Los Angeles Mole Recommendation in the NYTimes

It's been never since we've had a Mole recommended on the NYTimes OpEd pages.

Substantial Noninfringing Uses

Regarding When David Steals Goliath's Music (Editorial, March 28):

If 90% of all printing presses were being used to distribute illegal copies of syndicated gossip, humor, and opinion columns, would the Times Editorial Board call for the shuttering of all the nation's newspapers?

If 90% of all Internet websites were being used to distribute illegal copies of photographs, music, and video, would the Board apologize humbly for its complicity and close www.nytimes.com?

No? Then perhaps the Board should reconsider its refusal to apply the clear language of the Supreme Court's 1984 Betamax decision - which requires only "substantial noninfringing uses" to protect a technology against blanket claims of contributory infringement - to "Grokster" and other peer-to-peer networks.

Sincerely,
Derek Fox

Isn't That Just Like Bush?

Isn't it just like George Bush to make kids -- mere children! -- hunt for Easter eggs in the pouring rain.

Sweet Schiavo Synopsis at NYT

On the NYT front page now:

Few Options for Schiavo's Parents as U.S. Judge Denies Request
The severely brain-damaged woman's parents today appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

DeLay Connects Schiavo With His Legal/Ethical Problems

DeLay confirmed that the 70 percent of Americans who believe that Congress put their nose into the Schiavo case for political reasons are correct. Tom DeLay says:"One thing that God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo to elevate the visibility of what is going on in America, that Americans would be so barbaric as to pull a feeding tube out of a person that is lucid and starve them to death. This is exactly the issue that is going on in America, of attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many others. The point is the other side has figured out how to win and defeat the conservative movement," he said after mentioning Schiavo, "and that is to go after people personally, charge them with frivolous charges and link that up with all these do-gooder organizations funded by George Soros and then get the national media on their side. That whole syndicate that they have going on right now is for one purpose and one purpose only, and that's to destroy the conservative movement. It's to destroy conservative leaders."

Get that? In the midst of talking about Terri Schiavo, he suddenly changed topics and started talking about himself -- about how he is being investigated for illegal fundraising activities in Texas, and ethics violations against Congress.

Ask Terri Schiavo

Uh oh.

More Illegal Art

Fiona Apple recorded an album. Sony "didn't hear a single," and refused to release it. So why don't we all cut out the middle man.

You can go here if you want to know more.

Bob's Living Will

I've informed my brother Bill that, if I am ever in a persistent vegetative state, he should pull the plug on me.

I defined a "persistent vegetative state" as when he can beat me at checkers, best 2 out of 3.

Tom DeLay pandering to the "brain dead" vote

Yahoo Noews "Terri Schiavo is not brain dead; she talks and she laughs and she expresses happiness and discomfort.'"

Tom DeLay has never met Terri Schiavo, but must think that "Brain Dead" means "votes Republican", since he's pandering to the "brain dead" vote.

I'm sure he's also thrilled to hear of her newfound love (below).

Schiavo's Passionate Love Affair!

My sources tell me that an orderly at Terri Schiavo's hostpital has been involved in a torrid love affair with her. "Whenever we make love, Terri's very emotionally involved. She laughs, she cries. She's extremely active. We spend hours together. I love the sounds she makes."

No word on whether or not the parents approve, but I'm sure they're glad to hear that their daughter has moved on emotionally from the husband who has been pursuing her death. They're looking forward to an eventual wedding after their daughter gets out.

Schiavo on the Town

schiavo poker
Originally uploaded by rerutled.

Some have asked me -- "Hey, I've heard Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state, and that that is why 19 different judges in Florida, who have seen this case, have permitted her express wishes during life to be fulfilled, which is to have her feeding tube removed. So, why do you write that she was out playing tennis this morning?"

Well, her mother and father have repeatedly accented their daughters activity, making it seem, by their descriptions, as if she were conscious and active. For example, her mother has recently said, "We laugh together, we cry together," when in fact, Ms. Schiavo has no brain funtions whatsoever, and so cannot laugh or cry. Her father, just this morning, said in response to Tom DeLay's political mongering -- I mean, life-saving legislation -- that, "I got a big smile out of her. So help me God."

So, I thought I'd help them out a little bit by helping to round out the image of Ms. Schiavo as an active, conscious, engaged person leading a fulfilling lifestyle. For example, here's a picture I found of Terri Schiavo out on poker night.

Schiavo Case go to Federal Courts

Where the judges will find exactly as the state courts has. And then Tom Delay can rant and rave about murderous activist judges, further distracting from the ethics and legal charges against him.

Ms. Schiavo's mother said Terri was given the news this morning while Terri was enjoying a round of tennis. Her mother says Ms. Schiavo jumped and lept for joy, and, in celebration, ran a 10K and ate a stack of flapjacks at iHop.

We've got circuses, now where's my bread?

Just a small list to remind myself:

1. The CIA is using torture (or at least refuses to deny using torture)
2. Wolfowitz has been nominated to head World Bank (mental note: 'Cool' does not mean 'couuuu')
3. Senate Judiciary committee blocks Democrat inquiry into Gannon credentials. White House has still not released the details to the Senate based on FOIA inquiry. The best quote here: Jackson Lee said Gannon had engaged in a possible 'penetration of the White House.' You can do that when you're 8" cut
4. Criminal homicide is rampant in our 'War on Terror'
5. There is a secret plan to sell off Iraqi oil fields in an effort to destroy OPEC I wouldn't mind, but wouldn't this be the quickest way to double the numbers of next generation terrorists?

And Congress (who has the power to investigate anything, anywhere) decides to:
1. Save the life of Terri Schiavo
2. Kill a bunch of time investigating steriods in baseball

How can you not love this guy?

What Loyalty gets you: "At the Gridiron, Mr. Bush slyly joked that he had the 'dangedest puppy' who would roll over on command - but only some of the time. 'I renamed him 'John McCain.' '"

With friends like that, who needs enemies?

Graphic Traffic

If you go to Yahoo's driving directions page, and ask for directions from, say, Pasadena to Santa Monica you will notice a relatively new feature on the lower right side of the resulting graphic: a little button that says "View Traffic".

If you then click that button you will get a graphic display of the current traffic situation around greater LA, including: average speed of cars, in each direction, on most major highways; location of ongoing construction/repair work; and locations of any traffic incidents, including degree of severity.

Such a simple thing, and yet it has already become an indispensable part of my life. Every time I want to drive to the West side now I have to consult this map. I should say that I have found its evaluations to be dead-on.

The Vulcan Banker

Bush Wants Wolfowitz to head the World Bank. "He's a compassionate, decent man who will do a fine job."

Clearly, a couple of puppy huggers.

DeLay The Puppy Hugger

[WaPost]. Decrying the "partisan politics of personal destruction", Delay says his Indian Tribe-funded trip followed by his vote was A-OK. And, he wants to help the woman Terri Schiavo - the brain-damaged Floridian whose feeding tube will be removed Friday.

Puppy hugger.

White House Says PR Videos are Propagandariffic!

Rejecting the General Accounting Office ruling, the White House says the PR videos are not illegal government propaganda, but just plain swell A-OK totally legal PR efforts.

Makes you want to hug a puppy.

Kansans to be Forced To Have Man-Man Sex

Or something like that. I dunno, it sounded to me like the judge said that the arguments the litigants brought -- that marriage isn't required for procreation, and so there's no good reason to keep a traditional, if unconstitutional, ban on gay marriage.

Most interestingly, Santorum argues this supports the need for an amendment to the US Constitution. Else, it seems, Kansans will be forced to have man-man sex. Or something like that.

We've Always Loved Them

After months of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, the Yahoo! Buzz Index (Today's Top 20 Overall Searches) has a new break-out star: Puppies!

Yes, worldwide, people besought on all sides want to see pictures of Puppies, which made it to the top 3 of the Buzz index. Puppies saw a huge increase, with a leap of 12105% in queries on Yahoo. Also in the top 20 Movers: "Golden Retriever Puppies" (#3), "Beagle Puppies" (#7), "Pug Puppies" (#8), "Boxer Puppies (#13), "Maltese Puppies" (#14), "Pitbull Puppies" (#17), Yorkie Puppies (#2), "Cute Puppies" (#4), and Hilary Duff (#5).

Bush's Presidency is Over

That's it -- I'm declaring Bush's presidency over. He's no longer got the initiative, it's all going to be the world spinning out of control from here on out -- and his efforts to spin the spin.

Social Security is over this year, as made obvious by the NYTimes Magazine's interview of the leader of USA Next --


This week's meme of "Democracy in the Middle East" is a sham -- if a hopeful sham. Lebannon is no better off than it was 3 weeks ago; the Prime Minister who resigned in the face of protests of hundreds of anti-Syria Lebanese is back in power, after his parilment re-appointed him. Syria says it will pull out

The democratic advances in Iraq are real; but they employ the definition of "serendipity". Because, what Bush was really looking for -- WMD -- didn't exist, thus offering all of us the ability to declare that the President is delusional -- that is, he sees things there which are not there. Rather than a President who has vision; we have a president who has visions.

The trade deficit in January came out at $58B, instead of the estimted $55B -- which means that more money is leaving the US. With this, Japan -- which buys a big chunck of our TBills so that we can then send the money to China to buy shoes -- has declared they're going to diversify. China will follow, and between them, they by 80% of our TBills. That means the cost of borrowing will go up -- I'll guess, before June -- and with it, everybody's floating interest rates on their home loans. How to fix that? The US Government has to stop deficit spending. That's not going to happen this year -- or next year, the year after that, or the year after that either. And, oooo, hey, thanks to new bankruptcy laws just passed through the congress, watch everybody's consumer debt follow them to their grave.

Oh, hey, the NYTimes wrote an interesting article about how, because Bush's tax cuts didn't alter the alternative minimum tax, all those cuts that went to people making >$1M will reappear between 2010 and 2014 as new taxes on the middle class who, from normal wage inflation, will be hitting the alternative minium tax, and paying $100B more in taxes. Whooopdedoo.

This all sounds bad, but it could turn around -- right? Well, sure, except that Bush's cabinet has it's eyes on the future. Condi Rice came out wiith a firm denial that she's considering a run for '08. Wrong answer Condi. The correct answer is, "Gosh, my time is now firmly dedicated to enacting the President's foreign policy agenda." Period. The Republican party is looking at '08 already, and people are positioning themselves. So, Bush's agenda is being ignored.

This Presidency is over. The best he could hope for is a catastrophe that he must react to by -- say -- imprisoning thousands of Americans or something like that. Mebbe Cheney will resign in 2006 so that Bush could appoint the next president.

Rice for President!

Condi Rice denies any Presidential aspirations for '08 --- in spite of a poll in February in which 42 percent of voters said she should run.

Oh, absolutely. Run Condi. She has no chance of capturing the Republican nomination, and to make a credible run, she'll have to resign Sec'y of State by the end of 2006 -- essentially lame-ducking herself about a year and a half from now, and depriving Bush of a strategic toady at Foggy Bottom.

Oh, yes, by all means, run.

Charlie Jarvis of USA Next

[NYTimes Magazine] used their weekly interview on the president of USA Next, in which he reveals he calls the cartoon character "Sponge Robert Squar e Pants" because he doesn't know him well. Uh-huh.

New NASA Head

What's he got? How about: President of the CIA's venture capital company In-Q-Tel; former chief technology officer for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization in 1984 (abandoned 1993).

Barbara Mikulksi loves him.

A Dog-Eared Copy of "Sisters" $200

In 1981, Dick Cheney's wife Lynne published a Western novel in which "the relationship between women and men became a kind of guerilla warfare in which women were forced to band together for the strength they needed and at times for the love they wanted". Frank Rich mentioned it in the latest of his weekly column on the media. The book is out-of-print. Mrs. Cheney declined to let it be reprinted because, she says, it is "not her best work". Someone must think there's a market for it though. Used copies on Amazon start at $199. If you find a copy of the book while cleaning out your attic, don't lose it!

Scalia the Theocrat.

Lest we think that the country is largely run by rationalist, secular humanists Dahlia Lithwick mentions Scalia's comments during yesterday's Supreme Court arguments about the use of Ten Commandments monuments on public lands. Says Scalia: "When someone walks by the commandments, they are not studying the text. They are acknowledging that the government derives its authority from God."

Hmmm. Yes. That would seem to be contrary to the principle that a just government derives its authority from the consent of the governed. You know, like in a democracy. Which is a shame, because I think we're a democracy, and not a theocracy. So, if the presence of the commandments makes people think that our government derives authority from God, that's sort of contrary to the Constitution.

As Lithwick says:

Scalia is the only member of the court who is being truly honest. His position: Sure, the display is religious and not secular. Let's put up some crosses, too, and have a revival meeting.

Assassination or no?

The
New York Times is reporting that two members of Hussein's tribunal were assassinated today.

The
Globe and Mail reports the two members were a judge and his son, who also happened to be a lawyer for the tribunal.

A court official working with the tribunal says it was not an assassination -- that the murder was personal, and unrelated to the work of the court.