Revenge of the Sith



Just returned from seeing the latest Star Wars epic with the DMTC crew. As other reviewers have commented elsewhere, the first half of the movie is slow (to the point where I have trouble remembering anything that happened in the first half at all), and the last half is deep - deeper even than the (rather psychological) finale of 'The Empire Strikes Back,' where Luke kills his father. The dialogue is unbelievably wooden, with a few flashes of inspiration. The acting is better: I think I liked Hayden Chritiansen's acting better than some of people in our group did. Here is some trivia from IMDB:

part of the final look for General Grievous' face was inspired by the shape of a bathroom detergent spray nozzle.

There are evident political parallels between the political tragedies of the dying Republic, and our own time. Others have commented on these connections, but the what I liked best was when Obi-Wan Kenobi explained to disillusioned Padme the tragedy of everyone's wasted good intentions, Annikin's particularly: reminds me of our current 'war liberals' and their dilemma regarding their support for Bush's invasion of Iraq.

I really liked the "MYSHTICHISM!" But irritable me: everyone knows it's impossible to get from Naboo to Tatooine in anything less than a parsec! George Lucas has had 30 years to tinker with it: get it right next time!

Saving Face

Matt Yglesias hit a nerve:

The truth of the matter is that most pro-war liberals seem willing to privately admit that they were mistaken about the war (I was), but don't want to publicly say so lest their credibility take the hit that necessarily comes with admitting you were wrong about a very important issue.

How could ANY layperson have made a correct decision to support going to war in Iraq, or not, when so much of the information on which the decision was based was (necessarily) classified, and thus not open to debate? That's the basic problem of running a democracy in an information void: bad decisions get made! Bush and company opportunistically took advantage of the dearth of reliable, public information to get their little war.

No liberal's credibility is going to take a hit by admitting error. For example, I reluctantly supported going to war, but I renounced that position almost immediately, as soon as no WMD were discovered.

Persistent refusal to admit error, in the face of continued failure, and with the example of Vietnam in mind, speaks of mulish pride. A liberal who admits mistakes can't lose credibility, only a liberal who can't. The longer the warmaking liberals wait, the more credibility they lose. Need an example? Just look at The New Republic these days!

Hurricane Outlook

The National Hurricane Center has forecast a weaker than normal hurricane season in the eastern Pacific, and a stronger than normal season in the western Atlantic. In both locations, however, it looks like the hurricane season is already trying to fire up. Forecasts show an area of thunderstorms moving up next week along last year's Hurricane Ivan's path, off the west coast of Florida: the storm system look suspiciously tropical to me. And in the eastern Pacific, we've already had Hurricane Adrian.

Gulag vs. Guantanamo

Amnesty International, in a moment of rhetorical hyperbole, made a serious error in comparing the War on Terror prison system to the former Soviet Union's Gulag system: The scale of the camps is vastly different, and the moral comparison fails as a result.

Nevertheless, it's unfair for TNR and other critics to focus strictly on a Gulag vs. Guantanamo comparison: Guantanamo is merely the most prominent example of the U.S.'s new Geneva-Convention-free approach to handling prisoners. We have other camps besides Guantanamo, in Iraq, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, etc. In that sense, the gulag comparison is apt: remember, Alexander Solzhenitsyn called his masterwork 'The Gulag Archiplego,' which catches the sprinkled, scattered (and thus omnipresent) nature of the system well. We have a smaller, but even more scattered archipelago: certainly less omnipresent, but nevertheless a serious danger to our moral health.

Mandate

I very nearly blogged on this same article by Janet Hook (aka Linder?) in the Los Angeles Times that Josh Marshall brings up, but I abandoned the post when I went back over the Bush campaign agenda during the 2004 election, and found some mention of Social Security and tax reform.

Nevertheless, Marshall is right, Bush did not focus his campaign on radical reforms: Bush mentioned reforms principally to confirmed supporters. Now, after the election, for Bush to claim a mandate on these points, when the genuine focus was instead the War on Terror, is clearly just bait-and-switch.

After the election, Bush clearly felt he had graduated to Master of the Universe status, and was freed of the need to seek any consensus with Democrats. Overreaching and hubris were in fashion. As Marshall says:

The idea that President Bush ran on a specific agenda that included privatizing Social Security strikes me as little more than preposterous. And I am surprised to see Linder accept it so uncritically.

Yes, he did mention it during the campaign -- just enough to allow his supporters to say now that he didn't spring it on the public without ever having mentioned it before. But when he did mention it, it was almost always in speeches to loyalists and just as a few toss-off lines intended for said loyalists' eager consumption.

But he didn't bring it up in ads, in the debates, in any prominent setting. And for good reason. His entire campaign was framed around two planks: strength against terrorism and the flaws of John Kerry. The first time it got any sort of significant emphasis from the president was a couple days after the election.

Indeed, I think we could make the whole point more specific. Since his election President Bush has laid out a very aggressive legislative agenda, one based on reforms that would fundamentally change how the country looks -- privatization, tax reform, etc. These just weren't the things he ran on. It may not have been 'Morning in America', more like 'Midnight in America'. He ran on toughness against terror. Then once he'd bagged reelection he shifted gears entirely to focus on political economy.

If he really had run hard on privatization and won, even narrowly, he'd be in a vastly stronger position on the issue now than he is. What this last six months has shown is the poverty of the idea that winning an election gives you a 'mandate' if you try to use it to push policies you'd never told voters you were going to push.

Davis

Where everyone is above average:

Davis still identified 26 percent of its students as gifted this year, more than three times the state average. But this year's total is a far cry from the 35 percent of students identified last year.

Ethanol

Adding ethanol to gasoline increases the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of the fuel, which, in the summertime, worsens California's ozone problem. Wintertime blending is OK: the extra oxygen lowers carbon monoxide emissions. EPA's judgement to hamper California's flexibility regarding when to blend is really screwed up, and likely reflects the desires of Republican, Midwestern ethanol/farm interests to feather their own nests.

Civility

Something we all need in our political battles.

Bass Ackwards

A friend's brother, now aged about 30, recently learned from medical authorities that his lifelong walking problems can be traced to having been born with his pelvis facing backwards. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

Seniors Packing Heat

Don't arrive unexpected at this residence:

Police officers had just walked a disoriented woman back to her Ridgefield home when they found a surprise: stacks and stacks - and more stacks - of high-powered weapons.

Nearly 500 guns in all, along with 100,000 rounds of ammunition and 500 pounds of gunpowder, were carted away Wednesday from the home of Sherwin and Elizabeth Raymond, both 82, police said.

The weapons included semiautomatic assault rifles, as well as firearms collected from throughout the world, they said.

So much firepower turned up that the National Guard was called in to haul away the ammunition, and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office was asked to help store the weapons, said Ridgefield Police Chief John Bogovich.

..."We also found a bumper sticker," the chief remarked. "It says: 'The right to bear arms makes someone a citizen. If you are not allowed to bear arms, it makes you a subject.

If You've Got The Time, Do The Crime?

Meth users can DO identity theft:

...law enforcement officials are finding more and more evidence of what they believe is a link between meth use and identity theft.

"The thing that is somewhat unique to identity theft is that it requires an almost absurd amount of hours and focus, which methamphetamine users have in abundance," said Mark Lindquist, team chief of the drug unit with the county prosecuting attorney. "We've seen methamphetamine users putting together papers that have been through shredders."

Tornado Numbers Dip

Interesting news:

No one died in a tornado in April or May, normally two of the three busiest months for the storms.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center reported Wednesday that only 129 tornadoes struck the USA last month. There were more than 500 in May of both last year and 2003.

Over the past decade, an average of 1,274 tornadoes a year struck the nation. For the first five months of this year, the count is 365, far below normal.

In another twist, Oklahoma, in the heart of “Tornado Alley” and home to the prediction center, had zero tornadoes in May, a new record.

Five people have died in tornadoes since Jan. 1, matching the lowest total recorded. In 1992, there were five tornado deaths, and none in April or May.

Never Accept Responsibility! Ever!

It sounds like Rush Limbaugh blames Mark Felt for everything that went wrong for the last 30 years. All part and parcel of the Republican governing philosophy: Never accept responsibility! Ever! For anything! And certainly not Vietnam! Now - Shut Up!

Buchanan got some solid backup from fellow history wiz Rush Limbaugh, who added that Woodward, Bernstein, Felt and company were also responsible for the genocide in Cambodia that left approximately 1.7 million dead. "Had they not brought down Nixon, we wouldn't have lost Vietnam," Limbaugh affirmed during his Wednesday broadcast. "Had [they] not brought down Nixon, the Khmer Rouge would not have come to power and murdered two million people in a full-fledged genocide."

Grandstanding

So, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the man who drives Hummers and flies home to Pacific Palisades, not just on weekends but on weekdays too, is now on the global warming bandwagon. Forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical.

It's very easy to actually do something about global warming: stop driving and travelling so much! It's hard to do, of course. Put those toys in the garage and say "Hasta la vista, baby!"

And as for California? If Arnold was serious, he could say: "Not vun dollar more for California highway construction!" Build highways, and they will come. Don't build them, and people will learn to travel less. Think he could do such an unpopular but effective thing? (I knew it: a girly-man, through and through.)

BU** SH**

After a year and three-quarters, Bush fans finally got to my bumpersticker last night. They peeled it off, and put it on my windshield. I destroyed the fragile bumpersticker trying to get it off the glass. It was my favorite. Fortunately, there are more where it came from!

Rain, Hail, or Shine

Didn't cover all the possibilities, apparently:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- A 6-year-old racehorse named Rain, Hail or Shine died in its paddock Wednesday after being struck by lightning, its trainer said.

Mark Felt, Patriot

People forget just how rampagingly paranoid and vindictive the Nixon White House was, and therefore how justified Felt was in keeping things deep, deep undercover. If 'Deep Throat' hadn't help confirm Woodward and Bernstein's reporting, Nixon might well have succeeded in putting a lid on Watergate. It's particularly noxious that today, Chuck Colson, Gordon Liddy, and the other gang of convicted REPUBLICAN Watergate criminals are now criticizing Felt on Fox News, and other media outlets.

We all owe Felt our deepest gratitude and respect for helping restore our republic's integrity.

Summertime Crowd Strut Their Stuff at AM/PM

Apparently I missed the fun at AM/PM last night. A friend, who sits in the locked store behind a cashier's window during the graveyard shift, conveyed some of the goings-on there.

Two Asian girls drove up, started pumping gas and necking at the same time. They then began to argue about who was going to pay for the gasoline. One girl went to the window to insist on paying for the remainder of the gasoline. My friend told her she couldn't determine what that amount would be unless they stopped the flow of gasoline at the pump. The girl stomped off and began wrestling for the hose with the other girl. Within seconds, the girls were using the gasoline hose like a garden hose at a pool party, and had doused each other with gasoline.

Meanwhile, a man began beating a woman in a Mercedes Benz at the other set of gasoline pumps. Customers began to demand my friend call the police, even though she couldn't see what was happening there and was busy with customers. When she finally made the call, a customer ran over to warn the man the cops were on the way. The abusive man retreated with his vehicle behind the store.

Then the Asian girl stomped up to ask how much gasoline her vehicle could hold, and got frustrated when my friend told her she didn't know. The police showed up, but my friend couldn't provide details since she never saw the car. When the cops left, the Mercedes Benz reappeared from behind the store, and, with tires squealing, roared off down the street. Then the Asian girl reappeared, saw my friend's cell phone, and erupted in fury: "Hey, that's MY phone!"

Seems like I always miss the good parts at AM/PM graveyard shift!

S.F. 49'ers Public Relations Fumble

Do people like wooden lampoons of political correctness by the city's foremost football franchise? (Well, at least they used pretty girls for the lesbian parts....)

Life As A Skywatcher

Some days are harder than others:



(I'd like to give credit on the photo, whether retouched or not, but it came via an E-Mail chain, and so I don't know it's provenance).

Bolton

Why is the White House trying to stymie the documents request Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats have made? Perhaps...

Some of the information that the White House has refused to provide to Congress for its review of the nomination of John Bolton includes the names of American companies mentioned in intelligence reports on commerce with China and other countries covered by export restrictions, say government officials who have been briefed on the documents.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Dick Cheney can see it. Can't you?

This Iraq debacle looks more like Vietnam every day. Several weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine reported that we are employing assassination teams similar to those used in El Salvador in the 80's to hunt down leftists. People forget that what turned El Salvador around wasn't assassination teams, but rather the collapse of the Soviet empire, particularly after 1989: deprived of an international sponsor, the leftist Salvadorans turned to negotiation to eventually work out a surrender.

In Iraq, there is no need for international sponsors: the arms are plentiful. But there are several international sponsors available anyway (Iran, Al Qaeda, Syria) who can help in a pinch. And there is no indication at all that a surrender is in the works. Time is on the side of the insurgents, and everyone knows it.

So, what basis does Cheney have for his comforting little fantasy? What muezzin call does he hear?

Midtown Athletic Club, RIP

It was a good - what? - forteen years? What now? Maybe Step One? Or Natomas?

Head Start to Oblivion

Lest we forget such things on a holiday weekend, let's recall that Windy M. Hill resigned on Friday as director of Head Start:

Hill's leadership of the administration's Head Start program started badly. As soon as the White House started announcing its intention to cut the program's budget, Hill's office sent terse letters to Head Start center across the country, telling parents and teachers that if they shared their concerns about the program's future with members of Congress, it would constitute illegal lobbying.

The sad attempt at intimidation was a sign of things to come for Hill. An HHS review later held her responsible for serious misconduct involving Hill's mismanagement of more than $150,000 when she was the executive director of the Texas Head Start program. (The HHS review findings were confirmed in an outside audit.) Reports also indicate Hill received three large bonuses that were not reported to the IRS as income.

Bush sure knows how to pick 'em, doesn't he? Hill mismanaged federal grant money for the Head Start program in Texas, so the president asked her to — you guessed it — lead the national Head Start program to disburse federal grants. And once the controversy broke, Bush waited until he thought no one's looking to throw Hill overboard.

Intelligent Design

I liked these two Letters to the Editor in today's Sacramento Bee:

Intelligent aliens?
When I read arguments about Intelligent Design, I'm reminded of the writings of Eric Von Daniken, who in the 1970s wrote bestselling books such as "Chariots of the Gods" that contend that inexplicable advances in human technology were caused by the influence of advanced space creatures. His premise: Advances we can't explain must be the work of a superior intelligence.

Although this thinking was accepted by some people at the time, especially with the popularity of science fiction films such as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," most people eventually rejected this line of reasoning. It seemed presumptuous to believe that the only explanation for not being able to determine the cause of something was because a superior intelligence was involved. The notion of us simply not being smart enough to figure it out, based on the information at hand, was ignored.

ID seems to follow the same line of reasoning, except it deals with mathematics instead of archeology. It uses the fact that there is no mathematical model to account for evolution as proof that intelligence must be involved.

So why should ID be taken more seriously than Von Daniken's aliens?
- Richard Siegel, Auburn

Intelligent design of weather?
Although Intelligent Design proponents claim to offer science, ID is not much more than an argument from its rival idea's supposed shortfalls and one's own failure to understand the history of life through evolution alone.

Because ID proponents misunderstand the basic concepts of evolution, they make assertions like "nothing produces everything" and "nonlife produces life" that have no relevance to the theory (contrary to widespread misinformation, evolution doesn't address the origin of life). In addition to this, they work backward. They start with a conclusion and look for evidence to support their idea.

Instead of being consistent and demanding equal time for ID in other branches of science, such as medicine, physics and meteorology, IDists accept that no intelligence is required, no gods are necessary for weather, holding the solar system together or causing illness.
- Elizabeth Redford, Sacramento

Bubble

On today's Wall Street Journal editorial page ('Mr. Greenspan's Cappuccino', available here for subscribers), Brian Wesbury presents statistics from an unnamed source that I find interesting, because they seem wrong:

Roughly 80% of all people between the ages of 50 and 64 own their own homes, versus 70.6% of people aged 35-49, and 69% of all Americans.

I take issue with calling people with mortgages "homeowners": fantasy future homeowners is a better title. As long as that mortgage is there, everyone knows that the real homeowner is a big, faceless bank or mortgage company somewhere. Semantics aside, are these numbers correct? I know lots of older people who are not homeowners.

Then there was this quizzical set of statistics:

While many believe that irresponsible borrowing is creating a bubble in housing, this is not necessarily true. At the end of 2004, U.S. households owned $17.2 trillion in housing assets, an increase of 18.1% (or $2.6 trillion) from the third quarter of 2003. Over the same five quarters, mortgage debt (including home equity lines) rose $1.1 trillion to $7.5 trillion. The result: a $1.5 trillion increase in net housing equity over the past 15 months.

Presumably its not much of a bubble if net housing equity is increasing.

My experience is that the bubble is affecting newer, younger entrants into the market much more than older, established 'homeowners.' Many young people, as a matter of necessity, do not expect to ever finish paying their mortgages. Rather they hope to get the biggest house they can, and hope to profit from the rapidly appreciating value of the housing. The housing bubble is affecting these people the most.

Here is an informative press release:

U.S. households net worth is now, according to the Federal Reserve, $48.5 trillion. Residential real estate accounts for almost $10 trillion ($17.2 trillion value minus mortgage debt of $7.5 trillion). Financial assets, including stocks, bonds, bank accounts and pension accounts, totaled $36.8 trillion.

The value of total household assets has risen nearly 20% since the end of 2000, but borrowing has risen at a much faster pace. The outstanding debt owed by households has soared 45% in that period, the Fed reported.

It may be that much consumer-oriented borrowing is, only lately, turning into a housing bubble. And notice that, if both quotes are correct, nearly all of the increase of housing asset value has occurred since 2003. Borrowing going up faster than equity?: Yup! A bubble!

Here is an interesting graphic from Freddie Mac showing that mortgage debt is likely to double over the next decade:



Mortgage debt will have to increase since wages aren't increasingly as rapidly as 8.25%. The money will have to be borrowed, likely from overseas. Will that much money be available? Quien sabe?! To me, economics novitiate but familiar enough with the dangers of exponential growth, it looks unsustainable. Notice that inflection point at the current date? They can't even get the current rate of increase correctly! This graph is showing low-ball estimates! It's likely that residential mortgage debt will double in five years, not ten! Who is going to finance this bubble?

The Washington Post Confirms...

That Mark Felt was 'Deep Throat!' Amazing! The author of the world's greatest political aphorism: "follow the money."

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

Whatever the reason, the jaywalking citation has been dismissed.

Delicate Sensibilities

Times change, Mr. Cheney:

"Frankly, I was offended by it," Cheney said in the videotaped interview. "For Amnesty International to suggest that somehow the United States is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don't take them seriously."

But at least everyone is getting their message coordinated:

The US president bristled when asked at a White House press conference about an Amnesty International report last week which said the Guantanamo detention camp for terrorist suspects had become the "gulag of our times".

"I'm aware of the Amnesty International report, and it's absurd. It's an absurd allegation," Bush replied.

Meanwhile, the politically-correct conservatives at Lucianne whine about quote marks and other literary trivia....

Bright Lines

And stepping across them in the frantic search for oil in Wilderness Areas.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Fumes.

"La Mancha" and "Wizard of Oz" Close

Fine show today at DMTC! People were uncharacteristically emotional about closing the show. Usually the cure is simple - audition for another show! - but people were particularly sentimental about this show. Byron Westlund's down-to-earth helpfulness really set the tone for the everyone's experience: friction was minimized everywhere as a result. After strike, the crew recovered at "Woodstock's," with (ugh!) cinnamon pizza, plus a cornucopia of other pizza-related foods.

Amber Jean Moore Lazard (and Juliette) were at the show today, along with Erin Jones (senior). Carrie Gifford was there as well!

Apparently I missed some watershed moments at DMTC by failing to see the Young Performer's Theater's (YPT's) "The Wizard of Oz." There was quite a buzz about the theater regarding what an excellent show it was, particularly Hailee Ketchum-Wiggin's performance as Dorothy. Hailee's performance has apparently raised the bar regarding what YPT auditioners must accomplish to gain a lead role. The competition was stiff already, and it keeps getting stiffer - it takes a lot of heart to reach for the lead roles!

As treasurer, I noticed how "The Wizard of Oz" was bringing in more money in walk-up tickets than "Man of La Mancha" was doing. Season tickets purchased long ago dominate much of the Main Stage ticket activity late in the season, so modest ticket sales are to be expected, but still, it's atypical to have the YPT ticket sales exceed the Main Stage ticket sales.

Regarding YPT scholarships, Paula Short will receive the DMTC Scholarship and Mark Carpenter will receive the Laura Wilson Memorial YPT Scholarship. Congratulations to them both! There is a lot of sentiment to expand the number of scholarships awarded, but right now, with New Theater still unfinished, I'm just glad that we were able to award scholarships. Maybe next year, we can expand our focus.

A Long Time?

Picked up Kylie's "Giving You Up/Made of Glass" single CD tonight at Davis' Tower!

It may be awhile before the "Showgirl" tour recommences. Despite the blackout on specific information regarding Kylie's treatment, the apparent problem is the absence of criteria able to satisfy everyone's need for a clean bill of health:

A spokeswoman for the Frontier Touring Company said the pop star was resting and "everyone is giving her plenty of space".

"It is going to be hard to know when she is actually touring again because we just do not know the outcome of her operation," the spokeswoman said.

"Live shows are a long way off yet I think. Amazingly, not many people have sought refunds for her postponed tour as yet."

Long-time colleague and tour promoter Michael Gudinski said it was far too early to know the success of Minogue's treatment.

VFW, North Highlands

Raffle ticket inflation this Memorial Day weekend: $5 yields twenty-plus tickets. At least there's a good chance of winning! Now, what to do with the Orange Mountain Dew twelve-pack, and the mini American flag?

Schapelle Corby

Gets 20 years, and Australians decide en masse that they've had it with Indonesia:

"There just didn't seem to be enough evidence to prove her guilty. It doesn't make sense the Bali bombers who killed hundreds of people get nothing, but she gets 20 years."

Eryn Bousfield, 25, said she would protest against the sentence by never holidaying in Bali.

"I said if she's found guilty I would never travel to Indonesia as a protest against what's happened to her," she said.

Unusual Arizona Pre-Monsoon

Deborah in Phoenix asks:

Where is da monsoon? : )

Not far away! The forecasts look reasonably good for some action today, or tomorrow.

Deborah replies:

Ah--I see it. It "Lurketh on the Threshold". Lovely!!!

I reply: One reason I mention tomorrow is that the westerly winds look a little too brisk to bring it across the threshold today, but I may be wrong on this point! You will know in a few hours!

Deborah replies:

There is a mild breeze out there and the humidity is something else for AZ and the sky already is looking hazy. I can't see the horizon for any of that typical buildup though.

Celebrate Davis

The promotional announcement in The Davis Enterprise sounded pretty good:

Then: About 5,000 people "celebrated Davis" last spring at a Chamber of Commerce bash designed to promote local shopping and reintroduce residents to Davis businesses and services.

Now: The Chamber hopes to draw that kind of crowd again this year to the second annual Celebrate Davis!, Thursday, May 26, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. at Community Park, 14th and F streets. The festival-like event will feature 170 booths, including about a dozen restaurants offering everything from pizza to ......

but there were also warnings, too, for the dogs:

Fireworks will cap the second annual Celebrate Davis! extravaganza, on Thursday, May 26, in Community Park. But for pets, fireworks can be a frightening.

Some animals aren't bothered by the sights and sounds of fireworks. But others are terrified, becoming nervous, upset and stressed, animal experts say.

Animals have a keener sense of hearing than humans, and the unexpected explosion of fireworks can cause panic in dogs, cats, horses and even birds.

Warnings aside, there were plenty of dogs on-hand yesterday, at Celebrate Davis. DMTC had a booth there, and I went to help sell cookies. The place was pretty crowded and there were some interesting groups there, model airplane flyers chief among them, plus realtors, masseuses, churches, bicycle supply shops, and a wide variety of civic groups, but there were surprisingly few people there selling jewelry - this wasn't the Whole Earth fair!

I went to the Afghan food booth, not only because the food looked excellent (called something like 'sheeshli' - chicken with vegetables, with bread and basmati rice), but also because they were fairly disorganized and thus had the shortest line. Fine food! Poked around, bought a necklace, plus some sherbet as well.

At the DMTC booth, it was deer-in-the-headlights time. Who knew that the entire population of Davis, for months, had been nursing a ravenous appetite for cookies that could no longer be contained? We had to parry a virtual stampede, which ended only when the artillery opened up overhead.

The fireworks were very loud and impressive. I was reminded that folks who collect particulate samples from the air, and analyze them for chemical content, can spot the distinctive chemistry of fireworks smoke, which, last night anyway, was heading east, together with a variety of errant helium balloons and deafened birds, towards Sacramento.

Breaking down the fair was interesting too: carrying boxes under the blinding tennis-court lights, while dodging giggling little girls rolling down the small grassy hills in the park. Made me nostalgic - reminded me of a similar festive evening on Larimer Street in downtown Denver, with kites and purses being sold from festive shops and booths, in the long-past summer of 1976.

A fun time was had by all - summer is at hand!

Dopy NRO Reviewer

Loredana Vuoto abuses Warren Farrell's arguments to hail back to a feminine golden age that never was. Referring to Farrell's book, "Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap — And What Women Can Do About It," Vuoto writes:

But he also lays bare the unpleasant truth about working women. For decades, feminists and Hollywood have perpetuated the myth that a woman can have it all — a successful, high-powered career, with time for a loving husband and children, all the while looking glamorous, sexy, and carefree. The reality, however, is that working women today are more stressed, overworked, and underappreciated than they were prior to the women’s liberation movement. Pursuing a career carries trade-offs and costs, which usually come at the expense of family and children. A similar dynamic holds true for women wishing to spend more time at home: The result will be less time and less productivity at the office. This book poignantly illustrates why feminism’s war on human nature is destined to fail: Instead of chasing the chimera of perfect wage parity between the sexes, women will continue to harbor the natural desire to be devoted mothers and wives.

Greg Mankiw

Drank the Kool-Aid! He really has no understanding just how little impact he had in the Bush Administration. He pumped for Social Security reform in the New Republic, arguing in an obnoxious, patronizing way that what Bush had in mind was no different than the sort of 401K programs academics are familiar with (presumably the core readership of TNR). Really annoyed me!

Here are choice nuggets from Mankiw's Fortune interview. To start, Mankiw blames public ignorance for the negative reaction to his offshoring comments during the presidential campaign, despite the fact offshoring directly threatens people's livelihoods:

Q: What are your thoughts on the reaction to your offshoring comments during the presidential campaign? What does that say about the ability to discuss economic issues in this country?

A: It's a challenge. You have to talk about sophisticated economics to voters, most of whom haven't studied economics, or even taken a single course. So you're starting from a base of knowledge that's pretty low.

Mankiw gets very vague about the trade deficit, and ultimately decides to blame the people again, suggesting subtle approaches to take away their discretion to use their money as they see fit:

Q: A lot of people are worried about the trade deficit. Your thoughts?

A: I don't think the economic profession in general has a very good handle on how to think about the trade deficit. If you had asked economists 20 years ago whether the U.S. could run a trade deficit for as long as we have, they would say no, that it could never happen. This has come as a bit of a surprise. I don't think we really have a good sense of what the limits are, especially since we're growing so much faster than most of the world. This might sound glib, but it might be fruitful to think about immigration and the trade deficit as reflecting the same thing—capital and labor both want to flee here because we're the most productive economy.

On the other hand, while the trade deficit isn't a problem in itself, it may be a symptom of a problem. The problem is that Americans aren't saving enough. I don't think there's a single magic bullet to increase national saving, but I do think a switch from an income tax to a consumption tax would help.

Q: But we don't seem to have had much success with efforts to bolster the savings rate, which remains near record lows.

A: I'm intrigued by some compelling evidence from [Harvard economics professor] David Laibson and others that if you design 401(k)s differently, you could improve saving a lot. For example, suppose we made the default for a 401(k) plan that people have to decide to opt out if they don't want to save, rather than having to opt in if they do want to save, as is currently the norm. The evidence suggests that the participation rate would increase substantially.

Rove was the scary political guy who was Mankiw's real boss. Despite his lack of training, or maybe because of it, Rove, not Mankiw, makes Administration economic policy:

Q: What are your thoughts about characterizations of this White House as insular with Karl Rove running most of economic policymaking show?

A: The policy process worked extremely well. It's not like one person sits there—like Karl Rove sits off all by himself making economic policy, or Dick Cheney sits all by himself making economic policy. It's a very formal process where deputies meet, talk to their principals, then principals meet, everyone from [former U.S. Trade Representative and current deputy Secretary of State Bob] Zoellick to [Labor Secretary Elaine] Chao to [former Commerce Secretary Don] Evans, when I was there. Then meetings with the president. We all give different points of view, and the president makes a call. It's a well-run decision making process—the way it should work. .....

Q: It was a collaborative process?

A: It was very collaborative. Look, Karl Rove is a very reasonable guy. I was absolutely delighted that he got the job as deputy chief of staff. He knows his stuff. Some political folks see policy as a way of getting political things accomplished. That's not Karl Rove. He's motivated a lot by good policy. He has a vision of what the party should be doing. He was one of my favorite people in the White House. I didn't come in expecting to think that. I thought he'd be a political guy who'd push policy in a bad direction for political reasons. I left the White House having great respect for Karl.

Note Mankiw's rationalizations: don't blame the Bushies for the enormous deficits! They're nice guys with a well-run decision-making process (which functions so well because independent people with a clue are systematically excluded):

Q: What about the argument that administration policies made the deficit worse than it would have otherwise been?

A: Well, it did. But the president came in inheriting an economy that was sliding into recession. He cut taxes in part to stimulate the economy, and I think that did have a positive impact on the growth of the past few years. He also, in the aftermath of 9/11, had to increase spending on defense and homeland security. But over time everyone agrees we have to reduce the budget deficit and move toward budget balance. Also, over the long term, the key fiscal challenge is not the short-run deficit, it’s the long-run budgetary pressures coming from entitlements, which is why Social Security reform is such an important priority.

Q: But does the administration truly believe that? What about what [Vice President Dick] Cheney is alleged to have explicitly said, that "Reagan proved deficits don’t really matter," and this general sense that this administration truly believes that?

A: In my dealings with everyone in the administration, from the President, to Snow to Friedman to [Office of Management and Budget director Joshua] Bolten, there was a lot of concern about the budget deficit and an acknowledgement that it was one of many priorities, but that it was an important priority to reduce the budget deficit over time.

Mankiw blames the public for balking at Bush's Social Security reform. Remember, Bush never actually presented a reform plan, he just talked about it, so what Mankiw says regarding the 'plan' is, simply, wrong, because no 'plan' was ever presented. Also remember that Social Security's unfunded liability can be solved by modest increases in payroll taxes and doesn't require destroying the entire program in the process. Also recall that none of the private account plans bandied about so far would be either voluntary or would allow much discretion regarding where to put your money (certainly not as much as a typical 401K plan currently offers). What gives Social Security stability is that Congress is on the hook for seeing that Social Security functions, and they can raise taxes just as high as necessary to make certain it functions. Congress is accountable, Wall Street is not accountable, and that's the difference!:

Q: What do you think of the idea that a part of the reason Americans are not embracing the President’s Social Security reform plan is that this is a period of greater economic uncertainty and Americans value all forms of insurance more highly as a result—including perceived insurance like Social Security?

A: I think for people to perceive Social Security as safe they haven’t looked hard at the facts. The fact is that the current system is not sustainable. You have a large unfunded liability. There’s tremendous uncertainty about what the future resolution is going to be if we kick the problem down the road. The way to reduce future political uncertainty is to deal with the problem head on right now.

Q: Given that, do you think there’s a plausible argument to be made that people want to protect guarantees?

A: Under the president’s plan, personal accounts are a voluntary option. People are not required to take it as an option. In addition, when you take those personal accounts, you have the option to invest in low-risk assets, if you want to invest in safe Treasury bonds. Most financial planners would tell you its prudent to put some assets in higher-risk, higher-return equities—I personally have 60% to 70% of my assets in equities and what the President’s proposal does is give the option to choose what kind of risk-return profile they’d like.

Q: Let’s put aside the lack of awareness of this reform plan. You don’t think it’s a plausible explanation that Americans are dealing with a lot of economic uncertainty these days that they just didn’t have to deal with 30 years ago—the evaporation of defined benefits, higher health-care premiums, the prospect of more people becoming uninsured as a result? That, along many dimensions, people are losing the kind of economic certainty, job security, financial security that Harvard professors on tenure can take for granted, and don’t want cuts to perceived guaranteed benefits and that this insecurity has to be addressed if the Social Security reform plan is to be successfully advertised?

A: Under the President’s plan, people would have the option to choose themselves how much risk they would want to take on. You’re absolutely right, that defined benefit plans are disappearing, but there’s a reason for that—because they’re not the best way to set up a retirement system. What the President is proposing is to do for public pensions what companies are doing for private pensions—to give people that option.

Interesting sign-off here for the brainwashed!:

Q: Any other thoughts on any of this?

A: No. I think you’ve completely emptied my brain of all thoughts in economics.

Schapelle Corby...

...Gets sentenced today, and in solidarity with her, Australians brace to boycott Bali as a holiday destination.

Plan B

Edging closer.....not there yet.....

Jerks

One less on the air:

May 25, 2005 -- CONTROVERSIAL sportscaster Sid Rosenberg has been bounced from Don Imus' wakeup show — for good this time — after joking about breast cancer.

"He will not be returning to the 'Imus In the Morning' show," a spokesperson for WFAN-owner Infinity Broadcasting said yesterday, declining to elaborate.

Rosenberg had been mysteriously AWOL from Imus' show since last Wednesday when he stunned listeners — and viewers of the MSNBC simulcast — by mocking singer Kylie Minogue's breast cancer diagnosis.

Then there was this:

Some areas of the media are being far less considerate however. In one shocking report that we have received, a nurse at the Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne, where Kylie is receiving her medical treatment, was offered $100,000 by a member of the paparazzi to snap Kylie in her hospital bed.

"La Mancha" Script

This is what made it hard for our cast to read:

Entire 'Don Quixote' on Six Human Hairs?April 7: (AP) -- Physicists in Spain are celebrating the 400th anniversary of publication of "Don Quixote'' in a very small way: they wrote the first paragraph on a silicon chip in letters so tiny the whole 1,000-page book would fit on the tips of six human hairs. The feat -- just for fun -- shows off a data-storage technique developed years ago by the Microelectronics Institute of Madrid, part of the government's top scientific research agency.

Bless Her

How to make our leaders worry about identity theft?:

Betty (but call her BJ) Ostergren, a feisty 56-year-old from just north of Richmond, is driven to make important people angry. She puts their Social Security numbers on her Web site, or links to where they can be found.

It's not that she wants CIA Director Porter J. Goss, former secretary of state Colin L. Powell, or Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to be victims of identity theft, as were millions of Americans in the past year. Ostergren is on a crusade to scare and shame public officials into doing something about how easy it is to get sensitive personal data.

...Today, she is eager to guide reporters to her favorite example: the Social Security number of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), which is viewable via the Internet on a tax lien filed against him in 1980.

"Don't you think if I can get Tom DeLay's Social Security number . . . that some guy in an Internet cafe in Pakistan can, too?" she asks, her voice rising with indignation. "It's just ridiculous what we're doing in this country."

...When Ostergren finds a well-known figure, she decides whether exposing his or her number on her Virginia Watchdog Web site might further her cause.

Which is how she came to link to Jeb Bush's Social Security number.

She notified him through someone she knew in the administration of President Bush. Soon after, she noticed that the governor's number was blacked out on the county Web site in Florida where it was listed. So she posted it on her site.

"I decided since he protected his own hind end and nobody else's, I'd put his on there," she said.

The Leninist Right

Hey, Rush, it's not just a party issue! Why do you believe being a Republican is the same thing as being a conservative? Ideology and party loyalty shouldn't be conflated! Equating the two is equivalent to Leninism!

CALLER: Hey, Rush, it's an honor to talk to you. I have to tell you I didn't think last night that I could have been any angrier. I've been working today as we Republicans have been known to do, and so I just now heard that sound bite from Lindsey Graham. My blood is boiling. He just openly acknowledged by saying, "The folks back home are going to be mad at me," that he's completely disregarding the desires of his constituency. I'm just on fire.

RUSH: Well, this happens. You know, there's a little bit of a dilemma, or better said conundrum with elected officials -- I mean in talking about now structure and principle. Yeah, they're supposed to represent the constituents but we also want them to have minds of their own, and not just, you know, mind following robots themselves. But this, the reason why you're mad is that this is a party issue. This is about what we've all been fighting for since the 1960s, or maybe in some cases the fifties: To get to the point here where we've done what we're supposed to do. We've worked hard and we've won elections, and we've won elections by persuading people to agree with us, and we've campaigned on specific things, and said, "This is what we believe in." We've defined ourselves as conservatives and we've won and we've won big, and now we've won the Senate and the House and the White House -- and now all that's being undermined by some of the people who campaigned on various things that resulted in their getting elected.

Lessons Learned

Reviewing the battle:

In spite of Joe Lieberman, the Democratic Party showed a new spirit these last couple of weeks. Some of it was the momentum from a united caucus blocking Social Security privatization, but there was something else that I noticed in this fight: teamwork.

Except for the Lieberman and the dipshits at the DLC, the left worked together to save the filibuster. Bill Frist's abuse of power forced institutional and structural changes in Democrats' coordination, command and control, messsage, and distribution that were fast-tracked to deal with Dobson's threat against the senate.

Clean Comedy Night

Something like this strikes me as a perfect fit for DMTC's Young Performers' Theater (YPT).

What Was - And Remains - At Stake

From Harry Reid's statement:

The integrity of future Supreme Courts has been protected from the undue influences of a vocal, radical faction of the right that is completely out of step with mainstream America. That was the intent of the Republican “nuclear option” from the beginning. Tonight, the Senate has worked its will on behalf of reason, responsibility and the greater good.

Abuse of power will not be tolerated, and attempts to trample the Constitution and grab absolute control are over. We are a separate and equal branch of government. That is our founding fathers’ vision, and one we hold dear.

I offered Senator Frist several options similar to this compromise, and while he was not able to agree, I am pleased that some responsible Republicans and my colleagues were able to put aside their differences and work from the center. I do not support several of the judges that have been agreed to because their views and records display judicial activism that jeopardize individual rights and freedoms. But other troublesome nominees have been turned down. And, most importantly, the U.S. Senate retains the checks and balances to ensure all voices are heard in our democracy.

Republicans weren't defeated here, nor movement conservatives. Rather, it was a comeuppance for an arrogant, dictating minority faction (Dobson, et al.) who thought they could break rules of Senate debate that have stood since the early 1800's. This wasn't Gotterdamerung. That will come later.

By tradition, changes to Senate rules require a 2/3 majority to implement. The nuclear option was all about changing Senate rules, by devious means, requiring only a majority. It is a smarmy approach that could be favored only by hacks.

Several years ago, when Sacramento lost to Los Angeles in the NBA West final, the referees stood aside and let LA get away with transparent fouls. The message to Sacramento was: if you want to be champ, you have to nail a convincing victory, and don't come to us for help.

Systematic filibusters are a new phenomenon, but they are here to stay. Get used to it! We've been doing lots of new things, of late, like strapping justice nominees on partisan missiles, and firing them across the sky. Until that stops, it's guerilla war all the way. Knee-cap the fascists with whatever it takes!

Madness Rampant

Bubble? Bubble? More like a froth!

In California, the median sales price for existing homes broke through the $500,000 level for the first time, according to April housing figures released today.

The stronger than expected sales and price increases defied expectations of a slowdown and came amid growing signs and concerns of a speculative housing bubble emerging in many markets. Federal Reserve policymakers noted "signs of possible speculative excesses in some areas" in the minutes of their May 3 meeting that were released today.

Hometown Albuquerque is #5!

On Forbes list of Best Cities in the U.S. to start a business, or a career. I disagree with their ranking, though. They are over-emphasizing the importance of a low cost of doing business. To me, the critical parameter is income growth, which is pretty bad in Albuquerque, and New Mexico as a whole. Who cares if you have a low cost of doing business, if you have no customers?

Blame America

Yup. Abrupt geographical changes: that's something we're expert in!

Crypto-Latinos

Yeah, just who the hell are we? So many possible roles: the romantic, the desperate, the revolutionary - yet we are often just as mixed up as anyone else, and affected by any number of influences. I'm reminded of a clumsy thing a Mormon woman in Utah once told me when she learned I had Mexican roots - something like 'we have a place in our religion for Mexicans.' I didn't inquire as to what that place might be....

We are who we are - whoever that may be....

Made of Glass

I THOUGHT this super pop tune (apparently an unreleased track) sounded like Kylie, and indeed, it is! That's the mark of a good pop tune these days: if it sounds like Kylie, it's good!

Kicking The Can Down the Road

Well, what can one say? It sounds like a horrible compromise, which will have the effect of just "kicking the can down the road" (Mickey Kaus quote.) The only nice thing is that the Republican base is incensed - at their own, the so-called RINOs! Frist is damaged, which is good, and Dobson is frustrated, which is good. But bad judges will get their positions on their courts, and the entire filibuster battle will start up again when a Supreme Court justice is nominated. Nothing is really settled, and even now the Republicans are taking their anger and plotting anew.

(update) I was just lurking over at Lucianne, and I'm amazed at the reaction of the dittoheads. It's a freakin' compromise, for God's sake, not Gotterdamerung! Everyone's pissed that they didn't get their 'money's worth' and they're howling for revenge! This time, the anger is inner-directed: talk of traitors and plots. Here are some choice quotes from crybaby watch:

Bill Frist, MD. That means he should have some rudimentary knowledge of anatomy, and having same should know what testicles are. That is of course unless he only cut up eunuchs while in medical school.

I am ENRAGED at this entire fiasco. Frist looked liked a simpering old woman. Then I had the distinct displeasure of witnessing the disgusting Upchuck Schemer and the ever repulsive daffy dork durbin all giggly and smiling like little school girls at recess time. Made me want to McPuke. Matter of fact I still feel that way. What a sellout. Disgusting RINOs. I hope every last one of you slugs gets defeated.

OK you wimps. Don't call me or send me mail wanting donations for your lousy efforts at this when you were in the majority! Wimps - Wimps - Wimps.

Those are just the Dem fanatics saying that. Any Dem with sense knows they got the best deal here. Read NRO if you want the real deal on how the GOP has betrayed us yet again. This is the final straw for me, and I hope for plenty of others. Vote in your primaries against the RINOs and pull your financial support from the party, and let them know why. They have betrayed us all.

The enemy has adapted and mutated.

The Republicans in the Senate have no idea the level of a litmus test that this vote was. The Democrats do and they know that they won. The Republicans clearly have no idea how big a deal this was to the base.

I am so mad I dare not say what is on my mind. We've lost, and our own people betrayed us. It's time for us to take it to the streets and rebel against those who will not do the will of the people.

Awful compromise, and I'm unhappy with Harry Reid for it, but if this compromise makes the fascists eat their young, it was worth it!

Cross-Casting "Huck Finn"

Sensitive as I am to the demands of history, I nevertheless feel that racial casting Huck and Jim is not necessary for an effective performance.

So Close!

Rumor has it Kaylynn Rothleder nearly made it as Annie on the "Annie" national tour, placing roughly third in the running, beating hundreds in the process!

Pirates of Penzance

Went with the DMTC crew and saw lots of friends in performance at Runaway Stage's "Pirates of Penzance" on Friday! Occasional and frequent DMTC folks who performed: Tevye Ditter, Kelly Mustain, and Rodger McDonald (the SacBee picture is below), plus Michael McElroy, Kyle Cherry, Hailee Ketchum-Wiggins, and Chloe Condon. It was a very nice show and featured an excellent performance by Jess Gonzales as the 'very model of a modern Major-General.' The 'modern' touches (e.g., Tev singing to the sword hilt as if to a microphone) were incongruous, but amusing, and hence effective.

Pam Kay Lourentzos did an excellent job with the energetic choreography. Indeed, I was a little worried, at times, whether there was enough room on stage, and on the fore-stage, in the aisles, and in the audience, for all that energetic movement! Her inspirations seemed many and diverse - a real grab-bag! Lillian Baxter's costumes were great as well.

It was nice seeing Joe Schulte at intermission: he played Tevye in Woodland Opera House's Fiddler in 1997 (my first show).

Walk a Mile in My Shoes

I spent most of the weekend at home, sweeping the back yard and garage, mowing, and cleaning gutters. It's a duty I've neglected, and as a consequence, there was a lot to do.

The house is tall, and the gutters are high above the ground. While cleaning the gutters, a rock turned under the tall ladder's leg. The ladder toppled and I was thrown into the wall. I grabbed a drainpipe, which was able to hold my weight, and I was thus spared injury. I'm glad I didn't fall away from the wall!

After a shower, I fell asleep, leaving the back door open. Cloudy the Rabbit took advantage of the open door, came into the house, poked around, spotted my shoes in the bathroom, and peed in them. I'm not sure why she did that: rabbits are so inscrutable! Was it affection? Was she offended by the presence of the shoes? Was she just taking inventory?

Microphysical Dyslexia

I saw this headline:

"Scientists hail creation of cloned embryo"

and I thought it said:

"Scientists create clone of hail embryo."

The second headline makes sense, in a cloud microphysical sort of way, but it would be even more of a surprise than the first headline, because it's so hard to duplicate the structure of ice!

Brisbane Pop Music

Radio B105.3, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia recently had a promotional gimmick by which they gathered popular songs from numerous radio listeners, and organized them into a "Top 1000."

I was less interested in the popularity of songs than the popularity of various acts. Here are the Top 20 songs, plus the acts that succeeded in placing the most songs into the Top 1000.

Top 20:
1 DANCING QUEEN - ABBA
2 BLISTER IN THE SUN - VIOLENT FEMMES
3 CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD - KYLIE MINOGUE
4 YOU SHOULD BE DANCING - BEE GEES
5 GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN - CYNDI LAUPER
6 DECEMBER 1963 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) - FOUR SEASONS/FRANKIE VALLI
7 ARE YOU GONNA BE MY GIRL - JET
8 Y.M.C.A. - VILLAGE PEOPLE
9 KIDS IN AMERICA - KIM WILDE
10 HEY YA! - OUTKAST
11 WE ARE FAMILY - SISTER SLEDGE
12 PRETTY FLY(FOR A WHITE GUY) - OFFSPRING
13 BILLIE JEAN - MICHAEL JACKSON
14 PUSH UP - THE FREESTYLERS
15 I WILL SURVIVE - GLORIA GAYNOR
16 WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO GO - WHAM/GEORGE MICHAEL
17 PUSH IT - SALT 'N' PEPA
18 TEENAGE DIRTBAG - WHEATUS
19 SUPERFREAK - RICK JAMES
20 GREASE MEGAMIX - JOHN TRAVOLTA/OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN

Most Songs in Top 1000 (arguably George Michael should be third, because he also appears in Wham!):

First: MADONNA (17)
Second: KYLIE MINOGUE (14)
Third: ABBA (10)
Tied for Fourth: PRINCE and ROBBIE WILLIAMS (9)
Tied for Fifth: BRITNEY SPEARS, EMINEM and GEORGE MICHAEL (7)
Tied for Tied for Sixth: DESTINY'S CHILD, DURAN DURAN, EURYTHMICS and ROXETTE (6)
Tied for Seventh: JAMIROQUAI, NO DOUBT/GWEN STEFANI, RICHARD MARX, SHAGGY and U2 (5)
Tied for Eighth: AVRIL LAVIGNE, B52'S, BEE GEES, BELINDA CARLISLE, GREENDAY, HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS, JANET JACKSON, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, KELLY CLARKSON, MAROON 5, MICHAEL JACKSON, OUTKAST, POWDERFINGER, SUGABABES, VILLAGE PEOPLE, and WHAM/GEORGE MICHAEL (4)

Wal-Mart Rules

Interesting photo, via David Sirota. In the past, corporate CEOs were very circumspect about public appearances, particularly those where they might be seen to be exercising influence or engaged in lobbying. No longer. And this Ehrlich guy: what a tool!

Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) yesterday vetoed legislation aimed at forcing Wal-Mart to provide its workers with more adequate benefits. That wasn't a surprise - Ehrlich is the standard "corporate whore in politicians clothing" that now occupies many of our nation's highest public offices.

What is shocking, however, is how open he was about acknowledging that Big Business pulls all of the strings when it comes to public policy. As the Los Angeles Times notes, "Eduardo Castro-Wright, chief operating officer of Wal-Mart stores USA division, stood at the Republican governor's side as he signed the official veto." The photo ... captures it on film - Ehrlich is waving after the veto, as Wal-Mart's CEO prowls behind him.

Censorship

And how it works in the U.S. Government....

(as much as I don't like Galloway, it was refreshing to hear how someone trained in the parliamentary style of debate was able to grab Republican Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota and just wax the floor with him!)

Here, apparently, is a link to the video....

Hail

Last year, Socorro: this year, Brisbane.

Alaskan Pork

$1.5 million for a bus stop!

Pakistanis Are Mad

Not so much about the Newsweek story as the Washington Times cartoon that insulted national pride.

The Tool Bites the Hand That Feeds It

Pozen doesn't support piratizated accounts? What a tool! Chumpism rampant!

'It's the Mysticism!'

Driving west to Davis this evening, wearing my new long-distance glasses, there was a pretty rainbow to look at. The only trouble was the rainbow was behind me, so I relied heavily upon the forbearance of the other drivers on the Yolo Causeway, as I weaved my way along Interstate 80, craning my neck and checking out the sight.

The rainbow had numerous (at least three), prominent, supernumerary bows, just inside the primary rainbow, where the rainbow met the ground. According to Greenler's excellent book (Robert Greenler: Rainbows, Halos and Glories; Cambridge University Press, 1991 reprint), supernumerary bows are most prominent with a uniform drop-size distribution composed of small drops, and are usually seen near the top of the rainbow, not near the ground, since the drop-size distribution generally broadens near the ground. A uniform, small, monomodal drop-size distribution can generally be achieved near the ground only with rainfall from fairly shallow clouds with low cloud bases (so there isn't enough time or depth of fall for the drop-size distribution to develop and broaden), and indeed, that's the sort of clouds we had around here today. Cool stuff! Unusual sight, and a refresher course on atmospheric optics!

In Davis, the cinema behind the Varsity Theater was surrounded by a line of people waiting for the opening of 'Revenge of the Sith.' A young woman posed 'en garde' with a plastic saber. Good grief!

At the Varsity Theater, DMTC had a special showing of "Man of La Mancha," aimed primarily to the actors at Runaway Stage Productions, many of whom are DMTC veterans, but who can't come on weekends since they are currently starring in "Pirates of Penzance." Rodger McDonald was there (Rodger triumphed as Don Quixote with DMTC's 'La Mancha' in 2000, just as Byron is doing this year.)

I hung around the lobby until the intermission, then left. Outside, a woman with a bullhorn was explaining the rules of cinema etiquette to the young, mostly-washed Star-Wars-struck masses, standing in a tidy line that almost completely encircled the theater. First time I've ever seen anyone explain ground rules to a cinema audience (except maybe on an airliner, and then the focus is on the floatable seat cushions and emergency exits!) The woman stumbled through several warnings, including one against bringing any recording devices of any sort into the theater. The patient audience-to-be sported numerous cell phones, many of which had cameras: not high quality cameras, of course, but enough to catch and distribute fuzzy images of Yoda if desired. Enough to make a Hollywood lawyer despair!

What is it going to be like in the near-future, when cell phones sport high-quality cameras? Or high-quality video cameras? Phony, plastic Hollywood-lawsuit saber, versus a high-tech cell phone light saber: no contest! The only recourse will be to hypnotize the audience-to-be with mystical Tatooine incantations, so even if they wanted to film the motion picture, their will to do so would be taken away. Or maybe drugs. It's not the mysticism, it's the rohypnol in the popcorn! The future approaches faster than we are ready!

Great Gravity Waves

In the Great Basin today!

Courtesy of Jerry, another view. It's amazing how the abrupt drop on the east side of the Sierras and Cascades can set off gravity waves that extend all the way to Yellowstone!:

Waiting for News

Even though my airline tickets for next month's trip to Brisbane, Queensland are clearly labelled 'nonrefundable, nonexchangeable,' the touring company I used to secure them (Travel.com) appears to be making something of an exception (probably because I haven't demanded a refund, just a change to dates yet unknown, and because it became clear that Quantas Airlines themselves had no problem with a date change.) This is good, because I paid US$ 1325.00 for them, which is a cheap rate for some, but expensive enough for me!

Fortunately, I had not secured lodging or a car rental yet!

What I will do now is wait, and hope Kylie's concerts are rescheduled soon. If the concerts are:

• rescheduled, I will use the concert tickets I now have, as planned; or if,
• cancelled, I will, upon travelling to Brisbane anyway for vacation, attempt to get a refund in person.

I suppose I could cancel the Brisbane trip entirely, but then the touring company would revel in their windfall of nonrefundable US$ 1325.00. I would go to great lengths, even travelling halfway across the world, to deprive them of that pleasure!

What I want from the touring company is some say regarding when I travel to Australia. I'd hate to be forced to travel there in early June, if Kylie were to reschedule her concerts for two weeks after I'd leave, and there'd be nothing I could do except to pay for another quick trip to Australia, for another US$ 1325.00!

Many prayers for good news and a speedy recovery! Meanwhile, I must content myself with this:

Minogue is insistent that her tour is only postponed, not cancelled. Her tour's promoter, Michael Gudinski, who has been Minogue's friend for 20 years and one of the first outside her family to learn of her condition, said: "All the equipment will be staying in Australia and hopefully we'll be able to reschedule the dates pretty soon. But there's no pressure. We can't hypothesise but we'll see in a couple of weeks."

Instant Summer: The Weather Gods Throw the Big Toggle Switch

The FNMOC weather forecasts over the next week show a rapid warm-up in the West and Southwest, complete with monsoon-like summer afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains of AZ by next Tuesday! Really remarkable: the Weather Gods seem to be throwing a big toggle switch, from Winter to Summer. It's strange to catapult straight from winter storms to the summer monsoon season, without the usual dry spring in-between, but the Gods seem to have other ideas. Maybe it won't quite take: it's still a bit early!

Plus, there's that strange tropical storm hitting Central America (El Salvador) right now, the first eastern Pacific tropical storm in May since 1966. Over the next week, it's going to cross Central America, the Caribbean, afflict central Cuba, and head NE across the Bahamas and the Atlantic. The Weather Gods seem to be saying: Let the tropical storm season begin!

All right, all right, Your Highnesses! Slow down, you don't have to push quite so hard!

Atheism and Evolution

Chris Mooney points out that 'Intelligent Design' people, and other anti-evolutionists, are working from an incorrect assumption, that evolutionists are necessarily atheistic. This is a major error and it will alienate potential allies:

In Kansas, criticisms of evolutionary theory have been accompanied by a direct philosophical assault upon the nature of science itself.

Kansas’s previously proposed science standards had appropriately defined science as "the human activity of seeking natural explanations for what we observe in the world around us." Anti-evolutionists want to change this language to the following: "Science is a systematic method of continuing investigation, that uses observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, logical argument and theory building, to lead to more adequate explanations of natural phenomena."

This may seem harmless at first glance. But the change carefully removes any reference to science's search for natural explanations in favor of “more adequate” explanations, creating a opening for creationists to insert the supernatural. Such a change reflects the fact that the new generation of anti-evolutionists has launched an attack on modern science itself, claiming that it amounts, essentially, to institutionalized atheism. Science, they say, has a prejudice against supernatural causation (by which they generally mean “the actions of God”). Instead, the new anti-evolutionists claim that if scientists would simply open their minds to the possible action of forces acting beyond the purview of natural laws, they would suddenly perceive the weaknesses of evolutionary theory.

...scientists since the Enlightenment have seen fit to distinguish between supernatural beliefs based on faith or metaphysics and scientific findings based on observed evidence and inferences about natural causation. Such inquiry is technically termed "methodological naturalism," more commonly known as the "scientific method." It has quite a successful track record over the years, from medicine to nuclear science.

But methodological naturalism deeply offends today's anti-evolutionists. Because the theory of evolution is perceived to have contributed to the undermining of religious belief, the intelligent design movement has taken to arguing that the theory itself betrays a deep philosophical prejudice against God and the supernatural. Hence, they seek to overturn not just evolution but methodological naturalism itself.

...The Boston Globe's Nina Easton effectively refuted the argument equating evolution with atheism with a single article: A profile of Kansas scientist Keith Miller, an evangelical Christian who says he was "called by God to be a geologist" and who has been a leading critic of the new attacks on evolution, including in his book Perspectives on an Evolving Creation (a collection by Christian evolutionists). "Science does not affirm or deny the existence of a creator," Miller told Easton. "It is simply silent on the existence or action of God."

As Miller's words suggest, while evolution may well suggest atheism for some people, it does not suggest it to all. The atheistic conclusion is itself philosophical, not scientific -- as is the theistic conclusion, for that matter. That's crucial to bear in mind, because attacking science as atheism isn't just wrongheaded; it's dangerous. Going down this road will only generate still more strife between the scientific community and the overlapping community of people of faith -- two groups we should be bringing closer together rather than driving further apart.

Get a Postcard...

...and post a secret.

The Resistable Force and the Immovable Object

The 'San Francisco' vs. a seamount:

Blood was everywhere. Sailors lay sprawled across the floor, several of them unconscious, others simply dazed. Even the captain was asking, "What just happened?" All anyone knew for sure was that the nuclear-powered attack submarine had slammed head-on into something solid and very large, and that it had to get to the surface fast.

In the control room, a senior enlisted man shoved the "chicken switches," blowing high-pressure air through the ballast tanks to force the vessel upward. Usually, the submarine would respond at once. But as the captain, Cmdr. Kevin G. Mooney, and top officers stared at the depth gauge, the needle refused to budge....Ten seconds passed. Then 20, 30.

"I thought I was going to die," Commander Mooney recalled.

...The submarine crashed at top speed - 33 knots, or roughly 38 miles an hour - about 360 miles southeast of Guam. The impact punched huge holes in the forward ballast tanks, so the air being blown into them was no match for the ocean pouring in. The throttles shut, and the vessel briefly lost propulsion. As the emergency blow caught hold, mainly in the rear tanks, the sub was just drifting in the deep, its bow pointing down.

Luckily, the thick inner hull protecting the nuclear reactor and the crew's quarters held. But within was pandemonium - bodies pinballing, heads striking steel in the warren of lethally sharp surfaces in impossibly tight spaces. There was so much blood on the instruments and on the control-room floor that the place, Chief Hager said, "looked like a slaughterhouse."

Brown Recluse Spiders

And why one should avoid them (are these photos fake?).

Hitchens Screed

Christopher Hitchens has an insulting article over at Slate, taking the New York Times to task for using the term 'insurgents' to describe fighters in Iraq. To Hitchens, everything in Iraq is either bin Ladenist (Zarqawi) or Baathist: black and white, no gray, no need for thought. To Hitchens, people who insist upon looking deeper into Iraqi politics must be fools.

One of the interesting things about Iraq is that many, perhaps most, of the fighters are neither associated with Zarqawi or Saddam's old regime. There are a number of fighters of all stripes (Muqtada al Sadr's cadre to start, plus various salafists). It's inexcusable for Hitchens to take such a thuggish attitude to anyone else who might want to spend more than five minutes trying to puzzle it all out. If the New York Times wants to use the fairly-bland overarching term 'insurgents,' it's fine with me: just don't use the unhelpful, overused, undescriptive term 'terrorists.'

When did Hitchens become such a jerk? Why does he mock Orwell, with his straw men arguments and jackboot mentality?

First Tropical Storm of the Year!

According to FNMOC, this storm will head across Central America, the Caribbean, central Cuba, and points NE.

From Sea to Rubber Sea

This story sounds ridiculous, but friend Jeff assured me that when he worked at the sewage treatment plant, these things came down the sluice like little bobbing duckies and were the bane of everyone's existence.

"Man of La Mancha" Review

As I thought likely, the Davis Enterprise review of DMTC's show was quite favorable:

Quite a 'Dream'

Superb lead actor highlights strong local production of 'Man of La Mancha', By Bev Sykes, Enterprise drama critic, Published: May 11, 2005.

Director Jan Isaacson's Davis Musical Theatre Company production of "Man of La Mancha," which opened Friday at the Varsity Theater, is quite good.

Dale Wasserman's Broadway hit, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, is a musical drama — a play within a play within a play — that tells the story of Miguel de Cervantes, thrown into prison while awaiting examination by the Holy Inquisition for having the effrontery to foreclose on a church that had not paid taxes.

Cervantes' fellow prisoners hold their own Inquisition — a mock trial — and accuse the writer of being, among other things, an idealist and a bad poet. If "convicted," he will lose his belongings, which consist primarily of an unfinished manuscript and a trunk of theatrical costumes and props.

In his defense, the author proposes that he act out the story of the manuscript, using other prisoners to fill in the roles.

Cervantes' manuscript is the story of Alonso Quijana, an idealistic old man who imagines himself to be living in Medieval times as an errant knight, Don Quixote de La Mancha, who travels the countryside fighting beasts and rescuing damsels in distress: "He ponders the problem of how to make better a world where evil brings profit and virtue none at all; where fraud and deceit are mingled with truth and sincerity."

The delusional Quijana, who promises not to allow wickedness to flourish, is an embarrassment to his respectable family.

Without a commanding Cervantes, a theatrical company has no "Man of La Mancha," and Isaacson has it a gold mine with DMTC newcomer Byron Westlund (who played this role at Cabrillo Stage, in Aptos). Westlund is tall, rugged and stately; he has a rich baritone and is an excellent actor. What more could one want?

As Sancho Panza, Cervantes' manservant, Ryan Adame gives the character an endearing boyish enthusiasm.

Quixote sees things as he wants to see them, not as they really are. Thus a windmill becomes a giant beast to be attacked, and a country inn becomes a castle. Aldonza, the serving wench and town whore, becomes the lovely "Dulcinea," a fair lady whom Quixote insists on treating with dignity, gentleness and respect; he thus becomes her protector.

Lauren Miller is a world-weary, jaded Aldonza, confused by the eyes through which Quixote sees her. Miller has a bit of trouble with her high notes, but otherwise gives a strong performance. Her rape scene is disturbingly effective.

Other noteworthy performances include Steve Isaacson as the "Governor" of the dungeon, who doubles as the innkeeper who agrees to make a knight of Quixote, and dubs him "Knight of the Woeful Countenance."

John Hancock gives a high-powered performance in the dual roles of the Duke and Dr. Carrasco who — along with J.D. Diefenbacher (the Padre), Dannette Vassar (the Housekeeper) and Emily Beal (Antonia) — sings the delightful "I'm Only Thinking of Him."

The ensemble is strong, and particularly lovely in the harmonies for the gentle "Little Bird, Little Bird."

Steve Isaacson's set design exhibits better production values than the usually struggling company sometimes is able to afford, and the lighting — also designed by Isaacson, and run flawlessly by first-time technician Julie Kuhlman — dramatically sets the scene of an underground dungeon, with a window at ground level through which fog can be seen. The lighting is particularly dramatic when steps are lowered to permit new prisoners to enter the dungeon.

Long-time company costumer Jean Henderson turns out her usual collection of good-looking costumes, all appropriate to the period.

The 15-piece backstage orchestra produces a full sound that nicely accompanies the on-stage events. Ben Wormeli, the on-stage guitarist, complements the action quite well.

"Man of La Mancha" continues through May 29.

Copyright, 2005, The Davis Enterprise. All Rights Reserved.

Anti-Telemarketing Script

For those precious conversational moments (check out the pdf):

The Direct Marketing sector regards the telephone as one of its most successful tools. Consumers experience telemarketing from a completely different point of view: more than 92% perceive commercial telephone calls as a violation of privacy.

Oh No!

Early reports: Kylie Minogue's "Showgirl" tour is postponed, due to the diagnosis of early breast cancer in the pop star.

What to do now? Should I go to Australia or not? The air ticket is nonrefundable. Presumably the two concert tickets will be honored, at some indefinite time in the future, but it's unlikely I'll be able to attend. Maybe Travel.com will be merciful and let me suspend the reservation until new concert dates are announced.

Part of the equation, of course, is whether Kylie will be able to resume touring soon. I had some kind of premonition that it was important to see her perform now, before much more time passed, while she is in her full glory. I had thought to see her perform in Dublin in April, but decided instead to try Brisbane in June. Perhaps I waited just a touch too long! If I recall, she also left the 'Fever' tour early, so there was a history there of abbreviated tours.

Kylie could well perform for decades more, but her show will inevitably change in nature, and maybe lose its current brilliant lustre. It's sad that I may have been just one month too late to see Kylie in her full glory! Those drugs they use can debilitate even healthy people: it may be too much to expect her to return rapidly to the stage. I guess I should have gone to Ireland in April after all!!!

In any event, I hope my fears are groundless. My prayers are with her in her time of need........

Woodland's "Coppelia"

Show went off well...lot's of work on everybody's part, particularly Leah Miller as "Coppelia": she's always fun to work with!

On Friday, the janitors began to open the roll-up door behind the stage while the show was in progress. Strange sound of an electric motor whirring, and clanking chains, during Act II!

Bob Eggert came to see the Saturday show (his niece Lisa Marie was among the dancers). Kelly Challender guided her hip-hop students and made a guest appearance in Act 3 of the ballet as "War."

Needle and Thread

Jeannie's little shop of costumes!

April Showers Bring May Showers

As of May 11th, the National Weather Service shows Sacramento precipitation since July 1st as 122% of normal (23.61", vs. normal 19.31".) More rain on Tuesday of next week is currently being forecast. Drought conditions prevail in the Pacific Northwest. And Los Angeles is just an inch or so shy of having the rainiest water year ever!

Still, the total precipitation for that day (May 5, 2005) was only a little more than a tenth of an inch, leaving Los Angeles still some 1.12 inches short of the wettest rainy season since 1884.

New Specs

Elton John, I'm not, but I've graduated to the age when I need either bifocals, or two new sets of glasses, to cope with the full range of vision. I got the latter today, plus contact lenses. Just 500 outrageous pairs more, and I'll be like Sir Elton!

The 'near' pair seems OK, but the 'far' pair is a bit strange - the peripheral vision in the left eye is a bit blurry, and the depth of focus is strange - but at least I'll be able to read traffic signs again!

Mommy and Daddy

Interesting interview with Kittymalicious, whose blog I've been reading (and really like) for the last two years, and who is touring large swaths of the country.

Every Performer's Worst Nightmare

This happens to me fairly regularly at DMTC. It's harder, of course, when you're the focus of attention. Fatigue is often the culprit.

I remember when this happened to one of the DMTC Young Performer Theater regulars last year during the "Bye, Bye Birdie" Summer Workshop performance (the Summer Workshop gets less rehearsal time than usual for YPT, because of the heavy participation, compressed schedule, and double-casting). She came on for a 30-second solo. Her eyes bugged out and she sang "la, la, la," for what must have felt like an eternity. Carried it off well!

2005-05-09 15:12:13 KYLIE FORGETS WORDS TO HER SONG
Kylie Minogue was left red-faced onstage last night when she forgot the words to ‘I Should Be So Lucky’. The audience at Kylie’s London show were amazed she suddenly stopped in the middle of what is arguably one of her most famous hits. An eye-witness says, "She was half-way through the song and then she stopped. She looked a bit embarrassed and asked the audience to help out."

The Real Conservative Voice

Amplifying on George Bush's Yalta insinuations, Pat Buchanan denounces American involvement in World War II.

So Much to Blog About

And so little time:

• Dick Cheney getting his wish about keeping those Energy bill consultations secret. I always thought the Energy bill was just a stalking horse for much more serious secret shenanigans elsewhere, but good luck finding out what those shenanigans might be all about!
• Those infamous pre-2004-Election terror alerts being revealed by Tom Ridge as so many exaggerated lies, employed to manipulate the electorate into voting for George Bush. Does the Bush Administration know no shame?
• United Airlines dumping responsibility for their underfunded pension plans onto the taxpayers. Most employee wrath seems to be falling on overpaid, inept, untrustworthy management, and maybe they are right.

I Like Ike

Great quote, from David Sirota:

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are [a] few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 11/8/54

What a Be-a-tch!

Dave Chapelle? In South Africa?

Comedy Central star Dave Chappelle has checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa, the magazine Entertainment Weekly reported on Wednesday.

The comedian's whereabouts and condition have been unknown since Comedy Central abruptly announced last week that the planned May 31 launch of the third season of "Chappelle's Show" had been postponed and production halted.

Chappelle flew from Newark, N.J., to South Africa on April 28 for treatment, said the magazine, quoting a source close to the show it would not identify. Entertainment Weekly said it had corroborating sources for its story.

WDA Rehearsal

Two rehearsals down at Pioneer High School. Tonight, Kelly Challender appeared, and it was nice seeing her again.

Last night, one of the 6-year-olds tried to guess my age:

Her: 25!
Me: Nope!
Her: 35!
Me: Nope!
Her: 46!
Me: 48!
Her: I almost got it right!

Tonight, another girl tried to guess my age. Her first guess was 38. She asked for a hint, and I said it started with a "4." She ran through almost the entire forties in her effort to guess my age. These girls are so cute! Anything older than 15 might as well be ancient, as far as they are concerned!

Last night, there was a battle of wills between a mom and her young daughter that was interesting to watch: the daughter won, despite any number of disadvantages of age and size. Her willful manipulativeness might push her far, if tapped correctly: maybe Woodland's answer to Madonna?

Crying Wolf!

False alarm in Washington, D.C.!

Primitive Fears

I was dreaming about stuff like this last night:

A SNAKE expert is reported to have been crushed to death by his giant pet python.

Swede Erik Attmarsson, 28, was found dead in a house in Australia with the monster snake right beside him.

It is feared the 17ft long beast suffocated him in a horrific attack.

The Adelaide Advertiser reported that the victim's body had injuries consistent with being crushed to death by a snake.

...Attmarsson worked for a firm in Tanunda where he was involved in milking hundreds of venomous snakes for the production of anti-venom.