(Photo: Lawrence K. Ho, Reuters)
Actually, those are the NASAtards who just put another BattleBot on Mars.
USA! USA! USA!
The end of the world. Huzzah!
The AP interviews some survivalists in - where else? - Idaho and Vermont.
I won't be worried about an oil crisis until the military enforces rationing. Of course, when the world really does end, there will naturally be somebody who became a survivalist at just the right time to claim coincidence as prescience.
That person will be a jerk.
Takin' on big bad Bob Beers
Challenging the "Vice Governor," Bob Beers, for Nevada Senate District 6 is Allison Copening. She has good credentials, but her campaign website is noticeably bare. And there isn't much chatter about her, either.
Beers, naturally, already has a vague attack up on his own blog. The attack comes in the form of a silly poem written by someone else that doesn't even name the object of its vitriol, but that doesn't really matter cuz Dems are all in cahoots with the Clintons anyway!
Against "Buddhism"
I’m compelled to respond to Bernstein’s broadside against what he calls “absolutism,” because he implies that the preferred alternative (embodied in his column by Buddhism) is “relativism.”
Relativism is never the answer – literally. What Bernstein calls “absolutism” is really partisanship or factionalism. Those are ancient and altogether banal forces that divide societies.
Bernstein’s willingness to assault “absolutism” is just an old populist rant against the perceived perniciousness of confrontational debate. He is the feckless friend who prefers angst-ridden silence among his acquaintances to an honest fight over the future of the gang.
I don’t mean to suggest that Bernstein’s positions are wrong, per se, but his premise is that fighting is bad, and we should all coalesce around a warm, if ultimately false, center.
There are very real disagreements in American society about these topics Bernstein touches most pithily. A civil engagement means presuming that the other side’s points may be incorrect but not inherently invalid, and also presuming that the other side will give us the same consideration.
(I am skeptical that there are many honest interlocutors on the right, but I am not so cynical as to dismiss their existence.)
Allow me to restructure Bernstein’s positions via co-equal engagement, rather than “Buddhist” disengagement.
1. Diplomacy’s role. The division between left and right should not be between “talking” versus “not talking,” respectively. Rather, the division is more subtly placed on a continuum of approachability. No one suggests “talking” to Osama bin Laden – he sits on one end of the approachability scale. At the other end, some blockheads seriously wish to cut off our less malleable European allies, like the French, something even Rumsfeld was not silly enough to propose. In between, somewhere lies a line that determines whether a given international leader may be approached diplomatically. The right puts this line closer to France; the left puts in closer to al Qaeda. Its proper placement is something we’ll have to determine with a good ol’ fashioned shoutin’ match.
2. Neo-socialism. Generally, Bernstein is correct to assail the right’s unwillingness to regulate industries that are important to society. (Of course, the right is happy to provide government funding and oversight of the military-industrial complex while calling for the death of the Department of Education.) Unfortunately, what he’s really complaining about is Americans’ distaste for government-managed healthcare. Perhaps he’s correct to lament, but the U.S. has never known socialism or autarky. In our social contract, basic welfare from the state is not something we have negotiated in exchange for our complacency. For Americans, tyranny hurts more than toothaches.
3. Death and taxes. Taxes have always been verboten in the U.S. As a nation, we have never come to grips with sovereign wealth because we’ve never really accepted national sovereignty. Of course, as the adage goes, taxes visited us as surely as the cold kiss of death. Americans, however, have never felt compelled to accept the inevitability of inevitable things. Even the “right to die” is something many of us feel disgusted by. In my view, Americans can be convinced of the value of their government, but I’d be loathe to try and convince them of its goodness. (Of course, we’ve most accepted government when we have participated in it, especially through the New Deal and World War II. Again, government is not what’s good; the American people are what’s good.)
I believe that Bernstein does the left a disservice by pretending that we (the left) can bring Americans away from conflict to a place of comity and consensus. We won’t win Americans’ hearts by wooing them with our gentle philosophy. We will sweep them off their feet by giving their less honorable suitors a little chin music.
What do you think? Are you ready to wrassle?
Lucas's 'dark side'
I just finished watching the end of Return of the Jedi on TV - the re-done version with all the new cuts Lucas put in years later. (For what it's worth, I think the trilogy looks much better in its "hybrid" form, than the prequels ever looked.)
What I saw at the end was a little shocking. Perhaps you remember the closing scene, as the heroes celebrate with the Ewoks, Luke sees apparitions of the three Jedis who helped him realize his destiny - Yoda, Obi-Wan, and his father, Anakin.
In the original, Anakin, sans Vader outfit, was portrayed by David Prowse, the bodybuilder who portrayed Vader physically throughout the trilogy. Prowse, had already been screwed by Lucas with the release of the original Star Wars, because Lucas had not told him that his voice would not be used.
In Jedi, of course, Prowse got his retribution. He was shown as the restored Anakin, both in the final death scene when he confirms to his son, Luke, that he has indeed been saved, and as the apparition, verifying his acceptance as sort of Jedi "saint."
In the prequels, Anakin was portrayed inimitably poorly by Hayden Christensen. In the re-do of Jedi, Lucas replaced Prowse as the apparition with Christensen. While it does make sense to connect young Anakin to the decrepit Anakin who "died" 15 years earlier, Lucas did not replace old Obi-Wan (Sir Alec Guinness) with young Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor).
Lucas further screwed Prowse by having him give fake lines in Jedi, telling Luke that Obi-Wan had killed Anakin - rather than the now famous "Luke, I am your father." (Mark Hamill knew the real plot, and had to react accordingly, despite what his co-star Prowse was actually saying.) Prowse, along with much of the crew and cast, did not know that Obi-Wan was innocent until the final screening.
Credit is due for managing a sensitive plot twist so well, but Prowse has been disabused by the Star Wars institution since the very beginning. He did promo appearances in the late 70s and 80s, though his identity was never revealed so as to maintain the menacing aura of the Vader character.
I had forgotten about that final snub, Lucas removing Prowse from the closing apparition scene more than a decade later. I wonder if he'd considered inserting Christensen into the death scene, too.
All in all, it's pretty shabby treatment of one of the greatest villain characters of all time.
Brickskeller
Last week I finally got around to going to the Brickskeller. That was much closer to my "scene."
ABITA Amber LA ABITA Golden Beer LA ABITA Light LA ABITA Purple Haze Raspberry Wheat LA ABITA Turbo Dog LA ACE Apple Cider CA ACE Berry Cider CA ACE Hard Apple Honey Cider CA ACE Pear Cider CA ACHEL Achelse Kluis Trappist Brune Belgium ACHEL Trappist Belgium ADNAMS Broadside Ale England ADNAMS Suffolk Special Bitter England AFFLIGEM Blonde Belgium AKTIEN-BRAUEREI Kaufbeuren Hell Germany ALDERIS Porteris Latvia ALDERIS Zelta Latvia ALLAGASH Curieux ME ALLAGASH Dubbel Reserve Belgian Style ME ALLAGASH Odessey ME ALLAGASH Tripel Reserve Belgian Style ME ALLAGASH White ME ALLGAUER Cambonator Dunkle Dopplebock Germany ALLGAUER Oktoberfest Germany ALMAZA Lebanon AMBAR Dos Especial Spain AMSTEL Light Netherlands ANCHOR Liberty Ale CA ANCHOR Old Foghorn CA ANCHOR Old Foghorn CA ANCHOR Our Special Ale 1998 CA ANCHOR Our Special Ale 1999 CA ANCHOR Our Special Ale 2000 CA ANCHOR Our Special Ale 2001 CA ANCHOR Porter CA ANCHOR Steam Beer CA ANDERSON VALLEY Barney Flats Oat St CA ANDERSON VALLEY Belks E S B CA ANDERSON VALLEY Boont Amber CA ANDERSON VALLEY Brother David's Dunkle CA ANDERSON VALLEY Brother David's Triple CA ANDERSON VALLEY Hop Ottin' I P A CA ANDERSON VALLEY Poleeko Pale Ale CA Anh-Busch ANHEUSER World Select US Anh-Busch B to the E US Anh-Busch BUD Light US Anh-Busch BUDWEISER US Anh-Busch BUDWEISER Select US Anh-Busch BUSCH US Anh-Busch BUSCH Light US Anh-Busch MICHELOB Amber Bock US Anh-Busch MICHELOB Black & Tan US Anh-Busch MICHELOB Hefe Weizen US Anh-Busch MICHELOB Light US Anh-Busch MICHELOB Premium Beer US Anh-Busch MICHELOB Ultra US Anh-Busch NATURAL Light US Anh-Busch O'DOUL'S Amber Non/Alcoholic US Anh-Busch O'DOUL'S Non/Alcoholic US Anh-Busch TEQUIZA US ARIS Greek Lager Greece ASAHI Super Dry Japan ASMARA Lager Beer Eritrea AUGUSTINERBRAU Germany AUGUSTINERBRAU Maximator Dark Germany AVERY 14'er E S B CO AVERY Czar Imperial Stout CO AVERY ELEVEN CO AVERY Ellie's Brown CO AVERY India Pale Ale CO AVERY Kaiser CO AVERY Karma CO AVERY New World Porter CO AVERY Out of Bounds Stout CO AVERY Redpoint Ale CO AVERY the Reverend Quadruple CO AVERY White Rascal CO AYINGER Altbairisch Dunkle Germany AYINGER Brau Weis Hefe Germany AYINGER Brau Weis Hefe Germany AYINGER Celebrator Dopplebock Germany AYINGER Jahrhundert Germany AYINGER Ur-Weiss Germany
And those are just the As!
Term limits, pt. deux
Some follow-up to my term limits rant from earlier.
Nevada's legislative sessions are front loaded. The January following an election is usually when it meets, and it's session usually lasts through the beginning of June.
So, a freshly minted Assemblyperson, just after a bruising and (increasingly) expensive campaign, will arrive in Carson City just one month or less after receiving their mandate. And we, as constituents, expected them to get to work.
The sessions only last five months, so a two-term limited Assemblyperson will spend less than half their career actually legislating. The interim is supposed to be used to prepare for the next session - do research, hold hearings, draft legislation.
However, after their second term, an Assemblyperson will be doing a summer's worth of work for someone else.
With term limits in Nevada's system, we will see half the Assembly (and a third of the Senate) shirking their duties for six months. Instead of using the interim to do the work of their constituents, they'll be using it to find their next job.
Sacto politics? Oh my!
My goodness! I need to pay more attention to my hometown.
It seems that K.J.'s running to unseat Heather Fargo as mayor of the River City.
It also seems that K.J. may have a bit of a liability... Or perhaps Mayor Fargo likes to play rough.
Oh dear. This could be juicier than "Divorce, Nevadan Style."
*Ugh*
I don't much like it when I agree with Hugh Jackson and Chuck Muth… for the same reason.
ATTENTION ALL NEVADANS!!! Your state's tax structure is badly lopsided and your budget process is a tad screwy. Maybe you should look into this, no?
"Lean... not mean."
Nevada Senator Bill Raggio, answering challenges to his conservative credentials, said "government should be lean, but not mean."
That's way better than "compassionate conservatism," IMHO.
Obama piles it on in NV
Kinda like in Texas, Obama actually won Nevada, but it didn't get reported as such. Well, he added one more delegate to his count at the NV Dem convention this weekend. The cherry on the sundae.
(And for good measure, another link - a look back on the at-large caucus sites. One observer picks up the theme that disgusted some of the volunteers who worked that day: polarization of African-American and Hispanic voters.)
Myrna revealed!
Myrna the Minx is no longer anonymous! Hooray! Now, who is Bjorn the Houseboy...?
And who else is hiding behind their blogging identities? Why, I've heard that Wonkette's not even a lady.
Best of luck, Tracy Viselli (néé Myrna), as Renoland's hottest new celeb! (Kara Tsuboi, eat your heart out.)
And so it begins...
Unbeknownst to a lot of folks, Nevada has been on the front lines of democratic reform in the U.S.
The legislature has considered a reform of the state's judicial election process called the Missouri Plan. It ruffled a few feathers last session. Now, the Secretary of State, Ross Miller, has started enforcing the state's recently approved term limit laws, and Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury is "wondering aloud" whether this is all part of a larger plan to challenge the constitutionality of term limits in Nevada.
This plan has been spoken about quietly for over a year in both Democratic and Republican circles. Although the average voter probably could guess that the average politician does not favor term limits, they're probably wrong if they think they know why...
It has never been a foregone conclusion in this country that term limits are inherently positive, least of all with the venerable Libertarian Party. Nonetheless, a lot of disaffected voters - my mom, for example - adhere to a "throw the bums out" philosophy. At it's best, this is a reaction to the maxim that "power corrupts," suggesting that it is in everyone's best interest, including the officeholder's, to rotate through positions of power, lest a man's spirit be tempted. I believe, however, that impulse is more likely a value judgement against a given clique of our society. "Everyone knows," they might say, "that all politicians are only interested in enriching themselves." In other words, incumbency is the proof of a man's inauspicious motives.
First, I don't believe a man can be judged by his career. Even used car salesmen go to church and love their kids. Second, if you wished to aggrandize yourself, public service is the worst way to go about it. The pay is awful, the work is difficult, and you're guaranteed to come out worse for the wear.
While I do think there's some argument to be made that power corrupts inherently, I also believe that there are many fine examples of men and women who've served their communities honorably and well. Most of them serve in small town city councils and unnoticed county departments - you've never read about a scandal involving them because they haven't gotten involved in any.
As you move up the chain of power, however, all the way to Congress and the White House, the decisions a public servant makes are larger and more complicated, and they are responsible to more people. (No wonder Bush's approval ratings are so low - he has over 100 million constituents who never liked him in the first place!)
... Getting back to Nevada, the reason many politicians, especially legislators, have been working to overturn the state's term limits is that term limits will do more harm to the good governance of the state than all the Jim Gibbonses of the world put together.
Meeting regularly only once every two years, Nevada's legislators are always at a disadvantage to lobbyists and special interests during the session. They spend so little time actually legislating, that they rely on outside professionals to do the job for them. Every other winter, they fly up to Carson City to rubber stamp the handiwork of the state's lobbyists.
With term limits, the situation will be even worse. A freshman Assemblyperson will have less than 10 months, spread out over two years, to learn how to write law, build coalitions, and acquire the knowledge necessary to do both effectively and in the interest of their constituents.
Of course, for a state that prides itself in its libertarian spirit, it's odd to allow a person to visit a prostitute, but forbid him from voting for a three-term politician.
What did Neville Chamberlain DO?!?
What are you doin' for the next nine minutes and thirty-one seconds of your life?
You're watchin' this, that's what.
Phreeques!
This is the kinda stuff the Internet allows: Phreeque.com.
Make sure you read the article on Otis Jordan, the Frog Boy.
The site is purported to be done by an Elizabeth J. Anderson, and the site's own disclaimer warns,
This site contains frank discussions and vivid images of human beings with birth defects, many of whom were at one time exhibited for profit. If you are hypersensitive about political correctness, LEAVE NOW.
It certainly is frank. Most of the articles feature mundane stories of the various subjects' marriages and business enterprises and contributions to medical science. The gist is, "Once upon a time, deformed folks could make a living as sideshow performers. What's wrong with people making an honest living with what God gave 'em?"
Not a damn thing, Elizabeth J. Anderson.
Sexual frustration
Blue balls is for real?!?
…
So… I may have overplayed my hand with that last post. But this is what I would look like if I were defending America's Freedom.
Come an' git it, ladies!
SEARCH: gibbons + divorce
Last weekend's comparison of the Paultards to brownshirts did not attract any attention, so perhaps writing about the big (KEYWORD: gibbons) (KEYWORD: divorce) will.
The begoogled coverage of the event is impressive, tho remember that this started when a member of Gibbons' staff confirmed rumors which had been circulating for quite some time. Two bloggers had set the wheels a-turnin' and, despite Anjeanette's claim to the contrary, I can't imagine how their rumormongering didn't excite mainstream reporters to pursue the all important confirmation.
In discussing this with a friend last night, I suggested that the purpose of "mainstream media" now simply is to provide full confirmation of stories initially set in motion by bloggers, who operate under a different set of ethical standards. In other words, bloggers, amateurs, citizen-journalists, etc. are the front line of contemporary journalism, freed to operate in a more reckless but more productive manner. Meanwhile, standard journalists serve as the backstop, knocking down the baseless reports while – quietly – allowing those that cannot not be not confirmed* slip through.
I'm not immune to the squeamish glee of watching how the mighty fall, tho the question at the end of the evening must be whether our democracy has sidled towards popular tyranny. The anger and shock to which salacious stories cater is a consciousness that we've been hoodwinked, cuckolded, or gypped – we know that we know more than we know.* All journalistic pursuits, I feel, should be aimed at combining truth with equity to create fairness, and sometimes it is fair to bring people low on a whim.
The bloggers, perhaps, just say what they believe the rest of us are thinking. Sometimes they're right, but what happens when they're wrong? …
(*Yeah, I did that on purpose.)
Viva La Revolución
Here's the Anon Guy's wrap-up of the attempted Paultardian coup at the Nevada GOP convention. It'll be the most exciting thing to happen at the Peppermill all summer (rated one of the top 10 casinos in America by MSN with CitySearch™! What is MSN with CitySearch? Apparently, it's a failed synergy between Microsoft and Ticketmaster … from 1999!)
While I am generally not afraid of the Paultards, in another, none too distant universe, they could be America's brownshirts.
Hooray for The Onion
The Onion dropped a bombshell about Pat Riley's attempted seduction of NBA Commish David Stern,
"In a gorgeous tux, with his hair perfectly oiled and his nails buffed clean and his skin smelling of sandalwood, cinnamon, and treachery."
Coincidences others probably noticed a long time ago
I'm watching reruns of Spin City and, y'know, the Mayor kinda looks like this guy I know...
Fake mayor...
Real senator...
My scene
Friday I went to a bar in Adams Morgan called Napoleon. It was a nice place, but not really my scene.
That got me thinkin': What is my scene? A few days later, I'm still not sure but here's something close,
When evening has come, I return to my house and go into my study. At the door I take off my clothes of the day, covered with mud and mire, and I put on my regal and courtly garments; and decently reclothed, I enter the ancient courts of ancient men, where, received by them lovingly, I feed on the food that alone is mine and that I was born for. There I am not ashamed to speak with them and to ask them the reason for their actions; and they in their humanity reply to me. And for the space of four hours I feel no boredom, I forget every pain, I do not fear poverty, death does not frighten me. I deliver myself entirely to them.– Niccolò Machiavelli, "A letter to Franceso Vettori," 1513
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