congress to his energy and environmental legislation, the White House turned to rule-making to push much of its agenda.
on a side note, i support drilling for oil all over alaska, especially in wilderness areas. do you think i give a shit about caribou, tundra, and marmots that i will never see. no, i don't. people always bitch about protecting the environment. why do you want to protect the environment.
tuesday's truism: homosexuality bad because god says so.
i spoke with god last night and gained some real insight.
god, a lot of people reading my blog want to know why homosexuality is bad.
"i hates gays."
god, hate is a pretty strong word.
"yes, it is true. actually i hate the sin, not the sinner."
god, what exactly is the sin of homosexuality. is it the love, public display of affection, pure carnal bareback action, holding hands, tongues in low places, a furtive affectionate glance across the room.
"obviously ben, gay sex bothers me the most. in fact, it angers me. the wrath builds up inside. i want to smite. i am also against pda. it makes me uncomfortable."
god, i am loath to ask this next question because i know we have seen your unswerving logic in physics revealed to us in wonderful dynamics like the conservation of angular momentum, but what is your logic behind your dislike of gay cunnilingus, fellatio, and anal sex.
“all those acts of sexual abomination deny creation, life, my most precious gift. sex is the unity of man and woman to bestow the gift of life by creating a child in my image.”
does it follow that if people are having sex without the goal of fertilizing the egg with a sperm, then they are as good as gay.
Monday, October 04, 2004
tcm
so marye and i watched twin cities marathon yesterday. we biked over to nokomis to await the runners' arrival just after mile eleven. 1-2 were out at course record pace and had a huge lead on 3-4, who in turn had a decent lead on the enormous pursuit peloton. after the runners floated by us, they did a lap around lake nokomis and we caught them again just as they turned onto minnehaha. we biked to the lake street bridge for our next vantage point. in the five or so miles from our last observance the proverbial shit had gone down. 1-2 had a diminished but solid lead over a new 3 and after that was a scattered, clumpy following. things were getting stretched out. the relatively muscle-bound 3 was on fire. he passed 1-2 around mile 23. rumor has it that he said something like "later bitches" when he passed the two frontrunners, demoralizing them with aplomb that forced 2-3 to drop out of the race, literally. i haven't looked at official results, but liz, andrea, and amanda had good races.
finally, official results from bolder dash 10k
1 M20 Chris Rogers, 26, Minneapolis, MN 34:26 5:32
2 M40 Kirt Goetzke, 43, Plymouth, MN 35:02 5:38
3 M20 Benjamin Knudson, 25, Minneapolis, MN 35:14 5:40
4 M20 Troy Stresemann, 28, Minnetonka, MN 35:31 5:43
i think it's worth pointing out that i saw chris rogers running a shitty marathon time yesterday.
the mac pack ran at the pre-nationals meet on white tail golf course in colfax, wisconsin.
the women handily beat stolaf and st. thomas. will they win the miac. if not this year, maybe next season when the entire top seven returns.
the mac men ran fast. stolaf ran faster.
1. St. Olaf
4 Malcolm Richards, Sr 25:51.4
6 Kelly Fulton, Sr 25:58.6
17 Sam Hauck, Jr 26:12.6
28 Marc Ellingson, Jr 26:30.6
30 Tony Hoff, So 26:32.4
45 Jason Havey, Jr 26:58.1
59 Mat Keller, Fr 27:13.7
Time = 2:11:05.4 Places = 85
5. Macalester
10 Bo Rydze, Sr 26:03.1
20 Roscoe Sopiwnik, Jr 26:23.7
23 Dylan Keith, So 26:25.6
36 Eric Olson, Sr 26:39.2
69 Jordan Selbo, Jr 27:25.1
70 Matt Wegmann, Fr 27:25.1
75 Nate Crider, Fr 27:27.1
Time = 2:12:56.5 Places = 158
rumor has it that jordan selbo ran with his hulk fists on.
mac was right behind nebraska wesleyan, ahead of st. thomas and st. john's, also ahead of gustavus adulterous, augsburg, concordia-moorhead, and bethel, which was named after a chapel for seamen (a bethel runner finished fifth, the second bethel finisher claimed 110th). saint mary's was way down toward the bottom.
other performances from the day
94 Tom Hammer, So 27:39.6 Macalester
98 Tim Stendahl, Sr 27:42.9 Macalester
from the blue race, a hotly contested, rancorous rivalry continued.
57 Martins Blums, Sr 29:34.5 Macalester
62 Paul Singh, Sr 29:45.9 Macalester
they both beat jeff doll (67 So 29:55.4 Saint John's), younger brother of disreputable chris doll, who's infamy extends from such acts as spraining his foot mid-season while trying to win a bet (which he did) by sticking his foot in his ass, and a police chase in pursuit of mr. doll in st. peter when he got lost while streaking the gustavus all-miac party--a chase which allegedly included mr. doll scaling fences, shaking off a brutal clotheslining, eluding police, knocking on some poor soul's door to ask for directions back to the party, and eventually rejoining the fracas only to pass out naked on an ottoman. true story. in the man’s own words, "i'm chris mother-fuckin doll. once you meet me you'll never forget me."
finally, official results from bolder dash 10k
1 M20 Chris Rogers, 26, Minneapolis, MN 34:26 5:32
2 M40 Kirt Goetzke, 43, Plymouth, MN 35:02 5:38
3 M20 Benjamin Knudson, 25, Minneapolis, MN 35:14 5:40
4 M20 Troy Stresemann, 28, Minnetonka, MN 35:31 5:43
i think it's worth pointing out that i saw chris rogers running a shitty marathon time yesterday.
the mac pack ran at the pre-nationals meet on white tail golf course in colfax, wisconsin.
the women handily beat stolaf and st. thomas. will they win the miac. if not this year, maybe next season when the entire top seven returns.
the mac men ran fast. stolaf ran faster.
1. St. Olaf
4 Malcolm Richards, Sr 25:51.4
6 Kelly Fulton, Sr 25:58.6
17 Sam Hauck, Jr 26:12.6
28 Marc Ellingson, Jr 26:30.6
30 Tony Hoff, So 26:32.4
45 Jason Havey, Jr 26:58.1
59 Mat Keller, Fr 27:13.7
Time = 2:11:05.4 Places = 85
5. Macalester
10 Bo Rydze, Sr 26:03.1
20 Roscoe Sopiwnik, Jr 26:23.7
23 Dylan Keith, So 26:25.6
36 Eric Olson, Sr 26:39.2
69 Jordan Selbo, Jr 27:25.1
70 Matt Wegmann, Fr 27:25.1
75 Nate Crider, Fr 27:27.1
Time = 2:12:56.5 Places = 158
rumor has it that jordan selbo ran with his hulk fists on.
mac was right behind nebraska wesleyan, ahead of st. thomas and st. john's, also ahead of gustavus adulterous, augsburg, concordia-moorhead, and bethel, which was named after a chapel for seamen (a bethel runner finished fifth, the second bethel finisher claimed 110th). saint mary's was way down toward the bottom.
other performances from the day
94 Tom Hammer, So 27:39.6 Macalester
98 Tim Stendahl, Sr 27:42.9 Macalester
from the blue race, a hotly contested, rancorous rivalry continued.
57 Martins Blums, Sr 29:34.5 Macalester
62 Paul Singh, Sr 29:45.9 Macalester
they both beat jeff doll (67 So 29:55.4 Saint John's), younger brother of disreputable chris doll, who's infamy extends from such acts as spraining his foot mid-season while trying to win a bet (which he did) by sticking his foot in his ass, and a police chase in pursuit of mr. doll in st. peter when he got lost while streaking the gustavus all-miac party--a chase which allegedly included mr. doll scaling fences, shaking off a brutal clotheslining, eluding police, knocking on some poor soul's door to ask for directions back to the party, and eventually rejoining the fracas only to pass out naked on an ottoman. true story. in the man’s own words, "i'm chris mother-fuckin doll. once you meet me you'll never forget me."
Friday, October 01, 2004
congrats tim
ladies and gents, i have the honor of announcing on this site that tim pavlish is the new owner of a beautiful house built in 1887 on the west side.
here's the address:
624 ohio street, st. paul, minnesota 55107
where it @
those of you who are erstwhile cross country runners will recognize the location, southeast across the river on smith, aka high bridge, four blocks from cherokee park. great proximity to the old man river cafe and newly resurfaced tennis courts. if tim doesn't have enough money to pay for food after he pays the mortgage, he can always head down to the river and catch a fatty muskrat.
tim is looking for renters for his duplex. that's right, it's a duplex folks. the upstairs has two bedrooms and the spacious downstairs has one bedroom. the availability of rental space depends on which level tim decides to occupy. tim is open to all renters, heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, box turtle, etc.
*
who watched the debate last night. i thought it would leave me writhing painfully on the floor, but instead i was almost inspired to strut around the room doing the double fist pump. that's right, kerry kicked ass. not that it matters, because as ben said back in 2002, the passion of the bush will be re-elected. still, the debate is now my happy place.
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