The View From Battlefield

90% Think Dissent is Okay

2005-08-26T09:26:00.000-05:00

Well, of course it is. On the othe hand, this Yahoo! article contains some interesting quotes. I really wonder about the intelligence and honesty of some of the people they find to quote. Try these:

"I think her son would be ashamed of her," said Carver, a Republican. "If I don't like what's going on, I can go to the polls every four years."

I CALL BULLSHIT. Out of curosity, who exactly is in contact with Casey Sheehan and how? Can you please tell me his exact words?

"Our attention span is simply shorter," said Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Our willingness to put up with a difficult military situation and losses isn't what it used to be."

OK, I won't call bullshit, I don't know about attention spans, but a lot of us, I mean A LOT knew this war and it's justifications were bullshit. We knew it in the beginning. We knew it when Colin Powell went to the UN. And frankly some people owe me apologies. A lot of apologies.

Robin Brown, a Republican from Douglasville, Ga., says the U.S. troops will eventually achieve their mission "if people will hang in there with them."

Madame Brown apparently used her crystal ball to figure this out, because it sure wasn't logic.

Vivian Snyder, a Republican from Staten Island, N.Y., said she disagreed with the decision to invade Iraq, but doesn't want troops to leave yet. "Otherwise, it's all for nothing."

I CALL BULLSHIT! This is just a variation on the stay the course rhetoric we've been listening to for four years (although not exactly in the Iraq ware context). What makes people think that things are going to change? Again, please tell me what the logic is. Because right this smells like nothing more than jingoism.

I'd like to award these two a second I call BULLSHIT. I still know of nobody -- I MEAN NOBODY - that's has anything but respect for the troops. All of my frustration and anger are directed specifically at the Bush-Cheney neocon-men, not our troops. And on that note, we might want to ask why the decreases in veteran's benefits and closings of the VA hospitals and the lack of body armour and the unprotected Humvees.....You know, it's getting to be a long list and I think it's the Idiot President and the Republican congress that's the problem. And indeed, that is one of our points.

An overwhelming number of people say critics of the
Iraq war should be free to voice their objections — a rare example of widespread agreement about a conflict that has divided the nation along partisan lines.

Okay, I can't quibble with that. 90% is a really big number. And it's nice to see we really think that, but then why do we put up with violent minority, like the VFW. This group is now clearly outside of the mainstream. And as far as I can tell, they are just as guilty of hate speech as the Radical Cleric Pat Robertson.

Let's have some of you people starting explaining your thinking and logic instead of just repeating expressions you think are cute. Echoing the idiot president is not a good idea. He has proven to be thoroughly dishonest and we know he does not have your best interests at heart. Just wait until he's done raping Social Security. I'm sure we'll all feel better then.

A Thought On Lance Armstrong

2005-08-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

First, let me say Lance's career and the overcoming of cancer is the very definition of truly remarkable. He had some sort of a meltdown at his final press conference (I can excuse that since he was probably overcome with emotion), but his accomplishments are just plain astounding. As big a sports nut as I am, I can't think of another athelete with a comparable record. (Lance -- about that final press conference. It's not that we disrespect you, but you picked a sport many of us don't follow. And I doubt nearly as many people would have followed it if it weren't for you.)

Now, let me cut Armstrong some slack and put the heat to my fellow bloggers. A lot of people think he should have confronted W about Cindy Sheehan and tell him to go visit. And since he didn't, they're stating their disappointment. Part of this is because he has publicly denounced the war in Iraq. I say Nonsense, I say!

Armstrong's objective and pet cause is cancer. This is a worthy goal and desparately needs funding. He is not an anti-war activist. Putting that on his shoulders is not quite fair. What would have been fair would be to ask him to do it, but he has every right to say no. Would you ask a member of the Sierra Club to take up the anti-war cause? Folks, this just isn't logical. Not to mention, if he were unprepared, it could be worse instead of better.

It's not clear, but bringing up anti-war discussions would probably jeopardize any progress in his war on cancer. And, I repeat, getting funding for the treatment of and research into cancer is a worthy task. So I say, leave the guy alone.

THIS is Christian?

2005-08-23T08:09:00.000-05:00

The radical cleric Pat Robertson has called for the assasination of Hugo Chavez.

People, especially those of you of a conservative, Republican bent that want to lick Georgie's ass, need to think about a few things:

Does this sort of behavior echo what you're thinking? Seriously?

Is this something Jesus would have done? WWJD? Is this sort of attitude Christian?

How would you feel if you had heard that an Islamic cleric issued such a statement about the Idiot President?

Why are American civilians calling for the killing of a (twice) freely elected head of state?

Does the radical cleric Robertson realize that Venezula supplies us with a lot of our oil?

Does the radical cleric Robertson realize that this sort of statement will be used to fuel anti-American rhetoric? Behavior he himself has said should illegal.

Let me speak up and say now, Robertson, and the rest of the radical clerics, like Dobson and Falwell, should be silenced. They are a pox on our society. They do not speak for me, and I'd bet, 75% of the population. Most Americans are decent, hard working people. It's just right now we have an idiot bastard for a president and it's caused all of the idiots to come out from under their rocks. And most of all, this talk is not constructive in any way. In fact, it can only be intended as divisive hate mongering.

Does anybody think this scumbag will apoligize? Do you think anybody in the administration will denounce his behavior? No, they'll probably say he has a right to express his opinion. How is this not hate speach?

People be damned!

2005-08-23T08:04:00.000-05:00

MSNBC is reporting that some school districts are cutting back on classroom expenses so the buses can run.

How is it that the big oil teams are making record profits, swimming in money, and the middle and lower classes are paying the price? How is it that Dickhead Cheney is still not disconnected himself from Enron. Excuse me. Halliburton.

NOW I feel safer, sure

2005-08-23T08:01:00.000-05:00

Yeah. I'm sure the government can be trusted with our personal data. It's got to be safe.. After all, it is the benevolent fuck ups that are in charge.

This is just plan unacceptable on the Air Force's part. Worse, the House wants to pass legislation that will ignore allowances for identity theft as the very systems they are supposed to oversee allow unauthorized entry.

RFID

2005-08-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

Wired had a series of articles on RFID tags. This technology has serious privacy implications that everybody needs to think about.

First, a not real technical run down of what RFID is and what it ain't.

British cars are going to get RFID'ed license plates. This stinks to high heaven. Think of the abuses we've seen going for deadbeat dads, and now this. This is not only extremely intrusive, ripe for abuse it is certain to become de riguer in the US because courts have held time and again, that you have no right to privacy, and should not even have that expectation, while driving down the street.

Now the airlines are starting to test RF enabled passports. The article title makes it sound like that, anyway, but it is the government's plan, not United Airlines' idea. And doesn't United have a lot more urgent things to worry about?

Intelligent Design and The pResident's Remarks

2005-08-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Let me say first off, the President is a fucking idiot. Now, let's get to the heart of the matter. Here's what's wrong with what he wants and what's wrong with intelligent design.

There is no debate about evolution. It's a fact, period. You cannot find a consense of scientist, real ones, I mean, that will debate this point. (I will concede that being in a minority does not make them wrong. That's not the point) Something being complicate does not prove the existence of anything except complicated topics. Advanced Statistics is hard. Hitting a curve ball is hard. I have never heard of a link between either of those and a "higher being." Well, except for Roger Clemens, but he don't count!

ID is not science. There's nothing you can say that changes this basic fact or even make it fuzzy or gray.

If teaching opposing viewpoints is right and proper, then we need to make sure socialism and facism is taught in schools. And, maybe we could start out with something basic, really simple point the fucking idiot in the White House can't quite seem to grasp -- We live in a REPUBLIC not a DEMOCRACY. As an aside, how is it the President's newest Supreme Court nominee doesn't know this?

Last time I checked, teaching religon in science class was not proper.

Home and church can be used for this purpose. If you aren't attending and/or can't get your kids to go, how is that my family's problem? While you're at it, make sure to let them know that the Earth is the center of the universe and the Earth really is flat.

There is, in fact, not a conflict between ID and evolution is you can wrap their teenie little brains around one fact -- evolution could be one of the creator's creations.

The reason there are gaps in the evolutionary record is because it is so long and extensive. Give that one up, because if lack of proof is your problem with evolution, then it means that ID has no chance at all. ID is completely "faith-based" and there's no getting around this basic fact<

Most of the people pushing ID are just plain dishonest. Look at their records and post a response telling me why this isn't true and make sure you come to this fight armed with facts.

Now which Christian extremists want to argue the point?

The PEOPLE Be Damned

2005-08-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

The WaPo has an article on Weasel's vacation.

Read it. Read it again. And remember, the message here from GWB is plain and simple. FUCK YOU.

Hey, don't blame me. I voted for Kerry.

Workers be damned! (Yes, again)

2005-08-03T08:15:00.000-05:00

This article in the IT Manager's Journal talking about how IT worker's don't feel valued. Listen, I'm not a wuss, but this is another symptom of the things I was talking about the other day. It's pretty much the same here in the US. The song goes something like

"OF COURSE you are valued, your "customers" are very happy, but there's no raises. And, oh, by the way, we're shipping half of our IT jobs to Bangalore."

For some reason, there is no US survey sited from any later than 1999. (sarcasm)No, nothing's changed since then. Workers be damned!(/sarcasm)

One thing the article states is

The fact that they don't feel valued means there's not enough communication actually telling them they are valued. It's one thing to do it indirectly through training and promotion, but in this instance they have to say 'you are valued -- we value your skills, and this is a manifestation of how we value you.'"

Hey! You left out the word honest. As in "there's not enough honest communication actually telling them they are valued."

A Victory Against Spam

2005-08-03T07:55:00.000-05:00

This is going back in time, but a Texas Attorney General, for the University of Texas, won a judgement against a dating service (story here) for the sending of Unsolicited Commercial E-mail. A high faluitin' way to say spam. That was in March. Well, yesterday, the scumbags, er, spammers, lost their appeal of their appeal. (poetic license)

The rather bizarre, IMO, opinion of the spammers (I will not mention their name here because they're scumbags) is that the CAN-SPAM act allows the sending of spam. In the back of my mind, I've been nervous about this because in court, you get lawyering, not common sense or justice.

The issue once again, should be that UT had to even block this stuff. UT is incurring time and expenses just to take care of the spam traffic whether they block it or not. And there's the cost of storage and forwarding if they don't block it. This is just rotten behavior on the part of the spam scum.

This isn't a major victory. I doubt there will be a major victory, but 1,000 little ones like this that eventually pile up and put an end to this sort of behavior.

Bonus Query: Why do advertisers get to grab every inch of space? Above commodes in men's rooms, the front of esalator steps, on gasoline pumps.....You do have a right to speak, but you do not have a right to force me to listen. Or read. Whatever.

Workers Be Damned (yeah, again)

2005-07-30T11:38:00.000-05:00

There's also this post from the American Rights At Work, who I know nothing about. Just that I agree with this particular post. And a lot of things on their site. I'm adding a bookmark.

How can this be right? Doesn't that mean I can't invite Al, Shandrof and Becquer over for a barbeque?

Workers Be Damned (yeah, again)

2005-07-30T11:32:00.000-05:00

The "American Jobs Creation Act of 2004" is working to bring $$$$$ ashore. But the jobs referred to in this most cynical of titles (the act's, not mine) is just one more lie. As reported in this Business Week article. Here's the tidbit I'd missed earlier

Hiring, capital investment, research and development, marketing, acquisitions, pension funding, and debt repayment all qualify -- and companies do not have to disclose specifics of their spending plans. They also have three years to allocate the cash. Moreover, if a company plows its foreign profits into research and development, for instance, it could take money previously earmarked for research and use it elsewhere. "You can't trace the money," points out Mickey D. Levy, chief economist at Bank of America Corp.

I guess there's two tidbits there. A) the money doesn't have to be used for hiring (we knew that) and B) the companies don't have to report how the money is spent. Great law, huh? Protects everybody except the workers and the people.

I Call BULLSHIT

2005-07-30T11:11:00.000-05:00

I'm listening to this David Gregory interview, via Crooks and Liars (two thumbs up) with Jean Schmidt, the OH-02 candidate. Turkey. Something. Let's see what they and her worried about and think in Ohio.

Border control. Hmmmm. Given the location of OH-02, that can only mean with Kentucky.

Ethanol. Really?

They believe what the President says and what he's doing in Iraq is correct.

"...its more important to fight the enemies of freedom on their shores than ours...". I call BULLSHIT

Paul Hackett (her opponent) is a shill of the Democratic party. She even invoked the names Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy for effect.

It's okay for Schmidt to qoute the President and his speech writers. Justify these two bullets, if you can.

That Sadam Hussien said he had WMD. I call BULLSHIT. One of the justifications for this idiotic was was the bizarre twist that since Saddam can't produce those weapons and claims he doesn't have them, he must be hiding them. Did this ever make sense?

Saddam wouldn't allow inspectors into Iraq. I call BULLSHIT.

OK, that's enough bullshit for now. This lady if a fucking disaster.

I need to stop holding back. I'm going to give myself an ulcer.

What Is Weasel Doing?

2005-07-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

Update: 10:41 CDT. Link repaired. CDT Another post......

I'm with Susie Madrak on this one but want to be a little strong. Let me quote from the WaPo

On the same day that the White House announced that President Bush is nominating California billionaire Roland E. Arnall to be ambassador to the Netherlands, the company he controls said it would set aside $325 million for a possible settlement of allegations of predatory lending tactics.

Arnall's company, Ameriquest Mortgage Co., is being investigated by regulators in 30 states. A $325 million settlement would be one of the largest ever in a predatory lending case.

Ameriquest is the nation's biggest privately held mortgage company. The company, which is in negotiations with a group of attorneys general to resolve the investigations, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday that the amount "represents the company's best estimate of its maximum financial liability for a comprehensive resolution of this matter."

It seems to be required that you be a scum bag before Chimp Boy can recommend you. Just what is going on here? Was there something in both his compaigns about honor and respect? How about compassionate conservativism? This guy is just a clown and the entire county, except for the Bushitistas themselves, are going to pay the price.

You know, the guy is the President of the USA. Doesn't he know anybody without civil and criminal liabilities?

I fear for the Repbulic.

Two Notables Speak Out For Freedom

2005-07-27T21:22:00.000-05:00

First up, Cherie (Mrs. Tony) Blair telling the PM to lighten up. She lights (intentional, if bad pun) him up.

Does anybody think Laura Bush or Lynn Cheney would ever speak up like this? I supposed the stories we hear about Hillary are about to be rerun using Cherie. Thanks, though for being same damned honest Mrs. Blair! The world needs more like you right now. A lot more.

Then, we have the Honorable John Coughenour who just sentenced Ahmed Ressam ("The Millinium Terrorist who wanted to hit LAX). Get a load of this:

"I've done my very best to arrive at a period of confinement that appropriately recognizes the severity of the intended offense, but also recognizes the practicalities of the parties' positions before trial and the cooperation of Mr. Ressam, even though it did terminate prematurely.

"The message I would hope to convey in today's sentencing is twofold:

“First, that we have the resolve in this country to deal with the subject of terrorism and people who engage in it should be prepared to sacrifice a major portion of their life in confinement.

"Secondly, though, I would like to convey the message that our system works. We did not need to use a secret military tribunal, or detain the defendant indefinitely as an enemy combatant, or deny him the right to counsel, or invoke any proceedings beyond those guaranteed by or contrary to the United States Constitution.
.
.
.
"I would suggest that the message to the world from today's sentencing is that our courts have not abandoned our commitment to the ideals that set our nation apart. We can deal with the threats to our national security without denying the accused fundamental constitutional protections.

"Despite the fact that Mr. Ressam is not an American citizen and despite the fact that he entered this country intent upon killing American citizens, he received an effective, vigorous defense, and the opportunity to have his guilt or innocence determined by a jury of 12 ordinary citizens.

"Most importantly, all of this occurred in the sunlight of a public trial. There were no secret proceedings, no indefinite detention, no denial of counsel.

“The tragedy of September 11th shook our sense of security and made us realize that we, too, are vulnerable to acts of terrorism.

"Unfortunately, some believe that this threat renders our Constitution obsolete. This is a Constitution for which men and women have died and continue to die and which has made us a model among nations. If that view is allowed to prevail, the terrorists will have won.

"It is my sworn duty, and as long as there is breath in my body I'll perform it, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. We will be in recess."

What a breath of fresh air. Thank you Your Honor! Where are the rest of these guys?

Workers be damned!

2005-07-26T08:39:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest from HP -- No pension for new employees.

(sarcasm)Yeah, that'll attract all the best talent. They'll line up in the streets for these jobs(/sarcasm)

Does anybody think there's a link between this and United Airlines? And how do we rectify that with the story with the headline that says it all -- well, dammit. Now I can't find it. But there was a story over the weekend with a headline that read something like "Profits Soar, Employees Don't Share." It was in one of the Bay Area newspapers. If somebody has the link post it.

The point was supposed to be you and I are getting screwed and the big companies get more and more.

Callin' 'Em As You See 'Em

2005-07-26T08:04:00.000-05:00

This great quote

I got a taste of this when I interviewed Republican operative Victoria Toensing, an attorney in private practice in Washington and a popular conservative pundit. Toensing has taken a leading role in the PR strategy to defend Rove. In my interview with her, she suggested it was an outrage to even speculate as to whether Rove may have committed a crime.

comes from this WaPo article. It goes with this one:

Toensing, a former Justice Department official in the Reagan administration, wasn't eager to give President Clinton the benefit of the doubt. She appeared on cable talk shows to denounce Clinton just days after the Drudge Report and The Washington Post broke the Monica Lewinsky story.

and this one

Toensing assumed Clinton was guilty based on reports of Clinton's deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment civil case.

And then there's this

Stop, stop, don't do that to somebody's reputation!" she said. "[Rove]'s not a target. Let me tell you how strongly I feel. I am a criminal defense attorney. I feel I have to keep clearing people's names

Add it up folks. This means Toensing is a Republican shill, in kind if not in fact. What we do know is she's a scum bag. Just listen to her sometime.

The Terrorists Have Already Won

2005-07-25T12:38:00.000-05:00

Disgusting. Just stunningly stupid. These guys have no clue.

From the UK Undependent. And, just like here, there will be no action taken against this idiot of a Police Commisioner.

You know, I have a vacation to London scheduled. I have no problems with terrorists blowing up things. They need to work on scaring me away. I'm tougher than that and won't hide in my little hole. But this jackass might make me change my mind. Apparently you are now a suspect if you show up in London. Is this the message you intended to send to tourists and visitors?

"Wrong Man" Killed In London Subway

2005-07-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

There are so many things wrong here, it's nearly unbelievable. Off the top of my head, I have this:

Just because someone's English sucks doesn't make them a suspect. That attitude makes most of the planet a suspect.

The London police used to be unarmed. Now, maybe this is some "elite" unit (how the devil do they get that title?), but when did this happen?

Londoners are saying that this was okay, it had to be done. This means their citizens are now complicite in the "shoot first and let God sort them out" policy.

The NY Police turned over their subway security to TSA. TSA can't properly train and hire airport security, have been proven to break the law when they see fit. Remember, this isn't the first time, so they have proven to be untrustworthy.

That we had any security reaction in this country without cause should be alarming. And if you think the London bombing was cause, then you are, plainly, a god damned idiot.

I not only fear for this Republic, the British Empire is in more danger than I ever thought possible. I fear for the safety of the entire world at this point. There isn't one positive aspect to this story. Nobody seems concerned.

Related Stories

NY Times

Washington Post

Unpatched IE flaws reported

2005-07-22T11:16:00.000-05:00

Take a look at this CNet article.

Now the news here isn't that IE has yet another security issue. Pointing those out is a never ending, yet fun, thing. The point is something the researcher said:

...he did not report this bug to Microsoft before publishing it, due to the problems he claims to have experienced with the software giant's bug-reporting process.

"It is my experience that reporting and discussing security problems with Microsoft is a needlessly lengthy process that puts too much burden and effort on the researcher's end, especially if you just have a crash case, not a working exploit; hence, they did not get an advance notice," said Zalewski in a posting on security site Neophasis.

Now let us ponder this. Isn't Microsoft serious about security? How do we align these two thoughts? Can we align these two?

Just another thing that makes Homer Simpson go D'oh!

Wasteful, vindictive and just plain old stupid

2005-07-22T11:05:00.000-05:00

I just starting check on this lawsuit Microsoft filled against Google for hiring an MS executive.

The initial report was here.

And now Google is fighting back.

First off, Microsoft always thinks somebody's giving away their secrets. WHAT FUCKING SECRETS? This company is all but an open book. And every company that's brought this kind of suit in the past says, well, I can't tell you what the secrets are, well, because it's a secret. (No, it's not a Bushitista thing. I said it's stupid. They just happen to have stupid in common.)

I can't ever remember a lawsuit like this ending well for the plantiff. Off the top of my head, I can only remember those that wound up being tossed. Anyway, my point is this is just more fuel for those people (like me!) who think MS is an out of control corporation run by knuckleheads. What a waste of people, time and energy.

Please Explain How Things Are Going So Well

2005-07-21T09:35:00.000-05:00

Oregon To Have Nation's Highest Unemployment Again

Kodak to Layoff 10,000 More Jobs. (Notice that wording? JOBS, not people. Jackasses.

This is on top of the 14,500 layoffs Hewlett Packard announced earlier this week.

Yeah. Things are just fucking great guys.

More On IT Employment From An Increasingly Out-Of-Touch Bill Gates

2005-07-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

Just go read this. Basically Gates is saying

[He] made it clear he was very worried about the fall in the number of students taking CompSci courses, and stated that it was much easier for him to find qualified staff from places like India and China than it was from his home country

and the article's author is saying

The downturn in computer science interest has been attributed to students no longer seeing it as a good career path.

and

Gates also commented that it was up to the technology companies to make people realize that there are interesting jobs in the industry.

Now go read my posting below.

How does one recitfy these three points of view? The last two go together, but the first one isn't the problem. It is the direct result of inattentiveness to your work force and the people that made you Mr. Gates. Nor is the third one, from an image perspective. It is the direct result of inattentiveness to your work force and the people that made you Mr. Gates. Look, massive layoffs, cuts in pay, long working hours, exhausting travel and little chance for promotion add up to punk billionaires talking smack that on subjects they don't understand.

They can't. They live in posh mansions and travel via chauffered limos and private jets with catered dinners. Start flying coach, eating twelve or more meals a week alone, or at least without your family, in second rate restuarants, sleeping in a strange place. Company paid training has all but disappeared. And out benefits are going down the tubes with the rest of the country's. (That's another post) It's just not a good life for us worker bees. Do you think any of these jerks know what it's like to not be able to remember what kind of rental car you've got this week? Or to see eleven identical Ford Tarauses sitting side by side on the hotel parking lot?

Let me go out farther on that limb and say that Gates has lost touch, assuming he was ever in touch, with the industry. Nothing Microsoft is doing helps you, me or its customers. It's all about making billions more dollars.

MS needs to step up would assist US colleges and universities design courses and degree programs. Train some professors. Maybe teach some courses yourself. (FWIW, a lot of my fellow techies have found this to be a very soul satisfying way to make a few extra bucks.) This isn't just a problem with Microsoft. Sun, Oracle and IBM need to step up to the plate too. It's an industry wide problem.

Oh yeah, and on the second quote above. Do you think kids heading off to college are unaware of these issues? I know I steered my own daughter away from any CS or IT degree and into math. She's happier (I think) and now sees there are a lot job opportunities in areas outside of IT. She's got a year left, but she also sees the heartache mom (also an IT pro) and I go through without reward and appreciates being guided away. If she decides to take it up, and she is smart enough to, I'll support her, but I'm not going to push her into it.

Solaris...Heck, IT Mismanaged

2005-07-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

There is a debate, still fomenting, about the value of IT certifications. Here's two takes on the subject, although I don't know if one of them meant it.

This ZDNet article talks about Solaris systems being mismanaged by mainframe or Windows professionals that are out of their element. He claims:
It's not that the people doing this are dishonest or incompetent - quite the contrary they're honestly doing what they've been taught to do, it's just that they haven't internalized the fundamental truth that Unix isn't Windows and so think their expertise applies.

Of course, there are some that just got thrust into new roles, and I'll excuse them. But anybody that chose to do this and can't is by definition a liar or a boob.

Then there is Seattle PI article about the nine year old MS Certified Professional. Ponder this Certified Professional. Need I say more? Only from Microsoft.....

Okay, where I was going with this is that there is a place for certification or test. A simple purpose. To prove you can do the job or at least understand the basic concepts of a technology. It is concievable that this is one of the drivers of the outsourcing trend -- lack of truly professional IT professionals because of bogus, inaccurate certifications.

Not completely unrelated, my e-buddy Shelley has this post about female IT workers leaving the industry. Read the quoted studies. Look at the numbers. No matter what you think she's saying, just the numbers tell of a serious brain drain. And, to tie it back, on the whole, the women I've worked with in IT were much more professional than the men.

What this speaks of is an effort, intentional or not, to dumb down the IT work force.

A fellow IT Architect and I were walking to Starbucks this morning and talking about being interviewed and interviewing. A third party was asked during the internal certification process "What would you do if a subcontractor wasn't performing." First, I am astounded that this third guy didn't know the answer. Well, no I'm not. He's another boob. But the truth is 10 people will give you 10 different answers.

I've been on both sides of this kind of question. Some people want you to echo their thoughts. I don't know if that's dishonesty or insecurity. But the right answer is one that is thoughtful and reasoned. This is not the kind of thing that pops up on the MS Certification tests and the reason for this is clear. You aren't a professional just because you passed the test.

HP Decimates Staff

2005-07-19T08:44:00.000-05:00

Lucky Duckies, everyone.

14,500 layoffs. Read about it here.

Part Of A Pattern -- Of Lies

2005-07-19T08:26:00.000-05:00

David Sirota says

Get this: President Bush is requesting patience and thoughtfulness when it comes to Karl Rove's malfeasance. The standard that wasn't good enough for war is good enough for the Turd Blossom. Where he earlier said he would fire the leaker of this information, he is now saying that he will only fire Rove if Rove is found guilty of a crime. Best. Ethics. Standard. Ever.

I don't have a problem with that, as far as it goes. My problem is that George Weasel Bush knows that Karl won't be convicted and run out of appeals before he leaves office. So, technically, this isn't a lie.

Have I mentioned lately there is nothing these bastards won't lie about?

Update
John A at AmericaBlog has an interesting point of view that's not getting discussed either. To wit:

So when Bush said today that "If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration," what he really said was that if someone in his administration is sent to jail he won't let them tele-commute to the West Wing.

Seriously, think about what he said today. It was absolutely meaningless, yet brilliant in its deceptiveness. If someone in my administration is sent to jail I won't keep them on the federal payroll. Well bully for you, big boy. I can see why they call you "commander in chief." No decision, however difficult, stumps you.

Tomorrow Bush might even tell us that if someone on his staff dies, they will no longer work in his administration.

Theyr'e still just misdirecting us

2005-07-16T16:08:00.000-05:00

There is a Professor David Lazarus that's written a San Francisco Gate article in which he claims how simple it was for him to out that Valerie Plame was Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife.

Go read it. The point is he was able to find Joseph Wilson's bio using Google. Then find his address, assuming he lived in Washington, D.C., and then his wife's name.

OK, let me go slow for all of the right wing retards, like those defending Karl Rove now. This isn't the point. And finding her name meant nothing. Because nobody would have been searching for it if Rove hadn't leaked the fact she was an operative. Finding her name didn't mean she was a CIA operative. What it means is that once there was a reason to go, it was pretty simple.

My point is the reason I'm sure the law Rove is accused of breaking uses the words "information" instead of "name." What do you think? I think Turd (short for Turdblossom) has to go. Now.

Making More Personal Information Available

2005-07-14T08:39:00.000-05:00

This idea is pretty bogus. It doesn't solve the problem of identity theft at all. I can't believe reputable IT professionals are touting this kind of system.

Today, I have to give out my day of birth, month of birth and place of birth for things like free magazine subscriptions. How much aggregation does it take to put those together. (Hint - more than you think, because I lie and I lie consistently.)

My point is that somebody is asking the questions, knows the answers, which means there is more information about me scattered about. And if they can't get what they want now, it's probably a simple matter to start putting these things together. Not to mention, they can't keep what they've got now under wraps, why should I think this will stay safe?

Airlines and credit card comapnies have been kknown to voluntarily turn over customer records to the government. And magazine subscriptions, at least in my case, are much less benign what if the government starts putting that stuff together? What if they decide Trout Unlimited's members are eco-terrorists?

Yet Another Lie

2005-07-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

Read this quote

Ken Mehlman said Rove was the victim of partisan political attacks by Democrats. Rove "was discouraging a reporter from writing a false story based on a false premise," said Mehlman. Cooper's e-mail says that Rove warned him away from the idea that Wilson's trip had been authorized by CIA Director George Tenet or Vice President Dick Cheney.

Classic redirection. Partisanship is not the issue. What Joe Wilson did or didn't do is not the issue. What Matt Cooper, or any other reporter for that matter, did is not the issue. The issue is did Karl Rove out a covert CIA agent? And the answer is clearly, unambigiously and absolutely a big fat YES

One other thing. Are we to believe that anyone in the Bushitista regime would help someone who is not on their side? Don't try to make me laugh because this just pisses me off even more.

Have I mentioned lately that there is nothing they won't lie about?

MORE Windows patches? Mozilla, FireFox and Thunderbird too!

2005-07-13T08:07:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's a regular event. Microsoft patches coming out of their b....ehinds. Internet Explorer (que sorpresa!), Javaprxy.dll and MS Word 2000 and 2002 and Microsoft Works. Notice it's mostly in the crap they give away. Isn't that just special?

See thiseWeek article for info. There's more in this Register article and at US CERT.

Not to be out done, Mozilla has issues too with both Thunderbird and FireFox. See This ComputerWorld article. Go striaght to Mozilla.org. All of the press is saying the patch will be available, but it already is. Go here to pick it up.

Weasels, one and all

2005-07-12T15:46:00.000-05:00

I just read this

"We're fighting the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and across the world so we do not have to face them here at home."

That's what President Bush said in his speech yesterday at the FBI Academy in Quantico. After the attacks on Britain, our closest ally in the war on terrorism, it is an astonishing thing to say. "It's a very insensitive statement with regard to the British," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). "Tony Blair must absolutely have blanched when he heard that."

What does Bush's statement mean? Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Fran Townsend, the president's homeland security adviser, said that the war in Iraq attracts terrorists "where we have a fighting military and a coalition that can take them on and not have the sort of civilian casualties that you saw in London."

at the Washington Post. (Soul sucking subscription required)

Can you spot the logic trap? This is only true if you count American and British terror casualities but not the Iraqi civilian war casualities. What a great bunch this so called Culture Of Life really is.

Chinese Wall

2005-07-12T08:22:00.000-05:00

This Slate article has some information about the Chinese government's attempt to control internet access. Some thought provoking stuff. To wit:

The country's leaders are "digging the Communist Party's grave, by giving the Chinese people broadband," writes New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof. "There just aren't enough police to control the Internet."

Probably true, as far as it goes. I doubt that only the internet is going to be the sole or even leading factor in the down fall of the Communist Party. But interestingly, Kristof is one of the creeps in this country that is all for the banning of porn. Typical.

Then there's this:

China is also trying to influence Internet protocols. As anyone knows who has anonymously logged in to his or her neighbor's network, the American Wi-Fi standard creates access anarchy. Last year, citing national security concerns, China ordered all domestic and foreign electronics manufacturers to bundle Wi-Fi with a Chinese encryption standard called WAPI (the acronym stands for "Wireless Local Area Network Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure").

What's the point exactly? In this country, the feds want to tap into everything. Cell phones, your web patterns and even stuff that doesn't exist yet, like broadband on airplanes.

The point I want to make is that somehow, Kristof, or Tim Wu (author of the article), or maybe both, feels the Chinese Communists will fail and the US government can win. I just don't get it. Does he think we're smarter than the Chinese? Does he think we have such a huge technologoical lead they can't catch us? Sorry Kristof. Sorry Wu. Do you know what it means when you look around the poker table and don't see a chump?

A Quick, Simple Theory On Bob Novak

2005-07-07T11:03:00.000-05:00

Isn't it possible that Dumbo's source was Judith Miller? The time lines appear to support this.

It's much simpler than all of the other theories floating about. Especially if she is proven to be a CIA operative herself. Miller, that is. This also fits all lies she's spewed as well as the facts.

Rush's Rush

2005-07-07T09:07:00.000-05:00

A little double ententre on Bum Rush and the drug rush. Nothing more.

Talk Left has a post which I am about to reproduce in its entirety because I want to pick nits with his closing argument. (snip)

Rush Limbaugh's medical records were turned over to the Palm Beach state prosecutor's office today - less some records his lawyer, Roy Black, claimed were irrelevant and embarassing. The records are being sought in an investigation into whether Rush illegally purchased (not sold) painkillers.

I am not comfortable with this at all. It's far too slippery a slope. While many liberals would like to see Rush taken down, this is not the way to do it. The man was addicted to pain pills, he entered and completed treatment. Who is to say how many pills he needed to combat his pain? And why should the Government, rather than the patient, be the arbiter of that?

Instead of clamoring for the Government to fry Rush, liberals should be demanding that the Government keep its laws off our bodies.

(/snip)
I'm with him until that very last sentence. My nit, actually, a major bone of contention, is that he showed no compassion and has earned none. And I don't hear anybody standing up for him except the (sarcasm)liberal Nazi group, the ACLU(/sarcasm). Since there is no such thing as civility coming from the right, and especially their mouthpieces like Limbaugh and Hannity, I say fuck 'em. Lock them up and throw away the key.

NOW, my point isn't exactly revenge or in-your-face. I'm thinking that if we do get some of these clowns put in prison for a while, even a posh one, maybe their attitudes would change. This is a debatable point. It clearly never helped G. Gordon Liddy, but John Dean has seen the light.

What do you think?

The President's Twisted Logic

2005-07-06T08:56:00.000-05:00

You need to go read this transcript from a Danish interview with President Bush. Because I want to show how this logic works and how dangerous this weasel is.

GWeaselB: I thought there were -- I thought we'd find weapons of mass destruction, as did the world. In other words, it wasn't just our intelligence, nor was it just my administration.
VFB: Ahem. WHO, exactly? The French? The Germans? No, only you did Weasel.

GWeaselB: My predecessor, President Clinton, felt the same way, based upon what everybody thought was solid intelligence.
VFB: Georgie, President Clinton had actual intelligence and took great pains to not destroy a county or kill civilians. Let's do keep making this comparison and see if we can get a news organization to look at it.

GWeaselB: ...I believe we made the right decision because Saddam Hussein was not only a tyrant, but he was a threat to world peace. He had the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction. Even though we hadn't found the weapons themselves, we certainly know he made the capacity.
VFB: Let me see. That "capacity" exists where else? Yeah, the US. France. Great Britian. Germany. South Africa. Japan. Chinca. North Fucking Korea. South Korea, for that matter. Libya....In short, this is a bad premise to start with. This theory would mean any country is open to attack. Georgie, isn't this kind of stupid? Too stupid for a person of your great intellect? ....must stop laughing....intellect....more laughter. Need a break....

GWeaselB: And people who went and analyzed the situation came back and said, look, he was a dangerous person -- even though no weapons were found, the ability to make weapons, and his intent and his relationship with terrorists.
VFB: How many things are wrong with this one sentence? First off, Georgie, you still have not proven that there was a link between any terrorist and Hussien. Second, YOU are a dangerous person. Don't anybody try to deny it. Once again, he's put forth a canard that can be used against anybody at any time, including himself. Third, and last for now, what happened to the imminent danger and mushroom clouds? Have I mentioned lately that there is nothing this administration won't lie about?

GWeaselB: I, myself, want to make sure that the intelligence that we share with our friends and allies is -- or the intelligence we get from our allies -- is good, solid intelligence. Absolutely. I've got to make decisions based upon good information.
VFB: Let's see. That would include global warming. And Kyoto. And the ills logging creates. And that farm raised salmon are as good as the wild ones. And water and air pollution might be bad for people. And Abu Ghrab. LIAR

GWeaselB: I read a lot.
VFB: You know, this is a lie too. Either that, or the crap you used to tell about getting your news through your staff...Wait a minute, I think I see. My Pet Goat. Ahhhhh. Got it.

You know, in addition to being a liar, this guy is a national embarrassment. Isn't there anything in the constitution about that?

Where did the jobs go?

2005-07-04T09:34:00.000-05:00

I'm supposed to be on vacation until 11 July, but I can't stand this. There is an astounding NY Times article (free subscription required) that wonders how profits are up 500% at Silicon Valley high tech firms, but Santa Clara county jobs are down by 20,000. From the article:

Some economists are wondering if a larger transformation is at work - accelerating a trend in which the region's big employers keep a brain trust of creative people and engineers here but hire workers for lower-level tasks elsewhere.

Fucking HELLO????? Wake up!!!!!

You wonder? Well, it's about time you woke up. The brain trust is also being shipped overseas and the executives are next. It'll probably be another five years before you knuckleheads figure it out.

By the way -- one county's problems do not show a pattern. Nor is it even statistically valid. Santa Clara County could be doing a lot of things done wrong, but there is no real coverage of that here.

The article contains yet another example of ignoring the trees by looking at the forest:

The issue is not just outsourcing, though, but also big leaps in productivity. Cisco, the behemoth maker of Internet equipment, now has annual sales of $680,000 per employee, compared to $480,000 in 2001.

This has the same two points -- it's just one company and not statistically valid -- but it's also only one measure of the health of a single company. Measuring corporate or national econmic health is much more complicated than this (or else we'd all be economist). While I suspect this one is true in a lot of place, let me make two other points

1) Whatever is being rung out of these companies is happening because they are standing hard on the shoulders of their workers.
2) American workers are not participating in this windfall profits. And, frankly, I'd like somebody with the proper resources to figure out where the money is going.

Sorry He Got Caught

2005-06-29T15:02:00.000-05:00

Read this article.

If you look carefully, you'll see that he apologized for sending it out, not for calling them idiots. In other words, he's sorry he got caught, not that he said it.

Good Job?

2005-06-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

David Sirota, et al, covers the congressional pay raise of about 0.019123997532387415175817396668723%.

I don't know about you, but that's a hell of a lot more than I'm getting this year. And I only got slightly more than that last year. How about you? Of course, we don't have any real skill unlike this thief and liar, eh?

The amazing part is Delay has the nerve to say

It's not a pay raise," DeLay said. "It's an adjustment so that they're not losing their purchasing power."

Hey Tom! FUCK YOU AND THE COCKROACH YOU RODE IN ON

MS In Trouble

2005-06-29T11:21:00.000-05:00

You have got to go read this ZDNet Australia article. Steve Ballmer is grilled and more or less admits MS can't improve SQL Server or .Net. Take a look at thse excerpts:

"What you're saying is, 'you're so far behind, why bother'?," he said when pressed to reaffirm Microsoft's commitment to search technology as it struggles to catch-up with Google.

"I didn't know we weren't doing well there," he said. "I'll address that with the team vigorously." [On MapPoint in SE Asia]

This may be addressed in the next release [of SQL Server] in 18 months, Ballmer said, but conceded he "really didn't know"

Asked about the future of its .NET strategy, Ballmer admitted the platform "had stalled in the last 12 months". But there would be a renewed .NET push, he said, and this was "an assigned priority" for the government sector.

You need to read the whole article. Three impressions come right to mind: Ballmer's not in charge, MS is completely unfocused, Ballmer's simply not in touch. All of which are really weird. And any of which means Microsoft has a serious problem on its hands.

As an aside, why isn't this covered in the American press anywhere? If you find a link, post it here.

They'll Do It Every Time

2005-06-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

This story about a sneaky, underhanded use of the California National Guard points out exactly what's wrong with the powers our leaders are being given. They abuse it every time, from day one, and for no reason other than they feel the need to stifle political points of view that don't jive with their own.

Folks, this is abuse, and criminal abuse. Clowns like the Governator and pResident need to be brought up on criminal charges and the world needs to see that we can stand up to them. The world needs to know that they are not really speaking for us and we do not approve.

The flip side is if these creeps really had the support of the majority of the people they wouldn't be worried about dissent. They're nothing but cowards and bullies and I hope they all rot in hell for that's exactly where they belong.

As an aside, is this a form of respect and support for our troops?

How Low Can You Go Georgie?

2005-06-28T08:50:00.000-05:00

Just how low can the President's approval ratings go? Josh Marshhall makes a good point. You would think that a guy would have a built in 25% bottom like, short of his shooting his wife or kicking his dog. Just how low can he go?

Make sure to click through to the CNN poll.

Might be time for another elevation of the terror threat level, eh?

The Grokster Case

2005-06-28T08:24:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer I am not trying to single out or separate Grokster from StreamCast. Rather, I have next to no first hand knowledge of StreamCast and little information on their promotions and use. One of you all will have to speak up.

I don't know. Check out this SFGate article. Now, I'm not a lawyer, but if I got this right, the Supremes objection was that the services in question were promoting the illegal use of their services but the "Betamax" decision is still intact.

I have to admit that this seems like common sense. Am I getting senile? Fallen off the wagon? What happened? Common sense from a government agency? A US government agency? Must find more gin. Brain overloaded.....

WHOOPS Update. I left a whole paragraph out when I got enthralled by my own humor. What I wanted to quote was

"We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by the clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties," Justice David H. Souter wrote.

from this Register article. There is no two ways about it -- what they were promoting was stealing and not the legitimate use by and for individuals. Yes, the services do indeed provide real, perfectly acceptable functions for law abiding citizens, but that's not what Grokster was doing.

A SPACE RING?????? How about responsible usage?

2005-06-28T08:19:00.000-05:00

This article mentioned the idea of a space ring around the Earth to stop global warming.

How about some fucking adults start taking charge and promoting the right away of doing things? In other words, this is saying, hey, it's all okay. We'll just try something else we can't A) promise will work B) don't understand, especially the side effects and C) doesn't get to the heart of the problem. Yes, it's just another bandaid applied while we bled to death.

JavaScript Warning. Isn't this old news?

2005-06-24T09:19:00.000-05:00

ZDNet is reporting here that there is a bug in everybody's JavaScript. Actually it's called a "vulnerability" but if it's what I think it is, it's a design flaw. One that can be fixed, but a design flaw none the less.

This isn't news. Why Secunia has re-released this might be the news. No matter. If you've listen to my previous rantings, you've already turn off JavaScript (and Java) anyway. So you should be protected.

RIAA Exposes Its True Intent

2005-06-24T09:15:00.000-05:00

This Detroit Daily News article shows that the RIAA is wanting to stop P2P technology that they can't make a buck on.

Now listen, I have respect for copyrights and own every piece of software I own, unless its freeware. But this turns out to be nothing but greed. The truth has been exposed!

F'ing hypocrites.

I'm BACCCKKKKKK With Another Lie From TSA

2005-06-21T09:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been gone for so long. Serious work commitments. And now I'm getting ready to head for a vacation too. Phew!

There have been a lot of horrendous privacy breaches lately. TSA has not been the most newsworthy, but they should be. And somehow, the TSA is continuing to lie and get away with it. Let's start with a quote from this CNN article.

TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield said the program was being developed with a commitment to privacy, and that it was routine to change Privacy Act statements during testing.

How the hell can it be "routine to change Privacy Act statements during testing?" I call BULLSHIT.

The problem with this quote is that the same clown, er, spokesman, said something else in a quote I can no longer locate but amounts to it's normal to change the database record definition during testing." I call BULLSHIT again. See the update below.

This could explain serious program/project failures within the government. But you do not change requirements or database schemas (design, for you non-techies) or anything else during testing. Testing is designed to prove one thing -- that the project met its goals. On the other hand, this clown's attitude does fit with our maladministration's habit of making shit up. See the update below.

What's at stake here is your privacy and your data. And the continuing lies about where that data goes. While TSA is constantly talking out of both side of its mouth, our rights and data are being taken away from us for nefarious means.

This is typical. Every time in US history somebody got extra power they immediate proceeced to abuse it. This group hasn't even really gotten off the ground and they're falling right in line.

Update. I found the missing quote here at Wired.com. "The purpose of the testing is to define what the program will ultimately look like." Once again, BULLSHIT.

More Windows vs. Linux BS

2005-04-05T10:05:00.000-05:00

This Yahoo! story thinks it points out that the TCO of Windows and Linux is equal. Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio says

"What we found is that costs are not really dependent on the underlying functionality in the core operating system..."

The article says:

The main cost difference, said Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio, is determined by the amount of time it takes to develop applications or ensure the security of servers, the networked computers that store data, crunch numbers and serve up Web pages.

This is a fairly new attitude, especially to the Yankee Group and the knucklehead DiDio. And for them, it's pretty enlightened. The problem is, their TCO includes the time to learn Linux and migrate apps, while excluding the migration cost of the next, forced Mircosoft upgrade. There is also no accounting for the time spent cleaning viruses from the Windows boxes. And this server only view also eliminates the cost of having users recover from their viruses and crashes.

My point is not to single out this study, but to point out that they are all nonsense.

Alberto Says

2005-04-05T09:07:00.000-05:00

They aren't looking out for you and me. It's now clear and obvious. This Alberto Gonzalez quote should be repeated from every corner of the liberal, democratic (small D) world.

"The attorney general has said before that if there are suggestions that can add to the government's ability to root out terrorists and aid us in the war on terror, he will certainly work with Congress to do that..."

Source: Yahoo! via the AP Newswire. If there is something there about preserving the freedom and rights of American citizens, I didn't see it. But why would I have expected it from that scum bag?

Rove Says

2005-04-05T08:42:00.000-05:00

This is insane too. This Bloomberg article has Karl Rove, one of the chief Bushitista's propaganda agents, saying

``The personal retirement account has to be part of the long- term solution...The public and Congress are becoming aware that it's a serious problem.''

OK, we have two choices here. He is either a relentless, partisan hack, that has over stepped his bounds or he has also lost touch with reality because A) He is not, or should not be, the jackass that get to make demands in D.C. and B) the second half of the quote is just a plain old lie. I forgot that there is a third choice: Both. They are not mutually exclusive.

Have I mentioned lately that there isn't anything they won't lie about?

We're Investigating This?

2005-04-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

This is almost like a sick joke. We're still investigating Henry Cisneros according to this Houston Chronicle article. No, it's not like a sick joke. It IS a sick joke.

Did anybody else see the end of the UNC-Kentucky NCAA game? The one with the three point shot at the end where the toe of the shooter might have been on the line? It took about 10 minutes for these refs to say the review didn't help. In other words, they looked and looked and looked. After 5 minutes, we knew they couldn't tell, and since the evidence for overruling the on court ref has to be conclusive, it wasn't!

We can get no inquires into Abu Ghrab and wide spread torture, the outing of Valerie Plame, the forged Niger documents or an honest accounting of what lead up to the invasion of Iraq. But we're on Cisneros's ass. Throwing away money and wasting (rash assumption coming) the valuble time of a federal prosecutor over this?

By the way, the ROI of this whole investigation should not only highlight the twisted priorities of the administration and government in persuing Clinton and Clinton cronies, but the miserable way the government cannot put an end to actual, misguided, useless projects/programs.

Two words: Fucking insanity.

FLASH: The Pope Is Still Dead

2005-04-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

(Hold those cards and letters. It's a dig at the press, not the pope.)

Isn't the amount of confusion before the pope actually died pathetic? I'm not Catholic, heck, I'm not even Christian, but the pope is a major world leader and accuracy should have been mandatory. Ghoulish tendencies were frequent too.

Some other problems:

Are there no female leaders in the Catholic church? If not, why not? If there are, where are they?

Are there no lay leaders? Same follow ups.

How long will the news coverage pretense last?

How has the pope's death managed to support the Bushitista's democracy and freedom rhetoric?

How would the pope have felt about the Bushitista's using him to prop up their flawed policies?

Sauce For The Gander?

2005-04-01T08:43:00.000-06:00

There is the beginnings of a groundswell to oust Tom DeLay. This probably isn't a surprise. Let's start this post with a quote from this WaPo article.

It's nothing but a bunch of leftist organizations that have a public strategy to demonize me, and usually they overreach," DeLay told Fox News and other news outlets. "My constituents know what's going on, and if they're going to do this, I think it shows who they are and what they are."

DeLay said the planned attack "says more about the critics than it does about me."

hmmmmmm. As opposed to the Swift Boat Veterens For Truth? Or the Republic Party itself?

Not to mention, this is exactly the sort of behavior him and his cronies accused Democrats of when they staged their "1994 revolt" writ large. Look, DeLay's been caught red handed. Smearing the prosecutor won't help this time. The charges are true and there just plain is no defence. DeLay is a scam bag and deserves jail time. There just aren't two way about it.

Press the bug man and drag down the Neo-conmen with him.

Terri Schiavo Dies

2005-03-31T09:01:00.000-06:00

RIP Terri. Whatever you wanted, it couldn't have been the circus it turned out to be.

A note to my wife: I am positive that Michael, no matter what TV's talking heads said, believes he carried out her wishes.

Down to business. I'm not scooping anybody here. I just want to ask how long it will be before we hear the end of this?

We do indeed have people complaining about activist judges and Michael Schiavo. They won't go away anytime soon. But as I watched this clip of Catharine Crier pummel Joe Scarborough I realized what this is about: Framing the problem as one of activist judges so that the Neo-conmen can try to limit judicial oversight.

Of course, this is just an out and out lie (have I mentioned lately there is nothing these people won't like about?) in addition to being a frame. 23 times, courts have ruled in favor of Terri's right to die.The system worked The only doctor that examined her and said she wasn't in a persistive vegetative state turns out to be a fraud. So I'd suggest all of the Radical Christians let it go. You are in a clear minority, in addition to being wrong, obnoxious and over bearing.

Additionally, now we have judges telling congress to watch out -- Judge Stanley Birch let's them have it. Now this is no liberal judge or social do gooder. He's as conservative as it gets without being a radical. Not very incredibly, Terri's parents' lawyers think he's in the wrong.

What part of separation of powers doesn't this crowd understand? And do any of them remember the 10th Amendment?

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

I fear for the Republic. The Radical Christians in charge are going to be the end of us all.

Panel Says Annan Didn't Intervene

2005-03-30T11:04:00.000-06:00

Well, that’s interesting. According to this NY Times article they found Kofi Annan did nothing wrong with those Iraqi, but decided to criticize him anyway. Why? Because they could, that’s why.

Setting Them Up For Failure

2005-03-30T10:27:00.000-06:00

The other day, I saw a little girl, not more than four or five, trying to carry a tray of six sodas through the food court at DFW. The results were a thoroughly predictable disaster. Mom's solution? To yell at "Morgan" for "embarrassing" her. This also had the predictable outcome? An ugly face on an otherwise cute little girl and a bucket load of tears. Hang on. It's a metaphor.

What happened here? Well, besides having a parent that's not to smart, this is a negative reinforcement technique much like the one that we've used in Iraq. In other words, we've set them up to fail. So today's news (Washington Post byline via Truthout.org) that the Iraqi government is failing can't be a surprise. My contention is that this was part of a design by the Bushitistas. They want to reinforce the message that "these people" can't govern themselves.

I invite the reader to search for the procedural conditions leading to this deadlock, but requiring a 75% majority to select a PM just won't work. Another John Bolton success story.

And what happened to Bolton? Why, he's getting a promotion, of course.

Let’s make no bones about it. This is a part of the overall Bushitista plan to tell people that they are incapable of making decisions and acting on their own.

Bonds Is A Cry Baby

2005-03-23T08:58:00.000-06:00

Barry F'ing Bonds can go straight to hell.

This story has been documented in a lot of places -- STL Today and CSB Sportsline for two.

I have no sympathy for Bonds. None. I would like to know why he gets a free pass from the press while they grill McGwire. Seriously. Cry Baby can whine all he wants, be there is little doubt in my mind steroids made him what he is. (And it could explain the weird moods) The current story about his ex-girlfriend and BALCO will go away and we'll all forget.

If I had a Hall of Fame vote, I would not vote for anybody that only wants me to print positive stories. And that should apply to the Weasel in the White House too. You want the good? Well, take the bad too.

And while we're on the subject, Bonds, McGwire and Martha Stewart have no right to complain about the very press that made them the stars they are.

wah wah wah. Cry me a river.

Lies, Hypocrisy or a Flip Flop? (Redux)

2005-03-22T20:03:00.000-06:00

Over at Lisa and Jacob isthis great find:

The 2000 Republican Platform: "Medical decision-making should be in the hands of physicians and their patients."

The 2004 Republican Platform: "We must attack the root causes of high health care costs by: ... putting patients and doctors in charge of medical decisions."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, March 17, 2005: "So our -- Congress has acted tonight and the House of Representatives acted last night. ... It is clear to me that Congress has a responsibility since other aspects of government at the state level have failed to address this issue."

House Majority Leader Tom Delay, March 19: "For one person in one state court to make this decision is too heavy. ... It does take all of us to think this through."

Apparently we can be in charge of these decisions until it offends one of the Radical Republicans now in charge. Creeps and liars.

Have I mentioned lately that there is nothing they won't lie about?

(Good job Lisa and Jacob)

Hypocrisy or a Flip Flop?

2005-03-22T09:14:00.000-06:00

This story in News Day reports on a bill Weasel signed while governor of Texas.

So tell me what it is. Another flip flop. Hypocrisy. Political showmanship? Or just one more cheap, lying stunt.

Revoke Bill Frist's License

2005-03-22T07:54:00.000-06:00

I don't intend to make this a precedence and reproduce a lot of posts in their entirity but I can't think of anything that's wrong with revoking this scum bucket's license to practice medicine.

Via Liberal Oasis

Revoke Frist’s Medical License (Part 2) [Scroll down]

You may recall that last December, LiberalOasis encouraged readers to contact the Nashville Academy of Medicine and request that Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist have his medical license revoked.

That was because he violated the AMA Code of Medical Ethics by spreading misinformation about HIV transmission and condom use.

Now once again, he has violated his pledge to “be honest in all professional interactions,” “advance scientific knowledge” and “maintain a commitment to medical education” by claiming to make a superior diagnosis than Terri Schiavo’s doctors by watching a few video clips.

Since LO’s earlier Frist post, LO has obtained the official Nashville Academy of Medicine grievance form from the academy’s executive director.

To file an ethics complaint, download the form, follow the directions, have it notarized, and return it to the address at the bottom of the form.

Feel free to roll all of Frist's ethical violations into one comprehensive complaint.

The Real Plan Behind The Schiavo Law

2005-03-21T13:53:00.000-06:00

I just read this post at American Street.

It hit me over the weekend, but this reenforces it -- This law, violating at least two constitutional provisions (equal protection and states' rights) isn't designed to work. It's sole purpose is to raise a flag when a court over turns it. In other words, the Creeps that wrote it want to cry some more about activist judges.

We've got activists all right. It's just that they're in Congress, not the Courts.

(By the way -- Doesn't anybody have a sense of irony? Congress wanted to subpeona a brain dead person earlier. Come on people!! How much of a straight line do you need?)

Orrin Hatch Is An Unprincipled Whore

2005-03-20T08:43:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I can see this set of rules has no room for abuse.

In a nutshell, Hatch wants to be able to destroy the computers (how, excactly?) of people that download music illegally. The real kicker? He's got unlicensed software on his website. Brilliant!!!

Bush Hiding More Facts

2005-03-18T14:38:00.000-06:00

This is just plain scary.

That little weasel is trying to set a precedent so he can hide something he's doing or planning to do. There can be no other explanation. And yet, they've managed to drag the Clinton name back into the mud.

F'ing facists.

What Was McGwire Doing?

2005-03-18T13:58:00.000-06:00

Mark McGwire was the only player subject to speculation and scrutiny at yesterday's congressional hearings on steroids. I've already gone on record (below) and saying what a bunch of whores the congressmen where, but now that they've gotten McGwire on the hot seat, let me ask, Why?

What purpose did this serve? To embarrass McGwire? Why was he the only ex-player, besides that lying sack of *&^%$#@ Consesco? He said he wasn't going to talk, and he didn't. Schilling was there because he's an outspoken citic of drug use. (Note to Sammy Sosa -- keep your mouth shut and let your spokesman do his job next time.)

But what was McGwire doing and what purpose did this serve for him? Does he think anything constructive came out of this? No, McGwire did nothing to help himself. In fact, he came off looking guilty and arrogant in my opinion. A polar opposite of Palmeiro. And yet, we still have no proof.

Someone, I think it was Shilling, made the point that MLB knows who the cheaters are. They know names and numbers. So why are we having hearings? Why the dog and pony show? Steroids are illegal and we know who does them, so what's the problem?

More On MS Non-Reform

2005-03-18T13:52:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well. I'm not the only one catching on to the MS games. Groklaw has a story today about the EU warning MS to get their act together.

There's a link to a BBC article and whether you agree or disagree, like MS or hate them, you need to read it.

Combine, they make the same points I did the other day, but in a different context. Amazing.

Microsoft has not reformed itself

2005-03-16T10:16:00.000-06:00

Or maybe it has remade itself in its own image. Today we get work on two news stories.

First, they're tracking and sharing your personal information if you use their search and want to stop flagging paid links. Information here. Now the sad fact is that google and Yahoo! do the same *&^%$#@! thing, so I don't know how bad this makes MS. It makes them late to the game. But just because somebody else kicks his dog doesn't mean it's okay for you to do it. It's still pretty underhanded.

Now I have a solution for the worst parts of this. Switch to Firefox. Block cookies, turn off JavaScript and even block images from the offending sites. You need to have some understanding of what's happening, but you'll catch on soon enough. (A second solution is to use your hosts file to redirect images/links like this back to yourself at 127.0.0.1. A discussion of this subject can be lengthy.)

Second, MS has obtained a patent on the XML file format for Word and the reading of those files. Technically, that statement is wrong, but I'm trying to explain this in English, not Technicalese. But the key point is correct. More amazing, is that they've obtained this patent in both the US and in New Zealand. How can this be? Do either of these patent offices understand prior art?

Groklaw (highly recommended site) has more as does ..... Well, I did something wrong. But there's a bunch of other news articles about this out there. Read them.

Let me tell you what they are trying to do -- They want to monopolize your data. They don't want the data, per se, just the rights to restrict what you are allowed to use to read it and write it. This patent also would seem to be trying stop any other word processor from using XML. This is wrong on so many levels, it's just hard to imagine. We used to have a rule that languages couldn't be patented. Now, from a technical standpoint, you can make the case this isn't a language, it's a grammar and you'd be correct. But this still violates that rule.

All your code belongs to us.

McGwire/Steriod Weirdness

2005-03-13T09:27:00.000-06:00

Did McGwire do steroids? I don't really know. But if you look at his first two years, when he was, relatively, a skinny runt, his career HR total is no fluke. Would steroids have helped? How much could they have help? Let's assume that he could average 45 HRs for 15 seasons. By my cyphering, 45*15=675. Nothing to sneeze at, is it?

Today's news is that the FBI had information on McGwire as far back as 1990. STL Today and Sports Illustrated have more.

I want to make three points:

1) In the first paragraph, the SI article says "...he was not the target of the probe nor was any evidence collected against him..." Yet both of these articles are titled "McGwire Linked To Steroids." GET A GRIP PEOPLE. Clearly, there's no actual evidence. So drop it already.

2) Why is congress and the FBI on this? With MediCare, Social Security, Iraq, Iran, Air Pollution, terrorism, Osama bin Laden (remember him?) and the Anthrax Killer (whoaaaaa! Don't bring that up!!) and now courthouse shootings, how does this merit any government time?

3) And where is suspect numero uno, Barry Bonds? There's a lot more evidence in his case, and he gets off scot free? That isn't right.

I'm not actually defending McGwire here. Not at all. I'm saying the guys that are catching all the flack don't seem to have any actual evidence pointing to them and the guys that do are being given a free pass.

What gives?

More Outsourcing Madness. At Least It's Not IT.

2005-03-11T14:57:00.000-06:00

See this USA Today article. I don't know if this will work or not, but if it does, we're all relegated to being household domestics. No job is safe.

I do have to wonder about the wisdom of outsourcing entry level, minimum wage positions like this. It seems like it would be cost prohibitive just from the telecommuncations costs. Maybe they think they save because one operator could be at work for more than one drive up at a time.

This is just plain insane.

Is Yahoo Really Filtering Flagged Spam?

2005-03-11T11:07:00.000-06:00

I keep getting the same crapola every week, sometimes daily, and dutifully report it as spam. Yet nothing ever happens.

Gateway seems to be actually sending e-mail even though I have no relationship with them. Somebody forging a Forbes account is sending mail touting unknown stocks. This is not only spam, it's a scam.....There ought to be a poem in there somewhere. And ClassMates can just kiss my you-know-what.

Here's a tip to the ClassMates crew -- I didn't go to highschool in West Virginia. And it's yet another company with a business that holds no interest for me and I have no relationship with.

Some other things that show up right away? I didn't order anything from any twit on the internet. I don't have a Well's Fargo checking account. My name isn't Dustin or Debra. I'll go out on a limb and say there aren't very many people that could mistake me for a woman.

These is just three examples. I have to ask: How can this be? Does Yahoo actually check on the things we flag as spam?

I will concede they filter a lot of it out without my input. But why do these same ones keep getting through?

I fact, it might be time to evaluate my relationship with Yahoo!.

It's Not Only IT

2005-03-11T10:05:00.000-06:00

I just ran across this article in the Washington Post.

Quick quote #1

"It's about reshaping the workforce, rather than strictly downsizing"

*sigh* I just explained this earlier this morning.

Quick quote #2

"...cuts are "essential" in carrying out Bush's "Vision for Space Exploration" to put humans back on the moon by 2020 and eventually send them to Mars.

"You have to streamline the organization and size it to the mission you're trying to carry out," Jennings said.

AHA!!!!!!! Another misdirection. Because, if you read the entire article, it's a back door assault on science.

The IT Workforce -- Prt 2: Dude, where are the girls?

2005-03-11T08:54:00.000-06:00

This started out because a good friend of my step daughter, is about to graduate from Berkeley with degrees in Electronic Engineering and CS. I won't rave about her, but she's a solid citizen, really bright and has some actual project experience. Not to mention a really high GPA Now I do some new hire screening for my employeer, and she passed with flying colors. Without, I think, realizing I was interviewing her. (Sorry, but it worked out)

That project experience is something companies are using to eliminate candidates, left and right. Let that sink in. What it means is that college hires, no matter how smart are going to be eliminated from consideration unless they've done internships or had previous experience. Combine that with looking for the perfect skill set, American kids have a real disadvantage. Why would they even try? I think it's because of genuine interest in the field. And we're discouraging it.

Now this morning on SlashDot comes this discussion about women leaving IT. When my step daughter's friend contacted me for help breaking into the field, I started wondering -- Wher ARE the women? Without doing any checking, I instinctively knew many were leaving. Worse, many of them are being sent to IT Siberia, testing and tech writing. There's nothing wrong with either one. In fact, real pros in those two fields are worth their weight in gold. It's just two spots it seems to be impossible to get out of, especially via promotion.

Anyway, the /. thread starts with a link to this article on NewsFactor.com. You really need to read the article if you want to understand the rest of this post. Quoting everything I need to quote would make this thing impossibily long.

The bottom line sounds completely trite -- it's the old balancing family/domestic issues with IT issues. I know for a fact, that a lot of women leaving, this is an issue. But it's an issue for the men too. Worse, nobody seems to have noticed that men are missing their kids growing up and are constantly on the road. (Quick example -- I've already earned my Platinum status on American Airlines for 2005.

The point is, this is an industry problem, not a male or female problem. We're working much longer hours than five years ago, pay is down, or, in my case, the raises aren't there. The threat of out sourcing is constant, and even explicit from time to time. Training sponsored by the employer is down to nothing.

So let me ask -- Why aren't more people leaving the field?

The IT Workforce -- Part 1: Retraining

2005-03-11T08:25:00.000-06:00

Two items caught my attention. First, there's a blog entry on Left I about retraining of the workforce being a flat out lie (read the post and this link in the LA Times (free subscription required). The Times article is not specific to IT.

This seems to be the result, intend or not, of the outsourcing movement. And there's a couple of things really wrong with this in my mind. One of the objections to American workers is that they are missing skills and training is expensive. A recent experience has me really thinking hard about this and thinking it's just a flat out lie.

I just decided it was time to dump emacs. And let me tell you, I lived inside emacs. I had spare command windows opened, would do my builds from there. Even read my e-mail. But I just thought I should learn what was new in the world. Specifically, Ant and Eclipse.

So I downloaded the Eclipse IDE, written specifically for Java. But it is extendable, so I also grabbed a plugin for C/C++ programming -- one of my specialties. By default, this plugin used make, so I had to go through some gyrations to get it back to Ant. Ant, for those of you that don't know, is the build tool the choice of most Java projects.

Now, I wasn't clueless about where to go and how to download the tools, or even XML. But this entire experience, from download to building a (small) C++ project with Ant took me 4 hours, including some interruptions. My point is, it took me almost nothing to install and learn two new tools, although I can't claim to be an expert.

(An aside -- I'll keep using Eclipse and Ant until I feel fairly proficient. Early intuition -- I'll keep Eclipse, but go back to make. I see no advantage in Ant at all. In some ways it's more primitive than make.)

The second issue needs to be a separate post. This one's long enough.

More Evidence Says Terror Threat Is A Hoax

2005-03-10T08:57:00.001-06:00

ABC News.com has this story which is on an uncovered FBI memo. The highlights

"To date, we have not identified any true 'sleeper' agents in the US"

"Limited reporting since March indicates al-Qa'ida has sought to recruit and train individuals to conduct attacks in the United States, but is inconclusive as to whether they have succeeded in placing operatives in this country. [my emphasis]

The truly awesome thing is that Robert Mueller goes on to say "I am concerned about what we are not seeing." Well, yeah. Me to dumbshit. Because I think our vaunted leader is making it up.

Have I mentioned today that they are proven liars know to lie about anything, any time, any where?

More Evidence Says Terror Threat Is A Hoax

2005-03-10T08:57:00.000-06:00

ABC News.com has this story which is on an uncovered FBI memo. The highlights

"To date, we have not identified any true 'sleeper' agents in the US"

"Limited reporting since March indicates al-Qa'ida has sought to recruit and train individuals to conduct attacks in the United States, but is inconclusive as to whether they have succeeded in placing operatives in this country. [my emphasis]

Yogi Berra in the White House?

2005-03-09T21:13:00.000-06:00

I can't believe the twerp actually said this:

The more we conserve, the less [energy] we use...

Gee, thanks for explaining that George!

What an idiot.

The source

LIAR!!!!

2005-03-08T11:07:00.000-06:00

According to Media Matters, the liar Bob Novak is repeating the Right Wingnut canard that the lack of approval on judical nominees is "unprecendented."

Now let's lay it out. 61 of Clinton's nominees were block. 16 of Bush's. What is unprecidented is the number of approvals that occurred. Novak is just a lying bastard that doesn't deserve the airtime or respect of the rest of us.

The Whole Kit and Kaboodle?

2005-03-04T15:22:00.000-06:00

With all their problems, I think the NHL has a great product. I've been a hockey fan forever. When I started watching, men were men and the ice was made of wood. Before helmets. Before the goalie wore masks. But this story about some groups wanting to buy the entire league is the most bizarre I've heard yet.

On the other hand, it just might work. Maybe that's what they need. Maybe these guys will be smart enough to realize that teams in place like Atlanta and Tampa is weird. Maybe there'll be some sanity and a decent TV contract. (It's okay. I've got The Dish so they can broadcast on any channel they like). Some rule changes.

It's The Messenger's Fault

2005-03-04T14:22:00.000-06:00

Apparently the few reports of casualties and fatalities in Iraq is the press's fault. From this NY Times story we get:

Top Pentagon officials acknowledged that the graphic images of casualties from Iraq and the obvious danger of serving there had caused many parents to advise their children to avoid joining the military now.

"That's a factor, that we're a nation at war," Lawrence Di Rita, the chief Pentagon spokesman, told reporters on Thursday. "If it's a young kid who's in high school and contemplating his future, what are his parents advising him?"

So what is Di Rita's point? It's okay to ship uninformed kids off to their death? Maybe it's that it's the parent's fault? At least most of the ones going now know what they're getting into. What is this clown saying?

Sounds like just one more lie to me. Just another example that they lie every time they open their mouths.

Scary, Scary, Scary Stuff

2005-03-04T10:55:00.000-06:00

You know all those people that we think voted for Dubya and the neo-con men? I wonder what it takes to scare them. Here's three things that should make you change your pants.

Today comes this story about how the coppers in Utah can now take your blood.

Yesterday came this one about ankle bracelets for immigrants apply for residency.

Then there's the story in Kansas about the DA getting a daughter's pap smear results for a DNA analysis.

Now, that's just this week. There's sneak and peek warrants, deportations, torture and the backruptcy bill. It's very clear that the current administration is bent on destroying the country. Not just Social Security. No just your wallet. The whole frigging country. This is becoming a nightmare and nobody seems to notice.

I fear the worst for the country. We may not last through the rest of the Bush administration.

Talk About Two-Faced

2005-03-04T08:52:00.000-06:00

There's something weird going on. First we have King George saying Democrats should present an alternative to his plan to destroy Social Security. Look at Josh Marshall's summary.

Now there's two things wrong with that. First, it's a variation on a frame. A Republican is trying to say what a Democrat should say. That's not wrong, except that we keep swallowing this bile. Second, it's going to now be repeated and the sheep on the street are going to repeat it. Thing is, you just know that whatever alternative the Dems would put forth will be pounced on.

By now, you should be wondering why I bolded the word alternative in the first paragraph. Wasn't it just Monday that Bush and trhe neo-con men pointed out the liberals can't critique a plan they've never seen? Well.....If it's not out there, then you can't put an alternative.

Bad Frame, Bad Congressman

2005-03-03T09:27:00.000-06:00

Raw Story brings this story. Let me get my insult out of the way -- WHAT A CREEP!!!!!!!!

The thing we allow these guys to do though, is reframe the argument. NOBODY, including Michael Moore, I know is insulting or demeaning the troops. It's this corrupt, dishonest admininistration and their policies. The problem with this frame is that it's so far afield, it's hard to steer the discussion back to the proper road.

And somebody needs to tell me this: Why isn't this hate speech?

Once again, his love it or leave it missing the point. It's my country, I'm speaking up defending the liberties and principles it was founded on. Congressman, YOU can leave any time you'd like.

We Didn't Bring It Up -- The Righties Did

2005-02-17T15:46:00.000-06:00

There's a lot of talk about Gannon-Guckert-GLiar and talking about his homosexual exploits. Some think that it isn't fair game, but it is, and here's why -- The far right wing and the radical clerics like Falwell, made it an issue

Maybe it's okay for them to exploit these guys when they need to. But it's certainly hypocritical of them, isn't it?

Why Should I?

2005-02-16T07:06:00.000-06:00

Want a sad comment on the current administration?

Why should I believe that North Korea now has nukes?

Why should I believe that Social Security needs to reduce my benefits?

Why should I believe Syria is assasinating former, foreign heads of state. (This is really weird, folks. How can we have known this 15 minutes after it happened?)

Why should I believe Iran is developing nuclear weapons?

Why should I believe that tort reform is necessary?

Why should I believe that we are pushing for a Palestinian state?

The real point is that there is plenty of evidence to the contrary to everything tht comes from the White House. Everything.

Follow Up

2005-02-15T08:13:00.000-06:00

Apparently I've started something (I hesitate to say I'm the first) with my feelings that the singing and dancing and ribbons aren't support for our troops.

Via Alternet

Canseco Throws Up

2005-02-09T07:15:00.000-06:00

Sorry. I mean speaks up.

Can we stop paying attention to this clown now? He's even less useless and honest as Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly. Speaking of....

Did you hear that Master Bill is now lying about his football prowess at Marist. Is there anything these guys won't lie about?

Elevator Speak? Good Idea!!!

2005-02-09T07:12:00.000-06:00

I've tried to put in writing quick, one and two sentence thoughts to repeat, over and over again. But I never quite put two and two together like this. Read it. And then repeat after me.....

When Does It Stop Being Entertainment?

2005-02-08T21:00:00.000-06:00

WHOOPS! Update -- OK, so I'm not the first. Trying to locate the name of Ronan Tynan (who sings God Bless America at the Yankees games), I found this article.

First in line again. Because I just have to ask this -- why is every event I attend or watch now include a tribute to the armed services? Don't take this the wrong way. I respect what our uniformed service people do and recoginze that it's vital and necessary. (Not something I would have said 30 years ago) But not everything needs to call attention to the matter.

The Stuper Bowl pushed me over the limit, but it's not the first place that I thought over did it. I went to a Sweet Adilines concert and they had to have a long, drawn out tribute to the Armed Services. The World Series. How about the bizarre spectical in Mew York at the Yankees game? I have to dig up that guys name, but I'm talking about the guy that's added a verse. Big guy. Less hair that me.

It receaches a point that it's no longer a tribute, but jingoistic and trite. We're there. Music and dance are not support for the troops. Armored Humvees, body armor and intense medical care after the fact is support.

Racists Or Idiots

2005-02-08T20:48:00.000-06:00

Read this article and make up your mind.

These idiotic displays by people who profess to be Christian is just mind numbingly stupid. Apparenty they can't see the difference between promoting a religon and adhering to one. (Use that phrase and keep repeating it)

Let Me Be The First

2005-02-08T18:44:00.000-06:00

The Bushitistas and neocons (cons, not conservatives) will soon be claiming that they solved the Palestine-Israel affair just like they now claim Ronald Reagan brought down the Soviet Union.

How do I know this? Because all they do is lie. Have I mentioned that they are proven liars?

On a more humantarian note, let me wish the best of luck to both the Israelies and the Palestinians. It's gone on way too long and both your people deserve better.

More On Browser Security

2005-01-28T07:36:00.000-06:00

Must be a link here if just in the timing.

There are some embedded links there and you need to visit them. Seriously read This one

A Spyware Bill?

2005-01-27T08:03:00.000-06:00

Update Fixed numbered list formatting.

So far, this is as bad as the can spam bill. There must be a penalty involved. Reading the article, we see the motivation is a member of congress losing a computer to spyware. So that's what it takes, eh? Well, let me tell you the low lifes sending out this stuff are laughing at you. They don't care what you say, they will continue to force their trash onto your systems.

In a good sense of timing, a friend of my wife's just voiced all of the complaints in this article and wanted advice on what to do if he switches to a Mac. (I don't really know what is and isn't available on the Mac, BTW. But it's way too popular to not be a viable alternative.)

Did you notice the voting in this article? At least we can all agree on something.

On a side note, if this happens to you, buying a new computer is not the answer. Wiping the harddisk and reinstalling the OS is.

Despite the constant insults towards Microsoft (from me, I mean), I still use Windows. Yes, it sucks. Yes, I complain about it. But there are some things you can do, and one you can avoid, that will make your experience better without switching to Linux or Apple.

Dump Internet Explorer. Seriously and immediately. I use Mozilla Firefox. It's a short download, can import your existing book marks....A lot of things. Tabbed browsing is also a great "advance."

You can also check out Opera. I don't use it because of a conflict with firewalls. It has all the features of Firefox, and more, frankly. But I don't need or want the more.

Turn off Javascript and Java in your browser even if you don't switch to an alternative browser. This can cause problems with certain sites, including my bank. But with Firefox, it takes literally three mouse clicks to turn it on and off (Tools-Options-Enable Javascript).

Install and use a firewall. Seriously and always. For home use, I recommend and use Zonelabs' Zone Alarm..

Turn off unneeded Windows services. This one is a little more complicated, and needs some real understanding of the OS. Trying Google for assistance -- and don't call me!

Turn off all messaging service clients (AOL IM, Yahoo IM! and MSN Messanger especially) when you aren't using them. I said clients. That means GAIM and Trllian too even though I have no first hand knowledge of problems with them.

Disconnect your high speed internet when you aren't using it. Period. I don't care if it's cable, DSL or satellite, just stop it. If you don't want to turn off the PC (best), right click on the networking icon on the task bar and Disable it. When you're ready to go again, do the same thing, but enable it.

Disable ActiveX if you're going to use a browser to support it. I don't miss it at all and it maybe is the biggest single problem there is.

Know where you're going.Stay away from music and movice download sites that aren't reputable. And listen to me well -- KaZaa is not reputable.

You will notice I didn't recommend turning off cookies. Well, it's not that big of a deal. I do set my Firefox to ask me before allowing a site to set or change a cookie. But the reponse tells the browser to use this setting in the future, so a site only asks once. Very handy.

No Double Standard Here?

2005-01-22T14:42:00.000-06:00

Look at this Washington Post editorial.

Is it a double standard? Why are we not calling for the head of Bob Novack?

Radical Cleric Attacks Spongebob!!!!

2005-01-22T14:36:00.000-06:00

Take a look at this, this, and this.

Something exteremely distiribuing is taking place tolerance and inclusion are what's under attack, and James Dobson is at the forefront. This is another message that needs to be repeated and repeated -- there is nothing wrong with inclusion and tolerance.

Putting The Pieces Together

2005-01-22T11:53:00.000-06:00

Remember this story about how Al Qaeda has been blown out of proportion (which I agree with) and maybe doesn't even exist (more problematic)?

Here's a post from The Liberty Forum that points out something that hadn't occurred to me, and maybe not anybody else. Namely, that there is no such thing as an Islamic takeover of the US..

But something that's never, ever mentioned, is that this isn't even what groups like Al Qaeda are even after. It's just plain not. Repeat that as often as neccessary to Rush-Washed individuals and the O'Reilly-its. Ask them for a reference that's not from Fox or the right wing bloviators. Can't find one. No way, no how.

Welcome Back Billmon

2005-01-16T18:54:00.000-06:00

Billmon is back at The Whiskey Bar. Take a look at this post. Make him a daily stop.

What a metaphor

2005-01-16T16:48:00.000-06:00

Take a look at this article entitled "Bush Says Election Ratified Iraq Policy"

The obvious reaction is WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU LITTLE SHIT? Of course, I wouldn't use that kind of language. Wait a minute. It's there already. Let me think.....

But there's this paragraph in there:

As for perhaps the most notorious terrorist, Osama bin Laden, the administration has so far been unsuccessful in its attempt to locate the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Asked why, Bush said, "Because he's hiding." While some terrorism experts complain U.S. allies, such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, could do more to help capture the al Qaeda leader, Bush said he could not name a single U.S. ally that is not doing everything possible to assist U.S. efforts.

Unbelievable as that statement is, it is a metaphor for this administration. It's a perfect example of how things work. "He's hiding, and that makes it too hard, so don't worry." No anthrax killer. No stopping white racists. Global warming? Too hard. Clean air? Nope, too hard. Clean water? Nope. Too hard.

What kind of jerk is this guy? He's played the 51% for suckers.

Is Al Qaeda Even Real?

2005-01-11T20:40:00.000-06:00

This is the most interesting theory yet. We know the Powers That Is, make stuff up. Could they have made up Al Qaeda? Or at least inflated their threat?

Absolutely! First, it fits the facts. Second, why is there only names for about 45 or 50 of these guys?

I consider myself well informed, and I have no idea how much of what I've read is true.

Let's Pick a Fight With a Dead Guy

2005-01-09T13:44:00.000-06:00

In their rush to prove all lefties idiots, the right, specifically John Ray, has what might be a new tactic -- start an argument with a dead man. See this article for details.

A short story on Kangas's death is here.

Like Joe Scarborough before him, Richard Mellon Scaife has a skelton in his office.

Perhaps, maybe just perhaps, if the not-so-liberal press had time they could have covered this and then the idiot Ray might have shown some constaints. Maybe....What am I thinking about? John Ray is close to being another Savage or Coulter. He starts his discussions with false assertations and pretends they're true.

A Bribe From the White House

2005-01-07T07:44:00.000-06:00

USA Today has an article titled White House Paid Commentator"

Somehow, that they did this isn't a surprise. It's not a surprise that a Democratic doesn't like it. Is it illegal? Well, I don't have any idea. But it stinks. Stinks to high heaven. And it should scare the crap out of you.

I guess the problem is simple from George Weasel Bush's point of view. His position is untenable, so he'll pay the "liberal media" so that they'll push his point of view.

Folks, there are three important points to make here. Two of these happen everytime the wing nuts decide they want to push an issue. First, this just completely obliterates the idea of a free press. This makes Williams a White House employee. He should be fired. On the spot, without looking back.

Second, if it is legal or not, it's 110% unethical because it is so dishonest.

Lastly, if NCLB is doing so well, why does it need extra PR? If it's such a good idea, why does it need a push?

As an aside, I thought Rethuglicans were for smaller government. How did this help?

Another Entry In The Long List of Lies

2005-01-07T07:07:00.000-06:00

David Broder on The Govenator:

"He warned that if the Legislature did not heed his call, he would take his program to the voters in a special election, as he did last year to secure passage of a $15 billion bond to help balance the state's budget."

Let's review this on terms we can all understand. You are over extended and borrow money to pay the electric bill and make the car payment. You are still over budget. In other words, you did not "help balance" your budget but added to your debt. Now there's one more payment next month. How does that help?

David Broder is a liar and/or an idiot. They are not mutually exclusive.

It's Been a Long Day

2005-01-06T21:01:00.000-06:00

It's been rough. Working 12 1/2 hours. Canceled flight. Having to prove my PM made a serious error. No fun at all. This is the downside to being a consultant and frequent traveler. Something all our critics never see. Getting off topic....ready to rant....

Bottom line: All this delayed what I hoped would be my first post.

Top news items from today:

Dems (temporarily) block Bush's election. But it won't fly. The bad new is they aren't making enough noise to make me happy. The NYT reports

Alberto Gonzalez runs into trouble in his hearing. Why aren't the Democrats blasting this guy? On all eight cylinders? He's a dirt bag and we all know it. Repeat after me - Alberto Gonzales is a scum bag! See? That's wasn't hard.

Tucker Carlson is out at CNN. Some bloggers are suggesting this is the beginning of a change in attitude at the networks. I don't have that much faith in the networks. Maybe, just maybe, he's a big a prick as he seems.

Room service has arrived. Till tomorrow.