Gathering Justice

Probably the best quote in an Op-Ed I've read in awhile, referring to the laughable anti-gay marriage commercial entitled "Gathering Storm":

It is justice, not a storm, that is gathering. Only those who have spread the poisons of bigotry and fear have any reason to be afraid."

Obama releases torture Memos

The biggest development today has been Barack Obama releasing various memos written by lawyers in the Bush Administration Office of Legal Counsel which supposedly gave Americans legal cover to torture. Of course, torture is not only against U.S. law (no matter what OLC lawyers say), but it is also against International Law, which is why Spain is currently investigating these OLC lawyers for war crimes. If the U.S. doesn't do it, then Spain can, and should. Regardless, there are a lot of shocking excerpts that are out there today, but I would point people to Glenn Greenwald's post specifically the updates. Legally speaking, the most dishonest argument I've seen so far comes from Jay Bybee, who, thanks to President Bush, now has a lifetime appointment to a federal court:

You would like to place [Abu] Zabaydeh in a cramped confinement box with an insect. You have informed us that he appears to have a fear of insects.

...

[T]he insect's placement in the box would not constitute a threat of severe physical pain or suffering to a reasonable person in his position. And individual placed in a box, even an individual with a fear of insects, would not reasonably feel threatened with severe physical pain or suffering if a caterpiller was placed in the box.

The lawyers also try to redefine what "pain or suffering" means, essentially saying that "pain or suffering" actually means "pain and suffering". It's honestly just unreal. There's so much legal dishonesty going on that it's impossible to document. This is basically what the lawyers have done: they take the words of the law, redefine the words in a completely dishonest and incomprehensible way, and then say "see, according to the law, it's not torture! No one can possibly fear pain or suffering from a caterpillar.... oh, wait, or suffering? Well, whoever wrote that must have made a mistake, it really means pain and suffering. You have to fear both."


UPDATE:

Looks like an emailer into Andrew Sullivan had the same take as me

Just Smile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xzkrMN9pcM

I'm a sucker.

Take A Vacation

Salon article:

"I call it the 'fuck-it phenomenon,'" said Matt Wallaert, a social psychologist with the financial advice site Thrive. "Everywhere you go the media tells you that things aren't going to get better any time soon," he said. "But if you feel like life has dealt you a bad hand, it's easy to say, 'Fuck it, I deserve this.'"

Go ahead, you deserve it.

I never liked putting lipstick on my pitbull...

So apparently Sarah Palin's daughter's baby's daddy is fighting back saying Palin is lying. What else is new?

Will this woman and her family PLEASE just fade back into the background. Stay in Alaska and out of my news. Nobody likes you.

The Man Who Helped Win Iowa

An interview in the Atlantic with the man who helped bring same sex marriage to Iowa.

Holla at'cha boy!

Not-so-critically-acclaimed, 80s sampling, boots-with-fur-loving, rapper Flo Rida (who also apparently doesn't know how to spell) gave his cell phone number out to the entire world in a CNN interview today. He says he wants to be "connected" and open with his fans. "I mean" if fans buy his albums then why shouldn't they have his personal cell phone number, right?

Flo Rida's cell is officially one of the numbers in "my circle."

Only not.

Let Them Spill Their Guts

The Daily Beast reports that Republicans may filibuster potential key Obama administration appointment nominees if they open up the Bush Administration's deep dark secrets.

It now appears that Republicans are seeking an Obama commitment to safeguard the Bush administration’s darkest secrets in exchange for letting these nominations go forward...not a single Republican indicated an intention to vote for Dawn Johnsen, while Senator John Cornyn of Texas was described as “gunning for her,” specifically noting publication of the torture memos.

My call to action for the Obama camp: say "damn yous, damn yous all to hell!" and keep releasing the information anyway (bonus points: name that film). Transparency is refreshing to a country used to being left in the dark.

I Don't Think I've Ever Been That Sick

A solid reason for preventative care.

Going Green? Go All The Way

Legalize pot to diminish an aspect the drug trade in Mexico? David Sirota's opinion at Salon:

Every American concerned about Mexico's security problems should be thankful that the cartels are so dependent on marijuana and not a genuinely hazardous substance like heroin. Why? Because that means through pot legalization, we can bring the marijuana trade out of the shadows and into the safety of the regulated economy, consequently eliminating the black market that the cartels rely on. And here's the best part: We can do so without fearing any more negative consequences than we already tolerate in our keg-party culture.

That's eliminating a violent $9 billion dollar a year "import industry" and consolidating it with a $36 billion dollar domestic industry--all of which becomes new money the United States can add to its coffers. Though that may still be a while off, at least as Sirota suggests, we're heading in the right direction.

Learning to Realistically Compromise

Fred Kaplan has an interesting comparison in his Slate article concerning the international diplomatic differences between the Obama and Bush administration:

For instance, Obama will almost certainly open up talks with Syria as a means of isolating Iran and cutting off both countries' links with Hezbollah. Bush always opposed any contact—and vetoed efforts by some of his top officials to go that route—because Syria supported terrorists. By this argument, had someone with this view been president during World War II, the United States wouldn't have struck up an alliance with the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany on the grounds that Stalin wasn't much less evil than Hitler—and we would have faced catastrophic defeat in our high moral dudgeon.

As previous posts suggest, it's about time we opened up diplomacy. The World War II comparison, although, is good at highlighting the error of the previous administration's "black or white" policy .

Sorry Mr. President...

But the war is lost. The Dailykos paralleling the state of Afghanistan to a theory of an guerilla war:

According to Mao's theory of guerilla war, the Taliban are now in Phase 3, the final stage of an insurgency, during which the guerilla is in a position to actually mount large scale offensives after having seized the country side and confined the government troops to the cities. An insurgency shifting from Phase 2 (conquest of the countryside, delegitimation of the government) may appear to be stalemated, while it is merely pooling its strength for the final push.

Destructive Creation

In his article in the New York Times, Thomas Friedman explains the old system in layman's terms:

The old system, which has reached its financial and environmental limits, worked like this: We built more and more stores in America to sell more and more stuff, which was made in more and more Chinese factories powered by more and more coal that earned more and more dollars to buy more and more U.S. T-bills that got recycled back to America in the form of cheap credit to build more and more stores and more and more houses that gave rise to more and more Chinese factories. ...

Google April Fools

Gmail Autopilot.

Sounds good to me. Specifically the response to "business proposals" via email...

Looking For Freedom

In the age of Facebook and a 24 hour online news cycle, a little software invention to release us from our bonds. From Salon.com:

Freedom will disable the networking, only on a Mac computer, for periods of anywhere from one minute to eight hours. No Web sites, no e-mail, no instant messaging, no online shopping, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Jezebel, no iTunes store, no streaming anything.

If you do it, I will commend you for your achievement. Although I will still bitch at you for not getting your message on Facebook and scoff at you being 8 hours behind on current affairs.

Get Outta Jail

I did the reading for you. Here is what a GM bankruptcy means.

.

Under a plan being worked out by the administration, G.M. would file for prearranged bankruptcy, according to these people. It would then use a sale authorized under Section 363 of the bankruptcy code to quickly sell off the desirable assets to a new company financed by the government. These good pieces might include Cadillac and Chevrolet, as well as assets the company needs to run the business.

Less desirable assets, brands like Hummer and underperforming factories, would be left in the old company. Proceeds from the sales, including stock in the new company, would be given to the old G.M., helping to settle claims.

Late Bedtimes Linked to Heart Disease

On a health note--uh oh. I guess this means goodnight. But wait, the obvious is soon stated:

“But people who go to bed late are different from people who go to bed early. They may be more likely to smoke. They may be more likely to drink, They may be more likely to overeat. These are all heart disease risk factors that [weren’t taken into account in the analysis],” Jones tells WebMD.

At this point, “I wouldn’t recommend changes in my sleep behavior based on this study,” he says.

Misao agrees that further research is needed.

Uh huh. I guess I will continue to burn the oil tonight...

Okay, A Bit Late On This

Wow. "Fox News Nation: Say No To Biased Media"? Comic gold.

Open Door From Syria

An interesting article from the The New Yorker

In his e-mail after the Gaza war, [Syrian President] Assad emphasized that it was more than ever “essential that the United States play a prominent and active role in the peace process.” What he needed, Assad said, was direct contact with Obama. A conference would not be enough: “It is most natural to want a meeting with President Obama.”

Well, Barack, he's ready to talk. I mean just look at a list of things Syria is sanctioned for and compare it to the past eight years of American history...

The Rag Mags

For my first post on the Shmag I'm going to bring in America's Greatest News Source: Perezhilton.com

First of all, some movie news:

The first cut of Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno has - not surprisingly - received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA society.

Among the "objectionable" scenes is "one in which Bruno — a gay Austrian fashionista played by Baron Cohen — appears to have anal sex with a man on camera. In another, the actor goes on a hunting trip and sneaks naked into the tent of one of the fellow hunters, an unsuspecting non-actor."

Words can't explain how excited I am to see this shitshow.

Secondly, it seems Vice President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley has a bit of a problem with the nose candy:

A "friend" of Joe Biden's daughter, Ashley, is shopping around a video recording of the VP daughter allegedly snorting cocaine at a party in Delaware earlier this month.

The NY Post watched a 90 second preview of the vid. The footage, which The Post declined to purchase, shows a young woman with a remarkable resemblance to Ashley riding the white pony with a group of people, and then complaining that the horses ain't big enough.

A lawyer said that the footage was legally obtained, with Ashley waving to the camera at one point.

Awesome. You know what, who cares what the hell Ashley Biden does in her personal time, if she wants to have a little fun on the weekend, then let her GET IT ON! And conversely, if I had that video and was getting six figure offers, I would sell that shit in a second.

Cannabis Closet

Andrew Sullivan's readers write in on the "Cannabis Closet."

I'm in the marijuana closet. 42-year-old father of three, youth football coach (actually coordinator for the league), homeowner, wife is treasurer for the Brownies, master's degree, worked for the same company for 15 years. And on Saturday nights, I like to get high down in my basement, after everyone's in bed, and surf the Web or play video games. It is indeed the only law I break. But I can never come out of the closet because I'd lose my job. A lot of people are in that position, I believe - not only functioning members of society but high functioning members, who would be deemed dysfunctional by their employers, maybe by society itself, simply because they enjoy the occasional bong hit

Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong at all.

A point noticed a few days ago when watching a reputable news organization's report on the "Cartel Wars" occurring on the Mexican border. For the news pieces logo, there were no syringes or mounds of powder, just the simplistic pot plant leaf. In all honesty, I can't imagine people on the Mexican border are killing each other ONLY over marijuana-that's small money at this point--it's something bigger. But boy, it sure is a great way to stigmatize a plant!

Affordable Higher Education Slipping Away For Many

Another victim of economic recession. Colleges now more than ever putting the size of an applicant's wallet on the admissions table...

"This year, many of these colleges say they are more inclined to accept students who do not apply for aid, or whom they judge to be less needy based on other factors, like zip code or parents’ background...“We’re only human,” said Steven Syverson, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. “They shine a little brighter.”

“There’s going to be a cascading of talented lower-income kids down the social hierarchy of American higher education, and some cascading up of affluent kids,” said Morton Owen Schapiro, the president of Williams College and an economist who studies higher education..

NY Times article here.

Save the trees, I guess.

Slate's Jack Schafer reports on the state of the newspaper industry in his article.

A Pew Research Center poll released earlier this month shows that fewer than half of Americans "say that losing their local newspaper would hurt civic life in their community 'a lot.' " Hell, I'll bet that if you put the abolishment of newspapers on the ballot in a lot of cities, it just might pass.

I hate the fact that it's true, but it really doesn't surprise.

Study: baldies don't get the girls

I mean the results of the study this article reports makes some sense. But I just can't rely on the results completely:

Andreas Adamides, of hair loss treatment specialists Maximum Hair, who carried out the study, said: “It shows many women are attracted by men with a full head of hair, which has historically been related to virility.”

Hair loss treatment specialists say you don't get laid without hair, hm? Although I don't necessarily believe this particular study, I've stocked up on Propecia just in case.

Every Dog Has Its Day

Andrew Sullivan's article in the Times Online portrays a very nervous Dick Cheney.

So Cheney is reduced to asserting that what he did saved countless lives and averted many plots. He is reduced to asserting the same Manichean view of the world that gave us Guantanamo, Bagram and the Iraq war: fighting terrorism is “a tough mean, dirty, nasty business”, he told Polit-ico, an American political website. “These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.”

Thank You For Playing

No matter what they sell you on CNBC:

No one knows what will happen -- No One -- that's the scariest fucking thing about pinning your middle class, American Dream, let alone our 'lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor,' on this chaotic, crazy shit.

Article here.

"New" Concerns Over Facebook

Facebook appeared in this morning's edition of the New York Times because of issues over its recently changed design.

Ms. Rabban is not alone. More than two and a half million dissenters have joined a group on Facebook’s own site called “Millions Against Facebook’s New Layout and Terms of Service.” Others are lambasting the changes in their own status updates, which are now, ironically, distributed much more visibly to all of their Facebook friends.

I have witnesssed this type of issue occur every time the social network site changes designs and features. No one ever likes the changes, until they get used to it--every time since 2004. The only difference is that back then it was never really major newspaper material. When did the New York Times become the Daily Bruin?

Courage vs. Pragmatism

Jim Webb, one of my top few favorite Senators and his support for criminal justice system reform is featured in this article by Salon's Glenn Greenwald (look out for another favorite Senator too). According to Greenwald, Virginia Senator Jim Webb's support for this reform is one of the few examples of leadership and a very powerful way to cause change:

Political leaders have the ability to change public opinion by engaging in leadership and persuasive advocacy. Any cowardly politician can take only those positions that reside safely within the majoritiarian consensus. Actual leaders, by definition, confront majoritarian views when they are misguided and seek to change them, and politicians have far more ability to affect and change public opinion than they want the public to believe they have.

I have to agree with him. The low point of the article mentions Obama's run-arounds with issues like marijuana early last week, a sure sign that we have a president who often delves into calculating pragmatism, and any drastic change in some other majoritarian issues aren't likely.

It's Not Just Puke, But Fecal Matter Too

Came across this article at Salon.com written by Emily Bazalon. It's the first solid look at us, the Generation Yers experiences as we enter a workforce that's simply spitting us back out.

"For my generation … it seems like the 'real world' threw up all over us," writes Jennifer, who is 22 and graduated from Boston University in May. She's living in Washington, D.C., splitting a bedroom with another recent graduate she found on Craigslist.org, and sleeping on an air mattress.

.

If I were a touch more paranoid, I would think there has been a conspiracy to systematically entrap me and my fellow graduates into an endless cycle of debt. Student loans, buying necessities on credit because the student loan payments bludgeoned my bank account, racking up greater credit card debt than student loan debt, credit scores, having children, taking out another round of loans to pay for their education, wondering if retirement is possible when Social Security is a joke.

Most of us are utterly disappointed by the so-called "real world" we used to fear. And well, it's safe to say now we know why.