Scary

This map is scary.

With the way things are going, we need divided government at the federal level, and we aren't going to get it.

Remember 1976-1980? Great times?

Well, now that's settled

Finally, Obama gives in. In one of the most important issues of our time, he is indeed now patriotic.

Barack Obama, who once considered flag pins a shallow symbol, can't surround himself with enough patriotic trappings these days.

Hey, something he and I agree on.

He seldom goes out in public now without a flag pin stuck in his lapel. He devoted an entire speech to patriotism this week in Independence, Mo. Visually reinforcing the message, he stood in front of a quartet of large American flags.

None of this is an accident. Polling shows that on the threshold test any serious presidential candidate must pass, Obama has ground to cover.

A CNN poll released one day after the Illinois senator gave his patriotism speech showed that a quarter of registered voters surveyed questioned Obama's love of country. Nearly 30% of the respondents who described themselves as independents -- a coveted slice of the electorate -- believed he lacks patriotism, according to the survey.

So Obama wants to convince voters that he is every bit as patriotic as his Republican opponent. That's not an easy sell: Arizona Sen. John McCain, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

Obama's biography is more unconventional. He has no military experience, and he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia with his mother and her second husband, an Indonesian. He is asking voters to accept a more nuanced definition of patriotism as he makes the case that the lack of military credentials shouldn't disqualify him from the Oval Office.

When the flag-pin issue arose in October, Obama said he had made a deliberate choice not to wear one shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks because he believed the pins had become a "substitute for, I think, true patriotism."

"You start noticing people wearing a lapel pin but not acting very patriotic," he said then. "Not voting to provide veterans with resources that they need. Not voting to make sure that disability payments were coming out on time."

But now, primarily due to the ignorance of the American electorate, he is wearing the approved state symbol.

The good thing is now we can get on to the really important stuff, like what his wife may or may not have said.

We will continue to ignore, however, his plan to take a significantly higher portion of my stuff and give it to other people, because it simply isn't fair that I worked full time to get through college, went to grad school at nite, and now work my ass off for a big company and earn a good living for it.

No, that just isn't fair to people who chose differing paths. Like having kids at 15, or dropping out of high school. Because I'm rich, and I can afford to pay a higher fair share.

I suggest everyone take an Economics course on why that's a bad idea, alas, Populism is the name of the game. If 95% of the people can vote to take the things of 5%, the 5% don't have a chance, other than to hide their things.

Impossible!

Government employees would never abuse their power!

An internal investigation by the U.S. State Department has found that government employees repeatedly accessed the passport files of more than 100 high-profile Americans.

The investigation was prompted by revelations in March that department employees had looked into the passport files of Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republican Senator John McCain - the three remaining major U.S. presidential candidates at the time.

In a report issued Thursday, the department's inspector general says investigators complied a list of 150 famous U.S. citizens. They found that the files of 127 people, or 85 percent of the list, had been viewed, some of them multiple times.

The report does not say whether the files were accessed for legitimate reasons, but notes the number of viewings appears excessive.

The inspector general made 22 recommendations for improving security, including random audits of files and decreasing the number of people authorized to view the records.

How about we actually enforce the limits placed on the government by the Constitution.

A critical issue of our time

Muslims are offended by puppies on postcards.

Postcards showing police dog-in-training Rebel, a German shepherd born in early December, are causing a furor among the region’s Muslims who believe dogs are "ritually unclean," the Daily Mail reports.

The cute cards were meant to notify locals of a new telephone number for non-emergency phone calls but instead have become a flashpoint for a clash of cultures. Shopkeepers are refusing to display the offending ad and a Dundee city councilor is calling for an investigation.

"My concern was that it's not welcomed by all communities, with the dog on the cards," said Dundee councilor Mohammed Asif, according to the report.

The Tayside police force said the police puppy, the force’s "newest recruit," was not intended to cause offense.

Seriously. Anyone who gives in to this type of silliness deserves the racial/religious intolerance that will result.

Financial Blogs

I noticed looking about the internet today there aren't many blogs regarding personal finance, building wealth, or anything like that.

I might have something to offer there. Might be an interesting project, and maybe something could come of it. Just need to make the time.

I don't get it

For a couple of years, people have been telling me I NEED TO SEE Talladega Nights.

So I watched it.

I think I laughed twice. Not exactly the comedy of a lifetime. Mostly, I thought it was stupid.

Is it me?

From the Things That Should Scare You Department

And the Fairness Doctrine Department, I bring you the Quote of the Week.

"I'm not here to say that the government is always right, but when the government tells you to do something, I'm sure you would all agree that I think you all recognize that is something you need to do," - Senator Christopher Bond, MO (R)

Yep. A Republican U.S. Senator said that.

What was that you were saying about Democrats being Socialists?


Hat tip: Cattallarchy

Democrat Translator

Now this is just funny



I'll work on one for Republicans.

Our Mayor, she has teh smart

Sheila Dixon, the incredibly not well spoken mayor of Baltimore, is under investigation for corruption. This is not a suprise, she was under investigation when the good folks in Baltimore elected her (get what you deserve, I suppose).

She recently responded, showing anger that the press is getting information, but she's not allowed to talk about the case.

Dixon told the media gathered at City Hall "this is a process" and "she is cooperating with authorities." She says it's aggravating that members of the media can talk about this, but she can't.

"I can't talk about it in the media because it is under investigation, but certain media people are getting information from the prosecutor's office and that really bothers me because there is a process," Dixon said.

She says she knows how to maintain a budget and is focusing on the future of the city. Dixon encouraged members of the media to look at documents relating to her actions at Board of Estimates meetings. She says she abstains when there is a conflict of interest.

Dixon had no comment about allegations that she used gift cards designed for needy people. Dixon says she is not going to discuss the allegations in depth and referred questions to her attorneys. She also thanked her supporters.

Dixon told the media she would survive this.

"I take this business of what I do one day at a time. I will continue to stay focused in this position I am in, as I long as I am in this position," said Dixon.

In a statement to the Eyewitness News Tuesday, Mayor Dixon admitted, "In late 2003 and early 2004, I had a personal relationship with Ron Lipscomb. We were both separated from our respective spouses at the time, we traveled together and exchanged gifts on special occasions. Our brief relationship was personal, and it did not influence my decisions related to matters of city government."

On Wednesday, Dixon said more about the relationship.

"Despite my relationship, Ron Lipscomb is a great person. It was a personal relationship. I wasn't the mayor then...there's a process that the Baltimore Development Corporation and Housing goes through. That was under the O'Malley Administration who handled those," said Dixon.

Documents reveal investigators were after computer records of the relationship when they raided Doracon Contracting last year. Lipscomb is Doracon's president.

In one case, the document states Dixon voted on a $13 million tax break for Doracon--for the Spinnaker Bay building in Harbor East-- the same day she and Lipscomb went on a lavish trip to New York.

The document also reveals trips the two took to Colorado, Boston and Chicago, and that Lipscomb was at Dixon's birthday celebration in the Bahamas. It raises questions about whether Doracon and Lipscomb paid for travel and lodging expenses.

The document also revealed Dixon's expenditures during the trip she and Lipscomb took to Chicago, including $570 for Jimmy Choo sandals, more than $600 spent at Coach, $4,400 for clothes at Armani and more than $2,200 at a Michigan Avenue boutique.

Ms. Mayor, there is a big difference between not being allowed to talk about something, and having your lawyer tell you to not talk about something. You are free, at any time, to say whatever you want about this case. You can't, because your lawyer (rightly so) has advised you to keep quiet.

Don't get angry about that.

Sounds familiar

Someone named Saddam said similar things to Iran's contention that Isreal attacking nuclear plants "impossible".

Now I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure Isreal can, if they want.

Diversity and Unity of Idiocy

Unless, of course, you wear a scarf on your head. That might look bad.

Hypocrite, he is. Her too, as she still supports him.

So she's the idiot of the day.

See into the future

This is what government run healthcare is going to look like.

Summoned by the city of Amagasaki one recent morning, Minoru Nogiri, 45, a flower shop owner, found himself lining up to have his waistline measured. With no visible paunch, he seemed to run little risk of being classified as overweight, or metabo, the preferred word in Japan these days.

But because the new state-prescribed limit for male waistlines is a strict 33.5 inches, he had anxiously measured himself at home a couple of days earlier. “I’m on the border,” he said.

Under a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must now measure the waistlines of Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups. That represents more than 56 million waistlines, or about 44 percent of the entire population.

Those exceeding government limits — 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, which are identical to thresholds established in 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation as an easy guideline for identifying health risks — and having a weight-related ailment will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. If necessary, those people will be steered toward further re-education after six more months.

To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years and 25 percent over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets. The country’s Ministry of Health argues that the campaign will keep the spread of diseases like diabetes and strokes in check.

The ministry also says that curbing widening waistlines will rein in a rapidly aging society’s ballooning health care costs, one of the most serious and politically delicate problems facing Japan today. Most Japanese are covered under public health care or through their work. Anger over a plan that would make those 75 and older pay more for health care brought a parliamentary censure motion Wednesday against Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, the first against a prime minister in the country’s postwar history.

Enjoy!

Experiment

We had an entry system installed today; press the button and the phone rings. If we like you, we can hit * and unlock the door.

Unfortumately, the installers somehow screwed up our DSL, and couldn't figure it out. So, I will be without internet until Tuesday, as that is the soonest Cavalier can get out. (I see Verizon in my future).

So we will see if I survive.

The fun is just beginning

Obama says poor people are too stupid to have credit cards, and it's the banks' fault.

Illinois Sen. Obama, on a two-week tour focusing on problems in the U.S. economy, held a round-table discussion with three people who have seen their credit card debt skyrocket due to a relentless cycle of interest rate increases and fees.

"For too long, credit card companies have been using unfair and deceptive practices to trick Americans into signing agreements they can't afford," Obama said.

Americans have an obsession with credit cards, often using plastic in place of cash, and are encouraged by the credit card companies to use to them to buy not just big-ticket items but on everyday items like gasoline and groceries.

As a consequence, many people owe thousands of dollars in credit card debt and are only able to make the monthly minimum payment, leaving the balance in place for a long time.

Where I come from, that's called spending money you don't have. But these poor people are clearly too stupid, so we will punish those mean old banks.

End result? Less available credit for poor people.

Is there an issue in this country with people living above their means? Yes - but it's an issue of education, not access to credit.

Understanding the basics

Shouldn't someone who writes for an investing advice website understand the basics of Macroeconomics? I think so.

Micheal Shedlock, a "Registered Investment Advisor", claims a recession is obvious based on recent unemployment numbers.

The establishment data was the 5 consecutive decline.

Highlights

34,000 construction jobs were lost
26,000 manufacturing jobs were lost
27,000 retail trade jobs were lost
29,000 professional and business services jobs were lost
8,000 service providing jobs were added
A total of 57,000 goods producing jobs were lost (higher paying jobs), and for the first time in quite some time, few service providing (generally lower paying jobs) were added. Government, the last pace one wants to see jobs, added 17,000 jobs or the service sector would have actually contracted.

Weakness is now nearly across the board. The last remaining holdouts is education and health services which added 54,000 jobs. But looking ahead there is going to be trouble in this area as states, especially California, cut back services.

These are clearly recession totals yet still we have pundits debating whether or not we are in recession.

So where is he wrong? Recession has a specific definition, and it isn't based on the number of jobs added or removed from the 'Economy'. As a matter of fact, some increase in unemployment could be linked to an upswing in productivity.

Now, this doesn't mean things are as good as they could be, but it's an inflationary issue, not a recession issue.

Don't talk to the police

via Lew Rockwell

Another example of government intervention screwing you

And another example of what "free government run healthcare" will be like.

Baltimore taxi drivers, being a reasonably ingenious sort, have figured out that sitting waiting for someone to call for a cab and going where the dispatcher tells them is more economical from a fuel usage standpoint than driving around looking for people waving their hands.

The most important passage from the article:

A fare increase might help, but taxi drivers such as Okiyi probably will have to struggle through the summer without any changes. Cab fares start at $1.80 and rise in 20-cent increments based on mileage and waiting time. A 55-cent fuel surcharge is added on top of those rates.

Baltimore's 1,000 cabs are regulated by the Maryland Public Service Commission, which evaluates twice a year whether industry costs have risen to a point where the charges can be passed on to consumers. LaWanda Edwards, a PSC spokeswoman, said the fuel surcharge has not changed since 2006, when the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.12.

Before that, the fuel surcharge was 15 cents. Any increase in the meter rate or fuel surcharge would not take effect until September, Edwards said.

No emergency surcharge in response to the present fuel price spike has been discussed, Edwards said. But the PSC evaluates the cab industry's rates every January and July, she said. Cab companies have not complained officially about their rising gasoline costs because they expect that they will have an opportunity for an adjustment after the PSC reviews the industry conditions next month, Edwards said.

In recent weeks, taxi companies in many towns and cities across the United States have asked for - and, in many cases, received - permission to increase their prices, either in the form of a fuel surcharge or an increase in meter rates.

Cab companies in Oklahoma City, St. Louis and small cities in Massachusetts and Indiana have obtained increases, according to news reports. And Chicago recently passed its first fuel surcharge for taxis, tacking on up to $1 per ride, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Meanwhile, taxi industries in Boston, Buffalo, N.Y., and Manchester, N.H., are pushing for fare increases or fuel surcharges to help get them through the fuel pinch.

"Nationwide, the industry is asking for rate relief, which means a fare increase," said Alfred LaGasse, president of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association, a national trade group that represents about 1,000 transportation companies. "It's pretty universal. It's not limited to large cities or small cities."

On Friday, Montgomery County allowed its four cab companies, which operate about 650 cabs, to institute a 90-day emergency fuel surcharge of $1.50 per trip.

Notice the word "allowed". Since taxi drivers' and companies' prices are set by the government, they must take other actions in order to sustain their business. Which means worse service for you. Instead of being able to decide to hail that cab when it starts to rain on your walk home, you'll have to call for one, and wait 20 minutes (assuming they'll send a cab to someone who called from a cell phone without an address.)

This, of course, is the best example to the layperson, but price fixing by government has a number of drawbacks, as it always limits the choice of the consumer. Want a nicer cab, and willing to pay for it? Tough. Want to get the cab faster, and pay a little extra? Tough. Want a bargain cab that's a little less comfortable? Tough again.

I'm sure I'm right this time

All during this election season, the things I was sure about all came to be wrong. I was sure the Democrats would come to their senses and nominate someone a little more impressive, given the horrible candidate John Kerry was; I was sure we would see Bill Richardson (someone this Libertarian would consider over a random Republican), or even John Edwards.

Alas, the two media darlings, and two of the three worst candidates (although Kucinich at least stands on principle), ended up destroying any shot the Democrats have of winning the Presidency.

On the Republican side, I was sure, SURE, that Fred Thompson would be the nominee, and that he would certainly be the next President. McCain wasn't even on my radar screen, heck, even the Republicans admitted he's not really one of them.

And, being an optimist, I thought a Richardson/Thompson or Edwards/Thompson might give us a shot at debating some real differences, and maybe getting a President a little more, well, Presidential than we've had in the last 20 or so years.

But this time, I'm sure.

Hilliary says she would be "open" to being Obama's running mate. Fat chance. The single best litmus test of Barack Obama is who he picks as his running mate. If it's Ms. Clinton, you'll know he's not fit to be President.

How could she even think it's possible? Really?

Great entertainment

Goodness, this election season has been entertaining. Now the latest episode, Obama "resigns" from his church after 20 years, apparently having just noticed what the pastors were saying.

Obama submitted a letter of resignation to Trinity United Church of Christ on Friday, saying he was leaving his spiritual home for nearly all of his adult life "with sadness." He told reporters last night that he didn't want to have to answer questions every time someone at the church said something controversial.

"This was one I didn't see coming," Obama said of attacks on his links to Wright and the church. "I did not anticipate my fairly conventional Christian faith being subject to such scrutiny."

Obama said he prayed about the decision with his wife, Michelle, and another Trinity pastor, the Rev. Otis Moss III, and didn't want the church subject to added scrutiny because of his candidacy. "I am not denouncing the church. It's not a church worthy of denouncing," said Obama, who also said he hadn't been there in months.



The move comes as Obama is poised to claim title to the Democratic nomination as early as next week - although Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York also remains in the race - and appears designed to try to put the racially charged controversies behind him as he turns to the fall campaign against John McCain.

Obama clearly hoped he had already done that by cutting all ties with Wright, his fiery former pastor who once preached that the United States was to blame for the 9/11 attacks and that God should "damn America" - much-replayed comments that seemed to undercut Obama's appeals for political unity.

Republicans have signaled that they plan to raise Obama's 20-year association with Wright to question Obama's judgment and values in the fall campaign. Obama was married at Trinity and both of his daughters were baptized there.

This is only going to get better - the Republicans haven't even started yet.

As insane as they all are, I'm starting to think Bob Barr might end up looking like the most rational candidate. Progress.

Slow news day, or way too sensitive?

Sharon Stone apparently has apologised for suggesting the earthquakes in China were "karma".

Seriously? Dior is pulling ads? This is in the news? She made an offhand half-stupid comment about a government that regularly opresses its subjects. Isn't the oppression more newsworthy than what some actress says?

Evil Big Oil?

Let's all remember who owns Big Oil.

You and I.

Quick update

If you are ever wondering if I'm really busy with work, just watch my posting breaks.

I was in Atlanta working on a project Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, back catching up on Thursday, and meeting with a vendor on Friday in NJ, so not much internets time.

If you are following my training log, you'll note I haven't trained for a couple of weeks. I slipped off a curb and twisted my knee, and had to give it a little time. I'm back at it tomorrow. I might lift in a meet in August.

Othrewise, things be great. I've heard lots of great news stories (my favorite is the aluminum bat lawsuit). I'm planning on having a great weekend getting some stuff done around the house, and then enjoying it. There's not much better than feeling like you are on vacation in your own home.

Recovery methods

A quick video on contrast showers.




Via Elite Fitness Systems Iron Brothers Q&A

Heavy

These guys are. Heavy. Good.

A very small step for freedom

Chicago overturns foie gras ban

It's not all gas prices, you know...

While we blame high gas prices for everything, including kids not getting limos for prom, we need to keep some other stuff in mind.

Many operators have added surcharges in response to higher gasoline prices, which reached an average of $3.63 per gallon for regular unleaded in Maryland, AAA Mid-Atlantic reported yesterday. Rogers raised rates $35, bringing the cost of renting a limo to $885 for eight hours.

"The gas prices definitely are not helping us," she said. "It is working against us. We are trying not to raise the prices [again]. But the industry is suffering. It's not too far off."

Richard Kane, owner of International Limousine Service in Washington and president of the National Limousine Association, said operators suffered first-quarter losses of 10 percent to 30 percent.

Rate increases implemented in response to higher fuel costs range from 8 percent to 20 percent, Kane said.

"It is unfortunate, but we have to pass the costs on," said Kane, 38, who has tacked on a 13.5 percent surcharge.

Mike Vallard, owner of Bel Air-based Higher Quality Limousines, is among those who decided against raising prices, resigning himself to the possibility of simply breaking even. Vallard, who is president of the Maryland Limousine Association, charges $800 for six hours and $1,000 for eight hours.

First, a $35 increase to $885 is less than a 5% increase. Also, keep in mind it is harder for teens to get jobs than it used to be, due at least in part to the higher minimum wage, which primarily impacts part time and teenage workers. Also, don't forget the sales tax increase in Maryland from 5% to 6%. On that same $850 original limo rate, the increase in the sales tax is $8.50, about a quarter of the increase due to gas.

Inspire confidence

If we don't even know who we capture in Iraq, how can we possibly think everyone at Gitmo should be there?

There's a reason we have due process.

The story of Cory Maye and Ron Jones.

Iraq ian't the only war we should be trying to stop.


More info here, and here.

Oh, I'd put a bet on success

If I were able, I think I'd put a bet on Under Armour shoes being a success.

"Success or failure is not going to be determined by a day or a weekend," Kevin A. Plank, Under Armour chairman and chief executive officer, said in an interview early Saturday minutes before the launch.

"Today is just the beginning," Plank later told employees at the company's flagship store at Westfield Annapolis Mall. "It's just the starting line."

SportsOneSource, a company that tracks shoe sales, said it would have a better indication about the launch results in two weeks.

When Under Armour launched its football cleats two years ago, it didn't see results until six weeks later. It now holds 22 percent of that market.

"It really is difficult to judge the first weekend," said Matt Powell, an analyst with SportsOneSource. "Sometimes the numbers look big and don't materialize or stay that way. Sometimes it's vice versa. I think we're better off to wait a couple of weeks to get a good read."

Everything I've seen them do has worked. Given the success of the cleats, I'll bet they do ok with the general public. I sure do see a lot of UA wear at the gym.

Feticide?

From the things that confuse me department, comes this story out of Louisiana.

19-year-old man was booked in the death of a fetus after he accidentally shot a pregnant woman and killed her unborn baby, authorities said.

Wilbert L. Luke Jr. shot Shawntell Walker, 17, in the abdomen Sunday while he was showing her a handgun, Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies said.

Luke drove Walker, who was 22 weeks pregnant, to West Jefferson Medical Center, said sheriff's spokesman Col. John Fortunato. The fetus died during surgery, he said.

A .22-caliber handgun recovered from Luke had been stolen in St. Tammany Parish, Fortunato said. Luke said he bought the gun on the streets about a year ago, Fortunato said.

Luke was booked with third-degree feticide and possession of a stolen firearm.

Now, clearly, there is a crime here, as this mental giant shot a girl while showing off his gun. (I guess this is how one wins the heart of a pregnant 17 year old?) What I don't get is feticide. He's charged with a crime against the unborn child, not the mother. So, then, how isn't an abortion feticide?

I don't see how you can have it both ways.

I've wanted to comment on this for some time, and this story has provided the motivation. While I find abortion distasteful, I don't see how the removal of a parasite that can not function on it's own outside the host should be illegal. The only intellectually honest argument is that the embryo or fetus is a person at conception, with all of the rights one gets from their humanity. That's typically not the argument made by anti abortion folks, who seem to approve of "murder" if it's the product of incest or rape (how is that the baby's fault?). So if that's your position, you are instead placing your moral beliefs on others, much like those who wish to implement their desire to socialise healthcare, for example.

To those on the other side, who think abortions should remain legal, what is the argument that this should be any crime other than assault/battery/attempted murder on the mother? In my eyes, I just don't see how you can make it.

You can't have it both ways, I'm afraid.

Life, Satire... well, you know.

The TSA has been keeping Air Marshals off flights, because, you know, they might be terrorists.

False identifications based on a terrorist no-fly list have for years prevented some federal air marshals from boarding flights they are assigned to protect, according to officials with the agency, which is finally taking steps to address the problem.



Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) familiar with the situation say the mix-ups, in which marshals are mistaken for terrorism suspects who share the same names, have gone on for years — just as they have for thousands of members of the traveling public.



One air marshal said it has been "a major problem, where guys are denied boarding by the airline."



"In some cases, planes have departed without any coverage because the airline employees were adamant they would not fly," said the air marshal, who asked not to be named because the job requires anonymity. "I've seen guys actually being denied boarding."



A second air marshal said one agent "has been getting harassed for six years because his exact name is on the no-fly list."

Hat tip: The Agaitator

May Day

As I have in the past, I direct you to the annual May Day Rememberance Posts at Distributed Republic.

I'm pretty sure...

There are an awful lot of Democrats out there wishing they had voted for Bill Richardson.

He would slaughter McCain. The other two? Can't even beat each other, and both work pretty hard on beating themselves.

Does not compute

Driving home from the gym today, I catch the news on WBAL. Two stories, back to back.

The first is regarding sentencing for two men involved in an attack on a 75 year old Sun reporter that caused brain damage.

Two of the men involved in an unprovoked attack on a 75 year old Baltimore Sun reporter were sentenced this afternoon.

Both Latar Bradshaw,23, and Gregory Kulla,37, were given three years supervised probation. Bradshaw faces up to 20 years in prison if he re-offends, while Kulla would face up to 15 years in prison if he breaks his probation.

Judge John Glynn presided at the sentencing.

Another man, Phillip Carter, has already been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the attack.

The victim, Carl Schoettler, suffered severe head injuries and was hospitalized for a week after the February 2006 attack.

The attack happened after Schoettler was involved in a minor car accident with Gregory Kulla dowtown near City Hall. Prosecutors say after Schoettler got out of his car to speak with Kulla, Latar Bradshaw and Phillip Carter ran across the street and attacked Schoettler, who was 73 years old at the time.

Carter has already been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Bradshaw pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit robbery, while Kulla pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and accessory after the fact.

Prosecutors say Kulla didn't do anything to stop the attack and agreed to drive Carter and Bradshaw away from the scene.

15 and 20 year SUSPENDED sentences, and probation.

Compared to the next story, regarding a man who was firing off fireworks at night.

A Baltimore County prosecutor says bail was denied for a man charged with creating mysterious middle-of-the-night blasts and flashes of light that puzzled Pikesville area residents for months.

Frederick Lee Mackler, 59, is facing charges of possession of fireworks without a permit, reckless endangerment and controlled dangerous substance violations.

Kristin Blumer, a Baltimore County assistant state's attorney, says Mackler told police he was upset with his neighbors, but the prosecutor says she does not know why.

Blumer says Mackler used a starter's pistol to fire cartridges designed to scare away birds.

In other words, he was being a nuicance, and had some dope in his house (he also apparently had a concealed firearm). NO BAIL.

I don't understand.

What is wrong with people?

I am a polite person. I don't cut in lines, and will, in fact, give you my spot in the express checkout line if you just have a gallon of milk and a bottle of Advil, carrying your screaming 2 year old.

I don't know if it is just a change in our culture where we have become oblivous to the world and people around us, or if rudeness is now part of our culture as well; but I can't go anywhere without having someone do something to rankle me. Mostly it's the grocery store or the mall, with some mouth breather stopping dead in front of me, blocking the way while jabbering away on her cell phone about some inane bs. (Being tied to my cell phone for work, I am generally forgiving, but these are usually personal calls about what to do tonight or what Jimmy did in school today. At the grocery store. Because you are that important.)

The latest episode: my trip to the dry cleaner. I'm picking up some coats my wife dropped off. It's Friday, I'm on my way home from Philly, with one more stop at BJ's standing between me and a cocktail.

I pull in to the parking lot behind a BMW 5 series. The guy gets out of the car, looks at me getting out of mine, and literally runs to the door of the dry cleaner to beat me in line... with his laundry basket full of clothes. I'm holding two little tickets. He appears to have everything he owns.

One of these days, I'm going to unleash 235 pounds of polite on one of these assholes.

Once a week

For the few regular readers, sorry for the long gaps between posts. Blogging has been at the bottom of the priority list. Work is busy but managable, training is going well.

There are a couple of good stories in the news, visit some of the links to the right and do some reading.

Don't wait for permission

In Kalamazoo, MI, students are protesting the violation of their rights via a ban on carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus.

The article linked above isn't clear if the ban is legislative or if it is a ban by the individual schools.

If it's the former, instead of protesting, these folks need to stand up and just do it. Don't let a law leave you vulnerable. I don't think you need permission from the government to carry a gun, and if the government thinks otherwise, let them catch you. The only way they will is if you needed the gun.

If it's the latter, live your principles and go to one of the (very few, apparently) schools that do allow carrying concealed handguns.

Liberty and Irony

Apparently, it is illegal to celebrate Jefferson's birthday by dancing at his memorial.

You should be very, very angered by this.

But you probably aren't, because we've given up. Welcome to the Police State. Now shut up.

Great news for talk radio listeners in Baltimore

But maybe not so great for Ron Smith and WBAL.

Ed Norris, is moving from midday to drive time, getting the 3-6 slot on HFS. Don and Mike are apparently gone from the lineup (their show is syndicated, and apparently Don is retiring, so HFS is dumping the new 'Mike' show. I honestly never got Don and Mike, anyway).

The awesome news is that Brian Wilson is returning to radio in Baltimore - I've read he'll be on at noon, with Troy Johnson on from 10 to Noon.

Hey, a training post

But it's not about me.

An online bud, Matt Perryman, was recently interviewed by Leigh Peele. It's a long read, but worth it.

If you are looking for information about my training, read my training log.

Seems to me, this means something other than what they say it means

The FAA has 4 airlines under investigation due to safety concerns.

FAA executives released the audit and outlined new measures to strengthen airline safety in advance of a congressional hearing on Thursday into inspection lapses involving Southwest Airlines and possibly other carriers.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee plans to question FAA whistleblowers, Southwest officials and FAA executives. The day-long hearing will focus heavily on what committee chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn., describes as "a culture of coziness’’ between the FAA and the airlines.

But Sturgell and other FAA officials, while not commenting on the hearing, said the review showed airlines are complying with 99 percent of FAA "airworthiness directives’’ reviewed by safety inspectors. The review covered 117 air carriers.

Of the airlines that may not be in compliance, three are being reviewed for possible problems involving wiring in the wheel wells, FAA officials said. A fourth had not submitted a plan to show how it would comply with airworthiness directives for future years.

Seems to me, all this shows is the futility of federal oversight when it comes to safety, given the remarkable market pressure to remain safe (otherwise, seems to me there would be more bodies and crashed airplanes.) I'm pretty sure crashing airplanes is bad for business, I don't think we need an inept goverment agency protecting us.

Opening Day

In Baltimore, there's been a lot of discussion about Opening Day. The Orioles, even to the ever optimistic O's fan, will compete for 5th in the AL East. So why, in spite of 10 losing seasons, does Opening Day mean so much. The first game of the football season isn't a holiday.

Because it's the optimism of Spring.

I'm not a baseball fan. I couldn't care less what the Orioles do, and can't tell you who won the World Series (even though it excludes the Japanese and Cubans) last year. But hearing John Miller's voice when channel surfing means it's time for the weather to change. Time for weekends spent planting the new garden, sitting outside having a beer after dinner, driving with the top down.

I've always said Autumn is my favorite season. But this is my favorite time of year.

Frank for President

Seriously. His positions are far closer to mine than anyone running right now.

Apparently, they share the same definition of "lie".

Hilliary Clinton claims her claim of landing in Bosnia under sniper fire was a misstatement.

Mrs Clinton insisted yesterday that she had simply misspoken, characterising the false claim as a “minor blip” among the “millions of words” she spoke every day.

Asked about the issue during a meeting with the Philadelphia Daily News’ editorial board, she said: “I went to 80 countries, you know. I gave contemporaneous accounts, I wrote about a lot of this in my book.

“You know, I think that, a minor blip, you know, if I said something that, you know, I say a lot of things – millions of words a day – so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement,” she said.

An apt comparison would be for me to claim I walked to my car today under a mortar attack (which in Baltimore, may be more likely).

30 mile mistake

Boris says in a paragraph what takes me a page and a half.

Fun with TSA employees

is the 3 ounce rule weight or volume?

I'm not sure how I survived

Over the past year or so, I've been able to enrich my life in several ways. Some of them, I don't understand how I lived without for as long as I did.

High Definition Television

Ok, seriously, I don't like golf. I don't watch it. I have zero interest. The day I got my high def TV, I spent an hour watching golf. Just because it looked that good. Watching non high def tv now hurts my eyes.

DVR

Up until we got the new TV last May, we relied on a VCR to record programs we really wanted to see. Given how awful television is, and living for a year with a little tiny TV 2 floors away from the kitchen, we weren't recording much of anything. Now, I've discovered a host of great stuff. Anthony Bourdain's No Reservatons, The Office, and reruns of The Tick. I honestly fell off the sofa watching 'That Mustache Feeling'.

BJs Membership

So the local Safeway has been where I get my food for the better part of 7 years. It's always been OK, but expensive. This year, we joined BJs. Honestly, I think we've already saved the $45 membership fee in meat alone. The prices and selection are fantastic. If you are a lifter and eat like I eat, you need to belong to a place like this.

Sonos/Network Attached Storage/MediaMonkey/Sansa

Yes, I've posted about Sonos before, but I finally got all my music stored on my Buffalo Linkstation (500G) as FLAC (lossless) files. I then put a lot of it on my 8G Sansa MP3 player, after using MediaMonkey to convert the files to MP3s. I'm rediscovering things I haven't listened to in years, along with new stuff via internet radio (my latest love is Radio IO Blues). I have a great selection with me all the time, an at home, the music is limitless.

Study finds walking can get you from one place to another

The USA Today reports a study finding that a 20 to 30 minute brisk walk 3 times a week makes you feel better. Seriously, can't scientists find something a little more meaningful to study?

If you take a brisk walk for as little as 20 to 30 minutes three times a week, you'll feel more energetic, happier and calmer, says a study presented Thursday at an American Heart Association meeting in Colorado Springs.
This adds to the growing body of evidence on the benefits of even small amounts of physical activity for improving quality of life.

"Exercise makes you feel better," says Timothy Church, director of preventive medicine research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. The more you do, the more you benefit, he says.

Didn't we all already know this? And it was funded by your NIH. Money well spent.

Things that happen when you ignore the Constitution

One of the nice things about following the rules laid out in the Constitution is that it conveys a sense of trust in the government and in the system. We know if we followed the rules, we got the bad guy.

But when you don't follow the rules, everything comes into question

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — A U.S. military commander altered a report on a firefight in Afghanistan to cast blame for the death of a Delta
Force commando on a Canadian youth who was captured after the shooting stopped,
a defense attorney said Thursday.
The attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, made the allegation at a pretrial hearing as he argued for access to the officer, identified only as "Col. W," as well as details about interrogations that he said might help clear his client of war-crimes charges.
The U.S. military has charged Omar Khadr with murder for throwing a
grenade that killed Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer during a U.S. military raid
on July 27, 2002, on an al-Qaida compound in eastern Afghanistan. Khadr's case
is on track to be the first to go to trial under a military tribunal system at
this U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba.
The military commander's official report the day after the raid originally said the assailant who threw the grenade was killed, which would rule out Khadr as the suspect. But the report was revised months later, under the same date, to say a U.S. fighter had only "engaged" the assailant, according to Kuebler, who said the later version was presented to him by prosecutors as an "updated" document.
Kuebler told reporters after the hearing that it appears "the government manufactured evidence to make it look like Omar was guilty."
Prosecutors did not contest Kuebler's account in court and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Khadr, who was captured when he was 15, is among roughly 80 detainees the Pentagon plans to prosecute at Guantanamo. So far, roughly a dozen
of the 275 men held at Guantanamo have been charged with war crimes.
Kuebler said the trial will likely hinge on statements that Khadr made to interrogators when he was held at a military prison at Bagram air base in Afghanistan. The attorney asked to be provided with the names of the interrogators as well as what techniques they used.
His interrogators included members of a unit implicated in the December 2002 beating deaths of two Afghan detainees, named Dilawar and Habibullah, Kuebler said. The lead prosecutor, Marine Corps Maj. Jeffrey Groharing, said defense lawyers have not demonstrated that speaking with individual interrogators would benefit their case. He said the government already has provided typewritten summaries of the Bagram interrogations. Kuebler bristled at the prosecutor's decision to withhold
information it does not consider relevant to the case.
"What does he know about our case ... and what might help us prepare for trial?" he asked.
The judge, Army Col. Peter Brownback, scolded both sides for not cooperating more
closely on evidence-related issues that could delay the trial, currently
scheduled for May. He said he would rule on most of the defense motions by late
Friday. Brownback also ordered prosecutors to provide the defense with
official correspondence regarding the case between the U.S. and Canadian
governments.

The government has ZERO credibility in this case, because they refuse to follow the rules. And because of it, someone who most likely did committ a crime (although not the one of which he is accused) may go free. Plus, this behavior simply fuels terrorist recruiting efforts.

From the Scary Quotes Department..

Chuckles Schumer on Congress and the White House proposed stronger rules affecting mortgages and mortgage backed securities (which, by the way, will certianly result in more expensive money and less available capital, which they will in turn complain about as the poor again can not afford houses, but I digress...)

Senator Charles E. Schumer, the New York Democrat who is a member of theBanking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Finance committees, was both positive and critical about the proposals, saying in a statement: “The administration is finally moving towards where Congress was last year. The good news is, they’re beginning to put their toe in the water when it comes to government involvement to help the
economy.
The bad news is, they’re going to have to do a lot more than that to
address the problem. We need government action not only to solve the current
crisis, but also to prevent a future one.”

rEVOLution failure

David Weigel in Reason asks what's next for the Ron Paul movement. I say, unfortunately, not much.

Paul has pretty much pulled the plug on his campaign, after a number of dissapointing showings, and a tougher than expected primary challenge that required his attention. But why was the result of all the hoopla so dissapointing?

I think Weigel has it right. Instead of focusing on the big picture Liberty stuff, there was entirely too much focus on closing the borders. That doesn't really jive with a lot of the anti-Bush, anti-establishment, not fond of the war Republicans and their libertarian leanings. Had he stayed on the 'smaller government, don't bomb countries that are not a threat and didn't attack you' message, we might be having very different discussions today. Maybe Hilliary and Obama wouldn't be the only interesting race.

Never ask a question..

When you don't know the answer.


I feel a little bad for the guy, but I've never thought the whole public engagement thing was such a good idea.

Via Agoraphilia.

HBO Commercial

For the past several weeks, I've spent more time than usual on the road... sleeping in hotels, eating by myself at the bar...

And watching HBO.

I don't subscribe to HBO, it just never seemed worth it, but let me tell you, there is some great TV going on. In Treatment is absolutley fantastic, and after 5 years of hearing about it and only a couple of days before the series finale, I'm hooked on The Wire.

Maryland, leading us to Nanny State Utopia

The Maryland state legislature is actually considering a state wide Foie Gras ban.

Think of the ducks.

Or maybe all those mean old rich people.

Jeff Healey, RIP

One of my favorite mucisians, Jeff Healey, died today at age 41.

Too busy to post

And really, not much to say.

So there.

Been working my ass off, again. Should have some time this week to say some things.

Awesome

Folks in Michigan getting around smoking bans.

What started as a quirky idea to get around the statewide smoking ban appears to be spreading like wildfire.

Dozens of bars are expected to stage "theater nights'' this weekend in which patrons are dubbed actors. The law, which went into effect in October, permits performers to smoke during a theatrical production. "Two weeks ago, we had one bar doing this,'' said Mark Benjamin, a criminal defense attorney who launched the theater-night idea. He estimates 50 to 100 bars could be on tap for theater nights this weekend based on phone calls, e-mails and requests for the how-to-stage-a-theater-night packet that he's devised. And many bar owners are passing on the information quickly among themselves without getting in contact with him.

State Health Department officials didn't return calls Thursday, but said earlier this week that they are waiting for a state attorney general's opinion on the legality of theater nights. State legislators who championed the ban said last week that the loophole likely will be plugged and the bar theater nights will end.

But until that happens, Kenn Rockler, executive director for the Tavern League of Minnesota, said he's getting calls and e-mails from bar owners.

Lisa Anderson, owner of Mike's Uptown bar in Hill City, said that last Saturday she staged a "theater night" and packed in four times the usual crowd that has come in since the smoking ban took effect.

Anderson said she has been helping other bar owners who want to put on their own tobacco productions.

"I'm going to continue to do this,'' she said. "It increased my business.''

So will Brian Bauman, owner of The Rock nightclub in Maplewood, which staged a theater night Tuesday and nearly doubled the usual crowd.

At least 10 other bar owners wandered through his bar that night, taking stock of the event's success.

It won't work for every bar or restaurant because some are carving out a niche with nonsmokers, he said.

"We're a rock bar and the majority of the people who come here smoke,'' Bauman said. Until the state puts a stop to this, "we have every intention of doing this again. ...We have our karaoke night and we have our rock night. Now we will have our theater night.''

Thing is, the smoking ban hurt those bars that chose to go non smoking.

Another one via Hit and Run.

This is our future

If you want to pay for part of your healthcare in the UK, you must pay for all of it.

Because that's the only 'fair' way to do it.

One such case was Debbie Hirst’s. Her breast cancer had metastasized, and the health service would not provide her with Avastin, a drug that is widely used in the United States and Europe to keep such cancers at bay. So, with her oncologist’s support, she decided last year to try to pay the $120,000 cost herself, while continuing with the rest of her publicly financed treatment.

By December, she had raised $20,000 and was preparing to sell her house to raise more. But then the government, which had tacitly allowed such arrangements before, put its foot down. Mrs. Hirst heard the news from her doctor.

“He looked at me and said: ‘I’m so sorry, Debbie. I’ve had my wrists slapped from the people upstairs, and I can no longer offer you that service,’ ” Mrs. Hirst said in an interview.

“I said, ‘Where does that leave me?’ He said, ‘If you pay for Avastin, you’ll have to pay for everything’ ” — in other words, for all her cancer treatment, far more than she could afford.

Officials said that allowing Mrs. Hirst and others like her to pay for extra drugs to supplement government care would violate the philosophy of the health service by giving richer patients an unfair advantage over poorer ones.

Patients “cannot, in one episode of treatment, be treated on the N.H.S. and then allowed, as part of the same episode and the same treatment, to pay money for more drugs,” the health secretary, Alan Johnson, told Parliament.

“That way lies the end of the founding principles of the N.H.S.,” Mr. Johnson said.

You better believe I'm setting myself up to be able to pay for it on my own.

Via Hit and Run

Mandatory Smiling

Richard Martin. Someone we can all stand behind.

Simplicity

When it comes to training with weights (what I call what I do until I am sufficiently prepared to stand on a platform and have other people tell me if I executed a lift to their satisfaction), the theme should and must be simplicity.

What you may find, as with many things, there is a connection between what works for lifting and what works for life.

Use the simplest method that works

Too many people are looking for the magic bullet. Pulling routines from anywhere that they hope will give them the edge they need. Take a step back, and look for the least complicated answer. You don't need to do 12 different leg exercises if you can't squat 400 pounds. This applies to everything you do, from cooking to statistical analysis. Apply it.

You have to love this.

The National Libertarian Party sent a funeral wreath to the National Republican Party Headquarters after it became clear John McCain would win the nomination.

Following a solid McCain victory in the Super Tuesday primaries, the
Libertarian Party has sent Republican headquarters a funeral wreath marking the
death of limited-government values within the Republican Party. The wreath
was hand-delivered to the D.C. offices of the Republican National
Committee. "We simply felt the need to express our heartfelt sympathy for
the Republican Party as they undergo this tough time within their party," says
Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis, who delivered the
wreath. "Given that it has become readily apparent that Senator McCain
will soon be the presidential nominee for the Republican Party," reads a card
that accompanied the wreath addressed to RNC Chairman Mike Duncan, "we, the
staff of the Libertarian National Committee, send our condolences to you upon
the death of small-government principles within the GOP."

You have to have a sense of humor when it comes to this stuff.

Micro vs. Macro

An awesome transcript of a lecture to a Macroeconomics class by Gary North.

I think he might be a MicroEconomist.

Me too.

I didn't even know they were on

This year's Grammys may be the third least watched of all time.

Yeah, Frank," Keys interjected during a Sinatra verse. "Tell
'em." Beyonce was paired with Tina Turner for a showy — and leggy — rendition
of "Proud Mary." Kid Rock joined up with Keely Smith, a winner in the very first
Grammys in 1958, for "That Old Black Magic." Hancock and Chinese wunderkind Lang Lang did the dueling pianos thing for a compelling take on George Gershwin's
"Rhapsody in Blue."

Empahsis mine.

Gee. I wonder why. Kid Rock? Really? I'm sorry, I find it hard to take that awards show seriously.

An open letter to NASCAR

I watched the Bud Shootout last night, hoping the new car might at least make the racing a little more exciting.

Here's a little feedback: if the announcers have to tell me how exciting the race was, it wasn't.

All the talk about winning back the old fans (apparently by encouraging fistfights) isn't worth anything if you don't change what's really driving old fans away from the sport.

Top 35 qualifying rule.
Chase for the Championship.

Go back to getting in the race on speed, with limited provisionals so Dale Jr. and Jeffy don't go home. Get rid of the welfare system of points to determine a champion via a playoff. This isn't a stick and ball sport - there is a difference when you 'play' the same teams week after week.

Keep the additional points for winning races.

Call me when you're done.

Goo!

Hilarious

The Uneducated Defense

When I was younger, one of the things my parents taught me was ignorance was not an excuse. "I didn't know," didn't fly in my house.

I happen to hold the position that the Miranda ruling is incorrect - that every person has the responsibility to know his rights, and that it is not the role of the police or government agents to inform you of those rights. Their job is to enforce, protect, and not violate those rights.

A while back, a group of teens attacked a couple on a Baltimore MTA bus. Turned into a big news story.

The kids arrested, according to Gregory Kane of the Baltimore Sun, may have an interesting defense.

The juveniles accused of attacking Kreager, her boyfriend, Troy Ennis, and an MTA bus driver have that right, too. Tarud and the five lawyers defending the other juveniles contend their clients weren't properly Mirandized while they were in the custody of MTA Police. When the hearing started Jan. 31, each of the lawyers made a motion to have any statements their clients made to MTA Police detectives suppressed.

For the past week, in the courtroom of Judge David W. Young on the third floor of the Juvenile Justice Center, Tarud and five other defense attorneys have been grilling officers and detectives of the MTA Police force like steaks at a Fourth of July cookout. The lawyers wanted to know if their clients were handcuffed, and for how long. They wanted to know if they were provided with food or drink. The intent was to prove that the atmosphere in which the juveniles were detained was coercive, and certainly not one in which a juvenile could voluntarily waive his or her Miranda rights.

But Tarud and Barbara Greene, who represents another one of the girls, may have gotten to the heart of the matter: If these girls didn't understand simple words any middle-schooler should know, how would they understand Miranda rights?

Greene's client and Tarud's client were questioned by Detective Anjanette McBride of the MTA Police. As McBride talked to Tarud's client, she asked the girl if she thought the fight on the bus was justified. That's when the girl responded with the question on which this entire case might well hinge:

"What that mean?"

Tarud's client is 13; she's in middle school.

And she doesn't know what justified means.

When McBride read each Miranda right to Greene's client, the detective told the girl to put her initials after each statement to indicate she understood.

The girl didn't know what the word initial meant. McBride had to tell her. The girl was baffled again when McBride read the statement "I agree to answer questions, and I do not want an attorney at this time." McBride asked the girl, explicitly, if she wanted to talk to her. It was then that the girl said yes.

Greene was quick to challenge McBride: Why did she explain only the first part of the statement "I agree to answer questions, and I do not want an attorney at this time"? McBride answered that she assumed the girl understood the second portion.

But when students don't know words like justified and initial, it's safe to assume they neither know about - nor understand - Miranda either.

Not understanding the English Language might just be enough to get you out of trouble. At what point do we return to personal responsibility, the idea that if a 13 year old doesn't understand their rights, it's not the government's fault.

Although, I guess you could make the case it is.

Because if WE do it, it can't possibly be illegal

The Bush Administration says waterboarding isn't torture, and it's perfectly legal. Do yourself a favor, and take a look at this. And this.

Somebody's lost their copy of the Constitution. Honestly, this is the most disgusting Administration I think we've had. Another 8 years of a Clinton presidency is starting to look good.

They needed a study?

Reserchers find lots of songs have references to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.

I'm shocked.

I heart Economics

Drew Cary on the middle class, and how we are actually far better off than we've been in the past, regardless of what you see on the news.

Required Post

I think there is a blogger rule that requires some comment on the Superbowl, so here's mine:

I've never been this happy to have been this wrong. I predicted the Pats would be up 42-0 at halftime.

One heck of a game. Belichick showed once more he's got no class, and he sure doesn't deserve the class guys (especially the defense) on that team.

I guess it's back to filming the other sideline.

A Lifter's biggest fear

My gym has posted a big sign with the Rules. Apparently, things have changed.

One of the rules is "No Chalk or Powder".

Which means I have to find a new gym.

Restaurant Week!

I was out of town for most of this week, which was Restaurant Week in Baltimore. Too bad, we love this week where we get out and sample places we haven't been, or revisit our favorites.

Last night, J and I went with our neighbors, D and R, to Sotto Sopra.

Very good.

The first course was nothing to write home about - I had the Proscuitto de Parma, J and R had grilled romaine, and D had the soup of the day (which she liked quite a bit). The entrees were all hits, though. J and I both had the Agnolotti di Vitello (veal stuffed pasta), which was fantastic. D had the red snapper, which she raved about, and R had the Veal Scallopini. We had a fantasic wine (recommended by our server).

I would go 8 out of 10. This is a great spot, a boisterous space, attentive service, and great food.

Art in a new age

A few weeks ago, I posted a video that I thought was a great example of a new age of art, combining visual images with music and mathmatics.

This is another example of super cool human art/acting by Improv Everywhere. The reactions are priceless.



Via The Agitator

Another example...

Of why the drug war needs to stop, or at a minimum, the use of SWAT teams and military tactics on people who have a little pot in their house.

The basics of the story:

Police informant sees Japanese Maple trees being grown in a guy's garage (that informant may or may not have broken in, we still aren't sure)
Police get a warrant, without any additional information, to search the home to look for pot.
Police break down the door in the middle of the night, maybe announcing who they are, maybe not, because you know the man sleeping inside might hear them knock and somehow flush a bunch of trees down the toilet or something.
Guy sleeping inside is woken by a group of men carrying weapons, dressed in black, wearing ski masks.
He shoots and kills one of them (he's been on edge since someone just broke into his house)
He's in jail for murder, the use of a firearm in a felony, and misdemeanor posession.

Yes, they broke down his door and got a cop killed for an ounce of pot. They are charging the wrong person with a crime.

Read all the related links, it's quite a story.

More proof of the general stupidity of the American Public.

How is 30 Rock still on the air, but Studio 60 got canceled due to poor ratings?

30 Rock is terrible.

Seriously?

In a move that showcases a number of the problems with the Federal Government, the FCC is fining ABC and affiliates in the Central Time zone $1.4 Million for airing an actress' hiney.

The show in question aired in February of 2003. 5 years ago. And they are just now getting to it. Apparently, there were 'numerous complaints'. If it's the scene I think it was, I certainly don't understand why you would complain.

With 'free markets" like this, who needs socialism?

Jeffrey Tucker on the not really free market everyone seems to blame for everything.

So, the first assumption that we live in a free-market world is simply not true. In fact, it is sheer fantasy. How is it that journalists can continually get away with asserting that the fantasy is true? How can informed writers continue to fob off on us the idea that we live in a laissez-faire world that can only be improved by just a bit of public tinkering?

The reason is that most of our daily experience in life is not with the Department of Labor or Interior or Education or Justice. It is with Home Depot, McDonald's, Kroger, and Pizza Hut. Our lives are spent dealing with the commercial sector mostly, because it is visible and accessible, whereas the depredations of the state are mostly abstract, and its destructive effects mostly unseen. We don't see the inventions left on the shelf, the products not imported due to quotas, the people not working because of minimum wage laws, etc.

Because of this, we are tempted to believe the unbelievable, namely that government serves the function only of a night watchman. And only by believing in such a fantasy can we possibly believe the second assumption, which is that the problems of our society are due the to the market economy, not to the government that has intervened in the market economy.

Consider the housing crisis. The money machine called the Federal Reserve cranks out the credit as a subsidy to the banking business, the bond dealers, and the big-spending politicians who would prefer to borrow than tax. It is this alchemic temple that distorts the reality that credit must be rationed in a way that accords with economic reality.

The Federal Reserve embarked on a wild credit ride in the late 1990s that has dumped some $4 trillion in new money via the credit markets, making expansion of the loan sector both inevitable and unsustainable. At the same time, the federal bureaus that manage and guarantee the bulk of mortgages have ballooned beyond belief. The popularity of subprime mortgages are the tip of a massive but buried debt mountain — all in the name of achieving the "American dream" of home ownership through massive government intervention.

Say what you want to about this system, but it is not the free market at work. Indeed, the very existence of central banking is contrary to the capitalist ideal, in which money would be no different from any other good: produced and supplied by the market in accord with the moral law against theft and fraud. For the government to authorize a counterfeiter-in-chief is a direct attack on the sound money system of a market economy.

Read it all. How can you say you are free in a land where the government tells you how much water you are allowed to flush? Try to come up with something, anything, in your life that isn't regulated. Well, that's not how the free market works, so it isn't working.

Juiced?

Here's a fantastic site, called Steroids and Baseball, that investigates the true impact on baseball of performance enhancing drugs, and also debunks some myths about those evil steroids.

What I find interesting is the data actually shows what I've thought for quite some time: Baseball players have been using PEDs for longer than what's called "The Steroid Era".

I promise there's someone in the Hall Of Fame who used steroids.

Via Hit and Run

Trust me, you don't want this.

A Democratic Congress working with the Bush Administration to fix the economy.

Count on a compromise that increases government in your life, because they all think government is the solution.

To be productive at work, I have to be well rested.

This is awesome.

Not safe for work because of language. If you don't like words you can't say on television, don't click on this.




Edit:

Here is the first one:

I am not alone

I thought I was the only nut out there who did stuff like this.

I cover a large territory as an Operations Manager for a Big Company. My territory includes Central Maryland, Northern Delaware, Philadelphia, all of NJ, and Long Island.

I drive the length of the NJ Turnpike at least once a month.

And in three years, I've stopped for gas in NJ once. Since I have a company car, I have a gas card that requires I put in a PIN number and the milage of the car. You have never experienced frustration until you have to explain that to the (required) full service attendant at a rest stop on the Turnpike.

So I just gas up in Delaware, and gas up in Long Island. If I don't go that far North, I can get back to Delaware on a tank of gas.

So THAT'S how you do it!

The Teflon Leprechan, who ran for Governor partly on a platform to reduce energy costs for the common man, has a solution.

Use less energy.

He'll force you to conserve if he has to. I guess that's one way to reduce those BGE bills.

The Post Apocalyptic Workout

I've internet known Nina (of The Slack and TheSlackDaily) for years. She probably doesn't remember me, but we corresponded regularly via the newsgroup misc.fitness.weights many years ago.

(Remember the Great Doughnut Jihad?)

Anyway, she's got a fantastic new blog/project called The Post Apicalyptic Workout, wherin she prepares for the end of the world, and the zombies who (that?) will inhabit it.

Great stuff, and a great way to orgainize goals.

Favre = The Man.

My worthless football prediction: Green Bay wins the Superbowl.

Dominant today against Seattle, who I thought had a good shot to win, and after spotting Seattle 14 points.

Favre will retire after the bowl win, and all will be right in the universe.

Live free or die?

How does that fit with Clinton and McCain winning in the NH primaries? They would be the two farthest from 'Live free'.

California, at it again

Now this is something. California will require you to have a thermostat with an FM reciever that the goverment can control.

You know it's a matter of years (less than 10) if this gets through in California that it comes to the rest of the country.

Now it's about prices. Won't be long before it's about global warming, and you simply will not have a choice when it comes to the temparature of your home.

This is a little troubling

According to World Net Daily (so take it for what it's worth), a SWAT team intervened in the health care of a child because the father is a 'strict constitutionalist'.

Better bar the door.

NH Republican party does the right thing

They are not partnering with Faux News tomorrow evening for their forum.

The other candidates should take note, step up, and not participate unless Ron Paul is invited.

I'm not holding my breath for that. The last thing John McCain wants is Ron Paul sitting across the table from him.

On a related note, I find it interesting all the Democrats are honest, they all say right up front they want to soak the rich to protect 'the middle class'. The Republicans (save Dr. Paul) lie through their teeth about smaller government, but while in control, grew it faster than the Democrats have since the New Deal.

F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2)

This could possibly be the coolest thing I've ever seen. I'm a huge music fan. Tool is one of my favorite bands, and Lateralus is one of my favorite songs.

This video combines Lateralus with images from the Hubble Telescope, and points out the relationship of items in the song with the Fibonacci Number Sequence.

Lateralus sends chills down my spine when I listen to it. This video did that, and brought tears to my eyes as well. This is art in the new age.

Ride the spiral to the end.



Via Reason.

Happy New Year.

Slow day, today. Had the first pizza of the year.

Billick Fired

Today, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti fired head coach Brian Billick.

Brian Billick was fired as coach of the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, less than a day after his team concluded a disappointing 5-11 season and less than a year after receiving a contract extension through 2010.

Players were told of the dismissal as they packed up their lockers at the team's practice facility.

Only a few weeks ago, Billick proclaimed that he would return in 2008, but Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who does not speak to the media during the season, made no public statement to that effect.

"I just changed my mind," the owner told The Baltimore Sun on Monday. "I can't explain it to you. It's the toughest decision I've had to make."

Now, I'm not an NFL owner, but to me, this doesn't make any sense. They still have to pay him, and who else is out there looking for a job who can do it better? And I would think you would be able to explain it.

The only thing I think will work out is to promote Rex Ryan to head coach, and hire a young offensive coordinator.

Where ever Coach Billick ends up, I'll pull for him.

Party Time

My blog is 3 today.

Fair and Balanced?

Notsomuch.

Fox News is excluding Ron Paul from their Republican debate. No reason why, he's polling higher than some who are included.

I usually think the media-as-part-of-a-giant-government-conspiracy camp is a little nutty... but I'm starting to think there's more to it than just the FCC and White House approving scripts for ER.

Via The Agitator.

Update: This may not be true. One of the risks of the internet as a news medium is that incorrect information can run wild before a correction even shows up. Still haven't seen a correction in any major news outlet, however, so I'll leave this up. If it turns out to be wrong, I'll post accordingly, with some pithy comment about bloggers or something.

New Jersey, where the government will eventually run your life.

Two unrelated stories in the last few days regarding New Jersey and the overwhelming reach of the state government.

First, all pregnant women will be tested for HIV. Boy, I can't wait for national healthcare, because this is what it looks like.

A bill signed into law Wednesday by the Senate president, Richard J. Codey, in his capacity as acting governor, requires two tests for pregnant women, at the beginning of the pregnancy and again in the third trimester, unless the mother objects. If the mother objects, the objection will be noted and the newborn will then be tested for HIV, with the only exception being on religious grounds. Newborns will also be tested if the woman tests positive.

Then, if you are convicted of a sex crime, the state can limit your use of a computer and the internet.

The law prohibits anyone convicted of using a computer to commit a sex offense from using computers or accessing the Internet for part or all of their parole. It also allows the State Parole Board to impose Internet restrictions on sex offenders who did not use a computer to facilitate their crimes.

The law requires the parolees to allow unannounced examinations of their computer equipment and the installation of monitoring hardware or software. It also would require convicted sex offenders to tell authorities if they have access to a computer or other devices that can access the Internet and obtain written approval to use computers or the Internet.

Wait until they decide we should all be monitored. This makes Maryland look like a Utopia.

WWJD

This story confirms pretty much everything I think about organized religion... it isn't about what they say it's about.

Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday.

The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities.

Any perceived encroachment on one group's turf can touch off vicious feuds.

On Thursday, dozens of priests and cleaners were scrubbing the church ahead of the Armenian and Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January. Thousands of tourists visited the church this week for Christmas celebrations.

But the clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians.

Palestinian police, armed with batons and shields, quickly formed a human cordon to separate the two sides so the cleaning could continue, then ordered an Associated Press photographer out of the church.

Four people, some with blood running from their faces, were slightly wounded.

It does remind me a little of trying to get my siblings to clean our house.

Hello

Work has been unreal, nonstop. I haven't had time to do anything but work. I had to go Christmas shopping on Saturday! (Mad props to the Target in White Marsh, though - fully staffed, made shopping on the biggest day of the year a pleasant experience).

I do have some things to say, and hopefully over the next few days, some time to say them.

The real cost of the drug war

Radley Balko (The Agitator) as been covering the Corey Maye case for quite some time (in all honesty, he's a big part of why Maye is no longer on death row). On Monday, he did a really nice job putting a face (several faces, actually) on the cost of the drug war.

Thank this war. The goddamned drug war. It is so incredibly senseless and stupid. And it’ll continue to claim and ruin lives, because too few politicians have the backbone to stand up and say after 30 years, $500 billion, a horrifyingly high prison population, and countless dead innocents, cops, kids, nonviolent offenders, decimated neighborhoods, wasted lives, corrupted cops, and eviscerations of the core freedoms this country was allegedly founded upon, the shit isn’t working. It’ll never work. It never has. It’s a testament to the facade of truth that is politics that no leaders from the two majors parties have in thirty years been able to say this. That maybe, just maybe, we’re doing it wrong. Maybe, just maybe, kicking down doors in the middle of the night and storming in with guns in order to stop people from getting high….isn’t such a good idea. Maybe, just maybe, the idea getting tips from racist, illiterate, drug-addicted informants about which doors, if you kick them down, will lead to drugs? Well maybe that isn’t such a sound policy, either. We can’t even get one of the leading candidates for president to say that. The safe position is always to advocate for more money, more government power, more militarism—and less freedom, less common sense, and less worry about collateral damage. Sensibility, honesty, or compassion? Too risky.

Take the time to read the entire post, it's very moving.

And think about this the next time you hear one of the candidates talking about his faith, and how he exhibits it. I'm pretty sure Jesus would have something to say to us about Corey May and Ron Jones.

Update

Been way too busy. I'll have some things to say shortly.

Get in on it

Spending money on stupid slogans is a global problem, apparently.

But 'Welcome to Scotland' is worth something, right?

No Playoffs this year

After a loss to San Diego, (that's 5 in a row if you are keeping track), the Ravens are out of the playoff hunt.

Very dissapointing given the high expectations this year. So what now?

Boller plays the rest of the year. He needs to get some solid experience with less pressure. He's playing fine so far.

The defense needs to step it up. We are going to lose Rex Ryan in the offseason, this defense needs to be clicking, and right now, they are not (two 30 point games in a row?)

Leave Billick alone. He didn't drop the ball.

Get healthy, and evaluate where we are with talent. Ogden is done, McNair probably is, too. There are others who may not come back next year, and they need to plan for replacements.

Oh, and maybe beat New England. That would be neat.