Columbine Remembered

Two months back saw the five-year anniversary of Columbine. And in the interest of timeliness (ha ha), read this. The (anonymous) author here is angry, self-righteous, and extrememly snarky, but also absolutely right on.

Five years later, though, I wonder if we've learned the lesson. At the time, everyone wanted to look to music or movies or video games, and not the day-to-day tormentors of these two kids.

But then I can't help but notice that there hasn't been a school shooting in a long, long time. So maybe the message DID get through. I suppose picking on the helpless loses some of its allure when faced with the possibility that one's victim might come back to school with an assault rifle. Just like Eric and Dylan did.

I actually have a lesson plan on school violence (Strasser's Give a Boy a Gun, Van Sant's Elephant, etc.), but maybe it's not necessary. Maybe Eric and Dylan's message was received: bullying leads to school violence; stop bullying and you stop incidents of school violence.

Being Boring

Man! I am SO bored. It is a beautiful, if a-bit-chilly-for-June, day, yet I am getting no thrill from it whatsoever. I have nothing to do and little to look forward to. Oh sure, I have a sexual rendezvous pencilled in for the coming week and the anticipation of it has me semi-erect most of my waking hours. But other than that, it definitely appears that I've lost yet another friend to a budding relationship. I have no one to play with. :( Everyone is with their respective others. So I sit here on a glorious Saturday afternoon, reading year-old Playboys (which isn't really helping with the whole near-constant erection thing), considering whether it's time to call up the B-list friends. Or maybe make some new ones. Cos it's simply too nice out to sit on my couch and watch The Gilmore Girls. Seriously.

In other news, I have been on fire with the whole running thing, increasing the distance and intensity of my runs, something that has, historically, led to injuries. And this time was no exception. I really should've taken Thursday off, as that's what my body was telling me to do, but it's like an addiction, you know, so I ran and ended up with a limp. I took yesterday off and while it's still a bit raw, I managed a short-ish run this morning and feel fine for it. Maybe I'll sneak another short run in tonight. I don't have anything better to do. :)

Also, I accidentally got a bit drunky Thursday night. It was quite a blast. I do that maybe two or three times a year, at the most. Usually I stop at three drinks, tops. But every once in a while, the stars and moon align, heh, and I get myself ripped. It started, as these things usually do, with happy hour. Allan and I had a great conversation at the Bird, over pizza, moon bread, and their famous $1.90 doubles. Then it was off to Mountain Town, where, while things begin to get a bit fuzzy, I definitely remember talking to Matt from the bike shop and some fellow Sloan fans. And, of course, Rachel, who I think enjoyed our drunken shenanigans. Then it was off to the Stone, which is really not my thing. So after a few minutes there, leaving Allan behind, I flew down the block to Rubbles to see Those Transatlantics...and every Mount Pleasant hipster I know. This was good fun too. The band seemed awfully good (I'd love to hear an actual CD). I also vaguely remember stepping into Marty's for two seconds. I don't know why, or why we didn't stay. But hitting all those bars, all in the downtown area, I am amazed at how much there is going on in a single night. In the summer. Eh. Maybe I'll go out by myself tonight.

In other news, my machines are turning against me. First, my three-month-old picture phone completely crapped out on me Thursday night. At that rate, it cost me $100 a month. Luckily, I still had my last phone, so I just had that one turned back on. But I'll miss some of the features of the pic phone. Oh sure, I didn't NEED Allan's or Anne's or Diana's picture to come up when they called. But it was neat. And I also had a distinct ring tone for each of these, and other, callers. So I've lost that too. Which sucks.

And then I get this persistent, undeletable-by-mere-humans virus on my laptop. Oh, I suppose I deserve it, as I was looking for that famous topless pic of Jackie O, something that traditionally leads one to the seamier neighborhoods of the Internet. So it's this admittedly brilliant virus that changes your Internet Explorer start page, taking you to a page where you then download more malicious executables. And did I mention that it turns off your popup blocker? Yeah, it does that too. Like I said, brilliant. And apparently system restore will not fix this one. But I seem to have it 95% beat by simply deleting the files manually. But I am seriously considering wiping out the HD and reinstalling Windows and all my apps. Hey, I've got nothing better to do. :)

Well, I guess that's it.

Oh yeah. And I just started reading this.

And, I just remembered, today is the one-year anniversary of the purchase of my Ford Focus. I took delivery on June 19th of last year. I was just saying to someone the other day that a year is nothing. It really isn't. It seems like just yesterday I bought that thing. And considering how little I drive, it's still practically brand-new. 5400 miles on the odometer.

Okay, I guess that this is really it. Hasta.

New York Times: Rumsfeld Admits He Told Jailers to Keep Detainee in Iraq Out of Red Cross View

Could there be another brewing prison scandal in Iraq?

Fresh on the heels of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Pentagon officials have admitted that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ordered that a suspected Iraqi terrorist be detained off the record, and out of sight of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The man was held captive for seven months without registration at Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport. Rumsfeld issued the order at the request of former CIA chief George Tenet.

"Once he was placed in military custody, people lost track of him. The normal review processes that would keep track of him didn't," said one senior intelligence official.

During a news briefing yesterday afternoon at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld admitted that it was not a lone case, either. "There are instances where that occurs," he said. Tom Malinowski, a spokesman for the Human Rights Watch, believes that such conduct is a violation of the Geneva Conventions: "I can't see what legitimate national security purpose is served by hiding people from the Red Cross. The only thing it achieves is to further tarnish America's reputation and to invite similar treatment of captured Americans."

This much is clear: between the tough interrogation tactics, and this maneuvering, the Bush administration developed a predetermined plan to skirt the edges of the Geneva Conventions to suit their needs, setting the tone for later abuses. This amounts to a huge culture shift, not the isolated work of a few bad apples.

Read it here (registration required).

Los Angeles Times: Despite Findings, Bush Sees Iraq Tie to Al Qaeda

Dick(head) Cheney has been the most outspoken defender of supposed "ties" between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. But now (Acting President) Bush has re-joined the chorus - even after the 9/11 commission recently found that there was no "collaborative relationship" between the two.

Here's what Bush had to say on the topic after a cabinet meeting yesterday:

"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda: because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda."

During his infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech aboard an aircraft carrier in May 2003, President Bush crowed that, "We have removed an ally of al Qaeda and cut off a source of terrorist funding."

The administration has clearly attempted to manipulate vague "evidence" about Iraq and al Qaeda to fit their purposes. Even as Bush trumpeted the link between the two, he adamantly stated, "This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al Qaeda."

Except for the fact that they did.

Here is an excerpt from Bush's letter to Congress from March 18, 2003, justifying the reasons for war in Iraq:

"[A]cting pursuant to the Constitution and [the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002] is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."

It must really suck, getting caught lying ALL THE MOTHERFUCKING TIME.

Read it here (registration required).

Associated Press: Kerry Says He Would Raise Minimum Wage

I like this. John Kerry just proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $7 an hour by 2007.

Read it here.

My favorite quote:

"If a president can go out and fight for four years to provide over a trillion in tax cuts to the wealthiest people in America, we can fight for a few months to raise the minimum wage for the poorest people in America."

Right on. I know a woman with three kids who makes minimum wage. She works TWO part-time jobs, both for minimum wage.

Associated Press: Bush Disputes Al Qaida-Saddam Conclusion

Oh look. It's shrub to the rescue. This should settle things.

Read it here.

Reuters: Cheney Won't Back Down on Saddam-Qaeda Links

There was no connection between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's regime. Colin Powell has said it, as has Bush. And now the 9/11 commission has stated that there was no "collaborative relationship" between the two. Yet Cheney has refused to back down from his assertion to the contrary, which he repeated again earlier this week during an appearance at a conservative think tank. When asked if Cheney would retract his statement, an administration official replied: "Hell no!"

Hell no? What the fuck? I mean, profound arrogance in the face of any contradiction of the Bush administration party line is, well, nothing new. But "Hell no!"? That's nuts. You're wrong, Cheney, you unbelievable evil man. And we all know it. So why don't you own up to it or show us some motherfucking proof. Douchebag.

Oh. Yeah. Read it here.

Fahrenheit 9/11 Reviews

Here are some reviews for Michael Moore's new film, Fahrenheit 9/11, which opens June 25th:

Roger Ebert, "Less is Moore in subdued, effective '9/11'," Chicago Sun Times, May 18, 2004

Mary Corliss, "A First Look at "Fahrenheit 9/11," Time Magazine Online, May 17, 2004

Frank Rich, "Beautiful Minds and Ugly Truths," International Herald Tribune, May 21, 2004

Andyspotting

For those of you trainspotting my weight, I am down to 188.8. That easily puts me down at least 15 pounds now. Not bad, eh? And I feel great. I'm catching more looks, especially when I'm out running. I even got a catcall yesterday, which might be the first one this century/millennium.

Frighteningly, as I've been upping and upping my running distances and building my strength, the occasional bit of meat doesn't sound so bad. I almost think it's a body craving. Which is funny, because I drink a lot of soy protein tea. But it might be other things that meat has that I'm not getting. First, I had that sausage in my Mountain Town make-yer-own-pasta almost two weeks ago. Then I had a hamburger patty last weekend. I snuck it when nobody was looking. It was so good, so forbidden. You know, it was Wendy, who was a vegetarian when we were 18-22, who got me on this kick, but she's just fallen off the wagon, out in Hollywood of all places. And if it can happen to her...

Last night's episode of Contraband was a blast. I felt like nobody was listening, save for my friend Allan, but it was great fun nonetheless. It really is fun to go in there every week and, for two hours, pretend it's 1991 again. And I think that sense of fun is palpable to the listener. If there are any. :) Summer is pretty dead in this town.

But it's Thursday, which means Mountain Town. Or the Bird. Or both. Yay!

Enjoy yer day and the rest of yer week. :)

Contraband Reminder

Just a reminder: I'll be doing my weekly eighties alternative radio show, Contraband, tonight from 9:00 to 11:00 Eastern, at 91.5 FM locally or on the web (you need to have Quicktime).

You can email me requests anytime, though particularly during showtime, at contrabandradio@hotmail.com. I will be checking email throughout the show.

Kerry Raises Record $100M in Three Months

I think this is quite telling. While Bush builds himself a campaign warchest of $216 million, no doubt largely from his constituency of corporate interests, John Kerry has amassed a pretty substantial booty himself, including $25 million last month alone.

Read about it here.

Kerry Campaign Manager, Mary Beth Cahill, says:

"On March 2nd, we only had $2 million, while George Bush and Karl Rove had $110 million in the bank and a plan...to bombard our cash-strapped campaign with attack ads while we were unable to respond."

And now...

"We're witnessing nothing less than an historic change in American politics. Small donors -- regular Americans -- are within arm's length of turning the tables on big money special interests."

The significance of Kerry's fundraising success, to me, is that it reflects a large and extrememly motivated base of supporters, like me, who give what little they can every month because it is so FUCKING important. Which reminds me, I'm almost due for my small, but monthly, donation. How about you?

Associated Press: 9/11 Panel Disputes Iraq Link to Attacks

As I posted yesterday, on Monday, Dick(head) Cheney had the following to say about Saddam Hussein:

"He was a patron of terrorism. He had long established ties with al Qaeda."

Now, we ALL know this isn't true, except for Cheney, who apparently needs to be reminded on a weekly basis. As such, the 9/11 commission took its turn reminding the Vice President. Read about it here.

The Inner W

From Salon.com:

"Three new psychological portraits of George W. Bush paint him as a control freak driven by rage, fear and an almost murderous Oedipal competition with his father. And that's before we get to Mom."

Read the article here.

A Ramones Curse?

As you should already know, we've lost TWO members of The Ramones since the turn of the century/millenium (Singer Joey Ramone died from lymphatic cancer in 2001 and bassist Dee Dee Ramone died in 2002 from an overdose of heroin). And now guitarist Johnny Ramone is in a Los Angeles hospital battling prostate cancer. It doesn't look good. Read more here.

The Quote of the Day

From Reason magazine's Tim Cavanaugh:

"Though I find Bush slightly (ever so slightly) less emetic than Kerry, he's a crook, a stumblebum, and a lazy, mirthless little prince, and any country that would re-elect him deserves every bad thing that will happen to it."

Except for the part about Kerry being so barfable, wow, that's right on. That's the entirety of Bush in a single sentence. It would even fit on a bumper sticker.

Bill O'Reilly declares war on Michael Moore and Hollywood Nazis

We already knew Bill O'Reilly was nuts, right? Or at least a HUGE fucking asshole. The dick has threatened to kill both Al Franken AND Michael Moore. But now he's taken to equating his liberal nemeses with Nazis. Seriously, he needs a good smack.

Read about it here.

I think the increasingly absurd attacks we're hearing from O'Reilly, Limbaugh, and their ilk are death cries of the conservative movement. They're going down in November, not just in the White House, but also in the House and Senate. And they know it. And they don't like it. But, amusingly, all they can do is call us Nazis.

BTW, pot, meet kettle. Big time.

Headline from The Onion

Okay, so I'm sure that I don't need to hip you to The Onion, right? Still, this is a funny, topical headline:

Reagan's Memory Honored With Sharp Increase In Federal Budget Deficit

This is good too.

But, really, this will be the first, and last, Onion stuff I'm ever posting here. You should already have been reading The Onion every week for the last five years by now. At least. I'm at 7+, myself, dammit. :)

Christian Science Monitor: Reading, writing, and ... war?

As you know, I am a proud liberal and a proclaimed enemy of the corrupt/inept Bush administration. But did you know that I am going to be a high school English teacher pretty soon? Yep. And I'll have you know that I will be bringing my informed, liberal political POV into my classroom.

Here is a brief, and fair, article on teachers speaking out about political issues in their classrooms.

A quote:

“Some teachers don't think their colleagues should express opinions in front of students if their comments veer toward proselytizing.”

I get that, but at the same time, there ARE moral absolutes. There is right and wrong. For example, telling the TRUTH about the Bush administration can never be wrong, despite how “un-American” it is sometimes characterized as being.

Associated Press: Cheney Claims al-Qaida Linked to Saddam

On Monday, during a speech before the James Madison Institute, Dick Cheney had this to say about Saddam Hussein:

"He was a patron of terrorism. He had long established ties with al Qaeda."

Good gravy! At this point, it is patently obvious that Cheney is, quite willfully, perpetuating unsubstantiated claims (also known as lies). The question is, "Why?" The Hussein/al Qaeda connection has already been proven quite demonstrably false. Does he think he's the Teflon Veep? I dunno. Read more here.

President Reaganesque

Here's another great Mark Fiore cartoon.

Tips: You will need to have RealOne Player installed and have your sound up, but not TOO loud. :)

Notes from Meijer

So I just made a quick trip to Meijer for my vanilla tea and my mango lemonade, and two funny things happened. First, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Aimee Mann brand frozen dinners. I'm sure I didn't, but wouldn't it be great if I did?

Then, as I was walking to my car, I saw a hand-painted, nineties-era Ford Escort station wagon that had "Harvey" painted along both sides. The wheels and tires were painted in swirls. It was positively brilliant. I think it should be a law that if your car is ten years old or older, and is not a collector car, you should have to hand paint it in this fashion. The world would be a more interesting, artistic place.

Also, I caught a cute young woman eyeing me and smiling. But it's probably beacause I was smiling to myself about the notion of a line of Aimee Mann brand frozen dinners. Like, "Wise up! And buy my soy cheese enchiladas." Heh. :)

NPR: Former U.S. Officials Call for a New Administration

A group of 26 former U.S. diplomats and senior military officers say that President Bush and his team should be voted out in the upcoming election. The group, in a statement to be released later this week, says the president has squandered alliances and his foreign policies have harmed U.S. national interests. Listen to Vicky O'Hara's report here.

Tips: You will need to have RealOne Player installed and have your sound up, but not TOO loud. :)

Holy Hottie!

Look at Chelsea Clinton. Damn, she got hot! When did THAT happen?

It's Bush's Economy, Stupid

From BushRecall.org:

White House officials can't seem to understand why, despite modestly positive jobs numbers, the American public doesn't support President Bush's economic plan. The answer is simple – recent minor progress doesn't even begin to undo the mess that the Bush team has created. A few shovelfuls of dirt can't possibly fill in a hole that’s been growing for three years.

A recent Washington Post-ABC poll revealed that a strong majority – 54 percent – of Americans disapprove of the way that President Bush has handled the economy, and with good reason. Check out these statistics:

- 8.2 million Americans are unemployed – an increase of 2.2 million people since the beginning of the Bush administration.

- 2.7 million manufacturing jobs have been lost, and manufacturing employment is at a 53-year low.

- The average out-of-work American is unemployed for five months – the longest average unemployment length in 20 years.

- There is a tremendous amount of underemployment – more and more unemployed Americans are turning to part-time jobs to make ends meet.

- New jobs pay an average of 21 percent less than the jobs we've lost under the Bush administration.

- Meanwhile, costs are on the rise. Health care costs for families are up almost 50 percent; Gas prices are up nearly 25 percent; College tuition costs have jumped by 35 percent in many cases; Oil prices are at a 23 year high.

This is powerful evidence that the Bush economic plan of massive tax cuts and worrying about it later has not benefited average Americans. After three years of fiscal irresponsibility, we must start worrying about it now.

Take action! Get the word out. Use these statistics in a letter to the editor to your local newspaper. Make sure that your friends, neighbors and co-workers know the real figures, and not the White House's weak talking points.

More Bad News for Bush

From JohnKerry.com:

Three months ago, George Bush's political guru, Karl Rove, had a plan. In March, the New York Times described it as an "aggressive and precise 90-day media strategy" intended to "strip Mr. Kerry of [his] positive image."

The Republican National Committee even made boastful threats -- one Bush advisor predicted that support for John Kerry would quickly unravel, saying "He peels like an onion." George Bush's media strategist Mark McKinnon was all aflutter about how much fun it would be destroying John Kerry's support. "We just see this as the greatest window of opportunity," he gushed.

Those 90 days are over today, and thanks to you we slammed the Bush campaign's "window of opportunity" shut. The Bush team's strategy (in the words of the Washington Post, "Unprecedented Negativity") is falling apart because you have stuck by John Kerry.

I'm not sure how Karl Rove intended to celebrate the end of his carefully-planned 90-day blitz of attack ads. But I'm guessing it wasn't by reading that his candidate trails John Kerry in national polls by as many as seven percentage points.

That's right -- 90 days after the Bush campaign unleashed their relentless, $70 million stream of negative and misleading attack ads, we've got the political momentum on our side. Why? Because John Kerry is presenting a positive vision for the future of our country, and our campaign has people like you, firing back against George Bush's negative barrage.

P.S.: Here are some recent poll numbers that show John Kerry ahead of George Bush:

Poll Date John Kerry / George Bush

Fox News June 9 45 / 43

LA Times June 9 51 / 44

Gallup June 8 50 / 44

Zogby June 7 44 / 42

ARG June 3 48 / 46

Between the Bridges

Just in case I haven't mentioned it lately, I am a HUGE Sloan fan. And after almost a year straight of listening to Action Pact, I seem to have moved back to Between the Bridges, their CD from five years back. I am listening to it at least once a day. Good stuff. Highly recommended. Andy tested, Andy approved. Etc.

Composed while listening to: Sloan - Between the Bridges

Washington Post: State Department Concedes Errors in Terror Data

Two months ago, the Bush administration released its annual report card on counterterrorism and gave itself an A. The number of terrorist attacks around the globe, according to the State Department report called "Patterns of Global Terrorism," was at the lowest ebb in the past 34 years.

Yesterday, after reviewing the matter more carefully, the department formally conceded it made a few mistakes. Read the full article here (registration required).

And here's lame duck Colin Powell denying the obvious: that the Bushies cooked the books.

Seriously, can we vote these fucking jokers out of there now? I don't know if I can wait 4 1/2 months.

The whole flap over misleading numbers almost overshadows another important conclusion that can be drawn from the right set of accurate statistics: the Bush administration's handling of terrorism isn't producing the noticeable results that officials have claimed.

When the report was first released, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage crowed that this is "clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight." Instead, according to analysis performed by scholars and Princeton and Stanford Universities, the report actually offers no such clear evidence:

"A careful review of the report and underlying data supports the opposite conclusion: The number of significant terrorist acts increased from 124 in 2001 to 169 in 2003 - 36 percent - even using the State Department's official standards...The only verifiable information in the annual reports indicates that the number of terrorist events has risen each year since 2001, and in 2003 it reached its highest level in more than 20 years."

So how long did they expect to be able to get away with that? Until after the election? When, if ever, will this administration learn that their lies will catch up with them every time? Seriously, are they ineptly corrupt, or corruptly inept. I can't decide! :)

Los Angeles Times: Help for Halliburton alleged in Iraq oil plan

Just this morning, the L.A. Times released a new Halliburton bombshell: it's now clear that over the protests of an Army official, Vice President Cheney's office helped ensure that Cheney's old company Halliburton would receive a $7 billion no-bid contract for rebuilding Iraq. Yikes. Read it here.

Has Microsoft been Hannitized for my protection?

I typed "Hannity," as in the EXTREMELY LOATHESOME Sean Hannity, in Microsoft Word, and when I spellchecked, the only suggested re-spelling that came up was "sanity."

As if! :)

Twisting my Melon, Man!

Good morning!

I figure I'll write a bit here while I eats my shredded wheat (in chocolate soy milk) and then go for a run. It's a beautiful morning here.

So I Netflicked the first season of The Gilmore Girls. See, we don't get the WB here, but I hear all about their shows from my friend Jason. It's a neat show. If it were on a station that I got, I'd surely be hooked by now. I'm particularly enjoying the subplot of the English teacher dating hot mom Lorelai Gilmore. :)

And speaking of that (sorta), somehow I got it in my head last night that I ought to at least consider moving to Southern California. I dunno. The O.C. just makes it look so good. :) Seriously, I am really enjoying my running right now, and I am not looking forward to letting up on that once the winter comes, nor to having to either run inside around a small track or outside in layers of Goretex and spandex. I wanna be free, just shoes and shorts. Well, I still wear a shirt, but that's purely out of vanity. I'm still a bit blubbery at 191 pounds. But I promised myself that when I get down to 185, the shirt comes off, no matter how shy I feel. Still, I'm catching a lot more looks out there every day. I think maybe I'm getting kinda hot. :)

And speaking of hot, another reason that I want to move to LA is, big surprise, the hot women. I was looking at Salon personals, and there are lots of amazing women on it from there. I mean, if there are so many beautiful LA women with online personals, just imagine what I'd find offline. Crikey! Seriously, I was saying to someone this morning that I think I NEED sophisticated city women. These bumpkin women have no palate for the likes of me. Or vice versa, for that matter.

But, still, Kalamazoo remains my number one choice, with Ann Arbor and East Lansing my second and third choices. For now. ;)

In other news, I'm really looking forward to doing my radio show this Wednesday. I've reburned my entire Contraband library to discs that will work at the station, so I'll have a better selection to choose from this week (and beyond). I can't wait. There's so much I want to play. It's gonna be a good show. It is so fun to go in there every week and pretend that it is 1987-1991 again.

Okay, off for that run. Have a terrific week.

Mad Monk's Member

WARNING: DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINKS IN THIS POST IF YOU HAVE ZERO (OR PERHAPS EVEN LESS) DESIRE TO SEE A HUGE PENIS IN A JAR. THANK YOU. COME AGAIN. ERRR...SO TO SPEAK.

I simply CANNOT believe that this story is in Yahoo! news. Much less with this picture. I mean, really, what more can I say?

Thanks (sort of) to Sandy for forwarding this one to me.