This has to be read to be believed. When you’re done, do PZ Myers a favor and lend him a bit of support.
Category: Society Page 45 of 69
File this in the Photos I Wish I’d Taken folder.
~
Speaking of photos, the kids over at BoingBoing are having fun with the Iranian missile ‘shop job (and surely I can’t be the only person who wondered if it was Cheney’s office doing the ‘shopping, there?). My favorite is the “AT&T More Bars in More Places” one.
~
Tim Wu wonders why the answering machine was suppressed for 45 years:
Bell’s engineers had an answering machine invented by 1935.  However it wasn’t until 1980 or so that answering machines became widely available – why?
Interestingly, according to a great paper by Mark Clark that I came across recentlt, internal memos show that Bell was afraid that if there existed recording devices, people would stop using telephones.
~
Susan Crawford finds a nifty bit of analysis on what it means to be a common carrier.
~
I’m a huge fan of the Creative Commons project. I release most of my photos at Flickr under a CC license (and lots of people and organizations have found use for them). If you’re interested in contributing to a study of the Creative Commons license as it applies to photography, take a few minutes and complete this survey.
The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank has a column up about the continuing practice of barring media coverage of military funerals at Arlington, often against the wishes of families. Sad, but not particularly noteworthy, in the scheme of things. Here’s what caught my eye, though:
Geren, the Army secretary, added that “the policy has not changed, and I understand the practice hasn’t, either.”
That, however, is false. Through at least 2005 — during Rumsfeld’s tenure, no less — reporters were placed in a location where they could hear the prayers and the eulogies and film the handing of the folded flag to the next of kin.
Did you see that? Someone at the Washington Post actually bothered to not only verify the facts behind a statement, but had the wherewithal to declare a statement false.
A glimmer of hope, no?
I’m going to have to wait a couple of days to write about what epic failures some congressional Democrats have managed to become. Greenwald notes:
when the Congress was controlled by the GOP — when the Senate was run by Bill Frist and the House by Denny Hastert — the Bush administration attempted to have a bill passed very similar to the one that just passed today. But they were unable to do so. The administration had to wait until Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats took over Congress before being able to put a corrupt end to the scandal that began when, in December of 2005, the New York Times revealed that the President had been breaking the law for years by spying on Americans without the warrants required by law.
For a short (and well done) spoon fed summary of what it was the Democrats accomplished today, here’s Rachel Maddow and GW law professor Jonathan Turley:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmot0aZy4MM[/youtube]
For a more detailed analysis of what went down today, just go read Greenwald. I’ll be busy here sorting through the epithets. It may take a while.
Jesse Helms’ death – and the almost obscene post-mortem spinning of his life, from some corners (including the White House) – gave rise to many conversations over the appropriateness of describing Helms as he was. Generally predictable in their course, I don’t think me rehashing those conversations here will do any good. One thing I *did* get out of it was being pointed to this obituary for Richard Nixon by Hunter S. Thompson. I have no idea how I ever missed that, but I did. If you’re one who doesn’t get the vapors over refusing to depart from reality just because someone is dead, check it out. And if you are? Definitely check it out.
So, around 9p, we hear the fireworks start popping off. While there was no particular interest in being part of the crowds this year, we’re only a few miles from the Mall and the sky above the house was changing colors in time with the booms. So, on a lark, we jump into the car to head down Wilson Blvd. until we can see the pretty colors. The best place for that turns out to be (unsurprisingly) the parking lot of the former Taco Bell/Bardo property. So we pull in (along with maybe a dozen other cars) to the empty-about-to-be-bulldozed lot. We take in – along with families, new couples, old marrieds, and pretty much a cross section of Arlington – a celebration of American independence.
And then someone yells “Tow truck!”
Yep, some sorry son of a bitch came in and towed a family’s car (still posted from the old Taco Bell days). Despite the guy running along side the car and pleading, the truck took the car. So the rest of us spent the next 10 minutes with one eye on the fireworks, and another on the parking lot. One kind soul blocked off one entrance with her car (she could see the fireworks from it) so we didn’t have to worry about that one. I kept my eye on the other, and am glad I didn’t have to find out if my plan for that one worked.
And while I was annoyed, it struck me that I was standing in the middle of America. None of us could afford a view of the Mall from our homes. We were just trying to take a few minutes to be a part of the common experience. But to do it, we had to head someowhere less than ideal, and worry a bit about some asshole that was so selfish he’d ruin it for the rest of us so he could put another dollar in his pocket.
But we did it. The kids next to me – moving between Spanish and English – were jazzed. The family over there – talking about how the son really only knew a few words of Farsi – was quietly enjoying itself. The Arlington old-hands behind us were annoyed that the Odyssey condo building had ruined yet another view from the formerly all-seeing hill in Courthouse.
And we were all Americans.
I love my city.
And he was a hateful old bastard:
And long after die-hard segregationists like George Wallace and Strom Thurmond began courting black voters, Helms fueled white fears by opposing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whistling “Dixie” while standing next to Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, and supporting apartheid in South Africa.
Good riddence.
Maybe it should be the International Edition. Certainly there’s no one in the US wasting time at work reading this. Independence Day is probably the most widely observed holiday in the US – moreso than Christmas or Thanksgiving. In my first years on the bottom rungs at a law firm, I worked all of these holidays. Plenty of company on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fourth of July? Ghost town. Anyway, light posting today (unless it really starts to rain). If you’re French, take a half day off, since you helped and all.
~
Even if it’s fake, it’s funny.
~
Did you skip over the guest Midweek Makeover: Cover Girl Edition post? Go back and check it out – more cover goodness (and High Fidelity-level music dorkery in the comments).
~
No more SuperValues meals? The American Family Association is calling for a boycott of McDonalds, because McDonalds apparently lacks the requisite hatefulness to stay in the AFA’s good graces (something about daring to be interested in marketing to gay people). And when know what happens when you lack hatefulness (stolen from the comments at WaPo):
I have to confess to an illicit affair with Mayor McCheese. It started out so innocently; we bumped into each other at a food convention and started chatting about McDonald’s new policy. The conversation began to turn and soon we were discussing the appeal of hot beef and soft buns. We sneaked away to his hut and there I touched his pickles and sniffed his onions. He made sure there were plenty of condiments for us both, and it ended with secret sauce. I have never met any faster food in my life. Now he refuses to return my calls. I am at my wit’s end. If loving him is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Now, there are a billion reasons not to eat at McDonalds (your health primary among them), but this will make me at stop there more often when I want a Diet Coke.
~
More later. Maybe. Enjoy the holiday.
Today’s the day that Canada officially marks as its birthday, when it joined the east and west coast provinces with a rail line or something typically socialist like that. And remember, Queen Elizabeth is still in charge, so it’s not a Canadian independence day celebration or anything.
But, since their dollar is still worth more than ours, I ought not mock too loudy. In fact, I’ll repost Cory Doctorow’s link to this most excellent song about the War of 1812. Not only do you get a little bit of that rarity – Canadian Aggressiveness – but I think I even hear some pride in there. If you’re still not convinced, check the lyrics:
In 1812 Madison was mad,
He was the president you know.
Well he thought he’d tell the British where they ought to go.
He thought he’d invade Canada,
He thought that he was tough.
Instead we went to Washington,
And burned down all his stuff.And the White House burned, burned, burned.
And we’re the ones that did it,
Enjoy.
Missed this last Friday, so you get double the helping of trivial matters:
First up – I’m big in China! Yes, if you use the Chinese Google to search for “false statement“, I’m right there on the first page of results.  Ahead of Bush, Cheney, and the “Criminal Tax Manual”, no less. I couldn’t have done it without Mark Ellmore.
(Oh, okay, Mark Ellmore and oppressive governmental control.)
(Update: Sigh. Being big in China is such a fleeting thing. Already, I’m on the second page. Maybe I’ll have to settle for being big in Belgium.)
~
If you haven’t been reading Pro Publica, you should be. Start with this story about the half a billion dollars the US has spent on a failed propaganda station. Looks like the US worked very hard to ensure that no one in the Middle East ever takes anything that comes from the US government seriously.
~
Atrios noted what I thought was a pretty sobering reality check, yesterday – GM’s market cap is (take your pick): the same as H&R Block’s, half that of Avon’s, and one fifth of Ebay’s. I know things have been rough for them for a while now, but . . . wow.
~
Speaking of Google – Nicholas Carr asks whether it’s “making us stupid?” It’s a long article, but well worth your time if you’ve ever wondered about the real effects on your thinking of having Google at your finger tips for years.
~
You know how the rightwingers are always going on about the coming Islamic invasion and subjugation of America? Well, in case you missed it, one of their cultural heroes – the mercenary company Blackwater – is trying to avoid responsiblity for the deaths of three American passengers on one of its charter flights by arguing that Shari’a (Islamic law) should apply, since the crash occurred in Afghanistan.
~
The Burn Rate as performance art. Good thing he’s in Ethiopia.
~
Neal Stephenson’s new book is coming out on September 9th. I cannot possibly finish the Baroque Cycle by then.
~
The FCC wants to auction off a slice of the airwaves so you can get free wireless Internet!*
*And by Internet, they mean access to pre-approved content, excluding anything that isn’t “family-friendly”, in order to “protect children and families.”
I wish I could tell you that it’s the tidal wave of mockery and laughter that’s going to kill this proposal, but it’ll be the telecoms that prefer to charge you a hefty monthly fee to access your porn.