What a Guy!

We see only the oppressive side of authority. Maybe it comes out of our history and our background. What we don't see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.

- Mayor Rudy Giuliani on crime in 1994

I hate Orwellian comparisons as much as the next guy but did the GOP front runner actually say 'Freedom is Slavery' as Mayor of New York City?

"Our drivers speak english."

I listen to the live stream that KSTP AM 1500 provides during the workday because I have to have my T.D. Mischke during his 12-2 spot. Yesterday I heard an ad for a Minneapolis limo company that, at first, sounded pretty standard. They provide excellent and timely service in their fleet of black Lincoln limos. Their drivers are courteous, discrete and know Minneapolis like no one else.

They also speak english.

It's been a cliche for as long as I can remember that cab drivers are inevitably foreign and can barely speak english. Even around downtown Minneapolis, I feel as if I'm more likely to see a line of parked cabs with less than fluent english speakers behind the wheel than not.

Naturally, there's nothing wrong with this (unless you don't like repeating yourself) but I think it says something is deeply flawed with our ability as a nation to integrate immigrants if the ability to speak english gives you a marketable advantage over your competitors.

Federalizing the National Guard

In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions.

They usually call this 'Martial Law'.

There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.

- Commander Adama, Battlestar Galactica

On a Related Note

Al Gore remembers that Jazz Hands are Happy Hands. Do you?

Gore in 2008?

Al Gore hasn't ruled out a second run at the Presidency.

I will laugh my ass off if Al Gore loses a potential 2008 bid for the Presidency if he wins California but California's electoral votes go to his opponent after California passed that ridiculous electoral college bill. I will further laugh my ass off when, in 2012, Gore repeats his angry-bearded-Al-Gore-is-a-Tyrannosaur-routine that he tried to pull off in August of '04.

9/11 was an inside job?

Professor James Fetzer, 65, a retired philosopher of science at the University of Minnesota, said: "The evidence is so overwhelming, but most Americans don't have time to take a look at this."

Oh good, a philospher of science. Glad he could take the time away from his meditations on alchemy to teach us laypeople about structural engineering.

Wacky Californians

This editorial from Opinion Journal caught my eye recently. Here's an excerpt.

For more than 200 years America has chosen its presidents as the Constitution provides: through the Electoral College. Traditionally, each state has cast its electoral votes--equal to its total representation in Congress--for the candidate who receives the most votes statewide.

But last week the California Senate passed legislation to award the state's Electoral College votes to the candidate who has received the most popular votes nationally--whether Californians chose him or not. A similar bill passed the Assembly on May 30, so it will soon be up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign or veto the bill. Such a bill also passed the Colorado Senate in April, part of a national effort to change the way we choose our presidents. The mandate doesn't take effect until enough other states sign on to provide a majority of electoral votes. If it were in effect in 2004, George W. Bush would have taken California's 55 electoral votes, even though John Kerry carried the state by a margin of nearly 10%.

I have to believe this move on California's part is based on a desire to rid itself of the Electoral College without going through the hassle of actually ridding itself of the Electoral College; namely amending the United States Constitution. This unleared tyrannosaur just can't wrap his stubby little arms around this one.

Kerry took California with 6.7 million votes to Bush's 5.5 million. Nationally, Bush beat Kerry 62 million to 59 million. Had this legislation been in effect, California's 55 electoral votes would have been awarded to Bush despite the fact that 1.2 million more Californians voted for Kerry than voted for Bush. The 6.7 votes for Kerry would be rendered worthless except for their impact on the nation's election results.

The 2000 Presidential election saw something similiar but on a nationwide scale. Gore beat Bush in the popular vote by 600,000 votes but Bush won the election by securing 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266. Gore lost the national election despite having the most popular votes just like Kerry would have lost California despite taking 1.2 million more votes than Bush.

I'm confusing my little walnut brain here but something here doesn't add up. California seems to want to hand over its sovereignty for a bill that could end up repeating the Bush v Gore 2000 issue but only on a state level. I feel like one of Harry Mudd's androids. I want to understand how this bill benefits those who believe in 'one man, one vote' but damned if I can pull it off.

Captive Audience

I am legally bound to renew my Minnesota license plates on a yearly basis. I won't say I'm happy to pay this yearly fee but I will say that it's certainly not worth dressing up like an indian, gathering up as many license plates as I can find and dumping them in the Mississippi River. I pay this yearly fee and I get on with my life.

But when the State of Minnesota opts to stuff satellite radio/tv ad brochures into the bill that's mailed to me, I feel I have the right to be a little ticked off. It's undignified for a public entity such as the Minnesota Department of Transportation to accept money from the local business community to advertise in a Government mandated tax bill. I have to pay this license renewal fee or I can be fined and my car impounded. I shouldn't also have the Government tacitly try to sell me commercial goods and services at the same time. It's unseemly and frankly it's insulting.

I'm still a tyrannosaur.

I'm still a tyrannosaur.

Al Gore to flap his T-Rex Arms Around

Former Vice President Al Gore will attack President Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program at a Washington, D.C., speech on Martin Luther King Day—with a Republican by his side...

..“The speech will specifically point to domestic wiretapping and torture as examples of the administration's efforts to extend executive power beyond Congressional direction and judicial review,” according to a MoveOn.org press release.

Al Gore is a tyrannosaur.

I have no class.

A coal miner left a detailed note showing that he and other trapped workers were alive at least 10 hours after an underground explosion, a family member said Saturday.

The daughter of 61-year-old Jim Bennett, who was a shuttle car operator in the mine, said the note has three or four entries, the first coming Monday at 11:40 a.m. and the last, in words that trailed off the page, at 4:25 p.m., nearly 10 hours after the blast.

"Each time he documented, you could tell it was getting worse," Ann Merideth told The Associated Press. "Later on down the note he said that it was getting dark. It was getting smoky. They were losing air."

“We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the Bridge and second hall. Frár and Lóni and Náli fell there... went five days ago... the pool is up to the wall at Westgate. The Watcher in the Water took Óin. We cannot get out. The end comes... drums, drums in the deep... they are coming.”

Link!

How long shall the wicked triumph?

The Reverend Pat Robertson says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory.

The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network told viewers of "The 700 Club" that Sharon was "dividing God's land," even though the Bible says doing so invites "God's enmity."

Robertson added, "I would say woe to any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course."

He noted that former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.

Robertson said God's message is, "This land belongs to me. You'd better leave it alone."

What is the US atoning for that we have to listen to this jerk flapping his gums from time to time?

Link!

A Win for Private Property Owners

The Hennepin County Board voted Tuesday to partially roll back the county's smoking ban, according to media reports.

Commissioners voted 4-3 to exempt traditional bars from the ban, which went into effect nine months ago. The ordinance prohibited smoking in all indoor areas of food establishments, including bars and restaurants.

But bar owners complained that the ban was cutting into their profits. Under the scaled-back ban, traditional bars will be eligible for exemptions, which run through July 31, 2007.

Score one for small businesses.

Phillistines!

The Register is reporting that Apple may be removing FireWire from it's upcoming intel-based iBooks. They speculate that it might be a fiscally sound move when one takes into account the number of people who use FireWire.

Phillistines! Peasants! Curse you damned plebians and your inferior USB 2.0! Do you know how hard it is to find a decent-priced external hard drive with FireWire? FireWire is superior!

Aeon Flux was Boring

There's nothing wrong with the plot, writing or acting in this movie but it failed to capture my interest. I nearly fell asleep watching this one. Charlize Theron is pretty to look at but she lacks the attitude necessary to pull this one off. A younger Sigourney Weaver would have been much better suited to this role.

Small Scissors: Back on Board?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Small scissors and screwdrivers - banned after September 11 - will be allowed back on airplanes as U.S. security policy changes focus to target bomb threats, government officials said on Thursday.

...Small scissors with blades less than four inches and tools like screwdrivers that are less than seven inches will be removed from the long list of banned items. Box cutters and other tools with cutting edges, crowbars and hammers remain off limits.

Read it all here.

When a hammer is all you have, every solution looks like a nail but not if you're flying because hammers aren't allowed. Nails larger than 10d are also not allowed.

I wish I had a scanner.

It's days like today that make me wish I had a scanner. The front page of the World section in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune has a close up of one of three remain Saddam Hussein statues in Iraq that looks a lot like the giant foam Olmec puppet from the old Nickelodeon gameshow 'Legends of the Hidden Temple'.

Quote of the Moment

China claims they're going to somewhat tackle computers with a clean slate, but we all know they're just going to steal technology and slap duct tape and a dragon on it.

Found in a discussion regarding the viability of scrapping the x86 platform and starting from scratch.

I, for one, am shocked.

I've read a few stories on a few blogs regarding a reported Defense Department plan to invade Venezuela. I'd like to state, for the record, that I believe the Defense Department has plans drawn up for the invasion and/or complete obliteration of every country on Earth.

Standing armies are of little use if they are not kept in fighting trim. The more a military force practices, the better off they will be when they are called to war. Likewise, those people called to plan the logistics and strategy of war would be of little use if they did not practice their craft regularly. To do so, they create scenarios and plans to deal with those scenarios. I believe that there are plans for things like conquering Canada, invading Maine and even occupying the Vatican.

The Defense Department plans for war. That's all there is to it. I, for one, am shocked that this surprises so many people.

Gravity Lenses are Super

A US and Netherlands-led team of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have identified 19 new examples of gravitationally lensed galaxies.

Among the new examples are eight so-called Einstein Rings, a rare phenomenon where an image of a hidden galaxy is stretched in a complete circle around the lensing object. Only three examples of visible-light Einstein rings were previously known.
Click Here

Gravitational lensing takes place when a sufficiently massive object lies between the Earth and a light source, like a distant galaxy. The gravity of the intermediate object is strong enough that it will bend light from the object it obscures around itself, so that it is visible from Earth.

This takes the form of an arc, or of multiple images of the otherwise hidden object aro

Check out some pictures here.