Holy cow. I’ve heard the phrase “don’t tase me, bro,” but never realized where it was from. Apparently it’s from this video:

There are reasons I never thought John Kerry would make a good president, but… Did he really just stand there and mumble while this was going on? Wow. I mean, he would have been better than Bush, but… Wow.

Oh, and Tasers are scary.

Why am I just hearing about this?

Last year Time Warner submitted a new postage plan for periodicals to the Postal Rate Commission that set up a complicated rate hike that has raised the cost of postage for small-circulation magazines by 20-30%. That represents millions of dollars of costs those publications won’t be able to pay. Soon, the only magazines you may be able to subscribe to or buy will be the pablum produced by Time Warner, Conde Naste, and a handful of other media conglomerates. Here’s why:

According to a May op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times by Teresa Stack and Jack Fowler, when the United States Postal Service originally proposed the postage increase, it was supposed to be a 12-percent hike for all publications. But, that proposal was abandoned, and in its place, a proposal drafted by the largest magazine publisher in the country, Time Warner, was pushed through. By giving preference to higher-weighted items and bulk mail, the new rate system is expected to raise the cost for large publications slightly while piling on increases to the small publications. Some estimates from McGraw-Hill even estimate that it could increase postage for small magazines by as much as 30 percent. But because the new system is so confusing, no one is certain.

If you care about any of these publications, or if you simply recognize that our society will be stronger with more ideas and voices in circulation, take a second to send that message to Congress. Apparently Congress will hold a hearing on this rate hike tomorrow (Tuesday), so do it now.

I’ll get off my soapbox now, thanks.
[tags]media, conglomeration[/tags]

It’s happened again. Members of the Republican partyââ�¬â��including the presidentââ�¬â��have twisted and spun the debate about the ongoing occupation of Iraq and turned it into another installment of “you’re either with us or you’re not a patriot” propaganda. Did General Petraeus betray us? Well, sure, if you think the duty of a military leader is to do what is best to protect the citizens and future of our country. Criticizing military leadership does not mean criticizing the troops who carry out his orders. Bush has turned this debacle over to Patraeus so it’s only appropriate that those critical of the ongoing occupation turn their criticism against its current nominal leader. For the freaking Senate of the United States to pass a resolution condemning that criticism is so appalling as to be beyond words. The Republican party and those idiotic and spineless Democrats who initiated and voted for this resolution are the real traitors here. They have betrayed the principles of freedom and liberty that were supposedly the basis for the invasion of Iraq in the first place.

Struggling to find a bright side here, perhaps there’s a tiny bit of good in the fact that Bush and his dwindling supporters feel threatened enough by MoveOn.org’s criticism that they are willing to stoop to this level. Of course, that little spot of hope is mostly drowned out by the fact that polls supposedly show that a majority of Americans were somewhat persuaded by Patraeus and his “stay the course and hope” plan, and also that a majority agrees there was something objectionable about MoveOn’s ad.

Will the insanity ever end? [tags]war, iraq, censorship, hypocrisy[/tags]

I didn’t actually hear the speech, but from the news reports and soundbites it sounds like he basically said this:

My fellow Americans: We have beaten you. We have broken you up. You have seen what your country is like. Your mind is in the same state. I do not think there can be much pride left in you. You have been kicked and flogged and insulted, you have screamed with pain, you have rolled on the floor in your own blood and vomit. You have whimpered for mercy, you have betrayed everybody and everything. Can you think of a single degradation that has not happened to you? My fellow Americans, you are a difficult case. But don’t give up hope. Everyone is cured sooner or later. In the end we shall shoot you.

Gee, haven’t we heard all of this before?

Happy Patriot Day. As a government employee, it only seems right that I should get the day off to “pray and remember” victims. It’s important. The p-resident said so!

My knee hurts. Can I get a day off for a sore knee? I’m not kidding. My knee really hurts. Plus, I have praying and remembering to do. And NPR is spending the entire day covering hearings about the Iraq debacle fightagainstterror and/or fightthemthere sowedon’thavetofightthemhere. As a patriot, shouldn’t I stay home today and listen closely to this important coverage? Shouldn’t I attempt to drown myself in prayer and remembrance for the victims of 9/11 and forget that Iraq had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with that tragedy? I really think the p-resident would approve. Don’t you?

Read all about it here, then write your Senator today! Those of us w/buckets of law school debt will thank you!

You know, I’m not all excited about Al Gore getting into the presidential race, but I know one thing: We should be listening to what this man is saying, and not just about global warming. In an excerpt from his new book, Gore writes:

…our democracy is in danger of being hollowed out. In order to reclaim our birthright, we Americans must resolve to repair the systemic decay of the public forum. We must create new ways to engage in a genuine and not manipulative conversation about our future. We must stop tolerating the rejection and distortion of science. We must insist on an end to the cynical use of pseudo-studies known to be false for the purpose of intentionally clouding the public’s ability to discern the truth. Americans in both parties should insist on the re-establishment of respect for the rule of reason.

The rule of reason. It almost sounds like a new romanticism, but hey, I’m all for it.

You know, I’m not all excited about Al Gore getting into the presidential race, but I know one thing: We should be listening to what this man is saying, and not just about global warming. In an excerpt from his new book, Gore writes:

…our democracy is in danger of being hollowed out. In order to reclaim our birthright, we Americans must resolve to repair the systemic decay of the public forum. We must create new ways to engage in a genuine and not manipulative conversation about our future. We must stop tolerating the rejection and distortion of science. We must insist on an end to the cynical use of pseudo-studies known to be false for the purpose of intentionally clouding the public’s ability to discern the truth. Americans in both parties should insist on the re-establishment of respect for the rule of reason.

The rule of reason. It almost sounds like a new romanticism, but hey, I’m all for it.

Former CIA Director George Tenet on 60 Minutes tonight said several interesting things, but here’s the best: The standard of proof for going to war should be beyond a reasonable doubt b/c obviously the preponderance standard is only good enough when life and liberty are not at stake.

Ok, so Tenet did not say that exactly. He said something like the amount of evidence he had showing that Iraq had nuclear or biological weapons might have allowed him to win a case in civil court, but not criminal court. In other words, we went to war on a preponderance of evidence. Really, really bad idea.
[tags]war, Iraq[/tags]

Hooray! Resurgent Democrats win control of the House! Democrats still need VA and MT to win the Senate, but in VA, Webb (the Dem) has declared victory and is ahead w/almost all votes counted (although there will almost certainly be a recount). In MT, Tester (the Dem) is ahead by 3,000 votes but one county ââ�¬â�� where I live and also Conrad Burns’ “home” county ââ�¬â�� is having a recount because of human error with the electronic counting machines. Of course, a recount raises the specter (in my mind, at least) of dirty tricks and vote-riggingââ�¬â��the count didn’t come out how the losers wanted, so they have a quick recount to make sure their candidate gets just enough votes to win. That wouldn’t happen, though, would it?

My paranoia aside, welcome back to divided and accountable government! (Let’s hope.) Is this election result a wholesale rejection of the Bush regime and its congressional lapdogs? Uh, yeah. But get ready for the Republican spin about this not being a mandate for Democrats, being about local issues not national or global issues, etc. Bullshit. People were freaking voting for Democratic governors just to send Bush a message on Iraq.

It’s about freaking time, is all I can say. Thanks America, for finally waking up and standing up to the “vote for Democrats and the terrorists win” lies that have kept the Republicans afloat since 9/11/01. Finally finally finally we’re going to get some reasonable discussion of real issues rather than having to put up w/a steady drumbeat of fearmongering and demagoguery that’s done nothing but make the world a less stable and secure place. Of course, the president still has the lead on foreign policy, but at least we can hope he’ll be held accountable for the most egregious of his many, many mistakes.

Finally, while I’m absolutely thrilled with the results, my happiness is dogged by two things. First, some of the Democrats who won last night are eerily like their Republican counterparts on many issuesââ�¬â��anti-abortion, pro-gun, etc. Maybe that’s not a big deal, but it does seem to confirm that the political possibilities in this country have shifted far to the right on the whole. As L. put it, we’ve moved so far to the right that Reagan Republicans are now Democrats. That is not good.

Second, the Democrats have a lot of work to do and I don’t personally have a great deal of confidence that they’re up to the task. This is especially true if the Democrats do take the Senate (and I’m still very hopeful they will)ââ�¬â��in that case, there will be no excuse if they don’t get things done domestically, and there will also be no one to blame if whatever the Dems do turns out unpopular. So they’ve got a huge challenge; here’s hoping they’re ready to meet it or Dems are going to really unhappy again in 2008.