Well, at the risk of inundating the blog with new topics I’m going to post another one today. Maybe this will make up for being on vacation last week!
USA Today reports the results of a recent poll showing Bush’s popularity at an all-time low of 29 percent and that More than seven in 10 favor removing nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by April. Especially fun is to click on the graphic of Bush’s approval rating over time.
It looks like the war in Iraq continues to become less and less popular. Imagine that, war being unpopular! Just goes to reinforce the notion that the Democratic win last November had a lot to do with America’s dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in Iraq (if not the whole damn war to begin with).
And on a related note, John McCain, pathetic Bush toady that he has become, appears to be suffering for his support of the idiot in chief. Two of his top aides have resigned and it looks like people are beginning to question the on-going viability of his campaign. I won’t miss him.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Joe Mathlete Breaks Down
I just had to post about the bizarre blog entry for last Friday's Joe Mathlete Explains Marmaduke. This humorous little blog takes the piss out of Marmaduke and is worth visiting for a chuckle or two (which is more than Marmaduke itself delivers). But this particular explanation made me laugh out loud - and for no explainable reason. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did...
Sunday, July 8, 2007
The Disgrace of Commuting Scooter's Sentence
I received this e-mail from the DSCC and thought I'd share it here:
President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's prison sentence wiping away two and half years of jail time with the stroke of a pen. President Bush ignored Libby's felony conviction for lying to investigators, ignored the jury's guilty verdict, and ignored the rule of law that governs our nation.
Join me and tell President Bush that you are appalled by his actions. Sign the DSCC's petition today letting President Bush know that his outrageous conduct won't be tolerated by the American people.
Click here: http://www.dscc.org/makeadifference/petitions/20070702_libby.htm
President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's prison sentence wiping away two and half years of jail time with the stroke of a pen. President Bush ignored Libby's felony conviction for lying to investigators, ignored the jury's guilty verdict, and ignored the rule of law that governs our nation.
Join me and tell President Bush that you are appalled by his actions. Sign the DSCC's petition today letting President Bush know that his outrageous conduct won't be tolerated by the American people.
Click here: http://www.dscc.org/makeadifference/petitions/20070702_libby.htm
Friday, June 29, 2007
Vacation... Time to Get Away.
I will be going on vacation (Bermuda) next week so I won't be checking in on the blog until around July 10th or so. But I thought I'd leave you with a fiew links and thoughts before abandoning y'all for a bit.
First of all, Yahoo News reports that the Democrats are going to try to reintroduce legislation for pulling our troops out of Iraq. I won't hold my breath, but I'm glad they are going to keep trying to roll that boulder up the mountain. After all, that is why the Dems won the last election -- the majority of the people in the USA want us out of Iraq. But as long as the majority is slim and GWB is president nothing Congress does will matter.
Next item of interest, the Supreme Court will hear appeals by Guantanamo prisoners on their right to challenge their indefinite confinement. I would hope so! Gitmo is an on-going black eye to the USA's reputation and we, as a nation, need to work hard to fix that oozing suckhole of human right's violations. Of course, it is quite feasible that the right-leaning court will simply vote to allow GWB's administration to continue doing as it has done for 7 years and violate the human rights we used to hold dear. And, who knows, if Romney gets elected he has stated he would double Gitmo! It makes me shake my head sadly for our lost dignity.
And finally, let's talk about a recent Supreme Court decision that highlights why I have so little "faith" in them to think properly and make the correct decisions. Earlier this week the Supreme Court upheld the legality of faith-based initiatives that push federal funds into religious charities. By a 5-4 vote, a conservative majority concluded taxpayers did not have "standing" to challenge in court the discretionary spending authority of the executive branch for its Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. I hope the FFRF finds another way to challenge the unconstitutional movement of tax money to religious charities.
First of all, Yahoo News reports that the Democrats are going to try to reintroduce legislation for pulling our troops out of Iraq. I won't hold my breath, but I'm glad they are going to keep trying to roll that boulder up the mountain. After all, that is why the Dems won the last election -- the majority of the people in the USA want us out of Iraq. But as long as the majority is slim and GWB is president nothing Congress does will matter.
Next item of interest, the Supreme Court will hear appeals by Guantanamo prisoners on their right to challenge their indefinite confinement. I would hope so! Gitmo is an on-going black eye to the USA's reputation and we, as a nation, need to work hard to fix that oozing suckhole of human right's violations. Of course, it is quite feasible that the right-leaning court will simply vote to allow GWB's administration to continue doing as it has done for 7 years and violate the human rights we used to hold dear. And, who knows, if Romney gets elected he has stated he would double Gitmo! It makes me shake my head sadly for our lost dignity.
And finally, let's talk about a recent Supreme Court decision that highlights why I have so little "faith" in them to think properly and make the correct decisions. Earlier this week the Supreme Court upheld the legality of faith-based initiatives that push federal funds into religious charities. By a 5-4 vote, a conservative majority concluded taxpayers did not have "standing" to challenge in court the discretionary spending authority of the executive branch for its Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. I hope the FFRF finds another way to challenge the unconstitutional movement of tax money to religious charities.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
On Signing Statements and Ignoring the Law
As reported by Think Progress: Federal agencies ignored 30 percent of the laws Bush objected to in signing statements last year, according to a report released today [actually, June 18, 2007] by the Government Accountability Office. In 2006, President Bush issued signing statements for 11 out of the 12 appropriations bills passed by Congress, claiming a right to bypass a total of 160 provisions in them.
In a sample set of 19 provisions, the GAO found that “10 provisions were executed as written, 6 were not, and 3 were not triggered and so there was no agency action to examine.”
The report, which was requested by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Byrd (D-WV), gives the first indication of the impact that President Bush’s signing statements have had on the enforcement of laws passed by Congress.
---
csm says: This is yet another example showing how this president flouts the law to his own means, caring predominantly about his narrow interests than what is best for the USA.
In a sample set of 19 provisions, the GAO found that “10 provisions were executed as written, 6 were not, and 3 were not triggered and so there was no agency action to examine.”
The report, which was requested by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Byrd (D-WV), gives the first indication of the impact that President Bush’s signing statements have had on the enforcement of laws passed by Congress.
---
csm says: This is yet another example showing how this president flouts the law to his own means, caring predominantly about his narrow interests than what is best for the USA.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
How Many Guinness Can You Balance?
Just a quick pointer today to this Boing Boing piece on a bartender balancing pints of Guinness one on top of the other.
Oh, the crime of wasting all that Guinness... he shoulda stopped at three!
Oh, the crime of wasting all that Guinness... he shoulda stopped at three!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
God is Not Great, But the Book is Almost Great
I just finished reading God is Not Great
by Christopher Hitchens and I thought I’d write a short book review here in the blog.
God is Not Great is one of a quartet of recent books that take the piss out of religion. Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway) I love this book. Oh, it is not perfect, but it is a fine read and it makes a plethora of points that need to be made.
I mentioned that this one of a quartet (that means 4) of books criticizing religion as untrue and harmful. The four books are:
God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Letter to a Christian Nation
by Sam Harris
Breaking the Spell by Daniel C. Dennett
Hitchens is the best writer of the lot and this becomes clear as you read through these books. The literary flourish found within the pages of God is Not Great makes reading the book a delight. Of the four, though, Dawkins is the best thinker, and his book is clearer of purpose and a better thought out IMHO. Hitchens’ book makes a wonderful companion to Dawkins’ book, though and I would recommend it as the second best in the list above. But, hell, you should read all of them, as well as Harris’ better & earlier tome The End of Faith. Well, except maybe for Dennett’s book; I’ve given it several tries but it is too dry for my taste, so I’ll likely not complete it (that is, at least not every page from beginning to end).
But back to Hitchens. The problem with God is Not Great is that it tackles issues as the author sets them up and not as a religious person would defend their faith. As an atheist, I enjoyed Hitchens rants but as someone who regularly talks (OK, sometimes argues) with the “faithful” I can almost hear myself saying what believers would likely say. Now, of course, I don't agree with what I hear myself saying and I wish that Hitchens would veer in that direction and take on those arguments, but he goes in the directions he goes in; such is the perogative of any writer, I s'pose.
That means that Hitchens’ book is unlikely to convince strong believers in their imaginary friend to ditch their faith and take up reason. But his writing style and command of history are truly incredible and that knowledge oozes from the pages of God is Not Great.
I’ve read that tired old cliché that Hitchens’ book is “angry” – but that is just a fucked- up criticism that religiosos try to stab every atheist with… “Oh, you are so angry!” Well, it only sounds angry because what you faithful believers believe in is just so incredibly fucking stupid. Walking on water and talking asses and magic hats and protective underwear and women as inferior and on and on and on… It is hard not to sound angry criticizing such insipid drivel.
But I digress. What else do I like about Hitchens’ book? Well, he discusses not just Christianity, but also Judaism and Islam as he points out the flaws in the major religion’s books, history, and lines of thinking. I particularly liked his chapter on religion as child abuse – and it is hard to argue with the issues he decries. Hell, a large majority of children in the western world still get their foreskin chopped off because of an ancient book of myth. (I wonder what it’d be like to have a foreskin sometimes, but that is a matter for future discussion. Err, ah, maybe not.)
So I think the book works for the converted, but the “faithful” will not likely be converted. For them, a better book would be Dan Barker’s Losing Faith in Faith, the tale of a preacher turned atheist that is highly convincing and might be a better place for a questioning believer to begin.
by Christopher Hitchens and I thought I’d write a short book review here in the blog.God is Not Great
is one of a quartet of recent books that take the piss out of religion. Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway) I love this book. Oh, it is not perfect, but it is a fine read and it makes a plethora of points that need to be made.I mentioned that this one of a quartet (that means 4) of books criticizing religion as untrue and harmful. The four books are:
by Christopher Hitchens by Richard Dawkins by Sam Harris by Daniel C. DennettHitchens is the best writer of the lot and this becomes clear as you read through these books. The literary flourish found within the pages of God is Not Great makes reading the book a delight. Of the four, though, Dawkins is the best thinker, and his book is clearer of purpose and a better thought out IMHO. Hitchens’ book makes a wonderful companion to Dawkins’ book, though and I would recommend it as the second best in the list above. But, hell, you should read all of them, as well as Harris’ better & earlier tome The End of Faith
. Well, except maybe for Dennett’s book; I’ve given it several tries but it is too dry for my taste, so I’ll likely not complete it (that is, at least not every page from beginning to end).But back to Hitchens. The problem with God is Not Great
is that it tackles issues as the author sets them up and not as a religious person would defend their faith. As an atheist, I enjoyed Hitchens rants but as someone who regularly talks (OK, sometimes argues) with the “faithful” I can almost hear myself saying what believers would likely say. Now, of course, I don't agree with what I hear myself saying and I wish that Hitchens would veer in that direction and take on those arguments, but he goes in the directions he goes in; such is the perogative of any writer, I s'pose.That means that Hitchens’ book is unlikely to convince strong believers in their imaginary friend to ditch their faith and take up reason. But his writing style and command of history are truly incredible and that knowledge oozes from the pages of God is Not Great
.I’ve read that tired old cliché that Hitchens’ book is “angry” – but that is just a fucked- up criticism that religiosos try to stab every atheist with… “Oh, you are so angry!” Well, it only sounds angry because what you faithful believers believe in is just so incredibly fucking stupid. Walking on water and talking asses and magic hats and protective underwear and women as inferior and on and on and on… It is hard not to sound angry criticizing such insipid drivel.
But I digress. What else do I like about Hitchens’ book? Well, he discusses not just Christianity, but also Judaism and Islam as he points out the flaws in the major religion’s books, history, and lines of thinking. I particularly liked his chapter on religion as child abuse – and it is hard to argue with the issues he decries. Hell, a large majority of children in the western world still get their foreskin chopped off because of an ancient book of myth. (I wonder what it’d be like to have a foreskin sometimes, but that is a matter for future discussion. Err, ah, maybe not.)
So I think the book works for the converted, but the “faithful” will not likely be converted. For them, a better book would be Dan Barker’s Losing Faith in Faith
, the tale of a preacher turned atheist that is highly convincing and might be a better place for a questioning believer to begin.
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