Dilatory Action

To Another Ten Years

2010-01-01T02:44:00.000-05:00

Love you too,
me

The Job Market is tight...

2009-09-30T21:26:00.002-05:00

...but is it really that tight? Two educated professionals can't find a decent job in a (fairly) thriving city? I don't believe it.

Writer's Block

2009-09-21T20:35:00.001-05:00

Ok, so here is a scenario. Say, you want to apply for a graduate program in the social sciences at a large Midwestern school. That school requires that you write an essay detailing WHY you want to go there and why you should be granted a slot at that institution. What would you write?

Me? I have no effing clue.

Back With Popular Demand

2009-09-09T21:01:00.002-05:00

I have been looking for some music recommendations recently. Here are a few of my recent favorites to give you an idea (warning: heavy on folk)

Avett Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE7rkSELM3I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LztALHStsDQ

Old Crow Medicine Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LztALHStsDQ

Loudon Wainwright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVam-fshUgw

Any other suggestions?

Some Good Links on Iraq and Afghanistan

2008-09-11T21:47:00.002-05:00

Its been awhile, but what the hey. I thought anyone who still comes by here and doesn't follow our two hot wars ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan might be interested in a few links I try to read regularly that cover those conflicts and other bigger picture issues that have an impact on them. I hope you enjoy them

Abu Muqawama

Small Wars Journal

Talisman Gate

Ghost of Alexander

Enjoy,
N.D.

Go Obama!

2008-05-15T19:40:00.004-05:00

Just a few weeks now and HRC is out and Obama and his running mate (pictured) can really get this country going in the right direction again! John McCain on life support can't do it. Billary can't even think about it.

YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

BookMooch

2006-08-20T21:00:00.000-05:00

The book-swapping service Bookmooch has been featured on BoingBoing and other great blogs recently. At Bookmooch, you list books you are willing to give away and books you desire. Through a point system, Bookmooch makes it possible for old books to find new lives.

Bookmooch reminds me of a splendid story I read in F&SF years ago.
A man in Japan relies on the AI of his PDA to get through the day. The AI frequently gives him bizarre instructions that must be followed immediately, but don't really interfere with his day. Buy that perfume. Get a haircut. Leave a cat statuette by that elevator.
Gradually, as very good, seemingly random things happen to the man, it emerges that he is connected to a vast network of others following equally bizarre instructions from a networked AI. Each of those little actions directed by the AI improves the lives of all those involved.

Bookmooch is very very simple, but what a gift to readers! I spend $2 in postage to send an old book to a person that wants it; I get 2 books I want in the mail! Wow!

I am extremely impressed by the quality of the books listed. All manner of niche interests are represented next to potboilers and new non-fiction. Check it out!

BookMooch: a community for exchanging used books (book swap and book exchange and book trade)

One day to go...

2006-08-17T21:09:00.000-05:00

One day to go...

I started playing soccer in an adult rec. league last spring. I thought it would be a great way to exercise and meet new people. I did not expect it to become an unequivocal highlight of my week. My love of the World's Game was reborn.

I read Soccer Against the Enemy and watched all but 5 or 6 of the 64 World Cup games this summer. My league starts back up in two weeks. But the news of this week is the return to English Football action. Go Boro!

Any fans out there?
Update:
Boro gave up a lead to lose 3-2 to premiership newbies Reading, BUT my Columbus Crew broke a 13 game winless streak! Silver lining and all...

Government by Gonads

2006-06-03T15:36:00.000-05:00

No matter what ideological hue he projects, whether conservatism, corporatism, idealistic imperialism, or his studied tracings of Ronald Reagan’s rugged sentimentalism, Bush has made manliness the centerpiece of his persona and his politics. Bush’s flight-deck performance aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln -- “Mission Accomplished” -- long ago became Esperanto for “hubris.” But as psychologist Stephen J. Ducat noted in his provocative book on masculine anxiety, The Wimp Factor, the event began as a ballsy celebration, first and foremost, of Bush’s manhood. Observing the President’s flight suit, which expressly accentuated his crotch, G. Gordon Liddy, the right’s uncensored id, noted: “It makes the best of his manly characteristic.”

We are in our sixth year of government by gonads.

link.

John McCain doesn't like dissent

2006-05-31T08:57:00.000-05:00

TPM Muckraker informs us that John McCain canceled an appearance at a fundraiser for Brian Bilbray - R, who is running against Francine Busby - D in the race to fill the seat of the corrupt Representative Duke Cunningham, currently serving 10 years for accepting bribes. Apparently, Senator McCain brooks no dissent with regard to the bills he introduces in the Senate, since he is refusing to appear at the fundraiser based on Bilbray's criticism of Busby because she supports McCain's immigration bill. While some may view this as a principled stand, it actually goes more directly to McCain's character and his anger at anyone who disagrees with him. One of my professors from this semester worked closely with McCain. Apparently, the senator has a nasty temper and treats "subordinates" in an extraordinarily derogatory way.

I'm especially disappointed by this revelation because in 2000, I was a McCain Republican. Of course, as my previous posts have probably indicated, I'm certainly not a Republican now, but at one time I thought the party really had something to offer in John McCain. Now, I think he is just a pandering politician who behaves poorly and treats people like crap. However, while I may have a less-than-glowing opinion about Senator McCain, his fellow Republicans view him with even less enthusiasm. In 2002, I worked for a Republican Representative. During one of the many discussions I had with the the Representative's staff, one of the Representative's staffers clued me in to the prevailing opinion in the office about Senator McCain. While I was praising some of the Senator's stances, this staffer almost leaped over the desk at me. In a voice seething with rage, the staffer said "the Viet Cong should have finished the job." I was, and still am, horrified by this statement. However, the rest of the staff simply nodded and agreed. Even now, four years later, I still cannot believe that the staff of this Republican Congressperson could honestly claim that the enemy should have killed an American war hero because that war hero disagreed on some political issues. Four years later, it still turns my stomach. I think that, as much as anything, has made me the angry liberal I am today. (Yes, I proudly claim the title of angry liberal. If you are truly a liberal, a conservative, or anything in between, then you should be angry at the assault on law, order and the American way that has been perpetrated by this Administration.)

While Senator McCain is considered the foregone Republican nominee in 2008, I think he has an enormous hurdle to overcome. I won't vote for him because of how he treats his staff and because he willingly panders to those he admits are wrong. I can't imagine that the Republican staffers who would willingly advocate for the torture and death of a Vietnam war hero would cast their votes for him. However, I could be wrong. I never would have imagined that any right-minded American would support the death of one of our soldiers, either.

I actually jumped when I scrolled down and saw this picture:

2006-05-25T07:47:00.000-05:00

This is seriously the world's ugliest dog. Courtesy of NBC4 in Washington, DC.

I agree, Mr. President. Democracy in Germany is an important goal....

2006-05-24T11:59:00.000-05:00

I laughed till I cried when I read this.

Read This

2006-05-05T22:06:00.000-05:00

Link

To hear some administration officials and conservative pundits, the main threat to civilian-military understanding these days is posed by those retired generals who have called for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation as Defense Secretary, in recognition of his many blunders in Iraq.

But in reality, the genuine problem affecting civilian-military relations in this country is the long-standing gap between opinion-leading elites of every political persuasion, and the armed forces -- largely drawn from lower- and middle-class families -- who protect them.

23 Hours of lockdown every day

2006-05-04T07:45:00.000-05:00

According to CNN, Zacarias Moussaoui will live in 23-hour lockdown, every day for the rest of his life. He will live in permanent solitary confinement.

While controversial, I agree with the jury's verdict in the death penalty phase of the Moussaoui trial. From a legal standpoint, the Fifth Amendment protects people in the United States from self-incrimination. In this case, the prosecution basically sought the death penalty because Moussaoui refused to incriminate himself. A reasonable court could not have upheld the death penalty on appeal. Recognizing this, the prosecution deliberately brought this case in the Fourth Circuit, a circuit known for extreme deference to the government. It is very doubtful that the Fourth Circuit would have overturned the death penalty ruling, leaving the appeal to the Supreme Court.

Had the Supreme Court accepted the case and overturned the verdict, I'm sure the repercussions would have reverberated throughout the country. Had the Supreme Court denied certiorari, or had they upheld the Fourth Circuit, the repercussions would have reverberated throughout the entire legal community and would have had a severe and profound impact on constitutional rights as applied, not only to non-citizen, self-admitted terrorists, but also to some girl at a small-town Walmart who could be charged with obstruction of justice because she refused to admit that she had shoplifted.

This jury, at this time in American history, was very courageous. After being forced to listen to and watch the deaths of thousands of Americans, after listening to Moussaoui incoherent rants, after listening to the families of those killed on September 11th, this jury decided that Moussaoui was a liar. Not only did they continue to protect our constitutional rights, but they refused to allow Moussaoui to become a martyr.

Now, he will spend every moment of every day with nothing to relieve the burden of taking his next breath, of living every long, excruciating minute of his life looking at the same cell walls. He will never again contact or see the outside world. At 37 years old, Moussaoui's life has ended. He just can't die. He deserves no less.

What's with the Glamour Shots?

2006-04-29T17:37:00.000-05:00

Yasser as a Girl

2006-04-28T16:42:00.000-05:00

Link

If Yasser Arafat was a pretty, suburban girl who went to F.I.T. he would look like this. The utilitarian Chucks, ripped tights, and heavy baggage show she’s been through a lot of shit (like getting kicked out of Lebanon and dealing with Netanyahu) but the fancy homemade shirt means she’s not bitter and still wants to fuck (like the Oslo Accords).

The Biggest News out of Iraq in Months

2006-04-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

Weapons must be in the hands of government security forces that should not be tied to political parties but to the nation," said the Iranian-born Sistani in a statement released by his office in Najaf after he met with the newly designated prime minister. "The first task for the government is fighting insecurity and putting an end to the terrorist acts that threaten innocents with death and kidnapping."

Grand Ayatollah Sistani

[W]e have to say that a state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory. Note that 'territory' is one of the characteristics of the state. Specifically, at the present time, the right to use physical force is ascribed to other institutions or to individuals only to the extent to which the state permits it. The state is considered the sole source of the 'right' to use violence.

Max Weber

On the (Retired) Generals' Dissent

2006-04-27T20:19:00.000-05:00

Best article I have read yet, in, of all places, the USA Today. Key quotes.

Members of America's professional, volunteer military swear no oath to the president or his policies, but rather "to support and defend the Constitution" and to "faithfully discharge the duties" of their office. The first and second articles of the Constitution place military control firmly in civilian hands, and the discharge of those duties is codified in a federal law called the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Its Article 88 prescribes punishment by court-martial for using "contemptuous words against the president, the vice president, Congress, the secretary of defense" or other officials. Article 92 likewise threatens court-martial for failing to obey a lawful order. This is why the generals did not speak publicly while on active duty, and why no one should expect those now serving to do so: The law forbids such action.

-------
The culture of service also opposes resignation. Falling on one's sword forfeits influence and is often viewed as abandoning troops in the field, for whom resigning is not an option. Furthermore, one officer's departure can be dismissed as an anomaly. Group resignations, however, run up against the military's unique personnel challenge: Because its leaders are grown organically within the services, they take decades to develop, and the pool of those qualified for the most senior positions is both tiny and slow to replenish.

Having kept their disagreements behind closed doors while on active duty, vocal generals now find themselves under assault. Supporters of the administration have consistently claimed that criticism of the Iraq war undermines morale and dishonors the sacrifices of U.S. servicemembers. This is simply wrong. Troops on the ground execute the lawful orders of our democratically elected government, and political debates at home will not erode this dedication to duty. Our soldiers and Marines are focused, quite rightly, on more immediate concerns: accomplishing their missions and taking care of each other.

If there exists a real culprit in undermining morale and dishonoring sacrifice, it isn't the war's critics — but rather the majority of Americans who "kept shopping" after 9/11, and now seem not to realize that 155,000 of their fellow citizens are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is not a nation at war. The Army and Marines are at war, and many military leaders are furious that our government has done nothing to share their burden of sacrifice. They speak out because the consequences of failure in Iraq are catastrophic, because our leadership has resisted making the changes needed to win, and because they know we're losing the battle to keep Americans engaged in this fight.

George Allen in High School

2006-04-27T20:15:00.000-05:00

At the very end of this piece on George Allen, contender for the GOP presidential nomination in '08, Ryan Lizza provides this skeleton from Allen's closet

[While conducting an interview with Senator Allen] I stared closely at Allen's smirk in his photo, weighing whether his old classmates were just out to destroy him. And then I noticed something on his collar. It's hard to make out, but then it becomes obvious. Seventeen-year-old George Allen is wearing a Confederate flag pin.
Still, I wasn't sure I'd ask him about it. And then he says something that changes my mind. As a child, Allen tells me, before he even moved to California, he learned about the painful history of the South when his dad would take the kids on long drives from Chicago to New Orleans and other Southern cities for football bowl games. There was one searing memory from those trips he shares with me. "I remember," Allen says, "driving through--somehow, my father was on some back road in Mississippi one time--and we had Illinois license plates. And it was a time when some of the freedom riders had been killed, and somehow we're on this road. And you see a cross burning way off in the fields. I was young at the time. I just remember the sense of urgency as we were driving through the night, a carload of people with Illinois license plates--that this is not necessarily a safe place to be."

Now the pin seemed even worse. Why would a young man with such a sensitive understanding of Southern racial conflict and no Southern heritage wear a Confederate flag in his formal yearbook photo?

I finally ask him if he remembers the pin, explaining that another of his classmates had the same one in his photo, a guy named Deke. "No," Allen says with a laugh. "Where is this picture?" He leans forward over his desk and tightens his lip around the plug of Copenhagen in his mouth. "Hmmm." He pauses. He speaks slowly, apparently searching his memory. "Well, it's no doubt I was rebellious," he says, "a rebellious kid. I don't know. Unless we were doing something for the fun of it. Deke was from Texas. He was a good friend. Let me think." He stretches back in the chair, his boots sticking out from underneath his desk. "Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. I'll have to find it myself." Another pause. "I don't know. We would probably do things to upset people from time to time."

Oops!

The New York Times Sucks, version 7437

2006-04-27T19:58:00.000-05:00

Nick Kristoff had a pretty good piece in the Times on Tuesdasy. I can't link directly to it (though this guy pasted the whole article); I was able to read it because it was in the Early Bird.

I thought that his list of policy recommendations for Americans to think about when considering Darfur was pretty good, and that it was a shame to find them stuck beghind a firewall where only subscribers could read what only a short time ago as free.

I was going to send this email to Kristof to see if I could elicit a respnse from him (something I have had a decent record of doing when I email journalists about their articles)

Sir,

I write because I have a question for you about the current NYT-Times Select arrangement. I was able to read your last piece, with several suggestions for concrete action the US and international community can take regarding stopping the genocide in Darfur. I was only able to read this because I have access to the Pentagon's "Early Bird" publication.

Does it bother you that there are many other American citizens out there who do not know about your suggestions because the NYT has created a tiered readership, where those who can afford the steep fees are privy to insights such as yours, while too many are left our in the cold?

I look forward to reading your response.

Regards,

xxxx

P.s. I thought it was exceptionally galling that to even send you this email I had to sign up for a free trial period. Someone at NYT has some very distorted priorities.

The only problem was, you need to be a paid subscriber to even have access to Kristof's email address!! And when I tried to sign up for the free trial to get his address the Web site said I already had used my free trial (news to me) and that I could not sign up for another. Such is life.

If this is fiscal responsibility, maybe we should just throw the budget out of the window

2006-04-19T09:50:00.000-05:00

Reading Firedoglake today, I came to a startling, and somewhat horrifying, realization. At the beginning of his Presidency, George W. Bush inherited a total national debt of $5.7 trillion. Congress recently raised the federal debt ceiling to $9 trillion dollars. At the current rate of spending, the United States can expect to see the total national debt almost double by the time the President leaves office in January 2009.

To put this into perspective, consider again the national debt when the President swore to uphold and honor the Constitution. Over the entire history of the United States, this country rang up a total of $5.7 trillion in debt. In eight years, this President will have managed to almost double that number.

To reiterate:
1796 - 2000 = $5.7 trillion
2001 - 2009 = estimate of approximately $ 10.7 trillion

Or to state it another way:

Presidents 1 through 42 = $5.7 trillion
President 43 = Approximately $5 trillion

Looking at it this way, can there be any doubt that this President is the worst fiscal president ever?

The Generals

2006-04-16T23:21:00.000-05:00

I have always thought that Gen. Newbold's statements about Rummy were the most damning. Larry Johnson backs me up on this.

Special Agent Bush

2006-04-14T07:55:00.000-05:00

I don't know how to copy flashplayer images, so all I can do is post the link to a fairly funny 24 parody.

Funny Loudon Video

2006-04-07T17:25:00.000-05:00

Watch it here.

Bush Loyalty Quiz

2006-04-07T17:21:00.000-05:00

My results

Your score is 1 on a scale of 1 to 10. You hate Bush with a writhing passion. You think he is an idiot, a liar, and a warmonger who has been an utterly incompetent, miserable failure of a president. Nothing would give you greater pleasure than seeing him impeached and run out of the White House, except maybe seeing him dragged away in handcuffs.

Take the test yourself here.