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2005 November 01 — Why Now?
On-line Opinion Magazine…OK, it's a blog
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Corporate Sponsorship of Viruses


Steve at Yellow Doggerel Democrat has a warning about Sony CDs which you should take very seriously.

This could lead to having to re-format your hard drive, with all of the time and aggravation involved, if you play a CD from Sony on your computer.


November 1, 2005   Comments Off on Corporate Sponsorship of Viruses

Words Have Power


One of the reasons speaking English is so difficult is the wide range of meanings any particular word my have. While this is good for comedians, lexicographers, and lawyers, it can cause problems for others.

In comments Norbizness points to a problem for Senator Frist when he provides Andante’s funniest quote of the day.


Both Oliver Willis and TBogg note that Kate O’Beirne at the The Corner might want to re-word her statement: “The Senate showdown gives us some idea of what it would look like if the Boy Scouts tried to take on the mafia.”

Come on Kate, just because the Shrubbery nominates an Italian-American to the Supreme Court it is in extremely poor taste to compare the Republican Party to organized crime and I don’t think that everyone who is a Democrat would pass muster for the Boy Scouts, Hillary Clinton being a rather obvious example. I feel certain that, unlike the military, a significant number of Republican officials may have actually served in Scouting.


November 1, 2005   Comments Off on Words Have Power

Stolen Thoughts


Even though I told him I was going to steal it, I think people would be better served reading the original.

Go over to Mickey’s place, 3 Old Men and read Missed Lessons.

It will be time well spent.


November 1, 2005   Comments Off on Stolen Thoughts

Reid Fires One Across Their Bows


Fed up with unfulfilled promises of an investigation, Senator Harry Reid took it to the Republicans. Reid invoked Rule XXI, putting the Senate in closed session. Reid wants the Senate to investigate how the Iraq War started.

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, said Reid was making “some sort of stink about Scooter Libby and the CIA leak.”

A former majority leader, Lott said a closed session was appropriate for such overarching matters as impeachment and chemical weapons — the two topics that last sent the senators into such sessions.

In addition, Lott said, Reid’s move violated the Senate’s tradition of courtesy and consent. But there was nothing in Senate rules enabling Republicans to thwart Reid’s effort.

Gee, I guess that means ol’ Trent doesn’t support the Nuclear Option, and other “innovations” made by his leadership.

Sorry, Trent, but I think wars are just as important as impeachment for marital infidelity.


November 1, 2005   Comments Off on Reid Fires One Across Their Bows

Conservative Judges


My idea of a conservative judge is one that would dispense with the legal fiction in Federal courts of corporate personhood.

The Constitution did not mention corporations, even though they existed at the time. That has always been a clear indication that they are a state issue.

Jefferson certainly didn’t approve of “personhood” when he said: “I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government in a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.”

So if a judge really wants to prove that he or she is a true strict constructionist following the intent of the Founding Fathers, they would put overruling Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company at the top of their agenda.


November 1, 2005   Comments Off on Conservative Judges

Stupid Labels


I have allways gotten a little annoyed at the labels that are plastered all over new tools and appliances. I mean who would use a hair dryer in the shower…

The Culture Ghost points to a Rocket Scientist who failed to see the problem with using a wired microphone while standing waist-deep in water.

I have a feeling that he wouldn’t have appreciated his future Darwin Award.

Update: On 10/31/05 Mustang Bobby of Bark Bark Woof Woof posted on this individual’s conversion “from a pastor to a fryer.”


November 1, 2005   Comments Off on Stupid Labels

Avian Influenza

-[OK, bird flu]


Andante of Collective Sigh provided us with The Onion preview of the Shrubbery’s War on Bird Flu™.

Jo Fish of Democratic Veteran follows up with the main points announced in the Campaign to Avoid Libby Liability.

The Fearless Leader is going to spend $7.1 billion on suggestions made months ago when there was no need to divert attention from the indictment of a senior staff member for perjury and obstruction of justice. He also plans to indemnify drug companies for actions that cause death and injury to people, because no one told him that the companies shut down manufacturing plants in the US to cut costs after mergers and to screw employees out of benefits that were accruing.

The $7.1 billion price tag is interesting in light of the October 27th action by the Senate providing $8 billion to fight bird flu. The bill authorizing the money gave the Shrubbery a free hand in using it. Nice to see Congress exercising its oversight responsibilities.


November 1, 2005   Comments Off on Avian Influenza