Saturday, October 09, 2004
Quote of the Day: October 9
"In our country are evangelists and zealots
of many different political, economic and religious
persuasions whose fanatical conviction is that all
thought is divinely classified into two kinds-that
which is their own and that which is false and dangerous."
--Robert H. Jackson (02/13/1892 - 10/09/1954).
Robert H. Jackson graduated from a public high school,
never attended college, apprenticed in a law office,
spent one year taking classes at Albany Law School,
became a prominent trial lawyer and went on to become
Solicitor General,Attorney General and a Justice of
the United States Supreme Court. He viewed his crowning
achievement in public service to be the new standards
in international law¹ that were created when he served
as the Chief American Prosecutor before the International
Military Tribunal Nuremberg following World War II.
¹"For one hundred years, place names of Europe have often stood for conflict and tragedy and loss. Single words evoke sad and bitter experience: Verdun, Munich, Stalingrad, Dresden, Nuremberg and Yalta. We have no power to rewrite history. We do have the power to write a different story for our time"
President George W. Bush
Remarks at the Hilton Prague to the Prague Atlantic Student Summit
November 20, 2002
_____________________________________________________
"For centuries, and especially in the last century, [our collective] conscience
has been shocked by unspeakable crimes: crimes whose victims were
counted not in tens, but in tens of thousands--even in millions.
By 1945, those crimes had cost humanity so dear that it was deemed
necessary to set up special tribunals, in Nuremberg and Tokyo, to
judge the main perpetrators. Those tribunals established a principle
of vital importance: that those who take part in gross violations of
international humanitarian law cannot shelter behind the authority of
the State in whose name they did so. They must take personal
responsibility for their acts, and face the consequences."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Speaking at the inauguration of the judges of the International Criminal Court,
The Hague, March 11, 2003
Friday, October 08, 2004
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
on drugs ... Any Questions?
On Oct. 4 The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy chose a new advertising agency,¹ Foote Cone & Belding, to lead its $200 million-per-year anti-drug advertising
effort aimed at parents and children.
For each ad the ONDCP, headed by federal drug czar John Walters, buys with tax dollars, media companies contribute a matching ad.
The ONDCP got into anti-drug marketing after private media companies cut back on the number of free public-service ads they do. The ONDCP lobbied for funds to go commercial in 1997 after then-crug czar Barry McCaffrey became incensed over a medical-marijuana ballot initiative that passed in California.
Often political undertones have stoked controversy. McCaffrey, for instance, got into trouble for allowing, without telling Congress, TV stations to provide their advertising match with anti-drug story lines in shows such as ER instead of actual ads. The public wasn't
informed that the stories were indirectly influenced by a financial commitment from the White House, and legislators who backed the program were incensed.
In 2002 ONDCP stated its intent to run $96 million in anti-marijuana messages during and just after the midterm election. This direct intervention in state politics drew fire from both Democrats and Republicans.
Walters shows little sign of backing down. He has made it clear in speeches that he plans to continue using the power of his office to defeat state drug-policy reform initiatives.
Walters is convinced that it's a worthy campaign. "Fewer teens are using drugs because of the deliberate and serious messages they have received about the dangers of drugs from their parents, leaders, and prevention efforts like our National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign," he says, pointing to a Health & Human Services Dept. survey showing an overall 11% decline in drug use by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in 2002-03.²
A five year study led by the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania hasn't been able to find a link between seeing the ads and declining drug use.
The ONDCP believes a new tracking study will validate the ads and a change in creative strategy that began in 2002, which the new ad agency is expected to support.
¹ The previous agency, Ogilvy & Mather, was accused of overbilling the government.
²Tobacco and alcohol consumption have fallen among teens, too, but the ONDCP campaign doesn't address smoking or alcohol.
The World's Healthiest Foods
Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine said, "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." The George Mateljan Foundation shares that goal and focuses on helping you use the power of food to achieve and maintain good health and the prevention of disease.
The Foundation's mission is to "offer the latest scientific information about the benefits of the World's Healthiest Foods and the specific nutrients they provide." Equally important, "offer practical, simple and affordable ways to enjoy them that fit your individual lifestyle."
Quote of the Day: October 8
"The House of Lords is like a glass of champagne that has stood for five days."
--Clement Atlee (01/03/1883 - 10/08/1967) British PM (42).
Clement Atlee died in London at age 84. The son of a wealthy lawyer,
Atlee briefly practiced law after graduating from Oxford, but quickly
turned to social reform and politics. In the next few
decades, he rose to the top ranks of England's Labor Party. As World War
II came to an end in 1945, Atlee led the Labor Party to victory over
Churchill and his Conservative Party. As the new Prime Minister, he
presided over the establishment of a welfare state in England. During the
war, Atlee supported Churchill and served in a number of posts in his
cabinet. The liberal Atlee often disagreed with Churchill, however, and
he sometimes bridled at Churchill's imperious ways. At one Cabinet
meeting, Atlee attempted to raise a matter for discussion, but Churchill
squelched him by saying that the topic had been considered in several
previous Cabinet meetings. Atlee, who had grown tired of Churchill’s
tendency to give long-winded orations, replied:
"A monologue is not a decision."
Thursday, October 07, 2004
When it's volcancoes, National Geographic
has it for you
With Mount St. Helens erupting again, National Geographic created
explosive volcano guides and games for you.
Volcano Supersite: See 'Em, Build 'Em
http://ng.chtah.com/a/tBBZVxNASJ4TXATT6AkASWd1o.ASOEJvtN/ngs7
Sometimes they spew, sometimes they're just a little gassy.
Find out why, see history's worst, and build your own
interactive erupter.
Volcanoes You Can Visit http://ng.chtah.com/a/tBBZVxNASJ4TXATT6AkASWd1o.ASOEJvtN/ngs8
Red Hot Volcano Quiz
http://ng.chtah.com/a/tBBZVxNASJ4TXATT6AkASWd1o.ASOEJvtN/ngs9
explosive volcano guides and games for you.
Volcano Supersite: See 'Em, Build 'Em
http://ng.chtah.com/a/tBBZVxNASJ4TXATT6AkASWd1o.ASOEJvtN/ngs7
Sometimes they spew, sometimes they're just a little gassy.
Find out why, see history's worst, and build your own
interactive erupter.
Volcanoes You Can Visit http://ng.chtah.com/a/tBBZVxNASJ4TXATT6AkASWd1o.ASOEJvtN/ngs8
Red Hot Volcano Quiz
http://ng.chtah.com/a/tBBZVxNASJ4TXATT6AkASWd1o.ASOEJvtN/ngs9
Interesting
Vice President Cheney meant to say "FactCheck.org"¹
to viewers of the Vice-Presidential Debate but
instead it came out "FactCheck.com" (surprise!); that
gets you redirected to http://www.georgesoros.com/
the Web Site of George Soros, the billionaire investor
and dedicated anti-Bush guy.
Wonder how much it cost to pull that off?
to viewers of the Vice-Presidential Debate but
instead it came out "FactCheck.com" (surprise!); that
gets you redirected to http://www.georgesoros.com/
the Web Site of George Soros, the billionaire investor
and dedicated anti-Bush guy.
Wonder how much it cost to pull that off?
¹
FactCheck.org: Annenberg Political Fact Check
This site describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit, consumer
advocate for voters that monitors "the factual accuracy of what is
said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads,
debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases." The site's
original articles analyze and comment on political claims and
statements, providing summaries and the facts. Searchable. From
the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of
Pennsylvania.
things that you can learn from the 2000 Census
Black same-sex couples would be disproportionately harmed by anti-gay marriage policies, says a report released Wednesday by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition.
The report seeks to dispel the notion espoused by some civil rights and religious leaders that affording equal rights to gays threatens the civil rights advances made by blacks. The argument, the report states, ignores the substantial number of black same-sex couples in the United States.
According to the 2000 Census, there are nearly 600,000 same-sex couples in the United States. Almost 85,000 of these couples include at least one black person. While 13 percent of the U.S. population is black, 14 percent of same-sex couples include at least one black person.
The groups' analysis of the 2000 U.S. Census includes black same-sex couples' residence patterns, parenting rates, education, employment, income, housing and veteran stat
The report concludes that black same-sex couples in the United States, more than half of whom are raising children, would "benefit from nondiscrimination policies as well as the protections offered by family recognition."
The report seeks to dispel the notion espoused by some civil rights and religious leaders that affording equal rights to gays threatens the civil rights advances made by blacks. The argument, the report states, ignores the substantial number of black same-sex couples in the United States.
According to the 2000 Census, there are nearly 600,000 same-sex couples in the United States. Almost 85,000 of these couples include at least one black person. While 13 percent of the U.S. population is black, 14 percent of same-sex couples include at least one black person.
The groups' analysis of the 2000 U.S. Census includes black same-sex couples' residence patterns, parenting rates, education, employment, income, housing and veteran stat
The report concludes that black same-sex couples in the United States, more than half of whom are raising children, would "benefit from nondiscrimination policies as well as the protections offered by family recognition."
ethics panel faulted DeLay's actions
The House ethics committee last night admonished Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for asking federal aviation officials to track an airplane involved in the Texas political redistricting wrangle, and for conduct that suggested political donations might influence legislative action.
The ethics panel said, "No, no," to DeLay's actions in asking the Federal Aviation Administration last year to be part of a posse to help locate a private plane that Texas Republicans thought was carrying escaping Texas Democratic legislators. Some Democratic lawmakers skedaddled the state to prevent a quorum that Republicans needed in Austin to pass a bitterly disputed congressional redistricting plan engineered by DeLay. DeLay's staff asked an FAA official to help find the plane in order to round up the legislators and herd them back to the capital.
The ethics report cited House rules that bar members from taking "any official action on the basis of the partisan affiliation . . . of the individuals involved." It noted that the FAA official later said he felt he "had been used" for political purposes. DeLay's role in the matter "raises serious concerns under these standards of conduct," the report said.
The redistricting plan, ultimately enacted, now threatens the reelections of five Democratic U.S. House members from Texas. Their losses would boost the GOP's congressional advantage and DeLay's power.
The committee also admonished DeLay for his dealings with top officers of Kansas-based Westar Energy Inc. Some of the officers wrote memos in 2002 citing their belief that $56,500 in campaign contributions to political committees associated with DeLay and other Republicans would get them "a seat at the table" where key legislation was being drafted.
The ethics report said lawmakers may not solicit political donations "that may create even an appearance" [like that'd ever happen...] that they will lead to "special treatment or special access to the member." DeLay's participation in Westar's "golf fundraiser at The Homestead resort on June 2-3, 2002, is objectionable in that those actions, at a minimum, created such an improper appearance," the report said. The golf tournament, which raised money for DeLay's political committees, "took place just as the House-Senate conference on major energy legislation . . . was about to get underway. . . . That legislation was of critical importance to the attendees."
The report said DeLay was "in a position to significantly influence the conference."
The ethics panel said, "No, no," to DeLay's actions in asking the Federal Aviation Administration last year to be part of a posse to help locate a private plane that Texas Republicans thought was carrying escaping Texas Democratic legislators. Some Democratic lawmakers skedaddled the state to prevent a quorum that Republicans needed in Austin to pass a bitterly disputed congressional redistricting plan engineered by DeLay. DeLay's staff asked an FAA official to help find the plane in order to round up the legislators and herd them back to the capital.
The ethics report cited House rules that bar members from taking "any official action on the basis of the partisan affiliation . . . of the individuals involved." It noted that the FAA official later said he felt he "had been used" for political purposes. DeLay's role in the matter "raises serious concerns under these standards of conduct," the report said.
The redistricting plan, ultimately enacted, now threatens the reelections of five Democratic U.S. House members from Texas. Their losses would boost the GOP's congressional advantage and DeLay's power.
The committee also admonished DeLay for his dealings with top officers of Kansas-based Westar Energy Inc. Some of the officers wrote memos in 2002 citing their belief that $56,500 in campaign contributions to political committees associated with DeLay and other Republicans would get them "a seat at the table" where key legislation was being drafted.
The ethics report said lawmakers may not solicit political donations "that may create even an appearance" [like that'd ever happen...] that they will lead to "special treatment or special access to the member." DeLay's participation in Westar's "golf fundraiser at The Homestead resort on June 2-3, 2002, is objectionable in that those actions, at a minimum, created such an improper appearance," the report said. The golf tournament, which raised money for DeLay's political committees, "took place just as the House-Senate conference on major energy legislation . . . was about to get underway. . . . That legislation was of critical importance to the attendees."
The report said DeLay was "in a position to significantly influence the conference."
What's next for the X Prize?
The official handing-over of that $10 million check is scheduled for November 6 at the St. Louis Science Center.
Then what happens? The X Prize Foundation hopes to keep the
two-dozen-plus runner-up teams motivated to stay in the race
by hosting an annual X Prize Cup in New Mexico.
The first sponsor is International Fuel Technologies.
Then what happens? The X Prize Foundation hopes to keep the
two-dozen-plus runner-up teams motivated to stay in the race
by hosting an annual X Prize Cup in New Mexico.
The first sponsor is International Fuel Technologies.
Quote of the Day: October 7
"They who dream by day are cognizant of
many things which escape those who dream only by night."
--Edgar Allan Poe (01/19/1809 - 10/07/1849) US writer. Poe died in
a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland at age 40. For years it was believed
he died of his own drunken debauchery, but recent evidence has suggested
he might have died of rabies. Born to theatrical parents in Boston,
Poe's English-born mother died when he was two. Raised by his godfather
in Richmond, Virginia, Poe showed early academic promise, but didn't fare
well in college, dropping out of both the University of Virginia and
West Point. Influenced by England's great Romantic poets, Poe began
writing poetry, eventually writing such classics as The Raven and
Annabel Lee. His interest in the occult resulted in
some of the world's great horror tales, like The Tell-Tale Heart and
The Pit and the Pendulum. He is also credited with writing the first
true detective story, Murders of the Rue Morgue.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
reinstitution of the draft
Rep.Charles Rangel,¹ a New York Democrat, has been pushing for reinstitution of the draft as a way of hindering American military involvement in Iraq. Rangel believes conscription would make it harder politically to sustain a war effort.
Yesterday the House brought Rangel's draft bill² to a vote, and it failed, 402-2. The only "aye" votes came from Reps. John Murtha of Pennsylvania and Pete Stark of California. Rangel voted against his own bill!
Yesterday the House brought Rangel's draft bill² to a vote, and it failed, 402-2. The only "aye" votes came from Reps. John Murtha of Pennsylvania and Pete Stark of California. Rangel voted against his own bill!
¹ The congressman from the 15th District, Charles Rangel, was first elected in 1970. Rangel is now the senior member of the New York delegation and ranking Democrat on Ways and Means. He grew up in Harlem and served in the Army in Korea, where he rescued 40 men from behind the lines in Kunu-ri and was awarded the Bronze Star; he returned to Korea in June 2000 for the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the war. He graduated from New York University and St. John's University law school, served as legal counsel in several government agencies and was elected to the Assembly in 1966; he was part of a group of young black politicians, with state Senator Basil Paterson and Carl McCall and Assemblyman Percy Sutton, who for many years have dominated Harlem and greatly influenced New York politics. In 1970 Rangel challenged Powell in the Democratic primary and narrowly won. Like most Harlem politicians, he has long argued that government aid and racial preferences are needed to solve Harlem's problems. Yet much in his own career suggests otherwise. Rangel's main emphasis for a decade was denunciation of the drug trade. From 1983 until it was abolished in 1993 with the other House select committees, Rangel chaired the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, and seldom missed a chance to relate other problems to drugs.
²House majority leader, Representative
Tom DeLay of Texas accused Democrats of generating opposition to President Bush - especially on college campuses - by raising the idea that the draft³ might be re-established after the November election to provide troops for service in Iraq.
³ A Reader's Companion to American History: Conscription An overview of the military draft in the United States from the American Revolution through the 1980s (when compulsory draft registration was instated). Includes a short bibliography. From the Houghton Mifflin Company.
What Happens in a Draft? Information from the Selective Service System about "what would
occur if the United States returned to a draft." Includes a discussion of a draft lottery, classifications, conscientious objection and alternative service, how the draft has changed since
Vietnam, and only sons and sole surviving sons.
L. Paul Bremer decided to join private sector?
Former Iraq viceroy Paul Bremer left White House aides scrambling Monday night to deny he said that, or if he did say it, that it was off the record or that he was misquoted or that it really wasn't Bremer but someone claiming to be Bremer.
Yes, just because he talked about how "we never had enough troops on the ground" to effectively occupy Iraq.
Probably would have been OK, but when President Bush's close pal Bremer was at the Greenbrier resort, he ALSO told the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers on Monday that he thought things in Iraq would be okay no matter who wins the election.
Yes, just because he talked about how "we never had enough troops on the ground" to effectively occupy Iraq.
Probably would have been OK, but when President Bush's close pal Bremer was at the Greenbrier resort, he ALSO told the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers on Monday that he thought things in Iraq would be okay no matter who wins the election.
Walk to health
Recent research results could hardly be clearer: Taking a walk is one
of the best ways to take charge of your health.
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed
that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the
risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent.
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that men 61
to 81 years old sharply reduced their risk of death from all causes,
including cancer and heart disease, by walking two miles a day. Other
research has shown similar results for women.
Besides the well-documented health benefits, there is that
"you can go at your own pace" appeal. If you are new to exercise or recovering
from injury or childbirth, you can aim to walk for 20 to 45 minutes
four or five days a week at the good fitness walking speed of three
miles an hour. When you want to power up, you can take longer walks
and work up to walking each mile in 15 minutes or less
DISCLAIMER: The above is merely an indication of how you might
get exercise despite a busy life, and it isn't medical or physical
therapy advice. Different people may need different exercise regimes,
especially at different times of their life. Before doing the above
or any exercise you should personally consult with your physician or
relevant professional. AND both links only partly work. That is, they
will get you to the on-line publication, but not the articles in question.
It's a thing they do ... maybe to make sure nobody is pretending to be them.
of the best ways to take charge of your health.
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed
that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the
risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent.
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that men 61
to 81 years old sharply reduced their risk of death from all causes,
including cancer and heart disease, by walking two miles a day. Other
research has shown similar results for women.
Besides the well-documented health benefits, there is that
"you can go at your own pace" appeal. If you are new to exercise or recovering
from injury or childbirth, you can aim to walk for 20 to 45 minutes
four or five days a week at the good fitness walking speed of three
miles an hour. When you want to power up, you can take longer walks
and work up to walking each mile in 15 minutes or less
DISCLAIMER: The above is merely an indication of how you might
get exercise despite a busy life, and it isn't medical or physical
therapy advice. Different people may need different exercise regimes,
especially at different times of their life. Before doing the above
or any exercise you should personally consult with your physician or
relevant professional. AND both links only partly work. That is, they
will get you to the on-line publication, but not the articles in question.
It's a thing they do ... maybe to make sure nobody is pretending to be them.
Quote of the Day: October 6
"Education is about the only thing
lying around loose in the world, and it's
about the only thing a fellow can have as
much of as he's willing to haul away."
--George Lorimer (10/06/1867 - 10/22/1937) US editor (Saturday Evening Post)
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Was Santorum Right? ¹
¹ Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania raised liberal hackles in April 2003 when he said that if the Supreme Court overturned state statutes against homosexual sodomy (as it did), "then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything."
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington Law School, seems to agree. In an op-ed for yesterday's USA Today, he mounts a defense of polygamy:
The First Amendment was designed to protect the least popular and least powerful among us. When the high court struck down anti-sodomy laws in Lawrence vs. Texas, we ended decades of the use of criminal laws to persecute gays. However, this recent change was brought about in part by the greater acceptance of gay men and lesbians into society, including openly gay politicians and popular TV characters.
Such a day of social acceptance will never come for polygamists. It is unlikely that any network is going to air The Polygamist Eye for the Monogamist Guy or add a polygamist twist to Everyone Loves Raymond. No matter. The rights of polygamists should not be based on popularity, but principle.
I personally detest polygamy. Yet if we yield to our impulse and single out one hated minority, the First Amendment becomes little more than hype and we become little more than hypocrites. For my part, I would rather have a neighbor with different spouses than a country with different standards for its citizens.
I know I can educate my three sons about the importance of monogamy, but hypocrisy can leave a more lasting impression.
SENATE APPROVES INTELLIGENCE BUDGET DISCLOSURE
"The idea that our enemies can somehow determine something about
our intelligence capability by knowing the total of what we spend
is simply not accurate," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).¹
"Year-to-year changes in any specific program will not move the
overall total number enough to give an adversary any indication
of how that money is being spent."
Opponents said the move would mean nothing less than the
destruction of U.S. intelligence.
"I have drawn the conclusion that basically this destroys the
[intelligence] network," said Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont).¹ "And
we wonder why we do not have human resources on the ground in
some areas in the world and, yes, even in our own country. I will
tell you, if this [budget information] is disclosed, this will be
one of the main reasons that we will have."
our intelligence capability by knowing the total of what we spend
is simply not accurate," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).¹
"Year-to-year changes in any specific program will not move the
overall total number enough to give an adversary any indication
of how that money is being spent."
¹ Rockefeller is vice chairman on the Intelligence Committee and participated in the joint intelligence committees' investigation of intelligence before September 11. In January 2003 he was involved in a dispute with Chairman Pat Roberts over the apportionment of funding for the committee; the rift nearly prevented the organization of the Senate for the 108th Congress. According to Roberts, Rockefeller also proposed firing the entire staff of the traditionally non-partisan committee and rehiring the positions on a partisan basis. On Iraq and homeland security, Rockefeller took stands opposite to those vehemently urged by his West Virginia colleague Robert Byrd. In October 2002, Rockefeller voted for the Iraq war resolution. After the November 2002 election, he voted for the Department of Homeland Security as a "bold and necessary step." But he took care to thank Byrd for leading the opposition to it with "clarity, conviction and passion," and with Byrd, he voted against limiting debate on the measure.
Opponents said the move would mean nothing less than the
destruction of U.S. intelligence.
"I have drawn the conclusion that basically this destroys the
[intelligence] network," said Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont).¹ "And
we wonder why we do not have human resources on the ground in
some areas in the world and, yes, even in our own country. I will
tell you, if this [budget information] is disclosed, this will be
one of the main reasons that we will have."
¹Burns, the only Republican Senator that Montana has returned to office, has a solidly conservative voting record in the Senate. In 1997, he became chairman of the Communications Subcommittee, one of the key regulatory posts in Congress. There, this former broadcaster has generally favored deregulation and encouragement of Internet commerce. He wrote Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which provided incentives for broadband data networks. More than one-third of Montana households subscribe to satellite TV; Burns wants commercial network stations to be available on satellite TV. His bill to provide for electronic authentication of online contracts and user identities became law in June 2000. In November 2001, a bill he co-sponsored extended the moratorium enacted by the Internet Tax Freedom Act through November 2003. He got the Commerce Committee to approve a bill co-sponsored by Democrat Ron Wyden to require mass e-mailers to include return addresses to allow recipients to opt out; it awaited action in the 108th Congress.
Burns has weighed in on other issues as well. On the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, he delivered a National Press Club speech on the future of American foreign and energy policy in the Middle East. In it, Burns argued for diversifying energy sources to increase national security, and called for greater imports of oil from West Africa, Russia and Caspian nations. He decried America's dependency on rogue oil, and singled out Saudi Arabia for especially harsh criticism. He was a strong advocate of allowing airline pilots to carry guns, and called for shifting airport security from the Transportation Department to Justice. He cast the lone vote against the election procedures bill passed in April 2002, on the grounds that it imposed too many mandates on state and local government.
Quote of the Day: October 5 
"Hope is not the conviction that something
will turn out well but the certainty that something
makes sense, regardless of how it turns out."
--Vaclav Havel (10/05/1936 - ) First President of Czech Republic. He was born into an affluent family. His family's property was seized by the government when Communists took control of the country.
He was prevented from attending college, so he took a job in a chemical company and joined a literary underground society, passing around books that had been banned by the government. In the 1960's, he wrote a series of absurdist plays, including The Garden Party (1964) and The Memorandum (1965) that attacked the Communist Party, describing the way in which the Communists were ruining the language by introducing all kinds of euphemisms and clichés.
After a brief period of greater freedom in Czechoslovakia during the late 1960's, Soviet troops invaded and imposed hard-line Communist Party control over the government. Havel's plays were banned. He was arrested twice, thrown in jail, and then forced to earn a living stacking barrels in a brewery.
He continued writing plays, including The Mountain Hotel (1976). He received money from the production of his plays abroad. He used the money to buy a Mercedes-Benz which he drove to his job at the brewery every day.
He refused to go into exile the way so many other writers and artists in the country did. He said, "The solution to the situation does not lie in leaving it. Fourteen million people can't just go and leave Czechoslovakia." He spent the 1980's in and out of prison, writing plays that he couldn't see performed in his own country.
In 1989, after another arrest and imprisonment, he was released early because thousands of artists protested to the prime minister. He'd become a national hero. After the collapse of the Communist regime, he helped negotiate the transition to democracy, and in December of 1989, he was elected President, the first non-communist leader of his country since 1948.
He stepped down from office on 2 February 2003 having served exactly 10 years; parliament finally elected a successor on 28 February 2003 after two inconclusive elections in January 2003.
Monday, October 04, 2004
In case you missed it...
...the gang at Scaled Composites successfully launched and retrieved their homebuilt, Space Ship One, for the second time in less than a week. The requirement for the Ansari X-prize was to do it twice in two weeks, so SS1 should easily win the award once the flight data is confirmed.
negative reports still available
Even though the Agency for International Development has
restricted distribution of reports by contractor Kroll Security
International -- annoyingly pessimistic and negative reports,
saying the number of daily attacks by insurgents in Iraq is i
ncreasing -- the weekly Kroll Monitor is still available, even online.
restricted distribution of reports by contractor Kroll Security
International -- annoyingly pessimistic and negative reports,
saying the number of daily attacks by insurgents in Iraq is i
ncreasing -- the weekly Kroll Monitor is still available, even online.
Quotes of the Day: October 4
"I only wish I could write with both hands,
so as not to forget one thing while I am saying another."
--Saint Teresa of Avila (03/28/1515 - 10/04/1582) Spanish nun, mystic, writer
"The American people never carry an umbrella.
They prepare to walk in eternal sunshine."
--Alfred Emanuel Smith (12/30/1873 - 10/04/1944) US Governor (NY)
"Innovations never happen as planned."
--Gifford Pinchot (08/11/1865 - 10/04/1946) US environmentalist
"We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist,
or if they have existed up until now, that they will continue
to exist in a similar manner in the future."
--Max Planck (04/23/1858 - 10/04/1947) German physicist
"A comedian does funny things; a good comedian does things funny."
--Buster Keaton (10/04/1895 - 02/01/1966) US comic actor
"I'd rather have ten years of super-hypermost than
live to be seventy by sitting in some goddamn chair watching TV."
--Janis Joplin (01/19/1943 - 10/04/1970)US singer
"Even without wars, life is dangerous."
--Anne Sexton (11/09/1928 - 10/04/1974) US writer
"I don't take showers."
Janet Leigh (07/06/1927 - 10/04/2004) US actor.
"There is nowhere you can go and only be with
people who are like you. Give it up."
--Bernice Johnson Reagon (10/04/1942 - ) US historian, musician (Sweet Honey in the Rock), on racism
"I think that the film 'Clueless' was very deep.
I think it was deep in the way that it was very light.
I think lightness has to come from a very deep place
if it's true lightness."
--Alicia Silverstone (10/04/1976 - ) US actor
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Swedish Pastor sentenced to jail for offending homosexuals in a sermon
Last year during a sermon delivered in the east coast town of Borgholm, Sweden, Pastor Ake Green described homosexuality as "abnornal, a horrible cancerous tumor in the body of society." He called homosexuals "perverts, whose sexual drive the Devil has used as his strongest weapon against God."
During the trial, according to the church newspaper Kyrkans Tidning, the public prosecutor, Kjell Yngvesson, justified the arrest by saying, "One may have whatever religion one wishes, but [the sermon] is an attack on all fronts against homosexuals. Collecting Bible [verses] on this topic as he does makes this hate speech."
In his defense, the pastor said he merely wanted to make clear the biblical view on homosexuality, not to express disrespect.
The court sentenced the Pentecostal pastor to one month in prison after finding him guilty of offending homosexuals in his sermon. The case was the first trial test of the national law against incitement as applied to speech about homosexuals.
Wow! Those Swedes really take PC seriously! Officially, Europe is an area within which the traditional freedoms of thought and belief and speech and association are solidly protected. Yet, here is as gross an abuse of the right to free expression as can be imagined.
The belief that religious freedom is never a reason to offend people marginalizes religion and trivializes moral argument. The Swedish court is saying that people are entitled to their beliefs but that it does not follow that their theology should be allowed to object to the behavior of others.
This relegates strong beliefs to the private sphere -- one is "entitled" to have such beliefs, but to argue for them in public (or in this case a church open to the public) is to force them on "others" who don't share them. Since the moral claim is based on theology, doctrine, or an old book of scripture it is beyond rational discussion and those who press such beliefs are guilty of religious coercion and hate speech.
Religion should never be a reason to offend people?
Wow! A man is sent to prison for stating what is the orthodox position of all Christian churches, and for quoting from The Bible. And this happens in what amounts to a media blackout. But it was not really censorship or persecution. Oh no! This was really just "hate speech." Apparently, freedom of speech is only violated when someone is attacked for saying things with which the Establishment agrees. Anything else is fair game for the police.
KenInfinite is waiting, but neither Amnesty International nor any other of the human rights groups have taken up the case.
During the trial, according to the church newspaper Kyrkans Tidning, the public prosecutor, Kjell Yngvesson, justified the arrest by saying, "One may have whatever religion one wishes, but [the sermon] is an attack on all fronts against homosexuals. Collecting Bible [verses] on this topic as he does makes this hate speech."
In his defense, the pastor said he merely wanted to make clear the biblical view on homosexuality, not to express disrespect.
The court sentenced the Pentecostal pastor to one month in prison after finding him guilty of offending homosexuals in his sermon. The case was the first trial test of the national law against incitement as applied to speech about homosexuals.
Wow! Those Swedes really take PC seriously! Officially, Europe is an area within which the traditional freedoms of thought and belief and speech and association are solidly protected. Yet, here is as gross an abuse of the right to free expression as can be imagined.
The belief that religious freedom is never a reason to offend people marginalizes religion and trivializes moral argument. The Swedish court is saying that people are entitled to their beliefs but that it does not follow that their theology should be allowed to object to the behavior of others.
This relegates strong beliefs to the private sphere -- one is "entitled" to have such beliefs, but to argue for them in public (or in this case a church open to the public) is to force them on "others" who don't share them. Since the moral claim is based on theology, doctrine, or an old book of scripture it is beyond rational discussion and those who press such beliefs are guilty of religious coercion and hate speech.
Religion should never be a reason to offend people?
Wow! A man is sent to prison for stating what is the orthodox position of all Christian churches, and for quoting from The Bible. And this happens in what amounts to a media blackout. But it was not really censorship or persecution. Oh no! This was really just "hate speech." Apparently, freedom of speech is only violated when someone is attacked for saying things with which the Establishment agrees. Anything else is fair game for the police.
KenInfinite is waiting, but neither Amnesty International nor any other of the human rights groups have taken up the case.
... a betrayal of public health and a giant gimme to
tobacco farmers at public expense?
Back in May¹ ...
OK, got that? The Congress
was supposed to be finally giving
the Food and Drug Administration
regulatory control over tobacco
products and for setting up a program
using tobacco-industry money to buy
out struggling tobacco farmers.
So if our elected leaders behave
responsibly, it could result in
legislation that would aid the American
economy and bring a product that kills
more than 400,000 Americans per year
under control.
But, yeah, you guessed it ...
the Senate produced bills laden with
pork for special interests; and the
House version actually left out the
FDA provisions, even as it included
a version of the tobacco buyout paid
for with billions of dollars in public money.
So the results could be a hugely expensive set of tax breaks -- ones that far
eclipse the sanctions they will head off -- combined with a betrayal of public
health and a giant gimme to tobacco farmers at public expense.
¹Proponents of FDA oversight of the tobacco industry have sought the legislative authority since 2000, when the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 that the agency's earlier claim of authority over tobacco was unconstitutional. Tobacco interests have been lobbying for a federal buyout of their Depression-era quota system for just as long because of the plunging value of their crop. KenInfinite predicts that in the end, tobacco interests will prevail over pro-regulatory forces.
A bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority it has long sought to regulate tobacco products.
The idea behind the bill is to give the FDA jurisdiction over the marketing and manufacturing of tobacco so young people won't take up the habit.
"Many consumers, including smokers, are surprised to learn that no federal agency has the authority to require tobacco companies to list the ingredients that are in their products -- things like trace amounts of arsenic, formaldehyde, and ammonia," Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), a co-sponsor, said in a statement. "Today we are taking a step toward reducing the number of children who begin to smoke. We are taking a step toward limiting the kinds of advertisements directed at our children. And we are taking a step toward finally giving the FDA the authority to fix the problem of youth smoking."
The FDA has long argued that it should have the power to regulate tobacco as a drug. In 2000, however, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the agency had no legal right to do so. "An administrative agency's power to regulate in the public interest must always be grounded in a valid grant of authority from Congress," the court ruled.
The bill would allow the FDA to force tobacco companies to list all ingredients in their products. The agency would also have the power to mandate stronger labels, control the advertising of tobacco, and end tactics that target youth.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the other sponsor, said in a statement that "there is an excellent chance of enacting this bill this year." It would be coupled with a bill providing relief to tobacco farmers, he said, but "most importantly, it is the right thing to do for America's children."
OK, got that? The Congress
was supposed to be finally giving
the Food and Drug Administration
regulatory control over tobacco
products and for setting up a program
using tobacco-industry money to buy
out struggling tobacco farmers.
So if our elected leaders behave
responsibly, it could result in
legislation that would aid the American
economy and bring a product that kills
more than 400,000 Americans per year
under control.
But, yeah, you guessed it ...
the Senate produced bills laden with
pork for special interests; and the
House version actually left out the
FDA provisions, even as it included
a version of the tobacco buyout paid
for with billions of dollars in public money.
So the results could be a hugely expensive set of tax breaks -- ones that far
eclipse the sanctions they will head off -- combined with a betrayal of public
health and a giant gimme to tobacco farmers at public expense.
Milestones of Flight: October 3 - 9
2004- Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The greatest spectacle of its kind in the
world. Albuquerque, which entered the 1970s barren of balloons, soon evolved into the self-styled balloooning capital of the world, a claim supported by its resident population of more than 100 aeronauts. October 1 - 10
October 03
1785 - Jean-Pierre Blanchard was born into a poor family in the Norman village of Les Andelys. He became balllooning's first professional. By 1785, when Blanchard makes the 1st manned balloon ascent in Germany, he was the world's best-known, most widely
traveled and most maligned balloonist, a hero-for-hire who would court sponsors,
advertise for an audience, float aloft with the receipts and profit again by selling
his account of the flight for publication.
October 04 TEN-FOUR DAY. The fourth day of the 10th month is a day of recognition for radio operators, whose code words, "Ten-Four," signal an affirmative reply.
2004 - Gordon Cooperwho was the
youngest and perhaps cockiest member
of the original seven Mercury astronauts,
died today (Monday) at his Ventura home
of natural causes. He was 77.
Cooper, was the last astronaut to take
flight during NASA's pioneering Mercury
program, but he achieved many key firsts
as he piloted Faith 7 capsule in
May of 1963.
As he circled the globe 22 times in 34 hours and 20 minutes, Cooper became
the first astronaut in a space flight of more than 24 hours. He was also the
first astronaut to sleep in space, and he successfully carried out a beacon
experiment that made him the first man to launch a satellite in space.
Three of the original Mercury astronauts are still alive: Scott Carpenter, Glenn and Schirra.
Virgil "Gus" Grissom died in the 1967 Apollo 1 fire; Donald K. "Deke" Slayton died of brain cancer in 1993; and Alan Shepard Jr., died of leukemia in 1998.
Cooper, born March 6, 1927, in Shawnee, Okla., joined the Marines during World War II and transferred to the Air Force in 1949. He earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1956.
2004 - SpaceShipOne, flown by veteran test pilot Brian Binnie, rocketed into
space history today, climbing higher than 62 miles for the second time in
five days in a bid to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize for designer Burt
Rutan and financial backer Paul Allen.
1959 - LUNA 3 (USSR).Launched. The first satellite to photograph moon's distance side.
1958 - Britain's national overseas airline BOAC becomes the 1st carrier to fly
the Atlantic route by jet airliner.
1957 - SPUTNIK I (USSR). First successful man-made earth satellite, Sputnik I("fellow traveller of earth") weighing 184 lbs was fired into orbit from the USSR's Tyuratam launch site. Transmitted radio signal for 21 days, decayed January 4, 1958. This was the beginning of Space Age and man's exploration beyond Earth.. It came at a time when Americans were feeling very secure. The economy was expanding. The Korean War was over. The Red Scare had ended. The Vietnam War hadn't started yet. And then on this day in 1957, TV stations interrupted their programs to announce the launch of what was called "a man made moon."
The word "sputnik" means fellow traveler in Russian, but Americans took no comfort in that name. Most commentators saw the launch as a sign that Russians were ahead in the race to create intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the fear was that soon they would be setting up a military base on the moon.
Sputnik inspired education reforms, based on the idea that American teachers were focused too much on their students' feelings,and social advancement, while Russian teachers were turning their students into little scientists. A book called Why Johnny Can't Read became a best seller. The former Harvard president James Bryant Conant urged parents to tell children, for their own sake and for the sake of the nation, to do their homework. President Eisenhower signed into law the National Defense Education Act, which funded laboratories and textbooks in public schools.
1909 - More than a million New Yorkers watchas Wilbur Wright makes a
flight along the Hudson River.
1784 - James Sadler becomes the 1st British aeronaut when he makes a
flight in a Montgolfier-type balloon of a 170-foot circumference. He also had
his eye on the Channel and in December he would make preparations for a
flight to France.
October 05
1914 - A German Aviatik becomes the 1st aircraft to be shot down in
a dogfight by a French Army-owned Voisin airplane.
1907 - The 1st British Army dirigible airship, the Nullis Secundus
(second to none), makes a spectacular flight over the capital city of London.
1905 - Wilbur Wright in the Flyer II makes the 1st flight of over a half-an-
hour at Simms Station, Ohio.
1882 - The father of the Space Age, Robert H. Goddard, was born in Worcester, MA.
Largely ignored or ridiculed during his lifetime because of his dreams of rocket travel, including travel to other planets. He launched a liquid-fuel-powered rocket on March 16, 1926 at Auburn, MA. This American pioneer of rocket propulsion died August 10, 1954.
1751 - Italian Andrea Grimaldi, exhibits a flying carriage: the machine,
which remains untested, has a complex structure and a wingspan of 22 feet.
October 06
1922 - Lieutenants John Macready and O.G. Kelly set a new world flight
endurance record, staying aloft in their Fokker T-2 monoplane for a total
of 35 hours, 18 minutes and 30 seconds.
1908 - Wilbur Wright and a French writer make the 1st passenger flight
of over one hour.
October 07
1909 - Glenn Curtiss becomes the 1st American to hold an FAI airplane
certificate.
October 08
1890 - Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker (twenty-six victories) WWI American
ace of aces was born. Died July 23, 1973.
1883 - French brothers Albert and Gaston Tissandier make the 1st flight
with an airship powered by electricity.
October 09
2004 - Dr. Maxime A. Faget, he man who designed the original spacecraft
for Project Mercury and is credited with contributing to the designs of
every U.S. human spacecraft from Mercury to the Space Shuttle has died
at his home in Houston.
1977 - SOYUZ 25 (USSR) launched carrying cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok and Valery Ryumin. Intended lin with Salyut 6 unsuccessful. Craft returned to Earth October 11.
1900 - French aeronaut Count Henri de La Vaulx sets a world record
for non-stop long-distance balloon flight. He flies for over 35 hours after
taking off from Paris, France.
1890 - The 1st full-sized manned airplane to leave the ground under
its own power is Frenchman Clement Ader's steam-powered, propeller-
driven aircraft.
1890 - American aviator, auto racer, war hero, "Captain Eddie," was born.
Died July 23, 1973.
Quote of the Day: October 3 
Stevie Ray Vaughan
"The way I like to look at it is....if that's the last time I ever got to play, I'd better give it everything I've got."
--Stevie Ray Vaughan (10/03/1954 - 08/27/1990) US blues musician, GRAMMY winner (brother of Jimmie)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
KenInfinite Archive
