The Atlantic has an article on The Wire and its creator David Simon, The Angriest Man In Television. It seems his fifth season, where he takes on the newspaper Simon used to work, is becoming the most controversial. Probably because it's got the most people who can write about it.
"The essential difference between writing nonfiction and writing fiction is that the artist owns his vision, while the journalist can never really claim one, or at least not a complete one—because the real world is infinitely complex and ever changing. Art frees you from the infuriating unfinishedness of the real world. For this reason, the very clarity of well-wrought fiction can sometimes make it feel more real than reality. As a film producer once told me, 'It’s important not to let the facts get in the way of the truth.' Fiction can explain things that journalism cannot. It allows you to enter the lives and motivations of characters with far more intimacy than is typically possible in nonfiction. In the case of The Wire, fiction allows you to wander around inside a violent, criminal subculture, and inside an entrenched official bureaucracy, in a way that most reporters can only dream about. And it frees you from concerns about libel and cruelty. It frees you to be unfair."
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Parking
Would you park like this? I live near a school and every Sunday they have a Chinese School program. About every third week someone parks partially blocking my driveway. Sometimes worse than this. I can usually get around but it's annoying. This is a pic from today. Usually I leave a note on the window saying "Do Not Block Driveway". I've looked up the law, and in MA it varies by town. In my town you have to leave 5 feet around a driveway. I'd be happy if they left merely an inch and weren't encroaching into the driveway itself.
Today I got annoyed and walked down to the police officer assigned to direct traffic. She told me should couldn't leave her post to issue a ticket but I should call the police dispatch number.
I then walked to the school and found the main office. I waited for the principal but he disappeared and another woman helped me. I explained that this happened every third week and I didn't care so much about this one car but could they tell their parents (yet again) to be considerate where they park. There's a nearby lot they can use and I know the school's website says to do so, but parking on the street is closer, particularly in the cold. But don't block a driveway.
She was trying to get my information and I could see she didn't know how she would figure out which parent's car it was and I wasn't getting through that I was looking for a strategic solution instead of a tactical one. The principal reappeared and the woman brought him over. He wasted no time telling me to call the police and have the car towed. As long as I can get by I'm content with them getting a ticket. So I called the police number (not 911) and surprisingly got a machine and left a message. Well see what happens.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
The Future of the Supreme Court
I might be the only person that watches it but C-SPAN has a series called America & the Courts which covers the US Supreme Court and Federal Courts.
They sometimes show speeches by Supreme Court Justices or mock trials or they sometimes show oral arguments or for the Supreme Court (which doesn't allow cameras) they play the audio of the arguments and show the pictures of the current speaker and put up captions of the salient points. Depending on the case it can be quite boring or completely fascinating.
And then there's times light last week where they has two very knowledgeable reports talk about the Supreme Court. "New York Times Supreme Court Correspondent Linda Greenhouse and CNN's Jeffrey Toobin talk about recent cases and shifts in the Court since Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts joined. The New York Times hosted this event as part of their Arts & Leisure week held in New York City earlier this month." It was called The Future of the Supreme Court and the video is on the site, find the link for Feb 2, 2008. It's an hour long but was really interesting and accessible.
They sometimes show speeches by Supreme Court Justices or mock trials or they sometimes show oral arguments or for the Supreme Court (which doesn't allow cameras) they play the audio of the arguments and show the pictures of the current speaker and put up captions of the salient points. Depending on the case it can be quite boring or completely fascinating.
And then there's times light last week where they has two very knowledgeable reports talk about the Supreme Court. "New York Times Supreme Court Correspondent Linda Greenhouse and CNN's Jeffrey Toobin talk about recent cases and shifts in the Court since Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts joined. The New York Times hosted this event as part of their Arts & Leisure week held in New York City earlier this month." It was called The Future of the Supreme Court and the video is on the site, find the link for Feb 2, 2008. It's an hour long but was really interesting and accessible.
Friday, February 08, 2008
A Tortured Explanation From The White House
A Tortured Explanation From The White House "Let's review: waterboarding is torture except when it's not, torture is illegal except when the Justice Department says it's not, the administration doesn't torture except when they do, and if anyone has a problem with that, the Justice Department investigate, except that they won't. Got that? "
Recreating Hitchcock
Vanity Fair decided to recreate scenes from classic Hitchcock films using modern day actors and actresses. Lots of pics if you follow the link. It's a neat idea but honestly I'd have no interest in seeing these films, the originals were too good.
New and Improved Cereal Bowl
Introducing the eatmecrunchy:
"Using the bowl is easy! Use it as a conventional cereal bowl, pouring your cereal and milk into bowl as you would normally do. Eat the cereal from the shelf-less section of the bowl where the cereal and milk mix - pushing the cereal in as required."
I think Jerry Seinfeld would be the ideal celebrity spokesman.
"Using the bowl is easy! Use it as a conventional cereal bowl, pouring your cereal and milk into bowl as you would normally do. Eat the cereal from the shelf-less section of the bowl where the cereal and milk mix - pushing the cereal in as required."I think Jerry Seinfeld would be the ideal celebrity spokesman.
Republicans Have Given up
The Republican attacks on McCain confused me. They claim he's not a conservative and Coulter says he's more liberal than Hillary. That''s just demonstrably false. Based on his record he's a solid conservative. All of Coulter's "McCain is just like Clinton" rhetoric is clearly not true. Look no further than Supreme Court nominations to prove that. Though if they really do control the court and change policy on abortion and gay marriage, etc. then the conservatives lose their wedge issues.
McCain has strong conservative stances on Abortion, Gun Control, the war, reducing government spending, civil rights, affirmative action, the death penalty, flag burning (remember that one?), health care reform, labor/unions, prayer in schools, and the PATRIOT Act.
He's being attacked for positions on taxes, immigration, torture, and embryonic stem cell research. He opposed the Bush tax cuts before because there were no spending cuts (a conservative position) but now wants to keep the cuts to help the economy. On immigration he's from a border state and perhaps realizes the impossibility of deporting 12 million people. That doesn't make him liberal, it makes him rational. On torture his position can only be called sane as he's the only person in this public debate who's been tortured. On stem cell research he might be liberal, but the issue is so closely related to abortion where he is 100% conservative. He's moderate on the environment and against oil drilling in ANWR, but he's otherwise conservative on energy.
I think the issue is that Republican party leaders can't control him. If the North Vietnamese couldn't, what chance do they have? It's the same problem with Huckabee, he's too religious and the Republican support of the evangelicals is a sham just to get their votes. They don't want to give them actual power. Romney's fakeness showed through and Thompson wasn't interested enough to campaign. Other possible candidates probably didn't want to inherit the messes Bush will leave.
I think what's really going on is that they've looked not at the results of the Republican primary but at the turnouts in both parties' primaries and have realized the Democrats are going to win regardless of who runs. I haven't seen this reported in this way, and I don't know why, but here are the total votes by party in all the primaries so far. I didn't count caucuses because the numbers reported aren't comparable.
All the data is from CNN and yes I was looking for an excuse to play with Apple's spreadsheet. The state names are colored based on how they voted in the 2004 presidential election. So Arkansas is a red state, but of all the primary voters this year, 58% voted Democratic. That's not a percentage of registered voters, that's how many people actually voted this season. GA, MO, OK, SC, and TN are now, arguably, blue states. I included the FL and MI numbers but the Democratic primaries didn't count in those states. Overall, 61% of the primary voters so far have voted Democratic. If I don't count the skewed FL and MI numbers, that goes up to 64%.
I haven't done the work to plot out how the electoral votes for all the states would actually go, but I think Republicans are cutting and running. They are positioning things now so that the Republican loss is mitigated. The next president is going to have such a hard time fixing the damage Bush did to the middle east, our military, our economy and our reputation, that they want the bad stuff to happen under a Democratic administration. They're hoping Obama is another Jimmy Carter, so that they can find another Reagan for 2012. Then they can say conservatives didn't even have someone to vote for in 2008, it's not like they actually lost.
McCain has strong conservative stances on Abortion, Gun Control, the war, reducing government spending, civil rights, affirmative action, the death penalty, flag burning (remember that one?), health care reform, labor/unions, prayer in schools, and the PATRIOT Act.
He's being attacked for positions on taxes, immigration, torture, and embryonic stem cell research. He opposed the Bush tax cuts before because there were no spending cuts (a conservative position) but now wants to keep the cuts to help the economy. On immigration he's from a border state and perhaps realizes the impossibility of deporting 12 million people. That doesn't make him liberal, it makes him rational. On torture his position can only be called sane as he's the only person in this public debate who's been tortured. On stem cell research he might be liberal, but the issue is so closely related to abortion where he is 100% conservative. He's moderate on the environment and against oil drilling in ANWR, but he's otherwise conservative on energy.
I think the issue is that Republican party leaders can't control him. If the North Vietnamese couldn't, what chance do they have? It's the same problem with Huckabee, he's too religious and the Republican support of the evangelicals is a sham just to get their votes. They don't want to give them actual power. Romney's fakeness showed through and Thompson wasn't interested enough to campaign. Other possible candidates probably didn't want to inherit the messes Bush will leave.
I think what's really going on is that they've looked not at the results of the Republican primary but at the turnouts in both parties' primaries and have realized the Democrats are going to win regardless of who runs. I haven't seen this reported in this way, and I don't know why, but here are the total votes by party in all the primaries so far. I didn't count caucuses because the numbers reported aren't comparable.
All the data is from CNN and yes I was looking for an excuse to play with Apple's spreadsheet. The state names are colored based on how they voted in the 2004 presidential election. So Arkansas is a red state, but of all the primary voters this year, 58% voted Democratic. That's not a percentage of registered voters, that's how many people actually voted this season. GA, MO, OK, SC, and TN are now, arguably, blue states. I included the FL and MI numbers but the Democratic primaries didn't count in those states. Overall, 61% of the primary voters so far have voted Democratic. If I don't count the skewed FL and MI numbers, that goes up to 64%.
I haven't done the work to plot out how the electoral votes for all the states would actually go, but I think Republicans are cutting and running. They are positioning things now so that the Republican loss is mitigated. The next president is going to have such a hard time fixing the damage Bush did to the middle east, our military, our economy and our reputation, that they want the bad stuff to happen under a Democratic administration. They're hoping Obama is another Jimmy Carter, so that they can find another Reagan for 2012. Then they can say conservatives didn't even have someone to vote for in 2008, it's not like they actually lost.
Huckabee's Beliefs
I just saw a clip of Huckabee on the news. He said: "A lot of folks have said, 'well why don't you quit?'. Well let me tell you something, let me explain why I'm not gonna to quit. Because, first of all I still believe that we can win." He believes he can win the Republican nomination but doesn't believe in evolution. I think I see a pattern here.
US Customs Searching Electronic Data
I find this Washington Post article very disturbing. Clarity Sought on Electronics Searches.
"The Association of Corporate Travel Executives, which represents 2,500 business executives in the United States and abroad, said it has tracked complaints from several members, including Udy, whose laptops have been seized and their contents copied before usually being returned days later, said Susan Gurley, executive director of ACTE. Gurley said none of the travelers who have complained to the ACTE raised concerns about racial or ethnic profiling. Gurley said none of the travelers were charged with a crime."
Maria Udy, a British citizen and marketing executive had her company laptop seized by a federal agent as she was flying from Dulles to London in December 2006. The only reason given was the agent had a "security concern" and a year later she still hasn't had the laptop returned even though she was told it would only be taken for 10-15 days. WTF? This isn't customs because she was leaving the country.
"The U.S. government has argued in a pending court case that its authority to protect the country's border extends to looking at information stored in electronic devices such as laptops without any suspicion of a crime. In border searches, it regards a laptop the same as a suitcase. "It should not matter . . . whether documents and pictures are kept in 'hard copy' form in an executive's briefcase or stored digitally in a computer. The authority of customs officials to search the former should extend equally to searches of the latter," the government argued in the child pornography case being heard by a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco."
I guess it makes sense that customs has expanded search powers but the 4th amendment should apply somehow. I have no problem with them looking for weapons or drugs. I have problems with them looking at, let alone copying or seizing, documents like diaries, trade secrets, personal correspondence, etc. I can't think of much that I would let them look at. I'm sure the first argument someone would make would be plans for a nuclear device. If it was a grad students project I wouldn't allow it. If it were a terrorists plans sure. But the problem is knowing which it is and there's no way to do that without other evidence. You don't get to look at everyone's diary because someone, might have plans for a terrorist nuclear device. If you need to convince Republicans, the government doesn't get to look at all company internal documents because someone might have plans to build a nuclear bomb.
"The Association of Corporate Travel Executives, which represents 2,500 business executives in the United States and abroad, said it has tracked complaints from several members, including Udy, whose laptops have been seized and their contents copied before usually being returned days later, said Susan Gurley, executive director of ACTE. Gurley said none of the travelers who have complained to the ACTE raised concerns about racial or ethnic profiling. Gurley said none of the travelers were charged with a crime."
Maria Udy, a British citizen and marketing executive had her company laptop seized by a federal agent as she was flying from Dulles to London in December 2006. The only reason given was the agent had a "security concern" and a year later she still hasn't had the laptop returned even though she was told it would only be taken for 10-15 days. WTF? This isn't customs because she was leaving the country.
"The U.S. government has argued in a pending court case that its authority to protect the country's border extends to looking at information stored in electronic devices such as laptops without any suspicion of a crime. In border searches, it regards a laptop the same as a suitcase. "It should not matter . . . whether documents and pictures are kept in 'hard copy' form in an executive's briefcase or stored digitally in a computer. The authority of customs officials to search the former should extend equally to searches of the latter," the government argued in the child pornography case being heard by a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco."
I guess it makes sense that customs has expanded search powers but the 4th amendment should apply somehow. I have no problem with them looking for weapons or drugs. I have problems with them looking at, let alone copying or seizing, documents like diaries, trade secrets, personal correspondence, etc. I can't think of much that I would let them look at. I'm sure the first argument someone would make would be plans for a nuclear device. If it was a grad students project I wouldn't allow it. If it were a terrorists plans sure. But the problem is knowing which it is and there's no way to do that without other evidence. You don't get to look at everyone's diary because someone, might have plans for a terrorist nuclear device. If you need to convince Republicans, the government doesn't get to look at all company internal documents because someone might have plans to build a nuclear bomb.
The Onion: Waiting Period For Suicide Vest Purchases
I love that the Onion is now doing video clips. In The Know: New Iraqi Law Requires Waiting Period For Suicide Vest Purchases
Romney Suspends Campaign
I didn't hear Governor Mitt Romney Speech today, I just heard that he had suspended his campaign. Fine with me. A friend called to complain about the speech and said he didn't have a blog so he decided to talk to someone who did. He objected to the following:
"'And Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror. They would retreat and declare defeat. And the consequence of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America, launched from safe havens that make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child's play. About this, I have no doubt.
'I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror. "
This really is fear mongering in the worst way. Electing a Democrat means we surrender to terror. That's bullshit but unfortunately it's not new from the Republicans. Jon Stewart tonight said his response to this: "Fuck You!"
Other things in the speech bothered me too. He talked about unique strengths of American culture. "we sacrifice everything we have, even our lives, for our families, our freedoms and our country" as if other people don't fight for their families or countries? Isn't that the definition of war?
I love crap like this: "The threat to our culture comes from within. The 1960's welfare programs created a culture of poverty" Yup, welfare is a threat to our culture. I don't even know what means. I think my favorite line was "[Liberals] fight to strip work requirements from welfare, to put more people on Medicaid, and to remove more and more people from having to pay any income tax whatsoever." Right, poor people should pay income tax and the rich should get more tax cuts. He didn't bother saying that part in this speech.
"Europe is facing a demographic disaster. That is the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life and eroded morality." What's a demographic disaster?
And this just bothers me: "Oil producing states like Russia and Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran are siphoning over $400 billion per year from our economy – that's almost what we spend annually for defense. It is past time for us to invest in energy technology, nuclear power, clean coal, liquid coal, renewable sources and energy efficiency. America must never be held hostage by the likes of Putin, Chavez, and Ahmadinejad." It's amazing to me that he can mention clean coal and liquid coal right after each other. The first is lie to pretend it will help climate change, the second doesn't even bother to lie and is just worse. Romney doesn't even mention the environment or climate change. Nope no problem there at all.
At least he won't be president. Good Riddance.
"'And Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror. They would retreat and declare defeat. And the consequence of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America, launched from safe havens that make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child's play. About this, I have no doubt.
'I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror. "
This really is fear mongering in the worst way. Electing a Democrat means we surrender to terror. That's bullshit but unfortunately it's not new from the Republicans. Jon Stewart tonight said his response to this: "Fuck You!"
Other things in the speech bothered me too. He talked about unique strengths of American culture. "we sacrifice everything we have, even our lives, for our families, our freedoms and our country" as if other people don't fight for their families or countries? Isn't that the definition of war?
I love crap like this: "The threat to our culture comes from within. The 1960's welfare programs created a culture of poverty" Yup, welfare is a threat to our culture. I don't even know what means. I think my favorite line was "[Liberals] fight to strip work requirements from welfare, to put more people on Medicaid, and to remove more and more people from having to pay any income tax whatsoever." Right, poor people should pay income tax and the rich should get more tax cuts. He didn't bother saying that part in this speech.
"Europe is facing a demographic disaster. That is the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life and eroded morality." What's a demographic disaster?
And this just bothers me: "Oil producing states like Russia and Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran are siphoning over $400 billion per year from our economy – that's almost what we spend annually for defense. It is past time for us to invest in energy technology, nuclear power, clean coal, liquid coal, renewable sources and energy efficiency. America must never be held hostage by the likes of Putin, Chavez, and Ahmadinejad." It's amazing to me that he can mention clean coal and liquid coal right after each other. The first is lie to pretend it will help climate change, the second doesn't even bother to lie and is just worse. Romney doesn't even mention the environment or climate change. Nope no problem there at all.
At least he won't be president. Good Riddance.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
The Wire Episode 5
Salon's comments are here.
Entertainment Weekly'The Wire'' recap: The liars collide "Scott Templeton's fake phone call helps McNulty use his fake serial killer to get a wiretap on Marlo, and Clay Davis pretty much sums up the whole situation"
But as usual, the most interesting commentary is What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Five. Find out why Vondas gave Marlo that phone and why the gangs fear Obama.
Entertainment Weekly'The Wire'' recap: The liars collide "Scott Templeton's fake phone call helps McNulty use his fake serial killer to get a wiretap on Marlo, and Clay Davis pretty much sums up the whole situation"
But as usual, the most interesting commentary is What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Five. Find out why Vondas gave Marlo that phone and why the gangs fear Obama.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Free Pancakes at IHOP February 12
February 12, 2008 is IHOP National Pancake Day. "From 7am to 10pm we'll give you one free short stack (three) of our famous buttermilk pancakes. All we ask is that you consider making a donation to support local children's hospitals though Children's Miracle Network, or other local charities." I haven't been to an IHOP in years.
Federal Buildings Become Real ID Zones
CNET reports "Starting May 11, Americans living in states that don't comply with new federal regulations could be barred from entering Washington D.C.'s visitor center and collecting the complimentary maps and brochures--unless they happen to bring a U.S. passport or military ID with them. That not-very-welcoming rule is part of a 2005 law called the Real ID Act, which takes effect in just over three months. It says that driver's licenses from states that have not agreed to Real ID mandates from the Department of Homeland Security, or which have not requested a deadline extension, can no longer be used to access 'federal facilities'."
Conveniently they have an interactive map so you can see what your state's policy is.
Conveniently they have an interactive map so you can see what your state's policy is.
Bush and Broadband
The US is not as wired as other nations and the administration has stated it wanted to help fix that. Paul Krugman writes "But the Bush administration has an answer: move the goalposts, and declare Connection Accomplished. Seriously, this is disgusting. Declare that 200 kb/second is broadband; declare that if anyone in a Zip code has broadband so defined, everyone has broadband access; and then have the Commerce Secretary laud the president’s policies for creating this ‘success.’"
Oil Corrupts in Iraq Too
digby writes "Don't you love how we're spreadin' democracy 'n freedom? It's inspiring."
"An Iraqi MP preferred to remain anonymous told the newspaper that highly confidential negotiations took place by representatives from American oil companies, offering $5 million to each MP who votes in favor of the Oil and Gas law."
"An Iraqi MP preferred to remain anonymous told the newspaper that highly confidential negotiations took place by representatives from American oil companies, offering $5 million to each MP who votes in favor of the Oil and Gas law."
Obama's Experience
Andrew Sullivan in The Natural, "Perhaps the most telling critique of Obama, to my mind, is his lack of executive experience. I asked him directly last year why a voter should back someone who has never run anything bigger than a legislative office. He responded by..." It makes a good case.
Bush Won't Make Treat Without Senate's Approval
Think Progress reports White House Claims It Will Abandon Long-Term ‘Security Guarantee’ With Iraq. In other words, Bush won't violate the constitution by signing a treaty without the ratification of the Senate. It's amazing that this is the level we're reduced to.
But he's still at it with the signing statements.
Last July 54% of the country wanted to impeach Cheney and 45% wanted to impeach Bush. I wonder what the polls are now?
But he's still at it with the signing statements.
Last July 54% of the country wanted to impeach Cheney and 45% wanted to impeach Bush. I wonder what the polls are now?
Stupid Plot Tricks
I still have an old "If I Ever Become the Evil Overlord..." email from 10 years ago. It's fun. Here's a far more complete version: Stupid Plot Tricks. It includes If I Am Ever the Hero and Starfleet Captain sections as well as Tips for the Evil Henchman, Trusted Lieutenants, the Evil Overlord's Wicked but Beautiful Daughter, the Evil Overlord's Accountant, Evil Geniuses, Evil Cult Members and Aliens and Monsters on the Rampage as well as for sidekicks, the Hero's Own True Love, Innocent Bystanders, and many more things including Notes on Fortress Construction.
Schneier on Internet Cable Failures in Middle East
Bruce Schneier added yesterday more updates on the undersea internet cables being cut:
"The International Herald Tribune has more. And a comment below questions whether Iran being offline has anything to do with this.
A fifth cut? What the hell is going on out there?"
"The International Herald Tribune has more. And a comment below questions whether Iran being offline has anything to do with this.
A fifth cut? What the hell is going on out there?"
CIA Chief Admits We Waterboarded
No surprise but finally someone admits it: "CIA Director Michael Hayden confirmed for the first time that the agency's interrogators used waterboarding on three detainees in 2002 and 2003." As usual, Harry Shearer has interesting comments.
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