Middle-aged thought for the day

I bet orthopedic surgeons love these guys. .

David Brooks on Obama's first 100 days

Charlie Rose, delivers an exceptionally good interview with conservative NY Times columnist David Brooks. There's some incredibly insightful stuff, here. This is not a sound-bite, but a conversation with real depth.

500 Days of Summer

I think I might like this. A lot. Hat tip to Le Love.

If I were to wish for anything I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of what can be, for the eye, which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or Hat tip to Nightmare Brunette.

Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it. Mark Twain (via BigFun) (via poortaste) (via figuremeout)

Dude Tango!

I really like posting things I have no particular reason to post...they're just cool.

Dumb, but compelled

“ One of the biggest wake-up calls of my career was when I saw a record contract. I said, ‘Wait — you sell it for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it? Who the fuck made that rule? Oh! The record labels made it because artists are dumb and they’ll sign anything’ — like I did." Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails Found on Big Fun, but originally at Underwire.

Vale Glass-Steagall !

The below ripped directly from BoingBoing. I haven't heard any pundit say, simply, "Reinstate Glass Steagall." I wonder why not? And I'm still finding it scary that Larry Summers continues to have such a prominent voice. New York Times warns that new financial rules could "wreak havoc" -- 1999 From the 11/5/99 New York Times: "CONGRESS PASSES WIDE-RANGING BILL EASING BANK LAWS By STEPHEN LABATON": ''Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century,'' Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers said. ''This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy.'' The decision to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 provoked dire warnings from a handful of dissenters that the deregulation of Wall Street would someday wreak havoc on the nation's financial system CONGRESS PASSES WIDE-RANGING BILL EASING BANK LAWS (11/5/99)

Getting concerned about Obama's approach to individuals' rights

A string of not very happy appointments, decisions and court interventions is making me nervous about just how much change Obama will be bringing to the fight for civil liberties, which has been under assault for years. In the last week alone, the Obama DOJ (a) attempted to shield Bush's illegal spying programs from judicial review by (yet again) invoking the very "state secrets" argument that Democrats spent years condemning and by inventing a brand new "sovereign immunity" claim that not even the Bush administration espoused, and (b) argued that individuals abducted outside of Afghanistan by the U.S. and then "rendered" to and imprisoned in Bagram have no rights of any kind -- not even to have a hearing to contest the accusations against them -- even if they are not Afghans and were captured far away from any "battlefield." These were merely the latest -- and among the most disturbing -- in a string of episodes in which the Obama administration has explicitly claimed to possess the very presidential powers that Bush critics spent years condemning as radical, lawless and authoritarian. Glenn Greenwald, on CommonDreams.org. (Hat tip to OneGoodMove.) This is happening at the same time that incidents of overzealous and over-reaching law enforcement continue to mount across America. Here, just the most recent of dozens of examples of someone having his rights trampled by badge-bedecked boys in blue, who clearly felt they could act with impunity. Border patrol alleged to have beat up and tazed pastor, smashed his car, on US soil, because he insisted on 4th Amendment rights Respect for civil liberties is fostered by example. Preferably examples from on high. But disrespect for civil liberties is bred in exactly the same way: by example. If the President -- or his appointed agents -- can beat people up without pesky due process, why can't I? America is no longer a beacon of respect for individuals' civil rights. Not even within its own borders. And, to add to all of that, the Recording Industry Association of America -- the RIAA, that record industry trade group that enforces intellectual property rights by extorting money from downloaders by threatening law suits -- seems to be in favour in the Obama White House, as well. Obama adds yet another RIAA attorney to Justice Department roster (now there are 5) Nervous. I had hoped for better than this. ..

An oldy but a goody. And a Tar Heel.

Hadn't seen this in a mighty long time, but tripped across it over the weekend. ..

Evening Reading: Reversal of Fortune

Read this, from Vanity Fair, during my evening stroll around the village. It's a few months old, but it's a fine, compelling rant by a Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph E Stiglitz. Ideology proclaimed that markets were always good and government always bad. While George W. Bush has done as much as he can to ensure that government lives up to that reputation—it is the one area where he has overperformed—the fact is that key problems facing our society cannot be addressed without an effective government, whether it’s maintaining national security or protecting the environment. Our economy rests on public investments in technology, such as the Internet. While Bush’s ideology led him to underestimate the importance of government, it also led him to underestimate the limitations of markets. ..

A touch of post-Easter fun

Tickled my funny bits. If you don't get it, you need to eat more sushi. Hat tip to That Obscure Object.

Heck, I'd watch her eat a hamburger.

Is it just me going on a jag missing Flame-Haired Angel, or it this as dead brilliant as I think it is? Oh, hell. Why choose? ..

Dorothy Parker to an editor

“I’ve been too fucking busy. And vice versa.” Except, sadly, the "vice versa" part just ain't so, as Flame-Haired Angel is still playing in the sand. Hat tip to Carnal Knowledge for the quote.

I bet he can dance, too.

Was surfing around for more info on the Iowa Supreme Court decision, and this little photographic blessing popped up. Re-blogged from here.

Iowa Supremes: Gay marriage is a no-brainer.

We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification. Iowa Supreme Court, in their unanimous decision, legalising gay marriage. My first reaction was "Iowa?!?!" But, then, Wikipedia tells me I shouldn't be surprised: Iowa has always been a leader in the area of civil rights. In 1839, the Iowa Supreme Court rejected slavery in a decision that found that a slave named Ralph became free when he stepped on Iowa soil, 26 years before the end of the Civil War decided the issue. In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated “separate but equal” schools had no place in Iowa, 85 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision. In 1873, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled against racial discrimination in public accommodations, 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision. In 1869, Iowa became the first state in the union to admit women to the practice of law. Go, you corn-eatin' hog-raisin' heroes of the heartland! And, hey, look, it's right there on their flag! Hat tip to Bohemea's blog for the tip-off. ..