John Kerry: sing it from the rooftops!

John Kerry is trying to sink the Alito nomination.Some may accuse him of pandering by taking a stand only after confirmation was a done deal, but that is neither here nor there. Here is the main point

No one will be able to say, in five to ten years, that they are surprised by the decisions Judge Alito makes from the bench. They know that in his fifteen years on the Third Circuit, Judge Alito has almost never voted in favor of African-American plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases. They know that he routinely defers to government invasions into personal privacy, often going out of his way to excuse unlawful government actions. And they know that the only statement he has ever made regarding a woman's right to privacy is that she does not have one.

At least they are no longer implying he is a racist, they are stating it up front. I can at least respect the candor. What's more, he didn't bring up "mainstream" once, which is a breath of fresh error. Now for the funny parts

I know better than anyone that elections have consequences and that the President has every right to nominate whomever he chooses to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor...I am convinced that Judge Alito is the wrong choice for America. In fact, I am convinced that he is a dangerous choice for America.

He understands that election matter, indeed. All too well.

Algore on Canada

It's not just Michael Moore anymoore. Algore thinks that big oil has pulled a fast one on Canadian voters:

"The election in Canada was partly about the tar sands projects in Alberta," Gore said Wednesday while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

"And the financial interests behind the tar sands project poured a lot of money and support behind an ultra-conservative leader in order to win the election . . . and to protect their interests."

As if this even needed debunking, the article notes that

The federal Elections Act limits how much money individuals, corporations and unions can donate to political parties. Individuals are allowed to give as much as $5,000 a year, while companies and unions are capped at $1,000 a year.

In their election platform, the Conservatives promised to further limit individual donations to a maximum of $1,000 and ban all donations from corporations, unions and organizations.

Of course he is just taking on oil companies to generate publicity for his new book on global warming. The first chapter is about how you shouldn't cut down trees to make books that no one will read.

Michael Moore on Canada

If liberals [in Canada] are trying to recast themselves as a party of ideas and not a bunch of righteous elitists, then Michael Moore didn't get that memo

Far be it from me, as an American, to suggest what you should do. You already have too many Americans telling you what to do. Well, actually, you've got just one American who keeps telling you to roll over and fetch and sit. I hope you don't feel this appeal of mine is too intrusive but I just couldn't sit by, as your friend, and say nothing. Yes, I agree, the Liberals have some 'splainin' to do ... you have a parliamentary system (I'll bet you didn't know that -- see, that's why you need Americans telling you things!).

These are no ordinary times, and as you go to the polls on Monday, you do so while a man running the nation to the south of you is hoping you can lend him a hand by picking Stephen Harper because he's a man who shares his world view. Do you want to help George Bush by turning Canada into his latest conquest? Is that how you want millions of us down here to see you from now on? The next notch in the cowboy belt? C'mon, where's your Canadian pride? I mean, if you're going to reduce Canada to a cheap download of Bush & Co., then at least don't surrender so easily. Can't you wait until he threatens to bomb Regina?

Fine show, Mr. Moore! Personally I think the sarcasm was in particularly bad taste, but I guess snark (sarcasm's prissy grad student brother) must have had a midterm coming up.

Broke Back Terminator

I think you know where this is going

What Race is Your School?

A recent study found that most people who check "other" on college applications are white, click here. This is causing an uproar, because it makes meeting racial quotas very difficult. The study had some eyebrow raising remarks

"The racial or ethnic composition of an institution can be distorted when there is a large unknown population," reads the December study, entitled "'Unknown' Students on College Campuses: An Exploratory Analysis." It includes data from 28 colleges and universities nationwide.

I read this and thought, what do you mean "distorted"? The racial composition is what it is. Is my school Chinese? What race is your school? When asked about this phenomena, the University of Pennsylvania had this to say:

When asked if Penn takes any initiative to investigate those students who do mark "other," [Admissions Dean Lee] Stetson said that his office verifies race through contact with high school college counselors.

wtf? They verify your race? I thought racial identity was a complicated personal thing, but let's be real; you just ask an acquaintence what color his/her skin is.

There is an interesting discussion in the comments about hispanic designation. Most racial boxes are ethnic in origin, but hispanic seems to be an ethnic/culture hybid. I always thought that was weird.

One step further

Hillary Cliton has taken some heat for saying

For the last five years, we've had no. Power. At All. And that makes a big difference, because when you look at the way the House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation. And you know what I'm talkin' about.

What I expected was the legion of Clinton haters to have a field day, and the supports to sheepishly acknowledge that the comment is in poor taste. Not so! She is standing by her remarks and is backed up by most her colleagues. Not to be outdone, Barrack Obama noted that her comments had a kernel of truth to them, and he also suggested that all of America is like a plantation: with special interests being the slave owners and regular joes like you and me being "slaves".

[Obama] told CNN's "American Morning" he believed that Clinton was merely expressing concern that special interests play such a large role in writing legislation that "the ordinary voter and even members of Congress who aren't in the majority party don't have much input."

How long before the Dixie Chicks write their new hit single "Midnight Train to Canada"?

Ben Franklin's 300th Birthday

"Search others for their virtues, thy self for thy vices."

Dog Bites Man

That was the first thing I thought when I read this headline
Unruly rider delays Red Line

One Giant Leap for Mankind

We are now one step closer to breeding genetically salted pigs.

150,000 people die a year from climate change

According to Simon Clydesdale, Greenpeace. I was reading this hit piece on local farmers who are opposing wind farms in their neighborhood. I am still baffled by the celebrity status wind power has acheived. Weren't we all concerned about the environment? So now we are proposing an energy source that explicitly alters climate and harms wildlife? Renewable, you mistress, I will not be tempted by your siren's call.

Are they trying to tell me something?

When I lived in Philadelphia, it was named the fattest city in the US. Now that I am in Chicago, the dubious distinction has followed me: Chicago named fattest city

The Internet Still Gets to Me

"NYC landlords required to give HEAT" Try googling THAT.