This article pretty much sums up how I feel about the Judith Miller affair: about Miller herself, what her case represents as a legal issue, and what I think about the media.

That elephant, of course, was Miller herself, and the notorious role she played during the Bush administration's buildup to the war in Iraq. I myself wrote an article last December suggesting that Miller and her newspaper, having been thoroughly hustled by Ahmed Chalabi (possibly at taxpayer expense), bore more responsibility for the Iraq misadventure than anyone this side of George W. Bush.

On one hand, many members of the public -- especially liberals who ought to be staunch defenders of the Bill of Rights -- seem unable or unwilling to grasp the idea that a matter of fundamental principle might be at stake, even in the murky and seemingly bottomless waters of the Miller-Plame-Rove affair. No reporter can be expected to check out the legality or ethics or motivations of all sources in advance. All sorts of surprising people talk to reporters when they probably shouldn't, for all sorts of personal and political and psychological reasons. If journalists can only receive confidential information from the saintly and the pure of heart, the entire enterprise might as well become "The View."

...But the public's baleful view of the press is not totally without merit. Media insiders have become so obsessed by their own internal debates and so mesmerized by their own pseudo-professional codes of conduct that they've failed to notice how badly they've lost the public trust.
... The problem is that the journalistic establishment has no way of dealing with someone like Miller, who screwed up massively [on WMD reporting], but did so within the rules the profession has set for itself.

A constant tide of right-wing complaints about the media's alleged liberal bias has also taken its toll on mainstream institutions like the Times, CNN and CBS News, which have tried to triangulate toward some ever-receding middle point in the political discourse. Like so much that the media does, this intellectually empty strategy is based on a misreading of public intelligence; Americans may be increasingly cynical, and not well-informed as a whole, but they're also not dumb. The right will of course continue to discern traces of "cultural elite" snobbery in mainstream media coverage, while the left will feel that the press has abandoned critical thinking and capitulated to mindless nationalism. For once, both sides will be right.

Yellow Lawn? Good Samaritan!

I like this article by Eric Zorn about how Chicago's record dry spell has made his lawn a beacon of self-sacrifice amidst desperate-sprinkler users trying to combat yellow grass. And good for Governor Blagojevich for standing by his word!

On July 3, Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued a statement telling state agencies to be conservative when watering lawns and washing state vehicles.

Can do!

I'm not a state agency, but count me in as a loyal citizen volunteer. Pin the tumbleweed cluster on my breast and praise my khaki-colored turf. My lawn is now semi-living proof of my selfless responsibility, my willingness to set aside shallow considerations of appearance to help this region overcome an insidious natural disaster.

The average lawn needs less than an inch of water a month to remain alive, said Kris Bachtell, director of collections and grounds at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle; it takes an inch a week to keep it green.

The governor is an inch-a-month guy. I took a walk by his house Monday morning--he lives less than 2 miles from us--and saw that portions of his lawn have also turned to straw and that, like us, he has a patch of new grass that has received water during the drought lest it fail to take root.

Patterson Trial Begins with Exciting Opening Arguments

The government and the defense in the case of USA v. Patterson finally gave their opening statements today, after two weeks of delay because of courtroom outbursts from the co-defendant Aaron Patterson and later his reluctant attorney, Demetrius Evans. On Friday, Evans burst out that she didn't want to be a part of the trial and packed up and left the courtroom. Tommy Brewer has replaced Evans. It's been a strange case and has connections to George Ryan and Northwestern University's famous investigative journalism class that has led to commutations of many death sentecnes in Illinois. Here's a bit more information:

Patterson served 17 years in state prison, 13 on death row, for a double murder. As one of Ryan's last acts before leaving office in 2003, he pardoned Patterson and three other death row inmates while commuting the sentences of 160 other condemned prisoners to life without parole.

Ryan, who said he was acting out of concern over a system that sent 13 wrongly convicted prisoners to death row, declared that none of the evidence against Patterson was credible.

Patterson left prison vowing to devote his life to exposing police misconduct.

"He emerged from prison a changed man, a man with a mission," who was intent on exposing police corruption, defense attorney Paul Camarena told jurors in his opening statement.

...Last week, Patterson sent word that he wanted to return to court and U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer scheduled an 8:30 a.m. Tuesday meeting to see if he would behave himself. But he boycotted that meeting and did not use a closed-circuit TV installed so that he could watch from behind bars.

I think everyone in the Dirksen building has now heard about this trial, because the line was the first one I've really seen for a trial where people had to be turned away. I was lucky enough to get to sit in though. (Hint: Get there early!)

Patterson's old attorney, Evans, was actually in the courtroom watching opening statements. I suppose she came because Judge Pallmeyer said she can still advise Patterson though she is not his main counsel.

Everyone had seemingly good open arguments; the prosecution made Patterson look like a conscientious drug conspirator with assurance they could prove he did what he is accused of doing did when they say he did it; the defense made Patterson look like a man out to prove that the government has some sneaky ways of roping criminals. We'll see where this leads.

Update on my CTA delay correspondence

Well, I did get a prompt response from CTA Customer Service regarding my complaint for lack of an announcement about yesterday's delay:

Thank you for your complaint. Without knowing the actual time you were waiting at Adams & Wabash, we have no way of knowing what information might have been available at that time. The delay turned out to be caused by a person aboard a Red Line train near Morse Avenue who contacted the train operator on the intercom and claimed to have a bomb. This required an interruption in service--including on the Purple Line that runs next to the Red Line on that section of the route--that delayed your train from getting to the Loop until police could arrive and arrest the offender. There should have been announcements on the platforms as soon as we understood that a significant delay would be unavoidable, but we would need your time frame to know if the information was available when you needed it. If you will advise us on that issue, we will use your complaint in any way it might help us do better in the future. In the meantime, we apologize for the delay.

--CTA Customer Service

So I wrote back:

Dear Customer Service,
Thank you for your response. Of course, that is an understandable reason for a delay, but an announcement is always appreciated. I got at the station at 5:10 AM and the train came at approximately 5:40 AM.
Thanks for your quick response.

The saga continues...

I Actually Won Something

But I kind of think it was because it was a slow week. Still, check out Campus Progress Blogathon and enter yourself to win post of the week!

CTA Delays

Yes, they happen. No, riders shouldn't be left stranded with no announcement while waiting 30+ minutes for a train to come. I decided to actually write (well e-mail) a letter to the CTA about the dealy I endured tonight.

To Whom it May Concern:

I was disappointed after having to wait 30-35 minutes at the Adams and Wabash station for a purple line train, with no announcement at the station as to why the train was late. I could have taken the brown line to the red line and gotten home much faster had someone made an announcement. I understand that delays are inevitable, but please be frank with your customers and let us know when and why one is occurring so we can modify our plans.

Thanks for your time,
Elaine

Another blog by me

I've decided to try my hand at an info blog about how to have a good style on a budget. Check it out here, and I'll of course link it on my sidebar.

Rove's lawyer...

...who has been making statements for Rove on the Valerie Plame case really fits the unfortunate (though in this case true) stereotype of the sleazy lawyer.

Luskin got paid more than $500,000 of his attorney's fees in gold bars from his client who was trying to appeal his conviction on charges that he laundered drug money through precious metals dealers. Who woulda thought that was drug money?

Yet another reminder of media insufficiency

A new ad about how the television media has put reporting on genocide in Darfur on the backburner in favor of Tom Cruise, the runaway bride, and the Michael Jackson trial. It succinctly makes a good point.

Fashion! blog!

I am liking this blog I stumbled upon about fashion. I have to confess when it comes to blogs about style topics, I am like a child: the more pictures the better. Well this site overall has good words to compliment a balanced amount of pictures. Plus, the blog writer explores Zara and Mango, two of my favorite European chain clothing stores (she compares Zara to Express, however, which I don't find entirely apt--the Zara woman is more put together, IMHO). Anyway, check it out, it's called Fashionologie.

View into the Dark Ages of the Internet

In honor of Amazon's ten-year anniversary, they have linked to the first appearance ever of their homepage, way back in 1995, when the Internet was but a little seedling. Seeing this fossil of an image reminds me of an instance several years ago when my brother and I put in a tape from the early 1990s and were floored by the primitive-looking fonts. However, it also reminds me that Amazon's current site is a juggernaut of a webpage, a circus that has lost all semblance of naviagability. Maybe Jeff Bezos (is he still there?) and co. should take a good look at the old page in all of its glorious simplicity.

Radio Review: Chicago's New 104.3

I wanted to not like "Jack FM" the station that has taken the place of Chicago's beloved Oldies 104.3 WJMK.

For one, I grew up on Oldies 104.3, listening to "Breakfast with the Beatles" during the Sunday morning car ride to Sunday School and the Dick Biondi evening show on weeknights. After 98.7, Chicago's classical music station, Oldies 104.3 played the oldest collection of songs on FM radio (admittedly 98.7's music is a wee bit older). Now the only station where any "golden oldies" can be found on Chicago radio is 97.1 The Drive, but that station focuses more on classic rock than anything else.

Furthermore, the slogan of Jack FM is smug and, well kind of autocratic: "Playing what we want." Listening to Jack FM is like listening to an iPod on shuffle--not your iPod though, Jack's.

I must say though, whoever Jack is, he has a great collection and a nice variety. He listens to everything from Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" to Billy Idol's "Eyes without a Face" to the Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle." Speaking of Marvin Gaye, today I heard a medley of "Mercy Me" and "I Want You," (sung by someone else) and then Black Box's "Everybody, Everybody" (a catchy, early-1990s sounding dance song that I hadn't heard in ages). Nearly every time I flip to Jack FM (why is it called that, by the way?), I hear something I like. Plus, other then the annoying voice that brags that there is "no talk," there really is no talk.

So I give Jack FM high marks in a world where good radio stations are few and far between, but I wish it hadn't replaced another one of those stations. Plus the station is not perfect. Sometimes the iPod shuffle lands on a song that is better skipped, that song still on the iPod for no better reason than that Jack hasn't gotten around to deleting it. Case in point: as I write this, Alanis Morisette's "Hand in My Pocket" is playing.

Great jacket

This is totally irrelevant to anything, but I want Judith Miller's jacket, seen in this picture

A better photo that I am not posting on because it is too large can be found here which is incidentally the Newsweek story about Rove being Cooper's alleged source for the Valerie Plame leak.

Click on the Ads! Pleeease!

I'll click on your ads if you click on mine. I make a little money, and come on, who can resist Baskin Robbins ad coupons?

Beyond Balderdash: The Zenith of Board Game Experiences

Tonight I had the most enjoyable board game experience ever, and that is saying a lot! I played Beyond Balderdash with family and friends. In the game, there are cards that list several categories: people, initials, movies, dates, and words, all esoteric and strange.

Each player makes up a plausible definition or description to fit the person/date/movie/word/initials in question, and once through, all of the made-up definitions along with one real one (unknown to players) are read, and each person tries to guess which is right.

We had some pretty funny descriptions in our game, and since I am still reeling with laughter from the whole thing, I will provide a few.

In the person category

Towanik Makutin (correct answer was: "Arabian math whiz who invented the zero symbol")

• "the first secretary general of the United Nations"
• "founder of the Freestyle Felons, the pioneering Makutin is often referred to as the godfather of gangster rap by hip-hop aficionados"
• "Belgian sharecropper credited with the idea of a bicycle's front wheel being equal in size to the back wheel"

Doris von Kappelhoff (correct answer was: "Doris Day's real name")

• "first woman ever to sing a non-love song"
• "New York homemaker who became the first person to claim a UFO sitting"
  
• "...took a 'Das Boot' to your face"

Timothy Hoare (correct answer was: "Believe-it-or-not, he owned a goose named Pinkie that did card tricks while blindfolded")

• "founder of the United Kingdom Soccer Alliance"
• "white man punched in the kidney for defending Rosa Parks in the Montgomery bus incident"
• "won second place to that Little Japanese guy in the National Hot Dog Eating Contest"
  
• "serial killer famous for using household objects as weapons" (that was my rather creepy one; I'm going to have nightmares now)
• and the most depressing one ever: "Child actor who appeared in one feature-length film in 1967 before descending into a crippling heroin addiction"

J.W. Dobereiner (correct answer was: "the inventor of the first cigarette lighter")

• "German man who holds the world record for amount of bratwursts eaten at one sitting"
• "the ex-German sausage tycoon who retired to breed the first miniature dogs"
  
• "devoured 14 live seagulls without but a fart" (that of course, was my brother's)
  

August 26, 1920 (correct answer was "American women were given the right to vote")

• "On this balmy day in Chicago, Miranda Schoppenstein became the first flagpole sitter to be photographed, beginning the national craze"

February 29, 1984 (correct answer was "Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, resigned")

• "the day Anheuser-Busch introduced Natural Light to the beer market"
• "'She's a Maniac' first appeared on the Billboard Top Ten"
• "the last time cocaine was ever snorted"
• "the date an obituary writer caused an unparalleled panic when he announced that Mr. T had died"

December 15, 1939 (correct answer was: "Gone with the Wind had its gala opening")

• "Actor Tyrone Power publicly declares he will enlist in the war effort, as the first ever film star to do so"
• "Christmas is cancelled. Jesus has risen and judged the world to be unfit. Santa will fight Jesus to the death or face a holy apocalypse"
• "Frank Alvarez's personal llama sets a world record for length"
  

The Girl Downstairs (correct answer was: "Cinderella-style story about a wealthy European playboy who chooses his maid over his mistress")

• "A romantic comedy about two tenants in a NY apartment, one of which is a young girl and the other a ghost"

Do You Like Women? (correct answer was: "rival gangs of women eaters do battle in Paris, France")

• "A hot-to-trot gang of lawyers must decide between their careers and plus-sized swimsuit models"
• "As thoughtful as it is provocative, this film was the first pornographic feature to place at the Berlin Film Festival"

Dirty Laundry (correct answer was HILARIOUS: "a bumbling schnook gets screwed up with gangsters when his laundry is mixed up with a million bucks in drug money")

• "a romantic thriller about two college students who attempt to rob the same all-night Laundromat and simultaneously find themselves falling for each other and their other schemes"
• "Harvy Keitel is a detective hired to pose as a gay cyclist in this 1983 slapstick"

The Last Laugh (correct answer was: "a hotel doorman is demoted to washroom attendant, but gets even when he comes into a lot of money"-I've actually seen this movie!)

• "Sweet, sweet revenge. Guy gets girl, other guy steals girl, first guy wins in a spectacular cage match to the death"
• "After the attack of the aliens in the War of the Worlds Tom Cruise is still not satisfied with survival only. He will have revenge on the aliens and most definitely get the LAST LAUGH!"
  
• "Emilio Estevez is a vaudeville star forced to retire because of his inability to remember his partner's name"
  

BBFU (correct answer was: "Beach Boys Freaks United")

• "Barry Bostwick Fan Union"
• "Backyard Barbecuing Fathers United"
• "Boston Baked Funnel Union"
• "Blind Boat-farers Union"
• "The Bold, Bald, Flatulating Underdogs"
  

A coffee blog!

I'm adding an animated blog from a coffee purist to my sidebar. It's called "Thick Stout and Coffee." The writer, who goes so far as to roast his own coffee beans rightly appreciates a good cup of coffee.

Oh Brit Hume, what a guy

When Fox News anchor Brit Hume was asked to comment on the lack of negative stock market activity in the U.S. after the London terrorist bombings, Hume said

I mean, my first thought when I heard -- just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, "Hmmm, time to buy."

His first thought after hearing of the bombings in London was about stocks? Truth be told, I'm not even surprised.

From treason and war to...accessories

Proving that my blog is a true potpourri, as Alex Trebek might say, I present


The watering can bag! From the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and pictured on The Bag Blog (one of my favorite fashion blogs). I could never splurge on such a thing, but it's a cute idea.

Slaughterhouse Five

I just re-read Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, which I believe I first read in eighth or ninth grade. Back then, I wasn't familiar with its reputation as an anti-war book and may have not totally understood the themes; this time I did know the reputation but have still been trying to grapple with the themes. I am taking to reading SparkNotes (so academic of me, I know!) to figure out the significance of the Tralfamadorians, the aliens who main character Billy Pilgrim claims have abducted him, aliens who have a 4th sense that allows them to see all of time, thus their conception of time unlike that of humans is not premised on a chronology of events.

The most interesting thing which I have read in the SparkNotes analysis so far is this:

It seems that Billy may be hallucinating about his experiences with the Tralfamadorians as a way to escape a world destroyed by war—a world that he cannot understand. Furthermore, the Tralfamadorian theory of the fourth dimension seems too convenient a device to be more than just a way for Billy to rationalize all the death with he has seen face-to-face. Billy, then, is a traumatized man who cannot come to terms with the destructiveness of war without invoking a far-fetched and impossible theory to which he can shape the world.

The main character, Billy Pilgrim, was in World War II and present at the Allied firebombing of Dresden, as was Kurt Vonnegut himself. It seems then that the war has desensitized Billy. The Tralfamdorian's

Because they believe that all moments of time have already happened (since all moments repeat themselves endlessly), they possess an attitude of acceptance about their fates, figuring that they are powerless to change them.

I actually used a clip from Slaugherhouse Five, the film, in my high school Great Books class "Meaning of Life" project, back when I had a pretty pessimistic attitude about free will, so I guess I understood that aspect of the book.

Lastly, SparkNotes says about the book's famous "So it goes" motif:

The phrase “So it goes” follows every mention of death in the novel, equalizing all of them, whether they are natural, accidental, or intentional, and whether they occur on a massive scale or on a very personal one.

I think that is a very sincere tribute to the gravity of death, even though the book emphasizes the transience of life.

Anyway, I think I should change the title of my blog to Deep Thoughts. Heh.

Remember when Karl Rove got accused of treason? and questions therein

Whatever happened to that news story? Unsurprisingly, the lethargic Washington press corps frankly doesn't give a damn. According to Think Progress, Arriana Huffington and Salon, among others, yesterday's White House press briefing was the fourth opportunity for the press corps to ask the administration questions about Rove being named as a source who leaked the identity of CIA Agent Valerie Plame to Time reporter Matt Cooper. Yet not one question was asked.

Meanwhile, Chicago-based U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who is constantly lauded as independent a prosecutor as they come, at least appears to be doing his best to ignore the heart of the problem in this case: that at least one government official leaked the name of a CIA agent and thereby committed treason, by making his targets members of the press who refuse to reveal confidential sources. The Judith Miller investigation reveals the flaws of Fitzgerald's most public modus operandi: going after journalists--who are private citizens--to turn over their confidential sources to the government regarding the Plame case. This move could surely deter future investigations into corruption that are aided by a source who needs the protection of confidentiality to continue provividng information (e.g. "Deep Throat"'s role in the Watergate investigation). [That Washington Post article mentions that Fitzgerald "quizzed" George W. Bush on the Plame leak as well, for an hour in the White House, but we have yet to hear what came of that].

Why doesn't Fitzgerald make more of a point in inspecting the government's role in the leak? At the same time, I would not be surprised if the administration was effectively stonewalling any investigation. Still, journalists have been able to provide what Fitzgerald has not: indications that Rove may have leaked Plame's name. Finally, it's worth mentioning that neither Miller nor Matt Cooper, the two journalists who are under investigation, chose to publish articles revealing Plame's identity. If only Bob Novak had been as thoughtful.

Also, it is worth ironing out the position that while the source of the Plame leaks should be unearthed, it should not be done through compromising journalistic principles. I have admittedly made the case seem easy where it is not: how to go about finding perpetrators of a crime while protecting those who may have had dealings with them.

A few questions one may ask of my position and corresponding answers:

(1) Why worry about journalistic protections for someone who leaked the name of a CIA Agent? Isn't the goal to out the leaker?
(a) Well, if Miller found out who made the leak through another administration official, someone functioning as a whistle-blower, it is clearly important for her to protect that person. Further, violating basic principles like this one is a precedent that is best not to set for fear that it will be abused in the future.
(2) Shouldn't the most important thing be to find the criminal, never mind if journalists have to violate their principles for the time being?
(a) A criminal can and should be found through means that don't put people in harms way. Revealing a confidential source does this.
(3) And shouldn't the use of anonymous sources be discouraged?
(a) The use of anonymous sources should perhaps be curtailed when possible, but often the most egregious instances of corruption are revealed only through a source who must remain anonymous for the sake of that person's personal safety.

Anyway, I'll give Fitzgerald the benefit of the doubt in terms of his slowness on the government end of the leak; however, I cannot imagine that this White House would allow someone antagonistic to their interests to investigate a case that could reveal some of their top officials as criminals. So Fitzgerald and Rove shall remain under scrutiny, at least by a few of us.

Out of the spotlight, door closes on Schiavo inquiry

And the door closes softly on the state's involvement with Terri Schiavo, as Jeb Bush ends Florida's inquiry. Back in March and April, Republicans' zealous involvement in the fate of a woman who had been kept alive on a feeding tube for years was widely unpopular.

Good cartoon from Tom Tomorrow.

Novak: Rehnquist to retire soon

Well, one thing about Bob Novak is that he gets good scoops, considering he found out the name of a CIA agent and reported on it. But anyway, according to Novak, Rehnquist is going to retire this week. If Novak is right Bush has the opportunity to nominate an extremist to fill Rehnquist's seat and Alberto Gonzales to fill O'Connor's, who by comparison will look much more moderate and therefore get through confirmation.

London and its implications on our country's security

Listening to (admittedly liberal) media coverage of the London transportation bombings has reminded me of how vulnerable public places in urban areas are to terrorism. It has been almost four years since September 11, and it seems like Americans have received little instruction on how to prevent attacks besides the vague warning to "be vigilant" and meaningless, color-coded terrorist alerts.

For instance, todayAmerica's public transportation systems status was rasied from a yellow to an orange alert. Presumably the only reason for this is because attacks just occurred against London's transportation system. Yet, the administration would do well to provide
(1) Any suggestion of what we can do to keep safe on our public transportation systems. (what looks suspicious, who should we contact)
(2) Which transport systems are the most vulnerable. (I'd assume New York's subway or the D.C. Metro are the most vulnerable while the Portland light rail can probably rest easy, but it would help for some sort of distinction from the administration who are more privy to intelligence than the rest of us)
(3) What they are doing to protect our "homeland," i.e. country against domestic attacks. Some of the radio shows I'm listening to brought up Bush's promise to get Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" and Colin Powell's statement that "It's not enough to get one individual [i.e. bin Laden], although we'll start with that one individual."

What the London attack spotlights if it is indeed confirmed that Al Qaeda perpetrated them as they have claimed is that the U.S. government's focus on a country that had nothing to do with encouraging Al Qaeda--Iraq--is taking away precious time and resources from the true source of random killing of innocent people.

Another point that was made is that today's terrorist attack in London is virtually a daily experience for citizens and soldiers in Iraq. That is the world Iraqis live in, and the U.S. invasion has perpetuated it, not to mention caused increased terrorism in Iraq, purportedly what the war sought to prevent.

Hopefully these attacks will cause Americans to demand more information from the government on what we are doing to protect from domestic terrorism.

American Society's New Victims (They're Not Who You Think)

Geoff Aung has done an interesting piece for Campus Progress about the College Republican National Convention held recently. According to Aung, the most bizarre aspect of this conference was the theme of victimhood that conservative speakers imparted to the young crowd. For a party that claims to despise victimhood, feelings of victimization abounded at the CRNC.

Students were given ideas of compelling phrases to use on posters announcing College Republican events; one of these ideas was the question "Where are my reparations?" According to Aung, speaker after speaker attested that College Republicans are the oppressed ones, "that professors despise them, administrators shun them, and fellow students regard them with skeptical eyes."

This self-pity to me seems such a foundation of the Republican presence on college campuses, and it is audacious at best, selfish and disingenuous at worst. When the College Republicans brought David Horowitz's Academic Freedom bill to campus at my school, the bill was entertained far more than it should have been, considering there was already recourse for discrimination of any sort on campus (go to p. 22 on the link, if you care).

The College Republicans I know and know of seem to be well-off and high-achieving students. If they are the oppressed people of this world, we should all be so oppressed.

Terrorist Bombings in London

A series of four coordinated bombings have killed 40 and injured many more in London today. The attack appears to be similar to the horrible Madrid bombings. Three occurred in London's Underground, one in its bus system. Here in the U.S., our thoughts are with the wonderful city of London and its very friendly people. Despite my jabbings over the Olympics yesterday, we're all in this fight against terrorists together.

I'd take Paris over London any day

Paris, the frontrunner for Summer Olympics 2012 lost the bid today. London surprisingly pulled ahead by four votes to win the much coveted title of summer olympics host. As much as I love both cities (despite the title of this blog), I think Paris was the natural choice for the Olympics. It has a much better transportation network than London, whose Underground lacks the frequent connections and the ubiquitousness and spaciousness of stations that Paris's Metro offers, plus Paris has the recent experience of having hosted other big sporting events successfuly like the 1998 World Cup. Also, their PR campaign was much more invested than London's half-hearted one, singnalling to me that they were the more devoted and prepared city.

At the same time, I dread the day that Chicago or wherever I live hosts an Olympics game. I imagine the Taste of Chicago times 100 added to that it will be the only thing people talk about. At least London's blighted East End will get a boost, though Paris, which is struggling with high unemployment could have used the help too.

Caveat Emptor, Let the [Progressive] Buyer Beware

There is a great website called Buy Blue that alerts as to which comapnies donate to conservatives (and which donate to friends of people like us).

What should we do about Walmart? BuyBlue says, go to Costco. According to the Labor Research Association

there's another company that is breaking the Wal-Mart mold: Costco Wholesale Corp., now the fifth-largest retailer in the U.S. While Wal-Mart pays an average of $9.68 an hour, the average hourly wage of employees of the Issaquah, Wash.-based warehouse club operator is $16. After three years a typical full-time Costco worker makes about $42,000, and the company foots 92% of its workers' health insurance tab.

The site ranks companies by how much and what percentage of their donations go to democratic causes. There are some surprises too: apparently Bally Total Fitness is a loyal "Blue" corporation while California Pizza Kitchen is way in the red.

Remember those "Voting is for Old People" t-shirts that Urban Outfitters released last year? Well, the company is a big conservative donor, and one can only wonder if that t-shirt was a strategy to dissuade young people, who often vote liberal, from voting last year.

I now have an even more socially responsible excuse to avoid Papa John's and Burger King, two late-night joints near my university that are heavy on the grease, since they too are placed in the red category.

One could argue that it's unfair of me to shun what may be a superior product because of politics. However, free market economics is premised on consumer choice, and when we as consumers make it a priority to hold companies socially responsible for their actions, it's best to give money to companies that are doing a pretty good job of this already.

The biggest flaw of adhering to BuyBlue's rankings, as was pointed out by the newsletter from which I learned of the site, is that the blue companies aren't perfect. Starbucks for instance is a solid blue company but has been criticized for weak fair trade policies and edging out neighborhood coffee shops, practices that aren't very progressive.

Still, BuyBlue does a good job as a caveat emptor for progressives. It also shows us that we can get good products at reasonable prices at companies where employees aren't treated as minimum wage slaves.

Hey that old guy from 'Law and Order' likes him, so he must be good!

George W. Bush has signed on actor and former Senator from Tennessee Fred Thompson to "guide [his Supreme Court] nominee through the confirmation process."

I don't really understand why he reached out to Thompson, who Americans probably know best as District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law and Order. (I actually had to look that up, because I am one of the 10 Americans who doesn't watch L &O).

Anyway, I'm not sure why Fred Thompson has been invited to assume this role, but I do know that this White House invests a good deal in public relations solutions, so I expect they hope that when Americans see Thompson sitting behind Edith Jones or Alberto Gonzales or J. Michael Luttig during confirmation hearings, they will approve of the nominee since DA Arthur Branch is on their side.

Summertime, and the livin' is easy...?

Lately I've been listening to Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now album, which is one of her most recent. I was obsessed with it around this time last summer , and the fact that I have renewed my penchant for Joni says something about the weird place I find myself in. This morning I woke up at 5 AM, and unable to return to sleep I turned on "Don't Go to Strangers," since I had felt as if I had been hearing it in my sleep all night (Play with fire/Get your fingers burned/But when there’s no place left to turn/Don’t go to strangers).

This renewed interest in Both Sides Now has reminded me that I am my most nostalgic in the summer. I used to be sometimes hopelessly remniscent through all seasons, but when I went to college and then abroad the scenery from fall through spring had changed and thus a certain connection I had with the past was severed, one based on association of place.

Every summer though I've returned back home to the leafy Chicago suburb, where I've lived since I was 5, and associations abound in this historic setting. The backyard reminds me of the night I couldn't sleep right after senior year of high school and went outside to read the yearbook til dawn or the summer after my freshman year of college when I would go out every weekend morning onto the sun-baked porch with a cup of fresh coffee, a clear blue sky above and the paper in my hand and greet my parents when they came home from bike rides. Walking to the "El" reminds me of past summers waking up at 6 to go to work downtown, sun already beating down to call out sweat droplets, or meeting friends at the station and travelling to a festival in Chicago. Going to the local library reminds me of when I belonged to the reading club back in grade school and went there to earn a certificate of some sort, or when I devotedly sat on the floor by the young adult lit section in junior high, examining dramatic books, or frenetically stopped in every week last summer to find the perfect book to read, having given up on many others.

These reminiscences have had a strange collision with the thoughts of the future that I have entertained constantly this summer. Sometimes those thoughts are quite strategical: when to take the LSATs or the GREs, what to start reading for my thesis, whether I want to try and get a job for a political cause of some sort right after college or maybe go to France to teach. However, any solidity of plan is weakened by my fear that I will make the wrong choice, and my constant self-probing, with the hope of arriving at some certain passion that I will have no qualms about pursuing once I graduate.

I don't feel lost but rather I feel that I am waiting, taking the precautions to make sure I get exposed to everything I may want to do after college during the summer and next fall. I don't know if this will be the last summer I will be in Chicago for a bit (or at home for that matter), but I do know that right now I derive a strange comfort from the stasis of basking in the past and essentially idealizing it.

Listening to Joni Mitchell elicits memories of last June when I first bought the album at a classic Chicago used record store while out with my brother and cousin. I associate it with that pleasant, relaxed day and with lulling me to sleep at night throughout July and August, but I forget the deeper reason of why I liked it: because it provoked me, with its interesting concept of a relationship evolving and Joni's poignant voice, to think about all sorts of complicated things that I had subliminated.

With this realization I remind myself that past events are set; the only variable is how we interpret them. It is time for me to let the past and the future join to form some perspective on reality that is not teeming with the firm nostalgia surrounding thoughts of the former or the irreconcilable anxiety surrounding thoughts of the latter.

The Security Issue

So, as a result of a discussion with my friend on his blog, I want to address the latest frontier of the security issue which the Democrats must seize for 2006 (and right now!). The revelation that Karl Rove had a part in leaking the name of CIA Agent Valerie Plame, an expert on weapons of mass destruction, to columnist Robert Novak and thus the public means, as Buzzflash says:

the Bush White House committed brazen treason by deliberately undercutting our national efforts to keep WMDs out of the hands of "bad guys."

To have a high-ranking administration official reveal the name of a CIA Agent is treason or "a crime that undermines the offender's government," by one definition, for the purpose of scaring away someone like Joseph Wilson whose logical conclusions are not in sync with the White House's, is unprofessional, reprehensible, and illegal.

The Democrats need to demand that Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney assigned to investigating the Plame leak, is conducting an honest and thorough investigation, for the sake of national security and the law. If someone in the White House is leaking names, especially a high-level official like Rove, that person endangers the future of CIA's work on diffusing weapons of mass destruction and endangers the possibility for independent assessments of intelligence, like those of Joseph Wilson.

So I don't even want to hear the old refrain that we heard about Nixon and Clinton that "it's not what he did, it's that he lied about it" which Rove will be guilty of if it turns out he was behind the leak. Just as important as perjury, if not more, is endangering our country's security for political gain.

I Love Campus Progress

I love Campus Progress's blogathon.

For one, a couple posters made the good point that it is important that Democrats focus on the threat of a Lochner relapse posed by the O'Connor Supreme Court vacancy. (More on this later).

Secondly, I guess there's some motto going around that "Gonzales is Spanish for Souter." (Funny, but Alberto can't hold a candle to David H. Souter, for whom I actually dedicated a Facebook club).

One last thought: the fact that Souter is getting so much flack from Republicans this week makes me love him even more.

A very distinguished looking Souter, center.

See, Aren't We All Glad the FDA Exists?

The FDA just released a salmonella warning against Cold Stone Creamery's "Cake Batter" flavor:

Cold Stone Creamery together with the FDA are notifying the public that products containing "cake batter" ice cream sold at Cold Stone Creamery stores may be associated with outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium infection in four states.

Cake Batter's possible contamination with this organism came to light after outbreaks of infection with this form of Salmonella were reported in Minnesota, Washington state, Oregon and Ohio. Some of the people reporting this illness also reported consuming cake batter at a Cold Stone Creamery shortly before the onset of their illness.

I may never eat Cake Batter again, or maybe I will eat it with the knowledge that Cold Stone will take measures to avoid salmonella poisoning in the future, but I'm glad there is an agency that investigates and publicizes such information.

Since I did actually eat Cake Batter once in Illinois, if I experience nausea or fever, I will be mad!

On Patriotism

I think this entry on the Daily Kos is a good response to an accusation from a conservative that liberals are unpatriotic.

First, the Republican:

liberals are quicker to emphasize the evil that America has had than they are to emphasize the good that America was, is, and will become. To a liberal, the significant events of America's past are not World War I, World War II, the Cold War, freedom and liberty - they are smallpox, and the Trail of Tears, and internment. Neither side denies that the favorite events of the other side happened. They merely answer the question, "Has it all been worth it?" very differently.

Now, the response:

Favorite events of the other side? The callousness of that comment is the actual divide between liberals and conservatives, conservatives can consider wars and internment as "favorite events." Necessary events? Most of them. Proud of our country for making the fight? Of course. But favorite?

No, we liberals savor events like the Civil Rights movement, the New Deal, the Alliance for Progress, the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The conservative who wrote those words is a nice fellow. Not a hater. In my opinion, his views of the world, the nation, the GOP and Bush are naive at best, and delusional at worst. But I am sure he loves our country. It would not occur to me to question that. For conservatives, that is the first charge.

Possible Supreme Court Appointees, A Brief Profile

Well, we know that Alberto Gonzales, current U.S. Attorney General and torture apologist wants the Supreme Court appointment badly.

Anyway, among possible Bush appointees who would satisfy the condition of being (a) right-wing (b) a woman and/or minority (c) (relatively) young, many are new to their current positions, be it on a circuit court or somewhere else.

48-year old Gonzales is one, since he was recently appointed to Attorney General, though I guess he's not right-wing enough for Bush's base.

By the by, this is a good point:

When you read all the negative responses by these ass hats against Justice O'Conner, it sort of surprises me. Mostly because if she had ruled against Bush in 2000, they never would be in the position that they are in right now. Al Gore might well have been president, leaving them to swing in the wind where they belong.

Reports that Rove leaked CIA Agent Plame

It has been rumored in the blogosphere for sometime that Karl Rove was behind the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame, a vindictive measure to get back at her husband Joseph Wilson IV who concluded that there had been no uranium purchases by Iraq from Niger, a major justification the Bush administration had used to go to war in Iraq.

One thing that people who think this should be investigated and tried should not let up on is how HUGE this is. A top person in the president's administration leaked the name of a CIA Agent, thereby committing treason. A treason conviction can result in the death penalty, which I personally don't believe in, but if Rove were sentenced to death it would be great irony to have a man who worked for the governor who presided over the most death penalty sentences in any state--Bush--sentenced to death himself.

Currently Rove is saying he didn't leak the actual name of the Agent.

My opinion of this is that the fact that Rove probably didn't take what he did seriously reflects on this administration's feeling of impenetrable power, of being able to get away with anything, which so far they have. Hopefully this development will change that, but it will take a big fight.

Sandra Day O'Connor Vaunted as an 'Independent Jurist'

One problem I have with the coverage of retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is her portrayal as an independent jurist simply because she was often a "swing vote" on heated issues before the court like school prayer and abortion rights.

Here's the problem with that: just because a judge seems to lie on the left or right, doesn't mean he or she isn't equally independent in thought. Take David Souter, who the Republicans expected to be a shoe-in, a "stealth" conservative, since he hadn't written many opinions on hot-button issues. Souter's votes now provoke great resentment among Republicans.

Many judges throughout history have voted in ways that upset the people who appointed them, and just because they lie on a certain part of the political spectrum doesn't mean they should be thought of as less independent than someone who is "moderate." Judges certainly have political views like everyone else, but they also are supposed to interpret the law independent from those views, and if they can do that, that makes them independent in my mind.

Update on the Patterson Case

The Tribune had a nice long article today on the Aaron Patterson trial, or attempt at trial, since Patterson keeps on disrupting steps leading up to the trial with outbursts. I have had the privilege of seeing some of it because of interning in the same building.

Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, who has been presiding over the trial, has an especially tough job. Patterson has said that he wants to represent himself, and his attorneys, especially the more vocal Demetrius Evans, has asked to withdraw from the case for fear that Patterson represents a threat. On Friday, when Patterson had an outburst during jury selection and was dragged forcibly from the courtroom by U.S. marshals, Evans left the courtroom in tears and soon the court building. Pallmeyer threatened her arrest, since, as Pallmeyer said, it is Evans' professional duty to represent Patterson (Evans was the court-appointed attorney for Patterson). Anyway, Pallmeyer understandably does not want Patterson to represent himself, probably for fear that he will make the trial into a circus and subsequently appeal his case on procedural grounds, but she is also faced with attorneys who do not want to represent Patterson. The judge is between a rock and a hard place.

Anyway, because of his daily disruptions, Patterson has been ordered to watch the trial on closed circuit TV in the correctional facility where he currently resides. This is probably for the best, lest Patterson's case discredit the importance of procedural accuracy in trials, which some appellants have genuinely lacked.

Funny site

I just found a website called Conservatives for American Values that I initially thought was scarily Republican, but after reading it a bit more, I realized it must be a joke. It's a sad place that our country's politics is in for this site to seem legit, even for a second. Choice quotes:

On a "Culture of Life"

Essentially a culture of life is a society that holds deep respect for the sanctity of life. Seems pretty simple, right? Well there are certain nuances to this concept that I want to address before you start decrying our treatment of detainees at Guantanimo Bay or capital punishment with this idea.

Who's Not a Part of the Culture of Life?
Not every person is eligible for the human respect a culture of life would provide. Torture by our government of anyone who threatens our freedom or even has the look of someone who might think about threatening our freedom is fine. If you are a terrorist you do not believe in the culture of life, therefore the culture of life does not believe in you.

On the Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner has finally resigned [sic]. Even though she was a Reagan appointee, I always thought she was a very unwise pick (and I almost never question Reagan's judgment).

On liberals

WWFND: What Would Fox News Do?
First I thought of Fox News, and how they handle their own liberal pest problems.

On PBS

Sesame Street: Big Bird and Grover Go to Tolerance Camp
Reading Rainbow: The Anarchists Cookbook, Nuclear Weapons Plans
Painting with Bob Ross: A Landscape without God
This Old House: This Old House Full of Sodomites

Despite the past five years of political disappointment, at least we still have our sense of humor.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Alright, time to take a breather from zee politics. Here's a list of current favorites, because, why not?

Television
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" Show about a bald, funny Jewish guy who can't seem to come across anyone who isn't hyper-sensitive. To make matters worse, Larry David, the show's star and a native New Yorker is not afraid to offend people who upset him. Half the time, Larry is dealing with people who are too accustomed to getting their own way amidst their comfortable L.A. bubble; the other half, Larry could be a bit nicer.

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Stewart's ability to critique the media and politics through clever humor is unmatched on television. Most shows like "Saturday Night Live" or "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" get by on hackneyed, repetetive jokes, but "the Daily Show" manages to make excellent political and media points (like having comedy writers play quintessential TV journalist types) while still maintaining a high standard of hilarity.

"The O.C. (Season One)" Before there were shootings, deaths, lesbian flings, and a less funny Seth Cohen, there was Season One of "The O.C." Since this is now out on DVD, it is very easy to pay homage to a show that was once the best of its kind. For awhile there, it seemed the well-adjusted Cohen family represented an exception to the dysfunction rule.

Awesomely Bad (John's right, sometimes it does exist).
Beauty and the Geek Alright, it's a shameless show, but nerdy Richard makes it worth the watch.

The Inferno I have no excuse for liking this show where former "Real World" and "Road Rules" guests bank on their last three minutes of fame to fight each other out for money. I was briefly addicted to it right after I was done with finals and had a few free days.

Music

Yves Montand French-Italian crooner who I've been getting into lately. He was big in the 1950s and 1960s and is kind of the French Frank Sinatra (whose music I also love).

The Cardigans I know, I know one hit wonder, blah blah. In fact, they have several fun and pretty songs like "After All," "Carnival," and "Your New Cuckoo." Plus they have a new album out, which I have yet to hear.

Stereolab I have been really into them for the last year. Their most recent album Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night does not betray their reputation for an interesting, beautiful, ethereal sound. My favorite songs include "Velvet Water," "Cybele's Revelrie," and "Cosmic Country Noir."

The Fiery Furnaces An Indie group of sorts with meaningful pop music. What a concept! They've been called the next White Stripes, plus Eleanor and Matthew are confirmed sister and brother. My favorite song is "Quai Cur."

Sufjan Stevens His goal is to release an album about every one of the 50 American states. Even though it sounds gimicky, it is a cute idea, and his first album about Michigan was serenely poignant without being too depressing. My favorite song is "Detroit: Lift Up Your Weary Head (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)." He just came out with a new album about my homestate, Illinois.

Bill Withers Solo artist from the 1970s is famous for "Lean on Me" and "Lovely Day." He has a great, soulful voice which he really puts to use in "Hello Like Before," "I Want to Spend the Night," "Use Me," and "Let Me Be the One You Need." Listening to his music makes me think of 1970s New York in winter.

Awesomely bad
Fifty Cent and the Game's Love it or Hate It I guess I like the rhythm. Don't worry, I'm not a white kid who blasts the song on my radio while wearing one of those idiotic "'G' is for Gangsta" t-shirts from Urban Outfitters.

Representative of everything that I am against

Food
Edy's Dibs Bite-sized chocolate shell surrounding ice cream. The mint ice cream-filled Dibs are superb. Best enjoyed with a glass of Diet Coke, as the combination is heavenly.

Wow Bao America's first bao restaurant (an Asian delicacy kind of like dumplings that are enjoyed as fast food). Light and tasty food to be found in Chicago's Water Tower Place.

Jasmine Tea It seems this isn't the most popular tea around, and that is a shame, because it is definitely the best!

Alright, that's it for my favorites as of right now, but I'm sure I'll always have more.

False Advertising

I'm a little creeped out that both the ads on my sidebar from Adsense were advertising pro-Republican products. Do their search capablities seriously not detect that the viewpoints of this blog are liberal?

Chicago à Paris?

I came upon an interesting blog that I will link to in my sidebar called New York à Paris, written by a man who set off to Paris to try and find a job in business. He is a good writer, and by the end of the blog, the point really comes across that it is hard, very hard, to find a job in France unless you speak fluent French. My French teacher this year told me if I wanted to go to France, I should definitely find a job here that would take me there rather then move there to find a job. This blog certainly proves him right.

Conscript all supporters of the War in Iraq

Seriously. There is an enlistement shortage that threatens our capabilities in Iraq, and according to Donald Rumsfeld we might be there for 5, 6, 8, or 12 years. (Just a couple years ago, he insisted it wouldn't even be six months). So I have an idea, if you support the war, if you think it's a moral imperative, if you want others to fight it, then join up. Your country needs you. In fact, let's get a draft bill when it comes to that point (and it will) that conscripts those who have registered their support for the war.

I want to edit this blog entry to say that it really isn't technically conscription if you are asking people who agree with a war to fight it.

Lesson One

It's late at night, and I just got back. I'm tired, but I want to say one thing. I'm sick of angry people who wish to blame everything on everyone else. Tonight I talked to someone who actually attributed our society's healty to corporations. So many greedy corporations and yet there are some people who think these bigwigs have public interest deep in their hearts.

Lesson:

Individuals who have Republican ethic: want personal gain
Social Security Privatizers: Expect personal gain from privatization (why else would a party that is FOR personal gain propose such a policy? To give back to the community? Surely you jest..)
Individuals who want safety net: believe hard times can befall anyone; understand that life cannot be characterized by glib bell curves

More from Professor Elaine later

What else but Sandra Day O'Connor

I think my opinion on the Sandra Day O'Connor resignation is clear: I am very sad.

This isn't because

(1) I like Justice O'Connor as a judge. In fact, I think she has been a problematic judge, not only because of Bush v. Gore and her election night expression of "dismay" when she found out Florida had been called for Gore but because of other rulings as well. Just because she is in the "middle," doesn't make her anymore good and fair than anyone further right or left on that court.

(2) I didn't expect her to leave. I expected her to leave during Bush's first term, but I had put the idea out of my head, since Rehnquist retirement for awhile seemed more eminent.

Anyhow, basically I think Bush will appoint a right-wing female, thus pulling a Clarence Thomas (Bush Sr. appointed right-wing African-American Thomas in the place of the first African American on the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall when Marshall retired). He will probably appoint a right-wing woman in the place of O'Connor, the first woman on the court. Otherwise, he may go for nominating the first Hispanic ever. It seems exploitive to me for them to appoint a "first" of the race that most members of that race don't support, but that's the style.

Regardless, Bush will appoint someone to the right of anyone on that court, thus Democrats will have to be ready to fight. Bush has had no qualms about nominating the most divisive, right-wing people in the past, so why should he now?

Julius Meinl in Chicago

Austrian Coffee and gourmet shop Julius Meinl has opened in Chicago. I walked by it in Southport a bit more than a month ago when a friend and I were walking around in that neighborhood, an area which I really like. Anyway, the place struck me as familiar...hadn't I seen it in Vienna when I was there in late October? Wasn't it the huge gourmet and coffee store that I entered, only to cower between its intimidating aisles of high-priced food and chocolate.

There really was one in Austria! I wasn't making it up!

Well, now that it's here in Chicago, I must check it out. I don't expect it to remind me of Vienna, since it looks like it's in one of those new red brick structures that so clutter Chicago, but I do expect a good cup of coffee.

The Blame Michael Jackson Syndrome

I didn't hear about this until seeing a taped episode of "The Daily Show" tonight where Fox schmuck Neil Cavuto is interviewing (or more like buttering up) George W. Bush. At one point, Cavuto suggests that the Michael Jackson trial has resulted in Bush's unpopularity. I think his logic is that if Americans weren't so wrapped up in it, they would pay attention to Bush's social secuirty plan and just love it. Anyway, the transcript is just too funny for words:

BUSH: Polls go up, and polls go down. But I also know my job. See, I could not be here in Washington, D.C., and take on an issue like Social Security and live with myself. In other words, if I didn't take this on, I'd have said, "What did you go to Washington for in the first place?"

...

CAVUTO: But in the meantime, the news channels then hear what you're saying, and then later on, we have this Michael Jackson update. I mean, his trial and his ongoing saga has gripped the nation for the past four-and-a-half, five months as you've been on this campaign.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: I know this is a little outlandish, Mr. President…

BUSH: No, that's all right, Neil.

CAVUTO: Do you think that the focus on Michael Jackson has hurt you?

Equally as coherent a logic would be that Americans are so disconcerted by the state of the country and the guy who is leading it that the Michael Jackson trial is some sort of escapist outlet. Better yet, how about Republicans stop making excuses for having unpopular policies. I mean that just takes the cake.

"You know of all of the military victories bush claimed? They're all being reversed. Can we do that with the election please?"

"9/11 is to Iraq as leg-waxing is to a hot air balloon ride."

Quotes from the Randi Rhodes show on Air America Radio in response to Bush's TV address from last night

Adsense

As some of you may have noticed, I have added Google's Adsense on my blog to make a little extra cash, but so far I have made nada. If anyone wants to do me the favor of either clickin on one of the adds to net me some dollars or just give me advice on how to use Adsense to my best advantage, I would be grateful.

Apparently they try to match the ad up with the content on your webpage, so that there was an ad for "Support our troops" bracelets on my page is ironic. It is exactly that kind of inane, do-nothing but display a worthless symbol approach that I hate. If you support your troops you'll work to bring them home!

...Just don't bring it to the workplace

I love the extent to which people go to assure that they do not care about what you do in your personal life. Speicfically, I am thinking of supervisors in workplace settings or people who lead worker orientations.

I guess the man who is director of the daycamp that my brother works with is like this. He'll assure you that you can feel free to do what you will in your free time, so long as you don't bring any of it into camp.

In the spirit of this, I wrote a little script for the supervisor who wants to make sure that employees get the message:

"I don't care what you do outside of camp, just don't bring it here. You can snort cocaine off of a 5 cent whore for all I care, but keep it out of these campgrounds. You can rob a bank, use the money to throw a raging kegger every night of the week where you shoot up heroin and engage in massive orgies, so long as you don't bring it into the area bounded by the lake on the East, the harbor on the south, Micigan ave. on the west, and the sailing beach on the north between the hours of 9 and 3 from Monday-Friday."

Robert Bork is an Idiot

A little more about Robert Bork. I found a Salon review on his book Slouching Towards Gomorrah. God love the poor guy who had to read the book. Here are some choice excerpts from the reviews:

• like some horrid recurring nightmare, Robert Bork is back, and he's carrying a big fat book with him. It's called "Slouching Towards Gomorrah," and its contents are pretty much what one would expect from a book with such a title, only worse.

• For all of the attention Bork pays to popular culture, however, he doesn't seem to know terribly much about it. Indeed, his only contact seems to be with the boilerplate denunciations that clutter the pages of contemporary conservative writings. As a result, most of his attacks are a bit off-key. He believes that MTV stands for "Music Television Videos," and he seems to think Nine Inch Nails are a rap group.

• It seems a tad preposterous for a man whose writing is so aggressively unwieldy, whose use of evidence is mercenary at best, and whose facts are often glibly wrong, to prattle on about the decline of intellect and the abandonment of objective truth.

• Like some off-brand version of near-beer, "Slouching Towards Gomorrah" tastes bad, and isn't the slightest bit filling. But the book did succeed in making me feel good about one thing: I'm just glad its author isn't on the Supreme Court.

Why the New York Times is just as bad as the others, a Supreme Court article

In today's New York Times' an article about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy plainly asserts that the judge has few loyalists on the right, thus assuredly eliminating his chances for a Chief Justice nomination should William Rehnquist retire. This article is problematic in many ways.

Take this excerpt:

A genial apostle of tolerance and consensus, Justice Kennedy, 68, is an unlikely lightning rod, one whose traditional Catholic background has little in common with the flag-burners, pornographers or abortion advocates his reading of the Constitution protects. [My emphasis]

For one, this sentence, idenitfying Kennedy as a "traditional Catholic" and a "genial aposlte of tolerance and consensus" establishes Kennedy as a man who can do no wrong. Then, by placing Kennedy as morally opposed to the people he has ruled in favor of, the article suggests that Kennedy, not the "abortion advocates" are the good guys. Furthermore, the article employs the term "abortion advocate" rather than pro-choice activist, which is mis-representative of how many pro-choicers feel about abortion. Also, that the setence lumps in pro-choice groups with pornographers is pretty damn messed up. Pornographers usually have pretty diametrically opposed values to pro-choice supporters, such as an inherent disregard for women's rights. The Times is all about recognizing how great Kennedy is though to care.

The article also quotes a crazy man by the name of Robert H. Bork as an authority on who should be confirmed. Bork was Ronald Reagan's failed nominee for the Sureme Court and is to the right of Atilla the Hun. He was the man directly responsible for firing special prosecutor Archibald Cox when Cox asked Richard Nixon to turn over tapes for investigation into the Watergate burgalry, showing how ethical a man he is.

In the Times article, Bork disingenously claims there is a "judicial oligarchy" (presumably that his right-wing judge buddies aren't a part of) and that there exists a phenomenom called "judicial activism" which theoretically is defined as a judge over-stepping his jurisdictional bounds, but in Bork's case, it basically means that a judge has made a ruling that Robert Bork doesn't like. He doesn't like Harvard because it has liberal intellecutals. (A) Harvard is a huge feeder into corporate firms. (B) Harvard, like any other big law school has an active Federalist Society chapter, which is the group that is behind getting more judges with Republican values in the judiciary.

The articles sources, with all of their quotes about plans to ensure "no more unknown packages," that is, no judges whose rulings won't be amenable to right-wing beliefs (like David Souter, or Anthony Kennedy according to these extremists) is audacious in the fact that these groups have no intention to try to keep the judicial branch above politics (which of course is impossible, but it is easier done without people like Bork trying to influence selection).

Finally, the article is a total puff-piece, fawning all over Kennedy by placing him above politics. Vaunting a man who signed on to one of the most problematic majority opinions, Bush v. Gore, as impartial and above the political fray is pretty irresponsible. Take this line: "His admirers see in him the essence of a judicial temperament: good judgment, fair-mindedness and a willingness to disentangle his own moral values from the law."

Basically the article puts Kennedy on the left by virtue of being less extreme than Phyllis Schlafly, Robert Bork, and right-wing organizations like Focus on the Family. Liberals need not apply, as they will not be interviewed by the New York Times.

Photographs like this (NY Times) are a good reminder of what exactly is going on in Iraq right now. From a bombing in Eastern Baghdad today. I don't think most Americans can conceive of what it would be like to have bombings become a steady occurrence in a Chicago or Atlanta or San Francisco.

Blogger Awards

There is actually an awards' ceremony for the best blogs of the year. My life's ambition has been realized.

Woah, I just read my last few posts and realize I sound like kind of a prudish philistine. Hmm...

Whirlwind Weekend

Just had one of those weekends devoid of alone time and breaks. I do enjoy having a lot to do, which will continue at least until the early part of the week because I have a dinner tomorrow and I'm going to the Taste of Chicago after work on Tuesday.

It seems that the phrase "when it rains it pours" rings true in my life, where sometimes I find myself jumping from place to place and other times I have stretches of nothing to do. As someone who likes moderation, I can only wish life was easier to control than it has been the last few days, but I'm not complaining.

Facebook Club of the Week

I'm trying to bring back my feature on most interesting, creative, or repulsive clubs of the week from college social site the Facebook.

This week the title goes to a club called "Students Who Wonder Why Dates in College Only Involve Tequila, $5 Fundraiser Parties and Random Play."*

*Note the use of the phrase "Random Play" which has actually been popularized by the Facebook.

Anyway, excerpts from the club description that I find amusing and all too true:

Exchange numbers?... No way, she'll think I'm a sleazy creep. Go out to one of Evanston's numerous coffee shops?... Are you kidding, he probably hates drinking liquids and making conversation. Take advantage of that one city, isn't it called Chicago?... Not if we have to talk and find things in common for the entire El ride there.

What about drunkenly bumping into them at some fundraising party that you paid 5 bucks to get into, slurring an introduction since you've never actually met before, commenting with a drunken wink how you know that they noticed you in class, blinking a lot to focus on their face while they talk, abandoning your friends to go back to their place, waking up the next morning at sunrise, grabbing your clothes and escaping home in regret, only to facebook them and wonder whether or not you should friend them now that the play isn't so "random"?

All I have to say is A-frickin'-men. When and why did college become such a hub for emotionally stunted interactions? I wish we could go back to the bygone days when guys had balls and girls had self-esteem. Alright, I'm phenomenally over-generalizing, but this Facebook clubs shows that others are having similar experiences and thoughts.

Save Me from My Naivite

Sometimes I feel like I am painfully naive. Whenever I hear about some of the crazy things that people in high school do for instance I am astonished. In high school, I had neither the resources nor the balls (and stupidity) to do some of these crazy things. Here I am, a 22-year old swelled with the knowledge that there are 16-year olds who are more "badass" than I will ever be.

Not that I feel like I'm missing out; in fact, I think kids these days grow up too fast. Part of it can be attributed to adolescence, which is more invented than legitimate, considering humanity persisted until the 1800s without knowledge of such a stage of life. Anyhow, it is gospel nowadays that adolescents or teenagers will rebel. Why? Mainly because they have nothing else to do. When I hear how they "rebel" though, I feel pretty damn naive. (My refrain tends to be, "People do that in high school?").

Iraq Needs College Republicans

This is pretty funny. (Found it here). It would serve College Republicans well to put action to belief and stick these posters around campuses. If that one's too much for them, there's this one too:

I can tell you this much, it will be the day when young, ambitious Republicans of tomorrow start enlisting even though they were the ones who wanted the war.

Krazy Karl (Rove)

If this isn't irresponsible, slanderous, and just plain ridiculous in its political opportunism, I don't know what is:

""Al Jazeera now broadcasts to the region the words of Senator Durbin, certainly putting America's men and women in uniform in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals."
-Karl Rove

Now if Dick Durbin is apologizing for his comments, that is the least Rove can do for the above. Rove is clearly very comfortable saying the most audacious of things without feeling like he will be held to the validity of his words. This has got to change. At least sign this petition to get Rove to resign.

Implications of Seizing Homes and What is being for Limited Government

The recent Kelo decision that allows local authorities in New London, Connecticut to seize homes to allow for private developers to build an office building in that space has important implications in terms of how representative officials are of their community.

As Mark Singer of Sirotablog says of a D.C. plan to dispalce property owners to build a stadium: this is "...what is wrong with this notion of 'economic development.' Mayor Williams says he is improving a neighborhood, but he is doing it by getting rid of the people who use the neighborhood."

How representative of a neighborhood are its officials if they are displacing the people they would claim to represent? And for a reason that doesn't seem to have a large community purpose (i.e. a sports stadium).

This case also hammers home the fact that there will be times when certain interests who usually favor limited government (like private real estate firms) are for government intervention into local matters when it benefits them. The same goes for all sorts of interests, which makes it worth questioning how much genuity can be attributed to the claim of being unconditionally for limited government.

Kelo, Eminent Domain, and Our Communities

Well, I have to say, I was pretty appalled by the Supreme Court opinion on Kelo v. New London. The opinion resolved a conflict in lower courts over how to rule on eminent domain--basically the government's right to seize private property for projects of public use. The problem with this case was that the officials of New London, Connecticut where the case came from, wanted to hand over the seized land from residents of New London to private developers, claiming the developers' office project would be in the public interest of the community (generate revenue, safety).

How does one figure this though? New London isn't building a school or public transportation or roads in the spot, which have explicit public use and benefits. "As a result, cities have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes to generate tax revenue."

The Supreme Court majority isn't devoid of reason of course: they suggest that local (elected, presumably..hopefully!!) officials, not the federal judiciary, knows best its laws and its community's interest, and that is a strong argument.

However, even more compelling to me seems a person's right to live in the home he/she has purchased rather than having to move somewhere less desirable and convenient, which often happens due to private initiatives which push out people of lower-incomes. (A big example of this here in Chicago is what is going on in the Cabrini Green area, what they are now calling "Old Town Village," "North Town," etc., to remove the Cabrini Green stigma as well as the residents and make room for expensive condos and townhomes).

These private iniatives guarantee a safer, revitalized community, but often they just result in wealthier people from other revitalized communities moving in. The courts can only do so much of course, but this is a necessary policy issue to be addressed, especially before a community decides to call the private office and condo developers in for an easy solution.

Day in Chicago, the Patterson Case

Today was a particularly exciting day. For one, I am really enjoying my "extern"ship at the federal court and feel pretty fortunate at the amount of substantive work and learning experiences I am being exposed to. One thing that I especially like is that I have been encouraged to attend trials and other sorts of court sittings.

Today I atteneded a change of plea for a former death row inmate who was exonerated by a Northwestern study that found many cases of glaringly problematic death sentencing in Illinois. This man, Aaron Patterson is said to now suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and is not competent to stand trial, according to a clinical psychologist hired by his defense. At certain moments in the courtroom, he would speak up, at one point questioning who the judge wanted at his trial "the real Aaron Patterson" or the "straw man Aaron Patterson." (The PTS allegedly resulted from Patterson's torture by police and years on death row).

The current Patterson case has a strange twist. He is "now facing trial starting June 30 on charges of selling drugs and attempting to buy four guns. He claims he was framed while investigating police corruption" according to the Associated Press. This man clearly has paranoia towards authorities, but if his allegations are true, that would be understandable.

Later tonight I went to a dinner at the Westin Hotel for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago which was nice, though now I am tiiirrred so I must rest.

Witchcraft

Do you ever wake up in the morning realizing that your dreams were accompanied by some sort of R.E.M. conducted soundtrack? Yesterday morning I woke up from a dream that seemed to involve flying in a plane, sun streaming through the windows and the Frank Sinatra song "Witchcraft" in my head.

For some reason the last "Witchcraft" lyric that was hit in the song was particularly whimsical. Frank Sinatra songs are great enough but dreaming to them is a pleasure. Special thank you to my rapid eye movements.

Best Film Quotes

AFI released another of its famed film lists, this time the top 100 Quotes from (U.S.) films.

These basically look like the most oft-repeated film quotes and not necessarily the best, for instance "Frankly Scarlet I don't give a damn" from Gone with the Wind, "Go ahead, make my day" from Sudden Impact, "May the Force be with you" from Star Wars, and "You talkin to me?" from Taxi Driver. As someone who loves Taxi Driver, I can tell you that there are many other lines more meaningful and pertinent to the film.

Then again, I wouldn't expect AFI to put to include this Taxi Driver line in their list:
"Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man. "

Why Dick, why?

Alright onto more serious stuff.

Dick Durbin apologizes for remarks about likening Gitmo prisons to conditions of regimes that inflicted torture on prisoners like the Nazis.

In all of this hand-wringing about whether Dick Durbin is a patriot (coming from those most unknowing about what patriotism to our country should mean, valuing its guarantee of freedom), what has gotten lost here is the fact that people are being tortured. Tortured.

Torture is horrible, from Dirty War Argentina to Nazi Germany to Pinochet's Chile to World War II Japan. Seemingly enlightened countries have been settings for the most horrendous and dehumanizing treatment. What Durbin's critics live in denial about is that the reason we hold up Nazi Germany is because it could happen again. Its crimes are unthinkable not because they represented a rarity in human behavior; they're unthinkable because they represent events all too common.

So how about the "patriots" in Washington and in the right-wing blogosphere (and hey, some Democrats) quit their hand-wringing and do something about preventing our country from going the route of many brutal dictatorships.

Little Black Dress

I need this dress.

It is the most practical yet subtly chic style ever. Epitomized famously by Audrey Hepburn

(whose films I like, except for Breakfast at Tiffany's which is supremely overrated, and who has a blasphemous yet ballsy article written about her worth as a style icon here, "Audrey Hepburn: Fashion Icon or Style Tyrant?")

this dress is a classic. And I need one by Thursday, as I will be going to a dinner for which it would be perfect. Damn my lacking the basics.

I was just informed recently of this website called Zappos.com which has so many shoes and bags. I don't like everything, and the prices are all over the place because they have all sorts of items, but it's really easy to browse.

Weird Introspectivness

As some may have noticed, my recent posts have been a lot about me. I have to say, I'm confused right now. I'm not at a cross roads, because there are no distinct roads in my mind that I must choose between. Rather, I need to figure out what I want to spend time on after college? How do I get involved with such interests? Should I go abroad as an English teacher in France for a year and barely earn a living (if anyone knows how to get free rent in France, let me know)? Life just feels weird right now: the fact that I will be a senior in college is starting to sink in.

I've never been one to get gung ho about planning my future out to a tee and being overly vocational about schooling. I get annoyed when people say that their English/History/Political Science degrees aren't worth anything. Look, some people are pre-professional majors such as pre-meds or pre-business and have ingested stuff for their whole college career without really understanding why the ideas are important. Still, the more "pragmatic" talk I hear from people about what they're going to do after school, the more concerned I become about how non-pragmatic I've been. Then again, what do these guys know, they're just in college like me. College kids don't know anything. Myself included.

Apartment

The last couple nights I have stopped over at what is to become my future place of residence, an "apartment" (it's actually a house) in Evanston where I will be living next year. The girls who resided there before us were content to leave as much as they could in the building, which means they left their share of crap along with some of the more useful things like furniture. Still, the apartment is nice, and I love my room which looks out onto the street and is a nice size, plus the first time I've had a single in college (other then when I was living in Paris). The girl who is living there this summer organized the furniture brilliantly, a skill I wish I had. I love design and figuring out how to organize things, but I'm not very conceptual. I wish I could post pictures of the apartment in all of its glamorousness (damn not having a digital).