Journal Jul 2006

31 Jul 2006

My home server is now moved to my former desktop box, the Athlon 64 system in an Aspire X-Qpack cube case, now running Fedora Core 5. I had to get a new power supply for it, since the one that came with it started failing (randomly rebooting) a few months after I bought the case. The included power supply was on the small side, so it wasn't until I got a new (and less deep) DVD writer for it that I could put in a standard-size power supply (still challenging of a fit, though).

Everything works now, including all the services I used on the former server, like Windows file serving, and TiVo media serving, but I've been trying to figure out why it's incredibly slow in file transfers across USB, even though it does USB 2.0 just fine. After researching on the web, I saw an eye-opening cautionary tale, "Sync option destroys flash!," warning that if a USB flash drive is mounted using the "sync" option, it can destroy a flash drive simply by overaccessing the file allocation table (FAT) on a FAT-formatted drive (Windows native). Since all flash memory technology has a limited number of writes, this can make the whole drive unusable by annihilating the portion of the drive containing the table that keeps track of all of the files. Similar thrashing of the FAT on a magnetic drive (e.g. a hard drive) isn't that great, either.

And yet, the sync option is the default when mounting FAT drives and partitions. I fixed it on my own server (finally) by changing the default in the automounter. In FC5, this means plugging in the drive, opening the hardware viewer, and adding an XML file to a certain directory under /usr. Big pain. I can't remember where I got all of this info, but a Google search will find it.

It fixed the problem, but presented a new one, which is actually the old one. File transfers to the flash drive are slow, and while the system reports that the transfer is finished (dialog box closes in the GUI or new prompt comes in the command-line), there is still disk activity evidenced by the blinking light on the drive. I won't be able to safely eject the drive until the transfer is finished.

Maybe they'll fix this in future releases. In the meantime, I'll keep using my laptop with Windows running just for USB flash drive transfers. But at least FC5 is fast, vastly improved over older versions (especially with Wine!), and the stable and secure operating system I'd expect for a Linux server.

-res

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0930: Christy Harvey: Phase 2 on the investigation to the lead up to the Iraq War is still not being done (not even started); the minimum wage bill includes repeal of the estate tax as a poison pill to get supporters of a mimimum wage increase to vote against the bill (fodder for negative campaign ads).
1030: Tom Ricks, on Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq: Cheney wasn't lying but delusional like the rest of the WH, convincing themselves of intel known not to be true or at least doubtful; W was probably lying when he said he would go to the UN (a second time) to avoid war.

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1330: Audio of Tom Friedman on Meet the Press changing his tune now admitting how much the world dislikes W because he "export[s] fear"
1330: The drunk tirade against Jews by Mel Gibson
1400: Audio of Fareed Zakaria on This Week suggesting Dems can win in November by show nothing but Rumsfeld's press conferences in their campaign ads

28 Jul 2006

Olive Tree has a free Bible reader for portable devices, along with some free Bible downloads and some copyrighted ones for a fee. I'm still debating on whether to buy their New American Bible (NAB) (Catholic) for $30, since I own a printed copy of it, but I'd like to be able to carry a copy with me for quick reference. Ah, the life of a practical Catholic.

Also, congrats in advance to Maureen's high school friend (and "twin" (by birthday)) Karen and Mike, who are getting married tomorrow. I also have belated congratulations to another of Maureen's high school friends Leslie (not her cousin) and Ryan, who got married earlier in the month in Washington state. We missed this one because of the logistics of our initial plan to stay a timeshare there. Oh well. Lots of weddings this month, though, huh? I guess we're at the age where there are just a lot of weddings and babies and their corresponding showers.

-res

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Al live at the Rumba Revolution Room in Little Rock, AR
0930: Richard Mellon Scaife Theater

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Audio of O'Reilly trying to scare the crap out of everyone last night
1200: Audio of deranged Coulter on Hardball with Chris Matthews playing softball (possibly intentionally leading her to say ridiculous things (but really, do you need to help that along?)); Randi: uh...Qaddafi never had nukes and certainly didn't give up his (non-)nukes to W (or HW).
1230: More audio of hate from Ann Coulter
1300: Even more hate from Coulter -- Randi, please stop playing this!

27 Jul 2006

Some of you may know that MegaZone 23 is one of my favorite anime movies (series, actually). I haven't seen as much as my sister has (or even SDG regulars Liz and Frank), so I know there are better ones, but there are various themes that are common with other science fiction stories that I find interesting, and Part 2 is one of the first anime movies I saw.

Like The Matrix universe, the population of Earth is held against their will (and indeed, knowledge, for most of the population) by a sort of virtual reality, simulating time that is present for the viewers (80s for MZ23 and 90s for The Matrix), when in reality the date is several hundred years in the future. The small band of rebels is able to lead (at least a small number of) others to freedom and the truth. And both are presented with their own visual styles that make them entertaining to watch.

-res

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0930: Audio of Tom Coburn claiming teens and condoms are about 50% effective
1130: Tom Oliphant on the Middle East: Condi committed the cardinal sin of putting her hand on her face (forehead specifically) (no-no for the photographers).

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Oil execs celebrate the anniversary of the passing of the energy bill.
1230: Randi: W is the only one I know who lost money in the oil business.
1430: Audio (flashback) of Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) crying about sending Bolton to the UN
1430: Audio of Voinovich flip-flopping, now supporting Bolton
1530: Randi: yes we do negotiate with terrorists -- Bush Sr. and Cheney did; you don't negotiate with your friends! When terrorist organizations put down their weapons and join the political process (like Hezbollah and Hamas (partially at least), and the IRA), it's a win for everyone. What the neocons want to do is inflame the terrorists to keep us in fear. Wars end with negotiation, not battles.

26 Jul 2006

Wow, this is huge. AMD acquires ATI for $5.4 billion. I was surprised when I heard this yesterday on NPR (Marketplace, I think), considering it was nVidia that helped push AMD with their nForce chipsets for the Athlon family pof processors. Now they'll be competing. I also heard on NPR that AMD shares went down 4% while ATI went up 19% with the announcement. In the long run, I can see this helping AMD's image, which is already pretty good despite lack of mainstream advertising. ATI provides the graphics on my laptop, but it also provides intergrated graphics for Intel motherboards. Maybe now, not so much.

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: At least 1 in 5 scientists at the FDA have been asked to change their findings to suit administration (political) policies, prompting a skit with Al as a depressed FDA scientist Dr. Hudnut, claiming good morale at the FDA.
0930: Christy Harvey: FEMA is still failing at disaster and terrorism preparedness, including helping first responders; FEMA-provided trailers contain formaldehyde; the percentage of Americans believing WMD were found in Iraq went up to 50% (maybe due to lying by Santorum and Hoekstra despite facts from the Pentagon).
1100: David Brock debunks Bill O'Reilly (with his own words) on his claim that he didn't say liberal America wants us to lose in Iraq.

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: al-Maliki met privately with W but cut it short.
1230: Audio montage of the Rapture Right and cable news on the Middle East, Armaggedon, and WWIII
1230: Oliver North told Randi that Saudi Arabia is where he oversaw drug money being laundered during Iran-Contra.
1230: Kofi Annan believes the Israeli attack on UN officials in Lebanon was deliberate.
1400: Audio of Chris Matthews finally coming around on admitting the Iraq war is a mess and poorly planned (or planned to be poor) and built on lies and unkept promises
1400: Audio of Dick Morris saying that civil war in Iraq is progress because it's not a war against us (except that it still is a war against us with US soldier casualties increasing)
1430: When wearing the flag lapel pin, the field of stars has to be closest to the heart.

25 Jul 2006

Al Franken brought up a very good point about stem cell research a few months ago: if embryonic stem cells are the result of in vitro fertilization (unused fertilized eggs) that will get thrown away anyway (after being frozen for a standard amount of time), why not be against IVF if you're against embryonic stem cell research?

From one of the last times I went to the nearby Catholic Church, St. Gregory the Great, a speaker gave the official Church position on stem cells: embryonic stem cell research is not pro-life, but other forms of stem cell research are. I don't see what is so pro-life about discarding embryos (blastocysts, actually) instead of using them to provide valuble research to find life-saving cures.

-res

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: NASA's mission statement had the phrase "to understand and protect our home planet" quietly removed.
0930: Audio of Josh Bolten dodging and squirming on Tim Russert's valid question of whether W believes that using an embyro [specifically a blastocyst] for stem cell research is murder (as WH press sec'y Tony Snow stated)
0930: Audio of Bolten dodging a similar (and better) question by Russert (doing the job of the media excellently, at least now): "...then if the president believes it is human life, how can he allow private [embryonic] stem cell research to go forward if in fact that is murder?" Bolten: "it's a very difficult balance."
0930: Audio of Tony Snow retracting his statement that W believes it is "murder"
1000: Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), currently the Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee on Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America, outsourcing, fair trade, and lack of contract oversight
1100: Melanie Sloan: ARMPAC (Tom DeLay's corrupt national PAC) finally closes its doors, partially thanks to CREW
1130: Lawrence O'Donnell: Peter Galbraith's op-ed in the NYT is the single most important article on the war in Iraq; effectively, the Iraqi government is only governing the Green Zone and Kurdistan

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Audio of Josh Bolten with Tim Russert (more complete than what Al played)
1300: Nobel Peace Prize winner furious at the Bush administration for the Iraqi children dying in hospitals in Iraq
1330: The Israeli invsion of Lebanon was planned between top Irsaeli officials and the Bush administration in June, nothing to do with the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.
1400: Discussion of the plan for war that seems to be carried out now in the Middle East, Clean Break

24 Jul 2006

Man, it's hot now, isn't it? Leslie and David's wedding was nice, but an outdoor one where the summer heat is quite present. At least it was on a hilltop with some breeze. It sprinkled for a bit before the ceremony, but the rest of the evening was clear.

-res

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0930: Christy Harvey: WH cuts about half the estate tax lawyers from the IRS (345 down to 157), reducing enforcement of tax law for really rich people; Stephen Hawking criiticizes W on embryonic stem cell research (which Hawking considers analogous to organ transplant since those cells were already slated to die (unused blastocysts from in vitro fertilization)); movement conservative WIlliam F. Buckley suggests W step down!
1000: Tom Hamburger on One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century: both parties increased turnout greatly, but the GOP went further, using "microtargeting" to use individual, specialized messages to get votes; faith-based initiatives have no oversight and are targeted to use money combined with "common values", in battleground states to get GOP votes in those states.
1030: Steve Clemons: John Bolton failed in every reform objective at the UN and sabotaged the work of our own American negotiators.
1100: Dr. Bob Meaders on Operation-Helmet.org and the military using helmet upgrades: the Army and Navy have implemented better helmets, but the Air Force is planning on using them someday, and the Marines want more research.

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Audio of Rush smearing the Americans stuck in Lebanon (parroted by the other uncaring, neocon pundits)
1530: Randi: the number one country who gets our support is Israel, but the number two is Egypt, in order to keep the peace.

21 Jul 2006

Tomorrow is Maureen's cousin's wedding. Congrats in advance to Leslie (born Dyanne Leslie) and David!

It's an off Friday for me, but I decided to take some notes from Randi today anyway.

-res

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: WH transcript replaces heckling with applause when W mentioned the estate tax (actual transcript).
1530: Randi: if you have health care for all Americans as a right, then you can actually pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If you don't have health, you don't have liberty because you're a slave to your illness, you can't pursue happiness because you're dealing with your pain, and you wouldn't have much of a life.
1530: The voice of Randi's common sound effects "no!" and "okay!" is Drew Michaels, who worked in the same station as her and her radio mentor Neil Rogers (pre-WJNO days).

20 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Thomas Jefferson was the only US president not to use the veto. Since then, W went the longest before using it.
0930: Judd Legum: W's veto on the stem cell bill was done without press or photographers, probably because he knows about 2/3 of Americans support the bill.
1030: Dar Williams, in studio, plays "Teen for God" from her most recent album, My Better Self.

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1300: The House voted not to fund the border fence they voted for.
1300: W goes to the NAACP (finally) but talks frst about addiction, homelessness, and incarceration (with no mention of his failure on Katrina). Randi: at least he didn't grope Maxine Waters! W gets weak applause with general patter on race relations but resounding applause when he said, "I understand that many African Americans distrust my political party."
1300: W lauded the renewal of the Voting Rights Act but was unfamiliar with it in Jan 2005 at a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus.
1330: Greg Palast in studio on securing your vote
1400: Randi's important points about voting
1500: Randi: (in response to W's mentioning of the stereotypical addiction, homelessness, and incarceration at the NAACP) why don't you just add fried chicken, bling, and bodacious booty and get it the hell over with?
1530: Ken Blackwell is not recusing himself on the election for which he's running for governor.

19 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Ralph Reed loses GA primary. Maybe they figured out he played two Native American tribes against each other for monetary gain.
1030: Jonathan Alter: Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) is dishonest about adult vs. embyonic stem cells, but he is at least progressive in cord blood research (which is promising, but not nearly as promising as embyonic stem cells);
1100: Audio of Novak with Steve Doocy, sounding like an infomercial (but still wrong on public knowledge of Plame's identity/career)

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: W gropes German Chancellor Merkel (attempted shoulder massage, answered with swift arms up, which Randi translates as "get offa me!")
1230: "Pro-life" W presided over 150 executions in TX, refusing to grant clemency to any even when some of the sentenced needed more time to prove innocence with new DNA evidence becoming available.
1300: W uses his first veto to block federally funded stem cell research.
1330: Audio of James Dobson equating embryonic stem cell research with Nazi experiments on humans
1330: Randi: if W considers embryonic stem cell research murder, why not just outlaw it instead of preventing federal funding while allowing state and private funding for it? Is the killing of Iraqis murder? What about the execution of Karla Faye Tucker? Allowing private funding follows the Bush family history of supporting eugenics for rich people.
1530: Caller notes for Biblical literalists, quote them Genesis 2:7 in King James version, saying God breathed life into Adam, therefore you need breath to be a living human being. (Unfortunately, by this logic, babies are not alive until they're out of the womb and breathe on their own, unless you consider taking oxygen by an umbilical cord equivalent to breathing.)

18 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: John Boehner stumbles on his double standard for showing flag-draped coffins.
0930: Katherine Harris' staff members question the death of a staff member of Joe Scarborough, her primary opponent in her last election.
0930: David Sirota: the VA's hospitals get high marks for their health care and accuracy in prescriptions, outranking and saving money over private hospitals

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Audio montage of the "WWIII" talking point; the new talking points say "WWIV" and "WWV" (confusing Hannity), where WWIII was supposed to be the Cold War, WWIV is supposed to be now, and WWV to be named later.
1230: Randi reads Frank Luntz teaching how to sell war (not fight or win it) (with source)
1300: Audio of Rush blaming Clinton for the unrest in the Middle East (yet W said US troops remaining in Iraq will be decided by future presidents)
1330: Tehran had a pro-America rally after 9/11.
1530: A notary calls to verify and support another caller's idea to vote by mail (absentee) but have them notarized first (and make copies and notarize them too.

Other news and opinion from the day:

Senate approves embryo stem cell bill - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060718/ap_on_go_co/stem_cells

17 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Al in studio (KTLK) in LA.
0930: Audio of Putin dissing W (via translator): "We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, to be...quite honestly." Al: "Oh, snap!" Andy: "Oh no he di-in't!"
0930: Christy Harvey: Boehner not much different from DeLay in corporate relationships; opponents of embryonic stem cell research overhype adult stem cell research, namely David Prentiss with the Family Research Council (red flag!), whose research is highly criticized by 3 researchers in the journal Science;
1000: Prof. Geoff Nunberg, on Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show; he also analyzes Al's use of language for him
1100: Lawrence O'Donnell: health care is NYC's biggest industry, by far.

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Audio (censored) of W swearing at a G8 luncheon
1200: Audio of Newt Gingrich: "this is World War III."
1230: Audio of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Schoomaker stumbling on the question "are we winning in Iraq?"
1530: The sad childhood of James Dobson.

14 Jul 2006

Maureen and I took the opportunity to see the Al Franken Show in person at SDSU! We missed them last time they were here, so I brought my book and a camera, just in case we get to meet Al. We didn't, but I got some pictures during the show, and one of the people with an "Al" Access Pass took my book and a picture they gave out to have Al sign them. Unfortunately, I didn't give the guy my name, so when Al asked him, "who am I making this out to?" he thought he heard someone call me "Dale," so my book says "To Dale, Best Wishes, Al Franken." At least it makes my story interesting.

Anyway, it was all part of Democracy Fest, a progressive Democratic convention for the various grassroots and netroots groups. We both still had to work though, so we had to skip out on the rest. Since it was a special show for us, I'm posting a more complete set of notes for the show (derived from the show's blog).

-res

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Al live at Montezuma Hall in SDSU.
0930: Christy Harvey: Duke Cunningham to be honored for "his hard work, service, time, and sacrifices made in upholding the office with which he was entrusted" by the US Capital Historical Society, but he can't attend the reception because he's in jail for corruption. Al: I guess he is doing time. Christy: conservatives in the EPA push to cover a mural (since the 1930s) in the EPA building because it depicts Native Americans in their native dress (which shows some breasts). Al: what do these conservatives do when they go to Rome, do they walk around with erections with all the naked statues? Christy: the CBO's report on the cost of the Iraq War -- $291B so far, about $500B by 2009 even if we pull out all troops. Pete Coors (Coors CEO and former GOP Senate candidate) got arrested for...wait for it...drunk driving. Al: hopefully this will cause Coors to change its policy now to urge its customers to drink responsibly.
1000: Jerry McNerney, a renewable energy consultant, and the Democratic candidate for Congress in California's 11th District, on wind power and on the district's current Congressman, Richard Pombo
1030: Dr. Jeffrey Severinghaus, a professor of geosciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the UCSD, on the science of global warming
1100: Ruben Navarrette, Jr., a nationally syndicated columnist and an editorial writer and board member for The San Diego Union-Tribune. I was surprised the audience received him so well -- until he started criticizing Al Gore and Francine Busby -- given that the San Diego U-T tends to be pretty right-wing (as I've noticed since my college days), even though they broke the Duke Cunningham story. He started out by talking about immigration and the recent Mexican election (which uses mostly if not all paper (we in the audience applauded to that). After the break, Al noted (courtesy of the audience members carrying signs) that the DNC is now challenging the election. He sort of redeemed himself at the end by criticizing the push for English as a national language and similar actions to cater to xenophobes.
1130: The regular Friday game show Wait, Wait, Don't Lie to Me with a member of the audience at SDSU (Cathy, who's never heard the game played before)
1130: Matt Brix, the executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, on Albuquerque's recent passage of the Open and Ethical Elections Code Referendum and on the feasibility of public campaign finance starting at the local and state levels

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: (news) Voting Rights Act renewed!!!
1200: Dangerous times with Israel and Lebanon. Audio of W responding to a question on increasing violence in Beirut and worries about Iran: "I thought you were going to ask me about the pig" [roast for the dinner]
1400: Audio of Valerie Wilson on her lawsuit
1430: Call from John Dean on his new book, Conservatives Without Conscience, titled after his friend Barry Goldwater's book, The Conscience of a Conservative, and Dean's piece on FindLaw

13 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Yikes! Staffer Billy Kimball had a heart attack yesterday, but he's recovering.
0930: Billy calls in the segment, "Call with a Staff Member Who's Recently Had a Heart Attack," and talks about his MN hospital.
1100: Tom Oliphant: Bill Kristol's comparison of the idea that Sunnis and Shia can't get along to "pop sociology" comes from Ahmed Chalabi.

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: The Bushes (George Sr. and Barbara) sat in the second row at Ken Lay's funeral.
1200: Rev. Bill Lawson gave the eulogy, saying Ken Lay was villified but in time would be vindicated like MLK, JFK, and Jesus.
1200: A witness (for the prosecution) in the Lay/Skilling trial was found dead in a park in London.
1230: Audio of Jack Cafferty criticizing WH misplaced priorities while the violence goes on in Iraq
1330?: Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. John Kyl tried to add a debate that never happened into the Congressional record, but it was shot down by the SCOTUS.
1400: Audio montage of neocon pundits parroting the blame-the-NYT-first talking point, even though no new information was in the article except that European capitals were complaining that the terrorism finance surveillance had not enough oversight
1400: Audio of Laura Ingraham criticizing the NYT for publishing a picture of Rumsfeld's vacation house, but she conveniently fails to mention that Rumsfeld gave the NYT permission to publish the picture and specifically was not a security risk

Other news and opinion from the day:

Barnes & Noble.com Music - Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants - CD
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?z=y&EAN=32862018022&ITM=1
Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants, CD, Music, Barnes & Noble.com

12 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Today's hate email is the one from Dr. Nicholas Bartha, who blew up his own house, to FNC on AAR
0930: Christy Harvey: the reason for NYC's cut in DHS funding is due to a flaw in the National Asset Database, the includes various local rural events and places and doesn't include the Statue of Liberty; the government fires Halliburton (and KBR) from Iraq! Also, Christy lists some of the most overpaid (in her opinion) WH staffers.
1100: David Brock debunks Hannity lying repeatedly about Reagan, using false numbers and amounts not adjusted for inflation, Hannity and Hoekstra on the found "WMD we were looking for" (already debunked by the Pentagon), and Reena Ninan claiming a newly discovered link between Saddam and Al Qaeda in an "exclusive Fox News investigation" (big red flag).

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Randi reads some of the items on the National Asset Database list.
1230: Caller's quote: "they'd [smaller government people] say Democrats threw money at a problem. Well apparently, Democrats have better aim."
1230: Randi calls the musical Wicked "damn good!"
1300: Audio of Acting Deputy AG Steven Bradbury: "the President is always right"
1430: Lots of calls (so far) from Indiana liberals criticizing the national asset list

11 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Audio of O'Reilly lying about the poor being helped by tax cuts for the rich and using the dishonest middle-of-term numbers (and not adjusting for inflation) to compare Clinton and W again
0930: Judd Legum: W's fake deficit lowering comes from overestimating of projected deficit (exceeding expectations) and comparisons of projections between years. Nevertheless, W predicted at the start of his first term that by 2006 there would be a $516B surplus, an $800B discrepancy.
1000: Kevin Drum on framing the issues and taking back the word "liberal": most Americans may say they're conservative but act liberal.
1000: Today's "How Bad Is It?": neo-Nazis allowed in the military -- Aryan Nation graffiti found in Baghdad.
1100: Lawrence O'Donnell: I could not agree with Ann Coulter more...that it will be a good year for the Dems, picking up 60 seats in the House.
1130: Lawrence O'Donnell: liberal became a bad word by 1988 with Dukakis, yet he got 61 of the 62 counties in NY even though much of upstate is GOP because he could explained what liberals did (end slavery, promote civil rights, create Social Security, etc.); I would rather have control of the Senate than the WH because they control legislation and court nominations; W's recent announcement of the deficit was his first time doing so.

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: India tested a missile on Sunday (that could reach China), a day before a plane crash killing 45 people in Pakistan, including 2 judges, 2 army generals, and a vice chancellor.
1230: Call from Greg Palast on the disputed Mexican election and partnership: Mexico is a bigger source of our oil than Saudi Arabia; Randi: our number one oil supplier is Canada, followed by Mexico, then Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
1300: Audio of John Dean discussing his book Conservatives Without Conscience with Keith Olbermann
1330: Audio of John Dean on the 50-year study on authoritarian personalities
1530: Audio of Tony Campolo calling the remaking of Jesus in the Republican image as idolatry (instead of the better way of making themselves like Jesus)

10 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Al Franken Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

0900: Al back from vacation
0930: Billy recounts his experience at the Aspen Ideas Conference, including meeting Colin Powell and Justice Breyer.
0930: Christy Harvey: at Aspen, Powell said we should close Gitmo

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1230: Audio of Brit Hume recommending nuking North Korea! Randi: is Brit Hume's job to say things stupider than W to make him seem less stupid?
1300: Plutonium bombs in the hands of North Korea during president (by end of last term): Bush Sr - 1 or 2, Clinton - 0, W - 4-6.
1300: Audio of Tony Snow lying about the Clinton policy on North Korea (which worked)
1330: Iraqi insurgents offer to stop attacks on US soldiers, in an AP story appearing in the Guardian (UK) but not (easily) found in US papers.
1400: 8 GOP State Reps. in KS switch parties to Dem!!
1500: The perfect bumper-sticker counter to "Are you with us or against us?" or "Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists" nonsense is "Are you a loyalist or a patriot?"

Other news and opinion from the day:

07 Jul 2006

Today, we got to visit Br. Raphael (formerly known as Wes) at his seminary, St. Albert's Priory. He's finishing his fifth (of eighth) year to be a Catholic Priest in the Dominican order (OP, Order of Preachers). We also got to see Becky Welty Nikolic and her new baby girl Marina, and we all ate dim sum in Oakland.

St. Albert's Priory is on 4 acres of land and seems like me to be a nice place to study. I'm not sure about the 8 years, though, at least for me personally. Br. Raphael's got dedication.

-res

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Audio of W (on Larry King) giving a lame excuse of why he doesn't go to soldiers' funerals: which ones do you go to and which ones not? Which families do you honor? Randi: how about starting with Cindy Sheehan's?
1230: Audio of W (on Larry King) lying about attacking the NYT
1230: Audio montage of neocons repeating the talking point of getting Gonzales to try the NYT for treason (for revealing...already public knowledge) and that the NYT "forgot that 9/11 happened down the street"
1300: Audio of W denying the widely-reported story that the CIA closed down the bin Laden unit

06 Jul 2006

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1230: The CIA closure of the bin Laden unit happened when Goss was still in charge, before Hayden, even though we found out about it yesterday.
1330: Call from Juliette Kayyem, NBC expert on security and terrorism
1430: The conservative candidate squeaked by in the Mexican presidential election despite polling favoring the liberal just before the election.
1500: Randi reads the public sources of information common to what the WH claims the NYT leaked.

05 Jul 2006

I forgot yesterday to take the time to thank the men and women who served this country from its birth. I salute you.

Last night we got to see three different fireworks shows, from a distance, along the Bay in Emeryville. We used our very convenient Instent(tm) and light sticks to keep us warm and visible, respectively. I still haven't figured out night photography, but I'll post the nicer pictures soon.

-res

Selected notes from The Randi Rhodes Show and related stories (indicated times are Pacific) (why this is here):

1200: Randi returns! See her vacation cartoon by Keith Tucker, based on one of his cartoons for a Hawai'i magazine.
1230: The NYT article that the WH alleges imparted classified information didn't tell Randi anything she didn't already know from US government websites explaining what the administration is doing in the War on Terror(tm).
1230: Audio of Tony Snow claiming Ken Ley was "an acquaintance"
1400: For the CIA, the War on Terror(tm) is over: uh, yeah, we're not looking for bin Laden anymore, at least in the same force.

Other news and opinion from the day:

Enron Founder Ken Lay Dead of Heart Attack
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/05/AR2006070500523.html
It's a shame that his defining moment is the Enron scandal. I feel bad for his family.
7th N. Korean missile intensifies furor - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060705/ap_on_re_as/nkorea_missiles;_ylt=AojDYT9DsI_SVvKHoX92VgWs0NUE;_y...

Other news and opinion from the past:

04 Jul 2006

Happy Independence Day! The family's in Hayward for this week. We got to see some family friends and hang out in Berkeley on Fourth Street. I feel a little more at home with the enlightened people, yet home is still among our friends and jobs in San Diego.

My advice this ID4: be a true patriot and do some barbecuing. And maybe keep up with current events, as I'm learning to do. Progress cannot be stopped, but it must be the progress we want.

Take care and safe travels for all.

-res

Past Journal Entries: 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

2006 Journal Entries: Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan

Common and favorite references and their acronyms:

Daily Kos (dKos): http://www.dailykos.com/
New York Times (NYT): http://www.nytimes.com/
Washington Post (WaPo): http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Randi Rhodes: http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/
Media Matters for America (MMFA): http://www.mediamatters.org/
Center for American Progress (CAP): http://www.americanprogress.org/
CAP blog (Christy Harvey, Judd Legum): http://www.thinkprogress.org/
Moby's journal: http://www.moby.com/journal/
Sojourners: http://www.sojo.net/
Tom's Hardware Guide (THG): http://www.tomshardware.com/
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): http://www.eff.org/
SourceForge.net (SF): http://www.sourceforge.net/

My referral link for a free Mac Mini (legit): http://www.freemacmini.com/?r=160454 (why this is here)