tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83530472024-03-13T10:45:07.868-05:00Cleverly Named BlogCNB - The Answers to Questions That No One Asked. Find it at http://www.the-cnb.com
CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1158595093729553052006-09-18T10:44:00.000-05:002006-09-18T10:58:13.743-05:00Translating Al Gore<a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4191271.html">"I haven't completely ruled out running for president again in the future, but I don't expect to." </a><br /><em>Former Vice-President Al Gore, 9/15/06.</em><br /><em></em><br /><strong><u>Translation:</u></strong> I really wish someone would ask me to run for President again. I know it will happen; I just have to keep my name in news -- put out a <a href="http://www.climatecrisis.net/">movie</a>, go on the <a href="http://torontosun.com/Entertainment/Television/2006/09/02/1795265-sun.html">MTV Awards</a>, write a <a href="http://www.politicalcortex.com/story/2006/9/17/12335/6816">new book</a>. . .CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1157046872369899512006-08-31T14:59:00.000-05:002006-08-31T15:16:52.256-05:00Falling Back into Old HabitsThe Bush Administration has had a rough row of it the past couple of years. Fueled by the (mis)handling of the Iraq war, post-Katrina recovery (not to mention the near-constant promotion or adulation of those who make serious mistakes), etc., it has not been a happy-go-lucky time for the Bushies. What do you do when your political back is against the wall? Take it to the next level (guys in backwards hats who have subscriptions to Maxim will use the term "go big or go home" to describe this typ of situation).<br /><br />But how do you do this? If you are a member of the Bush administration, you accuse your opponents of being: (a) cowards; (b) morons; (c) unpatriotic; or (d) all of the above. It worked for the 2004 election, so they've gone back to the tried-and-true.<br /><br /><strong><u>Examples:</u></strong><br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060829-4.html">"[T]here is a difference between healthy debate and self-defeating pessimism</a><em><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060829-4.html">." </a>VP Cheney, 8/29/06, in a fairly subdued comment for him (as opposed to <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060809-2.html">this</a>)</em></li><li><a href="http://www.defenselink.mil/Speeches/Speech.aspx?SpeechID=1033">"[I]t is apparent that many have still not learned history's lessons." </a><em>Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld, 8/29/06, trying to make the "Hussein as Hitler" analogy. He is evidently unaware of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin">rule</a> that once you invoke Hilter in an argument, you automatically lose.</em></li><li>"<a href="http://www.defenselink.mil/Speeches/Speech.aspx?SpeechID=1033">It seems that in some quarters there's more of a focus on dividing our country than acting with unity against the gathering threats."</a> <em>Rummy, 8/29/06, apparently operating under the presumption that dissent equates with willful ignorance.</em></li></ul><p>Oh, and don't forget to mention September 11 as much as possible:</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060829-4.html">Although we've been in the struggle against terrorism for nearly five years now, the terrorists were actually at war with this country long before 2001. And they were the ones on the offensive. Over time, they came to believe that they could strike America without paying a price -- because they did so many times in the 1980s and '90s. Eventually, of course, they hit us here at home on September 11th, 2001.</a> <em>VP Cheney, 8/29/06, once <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3080244/">again shamelessly</a> attempting to blur lines between the Iraq war and the Al Qaida 9/11 plot.</em></li></ul><p>However, VP Cheney does not pay attention to his boss<a href="http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk.html">'s</a> statements, who made clear the week prior that <a href="http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/08/21/bush-says-iraq-had-ânothingâ-to-do-with-911/">Iraq had nothing to with 9/11</a> (thankfully, there is even video), not to mention his statements of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3118262.stm">3 years ago</a>. Then again, consistency and accuracy did not win the White House, so who am I to nitpick?</p>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1157047352647434142006-08-31T12:54:00.000-05:002006-08-31T13:02:32.673-05:00Back by Popular DemandLike the neverending <a href="http://music.yahoo.com/ar-254032-news--Kiss">KISS farewell tour</a>, CNB has returned once again. The lack of posting has been driven partly by a busy work schedule, but also by the fact that it seems that there is nothing to add to the <a href="http://www.technorati.com">12 million</a> (<em>a low estimate</em>) blogs out there that cut and paste various news stories (with a "read this" link), or to those who actually have jobs as commentators. <br /><br />However, I had more than one person request that CNB return. It may have been the number of drinks I had, but the requestors appeared to be serious. Only actual comments will prove their seriousness, I guess.<br /><br />Thus, the waste of bandwidth that is CNB is back. Alert the media, as something needs to take over from <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5300640.stm">Glenn Ford's death </a>as the lead news story. Admit it, you thought he was already dead, didn't you?CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1150221713001652312006-06-13T09:15:00.000-05:002006-06-13T13:01:53.106-05:00Surprise, Surprise, SurpriseFor the one person I know who reads this (Hi Steve!), the title could refer to the fact that I am actually posting something. However, this refers to the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2071246">surprise visit</a> that Pres. Bush made to Iraq today. I've noticed that anyone of any import who visits Iraq tends to do it on a "surprise" basis: <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5363485">Rumsfeld</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/05/15/iraq.main/">Rice</a>, <a href="http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20060604-055316-7847r.htm">Hastert</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10516570/">Cheney</a>, <a href="http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=44b17ebe-b84e-43c8-a4df-2b8598870516&k=67498">Tony Blair</a>, <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/05/24/news/state/18-gov-iraq.txt">assorted governors</a>, and even <a href="http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/23-05-2006/80854-troops-0">Denmark's prime minister</a> (Kerry <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_forgot_Poland">forgot Poland</a>, so don't feel bad about forgetting about Denmark).<br /><br />It seems the only people who make <strong><em>planned</em></strong> visits to Iraq are the soldiers we keep sending over there.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1144347708278904182006-04-05T23:57:00.000-05:002006-04-06T14:37:19.563-05:00Three Things I Ran Across on the Internet<ol><li><a href="http://www.olbermannwatch.com">Olbermann Watch</a> -- A site by a guy who very clearly really, really dislikes <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/">Keith Olbermann</a>. While Keith is clearly no fan of President Bush, I don't equate him to the right-wing folks who use stupid terms like "Democrat Party." I got bored with the first few posts, so I did not read far enough to see if it was Olbermann's perceived bias that bothers the author, or the possible non-Republican viewpoint. One would think, if it were perceived bias, he would be equally as peeved at O'Reilly, Hannity, etc., but methinks it is the viewpoint being espoused that irks him. Thus, it is just a retread of 50 billion other sites out there. Then again, so is this one. . . .</li><p><li><a href="http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/RockyVotolato_WhiteDaisyPassing.mp3"><em>White Daisy Passing</em> by Rocky Votolato</a> -- A song I cannot stop listening to. It evidently has been featured on “The O.C.” and was recently featured as the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5311959">NPR “Song of the Day,”</a> but I just ran across it while perusing the <a href="http://www.barsuk.com">Barsuk Records website</a>. It is a simple and folky song from a guy listed as <a href="http://www.barsuk.com/bands/rockyvotolato">“a soft-spoken, very hard-working 28-year-old father of two.”</a> Can’t ask for much more than that. I even sent this to the guy who runs the <a href="http://www.salon.com/ent/audiofile/">Audiofile Daily Download</a>, hoping others will get to enjoy it.</li><p><li><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5315333">My brother on NPR's Day by Day</a> -- you may <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2139373/nav/tap1/">have heard</a> about the Harvard Medical School study concerning the effect (or non-effect, as it were) of <a href="http://www.templeton.org/spirituality_and_health/step.asp">intercessory prayer</a> upon the recovery of post-operative heart patients. What you likely did not know was that one of the co-authors of the study was my brother Jeff (or <a href="http://www.templeton.org/pdf/STEP_pressrelease.pdf">Dr. Jeffery Dusek</a>, if you must be so formal). If you have three minutes, you can listen to his interview on NPR, which will likely raise your intelligence quotient and make you impervious to personal insults. If not, <a href="http://www.npr.org/contact/">contact NPR</a>. By the way, <a href="http://users3.ev1.net/~2ntense/Trial%20Dusek%20Close%2002.htm">prosecutor</a> <a href="http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/jeff_dusek/">Jeff Dusek</a> out in California is not my brother.</li></ol>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1130785820610587192005-10-31T12:49:00.000-06:002005-10-31T13:10:20.680-06:00The Numbers Never LieFew are surprised by Pres. George Bush's <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9874588/page/2/">nomination of Judge Samuel "Scalito"Alito</a> to the Supreme Court. After either playing to the wrong portion of his "base" or making another of his crony picks with his Harriet Miers nomination (<em>possibly both, depending upon your viewpoint</em>), Pres. Bush proved that he still had folks reading the paper for him. Thus, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/04/AR2005100400954.html">George Will</a> and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/06/AR2005100601468.html?nav=rss_nation/special">Charles Krauthammer</a> (not to mention Sen. Sam <strike>Browneye</strike> <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/13014099.htm">Brownback</a>) should feel as though their work was not in vain.<br /><br />However, trying to right a wrong for the right (<em>clever, eh?)</em> was not the sole motivation. Rather, Pres. Bush's <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/PollVault/story?id=1264205"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">39 </span><span style="color:#ff0000;">percent</span></strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"> <strong>job approval</strong></span></a> is the reason Pres. Bush has decided to that his stores of political capital are difficult to locate. Neither Pres. Clinton nor Pres. Reagan (the last of the two-termers) <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/PollVault/story?id=1264205">ever fell below 40 percent approval</a>, even at the height of their respective scandals. It could be worse for W, though -- Richard Nixon hit a low of <a href="http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051003/NEWS24/510030335">23 percent</a>.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1130534844889234152005-10-28T16:24:00.000-05:002005-10-28T16:27:24.903-05:00What Bush Meant to Say About LibbyAfter Irving Libby (<em>this "I. Lewis Libby" stuff is getting annoying, and I refuse to call a grown man "Scooter"</em>) was indicted on five counts, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/28/leak.probe/index.html">Pres. Bush said Libby has "worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people."</a> What Bush meant to say was that Libby has "worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people <span style="color:#000000;"><strong><em>who aren't named Valerie Plame. He didn't work so hard for her.</em></strong>" </span>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1130442564754653252005-10-27T13:56:00.000-05:002005-10-27T14:49:24.813-05:00CNB Backhand of the Day AwardThe Official CNB Backhand of the Day Award (<em>given for the public comment that serves only to show the commentee who's boss</em>) goes to <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,399310,00.html">Sen. Trent Lott</a> (R-MS). Sen. Lott, a man who knows <a href="http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/09/lott.comment/">public relations problems firsthand</a>, decided to be the first to let <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/27/ap/politics/mainD8DGI2987.shtml">now-former Supreme Court nomineee Harriet Miers</a> know just where the door should hit her on the way out.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9837151/">“Let’s move on. In a month, who will remember the name Harriet Miers?”</a><br /><br />Yes, public criticism of her entire career was not enough -- why not speculate that she will quickly fade into obscurity as well? For that kick in the pants on the way down, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9598551/">Sen. Trent Lott</a> gets the CNB Backhand of the Day Award. Keep up the good work, Senator.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1130447180851956872005-10-26T23:41:00.000-05:002005-10-27T16:06:20.916-05:00Links to free music, vol. IIHere is the <a href="http://dusekblog.blogspot.com/2004/09/links-to-free-music-vol-i.html">link to the first free music entry</a>.<br /><br /><br /><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0006V4LWQ/002-8367657-6353608?v=glance"><em>I Will Love You</em> - Fisher<br /></a></strong>A very pretty song that has evidently been used in several movies. It is a straightforward love song that sounds a lot like Sarah McLachlan and the like. If you get lucky from this song, you can thank me later.<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://music.download.com/tedleo/3600-8592_32-100063862.html?tag=listing_song_artist"><em>Me and Mia</em> - Ted Leo and Pharmacists</a></strong><br />This incredible song was on the top 10 list for many critics for best song of 2004. Yes, I am behind the times in posting it now. If you had never heard of it before now, then you are even more behind the times, so there.<br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.salon.com/0000014/2005/09/11.html#a918"><strong><em>Hide and Seek</em> - Imogen Heap</strong></a><br />I am not big on electronica at all, but I cannot stop listening to this haunting song. I've read that it was used in the season finale of the OC (I've never actually seen the show), and Ms. Heap's group Frou Frou had a song on the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002J58LK/ref=pd_bbs_null_2/002-8367657-6353608?v=glance"><em>Garden State</em> soundtrack</a> (which also brought the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005JSHW/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/002-8367657-6353608?v=glance&s=music&st=*">Shins</a> to a much wider audience). I know nothing about the rest of her stuff -- I just know that this song is amazing.<br /><br /><a href="http://music.download.com/sufjanstevens/3600-8575_32-100606251.html?tag=sptlt_m"><strong><em>Casimir Pulaski Day</em> - Sufjan Stevens</strong></a><br />Sufjan Stevens has received a lot of critical praise for his album Illinois, a theme album with songs about, unsurprisingly, the state of Illinois. This song is about the death of a friend, but the title refers to a holiday here in Chicago (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_Pulaski">go here for more detail</a>). Very good song.<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000AOP92A/002-8367657-6353608?v=glance"><em>Three Good Reasons</em> - Dwight Yoakam<br /></a></strong>A free song off of Mr. Yoakam's latest album. Even if you don't like country, you might still like this, as his stuff tends to be more rockabilly. If you like traditional country, you will, as with Mr. Yoakam's prior work, enjoy this song.<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://ccmixter.org/people/stickymcbiscuit/stickymcbiscuit_-_I_Can_t_Hold_it_Down.mp3"><em>Can't Hold it Down</em> - Andy Sullivan</a></strong><br /><a href="http://www.andysullivan.com">Andy Sullivan</a> used to be in a band called <a href="http://www.citypages.com/databank/19/935/article6450.asp">Steeplejack</a>, which I followed quite a bit back when I lived in Minneapolis. They were heavily influenced by bluegrass and country long before O Brother Where Art Thou? made bluegrass more mainstream. This song is an instrumental that showcases Mr. Sullivan's adept guitar skills, and gives you a flavor of the kind of music that Steeplejack released. If you can find <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000006LZ9/qid=1130445059/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-8367657-6353608?v=glance&s=music">Kitchen Radio</a>, you should buy it, because you will not be sorry. In addition, you should buy Mr. Sullivan's upcoming album, because I bet you'd like that, too. For now, enjoy this free song (<a href="http://www.andysullivan.com/music.html">and the rest of his music, for that matter</a>).<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://www.soundclick.com/util/downloadSong.cfm?ID=2728777&key=02B04396-9"><em>Don't Look Back</em> - Mark Dvorak</a></strong><br />This is another instrumental, but I have a family connection here (Mark is married to my wife's sister). This is a fabulous song, which Mark self-produced by the way, that sort of sounds like it should be used in an expensive car commercial. You can find more of Mark's stuff <a href="http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=254371">here</a>, which is something I highly recommend.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1129832310305881772005-10-20T13:13:00.000-05:002005-10-20T13:18:30.313-05:00CNB Time-Waster of the Day<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3884/561/1600/illusion1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3884/561/400/illusion.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I have no idea why this works, but it does.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1129322047254733842005-10-13T23:30:00.000-05:002005-10-14T15:34:07.260-05:00Dueling Quotations<a href="http://www.rjchq.org/News.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=942">"You got to understand, thousands of people had to leave their homes, and left all their possessions behind, and went to shelters all throughout America. We have a duty to help them. "</a><br /><em>President George W. Bush's remarks to the Republican Jewish Coalition, Sept. 21, 2005.</em><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29612.html">"When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty."<br /><em>George Bernard Shaw</em></a><em>, Caesar and Cleopatra (1901).</em>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1129054011441104652005-10-11T12:35:00.000-05:002005-10-11T13:06:51.486-05:00Conservation, Bush Administration StyleThe Bush Administration is now saying we all should be conserving (lest we become cartoonish energy gluttons like <a href="http://www.energyhog.org/">the Energy Hog</a>). CNB agrees, and thinks the President can start by cutting down on his flights to useless photo-ops. Maybe, just maybe, he could even push Congress to enact fuel economy standards that boost the current standards by 5 or 10 miles per gallon during the next five years. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/white_house/july-dec01/cheney_7-18.html">"Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy."</a> <em>Vice President Dick Cheney, July 2001.</em>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1128968492720105822005-10-10T13:18:00.000-05:002005-10-10T13:21:32.773-05:00Joy in Mudville<a href="http://minnesota.foxsports.scout.com/2/450237.html?refid=400">“Bring it over here. I want to finally see what that thing looks like.”</a><br /><br /><em>Glen Mason, football coach of the <a href="http://www.gophersports.com">Minnesota Golden Gophers</a>, 10/07/05, in reference to the <a href="http://www.gophersports.com/history/mfball/LittleBrownJug.asp?sport_id=mfball">Little Brown Jug</a> after <a href="http://www.college-football--tickets.net/minnesota/history.htm">Minnesota</a> beat the Michigan Wolverines <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores105/105281/NCAAF145418.htm">23-20</a>. <a href="http://www.umn.edu">Minnesota</a>, despite its <a href="http://members.tripod.com/~gopherfootball/">historically strong program</a> (including <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html">six national championships</a>, thank you), last beat Michigan in 1986. Mason became coach of the Gophers (<a href="http://www.gophersports.com/sportsNews/press_release.asp?news_id=11276&sport_id=mfball">currently ranked 22nd</a>) in 1996.</em><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong><a href="http://www.gophersports.com">Go Gophers.</a></strong></span>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1128547017260827572005-10-06T23:03:00.000-05:002005-10-07T15:44:42.253-05:00Quotes from Dopes“<a href="http://brownback.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=245875">There is nothing more American than the Pledge of Allegiance and an acknowledgement of God is at the heart of our founding principles and is our nation’s motto</a>."<br /><em>Sen. Sam Brownback (whose name, when combined with "potential presidential candidate" sends chills down my spine), 9/16/05. </em><br /><em></em><br />Sen. Brownback is evidently unaware that our nation's motto, <a href="http://usscouts.org/flag/sealmotto.html">up until 1956</a> -- <a href="http://slate.msn.com/?id=2067499">about the same time "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance</a> -- was "E Pluribus Unum." Sen. Brownback is further unaware that the Pledge of Allegiance was written by a <a href="http://www.cato.org/dailys/11-04-03.html">Socialist</a> in 1892. Finally, Sen. Brownback likely does not notice that the term "God" appears nowhere in <a href="http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/constitution/index.html">the Constitution</a>, <a href="http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/constitution/amendments.html">Bill of Rights</a>, or even the <a href="http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/documents/aofc.html">Articles of Confederation</a>. Admittedly, the phrase <a href="http://history.hanover.edu/hhr/hhr93_1.html">"Nature's God"</a> does appear in the Declaration of Independence (which also posited that we are "endowed by our Creator" with certain unalienable rights, and the signers asked help from "divine Providence"), but that document, while important to American history, is not the operative document for our federal government.<br /><br />Unsurprisingly, Sen. Brownback is a sponsor of the <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.520:">Constitution Restoration Act of 2005</a>, which would <a href="http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2005/07/21/news/local/viewpoint0722.txt">prevent the Supreme Court</a> from hearing any case that questions the acknowledgement by any governmental entity (or agent thereof) "of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government." Sen. Brownback -- if we replaced "Allah" with "God", would that make our country sound any <em>more</em> like a theocracy? <br /><br />I also get very tired of the argument (recently before the Supreme Court, and a probable cause of Sen. Brownback's senseless bill) that the Ten Commandments are the cornerstone of United States jurisprudence. Absent provisions against killing and stealing and lying (it is a bit of a stretch, but this could apply to perjury), there is nothing in the law that is based upon the commandments (I guess you could argue that "blue laws" are meant to keep the Sabbath holy). Best case: 40% of those tablets are actually in our laws. I went to law school, yet learned nothing about how it was illegal to covet anything of your neighbor. Coveting appears to be a wholly legal thing to do (although I don't know that your neighbor would appreciate you ogling his wife), as is telling your mother to bug off (or worse). Tell me again how this was the basis for our legal system?<br /><br />If you want see some of the basis for our legal system (and the systems upon which we based our system), check out <a href="http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm">Hammurabi's Code of Laws</a> from (shudder!) the Middle East (<a href="http://i-cias.com/e.o/babylonia.htm">Babylonia</a>, to be exact). Not only does it read like a criminal code, it actually gives penalties for wrongdoing, unlike the mere admonitions in the Ten Commandments. The Prologue talks about deities, but none are a Christian God.<br /><br />To be fair, Sen. Brownback <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/news/politics/12828351.htm">did vote</a> for the McCain amendment that would ban use of torture by U.S. Armed Forces. That was good.<br /><br /><a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-10-03T204616Z_01_YUE374548_RTRUKOC_0_US-RELIGION-ALABAMA-MOORE.xml&archived=False">“It is a crucial time to run for office when rights and liberties are being eroded."<br /></a><em><a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-10-03T204616Z_01_YUE374548_RTRUKOC_0_US-RELIGION-ALABAMA-MOORE.xml&archived=False">Roy Moore</a>, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, 10/4/05, announcing his candidacy for governor of Alabama.</em><br /><br />Never meeting a camera he did not like, former judge Moore has (against the <a href="http://dusekblog.blogspot.com/2004/12/god-asked-to-answer-roy-moore-in.html">explicit request of CNB</a>) chosen to inflict himself upon the nice people of Alabama. My Ten Commandments diatribe actually applies more to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/08/22/ten.commandments/">this guy</a> than it does Sen. Brownback.<br /><br />I love the fact that this guy thinks that the civil rights being eroded are those of Christians. Hell, the gigantic object that took Moore down (the 5300-pound stone, not his hubris) went on a <a href="http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041116/NEWS01/411160327/1002/NEWS">15-state tour</a> to underscore the fight for Christian rights. Yes, that ranks up there with the daily discrimination of white men - the never-ending discrimination against Christians. Why, I have difficulty even finding a church! Poor Christians must go underground to practice their beliefs! Wait -- <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3002890.stm">that is in China</a> (a.k.a. our "<a href="http://www.itds.treas.gov/mfn.html">most favored nation</a>"). <br /><br />As for Moore, <a href="http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/auto/epaper/editions/friday/metro_state_34339a3554b32291003e.html">some</a> say <a href="http://dignan.redstate.org/story/2005/10/5/142418/804">he is the Achilles' heel of the GOP</a>. If that is true (and I don't know that it is), then, to use a <a href="http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Galatians%206:7-8&version=9;">Christian phrase</a>, the GOP will finally reap what it <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1128696623219490.xml&coll=9">sows</a>.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1127768815235067392005-09-30T14:55:00.000-05:002005-10-03T15:10:19.086-05:00CNB Time-Wasters, September 2005Tired of doing work? Looking for a reason to procrastinate? Let CNB help by showing you the CNB Time-Wasters of September 2005.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate" target="_blank"><strong>Boilerplate, the Victorian Era Robot.</strong></a> The creator of this site, Paul Guinan, is a true artist. In fact, this site is so well-done that some historians evidently believed it (whoever they were, if they bought it after seeing the photo with <a href="http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/soldier/bp.pancho.html">Pancho Villa</a>, they should not be teaching other humans). With some well-done photos that exhibit Mr. Guinan's astonishing attention to detail, this is the type of site (joke or not) to which others should aspire. And, yes, <a href="http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/bp.report.html">it is a joke</a>.<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://www.absolution-online.com/">Absolution Online.</a></strong> Want to confess your sins but don't have time to get to a church? Well, look no further than this free website <em>(that advises you it has no connection to any church, in a very weak "disclaimer")</em>. After a few guided clicks that give you choices of type and severity of sin, you review your confessed sins (almost like a shopping basket at an online store) and reach the absolution page. Sure, it's less theatrical than a real confessional, but there's no collection basket.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1128106128698473582005-09-29T23:34:00.000-05:002005-10-03T15:06:50.016-05:00Intelligent Design as PanaceaA writer whose intelligence and wit just gets better with every article, Dahlia Lithwick of Slate, summed up her <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2127054/">satirical article on Intelligent Design</a> by stating that:<br /><br />Replacing every single gap in human knowledge with a theory of divine agency would save us billions of dollars in wasteful public education.<br /><br />That has been my problem with Intelligent Design (<em><a href="http://dusekblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/kansas-one-step-forward-but-forty.html">as previously stated in CNB</a></em>) -- its essential tenet is that something (possibly someone) somewhere must have designed (<strong>not</strong><em> created</em>, mind you) the Earth, stars, etc. The basis for this general, and wholly unprovable, theory includes scientific-sounding phrases like "irreducible complexity," but I'll leave the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9452500/">techinical responses</a> to others more qualified than I.<br /><br />Pres. Bush thinks we should teach ID alongside evolution. However, can the teacher then postulate that the "intelligent designer" was, in fact, a <a href="http://www.venganza.org/">flying spaghetti monster</a>? <a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00028F2D-968B-1C5A-B882809EC588ED9F">Space aliens?</a> Sure seems to me that creative science teachers could <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster">highlight the inherent flaws</a> in the the IDology (you read that <a href="http://dusekblog.blogspot.com">here</a> first) better than the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9444600/">pending lawsuit in Dover, PA</a>.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1127421247379895912005-09-25T23:41:00.000-05:002005-09-26T15:50:00.356-05:00World's Worst Excuses, September 2005<strong>Rafael Palmeiro, the Baltimore Oriole who</strong> <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8788603/"><strong>tested positive</strong></a><strong> for steroids <span style="font-size:85%;"><em>(after telling Congress in June 2005 that </em></span><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/17/entertainment/main681162.shtml"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>“I have never used steroids. Period.” </em></span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>)</em></span>.</strong><br />Palmeiro had stated that <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8964928/">“My day will come when I can say what happened"</a> but then when that day came, he blamed it on a pill (he says he thought was a B-12 vitamin) <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9437465/">from teammate Miguel Tejada</a>. I guess I would try to use something better than the equivalent of "I was holding it for a friend" or "I just take whatever Miguel gives me" if I had built up the excuse beforehand.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--firefighterarrest0912sep12,0,1292538.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork"><strong>Edward Dailey</strong></a><strong>, NY firefighter.</strong><br />Mr. Dailey was arraigned on September 19 in relation to charges of criminal assault of a Bangladeshi newsstand employee. According to witnesses, an visibly inebriated Dailey said <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/345655p-295069c.html">"You look like you're Al Qaeda"</a> before throwing a Plexiglass window at the employee. If true (I <em>am</em> a lawyer, you know), Mr. Dailey will have shown that that not only the President can use 9/11 as an feeble excuse for unrelated malfeasance. The proof? Mr. Dailey became a firefighter in 2004 -- he wasn't with the FDNY in September 2001.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1127249303682841062005-09-20T15:35:00.000-05:002005-09-20T15:48:23.690-05:00Who writes Google summaries?If you <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Cleverly+Named+Blog%22">look up "Cleverly Named Blog" on Google</a> (<em>and I know at least a few of you have -- statcounter.com gives lots of info, you know</em>), the summary is "Cleverly Named Blog. Wry, dry, and superfly." I appreciate being considered "superfly" (with apologies to <a href="http://www.superseventies.com/spsuperfly.html">Mr. Mayfield</a>, of course) but I did not write that. Who did?<br /><br />I have also found that description <a href="http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.blah3.com/odp/index.php?c=/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a>, <a href="http://performingarts.net/odp/index.cgi?/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a>, <a href="http://cruises.alladvice.info/cruisefyi/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.jokery.com/sitesearch.php?sessionid=&browse=/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.surfy.com/dir/dir.php?browse=/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.heraldextra.com/directory.php?browse=/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.beachcomp.com/Search/index.php?c=/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.balochistan.org/dir/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a> (<em>with screenshots</em>), <a href="http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C/">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.seolp.com/odp/index.php?c=Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/Personal/C">here</a> (although most or all of these may just be copying Google).CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1127240508874474372005-09-20T13:19:00.000-05:002005-09-20T13:23:31.330-05:00R.I.P. Marshall Field's<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3884/561/1600/fields1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 142px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="151" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3884/561/200/fields.jpg" width="154" border="0" /></a><br />Federated Department Stores (an accurate name, in view of their ownership of every department store I can think of) <a href="http://www.freep.com/news/latestnews/pm6119_20050920.htm">announced that it is changing the name</a> of the Marshall Field's chain of department stores to Macy's. It is causing a bit of a problem here in Chicago, because the Field's name has associated with Chicago retail for <a href="http://www.fields.com/common/store_history.jsp">150 years</a>, and folks are still miffed that they no longer make <a href="http://www.fields.com/common/fl_frango.jsp">Frango chocolates</a> in Chicago anymore.<br /><br />Funny thing is, the stores known as Dayton's (what I grew up with in Minnesota) and Hudson's (Michigan) changed their names to Field's <a href="http://www.fields.com/common/store_history.jsp">in 2001,</a> despite their long history in their respective states. I guess Field's was just due.<br /><br />Although I think changing the name of every Field's store to Macy's does not make much marketing sense (<em>people <strong>love</strong> Field's here, even though they can find the same thing for less somewhere else</em>), I have long since stopped trying to understand corporate decisionmaking. In the end, I don't think that the axis of the Earth will be knocked <strong><em>too</em></strong> far off of its axis because I end up buying a tie at Macy's and not Field's.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1126817349969254192005-09-16T14:24:00.000-05:002005-09-16T16:12:11.886-05:00Blog OverloadAs the few people who read this blog know (<em>or those who stumbled upon it and are able to do simple arithmetic based on the dates of entries</em>), I have not been doing a very good job of keeping this blog up. August was a spectacularly busy month for me work-wise, and I actually took a week off (mostly) for vacation. However, my lack of posting has more to do with a general questioning of the purpose of this blog as opposed to a lack of time -- I still seem to watch a fair amount of television.<br /><br />I guess the real issue has been that there are so many damned blogs out there, it is difficult to put forth an original thought. I am not a journalist by trade, so my work and this blog do not dovetail. Frankly, if I wrote about what I did for a living, I'd have even fewer people reading this than before (if that is possible).<br /><br />I just wonder (<a href="http://andysullivan.typepad.com/solid_math_a_little_heavy/2005/09/vedders_and_mat.html">like Andy Sullivan</a>, formerly of Steeplejack -- a great alt-country band from Minneapolis in the mid-90s) if bloggers are a bunch of people who like to read their own words as much as they enjoy the sound of their own voices (<em>I am nothing if not self-aware</em>). I read other blogs from time to time, and the majority of them have an "about me" link that explains that the blog was started because the blogger, irrespective of political affiliation, was "tired of yelling at the TV news." If not that, bloggers tend to tell you what they had for lunch, how much they hate their bosses, etc. Thus, it seems like most of the blogosphere is just the written equivalent of (1) those folks on the bus or in a coffee shop who are furiously writing in their journals, (2) that crazy uncle who will not shut up about what he feels the Supreme Court <em>really</em> should be doing, or (3) asshole partisan talking heads who debate unimportant minutiae that is forgotten the minute another subject is discussed. Why do any of us care?<br /><br />Do I really need Instapundit to provide a one-word grunt that links to an actual piece of writing? (<em>Here is a very funny </em><a href="http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2005/09/yes_i_can.html"><em>blog entry</em></a><em> on his lack of actual commentary, proving that all blogs are not useless.</em>) Is it somehow more creative if you cut and paste someone else's document to your blog? Do I care that 45 people can link me to the same damned photo and then make the same damned comment (and then blogroll each other to drive up their traffic)? How many times can I read that liberals are spineless or that Bush is a moron?<br /><br />Thus, I try to write when I actually have something to say, rather than when I feel the need to say something (something my friend Steve Powers has been trying to instill -- <em>inside one for you Powie</em> -- in me for the better part of 15 years). I really appreciate that some folks actually do visit this blog, and I think that is the very purpose of this blog, as well as most others -- validation. I guess I want to ensure that there is something different, and that it is not one of 500 others. I shall do my best to do that in the future.CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1126554844854564302005-09-12T14:40:00.000-05:002005-09-12T14:54:04.876-05:00Heckuva Job Brownie<div class="tag_list"><a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Mike" rel="tag">Michael</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Brown" rel="tag">Brown</a>, the head of <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/FEMA" rel="tag">FEMA</a> (a formerly reputable organization funded by our tax dollars) <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=apzWfjJ3f1hs&refer=top_world_news">has quit</a>. CNB is unaware if the lack of <a href="http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=100857">Arabian horses</a> in the <a href="http://www.redcross.org/pressrelease/0,1077,0_314_4583,00.html">Katrina disaster</a> was a cause of the still-unexplained delay in federal response, but it appears that in resigning, he has lived up to Pres. Bush's lauding of Brown doing a <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/02/national/a085443D30.DTL">"heck of a job."</a> </div>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1122459203571558532005-07-26T23:49:00.000-05:002005-07-27T05:14:32.663-05:00The Fun of Living in ChicagoHow many major cities have bounties put upon their mayors? Some Republicans here are <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/072605_reward_daley.html">offering a $10,000 reward</a> to any whistleblower with information that leads to the indictment and conviction of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_M._Daley">Mayor Richard M. Daley</a> (<em>son of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Daley">Richard J. "Shoot to Kill" Daley</a></em>) on corruption charges.<br /><br />Even if you don't live here, <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2123240/">Slate offers an explanation</a> of why it sometimes feels like you do (getting stuck at O'Hare).CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1122341634401986302005-07-25T21:30:00.000-05:002005-07-25T21:36:21.776-05:00Gannon Lives!<span style="color:#000099;"><strong><u>The good question that McClellan refuses to answer:</u></strong> </span><br /><br />Q I know that none of you are speaking about this because it's an ongoing investigation. Can you explain why Alberto Gonzales would go on TV yesterday and do that, and talk about it?<br /><br />MR. McCLELLAN: Well, what he said was already said from this podium back in October of 2003, and I don't think he got into commenting in any substantive way on the discussion. But the President has said that we will be glad to talk about this once the investigation has come to a conclusion, but not until then. And there have certainly been preferences expressed to the White House that we not get into discussing it while it is ongoing.<br /><br /><strong><u><span style="color:#000099;">Followed immediately by the slanted softball to save him:</span></u></strong><br /><br />Q Scott, a two-part. Sean Hannity has just rebroadcast Senator Orrin Hatch's statement that Senator Charles Schumer's questioning of nominee John Roberts was so hostile in 2003 that they were, in Senator Hatch's expressed and twice repeated definition, "dumb-ass questions," which characterization Senator Hatch repeated twice and refused to retract --<br /><br />MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, was this the confirmation hearings or -- no, never mind. (Laughter.)<br /><br />Q This was in 2003. Does the White House expect that Senator Schumer will be any less hostile next month or in early September, and stop asking such questions?<br /><br />MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President is optimistic that the Senate is going to move forward in a dignified way on the confirmation process, one that rises above partisanship. . .<strong><em>[virtually identical stockphrases and talking points deleted]</em></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;">These Gannonesque questions came from </span></strong><a href="http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45438"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Les Kinsolving of WorldNetDaily</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#000099;">, proving that you don't have to be a fake journalist to act like one.</span></strong>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1121189167891882142005-07-12T12:52:00.000-05:002005-07-12T12:52:57.706-05:00Karl Rove on . . .well . . .Karl Rove<strong><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8306049/">"They’re putting their commitment to politics above their commitment to doing what’s right for the country"</a></strong><br /><em><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Karl+Rove" rel="tag">Karl Rove</a>, June 22, 2005, speaking about the Democratic senators who have blocked the John Bolton vote. However, in view of his current situation, it would appear to much more applicable to Mr. <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/rove" rel="tag">Rove</a>. </em><br /><em></em><br />I thought Clinton could parse words, but the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20050704/cm_huffpost/003637/nc:742">"I never actually said her name" defense</a> is the new champ, particularly when you think about the fact that what we are talking about is the identification of a CIA agent by the President's chief political advisor (and current Deputy Chief of Staff) in an effort to discredit her husband, a critic of the President. <em></em>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353047.post-1121181620353530752005-07-12T11:09:00.000-05:002005-07-12T12:47:14.906-05:00Scott McClellan = Worthless ShillWhen questioned by reporters yesterday about the Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove connection to the leaking of the identity of undercover CIA analyst Valerie (Wilson) Plame, White House Press Secretary McClellan <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/07/20050711-3.html">repeatedly said he couldn't comment</a> because the matter is under investigation.<br /><br />However, many reporters pointed out that<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8545657/"> McClellan had commented previously</a> even though the investigation was ongoing. For example, in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2005/07/11/politics/20050712rove_graphic.html">September and October 2003</a>, McClellan stated that "The President knows that Karl Rove wasn't involved," "It was a ridiculous suggestion," and, "It's not true."<br /><br />Yesterday, the exchange <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/12/cia.leaks/index.html">went as follows</a>:<br /><strong><u>Question:</u></strong> "You stood at that podium and said that Karl Rove was not involved, and now we find out that he spoke about Joseph Wilson's wife. So don't you owe the American public a fuller explanation?"<br /><strong><u>McClellan:</u></strong> "There will be a time to talk about this, but now is not the time to talk about it."<br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/McClellan" rel="tag">McClellan</a> concluded with: <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/07/20050711-3.html">"I've really said all I'm going to say on it."</a>CNBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14754257262042122269noreply@blogger.com0