Plum Crazy

Go Directly to Jail

News of the Tampa college student jailed on an outstanding warrant after reporting a rape is dispiriting to say the least. Granted, she wasn’t immediately arrested and was initially taken to a rape crisis center, but from there, the story takes a stark turn. While she was driving around with the police trying to pinpoint the location of the attack, the cops discovered the outstanding warrant, stopped the investigation cold, and tossed her in jail. She remained there for two days until word leaked to the press and she was released on bond. To make matters worse, the health care worker at the jail apparently refused to give her the second dose of the morning-after pill because of religious convictions.

Nice going all the way around. This country is supposed to be religion blind, yet we have all these right-wing Christians seeking legislation and policies that will impose their moral viewpoint on us. More importantly, with the case at hand, if indeed the health care worker denied the pill because of religious convictions, how horrible is that? The last thing this woman needs is to get pregnant because of the rape. Then she’ll have to go through the trauma of an abortion. Of course if the reactionary right had its way, she wouldn’t even be allowed to do that.

Maybe the cops felt their hands were tied and were obligated to arrest her, but shouldn’t the system have caught on immediately and let her be arraigned immediately and released from jail? To have to spend two days in jail while you’re still dealing with the trauma of being raped only worsens the emotional scars. She needs time to heal, to be counseled, to receive medical treatment, and instead, her reward for having the courage to speak up is going to jail.

Women already have a fear of reporting rape because of the lousy way the system treats them. Now we throw another impediment in the way. How many other women out there are wanted for crimes, get raped, and don’t report the rape for fear they’ll be arrested? Maybe it’s a small number, but just one person dissuaded is one person too many.

Once the story broke, the Tampa police did change their practices for dealing with victims of trauma. They will now take the circumstances into account. But for this one woman it’s too little, too late.

Two For Two

Thanks to a miraculous comeback and last-minute TD (literally), the Colts earned a berth in the Super Bowl today, making Tony Dungy the second African-American coach in league history to achieve the milestone. He joins close friend and former assistant Lovie Smith in Miami two weeks from today. After the egregious mistreatment of African-Americans throughout our history - slavery, legalized segregation, segregation in all but name only, comments by Al Campanis and the like demeaning them - this is an historic achievement for our society. It says something about how far we have come in just the last forty years. Unfortunately, much more must be done to give African-Americans and other minorities their equal due, but for the moment, let's enjoy this unique moment in American history.

History In The Making

Twenty years ago, Dodgers executive Al Campanis said on Nightline that African-Americans "may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or, perhaps, a general manager." Today, the Bears coached by Lovie Smith, an African-American, lead by 18 and are less than 9 minutes from the Super Bowl. Smith would be the first African-American in N.F.L. history to lead a team to the Super Bowl. Later on, Tony Dungy tries to become the second. Already, it is the first time two African-American coaches have been to the conference championships. This is an historic and proud moment in U.S. history.

Update: the Bears won, making it official, but at the half, the Colts are down by 15 points.

Hail to the (Former) Chief

I was 10 years old when Gerald Ford took over the office of President of the United States. My first national memory is of Watergate. I was as happy as a 10-year-old could be about matters political when Nixon resigned. Therefore, I was happy when Gerald Ford became President.

I always liked him. He seemed, to my 10-year-old mind, to be a nice man. I've had no occasion to revisit my first assessment of him. I didn't understand, at the time, why people hated him so much for pardoning Nixon. I thought it was quite sensible and the right thing to do. How horrible would it have been for the country for the former President to go to jail? As I got older, I understood more why people were so angry, even though I also have never changed my first assessment that Ford was right. Perhaps it would have been better to let Nixon stand trial, be convicted, and then commute the sentence. I'm not sure even of that, though, given the shape the country was in at that point. There were just other issues that needed to be dealt with. A trial would have been a circus, distracting the government from dealing with the potential financial collapse of our cities, the energy crisis, and a number of other items of national importance.

When I was in college, I went to a conference in Georgia. Appearing at that conference were Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, who were good friends and were working closely together, as they continued to do. Watching the two of them up on the dais, it struck me again that Ford was a nice man who really wanted to help people. One might disagree with how he went about helping people, but you would be hard pressed to argue that he didn't want to help. It would really just be untrue. (Ditto for Carter.)

So here's to you, Gerald Ford. Rest in peace.

Quick Show of Hands

Who's eating at a Taco Hell (or any fast food joint) in the near or distant future? No one? Thought not.

Hat Tip to Lesley

She doesn't call it Taco Hell for no reason.

Setting the Record Straight

It's Republicans vs. Democrats in the days leading up to the election. Each party is holding nothing back as they slug it out. The Republicans said a couple of interesting things today.

First up is Elizabeth Dole. Keeping with the tradition of casting the Democrats as weak on terror, she charged that the party is "content with losing" in Iraq. "We need to win the war, and it would be disastrous to lose. . . . To pull out and withdraw is lose." Why do I have the feeling that the same thoughts were aired by supporters of the Vietnam War?. I am not sure what the right solution is in Iraq - do we pull out and let things devolve into a civil war or do we pour more troops in and try to grab control of the country - but what I do now is that we are already losing the war in Iraq and that we may never be able to win. The Bush administration put us in this situation by invading and then by botching the job afterwards. Not to say that anyone could do any better. Once Pandora's Box was opened with the overthrow of Hussein, this outcome was likely inevitable. The divisions run too deep, and like in the former Yugoslavia, the different groups are unable to live together peacefully. Of course, nothing will change even if the Democrats regain control of Congress. It will only change with a new President who is capable of admitting his mistakes and being open minded enough to try a different approach.

The second comment came from Tony Snow. According to Snow, the Democrats have been coming after Bush personally and driving his approval ratings down. "It has had an effect in the public opinion polls." First, it's a distortion of facts to say the Democrats have been coming at Bush personally, excepting idiot du jour Kerry. Attacking a man's policy and management of a situation is not attacking him personally, no matter how much Snow wants us to believe in an effort to garner sympathy for the poor misunderstood Bush. Second, it's the war in Iraq and his complete botch job there that's driving his approval ratings down. But in the Pollyanna world of the President and his advisers, everything there is wonderful, so naturally, it must be someone else's fault.

Feh on the Republicans. Feh on the Democrats, too. Politicians suck.

Dear Mike Nifong

If DNA evidence is enough to clear this man of rape charges, then why do you persist in going forward with the Duke Lacrosse case? Oh, that's right, you think you've handled everything just fine.

Question of the Day

Excerpt from an article about the pending merger of AT&T and BellSouth:

The deal would place under one roof 67.2 million telephone lines, 57.3 million Cingular Wireless customers and 11.1 million high-speed Internet customers.

Explain to me again: Why did the government dismantle AT&T?

Losing Our Way

A new law is about to come into effect in the U.S., setting the boundaries for how we can deal with terrorism suspects. There are two aspects of the law that are especially frightening. One is to strip the right of habeas corpus for detainees being held in Guantanamo. The other is to allow evidence seized without a search warrant to be used in court.

Instead of a long-winded essay on why I find this new law so disturbing, I will use a quote from Commander Adama on Battlestar Galactica to make my point. In responding to questions from an independent tribunal investigating an act of terrorism on board Galactica, Adama says, "You've lost your way, sergeant. You've lost sight of the purpose of the law. To protect its citzens, not persecute them. Whatever we are, whatever is left of us, we're better than that."

We are losing our way as a country. We are thretening the foundations of our legal system, as critics of the law note, and our core values as a country. Whatever we are, whatever is left of us after 9/11, we're better than that.

Let Me Repeat

If you want to kill yourself, kill yourself. Don't bring others with you.

I Hate the Religious Right

Damn am I fed up with the religious right force feeding its twisted and narrow-minded view of the world on us. They insist that Christmas promotions must include the words Merry Christmas instead of the more benign Happy Holidays and brow beat major stores into going their way. What about those of us who aren't Christian or Catholic and don't celebrate Christmas? Don't we count for something? I'm Jewish and don't want somebody wishing me a Merry Christmas. Others celebrate Kwanzaa and don't want to be wished a Merry Christmas either. How about a range of signs that acknowledge all three holidays so as to be inclusive.

But the religious right doesn't want to be inclusive. It's their way or the highway. They're gunning for Roe vs. Wade and could well succeed, sending us back to the day of dangerous backroom abortions. And now they're targeting Brokeback Mountain with a petition against its 8 Oscar nominations. More than Some 61,000 people signed up saying the movie mainstreams homosexuality in America and that's the key reason why it snagged the Oscar nods:

"The Academy’s nomination of this film has little to do with honoring great moviemaking," said Gary Cass, executive director of the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ in a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. "Instead, it is just a high-profile attempt to mainstream the homosexual agenda. That this movie uses the classic symbol of the American male – the cowboy – to promote this agenda is offensive to the vast majority of Americans."

Here we go again. Religious freaks claiming its all about them and their morals. Somehow I doubt that the agenda of Brokeback Mountain, assuming it even has an agenda, is offensive to the vast majority of Americans. And its a paranoid fantasy to think that it snagged 8 bids because Hollywood wants to mainstream homosexuality. I haven't seen the movie, but I can assume that it was so successful because it truly is one of the best movies of the year. Besides, last I checked, homosexuality is pretty much mainstream and the country seems no worse off for it. It brings a diversity to a country that was founded on diversity and tolerance for other people's views and lifestyles. Listen you freaks, the country was founded on religious freedom, yet you want your view of the religion to dictate our choice and the way we live our lives. A small minority of Americans wants to control the agenda, not Hollywood. And I am utterly fed up with it.

Vs. Roe vs. Wade

I am very afraid for a woman's right to control her body and choose whether to have an abortion. South Dakota and Mississippi are mounting frontal assaults on Roe vs. Wade, determined to set up a showdown in the Supreme Court. With Sandra Day O'Connor off the Court, replaced by Samuel Alito, and John Roberts on the Court, it seems that the Pro-Life movement has its lackeys in place to kill off Roe vs. Wade. A bunch of stuffy, bigoted, narrow-minded middle-aged men deciding what a woman can or can't do with her body. Exactly what this country needs. The country was founded on the idea of religious tolerance and freedom, but the Religious Right has somehow managed to get control of the political agenda and is intent on forcing their view of the world down our throats. A bunch of religious freaks legislating for the rest of us, the minority telling the majority what it can and can't do because of their absurd view of the world. Not a country that I want to live in.

Pesky Storm

Damn storm Ophelia can't make up her mind. Look, Ma, I'm a hurricance. Wait, I'm a tropical storm. Hey, I'm a hurricane again. On second thought. . . In the meantime, she keeps spinning her wheels out at sea, trying to figure out whom to hammer. Word has it that NY is on the radar for Friday, but that's so far away, I wouldn't put a penny on it.

Order Restored

Maybe a little Rambo talk helps. I was critical of National Guard Chief Lt. Gen. Steven H. Blum for his comments about retaking the city. Sounds like the tough worked, however. They retook the Convention Center with no resistance yesterday. Guess he's not some wannabe cowboy, but instead a professional solider who knows a strong message goes a long way.

About Time

The calvalry has finally arrived in New Orleans. My question is what took them so long?

Ease Up There Cowboy

It seems like Lt. Gen. Steven Blum of the National Guard has seen one too many Rambo movies. Of the 7,000 troops arriving in New Orleans today, "[H]e said half of them had just returned from assignments overseas and are 'highly proficient in the use of lethal force.' He pledged to "put down" the violence 'in a quick and efficient manner.'"

Calm down there buddy. These are U.S. citizens, some of whom are surely thugs, but others of whom are just desparate souls looking for essential supplies. They are not Iraqi insurgents bent on blowing up the law-abiding citizens of New Orleans. They should be dealt with quickly and efficiently, but unless they present an immediate and life-threatening danger, there's no need to be thinking about lethal force.

No Kidding

W finds the response to Katrina unacceptable. Glad you see that, George, now do something about it.

They Can Do More

From SFM:

"We want to mobilize immediately and provide as much assistance as possible to the tens of thousands of people who find themselves in life threatening situations as a result of this disaster. Our goal is to collectively raise and contribute at least $1 million in aid to the victims." said NBPA Executive Director Bill Hunter. "We are in the process of contacting every player in the league to solicit their support and ideas on how we can make a difference as quickly as possible." added NBPA President Antonio Davis of the Chicago Bulls.

Their goal is to raise $1 million? Antonio Davis is seeking ideas on how to raise money? Here's an idea: donate money, like Baron Davis, who gave $50,000. You can afford it. There are 30 teams in the NBA, each with 12 active players or a total of 360 players. $1 million comes to about $3,000 a player in a league where the average salary was $4.9 million as of 2003. That's peanuts. Players like Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Garnett, whose earnings are in the stratosphere, can afford to give $1 million by themselves. Come on, guys, you are incredibly privileged and wealthy. You and your colleagues in other sports can do better than this.

Too Much

I cannot resist the urge to read about the horrible situation in New Orleans. Several times a day I go onto the internet to read the latest. I am sure that I am no different than millions upon millions of people in the world. Drawn to the coverage like a moth is drawn to a flame. Mouth agape at the tales of devastation, the news that worsens by the minute. Stomach clenched with anger that people are made to suffer so much. That the Federal Government can't mobilize itself fast enough to reestablish order, provide the barest essentials, get the people out to safety. The growing realization that the death toll could skyrocket if people aren't evacuated soon. People are already beginning to drop from the strain, from the exhaustion. How much longer can they hold out?

Part of me wants to stop reading the news, to block it all out, but another part of me says that I need to stay informed, as if it will really make a difference. In all, it is numbing to read of such misery, too much to handle really. Yet I remain compelled, like a rubber necker at the scene of an accident.

My Advice?

Put Rudy Giuliani in charge. No one else, especially the Federal Government, seems competent to get a grip on the rapidly and dangerously deteriorating situation in New Orleans.

What?

I think this represents a bizarre set of priorities.

A city councillor interviewed by the Associated Press news agency meanwhile said looting was "out of control".

"We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue," Jackie Clarkson said.

Why try to control the looting, if you're doing it at the expense of search and rescue? The looters are assholes, surely, but they're taking things. Save the people, not the things.

I Have No Words

It's just beyond terrible. Please, if you can, donate some money to the survivors of Katrina, many of whom have nothing to return to. The American Red Cross has already set up a fund.

Fast Turnaround

Yesterday, the jury in the Mississippi Burning case claimed they were deadlocked after 2 1/2 hours of deliberations. Today, they reached a quick decision on a manslaughter conviction. Can't help but wonder whether they mailed this one in, intent on getting through the deliberations as expeditiously as possible rather than taking time to weigh the case seriously.

Well, Now We Know

One of the country's great mysteries has finally been solved. We now know the identity of Deep Throat, the whistleblower on the Nixon Administration. Then Deputy FBI Director Mark Felt.

I never heard of him. I was only 10 at the time. I later heard speculation that it might have been Al Haig. Well, I knew who Al Haig was. He made me laugh during that whole "I'm in charge thing."

Then there was the speculation that it was Pat Buchanan. I never bought it. In large part, because I just don't like Pat Buchanan, so I didn't really want it to be someone I didn't like.

Of course, there was the Henry Kissinger rumor. Yeah, because Mr. Realpolitik himself was going to turn tables on the man who put him in such a position of power.

But it turns out to be someone I've never even heard of. I must confess, I feel a kind of letdown. All these years wondering who Deep Throat was.

I suppose I'd only feel more of a letdown if it turned out the Warren Commission Report says Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

Let Her Be

Word is that authorities in Georiga are weighing charges against runaway bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks. Although there is evidence that she planned her cross-country trip ahead of time, I say cut her some slack. I do not deny that she acted recklessly and put family, friends, and authorities through the wringer needlessly. However, as the more understanding authorities in New Mexico note, she was a "person in crisis" who acted out of confusion and desperation. Her crime is minor and likely hurt no one other than those closest to her. That is a matter for them to work out personally. Perhaps authorities can strike a happy medium by letting her plead to a lesser charge and sentencing her to community servicing and counseling.

Finger Food

Yesterday was the first I’d heard of someone making the gruesome discovery of a finger in her Wendy’s chili. She’s been arrested for reasons that the police have yet to announce.

In the meantime, Wendy’s has been in serious PR mode trying to recover from the stain on its reputation and a hefty loss of business. From the New York Times (req. required):

To quell the problems and try to rebuild the company's reputation, Wendy's decided to offer free milkshakes this weekend in 48 Bay Area stores as a sign of customer appreciation. Mr. Lynch flew to San Jose on Tuesday to help coordinate the effort. The company has also decided to send coupons to residents in the area around the restaurant. Next month, Wendy's will introduce a new premium deli sandwich, also in the Bay Area.

I am dubious about this strategy. It’s not like Wendy’s committed some PR gaffe that can be salved by offers of free food. We’re talking about people’s utter repulsion at the thought of someone finding a finger in her food. That’s going to stick in the mind and steer people away. The only answer? Time or an announcement by the police that the woman, who has a history of filing lawsuits, was arrested because she planted the finger.

Update: Police have now announced she was arrested on suspicion of planting the finger. Desperate and sick.

R.I.P.

Ronald Wilson Reagan

Junk Food Free Zone

A Connecticut school is turning itself into a junk food free zone. While I can't get behind confiscating candy bars from kids, I think that changing the options offered in the vending machines and the cafeteria menu is not just fine, but a good idea.

First of all, I don't know when schools even started having vending machines. My schools certainly didn't, until I hit college, and it's not as if I was attending high school while dinosaurs still roamed the earth. But if the schools wish to offer vending machines to students, then it is up to the school to decide with what to stock the vending machines. I wish that the company where I work would stock the vending machines with healthier options too. But any way you slice it, access to junk food (or healthier food, for that matter) in vending machines is not a right we all possess, so if the school wishes to stock granola bars instead of cookies, that's their call. They're the ones paying for the vending machines.

As for the cafeteria, school food sucks no matter what they're serving. I mean, come on, who can forget mystery meat? But even were that not the case, it's still up to the school to decide what foods to serve in its cafeteria. A restaurant isn't forced to offer things on its menu just because you want it. You can't go to Jean-Georges and expect to get hot dogs with sauerkraut. You want hot dogs with sauerkraut, go to the hot dog cart on the corner (or however you non-New Yorkers get hot dogs with sauerkraut). Same thing for school cafeterias. You want a hot dog, bring it. The school shouldn't confiscate it from you if you do, but it doesn't have to provide you with one either.

Ultimately what this comes down to is that childhood obesity is a real problem in this country. So is adult obesity. The schools can't influence what kids eat at home, nor should they be able to. But if a school recognizes the problem and wants to do something in its power to help, then it should be applauded. Obesity is a real, serious health problem with significant consequences for individuals and the country. Sometimes it's a medical issue, but more often than not it's a lifestyle issue. The challenge is changing your lifestyle, which isn't easy. Easy is going to McDonald's on the way home from work to get dinner for you and your family. At least it's easy in the short-term. At least it seems easy in the short-term. But when you're always tired, get out of breath from walking medium distances or climbing a flight of stairs, never feel quite right, ask yourself how easy is it really? Maybe, in the long run, changing your lifestyle actually is easier. That's what I'm banking on.

But what's real easy is starting to eat well when you're young. Then you don't form the bad habits that are hard to break later in life. The schools can't really make that happen at home, and, let me stress once more, they shouldn't be able to. However, they also don't have to be a part of the problem by feeding the kids junk food too. On that score, I say good for the school.

9/11 Widows Talk

Dave (aka BSB) sends me this very interesting link to a two-hour radio special where four widows of 9/11 speak about their experiences.

Disturbing

Dietz, who got the tip from Kathy, points out that this story about arrests of domestic terrorists hasn't made the national news. I certainly couldn't find any reference to this story in the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, or the Wall Street Journal. What the hell? This is a big story, one that would be worthy of mention in the national news media. Weapon of mass destruction? Advanced terrorist plot? In what world, where the national news media is regularly reporting on the arrests of foreign terrorists in similar situations, is this not newsworthy? Have they been asked to suppress it? It was on local affiliates of at least two of the major networks (CBS and NBC). It was in local papers. It's on the FBI website. It was on the AP Wire. Given all that, it's inconceivable that they are unaware of it. This is very disturbing.

CBS 11 Investigates Poison Gas Plot

Nov 26, 2003 3:30 pm US/Central
By Robert Riggs
With Investigative Producer Todd Bensman

Federal authorities this year mounted one of the most extensive investigations of domestic terrorism since the Oklahoma City bombing, CBS 11 has learned.

Three people linked to white supremacist and anti-government groups are in custody. At least one weapon of mass destruction - a sodium cyanide bomb capable of delivering a deadly gas cloud - has been seized in the Tyler area.

Investigators have seized at least 100 other bombs, bomb components, machine guns, 500,000 rounds of ammunition and chemical agents. But the government also found some chilling personal documents indicating that unknown co-conspirators may still be free to carry out what appeared to be an advanced plot. And, authorities familiar with the case say more potentially deadly cyanide bombs may be in circulation.

Since arresting the three people in May, federal agents have served hundreds of subpoenas across the country in a domestic terror investigation that made it onto President Bush’s daily intelligence briefings and set off national security alarms among the country’s most senior counter-terror officials.

William J. Krar, originally from New Hampshire, last week pleaded guilty in Tyler federal court to possession of a chemical weapon near the East Texas town of Noonday. He faces up to ten years in prison. His common-law wife, Judith Bruey, pleaded guilty to lesser weapons charges and faces up to five years in prison.

Also arrested this past Spring was Newark, New Jersey resident Edward Feltus. The New Jersey Militia member has pleaded guilty to attempting to purchase fake United Nations and Department of Defense identity cards from Krar.

All three have steadfastly maintained their silence, even though talking could reduce their prison sentences, and the investigation has stalled for now. Evidence seized and the fact that none of the defendants will talk has given rise to speculation that unknown conspirators may be still be involved in a broader plot to use Krar’s home-built chemical weapons, government officials say.

“One would certainly have to question why an individual would feel compelled to stockpile sodium cyanide, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, unless they had some bad intent,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Rivers, who is prosecuting the case. “They certainly had the capacity to be extremely dangerous.”

Terrorism investigators suspect that Krar, who has paid no federal income taxes since 1988, made his living as a traveling arms salesman who pedaled illicit bomb components and other weapons to violent underground anti-government groups across the country.

Sources familiar with the investigation say authorities especially fear that Krar may have manufactured more than one sodium cyanide bomb and sold them. After a traffic stop earlier this year while Krar was traveling through Tennessee, state troopers seized sodium cyanide among other weapons, one government source confirmed.

During the same stop, troopers found notes in Krar’s car.

One of the notes titled “Trip” recommends, “You will need cash, pre-charged phone card, spare gas can and all planning in place.”

Another note titled “Procedure” appears to represent instructions for carrying out some kind of covert operation. It lists code words for cities where meetings can take place at motels. Other codes appear to be warnings about how close police might be to catching the plotters. “Lots of light storms are predicted,” for instance, means “Move fast before they look any harder. We have a limited window remaining.”

The same note goes on to recommend ways to divert pursuers and suggests, “We want all looking in the wrong direction.”

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, counter-terrorism agencies have been consumed by national efforts to ferret out U.S.-based foreign terrorist cells whose members hail from the Middle East. Federal investigators were not looking for white supremacist groups when they stumbled across Krar by accident.

He drew the FBI’s attention when he sent a package of counterfeit ID’s for the United Nations and Defense Intelligence Agency to Feltus’ New Jersey home earlier this year. The package was mistakenly delivered to a Staten Island man, who opened it and called police.

A note found inside and signed by Krar stated, “Hope this package gets to you O.K. We would hate to have this fall into the wrong hands.”

The discovery led to surveillance operations in and around Tyler, and then search warrants that turned up the Sodium cyanide bomb and other illegal weapons at locations controlled by Krar.

Little is known about Krar and Bruey.

Two years ago, the couple quietly set up business as a gun parts manufacturer at a remote storage locker in Noonday, Texas. Krar apparently has similarly operated his businesses under the radar for years in other states before coming to Texas. As he did in Tyler, Krar rented local post office boxes and storage units.

In one affidavit for a search warrant, an FBI agent noted that Krar was “actively involved in the militia movement…a good source of covert weaponry for white supremacist and anti-government militia groups in New Hampshire.”

Until now, the little town just south of Tyler was best known locally for the sweet onions grown there.

Teresa Staples, who owns the storage facility, said Krar pretended to buy and sell army surplus goods at flea markets. Only later, when FBI agents swarmed the place, did she learn that the surplus goods hid dangerous chemicals and weapons.

“Why did they pick such a small storage facility? Why did they pick this town, because I know they’re from up north,” she said. “How did they find us?”

This was not the first time that Krar has drawn the attention of federal investigators. In 1995, the ATF investigated Krar and another man on weapons charges. The other suspect told authorities at the time that he and Krar shared an abiding hatred of the federal government and had been planning to bomb government facilities, court records show. But the suspect later recanted the story about plotting terror attacks with Krar. Krar denied the allegation and was not arrested, according to records.

According to a more recent FBI affidavit, on the day of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Krar raised suspicion at a New Hampshire storage unit he was renting. An employee called the FBI that day and reported that Krar was “wicked anti-American.”

While authorities work for a new break in the case, some counter-terrorism experts question whether the government might be overlooking dangers closer to home while fighting the War on Terror in the Middle East.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors domestic hate groups, says the number of openly violent groups dropped from more than 1,000 to about 100 after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing because of negative public sentiment. Groups that call East Texas home include the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations and Christian Identity.

In 1997, the Dallas FBI broke up a terror plot by members of the Ku Klux Klan to blow up a Wise County power plant.

Former Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Danny Coulson was involved in the nation’s first stand-offs with domestic anti-government groups and mounted some of the first intensive domestic terror investigations. He cautioned that authorities should take care not to forget about domestic groups while concentrating on foreign ones.

“It’s scary when you look at their capabilities,” he said. “Look at the vulnerabilities of our society. We don’t have to concern ourselves only with foreign terrorists, but we need to concern ourselves with domestic terrorists too. And these guys are very dangerous.”

Some Things Are Just Not Funny

When I first read this headline - Yahoo! News - Garage Full of Dead Cats Found in Indiana - I really wanted to make a joke about it. We had a saying in a Yahoo! Club I used to participate in (before the switch to the ad-driven Groups format drove us away) - All Republicans Hate Cats. I wanted to do a post entitled "Republicans Strike in Indiana" or something. But then I read the story and, damn it, it's so awful I just can't really joke about it. If you are squeamish, don't read it.

Ooh Loulou!

More frivolous lawsuits. Actually a half a frivolous lawsuit. A guy is suing to depose a parrot to determine if it his lost parrot, Loulou. So far, understandable. He's also suing for $15,000 in pain and suffering should the parrot turn out to be his. What a crock. The parrot wasn't stolen. Who does he think he has a claim against?

Loulou, an 11-year-old African gray parrot, flew out of David DeGroff's apartment on April 12 after a guest who wasn't wearing her glasses accidentally walked into the screen door leading to the balcony.

On May 11, Nina Weaver, of Newburg, Pa., adopted an African gray from the D.C. Animal Shelter. DeGroff, convinced the bird is Loulou, filed a lawsuit seeking an opportunity to depose the parrot. He is seeking $15,000 for pain and suffering if the bird turns out to be Loulou.

According to DeGroff, Loulou's vocal repertoire includes whistling the theme song to "The Andy Griffith Show" and saying the phrase "Daddy's gotta go to work."

The parrot should sue DeGroff for pain and suffering for teaching her to whistle the theme song to "The Andy Griffith Show". That has to be worth more than 15 grand.

Let My Espresso Beans Go

Seattle residents have resoundingly said "No!" to a proposed 10-cent tax on espresso or espresso-based coffees. The proposition was put on the ballot to fund better daycare for poor families, but Seattle residents figure there's a better way to do that than taxing their favorite beverage. I can't disagree.

"As we said all along, this is the wrong way to fund child care," said Stephanie Bowman, coordinator for Joined to Oppose the Latte Tax, or JOLT.

"Everybody should be paying for these programs, not just coffee drinkers. Not with a gimmick like the Seattle latte tax," Bowman said.

Although I would have thought that in Seattle "everybody" and "coffee drinkers" were synonymous terms.

The Law Fought the Law

And the law won.

An Alabama panel that monitors judicial conduct suspended State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore for failing to comply with a federal order. A federal judge had ordered Moore to remove a two-ton granite Ten Commandments monument by midnight on Wednesday. Moore refused, and now he's learning firsthand what happens when you don't obey the law.

The Power is Back On...

...and everything's back to normal again. Politicians are pointing partisan fingers at each other.

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't care who is to blame for the antiquated state of the nation's power grid. Just fix it. Put aside your stupid rhetoric and blamesmanship and fix it. I bet you'd even get more votes if people thought you were acting in a constructive manner. I say that, because I believe it's unlikely that anything else will motivate you power-hungry vote whores. Because if you were motivated by something else, you wouldn't be pulling this BS. You'd just work together to fix it.

Your Kids Will Meditate in School

23 years after it was released, my favorite Dead Kennedy's song, California Über Alles, appears to be coming true. Only it's not Jerry Brown and it's not California, but Denver. A former transcendental meditation teacher has collected enough signatures to put a referendum on the ballot that would, among other things, require large groups of people to meditate.

I think that if the moonbats want to get together and start meditating for the greater good, they should go right ahead. There is no doubt that it would serve the greater good. They'd be too busy meditating to come up with crackpot legislation like this.

In fairness, it's unlikely this stupid referendum will actually pass. But I still think this calls for a posting of the lyrics of that fine DKs song.

I am Governor Jerry Brown
My aura smiles
And never frowns
Soon I will be president

Carter power will soon go away
I will be Führer one day
I will command all of you
Your kids will meditate in school

California Über Alles
Über Alles California

Zen fascists will control you
100% natural
You will jog for the master race
And always wear the happy face

Close your eyes, can't happen here
Big Bro' on white horse is near
The hippies won't come back you say
Mellow out or you will pay

California Über Alles
Über Alles California

Now it is 1984
Knock knock at your front door
It's the suede/denim secret police
They have come for your uncool neice

Come quitely to the camp
You'd look nice as a drawstring lamp
Don't you worry, it's only a shower
For your clothes here's a pretty flower

Die on organic poison gas
Serpent's egg's already hatched
You will crack, you little clown
When you mess with President Brown

California Über Alles
Über Alles California

Sentencing Idiocy

Sentence for possession of 8 ounces of marijuana in New York - 4 years in jail. Sentence for possession of 150,000 images of child pornography - 6 months in jail and 10 years probation.

Number of people harmed by growing 8 ounces of marijuana - 0. Number of people harmed by creating 150,000 images of child pornography - 150,000 or more children.

Yeah, those sentences make a lot of sense.

More Government Intrusion

I suppose women in Alabama will have to be satisfied with the intrusion of the Alabama State Legislature, since it just voted to uphold a ban on vibrators. However, they can take heart. Although this case has not made it to SCOTUS, a federal district court has ruled the obscenity law as it stands unconstitutional. Apparently removing the ban on sex toys from the law would render it constitutional. I wonder how the other Senator from Pennsylvania feels about this.

Double Your Charges

NOW is opposing charging Scott Peterson with double homicide because of its potential impact on the pro-choice cause. As a pro-choicer, I have to say I find this ridiculous. Two bodies were found. Two bodies = double homicide. Case closed.

Even with respect to fetal homicide statutes, though, I don't have a problem, especially when it is a viable fetus. They all exempt out legal abortions. And when you are talking about a viable fetus, there is no reason not to consider it double homicide. The only time abortions should be allowed in the case of a viable fetus is to save the life of the mother. Killing her hardly qualifies.

Via Michele

Peterson Press Conference

Okay, I've got CNN on and waiting for the press conference to start regarding the Laci Peterson case. So far it hasn't began, but an interesting fact has emerged from the news commentary: Scott Peterson's fishing trip places him near the scene where the bodies were found.

Okay, the press conference has started. The Attorney General, Bill Lockyer, is speaking.

As we know, they were running DNA tests on the bones found and some reference material provided by the families. They developed usable DNA profiles from both the adult female and the fetus. They were able to develop usable profiles from Laci's parents and Scott Peterson (presumably proof for the fetus). Over the last 24 hours they compared the DNA with those reference materials. There is no question in their minds that the adult female is Laci Peterson. The unidentified fetus is the biological child of Laci and Scott Peterson.

Now a scientist is explaining the science behind the DNA. Apparently the probabilities that the DNA matches is in the billions compared to random samples.

We've cut to the police department press conference now. Chief Roy Wasden is speaking. He's introducing and thanking other police officers. The only other piece of information they are giving now is that Scott Peterson has been arrested, which we already knew. At this time, he's saying that they are not going to go into the depth of the investigation. He's pretty much refusing to answer any questions regarding more details on why Scott Peterson was arrested.

The D.A. is not saying now whether or not they will seek the death penalty, but says that it is an option, given that it's a double homicide.

Nothing much more interesting going on. Mostly the press trying to get more details, and the police refusing. They still haven't determined a cause of death, though. I'm going to stop blogging the conference now.

Not Surprising

Police have arrested Scott Peterson and will be holding a press conference tonight at 9 p.m. EDT to announce a "significant change" in the case.

Stick Out Tongue, Get Suspended

More stupid cases like this one will soon make sexual harassment seem like no big thang.

[A] 12-year-old Magoffin Middle School student, said he stuck his tongue out at a girl who declined his invitation to be his girlfriend. School district administrators viewed the incident as sexual harassment, suspended him for three days and are considering placing him in an alternative school

Oh Lord save us, a 12-year-old boy stuck out his tongue at a female classmate.

"The teacher said he stuck his tongue out and moved it back and forth and waved at her like you were patting someone on the back and that that constitutes sexual harassment," Salvador Santana said. "She said the girl was upset and scared."

Okay, she was upset and scared. So talk to the boy and tell him not to do it again. But suspension?

The district's student code of conduct states that "sexual harassment of a student by another student includes unwanted and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, whether by word, gesture or any other sexual conduct, including requests for sexual favors."

I didn't know that 12-year-olds sticking their tongue out now constituted physical conduct of a sexual nature. I thought it was just bratty and immature, connoting "Well, phooey on you then."

What a damn world. What next? A child who says "This sucks" getting suspended for sexual harassment?

When Rules Are More Important Than People (Almost)

A van driver who broke her company rules to pick up a girl running from a man who was trying to force her into his car was initially suspended by her superior. Her company forbids the drivers from picking up non-clients, so on the basis of this rule, her superior suspended her without pay and told her she might even be fired. Fortunately van company higher-ups saw how ludicrous this suspension was and rescinded it with back pay. They say the driver will not be penalized. I only hope her boss is.

Via 3DHS

And Now What Not To Do If You're A DUI Coordinator

Get arrested for drunk driving. What a world.

Hallelujah

In one of those rare but always hoped for endings to a missing child case, Elizabeth Smart has been found alive and reunited with her family.

More From Captain Obvious

A new medical study proves that eating fast food and watching too much TV increase the likelihood of obesity in whites.

Bulletin from the medical front: Eating fast food and sitting for hours in front of the television are really terrible for the waistline.

As obvious as this might sound, there has been little firm scientific data to prove the point, especially about fast food. But a large study released today shows how bad super-sized burgers and nonstop tube time can be for health.

I hate to differ (ok, I really don't), but there has long been firm scientific data to prove the point. It is actually unnecessary to test every food known to man to draw a causal link between it and weight. We know for a scientific fact that eating 3,500 calories more than you require to maintain your current weight will cause you to gain one pound. We also know that exercising burns calories and that weight-bearing exercise increases the metabolism. Fast food is high in calories. Combine that with watching 2 1/2 or more hours of TV a day, which leaves no real time for exercise (and burning some of those excess calories), and, amazingly, people who regularly partake in eating fast food and watching 2 1/2 hours of TV a day will gain weight. Wow.

The study did turn up one thing which is not immediately obvious - that eating a lot of fast food is not linked to poor health in blacks. However, upon more thought, that is not terribly surprising either. We know that a greater percentage of blacks live near or below the poverty line than whites. People who live near or below the poverty line tend to eat cheaper foods, which are generally higher in carbohydrates. Put it all together, and you get that whites probably are eating healthier, lower calorie meals when they cut out the fast foods, whereas blacks are probably still eating cheaper, higher calorie meals anyway. Perhaps a more useful study would be about the eating habits of whites and blacks in general with an eye towards helping Americans eat better overall.

Via The Daily Pundit

Bad Business

Mall security asked a man who bought an anti-war t-shirt at the mall to leave for wearing it at the same mall. When he resisted, he was arrested. Rick over at The Rant raises an excellent point about this story, which is why it's perfectly okay to sell and buy said shirt at mall, just not to wear it. That is a bit inconsistent. "Sure, give us your money on our property for anti-war shirts, but just don't use them on our property."

Even beyond that, however, it's just bad business sense. Yes, the mall is private property and has the right to refuse service to anyone it wishes. However refusing to serve someone because they choose to wear an anti-war t-shirt is bad PR and will alienate a segment of their market. They could well lose some customers because of this. We're not talking about extreme, fringe views here either. We're not talking about refusing service to neo-Nazis or members of the KKK who walk around with clothing parading their views. Most people would probably be relieved if people like that were refused service, and in most areas they don't make up a large enough percentage of the populace to make a big difference. But anti-war proponents? Most people probably have a friend or family member who expresses such sentiments. This is not good business.

Victor Victorious

Back in November, I blogged about the case going to the Supreme Court in which Victoria's Secret was suing a small adult novelty store in Elizabethtown, KY called Victor's Little Secret for hurting its trademark. In a common sense ruling, the Supreme Court ruled against Victoria's Secret.

"Use of the name 'Victor's Little Secret' neither confused any consumers or potential consumers, nor was likely to do so," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the court.

The fact that a consumer may make the mental association between a famous trademark and a knockoff is not the same thing as showing that the famous name was damaged, Stevens wrote.

A win for the little guy!

Thanks to both Jon and Justin for bring this to my attention.

Prisoners No Longer Color-Coordinated With Threat Level

Those of us who shun wearing the color orange will be pleased to know that prisoners are no longer more color-coordinated than us, since the threat level has been reduced to Yellow. I will wear my citron earrings tomorrow just to match the threat level du jour. Perhaps I'll also drink a little lemonade.

The Budget Reduction Fairy...

...is making her rounds. A school administrator in Michigan has recommended that his own job be cut to save money. However the winning entry for most idiotic budget reduction goes to the state of Missouri - they inadvertently nearly axed the state budget director in a cost reduction move.

Professor Arrested

Wow, they actually arrested Sami Al-Arian for raising money for Islamic Jihad. It took them nearly eight years to get enough evidence together, though?

Don't Do The Crime

If you can't do the time. I wonder if Barretta's cockatoo could be a witness against Robert Blake...

Do The Right Thing

This story got me thinking a lot about the responsibilities of individuals and nations. A man was shot at a gas station in broad daylight in Washington D.C. The gunman immediately ran away after the victim fell. Witnesses at the gas station did nothing to either aid the victim or report the crime. One man just continued to pump his gas, paid for his purchase, and left. The story is very reminiscent of the Kitty Genovese case.

Upon hearing things like this, most of us recoil in shock and shame. We start to search ourselves. What would we do in such a situation? Surely we would behave differently. We would come to the aid of the victim. We would call the police, call the hospital, do something. But deep down, we wonder if we really would. We wonder what other people would do if we were the victim. We're afraid they would do exactly what the witnesses in the D.C. and Kitty Genovese cases did - Nothing. So we think to ourselves "Something must be done."

When it comes to situations like these, the "something must be done" school can reach a sort of critical mass. Enough people believe that "something must be done" that, eventually, something will be done. We just can't trust each other to do it as is evidenced by the fact that too many of us don't when given the opportunity. If we can't trust each other, then who can we trust? Why, the government, of course. We turn to the government to use the force of law to make people do what we all really know is the right thing. The thing we should be doing without the force of law. There was a time that most people would do the right thing without threat of punishment. Now we seem to live in a world where we feel that crimes are "none of our business," unless they are happening to us. This is why we have laws that require us to report certain crimes, because we know on some level that it should be our business, that, in fact, we can't have a civilized society unless we make it our business.

Then I started thinking about how this meshes with some (heavy emphasis on the word some) of the anti-war protests. Things like Bianca Jagger saying, "There is no place in the U.N. charter that says that if a country, no matter how appalling that country is, that we can wage a war to overthrow the government. If we were to do that we will have anarchy in the world." It just struck me that we would never accept that on the individual level. "There is no place in the country's law that says that if a person, no matter how violent that person is, that we can take action to have him/her arrested. If we were to do that we will have anarchy in the world." Put like that, it's ridiculous. We would have anarchy in the world if we didn't take action to have that person arrested. (By the way, I know that our country's law does specifically state we can do that; I just don't think that Ms. Jagger would accept that if the U.N. charter were amended to allow it either.)

Not to mention the fact that most people wouldn't accept what she said anyway. If Hitler had never invaded Poland and kept all his activities within the borders of Germany, would we have been unjustified in waging war to stop him? Would we have been unjustified in waging war against Pol Pot (even though we didn't)? Surely there is some level of appallingness that justifies intervention to overthrow the government. Isn't that why we went into Kosovo, after all?

Nor would we say that people shouldn't act as individuals even if they perceived it as being against their best interests. "I didn't report that crime because I was running late to work and didn't want my pay docked. I've got a lot of debt. It just wasn't in my best interest to call the police." I recognize that is considered a perfectly valid excuse on the national level, though, and one that has much history behind it. It just strikes me as at odds with our notions of personal responsibility.

Why this dichotomy between perceived individual and national levels of responsibilities? Do people become less worthy of being aided the further away from us they are? What impact does this have on our notions of personal responsibility too? Does insisting that known, documented horrors elsewhere around the globe are "none of our business" make it easier for us to believe that violence in front of us is "none of our business" too? I don't know, but I suspect it does.

What do you think?

Life Imitates Soap Opera

Connie Post of Ohio has been married 10 times. How sad is it when you've actually been married more times than All My Children's Erica Kane Martin Brent Cudahy Chandler Montgomery Montgomery Chandler Marick Marick?

A New Definition of Safe

Mikey says:

"You just cannot stop and let the terrorists win and go into a room and duct-tape the doors and windows," he said at a nationally televised news conference. "Go about your business. The city is safe."

Ah yes, we should just go about our business despite the massive police presence on the streets. "Nothing to see here, folks, just move right along. Pay no attention to the cop behind the curtain in front of your face. They're just here for decor. Really. Honest. " You know, it was way better when he was the CEO of a large media conglomerate. We didn't have to hear him speak then.

Happy Valentine's Day

Yes, it's Valentine's Day 2003, a day when people all over the country get hearts, flowers, chocolates, and Robert Chambers is released from prison after serving the maximum time for killing Jennifer Levin. So that Robert doesn't feel left out of all the typical Valentine's cheer, I want to give him this, courtesy of the folks at Acme Labs Heartmaker:

Condition Orange

More vague, shadowy warnings. An "orange" level Homeland Security Alert. New York heightens security. So what do we, as civilians, do?

Well, best as I can tell, nothing. However, some suggestions for things to do during an orange alert:

1. Be wary of the oranges in the supermarket.

2. Color-coordinate your clothes with the threat level du jour. Prisoners are already geared up to coordinate with today's threat level. Do you want a prisoner to be more color-coordinated than you?

3. Go one step further and dye your hair to match the threat level. Get one of those non-permanent hair color spray things that you would use for Halloween. This will also help your neighbors know when to be more or less worried. If you don't The Terrorists Will Win^TM

4. In fact, make it a whole color-coded threat level theme. Buy slipcovers to match the threat level. Eat only foods that are the same color (the Floridians will love you today). Buy color-coded light bulbs. Go wild!

5. Ignore it and go about your daily business.

Shuttle Not Communicating With NASA

The space shuttle Columbia stopped communicating with NASA shortly before it was scheduled to land. This was the shuttle with the first Israeli astronaut on it, as well as six American astronauts. CNN is reporting on its cable channel that the shuttle has broken up. I have no words.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

No wonder the Post Office loses mail. They can't even hold on to their own property. Two years ago, the Post Office had 20 million of the plastic mail-storage tubs they use for sorting, processing, and delivering mail. They are now down to 20,000. Yes, that's right, over a two-year period they lost 99.9% of their mail-storage tubs. They're offering an amnesty for people to return the missing tubs, but somehow I think it won't be successful. They'll wind up having to replace them at a cost of $3.25 each.

At $3.25 a pop, they lost $64.9 million worth of tubs. (Is it obvious I'm in finance or what?) Other things the Post Office could do with $64.9 million:

Hire A-Rod to work for them for 2.5 years. Hey, at least he's fast, more than you can say for some of the mail carriers in my neighborhood.

Buy the entire population of Canada 4 bottles of Blue each and still have money left over to buy some chips and dip.

Buy each of their employees 81 lottery tickets.

Buy 737,898 of their employees a one month supply of Prozac.

Buy me 158,378 pairs of Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks. Being the kind soul that I am, I'm willing to share.

So write to the Post Office and tell them that rather than buying new tubs they are likely to lose, they should buy me and my friends some fabby new shoes. Except, of course, that they'll probably lose your letter.

Guns Don't Kill People...

People beating dogs to death with guns kill people.

Harry Potter Ecstasy

Harry Potter books may cause ecstasy in children, but I don't think this is what J.K. Rowling had in mind. Other images stamped on the face of ecstasy tablets include the Smurfs and the Flintstones. Fortunately the DEA has charged 14 people allegedly involved in this crime. I'm for legalizing drugs, but not for kids.

AOL Time Warner Goes Old Skool

Signalling the final death knell of AOL's skewed influence over the combined company, AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case has resigned. He was prompted to this decision by criticism of the combined company's performance, which has not lived up to expectations.

This move symbolizes better than almost anything else the victory of old media over new, of bricks over clicks. The AOL internet unit has been faltering over the last few years, while the Time Warner entertainment unit has been growing. This does not mean that there is no room for new media. Just that old media will have the greatest influence and will drive most of the decisions for the foreseeable future, with new media supplementing those moves. Many observers had anticipated the opposite.

That expectation, however, displayed a lack of understanding of how business fundamentally works. The key to a successful business is its product, not its delivery mechanism. The internet provides a great delivery mechanism, but it cannot stand alone without content and product. Old media companies specialize in providing content. Manufacturers specialize in providing product. Those who provide the delivery mechanism can exist as stand-alone companies, because there is a value to the delivery mechanism. Nonetheless, their companies still ultimately rely upon the success of the providers of goods.

Even in its heyday, AOL was dependent upon content providers. It provided an easier way to access the internet, a way for the non-technically savvy to get online and find what they wanted. The reason they were online to begin with, however, was for the content, not the delivery mechanism. It is only fitting, therefore, that the content provider drives the combined company forward.

Smoking Ban Bans Ban

Folks in Pittsburgh who wanted to pass a law to ban smoking in restaurants and bars are blocked from doing so by a previous law restricting smoking. The previous law forbids the passing of new bans on smoking, except in Philadelphia. Perhaps those Pittsburgh smoking ban proponents might come to appreciate the wisdom of W.C. Fields' words.

WWJS

We've heard the questions What Would Jesus Do and What Would Jesus Drive. But now a paper asks the question, What Would Jesus Smoke?

Okay, not quite. However it does suggest that the anointing oil used by Jesus contained a potent cannabis extract. Teaching me something I did not know, apparently marijuana, when in an oil-based carrier, can be absorbed through the skin. "Hey, officer, I don't have any pot, man. This is just some body oil. Got any potato chips?" The Body Shop could make a killing selling stuff like that, if only it were legal.

Which leads me to question whether this would be a good way to convince recalcitrants to legalize pot. Somehow I think not. People are very protective of their religious beliefs, and I don't think many will buy that Jesus wants them to use pot. I suspect it would actually backfire. Ah well. We'll have to fight the fight with other tactics.

Via On The Third Hand

Will PETA File an Amicus Curiae?

Two Florida inmates face life in prison for hate crimes against a third prisoner. Seems the victim had stolen the pet spider of one of the alleged attackers and named it Pinky. No word on whether it was the kidnapping or the granting of the name which caused the most anger. Really, what spider could hold its head up high after being named "Pinky?"

While beating the victim so severely that they fractured his skull, the alleged attackers, both black, referred to the white victim as a "cracker." It was that racial slur that caused the State to charge the inmates with a hate crime, upgrading it to a life felony. Yes, beating someone so badly that they are hospitalized with a fractured skull will only get you a few years, but uttering a racial slur while doing so means life in prison. At least this puts the lie to the sometimes claim that blacks are never charged with hate crimes against whites.

The spider has not been located.

Speechless

Lake Superior State University, a small private college in Michigan, has compiled the 2003 list of banned words. The list is put together from entries received throughout the year and represents those words that the selection committee considered highly over-used.

Among the words on this year's list are "weapons of mass destruction" and "homeland security." How sweet. If only it were really so easy to ban those things. "Well, we can't use the words 'weapons of mass destruction' anymore, so no one can possibly have them!" Quick, somebody tell Hans Blix. Or, "Sorry, Mr. Ridge, but your department can't exist, because some two-bit college in Michigan says we're not allowed to use the words 'homeland security' ever again."

I do have some sympathy with the concept, however, as other banned words include "must-see TV" and the use of the word "challenge" instead of "problem." I would also submit that "opportunity" should have been included along with "challenge." "We don't have a problem. We have an opportunity!" Oh, fuck that, a budget shortfall is a problem, and no idiotic cheerleading will change that. It will, however, make me want to slap the person saying it. The good news, though, is to that person, my wanting to slap them could not be a problem, but an opportunity. Indeed, it is, an opportunity for me to exorcise my frustrations on a simpering, saccharine moron. Too bad common sense prevents me from seizing that opportunity. Well, common sense and the mortgage I have to pay.

You can see the full list of words here.

Gee Ya Think?

CNN Headline: Economy Key in 2003. Tomorrow, CNN hopes to inform us that you need air to breathe, that caffeine will keep you awake, and that eating too much causes weight gain.

We Don't Want No Stinking Competition

Consumers in California's Bay Area who want to use SBC for DSL service and another provider for local phone service can't. In fact, this is true across the country. The Baby Bells, who were whining for the government to let them compete in the long distance arena, are now trying to protect their local monopolies at the expense of the consumer. Shocking, I know. When criticized for their actions by the competing DSL providers, SBC had this to say:

But SBC blamed AT&T and MCI, saying they could either provide DSL service themselves or hire an independent Internet service provider to provide it.

"If AT&T (or MCI) wanted to provide their new dial-tone customer with DSL, they could do so," said spokesman John Britton. "In fact, one would think they would be eager to generate more revenue from the access line they just won over."

Could the bitterness over the opening up of the local markets to competition be more apparent in that last line? Not surprisingly, though, SBC misses the point completely. Of course AT&T and MCI could offer DSL service to their local service customers also. This isn't about AT&T, MCI, SBC, or any other provider for that matter. It's about the consumer and the right to have choices. Competition isn't only right when it works in a company's favor. Although I realize most of them think otherwise.

If a consumer wants to buy local service from SBC, long distance service from Sprint, high speed access from AT&T, and wireless service from T-Mobile, that should be the right of that consumer. If those providers want to sell packages of services to consumers, they should do so through fair competition on service, convenience, and price, not through force.

Message to telecom providers - Make your case to the consumer that you are the best provider for all those services. The fact that you're resistant to doing so only makes it seem like you know you can't. It's not up to us to subsidize your inefficiencies.

People Talking Face to Face?

What is this odd concept?

In all seriousness, I think it's a great idea. I'm actually going to take the article to a couple of the local coffee houses and see if I can get them interested in it. A really odd thing about living in New York City is that you can live in a building with hundreds of other people and not know any of them. One of the things I like about the building I live in is that I actually do know most of the people in my building. A fair number by name even. But that is fairly unusual.

Arrested for Trying to Comply with the Law

Hundreds of immigrants from Middle Eastern countries were arrested in Southern California this week when they showed up to register in compliance with new anti-terrorism regulations. The majority of the men were arrested by INS officials for having overstayed their visas. On the one hand, I concede that if we are going to have an immigration policy, we ought to enforce it. On the other hand, there is this:

Immigration officials acknowledged Wednesday that many of those taken into custody this week have status-adjustment applications pending that have not yet been acted on.

In other words, many of the men who were arrested are taking the legal routes to stay in this country. We all know how inefficient the INS is. In at least one case, the person in question reportedly was told two years ago that his application had been approved, but processing delays held up the green card. The government is penalizing people for its own inefficiency. That may be the letter of the law, but I doubt it is the spirit. It certainly shouldn't be the spirit.

If the government can't process applications more efficiently, it ought to at least provide legal outs for those whose reviews are held up because of that. There is nothing stopping it from doing so. Either the regulation was poorly written or this was done purposefully. I certainly hope it is the former and that those people will be quickly released by a judge who understands the unfairness of this.

Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Racist

David Duke pleads guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion. I wonder how soon before some con makes Duke a "race traitor."

How Rude!

The New York City Transit Worker's Union (TWU) has stopped the clock on the strike, as negotiations continue with the MTA. This only means that the strike decision has been delayed for some unspecified period of time. I only just found that out, because I had fallen asleep on my couch 8 minutes before the announcement regarding strike or not was supposed to be made. Anyway, I have to say this is highly inconsiderate of them. If they go out on strike, I am starting my vacation two days early. Now I have to get up regular work time (6 am) to find out if I'm going to work tomorrow or not.

What's that? You think I should be looking at this from the POV of the 6,999,999 other commuters this could affect? Hmph.

UPDATE: Well the clock is still stopped, so it's into work with me this morning. Hopefully they will not decide to strike before I can get home tonight.

Show Me Your Dancer's License

File this in the things I never knew about my city drawer - Nightclubs in New York City need licenses for patrons to dance. Well, except for "incidental dancing," whatever the hell that is. What a ridiculous law. Not that there's any real chance that Bloomberg would have the sense to seek its repeal.

Here Come the Judge

A Texas school district will start ticketing parents for the misdemeanor charge of having a child who habitually doesn't do his/her homework. See, this is what happens when a critical mass of people don't do what they ultimately know is right - the government steps in and makes you do it.

There's no need for something like this. Parents are perfectly capable of making sure their children do their homework. Problem is that enough of them aren't doing that. Instead, they expect the school system to step in and fill the gap, something it's not capable of doing.

I've got news for you. This is only the tip of the iceberg. CNN files this story under "Offbeat News." I don't think it's offbeat at all. I think it was inevitable, given the way things were going, and it will happen more frequently and severely. Just wait to see what happens if there's another rash of school shootings.

Law-less

Cardinal Law's resignation accepted.

Next stop, Trent Lott.

Frivolous Lawsuits²

Apparently frivolous lawsuits expand geometrically. Two former Jefferson County jurors have filed a $6 billion lawsuit against "60 Minutes" and the owner of Emmerich Newspapers Inc. for making "defamatory" comments about the size of jury awards in Jefferson County. $597 million is for actual damages and $5.9 billion is for punitive damages. $6 billion in damages? What is that about truth being an absolute defense against slander?

Thanks to Justin for sending me this story.

No Expectation of Privacy for Private Parts

The Seattle legislature passed a law banning people from taking pictures or videos up a woman's skirt without her knowledge and consent. Sure, you would have thought that was already illegal. But not so, according to the Washington State Supreme Court. In an amazing feat of judicial "reasoning," the state Supreme Court had ruled that voyeurism laws did not apply if the pictures were taken in public places where there was no "reasonable expectation of privacy." Pardon the hell out of me, but as far as I'm concerned, I always have a reasonable expectation of privacy over my private parts. There's a reason we refer to them colloquially as "private parts," after all.

When Is a Code Not a Code?

When it's a West Virginia state government dress code.

"The dress code is not a code. It is a statement that we expect our employees to be properly attired at work," Smith said. "There are things we don't think are appropriate."

Perhaps they should rename it a dress statement then.

More on TIA

Personal profiling and TIA - a pretty scary combination. Oh no! My TiVo thinks I'm gay

Budget Woes

Continuing today's focus on budget items (as budgets have consumed my life), a CBO report requested by Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) predicts a $900 billion budget deficit by 2012 if government spending continues at its recent rate of growth and tax cuts are made permanent. In fact, this may be understated. If we do go to war with Iraq, government spending will likely increase at a faster rate of growth than the last several years. In addition the uncertainty caused by such a war will deepen economic woes, leading to a higher probability of additional future tax cuts.

However, we do need demand-side tax cuts to spark economic growth. We are in danger of a deflationary spiral, and monetary policy alone will not suffice. In fact, with the discount rate at 0.75% and the Fed Funds rate at 1.25%, the ability to use monetary policy through interest rate cuts is near an end.

There is the possibilityof the Fed focusing on exchange rates instead, by purchasing foreign currencies (such as the Euro) to promote a weakening in the dollar. This would have the result of making American exports more attractive. But it is questionable as to how effective that would be. We haven't really relied on manufacturing exports as a source of economic growth in some time, as even with a weaker dollar they are still not price competitive with foreign goods. Such a strategy is better suited, perhaps, to solving Japan's problems. We would be better served if the Fed were to increase holdings of government securities to finance an expansionary fiscal policy.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Presumably that is the idea behind this report on how much Presidential hopeful John Kerry pays for a haircut.

Democrat all-star John Kerry of Massachusetts is positioning himself as a populist politician while he takes the first step for a White House run...

But the self-described "Man of The People" pays $150 to get his hair styled and shampooed -- the cost of feeding a family of three for two weeks!

Excuse me, but who cares? He's paying for it himself. If he wishes to use his own money to pay for styling his hair, that's his business. He's not charging this to the taxpayers by submitting it for reimbursement. He pays taxes like the rest of us and should be willing to pay additional to fund the programs he advocates. How he spends his discretionary income is not anyone else's concern, as long as it's legal. Surely there are other issues to press on. This is ludicrous.

Via Counterspin Central.

What Is in a Name?

Enron's attorneys evinced a strong negative reaction to the company's trading practices and particularly the nicknames of the trading schemes during an October 2000 strategy session. Would they have felt better if the schemes had been nicknamed things like Operation We Love California and Fuzzy Little Kitten, instead of Death Star and Black Widow?

The government investigation into Enron's practices in the California market has, so far, turned up no evidence that Skilling or Lay knew about the practices in question. If that is true, however, it points to a failing in corporate governance procedures, for which the men should still be liable. If concern about allegations that Enron was gaming the power markets had grown to the point where a strategy session was called with the company's attorneys, the top executives should have been aware. They certainly knew about the mounting allegations. The attorneys at the strategy session realized the company could be in trouble and drafted up an eight-page memo listing the charges Enron could face. Yet these practices continued well into 2001.

At worst, the top executives knew the practices were questionable and allowed them to continue. At best, they did not know, but should have. It is unimaginable that the senior executives of any company should not have known for months that their attorneys were drafting up a legal defense against allegations of wrongdoing on this scale. It was their business to find out what steps were being taken to address the allegations. Senior executives at other companies have been held liable for failures in their corporate governance procedures. There is no reason the Enron executives should not be.

FBI Warns of Extremist Animal Rights Group

Sadly, this is not a joke. This group has harrassed individuals associated with the companies mentioned in the article at their homes. They have attempted to hack into their computer systems. In October, 12 of their members were arrested for threatening to burn down the home of a Boston manager associated with one of those firms. Protests are one thing. Harrassment, threats, and hacking are another.

Speaking of Birthdays...

...the Bush twins turn 21 tomorrow. I think this is an occasion worthy of celebration. Why? Because it means no more damn news stories about the girls drinking while under age. Free at last, free at last.

You mean college students drink while under age?

More Stupid Frat Tricks

Another two fraternities were suspended from a university, this time U. VA, after frat boys put on blackface and went to a Halloween party dressed as the Williams sisters. I reiterate my previous stance on this being a major over-reaction to college students acting like, well, college students. Rather than suspension, maybe it's time for the universities to offer diversity training classes as punishment. As pervasive as that is in corporate America, most college students don't think about that shit at all. Diversity to them is the number of different types of beers they can consume at the local bar.

Besides, let's be honest - as good an idea as it is to become more aware of other people's sensitivities, being forced to sit through one of those monumentally boring training classes presented by a monumentally boring attorney really would be punishment for them. Suspending fraternities will make them angry. Diversity training classes will make them squirm.

How Not to Keep a Secret

Secret Court OKs Broad Wiretap Powers. Yeah, that's really secret.

On a more serious note, despite a reported 75 instances of abuse of surveillance warrants, Attorney General Ashcroft assures us that "We have no desire whatever to, in any way, erode or undermine the constitutional liberties here." Somehow I'm not feeling very comforted.

U.S. Intelligence Concludes Voice on Tape Is Bin Laden

The CIA and NSA have analyzed the audiotape purporting to be Osama Bin Laden against previous recordings and announced that they are as certain as they can be that it is genuine. Although a recently issued Al Qaeda document states that we should expect them in New York and Washington, I fear that Bin Laden himself will not be amongst the visitors. Too bad. I'm a native New Yorker and have a pretty good idea how he'd be "welcomed." I'm generally not in favor of that kind of violence, but I would be more than happy to see the crowd get all Giuliani on him. In fact, I think we should give Rudy first crack. He's a scrappy little bastard; a real New Yorker's New Yorker. I love ya, Rudy.

Color-Coded Living

Tom Ridge has said that there are no plans to raise the terror alert level despite increased "chatter" about potential threats. I don't know about you, but personally, I'm just fine with that. These color-coded alert levels have done nothing to make me feel better about what the government is doing to protect us. If anything they have served only to heighten my anxiety level, except I don't even know what to be afraid of. The nation already knows there will be another attack of some sort at some time. The government regularly reminding us of that is useless. It needs to do something more active. Here are my suggestions for our government:

1. The problem last year wasn't that you didn't have enough information. It was that you didn't know how to integrate and interpret the information you had. Putting in place a function to collect even more information will not solve that problem. Aside from the civil liberties concerns, it will only exacerbate it. Creating a huge database to integrate all of it won't even solve the problem. A database of information cannot bring the information to the attention of the right people and make sure it is properly interpreted. What you need are better procedures for dealing with the information you have.

2. We are seriously considering attacking Iraq. If anything, this will only hasten any terrorist attacks. What have you been doing in the last year to protect us from them? What do you think are the likely form the attacks will take? Dirty bombs? Biological? Instead of spending money to gather more information, why not spend it on having the proper supplies to deal with those types of attacks. Why not stockpile antibiotics? Why not put into place programs to hand out suits that protect against radioactivity in case of a dirty bomb? Why not set up shelters in the major cities and tell people where to go in case of a dirty bomb?

3. Send more aid to Afghanistan. The Taliban is out, which is great news. The Afghans themselves seem very pleased with that, and who can blame them. However, if we simply allow the country to slip back into chaos and tribal warfare, the Taliban can come to power again. With them will come the ability for al Qaeda to reestablish operations there. We must do everything in our power to make sure the situation doesn't deteriorate to that level.

4. Apply diplomatic pressure to the EU to let Turkey in. The Islamist party that won the elections seems willing, right now, to remain our allies. We should encourage that by tying them even more firmly to Europe rather than allowing them reason to turn to other, unstable Islamic nations.

5. Work with Bhutto's party in Pakistan to get it to agree to back the pro-military party rather than the Islamist party. Promise additional aid; whatever it takes. Time is running out on the finalization of the coalition government and the selection of the new prime minister. An Islamist Pakistan with nuclear weapons is not something we can afford to have.

Do these things rather than issue color-coded vague warnings. I'm willing to bet if the public knew you were taking those kinds of steps, they'd feel much better. The vague warnings aren't making anyone feel better.

Mom's Back

Sorry I've been away. Instead of a Senior Moment I've had a couple of Senior Days. Meaning I wasn't feeling too well. That's why I don't want my own blog.

But I'm feeling better now, so I'm back.

Pennsylvania Requires Pledge

A bill requiring that students recite the Pledge of Allegiance each morning in school passed the Pennsylvania state Senate on Wednesday. Students are allowed to refrain from participation only if they have a note from their parents.

In 1943 the Supreme Court ruled that mandating recitation of the Pledge was unconstitutional. Although this bill does provide an out, it seems to me that the parental consent requirement represents an undue burden on a student who wishes to exercise his/her constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of conscience.

The bill has yet to pass the state House or be signed into law by Governor Schweiker. Even if that should occur, it may well be overturned as unconstitutional on challenge. But if you live in Pennsylvania, you may not want to let it get that far. You can contact your state representative and Governor Schweiker to express your opinion on this bill before it is enacted into law. Whether you don't support it or do.

Army Fighting Wrong War

Sure we were attacked by Arab terrorists last September. Sure the U.S. military and intelligence services are in desperate need of people who speak Arabic. But apparently all of that pales when it comes to making sure we don't have any gay soldiers in the U.S. Army. Our representatives don't read important legislation before voting on it, and our military dismisses people with the precise skill set they need because they're gay. Yeah, I'm feeling really confident about our "leaders" today.

Props and mad programming skills to Oliver Willis for leading me to this story. Unfortunately for him, my mad programming skills are pretty deficient.

From The Man Who Brought You ComPackard

It's official. Michael Capellas has been named Chairman and CEO of troubled WorldCom. According to the article, his first move will be the consultant-like changing of the corporate name. "Hey, look, if we call it MCI again, nobody will remember how we screwed them over!"

However, if he acts true to form, he will seek to merge WorldCom with the highest bidder. Don't forget this was the man who sold Compaq off to Hewlett-Packard. Yeah, what a brilliant merger that was.

News Reports on News

In a journalistic circle-jerk, the Washington Post has an article on the reaction of the media to the non-story about the plague in New York City. Now, is this a useful piece critiquing the tendency of the media to create news where none exists? No. It's a rehash of the same non-story about the plague that begins with the fact that the media reported on it.

Since the Post wouldn't write the critique about how the media manufactures news, let me do it. What we had here was a story about nothing. A couple from New Mexico was infected with plague. Okay, so what? Every year a person or two in New Mexico gets plague. Well, so they happened to be in New York City, one of the two centers of the journalistic universe, when they came down with the symptoms. Would CNN and Fox News have reported on this nationally if the couple had been in New Mexico when they started showing symptoms? Of course not. It would have been treated as the dull, local news story it was.

However, since they were in New York, two factors came into play. The first is that the worse of the 9/11 attacks happened in New York City. So we have a nice terrorism tie-in. Does it matter that bubonic plague is hardly the terrorist's choice of biological warfare? It's eminently treatable. It's not airborne. You can't get it from food or drink. It's not passed by contact unless it gets really bad and turns into pneumonic plague (a remote possibility, since most would have been taking antibiotics before that ever happened). It's passed by flea bites. Are the terrorists going to be starting flea farms to infect the public? I wish they were that stupid.

I suppose you might say that the journalists didn't know how it was transmitted. My first inclination is to say that anyone who paid attention in high school history would have known that it was passed by flea bites. But perhaps I overestimate the education level of journalists. Nevertheless, that's why they have research staff and fact-checkers. And it takes seconds to turn up this fact with a simple Google search. Type in "bubonic plague." Click on the first link that pops up. It tells you in the second sentence: "Plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people." What, the story is so hot that they can't spend a few seconds retrieving this fact? That's ludicrous.

This was nothing but an attempt to grab viewership. Forget that they were scaring people unnecessarily. It's all about the ratings, man. Besides, they managed to inform people about all those pesky little facts during the stories. So the teasers and blaring headlines were just cynical ways to get people to pay attention. They do it all the time. Scary teasers to get you to watch a non-story. There once was an idea of journalistic ethics, that the news media had a responsibility to the public to inform and educate. Those days are long gone. Why even call it news anymore? Why not just flat out admit they view themselves as entertainment?

The second factor is that journalists believe that New York City and Washington, DC are constantly on the minds of the American public. That's because the national news media is concentrated in those two cities. "Of course the public wants to know about everything going in in New York City and DC. We live there, and they must be obsessed with it for that reason." Guess again. The public cares about things going on in New York City and DC that affect their lives. So, the state of the financial markets, legislation in Congress, or any event of national importance interests them. And they even, bizarrely, are fascinated with the lives of celebrities and politicians. But that's realistically about it. Despite the existence of mass concentrations of journalists in these two cities, the American public is not interested in our local news. They are interested in their local news. I know, the selfish bastards.

Ford Recalls 600,000 Vehicles

Ford Motor Company has issued a recall on the 2000 and 2001 Ford Focus due to possible safety concerns, including engine fires.