Asked for comment on the rapid deterioration of his second term, President Bush said, "Terrorism, terrorism, terrorism, nine-eleven, nine-eleven, war president, war on terror, take 'em out, take them terrorists out, smoke'em out, I'm a war president."
Alright. So I'm slightly exaggerating this story, which talks about Bushie's quick exit from DC to talk about anything and everything but today's events.
---
"Thanks for the chance to get out of Washington," said Mr. Bush at the start of his speech in Norfolk, Va., to an audience that was dominated by military personnel and veterans.
The remark needed no explanation, but drew laughter and applause. It capped a week in which President Bush's choice for the Supreme Court, Harriet E. Miers, withdrew from the embattled nomination process, and the 2,000th American fatality was reached in the Iraq war. And today, the C.I.A. leak investigation approached a turning point when the special prosecutor released news of the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby.
President Bush's senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, Karl Rove, will remain under investigation but will not be charged today, his lawyer said.
-----
Wow - that is a heckuva week. Bushie, you're doin' a heckuva job.
As you must be aware, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald indicted Scooter Libby today, but is opting to let Karl Rove twist in the wind for just a while longer as he gathers more evidence, apparently.
Bush is going to have to come up with something quick to dismiss his detractors as Anti-American Freedom-Haters. Otherwise, this is going to get pretty ugly.
What's really amazing are some of the parallels between this White House and what I was just reading about the Nixon Administration in William Bundy's A Tangled Web - basically just the way Nixon was reelected for a second term and then things started to fall apart rapidly in the next year. While it was not necessarily on the minds of most Americans (polls showed most people hadn't even heard about Watergate until quite late in the game), there was just a slow buildup until everything just started caving in. During this time, the administration struggled to deal with business as usual, even as strict partisans began to turn against the president.
Of course, it's a liberal politico's virtual wet dream that the same scenario will transpire again with this administration. Like I've said previously, this is all beyond what I've ever expected. I didn't think we'd see anything remotely resembling this until G-Dubs was out of office, but I think most of the people who read this site on a regular basis are quite sure that the corruption reaches up and up, even if ol' Georgie isn't quite kept on the up and up with what's going on underneath.
Friday, October 28, 2005
I Beg To Differ
Tom Delay: "We are witnessing the criminalization of conservative politics."
---
Mr. Delay is obviously confused. In point of fact, we are witnessing the judicial prosecution of criminal acts committed by conservative politicians.
---
Mr. Delay is obviously confused. In point of fact, we are witnessing the judicial prosecution of criminal acts committed by conservative politicians.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Lately
There have been several complaints of late by a portion of the readership that I've been posting too much news and not enough details of my lovely personal life. Apparently they grow tired of all these meaningless posts about current events. After all, who the hell cares what I think about what's going on, right?
Well this is, after all, my blog...and I'll post what I deem necessary or relevant. So there.
However, in an effort to appease these critics, here's what's going on with me - in no particular order.
I had two broomball games this week. We won the first, on Monday, handily. We lost the second, last night, badly. We were somewhat outmuscled by a larger and more aggressive team - some of whom obviously had something resembling skill - which of course did not bode well for us. We performed reasonably well in the first half and were tied at 1, but we fell apart quickly in the second half after we gave up the go-ahead goal.
For those of you who haven't seen me recently, I've grown the beard back (as opposed to just the goatee), and I've pretty much stopped gelling the hair (opting instead to part it in the middle). I originally decided to do this because I've reached that particular point in the semester where I've realized that nothing's going to happen with any of those girls I initially viewed as 'prospects' in any of my various classes. I pretty much just decided to let myself go and not try anymore. I think I look better with just the goatee, and so do at least quite a few other people. However, the beard is just a lot less effort. I don't gel the hair, since if I do, it makes my hair look a little too dark in comparison with the beard, which I think is a bit lighter brown. There's also a little bit of red around the chin.
Much to my surprise, I've gotten a bit of positive feedback on the beard (not from any girl wild enough about it to go out with me or anything - just in general). Anyway, I don't much care anymore and I'll probably keep it through the Europe trip, if not for DC (if that indeed transpires). So that's that.
I finally canceled DSL at my apartment yesterday. I had been paying for all $40 since May, when Aaron left, without actually having a computer. I had done this because there was a fee for cancelling and then reinstallation, and I thought it was only a matter of time until I got a computer of my own. Of course, this never happened, due to the fact that I never got a roommate and continued to pay the entire $500/month during the summer for a place that I visited a few times per month, and slightly more often when Chelsea and I were together, when it was fairly convenient. I didn't take out another CitiAssist loan like I did last year, because I was getting a little money from Pell this year for the first time and thought I could make due. I wound up with much less money than I had last year - all while spending more money, since I was living alone. My grandparents gave me a lot of money to get a computer, but I ended up dipping into that for rent and concert tickets before the loans that I did eventually receive came in.
Canceling the DSL was the final admission/acknowledgment on my part that I won't be getting a computer this semester and am going to need every penny for the Prague trip and the DC internship living expenses (estimated at ~$4800 for the four months I'm down there, in addition to the ~$2800 tuition).
I had a weird dream two nights ago that I had booked the Czech trip forgetting that I already had a previous trip to Madrid with Kristen (California Kristen, not Fredonia Kristen; Fredonia Kristen has expressed her dismay that she feels second fiddle to the 'Original' Kristen. Unfortunately this cannot be helped. I will try to avoid referring to Kristen I and Kristen II. I could go with Kristen Y and Kristen O. Yeah - I think that's what I'll do...). So anyway, in the dream, I had rationalized that I would fly over to Madrid with Kristen Y and just head over to Prague to meet up with the Eurosim group in time for the conference and everything would work out. When I woke up, I started to panic, thinking that this would not really work out at all, and then I realized it was only a dream. Odd.
Yesterday, I joined Stephanie, Sam, Lydia, and Keller for a meal that Keller made for us. Balsamic chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. Good stuff. Steph and I went to the Dems meeting, where the local Democratic candidates showed up and gave abbreviated stump speeches to the mass audience (about 7 people) that attended.
Lori Cornell - Thom's cousin Chuck's wife - is the candidate for County Clerk. Deanna sat next to me and smacked me on the leg each time that Lori mentioned my name in her speech (I think I mentioned that Lori ran the Dem HQ in Jamestown in 2000 when Destini and I volunteered there a lot). Lori's only 29 and pretty attractive, and Deanna was making a lot of what I might call inappropriate jokes about what she imagined to be our supposed past. I told her to calm down, but Deanna's pretty high-strung.
Ken Lasker was there. He's running for Chautauqua County District Attorney. He was apparently under the impression that we had met, although I don't recall such a meeting. He was accompanied by Mr. Vincent - my onetime art teacher at Falconer High School. Mr. Vincent was very friendly, and apparently really happy to see me. He gave me his email address so that I could contact him about a friend of his that works as a lawyer in/near Washington. I'm not sure what exactly he thinks might happen from that. I think they call this kind of thing 'networking' - which is something that I'm incredibly bad at, and something that I should probably improve if I'm going to get into politics seriously.
Also in attendace was Mark Thomas, our County Executive. Thomas ran for Congress last year, for the seat that eventually went to Brian Higgins. He spoke to the Fredonia Dems last year and really impressed me with his candor, speaking ability, and confidence. I also think he looks a little bit like a red-haired Kurt Vonnegut in person, which certainly can't hurt his case with me. Anyway, he's running for re-election for the CE spot in a tough race with Edwards. Someone was saying to me that Edwards' campaign posters look like an ad for the Aryan brotherhood (they're all smiling white-blondes), and I had to laugh.
Pomfret/Fredonia Town Council candidates Sally Smith and Dave Kleparek were also there and gave short speeches. Smith is heading up the Fredonia/Pomfret Dem HQ as well, organizing the phone banking and lit drops in the area. I'm going down there tonight to volunteer for a couple hours. I may meet up with Matt D and Kristen O for a beer at the brew pub a little later on.
Apparently they have found a role for me for Eurosim in Prague, so I won't be wandering around the city alone for the four days that they're in the conference after all. I'll actually be participating, which should be a nice thing to throw on the resume if it all works out.
That's about it for now.
Well this is, after all, my blog...and I'll post what I deem necessary or relevant. So there.
However, in an effort to appease these critics, here's what's going on with me - in no particular order.
I had two broomball games this week. We won the first, on Monday, handily. We lost the second, last night, badly. We were somewhat outmuscled by a larger and more aggressive team - some of whom obviously had something resembling skill - which of course did not bode well for us. We performed reasonably well in the first half and were tied at 1, but we fell apart quickly in the second half after we gave up the go-ahead goal.
For those of you who haven't seen me recently, I've grown the beard back (as opposed to just the goatee), and I've pretty much stopped gelling the hair (opting instead to part it in the middle). I originally decided to do this because I've reached that particular point in the semester where I've realized that nothing's going to happen with any of those girls I initially viewed as 'prospects' in any of my various classes. I pretty much just decided to let myself go and not try anymore. I think I look better with just the goatee, and so do at least quite a few other people. However, the beard is just a lot less effort. I don't gel the hair, since if I do, it makes my hair look a little too dark in comparison with the beard, which I think is a bit lighter brown. There's also a little bit of red around the chin.
Much to my surprise, I've gotten a bit of positive feedback on the beard (not from any girl wild enough about it to go out with me or anything - just in general). Anyway, I don't much care anymore and I'll probably keep it through the Europe trip, if not for DC (if that indeed transpires). So that's that.
I finally canceled DSL at my apartment yesterday. I had been paying for all $40 since May, when Aaron left, without actually having a computer. I had done this because there was a fee for cancelling and then reinstallation, and I thought it was only a matter of time until I got a computer of my own. Of course, this never happened, due to the fact that I never got a roommate and continued to pay the entire $500/month during the summer for a place that I visited a few times per month, and slightly more often when Chelsea and I were together, when it was fairly convenient. I didn't take out another CitiAssist loan like I did last year, because I was getting a little money from Pell this year for the first time and thought I could make due. I wound up with much less money than I had last year - all while spending more money, since I was living alone. My grandparents gave me a lot of money to get a computer, but I ended up dipping into that for rent and concert tickets before the loans that I did eventually receive came in.
Canceling the DSL was the final admission/acknowledgment on my part that I won't be getting a computer this semester and am going to need every penny for the Prague trip and the DC internship living expenses (estimated at ~$4800 for the four months I'm down there, in addition to the ~$2800 tuition).
I had a weird dream two nights ago that I had booked the Czech trip forgetting that I already had a previous trip to Madrid with Kristen (California Kristen, not Fredonia Kristen; Fredonia Kristen has expressed her dismay that she feels second fiddle to the 'Original' Kristen. Unfortunately this cannot be helped. I will try to avoid referring to Kristen I and Kristen II. I could go with Kristen Y and Kristen O. Yeah - I think that's what I'll do...). So anyway, in the dream, I had rationalized that I would fly over to Madrid with Kristen Y and just head over to Prague to meet up with the Eurosim group in time for the conference and everything would work out. When I woke up, I started to panic, thinking that this would not really work out at all, and then I realized it was only a dream. Odd.
Yesterday, I joined Stephanie, Sam, Lydia, and Keller for a meal that Keller made for us. Balsamic chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. Good stuff. Steph and I went to the Dems meeting, where the local Democratic candidates showed up and gave abbreviated stump speeches to the mass audience (about 7 people) that attended.
Lori Cornell - Thom's cousin Chuck's wife - is the candidate for County Clerk. Deanna sat next to me and smacked me on the leg each time that Lori mentioned my name in her speech (I think I mentioned that Lori ran the Dem HQ in Jamestown in 2000 when Destini and I volunteered there a lot). Lori's only 29 and pretty attractive, and Deanna was making a lot of what I might call inappropriate jokes about what she imagined to be our supposed past. I told her to calm down, but Deanna's pretty high-strung.
Ken Lasker was there. He's running for Chautauqua County District Attorney. He was apparently under the impression that we had met, although I don't recall such a meeting. He was accompanied by Mr. Vincent - my onetime art teacher at Falconer High School. Mr. Vincent was very friendly, and apparently really happy to see me. He gave me his email address so that I could contact him about a friend of his that works as a lawyer in/near Washington. I'm not sure what exactly he thinks might happen from that. I think they call this kind of thing 'networking' - which is something that I'm incredibly bad at, and something that I should probably improve if I'm going to get into politics seriously.
Also in attendace was Mark Thomas, our County Executive. Thomas ran for Congress last year, for the seat that eventually went to Brian Higgins. He spoke to the Fredonia Dems last year and really impressed me with his candor, speaking ability, and confidence. I also think he looks a little bit like a red-haired Kurt Vonnegut in person, which certainly can't hurt his case with me. Anyway, he's running for re-election for the CE spot in a tough race with Edwards. Someone was saying to me that Edwards' campaign posters look like an ad for the Aryan brotherhood (they're all smiling white-blondes), and I had to laugh.
Pomfret/Fredonia Town Council candidates Sally Smith and Dave Kleparek were also there and gave short speeches. Smith is heading up the Fredonia/Pomfret Dem HQ as well, organizing the phone banking and lit drops in the area. I'm going down there tonight to volunteer for a couple hours. I may meet up with Matt D and Kristen O for a beer at the brew pub a little later on.
Apparently they have found a role for me for Eurosim in Prague, so I won't be wandering around the city alone for the four days that they're in the conference after all. I'll actually be participating, which should be a nice thing to throw on the resume if it all works out.
That's about it for now.
Audioslave - Hunger Strike
This is link to Google Video - it's a one minute clip of Audioslave covering Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike," with Brad Wilk doing Vedder's vocal parts. I haven't heard it, as this computer has no speakers, but go ahead and let me know how it sounds.
Miers Withdraws
--Mr. Bush issued a statement in which he accepted Ms. Miers's decision with regret, praised her "extraordinarily legal experience"--
Um...as opposed to her extraordinarily illegal experience?
THE CULT OF PERSONALITY RETURNS.
Over at The National Review, Kathryn Lopez has written the single weirdest response to Harriet Miers' withdrawal that I've yet seen:
--
You know what the relief is this morning? A return to the feeling that this president gets the big things right. There was a detour, but I’m confident we’re going to have good news shortly on SCOTUS, because this president tends to get the big things right. That’s the confidence so many of us have always had in him. And we may have been worried about our assessment for a few weeks there, but there's a renewed confidence this morning.Wasn't the whole Miers fiasco, to The National Review, an example of getting a Big Thing wrong? Didn't Social Security privatization prove a colossal misjudgement that set the stage for the administration's second-term struggles? Or were they, as Lopez suggests, mere hiccups and blips in an otherwise soaring record of righteousness?
--
While a cult of personality focusing on Bush's mid-40s spiritual resurrection and his quiet, determined morality has long been necessary to mask his basic indifference to conservative causes, the belief in George W. Bush is beginning to take on a religious subtext: Even when Big Things go wrong, like floods, plagues, and earthquakes, you can take comfort in knowing that they were temporary detours in a benevolent, carefully examined master plan. This isn't political analysis or pop-psychology, it's theology. Back in reality, what actually happened to Miers is that her nomination was greeted with hostility from the right, bemusement from the left, and was finally slapped back by an angry conservative base and Bill Frist's admission that she wouldn't be confirmed. In politics, that's not called a detour; it's a defeat. That Lopez has instead taken it as more proof of Bush's infallible internal compass is, to be honest, more than a little scary.
--Ezra Klein
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/006859.php
From James Dobson ...
"I believe the president has made a wise decision in accepting Harriet Miers' withdrawal as a nominee to the Supreme Court.
In recent days I have grown increasingly concerned about her conservative credentials, and I was dismayed to learn this week about her speech in 1993, in which she sounded pro-abortion themes, and expressed so much praise for left-wing feminist leaders.
When the president announced this nominee, I expressed my tentative support, based on what I was able to discover about her. But I also said I would await the hearings to learn more about her judicial philosophy. Based on what we now know about Miss Miers, it appears that we would not have been able to support her candidacy. Thankfully, that difficult evaluation is no longer necessary."
Ask not for whom the sponge tolls, it tolls for thee SpongeDob ...
-- Josh Marshall
Um...as opposed to her extraordinarily illegal experience?
THE CULT OF PERSONALITY RETURNS.
Over at The National Review, Kathryn Lopez has written the single weirdest response to Harriet Miers' withdrawal that I've yet seen:
--
You know what the relief is this morning? A return to the feeling that this president gets the big things right. There was a detour, but I’m confident we’re going to have good news shortly on SCOTUS, because this president tends to get the big things right. That’s the confidence so many of us have always had in him. And we may have been worried about our assessment for a few weeks there, but there's a renewed confidence this morning.Wasn't the whole Miers fiasco, to The National Review, an example of getting a Big Thing wrong? Didn't Social Security privatization prove a colossal misjudgement that set the stage for the administration's second-term struggles? Or were they, as Lopez suggests, mere hiccups and blips in an otherwise soaring record of righteousness?
--
While a cult of personality focusing on Bush's mid-40s spiritual resurrection and his quiet, determined morality has long been necessary to mask his basic indifference to conservative causes, the belief in George W. Bush is beginning to take on a religious subtext: Even when Big Things go wrong, like floods, plagues, and earthquakes, you can take comfort in knowing that they were temporary detours in a benevolent, carefully examined master plan. This isn't political analysis or pop-psychology, it's theology. Back in reality, what actually happened to Miers is that her nomination was greeted with hostility from the right, bemusement from the left, and was finally slapped back by an angry conservative base and Bill Frist's admission that she wouldn't be confirmed. In politics, that's not called a detour; it's a defeat. That Lopez has instead taken it as more proof of Bush's infallible internal compass is, to be honest, more than a little scary.
--Ezra Klein
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/006859.php
From James Dobson ...
"I believe the president has made a wise decision in accepting Harriet Miers' withdrawal as a nominee to the Supreme Court.
In recent days I have grown increasingly concerned about her conservative credentials, and I was dismayed to learn this week about her speech in 1993, in which she sounded pro-abortion themes, and expressed so much praise for left-wing feminist leaders.
When the president announced this nominee, I expressed my tentative support, based on what I was able to discover about her. But I also said I would await the hearings to learn more about her judicial philosophy. Based on what we now know about Miss Miers, it appears that we would not have been able to support her candidacy. Thankfully, that difficult evaluation is no longer necessary."
Ask not for whom the sponge tolls, it tolls for thee SpongeDob ...
-- Josh Marshall
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Nothing Like Pissing Off The Few Friends We Have
Canada's Smiles for Camera Mask Chill in Ties With U.S.
By JOEL BRINKLEY
OTTAWA, Oct. 24 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived here on Monday evening for meetings with Prime Minister Paul Martin, who has been inveighing against the United States in recent days, saying it is making a "mockery" of trade rules, angering and humiliating Canada.
Perceived slights and misunderstandings are normal features of the United States' relationship with Canada. But Canadians and outside experts say Ottawa's view of Washington now is as strained and combative as anyone can remember.
Partly as a result, Canada is working hard to build up its relationship with China, whose president, Hu Jintao, visited here last month. Some officials are saying Canada may shift a significant portion of its trade, particularly oil, from the United States to China.
Within a few years, China could well import one-quarter of the oil "that we currently send to the United States," John McCallum, Canada's minister of natural resources, said in a television interview last week, just after returning from Beijing. He added that the current trade fight with Washington, over steep import duties on lumber from Canada, gave the negotiations with China "an extra little push."
A senior State Department official, in an interview on Monday, noted that for the United States there was "a strategic advantage in getting oil from Canada," which is believed to have the world's second-largest reserves. "But petroleum is a fungible resource, and we are going to fill our energy needs from wherever we can get oil."
Ms. Rice, speaking to reporters on the plane, said she would emphasize the positive aspects of the relationship in her meetings with Mr. Martin and other officials. Specifically, she and aides said, she will thank Canada for aid it provided to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, for the deployment of Canadian troops to Afghanistan and to Jordan to train the Iraqi military, and for its strong cooperation on security issues after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Ms. Rice said she was "absolutely prepared to discuss" the trade debate, "but it is important to keep it in perspective." Lumber, officials said, accounted for only 3 percent of the trade; over all, the senior official noted, Canada had a $77 billion annual trade surplus with the United States.
The most important source of Canada's anger is the import duties, totaling $4 billion in recent years, that the United States has imposed on Canadian softwood lumber. The United States says Canada subsidizes its lumber industry, forcing the Americans to impose the duties. But Canada has appealed under rules set up in the North American Free Trade Agreement, and has won every ruling, culminating in a final judgment in Canada's favor in August.
The United States has ignored those legal losses and taken the case instead to the World Trade Organization, which has ruled in Washington's favor. But Canada contends that the W.T.O. is not the proper legal forum and continues to demand a refund of the $4 billion, which under American law is to be paid directly to the lumber companies that are said to have been harmed.
"Instead of honoring" the final Nafta ruling in August, "the United States has decided to ignore it," Mr. Martin said in an unusually tough, uncompromising speech to the Economic Club of New York on Oct. 6. "The duties must be refunded." Washington's behavior, he added, is "nonsense, a breach of faith." The Canadians "are upset for good reason," said Phillip L. Swagel, who was chief of staff for the White House Council of Economic Advisers until earlier this year. "They signed a treaty with us, and we are not abiding by it. That $4 billion should never have been collected in the first place."
American officials note that Mr. Martin is nearing a re-election campaign - and that standing up to Washington is always a useful campaign tactic.
The United States responds to the Canadian arguments by urging negotiations, but Canada's view is that the time for negotiation is over. The case went to trial, and Washington lost.
"I don't think the time for negotiation has passed," Ms. Rice said.
Mr. Martin, in a Canadian television interview on Monday, said he would push Ms. Rice to resolve the issue. "When we have a disagreement with the Americans," he said, "it is not friendship that should get in the way of pointing out to them that friends live up to their agreements."
Ms. Rice said, "We would like to get this resolved."
Behind all of this, however, officials acknowledge that the American decision to ignore Canada's legal victories plays directly into the Canadian conviction that the United States simply does not care what Canada thinks. Canadians could not help but notice that Ms. Rice's first trip to Canada came more than eight months after she took office and after she had visited 42 other nations.
The lumber dispute is a topic of daily news coverage here, while "there are not a lot of people" in the United States "who know or care what the Canadians are saying about this," said Susan E. Rice, who was an assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration.
By JOEL BRINKLEY
OTTAWA, Oct. 24 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived here on Monday evening for meetings with Prime Minister Paul Martin, who has been inveighing against the United States in recent days, saying it is making a "mockery" of trade rules, angering and humiliating Canada.
Perceived slights and misunderstandings are normal features of the United States' relationship with Canada. But Canadians and outside experts say Ottawa's view of Washington now is as strained and combative as anyone can remember.
Partly as a result, Canada is working hard to build up its relationship with China, whose president, Hu Jintao, visited here last month. Some officials are saying Canada may shift a significant portion of its trade, particularly oil, from the United States to China.
Within a few years, China could well import one-quarter of the oil "that we currently send to the United States," John McCallum, Canada's minister of natural resources, said in a television interview last week, just after returning from Beijing. He added that the current trade fight with Washington, over steep import duties on lumber from Canada, gave the negotiations with China "an extra little push."
A senior State Department official, in an interview on Monday, noted that for the United States there was "a strategic advantage in getting oil from Canada," which is believed to have the world's second-largest reserves. "But petroleum is a fungible resource, and we are going to fill our energy needs from wherever we can get oil."
Ms. Rice, speaking to reporters on the plane, said she would emphasize the positive aspects of the relationship in her meetings with Mr. Martin and other officials. Specifically, she and aides said, she will thank Canada for aid it provided to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, for the deployment of Canadian troops to Afghanistan and to Jordan to train the Iraqi military, and for its strong cooperation on security issues after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Ms. Rice said she was "absolutely prepared to discuss" the trade debate, "but it is important to keep it in perspective." Lumber, officials said, accounted for only 3 percent of the trade; over all, the senior official noted, Canada had a $77 billion annual trade surplus with the United States.
The most important source of Canada's anger is the import duties, totaling $4 billion in recent years, that the United States has imposed on Canadian softwood lumber. The United States says Canada subsidizes its lumber industry, forcing the Americans to impose the duties. But Canada has appealed under rules set up in the North American Free Trade Agreement, and has won every ruling, culminating in a final judgment in Canada's favor in August.
The United States has ignored those legal losses and taken the case instead to the World Trade Organization, which has ruled in Washington's favor. But Canada contends that the W.T.O. is not the proper legal forum and continues to demand a refund of the $4 billion, which under American law is to be paid directly to the lumber companies that are said to have been harmed.
"Instead of honoring" the final Nafta ruling in August, "the United States has decided to ignore it," Mr. Martin said in an unusually tough, uncompromising speech to the Economic Club of New York on Oct. 6. "The duties must be refunded." Washington's behavior, he added, is "nonsense, a breach of faith." The Canadians "are upset for good reason," said Phillip L. Swagel, who was chief of staff for the White House Council of Economic Advisers until earlier this year. "They signed a treaty with us, and we are not abiding by it. That $4 billion should never have been collected in the first place."
American officials note that Mr. Martin is nearing a re-election campaign - and that standing up to Washington is always a useful campaign tactic.
The United States responds to the Canadian arguments by urging negotiations, but Canada's view is that the time for negotiation is over. The case went to trial, and Washington lost.
"I don't think the time for negotiation has passed," Ms. Rice said.
Mr. Martin, in a Canadian television interview on Monday, said he would push Ms. Rice to resolve the issue. "When we have a disagreement with the Americans," he said, "it is not friendship that should get in the way of pointing out to them that friends live up to their agreements."
Ms. Rice said, "We would like to get this resolved."
Behind all of this, however, officials acknowledge that the American decision to ignore Canada's legal victories plays directly into the Canadian conviction that the United States simply does not care what Canada thinks. Canadians could not help but notice that Ms. Rice's first trip to Canada came more than eight months after she took office and after she had visited 42 other nations.
The lumber dispute is a topic of daily news coverage here, while "there are not a lot of people" in the United States "who know or care what the Canadians are saying about this," said Susan E. Rice, who was an assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
"Come On, John! Can't We Beat Them Just a Little Bit?"
Samples:
October 25, 2005
White House Seeks Exception in Abuse Ban
By ERIC SCHMITT
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 - Stepping up a confrontation with the Senate over the handling of detainees, the White House is insisting that the Central Intelligence Agency be exempted from a proposed ban on abusive treatment of suspected Qaeda militants and other terrorists.
The Senate defied a presidential veto threat nearly three weeks ago and approved, 90 to 9, an amendment to a $440 billion military spending bill that would ban the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of any detainee held by the United States government. This could bar some techniques that the C.I.A. has used in some interrogations overseas.
But in a 45-minute meeting last Thursday, Vice President Dick Cheney and the C.I.A. director, Porter J. Goss, urged Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who wrote the amendment, to support an exemption for the agency, arguing that the president needed maximum flexibility in dealing with the global war on terrorism, said two government officials who were briefed on the meeting. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the discussions.
Mr. McCain rejected the proposed exemption, which stated that the measure "shall not apply with respect to clandestine counterterrorism operations conducted abroad, with respect to terrorists who are not citizens of the United States, that are carried out by an element of the United States government other than the Department of Defense and are consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and treaties to which the United States is a party, if the president determines that such operations are vital to the protection of the United States or its citizens from terrorist attack."
----
The White House has threatened to veto any bill that includes the McCain provision, contending that it would bind the president's hands in wartime.
But Mr. McCain has kept the pressure on as the issue moves to a House-Senate conference committee, perhaps later this week or next. Shortly after the Senate vote on Oct. 5, Mr. McCain's staff sent members of the conference committee letters endorsing the provision signed by more than two dozen retired senior military officers, including former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and John M. Shalikashvili, both former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
October 25, 2005
White House Seeks Exception in Abuse Ban
By ERIC SCHMITT
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 - Stepping up a confrontation with the Senate over the handling of detainees, the White House is insisting that the Central Intelligence Agency be exempted from a proposed ban on abusive treatment of suspected Qaeda militants and other terrorists.
The Senate defied a presidential veto threat nearly three weeks ago and approved, 90 to 9, an amendment to a $440 billion military spending bill that would ban the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of any detainee held by the United States government. This could bar some techniques that the C.I.A. has used in some interrogations overseas.
But in a 45-minute meeting last Thursday, Vice President Dick Cheney and the C.I.A. director, Porter J. Goss, urged Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who wrote the amendment, to support an exemption for the agency, arguing that the president needed maximum flexibility in dealing with the global war on terrorism, said two government officials who were briefed on the meeting. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the discussions.
Mr. McCain rejected the proposed exemption, which stated that the measure "shall not apply with respect to clandestine counterterrorism operations conducted abroad, with respect to terrorists who are not citizens of the United States, that are carried out by an element of the United States government other than the Department of Defense and are consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and treaties to which the United States is a party, if the president determines that such operations are vital to the protection of the United States or its citizens from terrorist attack."
----
The White House has threatened to veto any bill that includes the McCain provision, contending that it would bind the president's hands in wartime.
But Mr. McCain has kept the pressure on as the issue moves to a House-Senate conference committee, perhaps later this week or next. Shortly after the Senate vote on Oct. 5, Mr. McCain's staff sent members of the conference committee letters endorsing the provision signed by more than two dozen retired senior military officers, including former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and John M. Shalikashvili, both former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Indictments On The Way
According to insider sources, as many as five indictments may be issued as soon as tomorrow, with Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald convening a press conference on Thursday. Karl Rove and I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby are the likely receipients, although there may be more. See below:
October 25, 2005
Steve Clemons says:
Indictments Coming Tomorrow; Targets Received Letters Today
An uber-insider source has just reported the following to TWN:
1. 1-5 indictments are being issued. The source feels that it will be towards the higher end.
2. The targets of indictment have already received their letters.
3. The indictments will be sealed indictments and "filed" tomorrow.
4. A press conference is being scheduled for Thursday.
During the press briefing today:
Scott McClellan has just thrown Karl Rove and Scooter Libby to the wolves today when a reporter asked whether White House press responses could be trusted give Scott's earlier denials that anyone in the White House had anything to do with outing Valerie Plame Wilson.
My question is: Can we be confident that when we hear statements from the White House in public that they are truthful?
MCCLELLAN: I think you can be, because you know that our relationship is built on trust. And I have earned that trust with you all. As you pointed out, you pointed back to some past comments that I made, and I've talked to you about the assurances that I had received on that.
And here's some interesting information if you'd care to read some of the details (this is just a piece):
What may be most significant to American observers, however, is the newspaper's allegation that the Italians sent the bogus intelligence about Niger and Iraq not only through traditional allied channels such as the CIA, but seemingly directly into the White House. That direct White House channel amplifies questions about a now-infamous 16-word reference to the Niger uranium in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address -- which remained in the speech despite warnings from the CIA and the State Department that the allegation was not substantiated.
Was the White House convinced that the Niger yellowcake report was nevertheless true because the National Security Council was getting its information directly from the Italian source?
Following the exposure of the discredited Niger allegations in the summer of 2003 by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, White House officials at first sought to blame the CIA for the inclusion of the controversial "16 words" in the president's speech. Although then–National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and her deputy Hadley eventually accepted some responsibility for the mistake, the White House undertook a covert campaign to discredit Wilson and exposed the CIA affiliation of his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson.
Yet if anyone knew who was actually responsible for the White House's trumpeting of the Niger claims, it would seem from the Repubblica report that Hadley did. He also knew that the CIA, which had initially rejected the Italian claims, was not to blame. Hadley's meeting with Pollari, at precisely the time when the Niger forgeries came into the possession of the U.S. government, may explain the seemingly hysterical White House overreaction to Wilson's article almost a year later.
While the Niger yellowcake claims have provoked much drama in American politics, their provenance is decidedly Italian. The Repubblica investigation offers new insights into what motivated the Berlusconi government and its intelligence chief Pollari to go to so much trouble to bring those claims to the attention of their allies in Washington.
For Berlusconi and Pollari, according to La Repubblica, the overriding motive was a desire to win more appreciation and prestige from the Americans, who were seen as eager for help in making their sales pitch for war. On Monday, the newspaper described the atmosphere in 2002:
"Berlusconi wants Sismi to be big players on the international security scene, to prove themselves to their ally, the United States, and the world. Washington is looking for proof of Saddam's involvement … and wants info immediately."
October 25, 2005
Steve Clemons says:
Indictments Coming Tomorrow; Targets Received Letters Today
An uber-insider source has just reported the following to TWN:
1. 1-5 indictments are being issued. The source feels that it will be towards the higher end.
2. The targets of indictment have already received their letters.
3. The indictments will be sealed indictments and "filed" tomorrow.
4. A press conference is being scheduled for Thursday.
During the press briefing today:
Scott McClellan has just thrown Karl Rove and Scooter Libby to the wolves today when a reporter asked whether White House press responses could be trusted give Scott's earlier denials that anyone in the White House had anything to do with outing Valerie Plame Wilson.
My question is: Can we be confident that when we hear statements from the White House in public that they are truthful?
MCCLELLAN: I think you can be, because you know that our relationship is built on trust. And I have earned that trust with you all. As you pointed out, you pointed back to some past comments that I made, and I've talked to you about the assurances that I had received on that.
And here's some interesting information if you'd care to read some of the details (this is just a piece):
What may be most significant to American observers, however, is the newspaper's allegation that the Italians sent the bogus intelligence about Niger and Iraq not only through traditional allied channels such as the CIA, but seemingly directly into the White House. That direct White House channel amplifies questions about a now-infamous 16-word reference to the Niger uranium in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address -- which remained in the speech despite warnings from the CIA and the State Department that the allegation was not substantiated.
Was the White House convinced that the Niger yellowcake report was nevertheless true because the National Security Council was getting its information directly from the Italian source?
Following the exposure of the discredited Niger allegations in the summer of 2003 by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, White House officials at first sought to blame the CIA for the inclusion of the controversial "16 words" in the president's speech. Although then–National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and her deputy Hadley eventually accepted some responsibility for the mistake, the White House undertook a covert campaign to discredit Wilson and exposed the CIA affiliation of his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson.
Yet if anyone knew who was actually responsible for the White House's trumpeting of the Niger claims, it would seem from the Repubblica report that Hadley did. He also knew that the CIA, which had initially rejected the Italian claims, was not to blame. Hadley's meeting with Pollari, at precisely the time when the Niger forgeries came into the possession of the U.S. government, may explain the seemingly hysterical White House overreaction to Wilson's article almost a year later.
While the Niger yellowcake claims have provoked much drama in American politics, their provenance is decidedly Italian. The Repubblica investigation offers new insights into what motivated the Berlusconi government and its intelligence chief Pollari to go to so much trouble to bring those claims to the attention of their allies in Washington.
For Berlusconi and Pollari, according to La Repubblica, the overriding motive was a desire to win more appreciation and prestige from the Americans, who were seen as eager for help in making their sales pitch for war. On Monday, the newspaper described the atmosphere in 2002:
"Berlusconi wants Sismi to be big players on the international security scene, to prove themselves to their ally, the United States, and the world. Washington is looking for proof of Saddam's involvement … and wants info immediately."
Monday, October 24, 2005
Is Anybody Out There? (No Pink Floyd Content - Sorry)
The pressure is building on the Bush Administration, but we still have no actual criminal charges to talk about yet. The thing is - I really didn't think we'd see anything like what's happening now until 2009 at the earliest, when Dubya was out of office. I figured everything was sealed tighter than a proverbial drum and that nothing was going to get out.
Sure, we had former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill tell us in January 2004 that Bush & Co. planned to invade Iraq and just waited for the best opportunity.
And yeah, we heard counterrorism chief Richard Clarke essentially reinforce those reports. He told us that within days of September 11th, 2001 Bush wanted him to connect the dots to Iraq when there were no dots there.
But was anyone listening? Sure they were.
No - what I meant to ask was, were any Bush supporters listening?
Oh. No, not really. Of course, Karl Rove dispatched his minions to engage in some character assassination of O'Neill and Clarke, but the charges that both men made couldn't be dismissed. The American public was just assured that these men, who had both worked for the Administration, were making things up to sell their books. I guess they should have purchased and produced infomercial time instead, seeing as how the average Bush voter can't/won't read books.
Alright, I'm sorry. That was a cheap shot, and it might not even be true.
But what I'm trying to say is that I didn't think anything was going to make a dent in this presidency that anyone on the right could see, or would choose to see. Now it looks as though the wheels might be coming loose just a bit. It doesn't mean that they won't slide out of the noose before the blade falls.
Mixed metaphors? Nah.
All I'm saying is that I'm just a bit surprised. Even the press corps seem to be waking up just a bit. Perhaps they smell just enough blood to make them interested in being real reporters again. I don't know - but I like it. I only wish I had more access to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, since I'm sure they're having the time of their lives on those shows.
Whether all this static will actually have an impact in the 2006 midterm elections is the big, big question. Who will the social conservatives turn to when they realize their morality votes went to morally, ethically, and intellectually bankrupt politicians? Maybe they'll stay home. I guess we'll find out.
Sure, we had former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill tell us in January 2004 that Bush & Co. planned to invade Iraq and just waited for the best opportunity.
And yeah, we heard counterrorism chief Richard Clarke essentially reinforce those reports. He told us that within days of September 11th, 2001 Bush wanted him to connect the dots to Iraq when there were no dots there.
But was anyone listening? Sure they were.
No - what I meant to ask was, were any Bush supporters listening?
Oh. No, not really. Of course, Karl Rove dispatched his minions to engage in some character assassination of O'Neill and Clarke, but the charges that both men made couldn't be dismissed. The American public was just assured that these men, who had both worked for the Administration, were making things up to sell their books. I guess they should have purchased and produced infomercial time instead, seeing as how the average Bush voter can't/won't read books.
Alright, I'm sorry. That was a cheap shot, and it might not even be true.
But what I'm trying to say is that I didn't think anything was going to make a dent in this presidency that anyone on the right could see, or would choose to see. Now it looks as though the wheels might be coming loose just a bit. It doesn't mean that they won't slide out of the noose before the blade falls.
Mixed metaphors? Nah.
All I'm saying is that I'm just a bit surprised. Even the press corps seem to be waking up just a bit. Perhaps they smell just enough blood to make them interested in being real reporters again. I don't know - but I like it. I only wish I had more access to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, since I'm sure they're having the time of their lives on those shows.
Whether all this static will actually have an impact in the 2006 midterm elections is the big, big question. Who will the social conservatives turn to when they realize their morality votes went to morally, ethically, and intellectually bankrupt politicians? Maybe they'll stay home. I guess we'll find out.
So - Where Can I Get a 'Dubya' Sticker For My Car?
October 21, 2005
Former Powell Aide Says Bush Policy Is Run by 'Cabal'
By BRIAN KNOWLTON
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 - Secretary of State Colin Powell's former chief of staff has offered a remarkably blunt criticism of the administration he served, saying that foreign policy had been usurped by a "Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal," and that President Bush has made the country more vulnerable, not less, to future crises.
The comments came in a speech Wednesday by Lawrence Wilkerson, who worked for Mr. Powell at the State Department from 2001 to early 2005. Speaking to the New America Foundation, an independent public-policy institute in Washington, Mr. Wilkerson suggested that secrecy, arrogance and internal feuding had taken a heavy toll in the Bush administration, skewing its policies and undercutting its ability to handle crises.
"I would say that we have courted disaster, in Iraq, in North Korea, in Iran, generally with regard to domestic crises like Katrina, Rita - and I could go on back," he said. "We haven't done very well on anything like that in a long time."
Mr. Wilkerson suggested that the dysfunction within the administration was so grave that "if something comes along that is truly serious, truly serious, something like a nuclear weapon going off in a major American city, or something like a major pandemic, you are going to see the ineptitude of this government in a way that will take you back to the Declaration of Independence."
Mr. Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel and former director of the Marine Corps War College, said that in his years in or close to government, he had seen its national security apparatus twisted in many ways. But what he saw in Mr. Bush's first term "was a case that I have never seen in my studies of aberration, bastardizations" and "perturbations."
"What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues," he said.
The former aide referred to Mr. Bush as someone who "is not versed in international relations, and not too much interested in them, either." He was far more admiring of the president's father, whom he called "one of the finest presidents we've ever had."
Mr. Wilkerson has long been considered a close confidant of Mr. Powell, but their relationship has apparently grown strained at times - including over the question of unconventional weapons in Iraq - and the former colonel said Mr. Powell did not approve of his latest public criticisms.
Former Powell Aide Says Bush Policy Is Run by 'Cabal'
By BRIAN KNOWLTON
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 - Secretary of State Colin Powell's former chief of staff has offered a remarkably blunt criticism of the administration he served, saying that foreign policy had been usurped by a "Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal," and that President Bush has made the country more vulnerable, not less, to future crises.
The comments came in a speech Wednesday by Lawrence Wilkerson, who worked for Mr. Powell at the State Department from 2001 to early 2005. Speaking to the New America Foundation, an independent public-policy institute in Washington, Mr. Wilkerson suggested that secrecy, arrogance and internal feuding had taken a heavy toll in the Bush administration, skewing its policies and undercutting its ability to handle crises.
"I would say that we have courted disaster, in Iraq, in North Korea, in Iran, generally with regard to domestic crises like Katrina, Rita - and I could go on back," he said. "We haven't done very well on anything like that in a long time."
Mr. Wilkerson suggested that the dysfunction within the administration was so grave that "if something comes along that is truly serious, truly serious, something like a nuclear weapon going off in a major American city, or something like a major pandemic, you are going to see the ineptitude of this government in a way that will take you back to the Declaration of Independence."
Mr. Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel and former director of the Marine Corps War College, said that in his years in or close to government, he had seen its national security apparatus twisted in many ways. But what he saw in Mr. Bush's first term "was a case that I have never seen in my studies of aberration, bastardizations" and "perturbations."
"What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues," he said.
The former aide referred to Mr. Bush as someone who "is not versed in international relations, and not too much interested in them, either." He was far more admiring of the president's father, whom he called "one of the finest presidents we've ever had."
Mr. Wilkerson has long been considered a close confidant of Mr. Powell, but their relationship has apparently grown strained at times - including over the question of unconventional weapons in Iraq - and the former colonel said Mr. Powell did not approve of his latest public criticisms.
Hey, Dick!
The Times has some more information on the CIA leak case.
Here's a sample:
October 25, 2005
Cheney Told Aide of C.I.A. Officer, Lawyers Report
By DAVID JOHNSTON, RICHARD W. STEVENSON and DOUGLAS JEHL
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 - I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, first learned about the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the leak investigation in a conversation with Mr.
Cheney weeks before her identity became public in 2003, lawyers involved in the case said Monday.
Notes of the previously undisclosed conversation between Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney on June 12, 2003, appear to differ from Mr. Libby's testimony to a federal grand jury that he initially learned about the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, from journalists, the lawyers said.
The notes, taken by Mr. Libby during the conversation, for the first time place Mr. Cheney in the middle of an effort by the White House to learn about Ms. Wilson's husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV, who was questioning the administration's handling of intelligence about Iraq's nuclear program to justify the war.
Lawyers involved in the case, who described the notes to The New York Times, said they showed that Mr. Cheney knew that Ms. Wilson worked at the C.I.A. more than a month before her identity was made public and her undercover status was disclosed in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak on July 14, 2003.
Mr. Libby's notes indicate that Mr. Cheney had gotten his information about Ms. Wilson from George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, in response to questions from the vice president about Mr. Wilson. But they contain no suggestion that either Mr. Cheney or Mr. Libby knew at the time of Ms. Wilson's undercover status or that her identity was classified. Disclosing a covert agent's identity can be a crime, but only if the person who discloses it knows the agent's undercover status.
...
Lawyers involved in the case said they had no indication that Mr. Fitzgerald was considering charging Mr. Cheney with wrongdoing. Mr. Cheney was interviewed under oath by Mr. Fitzgerald last year. It is not known what the vice president told Mr. Fitzgerald about the conversation with Mr. Libby or when Mr. Fitzgerald first learned of it.
But the evidence of Mr. Cheney's direct involvement in the effort to learn more about Mr. Wilson is sure to intensify the political pressure on the White House in a week of high anxiety among Republicans about the potential for the case to deal a sharp blow to Mr. Bush's presidency.
Here's a sample:
October 25, 2005
Cheney Told Aide of C.I.A. Officer, Lawyers Report
By DAVID JOHNSTON, RICHARD W. STEVENSON and DOUGLAS JEHL
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 - I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, first learned about the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the leak investigation in a conversation with Mr.
Cheney weeks before her identity became public in 2003, lawyers involved in the case said Monday.
Notes of the previously undisclosed conversation between Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney on June 12, 2003, appear to differ from Mr. Libby's testimony to a federal grand jury that he initially learned about the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, from journalists, the lawyers said.
The notes, taken by Mr. Libby during the conversation, for the first time place Mr. Cheney in the middle of an effort by the White House to learn about Ms. Wilson's husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV, who was questioning the administration's handling of intelligence about Iraq's nuclear program to justify the war.
Lawyers involved in the case, who described the notes to The New York Times, said they showed that Mr. Cheney knew that Ms. Wilson worked at the C.I.A. more than a month before her identity was made public and her undercover status was disclosed in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak on July 14, 2003.
Mr. Libby's notes indicate that Mr. Cheney had gotten his information about Ms. Wilson from George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, in response to questions from the vice president about Mr. Wilson. But they contain no suggestion that either Mr. Cheney or Mr. Libby knew at the time of Ms. Wilson's undercover status or that her identity was classified. Disclosing a covert agent's identity can be a crime, but only if the person who discloses it knows the agent's undercover status.
...
Lawyers involved in the case said they had no indication that Mr. Fitzgerald was considering charging Mr. Cheney with wrongdoing. Mr. Cheney was interviewed under oath by Mr. Fitzgerald last year. It is not known what the vice president told Mr. Fitzgerald about the conversation with Mr. Libby or when Mr. Fitzgerald first learned of it.
But the evidence of Mr. Cheney's direct involvement in the effort to learn more about Mr. Wilson is sure to intensify the political pressure on the White House in a week of high anxiety among Republicans about the potential for the case to deal a sharp blow to Mr. Bush's presidency.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Amazing
Well - this weekend at work, I got into a political discussion in the breakroom. It was with a young kid named Howard, who is 17. Howard is a nice kid - always polite. He looks all of 14 years old. But then again, as we know, people say I look 30, so I'll shut up about that.
Anyway, we were eating dinner on Saturday evening and he was flipping through the channels. I said something about ZZ Top being Bush supporters, and he asked me if I was. I gave the slow turn and glare, then replied in an very even tone - "No."
He asked me why, and I didn't want to jump into a whole mess, so I asked him if he was sure that he wanted to talk politics with me. I said I would, but that it might not be a good idea and that he might not like me after I was done talking. He decided that was something he could handle, so we started up. He asked me why I didn't support GWB, and I told him that since I was eating and he was done that it might be better if he explained to me why he did support him.
What follows is the discussion, almost verbatim.
Howard responded with, "well he's a lot better than Kerry."
Me- So you like Bush because he's better than 'the other guy.' That's great. Why?
H- John Kerry is a crazy lunatic!
Me- Wow. It's a good thing he didn't get elected. Um...why is he a lunatic?
H (very animated)- He is! Like his plan for the country - it was just crazy!
[Jeff just read this over my shoulder and told me that I am the "proverbial intellectual bully." I asked him what was proverbial about intellectual bullies and he rolled his eyes.]
Me (imitating his animated state)- Really?! What was his crazy plan?
H- Well. I don't know - you expect me to remember his plan from like six years ago?
Me- Um...when was the election?
H- What?
Me- The election was less than one year ago.
H- But he ran before, in the one before that one...(trailing off)...wasn't that him?
Me- I think you might be thinking of former Vice President Al Gore.
H- Oh yeah, that guy. He was crazy too!!
Me- Uh huh.
So we kept this up for a while until he started making it obvious that the reason he supported Bush, and Republicans in general, was that he was a big gun rights guy.
H- Well, I like guns. I think they're fun.
Me- Really? Why?
H- Because the Second Amendment says we can have them.
Me- Wow, so you like guns because the Second Amendment says you can have them? Cool. You must really, really hate illegal seach and seizure then.
H- Huh?
Me- Nevermind.
Howard eventually caught on that I was having a lot of fun at his expense and started asking me to say specifically why I didn't support our dear leader, but almost immediately leapt to another tactic.
H- You probably love Bill Clinton, don't you?
Me- I thought we were discussing the Bush Administration.
H- Come on, I bet you love Clinton. Just admit it!
Me- So we're moving on then, eh? Well, I think Clinton was probably among the more decent presidents we had during the 20th century, but he was much further to the right on the political spectrum from where I am.
H- He got us into this deficit, you know. He set it up for the next president, if he was Republican, to have the country go into deficit.
Me- Strictly speaking, the United States was in substantial debt before Clinton took office, but during his second term in office, the country began to produce annual surpluses, not deficits. But the nation was still actually in debt - it's just that we were not adding to it. After Bush took office, he got a tax cut plan passed through Congress. Two thirds of that tax cut went to wealthy Americans. So you think that the President controls the entire economy of the United States and that Clinton just decided to throw an entire nation of more than 280 million people into debt so that he would look good?
H- Well, he did.
Me- Do you realize that anything Clinton did would have had to have Republican support, since from 1995 on, he was dealing with a Republican-controlled House and Senate?
H- That's not true!
Me- Wow, really? That's weird. I'm pretty sure that's exactly right. In fact, it is right.
H- No it's not.
Me- Alright, man. That's fine. So what do you think about this war that we're in now that has nothing to do with September 11th?
H- What do you mean?
Me- I'm talking about the war in Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the events of September 11th.
This is where it got a little more ridiculous, since poor old Howard, along with the majority of those that voted for Bush, was under the impression (despite evidence to the contrary, from such sources as the bipartisan-produced 9/11 Report) that Saddam Hussein had a direct link to bin Laden and the hijackers. Howard didn't like it when I told him that there was no evidence of this, and in fact refused to believe me, giving me a blank stare. For my part, I couldn't actually believe that I had actually encountered someone who still believed this gross fallacy. I explained that the US had supported Hussein in the 1980s because of the secular nature of his government, explained what 'secular' meant, and then told him that bin Laden's and Hussein's goals were not compatible for this reason (secularism and Muslim fundamentalism don't mix).
Howard replied with this gem: "But that's what they told us before the war! Why would they tell the whole country something that wasn't true?"
Me- (through raucous laughter) That's a good question, Howard. That's a very good question.
Anyway, we were eating dinner on Saturday evening and he was flipping through the channels. I said something about ZZ Top being Bush supporters, and he asked me if I was. I gave the slow turn and glare, then replied in an very even tone - "No."
He asked me why, and I didn't want to jump into a whole mess, so I asked him if he was sure that he wanted to talk politics with me. I said I would, but that it might not be a good idea and that he might not like me after I was done talking. He decided that was something he could handle, so we started up. He asked me why I didn't support GWB, and I told him that since I was eating and he was done that it might be better if he explained to me why he did support him.
What follows is the discussion, almost verbatim.
Howard responded with, "well he's a lot better than Kerry."
Me- So you like Bush because he's better than 'the other guy.' That's great. Why?
H- John Kerry is a crazy lunatic!
Me- Wow. It's a good thing he didn't get elected. Um...why is he a lunatic?
H (very animated)- He is! Like his plan for the country - it was just crazy!
[Jeff just read this over my shoulder and told me that I am the "proverbial intellectual bully." I asked him what was proverbial about intellectual bullies and he rolled his eyes.]
Me (imitating his animated state)- Really?! What was his crazy plan?
H- Well. I don't know - you expect me to remember his plan from like six years ago?
Me- Um...when was the election?
H- What?
Me- The election was less than one year ago.
H- But he ran before, in the one before that one...(trailing off)...wasn't that him?
Me- I think you might be thinking of former Vice President Al Gore.
H- Oh yeah, that guy. He was crazy too!!
Me- Uh huh.
So we kept this up for a while until he started making it obvious that the reason he supported Bush, and Republicans in general, was that he was a big gun rights guy.
H- Well, I like guns. I think they're fun.
Me- Really? Why?
H- Because the Second Amendment says we can have them.
Me- Wow, so you like guns because the Second Amendment says you can have them? Cool. You must really, really hate illegal seach and seizure then.
H- Huh?
Me- Nevermind.
Howard eventually caught on that I was having a lot of fun at his expense and started asking me to say specifically why I didn't support our dear leader, but almost immediately leapt to another tactic.
H- You probably love Bill Clinton, don't you?
Me- I thought we were discussing the Bush Administration.
H- Come on, I bet you love Clinton. Just admit it!
Me- So we're moving on then, eh? Well, I think Clinton was probably among the more decent presidents we had during the 20th century, but he was much further to the right on the political spectrum from where I am.
H- He got us into this deficit, you know. He set it up for the next president, if he was Republican, to have the country go into deficit.
Me- Strictly speaking, the United States was in substantial debt before Clinton took office, but during his second term in office, the country began to produce annual surpluses, not deficits. But the nation was still actually in debt - it's just that we were not adding to it. After Bush took office, he got a tax cut plan passed through Congress. Two thirds of that tax cut went to wealthy Americans. So you think that the President controls the entire economy of the United States and that Clinton just decided to throw an entire nation of more than 280 million people into debt so that he would look good?
H- Well, he did.
Me- Do you realize that anything Clinton did would have had to have Republican support, since from 1995 on, he was dealing with a Republican-controlled House and Senate?
H- That's not true!
Me- Wow, really? That's weird. I'm pretty sure that's exactly right. In fact, it is right.
H- No it's not.
Me- Alright, man. That's fine. So what do you think about this war that we're in now that has nothing to do with September 11th?
H- What do you mean?
Me- I'm talking about the war in Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the events of September 11th.
This is where it got a little more ridiculous, since poor old Howard, along with the majority of those that voted for Bush, was under the impression (despite evidence to the contrary, from such sources as the bipartisan-produced 9/11 Report) that Saddam Hussein had a direct link to bin Laden and the hijackers. Howard didn't like it when I told him that there was no evidence of this, and in fact refused to believe me, giving me a blank stare. For my part, I couldn't actually believe that I had actually encountered someone who still believed this gross fallacy. I explained that the US had supported Hussein in the 1980s because of the secular nature of his government, explained what 'secular' meant, and then told him that bin Laden's and Hussein's goals were not compatible for this reason (secularism and Muslim fundamentalism don't mix).
Howard replied with this gem: "But that's what they told us before the war! Why would they tell the whole country something that wasn't true?"
Me- (through raucous laughter) That's a good question, Howard. That's a very good question.
The Latest On The Rove/Libby Leak Investigation
October 24, 2005
[Edited, with some of my comments thrown in]
Republicans Testing Ways to Blunt Leak Charges
By RICHARD W. STEVENSONand DAVID JOHNSTON
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 - With a decision expected this week on possible indictments in the C.I.A. leak case, allies of the White House suggested Sunday that they intended to pursue a strategy of attacking any criminal charges as a disagreement over legal technicalities or the product of an overzealous prosecutor.
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special counsel in the case, is expected to announce by the end of the week whether he will seek indictments against White House officials in a decision that is likely to be a defining moment of President Bush's second term. The case has put many in the White House on edge. [Page A15.]
Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, and I. Lewis Libby Jr., who is Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, have been advised that they are in serious legal jeopardy. Other officials could also face charges in connection with the disclosure of the identity of an undercover C.I.A. officer in 2003.
On Sunday, Republicans appeared to be preparing to blunt the impact of any charges. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, speaking on the NBC news program "Meet the Press," compared the leak investigation with the case of Martha Stewart and her stock sale, "where they couldn't find a crime and they indict on something that she said about something that wasn't a crime."
[what's that?... do you mean like the perjury and obstruction of justice charges over the Lewinsky affair in the impeachment against Clinton...?]
Ms. Hutchison said she hoped "that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars."
President Bush said several weeks ago that Mr. Fitzgerald had handled the case in "a very dignified way," making it more difficult for Republicans to portray him negatively.
But allies of the White House have quietly been circulating talking points in recent days among Republicans sympathetic to the administration, seeking to help them make the case that bringing charges like perjury mean the prosecutor does not have a strong case, one Republican with close ties to the White House said Sunday. Other people sympathetic to Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have said that indicting them would amount to criminalizing politics and that Mr. Fitzgerald did not understand how Washington works.
Some Republicans have also been reprising a theme that was often sounded by Democrats during the investigations into President Bill Clinton, that special prosecutors and independent counsels lack accountability and too often pursue cases until they find someone to charge.
Congressional Republicans have also been signaling that they want to put some distance between their agenda and the White House's potential legal and political woes, seeking to cast the leak case as an inside-the-Beltway phenomenon of little interest to most voters.
"I think we just need to stick to our knitting on the topics and the subjects the American people care about," Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, said on "Fox News Sunday."
[yeah - let's focus on things that really matter to reg'lar folks, like gay marriage and flag-burning and making sure assault weapons are legal and "under God" stays in the pledge.......oh wait.....]
The case, which traces back to an effort by the White House to rebut criticism of its use of intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq, has grown into a crisis for the administration that has the potential to shape the remainder of Mr. Bush's second term. Democrats signaled Sunday that they would use the inquiry to help weave a broader tapestry portraying the Republican Party as corrupt and the White House as dishonest with the American people.
"We know that the president wasn't truthful with us when he sent us to Iraq," Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said on "This Week" on ABC. "What got Rove and Libby in trouble was because they were attacking, which the Republicans always do, attacking somebody who criticized them and disagreed with them. They make the attacks personal. They go over the line."
__________________
And here's a link to another article on the story, if you're interested.
[Edited, with some of my comments thrown in]
Republicans Testing Ways to Blunt Leak Charges
By RICHARD W. STEVENSONand DAVID JOHNSTON
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 - With a decision expected this week on possible indictments in the C.I.A. leak case, allies of the White House suggested Sunday that they intended to pursue a strategy of attacking any criminal charges as a disagreement over legal technicalities or the product of an overzealous prosecutor.
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special counsel in the case, is expected to announce by the end of the week whether he will seek indictments against White House officials in a decision that is likely to be a defining moment of President Bush's second term. The case has put many in the White House on edge. [Page A15.]
Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, and I. Lewis Libby Jr., who is Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, have been advised that they are in serious legal jeopardy. Other officials could also face charges in connection with the disclosure of the identity of an undercover C.I.A. officer in 2003.
On Sunday, Republicans appeared to be preparing to blunt the impact of any charges. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, speaking on the NBC news program "Meet the Press," compared the leak investigation with the case of Martha Stewart and her stock sale, "where they couldn't find a crime and they indict on something that she said about something that wasn't a crime."
[what's that?... do you mean like the perjury and obstruction of justice charges over the Lewinsky affair in the impeachment against Clinton...?]
Ms. Hutchison said she hoped "that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars."
President Bush said several weeks ago that Mr. Fitzgerald had handled the case in "a very dignified way," making it more difficult for Republicans to portray him negatively.
But allies of the White House have quietly been circulating talking points in recent days among Republicans sympathetic to the administration, seeking to help them make the case that bringing charges like perjury mean the prosecutor does not have a strong case, one Republican with close ties to the White House said Sunday. Other people sympathetic to Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have said that indicting them would amount to criminalizing politics and that Mr. Fitzgerald did not understand how Washington works.
Some Republicans have also been reprising a theme that was often sounded by Democrats during the investigations into President Bill Clinton, that special prosecutors and independent counsels lack accountability and too often pursue cases until they find someone to charge.
Congressional Republicans have also been signaling that they want to put some distance between their agenda and the White House's potential legal and political woes, seeking to cast the leak case as an inside-the-Beltway phenomenon of little interest to most voters.
"I think we just need to stick to our knitting on the topics and the subjects the American people care about," Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, said on "Fox News Sunday."
[yeah - let's focus on things that really matter to reg'lar folks, like gay marriage and flag-burning and making sure assault weapons are legal and "under God" stays in the pledge.......oh wait.....]
The case, which traces back to an effort by the White House to rebut criticism of its use of intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq, has grown into a crisis for the administration that has the potential to shape the remainder of Mr. Bush's second term. Democrats signaled Sunday that they would use the inquiry to help weave a broader tapestry portraying the Republican Party as corrupt and the White House as dishonest with the American people.
"We know that the president wasn't truthful with us when he sent us to Iraq," Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said on "This Week" on ABC. "What got Rove and Libby in trouble was because they were attacking, which the Republicans always do, attacking somebody who criticized them and disagreed with them. They make the attacks personal. They go over the line."
__________________
And here's a link to another article on the story, if you're interested.
WalMart Introduces New Health Plan For Employees - To Mixed Reviews
The last four paragraphs:
But analysts cautioned that the new insurance plan would prove a better fit for workers who are young and healthy than those who are older and more vulnerable to illness. A 60-year-old Wal-Mart employee, they noted, might visit a doctor three times in a one month and then need to pay $1,000 before the company would share the cost of care. Given that many Wal-Mart employees are paid less than $19,000 a year, the deductible "is pretty significant," said Charles N. Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals.
Tracy Sefl, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Watch, a coalition of community groups that has been highly critical of the retailer, had not seen details of the plan, but said that "a plan that is characterized as a healthy person's plan doesn't fully address the needs of a majority of their work force."
Ms. Sefl said the introduction of health savings accounts, which allow workers to make tax-deductible payments to a health care fund, was largely impractical for the chain's employees. "The majority of their work force will not be well positioned to contribute," she said.
Even as they commended Wal-Mart for offering a more affordable health insurance plan, some industry watchers expressed surprise that the company waited as long as it did to offer a more affordable option. "We have a health care system in this county that assumes people will be covered by their employer," said Mr. Kahn. "If the biggest employer in the country isn't providing some kind of affordable and meaningful coverage, that is a problem."
But analysts cautioned that the new insurance plan would prove a better fit for workers who are young and healthy than those who are older and more vulnerable to illness. A 60-year-old Wal-Mart employee, they noted, might visit a doctor three times in a one month and then need to pay $1,000 before the company would share the cost of care. Given that many Wal-Mart employees are paid less than $19,000 a year, the deductible "is pretty significant," said Charles N. Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals.
Tracy Sefl, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Watch, a coalition of community groups that has been highly critical of the retailer, had not seen details of the plan, but said that "a plan that is characterized as a healthy person's plan doesn't fully address the needs of a majority of their work force."
Ms. Sefl said the introduction of health savings accounts, which allow workers to make tax-deductible payments to a health care fund, was largely impractical for the chain's employees. "The majority of their work force will not be well positioned to contribute," she said.
Even as they commended Wal-Mart for offering a more affordable health insurance plan, some industry watchers expressed surprise that the company waited as long as it did to offer a more affordable option. "We have a health care system in this county that assumes people will be covered by their employer," said Mr. Kahn. "If the biggest employer in the country isn't providing some kind of affordable and meaningful coverage, that is a problem."
Friday, October 21, 2005
Czech It Out
Last night was Jamnesty, a concert at BJs put on by Amnesty International. The bands were One Punch Mickey (an Irish punk Flogging Molly-type band), The Pacemaker (difficult to describe, but the word unbearable comes to mind...David Byrne of the Talking Heads in front of a bad Radiohead-esque kind of noise, rather than music), and Hot Beats & Spinach (a jam band that covered Rage's Bulls on Parade, and also featured a brief attempt at Zeppelin's Moby Dick).
Before Jamnesty, I went to the post office to apply for my first passport. Barring some unforseen calamity, I'll be going to Prague on January 2 with a few friends, most of whom are in Amnesty with me (Matt, Kristen, Stephanie). I may or may not be going as part of the official Eurosim group, depending on whether or not there is a spot open for me. However, the Eurosim conference is only four of the thirteen day trip, so while those guys are doing that, then I'll be wandering the streets, hopefully with a little money in my pocket. Basically, the airfare was much less expensive than I might have thought (approximately $565), and I always talk about wanting to go to Europe (and if I can spend hundreds of dollars on Robert Plant tickets, I can probably take 500 to fly over the Atlantic). My dad had said something to me about sending me to Europe when I graduated, but who knows if that was actually going to happen (or who would go with me, for that matter), so it was all just too good to pass up. We may also go to Germany and possibly elsewhere while we're over there.
After the passport application process (if I had a scanner, I would share with you my atrocious photograph...alas, I do not), I went with Stephanie to Buffalo for two reasons. One was to pick up campaign mail for Lori Cornell, the Democratic candidate for County Clerk. The other was to get Stephanie's car, which was left at her friend Keller's house with a flat tire. We picked up the mail, which filled my entire back seat and trunk, and then went to her car. I successfully changed the tire (a first for me since Driver's Ed) and consequently had the rare opportunity to feel almost like a real manly man.
Tonight at six, I'll be at Fredonia Democratic HQ for some phone-banking duties until 8pm. I may have the pleasure of seeing Abe for the first time in a long time - he mentioned that he will be in Fredonia tonight. I have all the ingredients for a nice pre-game warmup at my apartment (beer and pretzels) - except furniture, that is. But probably what will happen is that Matt (King) won't come up tonight, Matt (Dunning) won't come by, and I'll only meet up with Abe much later. Perhaps I'll get my ironing done in the meantime.
Today, I got my Nixon paper back from Dr. Filipink. This was the paper that caused me to stay up all night Sunday, until 5:30am before getting up at 8:30 and finishing it at 11:30am, and skipping all my classes on Monday in order to sleep. (I received an A, much to my surprise, with the enlightening commentary of "Good" written above the 'A') I also made things awkward for myself with Dr. Rankin, for whom I also had a paper due on Monday but didn't turn in until Wednesday. Awkward because I had given Rankin some Zeppelin bootlegs after he expressed some enthusiasm about the band after an email I wrote to him, telling him about Plant's song "Freedom Fries" (Rankin had brought in a Daily Show clip that mentioned the Freedom Fries debacle in Congress during the anti-French period in the lead up to the Iraq War). So basically it looked like I was asking for favoritism, even though it was a simple matter of me procrastinating and doing the paper that was worth more (20% as opposed to 10% of my grade for the respective classes), and I felt like a jerk.
By the way, the Washington Semester is still not finalized, since my application for the program was saved on a disk that I used in my home computer (which is from 1999), and when I tried to open the files on that disk on the computers here at school, I was informed that it was not formatted. This doesn't make a lot of sense, since they're both PCs, but the Word program at my house is on Office 2000, not 2003 like on the school computers. I don't know if that's why I'm having a problem or what, but hopefully when I go home on Saturday, I'll be able to access the disk in my home computer and email the relevant information to myself so that I can use it here at school. I also need to pick up my second letter of recommendation from Dr. Maulucci.
Anyway, I'm going to go get something to eat before going to Dem HQ. Probably nothing healthy. I'll probably go to Wendy's for something quick.
Before Jamnesty, I went to the post office to apply for my first passport. Barring some unforseen calamity, I'll be going to Prague on January 2 with a few friends, most of whom are in Amnesty with me (Matt, Kristen, Stephanie). I may or may not be going as part of the official Eurosim group, depending on whether or not there is a spot open for me. However, the Eurosim conference is only four of the thirteen day trip, so while those guys are doing that, then I'll be wandering the streets, hopefully with a little money in my pocket. Basically, the airfare was much less expensive than I might have thought (approximately $565), and I always talk about wanting to go to Europe (and if I can spend hundreds of dollars on Robert Plant tickets, I can probably take 500 to fly over the Atlantic). My dad had said something to me about sending me to Europe when I graduated, but who knows if that was actually going to happen (or who would go with me, for that matter), so it was all just too good to pass up. We may also go to Germany and possibly elsewhere while we're over there.
After the passport application process (if I had a scanner, I would share with you my atrocious photograph...alas, I do not), I went with Stephanie to Buffalo for two reasons. One was to pick up campaign mail for Lori Cornell, the Democratic candidate for County Clerk. The other was to get Stephanie's car, which was left at her friend Keller's house with a flat tire. We picked up the mail, which filled my entire back seat and trunk, and then went to her car. I successfully changed the tire (a first for me since Driver's Ed) and consequently had the rare opportunity to feel almost like a real manly man.
Tonight at six, I'll be at Fredonia Democratic HQ for some phone-banking duties until 8pm. I may have the pleasure of seeing Abe for the first time in a long time - he mentioned that he will be in Fredonia tonight. I have all the ingredients for a nice pre-game warmup at my apartment (beer and pretzels) - except furniture, that is. But probably what will happen is that Matt (King) won't come up tonight, Matt (Dunning) won't come by, and I'll only meet up with Abe much later. Perhaps I'll get my ironing done in the meantime.
Today, I got my Nixon paper back from Dr. Filipink. This was the paper that caused me to stay up all night Sunday, until 5:30am before getting up at 8:30 and finishing it at 11:30am, and skipping all my classes on Monday in order to sleep. (I received an A, much to my surprise, with the enlightening commentary of "Good" written above the 'A') I also made things awkward for myself with Dr. Rankin, for whom I also had a paper due on Monday but didn't turn in until Wednesday. Awkward because I had given Rankin some Zeppelin bootlegs after he expressed some enthusiasm about the band after an email I wrote to him, telling him about Plant's song "Freedom Fries" (Rankin had brought in a Daily Show clip that mentioned the Freedom Fries debacle in Congress during the anti-French period in the lead up to the Iraq War). So basically it looked like I was asking for favoritism, even though it was a simple matter of me procrastinating and doing the paper that was worth more (20% as opposed to 10% of my grade for the respective classes), and I felt like a jerk.
By the way, the Washington Semester is still not finalized, since my application for the program was saved on a disk that I used in my home computer (which is from 1999), and when I tried to open the files on that disk on the computers here at school, I was informed that it was not formatted. This doesn't make a lot of sense, since they're both PCs, but the Word program at my house is on Office 2000, not 2003 like on the school computers. I don't know if that's why I'm having a problem or what, but hopefully when I go home on Saturday, I'll be able to access the disk in my home computer and email the relevant information to myself so that I can use it here at school. I also need to pick up my second letter of recommendation from Dr. Maulucci.
Anyway, I'm going to go get something to eat before going to Dem HQ. Probably nothing healthy. I'll probably go to Wendy's for something quick.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
October 19
My grandmother's birthday was today. I went down to Jamestown to see her, and ate dinner with her and my grandpa. I watched some old home movies (8mm converted to VHS), from about 1960 or so, which would have made my dad about 6 years old and my aunt Kathy roughly 7.5. We had coffee and chocolate icebox cake for dessert, which was delicious.
I came back for a College Democrats meeting and signed up to volunteer on the phones over the next couple weeks. Stephanie and I (Steph is the Pres of the Fredonia College Dems) were at the Dem HQ last night as well.
Anyway, after the meeting, I got to play my first game of broomball, which is a variation of hockey. It was a lot of fun, and our team won 1-0. We have an excellent goalie.
The library is closing, so this will be the end for now.
I came back for a College Democrats meeting and signed up to volunteer on the phones over the next couple weeks. Stephanie and I (Steph is the Pres of the Fredonia College Dems) were at the Dem HQ last night as well.
Anyway, after the meeting, I got to play my first game of broomball, which is a variation of hockey. It was a lot of fun, and our team won 1-0. We have an excellent goalie.
The library is closing, so this will be the end for now.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Beer Pong Makes The New York Times
The article includes several notable quotations. Here's a sample:
'This past summer, Anheuser-Busch unveiled a game it calls Bud Pong. The company, which makes Budweiser, is promoting Bud Pong tournaments and providing Bud Pong tables, balls and glasses to distributors in 47 markets, including college towns like Oswego, N.Y., and Clemson, S.C.
Bud Pong may soon expand into more markets, said Francine Katz, a spokeswoman for Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.
"It's catching on like wildfire," Ms. Katz said. "We created it as an icebreaker for young adults to meet each other."'
[Not to sell beer??]
'Beer companies like Anheuser-Busch have made promoting "responsible drinking" a matter of corporate philosophy, partly as an answer to criticism that they market to youth.
But Ms. Katz said Bud Pong was not intended for underage drinkers because promotions were held in bars, not on campuses. And it does not promote binge drinking, she said, because official rules call for water to be used, not beer. The hope is that those on the sidelines enjoy a Bud.'
[Water! Ha!]
...
'Mr. Field, who was wearing a T-shirt that read collegedrunkfest.com (which lists rules for more than 200 drinking games), warned a struggling teammate, "Don't be the weak link!"'
_____
The article also cites some less amusing information:
'Thomas J. Johnson, a psychologist at Indiana State University, has published seven articles on student alcohol use in peer-reviewed journals since 1998 and has studied thousands of students who play drinking games. He found that 44 percent of men who played said that they did so to sexually manipulate other players. Twenty percent said they had done things after playing a drinking game that could be defined as sexual assault.'
'This past summer, Anheuser-Busch unveiled a game it calls Bud Pong. The company, which makes Budweiser, is promoting Bud Pong tournaments and providing Bud Pong tables, balls and glasses to distributors in 47 markets, including college towns like Oswego, N.Y., and Clemson, S.C.
Bud Pong may soon expand into more markets, said Francine Katz, a spokeswoman for Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.
"It's catching on like wildfire," Ms. Katz said. "We created it as an icebreaker for young adults to meet each other."'
[Not to sell beer??]
'Beer companies like Anheuser-Busch have made promoting "responsible drinking" a matter of corporate philosophy, partly as an answer to criticism that they market to youth.
But Ms. Katz said Bud Pong was not intended for underage drinkers because promotions were held in bars, not on campuses. And it does not promote binge drinking, she said, because official rules call for water to be used, not beer. The hope is that those on the sidelines enjoy a Bud.'
[Water! Ha!]
...
'Mr. Field, who was wearing a T-shirt that read collegedrunkfest.com (which lists rules for more than 200 drinking games), warned a struggling teammate, "Don't be the weak link!"'
_____
The article also cites some less amusing information:
'Thomas J. Johnson, a psychologist at Indiana State University, has published seven articles on student alcohol use in peer-reviewed journals since 1998 and has studied thousands of students who play drinking games. He found that 44 percent of men who played said that they did so to sexually manipulate other players. Twenty percent said they had done things after playing a drinking game that could be defined as sexual assault.'
Video - Robert Plant with Pearl Jam - Fool In The Rain
Well, hopefully the rest of you will have more luck with this than I have had on my ancient machine. With the blistering 26400bps connection that these backwoods telephone lines provide, I've downloaded about 4:45 of the 5:53 clip over the past two and a half hours, and I'm just about to give up. Loading another webpage at the same time? Fuhgeddaboutit.
There are other clips:
Going To California
Rockin' In The Free World (with Plant on guitar)
Rolling Stone has some photos up as well.
Here's another review of the show, with some good pictures.
This site may offer the entire show (audio), but obviously I haven't attempted it from this location. Let me know if it works.
There are other clips:
Going To California
Rockin' In The Free World (with Plant on guitar)
Rolling Stone has some photos up as well.
Here's another review of the show, with some good pictures.
This site may offer the entire show (audio), but obviously I haven't attempted it from this location. Let me know if it works.
Robert Plant Interview - The Guardian (UK)
October 14, 2005
The Guardian
By Sylvie Simmons
Robert Plant has a new band, an acclaimed album and a bright future. But it's not enough to banish the ghost of Led Zeppelin...
We've arranged to meet on Santa Monica Pier, under the roller- coaster. It's a blazing hot Sunday morning; the air smells of fried food and ozone. Robert Plant - dressed for the occasion in sunglasses, shorts and a Bob Dylan T-shirt - looks remarkably perky for a 56-year-old who last night played one of the most powerful rock shows I've seen this year, with his band Strange Sensation.
He grins. "The energy was unbelievable. You can't do that with a greatest hits band, you can't do that with a tuxedo on. You have to be stirred to do a show like that. But I feel quite fit and strong right now - and it's mostly because I'm happy. If I'm happy everything falls into place. I might even," he adds, "get a tattoo."
Plant is in the right place for it. The pier was his idea - chosen not, as far as I can tell, for its Baywatch associations, but for its relative normalcy compared with the utter weirdness of the rest of celebrity-obsessed LA. After a quick detour via the amusement arcade for a skee-ball contest (Plant won every game and gave his prize tokens to a bemused kid at a nearby machine), we head below deck to a burger and taco stand and sit at a plastic table with an umbrella. It's 45 minutes before any passer-by clocks who he is.
It's an odd business, rock stardom - and rock stardom doesn't come much bigger than being the singer of Led Zeppelin. In the 25 years since the band was laid to rest, Plant has tried all manner of ways of dealing with his past: from outlawing the "Z" word, to writing and recording with Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page (on 1994's No Quarter and on 1998's Walking Into Clarksdale); from playing in a low-key pub band (Priory of Brion) with an old pre-Zeppelin pal, to making a covers album (2002's Dreamland) with his own band, Strange Sensation, which includes five multi-instrumentalist musicians, all younger than he is.
Now, finally, Plant seems to have got the whole thing figured out. He ignores it. Not the music: Zeppelin songs make up around half the set, although often in markedly different form, reflecting his new bandmates' backgrounds in, among other things, world music and trip hop. But all the other stuff - the fawning assistants, the musical complacency - he wants nothing to do with. The opening number at last night's show was Tin Pan Valley, a new song that takes his rock-star contemporaries to task. "My peers may flirt with cabaret/ Some fake the rebel yell/ I'm moving up to higher ground," he sings. "I must escape their hell."
Taking a swig of iced tea, Plant says: "Isn't that the great trap? You become successful and then you have to emulate your success for the people who've put you there, and it becomes the same-old, same-old. There's so much playing by numbers, so many people who compromise or coast.
"Some of it's an addiction to success: I mean, there's nothing like hearing a crowd roar. But then there's also the problem that no matter what you do, there are people who are still waiting for the return of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. You only have to have a tiny, weeny bit of common sense to see that that's been and gone, the times are different now, and this combination of people is very present tense."
Which was one reason why he failed to join ex-bandmates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, plus Jason Bonham (son of John, the band's drummer, who died in 1980) at the Grammys when Led Zeppelin won their recent lifetime achievement award. Page, apparently hurt, commented: "It wouldn't have taken much to just pop over, would it?"
But Plant was too busy with his new band. Speaking passionately about their musical prowess, attitude, energy and enthusiasm, he gives them credit for intensifying his own. Their second album, Mighty Rearranger - all new material this time, and hailed as Plant's best since Zeppelin - launched a deluge of activity. When the US tour is finished, there are more UK dates and talk of playing Latin America. He is curating the upcoming Womex festival in Gateshead and looking into recording with country singer Alison Krauss.
Plant recently collaborated with Jeff Beck on a cover of the Buzzcocks' Ever Fallen in Love for a John Peel tribute album. He was friends with Peel in the old days - "I had such a good time with John: very stimulating conversation, great sense of humour, very dry" - until the stratospheric success of Led Zeppelin. "With Peel moving on as well, that meant that when we got back we didn't really see each other any more or have bets on the phone on whether Wolves were going to beat Liverpool. But it was a gas seeing Jeff. I seldom see too many people who have been around as long as me or longer."
Even more recently, Plant worked with Pearl Jam on a benefit concert at the Chicago House of Blues, which raised over $1m for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Clarksdale, he says - the small town immortalised in his 1998 album with Page - "survived and is being used for refugees". He waxes nostalgic about the pilgrimage to the delta that inspired Walking Into Clarksdale, how he would walk round, knocking on doors, trying to track down an old friend of blues legend Robert Johnson. "I've never been so ridiculous in my life," he laughs, mocking his own obsessiveness. "When I was at school I had a paper round to earn money and I bought the Robert Johnson release that came out on Philips, the original first album with the gatefold sleeve with a picture of a sharecropper's shack on the front. When I heard Preaching Blues and Last Fair Deal Gone Down - I was probably a year or two behind Keith (Richards) and Mick (Jagger) - but I went, 'This is it.'"
'My parents cut the plug off the record player - I had a little Dansette. I think it was after they heard I Like It Like That by Chris Kenner 17 times in one hour." His father, an engineer who played in a local brass band, liked music, but "he really didn't get much bluer than Johnny Mathis. I think he found Robert Johnson too dark."
What did he make of the not entirely sunny Led Zeppelin?
"It was a rocky journey, really, with my parents. They just didn't understand it at all. Any of it. In the beginning they thought that it would pass. When I was in Band of Joy with Bonzo (John Bonham, who later joined Plant in Zeppelin), they said, 'You take your choice' - and I didn't go back." They became reconciled to his career a few years later - but, Plant says, "by the time they understood it, I think they only understood because I was successful."
The making of Mighty Rearranger coincided with Plant Sr's death. Between takes, Plant would spend time with his dad, even if half the time the old man "didn't even realise I was there". If the event had any effect on the content of the album, Plant says, it was to add a sense of urgency: "There's no time to waste time."
For a few years he suffered from writer's block, much of it brought on by worrying about doing "anything false". But now, he says, he has loads of ideas. "We've been writing bits and pieces as we go along, but at this point we have to think quite hard whether to stay in the same vein or take it into something very minimal, very beautiful and stark. The more I do that goes left or right of centre, the more I get an audience where there's nobody in the crowd any more shouting for anything other than 'Give it to me.'"
As opposed to shouting out for Stairway to Heaven? It's testament to Plant's newfound musical contentment that, at the name of his least favourite Zeppelin song, he doesn't so much as flinch.
"Well, you know, you do a phone interview on the road and it's, 'How are the guys?' 'They're great, they're in the dressing room behind me.' And they say, 'No, no, the guys' - meaning Zeppelin. After all the work that the guys have put into this and that I've put into this - I mean, if you weren't a music critic and you just walked through that door last night with an open mind and forgot about who I was, you would have to say, 'What the hell is this? It's so compulsive.' It was not a demure show. And the crowd last night was wild.
"So it's not about nostalgia. Even when we play a Zep song, it's not nostalgic because we've opened it up." He cites Black Dog as an example. "Where we put that Hungarian Yiddish bit in the middle, and I went into that kind of rap moment, then into a Mose Allison type of thing, hit the high note, then dipped it and turned it around and took it somewhere else. It's good for some people to go, 'What was all that about?'"
Plant cites Bob Dylan's approach to his old material as an inspiration. "He changes the whole thing. That's what I do, because if I have to mimic something I've already done, it would be untrue to everything." During the gig he praised Scorsese's new Dylan documentary, performing in tribute a mind-boggling version of Girl From the North Country that took in Tinariwen, Erroll Gardner, freak folk, Moroccan religious music and roots Americana.
A young couple passing the fast-food stand stop and look over. The man comes over shyly and asks if he is Robert Plant. Removing his sunglasses to shake his hand, Plant chats amiably, even posing for a picture. If rock stardom corrupts and Zeppelinesque absolute rock stardom corrupts absolutely, Plant appears to have come out remarkably unsoiled.
He smiles. "I'm at home with everything. I mean, look at my life, it's amazing, so how can I downgrade anything? And my life would be not half so generous and broad and charming if I didn't sing.
"I'm having such a good time right now, it would be ridiculous to start philosophising about it. I've got my own place to be and it's a great place, full of action, energy and humour. I think it's a great celebration, this period of my life."
Mighty Rearranger is out now on Sanctuary.
The Guardian
By Sylvie Simmons
Robert Plant has a new band, an acclaimed album and a bright future. But it's not enough to banish the ghost of Led Zeppelin...
We've arranged to meet on Santa Monica Pier, under the roller- coaster. It's a blazing hot Sunday morning; the air smells of fried food and ozone. Robert Plant - dressed for the occasion in sunglasses, shorts and a Bob Dylan T-shirt - looks remarkably perky for a 56-year-old who last night played one of the most powerful rock shows I've seen this year, with his band Strange Sensation.
He grins. "The energy was unbelievable. You can't do that with a greatest hits band, you can't do that with a tuxedo on. You have to be stirred to do a show like that. But I feel quite fit and strong right now - and it's mostly because I'm happy. If I'm happy everything falls into place. I might even," he adds, "get a tattoo."
Plant is in the right place for it. The pier was his idea - chosen not, as far as I can tell, for its Baywatch associations, but for its relative normalcy compared with the utter weirdness of the rest of celebrity-obsessed LA. After a quick detour via the amusement arcade for a skee-ball contest (Plant won every game and gave his prize tokens to a bemused kid at a nearby machine), we head below deck to a burger and taco stand and sit at a plastic table with an umbrella. It's 45 minutes before any passer-by clocks who he is.
It's an odd business, rock stardom - and rock stardom doesn't come much bigger than being the singer of Led Zeppelin. In the 25 years since the band was laid to rest, Plant has tried all manner of ways of dealing with his past: from outlawing the "Z" word, to writing and recording with Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page (on 1994's No Quarter and on 1998's Walking Into Clarksdale); from playing in a low-key pub band (Priory of Brion) with an old pre-Zeppelin pal, to making a covers album (2002's Dreamland) with his own band, Strange Sensation, which includes five multi-instrumentalist musicians, all younger than he is.
Now, finally, Plant seems to have got the whole thing figured out. He ignores it. Not the music: Zeppelin songs make up around half the set, although often in markedly different form, reflecting his new bandmates' backgrounds in, among other things, world music and trip hop. But all the other stuff - the fawning assistants, the musical complacency - he wants nothing to do with. The opening number at last night's show was Tin Pan Valley, a new song that takes his rock-star contemporaries to task. "My peers may flirt with cabaret/ Some fake the rebel yell/ I'm moving up to higher ground," he sings. "I must escape their hell."
Taking a swig of iced tea, Plant says: "Isn't that the great trap? You become successful and then you have to emulate your success for the people who've put you there, and it becomes the same-old, same-old. There's so much playing by numbers, so many people who compromise or coast.
"Some of it's an addiction to success: I mean, there's nothing like hearing a crowd roar. But then there's also the problem that no matter what you do, there are people who are still waiting for the return of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. You only have to have a tiny, weeny bit of common sense to see that that's been and gone, the times are different now, and this combination of people is very present tense."
Which was one reason why he failed to join ex-bandmates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, plus Jason Bonham (son of John, the band's drummer, who died in 1980) at the Grammys when Led Zeppelin won their recent lifetime achievement award. Page, apparently hurt, commented: "It wouldn't have taken much to just pop over, would it?"
But Plant was too busy with his new band. Speaking passionately about their musical prowess, attitude, energy and enthusiasm, he gives them credit for intensifying his own. Their second album, Mighty Rearranger - all new material this time, and hailed as Plant's best since Zeppelin - launched a deluge of activity. When the US tour is finished, there are more UK dates and talk of playing Latin America. He is curating the upcoming Womex festival in Gateshead and looking into recording with country singer Alison Krauss.
Plant recently collaborated with Jeff Beck on a cover of the Buzzcocks' Ever Fallen in Love for a John Peel tribute album. He was friends with Peel in the old days - "I had such a good time with John: very stimulating conversation, great sense of humour, very dry" - until the stratospheric success of Led Zeppelin. "With Peel moving on as well, that meant that when we got back we didn't really see each other any more or have bets on the phone on whether Wolves were going to beat Liverpool. But it was a gas seeing Jeff. I seldom see too many people who have been around as long as me or longer."
Even more recently, Plant worked with Pearl Jam on a benefit concert at the Chicago House of Blues, which raised over $1m for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Clarksdale, he says - the small town immortalised in his 1998 album with Page - "survived and is being used for refugees". He waxes nostalgic about the pilgrimage to the delta that inspired Walking Into Clarksdale, how he would walk round, knocking on doors, trying to track down an old friend of blues legend Robert Johnson. "I've never been so ridiculous in my life," he laughs, mocking his own obsessiveness. "When I was at school I had a paper round to earn money and I bought the Robert Johnson release that came out on Philips, the original first album with the gatefold sleeve with a picture of a sharecropper's shack on the front. When I heard Preaching Blues and Last Fair Deal Gone Down - I was probably a year or two behind Keith (Richards) and Mick (Jagger) - but I went, 'This is it.'"
'My parents cut the plug off the record player - I had a little Dansette. I think it was after they heard I Like It Like That by Chris Kenner 17 times in one hour." His father, an engineer who played in a local brass band, liked music, but "he really didn't get much bluer than Johnny Mathis. I think he found Robert Johnson too dark."
What did he make of the not entirely sunny Led Zeppelin?
"It was a rocky journey, really, with my parents. They just didn't understand it at all. Any of it. In the beginning they thought that it would pass. When I was in Band of Joy with Bonzo (John Bonham, who later joined Plant in Zeppelin), they said, 'You take your choice' - and I didn't go back." They became reconciled to his career a few years later - but, Plant says, "by the time they understood it, I think they only understood because I was successful."
The making of Mighty Rearranger coincided with Plant Sr's death. Between takes, Plant would spend time with his dad, even if half the time the old man "didn't even realise I was there". If the event had any effect on the content of the album, Plant says, it was to add a sense of urgency: "There's no time to waste time."
For a few years he suffered from writer's block, much of it brought on by worrying about doing "anything false". But now, he says, he has loads of ideas. "We've been writing bits and pieces as we go along, but at this point we have to think quite hard whether to stay in the same vein or take it into something very minimal, very beautiful and stark. The more I do that goes left or right of centre, the more I get an audience where there's nobody in the crowd any more shouting for anything other than 'Give it to me.'"
As opposed to shouting out for Stairway to Heaven? It's testament to Plant's newfound musical contentment that, at the name of his least favourite Zeppelin song, he doesn't so much as flinch.
"Well, you know, you do a phone interview on the road and it's, 'How are the guys?' 'They're great, they're in the dressing room behind me.' And they say, 'No, no, the guys' - meaning Zeppelin. After all the work that the guys have put into this and that I've put into this - I mean, if you weren't a music critic and you just walked through that door last night with an open mind and forgot about who I was, you would have to say, 'What the hell is this? It's so compulsive.' It was not a demure show. And the crowd last night was wild.
"So it's not about nostalgia. Even when we play a Zep song, it's not nostalgic because we've opened it up." He cites Black Dog as an example. "Where we put that Hungarian Yiddish bit in the middle, and I went into that kind of rap moment, then into a Mose Allison type of thing, hit the high note, then dipped it and turned it around and took it somewhere else. It's good for some people to go, 'What was all that about?'"
Plant cites Bob Dylan's approach to his old material as an inspiration. "He changes the whole thing. That's what I do, because if I have to mimic something I've already done, it would be untrue to everything." During the gig he praised Scorsese's new Dylan documentary, performing in tribute a mind-boggling version of Girl From the North Country that took in Tinariwen, Erroll Gardner, freak folk, Moroccan religious music and roots Americana.
A young couple passing the fast-food stand stop and look over. The man comes over shyly and asks if he is Robert Plant. Removing his sunglasses to shake his hand, Plant chats amiably, even posing for a picture. If rock stardom corrupts and Zeppelinesque absolute rock stardom corrupts absolutely, Plant appears to have come out remarkably unsoiled.
He smiles. "I'm at home with everything. I mean, look at my life, it's amazing, so how can I downgrade anything? And my life would be not half so generous and broad and charming if I didn't sing.
"I'm having such a good time right now, it would be ridiculous to start philosophising about it. I've got my own place to be and it's a great place, full of action, energy and humour. I think it's a great celebration, this period of my life."
Mighty Rearranger is out now on Sanctuary.
Friday, October 14, 2005
More Intelligent Discussion of "Intelligent Design"
Dr. Jeremy Gunn:
'"Intelligent Design" has gained notoriety not by the quality of major academic publications or scientific endorsements. (There are none. Zero. Zippo.) It gains its notoriety by press releases, lobbying school boards, and distracting the nation's attention from what it should be doing.
Imagine that scientists like Einstein (or Louis Pasteur, or Jonas Salk, or J. Robert Oppenheimer - or Charles Darwin for that matter), advanced their theories not by conducting research and publishing the results in scientific journals or announcing them in scientific meetings, but through press releases, by publishing pamphlets, and by lobbying school boards to accept textbooks that were completely repudiated by the scientific community. '
'"Intelligent Design" has gained notoriety not by the quality of major academic publications or scientific endorsements. (There are none. Zero. Zippo.) It gains its notoriety by press releases, lobbying school boards, and distracting the nation's attention from what it should be doing.
Imagine that scientists like Einstein (or Louis Pasteur, or Jonas Salk, or J. Robert Oppenheimer - or Charles Darwin for that matter), advanced their theories not by conducting research and publishing the results in scientific journals or announcing them in scientific meetings, but through press releases, by publishing pamphlets, and by lobbying school boards to accept textbooks that were completely repudiated by the scientific community. '
In Case You've Missed It
Key passage -
'The case centers on whether administration officials illegally disclosed the identity of the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, as part of an effort to distance the White House from criticism by her husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV. In mid-2003, Mr. Wilson, a former diplomat, became an outspoken critic of how the administration had used prewar intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs to justify the invasion.
The investigation led to the imprisonment of a reporter for The New York Times, Judith Miller, for 85 days for refusing to testify before the grand jury about a conversation with a confidential source, later identified as Mr. Libby.
"The president has said that no one wants to get to the bottom of it more than he does," said Mr. McClellan, whose own credibility has taken a pounding because of statements he made two years ago that Mr. Rove had no involvement in leaking the C.I.A. officer's identity. "I want to get to the bottom of it. We don't know all the facts."'
Also...
'The White House aide spent about four and a half hours inside the federal courthouse, and left without commenting to reporters. It was likely Rove's final chance to convince grand jurors he did nothing criminal in the leak case.
Prosecutors have warned Rove, architect of President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, that there is no guarantee he will not be indicted. The grand jury's term is due to expire October 28.
The White House has shifted from categorical denials two years ago that Rove or Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, were involved in the leak of a covert CIA officer's identity to "no comment" today.'
'The case centers on whether administration officials illegally disclosed the identity of the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, as part of an effort to distance the White House from criticism by her husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV. In mid-2003, Mr. Wilson, a former diplomat, became an outspoken critic of how the administration had used prewar intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs to justify the invasion.
The investigation led to the imprisonment of a reporter for The New York Times, Judith Miller, for 85 days for refusing to testify before the grand jury about a conversation with a confidential source, later identified as Mr. Libby.
"The president has said that no one wants to get to the bottom of it more than he does," said Mr. McClellan, whose own credibility has taken a pounding because of statements he made two years ago that Mr. Rove had no involvement in leaking the C.I.A. officer's identity. "I want to get to the bottom of it. We don't know all the facts."'
Also...
'The White House aide spent about four and a half hours inside the federal courthouse, and left without commenting to reporters. It was likely Rove's final chance to convince grand jurors he did nothing criminal in the leak case.
Prosecutors have warned Rove, architect of President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, that there is no guarantee he will not be indicted. The grand jury's term is due to expire October 28.
The White House has shifted from categorical denials two years ago that Rove or Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, were involved in the leak of a covert CIA officer's identity to "no comment" today.'
MI6
Oz - you might enjoy this article....
On an unrelated note, you may have noticed I've finally succumbed to the 'word verification' trend. I'm sick of deleting spam comments when they appear just moments after I post something new.
On an unrelated note, you may have noticed I've finally succumbed to the 'word verification' trend. I'm sick of deleting spam comments when they appear just moments after I post something new.
Scotty Under Fire
Press Secretary Scott McClellan claimed today that veteran reporter Helen Thomas was opposed to the 'War on Terrorism.' Another reporter jumped to her defense. McClellan was also pressed about the President's latest staged photo-op with the troops.
Scott McClellan Says Helen Thomas Opposes 'War on Terrorism'
By E&P Staff
Published: October 13, 2005 3:50 PM ET
NEW YORK
Questions today from longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas caused White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to declare that she opposes the war on terrorism. His response caused one of Thomas's colleagues, Terry Moran, to leap to her defense.Here is the exchange from the official transcript:
THOMAS What does the President mean by "total victory" -- that we will never leave Iraq until we have "total victory"? What does that mean?
McCLELLAN: Free and democratic Iraq in the heart of the Middle East, because a free and democratic Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will be a major blow to the ambitions --
THOMAS If they ask us to leave, then we'll leave?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm trying to respond. A free and democratic Iraq in the heart of the broader Middle East will be a major blow to the ambitions of al Qaeda and their terrorist associates. They want to establish or impose their rule over the broader Middle East -- we saw that in the Zawahiri letter that was released earlier this week by the intelligence community.
THOMAS They also know we invaded Iraq.McCLELLAN: Well, Helen, the President recognizes that we are engaged in a global war on terrorism. And when you're engaged in a war, it's not always pleasant, and it's certainly a last resort. But when you engage in a war, you take the fight to the enemy, you go on the offense. And that's exactly what we are doing. We are fighting them there so that we don't have to fight them here. September 11th taught us --
THOMAS It has nothing to do with -- Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
McCLELLAN: Well, you have a very different view of the war on terrorism, and I'm sure you're opposed to the broader war on terrorism. The President recognizes this requires a comprehensive strategy, and that this is a broad war, that it is not a law enforcement matter.
Terry.
TERRY MORAN On what basis do you say Helen is opposed to the broader war on terrorism?
McCLELLAN: Well, she certainly expressed her concerns about Afghanistan and Iraq and going into those two countries. I think I can go back and pull up her comments over the course of the past couple of years.
MORAN And speak for her, which is odd.
McCLELLAN: No, I said she may be, because certainly if you look at her comments over the course of the past couple of years, she's expressed her concerns --
THOMAS I'm opposed to preemptive war, unprovoked preemptive war.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- she's expressed her concerns.
Scott McClellan Says Helen Thomas Opposes 'War on Terrorism'
By E&P Staff
Published: October 13, 2005 3:50 PM ET
NEW YORK
Questions today from longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas caused White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to declare that she opposes the war on terrorism. His response caused one of Thomas's colleagues, Terry Moran, to leap to her defense.Here is the exchange from the official transcript:
THOMAS What does the President mean by "total victory" -- that we will never leave Iraq until we have "total victory"? What does that mean?
McCLELLAN: Free and democratic Iraq in the heart of the Middle East, because a free and democratic Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will be a major blow to the ambitions --
THOMAS If they ask us to leave, then we'll leave?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm trying to respond. A free and democratic Iraq in the heart of the broader Middle East will be a major blow to the ambitions of al Qaeda and their terrorist associates. They want to establish or impose their rule over the broader Middle East -- we saw that in the Zawahiri letter that was released earlier this week by the intelligence community.
THOMAS They also know we invaded Iraq.McCLELLAN: Well, Helen, the President recognizes that we are engaged in a global war on terrorism. And when you're engaged in a war, it's not always pleasant, and it's certainly a last resort. But when you engage in a war, you take the fight to the enemy, you go on the offense. And that's exactly what we are doing. We are fighting them there so that we don't have to fight them here. September 11th taught us --
THOMAS It has nothing to do with -- Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
McCLELLAN: Well, you have a very different view of the war on terrorism, and I'm sure you're opposed to the broader war on terrorism. The President recognizes this requires a comprehensive strategy, and that this is a broad war, that it is not a law enforcement matter.
Terry.
TERRY MORAN On what basis do you say Helen is opposed to the broader war on terrorism?
McCLELLAN: Well, she certainly expressed her concerns about Afghanistan and Iraq and going into those two countries. I think I can go back and pull up her comments over the course of the past couple of years.
MORAN And speak for her, which is odd.
McCLELLAN: No, I said she may be, because certainly if you look at her comments over the course of the past couple of years, she's expressed her concerns --
THOMAS I'm opposed to preemptive war, unprovoked preemptive war.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- she's expressed her concerns.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Stickers, T-Shirts, Ribbons
A couple of my favorites -
the "Just Pretend It's All Okay" red, white, and blue magnetic ribbon, and the "Support Our Troops - Donate Your Hummer" sticker.
the "Just Pretend It's All Okay" red, white, and blue magnetic ribbon, and the "Support Our Troops - Donate Your Hummer" sticker.
Double Standards
This NYT article discusses the White House's efforts to pacify social conservative opposition to the Miers nomination and how they differ in their approach just a few weeks ago with the Roberts nomination. You may have seen that Dr. James Dobson (of "SpongeBob is Gay" infamy) gave her the thumbs-up after Karl Rove whispered some sweet nothings in his ear, reassuring the dog-beater that Miers attends an almost universally pro-life church.
I watched Meet the Press on Sunday at Thom's place and listened to Pat Buchanan (former Reform Party presidential candidate and thinly-veiled white supremacist or "nativist," if you remember that term for anti-immigration political figures) tell everyone that the Miers nomination is a complete disappointment for the people that put Bush over the top in the last election. Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention disagreed, saying pretty much that he trusts Bush implicitly.
I'm not sure about this nominee. Obviously, the Administration is withholding information as to just where she stands. However - and this may surprise some - I'm not completely sure that Bush wants to overturn Roe v. Wade. He may actually realize that the majority of the nation is opposed to such a decision at this point. From what I've heard and read, both Laura and Barbara Bush are opposed to changing the precedent that we've lived under for the last 32 years or so. We know that GWBush didn't really push for that hopeless Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and likely refrained not only because he knew it didn't have a chance of passing, but also because he has gay friends.
While the Miers nomination - if it goes through - will undoubtedly push the Court to the political right, I'm not positive that it will have the effect that the Dobsons and Buchanans are looking for. Maybe I'm being optimistic - what does everyone else think?
I watched Meet the Press on Sunday at Thom's place and listened to Pat Buchanan (former Reform Party presidential candidate and thinly-veiled white supremacist or "nativist," if you remember that term for anti-immigration political figures) tell everyone that the Miers nomination is a complete disappointment for the people that put Bush over the top in the last election. Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention disagreed, saying pretty much that he trusts Bush implicitly.
I'm not sure about this nominee. Obviously, the Administration is withholding information as to just where she stands. However - and this may surprise some - I'm not completely sure that Bush wants to overturn Roe v. Wade. He may actually realize that the majority of the nation is opposed to such a decision at this point. From what I've heard and read, both Laura and Barbara Bush are opposed to changing the precedent that we've lived under for the last 32 years or so. We know that GWBush didn't really push for that hopeless Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and likely refrained not only because he knew it didn't have a chance of passing, but also because he has gay friends.
While the Miers nomination - if it goes through - will undoubtedly push the Court to the political right, I'm not positive that it will have the effect that the Dobsons and Buchanans are looking for. Maybe I'm being optimistic - what does everyone else think?
Rock Star
I didn't mention the best part of the Weezer concert on Saturday, but I'll do so now. I'm not going to go through and correct the kid's spelling/grammatical errors - you'll get what he's trying to say, I think. Basically, they pulled a guy out of the crowd to play Undone (Sweater Song) with them, and he was great. This is his post to the Weezer board. He sounds just a bit arrogant, but I guess I probably would be too if I pulled off what he did. It was like something out of a movie. First, they said they didn't want someone who could actually play the guitar, but when some girl couldn't even get out of the mess of the crowd, they picked this kid, who had a sign saying "I Can Play Undone." The best part was that he actually could play, and he jammed out with the band. The crowd was going absolutely nuts, living vicariously through this disheveled guy with a Browns cap on. Anyway, I guess you would have had to be there to really see how spontaneous and how cool the whole thing was.
Here's what Joey had to say about it:
10/9/2005 12:11:21 AM - by who burndt my jamb
i was the kid who played with em tonight....so ill break it down for you guys...BREATHS!!!I arrive at the arena around 6 o' clock, and position myself in front, right by where Scott would be standing. I brought with my a sign that said I CAN PLAY UNDONE.
Karl walks by and I give him a high five and show him my sign. He laughs, and asks to take a picture and does. Kaiser Chiefs played, and I REALLY enjoyed them. Then Weezer, sometime during I believe Dont Let Go Scott looked down, and I showed him the sign. He started laughing and screamed to me, during the song, "are you sure?" I was like "YEA!!!", and he smiled and said OK then. So now I am soooo pumped. Show goes, Weezer rocks.
After Rivers plays Island acosutically Pat, Scott, and Brian come back on. Scott says: Well there was this kid with this sign saying he could play Undone, but we dont want it to be to rehersed (haha as if I practiced with them), so Brian is gonna pick someone else (fuckin hate Brian). Scott saw how sad I got, and I think he felt really bad. Brian picked this girl. Luckily for me, she couldnt make it to the front. Not cool for her. So Scott says: Alright, well just have the kid in the Browns hat come up. (I was wearing a Cleveland Browns snow cap). So I just throw myself over the bar! They show me where to go. I walk up and see Scott smiling, he puts his arm around me and says whats your name?I say Joey. He said Joey, are you ready to go man? And I smiled and said hell yea. Then I shoke Brians hand, and said "Alright Joey, lets do it."
They hand me the acoustic, and I realize I have no pick. I turn around and Pats leaning over giving me his pick, smiling. It was like from a movie or something. It starts, and Rivers wasnt on stage yet, so during the begining dialouge, I tried talking into his mic, but it was off. Sad. So then I think to myself. Im not gonna stand here awkwardly, Im gonna rock out with them. So I turn around and me Pat are smiling, and rocking. Scott walks over and were having a good time.
He sees me lipping the words, and nods at me as if to go ahead and sing with Rivers. I do. Shockingly, I can also sing. (www.myspace.com/joeycatullo) to hear me do so. I started doing a harmony with Rivers and he looks over like holy shit! I didnt see this coming. He smiles and says OK were gonna break it down with Joey. So everyone stopped playing but me, and Rivers and I were doing the chorus together.
They came back in after like 20 seconds. According to my friend Pat and Scott were looking at each other like "who is this kid?" which was soo awesome. Then comes the solo and Rivers walks over to me, and were doing the stance were our guitar necks are next to each others. He was smiling and laughing. I couldnt believe it. Me and Rivers rocking out. Then comes the Chorus and we sing again. And Rivers walks away from his mic at the end during the solo/"doo doo" part. So I walk up to Rivers mic and start doing them.
Hes cracking up. And I decided fuck it...Im rocking with Rivers, not singing. I got on my knees and knelt back as we were rocking (pat style kinda), and Rivers walks over and rocking over me, and then Scott on Rivers backs. Easily the coolest moment ever. Song ends Rivers hugs me and says thanks Joey. I said thanks Rivers.Shake everyones hands. Walk off stage. The guitar tech says, "AWESOME JOB MAN!" and I was like thanks!!Hand him the guitar. He says: No keep it. Im like, am gonna play again!?!?! And hes like no, the guitars yours. Good job man. This is the same guitar Bob, (extra guitarist for them uses) for like Peace, and my friends said Rivers used it for Island. So pretty much they handed me a thousand bock (at least) guitar.
I didnt know what to say. So I asked for the setlist, and got it. They Said I couldnt hang around to long, I waople were talking to me after, callin me by name, which was weird, cuz the band said it. And my Browns hat is agive away. Theres probably more, but I cant think of it. This girl next to me took pics of me singing with Rivers. Shes gonna email. My cameras at school. So Weds, Ill take a pic of the guitar and setlist. And put up the pics of me playing. Maybe Karl got some pics. Rock......
________________________
Here's what Joey had to say about it:
10/9/2005 12:11:21 AM - by who burndt my jamb
i was the kid who played with em tonight....so ill break it down for you guys...BREATHS!!!I arrive at the arena around 6 o' clock, and position myself in front, right by where Scott would be standing. I brought with my a sign that said I CAN PLAY UNDONE.
Karl walks by and I give him a high five and show him my sign. He laughs, and asks to take a picture and does. Kaiser Chiefs played, and I REALLY enjoyed them. Then Weezer, sometime during I believe Dont Let Go Scott looked down, and I showed him the sign. He started laughing and screamed to me, during the song, "are you sure?" I was like "YEA!!!", and he smiled and said OK then. So now I am soooo pumped. Show goes, Weezer rocks.
After Rivers plays Island acosutically Pat, Scott, and Brian come back on. Scott says: Well there was this kid with this sign saying he could play Undone, but we dont want it to be to rehersed (haha as if I practiced with them), so Brian is gonna pick someone else (fuckin hate Brian). Scott saw how sad I got, and I think he felt really bad. Brian picked this girl. Luckily for me, she couldnt make it to the front. Not cool for her. So Scott says: Alright, well just have the kid in the Browns hat come up. (I was wearing a Cleveland Browns snow cap). So I just throw myself over the bar! They show me where to go. I walk up and see Scott smiling, he puts his arm around me and says whats your name?I say Joey. He said Joey, are you ready to go man? And I smiled and said hell yea. Then I shoke Brians hand, and said "Alright Joey, lets do it."
They hand me the acoustic, and I realize I have no pick. I turn around and Pats leaning over giving me his pick, smiling. It was like from a movie or something. It starts, and Rivers wasnt on stage yet, so during the begining dialouge, I tried talking into his mic, but it was off. Sad. So then I think to myself. Im not gonna stand here awkwardly, Im gonna rock out with them. So I turn around and me Pat are smiling, and rocking. Scott walks over and were having a good time.
He sees me lipping the words, and nods at me as if to go ahead and sing with Rivers. I do. Shockingly, I can also sing. (www.myspace.com/joeycatullo) to hear me do so. I started doing a harmony with Rivers and he looks over like holy shit! I didnt see this coming. He smiles and says OK were gonna break it down with Joey. So everyone stopped playing but me, and Rivers and I were doing the chorus together.
They came back in after like 20 seconds. According to my friend Pat and Scott were looking at each other like "who is this kid?" which was soo awesome. Then comes the solo and Rivers walks over to me, and were doing the stance were our guitar necks are next to each others. He was smiling and laughing. I couldnt believe it. Me and Rivers rocking out. Then comes the Chorus and we sing again. And Rivers walks away from his mic at the end during the solo/"doo doo" part. So I walk up to Rivers mic and start doing them.
Hes cracking up. And I decided fuck it...Im rocking with Rivers, not singing. I got on my knees and knelt back as we were rocking (pat style kinda), and Rivers walks over and rocking over me, and then Scott on Rivers backs. Easily the coolest moment ever. Song ends Rivers hugs me and says thanks Joey. I said thanks Rivers.Shake everyones hands. Walk off stage. The guitar tech says, "AWESOME JOB MAN!" and I was like thanks!!Hand him the guitar. He says: No keep it. Im like, am gonna play again!?!?! And hes like no, the guitars yours. Good job man. This is the same guitar Bob, (extra guitarist for them uses) for like Peace, and my friends said Rivers used it for Island. So pretty much they handed me a thousand bock (at least) guitar.
I didnt know what to say. So I asked for the setlist, and got it. They Said I couldnt hang around to long, I waople were talking to me after, callin me by name, which was weird, cuz the band said it. And my Browns hat is agive away. Theres probably more, but I cant think of it. This girl next to me took pics of me singing with Rivers. Shes gonna email. My cameras at school. So Weds, Ill take a pic of the guitar and setlist. And put up the pics of me playing. Maybe Karl got some pics. Rock......
________________________
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Aargh
If you can't tell, I'm taking advantage of the limited library hours by updating my blog. The library closed at 5pm yesterday for "Fall Break" and is only open 8am-4:30pm through Friday, when it will close for the entire weekend (can you say: incredibly inconvenient ??? - especially in view of the fact that I have two major papers to do).
I finally finished revising my resume (I don't know how to add the little accent mark where it should go, and blogger isn't quite up to MS Word standards as far as auto-correction is concerned), just in time for Dr. Maulucci to come into the library and ask me why I hadn't sent it to him yet... he apparently wants it so he can write a better letter of recommendation for the Washington Semester program. I'm not sure how my working at Sears or my past employment as a waiter or baseball umpire is going to help him explain that I should be working in Senator Clinton's office, but I'm willing to help him out - ha.
I didn't keep up the pace by finishing the entire application, however. There's a question on there about what I expect to do as an intern, and then another about what I think my greatest strengths and weaknesses will be... how the hell should I know? "I can make copies better than anyone else, and even though I don't kiss ass quite as well as other people, I can learn!" Well, maybe I won't put that down.
Why am I doing this? Well, if I haven't explained it before, it's because I don't know what else to do with my life after I get done with my undergrad work (again - a mere six and a half years after high school graduation...), and since I have no idea what I would even be doing in grad school or - better yet - how I would pay for it...this is what I'm doing. I'm hoping to make such a great impression on my employers (who aren't really employers, since they won't be paying me anything) that I'll be able to grab hold of the bottom rung of our nation's bureaucracy and hang on for dear life. Am I worried about being too cynical and disgusted with myself for becoming a part of the rotting foundation of our country? Yep, I certainly am.
But I will reiterate that I don't know what else to do at this point. I'm 24, working two days per week as a consumer electronics salesperson for people that, if I'm honest with myself, I believe are much less intelligent than I am. I'm living on student loans in an apartment - alone - that I can't really afford. I'm older than everyone I go to school with (except for my ex-girlfriend's mother, that is), and people think I'm even older than that (35 was the most recent idiotic assessment from a coworker). I have no wish to move back in with my parents, which would be incredibly embarrassing at this stage. I have to admit that it is likely time for me to get a real job, but of course I want such a job that will allow me to take time off when I need to, for important events like when Robert Plant goes on tour.
It's a pity that I don't quite qualify for one of these positions. Make sure you examine the pull-down menu options - funny stuff.
I finally finished revising my resume (I don't know how to add the little accent mark where it should go, and blogger isn't quite up to MS Word standards as far as auto-correction is concerned), just in time for Dr. Maulucci to come into the library and ask me why I hadn't sent it to him yet... he apparently wants it so he can write a better letter of recommendation for the Washington Semester program. I'm not sure how my working at Sears or my past employment as a waiter or baseball umpire is going to help him explain that I should be working in Senator Clinton's office, but I'm willing to help him out - ha.
I didn't keep up the pace by finishing the entire application, however. There's a question on there about what I expect to do as an intern, and then another about what I think my greatest strengths and weaknesses will be... how the hell should I know? "I can make copies better than anyone else, and even though I don't kiss ass quite as well as other people, I can learn!" Well, maybe I won't put that down.
Why am I doing this? Well, if I haven't explained it before, it's because I don't know what else to do with my life after I get done with my undergrad work (again - a mere six and a half years after high school graduation...), and since I have no idea what I would even be doing in grad school or - better yet - how I would pay for it...this is what I'm doing. I'm hoping to make such a great impression on my employers (who aren't really employers, since they won't be paying me anything) that I'll be able to grab hold of the bottom rung of our nation's bureaucracy and hang on for dear life. Am I worried about being too cynical and disgusted with myself for becoming a part of the rotting foundation of our country? Yep, I certainly am.
But I will reiterate that I don't know what else to do at this point. I'm 24, working two days per week as a consumer electronics salesperson for people that, if I'm honest with myself, I believe are much less intelligent than I am. I'm living on student loans in an apartment - alone - that I can't really afford. I'm older than everyone I go to school with (except for my ex-girlfriend's mother, that is), and people think I'm even older than that (35 was the most recent idiotic assessment from a coworker). I have no wish to move back in with my parents, which would be incredibly embarrassing at this stage. I have to admit that it is likely time for me to get a real job, but of course I want such a job that will allow me to take time off when I need to, for important events like when Robert Plant goes on tour.
It's a pity that I don't quite qualify for one of these positions. Make sure you examine the pull-down menu options - funny stuff.
The Colbert Report
NYT article on the Daily Show spinoff's prospects.
Sounds like it's going to be funny. Too bad I don't have cable/satellite at my apartment.
Sounds like it's going to be funny. Too bad I don't have cable/satellite at my apartment.
Pictures From Plant-Pearl Jam Benefit
Here are some excellent pictures from the October 5th show.
A recording is available; I'm working on obtaining one.
A recording is available; I'm working on obtaining one.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Real Productive
I'm supposed to be writing an essay right now for my Contemporary Novel class. It's due tomorrow, of course. Why else would I be working on it at all?
But of course I'm not working on it. I could also be studying for my Globalism midterm or revising my resume that I need to type up for the DC internship. Or I could be reading the analysis of Nixon's foreign policy on which I need to base a paper that's due next Monday for my American Century class. I could also be researching for my PoliSci project, the deadline for which was just extended to next Monday (which necessitates further procrastination).
Instead, my stomach bursting from a late-night trip to Wendy's (why would I make my own food when I can shovel grease into my mouth by the handful?) and a semi-complacent glaze settling over my eyes, I'm perusing my email folder and finding something I wrote almost exactly one year ago, which was quoted back to me as part of an abbreviated reply -
"Every girl I see, meet, or talk to I desperately want to be you in all ways and when they're not I'm always disappointed. What I mean is, when I talk to anyone or anyone talks to me and they don't talk the way you used to or bring up things you always did, I'm let down. Some of the things that I'm expecting or anticipating are even some things that occasionally annoyed me at the time you said them. Just little observations or little questions that you used to ask me. Always so broad and far reaching meaningful questions about how it felt to see things or feel things and sometimes I knew exactly what you were talking about and loved it, but sometimes I was stupid and impatient and brushed them aside, like "what are you talking about and why are you asking me this now" and now I want in the worst way to be asked those questions and I want it to be you asking me."
In another message about seven weeks later, I received some advice. "Don't be too stubborn and cling onto us when you could be missing out on great opportunities. You can't dwell on the past. You need to live right now, because that's what is the most real."
Man - it's a good thing I followed those instructions. Otherwise, I'd be really screwed up.
Suppose someone asked you to convey a belief that you held using simple mathematical terms.
Me = Hopeless
This would be one of many correct answers.
But of course I'm not working on it. I could also be studying for my Globalism midterm or revising my resume that I need to type up for the DC internship. Or I could be reading the analysis of Nixon's foreign policy on which I need to base a paper that's due next Monday for my American Century class. I could also be researching for my PoliSci project, the deadline for which was just extended to next Monday (which necessitates further procrastination).
Instead, my stomach bursting from a late-night trip to Wendy's (why would I make my own food when I can shovel grease into my mouth by the handful?) and a semi-complacent glaze settling over my eyes, I'm perusing my email folder and finding something I wrote almost exactly one year ago, which was quoted back to me as part of an abbreviated reply -
"Every girl I see, meet, or talk to I desperately want to be you in all ways and when they're not I'm always disappointed. What I mean is, when I talk to anyone or anyone talks to me and they don't talk the way you used to or bring up things you always did, I'm let down. Some of the things that I'm expecting or anticipating are even some things that occasionally annoyed me at the time you said them. Just little observations or little questions that you used to ask me. Always so broad and far reaching meaningful questions about how it felt to see things or feel things and sometimes I knew exactly what you were talking about and loved it, but sometimes I was stupid and impatient and brushed them aside, like "what are you talking about and why are you asking me this now" and now I want in the worst way to be asked those questions and I want it to be you asking me."
In another message about seven weeks later, I received some advice. "Don't be too stubborn and cling onto us when you could be missing out on great opportunities. You can't dwell on the past. You need to live right now, because that's what is the most real."
Man - it's a good thing I followed those instructions. Otherwise, I'd be really screwed up.
Suppose someone asked you to convey a belief that you held using simple mathematical terms.
Me = Hopeless
This would be one of many correct answers.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Back In Freddyville
Got back from Cleveland today...
Hung out with Thom and went to a little rock show - the Foo Fighters with Weezer, with the Kaiser Chiefs opening. The Chiefs are semi-decent, Weezer was good, and the Foos were great. An amusing note - Weez covered FF's "Big Me" during their set.
The link is to an article in Colorado's Rocky Mountain News, featuring an interview with Dave Grohl. Here's a piece:
'Grohl's greatest dream came true when Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones agreed to collaborate on a couple of songs with him.
"I'm obsessed with Led Zeppelin and have been since I was a teenager," Grohl says. "I'm familiar with his solo albums since Zeppelin broke up. You listen to those albums and you just know he was a big part of that band. If you listen to Zooma, it makes you wonder who was writing the riffs in Zeppelin in the first place. I know Jimmy (Page) was the dark one, but . . . John Paul Jones can write some heavy (stuff).
"When he comes in and listens to a song that you're asking him to play on and he turns to you and says, 'Hmm, that chorus goes a little long, doesn't it?' you (acquiesce): 'Yes it does. Yes, of course, Mr. John Paul Jones, sir. You are absolutely correct.' It really was one of the most special things that happened to me in my entire life. Sitting down with an acoustic guitar, teaching John Paul Jones a song I'd written while he's playing it on piano - it was too much."'
Hung out with Thom and went to a little rock show - the Foo Fighters with Weezer, with the Kaiser Chiefs opening. The Chiefs are semi-decent, Weezer was good, and the Foos were great. An amusing note - Weez covered FF's "Big Me" during their set.
The link is to an article in Colorado's Rocky Mountain News, featuring an interview with Dave Grohl. Here's a piece:
'Grohl's greatest dream came true when Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones agreed to collaborate on a couple of songs with him.
"I'm obsessed with Led Zeppelin and have been since I was a teenager," Grohl says. "I'm familiar with his solo albums since Zeppelin broke up. You listen to those albums and you just know he was a big part of that band. If you listen to Zooma, it makes you wonder who was writing the riffs in Zeppelin in the first place. I know Jimmy (Page) was the dark one, but . . . John Paul Jones can write some heavy (stuff).
"When he comes in and listens to a song that you're asking him to play on and he turns to you and says, 'Hmm, that chorus goes a little long, doesn't it?' you (acquiesce): 'Yes it does. Yes, of course, Mr. John Paul Jones, sir. You are absolutely correct.' It really was one of the most special things that happened to me in my entire life. Sitting down with an acoustic guitar, teaching John Paul Jones a song I'd written while he's playing it on piano - it was too much."'
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Fort Collins, Colorado
I happened to see Fort Collins on the list of largest cities in the US (it's number 189) that Kevin had posted to his blog, and I thought I would post this. I lived there from late February, 2003 to the end of August of the same year (I stayed in Denver for about two weeks before that) . It felt like I was gone longer than that.
The picture on the FtC page shows Horsetooth Mountain. I actually lived on Horsetooth Road. Steve Y and I climbed up onto the actual 'tooth' during one of our hikes. It may have been the same hike that we heard a woman calling out my name repeatedly, only to realize that she was trying to find her dog.
The picture on the FtC page shows Horsetooth Mountain. I actually lived on Horsetooth Road. Steve Y and I climbed up onto the actual 'tooth' during one of our hikes. It may have been the same hike that we heard a woman calling out my name repeatedly, only to realize that she was trying to find her dog.
Robert Plant & Pearl Jam
There's significant demand already on the Pearl Jam message boards for this show to be released on DVD. I'm not sure of the likelihood of this, since Robert and PJ do not share the same label. If it's going to be released, the proceeds would obviously go to the respective charities mentioned in the Two Feet Thick review.
There's some history between Robert/Zeppelin and Pearl Jam. Yield came out in 1998, while Page and Plant were supporting Walking Into Clarksdale with the Walking Into Everywhere tour. Plant supposedly made some remark about the introduction of Given To Fly being a little too similar to Going To California. There was a little back and forth in interviews with the two bands, but I don't think the criticism could be too serious on Page/Plant's part, since they begged, borrowed, and stole from various blues artists in their day (the band was sued in 1993 by Willie Dixon, who wrote "You Need Love" and provided the lyrical foundation for "Whole Lotta Love." Songwriting credits on subsequently issued albums now list Dixon among the writers).
During an interview for Playboy, Plant recounted an exchange he had with Vedder in 2000:
"I saw Eddie Vedder in Oslo the night before that really unfortunate accident in Roskilde [the June 30, 2000 Pearl Jam show when nine fans were crushed to death], and we share the agent, not carnally, but literally, in Europe, and so I went backstage and was introduced to him. Nice guy, nice band, good people. I said, "How's that song doing that we wrote?" He said, "Ah, it's coming along fine." So I stood at the lighting desk and I was enjoying the show and he got to that song and he said, "Here's a song that we wrote for a guy out there somewhere in the dark." It's very close [to Going to California], isn't it?"
As you'll see in the notes below, PJ dedicated Given To Fly to Robert, and then Plant and Strange Sensation came out to do Going To California, with PJ looking on. Robert then joined with PJ, trading vocals on the Elvis song, "Little Sister," which Plant has performed on and off as a solo artist going back to 1981.
This is the live debut of Fool In The Rain, off In Through The Out Door. It had never been played by Zeppelin or any of the three surviving members at any time in the past. It's a tribute to Matt Cameron that Plant would even attempt this track; it is such a classic performance by Bonham.
According to some people on the message boards, Pearl Jam had soundchecked Thank You at least once in the last few days before one of their shows. McCready threw in a bit of the Stairway solo to Crazy Mary on September 30. Notes from various boards claimed that Fool in the Rain was heard during the soundcheck outside the House of Blues, with Robert's voice audible. I'm especially pleased to note all the positive feedback about Plant's voice from those who went to the show. Hopefully he'll gain some new fans. It's somewhat discouraging to think that this may have been his most enthusiastic crowd of the whole year (I've already talked plenty about the people who sit down during his shows), but I'm glad if it made him feel appreciated, especially by those who are not die-hard fans. I can't wait to hear this show - I would imagine he busted out some spine-chilling wails for the lucky crowd.
HUGE show. I'd be willing to pay through the nose for a decent bootleg.
From Two Feet Thick -
UPDATED October 6, 2005
10/05/05 - House of Blues, Chicago, IL, USA
PJ Main Set: Love Boat Captain, Grievance, Do The Evolution, Even Flow, Dissident, Elderly Woman..., Corduroy, Green Disease, Daughter, Half Full, I Am Mine, Better Man, Black, Alive, Save You, Porch
First Encore: Man of the Hour, Hard to Imagine, I Got Shit, Rearviewmirror
Second Encore: Given to Fly, Going to California (performed by Robert and Strange Sensation - PJ looked on), Little Sister, Money (That's What I Want), Fool In the Rain, Thank You
(Plant and Vedder traded vocals for the last four songs)
Third encore: Rockin' in the Free World (w/Plant on guitar)
TFT Notes:
This show was a benefit for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, tickets were $1000 with net proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity, The American Red Cross and Jazz Foundation of America. 25 pairs of Ten Club tickets were made available to Chicago members for a minimum $80 donation per pair. "Elderly Woman..." is dedicated to those from the nearby small town of Naperville. "Daughter" does not include a formal tag, but there are shout-outs between Ed and the crowd. Being a Chicago Cubs fan, Ed talked a little about Chicago's other team, the White Sox, and the baseball playoffs (at the time of the show, White Sox are leading a playoff series). The crowd's response induced both "Cubs!" and "Sox!" chants. Ed then grabbed a Sox hat from the crowd and said, "Ok, Ok, is this better?". Someone threw a Cubs jersey with "23" with "Vedder" on the back which he hung on his guitar stand.
After "Man of the Hour", everyone except Ed stands up off their stools. Ed asks for requests, (paraphrasing) "don't get used to it, but you paid one big one ($1,000), so we'll make an exception." He comments that he hears "Bee Girl" and something else. Jeff, Mike and Stone are all interacting with fans in front of them who are yelling requests, including the now routine vocal plea for "Leash".
Mike heard a request, walked over to Ed and Ed said, "alright we'll do that one", leading to "Hard To Imagine". By the time the band finishes the song, Ed has his guitar and starts the lead into "I Got Shit".
"Given to Fly" is dedicated to Robert Plant. During "Given To Fly", he requested and received an Illinois license plate from the crowd which said "GVN TO FLY". At the end of the song, Plant and his players Strange Sensation come out and go right into "Going to California" (from Led Zeppelin IV) as Ed sits on the drum riser, Mike and Jeff take a seat on the stage, and Stone stands to the side sipping some wine. The band is clearly into it as much as the crowd. Ed gets up, they have some banter and Plant stays on for Elvis Presley's "Little Sister" trading off on verses (Robert Plant has performed "Little Sister" throughout his career as a solo artist and with The Honeydrippers). "Money (That's What I Want)" (a motown hit from 1959 that has been covered in the past by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and also by Robert Plant during his solo career) is played with Mike, Ed, Jeff, Stone, Matt all singing the "that's what I want!" chorus.
"Fool In the Rain" (from Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door) is somewhat extended, with Boom providing the essential groove inherent to the song. Ed and Robert comment on having to have the lyric sheets and then they throw them to the crowd after the performance.
"Thank You" (from Led Zeppelin II) was next, with Plant taking over most of the vocals as Ed left the stage. The band is clearly enjoying themselves and thrilled to be onstage with Robert Plant. They return for another encore with "Rockin' in the Free World" with Robert Plant playing Ed's guitar. Mike is shirtless for the encores. Ed does the usual "catch-pound-break-throw" routine with many tamborines. After a failed attempt, he flings one all the way to the balcony, but it is then thrown back into the pit by the person who caught it. Ed sees it come flying back and for a moment has a completely surprised look on his face as he looks back to the balcony.
At close, the band left the stage with Plant and Ed out front. Ed started to leave the opposite way of Plant, stopped himself, then followed him off the same way, mouthing to the crowd and pointing "I'm with him".
On the setlist but not played: MFC (replaced by Green Disease), Last Kiss (replaced by "Hard to Imagine).
There's some history between Robert/Zeppelin and Pearl Jam. Yield came out in 1998, while Page and Plant were supporting Walking Into Clarksdale with the Walking Into Everywhere tour. Plant supposedly made some remark about the introduction of Given To Fly being a little too similar to Going To California. There was a little back and forth in interviews with the two bands, but I don't think the criticism could be too serious on Page/Plant's part, since they begged, borrowed, and stole from various blues artists in their day (the band was sued in 1993 by Willie Dixon, who wrote "You Need Love" and provided the lyrical foundation for "Whole Lotta Love." Songwriting credits on subsequently issued albums now list Dixon among the writers).
During an interview for Playboy, Plant recounted an exchange he had with Vedder in 2000:
"I saw Eddie Vedder in Oslo the night before that really unfortunate accident in Roskilde [the June 30, 2000 Pearl Jam show when nine fans were crushed to death], and we share the agent, not carnally, but literally, in Europe, and so I went backstage and was introduced to him. Nice guy, nice band, good people. I said, "How's that song doing that we wrote?" He said, "Ah, it's coming along fine." So I stood at the lighting desk and I was enjoying the show and he got to that song and he said, "Here's a song that we wrote for a guy out there somewhere in the dark." It's very close [to Going to California], isn't it?"
As you'll see in the notes below, PJ dedicated Given To Fly to Robert, and then Plant and Strange Sensation came out to do Going To California, with PJ looking on. Robert then joined with PJ, trading vocals on the Elvis song, "Little Sister," which Plant has performed on and off as a solo artist going back to 1981.
This is the live debut of Fool In The Rain, off In Through The Out Door. It had never been played by Zeppelin or any of the three surviving members at any time in the past. It's a tribute to Matt Cameron that Plant would even attempt this track; it is such a classic performance by Bonham.
According to some people on the message boards, Pearl Jam had soundchecked Thank You at least once in the last few days before one of their shows. McCready threw in a bit of the Stairway solo to Crazy Mary on September 30. Notes from various boards claimed that Fool in the Rain was heard during the soundcheck outside the House of Blues, with Robert's voice audible. I'm especially pleased to note all the positive feedback about Plant's voice from those who went to the show. Hopefully he'll gain some new fans. It's somewhat discouraging to think that this may have been his most enthusiastic crowd of the whole year (I've already talked plenty about the people who sit down during his shows), but I'm glad if it made him feel appreciated, especially by those who are not die-hard fans. I can't wait to hear this show - I would imagine he busted out some spine-chilling wails for the lucky crowd.
HUGE show. I'd be willing to pay through the nose for a decent bootleg.
From Two Feet Thick -
UPDATED October 6, 2005
10/05/05 - House of Blues, Chicago, IL, USA
PJ Main Set: Love Boat Captain, Grievance, Do The Evolution, Even Flow, Dissident, Elderly Woman..., Corduroy, Green Disease, Daughter, Half Full, I Am Mine, Better Man, Black, Alive, Save You, Porch
First Encore: Man of the Hour, Hard to Imagine, I Got Shit, Rearviewmirror
Second Encore: Given to Fly, Going to California (performed by Robert and Strange Sensation - PJ looked on), Little Sister, Money (That's What I Want), Fool In the Rain, Thank You
(Plant and Vedder traded vocals for the last four songs)
Third encore: Rockin' in the Free World (w/Plant on guitar)
TFT Notes:
This show was a benefit for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, tickets were $1000 with net proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity, The American Red Cross and Jazz Foundation of America. 25 pairs of Ten Club tickets were made available to Chicago members for a minimum $80 donation per pair. "Elderly Woman..." is dedicated to those from the nearby small town of Naperville. "Daughter" does not include a formal tag, but there are shout-outs between Ed and the crowd. Being a Chicago Cubs fan, Ed talked a little about Chicago's other team, the White Sox, and the baseball playoffs (at the time of the show, White Sox are leading a playoff series). The crowd's response induced both "Cubs!" and "Sox!" chants. Ed then grabbed a Sox hat from the crowd and said, "Ok, Ok, is this better?". Someone threw a Cubs jersey with "23" with "Vedder" on the back which he hung on his guitar stand.
After "Man of the Hour", everyone except Ed stands up off their stools. Ed asks for requests, (paraphrasing) "don't get used to it, but you paid one big one ($1,000), so we'll make an exception." He comments that he hears "Bee Girl" and something else. Jeff, Mike and Stone are all interacting with fans in front of them who are yelling requests, including the now routine vocal plea for "Leash".
Mike heard a request, walked over to Ed and Ed said, "alright we'll do that one", leading to "Hard To Imagine". By the time the band finishes the song, Ed has his guitar and starts the lead into "I Got Shit".
"Given to Fly" is dedicated to Robert Plant. During "Given To Fly", he requested and received an Illinois license plate from the crowd which said "GVN TO FLY". At the end of the song, Plant and his players Strange Sensation come out and go right into "Going to California" (from Led Zeppelin IV) as Ed sits on the drum riser, Mike and Jeff take a seat on the stage, and Stone stands to the side sipping some wine. The band is clearly into it as much as the crowd. Ed gets up, they have some banter and Plant stays on for Elvis Presley's "Little Sister" trading off on verses (Robert Plant has performed "Little Sister" throughout his career as a solo artist and with The Honeydrippers). "Money (That's What I Want)" (a motown hit from 1959 that has been covered in the past by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and also by Robert Plant during his solo career) is played with Mike, Ed, Jeff, Stone, Matt all singing the "that's what I want!" chorus.
"Fool In the Rain" (from Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door) is somewhat extended, with Boom providing the essential groove inherent to the song. Ed and Robert comment on having to have the lyric sheets and then they throw them to the crowd after the performance.
"Thank You" (from Led Zeppelin II) was next, with Plant taking over most of the vocals as Ed left the stage. The band is clearly enjoying themselves and thrilled to be onstage with Robert Plant. They return for another encore with "Rockin' in the Free World" with Robert Plant playing Ed's guitar. Mike is shirtless for the encores. Ed does the usual "catch-pound-break-throw" routine with many tamborines. After a failed attempt, he flings one all the way to the balcony, but it is then thrown back into the pit by the person who caught it. Ed sees it come flying back and for a moment has a completely surprised look on his face as he looks back to the balcony.
At close, the band left the stage with Plant and Ed out front. Ed started to leave the opposite way of Plant, stopped himself, then followed him off the same way, mouthing to the crowd and pointing "I'm with him".
On the setlist but not played: MFC (replaced by Green Disease), Last Kiss (replaced by "Hard to Imagine).
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