Gene Bob

divine retribution

2008-09-15T03:36:00.003-05:00

Okay, I'm confused.

Everybody Knows (™ Fox "News") that Hurricane Katrina was divine retribution for a 2005 gay pride parade in New Orleans. And that Hurricane Gustav was divine retribution for the same parade (Southern Decadence) in 2008.

So what is Hurricane Ike divine retribution for -- Sarah Palin's nomination? Dubya's Presidency (since the target this time was Dubya's Oil Buddies)?

I'm just looking for the correct someone/something to blame.

liveblogging Ike

2008-09-13T23:59:00.001-05:00

Some people do a lot of liveblogging, but not me. Detailing events as they're unfolding is useful only in rare circumstances. Today I'll make an exception, as Hurricane Ike makes his way from Houston to Dallas.

Yesterday, the storm track appeared to veer east of Dallas, so I'm not expecting much more than heavy rain and wind, from noon to midnight. My preparations are really very minimal.

I scouted the yard for objects that could become airborne and moved them inside. Traffic moved smoothly on the freeways, with only a few areas of mild congestion. I tested Channel 8-2 (Digital TV) which has morfed into a live feed from KHOU-TV (Houston channel 11); they're showing the heavy surf at Galveston, saying it's the worst storm to hit Texas in 50 years; we'll see. Some comparisons with Hurricane Alicia (1983) which is ten years before I landed. Paid $7 cash for a car wash and notice NO LINES - surprise, surprise. Brought the car home, parked it in the garage.

I have a standing meeting on the second Saturday from 9 to noon - it was cancelled via email. The annual three-day Southwest Swap Meet is still showing "rain or shine" so if I go at all, it'll be Sunday.

Last minute: charged the battery for the digital camera, co-located some stuff on the kitchen table. Charged the battery to the laptop and DVD player, in case I want to watch a movie with the pets. Mentally made "compute plans" for any power failure: shut down the PCs but leave the router up (UPS) as long as possible - my Nokia 770 and PowerBook are battery powered.

06:16: Cloudy, 24C. Wind NE 4 m/s (9 mph).
Still dark, sunrise due at 07:10.
I expect to lose communication with the DirecTV satellite for much of the day. As long as it doesn't impact the 22:30 season premiere of Saturday Night Live, I'll be okay. No need to stock up as I have enough canned soups, etc to last until Thanksgiving.

06:46: Cloudy, 25C. Wind NE 5 m/s (11 mph).
Remembered to bring cellphone in from the car, where it lives most of its life. Fed, watered, medicated the pets (each gets one pill/morning). Checked channel 8-2 and they're talking generalities about the damage in Galveston - won't know more until after sunrise, at the earliest.

brief check of the latest National Weather Service info:
HURRICANE IKE MADE LANDFALL AT GALVESTON TEXAS AT 210 AM THIS MORNING AS A CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE. IKE WAS MOVING NORTHWEST AT 13 MPH AND WILL GRADUALLY MAKE A TURN TO THE NORTH LATER THIS MORNING AND THIS AFTERNOON. IKE WILL WEAKEN TO TROPICAL STORM STRENGTH THIS AFTERNOON AS THE SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS EAST TEXAS. WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WITH HIGHER TOTALS...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE EXPECTED.

07:01: Cloudy, 25C. Wind NE 5 m/s (11 mph).
Noticed email from Mary-Bob regarding Monday lunch plans. No word on my Sunday afternoon event (distance: 11.81 miles Time: 21 mins), so will plan to attend per plan. Printed the map now in case power, Internet outage prevents that later. Think I'll take a nap, as the first bands of wind/rain are several hours away.

08:10: Cloudy, 26C. Wind NE 4 m/s (9 mph).
So much for my nap - the old man next door decided he needs to cut his grass so .. out comes the riding lawnmower. Radar shows rain bands have arrived in the south part of Dallas county. KHOU-Houston reports the storm has increased speed to 18 miles/hour - will convert that to meters/second (m/s) later. I remembered to install my rain gauge (capacity 4 inches) earlier this morning, but may need to empty it if we get heavy rain.

10:00: Rain, 26C. Wind NE 6 m/s (13 mph).
No rain here yet, but the Addison airport (nearest weather to me) is reporting some rain. I just listened to the Houston mayor Bill White's press conference where he made two requests: 1- stay off the roads and 2- boil tap water as a precaution (one of their pumping stations is down, I think). When he finished making his initial comments, he auto-switched to Mexican, although didn't know how to say "truck", or "boil" in Spanish. They're already predicting it may be two weeks (eek!) before power is restored to parts of the coast.

13:24: Rain, 25C. Wind N 9 m/s (20 mph).
Still no heavy rain/winds, although .. it may be "just the other side of the freeway" if the radar is to be believed. Wind has shifted to the north as expected since I'm on the clean edge of the storm. It's drifting closer to Dallas than earlier models indicated .. the eye may pass 50 miles east of me. We're under a TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING, per the National Weather Service. Checked rain gauge - less than 1/10 inch so far, currently rain/wind but not severe. Noteworthy: normal (snail) mail delivery.

15:10: Rain, 26C. Wind N 12 m/s (27 mph).
Imperceptible change. Weather bug says winds up to 12 meters/second. Turns out the conversion to miles/hour is 2.2369363, so .. 12 m/s = 27 mph wind. Zzzzz. I entertained myself by updating the prior wind speeds on this blog.

19:00: Rain, 25C. Wind NW 10 m/s (22 mph).
Another wind shift, now from the northwest. Finally starting to see some moderate rainfall. The eye of the storm appears heading for Texarkana.

23:59: Mostly Cloudy, 23C. Wind WNW 3 m/s (7 mph).
Final entry. Rain gauge total 1.2 inches. No power outages, no storm damage. And, oh yes .. the new-season premiere of Saturday Night Live was Da Bomb.

and now, we wait

2008-09-12T10:50:00.008-05:00

I haven't seen the Dallas population this nervous in awhile .. not since last winter when there was a prediction of two (2) inches of snow.

Traffic seemed lighter than usual when I dropped a friend at DFW this morning, although TXDOT's freeway message signs are flashing "AVOID TRAVEL TO HOUSTON AND BEAUMONT / TEXAS HURRICANE WARNING". The grocery store parking lots aren't full, although we should be getting some of the wind and rain by this time tomorrow, unless The Weather Gal changes her mind as to Hurricane Ike's projected path.

So far, I've learned two new TXDOT terms due to Ike: evaculane (road shoulders wide and smooth enough to be used as a travel lane during times of significant traffic congestion) and contraflow (opening all lanes for outbound traffic).

Unrelated deep thought: what do you call a person from Zimbabwe? A Zimbabwiccan?

Republicans using tactics #5, #8 and #10 today

2008-09-10T12:11:00.005-05:00

Republican Campaign Tactics:

Never, EVER take responsibility.
Always blame the Democrats - for everything.
Lie, then lie some more. Everybody Knows™ that if you repeat something 3 times, it becomes True! You may even start believing the lies yourself.
Learn how to speak out of both sides of your mouth, without flinching. Develop a negative twist to everything your opponent does, even if it's just walking across the street.
Trivialize everything your opponent says. Take a seemingly-insignificant phrase out of context (such as "lipstick on a pig"), and tell your audience that was the primary message. Say it with a sneer, if possible.
If you're an elected Republic, learn how to obfuscate and delay - those are GOP SOP (2007-8 Republic senators have filibustered more bills than any Congress in history)
Never forget that most voters do not follow politics, so pander to them, always. You are there to get their vote, not educate them.
Distract the voters! When they ask about the economy, or the war, or health care, ask them why they're not wearing an American flag lapel pin, or why they hate America.
Never admit you're wrong; that is a sign of weakness.
Feign outrage - often.

As I explained to LWB:

One thing you have to understand about Republicans in general : they are simple people. They want easy, simple answers to life's problems and get confused whenever the answer is even mildly complex. If you try to argue with them, they'll become frustrated and angry, because they've already concluded that the simplest answer is the most logical.

I've found it easier to talk to them if I pretend i'm talking to an 8-year old, and explain things in very simple ways. Many of them made it through school either because their rich parents ~~asked~~ paid for favors, or the problem with education in general -- where there's significant pressure to pass students because it's just easier than dealing with them another year.

Have you noticed how few Texans can read/write without making frequent spelling and grammar errors? Their priorities are all wrong; they put more emphasis on the weekly football game, or how the cheerleader's hair looks, than education. There are exceptions, of course; those are called "Democrats".

It would be funny if it weren't so serious. Republicans vote like they're selecting a next-door neighbor. Democrats vote like they're selecting someone for a JOB - as US President, in this case.

Originally posted on 8 July 2008

Although intended to be funny, I found this disturbingly true

2008-09-08T15:31:00.002-05:00

On 236.com: Dear Republicans, the People Who Control Your Party Think You're Dumb

The Stupid Vortex

2008-09-03T16:11:00.005-05:00

It seriously offends me that the average American voter makes choices based not on job qualifications, but on who would make a better next-door neighbor.

They* just admitted that "This election is not about issues." Out loud. They actually said that. And few people blinked.

* McCain campaign manager Rick Davis

I still think mandatory voter education classes Just Have To happen, if we're to ever dig ourselves out of The Stupid Vortex. Without a minimum passing score, the person doesn't get to vote. Naturally, I'll be the one to design the test.

The framing that the GOP is trying to achieve now regarding their party's message is quite unbelievable, and will undoubtedly be soaked up by a measurable percentage of the voter pool. That is more than sad; it is criminal.

For the rest of us whose brain cells have yet to be compromised, may I suggest an immediate re-read of George Lakoff's splendid book, Don't Think of an Elephant! .. or watch any of the classic propaganda films (The Birth of a Nation; any highlight reel of a Republic Party convention; Triumph of the Will; etc.).

He who controls the past, controls the future.

2008-09-01T11:56:00.015-05:00

In 2006, a questionnaire was sent to all candidates for the gubernatorial race in Alaska. Although many of Sarah Palin's answers brand her a typical Republican, her answer to number 11:

Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

made me Laugh Out Loud. Sarah Palin answered:

"Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance."

While I'm sure the small-brained ones (Republic Party) will clasp their hands and offer praise (ignoring Palin's incorrect punctuation, and threat of violence), those of us who studied American History in a classroom (i.e. not home-schooled) know that "Under God" was added as a knee-jerk reaction to the Commie Witch Hunts of the early 1950s, and became law on Flag Day 1954. Shocking reality: that's long after the last Founding Father was Dead And Buried. Somehow America did just fine without the religious phrase for nearly 180 years.

Future home-schooled generations will never know this; their parents will shirley keep them ignert [sic, sic]. Palin's bio on Wikipedia ("the Unquestioned Fount of All Knowledge") doesn't mention anything prior to high school, so I don't know if she attended public schools or was edjicated by her parunts .. out behind the barn.

Conclusion: The novel [Nineteen Eighty-Four] (prophetically written in 1949) is rapidly becoming less Fiction every day. Edward R. Murrow - who surely read the book - must be rolling in his grave.

Unrelated: I read that 17 year-old Bristol Palin is pregnant. I'm left to wonder why "abstinence only" didn't work for the Palins? Sounds like parental failure to me. Then again, Bristol's repeating the mistake her own parents made (the Palin's oldest son was born 7 months after her parents "eloped").

does this meaning Wednesday's tornado siren test is cancelled?

2008-08-31T19:48:00.003-05:00

The National Weather Service says:

HURRICANE GUSTAV WILL MAKE LANDFALL IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA AROUND MIDDAY MONDAY AND CONTINUE ON A NORTHWEST TRACK THROUGH WESTERN LOUISIANA AND INTO EAST TEXAS BY TUESDAY EVENING. THE CURRENT FORECAST TRACK OF GUSTAV TAKES ITS REMNANTS THROUGH EAST TEXAS FROM TOLEDO BEND LAKE EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING TO NORTHWEST OF PALESTINE BY FRIDAY MORNING. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL SPREAD OVER THE EASTERN THIRD OF NORTH TEXAS AS GUSTAV ARRIVES AND AMOUNTS BY FRIDAY COULD AVERAGE FROM AROUND ONE INCH ALONG THE I-35 CORRIDOR TO OVER FOUR INCHES FROM ATHENS NORTHWARD INTO THE PARIS AREA. THERE COULD BE ISOLATED RAIN SWATH WITH TOTALS IN EXCESS OF SIX INCHES FROM PARIS SOUTH TO CANTON. AS FOR WINDS...THEY WILL BECOME MORE NORTHERLY AND INCREASE AS GUSTAV APPROACHES. A WIND ADVISORY WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED ACROSS THE EASTERN COUNTIES TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY ALSO SPREAD INTO THE EASTERN COUNTIES OF NORTH TEXAS TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AS THE REMNANTS OF GUSTAV LINGER OVER THE REGION. STAY TURN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON GUSTAV AND ITS IMPACT ON NORTH TEXAS THIS WEEK.

poor choice of words

2008-08-30T14:53:00.013-05:00

I had to laugh when I read the headline for Peter Baker's column in today's New York Times: Choice of Palin Is a Bold Move by McCain, With Risks.

Now, I don't blame Peter because he didn't use the word "bold" in the article; thus, the error was induced by one of the editors.

You see, the correct term to use is not bold, but reckless. Contemptible, perhaps. John Sidney McCain has sunk so low in his quest for power that he's willing to risk America to the likes of a FAR right-wing female, whose claim to fame is that she looks like the proverbial "naughty librarian" of porn star fame. I suspect Reckless John thinks he'll snag some disaffected Hillary voters.

The only amusing part of this whole charade was watching Reckless John trying to sneak a peek at Palin's tits when he stood alongside her in Dayton. Maybe he was fantasizing about Wife 3.0 (Cindy has surely bitch-slapped him by now)

We don't deserve this. If, by some perverted fluke of fate, Reckless John were to be elected in November, followed by his inevitable death a few months later, we'd be left with this IDiot who denies global warming, evolution, and even the right of the Alaskan polar bears to survive.

It's not all Reckless John's fault, mind you. If Sarah Palin had an ounce of pride for her country, she would have (politely, of course) told McCain NO when he asked her to be his running mate. She knows she's unqualified, yet she (apparently) shares McCain's contempt for America, and said yes. Hell, there are sixteen (16) US cities with a larger population than Alaska .. why couldn't Reckless John pick one of their mayors instead?

While watching The Charade In Dayton, I had a flashback to 1988 when King George I introduced Dan Quayle as his running mate. I'll be the first to acknowledge that my first impression of J. Danforth was completely off the mark; I suspected Quayle would be a good choice and it wasn't until later that the extent of his buffoonery became apparent (his stupidity is legendary).

In about 65 days, I'm hoping this will fade away to just a bad memory. With far better access to archival information now, and The Blogosphere (not to mention The Daily Show), I suspect the extent of Sarah Palin's inner self will quickly become obvious. The Republic Party fully deserves the landslide it's about to face.

is this what they mean by a "Hail Sarah" ?

2008-08-29T13:14:00.009-05:00

The First Big Test for the POTUS nominees is often their choice of running mate.

Barack Obama chose a sane, seasoned foreign policy guru.

John McCain chose an ex-beauty queen who was part-time mayor of an Alaskan village two years ago. And she could have her pretty little French Nails on the "nucular trigger" when John McCain dies early next year.

Rumor has it that even Dan Quayle and Geraldine Ferraro are baffled.

I'm guessing John Sidney McCain watched Obama's speech in Denver and threw Tim Pawlenty under the bus at the Very Last Second.

Worth noting:
The population of Alaska was 663,661 (2005).
Even Collin County, Texas (Plano, etc) is larger - at 748,050.
The population of Dallas (city) is 1,300,350 .. about double that of ALL of Alaska.

the faces of evil

2008-08-27T00:01:00.003-05:00

A week ago, religious cult leader Rick Warren asked Obama and McCain about evil; wisely, they both acknowledged that it exists (wow! how controversial! what a lame question!).

Today, there are various Faces Of Evil:

# 1 - meth head assassins

I wonder if these White Christian Republicans [Tharin Robert Gartrell, 28; Nathan Johnson, 32; and Shawn Adolf, 33] knew they'd be famous more than 48 hours ahead of the time they planned to assassinate Senator Obama? I wonder how long it'll be before Gartrell and his gang are linked to Karl Christian Rove, and whether he financed them?

# 2 - swiftboat bigots

They may also wish to look for financial links from ~~alleged white supremacist~~ misunderstood tycoon Harold C. Simmons, who lives here in Dallas.

Simmons is the ~~billionaire scumbag~~ Texas sweetheart who's financing this year's swiftboat ad about Barack Obama. He has practice; he did the same thing to John Kerry in 2004 which is why we got Four More Years of George W. Bush.

At least Simmons is following Republic Golden Rule #3: Lie, then lie some more. He understands that the small-minded fools who make up the base of the Republic Party will believe most anything.

# 3 - Karl Christian Rove (and his co-conspirators at Fox "News")

I look forward to the day when the US version of The Nuremberg Trials are held, with these defendants getting the same fate as the Nazi leaders.

If we still had The Fairness Doctrine, they'd all be off the air by now.

the impartince of good speling

2008-08-26T11:18:00.004-05:00

On one of the mailing lists I'm on, the following "conversation" took place yesterday:

... sent out a memo about using there name as a generic name for air ambulance. At our place the reporters were told to use "Air Ambilance" then someone asked what an "Ambilance" was. A third person chimed in with "So now we're complaining about spelling error's??"

Oy, vey.

Part of the reason the rest of the world (rightly so) sees Texas as a hillbilly backwater is because the vast majority of natives here can't spell (or grammar) their way out of a wet paper bag. In the first two sentences above, there are two errors. In the last sentence, there is one. I didn't see the use in correcting "error's" but couldn't help but feel sorry for the writer.

When I read something (whether online or in print) it's distracting to deal with the near-constant grammar errors, misspelling and misuse of punctuation. I don't understand how students can get a diploma when they can't complete even one sentence without an error that those of us with half a brain will trip over as we try to understand what they're saying.

Then, as seen in the second sentence above, someone else has the audacity to defend these errors under the guise that "smart people can figure out what he's trying to say". It's enough to make me want to take away "they're diploma" [sic] until they can converse like rational adults.

Perhaps they were home schooled, and their parents were incapable of correcting the errors, or didn't want Little Joe Bob to have poor self esteem, so they gave them a passing score although it was undeserved.

All of us make occasional typos, but with the ubiquity of spell checkers and grammar checkers, there's no excuse for such clumsiness; it simply breeds more and more bad behavior, until communication devolves into what passes for Acceptable via Text Messaging.

advice for Tuesday: DO NOT BREATHE

2008-08-25T17:07:00.004-05:00

AIR POLLUTION WATCH - LEVEL RED - FOR DALLAS-FORT WORTH

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has issued a Level Red Air Pollution Watch for the Dallas-Fort Worth area for Tuesday, August 26, 2008.

Atmospheric conditions are expected to be favorable for producing high levels of ozone air pollution in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Tuesday. Ozone levels could reach the Level Red "Unhealthy" category.

Elevated concentrations of ozone can act as a lung irritant. Individuals with chronic lung disease, such as asthma and emphysema, as well as the elderly and young children, are particularly sensitive to ozone and should attempt to avoid exposure. To avoid exposure, minimize exertion outdoors during the mid-day to early evening hours or stay indoors in an air-conditioned room during this time.

John McCain: "a noun, a verb, and P.O.W."

2008-08-23T07:17:00.006-05:00

I think I'm gonna like what Joe Biden adds to The Race, especially if he makes a slight modification to his comment that sunk Rudy Giuliani's campaign:

Related: Maureen Dowd's column: Too Much of a Bad Thing

Also, a quick comment about how John Sidney McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns: well, duh. Most of them are million-dollar condos that (2nd) wife Cindy bought; he's probably never even been in half of them.

Just like Cindy bought John McCain himself; she wanted a Trophy Husband (think: airhead) and that's what she got. As I've told people over-and-over-and-over: FOLLOW THE MONEY.

The one who pulls John McCain's strings is his chief financial backer: CINDY. That's what makes this a must-read article: Made Man - How Cindy Hensley invented John McCain, even if it is on the long side.

A fable about Russia and Georgia

2008-08-21T00:44:00.010-05:00

I know millions (billions?) of you are hanging by your fingertips, waiting on my opinion regarding the Russian invasion of Georgia. If you expect me to back John McCain, whose mantra is "War! War! Invade! Invade!" .. well, you're sadly mistaken.

Kindly allow me to paint a picture for you:

Let's assume the USA decides to make Georgia a strategic ally.
The USA sells lots of arms to the Georgians. Yes, they know Russia is next door.
Separately, the USA announces plans to put missiles in Poland.
Next, two of the 11 Georgian states (with large numbers of Russian expats) say they no longer want to be part of Georgia.
Georgia sends in federal troops to prevent that from happening.
In order to "protect the Russian expats", Russia invades Georgia.
Now, the UN blames Russia for invading.
A war-first US Senator (running for President) pledges his support for Georgia.
Meanwhile, the USA sits back, ready to sell Georgia more weapons as soon as the coast is clear.

Now, for purposes of argument, let's switch the names of the players:

USA -> Russia
Georgia -> Mexico
Poland -> Cuba
Russia -> USA

Let's assume Russia decides to make Mexico a strategic ally.
Russia sells lots of arms to the Mexicans. Yes, they know the USA is next door.
Separately, Russia announces plans to put missiles in Cuba.
Next, two of the 31 Mexican states (with large numbers of US expats) say they no longer want to be part of Mexico.
Mexico sends in federal troops to prevent that from happening.
In order to "protect the US expats", the USA invades Mexico.
Now, the UN blames the USA for invading.
A war-first Russian Senator (running for President) pledges his support for Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Russians sit back, ready to sell Mexico more weapons as soon as the coast is clear.

Now, what do you think? Still think this is worth (maybe nuclear) war?

Progressive Sockpuppetry 101

2008-08-19T20:27:00.019-05:00

In the next 76 days or so, increasing numbers of progressives/liberals/Democrats will be called upon to perform sockpuppetry -- pretending to be someone you're not. This blog entry will explain the basics, so that you don't get busted immediately.

It's worth noting that regressives/conservatives/Republic(an)s have been sockpuppeting for years, although they're still not very good at it. It's not their fault; it's much more difficult for someone stupid to appear smart, than vice-versa.

Naturally, it's best to observe first, before jumping head-first into this (but don't observe too long; the election's only a few weeks away). Fortunately, there are millions of blogs; videos and media columns Out There, with comments enabled. Read and learn, then have some fun.

Progressives who wish to participate in this charade (presumably while commenting on a news column, or a blog) may find this list useful:

Decide upon a right-wing sounding name. Republics love to think of themselves as Defenders of The Faith, so anything that reminds the viewer of that trait will give you an advantage. Examples: flagwaver911; jesuslovesyou316; proudirishgal (note that none of these use UCC) are all good examples that will be immediately accepted by the Right Wing Sociopaths. Names such as LiberalLenny or SatanWorshipper will get you busted before you can say "Gimme a Bud".

Don't use your real email address. Almost anything with an @ sign in the middle will pass The Stupid Filter that's in use on most sites. Occasionally, clear your history by repeatedly pressing the [Delete] key while in the Name/Email field.

It's probably best to leave the website field blank. If you must, I suggest you use one of the many "fake news" sites out there, like www.TheOnion.com; www.TheDailyShow.com or even www.FoxNews.com

(Optional, for the paranoid among us:) If you really want to be crafty, use an ISP with dynamic IP addresses (and reboot after each posting, being sure to set your DHCP lease to 10 minutes or so) ... or ... use one of the sites/plugins which masks your IP address.

Even though most Republics are in the middle class, they fancy themselves as being Rich Rich Rich. This is one of the accomplishments of Karl Rove; he's convinced them to vote against their own best interests, to enact policies that help the richest 1% become even richer, while Royally Screwing everyone else. Very few Republics have discovered this fraud. Some Republics are spammers who live from one Get Rich Quick scheme to the next and live in single-wide trailers or their uncle's basement. Their diet consists of pork rinds and Easy Cheese. Yet, I digress.

Turn off your spell checker and/or grammar checkers. Republics never learned how to spell or use correct grammar and view anyone who can do so as "elitist" (i.e. "smart"), which is immediate cause for suspicion. Be sure to misuse homonyms* such as "too/two/to"; "there/thair/theyre [sic]"; "hear/here"; ; "wear/ware"; "are/our". Try not to misspell too many words; even Republics can spell a few words. You might also trying writing like a 13-year old girl would text message ("OMG!! I M GNA B L8")
* they think homonym means "Gay Word"
Never use a word that would force a 10+ year old to consult a dictionary. If you're using "big people words" you'll be instantly spotted as a fraud.

Use lots of exclamation marks, and capitalize the wrong words. Example: "Hear in AMERICA We love Freedom!!!!!!!!!!!" Complete throw out everything you every learned about punctuation, run-on sentences, etc.

For American sites: use lots of Christian religious references, especially when they have no bearing on the topic. Example: "OMG!!!! It says in REVELATION thet the Antichrist will come from Lithuaina!!!!" It's best to avoid citing specific passages because some of Them have memorized everything, like Muslims who memorize the Quran. Sprinkle in an occasional "Bless your heart" or "Praise the Lord!!!" for added effect. Even They aren't stupid enough to think that "John 6:66" is a real reference, so don't attempt such a juvenile tactic.

Above all, try to remember what it was like to argue with a 7-year old. Since the bulk of school bullies will grow up to be Republics, if you argue like a 7-year old bully, odds are nobody will out you. Don't forget to demean your opponent. Example: "Why doesn't Barry HUSSANE Osama ware a Flag!?!?! He must be a muslum who hats AMERICA!!!!" .. or .. "Are you stopid or WHAT!!!". This will endear you to White Christian Republics, who generally have an IQ around 75 - the median in their Grand Old Party. Be careful not to use reasoning in any argument; you'll be wasting your time. It would be easier to teach a pig to sing.

Keep your comments brief. Republics have a very limited attention span and no ability to read more than a few lines without wishing for a cold Bud, or talkin' about theyre dream team, or what gun to use to Kill a Libreal, etc. Their distraction threshold is very low. As you've noticed with John McCain, you should avoid multi-part questions altogether.

IF YOU RILLY WANT TO LOOK LIKE ON OF THEM PRESS THE CAPS LOCK KEY AND TYPE TO YER HART'S DESARR.

Sometimes it's good fun to post a random stupidity to one of their websites/blogs, since the odds of being discovered are slim-to-none. That said, this gets boring fast as there's little challenge involved. Going onto Bill O'Reilly's site and telling him "I watch yo show every Night and YOU KICK LIBEREL ASS!!!! I want to half your Baby!!!" will undoubtedly be approved by their screeners without a second glance.

Here's something that may annoy the sane people among us, so please don't overdo it: post nonsense to a sane website, sockpuppeting as A Republic. Example: when a scientist has explained string theory, comment (as flagwaver911) that "Yer String Thoery is NOT in The Bible and you will shirly BURN IN HELL!!!!!" which is both a non sequitur as well as a way for that site's sane humans to prejudge all White Christian Republics to be morons, saving them valuable time in the future when they encounter such oafs (oaves?).

ordeal at the drive-thru

2008-08-17T12:37:00.006-05:00

Last night, I moseyed over to a local store to fetch some CFLs that were priced at 59c each (I bought 6 of them - for me, that's a lifetime supply of these low-wattage bulbs).

Afterwards, I stopped at a local drive-thru for a sandwich and a drink, and that's when things got interesting.

I happened to arrive moments after two guys in a small white pickup attempted to place their order. Alternating ordering through their window, and opening the truck's door to talk .. they ordered about $30 worth of fast food (it wasn't hard to hear their order - lots of sandwiches with each condiment specified - e.g. "hamburger with lettuce, ketchup and onions .. (long pause) ... cheeseburger with mustard and tomato .." etc.) This should've told me that I was in for a long wait, but .. I decided to stay, since this was the last thing on My Agenda For The Night.

Next, they pulled up to the window and the clerk handed their four (4) drinks to the driver, then waited for the money. Another long pause. I guess Company Policy is that if someone leaves without paying, they didn't lose much since the profit on soda is about 96%. The driver handed two folded bills - one by one - out the window, over his left shoulder, without looking .. since he and the passenger were by then anxiously searching for something inside the cab. I mentally noted their license plate number.

Next, the passenger's door opens halfway, enough for him to stick his legs outside while continuing to search for something inside the truck. Then, the driver exited the cab, presumably to see if he'd been sitting on Whatever. It was then I could see he was wearing knee-length red satin trunks - something a Pimp Basketball team would wear.

Next, the driver got out of the truck completely and proceeded to walk past my car very slowly until he reached the drive-thru's order board. Still not finding what he was looking for, he came alongside my side of the car (by then I had locked the doors) and got back inside the truck, still searching.

At that point, I decided to cut my losses and backup .. perhaps leave. Once I'd backed up, the driver made another inspection of the drive-thru lane, a bit more meticulously than at first.

Now, this is the only drive-thru in Dallas with two lanes (like the In-N-Out Burgers on the west coast). Rather than leave, I decided to switch lanes, even if it meant stretching across the front seat to handle my transaction through the passenger window. Only then could I see that there were two SUVs in front of me. Lovely .. this had already turned into a 10-minute ordeal and was likely to be longer. Backing up from the left lane would be much more challenging. Now, I was stuck.

Eventually (another 5 minutes passed) I reached the window, and handed my cash out the passenger window, explaining to the clerk that I'd switched. "Yes, I noticed" he said, "... sorry about that". He then explained that the two guys in the pickup were Very Drunk and "had been smoking something they shouldn't have". Ah, that explained a lot.

So, the two guys in the little white pickup were drunk and stoned (hence the munchies), and had lost their bag-o-weed, hence the frantic search inside the cab.

This made me wonder what responsibility - if any - the fast food clerk had, to call the police and turn these drunk stoners over before they kill someone. Then again, they may still be at the drive-thru today, searching for Whatever.

Republic Party Credo, pre-convention update

2008-08-16T00:01:00.007-05:00

It appears the Republic Party Credo missed two items .. so, numbers 8 and 9 have been added:

Never, EVER take responsibility.
Always blame the Democrats - for everything.
Lie, then lie some more. Everybody Knows™ that if you repeat something 3 times, it becomes True! You may even start believing the lies yourself.
Learn how to speak out of both sides of your mouth, without flinching. Develop a negative twist to everything your opponent does, even if it's just walking across the street.
Trivialize everything your opponent says. Take a seemingly-insignificant phrase out of context, and tell your audience that was the primary message. Say it with a sneer, if possible.
If you're an elected Republic, learn how to obfuscate and delay - those are GOP SOP (2007-8 Republic senators have filibustered more bills than any Congress in history)
Never forget that most voters do not follow politics, so pander to them, always. You are there to get their vote, not educate them.
Distract the voters! When they ask about the economy, or the war, or health care, ask them why they're not wearing an American flag lapel pin, or why they hate America.
Never admit you're wrong; that is a sign of weakness.

As I explained to LWB:

One thing you have to understand about Republicans in general : they are simple people. They want easy, simple answers to life's problems and get confused whenever the answer is even mildly complex. If you try to argue with them, they'll become frustrated and angry, because they've already concluded that the simple answer is logical.

I've found it easier to talk to them if I pretend i'm talking to an 8-year old, and explain things in very simple ways. Many of them made it through school either because their rich parents asked for favors, or .. just the problem with education in general where there's significant pressure to pass students.

Haven't you noticed how few Texans can read/write without making frequent spelling and grammar errors? Their priorities are all wrong; they put more emphasis on the weekly football game, or how the cheerleader's hair looks, than education. There are exceptions, of course; those are called "Democrats".

It would be funny if it weren't so serious. Republicans vote like they're selecting a next-door neighbor. Democrats vote like they're selecting someone for a JOB - as US President, in this case.

Originally posted on 8 July 2008

upcoming feature: The Bay of Pigs II

2008-08-15T00:01:00.003-05:00

Doesn't anyone in Washington know how to read a history book?

After I read this in The Australian: Poland, US reach missile shield deal, I started counting how long it will take for the Russians to place some "defensive missiles" in Cuba, just like they did in 1962.

Now: lather, rinse, repeat.

For those of you who don't remember, read about the Cuban Missile Crisis, paying special attention to the part about the US missiles in Turkey.

George Dubya Bush, June 2001, on Vladimir Putin:

"I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul."

Well, golly, I feel better already. Guess it's time to update my will, not that there will be anyone left to inherit ...

fun with charts and graphs

2008-08-14T12:16:00.003-05:00

h/t to Geoff ...

guilt-free in Arkansas

2008-08-13T23:59:00.008-05:00

One thing that will probably not come out in the story about Timothy Dale Johnson (the Arkansas man who assassinated* Democratic super delegate Bill Gwatney (Arkansas Democratic Chairman)) earlier today:

What radio station was he listening to (in his blue pickup)?

I'd bet dollars-to-doughnuts that it was Ann Coulter, commanding him (and anyone else who would listen) to murder as many "Libbberals" as possible. The fact that he didn't use Coulter's designated implement - the baseball bat - is mostly irrelevant. Why he chose not to murder a security guard at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention office (a few minutes after Gwatney's assassination) remains a mystery.

Oddly, had he not threatened that security guard, he might have gotten away with the crime. That worker provided the man's vehicle description, as documented on The Arkansas Times' blog.

This comes just over two weeks after another Coulter disciple, Jim David Adkisson, murdered two (and wounded seven) people at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, which was known for daring to be inclusive/tolerant - something that Coulter (and her millionaire accomplices - Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, etc) - find abhorrent.

As I understand it, Johnson was fired from his job after he wrote graffiti on a wall at the Target grocery in Conway, Arkansas. He went home, loaded his guns and proceeded to find the state's top Democrat and assassinate him. Ann Coulter must be very, very proud of her henchman.

* The fact that he asked for Gwatney by name makes this an assassination.

Friday update: looks like there are others advocating the killing of Democrats: The Right Shirts.com

history repeats itself ?

2008-08-11T03:45:00.005-05:00

While watching the news of Russia's invasion of Georgia, I can't help but be reminded of the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which started World War II.

Both started with fabricated "reasons" for the invasion, with both resulting in the capture of the (formerly) sovereign nation. Yes, I know Putin hasn't completed the capture of the Georgian capital yet - that's only a matter of time.

What am I missing with this parallel?

Tuesday update: McCain is "too dangerous and unstable to be president", says Josh Marshall.

Fox "News" : even more unfair and unbalanced

2008-08-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

News item: Bill ~~Orally~~ O'Reilly of Fox "News" threatens Barack Obama. The world yawns.

Bill O'Reilly Warns Obama About "Investigative" Campaign Coverage (with appropriate continued kudos to the News Hounds)

Hi, I'm Pete Sessions and I'm your moron

2008-08-06T10:19:00.009-05:00

"Ignorance can be cured through education, but there is no cure for stupid."
- anonymous

For the past several days, I've been targeted by a thinly-veiled "auto-dialer to re-elect Pete Sessions" -- in theory, he's my US Congressman. In truth, he's just another Republic Party Moron, who only reaches out to us constituents when it's election time.

This one was a fairly typical Republic survey (lasting about three (3) minutes) where they ask loaded questions designed to pander to the Republic Party base. Only yes or no answers are accepted - so if you'd like to reply "maybe" or "it depends" then you're out of luck. In this one, he repeats "Pete Sessions, your congressman" at least 4 times. I suspect that's because surveys show he has virtually no name recognition, and does nothing other than vote the way his Republic Party leaders order him. Pete Sessions is incapable/unwilling to think for himself.

Sessions' claim to fame is that he's the one responsible for gerrymandering the district and taking away our real Congressman, Martin Frost, in a Karl Rove-inspired slander campaign. Since then, we've been without real representation.

The twist on this call is that it was recorded by the candidate, so it was almost like (golly!) he was talking to me. Of course, in real life that doesn't happen.

Two of the questions concerned nuclear energy, which Pete Sessions calls "NUCULAR" (just like his bootlicker, George Dubya Bush). One of my first insights into whether a person has an IQ above 100 is their ability to pronounce the word NUCLEAR and .. no surprise .. Sessions fails that test.

I've blogged about this before, but it bears repeating: my two US senators (Hutchison and Cornyn) and my US congressman (Sessions) are all Bush-licking Republics, which means that I have no representation. All three of these clowns are there to support Big Oil and other large donors, and couldn't care less about the people who live here, except in the few weeks preceding any election where they use their franking (free mail) and auto-dialers to give the illusion that they're doing something.

Sadly, most Texan voters are poorly educated and will re-elect these clowns year after year (none of the three have any discernable skills, other than pandering).

hot? that ain't hot!

2008-08-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

One of the advantages of my conversion (years ago) to Celsius: in the summertime, it doesn't seem as hot when "the mercury" never hits 100 degrees.

So, just for Texans, here's a Simplificated Celsius Tempricher Chart:

0	cold
10	chilly
20	comfortable
30	hot
40	damn hot

hello, digital TV

2008-08-03T00:01:00.007-05:00

News item:

"full-power analog (NTSC) signals cease in the USA on February 17, 2009"

Stuart Smalley would want to know how that affects him and the answer is "maybe not at all". If you have existing cable or satellite service, your analog TV will be fine. If you've bought a TV in the past few years, odds are it already has a digital tuner, so that's okay. The changes coming in February only affect those of us with an analog TV that gets over-the-air [OTA] signals.

The bulk of my TV watching is either via satellite or DVDs. I have an old TV in the bedroom that my dog used to watch, but I dropped the satellite feed to that set so it's now just a dust magnet. I decided to experiment with digital TV on that box, which means I need to buy a CECB - Coupon Eligible Converter Box.

Weeks ago, I ordered the (free) $40 coupon; a few days ago, I noticed the VALID THRU date (eek!) on my TV Converter Box Coupon, so I decided it was Time To Research. Ideally, my needs are simple:

perform the analog:digital conversion
have the analog pass-thru feature
relatively small
decent remote control
built-in antenna
not cost an arm and a leg

Turns out that NONE of these include a built-in antenna, so I'll have to spring for "rabbit ears" -- the cheapest/basic ones with a coax connector are $6.

Next, I quickly found that only 16 of the available converters have the analog pass-through feature -- which allows me to continue watching analog channels until 17/2/9. The first CECBs that shipped lacked the pass-thru. The list of CECBs that I would thus consider are on the dtv2009.gov website, but I'll repeat it here:

APEX DT250
Artec T3AP Pro
CRAIG Electronics International Ltd. CVD506
DIGITAL STREAM DSP7700T
DIGITAL STREAM DTX9950
DIGITAL STREAM DX8700
DISH Network DTVPal
Insignia NS-DXA1-APT
Magnavox TB-100MG9
Memorex MVCB1000
Philco TB100HH9
Philco TB150HH9
RCA DTA800B1
Winegard RCDT09A
Zenith DTT901
Zinwell ZAT-970A

It turns out the only one that's readily available locally is the Zenith DTT901, and the various online reviews were generally favorable, so I waddled over to Circuit City and bought one. After the $40 coupon and sales tax, my out-of-pocket cost was $21.44.

According to antennaweb.org I should get 26 stations - some with multiple digital feeds. So, I connected the cables, turned the CECB on and got exactly ONE digital channel (KTVT-11). Argh! In a way, this doesn't surprise me because I frequently drive past their station and see the antenna (even though most of the local stations planted their towers in Cedar Hill, Texas .. the highest elevation in the area).

It turns out the antenna coming from the wall (presumably hooked to the Giant Antenna in the attic) apparently isn't connected, and the rat's nest of wiring means that debugging could/would be a royal PITA. I decide "life's too short; I'll buy rabbit ears!" AntennaWeb.org tells me that 21 channels will be available if I spring for a "small multidirectional antenna", so .. it's off to the B&M store (probably Fry's for the best selection) in the morning.

Alternate resource: Antenna Point.com/

Abbreviations I encountered:

ATSC Advanced Television Systems Committee CECB Coupon Eligible Converter Box DTV Digital Television EPG Electronic Program Guide NTSC National Television System Committee OTA Over The Air PSIP Program and System Information Protocol TVGOS TV Guide on Screen

useful: FAQ: The $40 Coupon Digital TV Converter Boxes

McCain - now synonymous with LIAR

2008-08-02T21:57:00.001-05:00

(click for larger image, suitable for framing)

Kudos to despair.com, naturally.

Britney and Paris! Britney and Paris!

2008-08-01T03:20:00.004-05:00

How bad does John McCain want to avoid talking about real issues? He's running ads with Britney and Paris.

Is that what Americans are concerned about? Britney and Paris?

Do you want to know how we are going to right the ship of our economy? Or do you want to hear about Britney and Paris?

Want to talk about how we are going to extract our troops from Iraq? Or do you want to hear about Britney and Paris?

(no, I didn't write this .. kudos to Talking Points Memo)

Update: Ed Cognoski agrees, in this scathing blog: Race and politics

growing to (heart) $4 gas

2008-07-30T07:27:00.009-05:00

As I started my day with a read of the New York Times* I noticed:

"Oil has dropped more than $23 a barrel, or 16 percent, and gasoline prices have fallen as Americans drive less."

~~Conservatives~~ Small brainers will attribute this to Dubya's threat to open up more offshore drilling (even though the oil companies haven't drilled in 80% of the areas already permitted for same). The truth is that prices fell when the magical $4/gallon barrier for gas/petrol was reached and demand eased -- Americans simply started driving less. Part of this has to include the economic meltdown that's underway - just yesterday another restaurant chain (Benigan's/Steak & Ale), and another department store chain (Mervyn's) failed.

Dubya's Oil Puppets would like you to believe otherwise, but the offshore drilling threat was hollow and had no impact. This drop in oil prices was based on sticker-shock, and is temporary.

Oil producers know that "$4 gas" will soon become accepted as the norm, at which point they can aim for "$5 gas". I heard some MSM pundits muse "now we're paying European prices for gas!!!!" while anyone who can Google knows that's a lie; many Europeans would love to see American gas prices at their local station.

I suspect this will be similar to any plateau effect; Americans will grow to think of "$4 gas" as The Good Old Days and behaviors will slip away from our New Thrifty Habits:

driving at the speed limit;
combining trips;
carpooling;
buying more efficient vehicles;
using mass transit

The local bus/train company (DART) has placed orders for larger trains - with better bicycle capacity - but by the time those orders arrive, I suspect we'll be back to Business As Usual as we'll have adapted to stagflation.

Likewise, American car makers are falling over themselves as they try to retool their factories for more fuel-efficient vehicles, but it appears they cannot turn on a dime and I've heard predictions of 18 months before those adaptations are complete.

I was talking to a friend last night about the price of new cars, and she said that while her paycheck has stayed the same, the price of her Target New Car has increased - on the order of 10% or so. My theory is that in order to make a vehicle 1% more fuel efficient, the price had to increase by 5% - the law of diminishing returns has begun to set in. As Americans return to our wasteful habits (outconsuming the world by 5:1 in some cases) this is only bound to get worse.

* the local newspaper (the "Dallas Managed News") has become little more than a repurposing of Associated Press stories, plus a hefty Religion section and right-wing pundits. They shouldn't let the door hit them in the arse.

Why did the Obama cross the road?

2008-07-29T15:11:00.006-05:00

ah, politics.

A couple of us were talking about John SIDNEY McCain's latest ~~slimeball~~ All-Negative-All-The-Time Campaign tactics, and it was noted that they've decided to spin anything/everything that their challenger does into evil, no matter how pithy.

So, if Barack Obama crossed the street ..

.. on foot, they'd attack him for not using mass transit (thus pandering to the transit lobby);

.. in a bus, they'd attack him for trying to appease "blue collar workers";

.. in a Prius, they'd attack him for not using a Detroit-built automobile (pandering to the US auto industry);

.. in a Ford, they'd attack him for being "anti-General Motors";

.. in a GMC, they'd attack him for being "anti-Ford";

.. on a skateboard, they'd attack him for being a Liberal Elitist (conservatives can't ride skateboards)

You get the idea.

Friday update: my suspicions are confirmed.

here's your sign ...

2008-07-28T13:05:00.001-05:00

make your own sign here

John McCain: LIAR!

2008-07-28T12:10:00.009-05:00

I don't know if John McCain's staff has been talking to Hillary about how effective her "sniper fire story" was, but .. they're going into a tailspin and might as well cancel their convention and save us all a lot of money and trouble.

McCain's early promises of running a positive campaign are now at the bottom of the outhouse .. perhaps his latest wife Cindy is down there among all the feces, swimming in it like so much Evian in her billion dollar bathtub.

The latest SERIES of lies is coming from Karl Rove, saying that Barack Obama wouldn't visit our troops in Germany unless he could be assured of a photo op. What a crock of pig swill ... the good news is that this is being debunked all over the web, with McCain himself starting to look like The Fool.

At least they have a different kind of contempt for our veterans than Dick Cheney.

It's kind of sad. Sure, he's basically a hateful old man who has a lot of trouble remembering anything (much less taking responsibility), but you'd think he'd at least do The Honorable Thing and not resort to blatant lies, still 3+ months from the election. So much for the Straight Talk Express - it's become increasingly obvious that Arianna Huffington was dead on target with her book, detailing how Maverick John McCain - the Vietnam war hero - has ceased to exist.

Let's get this election over with and move on.

humor, defined

2008-07-22T17:58:00.002-05:00


Not Funny	Hysterical

queue the preachers!

2008-07-22T00:45:00.003-05:00

News item:

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Dolly churned toward southern Texas on Monday, and forecasters said they expected it to grow into a hurricane before hitting land near the Mexican border later this week.

Once it makes landfall, America's White Christian Preachers should immediately POUNCE, and tell everyone that the hurricane struck Texas because of its wickedness, for electing George Walker "Dubya" Bush as POTUS; Rick "Pretty Hair" Perry as Governor; Kay Bailey "Bootlicker Sr" Hutchison and John "Bootlicker Jr" Cornyn as US Senators.

where have I seen that face before?

2008-07-21T19:00:00.005-05:00

News item: John McCain will name his running mate on Wednesday - Louisiana's (insane, first-term) Governor, Bobby Jindal. He's the one who claims to have cured cancer by performing an exorcism, so that may come in Real Handy when 72-year old John McCain drops dead a few weeks after being elected.

the local coffee shop

2008-07-20T12:40:00.011-05:00

Before there was Starbucks®, the "local coffee shop" usually meant an independent donut shop. In my case, the only nearby "dedicated coffee shops" are in/near office parks and are open 9-5 weekdays. Starbucks changed all that, extending their hours, creating atmosphere, and putting them on every corner -- hence their current saturation problem.

There are nine (9) Starbucks locations within three (3) miles of my home - two are inside grocery stores. Two of the remaining seven are on The List To Be Closed in the next few months, and only one of the seven has a drive-thru. I was mildly surprised by one of the closures .. Preston/Beltline (actually it's closer to Preston/Alexis) which always seemed to be busy - located between a Blockbuster and Wendy's. Granted, there's another Starbucks a hundred yards away, but it's inside a Tom Thumb grocery store and lacks the ambiance (!) of a Real Starbucks.

I waddled over to the 4th-closest Starbucks yesterday (the nearest one with a drive-thru window) to try their new smoothie - er, Vivanno™. There are only two from which to choose: banana-orange-mango or banana-chocolate. I could definitely taste the "whey protein and fiber powder", but it was otherwise unremarkable. Noteworthy: just like Jamba Juice®, you can add extra stuff (in Starbucks' case, that means a shot of espresso; matcha green tea powder; or substitute nonfat milk to shave 20 calories).

Vivanno verdict: it's okay but not sure $4.06 (with tax) for 16 ounces is something I'd go out of the way for. I found McDonald's Iced Coffee more refreshing at less than half the price (also more healthy if you opt for the sugar-free vanilla flavor -- 60 calories). I suspect I should compare it with an offering from the local Jamba Juice (co located with Whole Foods), smoothie-to-smoothie:

16 oz. Vivanno (banana-orange-mango): 250 calories, 16 grams protein, 6 grams fiber, 2 grams fat, 1 fruit serving. (No artificial colors, artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup.)

16 oz. Banana Berry™ (Jamba Juice): 280 calories, 3 grams protein, 3 grams fiber, 1 gram fat, 2 fruit servings. For comparison, add the "whey boost" to get ~16 grams protein and 4 grams fiber.

For an apples-to-oranges (er, banana-to-coffee) comparison, here's the info on the McCoffee:

16 oz. McDonald's Iced Coffee: 60 calories, no fiber or protein.

Premium Roast Coffee. Light Cream: Milk, cream, sodium phosphate, sodium polyphosphate, DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium citrate, carrageenan. CONTAINS: MILK. Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup: Water, erythritol, natural (plant source) and artificial flavors, cellulose gum, sucralose, salt, malic acid, potassium sorbate (preservative), acesulfame potassium, caramel color (with sulfites). Ice.

Send Karl Rove to Jail!

2008-07-18T19:05:00.001-05:00

Send Karl Rove to Jail!

credit card trivia

2008-07-10T12:29:00.003-05:00

So I've only been using credit cards for what - 30 years? I thought I knew everything, but found a few gems I didn't know on consumerist.com:

Unsigned cards are not valid and merchants can and will refuse them
The maximum liability for unauthorized use of a credit card (not Debit/ATM cards) is US$50 according to federal law
Merchants cannot require you to present ID, unless your card is unsigned
Merchants cannot require a minimum transaction amount
Merchants cannot charge a surcharge for using a credit card, however, they can offer a cash discount
Many credit cards have programs that will automatically double the manufacturer's warranty and other excellent benefits
Merchants are not allowed to make you give up your right to a chargeback
Merchants are not allowed to place a hold for the estimated tip
If merchants suspect you of fraud they are supposed to call with a "Code 10"
If merchants break these rules, you can report them to the credit card company

Full article: 10 Things You Might Not Know About Your Credit Card

Republic Party sundry

2008-07-08T13:24:00.009-05:00

Credit where credit is due

The Republic Party has done a spectacular job at one thing: convincing 51% of the people that they should always vote for what's best for the top 1% (wealth) - of which they are NOT a member.

Louisiana : go direckly to jale, do not pass GO

Spotted: New legal threat to teaching evolution in the US

The good news? 48 states still don't have Republic Party Stupid laws on the books.

Minority rule - for smokers only!!!

It's no secret that the majority of Texans have IQs smaller than their SUV's gas capacity (31), so I wasn't surprised to see some pea-brain mouth off about how a proposed smoking ban should not be implemented because "The fact that 70 percent of people support this ban is no reason to pass it." Ah, so now they support minority rights, while before they were part of the ~~Bully~~ Republic Party who bellowed "we won the election so you have to do what we tell you." Speaking out of both sides of their mouths appears to be Standard Operating Procedure.

Reference:
Sunday Letters: Smoking ban

The Republic Party Credo - to be repeated in unison at their convention

Never, EVER take responsibility
Always blame the Democrats - for everything.
Lie, then lie some more. Everybody Knows™ that if you repeat something 3 times, it becomes True! You may even start believing the lies yourself.
Learn how to speak out of both sides of your mouth, without flinching. Develop a negative twist to everything your opponent does, even if it's just walking across the street.
Trivialize everything your opponent says. Take a seemingly-insignificant phrase out of context, and tell your audience that was the primary message. Say it with a sneer, if possible.
If you're an elected Republic, learn how to obfuscate and delay - those are GOP SOP (2007-8 Republic senators have filibustered more bills than any Congress in history)
Never forget that most voters do not follow politics, so pander to them, always. You are there to get their vote, not educate them.

Money quote

"The Republican brand is in the trash can. I've often observed that if we were a dog food, they would take us off the shelf."

-Tom Davis (R-Virginia) 19 May 2008

Everybody Knows is a trademark of FOX "News" and Rush Limbaugh, the $400 Million Man.

news item: Jesse Helms died Friday

2008-07-06T21:03:00.006-05:00

Deep Thoughts:

I wonder who His family will choose to be pallbearers? (see photo at right)
It's a pity He (R-North Carolina) chose to die on the 4th of July; that will forever taint this holiday.

I was amused at PZ's take on the timing: the fireworks will forever be a celebration of His death. Hmmm.
I wonder if Fox "News" will cover the funeral live, with all the "reporters" wearing black armbands.

you've been crammed!

2008-07-03T19:38:00.008-05:00

A month or so ago, I decided it was a complete waste of money to have multiple phone lines that I'm not using, so .. I dropped 2 of my 3 phone numbers. Today, some company decided to charge me for voicemail service on one of those 2 dropped phone numbers.

I suppose they think they're doing me a favor, but .. all AT&T provides in the email notice is the total amount billed:

A new bill for your telephone number ending in xxxx is now available to view online. You can print a copy of your paper bill by selecting the link "View/Print copies of your paper bills" on the Account Manager Home Page.

To view your bill, log in to AT&T Account Manager and select the > View My Bill link, found under the Current Bill Summary section.

The email makes it sound simple enough, but it's not, since some Rocket Scientist decided the best way to annoy the customer is to shove so many choices onto the website so that most people would simply throw up their hands in disgust. They achieved their design goal, for sure.

This "simplification" (email with the total charge only) has opened AT&T up to additional fraud, far as I'm concerned - it's now much harder to spot fraudulent charges.

So, I logged onto AT&T's site to find out that a sleazebag company called TRIVOICE INTERNATIONAL added a $14.95 monthly charge for voicemail service to my phone bill. No, I didn't authorize it - I've used an answering machine for a long time. The referenced number is one of the two I "threw away" while simplifying my home phone situation; it also couldn't be used to dial out -- it was merely a "special ring" number that sits atop your regular line, but double-rings to let you know that it's a business call (or whatever).

Billed on Behalf of TRIVOICE INTERNATIONAL, LTD. # Questions? Call: 1 866 473-1999 Itemized Charges and Credits Item No. Date Description 4-01 5-28 TRIVOICE INT'L, LTD-VMAIL MONTHLY FEE 14.95

Naturally, the Trivoice number says they're closed until Monday. Ditto for AT&T Customer Service. At least AT&T's website has info on cramming, so this must be very common. I tried sending them an email but had to do it several times (their website returned me to a very pretty, yet completely WHITE screen on multiple occasions), and have zero hope they'll read it before Monday - if ever.

I searched the web for info on these crammers and quickly found something on ripoffreport.com describing the procedure I'll have to follow if they're uncooperative.

Retired General Wesley Clark: "not backing down"

2008-07-01T08:39:00.004-05:00

Related: Wes Clark Responds To McCain Campaign’s Hysteria

It's no surprise that al Qaeda strongly endorses John McCain for President, since he'll continue the Iraq war for another thousand years, greatly helping their ongoing recruiting drive. If Obama is elected and the war ends, they'll have no Americans to fight other than cardboard cutouts.

Ref: hero, redefined (10 April 2008)

first victim of new Dallas City Council policy?

2008-06-30T20:52:00.005-05:00

Just thirty days ago, I predicted it wouldn't be long before someone dies as a result of the recent Dallas City Council vote to tow vehicles if they're uninsured. Today, this article landed on the local paper's website:

A woman died this morning after she drove off the road while fleeing during a traffic stop, Dallas police said. Lillian Volk was pulled over around 3 a.m. in the 18100 block of Preston Road and sped away in a 2003 blue Ford pickup before receiving her ticket, according to police.

The officer did not chase her but found her vehicle about 10 blocks away in the 17000 block of Preston Road where she had driven off the road, struck several trees and flipped over, Dallas police Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. Ms. Volk was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Dallas County medical examiner's office. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Coincidence? It will be interesting to see if Ms. Volk had insurance, or if this was caused by something else (warrants, blood alcohol, drugs, etc.) Sadly, she's dead so she won't be able to provide her side of the story except via autopsy, or a media reporter who's willing to do some digging.

100% green electrons

2008-06-28T00:01:00.002-05:00

For the third time in five months, I have a new electricity provider. I switched because my last provider's promotional rate of $138/mwh zoomed to $168 in June -- that's the highest I've ever paid, although still far from being Texas' most expensive ($206).

I now look back to 2005 with fondness, when I was paying $92/mwh!

In Texas, the market's deregulated, which means you're not stuck with the default provider (TXU @ $159). All your choice really means is (a) who you pay and (b) who feeds The Grid on your behalf. None of the infrastructure (cables, meters, repair crew) changes.

My last provider's business model is: "attract new customers with a low initial price, and hope they're too oblivious/lazy to change when we raise the rate after 30 days". It's not like I wasn't warned; the contract terms said:

"The promotional month-to-month electricity rate is for new customers enrolling for the first time beginning May 1, 2008. This rate will transition to a variable rate at the end of the Promo month period. Current variable rates for service are published on our website."

The good news is that their contract was month-to-month so no early termination penalty applied.

Electricity rates in Texas are among the highest in the country - typically 10th. The highest are (in order) Hawaii; New York; Connecticut; Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Alaska; New Hampshire; California and Vermont. Is deregulation working here? Since The Texas Republic Party has been in power (and lining their pockets with oil money) for the past 20+ years, it's obviously their fault. But, they are the party of Never EVER Taking Responsibility, so .. the high prices will continue until they're thrown out - probably in 2072 or so, given the stupidity of the electorate.

Given the wild fluctuations in the energy market, I decided to seek a fixed rate for a year. There are 27 providers (!) and 80 different plans (!) available for my ZIP code .. lots of companies want my money, apparently. Of those 80 plans, fifty (50) are fixed rate contracts.

The choices

The cost/megawatt hour ranged from $138 to $220, and I could choose between fixed and variable rates; 0-100% renewable; 1-60 month contracts; and a $0-399 (!) early-cancellation penalty. The ideal contract doesn't exist, of course:

lowest rate/kwh
100% renewable
60 month lock-in
$0 early cancellation penalty

In the past, renewable providers charged significantly more than traditional providers (coal and lignite; natural gas; nuclear) but the fixed rate plan difference is now $146 vs $153, so I'll pay the few extra quid to be 100% Green.

Twelve (12) providers matched my criteria (fixed rate, 100% renewable, 12+ months) with rates ranging from $153 to $206/mwh. So, my new provider is Gexa (JEKS-uh) Energy. The Gexa Green 12 plan is 100% wind energy.

There was a matching company: YEP Energy (same criteria and price) but Gexa will give me AAdvantage Miles (!) so that clinched the deal.

Also, Y.E.P. sounded like a funny name .. which wasn't in my criteria. Their tagline is "The Official Sponsor of Absolutely Nothing" (keep rates low by not sponsoring sports stadiums, etc.)

Now, I've locked in a fixed rate of $153/mwh for a one year term -- with a $150 early-cancellation penalty. My usage troughs in April (<1 mwh) and peaks in September (>3 mwh), so .. keep those wind turbines turning.

there's nothing to see here

2008-06-26T09:24:00.004-05:00

It's not often I have trouble with my DirecTV satellite service. The most common problem is when there's Weather in the southern sky, interrupting the signal. That results in temporary pixellation of the image, and when the storm passes everything's back to normal.

With that in mind, I'd never seen this Error Message before today .. as far as I know there wasn't any storm activity when the show was being recorded, and the message doesn't look at all like anything from TiVo*, so ...

*although there was an automatic TiVo software upgrade a few nights ago. I know this because there's a new folder: [Recently Deleted] now lets me recover stuff that I recently watched/deleted. The only documentation on this feature is a screen that says "Here you'll find a list of programs that have been deleted and may be recoverable" .. but that's it.

Naturally, this error ("there is no need to call us") came at The Most Critical Part of the show, and disappeared soon thereafter. Murphy's Law strikes again.

Legislating from the bench

2008-06-25T12:04:00.005-05:00

It's no secret that when White Christian Republicans (led by Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and James Dobson) disagree with the ruling of a court - any court - they scoff and pound their fists, saying that the court is "legislating from the bench". This is obvious code for "voted the other way".

That said, I have to wonder how each side feels, given that the Supreme Court [SCOTUS] voted twice (already) today .. one liberal verdict and the other conservative. I'm sure opponents will accuse the other of "legislating from the bench".

The first ruling cut the damages from the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska to 20% of what a jury awarded as punishment. Environmentalists will say that the R-SCOTUS (Republic Party Supreme Court) caved (5-3) to the interests of Exxon Mobil and sent a clear signal that it's okay for other companies to spill oil and pay a fine, then go about their merry way.

The second ruling outlawed (5-4) the execution of men convicted of raping a child. This case was set in Louisiana, but Texas and three other states (Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina) allow an execution when the defendant is convicted of raping a child - presumably any such verdicts will be commuted. The majority from the D-SCOTUS [Democratic Party Supreme Court] apparently feel that death is not a proportional punishment for this crime.

Regardless of which side of either issue you're on, odds are you think the SCOTUS overstepped its boundaries and is guilty of legislating from the bench. Welcome to The New World Order.

Voluntary Simplicity

2008-06-23T15:05:00.008-05:00

A few weeks ago, I participated in an eight (8) week discussion group: "Voluntary Simplicity". This is the one created by the Northwest Earth Institute. While there was certainly too much information to cover in a single blog entry, suffice it to say that it reinforced many of the things I've taken to heart in the past several years: reduction of clutter; efficient time planning; being green; and the Evils of American Society.

Okay, so I made up that last one .. at least, renamed it. That's because the terms used in the reading material sugar-coated the phenomenon: egregious American consumerism, where we're trained to be lifetime gluttons about most everything. So many people fall into the lifetime trap of buying/buying/buying stuff they don't need to impress people they barely know. And guess what - many of us that are the potential impressees come away with the opposite impression: that you're an IDIOT when you live above your means and buy Stuff just to have More Stuff.

I've seen truly amazing (read: disgusting) examples. One friend-of-a-friend lived in a ~5000 square foot house which was not only packed wall-to-wall with Stuff but also floor-to-ceiling. There were precarious paths leading from room to room, and I felt as if I was in an Antique Mall that was designed to pack items so close together that the patrons couldn't avoid breaking something (ca-ching!).

Some families have 5+ children (gag) and need an SUV to transport them, but many don't .. and have large, wasteful vehicles that are used for everything. Those families each need a Smart car, or a Honda Fit, or something equally gas-friendly for 98% of their trips. I've never bought the argument that Big Vehicles Make You Safe, since my theory is that they make you into a Sloppy driver who takes excessive risks because You're The Big Dog and who cares if I crush The Little Dog?

Noteworthy-but-unrelated: as I've driven around the past few weeks, I notice that few drivers are bothering to slow down to conserve fuel. Many of them are either incapable of changing their leadfoot habits, or have the same moronic attitude I saw with snow/ice drivers here - the idea that if you drive faster, you'll get through the ordeal faster. As a rule, the larger the vehicle, the more likely it is to be going 20+ miles over the limit. Dallas remains The Place To Be if you want to speed anytime and never be pulled over - enforcement here is a joke.

To be sure, even I (gasp!) have room to improve, but I'm trying. Example: my CD rack hasn't been touched in a couple years, ever since I dumped everything to the iPod. My book collection's still massive and I'm coming to grips with the concept of giving away books (to a charity such as a local Veterans Administration hospital) rather than let them languish on the shelf, never to be re-read. I no longer buy trinkets of any sort, since those are destined to be dust collectors. Yes, I take lots of photos, but carefully organize them on my home network -- without taking up more physical space (I almost never get prints - aside from samples I printed years ago so my walls wouldn't be blank).

Via the local Freecycle group, I've given away some specific things but surely need to advertise Stuff I'm no longer using. The alternative is a Garage Sale, but I don't need the hassle involved with that, since my goal is merely to get rid of excess Stuff. You know, to Simplify.

Boycott the AP!

2008-06-22T20:16:00.004-05:00

In case you didn't hear, the Associated Press will now charge you a minimum of $12.50 if you use more than four of their words in a blog posting, even if you give them full attribution.

That's easy to address: just use any different source. Henceforce, the AP does not exist (AND I removed all AP articles - I always attributed them - from this blog).

BANNED: The Christian Discount

2008-06-19T17:56:00.009-05:00

Despite my NO SOLICITORS sign, somebody left a copy of a telephone directory (you remember, those quaint paper books of a bygone era -- before the Internet). This one - "The Shepherd's Guide" - is a bit different as it proclaims that the bulk (all?) of the advertisers are guaranteed to be Christian. Advertisers must affirm that they are "born again" and clients must be treated with respect and integrity. Translation: hold onto your wallet.

If you go to their website, you'll find the publisher has been at this since 1980, although the Dallas version is only vintage 1992. The local edition has a Roanoke, Texas return address - about 30 miles west of me.

Before I pitched it in the recycle container, I thumbed through it (for amusement sake). On page 11 of the Greater Dallas County edition, there's a full page which warns against asking for The Christian Discount:

The reason that The Shepherd's Guide has worked so well is because it has provided a means for honest and reputable business and professional Christians to advertise their services to other Christians. Please do not expect any of them to provide their service free or at a reduced rate unless they feel led by God to do so, and not because you have pressured them for the discount.
Stop and think about it this way — Would you want to pay a business more because they felt that you, as a Christian customer, should feel compelled to help other Christians by paying them more for their services?
We feel that God wants us to treat each other in love and esteem. The advertiser's purpose in this guide is to do their best at a fair price. They deserve the opportunity to serve you and to be paid for their services.

Metrics:

115 pages
Approximately 6x9 inches
non-revenue pages: a LOT (including about 30 White pages for churches; ministries; Christian schools)
most amusing concepts: Christian lawyers; Christian plumbers; Christian pest control

At least it didn't contain any toxic chemicals - my recycler will like that.

Deep thought: I wonder if there are directories for other religions: Jewish; Muslim; Catholic (as John Hagee reminds us: Catholics ain't Christian). Me, I'll probably stick to my favorite secular online directory: superpages.com.

Firefox 3 will have to wait

2008-06-17T13:01:00.006-05:00

Dear Mozilla:

I appreciate your desire to rack up the numbers, as you release Firefox 3. The problem appears to be that you didn't spec a wide enough pipe for us.

Why do we want it? Well, this hype (from whatis.com):

"According to Mozilla's performance tests, Firefox 3 is twice as fast as Firefox 2 and nine times as fast as Internet Explorer 7. Mozilla's memory usage tests found Firefox 3 twice as efficient as Firefox 2 and more than four times as efficient as IE7."

And finally, in the Excuse-Me-Maybe-I'll-Stick-With-Firefox2 Category: Google Browser Sync Discontinued, No Firefox 3 Support

McCain McMedicated ?

2008-06-17T00:45:00.004-05:00

Is it just me, or has everyone else also noticed that John McCain has been near comatose the past few months? I suspect he's on some sort of medication to control his blood pressure (and legendary temper) so that he doesn't explode during the campaign.

I'm surprised that someone hasn't (yet) broken into his "medicine cabinet" to find out what drugs he's taking to keep him calm.

Texas Schoolchildren Am Doomed

2008-06-16T23:59:00.004-05:00

Just for the record: Texas State Board of Education member David Bradley (R-Beaumont) is an embarrassment to Texas.

Why? He is a biblical creationist who rejects the science of evolution, and now he wants to shove his asinine views ("the world is 6000 years old, dinosaurs and humans coexisted" and other stupidity) into Texas school children's heads. Good luck with any of them ever getting jobs outside a fast-food drive-thru window, with that kind of "knowledge". Employers: please do yourself a favor and hire science graduates from ANY other state .. the ones here will be a waste of your time.

Honestly, it's a shame that anyone who can fog a mirror (without so much as a literacy test) -- without any education credentials AT ALL -- can get elected to the state board of education. The chairman (Dr. Don McLeroy) is a dentist, for cryin' out loud .. and another creationist.

The morons of Bradley's district (Texas SBOE #7) elected this moron to the State Board of Education in 1996, then moronically re-elected him to the board in 2000, 2002 and 2004. I hold each of them personally responsible for the damage this moron is about to inflict.

red BBQ in a blue city

2008-06-15T13:33:00.003-05:00

I didn't know there were any overtly Republic Party barbeque places in Dallas, but I just discovered one -- near downtown Dallas. It is Sammy's BAR-B-Q; I know it's owned by Republics because they're hosting a fundraiser for John McBush tomorrow night, when The Presumptive Republic Party Nominee comes to town (7pm).

Note to self: cross Sammy's off my list of restaurants to ever dine in

Then again, it may not be well-attended because the ~~tickets~~ donations are so cheap (only $230 versus the $2,300 ticket to see McBush at the 5pm soiree at The Belo Mansion). For those of you who don't live here, Belo is the local media magnate, controlling the only daily newspaper, one of the TV stations, and whatever else they're allowed to own under FCC rules. No surprise they're backing the Republics because of their greed, desire to maintain power, etc.

I suspect the McBush Party's food will be prepared by undoc'd Mexican waitstaff, and served by $5.85*/hour Africans, while their Bentleys and Rolls-Royces are parked by White Teenage Republics (can't let the Darkies or the Wetbacks touch Their Cars, you see).

Related: Bill Moyers' latest show explores the growing divide between rich and poor in this country. None of the attendees at The McBush Fundraiser will have seen it, because to do so would have to admit that their whole lives are little more than a sham -- to con the middle class into paying the bulk of the taxes.

* only recently raised from $5.35/hour, after the Democrats pushed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. Also worth noting: Bill Moyers made the point that if The Minimum Wage had kept pace with inflation, it would now be $9.88/hour instead of $5.85 (after all these years of Republic Party rule).

why Bubba can't analyze

2008-06-14T21:00:00.017-05:00

Once again, an article in the local newspaper proves to me that the disparaging name "Dallas Managed News" is wholly appropriate.

Today, they printed an article titled "Plane, train, car or bus: What's the best way to go on your summer trip?". The premise sounded like an interesting experiment: send four people from Dallas to Austin (about 200 miles) in time to attend an 11am meeting, then return. Had they not proceeded to compare apples-to-kumquats, they might have succeeded. Once done with their inadequate comparison, they proclaimed that even though gasoline is ~$4/gallon, it's cheaper to drive than to plane, train or bus your way to Austin. I'm half-betting this article was funded by the Texas Oil Producers Federation (or whatever name they're hiding behind), because their conclusion was dead wrong - by a factor of two.

Honestly, where do these people get their education - a Texas Home School? Anyone who has ever taken a class in costing (I did that in 1982 or so) would understand this easily. Rather than make a fair comparison, The Managed News went out of their way to avoid defining their methodology, and the hurdles they faced (example: trains run only once every 3 days; buses run twice/day; airlines have 8 flights/day). Had they done their job, they would have easily reached the correct (and obvious) conclusion: the bus is the cheapest way to get around.

	car	bus	train	air	conclusion
paper's total	$60	$96	$432	$223	train is most expensive
round trip time	7:39	7:00	17:00	6:55
transportation only	$60	$64	$62	$160	reality: air is most expensive, all others about the same
assumptions	you own a car	free transportation to the bus station	free transportation to the train station; you must spend two nights at a downtown hotel	free transportation to the airport (although they did stipulate $10 to park)	they assume everyone owns a car, or has free transportation to the choice of conveyance
what they should have done	factor the IRS' 2008 Standard Mileage Rates - 50.5¢/mile for business
changed outcome	$202	$111	$97 (due to infrequent train schedule, hotel is needed)	$238	bus is cheapest
I assumed an equidistant 30 mile commute to the alternate transportation, which added about $15 to each mode.

Bottom line: the article left me with more questions than answers:

Did they get the best deals on public transportation by buying 21 days in advance?
Why did they choose a "downtown hotel" for the train - was that cheaper than alternatives?
Was there a way to optimize the meeting time so that only one hotel night was needed for the train option?
What about mixing modes? (e.g. taking the train but returning on the bus. Since the three alternates already included taxi fares, this shouldn't have been a stretch).
What was the Carbon Footprint for the various modes? (to their credit, they touched on this by showing that the train was least efficient with fuel and the bus was most efficient)
Why did four people travel in the car, and only one in the other modes?
Why the variation in lobby wait times for air travel; train; bus?
What was the price of the "free car" they used for the automobile mode?
Did they consider renting a car?
Was there free parking at the meeting site?

Many of the problems I had with the article relate to normalizing the data. Certainly, there are issues of scale .. you can't hire a train for one person, and demand that only one car be used to reduce fuel usage. Ditto for the air travel - why didn't they compare a regional jet versus the (Southwest Airlines) 737? You get the idea.

And yes, let's talk about issues such as personal safety at the bus station; the risk of terrorism at the airport; the impact on societal isolation when travelling by car .. there are a host of things left unconsidered. Maybe they were just trying to save on newspaper ink - that's the only success I spotted.

weathering the blame game

2008-06-12T23:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm confused.

I haven't been following it that closely, but know that the "upper midwest" has been hammered in the past few days .. rain, floods, tornadoes. What perplexes me is that the televangelists haven't been on the air telling the rest of us that these folks are on the receiving end because they haven't been Christian enough.

Why is it that it's okay to blame predominantly black parts of the country for their sinnin' but predominantly white sections get a pass from the Christianists? I found it very unusual that yesterday's tornado took direct aim at a Boy Scout Camp (killing four), but not one of the ministers explained that it was their god's wrath because the Boy Scouts won't admit homosexuals.

How is it they're allowed to eat both ends of the cake?

I asked a friend for comment before posting; she replied:

Exactly. And at the opposite end of the scale, why aren't all the politicians being blamed for it happening?

Another question: why is it somehow worse that an individual lost all their possessions in Katrina than it is if they lost all their possessions in some other weather-caused event? On an a total size perspective, absolutely Katrina was worse. For any given person, whether they lost everything in Katrina or lost everything in the floods happening now elsewhere, they still lost it all ... poor person in New Orleans or poor person in Iowa/Indiana ... gone. Shouldn't matter what color they are. Politicization of race happens on both ends of our lovely political system.

So one one end, there's the far-right weirdos saying it's god's wrath in the New Orleans (but nowhere else). On the other end, it's the far left saying that a poor black person who lost everything in New Orleans needs our sympathy/help/resources more than a poor white person in Iowa. Neither instance is fair.

Olbermann goes pun'ing

2008-06-11T11:29:00.006-05:00

"I will veto every single beer -- bill with earmarks."
-John McCain, at the National Small Business Summit (10 June 2008)

"McCain's slip - if not a hint at reinstating the 18th Amendment - was possibly a Freudian reference to his wife's wealthy family which owns a beer distributorship, occasionally propping up his ale-ing campaign when trouble brewed. Wine-ing aides were at lagerheads when his speeches got booze, even among crowds that were mostly sub-bourbon. Today McCain is still struggling to convince voters that the economic plan of a candidate so close to Busch will be full of Schlitz."

-Keith Olbermann, MSNBC Countdown, that night

Take Me Home, Country Roads

2008-06-09T11:00:00.007-05:00

June is an odd time of year to start the TV season, but .. one of the items on my TiVo Season Pass came to life: the [30 Days] season opener. This episode, Morgan Spurlock personally explored the life of a West Virginia coal miner (most of the time he acts as director, but this time he was in front of the camera).

As usual with Morgan's documentaries, I learned many things, but was left with more questions unanswered; this episode could easily have been two hours instead of one.

Several of the scenes had to be subtitled, due to the miner's mumbling. With that in mind, I was amused to see The Onion delivering this audio item: West Virginia Holds Its First Pronunciation Bee.

Also, none of the miners were minorities; perhaps that's why Clinton did so well there .. one of the few places in the US where it's nearly impossible to find someone who isn't white. West Virginians are clearly terrified of half-black people! I suspect the same is true for all other minorities, too. Worth noting that John Denver's epic song about the state doesn't mention anything about "darkies, Jews, gays, Asians, Latinos ...", none of which apparently exist Up In The Hills.

Texas' two hack Senators

2008-06-07T19:34:00.005-05:00

"I can see states like Texas having not one but two hack Senators. People who never propose or cosponsor any significant legislation while in office. People like Hutchison and Cornyn, who are the worst type of go-along-to-get-along lackey for the Bush administration. People who view their role as doing anything to preserve their own power and who never have an original or courageous idea while in office."
- Alec Baldwin

The odds of his comment (directed to the people of Minnesota regarding their candidates) being published in any of the right-wing Texas newspapers (like The Dallas Managed News) are Z-E-R-O .. but he wasn't talking to us. Still, he's spot on.

I have yet to understand Texans' fascination with Kay Bailey Hutchison, who will undoubtedly run for Texas Governor at the next opportunity. Still, she's revered by her Republic Party although she doesn't hold a candle to the late great (Democrat) Ann Richards*.

*slandered by Karl Christian Rove in order to get George Dubya Bush elected Texas Governor .. and how did that work out for ya?

And don't get me started on the Texas Junior Senator, John Cornyn .. a lackey of The John Twins (Hagee and McCain) - what an embarrassment. As I've blogged before - only A Chosen Few White Oil Barons have any real representation here - the other 99.9% of us are saddled with political hacks.

Alec - I'm gonna send you a Valentine's Day card.

DFW thanks NYC and ORD

2008-06-05T00:02:00.005-05:00

There's a lovely article in Forbes magazine: "America's Most Time-Draining Airports" .. which ranks 100 US airports on delays. Apparently it's based on 2007 Bureau of Transportation statistics.

Good news: DFW is less delay-prone than the three (3) NYC* airports (LGA JFK EWR) and the country's worst: Chicago O'Hare. After that, it's all downhill for the local "big airport", beaten handily by six other airports in Texas. There's a direct correlation with the amount of traffic, so none of this surprises me:

12. ELP - El Paso
46. DAL - Dallas Love Field
58. HOU - Houston Hobby
59. AUS - Austin Bergstrom
61. SAT - San Antonio
80. IAH - Houston Bush Intercontinental
96. DFW - Dallas/Ft. Worth

The lower the number, the less likely you were to encounter delays in 2007, so says Forbes.

* multisearch is a truly wonderful thing. Pity there are only a handful (5) of these in the USA (CHI; NYC; QDF; QHO; WAS)

Forbes used seven (7) criteria to achieve their rankings:

Security-related delays
Late-aircraft-related delays
National-Aviation-System-related delays
Cancellation-related delay
Carrier-related delay
Weather-related delay
Percentage of flights arriving on time
Percentage of flights departing on time

To be sure, there are other airports in Texas, but they're smaller than any of those listed above. No offense intended: AMA; CRP; GLS; HRL; LBB and MAF.

Republic Party vocabularie lessin

2008-06-01T13:05:00.001-05:00

How the Word ‘Elite’ Became a Slur, by Susan Jacoby

I asked my new BFF (Arianna) if "elite" was destined to be the Radical Right's word of the year and she didn't think so. I'm still not so sure, since So Many voters are determined to Vote For Stupid this fall.

After they Voted For Stupid* in 2000 and 2004 ("how did that work out for ya?") I won't be surprised with a repeat this year.

*George W. Bush, you idiot

death sentences handed out by Dallas City Council

2008-05-30T18:48:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week, the Dallas City Council handed out am unknown number of death sentences, to begin in January 2009. The most likely victims will be innocent, living in the poor parts of town, but .. they'll all be random and it could happen to anyone.

Okay, so The Council didn't hand out the sentences directly; this is the result of Unforeseen Consequences Legislation. For me, this is a no-brainer but that's probably because I have the audacity to Think Before Voting.

These upcoming death sentences are due to a combination of two laws: one already on the books and the other (apparently) coming in January. It's already well publicized that the Dallas Police [DPD] have a "no chase policy" which forbids them from commencing a chase if it would endanger citizens. Now, add the new 2009 rule which will force the towing of any vehicle being operated without insurance (estimates of 10% come to mind) and the race is on.

What will happen is that the DPD will attempt to pull over someone for a minor traffic violation - broken tail light, for example. The driver, knowing that she has no insurance, will envision her car (the only means of getting to work, grocery, etc) taken away if she is stopped. She also knows (word travels fast) that the DPD won't stop her if she goes into Massive Evasion Mode, so .. she takes off at a high rate of speed. Being new at this Evasive Mode Thing, she hits/kills a pedestrian, or (more commonly) T-bones into a small 4-door sedan and kills the occupants. Thanks to the Dallas City Council, this is exactly what to expect in early 2009.

Sure, in a perfect world I'd like to see everyone insured, too. I think the fairest way is to incorporate minimal insurance (think: Liability) in the price of gasoline. Yes, gas prices will rise slightly, but this will be mitigated by the slight reduction of insurance premiums for the 90% of us who are financially responsible. And it won't subject the rest of us to an out-of-control motorist whose only crime is that she chose to buy food for her family instead of liability insurance.

Go ahead, regulate my day

2008-05-28T11:50:00.003-05:00

After reading Geoff's narrative "Heathrow works, Chicago sucks, Edam isn’t" I'm prone to muse about a conversation I had with Judy-Bob recently, regarding the possible return of regulation to the US airline business. I don't recall flying (much?) before the Airline Deregulation Act became law in 1978. Apparently it was implemented in stages.

What would regulation entail? Simply, the airlines would be told what routes to fly, and at what price. Given existing passenger demand, the airlines would have to accommodate the traffic, rather than creating it via incentives (long gone are the $99 LAX-NYC flights, with free-flowing champagne and gourmet meals).

Southwest wouldn't have more of a price advantage than American Airlines, but the former would probably be less profitable since they'd have to deviate from their short hop mantra (locally .. who wants to endure the grief of DFW airport when you can enjoy yourself at DAL (Love Field)? Then again, American still finds it impossible to turn a plane in less than an hour, while Southwest has the twenty (20) minute turn down to a science.

Regulation/deregulation isn't something that can be turned on or off like a switch, but I suspect that's due to incompetence more so than feasibility. Let's assume the FAA mandates the return to regulation on 1.1.2010 .. this would give everyone more than enough time to plan the routes, sell the tickets, staff the facilities, etc.

One comment J-B made astounded me: "there are seldom more than 28 different fares on any given flight". Twenty eight?? In the regulated days, there were apparently four ticket prices on a given flight: First Class, Full-Fare Coach and two (2) discounted coach fares. Why the airlines have so many different fares has been written about ad nauseum, but I still find the number 28 absurdly high .. complexity leading to increased cost and all that rot. Certainly, there's a subset of the public who takes great glee in excavating the lowest possible fare between points (using the airline's own silly rules* against them) but I suspect they're truly in the obscure minority.

* hidden city fares come to mind as one example

Honestly, I can't see the return to regulation in my lifetime. The US air travel system is so horribly broken (with enough politics to make even Karl Christian Rove go batty) that it cannot be fixed. Ever.

PS to Geoff: regulation would most certainly not fix ORD (Chicago O'Hare). Suggest you hub through CVG (Cincinnati) in the future, when making the LHR-SEA run.

Memorial Day 2008

2008-05-26T19:33:00.005-05:00

I don't recall the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to be controversial; I had completed the fifth grade at the time, and still found "the news" to be tediously boring (I recall a black-and-white television with Huntley & Brinkley every evening).

With that in mind, I do remember when Memorial Day was celebrated on the fixed holiday of May 30, versus "the last Monday in May" as it is now. I've blogged about my father's military service before and don't have anything to add now, excepting his repeated mention that he served on a heavy cruiser during the war - maybe the USS Tuscaloosa - although I really don't recall. His photo collection includes quite a few from China.

Sadly, dad's grave is more than 850 miles away, so it's not easy to visit.

In reading the Wikipedia page re: the Uniform Holidays Bill, I remembered that Washington's birthday and Lincoln's birthday were celebrated separately (later, Lincoln's birthday disappeared and President's Day appeared, then Martin Luther King's birthday was added to our holiday mix). I suspect 9/11 will evolve into a mandatory holiday, although December 7 never did, so ...

Texas: where we am stupid an proude of It!

2008-05-23T23:42:00.001-05:00

Today's must read: Texas education board passes new English, reading standards shows that we am gonna English like are fundamelnatlist Don McLeroy (a puppit of Guvinir Pretty Hair Perry).

An the Bes Part is that theses new Rulez! will be in plaise for the nexst TEN YEERS!

Neck Stop: Science! Let's see how Fundy Don McLeroy guts that (we All No the worlds 6000 years old rite) ?!?

Parents - if you live in Texas nows the time to move to a more edjicated stait. The good news am that there is 49 the chose from, incluiding Alabama and Misssisipi. Thin again, there is one way to be efen dummer: you could hoam school yer Childern so thay don't half to micks with Meksicans an Nigras (jusst like in real life!).

cabrito? check!

2008-05-18T23:42:00.002-05:00

I can now cross another item from my Bucket List: eating cabrito.

Mary was in town this weekend and wanted to check out a museum, so we sauntered over to the Dallas Museum of Art. It turns out that The Nasher is closed on Sunday, and logistics dictated we not try the Kimball or Amon Carter Museums in Fort Worth. While the DMA's featured J.M.W.Turner paintings didn't do much for either of us, the crowd was respectable -- so this must be one of those "beauty in the eye of the beholder" things.

After that, we made a quick stop at Northpark Center for some haute shampoo (something about the 3oz TSA limit was said), followed up by dinner at Javier's Gourmet Mexicano Restaurant, where the waiter explained that "the entire menu is available" .. meaning, to me, that I'd finally get to sample cabrito (seasonally available). Sadly, I wasn't impressed, and can now affirm that goat tacos won't be my usual, henceforth. Maybe this regional delicacy simply lost something in translation as it crossed the border into Téjas. Or maybe it just needed more ketchup.

fertilizing the grassroots

2008-05-17T23:42:00.001-05:00

I hope the Democrats are preparing themselves for the aftermath of that awful (right wing) SCOTUS ruling about photo ID at the voting booth. Without so much as ONE instance of voter fraud, the SCOTUS decided to make sure that about 8% of poor people CANNOT vote. Most of us take for granted that we have both a photo ID and a place to secure it.

For the poor, this can be a major PITA, as they need to gather the original documents (birth certificate, etc); transportation to the issuing authority; and TIME to wait in line. Many of the poor don't have that luxury, and the Republican-controlled SCOTUS doesn't care; they're only here to serve their Republic Party masters and keep them in power as long as possible.

It appears that this disenfranchisement won't be attempted in Texas until next spring (the legislature only meets on odd years) but in this state, the Stupider The Legislashun The More Possibiler It'll Pass. Apparently there's no requirement that Texas legislators have even a grade school education (I suspect many of them are Home Schooled).

Until then, the Democrats would be wise to finance a Photo Identification Drive which will fund The Procedure outlined above. I'm not sure how many tens of thousands of Texans don't have a Photo ID but odds are they're not the Rich White Oil/Cattle Barons (read: Republic Party Financiers), who could care less if The Little People were ever allowed to vote.

Kentucky battles West Virginia for "Most Racist" Title

2008-05-14T15:35:00.005-05:00

The upcoming Oregon and Kentucky primaries (next Tuesday) will tell which one is more racist than West Virginia - my money's on Kentucky, easily.

A long time ago, I lived in Kentucky and know that they are indeed racist .. the question is .. how much? They didn't appear to be more inbred than West Virginia, but we'll know next Tuesday night, after we see if The Clinton's new pro-Klan tactic* equates to votes.

Meanwhile, every time I see Hillary yelling at Her remaining supporters, I can't help but think that even Don Quixote would be laughing.

Oregon, beside having more electoral votes (52 v 51), is a far more sane place, and is expected to vote for Obama. Then, to wrap it all up, there's Puerto Rico (55 delegates) on June 1st, followed by Montana (16) and South Dakota (15) on June 3rd.

* targeting uneducated White [sic] voters

Update: Kentucky went Clinton by 35 points, while West Virginia went Clinton by 40 .. making West Virginia the Racist Capital of the Country .. by 5%. Kentucky vows to become more racist in the 2012 election, since they don't like to be second.

what do China, Burma and New Orleans have in common?

2008-05-12T16:03:00.008-05:00

Arianna in Plano

2008-05-08T13:26:00.008-05:00

I'd never been to a book-signing before, so when I heard that legendary Arianna Huffington (of HuffingtonPost.com fame) was going to be in town, I decided it was High Time for me to cross another item from my personal bucket list. The event was sponsored by The North Dallas Democratic Women. Oddly, there were very few Republic Party members there, even though Plano is the epicenter of their North Texas lair.

Since she participated in an interview on KERA (90.1 in Dallas) on Tuesday, I already knew most of her talking points, and thus wasn't surprised when she stayed On Message during the lecture followed by Q&A.

Only one (acknowledged) Republic Party member was brave enough to approach the microphone and ask Arianna a question, and she ever-so-graciously gave him a copy of her book (Right Is Wrong) .. for him to examine his own rationale for supporting John McCain. As she explained, the primary target for this book are the 20% of the people "in the gap" between the die-hard Bushies (28%) and those who say they'll consider voting for McCain in November. She hopes the book erases all remaining doubt that McCain (2008 version) is a terrible choice (I've just started reading it, so please allow a few moments for me to analyze this epic).

Bonus: Arianna looked better in person than on TV! She mentioned that she'll be on Steven Colbert's little TV show tonight, so I suppose I should program the TiVo event, then plan to sit about one foot away (as close as I was during the autographing) and make that comparison. Too bad I don't have HD .. hmmm.

Note to Arianna: I hope your DFW-NYC flight was uneventful. Come back real soon?

stick a fork in it, Hillary

2008-05-07T08:54:00.014-05:00

okay, the time has come. you've all been waiting on it. Hillary's been waiting on it. And now, the nation is waiting on it.

The time has come for me (Gene Bob) to demand that Hillary Clinton abandon her campaign, and go back to whatever it is she was doing before. The fact that she won the Indiana primary by only 2% (*) when she was expecting a blowout (two weeks ago), and the fact that she got bulldozed by 14% in North Carolina .. means that the bulk of the Democrats are finally on to her tactics.

Hillary .. it's Gene Bob. It's time to call it quits. Be a man and make the announcement today. Your presidency was never meant to be (despite Rush Limbaugh's adoration of you and your "devoted" husband).

"When you've lost ~~Cronkite~~ Gene Bob, you've lost America."

If you won't do it for me (hard as that may be to believe), do it for West Virginia.

(*) 12 May update: now, there's speculation that Obama might have won the Indiana primary, had it not been for the interference of the Republic Party (via their servants on the SCOTUS)

Clintonomics: effect on Indiana

2008-05-05T06:51:00.004-05:00

Go ahead, Hoosiers .. vote for Hillary (and her summer gas tax holiday*). By the way, as a result, 6000 of you (construction workers) are now out of a job. Are you happy now?

Honestly, did none of you ever go to school? Hopefully you learned more than the average Texas student, whose only post-graduate ability is taking TAKS tests.

* the calculated 30 cents a day savings will buy you enough more gas** to drive about 1.3 miles (in the GOP Dream Machine Chevy Tahoe, which gets 16 miles-per-gallon on a good day). That assumes today's average $3.62/gallon price.

** Everybody Knows(tm) you're not going to use your 30 cents to pay rent, or buy food. Maybe you'll put it in your savings account, where it'll earn 1 cent interest by the end of 2008.

By the way, did you see the report which said that Bush's Reading First plan (a $1B part of No Child Left Behind) has accomplished absolutely nothing? What a great (Republican) waste of my tax dollars.

praying on the immigrants

2008-05-04T09:48:00.012-05:00

The churches in this area have long been known to prey on society's weakest. There are occasional stories in the local newspaper about how the homeless (growing in Dallas at 15% last year) are subjected to religious ceremonies while they're getting a meal. Most of the homeless feel they have no alternative but to tolerate it, as the hidden cost to be paid.

Job seekers will find many gatherings during the week - almost always in churches - where they can discuss job leads, at the cost of not-so-subtle Bible stories (to illustrate a point, of course) or more blatant public prayers. Job seekers who wish to avoid the religious angle will be forced to fend for themselves, mostly.

Likewise, I found it interesting to see that the non-Catholic churches are reaching out to the Latino community to offer free ESL [English as a Second Language] classes, in addition to the more common "Church in Spanish". While on the first take, you make think it's because they're trying to serve the community, it's probably more self-preservation than anything else.

TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

The churches which promote these events want the immigrant's money, pure and simple. Each week, they'll make pleas (subtle at first) that the newcomer should join their church and then - like protection money extorted by gangsters - coax them into turning over 10% of what they earn to The Church, thus ensuring the church's continued domination over the membership, not to mention its very existence.

If the immigrants can't (or won't) make their voluntary contribution ("tithe"), what are the odds that a phone call to ICE [La Migra] will have them on a bus back to Guatemala by morning?

It's also amusing to see that some churches are more savvy than others, translating their signs into Spanish:


to placate the locals, they printed the top line en Inglés	the wrong way - although the 3 stars are a cute touch

It's also interesting to note that they get away with not asking about the immigration status - since that's far secondary to the money.

I recently read an article that money being shipped back home has mostly stayed flat, even though there are more illegals here now than ever. The inference is that each immigrant is sending less money back than before. It's only logical to assume that part of that money is going to The Gringo Churches, sí?

ramifications

2008-04-29T12:18:00.004-05:00

No wonder the Dallas Managed News is losing subscribers hand-over-fist (they've lost more subscribers than any paper in the country). Not only are their subscribers fed up with the über right wing editorial slant (didn't they notice the election results?) but their incompetence in even the basics is amazing.

Case in point is the recent (several days ago) decision by a DMN Rocket Scientist to rename their blogs .. without telling anyone. I only noticed because I've grown accustomed to checking their RSS feed every day or so (after changing to the Weekend Only [physical] Edition) and noticed that nothing had updated since the 24th. Usually if there's nothing one day, it can be ascribed to a technical fault and will self-correct the following day.

So, today I decided to navigate their website to see if they were still blogging -- perhaps they simply stopped without communicating (something newspapers are supposedly good at). Sure enough, the blogs were still there, although they had been renamed AND the RSS feed addresses had changed - radically. I double-checked the old feed, and there was no polite indication that this was about to happen. What idiots!

I manually made the corrections and can now see things again. I suspect 98.3% of those who were subscribed to the old feeds won't be able to figure it out, and the DMN will have lost additional (online) readers.

Perhaps one day they'll wake up. Hopefully before 21 Dec 2012 (when the world ends).

sweet tooth

2008-04-28T12:47:00.007-05:00

I suppose this posting is for historical amusement only. I got an email from a local retailer (Micro Center, if you must know) offering various capacity USB drives (private label).

Over the years I've often noted that capacity-oriented items (memory, disc, etc.) have a calculable Best Value, a/k/a the product's Sweet Spot. Today, that appears to be the 8 GB thumb drives:

Capacity	Retail Price	Cost Per GB
1 GB (silver)	$6.99	$6.99
2 GB (blue)	$9.99	$4.99
4 GB (black)	$15.99	$3.99
8 GB (green)	$24.99	$3.12 ("sweet spot")
16 GB (red)	$59.99	$3.75

Unlike hard discs, few people seem to care that USB drives vary in access speed. I do like the fact that Micro Center is color-coding their drives (1 GB=silver, etc) making it easier to choose an appropriate one.

Deep Thought: It would've been nicer if they'd used an industry standard color scale (e.g. ROY G. BIV) when assigning a color to a given capacity, but .. nobody asked me.

Nuon batteries = Junk

2008-04-27T12:47:00.002-05:00

I've blogged before about the poor quality of rechargeable batteries; much of what's available for sale is just So Much Junk. I have another to add to the list: the Nuon brand sold by Batteries Plus.

In late September, I took a chance and bought four (4) 4-packs of Nuon Rechargeable NIMH batteries. By April, I found that at least four of the cells will no longer hold any charge. My BC-900 simply registers "Null" when I tried to charge those cells last week. It's not like these have been doing heavy duty, either .. this particular set was in a clock-weather gadget that communicates to a remote unit (outside) to provide correct ("atomic clock") time & temperature.

Yesterday, I stopped by the local Batteries+ outlet to see if they knew how bad these things really are (25% failure rate in 7 months!) and thinking maybe they'd even exchange them. Not only did they profess ignorance about the poor quality, but wouldn't exchange them without a receipt. This was particularly distressing since Batteries Plus is the exclusive North American distributor of Nuon batteries.

fail to plan = plan to fail

2008-04-26T23:42:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the last day of the USA Film Festival 2008 at the Angelika. A few nights ago, I went there to see the documentary America Unchained (2007) and was pleasantly amused at this quirky effort.

The film dealt with a pair of Brits who wanted to cross the continental USA without using any of the chains - restaurants, motels and gas stations. Without spoiling too much of the plot, suffice it to say that although I found it repetitive and woefully uneven, I still gave it a solid B for the effort. Most of the audience seemed to agree, as there were plenty of laughs to be had during their American Walkabout (so to speak).

This leads me to a word of advise for anyone planning their summer vacation around such an attempt: your lives will be much happier if you do advance planning, especially when it comes to the locations of independent gas stations.

Heck, I don't even know if I could pull this off here in The Big City .. non-chain restaurants are easy to find, and non-affiliated motels aren't scarce .. but independent gas stations? I'm not sure where to look (although now I'll probably notice them as I drive around). The same thing happened many years ago when a friend asked where any Nail Salons are located, and I professed ignorance. Soon thereafter, it became obvious that there are far more of them than Starbucks locations .. and that's saying a lot.

Lessons for Chelsea

2008-04-22T10:21:00.003-05:00

Chelsea must be really proud of her mother today. Not only will she win the Pennsylvania primary, but she will have done so at the expense of even more hatred and lies and race-baiting. Chelsea is learning, in the finest Clinton Tradition, that the road to power means doing anything - no matter how morally bankrupt - to persuade the masses of white people that they should be very afraid, all the time.

Hillary's only road to the White House is if she converts to a Republican (which she is - how else can she use Karl Christian Rove's tactics and sleep at night?) before the GOP Convention and somehow bests John Mc~~Bush~~Cain for that party's nomination.

I can hardly wait for Chelsea Clinton's inevitable run for President .. will she have learned her mother's lessons?

and you wonder why Texans are so stoopit

2008-04-21T21:10:00.001-05:00

A quarter of Texas teachers work second job, study finds (~~Associated Press~~, 20 April 2008)

more details are on the Capitol Annex blog (complete with the unintentional typo in the headline)

Garland Goes Green

2008-04-19T23:42:00.004-05:00

Earlier today I waddled over to Garland, to see their Garland Goes Green event. As I suspected, it wasn't huge .. but not bad for a suburb (as well as a way to showcase their sprawling Firewheel Town Center Mall).

One of the more entertaining things was a rare Corbin Sparrow -- an all-electric three-wheeled one-person vehicle, owned by a Garland resident who drives it every day. (more details here: John Brecher's 2002 Corbin Sparrow). What remains of the company that made this car is now online at MyersMotors.com, although the $35K+ price tag will scare off all but the most determined tree-hugger.

The Sparrow was part of a three-car display by the North Texas Electric Auto Association, which is a group of guys who learn about (and convert to) electrically powered cars. I had a nice chance to chat with them for about 15 minutes, learning about the various challenges faced by someone who wants to forgo gasoline-powered vehicles .. in Texas. The 30-mile range is a definite handicap, and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of an encounter with a Chevy Suburban. Still .. since Dallas is not really in Texas .. it fills a niche.

More: EV Album: Electric Vehicle Photo Album

Stephanopoulos missed an opportunity

2008-04-18T21:11:00.004-05:00

I finally got around to watching Wednesday night's Pennsylvania Democratic debate. Much has already been written about this, so no need for me to pile on. I agree that the first 45 minutes was a Total Waste Of Time.

Except for the Republicans who were watching, as their "issues" were covered first (stupid stuff like flag lapel pins, and the ham-handed attempts to equate dirt on random acquaintances of Obama to his own thoughts).

I kept waiting for Charlie or George to ask "if you could be a tree, what kind would you be?".

Honestly, I fully expected George Stephanopoulos to be biased toward Hillary (he owes his political life to the Clinton Regime). Charlie Gibson should be ashamed of himself.

math thesis

2008-04-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

For the past several weeks, I've collected all my change and tossed it into a container. During this collection process I was careful not to use any change during the day .. merely to add the coins to the pile as randomly as they arrived.

Today, my container overflowed, so I can stop my experiment. Here's the tally:

244 pennies  (1c)
059 nickels  (5c)
135 dimes    (10c)
140 quarters (25c)

My question: given random numbers and all that rot, is this an expected distribution?

I fully expect hordes of math majors (eager to complete their doctoral thesis) will apply themselves to this problem, post haste.

And now, we wait.

Extra credit: This container of change equals $53.89 .. what is the probability that future containers will be within ten (10) percent of today's total?

what a deal! (unless you can do math)

2008-04-14T15:51:00.005-05:00

I just got an email from Baskin-Robbins, saying:

Participating Baskin-Robbins stores will reduce prices of small ice cream scoops to 31 cents.*

*2.5oz scoops are 31 cents plus tax where applicable. Limit 10 scoops per person, per purchase. Available Wednesday 4/30/08, from 5pm to 10pm, at your local Baskin-Robbins while supplies last.

Before you think "what a deal!" be advised that's some very expensive ice cream (versus just buying a gallon).

The math: there are 128 ounces/gallon, hence 51.2 of those 2.5 ounce scoops per gallon. At 31 cents each, that means the ice cream is $15.87 per gallon (not including sales tax). That makes $4/gallon gasoline look attractive.

Deep thought: I wonder if anyone ever made gasoline-flavored ice cream?

Full disclosure: there's a charity involved, so it's not like they're totally evil:

A donation of $100,000 will be made by Baskin-Robbins to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. At select stores throughout the country, you may also have a chance to donate to your local fire station.

bitter, defined

2008-04-13T11:31:00.003-05:00

what she said: "Bitter" double standards: what's the matter with Pennsylvania?

My take? Most Americans (especially small-town and Limbaugh Followers) will listen to the 15-second clip, then claim offense. If they'd listened to the 15 seconds preceding the clip in question, they might (just might) agree. Instead, they're likely to listen to Their Savior (Ann Coulter) and believe what She tells them to believe (with generous use of the word "liberal" tossed in, as if that was an insult).

Time for me to re-read the book "What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America" (2005) and/or Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War (2007).

The Republican Christianists continue to vote against their best economic self-interest, because of the wedge issues. You don't have to go much farther/further than (some) of the comments to Frenchie's OpEdNews posting, to understand that they will do exactly that at the polls.

It reminds me of the retort I heard from my Mifipi cousins, regarding forced school busing: "We'll show them! We'll keep are kids hoam so they won't get edjikated alongside the Nigras". And they did. And now those Hoam Skoolt White Chillen are voters.

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said. "And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
-Barack Obama

memo to Pennsylvania

2008-04-12T13:44:00.005-05:00

As you listen to the two remaining candidates crossing your state, remember this quip:

Q - How do you tell when A Clinton (*) is lying?

A - Its lips are moving.

(alternate answer: it depends on how you define "is")

* Bill or Hillary, doesn't matter

From the news reports I'm seeing, Pennsylvanians are susceptible to The Clinton Lie of the Day .. more than any issue that's really meaningful. As least Texas will have someone to look down upon.

Meanwhile, I have to go dodge some more snipers at the car wash. At 3am. Oh wait .. I misspoke. I was tired. I didn't hear the question. Do you like my stylish pantsuit?

hero, redefined

2008-04-10T11:31:00.008-05:00

Okay, I guess I'm just being insensitive again.

I don't understand why His challengers refer to John Sidney McCain as "an American Hero". Seems to me His claim to fame is that He failed - miserably. His plane was shot out of the sky and He was captured by the enemy, then tortured for years in the Hanoi Hilton. Sure, I feel sorry for Him, but "hero" - uh, no.

I guess I was raised to believe that "hero" was defined as someone who did something extraordinary, especially if it involved saving someone else's life. It doesn't have to be war-related; a fireman pulling someone from a burning building surely fits the bill, as does the soldier Who Sacrifices All when he leaps onto a grenade - thus absorbing the blast so his buddies can live another day.

I also have a real problem with those who would vote for Mc~~Bush~~Cain just because someone (Karl Christian Rove?) branded him [An American Hero]. He could also have the most distorted view of the US Presidency since Andrew Johnson (often acknowledged as The Worst US President, although I'll bet George W. Bush gives him a run for his money, when history eventually ranks The Doofus).

Mexican Fusion

2008-04-03T00:01:00.001-05:00

The local Pollo Feliz ("The Happy Chicken") has closed -- too bad. Now I don't know where I'll go for an iguana platter (they offered it on the weekend). In its place has risen Burger Bueno ("Good Burger").

I think this is the second attempt at Mexican Fusion here, following Pizza Patrón which is like most other pizza places, except they offer La Mexicana Pizza with chorizo and jalepeños (among other standard ingredients).

juxtaposition in Plano

2008-04-02T17:59:00.004-05:00

After seeing Geoff's posting about juxtaposition, it reminded me to post a photo of my favorite local one: Plano Youth Soccer is conveniently located next to a business where you can buy a replacement leg.

even our insects are bigger here, and there's a reason for that

2008-04-01T23:42:00.001-05:00

I'm sure you've heard that "everything's bigger in Texas," but did you know there are special stores where we buy food for our cockroaches?

Full disclosure: 409 Main Street, Garland Texas

political perspectives

2008-03-31T13:58:00.004-05:00

I overheard these three gems (?) on Saturday at the convention:

#1: "I'd vote for Hillary Clinton even if she were a man." (from a Clinton supporter)

#2: "I'd vote for Barack Obama even if he were white." (from an Obama supporter)

#3: "Eat the fish, leave the bones." (from a black woman, regarding the Reverend Jeremiah Wright -- meaning: we don't accept every word that comes out of his mouth, either, regardless of what Rush Limbaugh would have us believe).

Saturday in the park

2008-03-30T13:01:00.005-05:00

No denying that the lines to get our credentials approved was long yesterday, at the Texas Democratic Senate District 8 convention, but it was orderly. I would've arranged for at least three times as many poll workers! I brought a full-charged iPod and a couple books to read, but found myself conversing with other delegates most of the day.

Our precinct's nine Obama delegates (and a few alternates) gathered remotely as a group, but split into lines based on surname once we arrived at the convention. Then, we decided to gather instead in the "problem children" line because our paperwork from March 4 had been lost. {sigh} Needless to say, this gave our precinct a better chance to know one another, even though we'd met 2 nights before to plot strategy*

* that lasted 3 hours, although I arrived 2 hours late due to a conflicting meeting. I had to wonder how many meetings I've attended where I could arrive 2 hours late, and find that I really hadn't missed much!

Our precinct was allocated 15 delegates to this State Senate Convention; Obama led 9-6. Once we got into the Thomas Jefferson High School auditorium (complete with balcony!) the task was mostly waiting - two votes were cast in the next 3 hours (amidst occasional mini-speeches by those running for office): one for our presidential preference and the other for our precinct's lone representative to the Texas State Democratic convention - in June.

By 3pm - 7 hours after our morning rendezvous - all the convention work had been completed and we all went our separate ways (now bonded by the experience). This morning, I heard the final result from our Senate convention was 59-41 Obama, which mirrored the March 4 caucus result.

I guess it'll be time to do this again in two years, right?

T minus 4

2008-03-22T18:34:00.003-05:00

Only four (4) more dead US soldiers and Dick Cheney will have reached His Goal of 4,000 dead! Maybe it'll happen on Easter Sunday - wouldn't that be swell (in His eyes)?

I was amazed to watch the video clip of Cheney where He was asked if He cared that 2/3 of the public is against His war, and He said "NO" (the question starts at :57 seconds).

Maybe it's just me, but He seemed particularly happy during the interview. I suspect it's because oil is over $110/barrel and His buddies at KBR (Halliburton) are raking in record profits at the expense of the National Guardsmen who are dying for His own personal gain.

It's only a matter of time until he, Mc~~Cain~~Bush and the other Republican Freaks bring back The Draft. Let's hope they (sensibly) restrict it only to Republican teenagers, since that will help to thin their ranks for future wars.

Hillary and the Nazis

2008-03-21T12:55:00.006-05:00

At least The Clinton Campaign knows how to read history books, specifically the stuff about World War II luminary Joseph Göbbels #1 mantra: LIE (the bigger the better) and repeat it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and ... Good thing they've employed James Carville (Karl Christian Rove's twin over on the Democratic side).

Maybe she learned it from another historical figure .. a fundamentalist Baptist preacher in 1859:

If you want the truth to go round the world you must hire an express train to pull it; but if you want a lie to go round the world. it will fly; it is as light as a feather, and a breath will carry it. It is well said in the old proverb, 'a lie will go round the world while truth is putting its boots on.'

-Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

At least now we know what Hillary wants to be called if she's elected: Mein Führer. Bill can still be First Gentleman (let's hope he keeps fresh cigars on hand, if The Opportunity ever strikes).

BTW, I enjoyed today's CNN article:
Obama camp: Clinton would be 'deeply flawed' nominee

Tangentially related: Jim David's piece "The Black Elephant in the Room"

double reds

2008-03-19T23:42:00.001-05:00

Earlier today, I did my first-ever "double red" donation, and it went well enough that I may do it again.

As explained on Carter Bloodcare's website:

"Unlike a traditional whole blood donation, Double Red Cell Collection (2RBC) allows the donor to safely give two units of red blood cells, instead of just one. The process separates blood into its components while it is being drawn. Because only red blood cells are being collected, enough can be collected for two red cell transfusions. The remaining components are returned to the donor. The collection procedure takes just 20 minutes longer than a whole blood donation and can be performed every four months. 2RBC donors must meet certain height and weight requirements, as well as routine donor criteria"

Once I'd completed the usual (CBT) pre-screening questionnaire, and hemoglobin test, and body temperature, and blood pressure check, I was plugged into a Most Splendid Machine which did the 2RBC described above. All told, I was there about 65 minutes.

Advantage #0: only red bloodcells are extracted during this procedure; you're compensated with an anticoagulant and returned plasma. My system didn't seemed as "shocked" as during a whole-blood donation (although my most common side-effect has been that hematoma bruise, which I try to mitigate by drinking lots of water before donating .. making my vein easier to find).

Advantage #1: the phlebotomist assigned to this device is the senior one (sort of like asking for The Head Barber), so the chances of Yet Another Hematoma are drastically reduced.

Advantage #2: being a sucker for technology, I enjoyed watching the monitoring device, which (among other things) accurately predicted the duration of my donation to within 60 seconds.

Advantage #3: a double-red donation doubles the interval between donations, from 8 to 16 weeks. They gave me "double the credits" per donation, so it'll mean that I'll be visiting 3 times/year instead of 6*

* technically, 3.25 times vs 6.5 times, but .. who's counting?

Finally, the phlebotomist "complimented me" on my high platelet count, and suggested I give a platelet donation at my next visit. Their website says platelet donations are possible every 2 weeks (and take 90 minutes) so I'd be ~~badgered~~ expected 24 times a year .. I think I'll pass on that. Well, maybe once .. but only if I get a really gooder commemorative T-shirt.

if it ain't the rain, it's the lack of children

2008-03-19T12:30:00.007-05:00

It rained upwards of four inches here yesterday, so my evening meeting was canceled mostly due to concerns that others wouldn't be able to attend. Now, tomorrow night's meeting is also in jeopardy but for another reason: it's Spring Break Week and many people are out of town. Guess it's time for me to gather all my tax stuff and schlep it to my CPA.

Ever notice how many illiterate people work at airports? During the television coverage of DFW's shutdown (they effectively canceled their entire schedule and decided to Mulligan today), the TV monitors showed row-after-row where the flight was "CANCELLED" (there's no such word in the USA, but okay in Britain where they still spell [color] with a U, among other peculiarities).

Huzzah spot of the day (kudos, 23/6): When Fox "News" sees a black man, they cross the street and file a report on gang violence

Return of the Bull Moose Party

2008-03-16T21:41:00.001-05:00

Spotted: Bullying more damaging than sexual harassment

I'm unsure why this is different from the political world, when the Conservative Republic American Party has been bullying us around for the past 7 years (not to mention those awful years when Ronald Reagan was their annointed deity).

so many choices ...

2008-03-14T19:04:00.003-05:00

I was looking up a local store and it asked for my city. I filled in [Dallas] but left the state blank. It then asked me to be more specific, offering the list below. Hmmm.

I decided to amuse myself and sort these Dallases by population (2000 Census):

Dallas, Texas (1,188,580)
Dallas, Oregon (12,459)
Dallas, Georgia (5,056)
Dallas, North Carolina (3,402)
Dallas, Pennsylvania (2,557)
Dallas, Iowa (1,298)
Dallas, West Virginia (464)
Dallas, Wisconsin (356)
Dallas, South Dakota (144)

waiting for April

2008-03-12T10:27:00.005-05:00

I wonder if there are as many racists in Pennsylvania as there are in neighboring Ohio; I guess we'll know on April 22nd.

Separately, the US military death toll may hit 4,000 before then .. we're at 3,984 now, best I can tell.

Does Hillary want a race war in August?

2008-03-08T18:35:00.003-06:00

I'm increasingly concerned by the Rovian* tactics used by The Clinton Family as they try to find any way to steal the Democratic nomination from Barack Obama.

* Karl Christian Rove

Now that it's been publicly revealed what a Monster she is (depending on which psycho personality she brings to any given event), I suppose Hillary should prepare us for a period of civil unrest, culminating in the deaths of hundreds this August when her supporters find some way to secure her nomination. Her husband ("the first black president") will undoubtedly be very, very proud.

"President McCain" .. it just rolls off the tongue, don't you think?

Maybe when he reinstitutes The Draft, Jenna and NotJenna will be at the head of the line. I, for one, can't wait for them to be waterboarded. Pass the popcorn, please?

Texas Two-Step : a review

2008-03-05T06:09:00.008-06:00

Before experiencing the Texas caucus in person (last night), I wasn't so sure about the so-called Texas Two-Step .. where voters gather soon after the polls close and hold a party caucus to allocate 1/3 of the state's delegates.

After last night, I've come to appreciate The Process, and give it a Thumbs Up.

Yes, it was mildly chaotic in my precinct (repeated in thousands of precincts across Texas, so I hear). But, it's The Most Involved I've seen the Democratic party since I moved here in 1993. Long-time poll workers told me it's the most activity they've seen in thirty (30) years of primaries. Yes, it's mostly due to the continued campaigns of Obama-Clinton this late in the race ("only 8 months until the general election!") but it's remarkable to see so many young voters really involved.

Maybe they're finally wising up to the fact that McCain plans to draft them (that means "involuntary" to you newcomers) into his Hundred Year War in Iraq (plus The Iran Expansion) just as soon as he takes office - gotta fulfill that Biblical Prophecy of Armageddon, ya know. Get ready for a steady dose of fear-Fear-FEAR as we approach 4 November 2008.

At any rate .. the caucus proceeded deliberately in my precinct: 123 people packed half of a school cafeteria (the other half occupied by another precinct caucus of similar size) and carefully completed The Caucus Form where we filled out our names and candidate choice. In my precinct, Obama beat Clinton 71-52 and got 9 delegates to her 6. Those delegates will proceed to a County Convention (apparently) on March 29th - a Saturday.

The caucus accomplished several things:

it brought everything out into the open - no secret ballot in this step. No hiding under a white sheet.
it forced people to get involved in the party process. Many of us would otherwise never see this "level of detail" or even meet our "closet Democrat neighbors" (in a red state like Texas where the GOP has bullied the minorities for years, this is HUGE).
it mitigated the nonsense caused by the Texas GOP in the primary (see my blog post of 4 March to understand how the GOP tried to Screw The Democratic Primary). In my precinct, only two (2) Republicans showed up for the Democratic caucus, and they only stayed long enough to sign their names and leave.

After all was said and done, Clinton won the Texas primary (as I predicted on February 9th*) but lost the delegate count. For what I observed, this was both fair and appropriate. Although the Texas Two Step sounded bizarre at first, I'm now a big believer in The Process.

* and YES, I acknowledge that I completely blew the prediction about Huckabee. Even the mouth-foaming Ron Paul supporters (with their Big Signs) didn't have any perceptible impact.

McCain : a real keeper!

2008-03-05T06:01:00.007-06:00

H/T to Geoff for spotting this gem, being covered up (as are most all Indian affairs in Arizona) by the McCain staffers: McCain's Personal Genocide?.

It's long been one of my Life Theories that you can tell a lot about a person's character - or lack thereof - by watching how they interact with minorities (however defined). McCain's treatment of the Navajo is really deplorable. I guess he's more interested in chasing skirt, heavy drinking, studying to retain his rank in the bottom 1% of the class - all attributes of his mentor, George W. Bush. Yeah, he's a real keeper.