2006/03/31
Iraq - There's Got To Be A Better Reason
We've heard all the justifications: We're spreading liberty and democracy in the Middle East; We're there to keep America safe; Saddam was a murderous dictator who would have attacked the United States...eventually, etc., etc... And as the lies mount, everyone gets more jaded and Bush's poll numbers drop like a one of Cheney's duck-hunting buddies.But I think that we can do better for our President. What's the real reason we're still in Iraq? Oil, military bases, Halliburton's stock price? Blognonymous wants to know. (And I always do these things on Friday's anyway.)
Kvatch's opinion? Read on...
"Poppy told me that if I finished what he started, he'd buy me a new company. I hope it's Chevron!"
DoJ Muscles More Than Search Engines
At first it looked like the DoJ was just going after records from the major search engines--Yahoo, Google, MSN, AOL, et al--but Information Week reports that actually the list was much more extensive. In all 34 companies had their records subpoenaed -
These companies don't provide search or connectivity and consequently shouldn't have logs that the DoJ could use to bolster their COPA defense. But personal firewall software does monitor Internet traffic and sometimes provides browser privacy protection. Virus software does scan the contents of your files. So here's the conundrum: If your security software isn't tattling on you--reporting back to the "mothership", so to speak--why is the DoJ muscling the vendors? What do they hope to find?
Looks to me like the DoJ is interested in more than the "anonymized" surfing habits of people looking for kiddie porn on the Internet.
...companies subpoenaed by the Department of Justice includes: 711Net (Mayberry USA), American Family Online, AOL, AT&T, Authentium, BellSouth, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable Company, Computer Associates, ContentWatch, Cox Communications, EarthLink, Google, Internet4Families, LookSmart, McAfee, MSN, Qwest, RuleSpace, S4F (Advance Internet Management), SafeBrowse, SBC Communications, Secure Computing Corp., Security Software Systems, SoftForYou, Solid Oak Software, SurfControl, Symantec, Time Warner, Tucows (Mayberry USA), United Online, Verizon, and Yahoo.Notice anything interesting about that list? Like the presence of many of the major firewall and security software vendors, such as McAfee, S4F, SafeBrowse, Secure Computing Corp., SurfControl, and Symantec.
These companies don't provide search or connectivity and consequently shouldn't have logs that the DoJ could use to bolster their COPA defense. But personal firewall software does monitor Internet traffic and sometimes provides browser privacy protection. Virus software does scan the contents of your files. So here's the conundrum: If your security software isn't tattling on you--reporting back to the "mothership", so to speak--why is the DoJ muscling the vendors? What do they hope to find?Looks to me like the DoJ is interested in more than the "anonymized" surfing habits of people looking for kiddie porn on the Internet.
2006/03/30
Weak-ass Reform Gets The Big Thumbs Up in the Senate
A day after Jack Abramoff got 6 years, in what will no doubt be a series of sentences for the disgraced lobbyist, the Senate proved that it has little interest in serious lobbying reform. Though the legislation does include some reporting requirements--largely placing the spotlight on lobbyists rather than on members of Congress--the most stringent provision, curbing fundraising by lobbyists, was left out as was the creation of an independent Ethics Office.
But even more interesting than what was left out of the bill, was the broad margin by which this piece of subterfuge was passed. Only 8 Senators, 3 Democrats and 5 Republicans, voted no: Coburn (R-OK), DeMint (R-SC), Feingold (D-WI), Graham (R-SC), Inhofe (R-OK), Kerry (D-MA), McCain (R-AZ), Obama (D-IL).
Now it's on to the House, where an even weaker bill is already under discussion.
But even more interesting than what was left out of the bill, was the broad margin by which this piece of subterfuge was passed. Only 8 Senators, 3 Democrats and 5 Republicans, voted no: Coburn (R-OK), DeMint (R-SC), Feingold (D-WI), Graham (R-SC), Inhofe (R-OK), Kerry (D-MA), McCain (R-AZ), Obama (D-IL).
Now it's on to the House, where an even weaker bill is already under discussion.
Weapons of Mass Unconventionality
In a March 27th article on newly released Iraqi documents that might contain evidence of al Qaeda links, the NY Times makes a subtle change in wording when referring to weapons of mass destruction. They say (emphasis added) -
Nuclear weapons can hardly be considered unconventional. They've been around for 60 years; Almost a dozen countries, with more to come, can be considered nuclear-armed states; The US alone has over 12,000 deployed warheads (down from a high of over 30,000). Likewise, to hear the administration tell it, countries the world over are cranking out biological and chemical agents--there again, hardly unconventional.
So what's with this semantic shift? Is the Times just getting sloppy? Is the administration using new language--rhetorically softening us up for a broader definition the circumstances necessary for a preemptive US strike?
Launching stinky wheels of Brie from a catapult might be considered "unconventional". Weapons of mass destruction...no so much. I'd say something "unconventional" is going on here...
Thanks to Graeme Anfinson at HNDBUITB for the inspiration and for his excellent analysis of how the right are using these same documents to bolster arguments and connections that the administration currently disavows.
American intelligence agencies and presidential commissions long ago concluded that Saddam Hussein had no unconventional weapons and no substantive ties to Al Qaeda before the 2003 invasion.The term unconventional weapon is not uncommon, especially in the last three years, but it usually refers to novel uses of explosives and unusual delivery systems.
Nuclear weapons can hardly be considered unconventional. They've been around for 60 years; Almost a dozen countries, with more to come, can be considered nuclear-armed states; The US alone has over 12,000 deployed warheads (down from a high of over 30,000). Likewise, to hear the administration tell it, countries the world over are cranking out biological and chemical agents--there again, hardly unconventional.
So what's with this semantic shift? Is the Times just getting sloppy? Is the administration using new language--rhetorically softening us up for a broader definition the circumstances necessary for a preemptive US strike?
Launching stinky wheels of Brie from a catapult might be considered "unconventional". Weapons of mass destruction...no so much. I'd say something "unconventional" is going on here...
Thanks to Graeme Anfinson at HNDBUITB for the inspiration and for his excellent analysis of how the right are using these same documents to bolster arguments and connections that the administration currently disavows.
2006/03/29
BART Melts Down!
I'm a little late reading all of your thoughtful comments due to the fact that Bay Area Rapid Transit MELTED DOWN this evening! Yes indeed, at 5:27 PM a supposed computer glitch halted every single train in the BART system for over 90 minutes. At one point the situation looked so dire that BART operators started manually moving trains into the closest stations to offload passengers who where then told to seek alternate means of transportation.
But your author, having long ago eschewed fishy gills in favor of amphibian lungs, decided to cool his heels over in Oakland for a few hours rather than attempt to swim back to San Francisco. However, I'd venture that this was no glitch. A system as critical as BART must have "hot" backups for all of their computers, and if they don't their administrators should be fired.
Nope, methinks something else was going on.
(Obligatory California, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose keywords to try and get leftyblogs filter to trip and include this post. sigh...)
But your author, having long ago eschewed fishy gills in favor of amphibian lungs, decided to cool his heels over in Oakland for a few hours rather than attempt to swim back to San Francisco. However, I'd venture that this was no glitch. A system as critical as BART must have "hot" backups for all of their computers, and if they don't their administrators should be fired.Nope, methinks something else was going on.
(Obligatory California, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose keywords to try and get leftyblogs filter to trip and include this post. sigh...)
Preparing for the Midterms, Democrats Resort To...Understatement?
From the Washington Post -
Stupid, lazy, tepid, worthless, spineless cowards! The Republicans are doing permanent damage to checks and balances in our government. They're busy dismantling the Constitution. They're robbing you of the fruits of your labor. They're robbing your children of their future, and this is all you can come up with?
Damn right America can do better. We'd do better with a trained chimp occupying the White House, but that's saying exactly nothing!
I want to cry.
Democratic leaders in Congress are gathering the ammunition to win back the House and Senate this year. They have crafted an upbeat, patriotic (and also somewhat vapid) slogan: "America Can Do Better." And they are beginning to roll out the pieces of a low-key 2006 version of Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America..."This is what I've been waiting for? The galvanizing, revolutionary slogan--the bold approach? This is all you've got?! Gott im Himmel!
Stupid, lazy, tepid, worthless, spineless cowards! The Republicans are doing permanent damage to checks and balances in our government. They're busy dismantling the Constitution. They're robbing you of the fruits of your labor. They're robbing your children of their future, and this is all you can come up with?
Damn right America can do better. We'd do better with a trained chimp occupying the White House, but that's saying exactly nothing!
I want to cry.
Who needs ethics? Not the Senate apparently.
After December's revelations that Senator Majority Leader Frist alters the language of bills after they leave conference committee but before they are voted on, it should come as no surprise to learn that Senators insert fictional debates into the Congressional Record. In the case of a bill on restricting the rights of military detainees, that's exactly what happened. WaPo reports on a lengthy exchange between Lindsey Graham (R SC) and Jon Kyl (R AZ) that -
Next up: The Senate dissolves its Ethics Committee as irrelevant.
...never occurred. Instead, the debate -- which runs 15 pages and brims with conversational flourishes -- was inserted into the Congressional Record minutes before the Senate gave final approval to the legislation.With shenanigans like these, it's no wonder Senators rejected a proposal to create an independent Ethics Office. Guess you don't need a panel to examine your ethics when you don't have any to start with.
Next up: The Senate dissolves its Ethics Committee as irrelevant.
Kvatch Kalled It - Senate Quashes Felonies for Good Samaritans
File this under, "tooting my own horn". Back in January's satirical post on punishing people who assist illegal immigrants as felons, I predicted in the comments that the Senate would quash that particular provision, and voila! They did.Now let's see if this actually holds up in the conference committee... if Condi actually becomes Vice President... and if GMU can manage to eek out a victory over the Florida Gators in this weekend's final four game.
And how about the rest of you prognosticators? Want to stare into your crystal balls? I swear I'll print any predictions you get right.
2006/03/28
Plagiarism - The MSM's Great Dodge
I've been resisting this because plagiarism is an area where I have a axe to grind, but with this excellent article by Larisa Alexandrovna at Huffington Post, I can't resist any longer.
Here's the short of it: The MSM has adopted the same sense of entitlement that pervades society today, and the way they express this is by refusing to cite sources that they consider disreputable--alternative news, bloggers, and the like. One recent example of this is the A.P.'s willful plagiarism of a Raw Story article on covert changes to clearance rules for gays. Even after the A.P. was pointedly shown the source of their information, they still refused to cite because, as Huffington Post notes, the A.P. does not credit blogs.
But--as anyone who has taken an introductory journalism class knows; anyone who has ever written an academic paper knows; anyone who has committed facts to print is supposed to know--the reputation of the source is irrelevant, and the decision is not in the hands of the writer/reporter. You cite your sources. You give credit where credit is due, and you do it because to fail to do so is plagiarism, pure and simple. Again quoting Ms. Alexandrovna, the A. P. seems to feel that the work of the alternative media, "is good enough for us to steal but not credible enough to cite."
Any news organization that fails to cite appropriately, the A. P. included, deserves to have it's reputation dragged through the mud. And why? For being a bunch of worthless tools who've apparently forgotten, or who are willing to ignore, the most basic standards we apply to research and reporting.
Here's the short of it: The MSM has adopted the same sense of entitlement that pervades society today, and the way they express this is by refusing to cite sources that they consider disreputable--alternative news, bloggers, and the like. One recent example of this is the A.P.'s willful plagiarism of a Raw Story article on covert changes to clearance rules for gays. Even after the A.P. was pointedly shown the source of their information, they still refused to cite because, as Huffington Post notes, the A.P. does not credit blogs.
But--as anyone who has taken an introductory journalism class knows; anyone who has ever written an academic paper knows; anyone who has committed facts to print is supposed to know--the reputation of the source is irrelevant, and the decision is not in the hands of the writer/reporter. You cite your sources. You give credit where credit is due, and you do it because to fail to do so is plagiarism, pure and simple. Again quoting Ms. Alexandrovna, the A. P. seems to feel that the work of the alternative media, "is good enough for us to steal but not credible enough to cite."
Any news organization that fails to cite appropriately, the A. P. included, deserves to have it's reputation dragged through the mud. And why? For being a bunch of worthless tools who've apparently forgotten, or who are willing to ignore, the most basic standards we apply to research and reporting.
Democratic Sinkhole - An Election Year Plot
New York, f-A-ke. P. -
Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman declared Brooklyn's SUV swallowing sinkhole to be part of the Democrat's agenda for America.
The Democratic party wants to strike fear into the heart of patriotic Americans--right-thinking people who just want to help out their Iraqi brothers and sisters by using as much oil as possible. It demonstrates the bankruptcy of their whole plan and is just another reason we must not allow them to take control of Congress.
Impeachment talk. Weakening national security. Big sinkholes under your Hummer...all part of their evil agenda.
Cheney = Agnew
The Raw Story and The Washington Note are both reporting that Karl Rove is cooperating with special prosecutor Fitzgerald. Seems Rove's providing access to missing and supposedly deleted records that implicate the Veep in the Plamegate scandal.If this is really the case, there's a good chance the Vice President Buckshot will have to resign and then...I'm placing my bet on Condi.
HT to Mikevotes of BatCotE for staying on top of this one.
2006/03/27
The Kommandos Advance on Union Square
San Francisco, f-A-ke. P. -
In a daring dawn raid, elements of Kvatch's Kommandos were seen advancing on San Francisco's Union Square. Witnesses described the intrepid soldiers moving in from the West and getting to the square's northern entrance before being turned back by kollaborators of the Kowboy Koward of Krawford.
In a daring dawn raid, elements of Kvatch's Kommandos were seen advancing on San Francisco's Union Square. Witnesses described the intrepid soldiers moving in from the West and getting to the square's northern entrance before being turned back by kollaborators of the Kowboy Koward of Krawford.
R.I.P. Stanislaw Lem
Stanislaw Lem has passed away in his native Poland at the age of 84.Though many people have never heard of Lem--probably because he never wrote in English--he was considered to be the finest science fiction writer's of the 20th century. Mortal Engines, his collection of short stories on feeling machines, is one of my favorites.
He will be greatly missed.
A Taste of GOP Midterm Election Strategy
Generik of The Generik Brand sent me a copy of a fund-raising missive that is going out to the G.O.P. faithful. Take a look for yourself because if this email is any indication, what Democrats can expect from the G.O.P. in the run-up to the midterms will make the "swift-boating" of John Kerry and John Murtha look tame.
First and most obviously, it appears that Republicans are going to call into question the patriotism of not only the Democratic leadership but Democrats in general. Second, they will exaggerate Democratic support for censure and outright lie to their base about what constitutes an impeachable offense. Third and finally, they'll jump right on to the "anything to win the war on terror" bandwagon. In other words, they're going to make this election about a single issue, impeachment.
Democrats better get ready to fight fire with fire, or we're going to get clobbered while trying to keep the tone of the debate elevated. Since, the Republicans have embraced law-breaking and subversion of the Constitution as virtues, they should have their faces rubbed in it by the Democrats.
Reid, Pelosi...are you paying attention?
First and most obviously, it appears that Republicans are going to call into question the patriotism of not only the Democratic leadership but Democrats in general. Second, they will exaggerate Democratic support for censure and outright lie to their base about what constitutes an impeachable offense. Third and finally, they'll jump right on to the "anything to win the war on terror" bandwagon. In other words, they're going to make this election about a single issue, impeachment.Democrats better get ready to fight fire with fire, or we're going to get clobbered while trying to keep the tone of the debate elevated. Since, the Republicans have embraced law-breaking and subversion of the Constitution as virtues, they should have their faces rubbed in it by the Democrats.
Reid, Pelosi...are you paying attention?
2006/03/26
Iraqi Civil War by the Numbers
Like a child caught lying, that when pressed stubbornly insists on repeating the same lie, President Neuman reiterated that Iraq is not in a state of civil war. But, by almost any objective measure, the numbers simply don't add up.
Let's take two examples of acknowledged civil wars from the 20th century: One of the longest running, the Guatemalan Civil War and one of the bloodiest, the Bosnian secession from Yugoslavia.
In the former, the Guatemalan army and a mixture of military and civilian governments conducted a 35 year campaign against leftist guerrillas fighting on behalf of the indigenous Mayan majority. At the end of the war in 1996, estimates had 150,000 dead (mostly civilians) and 50,000 missing. Taken together that puts the number of casualties at about 5700 per year.
In the latter, the fall of Yugoslavia's communist regime led to the country's breakup with Croatia leaving first and Bosnia attempting to leave in February of 1992. In the ensuing conflict, started by Serbia ostensibly to protect Bosnia's Serb minority, 250,000 Serbs, Croats, and Muslims lost their lives before the fighting ceased in December of 1995. In other words, 5400+ casualties per month!
Now lets look at Iraq. In the three years of Bu$hCo's war, almost 40,000 civilians have lost their lives (official estimates) or as many as 180,000 (unofficial estimates). If we assume that only 1/4 of these lives were due to sectarian violence, and that a state of civil war has only existed for the last 6 months, the casualty rate is somewhere between 270+ per month (approaching Guatemala's rate) and 1250 per month! Now consider these additional items:
Let's take two examples of acknowledged civil wars from the 20th century: One of the longest running, the Guatemalan Civil War and one of the bloodiest, the Bosnian secession from Yugoslavia.In the former, the Guatemalan army and a mixture of military and civilian governments conducted a 35 year campaign against leftist guerrillas fighting on behalf of the indigenous Mayan majority. At the end of the war in 1996, estimates had 150,000 dead (mostly civilians) and 50,000 missing. Taken together that puts the number of casualties at about 5700 per year.
In the latter, the fall of Yugoslavia's communist regime led to the country's breakup with Croatia leaving first and Bosnia attempting to leave in February of 1992. In the ensuing conflict, started by Serbia ostensibly to protect Bosnia's Serb minority, 250,000 Serbs, Croats, and Muslims lost their lives before the fighting ceased in December of 1995. In other words, 5400+ casualties per month!
Now lets look at Iraq. In the three years of Bu$hCo's war, almost 40,000 civilians have lost their lives (official estimates) or as many as 180,000 (unofficial estimates). If we assume that only 1/4 of these lives were due to sectarian violence, and that a state of civil war has only existed for the last 6 months, the casualty rate is somewhere between 270+ per month (approaching Guatemala's rate) and 1250 per month! Now consider these additional items:
- Iyad Allawi, the former Iraqi Prime Minister, has asserted that 50 - 60 Iraqis are dying daily and that the country is in a state of civil war
- Casualties in Iraq continue to mount despite the supposed stabilizing influence of 150,000 foreign troops, a factor that did not exist in either Guatemala or Bosnia
- In the two days after the Golden Mosque was bombed, 90 Sunni mosques were attacked resulting in 160+ deaths just from that single incident
2006/03/25
March Madness Squared
I'm not much of a team sports kind-o-frog. Though to the extent that I'll watch anything, it's usually basketball (or rugby...but that's for another post). Pro-ball? A bit, but for me college ball is where it's at--going all the way back to my days at University of Texas where women's basketball games were about all a non-Greek undergraduate could get tickets to...and the UT Women were good!
So it gives me no end of pride to observe that not one, but both of my Alma Matars are playing to get into the final four. UT--no surprise there--and George Mason, which never played in an NCAA tournament until this year. I can't believe that I'm going to say this, but I hope George Mason makes it to the final four to play Texas...and beats 'em! :-)
2006/03/24
Kvatch's Kommandos Storm Bay Area Public Transit
Breaking news -
Early this morning two companies of Kvatch's Kommandos stormed San Francisco's Municipal Railway (MUNI) and the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. Seeking enemy sympathizers, the intrepid soldiers could been seen taking up positions in the downtown San Francisco area.
Thanks to Jay of Lassiter Space for the idea and to Tom Hilton of If I Ran The Zoo for recruiting the troops.
Early this morning two companies of Kvatch's Kommandos stormed San Francisco's Municipal Railway (MUNI) and the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. Seeking enemy sympathizers, the intrepid soldiers could been seen taking up positions in the downtown San Francisco area.Thanks to Jay of Lassiter Space for the idea and to Tom Hilton of If I Ran The Zoo for recruiting the troops.
2006/03/23
From Condi's Mouth To Bush's Ear
Sometimes Condoleezza Rice hits the nail right on the head. Read this tidbit from the Asia Times Online (emphasis added by yours truly) -
The same day, while on a visit to Australia, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed concern over the "centralization of power in theTip-o-the-Hat to Leslie of In an Alternate Universe for finding this.KremlinWhite House" and spoke about the danger that "by its very existence, a presidency that is strong without countervailing institutions can be subverted, can subvert democracy".
Rice, speaking to a town-hall audience in Sydney, saw "a very difficult and shaky path" right now forRussianAmerican democracy, and expressed the hope that theRussianAmerican people "will find their voice to demand accountable, transparent institutions and to demand the ability to organize themselves to petition their government and, if necessary, to change their government".
UK Quietly Does Away With Parliament
While Bu$hCo breaks the law under the auspices of war powers, attaches his own interpretation to new laws, or instructs his agencies to simply ignore the law, Tony Blair's Labour party quietly plots to make Parliament irrelevant.
News sources in the in the UK have been reporting on the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill, which would, in The Guardian's words, "...rip the heart out of parliamentary democracy" by giving government ministers the power to make law without submitting anything to the legislature. And interestingly this is not the first time such a bill has been introduced. This one comes on the heels of the 2004's Civil Contingencies Act, another bill that expanded ministerial power at the expense of Parliament.
Scary stuff. Though the opposition parties are starting to challenge Labour over their attempted power grab.
News sources in the in the UK have been reporting on the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill, which would, in The Guardian's words, "...rip the heart out of parliamentary democracy" by giving government ministers the power to make law without submitting anything to the legislature. And interestingly this is not the first time such a bill has been introduced. This one comes on the heels of the 2004's Civil Contingencies Act, another bill that expanded ministerial power at the expense of Parliament.Scary stuff. Though the opposition parties are starting to challenge Labour over their attempted power grab.
2006/03/22
Surprise - California and New York Have The Worst Air Quality
Now there's a shocker. That the two most populous states have the worst air quality is not news to long suffering California and New York residents, but it is worth noting that over the last two decades industrial giants have conspired with government agencies to keep it that way. In fact they've even made things worse. Consider these facts:
- California has been sued twice, in 2002 and 2004, by the auto industry attempting to kill strict new limits on CO2 emissions.
- Had CAFE standards been applied uniformly to all classes of vehicles over the last decade, California's carbon-monoxide and hydrocarbon levels due to motor vehicles would have been reduced by 20% and emissions of nitrogen oxides would have been reduced by almost 40% (these three are the primary components of smog).
- Had CAFE standards been raised to the proposed 40 MPG level at any time in the last two decades, even greater reductions would in hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions would have been realized.
- Cigarette manufacturers have repeatedly sued California to: Prevent bans on smoking in public places; Prevent the implementation of anti-smoking campaigns; To nullify settlements between the California AG and the industry.
- The Bush administration illegally instructed the EPA to ignore provisions of the Clean Air Act that required carbon reducing upgrades to older power plants.
- The Bush administration has repeatedly proposed alternatives to the Clean Air Act (e.g., "Clean Skies") that actually weaken existing standards and increase pollution.
- The Bu$hCo EPA allowed the chemical industry to become essentially "self-monitoring" with respect to toxic emissions.
- And just today two the nation's largest railroads sued the California Air Resources Board to stop new air quality requirements on locomotives.
Puerto Rico Is Second Class? What About The District?
This is an interesting tidbit. Seems a group of Puerto Rican's consider themselves to be inferior US citizens and are willing to sue to get that changed, but yesterday they lost their appeal when the Supreme Court refused to hear their case.
Here's a couple of thoughts. First, if Puerto Rican's really want to have "first-class" citizenship then perhaps they should vote to become a state, something they haven't managed in two recent plebiscite's (1993 and 1998). Second, before we waste any more time on Puerto Rico, we should enfranchise the residents of the District of Columbia!
Nuff said.
Here's a couple of thoughts. First, if Puerto Rican's really want to have "first-class" citizenship then perhaps they should vote to become a state, something they haven't managed in two recent plebiscite's (1993 and 1998). Second, before we waste any more time on Puerto Rico, we should enfranchise the residents of the District of Columbia!Nuff said.
IRS Prepares The Mother Of All Privacy Violations
It's a dangerous world out there. Fraudsters, identity thieves, data aggregators all pose a risk to you and your financial health. But now, as if having to shred practically everything that comes into your mailbox weren't enough, the IRS is planning to unzip your financial fly for you. The Philadelphia Inquirer notes -
Your entire return!? Is the IRS f*cking insane?! There are a lot of ways to get your identity stolen, but this has to be the biggest potential giveaway the would-be identity thief ever conceived. Think about it for a second. Not only does your return contain ever important piece of personal data that matters--including your SSN--it can also contain: 1) Your bank account numbers (in case your used direct transfers for your refund or payment); 2) Credit-card numbers (You know you can pay with a credit-card right?); 3) Enough financial information to give a data aggregator a wet dream.
And do we think that the IRS will draft rules sufficient to keep those returns safe and sanitized? WE DO NOT! In fact, what they'll probably do is draft a bunch of rules that the Quickens, H&R Blocks, and Kiplingers will blithely ignore in their rush to mine this vein of gold.
I've got nothing left to say. This is so F*CKING brain-dead, the mind boggles.
The IRS is quietly moving to loosen the once-inviolable privacy of federal income-tax returns. If it succeeds, accountants and other tax-return preparers will be able to sell information from individual returns - or even entire returns - to marketers and data brokers.
Your entire return!? Is the IRS f*cking insane?! There are a lot of ways to get your identity stolen, but this has to be the biggest potential giveaway the would-be identity thief ever conceived. Think about it for a second. Not only does your return contain ever important piece of personal data that matters--including your SSN--it can also contain: 1) Your bank account numbers (in case your used direct transfers for your refund or payment); 2) Credit-card numbers (You know you can pay with a credit-card right?); 3) Enough financial information to give a data aggregator a wet dream.And do we think that the IRS will draft rules sufficient to keep those returns safe and sanitized? WE DO NOT! In fact, what they'll probably do is draft a bunch of rules that the Quickens, H&R Blocks, and Kiplingers will blithely ignore in their rush to mine this vein of gold.
I've got nothing left to say. This is so F*CKING brain-dead, the mind boggles.
2006/03/21
Banned For Your Own Good
Everybody wants to ban something. Anti-choice forces want to ban abortion, and some zealots want to take it one step further and ban contraceptives. Legislators and religious leaders want to ban pornography.
Concerned parents want to ban books, movies, music. Recently arrived Americans want to shut the door and ban new immigration. Tea-totalers want to ban drinking. City dwellers want to ban cars in densely populated urban cores. Manufacturing workers and techies want to ban outsourcing. We're unified by our desire to stop somebody from doing something and in our belief that it's for the best.
Personally, I want to ban smoking--Not confine it to the spaces in front of buildings; Not sequester it in the home or the restaurant or the bar; But ban it outright! Breathing is enough of a challenge without having to inhale the toxic second-hand smoke of some burning-f*cking-weed. Pipes? Cigars? Get rid of 'em as well. Don't like it? Tough! I'm not taking a poll here. This is the power of the benevolent dictator. So deal with it. You'll live longer.
So now...all you do-gooders...what would you ban?
Concerned parents want to ban books, movies, music. Recently arrived Americans want to shut the door and ban new immigration. Tea-totalers want to ban drinking. City dwellers want to ban cars in densely populated urban cores. Manufacturing workers and techies want to ban outsourcing. We're unified by our desire to stop somebody from doing something and in our belief that it's for the best.Personally, I want to ban smoking--Not confine it to the spaces in front of buildings; Not sequester it in the home or the restaurant or the bar; But ban it outright! Breathing is enough of a challenge without having to inhale the toxic second-hand smoke of some burning-f*cking-weed. Pipes? Cigars? Get rid of 'em as well. Don't like it? Tough! I'm not taking a poll here. This is the power of the benevolent dictator. So deal with it. You'll live longer.
So now...all you do-gooders...what would you ban?
Future Headlines - 2008 Powerball Election
Today the federal government announced the merging of the multi-state Powerball Lottery with the 2008 Presidential election. One lucky voter will win $35,000,000!Voter participation soars!
(Thanks to Fashiongirl for the inspiration.)
2006/03/20
Integrity In Gambling Over Integrity In Elections
I've blogged before on the mounting evidence of election rigging in the US, but the question remains: Why are voters willing to put up with this? Why don't we demand safeguards for our most important obligation? Are we ignorant of the problem? Do we simply not care? Do we believe that it can't happen here?Well, regardless of the answer, an interesting comparison by University of Pennsylvania professor, Steve Freeman demonstrates that our priorities are screwed up. Take a look...
XXX - The Internet's Scarlet Letters
Senate Democrats Mark Pryor and Max Baucus have introduced the Cyber Safety for Kids Act of 2006, another in a long line of bills that would try to keep kids away from Internet porn. This bill though, is novel because it proposes to create an .xxx top-level domain, and, setting aside the utter impossibility of deciding what content would be forced to don the scarlet letters, the act is also interesting because it's language is so general. Ars Technica notes that -Within six months after the TLD's creation, all commercial websites that offer "material that is harmful to minors" as their "primary business" would have to move their content to a .xxx domain.So the questions is: What constitutes content that is "harmful to minors"? Would legislators use this to block...say...violent online games, objectionable music, The Catcher In The Rye?
As with the ill-fated attempt to create the .kids domain, a place where online predators could be guaranteed to find their young targets, a .xxx domain would put a big neon sign on content saying, "Here be porn!" So instead of protecting kids from the evil stuff, this bill would give them a roadmap (at least in the United States, since the act would not be binding for overseas porn purveyors).
This sounds to me like election year moralizing. I wonder if Mr. Pryor and Mr. Baucus are up for reelection.
2006/03/19
"Frack" Enters the Vernacular
OK, I'll admit it. I love Battlestar Galactica. So much in fact that I create blog posts in honor of it. I love the characters, the stories, the visuals, and I'm not alone. Apparently we BG lovers are a pretty influential group, because--FRACKIN' A-- the language of BG is entering the vernacular.
Salon had a piece this morning that used the word "mind-frack", and the Washington Times preprinted a UPI story with "Fracking" in the title. So I guess "frack" is an acceptable substitute for "fuck" when you think that the latter might be inappropriate. I've heard "FRACK!" on the streets. Haven't heard "frack you" yet, but I'm sure it's coming.
Here's the thing though, BG is a fracking TV show, and "frack" is a made-up word. Think maybe we need to pull the fracking head!
Salon had a piece this morning that used the word "mind-frack", and the Washington Times preprinted a UPI story with "Fracking" in the title. So I guess "frack" is an acceptable substitute for "fuck" when you think that the latter might be inappropriate. I've heard "FRACK!" on the streets. Haven't heard "frack you" yet, but I'm sure it's coming.Here's the thing though, BG is a fracking TV show, and "frack" is a made-up word. Think maybe we need to pull the fracking head!
2006/03/18
Ban RU-486? Hell no! Ban pregnancy...and Denny's.
7 deaths in 5 years. 7! Not a hundred or a thousand but 7, and with the two most recent, the uproar over RU-486 has reignited. Opponents of the so-called "morning-after pill" are calling for it's removal from the market.But the statistics simply don't back up the opponent's arguments. As Binky points out in an excellent post at Bloodless Coup, if the goal is to mitigate women's health risks, then pregnancy should be first to go. Or...if you're interested reducing deaths per instance of usage,
then we should probably do away with Viagra before we get rid of RU-486. And finally, if the goal is to reduce deaths per unit time, then I'd recommend banning eating in Denny's since 4 people have died over 3 days in 3 separate shooting incidents at Denny's restaurants in Southern California.No matter how you slice it, the opponents of RU-486 don't have a leg to stand on.
2006/03/17
Bu$hCo's EPA Ordered To Enforce The Clean Air Act
Here's a scintilla of good news on a Friday afternoon. In a 3 to 0 decision, a federal appeals court ruled against the EPA's selective enforcement of Clean Air Act provisions requiring power plants to install pollution controls when they make changes that increase their emissions.
The history of this issue goes back to 2003 when Bu$hCo caved to the energy industry and created an exemption to the fairly strict language of the Clean Air Act. That exemption allowed power generators to avoid the pollution controlling upgrades by changing the standard from the amount of increased emissions to the dollar cost of the upgrades.
But the 3 judge appeals panel ruled that the "plain" language of the Clean Air Act requires a stricter interpretation. And here's the most delicious aspect of the ruling: The panel included Janice Rogers Brown, the former Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court and as objectionable a jurist as one can find.
The plaintiffs in the case were a coalition of environmental groups along with 12 states including New York and California, leaders in the fight for stricter pollution and emissions controls. I've long been a proponent of states taking the lead in the fight to avoid environmental catastrophe.
Glad this battle was won.
The history of this issue goes back to 2003 when Bu$hCo caved to the energy industry and created an exemption to the fairly strict language of the Clean Air Act. That exemption allowed power generators to avoid the pollution controlling upgrades by changing the standard from the amount of increased emissions to the dollar cost of the upgrades.
But the 3 judge appeals panel ruled that the "plain" language of the Clean Air Act requires a stricter interpretation. And here's the most delicious aspect of the ruling: The panel included Janice Rogers Brown, the former Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court and as objectionable a jurist as one can find.
The plaintiffs in the case were a coalition of environmental groups along with 12 states including New York and California, leaders in the fight for stricter pollution and emissions controls. I've long been a proponent of states taking the lead in the fight to avoid environmental catastrophe.
Glad this battle was won.
Republicans - New Dealers for the New Century
So it's all over the news that the Senate raised the debt ceiling yesterday to $9 trillion. What doesn't get reported much, is that Congress had no choice. With a projected deficit for 2006 of over $350 billion, and the old limit already exceeded, the Senate had to act to preserve the confidence of American creditors. Basically, they made sure the US government didn't go bankrupt, a prelude to a world-wide financial meltdown. But this still doesn't mean that Republicans are good stewards of the economy. Here are some facts:Number of times Bu$hCo has had to to have the ceiling raised : 3
Total amount of the increase: $3 Trillion
Percentage debt ceiling increase during Bu$hCo: 50%
Years until the cap is reached using current deficit levels: 2
Years remaining until Bush leaves office: 2
Projected deficits for 2006 and 2007: 350 to 400 billion dollars
Deficits as a percentage of the yearly budget: 11%
Your portion of the national debt: $30,000
Administration in office during the three biggest deficit years in history: Bu$hCo (2001), Bu$hCo (2003), Bu$hCo (2004)
And just in case you thought that Republicans were losing their taste for unbridled spending: Less than an hour after the Senate raised the debt ceiling the House passed another $100B in "off-budget" spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for relief along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.
Blognonymous' "plain-language" budget analogy:
Imagine that your get into a bind and need to borrow 10% of your gross annual income in order to make ends meet, and let's further assume that you do that on your credit-card. If you need say...$40,000 a year to get by, then you're borrowing $4000. Do this every year for during Bu$hCo's first term and pretty soon you've reached your limit, just for your debt. In other words, you can't buy anything. All you can do is pay down what you owe. So what do you do? You ask the Greater Asia Credit-Card Company to raise your limit which they gladly do, and you keep on acquiring debt at the same rate.
So what happens on the day that they decide not to raise your limit? In US government terms, this is the day that our creditors in Asia loose their taste for backing government Treasury paper. Think about it.
2006/03/16
Two New Fronts In The War On Homosexuals
This morning Blognonymous is saddened to report that the war on homosexuals in the United States appears to be escalating.
Windspike at the Educational Whisper has some excellent coverage of Bu$hCo's clandestine attempt to "re-exclude" gays and lesbians from jobs that require a government security clearance.
This is an issue that has some personal relevance for me since, years ago when I carried a clearance, I remember that being gay was a basis for disqualification. I cheered the change in policy in the '90s and am saddened to see us go backwards on this issue.
It's also come to our attention that, after Catholic Charities of Boston retreated on their policy of placing a small number of adopted children with gay couples, numerous states including Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, and New Hampshire are considering joining Florida, Mississippi, and Utah in banning gay adoptions.
Now this is an evil bit of legislating that states should really avoid. Consider that the basis for such a ban is an "inappropriate environment for child-rearing", but that the only practical way to enforce it is to also ban adoptions by single parent's or domestic partners. Why? Well gays can't marry anywhere but in Massachusetts and Hawaii as it is. So the only way for them to adopt in most states is a single parent or domestic partner adoption and in neither case is the question "...are you a homosexual?" relevant. If we intend to suddenly make that question relevant, then we must also be prepared to classify homosexuals as strangers to US law. Moreover, once such a ban is in place, it's a short, pernicious intellectual hop to a ban on homosexuals raising children period, even children conceived by gay or lesbian couples.
Though I wouldn't claim that these injustices are as tragic as slavery in the US, I would point out that denying a class of people equal protection under the law, or worse explicitly legislating away their rights, is exactly the kind of unjust tactics that kept blacks subjugated in South for a century after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Windspike at the Educational Whisper has some excellent coverage of Bu$hCo's clandestine attempt to "re-exclude" gays and lesbians from jobs that require a government security clearance.
This is an issue that has some personal relevance for me since, years ago when I carried a clearance, I remember that being gay was a basis for disqualification. I cheered the change in policy in the '90s and am saddened to see us go backwards on this issue.
It's also come to our attention that, after Catholic Charities of Boston retreated on their policy of placing a small number of adopted children with gay couples, numerous states including Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, and New Hampshire are considering joining Florida, Mississippi, and Utah in banning gay adoptions.
Now this is an evil bit of legislating that states should really avoid. Consider that the basis for such a ban is an "inappropriate environment for child-rearing", but that the only practical way to enforce it is to also ban adoptions by single parent's or domestic partners. Why? Well gays can't marry anywhere but in Massachusetts and Hawaii as it is. So the only way for them to adopt in most states is a single parent or domestic partner adoption and in neither case is the question "...are you a homosexual?" relevant. If we intend to suddenly make that question relevant, then we must also be prepared to classify homosexuals as strangers to US law. Moreover, once such a ban is in place, it's a short, pernicious intellectual hop to a ban on homosexuals raising children period, even children conceived by gay or lesbian couples.
Though I wouldn't claim that these injustices are as tragic as slavery in the US, I would point out that denying a class of people equal protection under the law, or worse explicitly legislating away their rights, is exactly the kind of unjust tactics that kept blacks subjugated in South for a century after the Emancipation Proclamation.
2006/03/15
Has your power company fleeced you today?
OK, I live in California. Meaning that after living through the 2000-2001 energy crisis; Having been through months of rolling blackouts; Having been screwed to the wall by the energy traders; Having been screwed to the wall--again--by FERC, it would be hard to get more blood from this stone. And yet here come the electric utilities with another scheme to line their pockets at the expense of the ratepayers.
The N.Y. Times reports -
In this scheme, the utilities use losses from their subsidiaries to offset the taxes that they'd ordinarily pay--the problem being that those taxes are typically charged back to the customers, and so the utilities just pocket the cash. Sneaky huh?
Sort of reminds me of how PG&E's parent company cut the utility loose to go bankrupt, while they kept their coffers full and even moved money to their own accounts as they prepared PG&E for Chapter 11.
The N.Y. Times reports -
Many electric utility companies across the nation are collecting billions of dollars from their customers for corporate income taxes, then keeping the money rather than sending it to the government.
In this scheme, the utilities use losses from their subsidiaries to offset the taxes that they'd ordinarily pay--the problem being that those taxes are typically charged back to the customers, and so the utilities just pocket the cash. Sneaky huh?Sort of reminds me of how PG&E's parent company cut the utility loose to go bankrupt, while they kept their coffers full and even moved money to their own accounts as they prepared PG&E for Chapter 11.
What does the future hold for Condoleezza Rice?
A smart diplomat named C. RiceWith a president to entice,
Was the most servile sheep
And soon replaced the Veep.
On her rise to an office quite nice.
In honor of Blognonymous new compadre The Poetry Man. Check him out.
Responses in verse from:
The Poetry Man
Snave (the limerick master)
Windspike
Yours Truly
Enigma4Ever
And Snave again!
The Prying FBI Peeks At Pacifists
The ACLU's Freedom of Information Act requests against the FBI are paying dividends in the form of memos that detail the Bureau's surveillance and infiltartion of, "a left-wing organization advocating, among many political causes, pacifism." Pacifism? Say it isn't so! How un-American can you get. Certainly worthy of scrutiny in an "ongoing terrorism probe," because after all they were..."handing out leaflets".
The organization in question is the Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Justice of Pittsburgh, PA, and they are the latest in a long string of antiwar protesters, environmental groups, and religious organizations that have been monitored by the FBI's anti-terrorism investigators. Raw Story notes that over 150 FOIA requests have been filed on behalf of the targeted organizations.
Well, at Blognonymous we say, "Money well spent". After all, we can't have pacifists running around this great country--might lead to more serious offenses like disagreeing with Bu$hCo.
The organization in question is the Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Justice of Pittsburgh, PA, and they are the latest in a long string of antiwar protesters, environmental groups, and religious organizations that have been monitored by the FBI's anti-terrorism investigators. Raw Story notes that over 150 FOIA requests have been filed on behalf of the targeted organizations.Well, at Blognonymous we say, "Money well spent". After all, we can't have pacifists running around this great country--might lead to more serious offenses like disagreeing with Bu$hCo.
2006/03/14
Google's Gotta Give It Up
If you'll recall Yahoo, MSN, and AOL already caved to the Justice Department's request for millions of search records. Only Google said no. Well...so much for that. U.S. District Judge, James Ware of the 9th Circuit (based in San Francisco) just ordered Google to turn over the records that DoJ wants in order to bolster its arguments in defense of the Child Online Protection Act.
I said it before, and I'll say it again: Clear those caches! Delete those cookies! Dump those search histories! Alberto is coming for ya porkchop!
[Update 2006/03/14 5:00pm]
Looks like it may not be as bad as first thought. The DoJ has submitted a "modified" request that only asks for 50,000 randomly selected records rather than the million, or so, that were originally requested. Nevertheless, it's unfortunate that Ware caved in at all, as the government's case seems weak.
For Credit-Card Applications Only Shredding Will do
Do you tear up your credit-card applications, as recommended by banks like Chase? Worse, just throw them away? Well then, take a gander at a guy who literally tore up a credit-card application, taped it together, filled it out, and got himself a new line-o-credit.
Seems nothing but the shredder is good enough.
Admit It...Bloggers Are Sexy
You always knew it to be true but didn't want to admit it to yourself...you read blogs because you find bloggers to be witty, intelligent, and desirable. Well, studies now prove that blogs are sexy, and bloggers are more interesting than their non-blogging brethren.So read Blognonymous folks. It will turn you into a googly-eyed, fly-catching, news-slinging, sexy beast in no time.
(And this is a lesson in desperately trying to come up with something for the East Coast readers before you hit the sack. Thanks to the Democratic Daily for the assistance.)
2006/03/13
McClellan Is A Lying Tool
But then, of course, we knew that.
From Reuters -
From Reuters -
I think it does raise the question, how do you fight and win the war on terrorism? And if Democrats want to argue that we shouldn't be listening to al Qaeda communications, it's their right and we welcome the debate. We are a nation at war.Glenn Greenwald has pointed out, with his usual stunning clarity, that no Democrat has advocated anything of the sort. In fact, McClellan's not even addressing the issue, but of course the MSM, not even Reuters, will point that out.