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The email updates seem to be working, but they are posting about half a week late.  So that's why there are duplicate posts right now.  :/

Knowledge Is Power

God Bless the Technorati…

 

 

Here’s a new site that’s a result of their developer contest.  http://www.govtrack.us/    GovTrack collects data on the active US Congress.  What kind of data?  Oh, just their votes, their speeches, summary of legislation, campaign funds, etc.  You can find most of this info on a combination of sites, but I haven’t seen anything as robust as this site before.  Of course, this site is brand-new and the 109^th Congress is just getting warmed up.  There just aren’t a lot of stats to track, yet.  But this site will be invaluable if you’re a blogger, and I applaud every effort to introduce a level of transparency to our political process. 

Will Projects Idiocy

 

Conservatives are reaching new lows for specious arguments.  That’s to be expected, especially with the impending Social Security battle between those of us in the real world and the Chicken Littles on the Right. 

 

In his latest <a href=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A57878-2005Jan7?language=printer>article</a> titled “Let’s Not Count on Projections” Will argues that we should reinvent Social Security based upon…. wait for it… wait for it…  We should reinvent Social Security based upon PROJECTIONS that Wall Street will deliver the results that we have seen in the past. 

 

In no 15-year period in the past eight decades has the growth of stocks ever been negative; in no 20-year period has the average growth been less than 3 percent, which is better than the rate of return on Social Security assets. So if we were starting with a clean slate, surely we would consider some use of the market to be prudent rather than risky.

 

Yes, what a fantastic argument.  We should replaced our current system that guarantees a positive return with one that may not guarantee a positive return.  I think Will has forgotten the most important rule of investment:  Past returns are not a guarantee of future returns. 

 

As a middle-class worker, I would rather leave my money in social security.  If I want to invest in the stock market, I will do it myself.  I don’t need the government’s assistance and oversight. 

Memo To Poor People

 

Memo:  To Poor People That Voted For Bush

 

From:  GOP

 

Subject:  Thanks

 

Thanks for doing your duty and electing Bush in November 2004.  We’ve been trying to think of a way to say thanks, and we think we know how.  We’ll cut your domestic programs and reduce the possibility of housing assistance.  Oh yeah, and there will be no cost-of-living increases for Social Security, Civil Service retirement and disability, Veteran’s Disability Compensation, and Health Benefits for retired fed employees.  

 

But remember…  If you elect the Democrats, they will ban the Bible.  And we know that you would much rather wallow in poverty than have the Dems come into your house and steal your Bibles.  And your crucifixes.  In fact, the Dems will imprison you if you are Christian.  Yeah, that’s the ticket.  

 

Again, thanks to all of you poor teachers, WWII Vets, civil servants, and anybody who has paid into Social Security.  

 

-The GOP

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/politics/09budget1.html?ex=1262926800&en=bc1615a98e3a559f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

Knowledge Is Power

God Bless the Technorati…

 

 

Here’s a new site that’s a result of their developer contest.  http://www.govtrack.us/    GovTrack collects data on the active US Congress.  What kind of data?  Oh, just their votes, their speeches, summary of legislation, campaign funds, etc.  You can find most of this info on a combination of sites, but I haven’t seen anything as robust as this site before.  Of course, this site is brand-new and the 109^th Congress is just getting warmed up.  There just aren’t a lot of stats to track, yet.  But this site will be invaluable if you’re a blogger, and I applaud every effort to introduce a level of transparency to our political process. 

Another Hit From the "Moral" Majority

A Bay Area Christian conservative has begun to gather names for a ballot initiative to limit sex education in California public schools.

[…]

The man behind it, Tony Andrade, says fears "homosexuals are using high schools as a recruiting ground".

Andrade was behind the initiative to recall of Gov. Gray Davis in 2003.

In his promotion for the new initiative he links classroom discussions of homosexuality and domestic partnership with bestiality, pedophilia and necrophilia.

http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/01/010805calSex.htm

 

Fugly Google

http://c6.org/toogle/

 

Now this is a cool site.  Enter a search term and Toogle returns the first image found on a Google Search and creates an ASCII version of it.

 

If you don’t understand what I mean, then just click it and enter a word like “Ritalin”.  Toogle finds the first image of Ritalin available on Google and then recreates the image using the words “Ritalin” and variations of color. 

 

I love the internets!

 

 

Broken Contract

Do you remember the Republican's Contract With America?

You don't. Well, that's good, because the neocon Republicans forgot about it, too.

Fortunately, moderate Republicans and Democrats remember. (Perhaps it has something to do with their respect for history, instead of blatant disregard for it.)

The Boston Globe has an excellent article on the broken contract, and the Republicans who are growing uneasy with their illogical kin.

Missing Posts

I'm trying to update this blog more frequently. I've been trying out the "Post By Email" functionality, and it seems to work half of the time. The last three posts should have been published yesterday, but it didn't work. (But it always work on my other PC...)

I've been a little more active in other community weblogs, but I think that I am going to start having some more fun around here this year.

Another Hit From the Moral Majority

A Bay Area Christian conservative has begun to gather names for a ballot initiative to limit sex education in California public schools.

[…]

The man behind it, Tony Andrade, says fears "homosexuals are using high schools as a recruiting ground".

Andrade was behind the initiative to recall of Gov. Gray Davis in 2003.

In his promotion for the new initiative he links classroom discussions of homosexuality and domestic partnership with bestiality, pedophilia and necrophilia.

http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/01/010805calSex.htm

Fugly Google

http://c6.org/toogle/



Now this is a cool site. Enter a search term and Toogle returns the first image found on a Google Search and creates an ASCII version of it.



If you don’t understand what I mean, then just click it and enter a word like “Ritalin”. Toogle finds the first image of Ritalin available on Google and then recreates the image using the words “Ritalin” and variations of color.



I love the internets!

Will Projects Idiocy

Conservatives are reaching new lows for specious arguments. That’s to be expected, especially with the impending Social Security battle between those of us in the real world and the Chicken Littles on the Right.



In his latest article titled “Let’s Not Count on Projections” Will argues that we should reinvent Social Security based upon…. wait for it… wait for it… We should reinvent Social Security based upon PROJECTIONS that Wall Street will deliver the results that we have seen in the past.



In no 15-year period in the past eight decades has the growth of stocks ever been negative; in no 20-year period has the average growth been less than 3 percent, which is better than the rate of return on Social Security assets. So if we were starting with a clean slate, surely we would consider some use of the market to be prudent rather than risky.



Yes, what a fantastic argument. We should replaced our current system that guarantees a positive return with one that may not guarantee a positive return. I think Will has forgotten the most important rule of investment: Past returns are not a guarantee of future returns.



As a middle-class worker, I would rather leave my money in social security. If I want to invest in the stock market, I will do it myself. I don’t need the government’s assistance and oversight.

Kid Play

"It makes me angry. This is a good reason to leave the Republican Party." says Randy Thomasson of the organization Campaign for Children and Families.

So what has driven Randy to question the leadership and "morales" of the GOP?

Could it be the torture?
No.

Could it be the inadequate funding of American schools?
No.

Could it be the Administration's refusal to heed the nation's scientists and environmentalists who want to secure a healthy planet for our families and children?
No.

Could it be the fact that Kid Rock has been invited by the Budweiser (e.g. Bush) Twins to play an official concert for the upcoming Inauguration?
Of course.

I can't wait to see John Ascroft and Laura Bush busting a move to these lyrics:
Now if you think the story is over just listen to this
I thought my mission was complete so I gave her a kiss
Then I was searchin for a towel to clean off my dickie
Cuz it was kinda wet all bloody and sticky
And to talk about gross heres something sicker than sick
The bitch dropped to her knees and licked the tip of my dick
I started trippin cause this was something I've never seen
The girl was more than a freak she was a sexual fiend
And when I thought that was as gross as one girl could get
She stuck her finger in her booty and then she licked it


And I can't wait to see Jenna's grandparents two-dance to this classic:
Pimp of the Nation, I could be it
As a matter of a fact, I foresee it
But only pimpin' hoes with the big tush
While you be left pimpin' Barbara Bush

The Road Ahead

The most significant socio-political shift in our time has gone almost completely unremarked, and even unnoticed. It is the dramatic shift of the red-state bourgeoisie from leave-us-alone libertarianism, manifested in the Congressional elections of 1994, to almost totalitarian statist nationalism. Whereas the conservative middle class once cheered the circumscribing of the federal government, it now celebrates power and adores the central state, particularly its military wing.

 

-http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/red-state-fascism.html

The Simpsons

"Much of the blame for this fiasco falls upon ABC, which hired this female Gilbert Gottfried to headline the halftime show for college football's ultimate game, matching No. 1 USC against No. 2 Oklahoma. If the Sooners are despondent today after absorbing a 55-19 bludgeoning from the Trojans, they can take solace that each and every one of them could have taken the halftime stage dressed in drag and mooed like a cow and still induce fewer boos than Ashlee did Tuesday night."

-http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6791368/

Gwindow to the World

Bored?

Then fathom the power of google...

Active Webcams of the World. This may be the most amazing google searches ever. And the results?

Here is a cam stationed at a bus stop in Japan...

And the Town Square.

Overlooking some city

Growing Up Gay In Falwell's Basement

Now this is a story that you don't hear everyday...

The man behind the electronic pop group Delphinium Blue recorded some of his initial demos in Jerry Falwell's radio studio. Arlen Godwin is the son of Ron Godwin, who has served as Vice President of both the Moral Majority and the Washington Times. (He was also an influential force in the Center for National Policy (CNP) at the time when they pushed the House GOP to shut down the government in 1996.)

Feel free to read his story if you want, but basically it's the rags to riches story of a gay kid in Virginia working for Jerry Falwell and ends up playing on the same stage as Crystal Waters.