Memorial Day, 2006


When we cease to take war seriously, when our leaders commit the nation's blood and treasure, but not the hearts of its citizens, then war becomes an even greater abomination. Remember this as you remember them.
29.5.06 19:19


A view from my window




Some other blog ran the picture before me.
24.5.06 02:12


And now a word from the inventor of the internet


No, I'm not talking about Al Gore, because Al Gore never claimed to have invented the internet. Vint Cerf did:
As a graduate student at UCLA, Vint Cerf was involved in the early design of the ARPANET. He was present when the first IMP was delivered to UCLA. He is called the "father of the Internet." He earned this nickname as one of the co-authors of TCP/IP-the protocol that allowed ARPA to connect various independent networks together to form one large network of networks-the Internet.
It's important to revisit the whole "Al Gore is a serial liar" meme, because it just isn't so. Gore's detractors, and they are legion, will tell you that he claimed to be the inspiration for Love Story; and that he discovered Love Canal. These are stories invented by lazy journalists desperate for a story line, no matter how specious.

But let's turn our attention to Vint Cerf, the father of the internet. What does he say about Gore's role in developing the internet?
(Gore) really does deserve some credit for his early recognition of the importance of the Internet and the technology that makes it work. He was certainly among the first if not the first in Congress to realize how powerful the information revolution would be and both as Senator and Vice President he has been enormously helpful in supporting legislation and programs to help further develop the Internet - for example the Next Generation Internet program. I get to see a lot of this stuff because I am a member of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee and we regularly review the R&D programs of the US Government and many have relevance to the evolving Internet.
And what did Gore really say? "?During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.?

Fair statement.

Gore will be taking plenty of flak in the coming weeks as his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, introduces a mass American audience to the science that dare not speak its name. Big Oil is gunning for Gore, and the truth, and it's up to anyone who buys gasoline to fight back. No matter what you think of Gore, and I have my doubts about the man, it's still worth standing up for truth. The truth is that global warming is real, and is caused by human activity. The evidence can not be disputed.

Hiatus

I'll be camping for the next three days with the Heraldblogettes. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!
24.5.06 01:31


Grand Old Patriarchy



Republicans may split over immigration issue



From Chris at MYDD, a great analysis of why the immigration issue is such a loser for Republicans. A new poll shows that Hispanics favor Democrats on immigration issues by a 3 to 1 margin, and Hispanics are the fastest growing racial demographic in the US. If Bush stops talking about immigration, and tries to turn the nation's attention to something else (social security, Iraq, health care), the nativist wing of the GOP will go ape shit and bolt the party, as Richard Viguerie has promised. If Bush keeps talking about Mexicans sneaking across the border, he will only remind Hispanics why they should vote Democrat in the fall.

The only way out of this imbroglio is for the Republican congress to pass meaningful reform before November. There's no good reason to believe that will happen.
21.5.06 23:55


Sisters in arms


Here's a stunning photo essay on women in the Israeli Army. It really drives home the point that their's is a country under seige.
19.5.06 14:15


The Craptacular Enterprise Institute


The Competitive Enterprise Institute will soon pollute the airwaves of a dozen or so American cities with 60-second television ads aimed at convincing us that global warming is a myth. You can see two of the ads here.

The tagline line: Carbon dioxide. Some people call it pollution. We call it "life".

The ad blitz is timed as a pushback against Al Gore's much-anticipated film "An Inconvenient Truth", which lays out the case for global warming for a mass audience. In Big Oilistan, the title is translated as "An Inconvenient Film", and ExxonMobil, Conoco and others are doing all they can to spread disinformation about the science behind the film.

Here's an inconvenient fact: Science Magazine analyzed 928 peer-reviewed scientific papers on global warming published between 1993 and 2003. Not a single one challenged the scientific consensus that the earth?s temperature is rising due to human activity. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program concluded that humans are driving the warming trend through greenhouse gas emissions. And the EPA has said that the recent warming trend ?is real and has been particularly strong within the past 20 years?due mostly to human activities.?

The oil producers have billions of dollars, gratefully contributed by you and me, to convince us that the Earth is flat. Don't let them. Tell everyone you know about the film, and about the oily provacateurs who can't see beyond the next fiscal quarter.
18.5.06 01:38


And the brain-dead shall eat their young


In crazy right-wing cuckoo land, Dick Cheney is a librul.



h/t Digby
17.5.06 01:38


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