Seeing things like this pushback on the BS that is asset forfeiture does my heart good. It’s just a little diary on dKos, to be sure, but it demonstrates an awareness by very partisan Dems that not everything the Democratic Party has backed is good. These next four to eight years should not only be about correcting Republican mistakes, but also Democratic ones. Whether the elected Democrats like it or not.
Month: November 2008 Page 4 of 8
Reason Magazine has an interesting look at Tor Books, one of the most successful publishers of science fiction in the past 25 years (I have shelves and shelves full of nothing but Tor and Baen books). The author, naturally, takes a particular interest in how Tor’s books have furthered an openness toward the libertarian political philosophy. The piece makes a number of observations that go well beyond that, though:
Patrick Nielsen Hayden, the goateed and bespectacled Tor eminence who edited two of the house’s Prometheus finalists this year, draws a direct line between youthfulness and openness to libertarian ideas. “Young people read fiction to figure out how the world works,†he says, “and science fiction is an extremely effective, quick way of testing your views of how the world works.†Paraphrasing the late novelist and critic Thomas Disch, Hayden says, “Enormous quantities of science fiction and fantasy are about power, and who needs power fantasies more than teenagers, people who have a little bit of power for the first time in their lives and need to think about how power works?â€
Oh, how true that is.
Why aren’t we taxing these scams, again?
The first artist is someone that didn’t really appeal to me on the first listen. Or even the third. He has, though, turned out to be one of those artists that lives in the back of your consciousness, biding his time until you come around to appreciate him. (And come around, I did.)
Warren Zevon – My Shit’s Fucked Up:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2aUJF3gdog[/youtube]
Well, I went to the doctor
I said, “I’m feeling kind of rough”
“Let me break it to you, son
Your shit’s fucked up.”
I said, “my shit’s fucked up?”
Well, I don’t see how–”
He said, “The shit that used to work–
It won’t work now.”
The next artist brought a somewhat inverse experience – the aesthetic appealed right away. The deeper meaning, though, I think it changed over the years.
NIN – Down In It
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXtQhtSI_9I[/youtube]
I was up above it.
Now Im down in it
I used to be so big and strong.
I used to know my right from wrong.
I used to never be afraid.
I used to be somebody
I used to have something inside
Now just this hole thats open wide.
I used to want it all
I used to be somebody
And this next? Timeless.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TH6-bQYuiU[/youtube]
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?
People’d call, say, “Beware doll, you’re bound to fall”
You thought they were all kiddin’ you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin’ out
Now you don’t talk so loud
Now you don’t seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
I know I risk being all Andy Rooney here, but I think I speak for pretty much all of us in pronouncing this an important step forward.
There are a million reasons (most of them good, I’d like to think) that I don’t write about the practice of law or my area of expertise, here. One of the reasons (maybe not so good) is that most interesting legal issues are never what they seem to the public, and are often more work to explain than they’re worth.
But this? This is straight up disgusting.
Esther Williams – Last Night Changed It All
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_V2lLLta5k[/youtube]
Mary Jane Girls – All Night Long
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2gyAEWVMhE[/youtube]
Indeep – Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToEbJH4M0j0[/youtube]
I suspect at least a few readers would be interested in dropping by this:
National Geographic is selling truckloads and truckloads of books, maps, globes, toys, puzzles, travel accessories, clothing, luggage, gifts National Geographic magazine coversand more to its Holiday Warehouse Sale at the Washington DC Armory.
Expect discounts of at least 25% on just about everything that National Geographic sells, with some books and other products discounted up to 90%.
It’s happening today, tomorrow, and Sunday. More details at the linked DC Traveler site (which is worth a look around, itself).
Happy 60th Birthday, Chuck. Now get a job and move out of your parents’ house(s), you twit.
~
Speaking of twits and Kings, the King kids are as classy as ever, looking for a piece of the action on t-shirts featuring pictures of Obama and King.
~
How’d you like to be in the position of having to buy a new country? The Maldives, who expect their homeland to be submerged by rising sea levels (thanks, Global Warming!) are testing the market.
~
So, what did eight years of a Bush Administration – which is all about promoting democracy (with a little dash of By Any Means Necessary, remember) – do for Burma, which suffers from one of the most repressive regimes on the planet? Nothing.
Dear Hillary and Al-
I know I am probably just getting suckered by the usual kids in DC, but just in case there is any truth to the rumours that either/both of you may join the Obama Administration – DON’T! I’m not offering this as some snarky reverse psychology gambit. But as a genuine and honest hope for each of you. Hillary, you were in office before Obama, and you’ll be there after he’s gone. We need you for the long haul. Stay in the Senate. Give Harry Reid a reason to look over his shoulder. Al. Don’t dick around with DC. You’re bigger than that, now. Why throw what you’ve got away for the pettiness of this town? Think big.
Thank you,
MB