The Reward for Good Works?

Brilliant at Breakfast, Go ahead...justify this under the banner of "We need their cooperation right now"

Our most prominent "look the other way" policy has been towards Pakistan dictator Pervez Musharraf, whose invaluable assistance in the War on Terror led to a swift capture, trial, and execution of Osama Bin Laden.

Well, maybe after taking the hallucinogens they dish out in Outer Wingnuttia, they did. In the real world, Osama Bin Laden is out in the mountains mooning us daily, and Pervez Musharraf is behind atrocities like this one, brought to us by Ezra Klein:

(Klein quote)

Mukhtaran Bibi is under arrest. You remember her, in a world of Jackos and Rumsfelds and celebrity relationships and deified presidents, Bibi is an actual hero, a Mandela-esque story of courage and forgiveness. She's a Pakistani women whose brother committed a crime and, under the barbaric codes sometimes enforced in rural Pakistan, was condemned to public, forced gang rape to atone for him. When the four men had finished raping her, she was forced to walk home, nearly nude, while hundreds of onlookers laughed and jeered.

She was supposed to die.

If all had gone as planned, she would've grabbed a knife and slit her throat, or maybe her wrists. She would've accepted that she had been sacrificed for a male, that it was more than a fair trade, and that no one could move on until the last spark of life had vanished behind her eyes. And she would've hurried up and and finished the affair.

All did not go as planned.

The knives stayed in the drawer. Her nude body found clothes. She convinced a local Islamic leader to back her as she took her rapists to court. They were convicted. They were locked away. She got a settlement.

One could, at this point, forgive her for jetting off. For paying however many rupees it took, settling back into a plane seat, and appyling for asylum in America, hitting the lecture rout, leaving. She didn't. Instead, she built schools. Two of them, one for boys, one for girls. She took special care to enroll the children of her attackers, banishing vengeance and cutting the generational cord of ignorance. She enrolled in her own school to learn to read. She started a shelter for abused women. She decided to found an ambulance service so the rural sick could reach high-tech hospitals. She spoke out against honor killings and rapes. And she was going to visit America.

Oops.

Pervez Musharraf, our erstwhile ally in the War on Terror, couldn't have that. Mukhtaran Bibi was put under house arrest last Thursday. When she tried to walk out, police pointed guns at her. When she tried to make calls, they snipped the landline. When she moved to the cell, they took her to Islamabad and put her in prison. Then, for good measure, they released her rapists -- a warning shot.

Having Mukhtaran Bibi speak out about Pakistan's brutal side didn't fit the softer, more Western image Musharraf wanted to project. What he really didn't count on, though, was a columnist for the New York Times taking up the case and making more noise than she ever could've. And I bet he's not expecting outraged e-mails from all over the world to fly into his government's inboxes. Which is why they should be. And they should be loud, outraged, and laced with threats about how many congressmen will be informed and how much noise will be made. They should, above all, be perfectly clear on one count: if she dies, her voice will be far louder than if she lived.

(Jill again)

Nick Kristof is the columnist, and here's what he wrote about the case yesterday.

Ezra has e-mail and snail mail addresses for who to contact to express your opposition to this kind of tactic.

And for those who think this is a necessary sacrifice to make to ensure Musharraf's continued "cooperation", go tell your wife, or your daughter, that sometimes it's OK for a rape victim to be arrested in order to keep her silent, if we need the "cooperation" of those who would exonerate her attackers.

(apologies to Jill for re-posting so much of her work here, but it's *important* work)

Numbers Games

Read a piece over at the Corzine Connection spelling out the cost of Forrester's property tax plan, "30% in 3 years".

Sure, I called his plan false and hollow, but I did so not to engage in partisan fighting, but because his numbers simply don't work. I double-checked the budget numbers just to be sure, and I'm pretty sure that $9 billion is cost of the Forrester plan. I'll even show my work.

In an article in The Star Ledger, I read Forrester's take on this issue.

"Corzine is offering another warmed-over, McGreevey-Florio rebate gimmick. The only thing it guarantees is higher taxes," Forrester said. "Jon Corzine is part of the same group of people who gave us these problems. He cannot change New Jersey. I can."

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of rebates. I do not understand exactly why it is that we can charge someone $3000 for taxes and then give them a rebate check for $1200. Why not just charge them $1800 in the first place? It's all a trick of government spending. The thing is, it's a trick that actually puts more money in people's pockets. If the refunds were eliminated, it would be just another spot for money to be manipulated in new ways, and few of those new ways are ever good for the taxpayers. The state spends too much in the wrong places and too little in the right ones. Have I mentioned the city where the superintendent gets a $200k annual salary and the teachers (at the school I know about) are allocated one box of pencils for the year? How is that a good use of funds? Who makes these decisions?

Helping New Jersey's spending problems requires re-working the way we use the money, on top of trying to use less of it. Without a lot of back work, no plan will be able to offer tax relief to NJ residents.

Female Problems

Holy cow, I hate when I'm condescend to.

There was a big-ol' dust storm this weekend, about an ad on a major blog that had a scene that can be considered degrading to women. No, I'm not linking to either thing. You want to see that sort of thing, go find it on your own time. Normally, I could give a crap about sexy ads, like the Paris Hilton one, or one out of three beer ads. If your target audience is men, using visuals of sexy women is tried-and-true. Everyone's got hormones. So normally, I just ignore it, and move on, assuming that men, as a whole do not think that women are either "nice people", or "feminists".

But then, well, then I started to read the posts that this dust-up was inspiring. Holy Christ on a cracker. Seeing the line "the crowd who dares not shave their legs" pissed me off. Well at least now I know. What do I know? I've made a list:

1. I have no sense of humor


2. My personal hygiene is lacking


3. I represent all that is good and decent in the world by virtue of simply being female


4. I represent all that is wrong and twisted in this world by having an opinion of my own and not settling down with some nice man and reproducing


5. No candidate can win without people like me, we're the majority voice


6. I somehow don't deserve to make as much money as a man doing the same job because of reasons 1-5.


7. Reason 6 *proves* I don't have a sense of humor, See?

Shakespeare's Sister
Pandagon
Rox Populi
Feministe
A Quiz from After School Snack
Blondesense
Pinko Feminist Hellcat
What Do I Know?

Enjoy.

Latest on the DSM

BBA

I can't write this any better than Shakespeare's Sister did, including the part about the social life.

The first day IÂ’ve actually engaged in a social life in weeks and what do I miss? The leaking of a new British memo confirming that it was "necessary to create the conditions" for the legality of the Iraq War.

DSM Hearing

BBA

For those of you confused, "DSM" is "Downing Street Memo".

Last night an email went out to the Big Brass Alliance telling us about the following Raw Story piece:

The ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee has scheduled hearings on the 2002 minutes between senior British and American officials which asserted that intelligence was "being fixed" to support the case for war in Iraq, RAW STORY has learned.

The hearings, which will be held next Thursday, will bring renewed attention to what is being called the "Downing Street memo," actually official minutes of a secret 2002 meeting.

Conyers office has revealed that they will introduce new documents that corroborate the Downing Street Memo at the hearings June 16.

"We expect to release new documents that corroborate the Downing Street memo," a Judiciary aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RAW STORY Thursday afternoon. "None of the documents are as earth-shattering as the Downing Street minutes but all of them corroborate the accuracy of what it says."

Congressman Conyers, on his DialyKos Diary, calls the President's response to a question about the DSM "inadequate". I'm really glad to see that in writing, because the idea that you can take a question about a memo that says "Military action was now seen as inevitable" and answer it with "And so it's -- look, both us of didn't want to use our military." just doesn't match up for me.

Pick Your Poison

Once again, traffic made me late for work - and I never get to find out what causes this traffic, by the way. Volume? Who knows. This means that I was in the car at 7:30 instead of at my desk. And that means that I switched stations at 7:30, because I still hate phone scams. They're still mean.

So I found myself listening to New Jersey 101.5 again. I expected it to be the usual, they give me facts before spouting off with an opinion I don't agree with, but this morning was different. Today, Jim Gearhart went off on some sort of (mild) cynical fit. For a few brief moments, part of his brain opened up and spilled out for all of us to hear.

He expressed the opinion that it doesn't matter if you're Democrat or Republican in NJ, because there's just very little difference. Both candidates have plans to reduce the property tax, and neither one is any good. They both talk about ending corruption in Trenton, but it's all talk. No one is going to change how government works, he said, it can't be done, not by anyone. He quoted Jesse Ventura (!) as saying that government is like a big wheel, you think you can stop it by throwing yourself in front of it, but it just runs you over and keeps on going.

It was cynical, but somehow really refreshing!

I mostly agree with him that nothing will ever completely stop the corruption, but I do feel like it can be reigned in. Life in NJ is getting so expensive that it's insane. I have a friend who makes more than $30k a year. You'd think that would be enough to live modestly on, but I assure you, it is NOT. My friend cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment near her work at Rutgers. That's crazy! I make a bit more than that, and I know that I'm going to have to do some crazy lucky investing in order to be able to afford a house of my own. I may not ever be able to do it. The price of running New Jersey in its current mode is bleeding the residents dry.

So, no, maybe we can't fix it all, but we can fix some of it. And we have to have a governor, that doesn't change. There are 2 main people running for the office this year, Forrester and Corzine. I like Corzine's Senatorial voting record. I like his plans, and his staff. I'm throwing my support behind him. I'll leave you with something that he says on his web site that I like addressing a problem in New Jersey development:

Stopping "Fast-Track" Decisions That Harm the Environment In recent years, New Jersey adopted a wrong-headed policy that 'fast-tracks' developers' permits without allowing for a smart review of environmental considerations. Jon Corzine believes this is bad for our natural environment and will only contribute to sprawl.

Jon Corzine has made clear that this 'fast-track' law can't stay the way it is. The law treats a permit for building next to a drinking water reservoir, and a permit for building in a downtown urban area, the same way.

Jon Corzine will replace this law - allowing a streamlined permitting process for urban areas, but guaranteeing discussion and fact-based review before we build on precious lands. With sprawl and pollution eroding the quality of life in our state, the environmental community and the public must have a seat at the table in these decisions about land use.

Unimportant Quiz Results

I've used my brain enough, today.

C-86 post punk kid. You are completely aware that
the Smiths are the greatest band ever, and your
wardrobe probably consists of lots of different
Smiths t shirts that you alternate ever day,
because everyone must know how much you love
the Smiths.


What type of indie elitist are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

(seen at NYC Babylon)

Down with Downing Street

BBA


Ted Kennedy - no one ever said that he didn't have nerve:

Sen. Kennedy speaks out on Downing Street Memo: 'Twisted intelligence; Distorted facts'

The following was released by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) on the Downing Street Minutes this morning. Kennedy becomes the first senator to raise the issue in the Senate, after earlier reports that Massachusetts' junior senator, John Kerry, would speak about the minutes in Washington.

Happy for Small Favors

WCBS Debate: Schundler Apologizes for Offensive Mail Piece

Schundler also doctored an earlier Forrester for Governor press release that showed that under Forrester's 30%-in-3 plan, Schundler's own property taxes would be $20,000 less than under his own plan. Schundler removed a column that showed the level of property tax projections under his own plan.

Last night, Doug Forrester won right to run for governor of NJ on the Republican ticket. I don't want him to win. I'm going to work towards the goal of Corzine winning, of course. If he does, though, at least he's not the guy who pulled this particular brand of crap.

Rousing Time

Nice speeches! I already knew that the Democratic party was trying to be about diversity, but it's kind of nice to see it represented in a non-cheesy way, as it definitely is, here.

Live Blogging

Well, I'm at the East Brunswick Hilton, and it's a very lovely affair so far. OK, the Springsteen is blasting a little loud...

(more to follow)

I SAID Violence Begets Violence!

Deadly Israeli raid, Gaza violence hit truce

GANEI TAL, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - A Palestinian rocket attack killed two workers in a Jewish settlement in Gaza on Tuesday after Israeli forces shot dead an Islamic Jihad commander in the West Bank.

I'll start out by mentioning that I kind of feel like this article leads with an anti-Israeli feeling. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, though. OK, I'll leave off that to get to my main point.

HAMMAS IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. I don't doubt that. I'm not in favor of any "softening" in the U.S.'s position towards them. Heck, beyond being a terrorist group. They're not even a very bright one:

Israeli military sources identified the dead farm workers in the Ganei Tal settlement as a Palestinian and a Chinese national. A rocket struck a table where they and other workers were eating.

"Don't they know there are Arab workers here," a Palestinian laborer said, referring to Palestinian militants.

Nothing like firing rockets directly at the people you're supposed to be "defending".

You know what needs to happen? People need to stop firing rockets at other people. That would solve a lot of problems, right there. Then I wouldn't have to feel like I'm taking sides so often.

Primary Celebration

Tonight in East Brunswick there's a Primary Night Rally, sponsored by Chairman Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. The listed special guests are PA Governor Ed Rendell and Senator Jon Corzine. I'm interested to see what goes on at a rally first hand, so I'm going to head on over. After voting, of course.

Talk About the Downing Street Memo

Democracy Now! has some good discussion about the Downing Street Memo. Just like Paul the Spud at Shakespeare's Sister told me to do, I went and gave it a look. It's all very interesting (and frustrating).

...Sure, Amy. I mean the reality here is that this evidence from this Downing Street memo reveals that the President may have engaged in a conspiracy to mislead and deceive the United States Congress and the American people about the basis for going to war against Iraq....

BBA

Perhaps We Can't All Just Get Along

Hizbollah polls win bolsters defiance on arms

OK, Hizbollah (Hezbollah, however you want to spell it, it's just not English, OK?) wins polls. They obviously have the support of the Lebanese people.

Hizbollah -- which the United States labels a terrorist group -- has rejected the Security Council resolution which calls for disarming the group and has vowed to fight to the death any attempts to forcibly take away its weapons.

It says it is willing to engage other Lebanese in dialogue over its arms but that it would keep them as a defense against Israel, which occupied the south for 22 years until 2000.

"We will face any attempt to disarm the resistance," Amal leader and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told reporters. "The resistance is the natural result of Israel's aggression and its wars and massacres against Lebanon."

So they're saying that Israel is attacking them, and that the Security Council resolution is invalid. This is a group that engages in terrorist acts of violence as their form of "fighting back". No formal army maneuvers are sufficient for them, I guess. They aren't the Lebanese army, but they're enough of a threat that the UN Security council wants them to "disarm".

These are the people doing well in the Lebanese polls? Well, I guess that my answer is, "No. We can't all just get along". Violence begets violence, people. Try to remember that.

Just Wanted to Mention This

It drove a relative of my insane that Bush used "disassemble" instead of "dissemble" the other day. Me, well, it just made me frightened. I believe that whenever Dubya does something particularly monkey-like in a public statement, it's to distract us from the really bad thing that's going on elsewhere. I fear the really bad thing, and I desperately hope it's not a new really bad thing.

Winners Write History

BBA

I am today in the process of joining the Big Brass Alliance, a group of bloggers supporting After Downing Street.

I have sent out 3 emails this morning, to

(A) CBS Evening News. email: evening@cbsnews.com phone: 212-975-3247

(B) Associated Press. email: info@ap.org phone: 202-776-9400 (DC) or 212-621-1500 (National News)

(C) C-Span Washington Journal. email: journal@c-span.org
(hat tip, Running Scared)

My position is this: I've seen the memo stating that the war in Iraq was a foregone conclusion, and that all the talk of WMD was just utter crap used to make the world think that we weren't the insane aggressors that we are. Why are no charges being brought anywhere, by anyone? Why are there so few media stories mentioning it?

Why do so many bloggers ask this question without an answer?

The winners write history, and I'm doing my damnedest not to be on the losing team.

Friday Not-My-Pet Blogging Mark III

Have I been very serious lately, talking about how I support things that will take away personal earnings and lower current benefits, and how I think that's the best we can do, right now? Well cheer up, because this post is about travelling stuffed animals.

One bear went to Disney World in Orlando and another went to Disneyland in southern California. Not one but two bears attended Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville.

Nothing depressing about that! Unless you hate football, I guess.

Getting What I Want

OK, I've been reading Enlighten New Jersey. You might have guessed. It's important to me to see what people that I disagree with are saying, especially because I want to know *why* they believe what they do. Today they point to a piece on Michelle Malkin about Social Security.

I think that's the first time I've ever linked to Michelle Malkin!

BusinessWeek says Congress and the White House are inching toward a compromise on Social Security. Private accounts will not be part of the plan. Instead, the compromise would include (a) reducing the rate of growth in benefits paid to upper-income beneficiaries (as President Bush has suggested) and (b) sharply increasing taxes on upper-income taxpayers (i.e., those that earn more than $80,000 $90,000 per year).

BusinessWeek is less upset about it than Malkin is, by the way.

Anyway, this is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. I think this will help. I think this will help, and this is what might happen. What's the catch?

Life is Inconvenient

I'm busy with work projects. If I get something up today, it will be late.

NJ Conservatives

I had no idea how upset N.J. conservaitives were with the trends we have towards paying public employees comparatively well. I had no idea people were so very angry about the way that voting tends to support public social programs rather than leaving the burden of charity to private institutions.

I've been reading a lot of conservative NJ blogs the past couple of days. I see some things that I can get behind, but mostly I see opinions that I cannot at all comprehend. Today's most amusing remarks are located in the comments section of a PoliPundit post. Examples:

the Republican party in NJ is hopeless. America starts in Pa (and seems to be moving to Ohio)

Or my favorite:

The NE is kinda like France.

Hey, cool! After visiting Paris in high school, I've always thought that France was *beautiful*! When does Trenton's makeover get started?

A Precarious Balance

Foster peace efforts without giving up strategic military defense positions. This is the issue facing Israel today.

I truly believe that the current leadership does not want the fighting. I don't' know how much they're willing to concede, though. Both sides believe that they're entitled - by god, no less - to the same pieces of land, and that's what makes this "road map" to peace so difficult to travel. This morning I've read both the Reuters' version and the Ha'aretz version of the story on Abbas' visit to the states. The Ha'aretz version is more skewed towards Israeli interests, of course. While the Reuters' version speaks of how Israeli settlements in the West Bank harm the peace effort:

"Palestinians welcome the prospect of taking over Gaza but say that if Israel keeps larger tracts of the West Bank as the trade-off, it would be impossible to set up a viable, territorially contiguous state."

The Ha'aretz story speaks of how the settlements are indispensable in that effort:

Sharon, who received enthusiastic applause from the 4,000 delegates at the AIPAC conference, said the disengagement would enable Israel to ensure that the large settlement blocs in the West bank remained an inseparable part of Israel.

Israel does not feel secure in the idea that giving up large sections of land will make them *safer*. The Palestinian Authority does not feel that non-contiguous lands serve their purpose for a united homeland. Tricky issues, to say the least, and I haven't even thought about mentioning the religious stuff.

I can't say as I have any faith in our current administration's ability to help reach a compromise. Actually, I'm not sure I have faith in anyone's ability to work this miracle.

Wake-up Call - Think For Yourself!

Ever read something and feel like you're being slapped in the face? That's how I felt yesterday when I read "Enlighten-New Jersey" for the first time. It's not just that they're spouting pretty much the opposite of what all my opinions are, it's that they're being, well, snide about it. The overall tone is just so "if you disagree with us, you're stoooopid!" that I'm having a hard time making it through all the posts. Actually, now I feel really guilty about anything I've ever written with that tone.

I try to be fair, although I don't know why, since this is, after all, just a forum for my opinions, so I'll point out the fact that this site has *really* good writing. The style has impact, and keeps you reading through the end of the post. I don't think I do that as well as they do, actually. But the opinions! Woo! Harsh! I just wasn't expecting to see things like this from something with "New Jersey" in the name.

Let's take today's post for example. It's about the Corzine suggested health plan.

How dumb does Corzine think we are? Upfront indeed.

How dumb does he think we are? That is so not helpful. I posted a comment:

Nice tone. You guys do understand that "up front" means the *first* round of money, right? And I'm sure that you get that the $19.33 figure is what it takes to get the program started, not how much it will cost to run it.

Programs cost money. Taking care of people's health is worth it.

I think that this is a good time to repeat my constant line: "Programs cost money, and someone has to pay for them". Property taxes in NJ are too high? Cut programs. Programs aren't the problem, you say? Re-work the spending. My daddy used to tell me, "Tami, you know what the difference between Democrats and Republicans is? Democrats tax and spend, and Republicans borrow and spend".

Want to see what Corzine has proposed in his own words? Go ahead, read it yourself. See if there's an idea in there that you can't agree with.

On the Republican side of the house, go ahead and read Doug Forrester's proposed reduction of property taxes. See if you can find out exactly where the 30% will come from. Which state jobs are "unnecessary"? What are the differences between Democratic programs and Republican ones that indicate the "Democrats' spending addiction"? The explanations just aren't there. How am I supposed to make an informed decision if no one is informing me?

There's a quote on the top of the page at Enlighten NJ: "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." I agree, people - arm yourselves.

So Unsavory That I May Cry

Go read this over at Shakespeare's Sister. You'll be sorry, but not that you read it. It's about Neal Horsely, and what a sick (insert swear words here) he is.

Standing Up for Himself

Someone asked me how I felt about the Galloway statement delivered to the Senate the other day (as reported in The Times Online)

I'll put up two quotes which I think capture the tenor of the statement pretty accurately:

"Now you refer at length to a company names in these documents as Aredio Petroleum. I say to you under oath here today: I have never heard of this company, I have never met anyone from this company. This company has never paid a penny to me and I'll tell you something else: I can assure you that Aredio Petroleum has never paid a single penny to the Mariam Appeal Campaign. Not a thin dime. I don't know who Aredio Petroleum are, but I daresay if you were to ask them they would confirm that they have never met me or ever paid me a penny.

"Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong and 100,000 people paid with their lives; 1600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies; 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever on a pack of lies.

So how do I feel about this? I feel appalled that this man should be publicly accused of being involved in the oil-for-food scandal. I feel astonished that it seems very clear that the only reason his name was brought into the investigation was to discredit a man who so obviously disagrees with U.S. policies and U.S. actions. I also feel quite delighted that he had the nerve, the confidence to stand up for himself and declare the truth as publicly as he could, instead of cowering in fear at the behemoth that is our country. Mostly, though, I'm angry, shamed, and surprised that this kind of smear attempt got so far that his public denial was necessary. Deep down I'm so naive.

Laying Blame

Via Atrios:

Perhaps we should stop blaming Newsweek.

General Myers also told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday that the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Carl Eichenberry, disagrees with the reports that protests in the city of Jalalabad were caused by anger over the alleged Koran incident.

"It is the judgment of our commander in Afghanistan, General Eichenberry, that in fact the violence that we saw in Jalalabad was not necessarily the result of the allegations about disrespect for the Koran, but more tied up in the political process and the reconciliation process that President Karzai and his cabinet are conducting in Afghanistan. He thought it was not at all tied to the article in the magazine," he explained.

Usually Wolcott Is So Amusing...

Normally, when I read James Wolcott, I find myself smiling, even laughing out loud. Even when dealing with very serious subjects, his wry wit finds its way into the conversation, leaving me in awe of his snarky skills. (Skillz?)

Today, though, his post on the US and the future of the UN is just so serious that I'm not smiling at all.

Hands Off, Indeed

Today, there is a rally in Trenton with the theme "Hands Off Our Benefits!" This is a rally to let NJ government officials know that state employees like teachers and policemen do not want their pension plans changed. Talk of "entitlements" is inflammatory, and people wish to make their point that they work hard, and the benefits they receive are what they were granted in contract negotiations. Teachers and police officers receiving pensions are not living off the fat of the land, they worked hard doing tough, important jobs, and a degree of security in their old age is something they earned, not something that New Jersey is providing them out of generosity.

In this article, Hopefuls call for pension reforms, William G. Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities is quoted as saying,

"In many cases, it's too late (for reform)," Dressel said. "The police and fire system is one of the richest that exists in the nation. The teachers system is one of the most generous. It's indicative of the powerful interest groups they represent."

Perhaps it is one of the richest in the nation. I don't' have that information available to me, so it's a bit hard for me to tell. But I wonder, is it second richest in the nation? Because according to the U.S. Government's Census Bureau, NJ is number 2 as far as average personal per-capita income goes. When you factor in that NJ is consistently in the top ten highest rated states for cost of living (actual rankings I found averaged out at number 5), it only makes sense that our pension plans are "rich". How much do you want to bet that the amount of money we give our state retirees is not ranked second? The biggest complaints about spending in New Jersey is about how property taxes pay for schools, so school spending obviously has to be cut to lower the taxes. You think of the fifty states we rank second in school spending? I assure you, we do NOT.

I have read what the politicians are saying about the pension reforms they wish to make, and all of them cite people who take part time government positions and "tack" together the pension plans available from these minimal-effort jobs into an amount of money that mimics what a full-time worker makes. You hear that someone worked 5 jobs that required 10 hours a week of their time put together, and that now they'll receive a pension of $60,00 a year, on *top* of any income they receive. No, I don't think that's fair. No one thinks that's fair. Surely, though, there's a way to take care of this that doesn't penalize other state workers? The talk is of eliminating the possibility of pensions for part-time positions. This sounds fair until you think about a fire fighter in a 35-hour-per-week part time position for 20 years. Or a person working as a classroom aide who is considered part time because that will never be "classified" as a full-time position. These are people's careers, and appropriate pensions should not be denied them.

We need to find another way to eliminate this problem, a way that doesn't punish the people who have been generous enough to spend their working years making the rest of our lives better and safer.

Properly Grateful

Today, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo has added me to their blogroll. Because I asked!

By the way - if you don't want to turn your brain to mush, never, ever, EVER visit Kitten War. It almost killed me.

Friday Not-My-Pet Blogging Mark II

I know that Ron and Jazz have done an admirable job of posting about the new rodent discovered in Laos, but in my opinion, they missed the most important line:

Dr. Timmins said he was not tempted to feast on a rock rat and never thought to ask what it tasted like. A trip to the market, he said, made it clear that "in Laos, pretty much everything gets eaten."

Luckily, I don't have any need to make this stuff up.

Blog I'm Watching

This guy really doesn't like being represented by Michael Ferguson.

No, not at all.

Go With the Flow

Since EVERYTHING I read today seems to be about sex, I thought I'd pose a question about the few-days-old story about Neal Horsley and his early-life mule girlfriends.

OK, so this man believes that everyone who grew up on a farm learned about sex by having it with animals. Does he mean girls, too, or do you think that girls aren't "people" to a man like that?

Performing sex acts on animals is not anything like engaging in a relationship with another consenting adult (or even another consenting teenager - there's nothing like that). Anyone who deigns to compare these two simply makes themselves look ridiculous - and kind of demented - in my mind.

My Kind of Mouthpiece

Please, if you're not the type who's read this already, head over to Dear Abby for today's date, May 11th, 2005. She has a letter from someone who calls himself "Leonard in Lynchburg". I feel terrible quoting her column, I worry that I need permission but I simply must. I'll just take from the middle of Abby's reply:

"Homosexuality is simply a variant of sexual orientation. Those who claim it is "unnatural" should direct their attention to Dr. Joan Roughgarden, a biologist at Stanford University with a Ph.D. from Harvard, who states that more than 300 vertebrate species have been found to practice homosexuality. (A visit to any zoo might confirm it.)"

Abby, whom I often think of as an example of as pure Middle American Values-Oriented as you get, apparently thinks that scientific facts and tolerance are values. I applaud her.

More Cross Posting Goodness

A post I've put up at Running Scared:

Reading Terror ties at a Middle Eastern bank?, I am struck by both sides of the issue, yet again.

Side one: you should not help terrorists.
Side two: you should deposit money in bank accounts, if the correct deposit slip is used and you're a bank.

I think that a bank should do business as usual, and shouldn't be peering in to every transaction in every one of their customer's accounts by any means. As true as this is, though, it's also important that things like terrorist watch lists are recognized, and when someone opens a new account, references like that one should be checked. If a person is affiliated with a terrorist organization, an International bank should not be issuing them an account. I don't think that's an unreasonable request.

It's funny, my first thought when reading this was "It's a bank, it's supposed to move people's money around for them". As I read, though, I came to the above conclusion. Terrorist "watch lists" and "wanted lists" exist because people are breaking laws and hurting other people, and they're in place for the greater good. (I will not get into whether or not people who are on the lists belong there).

I do not know whether or not the Arab Bank has terrorist ties, they certainly protest loudly enough that they do not. I do believe that it is wrong of them to assist in moving money for people involved in terrorist acts, and I sincerely hope that their efforts to prevent this from happening in the future are successful

Face the Truth

Newsflash: Ancient Egyptian artists - not big liars!

CT scans reveal King Tut's face
"Archaeologists discover images are strikingly similar to ancient portraits"

I'm so relieved!

Humanitarianism and Realism

Not two words that you hear put together all the time, but I think that they work here.

I don't know if you've been over to The Huffington Post yet, but it's HUGE. There's post upon post upon post to read, and I don't know how one person could ever get through it all and get anything else done. So, it was no surprise to me that The Opinion Mill had found a post that I missed yesterday, by my own state's Senator, Jon Corzine. The Senator says:

But even if you put aside the moral case for ending genocide for a moment, consider our own interests in the matter. The failed state that is being created in the wake of this horrific crime will be a hotbed for global instability. I was there, and I saw what’s happening. As I stood in the refugee camps of Eastern Chad, into which hundreds of thousands of desperate people are pouring over the border, I realized how dangerous to America the situation has become. Not only is Darfur a lawless part of an unstable state, but the conflict there is destabilizing Chad.

The refugees, even when they are receiving food and shelter, have nothing to do. Resentment is building. And Eastern Chad, which has insufficient resources for its own population, cannot accommodate the refugees for long. We must stop this genocide, and we also must bring about a long-term political solution to this crisis. With two million people in refugee camps in Chad and camps for displaced persons in Darfur, we are creating the conditions for the collapse of law and order in an entire region and, potentially, for terrorism.

There you have it. An argument that we should help our keep our fellow man from getting slaughtered, if only to protect ourselves against future terrorist attacks. The only bigger motivator in today's world seems to be people's pocketbooks, and one can certainly argue that terrorism is costing the US more and more money every day.

When we headed over to Iraq with guns blazing I posted that I wondered why it was important to liberate those people, but not the ones in the Sudan who were being killed in frightening numbers for no reason at all. I still don't know why people wouldn't think this is important.

Going for the Sleaze Factor

Rather than blog about something lofty today, I thought I'd point out a newspaper article that I had the good fortune to stumble across. It's about a prostitution bust, and I think we all know that if you can talk about sex, you really should.

Prostitution is latest Morris target
We start out with this:

Authorities in Morris County arrested 18 people this weekend in a prostitution sting in Rockaway Township, part of a campaign to root out sex crimes, gambling and drugs, the county prosecutor said yesterday.

A little further on down the line, though, we get this:

Investigators chose Rockaway Township for its proximity to major highways such as Routes 80 and 46, not because the township is a center for prostitution, the prosecutor said.

...

Rockaway Township Mayor Louis Sceusi said he is pleased that local and county authorities worked together on the sting, but he emphasized that the township is not plagued by prostitution.

So these escort services weren't located in Morris County at all? I am disappointed. I was looking forward to reading about how crime-riddled one of the more affluent NJ counties was! Oh, well. At least I can take comfort that this is brought up far enough down in the article that a lot of people will miss it. My party conversation starter remains safe!

Another thing I'd like to point out about this article - it gives the names of the female NJ residents taken in to custody. Was that out of consideration for men who'd like to look them up in the future? I hope those ladies have unlisted numbers.

Odd thing #3 - two of the women listed are mentioned as "working in child care". I wonder if prostitution business is so slow that you need a second job.

Can Someone Explain This?

I'm sure there's a reason...

Can someone explain why part of my town is in this district?

Not my whole town, mind you, just a small part. Lumped in with other towns, a lot of which don't resemble us so much.

It's vexing.

Lazy Friday

Once again, I do not feel like thinking.

Instead, I shall point you to an amusing web page about pronouncing words.

Amusing to me, at least.

Vitriol

Ooh! Jill's MAD! Spittin' Mad!

What part of "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" don't Americans understand? Or is this Administration SO vile and SO corrupt that Americans just don't care anymore?

Inappropriate

People must learn to look at a situation from someone else's point of view, they simply must.

Vandals spray swastika, Sharon slur at entrance to Yad Vashem

Unknown men Thursday sprayed swastikas and graffiti reading "Sharon is continuing Hitler's way" on the road leading into the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, minutes before the opening of the central ceremony marking Holocaust Memorial Day.

Similar graffiti was also sprayed on the facade of the Central Zionist Archives building in the capital.

Housing Minister Yitzhak Herzog, who was taking part in the March of the Living between the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps vehemently condemned the graffiti.

"Only a sick mind can compare the prime minister to the Nazi enemy on Holocaust Memorial Day," Herzog said.

So true. Persecution is a terrible thing, and I understand that many feel that the Palestinians aren't getting a fair deal. Some even believe that they're being eliminated. And some believe that they're being treated too kindly, and that giving in to them - any concession at all - is comparable with the most tragic incident of slaughter in the 20th Century. This is simply not true. Fighting and death as a result of conflict has nothing to do with the wholesale rounding up of certain types of people, detaining them, putting them to death, and dumping them in mass graves. It's not the same as using their body fat for soap or their skin for lamp shades, or performing medical experiments on them "because they're not really people", anyway.

There are many terrible moments in history, and some can indeed be compared reasonably to the Holocaust. Sadly, it is not unique in it's horror. The current situation, however - policies enacted by Sharon - they are NOT of that level, and saying that they are is a tremendous show of disrespect for the human race.

Guilty by Association

Ah, hell.
Pentagon analyst charged with disclosing secrets

Lawrence Franklin surrendered to the FBI and faces charges of disclosing classified U.S. national defense information in 2003 to two individuals who sources said worked at the time at the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Fabulous. I cannot tell you how much I dislike it when Jews do bad things. It makes me fear for fresh outbreaks of anti-semitism. I know that as prejudices go, anti-semitism in New Jersey is fairly low-key, but I still get antsy.

I'm having one of those hippie-moments where I wish that everyone would always be viewed as an individual with individual traits instead of as part of a group with stereotypical ones. Ah, well, I have reality instead.

In case anyone wonders, I'm pro-Israel and anti-PAC.

I Just Really Liked the Headline

The Future Calls, and Mom Says Call Back

It is a scenario just plausible enough for Hollywood. After all, many patches of the country are now covered with Wi-Fi. And millions of people now use voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) to make cheap or free calls on the Internet. So, like two tastes that go great together, why not join Wi-Fi and VoIP? Why not turn a hand-held computer into a phone?

It's not really an eye-opening article or anything, in fact, it feels a lot like filler. Like I said, though, I love the headline.

Three Minus Two

(cross-posted at Running Scared)

If you take away the better part of something, you only have a small part left. That's logic for you, right?
Pentagon Says Iraq Effort Limits Ability to Fight Other Conflicts

The officer, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed Congress in a classified report that major combat operations elsewhere in the world, should they be necessary, would probably be more protracted and produce higher American and foreign civilian casualties because of the commitment of Pentagon resources in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, reading this, I understand that we have a lot of troops deployed already, and if something else should come up, we won't have as many soldiers to send to the new place. Does that mean we'd lose?

Despite the limitations, General Myers was unwavering in his assessment that American forces would win any major combat operation. The armed forces, he concluded, are "fully capable" of meeting all Washington's military objectives.

So we wouldn't lose? Even with a gazillion (approx 140,000) troops deployed in Iraq, we could still kick yet another country's ass?

Though the general wrote that the military forces "will succeed in any" major combat operation, he added that "they may be unable to meet expectations for speed or precision as detailed in our current plans."

Oh, now I get it - we can still kick their asses, but it would have to be slowly. Gotcha.

The article goes on to pretty much contradict itself and swear that we're not vulnerable. I do believe that we can defend ourselves, but let's face it, without a whole lot of gung-ho recruits, our imperialistic goals are over we won't be able to spread freedom as quickly as we'd like.

New Government, Same Old Violence

Well, they have a new government, but the violence in Iraq doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Car bombs strike Baghdad, killing eight

Iraqis had hoped to be rewarded with stability and a decline in bloodshed on their streets after risking the threat of suicide bombings to vote in the historic election on Jan. 30.

But their bickering leaders took three months to form a government, and the guerrillas show no signs of weakening.

Iraqi officials estimate that attacks have killed about 100 people and wounded more than 150 since Thursday, when the first democratically elected government in 50 years was formed.

Wish it had helped, I really do.

All Right, It's ON

Warning - I may lapse into swear words in the post. Can't say how angry I'll get as I write.

There's a piece at Raw Story published on Wednesday. It talks about how Republicans re-wrote the descriptions of some Democrat-proposed amendments to a bill.

"At least five amendments to this bill, which were designed to protect the rights of family members and innocent bystanders from prosecution under this bill, were rewritten as amendments designed to protect sexual predators from prosecution and were then included in the committee report as if that was the original intent of the authors. The thing is, sexual predators were not mentioned anywhere in any of these amendments. I asked the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee about this deception yesterday afternoon at the Rules Committee hearing.

"And instead of decrying what I certainly expected would be revealed as a mistake by an overzealous staffer...The Chairman stood by those altered
amendment descriptions.

"He made very clear to the Rules Committee that the alterations to these members' amendments were deliberate. When pressed as to why his committee staff took such an unprecedented action, the Chairman immediately offered up his own anger over the manner in which Democrats had chosen to debate and oppose this unfortunate piece of legislation we have before us today.

"In fact...He said, and I quote..."You don't like what we wrote about your amendments, and we don't like what you said about our bill."

Here's what this bill does - it makes damn sure that a minor who wants an abortion needs parental consent. In case you don't know how I feel about this, I personally do not believe that an unborn fetus is yet a viable life, and aborting a pregnancy does not, in my mind amount to murder in any way, shape, or form. Killing babies? Murder. Killing unborn fetuses? Not Murder.

So, if I hear of a MINOR who has become pregnant that wishes to have an abortion, my usual first thought is, "Good for her. She understands that she's too young to take on that kind of responsibility". Because having a baby is a responsibility, and even if you intend on giving birth and then giving the baby away, I know all too well that hormones are a stone cold bitch, and the experience changes you forever. Aborting a pregnancy is not the easy way out, it takes a different kind of toll, but a newly made person isn't then around to also have to suffer from the mistake. Some people can handle having a child, some people can give a child away. Some people can't. People who know that they're in the "can't" category do not earn scorn from me, but rather respect for recognizing the facts.

There are people who disagree with me. I understand and respect that, too. I would never force someone to have an abortion. Not if it went against their morals, if their conscience couldn't allow it. But people who would take that right away, well that pisses me off.

That's how I read these types of laws, you see, as controls over kids who would defy parents. Why require parental permission if you weren't assuming that in most cases it would be denied? If that girl - and remember, we're talking about girls, here, not yet 18 - wants to terminate her pregnancy, that says to me that it does not go against her conscience to do so. Does it go against the beliefs of her parents? Perhaps. But guess what? Their little girl is pregnant. That probably goes against their beliefs, as well.

I'm going to set aside the rape scenarios, here, because I can't fathom the concept of someone who would want to force a girl to bear a child begotten by violence. Yes, I understand that even in that situation there are those who would choose to continue with the pregnancy and have the child, and that's their right. Those who would not choose that path need to be able to take the other route legally without molestation. Period.

Lets go back to the scenario where a female under the age of 18 has had sex willingly, and has become pregnant. This female realizes that she does not want to become a mother at this time. I feel that making her do so is an unbelievable imposition. In fact, imposition seems to mild of a word to use. Punishment? Damnation? Curse? Motherhood is serious, and forcing it on unwilling young females is recklessly cruel. My rights stop where yours begin, and so it follows that the rights of the parents to impose religious restrictions upon their daughters stops where her body being forced into becoming a breeding ground begins.

So these amendments that were proposed, they were intended to protect parties who aided a pregnant minor by transporting them across state lines for the purpose of getting an abortion - whether they're a knowing party or not. If the bill passes as written, a parent of one of these girls could sue the taxi driver who drove the girl to her destination. That is beyond ridiculous. There's no protection for grandparents, or siblings, or cousins. This is a ridiculous open door for the litigious.

And how, pray tell were these amendment descriptions re-written? They all mention that the amendments would protect sexual predators, when they would do NO SUCH THING! There's no mention of sexual predators in these amendments. These re-writes are bold-faced lies, created by people who favor the idea of a parent being able to force their child into childbearing.

I cannot stand this idea. If this bill passes, if it goes through, I want teenage girls who would be affected by it to know - you can go ahead and call me. I'll drive you across state lines, threat of a lawsuit or not. No one should force you to become a mother against your will, and I'm willing to stand up and fight for you. It's on.

Good Points

Today Mahablog has an excellent point about calling a spade a spade. In doing so, you are not insulting the shovels or the trowels.

I noticed that both Maha and Shakespeare's Sister are quoting Al Gore today. I went and read the speech SS recommended. It's a good read.

Employment Opportunity

Today I have been informed that I should apply for this job.

I Think It's Politics as Usual

A friend pointed out this article to me:

Probe reveals Vatican priest's clandestine past
(note - why isn't this headline capitalized properly?)

An investigation into communist-era persecution of the Roman Catholic church in Poland turned up documents showing that the Rev. Konrad Stanislaw Hejmo, a Dominican, "was a secret collaborator of the Polish secret services under the names of Hejnal and Dominik," said Leon Kieres, head of the state-run National Remembrance Institute that investigated Nazi and communist crimes in Poland.

Hejmo’s Dominican superior, the Rev. Maciej Zieba, said he saw the files, which he termed "convincing and shocking."

No surprise to me. Maybe there are some people out there who think that priests are incorruptible, but those folks also believe that I'm going to hell, so I could care less about them. Unless they try and *send* me to hell, I guess, but I digress. People are people, and people like money and power. I personally believe that the whole concept of the confessional was set up so that the Church could have secrets to use against kings.

The idea that a priest was acting as a spy surprises me not at all. The fact that someone discovered it while he's still alive, well, that does.

Killing Me Softly

I work in Information Technology. I work for a big company. We have a whole department that deals with viruses and their removal from our environment.

Today, one of the guys in that department sent me an email about this hoax. Not about the hoax, just the actual hoax email, as he believed it.

Is that irony? It might be irony.

Older Than Dirt

But not older than rock art!

Experts put date to UK rock art

Experts have dated the UK's oldest rock art, at Creswell Crags in the midlands, to more than 12,800 years ago

Hey! I bet that REALLY pisses off the people who are so sure that the earth was created 6,000 years ago!

Who am I kidding. They'll just say that those rocks were created fully formed in a state that mimics what would have occurred during natural aging, and that the earth is young, young, young. Because religion is magic!

If I Was Laura...

I'd be pissed!

Hat tip Shakespeare's Sister and Running Scared:

Is This Really A Good Time For Bush To Look Buddy-Buddy With The Saudis?

Buddy-Buddy? That photo couldn't be more romantic if it were Brad and Angelina.

How in the world can the man justify holding hands with a foreign dignitary? They're not on a Sunday jaunt around the gardens for pleasure's sake. They're supposed to be discussing the serious business of oil production affecting the world economy, not how pretty the bluebells are this year. Poor choice of photo op.

Once Again, I'm Thrown

Syria is keeping their promise to withdraw from Lebanon.

Syria Intelligence Quits Lebanon HQ After 29 Years

ANJAR, Lebanon (Reuters) - Syrian intelligence quit its Lebanese headquarters in the border town of Anjar on Monday, virtually completing a pullout of Syrian forces from Lebanon and ending Damascus' 29-year domination.

Now, mind you, I do not know what this means for the area, I simply can't read it. Will it be a time of Lebanese unity, or will there be unrest caused simply by the idea that things are changing? Will the newly liberated Lebanese government continue along the lines it's been travelling, or will new and surprising revelations be made? I have no idea.

Strangest of all is the fact that I can't seem to recall the last time I heard news like this - news of a country making a military promise and then fulfilling it within the time period allotted. If you had asked me a few months ago what countries, under duress, could be counted on to behave like rational adults and not cause chaotic misery, I don't think that I would have come up with Syria right off the bat.

Template, Schmemplate

OK, making a whole new template from scratch was hard, and I'm lazy. Instead, I've come up with this re-colored, used-my-own-banner-version! Yay!

Joint Chiefs of Staff News

Jersey Blogging, National blogging, I got it all rolled up into one, today.
President Bush has nominated Marine General Peter Pace (He's originally from NJ, according to the bio) to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Not sure how I feel about it yet, all I remember is him on TV when the war was still "on", talking about how awfully Saddam's troops were behaving. That sounded true enough to me.

I can't say that I know much more about him yet than the bio that I've linked to. At least, though, as he is currently Vice Chairman, this nomination doesn't seem completely out of left field to me.

Ratzinger, Nazi

I get a ridiculously small number of hits each day. It's enough to make a girl feel unwanted. So, along with all you people who search for "Para Bailar la Bamba", I'd like to welcome all of you who got here through the "Ratzinger, Nazi" search.

Thanks, Barry, for the tip!

I'm still wasting all my time on a template. I may throw something that's only slightly different from this up tomorrow.

No Comment

Today, I am working on designing my own template. It's time. While my current template, designed by Jeffrey Zeldman is indeed quite lovely, the fact is that he designed it, not me. I can do this, and by now I really should have. Hope it doesn't take me weeks.

Different Sides of the Same Coin

I suddenly realized that I'm not spending enough time reading Anne Coutler's web site. This morning on the radio, I heard the DJ say that she brought "intelligence and wit" to the conservative political forum.

"What?", I thought, "I thought she brought unfair exaggerations and cruel remarks about killing people for disagreeing with her. Maybe I haven't been paying close enough attention!"

So, I went over to http://www.annecoulter.org and read what's up on the ol' front page. Jackpot - it's a piece about people throwing pies at her!

Late in the column, we find these wise words:

What might work better is some form of disincentive to liberals who engage in violent behavior whenever they hear an idea they don't like but can't come up with words to dispute.

My goodness, that's certainly right! People should not resort to violence! I'm with her! Except that I'd already read the paragraphs leading up to that one, like say, this bit:

Unfortunately for them, Republican men don't react favorably to two "Deliverance" boys trying to sucker-punch a 110-pound female in a skirt and heels. The geniuses ended up with bloody noses and broken bones.

- or this bit:

In the five months following the liberal ass-whupping in Arizona — I mean "fact-driven debate"

Ah, I see now. I've learned 2 things from this Anne Coulter piece:

1. Anne Coulter is really, really proud about how skinny she is, otherwise I can't see why she'd mention it. I mean, would it be more fair to throw pies at a heavier woman, or a big, strong Republican male who could bat away the pie as if it were the merest gnat? Is a pie a dangerous weapon when thrown at such a skinny woman, because if any got in her mouth, her pencil skirt might suddenly burst? Why is her size important?
2. Violence is wrong if it's being used against conservatives, but just fine - funny, even - if it's used in retaliation against men armed with LIFE THREATENING PIES!

Protesting the Old-Fashioned Way

...at a college.

Saw this at The Opinion Mill.

Tent State University

I think I'll stop by later today, you know, before I go vote in the Annual NJ School Board Elections.

It's in Public, Silly

Bloggers are not writing in diaries and keeping them in their desks. Well, maybe they are, but what I mean to say is that blogs are forums that are published in a place where anyone in all the public world with an internet connection might read them. It is not a private place.

When the Blogger Blogs, Can the Employer Intervene

As the practice of blogging has spread, employees like Mr. Kennedy are coming to the realization that corporations, which spend millions of dollars protecting their brands, are under no particular obligation to tolerate threats, real or perceived, from the activities of people who become identified with those brands, even if it is on their personal Web sites.

They are also learning that the law offers no special protections for blogging - certainly no more than for any other off-duty activity.

Of course not. If I were to write a letter to the editor of my local newspaper about how my project at work was going, and I talk trash, would I expect to keep my job? Why would I ever think that? Publishing your name, address, and employer, and then talking about the inner workings of your workplace is ill-advised. It can harm your company - the people who *pay* you - and probably will.

Yes, I suppose there's the concept that you can blog anonymously, but that's very tricky. Somewhere, someone will know who you are, and if the kind of things you're discussing are illegal, that person will be obliged to give you up, if confronted.

You work somewhere with conditions so bad that you feel they must be exposed publicly, and you feel it's your duty to do so? Fine. Do it. But do not expect to keep that job when it all comes out.

I do not talk about my work on my blog. You know why? Because I have the best job in the whole wide world, and I want to keep it.

In My Email Today

From MSNBC News Headlines:

"Cardinals hold special Mass
Roman Catholic cardinals held a solemn Mass praying for divine inspiration on Monday, preparing to lock themselves away from the world to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7523254/"

"The new pope has already been chosen by the Lord. We just have to pray to understand who he is," Florence Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, considered by some to be a dark-horse candidate, told believers who gathered for Sunday Mass at his titular church in Rome.

Wow. I think this is the only time in recent memory that I actually believe that someone means divine inspiration when they say that. They're actually trying to listen to God! For real!

Too Lazy to Make My Own

Too lazy to make my own post, I'm hijacking one from Running Scared:

Avi and Russel - a love story

Jazz talks about an Israeli couple who have gone to Canada to marry. They state their intent of having Israel recognize their marriage. Jazz says:

I don't know if they will face an easier time than here in the current Christo-fascist climate in America, or a harder time. Perhaps some of our Jewish authors/readers can help me out there. I really have no idea what the prevailing view of gays and lesbians is in Israel. I sort of have the impression that most of the homophobic trends in religion came from the old testament... Leviticus and that crowd. Then again, I could be totally off base. Perhaps they embrace a far more tolerant society there than we currently have in the U.S.

Now, I've got me a bona-fide B.A. in Hebraic Studies, I do, so I answered in a comment:

Ooh, I suspect they'll have a real stone bitch of a time. The laws in Israel, unlike the laws here, really *are* Old Testament based. I mean, people aren't putting out each other's eyes for stealing goats, but there's a serious religious base, and it's on purpose. If these two gentlemen manage to get their status changed, I'll be really surprised.

Jews don't spend a lot of time talking about sin and punishment because the emphasis is that punishment for sins against man is given out by man, and punishment for sins against G-d (I had a really hard time deciding how to write that) will be given out by G-d, but you know that the Orthodox feel that we're on earth to "be fruitful and multiply". Homosexuality doesn't fit in with that agenda.

Personally, I think that if 2 men or 2 women want to get married, they should go on ahead. It doesn't hurt anyone for these people to be happy. This is a prime example of a reason why I call myself a bad Jew - I know all the rules, but I just can't follow them. Can't, or won't, but definitely don't. And yet, I know that I'm Jewish, I guess I should cut all the non-dogmatic people out there who call themselves Catholic a break, huh?

Recovering Economy

Reading an article on MSNBC about trendier items at Walmart, and I came across this paragraph (emphasis mine):

Unlike Wal-Mart, whose core customer still hasn't benefited from a recovering economy, Target is less vulnerable to consumers' financial constraints; it attracts a more upscale customer while keeping its budget shoppers.

Now, I've been working on a budget. A real budget, and I've been analyzing everything that I spend in a fashion that I've rarely done before. I compare it to costs, and to how much of a raise I got this year (less than cost of living, despite a good review). Gasoline is now 10% of my monthly salary. Milk is more than twice as expensive as nutritionless soda. Fresh foods are wickedly pricey when compared to frozen crap that I refuse to eat. When discussing how I am now making more and yet getting/having less, I asked, "How can this be?". My answer was, "Perhaps the economy's crap".

Are we really recovering?

RIght to Laugh My Butt Off

(Hat tip Mike over at Running Scared)

Terri Schiavo's parents have agreed to sell their list of supporters to a direct-mailing firm.

BAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

Right to life - in solicitation hell!

Party Time!

Happy second blogiversary, Running Scared. We loved you even before you let us join in your reindeer games.

It's Almost Enough...

...to make me think of becoming a Republican.

(via Atrios)
Erosion of Estate Tax Is a Lesson in Politics

Washington has been changing the estate tax. Heck, Republicans want to eliminate it. They speak of "death taxes" and equal treatment for "paupers and billionaires". Well, here's the thing - The portion of an estate exempted from taxation this year is 1.5 million dollars. Next year it goes to 2 million. Now, as things stand, my father's estate isn't anywhere near this. But hey, dad's not an old man, yet, he's got plenty of years to live. What if he takes his comfy nest egg and hits it big with one of his investments? Wouldn't I then want the amount exempted raised to 3.5 million dollars, or even eliminated, as proposed? Because, you know, as much as I love him, I understand that everyone eventually dies, and then, well... kaching!

Do you know me at all? Because if you do, then you know that my answer is "of course not". As much as I feel that tug in my gut that says "Hey, your dad made that money, now it should be yours - OK, mine and my sister's, I know better. I still seem to be one of the few people who keeps saying out loud that we need ACTUAL money to pay for the running of the country, and the rich are the ones who can afford to give it out. This money must come from somewhere, why not those who aren't subject to poverty without that certain percentage? If at some crazy point in the future, I was to find myself actually rich, I would understand that this comes with taxes to match, because I am not a spoiled child who wants to have all the benefits with none of the hard work.

Wait - that came out wrong, seeing as I do actually want all of the benefits with none of the hard work. I want it, but I understand that life does not work that way. If it did, I'd also be able to shoot lightning out of my fingertips and be able to communicate telepathically with animals.

Bolton, National Review, Vocabulary

Or, another chapter in the "What is Tami Reading Today?" primer.

There's an interesting article at the National Review, today, about how Bolton is not as unsuited to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "OK", I thought, "I'll give that a read". And might I say, I don't know what kind of people read the National Review, but apparently they remember more SAT words than I do. I had to look up both "gravamen" and "vitiates".

The article is by Rich Lowry, and he makes a few solid points. Bolton has indeed been involved in many activities that involved more than one country:

In his current job as undersecretary of state for arms control, he worked on the Moscow Treaty, which codified steep reductions in the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals. He was instrumental in the passage of U.N. Resolution 1540, urging countries to crack down on WMD proliferation. He was central in the creation of the Proliferation Security Initiative, a multilateral effort to block the transfer of WMDs. He was the lead U.S. negotiator in the creation of the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Proliferation of WMD, an attempt to secure Russian WMD materials. Just how multilateral can one guy get?

I was reading without that angry red color clouding my vision, the article seemed to be presenting its point fairly well, so I kept reading. Well, I did take exception to the line "This attitude is the international version of the old definition of a liberal as someone who won't take his own side in a fight". That was a bit of a cheap shot. But more or less the article makes a decent argument. Then, of course, I got to the part that didn't ring as true with me.

The second is that Bolton's multilateralism is always in the service of advancing Bush's foreign policy. Since Democrats oppose that foreign policy, they pretend Bolton rejects international cooperation altogether. His version of multilateralism vitiates what for many Democrats should be its chief purpose — frustrating Bush goals abroad. Alas, John Bolton is determined to be Bush's ambassador to the U.N., rather than the other way around, making him the kind of diplomat the Democrats just can't abide.

I do indeed oppose most of Bush's foreign policies, I do. I feel that they smack of superiority complexes and imperialistic goals. To me, advancing these policies *is* rejecting international cooperation. Has Lowry heard some of the things that Rice has said? Does he think that she never really made those comments, or that no one else in the administration echoed the sentiment?

So, as I interpret it, Bolton's version of multilateralism is painted with the brush that builds nations and assumes that the U.S. should be in charge. Isn't having a version of multilateralism that actually translates to "making others play the way we want them to" exactly what we're complaining about?

I don't think that I'm not on my own side if I feel that the U.S. should be working as a member of the U.N. instead of the eldest son and heir.

When You Least Expect It

I never thought that this kind of thing would come out of the Pope's dying - seems that this morning (last night, today, whatever), that the leaders of Syria and Iran forgot to act like crazy separatists and treated Israeli President Moshe Katsav like a fellow human being. And he did it back!

"I told him 'Good morning' and he shook my hand," Katsav, who holds a largely ceremonial post as head of state, told Israel's Channel 2 TV on his encounter with Assad. The Israeli and Syrian delegations had been seated next to each other.

Iranian-born Katsav said he spoke in his native Farsi to Khatami about their common city of birth. Iran officially seeks Israel's destruction.

"The president of Iran extended his hand to me, I shook it and told him in Farsi, 'May peace be upon you'," said Katsav.

Good behavior seen at a solemn occasion? Do you think it might catch on?

Friday Not Pet Blogging at ALL

Sure, sure, they're burying the pope, but I was just over at Cynical Nation, and he's pointed out a really funny headline (if you're an American, at least).

Happy Friday!

Things That Make You Say, "What?"

This morning on my ride into work, I was listening to New Jersey 101.5. "But Tami," you may ask, "why?". Well, I usually listen to WPLJ, but this morning they were playing a "phone scam", and I hate those. It bothers the hell out of me when a radio show will call someone just to trick them, and I hate that people find that funny. I understand situational humor, and if I was watching that kind of scenario in a sitcom, I'd probably laugh along with everyone else. When I know that the outraged person isn't in on it, though, when I know that they're really *feeling* that anger, and not just pretending for comedic effect, well, it makes me feel all squirmy inside.

So, I switched to the classic rock station, because the iPod wasn't hooked up (and this reminds me that I left it in the car. Now I have to go down to the garage and get it, nuts), but they were playing commercials, and i have a short attention span. So, I flipped over to 101.5. I listen to them fairly often, knowing that almost always I will disagree with whatever host is on the air, but hearing discussions on local issues is never a bad thing, right? I figure I must be getting something out of it.

Today Jim Gearhart was talking about illegal immigrants, and the fact that banks are now working with the IRS to give mortgage loans to illegal immigrants (also here).

I was cool with this, I hadn't heard about the topic before, and I'm not really sure where I stand on the whole illegal immigration thing. Like everything else, I find that I'm a shade of grey. I'm against people coming here illegally and living without ID so that they can fade into the background and never get caught in their drug trafficking business. I'm against the person who lives here without papers because they committed a terrible crime in another country, even if they're harming no one now that they're here. I'm *not* against people who flee a bad situation the only way that they know how, because getting papers is almost impossible for them in their native lands, if those people enter into the immigration process upon arrival. Or even if they don't, out of fear, I'm still not against them if they're just people seeking a better life. And I'm sure there's a million levels of people in between the extremes, and I'd only give my opinion on them case-by-case. You can't lump people into a giant block like that, it's almost never true.

I was surprised how little the host was saying to contribute to the conversation. It was as if the callers were filling him in on stuff he'd never heard before. That was pretty surprising. I learned a lot of the stuff I know about this by watching cop shows and movies. Does no one watch TV any more?

OK, complete and total derailment (if you want to keep your train of thought, skip this): a woman in her 60's told me that her husband had tried to help out by doing the laundry, but had mixed the colors and the whites, and now all of his underwear was a lovely blush pink. He's in his 60's! Did the man never watch a sitcom in his whole life?! Surely Peter Brady should have taught him that lesson 30 years ago! How the &*!#$^ hell did this woman never show her husband how to separate laundry - EVER - in the 40-some years they've been married?!

Back to the show. Callers were calling in, talking about how they know people who had jobs where they paid taxes, but couldn't get refunds because they were illegals, how some illegals become legals, how our economy would crash without illegals, because they do jobs that other people don't want, and finally, I was close to work, so I listened to one last call.

It was a caller talking about how much money the hospitals of New Jersey have to put out yearly to care for illegal immigrants. He claimed it was projected at $200,000,000 for this year. He stated that illegals are paying taxes, but those taxes aren't being used to pay for the services that they use (now that I'm thinking about it, this isn't making a lot of sense). He finished up with the line, "The government is getting fat".

Jim Gearhart ended the call with his response, "Yeah, but who's the government? It used to be us."

What? What the hell does that mean?

Rational Measures

We all know that terrible things are going on in Darfur. I would venture to say that the majority of us would be glad to hear that the acts of genocide being committed had stopped, and that an entire race of people is no longer being systematically wiped out. I would venture even further to say that there's a goodly number of people who want something done about it. But what? Send over the military? That doesn't seem like such a keen idea ever since we got so bogged down in Iraq that we're beginning to understand that we're there for the long haul. So, without violence, what's a country to do?

Withhold other things. There's a bill sponsored by senators Corzine, Brownback, Dodd, Durbin, Feingold, Lieberman, Talent, Dewine, and Coburn that proposes doing exactly that. It includes things like an extension on the arms embargo (yes, we should STOP SENDING MORE WEAPONS), and sanctions against people performing these atrocities. Sanctions against people, against a government, not violence against innocent citizens. These are the kind of steps that should be taken before violence is resorted to. Sometimes they even work.

Probably Unnecessary

You know, everyone's writing about the pope. He was in every single mainstream newspaper in existence, yesterday. OK, I didn't confirm that, but I'd take the bet, if it was offered. So really, there's no need for me to blog about it. The thing is, I was having an email conversation with a friend, and I really felt like I managed to capture my feelings about the whole thing really well. You know how sometimes you write something, and then you look at it, and you think, "Yes, that's exactly what I meant to say"? Well, that's how I feel about the following paragraph.

...Me, well, you know that I like to take everyone individually, and look at them as a person. To me the pope appeared to be a really constant guy who honestly believed that he was bringing the word of God to people. While he was a complete bastard to women who wanted some kind of control over their bodies and homosexuals - a *complete*, unfeeling bastard - he was in fact simply acting in the way that he thought God wanted him to. He may have trampled all over people's rights, but when it came to the sanctity of life, he meant it with every fiber of his being. He would never support violence or war, and that was a good thing. So no, I can never "like" a pope, simply because I feel that Catholicism itself is a dominating, unfriendly force that does little good in the world. But John Paul II the guy? I could probably work with him on feeding the poor or something.

I'm Not Needed Here

There has been a bill introduced to "limit the jurisdiction of Federal courts in certain cases and promote federalism".

Constitution Restoration Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal district courts from exercising jurisdiction over any matter in which relief is sought against an entity of Federal, State, or local government or an officer or agent of such government concerning that entity's, officer's, or agent's acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.

Prohibits a court of the United States from relying upon any law, policy, or other action of a foreign state or international organization in interpreting and applying the Constitution, other than English constitutional and common law up to the time of adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

...up to the time of adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Anyone else have a problem with ignoring 200 years of experience when making laws?

Anyway, as I've said in my title, I don't even need to write about this. All I have to do is point you towards Brilliant at Breakfast and Digby. They say everything that I would want to.

I'm a Joiner

I'd like to point out that I'm not angry with Wonkette for being cute and famous, but I do think that a

panel "to discuss the meanings of the words "journalist" and "blogger" and whether the two are different things or one and the same

should include some serious bloggers, and *no* fake journalists. In light of this, I've added my name to the list of signatures on this letter, found at The Agonist.

The Gentleman from New Jersey

(an article emailed to me by Tata)
Go, Frank!

Sen. Lautenberg rebukes DeLay over Schiavo remarks

Our nation’s judges must be concerned for their safety and security when they are asked to make difficult decisions every day. That’s why comments like those you made are not only irresponsible, but downright dangerous. To make matters worse, is it appropriate to make threats directed at specific Federal and state judges?

Damn skippy, it's inappropriate!

Friday, I'm all about the animals

It’s no joke: Even animals "laugh"

Studies by various groups suggest monkeys, dogs and even rats love a good laugh. People, meanwhile, have been laughing since before they could talk.

Elephants talk, rats laugh. How cool is science?

I truly love animals. Pets give us unconditional love and companionship, and cows are absolutely delicious.

Corzine and the Basics

Yesterday Jon Corzine officially announced his candidacy for New Jersey Governor.

"It's time for a leader who comes to state government from a different experience: someone who is not encumbered by an old culture, historical entanglements and the status quo," he said.

Truthfully, it's time for a leader who doesn't have to make deals with people who have their own agendas in order to get funding and votes. Sure, that's harsh, but it's my opinion that the support of those with less than the state's best interests in mind have played too large a role in getting our state-level leaders elected. I think that we've started down the right path of spending reform in the state with Codey, and I hope to see Corzine continue down it.

There are those who would criticize, of course. From the article above:

In a written statement, New Jersey Republican Chairman Tom Wilson criticized Corzine's record, saying it shows him to be "a classic tax and spend Democrat."

"Trusting Jon Corzine to cut New Jersey's budget would be about as smart as trusting Michael Jackson to babysit your kids," Wilson said.

Now, of course, if you've been reading me for any amount of time, you know how I feel about "tax and spend" - IT'S HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK. What's the opposite of tax and spend, borrow and spend, so that we have massive debt? Tax and spend less, so that we have fewer programs? Tax less and spend less, so that we have fewer programs and no money in the bank to deal with emergencies? No. We, as a densely populated, successful state, pay taxes. With these taxes, we do things like pave roads, fund schools, provide social programs, and pay the salaries of all the people who arrange and provide these services. Without the taxes, the money does not come from the air.

Can we spend our money more wisely? Absolutely. Do I think that Corzine can fix all of our problems? No, of course not. This is government, after all, and every cut affects someone, every reform brings new challenges. But I do believe that he'll do his best, and that's all I personally ask. Perhaps his plans will "ease the tax burdens" of NJ citizens, as he says. I think we should give him the chance to try.

I Can Post again!

Sweet Charity, I can post!

Not that I know what to say, now, but *man* I'm glad I can post again!

Lame Excuse Time

I know, it's a lame excuse, but I've got an awful headache today and don't feel like expending the mental effort it would take to write an entire essay.

Dumbo Seems More Real to Me, Now

Elephants can talk! I knew it!

Elephants learn through copying

Elephant rumbles are known to be sophisticated and varied
Elephants learn some of their calls through imitation, scientists report in this week's Nature magazine.

Yes, I understand that they don't speak English... yet.

We need a reminder

That Tom DeLay is surrounded by scandal for improper political conduct. *I* was reminded by C.B.

DeLay at center of political storm

His troubles began last fall, when three political fund-raisers with ties to him were indicted in his home state of Texas. Then the House ethics committee admonished him, not once but three times. Since then, questions have been raised about whether he knew about the dubious sources of money behind trips he took to Britain and South Korea.

Right! I forgot he did those things! I was so busy being outraged at his pompous windbag speech about how the whole Terri Schiavo case is about *him*, I was distracted!

Oh, and I also forgot that he's not just nutty about that, but rather he's pretentious and holier-than thou in a general sense:

Ahead of the 2000 presidential race, he outlined a vision where "we march forward with a biblical worldview, a worldview that says God is our Creator, that man is a sinner, and that we will save this country by changing the hearts and minds of Americans."

What the hell is that all about? Is he saying that the USA is a nation of sinners, and it's up to congress to save our souls? That's appalling!

This man makes me feel like I have to say things out loud, like "The world can't be judged in black and white, every situation has shades of grey", and "Saying that you can take the side of Good or Evil is such a simplistic childish notion, that it cannot seriously be discussed on an adult level". I'm forced to iterate truths that I hold to be self-evident, you know what I mean?

Throw on top of that the fact that he's obviously weasely about money, and I'm at a loss to undertsand why people support him.