[March 29, 2000 ]

The Special Prosecutor, having just watched Basic Instinct, reverses Sharon Stone's interrogation technique.

What a scam. Everyone go send e-mail to EllieCat@pdq.net and tell her that her dad should be ashamed he's pimping her out for his business:

All my dad asked in return for using his company's website [for this "E-Mail to the World"] project and helping me build the pages was to put in a plug for his business.

Visit the scam anonymously if you like.

[March 28, 2000 ]

I would have enjoyed meeting Nik too. So, was there anyone you regret meeting?

From the Bird on a Wire blogmap: I've discovered [new to me] six blogs in the D.C./northern Virginia area. First up is Apartment 820, by Rick and Mary Scully. How's this for eerie: Mary lives in D.C., is from my hometown of Tampa, and went to school at my fiancee's alma mater, Cornell. Well, maybe it's not that eerie after all. All in all, an attractive and well-written web page.

Lots of stuff on Medley about how the anti-Gore media took out of context Gore's claim to have "invented the Internet" and there's even a quote from a story about - no, really, it's there - "the national media's prejudice against Gore. . . " Well, I'm sure the anti-Gore media will make its influence known the coming months as they prepare all those pro-Bush stories and get ready to vote for the GOP in the fall.

Here's another Gore apologist's howler you'll enjoy:

What hope does a candidate have when the media can misrepresent his words so thoroughly that they become an argument for his mental instability---and all the candidate feels he can do about the misquotes is to apologize?

Why, that candidate withers on the vine.

Also, the normally dead-on-accuate Lynn erred when she called me a "Right-wing-wacko." I am not right-wing.

[March 27, 2000 ]

Wendell should stop saving it up for liver tests, as it's much funnier dribbling down his leg. Well done, as always.

Jason (Q) may "feel safer" where he belives there's fewer guns, (his assumption ain't necessarily so...) but a comprehensive study, the first of its kind, by John Lott, now a senior research scholar at Yale Law School, shows a striking correlation between increased rates of gun ownership and decreases in violent crime. Of course, the gun-ban lobby has been quick to launch ad-hominem attacks against Lott, but has been unable to mount any serious challenge to the soundness of his conslusions.

Lott found that violent crime drops significantly when states switch from discretionary permit policies, which give local officials the authority to determine who may carry a gun, to "shall issue" or "right-to-carry" laws, which require that permits be granted to everyone who meets certain objective criteria.

So, yes, in fact you would be safer if more citizens were on an equal footing with the hooligans who mean to do you harm.

eGore invented understatement when he said he is an "imperfect messenger" for campaign finance reform... His proposal would stop financial contributions to political parties unless they came from organized labor, from whom eGore so desperately needs support.

Speaking of eGore, the Media Research Center reports:

In Houston on March 11, Vice President Al Gore incorrectly stated that the Bush-Quayle administration's economic record included "the worst depression since the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s," but there hasn't been a single word of criticism from any of the networks.

Hey Al, it's the economy, stupid.

[March 26, 2000 ]

No e-mail to Derek on this one, but I have a pretty good idea how he feels, having just lost my own grandmother. As the family gathered, I had a chance to re-connect - some I hadn't seen in years, and others I've not appreciated nearly enough. Although I've lost my grandmother, I've regained, to a degree, those who are still here. What seems a cliche when it happens to other people takes on a sudden immediacy and reality when you go through it yourself. My other grandparents all died when I was too young to appreciate what that meant. Now, hopefully, I'll have whatever it takes to rebuild and maintain my relationships with the people who mean the most to me. To Derek and anyone else who is going through the same thing, my thoughts are with you.

[March 24, 2000 ]

John has renewed faith in humanity.

Maybe - just maybe - if carrying firearms were legal in New York, police would have to stop shooting people on a whim. Anyone else who thinks that the police are the only proper way to defend society from crime, raise your hands.

As Sean at The American Mind observes, most violent crimes are committed without firearms. [It is not clear whether police shootings of unarmed victims were included in this study.]

[March 23, 2000 ]

I snagged woifm.weblogs.com primarily so no one else does. I'm not sure yet what I want to do with it. Any suggestions?

Let's see. Democrats and trial lawyers team up against tobacco. Trial lawyers reap enormous profits, which they immediately pour into Democratic war chests. Color me surprised. [may require free registration]

"It would be very, very horrifying to trial lawyers if Bush were elected," said John P. Coale, a Washington lawyer involved in the tobacco litigation. "There is some serious tobacco money being spread around."

That's enough reason for me. As a rule, I abhor plaintiff's lawyers. Head on over to www.triallawyermoney.org to see how your favorite liberal Democrat took a break from soapboxing on campaing finance reform to line his or her own pockets with tainted loot.

Gotta love this one:

Opinions in brown
Libertarian lawyer
What's on it for me?

Thanks, Jess. Let me try my hand:

Vinegar flavored
A clever innuendo
Don't drink if you lisp.

Since it came up on #blogIRC, here's two handy trademark references: first, the basics from lawgirl. If you want to dig more, head over to the law library at Cornell. Happy trademarking!

[March 22, 2000 ]

Today I shall unabashedly steal from The American Mind and congratulate myself for being clever enough to recognize good stuff where I find it. First, Paul Weyrich came not to praise Speaker Hastert, but couldn't help himself, spinning a nice little piece on how Denny Hastert has turned around the prospects for a GOP-led 107th Congress. Second, a profile of G.W. Bush advisor Condoleezza Rice , the lady whose job it is to know the names of foreign leaders. The more I learn about her, the more I wish she would run for the GOP nomination. But you may not know the most surprising - and irrelevant - thing about her.

Capitol Idea: Matt believes that "all government capitols look phallic to somehow signify that the most important 'man' lives here. " Having lived in the shadow of Florida's capitol for a few years, I have a better theory. These buildings are phallic because government's primary function is to screw people.

What a waste. Kinda cool. Another waste.

On that note, missed opportunities (or narrowly averted disasters?) at almost.org, brought to you by the Ratbastard.

[March 21, 2000 ]

Lots of political stuff percolating lately, but I have had literally ZERO time to log it. Today seems to be a prime day, though:

* The Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling preventing a Maryland school from denying admissions to pupils based on race. For an interesting contrast, read the Washington Post's take on the story. One of the rulings critics said that it left schools "without a clue" how to promote diveristy. Well, here's a clue. Offer diverse curricula which appeal to a broad specrum of pupils and parents. Teach them well. Prepare kids for college and for life. Teach them to value human beings as individual people, not as demographic statistics or quota targets. Then you'll get students of all backgrounds knocking on the door. Come on, if you can't figure that out, you shouldn't be teaching our kids.

* The Supreme Court also tightened the reins on Big Government just a little by rejecting the FDA's claims to jurisdiction over tobacco. eGore apparently challenged the GOP to " show its independence " from the tobacco industry to support legislation expanding the FDA's powers. Pretty big talk from a man who planted and shredded tobacco with his own hands - and we're not talking hand-to-hand combat.

* I got my census form in the mail this week. Under "race" I put "human" (despite her protestations to the contrary). A reminder card that came separately scolded:

An accurate census is important to ensure that all communities get their fair share of government funding.

God, that bugs me in so many ways. It just reeks of entitlement. The notion that ANY share above zero is "fair" is disgusting. Let's not even discuss how the Clinton-Gore administration has chosen to use the Census as a propganda tool to stoke that claim to entitlement. Please, God, save us from the liberals.

Sigh. I keep seeing everyone's SXSW pix ( Brad @ Derek @ Halcyon @ Matt @ Neale ) and wishing I could have made it there. I'm marking it in my calendar for next year.

[March 18, 2000 ]

Two very different links today. The first came up during the course of planning the wedding. Ever wonder how the King James and Revised Standard versions of the bible differed? Thanks to the magic of frame technology, you can compare them side by side at the University of Virginia's Electronic Text Center.

Link number two came in the mail from a friend: What happens when you combine 14 love-struck metal d00dz, one bikini-clad, tattoed nymph, and a fake personal ad? You get Hessian Love. If you liked the Mullet, you'll love this.

[March 17, 2000 ]

It's been a very rough week. I turned 30 on Monday (she got me a Handspring, which I love, thank you very much) and my 93-year-old grandmother died on Sunday. I've been in Ohio these past two days for the funeral. Her death did not surprise us - she broke her leg about two weeks ago and was having trouble after the surgery. It seems that she just didn't have the strength to pull through this time. She was a very tough and very loving woman - she beat cancer and lived to see 13 great-grandchildren - and she will be dearly missed by those she left behind.

[March 9, 2000 ]

Pixelbaby gets horny. Only fair, considering how she makes us feel.

Disclaimer: The above statement should not be construed to mean that I have lustful thoughts for anyone other than the love of my life.

[March 8, 2000 ]

Once again, a nice (BING!) weblog IRC chat. Check it out again March 22, irc.skunkworks.cx, #blogirc.

Beaucse Red asked: I would have voted against Prop 22, because it's none of the govmint's business. But I didn't have to, because I don't live in California. So there.

[March 7, 2000 ]

I'd be willing to bet a steak dinner that the Governor actually said "tenets", not "tenants."

If I were Dave, I might complain about the really tiny print, but I'm not, so I know it's none of my damn business.

Speaking of tiny print, I followed this link from Derek's page leading to the Nader for President article. (By the way, go ahead and vote for him... I'd love to see the Dems lose their far-left political base.) No later than three paragraphs into the article, it trots out that same tired old myth about the so-called "gap" between rich and poor. I'm tired of seeing this one because so many people flog it for their own agendas without stopping to think about what it means and why it's so untrue.

First, the whole notion of a gap is used to imply exactly that - that we have the very rich, and the very poor, and in between, there's nobody at all. This notion is usually used in conjunction with the word "stratified" or something similar. Well, there's no such study even claiming to show the total absence of a middle class. At most, studies claim that the rich are very rich while the poor have made little or no progress. These two concepts are not at all the same, and we would all be better off not confusing the two.

Second, the gap notion is often used to convey a sense of outrage that our society is somehow unfairly titled against the poor and favors those who were born rich. Nothing could be further from the truth. One example hits close to home - my father, the son of immigrants, worked in steel mills to put himself through medical school, and has been rewarded for his hard work and skill. In the last several years, it has been even easier to break out of humble beginnings. The most recent Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans shows that:

To a degree probably not seen before, members of the wealthiest class were not born into great wealth. Of The Forbes 400, 251 are entirely self-made; the corresponding number in our survey 15 years ago was 159. If the list had been around at the previous fin de siècle it would have almost certainly had a majority of old-money members.

In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau claims that poverty levels are falling in this country:

In addition, the poverty rate fell from 13.3 percent in 1997 to 12.7 percent in 1998. The number of poor dropped significantly also.

The gap argument is most commonly used to justify some sort of wealth-redistribution scheme to aid those "trapped" in poverty. But in reality, the poor aren't hurdling over an economic chasm - they are climbing a mountain which, although the summit keeps growing higher, has many stops along several paths. Some of these paths are well marked, and many are blazed fresh each day, but the gap just isn't there. The only hole I've seen so far is the logic of those who strive to raze the mountain so that everyone stands at an equally low point on the ground.

[March 6, 2000 ]

Menial labor
Parents can't grasp why I went
To law school for this

From Twernt: Life imitates ER.

[March 1, 2000 ]

If you're lacking information, you're most likely liberal, according to the World's Smallest Political Quiz. I've noticed this to be especially true on fiscal issues. Thanks to Karen for her February 23 entry.

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