Politics

Politically, I’m very liberal — about as far left as one can go without sliding into Libertarianism.

We need a Japanese president

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Case in point: a Japanese minister has resigned in disgrace after failing to pay into a national pension plan.

The resignation of Mr Fukuda is also a major personal loss to [Prime Minister Junichiro] Koizumi.

He has been the government’s chief spokesman, and a key ally and adviser to the prime minister, for the past three years.

“I am ashamed of myself for having undermined the trust of the nation as a result of the non-payment of pension premiums,” Mr Fukuda told a press conference.

“I would like to apologise for having intensified distrust in politics due to an inept response on my part as the cabinet’s spokesman,” he said.

A pension plan.

In America, after a few weeks of headlines, the entire Enron scandal just blinked off of our radar, and there were many connections between that and the current administration. Now, this gentleman is stepping down and apologizing for an infraction that, from the article, seems to pale in comparison to much of what goes on over on this side of the pond.

If only our politicians had this kind of integrity.

iTunes: “When You Don’t See Me (German Release)” by Sisters of Mercy, The from the album Temple of Love (1992, 4:47).

Why isn’t Limbaugh muzzled yet?

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Why does this man still have a radio show when he spouts off crap like this?

On Limbaugh’s Tuesday radio show, titled “It’s Not About Us; This Is War!”, one caller likened the stacking up of naked Iraqi prisoners to a college fraternity prank — Limbaugh was eager to go along, calling the behavior nothing more than “a good time” and healthy “emotional release”:

“Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation and we’re going to ruin people’s lives over it and we’re going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I’m talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You [ever] heard of need to blow some steam off?”

I could hardly see straight when I first read that, let alone come close to forming a coherent response.

Thankfully, Kirsten did much better than I…

…I feel that Americans should find a way to apologize to Iraqis personally. We financed this, in essence. We drive around with flags on our cars and think we’re the fucking saints of this backassward world. It’s time to show our humility and our shame at the actions of the men and women who represent us abroad and fight for our freedom. Not being the greatest of activists, I wonder at how to do this. All I have is this blog and the ability to stand on a street corner in Fairbanks Alaska with a sign. I don’t even know what I could say that would make a difference. Perhaps it would be right for humane Americans everywhere (ie. Rush Limbaugh not included) to pick up a sign and march, not in anger or protest or support of our rights, but to march for forgiveness for our actions abroad. If the leader of our country won’t do as much, won’t face a camera and speak directly to the Iraqi people and apologize for the atrocities we’ve committed, it seems the only way to get that message out is to get out and do it ourselves.

Count me in. Not that I really have a lot of ideas — like Kirsten, all I’ve got is this blog and the ability to stand on a street corner in Seattle with a sign — but count me in.

I’m going to steal one last bit of Kirsten’s post, as again, she says exactly what I believe:

…consider these pictures when you go to the voting booth. Consider who is responsible for this fucked up war, for putting our soldiers into situations where this is normal and they are turned into barbarians, for destroying what little was left of our reputation in the world community. If you vote for Bush after seeing what he and his administration have done, you are subscribing to the actions they have taken. You are subscribing to more of the same, in essence, you are signing a big ‘A-OK Dubya!’ for the next four years. Remember each picture you’ve been shown, look at that ballot, and decide whether or not you can stand to see more of the same.

iTunes: “Union Man” by Shaking Family from the album Rubáiyát: Elektra’s 40th Anniversary (1990, 3:56).

National Day of Prayer

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So apparently today was the National Day of Prayer.

I’m sure that was appreciated by those Americans who are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Mormon, pagan, agnostic, or atheistic.

Okay, so yes, the official proclamation (PDF) does make a cursory attempt at inclusivity, inviting “Americans of every faith to give thanks for God’s many blessings and to pray for each other and our Nation.” I find that less than impressive, though, considering the wording of the rest of the document is blatantly Christian in tone.

Then there was this Washington Post article about Bush’s appearance on Christian TV to celebrate the day, where I found this choice bit:

…this year’s theme is “Let Freedom Ring.” He described it as the evangelical response to efforts to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and keep the Ten Commandments out of public buildings.

“Our theme is, there is a small group of activists unleashing an all-out assault on our religious freedoms. They are targeting the Christian faith,” he said.

Oh, give me a break. I’m so tired of this argument.

I wish I were rich. First thing I’m going to do when I win the Lotto is make an attempt to place monuments in every government building that has the Ten Commandments posted with key quotes from the Quran, the Mormon Book of Prayer, whatever I can find that will work well as a general catch-all for the larger pagan religions, something for the Oriental beliefs…you get the point.

Can you imagine the furor that would raise?

Sigh.

Okay, I’m done.

State votes ranked by IQ

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Here’s a fun chart: States ranked by average IQ and how they voted in 2000.

Update: I’m getting a ton of hits on this entry by people searching for similar data for the 2004 elections. Well, you’re in luck: State Votes by IQ 2004! Though, really, you’d be wise to scroll down and read through the comments on this thread — since the whole thing was basically a hoax to begin with. ;) Still, have fun!

  State Avg. IQ 2000
1 Connecticut 113 Gore
2 Massachusetts 111 Gore
3 New Jersey 111 Gore
4 New York 109 Gore
5 Rhode Island 107 Gore
6 Hawaii 106 Gore
7 Maryland 105 Gore
8 New Hampshire 105 Bush
9 Illinois 104 Gore
10 Delaware 103 Gore
11 Minnesota 102 Gore
12 Vermont 102 Gore
13 Washington 102 Gore
14 California 101 Gore
15 Pennsylvania 101 Gore
16 Maine 100 Gore
17 Virginia 100 Bush
18 Wisconsin 100 Gore
19 Colorado 99 Bush
20 Iowa 99 Gore
21 Michigan 99 Gore
22 Nevada 99 Bush
23 Ohio 99 Bush
24 Oregon 99 Gore
25 Alaska 98 Bush
26 Florida 98 Bush
27 Missouri 98 Bush
28 Kansas 96 Bush
29 Nebraska 95 Bush
30 Arizona 94 Bush
31 Indiana 94 Bush
32 Tennessee 94 Bush
33 North Carolina 93 Bush
34 West Virginia 93 Bush
35 Arkansas 92 Bush
36 Georgia 92 Bush
37 Kentucky 92 Bush
38 New Mexico 92 Gore
39 North Dakota 92 Bush
40 Texas 92 Bush
41 Alabama 90 Bush
42 Louisiana 90 Bush
43 Montana 90 Bush
44 Oklahoma 90 Bush
45 South Dakota 90 Bush
46 South Carolina 89 Bush
47 Wyoming 89 Bush
48 Idaho 87 Bush
49 Utah 87 Bush
50 Mississippi 85 Bush

Obviously, there are a number of reasons — mathematical, statistical, and scientific — why a chart like this shouldn’t be taken terribly seriously.

That won’t stop me from being amused by it, though. ;)

(via MeFi)

Nightline on Friday

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As I don’t do the TV thing I won’t be watching this, but for those of you who do, this Friday’s Nightline is looking to be a doozy.

From their daily e-mail update for today, April 27th 2004:

Now I want to tell you about this Friday’s broadcast. We’re going to do something different, something that we think is important. Friday night, we will show you the pictures, and Ted will read the names, of the men and women from the armed forces who have been killed in combat in Iraq. That’s it. That will be the whole broadcast.

…Whether you agree with the war or not, these men and women are serving, are putting their lives on the line, in our names. We think it is important to remember that those who have paid the ultimate price all have faces, and names, and loved ones. We thought about doing this on Memorial Day, but that’s a time when most media outlets do stories about the military, and they are generally lost in the holiday crush of picnics and all. We didn’t want this broadcast to get lost. Honestly, I don’t know if people will watch this for thirty seconds, or ten minutes, or at all. That’s not the point. We think this is important. These men and women have earned nothing less.

Wow. Powerful stuff.

(via Atrios)

iTunes: “Legion” by VNV Nation from the album Empires (2000, 5:11).

Watch what you blog!

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It was bound to happen — and realistically, it probably has been happening, just now we’re getting news stories about it — US intelligence agencies are starting to keep an eye out on weblogs.

Some blogs are whimsical and deal with “soft” subjects. Others, though, are cutting edge in delivering information and opinion.

As a result, some analysts say U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials might be starting to track blogs for important bits of information. This interest is a sign of how far Web media such as blogs have come in reshaping the data-collection habits of intelligence professionals and others, even with the knowledge that the accuracy of what’s reported in some blogs is questionable.

Still, a panel of folks who work in the U.S. intelligence field – some of them spies or former spies – discussed this month at a conference in Washington the idea of tracking blogs.

Personally, I think these guys are just trying to find an excuse for why Fark keep showing up in the CIA webserver logs…

(via Anil)

iTunes: “Little Horn” by Marilyn Manson from the album Antichrist Superstar (1996, 2:43).

Well, it was convenient…

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Okay, so on the scale of stupid things Bush has done, this may not be right at the top, but it’s still a rather sad look at how little respect the man can have for other people when he’ll use someone else’s shirt to clean his glasses while their back is turned.

How would you feel about a person who thinks it is okay to grab your shirt and use it clean their eyeglasses?

That’s how arrogant our President is. During a commercial break on the David Letterman show, producer Maria Pope was on stage and discussing something with Letterman, and while she was standing there in front of Bush, George leaned forward, grabbed the back of her sweater and used it to clean his glasses. Check out the Quicktime video.

Regardless of your political party and beliefs, we all know that this administration has raised some serious questions, and has often asked for us to blindly believe in the their drastic actions, all of which are clearly far more serious than this boner on the Letterman show. However, there is not a spin, explanation, or flat out lie that can defend Bush’s character in this revealing moment, when he was dumb enough to think that people or cameras were not looking. Even worse scenario is he did know, but just didn’t care.

We deserve better leadership and representation. If you have any doubts, please vote him out.

(via Boing Boing)

iTunes: “Sympathy for the Devil” by Skrew from the album Shut Up Kitty (1993, 4:31).

The greatest conspiracy theory ever

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A link to a somewhat sloppy article on 9-11 conspiracy theories on Metafilter led to a very worthwhile discussion today, including one of the best comments I’ve seen on there in a while. I’m reproducing it in full here — hopefully mokujin doesn’t mind. :)

The greatest conspiracy theory ever:

19 men (at least four of whom are, according to the BBC, still alive) of whom 14 are Saudi nationals engage in a coordinated Kamikaze attack on the symbolic centers of American military and financial power. 3000 innocent civilians are murdered in cold blood in about one hour.

Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Ladin are immediately blamed, but the U.S. government fails to provide any substantial evidence for this claim. A war on “terror” is declared. Strong ties are demonstrated between the president of the U.S. and the Bin Ladin family, but never really investigated by the media or the government.

The attacks become the justification for an enormous bill called USA PATRIOT. Democrats threaten to block the bill. At about this time a series of letters containing an advanced strain of Anthrax is sent to political and media figures including Democrat leader Tom Daschle. The USA PATRIOT act passes, even though most of the congressmen and senators had not had a chance to read the full text of the legislation. The person or persons behind the Anthrax attacks remain unknown and at large. The president attempts to prevent a congressional inquiry into the kamikaze attacks but, under pressure from the media and survivor’s families and after much wrangling, relents. The white house is given final edit of any report emanating from this commission. Much of the testimony given before the commission is secret and not revealed to the public. No one in our government is ever fired or reprimanded and no one resigns for their failure to prevent the attacks.

Meanwhile, an administration that has closer ties to the petroleum industry than any other in history uses the attacks as justification for two land wars against nations that offer important access for a proposed oil pipeline and vast oil wealth, respectively. The second of those nations, Iraq, the administration openly admits had nothing to do with the attacks. Congress hardly debates before handing over their constitutionally mandated power to declare war over to the president without a fight. Saudi Arabia, a nation that gives more private (and possibly public) money to terror than anyother is still a major recipient of U.S. aid. Also untouched by American vengeance and much touched by American dollars is Pakistan, a longtime Washington ally, whose security agency, the ISI, was a major backer of both the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Over a period of about two and a half years about 800 american and allied troops die. In this same time period at least 10,000 Iraqi and Afghan civilians and an unknown number of soldiers are killed in the name of avenging the attacks on America. Also, the U.S. military and intelligence services begin interning large number of foreign nationals in overseas U.S. military bases outside the reach of American, and, evidently, international law. These men are declared to be “enemy combatants” without rights.

Two and one half years after the attacks it is revealed with little fanfare that the President and his close advisors had planned both wars months in advance of the attacks. The American people remain largely supportive of the president even as the truth about this comes out. Most Americans also continue to believe, as they have been subtly or unsubtly encouraged to by the President and his closest advisors, that Iraq was in some way behind the attacks. The illegal weapons stockpiles and programs used as the official justification for that war are never found.

So that is a series of facts. I have strung them together in a way that might induce someone so inclined to falaciously infer causal relations where they may or may not exist, or it might not. How is 911 not a conspiracy? 19 men is a conspiracy. The old man in the caves is a conspiracy. So-called “neo-conservatives” who have been calling for war against Iraq since 1992 and who include in their number our secretary of defense, at least one assistant secretary of defense (Wolfowitz, also Feith?), vice president Cheney and scores of others in the government and media are the very definition of a conspiracy. The axis of evil is a conspiracy theory. The liberal media is a conspiracy theory.

got to catch my breath…

“Conspiracy theory” is a term people use to discredit other people’s arguments and ideas, it is an expression of power that is used to limit discourse and, by extension, thought. In the posted article it is being used to discredite the very sane and reasonable words of John Judge. Decontextualize his words from the foil-head stuff that surrounds them and you will find that he is asking for something that every American should be asking for: the truth. I hope that nobody reads that article and thinks that John Judge is crazy. I think it is quite obvious to anyone who has been paying attention that the government of the United States of America does not want a full and accurate public accounting of the events surrounding September 11. At the same time, the media is not and has not been doing its job. That is a conspiracy that more people should be angry about.

The attacks on September 11 and the events before and after are a vast web of conspiracies, anyone who denies that is confusing ignorance for truth. These conspiracies may not be as baffling or sinister as the ones mentioned in this article, but they do have the advantage of being real, and the hardcore “skeptics” are being just as irrational as the looniest of the conspiracy theorist. It should be remembered that government is the greatest conspiracy of them all. Our fellow citizens working together for the good of all. Ideally government is just, honest and transparent. At this moment in our history it is not any of those things. The many conspiracy theories about 911 are an honest, if irrational, reaction to this sad fact.

— mojukin

Why not?

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Abortion?: Needs to stay legal and safe — making it illegal won’t stop it, it’ll just make it unsafe.

Death Penalty?: I waffle. Most of the time, I’m anti-, though there are people (like Gary Ridgeway) that really make me question that stance.

Prostitution?: Legalize. Again, it’s not going to go away, might as well do what we can to make it safe for all parties involved.

Alcohol?: Not much of a drinker, myself — one or two drinks on the weekends when I go out. All things in moderation.

Marijuana?: If I could find one person who wanted me to sign a “legalize hemp” petition that even tried to convince me that they cared at all about hemp, I might sign it. Every one I’ve ever encountered, though, just wants to get stoned. Generally, I have less problems with pot than I do alcohol — I’ve never seen a violent stoner, but I’ve seen plenty of angry drunks — but on a personal level it bored me to tears every time I tried it (I got hungry, stupid, and sleepy, all of which I can do quite well on my own without paying \$40 an eighth for the privilege), and I’ve seen people I care about do way too much, and contrary to pro-pot propaganda, yes, it does affect you beyond just the “high”. Growing up in Alaska’s very pot-friendly environment went a long way towards souring me towards the entire “pot culture”, and it’s one of the soapboxes I can get on very easily…

Other drugs?: Only ever tried pot, acid and shrooms. Pot bored me, acid was fun for about two years, shrooms gave me one very good, intense, introspective trip — and that was the last time I did any drugs. I can’t universally condemn drug use (the right drugs in the right situations can make for anything from a fun vacation to a good amount of soul searching), but on the whole, I really don’t recommend them (the right or wrong drugs at the wrong time can be a very, very bad situation).

Gay marriage?: Why do we even have to prepend “gay” to “marriage”? Two people love each other, let them do what they want, including marriage. This shouldn’t even be an issue.

Illegal immigrants?: Not an issue I really know enough about to make an intelligent argument one way or the other. Gut feeling is that the majority of them are just people doing their best to survive in the best environment possible who for one reason or another have difficulty navigating the labyrinthine beauracracy of the US Immigration Service.

Smoking?: A bad habit I need to quit.

Drunk driving?: No excuse. Should be an automatic, permanent revocation of the drivers license.

Cloning?: Very cool. Proceed with caution.

Racism?: Stupid.

Premarital sex?: Whenever I can. ;) More seriously, sexual compatibility is far too important of an issue in a relationship to leave to chance. Not only do I not have any problems with premarital sex, at times I think it should be required. Besides, I often question whether or not I ever will get married, and as I’d rather not go the celibate route…

Religion?: Investigate the ones that interest you. Never blindly accept. Question, listen to the answers you receive, learn, make your own judgments, and form your own ideas. I was lucky enough to grow up in a very open atmosphere where discussion and questioning were not only accepted, but encouraged. My base belief structure is very much based on the Christian faith (specifically, the Episcopal church) that I grew up in, but I’ve also found much in other religions that appeals to me, and have incorporated some of them into my personal belief structure. Lastly, and most importantly, realize that for everyone, their beliefs are their own — and they have no more right to impose their beliefs on you than you do to impose yours on them.

The war in Iraq?: Mind-bogglingly stupid.

Bush?: Also mind-bogglingly stupid. Actually, realistically, that’s probably very unfair. However, I agree with few to none of this man’s viewpoints, beliefs, or actions, I think he’s doing some terrible things to our country, and his apparent insistence on combining his religious viewpoints with governing the country deeply disturbs me.

Downloading music?: Generally something I only do when searching out rare tracks that cannot be found any other way. Whenever possible I will purchase the CD — directly from the artist if possible, through a store if necessary (the artists may not get much from their contracts with the studios, but they’ll get more than if I download the track).

The legal drinking age?: No major problems with it, though I wouldn’t mind if it were the same as the smoking, voting, and military service ages. Seems more than a little silly that at 18 you can cast your vote to influence the direction and leadership of the country or get sent overseas to be killed, and at 19 you can legally poison your body with tobacco, but you can’t down a beer until you’re 21.

Porn?: In general, no issues with it whatsoever. On a personal level…an occasional thing, but nothing that’s really ever interested me that much. I toss this quote out every so often, so you may have seen it here before, but when my dad was in the military, there was one serviceman who didn’t have the porn collection that most of the other soldiers did, and he generally wouldn’t go along on the trips out to the strip joints or (ahem) “massage parlors”. When asked why, his response was simply that, “I’m not particularly interested in sex — unless it’s specifically directed at me.”

Suicide?: I can’t understand it. Never have, and never will. No matter how low I get, how bad my life gets, or how depressed I get, I know that things will change. There are a lot of things in this world that I haven’t seen yet or haven’t done yet, and I don’t want to miss out on the chance to see or do a single one of them. Things are bad every so often, sure. But things are pretty damn good a lot of the time, too, and I simply cannot envision voluntarily giving all that up.

(via Mickey)

Worker loses job over photograph

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Sounds kind of familiar in these parts, doesn’t it? This time, it’s a bit more serious than a few computers, though.

Last Sunday, the Seattle Times ran this picture, taken by a civilian cargo worker based out of Kuwait:

Coffins on the way to the US

Today, the lead story in the Times was detailing how the woman who took the photograph has now lost her job because of the photo.

A military contractor has fired Tami Silicio, a Kuwait-based cargo worker whose photograph of flag-draped coffins of fallen U.S. soldiers was published in Sunday’s edition of The Seattle Times.

Silicio was let go yesterday for violating U.S. government and company regulations, said William Silva, president of Maytag Aircraft, the contractor that employed Silicio at Kuwait International Airport.

“I feel like I was hit in the chest with a steel bar and got my wind knocked out. I have to admit I liked my job, and I liked what I did,” Silicio said.

Her photograph, taken earlier this month, shows more than 20 flag-draped coffins in a cargo plane about to depart from Kuwait. Since 1991, the Pentagon has banned the media from taking pictures of caskets being returned to the United States.

The Times has a good series of articles on the controversy surrounding the publication of the photograph, including an editorial from Sunday explaining their decision to run the photo after it was submitted to the paper by a friend of the photographer.

The caller said she had a picture a friend had sent to her. “Somebody should see it,” she said.

Barry Fitzsimmons, a veteran photojournalist, has handled many of those calls and knows most of the pictures are never published. The Seattle Times photo editor also knows, “one in a thousand is a gem,” so he agreed to give this one a look.

When the photo arrived, “I just said wow,” Fitzsimmons recalls. “The picture was something we don’t have access to as the media,” and yet it seemed undeniably newsworthy.

[…]

Readers likely will have differing reactions to the photo, depending on their views of the war.

“It’s a photo that evokes an emotional response and one that people are sure to see through their own filters, political or otherwise,” said Espinoza, who is responsible for the Sunday front page.

Some readers will object to the image because the press has been largely denied access to take photos of coffins returning from war since the 1991 Gulf War.

Some will see the picture as an anti-war statement because the image is reminiscent of photos from the Vietnam era, when the press wasn’t denied such access. But that isn’t Silicio’s or The Times’ motivation.

“We’re not making a statement about the course of the war,” Fitzsimmons said. “Readers will make their own sense of the picture, their own judgment.”

One of the most interesting things to me was a poll attached to a list of reader reactions, where the Times asked whether visitors to the website supported or opposed the military’s ban on such photographs. Survey on the photo banAs of just after midnight on Friday morning, with 684 responses, the poll shows an overwhelming 86% of respondents choosing “I disagree with the ban; the public has a right to see what’s going on.”

Admittedly, Seattle tends to lean more liberal than many other places, but I was still somewhat surprised to see that the results were that heavily weighted in that direction.

I’ll freely admit that I’m one of that 86%, too. One of the things that has bothered me about this war, and that bothered me about the previous Iraq war, was how utterly impersonal it seems much of the time. While the casualties lists keep growing (706 dead, 2374 wounded and not returned to duty — and there’s a large question of just how many soldiers suffered injuries that would have killed them in earlier wars, and now, while alive, are severely disabled), we here at home see little beyond a few statistics in each day’s headlines that all too soon are buried in the onslaught of reality show wrapups, celebrity scandals, and other pablum that passes as news these days. Statistics will only really get noticed by the people that are looking for them — it’s photos such as Silico’s that will really affect the most people, whether they choose to view it as an indictment of an injust, unnecessary war, or as a comforting reminder that the dead are not forgotten and are treated with respect on their journey back home — or both.

That said, I’m not as sure as I used to be that I’d necessarily call for completely unrestricted media access to all areas of a conflict. A quote from Louisiana State University professor David Perlmutter in an article looking at the arguments for and against releasing such photographs really struck me: “The Normandy invasion was a success, but how would we have felt at the time if we had seen the pictures of all these dead American soldiers on the beaches?”

Casualties are, of course, one of the many very sad side effects of a military conflict. Speaking generally, and not just about the current war in Iraq, I don’t believe that we should be shielded from that fact through media blackouts instituted by a government afraid of letting the public see anything outside the accepted party line of America the Saviour — the costs of war should be as publicly accepted and known as the possible benefits in order for people to decide where they stand for themselves. Those costs, though, should not be the only things reported (unless that is all there is to report) — the unquestioning presentation of only one side of any story is little more than propaganda.

The current war has, until recently, seemed to be presented to the American public as just that kind of unquestioning propaganda, unfortunately. That seems to be changing as the casualties mount, and while it’s a sad thing that it took this long for the media to start to attempt to break free of the “everything’s fine” face the Bush administration seems to want to present, at least it’s starting to happen.

Kudos to the Times for presenting the photo, for doing their best to present it without an overt editorial slant, and for exploring the controversy around its publication. Best of luck, also, to Tami Silicio and her husband (who was also dismissed from his job, a decision that I don’t understand, and isn’t explained in the articles) as they return home and face the prospects of finding work again.

(On a side note, I suppose it was inevitable: my situation was brought up in the Daily Kos discussion thread about this.)