I don't know. Something terrible.

I was full of doubt when I heard Cloverfield was a love story. But after watching it, I saw that at its root, Cloverfield truly is a love story that gets bogged down by a completely predictable monster. The movie begins with a farewell party for Rob, who is going to Japan for a new job. At the party is Beth, a onetime short romantic acquaintance of Rob’s who shared a flirtatious day with Rob six weeks earlier, but the present reality is that Beth comes to Rob’s farewell party with another man. Documenting the drama is Jason, Rob’s brother, Hud, Marlena and Lily. When Hud isn’t covering interaction between Beth and Rob, which ends at the party with Beth walking out on Rob, he is intent on filming Marlena, a crush of his.

The party goes on for twenty minutes, nearly a third of the movie, before the monster makes an appearance. Heard and felt by all, the party moves to the roof to position for a better look at the source of the noise. They get it. The monster quickly comes their way after throwing the head of the Statue of Liberty down the street. From there the party is thrown into chaos and all residents of Manhattan are ordered to leave. Rob and three of his friends are on their way out of the city when he gets a call from Beth who is stuck in her apartment. Faced with a decision, Rob tells all to go on their way without him. He is determined to find and save Beth and his friends are determined not to let Rob go on his own even though it is clear that it might be a one-way trip for all of them.

At best, Cloverfield is intriguing. I am aware of its cult following—mostly by Lost fans—and after watching only a few minutes of the movie I understand that it could only be loved by a ravenous group of fanatics and not beloved by the whole world. Much like the Star Wars prequels are to most people—overwhelmingly disappointing—Cloverfield failed to meet my expectations.

As probably all do, I spent the first few minutes of the movie settling into the movement of the camera. The cinematography, “shot” completely by the characters with their indestructible video camera, is rarely focused on what I wanted to be seeing. It certainly achieves the feeling of watching a homemade video because it made me yearn for a traditionally shot film. Ever heard of a camera track?

The camera work isn’t the only area of the movie that has the homemade feel. Unfortunately, the acting reminds me of one reason why I go to the movies—for quality acting—because it just isn’t there in Cloverfield. You’ve got to hand it to the cast though; they do a great job acting like they aren’t acting, thus, making them aggravating to watch.

There are things to love in Cloverfield. The monster could have easily been reminiscent of Godzilla, but it has a refreshing appearance…if a 30-story tall monster can have that. We see enough of it to peak our interest, but there is a lot about the monster and what the military knows about it that isn’t revealed, leaving the option for a sequel.

It must have taken a considerable about of work to maintain the feeling of a homemade video and the integrity of a believable monster stomping through the streets of New York City. In all scenes the monster (which remains unnamed) looks as real as anything else on camera. However, the strength of the visual effects is overpowering. I ended up caring more about the action sequences than I worried about the fate of Rob and Beth.

Although there are some unexpected twists in Cloverfield—like the little creatures that drip off the big monster—they are coupled with predictable elements like an infection carried in the bite of the creatures that deflates the movie of ingenuity. The contagious or deadly bite is used too often in virus/vampire thrillers which are a completely different subset of movies, but unsurprising nonetheless. The scene in which Marlena gets taken away by military personnel in HAZMAT suits was seen a mile away.

Another cheap thrill was the rash celebration in the helicopter after the B-2 Stealth Bomber drops its payload on the monster. The explosion of the bombs and the collapse of the monster create a massive cloud of dust. There is a short delay before the monster jumps at the helicopter cutting off Hud’s premature exclamations of victory. Surprised? No, not really.

The only dialogue in the movie that feels thought through is Hud’s, the man behind the camera. Throughout incessant yelling and cumbersome noise were Hud’s dry and smart-alecky comments.

When Beth sees the monster for the first time she yells, “What is that?”

“It’s…It’s a terrible thing.” Hud replies, injecting some much needed humor into a painful script.

In another scene, Rob, Lilly and Hud must cross from one building to another via a precarious bridge. “I’ll go first,” Rob says.

“Okay. I’ll…I’ll document,” Hud says.

But Hud’s humor can’t hold the movie together and it slowly falls apart while we race toward the ending where we already know what is going to happen. There was nothing done to protect us from knowing the conclusion of this movie. We know from the beginning that the tape is found in Central Park, thus leading us to assume death is imminent for those behind the camera. I felt myself watching solely to know who lives their last moments on tape, but wouldn’t it have been more enjoyable to not be expecting that? Then again, maybe the director wanted us to know that the movie ended abruptly so we could expect a terrible ending. The last second declaration of love would have been more poignant had we not known that the tape ends in Central Park.

It was a love/hate relationship, all 73 minutes of it, and when it ended I thought of a scene, featuring Beth and Hud, for which the dialogue is an appropriate reaction to the film.

“What the hell was that?” Beth asks.

“I don’t know. Something terrible.”

The Bobby Kennedy Remarks

This is getting a lot of buzz on the internet, but even before she gets to the Bobby Kennedy comment she tries to zing us again by saying it is unprecedented that she is being pushed out of the race. You've all heard her reasoning for this. It's because she has won some big states, but doesn't have a majority in any major category. It's because of sexism.

No, Hillary, it is because you are losing!



I can't take much more of this.

She's pinned me. I'm a chauvinist.

I received this article about Hillary's claim that sexism has been a major factor in her failed bid to win the Democratic nomination.

Money quote:

It is sissy. It is blame-gaming, whining, a way of not taking responsibility, of not seeing your flaws and addressing them. You want to say "Girl, butch up, you are playing in the leagues, they get bruised in the leagues, they break each other's bones, they like to hit you low and hear the crack, it's like that for the boys and for the girls."

And because the charge of sexism is all of the above, it is, ultimately, undermining of the position of women. Or rather it would be if its source were not someone broadly understood by friend and foe alike to be willing to say anything to gain advantage.

Brilliant.

Hat tip: My Aunt in Phoenix.

You Must Read Before You Die

I was in a bookshop on Bond Street in London the one and only time I flipped through 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I remember prepping myself to have that idea in my head, the idea that I am a slightly well read human being, obliterated. It was. I haven't read a tenth of the list, but I thought then and there that if I did read the list I could still be considered an unaccomplished reader because every reader has their must read and every reader has their white whale.

I could critique the list, but I've already written that I haven't even finished a tenth of the books on the list. Who would take that seriously? So, I was happy to find this critique of the book. This guy fesses up to having read a third of the list. That's pretty damn good.

Music: I purchasized Narrow Stairs, the new Death Cab For Cutie, this week. It is getting a lot of play. That's all I'm going to say.

New Kids In The Vault

It is nearly pointless posting this, but it even made Wisconsin television.

The TC Never Lets Me Down

It was good to be back in the presence of Longmont's own Daily Times-Call again. Love this headline.

Why the helicopter?

3pm - I'm sitting in the study at my computer and I notice a large plume of smoke rising into the sky. I go to the window and can see that on the other side of the railroad tracks there is a controlled fire burning. There is that distinct smell of a ditch burn. I always think it smells like marijuana. Seriously.

4pm - I hear a helicopter outside. I look out the window and notice it is hovering right above the fire. I go back to the computer and wonder why a helicopter is hovering over a ditch burn. It occurs to me that from the height the helicopter is hovering at it could be filming traffic on I-94.

4:15pm - The helicopter is still there. I go out on the deck and position myself for a better view of the fire. I notice nothing extraordinary, but I do see that it isn't a ditch burn. There is a mound of plants burning and I notice some men fueling the fire with additional greenery. There is a thick smoke surrounding our whole apartment building.

6pm - The fire dies. The helicopter has left.

9pm - I'm watching the local news with Kate. The lead story is about a fight on a school bus in Milwaukee today. Everyone on the bus was fighting. When three kids couldn't find the boy they were looking for in the mess they turned on the driver and beat him up. The second story is about a drug bust in Oak Creek--where we live. The cops uncovered a massive homegrown project. The marijuana found--its worth estimated at over $3 million--was grown using the traditional heat lamps and fans to maintain the humid environment necessary to grow the plant. All the walls had turned black from mildew caused by the humidity in the house. We were shocked by the amount of cannabis that was grown in the house featured in the story. It is enough to fill a small warehouse.

At the end of the story they show a beautiful aerial shot of a small fire in a field. The reporter says that the cannabis was moved to a "remote location" and burned. The "remote location" was pretty much our back yard. The mystery of the helicopter comes full circle and I regret not spending more of my afternoon outdoors.

Spoiler Alert

David Cook wins American Idol. Yes, we tuned in for the finale and we were happy with the results.

Same Old Story

I read today that Obama was sure to not claim an overall victory last night during his speech to supporters in Des Moines, Iowa, in order to not disrespect Hillary Clinton and to not lose favor with her supporters. Obviously, this was a smart move because Obama will not win in November if he fails to win Clinton’s voting bloc. And yet, no matter how respectful Obama is of Clinton, she refuses (even in her speech last night) to return the favor.

My response to Clinton has devolved from appreciation to criticism to anger and now to laughs. All I can do is laugh when I hear her talk about how she is winning the popular vote count. All I can do is laugh when she demands the Democratic Party stick to the simple rules of democracy and count every vote in states such as Michigan and Florida where, conveniently enough, she happens to be the victor. Who does she think she is, a Clinton? Do her supporters really believe she would be pressing the DNC to count those votes if she was trounced by Obama?

I get the whole honor thing. She doesn’t want to let her supporters down by pulling out now before everyone has been heard. She thinks she is doing the democratic process a favor by staying in. But even the democratic process has rules. Even though dropping out when you can’t possibly win isn’t one of them, it should be one now.

Randomness:

My favorite political footage of the last two weeks is a tie between Bill Clinton’s red face after the North Carolina and Indiana primaries and Matthews catching Kevin James throwing words around. Words he clearly doesn’t know the meaning of. Here is the clip.

Milwaukee's Music

Concerts in Milwaukee are ongoing, but during the last week in June and the first week of July, Summerfest takes over the city. Starting in 1968, Summerfest soon labeled itself the world’s largest music festival. Apparently, a title verified by the Guinness World Records in 1999. The festival is held at the Henry Maier Festival Park on seven stages. Kate and I were only able to catch the end of it last year so we are looking forward to enjoying more music this year.

Some notable artists at Summerfest:

Rascal Flatts – I list them because I am going to this show with Kate and a few other residents (girls). There might be another guy coming along.
Alicia Keys
John Mayer – Who is just got selected by the shuffle feature on my iTunes. “Covered in Rain” from Any Given Thursday. Good song.
Tom Petty
The Police with Elvis Costello – So want to go to this show.
Counting Crows
Gnarls Barkley
BoDeans – Definitely catching these guys.
Dashboard Confessional
Less Than Jake
Kansas
Coheed and Cambria
The Roots
The Wailers

…and at the Wisconsin State Fair…

Boyz II Men – What the hell?

Political Lexicon

I approve of William Safire and his NY Times Magazine column “On Language.”

This is slightly dated, but I especially enjoyed this one.

Money quote:

My name is William Safire, and I approve on this message. (Nah; sounds as if I’m dumping on it.) I approve of this message. (Sounds elitist, out of touch, like a blessing given by the Charles River Gang.) Ready? I approve this message. There; that government-approved, preposition-free usage has an executive tone, as if the speaker were running for chief executive. If you can cut earmarks out of the budget deficit, you can cut the needless word out of the sign off, and it saves a fraction of a second, which—multiplied by thousands of TV spots—adds up to real money.

Health...Care?

It is hard to evaluate the health care one receives when there is no diagnosis. This scenario tempts me to be overly critical and negative about the care I received. But another scenario demands that I view my experience in a positive light. This scenario, the one that I am living now, is that I have come out of whatever it was that handicapped my life for five months. Barring an unforeseen problem, I am healthy on all fronts.

Now to the care…Once Kate and I decided to seek professional help, which didn’t take long given the whole loss of taste and facial paralysis thing, we were able to get a neurosurgeon to order a CT without a prior visit. This was the first of many perks of being married to someone in the health care industry. Kate knew someone who knew a neurosurgeon that did a big favor for us which eliminated the usually necessary visit to the doctor before a CT is ordered. That saved us $350. If you are wondering, that is after insurance. We did have to pay for one visit with this neurosurgeon so he could tell me that there was no visible tumor or huge problem with my brain.

This same doctor wrote a prescription for dexamethasone a few days later when it was determined I had Bell’s palsy. This prescription was written without a consultation—another perk. Although there were those perks and a few others, namely having a nurse practitioner as a mother-in-law and an anesthesiologist as an uncle and a wife who is a pharmacist (who also could double as a MD sometimes), I can’t say the perks drastically improved the quality of the health care. In the long run the perks saved us some money and some appointments by bypassing some health care bureaucracy.

The range of doctors I saw was a direct consequence of not having a diagnosis. Being sent from a neurosurgeon to a neurologist, to an ophthalmologist, to an ENT doctor, to a rheumatologist and to a family practice doctor is the unfortunate path of a patient with an undiagnosable illness. That journey wasn’t a byproduct of poor care, rather it was a byproduct of a health care industry that needs reforming. And with that thought, maybe it is a sign of poor care. Let me elaborate. With all the doctors I visited I came to realize how hard it is to find a choice doctor. There are many doctors out there, but few see patients as anything besides a chart or can remember why the heck you are seeing them for the second time that week. I went to more than one appointment where the doctor was hesitant to order tests or prescribe drugs that they sent me to another doctor even though they knew that ordering that blood work or giving me that drug is going to be the end result. When there seemed to be risk involved, half the doctors covered their asses by referring me to a doctor with the fortitude to order the test.

This slowed down the process of actually getting the care I needed or the answers I sought. It is a practice that prioritizes one thing—the doctor. Not surprisingly, the doctors that were referred to me by the doctors too afraid to make the call were always significantly better. They asked a lot of questions. They sat quietly while listening to my answers and I could see the wheels turning. There was much more patient-doctor dialogue. Probably most importantly, I felt like they were concerned about my health like it was their own life on the line. The care I received from these doctors was also more efficient. In one appointment the doctor quizzed me about my whole ordeal, came up with a list of likely problems/issues, and acted on one of these issues right away by ordering an x-ray. I got the x-ray, waited fifteen minutes and was able to meet with the doctor to discuss the results five minutes later. Let me remind you that this was all in one visit and, if you haven’t figured it out yet, not ordinary.

In stark contrast to the doctors that truly cared about me, there were two who were certifiable assholes. The first, an ER doctor that was convinced I had cluster headaches. She put me on oxygen, prescribed fiorocet, and discharged me from the ER. It was an agonizing few hours. We realized she wasn’t going to do any more for me so we obeyed her orders because that was the quickest way out of the ER that afternoon. The second, an ophthalmologist, was the worst doctor either of us has ever encountered. This guy met and exceeded all of my expectations of the crappiest, most arrogant doctor. He always seemed to know more about my health than I did. He would ask me questions and interrupt me while I was answering. Kate was often along on the visits to this doctor and on the last visit her patience with the doctor expired. She was beginning to ask a question of him and after she got out the first two words, not nearly enough for the doctor to know what she was asking, he held up his hand and stopped her and said, “No.” Kate started again, putting some frustration in her voice. This time he let her finish but immediately said, “No.” Again, he gave no explanation.

These two doctors represented some of the lows throughout my sickness. It was hard to imagine how they might have loyal patients. They consistently did the minimum in order to expedite the process. For the eye doctor, it was all about the money. You could tell he didn’t put much thought into his work. Sad to say, but he was a bitter, crabby, old man.

In addition to the poor doctors, the lack of diagnosis was the most frustrating factor to deal with, but that wasn’t necessarily a sign of the quality of the health care. Although at times I forgot that. With that said, I still think the care I got was only mediocre. Kate and I have great health insurance. We are in a highly rated health care system. However, this health care system appears to be very bogged down by bureaucracy and a few silly rules that are probably in place to ensure that patients can’t work the system. That’s a shame. It is also a shame that I ran into a few doctors that seemed reluctant to use the powers they had at their disposal. Why do they do this? Well, I assume some don’t want to be accused of a misdiagnosis or ordering unnecessary procedures. I don’t have the answers, but maybe some of them are just too afraid. It might be as simple as that. Or they could be deliberately passing me on to a doctor that they believe is better than them. Fine, but that process is slow and expensive. It might mean weeks between appointments and even longer before the next test is ordered or the next drug prescribed, thus making for an agonizing wait for a diagnosis or a result from a test. In this system there is no quick route to a diagnosis even if from the beginning the patient’s symptoms match those of a specific disease.

You Don't Know What You've Been Missing

It was a quick interview. The job wasn’t offered to me on the phone. I should know within a week whether or not I am selected. It might be two days or a week. I can’t remember exactly. Anyway, I had to answer questions like “Why Obama?” “Do you think you would excel in this position?” “What organizing experience do you have?” For that last question, I had to get a little creative.

So that’s where I stand on that front.

I have been posting almost everyday since I have been back in Wisconsin, but as you may have noticed the posts lack substance. Explanation? Well, I have several. First, I had a freelance deadline on Wednesday and still hadn’t heard from three of my contacts at the beginning of this week. That was interesting, but I wrapped the pieces up and sent them in. I feel good to have that off my plate. Second, I just finished my seventh day in a row at the Bucks. I’ve been busy there too. Third, Kate and I went out the last couple of nights. Two nights ago to dinner and a movie. Last night to a friend’s apartment for dinner.

I don’t have to work until Tuesday and Kate has the weekend off. Sweet.

Also, I haven’t had much to say on here lately about politics. It has gotten to the point of certainty, certainty that Obama will be the nominee. Hillary won’t drop out before June 3. The Edwards endorsement helped. It is all the obvious and I don’t have that much commentary on it besides generally agreeing with things I have read on the blogs in the past week. I don’t want to rehash everything into my own ideas.

By the way, it is bike to work week. I rolled the bike out yesterday and got air in the tires and will probably bike to the Bucks for the rest of my time there. I love my bike. I love that it isn’t fueled by $4 gallons of gas. Yes, gas has it 4 bucks-a-gallon in Milwaukee. Pretty absurd. You know those stickers that say “Kill Your TV”? I want one that says “Kill Your Car”. The Milwaukee suburbs are about the least bicycling friendly place I can imagine, but I am going to do my best to not drive my car until the freeze comes again.

Last week, I read Enger’s new book, So Brave, Young, and Handsome in three days. The man’s ability to write a story is absolutely amazing. A review will be up soon. Read the book. It was so beautiful I wept.

Today at 2pm...

...A phone interview with the Obama campaign. I'll keep you posted.

Ah, Matthews

A follow up quote to the map below:

"It's almost like she is the Al Sharpton of white people." - Chris Matthews


Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan.

Deliverance, anyone?

This map is circulating on the blogs and I think it is fascinating. The purple is where Hillary has won more than 65% of the vote.



This isn't a helpful map when trying to abolish stereotypes. Race is definitely a factor.

Hat tip: Everyone.

A Prairie Home Companion and its Guests

I should sound old in this post because I am going to write a little bit about seeing a live recording of A Prairie Home Companion in Milwaukee on Saturday, and the average age of the audience was more than twice my age…as expected. So, what shall I say? Saturday night was a hoot.

Garrison Keillor always starts off the program with a little nod to the location he is broadcasting from. (Read: it was time to make fun of Milwaukee.) Keillor told the crowd that Milwaukee is adapted from a Native American language and it means “on the way to Chicago.” That roused a good chuckle from the crowd, who were most likely all Milwaukee residents, and all distinctly aware, like anyone who spends a chunk of time in Milwaukee, that Chicago is incredibly superior to Milwaukee and Brew City natives seem a little bitter about that. This was a crowd though with a sense of humor and the joke folded us up with laughter.

Another favorite was Keillor’s reference to Milwaukee as the home of beer and bratwurst, both of which create exhaust. At this cue, APHC’s sound effects man did his best to distinguish between beer farts and bratwurst farts. That was pretty hilarious. Kate loved it too because we are immature and laugh at fart jokes still.

The musical guests were the Bodeans, from Waukesha, Wisconsin which is about 25 minutes from where we are in Oak Creek. Completely unknown to me, the Bodeans sang four beautiful songs and I really enjoyed them. I didn’t recognize their name or their music. When we got home that night I read through the program and discovered that these local musicians were extremely successful and perhaps I should have known about them a little earlier, even if I didn’t live near Waukesha. Their 1986 debut album, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, launched them into the national music scene. Rolling Stone named them “Best New Band”. I read that their song “Closer to Free” was selected as the theme for Fox’s Party of Five. A refresher:

Well, anyways. They are still singing and making albums and are pretty chill and refined now. They got a lot of applause and Kate and I feel completely naïve for not knowing about them because we definitely recognized “Closer to Free” when we found it on iTunes.

Leon Redbone was also on the show. Redbone always performs in a Panama hat, sunglasses, and bowtie. He is quite the mysterious figure. Even Wikipedia can’t scrape up that much information on the dude. He was a regular on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. His disguise and ability to hide his true identity from the media and fans led to rampant speculation that he was actually Andy Kaufman or Frank Zappa. However, those men are dead now and Redbone still performs. Redbone survived a plane crash in 1979 and travels to “engagements exclusively by car.” His sound is very unique. I didn’t expect a rumbling baritone to come out of that small man. His voice can also be very smooth. I didn’t love his music. It was too folksy for me. The best comparison I can make is to Louis Armstrong.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time and I know that performance will remain fresh in our minds for a long time because Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion, whether you listen or not, are certainly slices of Americana that are not going to be replaced when the show comes to an end.

APHC in Milwaukee

What would a year or two in the Midwest be without seeing a live recording of A Prairie Home Companion? It's a Midwest staple and something we are going to be lucky enough to see tonight when Garrison Keilor and crew take the stage at the Milwaukee Theatre.

I've been asking around and it turns out a lot of people in the Midwest don't know who Garrison Keilor is. Shocking really, considering he is a pretty accurate embodiment of Midwest folk. At least, that is my impression so far from spending ten months here.

In other news, an old college friend wrote on my Facebook wall and insisted that I not vote for Obama. He says it is a big mistake. He also told me to trust him. I inquired about an alternative and have yet to hear back from him, but this blog will feature most of the correspondence, unless of course it is sent via Facebook message. I guess then it is private communication. We will see.

Potential Veep

Yesterday:

"She [Clinton] is tireless, she is smart. She is capable. And so obviously she'd be on anybody's shortlist to be a potential vice-presidential candidate," he [Obama] said.

I hope he wouldn't select her because he thinks that is his only shot at winning in November. There are better choices.

May 7, 2008 - 12:33am

A long time ago I left two friends in the summer night
The lasting image of them never fades
Their faces lit by orange streetlamp glow
A night filled with unknown lasts

Tonight, that image haunts me

As two hooded bodies walk up the street
Into the night shade of cottonwoods
I fear the darkness that turned them into one before
I fear not meeting the two on the other side

Heading West

Flying to Colorado today to see...

Family...

Friends...


Monte...and Beautiful Colorado!

Be back in a week.

Anne Lamott on The Colbert Report

She was on last night. Pretty sweet.

Gas Tax

You may have caught McCain or Clinton criticizing Obama for not supporting the summer holiday from the gas tax. McCain thinks it is a legit way to ease the burden of a poor economy and expensive gas on the American family. Clinton is joining the fray to present a united front with McCain which is another one of her cheap tricks to win more support.

The idea sounds great until you do any amount of research on it and find stuff like this...

It's [the gax tax] 18.4 cents per gallon. The average consumer will save about $30 over the entire summer if we scrap the tax. ... Clinton and McCain aren't challenging the existence of the tax: They are implicitly saying it's a good tax that we should all relish paying in the non-summer months. Clinton is doing this and arguing that higher taxes on energy companies should be part of the bargain. It's phony populism in the service of a "tax cut" that would fund one meal for two at Applebees, which may or may not include dessert.

How You Find My Blog

I've recently noticed a spike in traffic to my blog. No, it is not because my daily readership is growing. No, it is not because more people are linking to my blog.

People find my blog because they search for the "goonies sequel". My post a while back on the subject is consistently in the top five results.

You search for "Qdoba hours" and you get this post on why Clinton is like Qdoba.

Maybe you are trying to find out if Starbucks has Italian sodas. If you google it, you'll find my page.

A lot of people must have questions about airplane exit-row seating. They find the rules here.

And a curious number google "McDonalds soda sizes" and find my page.

The rest of you link to my blog via one of the blogs on the right and some other blogs. If that's not you, then it is a direct link, mostly meaning, you actually are a regular. Thanks.

Enger's Return

Breezing through the book reviews in the Sunday paper a name drew my attention. It wasn't a book review, rather an article about Leif Enger writing his new book. Enger wrote Peace Like A River, one of my favorites, and his new book is So Brave, Young, and Handsome. And it is already out. How did I not know this?

He will be in Milwaukee on May 8th to read from his new book. I'll be there.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Asked the central philosophy that underscores his fiction, asked if he was religious, Enger said, "I would say that, ah, I value faith a lot. Faith is important to me. Religion--I associate the world with ritual and I'm not very ritualistic. My world-view is a Christian one, so it follows that the things I value in my stories would have to do with sacrifice and atonement and goodness and joy. Particularly joy. I love books that seem as if they were joyfully written. Certainly they would include failure and despair and sadness, but I never feel that those things by themselves are the whole story."

Diminishing Returns

Once again, the hope I hold for Obama reaching the White House is dwindling.

Another primary has passed where Hillary won by just enough (in her mind) to justify staying in the race. By the way, the final margin between the two candidates in Pennsylvania was 9.2%.

The longer Hillary stays in, the longer she will attack the true front runner in her party, thus giving Republican focus groups more fodder for attack ads and more material for Limbaugh, Hannity, and O’Reilly. I used to love O’Reilly, but I tuned in last night and couldn’t even bring myself to watch more than one minute of the man as he railed on Obama for the issues that don’t matter—Wright, the Weather Underground, Obama’s bitter comments, etc. And then these people on TV go on to talk about how Obama is not vetted. They must be kidding. I truly can’t remember the last time I heard a criticism of Obama on FOX, CNN, and MSNBC that was related to one of his policies.

I guess I see the machine really picking up speed now and it makes me feel hopeless. It is a machine determined to not let Obama become the POTUS. I don’t know all of the fuel that the machine runs on, but it is clear it is partly made up of paranoia of the black man, the aversion of Obama (a man with the middle name Hussein), Islamophobia, and the simple thought of a Democratic White House.

It is one big machine. And we need to stare it down.

For what it is worth, I am trying to. One of the only ways I know how to is by writing here, but soon I might know one other way because I recently applied to be a full-time volunteer for the Obama campaign this summer.

A Spike Lee Joint

In the absense of Kate (she is at Purdue until tomorrow) I decided to hit up the documentaries at the library and I found a goodie.

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts

The documentary looks into the lives of New Orleans residents prior to, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. A worth while documentary always educates. That is what I love about them, and Spike Lee brings it in this one. There are countless interviews of residents and professionals working in the aftermath of Katrina. Their stories are horrific, touching, and sad. I found myself laughing at people throwing out all political correctness. My jaw dropped at the site of the floating dead in the storm surge. And I cried watching footage of people returning, for the first time, to their homes of 50+ years only to find ruin and heartbreak where there once was so much hope and pride.

This documentary was originally a TV mini-series on HBO, but is now available in a 3-disc set at your local libary. So check it out.

A & F

Okay, a number of things about this video of Obama's speech last night from Indiana.

First, I am posting this because I wanted to make note of the Abercrombie and Fitch advertisement behind Obama. I don't know if anyone else on the blogs has already mentioned this. I wouldn't be surprised. It can't be a coincidence that the three gentlemen directly behind Obama are all wearing A & F shirts. On the YouTube video it is a little hard to read the third guy's shirt, but trust me, it is A & F.

Second, Obama does something Hillary never does when she loses. He congratulates his opponent and he thanks the voters in Pennsylvania who voted for him. Hillary can never bring herself to congratulate Obama and if you voted for her, but didn't win the state for her, she would rather care less. Looks like she is the one that is bitter.

Here She Comes

"The road to 1600 Pennsylvania runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania." - Hillary Clinton's opening line of tonight's victory speech. It made me laugh. Hillary really has turned into a comedian. She went on to say, "We can only keep winning." I can't agree anymore because she is going to have to take over 80% of the remaining votes to even have a legit reason to be in the race and that is not going to happen. Is she trying to make it sound like winning is a habit of hers? Hillary, remember 11 states in a row?

Oh my gosh. She did not just say, "The tide is turning." I hope the stage collapses, or she falls off the front end of it. Please pull a Dole.

The tide turned a long time ago, Hillary, and you are just holding onto these scattered victories because it makes you feel good. Your supporters argue that these victories show you are the stronger candidate and that you deserve the nomination despite being behind in delegates, pledged delegates, and popular vote count. We are told that if you really did make a habit of winning, and if you really were in the lead, and Obama was behind, that leaders in the Democratic party would not be calling for Obama to drop out. That isn't believable for one moment. If Obama was losing to the Clintons as badly as you are losing to him, Hillary, it would be much more of a done deal. Clinton is still a stronger brand in the democratic party. He wouldn't stand a chance and you don't either. Pennsylvania....whoopdee-freaking-do.

And, I might add, Obama would have dropped out by now.

PA Primary Eve

In the last six weeks I have done a below average job on writing non-political posts. I got some ones in there that might not have found their way to the blog if there were primaries throughout that time, but I gave up on completely abandoning any talk about the candidates and the race for the White House after I took a spin through the archives. According to the archives, this blog covered politics long before I remember ever writing about politics. And so, after a pseudo-break from political blogging I return today with some very casual thoughts on the next primary because tomorrow, voting is back on the menu.

Clinton is set to win Pennsylvania. All the major polls out there show her lead to be anywhere from 6 to 14 percentage points. Andrew Sullivan is of the opinion that without a double-digit Clinton victory in Pennsylvania, Clinton doesn’t have a legitimate reason to stay in the race. I definitely subscribe to this, but do I think Clinton will go on even if she just wins by two points? Of course. I think most of us do.

Since the ABC debate and bittergate, the networks have really been hitting Obama hard for hitting back at Hillary. I don’t know what the media expects of Obama. Yes, he is classy, but classy people need to defend themselves and I think that is all he has done since being triple teamed by Gibson, Stephanopoulos, and Clinton last week.

The best case scenario for Obama is a narrow defeat tomorrow and victory in the remaining primaries followed by a Clinton concession speech. The latter determining factor being the most unlikely, but if this did happen it would be a boon to the Democrats chances in November because they wouldn’t have to wait until August to solidify a nomination.

The worst case scenario for Obama and everyone that doesn’t want McCain in the White House will be if Clinton stays in the race until the convention like she vowed to do several weeks ago in the Washington Post. If she takes this to the convention I will be very skeptical about an Obama victory in November. Remember the good old days when Clinton voters said they would support Obama if he won the nomination and vice versa? Well, that dream has died. Each day that this battle rages on polarizes the democrats even more. I used to think a Giuliani/Clinton match-up was the worst possible. That was before Clinton decided to stay in the race even though it is mathematically impossible for her to win with numbers of delegates, states won, and popular vote.

Honestly, I think Obama will definitely win the nomination, but that hasn’t kept me from having nightmares about voting for Clinton or McCain. I think I would pass altogether.

Heads Up

Obama is going to be on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight. I think it might just be a split-screen conversation, but it would be nice to have him in studio.

Clinton, Edwards, and Obama

Colbert really pulled out all the stops last night in his last broadcast from Philadelphia. Clinton, Edwards, and Obama made appearances on the show and Obama put distractions on notice. Oh, snap.

Another Tour

This picture from Sunday's paper made me stop what I was doing. Without reading the caption I assumed it was related to the Iraq War. Sure enough, dad just left for a second tour. One of the saddest pictures ever.

Small World

A customer came into the store yesterday carrying her own cup for us to make her drink in. I was on bar so I stepped over to grab her cup. I looked down at the cup and saw "Caffe Luna Longmont, Colorado" on the side. No freaking way. Her family just moved out to Milwaukee after living in Longmont for seven years. We had a nice chat. I introduced myself and said, "I never thought I'd be in Milwaukee serving a Starbucks latte in a Caffe Luna travel mug."

Live-blogging the debate

I missed most of it. That's no big deal because it sounds like I didn't miss much, but I got my updates on some blogs.

Sullivan:

8.33 pm. So far, neither Gibson nor Stephanopoulos have asked a single policy-related question. They seem utterly uninterested in foreign or domestic policy. After the past eight years, we have had half an hour with nothing but process questions. Gibson and Stephanopoulos are clearly part of the problem in this election and part of what has to be reformed.

Amen. From what I have read and from the 30 second clips I have seen, Gibson and Stephanopoulos should be ashamed of the debate they conducted. Gibson was booed by the audience, for crying out loud.

The Choice Part

The two best bits of commentary on Obama's "bitter" quote I have found are from an emailer on a blog and Jon Stewart.

The emailer:

Thank God for Obama's speech. I live in rural Kentucky and yes, many, many people here have nothing: no job, no money, and no future. Ironically, people on the coasts call him elitist for saying something that most here agree with. Maybe that's why nobody is talking about it around here--old news.

And I paraphrase Jon Stewart. He made a point of all the elite criticism by reminding us that elite means good. He went on to say that he wants the president to be much smarter than him. I think he makes an excellent point and very accurately makes fun of the way the MSM and politicians throw the word around.

I don't want dumb in The White House. I don't want average in The White House. If Obama is elite, I want elite in The White House.


Side note: Stephen Colbert has been broadcasting from Philadelphia all week and so far the shows have been off the hook. You should really try to catch one on the tube or right here. Last night Michelle Obama was on.

Health - The Statistics

A couple of weeks ago I set out to do this post on my health. I ended up with a colossal post, but one that covered too broad a spectrum. I ended up with chapters instead of paragraphs.

So, the first installment of a new series of posts on my health debacle is going to feature mostly numbers. Here are the stats:

1 - Average number of doctor appointments in a six-month period, prior to this sickness

23 – Appointments I had from October 10, 2007 to March 6, 2008. The actual number of appointments is probably higher because some days I would go in for a routine visit and then have the doctor schedule another appointment later in the day…mostly blood work.

10 – Different doctors that I saw

7 – Vials of blood drawn

1 – CT Scan

2 – MRIs – One without contrast, one with contrast

4 – X-rays

1 – Echocardiogram

6 – Drugs

1 – Hearing test

0 – Diagnoses

The last number really is my favorite. After all that, what I can’t tell you is what made me sick. Instead of trimming the list of possible diagnoses, each appointment seemed to broaden the many ways I could experience pain, suffering, and death.

Throughout, I have gone back to October 8^th—the beginning. I’ve ran through the events of that day and that weekend countless times trying to pin down a possible culprit of this scary and expensive adventure. Like I said not too long ago, I believe it might have been Lyme disease because of all my matching symptoms, but we will never know for sure. I was also in a heavily forested area the day before my headache set in and I could have easily picked up a tick. I was tested for the Lyme antibody earlier this year and it was negative. However, prior to having that round of blood work done, I was told that the test for the Lyme antibody is often inconclusive, meaning it can be negative but still the patient can show symptoms of Lyme disease.

Coming soon:

Thoughts on the health care I received, faith, death, finances, and my miraculous comeback from a disease that took me to the precipice of eternity and back again.

That last part was a joke, but really, I am doing much better and am very healthy by all accounts.

This Unbelievable

From last week's NY Times Book Review of Michael Kinsley's new book Please Don't Remain Calm: Provocations and Commentaries:


Kinsley deserves special credit for exposing the curious syntactical tic that has made television news abolish all forms of the verb "to be," including "'is,' 'are,' 'am,' even 'were' and 'was.'" He quotes Lou Dobbs on CNN: " 'Top government officials today adding their voices to the call for Americans to remain vigilant.' (I not kidding: These his opening words on that evening's program.)"

The Masters

I was just sitting here thinking how corny the names of the golf holes at Augusta are when Nick Faldo told me that it was a writer, a famous one at that, who came up with "Amen Corner" for holes 11, 12, and 13 (I believe). Well, I still think the name of that corner and other holes at this course are just ridiculous. They even have names for the bridges, ex. Hogan Bridge. Pretty much everything about golf is very respectable, but giving names like "Tea Olive", "Flowering Crab Apple" and "Pampas" to golf holes is a little hokey.

Sorry, Rachel.

Happy Birthday, Six Hours On Sunday

I had no clue what I was getting into when I wrote this three years ago. I knew little about what a blog was exactly when I started my own. I was only vaguely aware of the blogosphere and the web of the millions of bloggers out there sharing stories and opinions and lives.

Three years ago, I started this blog because I was hopeful that it would force me to practice the art I love so much. I was right. Without this tiny little place in the blogosphere, where I can self-publish anything I want any day I want, I would not be where I am today.

So, this site started as a writing experiment. It has turned into so much more. Now, I see this blog as a door. At first I was very apprehensive about cracking it open and letting the outside world in on my little secrets, but with a comment left on my blog there, a conversation about my blog here, my reluctance has been whittled away.

I think within the last year I kicked that door open. A huge reason the door remains open is because of you. You come back every day. Without an audience this platform would be much different. Maybe there wouldn’t be a platform at all. I owe this to all of you and an innocent decision I made exactly three years ago that has become a huge part of me.

Thank you.

An Onion Headline in real life

Parents Fight Over Which Gang Toddler Should Join
Police: Mother a crip, Father a Westside Baller

Via email from Kate.

I like the shoes

No real confirmation on this video being real or fake. After watching several times I definitely think it is fake...certainly possible, but fake. I see no reason why Kobe would be doing stunts like this weeks before the playoffs or after the playoffs. Kobe does say, "March 31st, 2008" toward the end of the video, but still, I think it might be a good special effect.

Aaron, it's an Aston Martin, not a 3 Series. My bad. Now that I think about it BMW doesn't make sense. It is way too low class for Kobe.

Look What I Found

A new grocery store in town carries the stuff. I was pretty ecstatic when I found it. I enjoy how when you are gone from a place you love the simplest things can take you back.

Desperate to get my hands on more beer crafted in Colorado, I asked a gentleman perusing the microbrew wall with me, if he knew of any place in Milwaukee that sells Fat Tire. He told me that New Belgium doesn't have a liquor license for Wisconsin yet, but it is available in Minnesota and Illinois.

I was expecting the bad news. Good thing Chicagoland is only 45 minutes away.

Shenanigans

For you Colorado voters.

Gore passes the torch to Obama

A long time ago in a city far, far away someone once shared with me his concern that Gore could be the antichrist. This fear was shared with me and others, namely the young-ins in the back of my car, in all seriousness. It is hard to say exactly where this fanatical opinion stems from. However, it is clear that the mantle of antichrist is shifted from one Democratic front runner to the next. I confess though, in 2004 I didn’t hear anyone accuse Kerry of being the antichrist. That doesn’t mean though that in the private corners of the world people didn’t utter “Kerry” and “antichrist” in the same sentence. Perhaps Kerry wasn’t a legitimate enough threat, but Obama must be because I heard him being referred to as the next antichrist in a very public corner of the world…the coffee shop I work in. The person doing the preaching was, unfortunately, leading a Bible study in the book of Revelation.

He was leading a Bible study. That’s troubling. That is what has always been troubling. I’ve only heard antichrist accusations from people that presumably follow Jesus. I can’t get them to change, just like I can’t change the minds of people in Jesus Camp who preach that Harry Potter books and movies are products of the devil.

I can only pray that the next time a Christian says “Obama could be the antichrist”, they won’t be leading anyone.

There is no line to cross

From last week's Newsweek:

“We have enemies for which no attack is too cruel.” – Republican presidential candidate John McCain, in a major address to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, in which he argued that the United States has a moral duty to remain in Iraq.

Although McCain isn’t specifically referring to torture, his thought process here is the same one being used by the current administration. It is an especially striking quote to come across after reading the torture memo last week.

The government’s overwhelming message is that we have enemies for which no interrogation is too cruel, for which no method is considered torture.

Been Around the World

Via TPM, a link to a very cool map showing Hillary Clinton's travels as first lady from 1993-2001.

For some reason when I looked at this I got some Puff Daddy and Biggie in my head. That's where the title comes from. You know, "And we been playa hated, I dont know and I dont know why, Why they want us faded."

A couple things I noticed about the map:

1. A chunk of Africa (about the size of the US) gets denied. Given the specific region of Africa I am referring to, this is probably the norm. Sure, she visited Tunisia, but thats where they filmed Star Wars. Who wouldn't you want to go there?

2. No visit to New Zealand. Where's the love?

The Alternative Set of Procedures

I couldn't just post a link to the Torture Memo and leave it at that. I read it. I highlighted some passages. There are, I am sure, important passages that I missed. Sorry about that, but I thought trimming it down might be better than just simply linking to it. So, here we go. I'll start with page numbers, follow with the passage, and then, if I make any of my own comments they will be in bold. All italics are original. Brackets are mine. Here are the links to the memo again. Part 1. Part 2.

5 – In wartime, it is for the President alone to decide what methods to use to best prevail against the enemy.

I feel this is an appropriate introduction to the memo because this is certainly one of the themes of the whole document. The President alone decides what methods of war and interrogation are best. This isn’t going to get any prettier.

11 – Interpretation to Avoid Constitutional Problems

This whole section is pretty fascinating. How could it not be with a lead in like that? In order to trim this post down a bit I only point you to this specific section about a third of the way down the page.

15 – As one commentator has explained, unlawful belligerents are “more often than not treated as war or national criminals liable to be treated at will by the captor. There are almost no regulatory safeguards with respect to them and the captor owes no obligation towards them.”

24 – Assault

Beginning on this page is a lengthy explanation of how they define assault.

25 – On the other hand, changing the detainee’s environment such as by altering the lighting or temperature would not constitute simple assault.

The justification begins, paving the way for exposing prisoners to extreme cold.

26 – Section 113 proscribes assault resulting in “serious bodily injury”… “Serious bodily injury” is defined as “bodily injury which involves…a substantial risk of death;…extreme physical pain;…protracted and obvious disfigurement; or…protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.”

Without a law background a lot of this language gave me a headache and a hell of a hard time figuring out what was being said, but essentially this section, and many more throughout the document, attempts to narrow the definitions of assault, torture, etc.

33 – Subsection (c) of section 2441 defines “war crimes” as (1) grave breaches of any of the Geneva Conventions; (2) conduct prohibited by certain provisions of the Hague Convention IV, Hague Convention IV Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, Oct.18, 1907, 36 Stat. 2277; or (3) conduct that constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. We have previously concluded that this statute does not apply to conduct toward the members of al Qaeda and the Taliban. … We reached this conclusion because we found al Qaeda to be a non-governmental terrorist organization…

Another theme of this document is that this is some new kind of enemy we face so that nullifies international laws and things like “Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land” that the United States had previously agreed to obey.

37 – Further, an individual who acts with a good faith belief that his conduct would not produce the result that the law prohibits would not have the requisite intent.

The assumption that in a war you will have interrogators acting on good faith is too big of a stretch for me. In the first place, war brings out the most grotesque traits of the human psyche, and then you are going to tell me that you have made the assumption that everyone out there is acting on good faith and not crossing the line? “Good faith” is used a lot throughout the memo. It was probably comforting for some people to read those words in this document, falsely assuring them that humans have acted on “good faith” before and nothing bad has happened.

38-39 – Such damage must rise to the level of death, organ failure, or the permanent impairment of a significant body function. These statutes suggest that to constitute torture “severe pain” must rise to a similarly high level—the level that would ordinarily be associated with a physical condition or injury sufficiently serious that it would result in death, organ failure, or serious impairment of body functions.

Again, narrowing the definition of “severe pain”, so to presume one is only experiencing severe pain if they have organ failure, loss of movement, or a feeling of imminent death. Disturbing.

41 – [prepare yourself] Thus, if a defendant has a good faith belief that his actions will not result in prolonged mental harm, he lacks the mental state necessary for his actions to constitute torture.

Another theme: convenience.

45 – The victim must experience intense pain or suffering of the kind that is equivalent to the pain that would be associated with serious physical injury so severe that death, organ failure, or permanent damage resulting in a loss of significant body function will likely result. … In short, reading the definition of torture as a whole, it is plain that the term encompasses only extreme acts.

47 – Moreover, as U.S. declarations during CAT’s [Convention Against Torture] ratification make clear, the Convention is non-self-executing and therefore places no legal obligations under domestic law on the Executive Branch, nor can it create any cause of action in federal court.

The President is, once again, in the clear.

48 – [The following section is really fascinating. The run up to the war in Iraq, Gitmo, etc. was much longer than we could have possibly known back then.] You have also asked whether U.S. interrogation of al Qaeda and Taliban detainees could lead to liability and potential prosecution before the International Criminal Court (“ICC”). The ICC cannot take action against the United States for its conduct of interrogations for two reasons. First, under international law a state cannot be bound by treaties to which it has not consented. Although President Clinton signed the Rome Statute, which establishes the ICC, the United States has withdrawn its signature for that agreement and has not submitted it to the Senate for advice and consent—effectively terminating it. See Letter for Kofi Annan…from John R. Bolton…(May 6, 2002) (notifying the U.N. of U.S. intention not to be a party of the treaty)…The United States cannot, therefore, be bound by the provisions of the ICC treaty nor can U.S. nationals be subject to ICC prosecution.

Withdrawing signatures? Really?

54 – Ultimately, in choosing the phrase “severe pain,” the parties concluded that this phrase “sufficiently…conveyed the idea that only acts of a certain gravity shall…constitute torture.”

Just in case you had forgotten.

56 – Further, if we are correct in our suggestion that CAT [Convention Against Torture] itself creates a heightened intent standard, then the understanding the Bush Administration attached is less a modification of the Convention’s obligations and more of an explanation of how the United States would implement its somewhat ambiguous terms.

I don’t know all the statutes set forth in the CAT, but they can’t be anymore ambiguous than the terms used by the Bush administration to describe interrogation methods. See advanced interrogation techniques, rough interrogation, and alternative set of procedures.

58 – The concept of self-defense in international law of course justifies more than activity designed merely to resist an armed attack which is already in progress. Under international law every state has, in the words of Elibu Root, “the right…to protect itself by preventing a condition of affairs in which it will be too late to protect itself.”

Torture as self-defense, the biggest stretch of all. There is more.

61 – Actions taken in “good-faith…to maintain or restore discipline” do not constitute excessive force.

64 – Here, interrogation methods that do not deprive enemy combatants of basic human needs would not meet the objective element of the conditions of confinement test. For example, a deprivation of a basic human need would include denial of adequate shelter, such as subjecting a detainee to the cold without adequate protection. … Additionally, the clothing of a detainee could also be taken away for a period of time without necessarily depriving him of a basic human need that satisfies the objective test.

This is a truly appalling passage. We know that sleep deprivation has been used. How is sleep not a basic human need? How are basic human needs measured? I presume they would be measured by assessing living conditions for humans all throughout the globe. Some article of clothing sure seems like a basic human need. I digress though, they did say “for a period of time”.

69 – [Just for clarification] (1) Wall Standing. The prisoner stands spread eagle against the wall, with fingers high above his head, and feet back so that he is standing on his toes such that all of his weight falls on his fingers.
(2) Hooding. A black or navy hood is placed over the prisoner’s head and kept there except during the interrogation.
(3) Subjection to Noise. Pending interrogation, the prisoner is kept in a room with a loud continuous hissing noise.
(4) Sleep Deprivation. Prisoners are deprived of sleep pending interrogation.
(5) Deprivation of Food and Drink. Prisoners receive a reduced diet during detention and pending interrogation.

These methods aren’t considered to constitute torture.

70 – Although the five techniques, as applied in combination, undoubtedly amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment…they did not occasion suffering of the particular intensity and cruelty implied by the word torture…

Narrowing again, the definition of torture.

73 – Even if one were to accept the notion that customary international law has some standing within our domestic legal system, the President may decide to override customary international law at his discretion.

I think we have established that.

74 – We believe that a defense of necessity might be raised in certain circumstances. Often referred to as the “choice of evils” defense, necessity has been defined as follows: Conduct that the actor believes to be necessary to avoid a harm or evil to himself or to another is justifiable, provided that: (a) the harm or evil sought to be avoided by such conduct is greater than that sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense charged;

You just read that right. Let’s say a prisoner is assumed to be planning an attack similar to 9/11. As long as you don’t fly a jumbo jet into him and kill thousands of people, your interrogation methods are justifiable.

75 – [As explained in this scenario] “if A kills B reasonably believing it to be necessary to save C and D, he is not guilty of murder even though, unknown to A, C and D could have been rescued without the necessity of killing B.” … Under these circumstances, a particular detainee may possess information that could enable the United States to prevent imminent attacks that could equal or surpass the September 11 attacks in their magnitude. Clearly, any harm that might occur during an interrogation would pale to [in] insignificance compared to the harm avoided by preventing such an attack, which could take hundreds of thousands of lives.

78 – Fourth, the amount of force should be proportional to the threat. [Remember, it is on good faith that we are presuming there is a substantial threat from each and every detainee.] As LaFave and Scott explain, “the amount of force which the defender may justifiably use must be reasonably related to the threatened harm which he seeks to avoid.”

80 – [In Conclusion] As we have made clear in other opinions involving the war against al Qaeda, the Nation’s right to self-defense has been triggered by the events of September 11. If a government defendant were to harm an enemy combatant during an interrogation in a manner that might arguably violate a criminal prohibition, he would be doing so in order to prevent further attacks on the United States by the al Qaeda terrorist network. In that case, we believe that he could argue that the executive branch’s constitutional authority to protect the nation from attack justified his actions.

Fair Warning

Monster post arriving soon. I guess if I wanted you to read one political post on this blog, this would be the one.

Destined to be on Spike

I hadn't gone to Finding Rhythm in a very long time. I found this there.

But everybody's doing it

Linking to the Torture Memos by John Yoo. Part 1. Part 2.

Watch Frontline

I am enjoying this show more and more. I have to plug their new series titled Bad Voodoo's War. The director, Deborah Scranton, gave camera equipment to a platoon of National Guard soldiers in Iraq. They record footage of their missions and of them talking to the camera and send the videos stateside. Scranton collects and edits and narrates the program which highlights a few individuals, one of them, a 22-year-old on his 5th tour in Iraq.

As always, it is available online.

Filed Under Miscellaneous Income

I was browsing eBay last week, not looking for anything in particular, but wondering how one goes about selling something on the site. I was eating potato chips. When I looked down to grab the next potato chip from the bowl, I was fully aware of the fact that potato chips and cornflakes had actually sold on eBay. I picked a chip up and closely examined it. I decided if it looked like anything it looked like a bird. More specifically, it reminded me of the rooster that is on boxes of cornflakes. The more I looked for the bird, the more I saw it.

There was no better time to test the old adage (which is at least as old as eBay) that people will buy anything. I created an eBay username, took a picture of the potato chip, and was selling the chip on eBay within minutes. It was quite effortless. I described the chip I was selling with these words:

At first I thought this looked like a rooster, but it is slightly different. It sure looks like a bird. However, I don’t know what kind of bird it looks like. It is one of a kind though. It was discovered about three days ago in a very large bag of potato chips.

I put a minimal effort into the advertisement and left the computer knowing that if anyone bids on the chip, or if it is sold, eBay would send me an email.

Over the next week I thought about my potato chip bird on eBay several times, but I didn’t get any messages about it until the week long bidding period was over. Then, I received a message that told me that my “item has sold.” I followed the link in the email and discovered that someone bought my potato chip for one dollar plus five dollars shipping and handling. I was a little doubtful of the sale even though everything on the screen was telling me otherwise. I looked around some more to confirm the unexpected. Sure enough, my potato chip sold for six bucks to someone in California.

Shortly thereafter I received the transferred funds and yesterday I took the chip, boxed up in an old check box with lots of tissues, to the post office and mailed it away, completing my first sale on eBay.

I am satisfied with the whole process and a bit surprised that my potato chip sold. I only wish I started the bidding higher because it is true…people will buy anything.

Inconvenient date for such a story, but it is true.

A New Low

Here is a play by play of the video that I can no longer find on the internet.

Begin video...

It is opening day for the Washington Nationals. There to throw the first pitch, is the 43rd President of the United States of America, George Bush. He is introduced and walks out of the dugout. It turns out, the fans of the Nationals are not fans of George Bush. He is booed the entire time he is on the field. Nothing but boos.

...end video.

I know his approval rating is something like 30%. I know he has screwed up again and again, but it is still somewhat shocking to see Bush booed by a stadium full of people in the capital. Honestly, I feel sad for the country. I feel sad for this man.

Roll the tape...Obama doesn't want you to vote

What a nutter.