madness, thy name is washington

wow

2009-07-12T22:39:19Z

check what the president's science czar was saying back in 1977 (with that wonderful guy, paul ehrlich):

http://zombietime.com/john_holdren/

c/o http://pester.livejournal.com/233183.html

more stimulation

2009-07-10T20:12:12Z

Signs with the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act logo are plastered at stimulus-funded construction project sites around America ... The signs cost $500 apiece in Maryland and New Hampshire, $1,700 in Georgia, $2,000 in Pennsylvania and New York, and $3,000 per project in New Jersey. For the price of one $2,000 sign, 40 potholes could be repaired. The costs of the signs are adding up for some states

- http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8026587

Stimulus Waste? The $3.4 Million Turtle Crossing
Before Approving a Second Stimulus Plan, Some Say Spend the First $787 Billion Properly

- http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=8045022

links, even now

2009-07-09T07:26:06Z

$18M Being Spent to Redesign Recovery.gov Web Site
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/07/18m-being-spent-to-redesign-recoverygov-web-site.html

stossel on krugman‏
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/johnstossel/2009/07/healthcare-from-dr-krugman.html

House Dems Eye Surtax on Wealthy for Health Bill
- http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Health/wireStory?id=8028076

interview went bust

2009-06-28T18:21:20Z

flaky media people. annoy.

very interesting

2009-06-27T16:00:53Z

http://neveryetmelted.com/2009/06/27/farah-fawcett-and-ayn-rand/

[ my comment, submitted to site: An intriguing addition to the Rand corpus, biographically and psychologically. Ms Fawcett knows her stuff here, and Rand saw her more accurately than other, more culture-dependent, people did then. These responses prove Fawcett was more like what Rand thought she was and less the public stereotype. After Amy Wallace’s triumph with her biography of William Sidis, “The Prodigy” (which mentions Sidis as a prototypical “striker” in Rand’s sense) I will be interested to see what Wallace’s project comes to. ]

zomylol

2009-06-27T02:29:51Z

- http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/varv06262009a20090626043159.jpg , in http://southcottus.livejournal.com/302728.html

i'm done with links, for the most part ...

2009-06-16T04:51:06Z

due to time pressures, but i've not seen this one around enough:

Cuban exile blogger from Miami says he used a female internet alter ego to gain access to a member of the usually impervious family of Fidel Castro ... Mr Dominguez says that by showing what he describes as the opulent lifestyles the Castros live in a communist country like Cuba he has achieved his aim.

main story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8099925.stm

some more (with overlaps):

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sfl-fidel-castro-internet-trick-061309,0,4650943.story
http://current.com/items/90200216_fidel-castros-son-caught-in-internet-love-sting-with-man-pretending-to-be-woman.htm
http://www.shortell.org/aggregator/sources/5
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/castros-son-reveals-elite-lifestyle-in-web-romance-with-26yearold-colombian/477018/
http://www.cubaverdad.net/weblog/2009/06/fidel-castros-son-tricked-in-internet-love-sting/

find more with google, e.g.:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Claudiacartagena82@yahoo.com

notice how this keeps happening? same as with north korea.

the great moral leftist regimes.

new camille paglia column up

2009-06-11T05:51:26Z

http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2009/06/10/waterloo/index.html

upcoming blogradio appearances

2009-06-05T05:08:44Z

i'm scheduled to be interviewed on the following shows this months:

date: 13 june 2009
time: 9:30am pacific time
venue: authors read
URL: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AuthorsRead/2009/06/13/Michael-Brown-She-and-I-A-Fugue

upcoming (tba): www.blogtalkradio.com/Adrienna-Turner

upcoming (tba): www.blogtalkradio.com/Jayel-Gibson

anyone wanting further info, or to be put on email notify, just let me know. :)

links for 06-04-09

2009-06-05T04:15:00Z

quick: http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/292349.html (6/4)
thrill: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/thrillingwonder/213652.html (6/4)

Cindy Sheehan to lead protest in front of Bush's private home.
- http://parkcitiesblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/06/cindy-sheehan-to-lead-protest.html

great refutation: Has Prop. 13 Really Robbed California of Property-Tax Revenue?
- http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034048.html
linked in http://www.reason.com/blog/show/133927.html
c/o http://www.everymananisland.com/wp/?p=87

walter williams: Dumbest Generation Getting Dumber
- http://townhall.com/Common/PrintPage.aspx?g=bef9c508-f1c3-4636-a924-a0f35ff40db0&t=c
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/292349.html

candidate Obama on Clinton: A 'Loose Cannon' Who Tells 'Bald-Faced Lies'
- http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/06/03/obama-bill-clinton-is-a-bald-faced-liar/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl1|link3|- http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/06/03/obama-bill-clinton-is-a-bald-faced-liar/

Speed cameras on U.S. highways?
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/06/04/aa.speed.cameras.highways/index.html

excellent article: Why advancing technology makes health care more expensive, and everything else less expensive.
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/scrivener_feed/82874.html
[ includes explanation of why this is not a "market failure" or "market paradox" ]

The president today referred to the "nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today." - When asked where the president got the 7 million figure, the White House said the CIA World Fact Book was the source. But the CIA World Fact Book on its web site says the U.S. Muslim population is 0.6 percent of the 307 million population, putting the number of Muslims in the U.S. at 1.8 million.
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/from-the-fact-check-desk-president-obama-and-muslims-in-america.html

shoulda listened to the left and killed wal-mart when we'd the chance: Wal-Mart hiring 22,000 - expects to add more than 1,000 jobs at new stores in several states - incl. California, Florida and Michigan
- http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/companies/walmart_jobs/index.htm?cnn=yes

Venezuela is preparing to nationalise petrochemical projects as part of President Hugo Chavez's campaign to limit the private sector.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8084326.stm

the cataclysm was averted by all that stimulus money: U.S. jobless claims fall, productivity rises
- http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE5523K920090604
c/o http://xenoweeno.livejournal.com/274599.html

Personal files reveal new Sotomayor details - The high court nominee has $1.16 million in assets, but $418,350 in debts
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31080516/

Poll: 4+ months into Obama, Republicans looking better to Americans
- http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/06/2012-republicans-bush-cheney-gingrich-romney-palin.html

New research has given credence to the idea that laughter evolved in a common ancestor of the great apes and humans. Researchers tickled 22 young apes and three humans and acoustically analysed the laughing sounds that resulted. Though the vocalisations varied, the team found that the patterns of changes fit with evolutionary splits in the human and ape family tree.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8083230.stm

VATs Mean Big Government
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/cato_commentary/470128.html

A professor at Florida Atlantic University says she may end her 40-year membership in a professional association, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, because it requires people who seek to present papers at its annual meeting to sign a disclaimer promising not to “insult the rightful dignity and social equity of any individual or group.
- http://chronicle.com/daily/2009/06/19122n.htm
c/o http://direttoressa.livejournal.com/14365.html

Medical bills tied to 60 percent of bankruptcies - Most families had health insurance, but still overwhelmed by health debt
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31103572/

Numbers Don't Add up for Obama's Health Plan
- http://townhall.com/Common/PrintPage.aspx?g=51edc7a1-9cbc-4a24-8179-de0193d0bcbe&t=c
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/292349.html

Research published in Psychological Science reveals that you savor a temporary experience more when you remind yourself of its imminent conclusion.
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20090408-000003.html

good news for me: Naturally nostalgic people have high self-esteem and are less prone to depression.
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20060511-000003.html

someone tell robert pirsig: from Matthew B. Crawford, who has a Ph.d. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago yet now runs a motorcycle repair shop in Richmond. - This book grows out of an attempt to understand the greater sense of agency and competence I have always felt doing manual work, compared to other jobs that were officially recognized as "knowledge work." Perhaps most surprisingly, I often find manual work more engaging intellectually. This book is an attempt to understand why this should be so.
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2283585.html

Identity politics in the age of Obama - There were hopes ethnic politics would fade after Obama's win
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/04/thernstrom.identity.politics/index.html
[ i sure heard that america had "moved beyond race" ]

EU lobbyists: unknown unknowns
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/euroseptic/7914.html

gender asymmetry even among the presumably PC: we studied the votes of federal court of appeals judges in many areas of the law, from environmental cases to capital punishment and sex discrimination. For the most part, we found no difference in the voting patterns of male and female judges, except when it comes to sex discrimination cases. There, we found that female judges are approximately 10 percent more likely to rule in favor of the party bringing the discrimination claim. We also found that the presence of a female judge causes male judges to vote differently. When male and female judges serve together to decide a sex discrimination case, the male judges are nearly 15 percent more likely to rule in favor of the party alleging discrimination than when they sit with male judges only. - This holds true even after we account for judges' ideological leanings.
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR2009050103406.html
c/o http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2283158.html

SEC charging ex-Countrywide CEO with fraud
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31108985/

Ahmadinejad accused of tainting Iran's image in TV debate
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/04/iran.election.debate/index.html

House GOP offers $23 billion in spending cuts
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31100427/

sowell: Harlem, Then and Now - The words “housing project” in that era did not mean anything like they do today.
- http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTQxYWY3ODQzYTIyZTI1ZDY4MzhiMjJiYmMxZjA0NTM=

Obama Derangement Syndrome? - If both the Left and the Right are attacking Obama, does that make him a centrist?
- http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDg2MDM5M2U5MDEyZTg4OTAzNjQzY2Y4MjEzZGU2ODA=

Most think of East Germany as having been drab, gray and boring. But an underground fashion scene did its best to spice things up. A new documentary takes a look at the perils of creating avant-garde couture in a communist country.
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,628632,00.html

One side is home to red wine-sipping Europeans, the other to gun-toting Americans: A whole slew of stereotypes can be found on both sides of the Atlantic. But, as American historian Peter Baldwin argues in a three-part essay for SPIEGEL ONLINE, the EU and the US are much more similar than they think.
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,628381,00.html

Slump pushing cost of drugs out of reach - Many Americans unable to afford life-saving prescriptions
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31103876/

newsweek: Is this the end of organized labor as we know it?
- http://www.newsweek.com/id/200250

Eminem ‘thrilled’ about pulling off Bruno stunt - ‘We pulled this off better than we rehearsed it,’ says the rapper
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31093984/

Green tea Coca-Cola to debut in Japan - Drink contains tea antioxidants, targeted at health-conscious women
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31103164/

"We have seen a definite increase in violence against transsexuals this year," says Estrella Cerezo, a founding member of the Venezuelan transgender rights group Transvenus.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8076379.stm

Paris bringing her reality series to Dubai - ‘She’s gonna be respectful,’ says producer Michael Hirschorn
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31093879/

Passenger wins relief in plane bathroom crisis - Man accused of assaulting flight attendant reaches deal with prosecutors
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31084667/

Triplet gives birth to her own set of 3 babies
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31104987/

Royal D-Day row reveals split over WWII roles
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31107326/

'Gay' Penguins Raise Adopted Chick
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,628508,00.html

Your BFF 'unfriended' you - now what?
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/06/04/tf.friendship.breakup/index.html

links for 06-03-09 pt 4

2009-06-05T04:06:05Z

the melvinator: http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/684120.html (6/3)
quick: http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291975.html (6/3)

here comes government medicine! Calgary - An outpouring of anger and donation offers wasn't enough to save Calgary's only surgery laser for enlarged prostates, which was removed Friday afternoon. - The Alberta Health Services superboard decided it wasn't a priority in Calgary to spend the $400 to $500 more to perform each laser procedure than the traditional open surgery - even though the more invasive type adds the costs of overnight hospital stays and ties up an all-important bed.
- http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/834005.html and http://ccr1138.livejournal.com/52671.html

Most European countries have seen the damage green energy can do to their economies and are rapidly (if quietly) scaling back their support.
- http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjRkNmE5ZmVmMzI4NGExMmNhYzgwYTAyODM5Y2RjYmY=

tapper: Admin. Bin Laden Finds President Obama and His Outreach to Muslim World 'Very Threatening' - no evidence given
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/obama-administration-obl-finds-president-obama-and-his-outreach-to-muslim-world-very-threatening.html

5 Character Flaws That Are Destroying America's Future
- http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnHawkins/2009/06/02/5_character_flaws_that_are_destroying_americas_future

during the first minute of interaction, women with a professed interest in a man send no more non-verbal signals than do non-interested women. "In other words," they explained, "it is hard for a man to determine whether or not a woman is interested in the first few minutes of an interaction. With this in mind, since men are not aware of how well they are doing in terms of getting a date, both sexes may feel a direct approach would be most effective."
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/britpsychdigest/281122.html

cnbc contributor: After nearly twenty years in Washington I thought I've seen every trick ever conceived, but the White House claims of "jobs saved" attributed to the stimulus bill is unrivaled. What causes the jaw to drop is not just the breathtaking deception of the claim, but the gullibility of the Washington press corps to continue reporting it.
- http://www.cnbc.com/id/31063979
c/o http://www.everymananisland.com/wp/?p=86

Canadian doctor: "Our system is stupid."
- http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/834299.html
also: - http://ccr1138.livejournal.com/52771.html

“The [Nevada] Legislature passed the biggest combination tax hike in state history, jacking sales, payroll, hotel room, motor vehicle registration and business license taxes by a projected total of $1 billion over the next two years. . . . Despite all the wailing about ‘cuts’ to state agencies and programs, the state is poised to spend more over the next two years than it has during the current biennium -- and the current budget is bigger than the one before it, as well. As the private-sector shrinks and atrophies, Nevada government keeps on growing.” - Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial, 6/3/09
- http://lucy-chronicles.livejournal.com/140265.html

Vigilante stalkers harass Professor John Yoo at his private home
- http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=473
linked in http://michellemalkin.com/2009/06/02/john-yoo-is-going-to-have-problems-living-a-normal-life-now/
c/o http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/684120.html

two clips of the nyc photo-op jet flyover
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsSD3fvrGc
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/libtards/333070.html

Obama says cap-and-trade plan "doesn't work" except as "the largest corporate welfare program ever".
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/scrivener_feed/82605.html

At the time of this writing, there are nearly 7,000 references to "George Tiller" in Google News. - There are under 500 for "William Long."
- http://newsbusters.org/blogs/amy-ridenour/2009/06/01/media-some-murders-matter-more-others
c/o http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/684120.html

The Obama marketing mania continues in Germany. Cute and cuddly stuffed animals designed to look like his new pet will soon be on the shelves. And an Obama musical will hit the stage this fall.
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,628393,00.html

Purchasing power long ago overtook manpower as the most important lever in the race towards military might. - Currently, personnel expenditure accounts for less than 40% of global defence spending, according to Datamonitor. - As hi-tech machinery continues to reduce the need to use soldiers to fight wars, this proportion is shrinking.
Meanwhile, the amount spent on defence is soaring in every region of the world.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8050737.stm

Poll: Americans Oppose Closing Gitmo, Prison Made U.S. Safer
- http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/06/02/poll-americans-oppose-gitmo-closing-prison-made-u-s-safer
c/o http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/684120.html

The Trans-Atlantic Frenemies
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,628301,00.html

General Motor Corp.’s bankruptcy is the last thing Detroit and the state of Michigan need. They have been having problems for a long time.
- http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a7IYfjQkC2RM
c/o http://whip-lash.livejournal.com/436817.html

Voter turnout for this week's European parliamentary election is expected to be the lowest since direct elections began 30 years ago.
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,627958,00.html

How Would the Economy Look Under McCain?
- http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/how-would-the-economy-look-under-mccain/
c/o http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2282156.html

BBVA, Spain's second-biggest bank ... is hoping at least some of its 29,954 Spanish employees agree not to come to work for up to five years - in exchange for nearly a third of their usual salary and a guaranteed job when they return.
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2282437.html

Gay marriage mob harasses petition-signers in Washington state
- http://michellemalkin.com/2009/06/02/gay-marriage-mob-harasses-petition-signers-in-washington-state/
c/o http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/684120.html

libertarian v.p. candidate wayne allyn root starts radio show
- http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/832812.html

Armstrong's 'poetic' slip on Moon
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8081817.stm

A robotic sub called Nereus has reached the deepest-known part of the ocean. - The dive to 10,902m (6.8 miles) took place on 31 May, at the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8080324.stm

humans are ... ingenious ...
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2281824.html

Couric Advises Against 'Nastiness' -- In Speech That Mocked Rush, Palin, Rumsfeld, and Miss California
- http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2009/06/01/couric-advises-against-nastiness-speech-mocked-rush-palin-rumsfeld-miss-
c/o http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/684120.html

Japan's post-bubble policies produced a "lost decade." So why is President Obama emulating them?
- http://www.reason.com/news/show/133862.html
c/o http://www.everymananisland.com/wp/?p=86

research suggests that just being in a relationship leads people to feel less confined by the perimeters of their own flesh.
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20090408-000002.html

Reflections on Plasticity
- http://brainblogger.com/2009/06/03/reflections-on-plasticity/

Research connects a part of the brain to so-called "out-of-body experiences."
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20030117-000001.html

most people have big problems estimating economic growth, in part because they cannot get exponential processes
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2281504.html

analysis of the gender of Twitter relationships
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2281091.html

New South African President Jacob Zuma promises to create half a million jobs this year in his first state of the nation address.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8080792.stm

as melvin said: Obama: Nuclear Power OK For Enemies but Not For US?
- http://www.redstate.com/warner_todd_huston/2009/06/02/obama-nuclear-power-ok-for-enemies-but-not-for-us/
c/o http://www.everymananisland.com/wp/?p=86

links for 06-03-09 pt 3

2009-06-04T21:16:36Z

quick: http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291975.html (6/3)

A Nation of Social Workers (and the Victims Who Need Them) - Forget 'plastics.' In the Obamas' America, the one word is 'helping.' - To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. To a community organizer, every citizen looks like a victim entitled to someone else’s money.
- http://www.businessandmedia.org/commentary/2009/20090527095047.aspx

31% Say Stimulus Package Helped, 27% Say It Hurt Economy
- http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/economic_stimulus_package/31_say_stimulus_package_helped_27_say_it_hurt_economy
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291975.html

Why the Health Care Rush? - Democrats don't think their bill can stand public inspection.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124398857510379561.html#mod=djemEditorialPage
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291975.html

another tapper? Bob Woodward versus the White House
- http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=7894e8ce-9773-4792-b66d-b6acfdbc6521
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291975.html

In tight economic times one thing that continues to sell well is the Obama family. - The August Wilson play that Mr Obama saw is a sell-out - The stall outside our office is still flogging Obama tea towels, T-shirts and umbrellas. The New York Times is advertising historic Obama medallions and Time magazine continues to sell its Inauguration Day specials almost five months after the 44th president took the oath. - The Obamas have also become an inadvertent product placement phenomenon.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8080327.stm

The EU: An unlikely life coach
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/open_europe/17125.html?mode=reply&style=mine

The false promises of renewable energy.
- http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjRkNmE5ZmVmMzI4NGExMmNhYzgwYTAyODM5Y2RjYmY

reminder

2009-06-04T20:49:08Z

[rand] made an incredibly valuable point: [properly,] government people may only do what they are legally permitted to do, while private citizens may do everything except what they are legally forbidden to do.

- http://annemarie.livejournal.com/845352.html

to check

2009-06-04T20:41:27Z

random thought: i wonder what effect the little ice age, and its end, had upon free trade and the industrial revolution.

- http://community.livejournal.com/conservacorner/276567.html [f/locked]

links for 06-03-09 pt 2

2009-06-04T01:13:52Z

Book: Obama marriage strained by House race - Author: Michelle was angry at Barack’s careerism, he thought she was cold
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31088507/

Robert J. Samuelson: Is Bernanke Nudging Obama on Deficits? - The most interesting part of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony this morning before the House Budget Committee was his unambiguous emphasis on the need to reduce future federal budget deficits. Although there was no explicit criticism of the Obama Administration in his prepared testimony, he suggested that deficit reduction needed to go well beyond announced plans
- http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/wealthofnations/archive/2009/06/03/is-bernanke-nudging-obama-on-deficits.aspx

related: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday urged Congress and the administration to cut record-high budget deficits, warning that they could erode investor confidence and endanger the economy’s long-term health. - Bernanke’s comments came as concerns grow at home and overseas about the United States’ mounting red ink.
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31082696/

Did Pizza Deliveryman Stumble on Rape or Consensual Bondage? - Atlanta Man Charged With Kidnapping and Rape; Accuser Has History of False Reports
- http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=7736489
[ if your report was false, thanks, ma'am, for empowering those who doubt rape/abuse reports ]

Poll: Half say torture is sometimes justified - Survey shows U.S. split over harsh interrogation, closing Guantanamo
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31078634/

brilliant in these times! FDIC extends $250,000 deposit insurance - Coverage will revert to $100,000 per depositor on Jan. 1, 2014
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31090531/

FDIC Regulators shelved a controversial plan that aimed to cleanse banks' balance sheets of toxic assets.
- http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/03/news/fdic.toxicity.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes

Californians debate selling classic landmarks - Schwarzenegger plan would raise money to pay off some of state’s deficit
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31091152/

Mammoths roasted in prehistoric barbecue pit - Archaeologists have just uncovered a 29,000 B.C. well-equipped kitchen
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31085915/

Cafferty: Too late for American public schools to become competitive?
- http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2009/06/03/education-reform-what-should-be-top-priority/

Even Tim Geithner can't sell his house - Treasury Secretary is renting out his home in a tony New York suburb after the property went unsold for months.
- http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/03/real_estate/Geithner_housing_market/index.htm?postversion=2009060314

Reclusive author J.D. Salinger has emerged, at least in the pages of court documents, to try to stop a novel that presents Holden Caulfield, the disaffected teen hero of his classic "The Catcher in the Rye," as an old man.
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/books/06/03/salinger.catcher.lawsuit/index.html

FDA approves cancer drug for dogs - Palladia OK'd to treat a common canine skin tumors
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31084765/
[ why is the FDA involved in dog medicine? ]

Emotional Nancy Reagan unveils statue of late president
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/03/reagan.statue/index.html

Woman says ‘Bruno’ skirmish left her disabled - Lawsuit filed against Cohen, studio over struggle at charity bingo event
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31088504/

Kerry says $819,848 tax lien is clerical error
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31087577/

Cell phone video cams start to have ‘reel’ feel - Ability to take, not just watch, mobile video becoming more common
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31054150

Lines between netbooks, laptops keep blurring - A 12-inch netbook? In an evolving PC market, everything's fair game
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31088507/

Court reverses Starbucks tip sharing ruling - California decision says supervisors do barista work, also entitled to money
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31088844/

Elizabeth Edwards to open furniture store
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31083120/

Dealership has less than a week to sell all its cars
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/02/dealership.closing/index.html

Do you see what I twee? How precious - A field guide to recognizing the indie aesthetic in movies both good and bad
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31048866/

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SID AND MARTY KROFFT
- http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/03/1950860.aspx

As sort of a 60th anniversary gift to its faithful readers, Harlequin is displaying original artwork for its covers in an New York exhibit called "The Heart of a Woman: Harlequin Cover Art 1949-2009."
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/06/03/harlequin.romance.novels/index.html

links for 06-03-09 pt 1

2009-06-03T17:05:15Z

Obama "open" to idea of taxing health care benefits - Ah yes, yet another reversal of his reversal of Republican policies and proposals. - Apparently that idea is no longer evil.
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090603/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_health_overhaul
[ apologies - i misplaced URL of whoever first posted link and made comment above ]

soup kitchen poverty
- http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k151/vivianc1968/Cartoons/freeLunch.jpg

i think there was some lying here in '86: The Racial Controversy That Cost Sen. Sessions a Judgeship in 1986
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/you-cant-dwell-on-those-things-sen-jeff-sessions-r-alarecently-told-the-examiners-byron-york-if-i-had-be.html

[BS dem ad] aimed at Republican Rep. Peter King claim that he “opposed an $800 tax cut and opposed creating or saving 215,000 New York jobs.” But King, like many Republicans, never said that. Rather, he said he thought the $789 billion stimulus bill included too much spending. - And the 215,000 jobs (as well as other state specific figures given for other targeted members) are far from a guarantee. Rather, they are calculated from nationwide projections made by President Obama’s advisers in January.
- http://wire.factcheck.org/2009/06/02/tax-cut-ads-clip-some-details/

Days before President Obama visits Germany, Der Spiegel reports that the visit “is creating friction between Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU)"
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,627662,00.html
c/o http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/tensions-mit-merkel.html

ABC joins with the crazies: Experts say over the next hundred years the "perfect storm" of population growth, resource depletion and climate change could converge with catastrophic results.
- http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Earth2100
[ because resources just sit there and technology never changes - so just extrapolate in a straight line - no synergies ]

What I Learned as a Car Czar. - History shows government and automobile manufacturing don't mix. By ION MIHAI PACEPA - When the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu decided in the mid-1960s that he wanted to have a car industry, he chose me to start the project rolling. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. I knew nothing about manufacturing cars, but neither did anyone else among Ceausescu's top men. However, my father had spent most of his life running the service department of the General Motors affiliate in Bucharest.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124381203054570397.html
c/o http://spikedpunch.livejournal.com/1410847.html

Lawyers for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have asked for a probe of federal officials who are investigating the sheriff's office for alleged discrimination and unconstitutional searches.
- http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1174078
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/831093.html

It's no wonder that our health-care system is the costliest in the world - even though it's by no means the most effective. - A big reason is that the system is rigged to protect the status quo. President Obama campaigned on the idea that healthful living can bring down the cost of health care, but it seems his own administration is blocking his vision. - I refer to the monumentally stupid case the Food and Drug Administration brought against General Mills' Cheerios cereal, in which it basically said only drugs can cure what ails you. Never mind diet, never mind exercise.
- http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=136964
[ apologies - i misplaced URL of whoever first posted link ]

400,000 petition Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to allow vote on Broadcaster Freedom Act!
- http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2009/06/01/400-000-petition-pelosi-reid-vote-broadcaster-freedom-act
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/conservacorner/275827.html

links for 06-02-09

2009-06-03T17:00:46Z

melvin: http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/683436.html (6/2)
quick: http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html (6/2)

tapper: The Emergence of President Obama's Muslim Roots
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/abc-news-jake-tapper-and-sunlen-miller-report-the-other-day-we-heard-a-comment-from-a-white-house-aide-that-neverwould-have.html

Justice Dept. economic stupidity: "Asst Attorney General for Antitrust Christine Varney ... last month argued 'many observers agree' that our current recession reflects 'a failure of antitrust' and 'inadequate antitrust oversight.' - This is news to most economists. The cause of the recession is not easy money by the Fed, or the bursting of the housing bubble, or excessive risk-taking through complicated financial instruments? It's insufficient antitrust prosecution? The claim is hardly plausible. Prosecuting successful businesses will help the recovery?"
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124390028132574485.html
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html

U.S. releases secret nuclear list accidentally - Report gives details about hundreds of the nation's nuclear sites, programs
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31073594/
[ funny how it's the "u.s." and not "the obama administration" - things were different with bush43, curiously ]

Pro-gun sentiment in America rising, not falling. Firearms sales are up, and there are reports of ammunition shortages.
- http://www.newsweek.com/id/200088

Ethanol's Grocery Bill - Two federal studies add up the corn fuel's exorbitant cost.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124389966385274413.html#mod=djemEditorialPage
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html

How GM Lost Its Way - Timid management and coddled workers couldn't compete with Toyota.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124389995447074461.html#mod=djemEditorialPage
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html

the greedy rich: Why I’m Giving Away $1 Billion - By Peter G. Peterson - The moment is overdue for us to become moral and worthy ancestors.
- http://www.newsweek.com/id/200075/?gt1=43002
c/o http://spikedpunch.livejournal.com/1410540.html

Voters Are the Cause of America's Fiscal Mess
- http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10266

gm a preview for america under government medicine? "only those GM retiree's with high blood pressure will get free viagra now! - I have no empathy for any of the union workers who killed this company. There are hundreds of other benefits, many, which are still on the books, that killed the goose that layed the golden eggs for GM employees and the UAW. There is not a corporation or company in the world where employees worked less and received more benefits than at GM."
- http://bonzerwolf.livejournal.com/86425.html

excellent point: A nation threatening genocide and sitting on a sea of oil sitting underneath deserts and dry mountains has legitimate needs to pursue nuclear power. We MUST NOT pursue nuclear, instead we must choose the unproven technologies of wind and solar.
- http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/683436.html

Conflicting Interests - The effort to push the private sector out of continuing medical education.
- http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDQwZmUwZTZjNzA5MjExY2MzN2NiY2EwOThhMzQ4NTY=

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer describes herself as "the most passionate person for health care reform in the entire White House."
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/romer-on-health-care-costs-the-nightmare-scenario-is-getting-closer.html
[ the new trendy approach: obama has the biggest heart, romer has the most passion ]

hannity shows what your money is being spent on now
- http://community.livejournal.com/libtards/332824.html

Obama creates Reagan centennial commission - Panel will plan activities for 100th anniversary of late president's birth
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31070972/

The Axis of Evil, Again - Every nuclear-weapons state had foreign help
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124389849589874347.html
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html

the reality is that GM will remain a government-sponsored enterprise — Fannie Motors might be a better nom de ridicule. All three Detroit automakers now share the same GSE structure (public mission, private ownership) that failed Fannie and Freddie. Going forward, the automakers’ missions are A) to provide health care, benefits, and high-wage employment to the United Auto Workers union, and B) to build the little green cars that President Obama and the Democrats want them to make, and the American people do not want to buy (at least not from Detroit while Japan makes them better for less)
- http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTYyYWJmZDJkN2UyN2QyMjFjYjM4Yzg0YTQxNDg2Y2M=

The President is so busy not running GM that he had time the night before to call and reassure Detroit Mayor Dave Bing about the new GM's location.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124389952143874411.html

In another odd twist left unexamined by the media, the White House on Monday said it simply would not release the cost of President Obama's weekend jaunt to New York City, where the First Couple had dinner and caught a Broadway show. - There was, of course, an ironic element of the trip. In February, Obama scolded corporate executives (while also costing Las Vegas some $130 million) when he said: "You can't get corporate jets. You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas, or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime."
- http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/01/curl-cost-nyc-weekend/
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html

video: why are conservatives so mean?
- http://www.pjtv.com/video/Klavan_on_culture/_Why_Are_Conservatives_So_Mean%3F/1949/;jsessionid=abcybdvbQ23-ofhyJ_Ggs
c/o http://supedujour.livejournal.com/484285.html

The question is simple. Do you want the government to take over your health care and stand between you and your doctor? - Do you want government dictating to you when your child or grandchild or mother or father can receive even basic medical treatments? - Right now, behind closed doors, politicians and special interests are deciding the future of your health care. Their end-goal is simple and frightening: force every American into a one-size-fits-all system.
- http://americansforprosperity.org/shona-story

Lawmakers Charge Taxpayers For TVs, Cameras, Lexus
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124364352135868189.html
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html

der spiegel: The Most Expensive President Since 1945 - The new US president's first 100 days in office were expensive, glamorous and often contradictory. Barack Obama has done many things right against a host of intractable problems, but he's made at least two blatant mistakes.
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,622183,00.html

Three institutions move to repay TARP money - Morgan Stanley, Chase, American Express announce series of stock sales
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31070338/

Ronald Reagan 'appears to Nancy'
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8078526.stm

Canadian economy in sharp decline
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8077646.stm

Omar Fadhil Al-Nidaw in The Australian: Iraq was a just war
- http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25571560-5013479,00.html
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html

no, really? Eminem-Bruno stunt on MTV was planned - MTV Movie Awards writer Scott Aukerman admits incident was staged
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31053788/

Simple stool test may detect many cancers - Screening could provide early diagnosis for gastrointestinal diseases
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31062797/

Mona Charen: It's Not Fair To Casually Call People Racist
- http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/06/02/its_not_fair_to_casually_call_people_racist_96778.html

Did Obama announce the end of used cars?
- http://paxety.com/2009/06/02/did-obama-announce-the-end-of-used-cars/
c/o http://lblanchard.livejournal.com/497929.html

Tell liberals that the U.S. is headed toward — well, you know — and they laugh it off as political paranoia. So how to explain the sometimes subtle, yet often bold, advocacy of a socialist system?
- http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/06/dont-call-it-socialism.html

tapper: President Obama on Israel: 'Part of Being a Good Friend Is Being Honest'
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/president-obama-on-israel-part-of-being-a-good-friend-is-being-honest.html

interesting question: selling hummer to the chinese - what will do that do to jobs, and how does that fit with admin's promises to create/save jobs?
- http://metaphorsbwithu.livejournal.com/232309.html

10% Of Twitter Users Account For 90% Of Twitter Activity
- http://www.businessinsider.com/10-of-twitter-users-account-for-90-of-twitter-activity-2009-6
c/o jess

hmm ... what do you know? it turns out money doesn't equal power! [when it's a lady executive]
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/02/massachusetts.rockefeller.trial/index.html

How Hillsdale Beats Harvard - The Ivy school sells out its 'principles.'
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124389872115674363.html
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291775.html

psychology starts to study charisma
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20050502-000001.html

From chutzpah to joie de vivre, different cultures have their own words that describe the X-factor.
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20050711-000001.html

unpublished mm pics
- http://www.life.com/image/88010878/in-gallery/27412/marilyn-neverpublished-photos
- http://www.life.com/image/88010869/in-gallery/27412/marilyn-neverpublished-photos
- http://www.life.com/image/88010951/in-gallery/27412/marilyn-neverpublished-photos
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/vintagephoto/4212180.html

Has your state got green shoots? - If you want to be in the right place when the recovery starts, that place may be in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas or Washington, according to two reports.
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30991972/

'Cell phone elbow' damages nerves
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/02/cell.phone.elbow/index.html

Have Astronomers Discovered A New Type of Supernova?
- http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/01/have-astronomers-discovered-a-new-type-of-supernova/

here is my philosophy ...

2009-06-03T03:00:00Z

on this, a day when there's been more than a bit of trouble for those i know.

love can be so simple and beautiful.

nothing simpler, and absolutely nothing more beautiful.

we don't stay true enough to this. somehow, we go away from it.

it's always there. we can return to it - or not.

most do not.

big, big news from nature

2009-06-02T21:11:45Z

wild chimps make five-piece toolkits - study compares sophisticated set with Stone Age human technologies
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31066482/

Hand-raised Rooks Quickly Figure Out Tool-Use - did not learn from others - social constructionism in animals takes another blow
- http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/05/26/rook-tools-bird.html

dealership-closing bias refuted?

2009-06-02T21:07:59Z

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/05/news-flash-car-dealers-are-republicans.html

[ c/o poetpaladin in http://writerspleasure.livejournal.com/642539.html ]

links for 06-01-09 pt 2

2009-06-02T18:04:30Z

the melvinator: http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/682181.html (6/1)

tapper: President Honors LGBT Pride Month by Not Supporting Same Sex Marriage, While Cheney Disagrees
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/potus-honors-lgbt-pride-month-by-not-supporting-same-sex-marriage-while-cheney-disagrees.html

from may 2008: Why Do Women Have Erotic Rape Fantasies?
- http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainstorm/200805/why-do-women-have-erotic-rape-fantasies
c/o http://tacit.livejournal.com/301573.html
[ big point: despite the huge changes in culture, all the pro-female-power messages, the cultural propaganda and all, the statistical occurrence of erotic rape fantasies has been basically unchanged for decades. feminist social constructionism is wrong here, too: "the patriarchy" (which is a fiction like "the rich") doesn't construct them. ]

BBC: On human rights, I fear [the u.s. president] will disappoint: I asked him straight whether Hosni Mubarak (the Egyptian leader for 38 years!) was an autocrat. Mr Obama told me he was a force for stability and good.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/justinwebb/2009/06/an_interview_with_president_ob.html
[ where's michael moore's movie on how obama's family has business dealings with the saudis? how much has changed from all this stuff that could only be caused by being personal friends with evil monsters, which the new president would never do? ]

Justice Dept: Georgia will no longer be able to verify the citizenship of people requesting to vote.
- http://www.alipac.us/article-4263--0-0.html
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/828596.html
[ the whole issue is nakedly ridiculous. curious how the dem party flipped its attitude on immigrants, who used to be bad people who "took away american jobs" until it turned out they tended to vote dem. don't think we're not remembering the dem party's record on civil rights prior to the LBJ buyoff, brothers and sisters ]

USGS: 3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels of Technically Recoverable Oil Assessed in North Dakota and Montana’s Bakken Formation — 25 Times More Than 1995 Estimate
- http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/830173.html
[ no more oil discoveries. we know that for sure, this time. wrong in '95 but for sure we are right now. go green. ]

you lose about half of your close network members every seven years.
- http://www.physorg.com/news162741216.html
c/o http://tacit.livejournal.com/301573.html

innovation thrives! Drug hope for advanced melanoma
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8076743.stm

Bush43: "I'm abandoning free-market principles to save the free-market system." But he had already significantly increased the size and scope of the federal government. His last act was to bail out General Motors and Chrysler. That trend is continuing in spades under President Barack Obama and the democratic majority in Congress.
- http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10264

Reawakening Retrocyclins: Ancestral Human Defensins Active Against HIV-1
- http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000095
c/o http://tacit.livejournal.com/301573.html

How Rhode Island accidentally decriminalized prostitution.
- http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROSTITUTION_LAW31_05-31-09_NVEHGBH_v157.2d63ec5.html
c/o http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2279241.html

Was there Really a Hawthorne Effect at the Hawthorne Plant?
- http://papers.nber.org/papers/w15016#fromrss
c/o http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2279241.html

Illegal immigration is making Italians look to the EU for action
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8076526.stm
[ but if the u.s. ... ]

on left's backlash against president
- http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/828255.html

links for 06-01-09 pt 1

2009-06-02T17:40:19Z

Dick Cheney is in favor of gay marriage: 'Freedom for everyone'
- http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20090601/US.Cheney/
[ leftists must now regard themselves as EVIL and BAD people - they agree with cheney! ]

Cheney: No link between Saddam Hussein, 9/11 - "I do not believe and have never seen any evidence to confirm that [Hussein] was involved in 9/11. We had that reporting for a while, [but] eventually it turned out not to be true,"
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/01/cheney.speech/index.html
[ leftists must now regard themselves as DOULBEPLUSUNGOOD people - they agree with cheney on something else! will the horror never cease? years of therapy are required. medicaid must cover. ]

Ford's unrewarded virtue - By cleaning up its two U.S. rivals, Uncle Sam has put the automaker at a competitive disadvantage.
- http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/01/autos/ford_unrewarded_virtue.breakingviews/index.htm?postversion=2009060113
[ atlas shrugged, redux - now multiply that by all sorts of industries and stories, well-known or otherwise - penalize well-run businesses in favor of badly-run ones - note that badly-run businesses will often have excess labor, which makes them more "necessary" to hordes of workers than efficient, lean companies - yet another way in which the net efficiency of a state-intervened economy decreases ]

Humbled GM files for bankruptcy protection - Pres. "absolutely confident" well-managed GM will emerge from the process.
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31030038/
[ so gm failed due to bad mnagement? the new myth takes root. watch how this will become the official story. unions had nothing to do with it. ]

basic point re GM: To get $50b out of that 70% implies an eventual valuation of Government Motors at $72 billion or so. The new Government Motors and the old General Motors aren't strictly comparable, but that is roughly equivalent to a General Motors stock price of $118/share (across an estimated 610.6 million shares outstanding). General Motors' peak stock price over the last five years has been less than half that - $46.93/share.
- http://dorsai.livejournal.com/300923.html
c/o http://bonzerwolf.livejournal.com/85900.html

kudlow: Taxpayers now own Government Motors, but they’ll never get paid back.
- http://kudlowsmoneypolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/little-green-cars.html

Is Universal Coverage Comparatively Effective? - As congressional Dems prepare to deliver on President's goal of "expanding coverage to all Americans,"(.pdf) an important question remains unanswered: is universal coverage worth the money? - Extending health insurance coverage to the estimated 46 million (.pdf) Americans without it could easily cost $2 trillion over the next 10 years. If the underlying goal is to make people healthier, are there other ways to spend that $2 trillion that would help Americans, including the uninsured, live even longer, healthier lives? There may well be, and one can hardly imagine a more fit topic for comparative-effectiveness research.
- http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10262

shock! Former law clerks endorse Sotomayor
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/01/sotomayor.law.clerks/index.html

Strong reception for Google Wave
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8076697.stm

Pay to Parlez? Obama Names Donors to Swank Ambassador Posts - Fundraisers Headed for England, Japan; Critics Decry "Unchecked" System
- http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7698482&page=1

He’s Not Hispanic, He’s a Conservative
- http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTJhMWQwOGM4ZTRiYjVhOThlN2Q5NWMxYzFmZDhhMzU=

tapper picks up story: Amidst Questions About Detainee Abuse Photos, Gibbs Assails the British Press
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/amidst-questions-about-detainee-abuse-photos-gibbs-assails-the-british-press.html

Mindfulness training busts biz stress
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/01/mindfulness.training.stress/index.html

Nevada legalizing domestic partnerships
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/31/nevada.domestic.partnerships/index.html

Students in small classes, from kindergarten through third grade, have higher graduation rates.
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20051031-000008.html

king quant
- http://www.newsweek.com/id/200015

david lynch interview project
- http://interviewproject.davidlynch.com/

links for 05-31-09

2009-06-02T17:24:29Z

the melvinator: http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/681904.html (5/31)
quickly: http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291175.html (5/31)

dictator chavez' 4-day tv marathon as lame as his statism: four-day TV anniversary extravaganza reduced to handful of transmissions over just two days
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8076353.stm

very interesting article (though negatively-biased re. US) about US impact on iraqi culture: U.S. occupation leaves cultural legacy in Iraq - From tattoos of Metallica to bellybutton piercings, the war has left its mark
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31023977//
[ my comment to c.: reporter is so odd! chooses brilliant examples, showing readers the complexity - then suddenly inserts comments mired in clunky heavy ideology: THIS WILL END BADLY NO MATTER WHAT, IN ALL REGARDS ]

must read. level-head: enron's other secret
- http://level-head.livejournal.com/421851.html
[ not only was enron budy-buddy with clinton/dems and not repubs, they were early birds in - you guessed it - the cap & trade scam! ]

wow. "About everything we do around here is government intrusion in people's lives" - quip from transport secretary LaHood, former Republican congressman
- http://newcruelty.livejournal.com/4206.html
[ quote tracking: - http://www.google.com/search?q=%22About+everything+we+do+around+here+is+government+intrusion+in%22 ]

Researchers have for the first time found inherited genetic factors which raise the risk of testicular cancer.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8070094.stm

Sotomayor’s focus on race issues may be hurdle - 'The American ideal is that justice should be colorblind,' GOP senator says
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31011651/

Muslim cleric 'bans' Muslim use of nuclear weapons via fatwa
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8076410.stm

question du jour: what are some simple things we can teach kids to do to take care of Mother Nature? justgoto: Teach them that they shouldn't lie like Al Gore does. - Also teach them not to run... it produces deadly carbon dioxide at higher levels than usual. - Last but not least; show them how to backtrack in order to throw Al Gore off their sent. That way they can run and play like the kids of yesteryear, without their parents having to worry about buying carbon credits for overly active children.
- http://justgoto.livejournal.com/788540.html

don't spend so much next time: Budget cuts could close 220 California park- Schwarzenegger's drastic plan called “a worst-case scenario”
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31001101/

Tanning - addictive?
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30827219/

from 05/17/09: Some on left souring on Obama
- http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22604.html

Britain begins to turn against the European Union- - "Britons increasingly Eurosceptic"
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090528/wl_uk_afp/euvotebritainpoll
c/o http://jordan179.livejournal.com/125385.html

US President Barack Obama has fulfilled a pre-election promise by flying first lady Michelle to New York for a date.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8075618.stm

long term economic thinkers, these MSM folks: Has economic twilight come to the Sun Belt? - Steady growth of boom times is now just a memory in once-thriving region
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31016073/
[ because night is always eternal ... until the next news cycle ]

When Democrats derailed a GOP Latino nominee
- http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/When-Democrats-derailed-a-GOP-Latino-nominee-46407227.html
c/o http://lblanchard.livejournal.com/496860.html

Commentary: How words can last a lifetime - woman in Michigan remembers a grocer's kindness 70 years later - people who encourage and support us have lasting impact - small and sweet memories can outlast moments of bitterness
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/31/greene.kindness/index.html

BBC's Heather Sharp reports from the Israeli-Arab town of Um al-Fahm, where residents are angry over two proposed laws apparently aimed at increasing their loyalty to the state of Israel.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8073752.stm

austin hill: Ever since the release of my first book “White House Confidential - The Little Book Of Weird Presidential History,” I frequently get asked if our modern-day politics are the nastiest in American history. The answer is clearly “no.” In terms of nasty behavior among politicians and candidates, things have been far uglier in previous generations.
- http://townhall.com/Common/PrintPage.aspx?g=a98c3aac-bf4f-46de-9ed0-760efafebdf0&t=c

‘Cancer vaccine’ fights deadly melanoma - Treatment shrank tumors in patients, research shows
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31019270/

Obama Should Reaffirm Fed Independence - It's time to reassure the world that we won't monetize our debt.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124363966734967959.html
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291175.html

Treasury chief to meet with Chinese leaders
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/31/china.geithner/index.html

Obama's Corporatism Strategy Might Advance Cap-and-Trade
- http://townhall.com/Common/PrintPage.aspx?g=c2ce2f3f-0b83-4636-a3b4-699c534c3a68&t=c

Same-sex marriage debate heats up in New York
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/29/sotu.same.sex/index.html

Antidepressants may raise risk of cancer return - Use of antidepressants with tamoxifen may lead to recurrence, study shows
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31017392/

Mexico, Canada to U.S.? Passport Now Required - Stricter Passport Rules Go Into Effect at Border Crossings for Travel by Land June 1
- http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/story?id=7715608

Iconic GM was once ‘Heartbeat of America’ - Auto company popularized Chevys, Cadillacs and Corvettes
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31017823/

Fats Domino makes rare concert appearance - New Orleans legend delighted audience at his namesake concert
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31030912/

Reality may settle in on investors this week - Optimism that helped fuel stocks’ three-month run could be ebbing
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31029741/

a great guide to "fake it until you make it"
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/marginalrevtion/2277328.html

links for 05-30-09 pt 2

2009-06-02T17:12:08Z

thrills: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/thrillingwonder/213167.html (5/29)

c/o http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/825176.html

m'battery follows up: Imaginary Global Warming Crisis Causes 315,000 Deaths per Year
- http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2009/05/imaginary_crisi.html
c/o http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/681390.html
[ perhaps they can be saved by the same methods by which the administration creates/saves X number of jobs? ]

A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a maths puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported on Thursday. - In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090528/wl_mideast_afp/swedeneducationoffbeatiraq
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291004.html

obama's political game: disagreeing with him is a political game: In his weekly address, President Obama calls on Congress to “avoid political posturing” and to move with speed to put his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, on the high court without delay.
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/obama-says-political-games-are-at-play-with-some-painting-distorted-picture-of-sotomayer-.html

tapper: POTUS on Sotomayor Flap: 'Nonsense' That 'Will Be Revealed for What It Is'
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/potus-on-sotomayor-flap-nonsense-that-will-be-revealed-for-what-it-is.html

Money and the Schools - More isn't better.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124363862187567767.html
c/o quicknews

What Happened To Obama’s Gray Hair?
- http://sweetness-light.com/archive/what-happened-to-obamas-gray-hair

House panel to analyze VA medical gaffes
- http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/30/house-panel-to-analyze-va-medical-gaffes/?source=newsletter_must-read-stories-today_more_news_carousel
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291004.html

Holding jihadists in excisting U.S. facilities probably violates international law.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124364036468967905.html

Economy plunges as profits rise
- http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/30/economy-plunges-profits-rise/?source=newsletter_must-read-stories-today_more_news_carousel
c/o quicknews

news article for 5/30/09 headlined "Cyber security strategy unveiled" - i noted that, as with everything else, the president tried to tie it to the economy - using a kind of random free-association mashup of ideas and rhetoric

least free states in the u.s.a.
- http://www.realclearpolitics.com/lists/freest-least-free-states/intro.html
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/conservacorner/275050.html & http://community.livejournal.com/therightfangirl/824835.html
[ hint: not red states! ]

A federal grand jury has subpoenaed a Democratic congressman in a corruption probe, the first concrete indication that a long-simmering Justice Department investigation of a top lobbying firm also has the potential to seriously damage congressional careers.
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090530/ap_on_go_co/us_campaign_contributions_probe

New U.N. Climate Treaty Expected to Restrict U.S. While Exempting United Arab Emirates and China
- http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=48714

The view from South Korea, of North
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/8075075.stm

followup: Chrysler Conservatives Axed - Only Blogs Investigate
- http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mike-sargent/2009/05/28/chrysler-conservatives-axed-only-blogs-investigate
also: http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2009/05/chicago_politic.html

links for 05-30-09 pt 1

2009-06-02T17:00:53Z

the melvinator: http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/681132.html (5/29)
quickly: http://community.livejournal.com/quicknews/291004.html (5/30)

telling us how it's gonna be: Obama: Efforts to undermine Sotomayor will fail
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090530/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_supreme_court

brilliant insight from jordan179: The "only America is real" idea in intellectual action. Note that the assumption is that even North Korea's actions are somehow being dictated by the United States of America. Obviously, Bush could have stopped North Korea from building nuclear missiles with a mere wave of his hand -- it's not as if North Korea is secretive, heavily-armed, well-fortified and violent, or as if American forces were involved winning the Iraq War at the same time. Clearly, Kim Jong Il couldn't have been acting on his own agenda, because Third World countries have no agenda, they aren't real participants in the Great Game the way that are countries in the First World.
- http://jordan179.livejournal.com/124848.html
[ this pattern can be noted in many commentators on world affair, e.g. chomsky in his heyday ]

rjlippincott: if obama is spoke, bush is kirk
- http://rjlippincott.livejournal.com/803101.html
interesting revisit, from above - the "journolist" : - http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20086.html
[ re. the soft self-descriptions of the "journolist" - reminiscent of the graphical prologue of the obama children's chorus - "a neighbor's house" ... "a sunday morning" ... they act as if everything they do comes from innocence and softness - truly a "grass roots" self concept ]

MSM distortion? "torture doesn't work" folks not part of enhanced interrog loop?
- http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2009/05/torture_doesnt.html
c/o http://bonzerwolf.livejournal.com/85029.html

Mancow's Waterboarding Fake?
- http://gawker.com/5272691/mancows-waterboarding-was-completely-fake
c/o http://www.everymananisland.com/wp/?p=82

Thomas Lauria, the attorney who represents dissident lenders in Chrysler LLC’s bankruptcy case, was called “a terrorist” by a member of the Treasury Department’s automotive taskforce in an e-mail exchange with a Chrysler adviser.
- http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2009/05/28/auto-taskforce-we-dont-negotiate-with-terrorists/
c/o http://www.everymananisland.com/wp/?p=80

Bush, Clinton appear on stage together in Canada - Former President George W. Bush called ex-President Bill Clinton "his brother" and the two rarely disagreed in their first-ever appearance together on stage. - The Republican and Democratic ex-presidents defended each other at a Toronto forum on Friday, disappointing some in the crowd of 6,000 who expected a more heated debate. - Bush said that he never liked it when previous administration officials criticized his government but said Clinton was respectful and never did.
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090530/ap_on_re_ca/cn_canada_bush_clinton
[ meanwhile, what one photo do the media idiots choose? "A man throws a shoe at an effigy of George W. Bush in front of the Metro Convention center in Toronto" ]

imagine if bush43 had slipped and said u.s. constitution was 2000 years old?
- http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2009/05/obama_thinks_co.html

... and if bush43 discovered an American intelligence agency at a burger joint
- http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0509/In_which_the_president_discovers_an_American_intelligence_agency_at_Five_Guys.html?showall
c/o http://www.everymananisland.com/wp/?p=82

sotomayor not a kneejerk on race bias cases
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/so-how-did-sotomayor-rule-in-race-related-cases.html

Compare your salary to a California public employee’s
- http://michellemalkin.com/2009/05/27/compare-your-salary-to-a-california-public-employees/
c/o melvin

Why is the Obama Justice Department protecting New Black Panthers?
- http://michellemalkin.com/2009/05/28/why-is-the-obama-justice-department-protecting-new-black-panthers/
c/o melvin

The Crisis of the Disappearing Educated Male
- http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/the_crisis_of_the_disappearing.html
c/o melvin

Police officers saved by stimulus may still lose jobs
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/26/ohio.stimulus.police.cuts/
c/o http://www.everymananisland.com/wp/?p=80

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has revealed the US president helped swing a deal to save carmaker Opel from the imminent bankruptcy of its parent firm.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8075234.stm

kudlow: Taxpayers now own Government Motors, but they’ll never get paid back.
- http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ODBkYWEwMWIyZDJlZWUzMTRmZWJjYjYxNzA1Y2E5OTg=

The future credit rating of the United States.
- http://syndicated.livejournal.com/scrivener_feed/81196.html

Sotomayor Ruled That States Do Not Have to Obey Second Amendment
- http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=48718
c/o http://rightsaidred.livejournal.com/159755.htm
[ can it be that naked? ]

The 'Unseen' Deserve Empathy, Too
- http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10260

U.S. Manga Obscenity Conviction Roils Comics World.
- http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/manga-porn/
c/o http://spikedpunch.livejournal.com/1407593.html [f/locked]

"real bills doctrine," anyone?
- http://engelhardtlm1.livejournal.com/169313.html

Texan gets 45 years in prison for spreading HIV - Prosecutors had said he knowingly infected six women through sex
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31003992/

Thailand tourist's lung tissue 'gone' after mysterious death
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/29/thailand.mysterious.deaths/index.html

[poly] In Chicago, a gay newspaper reports on the poly presence at a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Institutes conference:
- http://polyinthemedia.blogspot.com/2009/05/poly-at-kinkglbt-clinicians-conference.html