5.30.2008

Political Comic Brilliance

Jon Stewart is the Samuel Clemens of our time.

Unexpected [Ice] Gold


Our Phoenix droid may have kicked up some ice chunks during landing. If correct, early ice samples will be analyzed before the projected month-long digging gets to the embedded permafrost ice. I'm all prematurely hard!

I love this mission. I defy anyone to watch the video of JPL during Phoenix's landing and not get all teared up. No monument of mankind could ever be as awesome as our dead droids on Mars.

It's frontier science for rationalists!

Evangelicals Don't Just Get Science Wrong

I recently read this critique of David Barton's pro-Christian authoritarianism book on American history. It's Baptists ridiculing his lack of scholarship and honesty, which is rich as foie gras.

This asshole regularly appears on TBN, and every time he does I laugh my ass off AND become vociferously angry. Apparently, his god condones shameless lying. What an awesome god!

In any case, it's a great scholarly chastisement from theologic historians who have every supernatural excuse available to support his made-up Christian dominionist history, then don't because of pesky facts.

Thanks to Ed Brayton for pointing it out.

Should I Mention The A-10s?


The Huntsville Air Show will be June 28-29.

"Historical Documents"

Just as creationists have started a "teach the controversy" approach for injecting mythology into science classrooms, right-wing Christians have decided to use a "historical document" approach to get incantations and sectarian proscriptions back into public schools. South Carolina has decided to try the first transparent bait-and-switch.

Are the 10 commandments and Jesus' schizophrenic prayer to his father/himself historical documents, to be put alongside the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta? No, and any judge will see right through this nonsense. Neither directly or indirectly affected any of our governing documents (as is obvious by the lack of even part of either in the language of our constitution), nor are they contemporary to any American event (as in the case of MLK's speech).

What's sad is that a majority who voted for this know it's wrong and why, but they're just too incompetent and cowardly to stand up and make the case against it.

Of course, any judge who strikes this down will be an activist, like Hugo Black was.

5.29.2008

I'm glad we're taking the time...........


FALLUJAH, Iraq — At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure that he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand.
Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. "Where will you spend eternity?" it asked.
He flipped it over, and on the other side it read, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16."
"They are trying to convert us to Christianity," said Anad, a Sunni Muslim like most residents of this city in Anbar province. At home, he told his story, and his relatives echoed their disapproval: They'd been given the coins, too, he said.
Fallujah, the scene of a bloody U.S. offensive against Sunni insurgents in 2004, has calmed and grown less hostile to American troops since residents turned against al Qaida in Iraq, which had tried to force its brand of Islamist extremism on the population.
Now residents of the city are abuzz that some Americans whom they consider occupiers are also acting as Christian missionaries. Residents said some Marines at the western entrance to their city have been passing out the coins for two days in what they call a "humiliating" attempt to convert them to Christianity.
In the markets, people crowded around men with the coins, passing them to each other and asking in surprise, "Have you seen this?"
The head of the Sunni endowment in Fallujah, the organization that oversees Sunni places of worship and other religious establishments, demanded that the Marines stop.
"We say to the occupiers to stop this," said Sheikh Mohammed Amin Abdel Hadi. "This can cause strife between the Iraqis and especially between Muslim and Christians . ... Please stop these things and leave our homes because we are Muslims and we live in our homes in peace with other religions."
A spokesman said the U.S. military is investigating.
"Multi-National Force-Iraq is investigating a report that U.S. military personnel in Fallujah handed-out material that is religious and evangelical in nature," the spokesman, Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, said in a statement e-mailed to McClatchy. "Local commanders are investigating since the military prohibits proselytizing any religion, faith or practices."
Multi-National Force-Iraq is the formal name for coalition forces in Iraq.
In interviews, residents of Fallujah repeated two words — "humiliation" and "weakness".
"Because we are weak this is happening," said a shop owner who gave his name as Abu Abdullah. "Passing Christianity this way is disrespectful."
"The occupier is repeatedly trespassing on God and his religion," said Omar Delli, 23. "Now the occupier is planting seeds of strife between the Muslims and Christians. We demand the government in Fallujah have a new demonstration to let the occupier know that these things are humiliating Islam and the Quran."
The controversy over the coins that Iraqis said some Marines are passing out comes on the heels of a tempest triggered by a U.S. sniper who used the Quran, Islam's holy book, for target practice. The sniper was pulled out of Iraq after Iraqi police on May 11 found a Quran with 14 bullet holes and graffiti on the pages.
In Islam, the holy book is never to touch the floor, let alone be defaced. Iraqi leaders condemned the actions, U.S. generals apologized and President Bush offered a personal apology to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.
In Fallujah, Mohammed Jaber saw one of the coins and said he thought of the bullets lodged in the Quran, the torture of Iraqi men at the Abu Ghraib prison in 2004 and the rape of a 14-year-old girl and her murder and that of her family in Mahmoudiya.
"Now we have this missionary way by these coins," he said. "We feel the Muslims are weak and we hope that we will reach a point when we are strong to let them know what is wrong and what is right. "

5.27.2008

Coolest. Picture. Ever.

That's our Phoenix droid underneath its parachute DURING DESCENT, as taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter! DURING DESCENT! Holy shit!

I am in awe.

Top Six Traditional Marriages That Make Jesus Smile

The bible clearly lays out that marriage is between a man and a woman who share at least one parent.

Sydney Pollack Will Be Missed

He made the great Cold War spy thriller Three Days of the Condor, which has always been one of the best of that genre. Plus, he made Tootsie, and he played Will's dad on Will & Grace.

5.20.2008

Great Fall-out


George Takei annouced he will marry his partner of 21 years now that California's supreme court has ruled that all people are--inexplicably-- equal under the law.

To quote Howard Stern, "Who could be against this? Really?"
  • Defense Of Marriage Update: homo-marrying sodomite-loving Massachusetts still has far fewer divorces than breeder-marrying homo-hating Alabama. Excuses are expected; answers not.
  • Traditional Marriage Update: those promoting traditional marriages are still against polygamy, arranged marriages, and underage unions/rape. No explanation has been provided nor is expected.
  • Constitutional Adherence Update: conservatives continue to find reasons to undermine the republic, despite their party's name. Explanations are for unpatriotic atheists and libertines, and thus unnecessary.

Not Bad...Fun Even

I finished reading Stephen King's Cell. It's the first book by him which I've read in well over a decade.


The characters are surprisingly interesting, and the quasi-zombie plot is very engaging. It has flaws, but they are what they are. High points:
  1. The first 100 pages are some of the best apocalyptic writing ever done.
  2. One of the main characters is gay, but it only becomes apparent later. This character is not stereotyped, nor is he put out there for humor or politics. King's nonchalant treatment of him is actually quite sweet and modern.
  3. Gross, gross, gross, and sick, sick, sick. So creepy at points it reaches the level of the Screaming Heebie Jeebies.
  4. Having visited Boston, I had a vague recollection of the geography described during its destruction.
  5. Brilliant, unresolved ending, but not in a schlocky, cheap way.
  6. The "moral" of the story is not as overt as one might expect from King. Like any good zombie story, you have to think about it for a while before it hits you. And it's a good one.
Short, mostly fun read...

Time to shoot ourselves in the foot..........


About the education budget in the state senate last night. Seems to me that they could raise ticket prices at Alabama and Auburn football games by $20 each and make up the difference.






The state's major education budget appeared headed to collapse in Senate late Monday evening in a dispute over college funding.
After a marathon filibuster that lasted from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday, a vote to end a bruising debate between senators aligned with K-12 schools and senators speaking for four-year colleges over funding failed by a vote of 17-14. It takes an affirmative vote by at least 18 senators to break a filibuster on the budget.
Continued debate appeared ready to run out the clock on the session. Education officials warned that without a budget, some systems would begin laying employees off.
The filibuster pushed most other bills aside, including one to remove state taxes on the federal stimulus checks. Local legislation of interest, particularly a public smoking ban sponsored by state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, did not appear likely to pass as the session approached a midnight deadline.
There were suggestions from some Senate leaders that Gov. Bob Riley could call a special session at midnight to continue the debate, but a spokesman for Riley said late Monday evening he did not expect that to happen.
Senators seeking to reverse cuts to four-year colleges filibustered the $6.3 billion budget for 12 hours Monday, saying colleges and universities facing $151 million in cuts were bearing too much of the burden of the $367 million in reductions in the proposed 2009 budget.
The universities sought an additional $25 million, saying the cuts would leave the state at a competitive disadvantage with other states.
The Legislature approved the $2 billion General Fund budget, which pays for most non-educational services, on May 6. The governor had not signed the General Fund budget as of Monday.
Senate leadership declined to add $25 million to the budget, citing the fiscal straits of the education budget, and even dared the senators to kill it.
"I'm going to give them a chance to kill it," said state Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, hours before Monday night's vote. "If they want to kill it, we'll let them kill it."
The House of Representatives, meanwhile, was slowed by Republicans who were unhappy no GOP legislation was considered for a vote Monday, and black Democrats protesting the defeat of a proposal to remove the state sales tax from groceries.
Several other pieces of local legislation, including bills dealing with commercial gill nets and coastal insurance, passed the Legislature last week.
Sanders said earlier the $25 million sought by universities would break the bottom line of an education budget that Sanders said was already threatened with proration.
"My feeling is that if there's proration at all, and I'm not convinced we'll be in proration, but if we are, I do not believe a one-third of one percent increase will break the camel's back," said state Sen. Ted Little, D-Auburn.
The $6.3 billion education budget, which goes into effect on October 1, cuts funding for K-12 schools and colleges by $367 million, with K-12 schools ($119 million) and individual colleges bearing the brunt of the cuts.
Education in the state is paid for out of the Education Trust Fund, which derives about three-quarters of its funding from income and sales taxes. The taxes are sensitive to the economy, and revenue grew only 3 percent in the first three months of the year. The slower growth means less money for schools.
Even before the filibuster, senators sounded unenthusiastic about the final document, which generally follows Gov. Bob Riley's budget proposal in February and reflects fiscal projections from his office. The Legislative Fiscal Office, a non-partisan organization that studies budget issues, estimated that the governor's cuts were short by $121 million.
But Sanders said he not only expected the budget to go into proration but to force a special session later in the year -- a reason, Sanders said, that no additional money should be added to the budget.
"We made a political decision rather than a financial decision," Sanders said. "If we were making a fiscal decision, we would have cut another $121 million. The $370 million we have already cut was so painful we made a political decision not to impose more pain."
The University of South Alabama will see a cut of about $16 million.
"These are huge, huge cuts," said Happy Fulford, a lobbyist for the University of South Alabama. "It would seem logical to me that you'd see a tuition increase to cover costs."
But without a budget, Alabama state School Superintendent Joe Morton said school districts would be forced to start laying off non-tenured teachers Thursday.
"It won't be a couple of firings, it will be massive," Morton said. "With no budget they'll have to hedge their bets, and they'll have to let them go."
After the vote, State Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said it was a "sad, sad day.
"It's sad that we're sending our teachers to Mississippi and Georgia to maintain employment," Ross said.
Riley arrived at the State House late Monday afternoon and met with Senate leaders, AEA executive secretary Paul Hubbert and Joe Fine, a lobbyist representing the colleges. Riley did not make himself available for comment after those meetings.

5.18.2008

Yes, they've even got the computers now

One step closer to the ZApoc

Zombie computer

A zombie computer (often abbreviated zombie) is a computer attached to the Internet that has been compromised by a Hacker, a computer virus, or a trojan horse. Generally, a compromised machine is only one of many in a "botnet", and will be used to perform malicious tasks of one sort or another under remote direction. Most owners of zombie computers are unaware that their system is being used in this way. Because the vector tends to be unconscious, these computers are metaphorically compared to a zombie.


5.15.2008

An Eye Isn't Just An Eye

When creationists argue that a complex eye couldn't have just evolved, scientists ask, "Which eye?"

This review of squid eye evolution drives the point home; our eyes are not physically or biochemically similar, yet they are functionally so. It's a great read. Creationists only excuse this data, rather than explaining how Mr. Jesus chose to be so non-redundantly redundantly stupid.

The Terminator Can't Terminate Equality

California's judicial system has ruled for gay marriage.

Expect the rapacious religious conservatives to use this ruling to argue for a constitutional anti-gay marriage amendment. Notice how they will say they're trying to protect marriage whilst refusing to add any language preventing heterosexual couples from marrying or divorcing at whim. Their slip will show...

Such efforts should only illustrate how Republicans aren't really for a republic. Not that such hypocrisy matters to their base. But their base is, increasingly, less interested in the "debase" homos and more interested in their job security.

I really don't think the swing states care about the gays anymore. After all, they have their jobs to consider, and their kids are--on the whole--scrambling to be accepted by their gay friends (thanks to MTV).

Still, I would prefer a popular ruling over a judicial one. Here's hoping that happens, and soon.

Trixie Ain't No Cylon

Sadly dead Deadwood's Paula Malcomson has been cast in a lead role for BSG: Caprica.

She is such a great actress, so I'm pleased. Let's face it, that cock-sucking whore cunt ran Deadwood.

Yes, I actually found this at Books-A-Hundred...



... However, it was a discarded Palm Beach County Library book, & only cost me 3 bucks.

5.13.2008

Horror Movie Review


Inside:

Viscerally: unnerving, almost unwatchable
Psychologically: unhinged
Directionally : unrepentant and innovative

Gave us all the Conway Twitties! The best horror movie since 28 Days Later. One of the top 5 horror movies ever, without doubt.

Cross-posted

Ed. Note (5-15-08): I re-watched it in French with English subtitles. And as you might expect, the English dubbing is vastly inferior. I now rank it as my second favorite horror movie ever.

5.06.2008

On The Topic Of Lists

I ran across this one twice: Ten Bizarre Ethnically-Challenged Casting Choices.

But what about ultra-Catholic, all-American Jim Caveizel as Jewy McJesus in that unwatchable Passion movie?

5.03.2008

Today's Worst Person In The World!

Yes, Ben Stein did say that science leads to killing people...on TBN! What a douche nozzle.

It's A Comic All Right


This new Chick tract is so bad it's hilarious!


Ok, all Chick tracts can all be described as such. But this one takes the taco.


Hooray for superstitious dumdums! Magic Jesus rules!

Religion is not just stupid, it's child abuse.

5.01.2008

My Admiration For These Three Has Now Soared Higher

Mayor DumDum Update!

The SEC has just charged Mayor DumDum in connection with a municipal bond scheme! What power prayer has! Oh, it hurts to laugh now! Jesus, these people are a whoot!

DAGGER ON THE THROAT OF WORLD SHIPPING!



Sanya base on the tip of Hainan Island will soon be the major nuclear stike point of the Chinese Communists. Look out Spratlys and Taiwan!

Birmingham Got What They Voted For

Birmingham's ridiculous mayor, Larry Langford, was elected last year over a competent, honest candidate. Langford is known for building "Visionland," a Christian theme park that shortly went bankrupt, and for wanting Birmingham to have a domed stadium that no one wants or needs. Everyone knew his election meant several years of crass foolishness; most just hoped it would be contained locally. Nope.

Mayor Langford, in response to a sharp rise in crime, ordered a sackcloth and ashes day of prayer. As if that superstitious non-response to a very real problem were not enough, check out the actual proclamation. The man's not just fiberboard stupid, he's fucking illiterate.
...fourth violent city per capital...
Congratulations to Birmingham's Mayor DumDum!

If this doesn't work, are sacrifices next? Propitiation!