December 31, 2004

The Threat to Freedom

Lew Rockwell gets it close to right:

What is the most pressing and urgent threat to freedom that we face in our time? It is not from the left. If anything, the left has been solid on civil liberties and has been crucial in drawing attention to the lies and abuses of the Bush administration. No, today, the clear and present danger to freedom comes from the right side of the ideological spectrum, those people who are pleased to preserve most of free enterprise but favor top-down management of society, culture, family, and school, and seek to use a messianic and belligerent nationalism to impose their vision of politics on the world.
The bit he misses is that these folks are not interested in free enterprise and like much of the rest of their rhetoric think doublespeak. When they say free enterprise or free market you should interpret it as we have found another way to protect our corporate sponsers from the market.

Via Stephen Horowitz at Power and Liberty.

Posted by Steve on December 31, 2004

Friday Ark

Cats, Dogs, Spiders and ? every Friday.

I'll post links to sites that have Friday (or shortly thereafter) photos of their chosen animals as I see them (no photoshops and no humans).

Leave a comment or trackback to this post and I'll add yours to the list.

Do remember The Carnival of the Cats every Sunday and hosted this week at Martini Pundit.

Archive editions of the Friday Ark.

NOTE: Updates will likely be a bit sporadic due to travel, festivities, questionable net access, and, well, you know all the stuff that goes with New Years....

Cats

DogsBirdsOther VertebratesInvertebrates
Didn't Make It

Posted by Steve on December 31, 2004 | Comments (7)

December 30, 2004

On the Road Again

I'll be away from home today through Saturday evening and will have no connectivity most of today and limited dial access the rest of the time.

I will get the Friday Ark up early tomorrow but updates will be somewhat limited until Saturday night or Sunday.

Posted by Steve on December 30, 2004

December 29, 2004

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

As a bush aid says:

"Actions speak louder than words," a top Bush aide said, describing the president's view of his appropriate role.
and bush is acting:
the president was confident he could monitor events effectively without returning to Washington or making public statements in Crawford, where he spent part of the day clearing brush and bicycling.
How about a minute or two of some meaningful action like, say, an executive order sending 10, 20, 30 thousand troops with hammers, nails, and other tools of reconstruction to the disaster areas.

Via The Talking Points Memo.

Update (12/30): The administration has begun sending military units to provide aid. Thank you!

Posted by Steve on December 29, 2004 | Comments (3)

December 28, 2004

Good Law

If you are not getting this:

In short, it should be possible to explain everything in law in perfectly simple, everyday, common sense terms. That should be the law student's, the lawyer's, and the judge's creed.
Then you are not getting good law.

Update: Posner doesn't mention legislative folks in the creed statement. Perhaps because legislative types are incapable of writing good law....

Posted by Steve on December 28, 2004

December 27, 2004

Blawggies

Dennis Kennedy presents his winners and runners-up for best legal blogs of 2004:

The Blawggies are not based on any popular votes, surveys or scientific measures. They are highly-opinionated choices made by me, based on my experience, expertise and likes and dislikes.

In general, I like to see blogs (1) consistently useful content, (2) a generous and helpful approach, and (3) a combination of commitment and talent. In other words, I like blogs that compel me to read them on a regular basis. I read almost all blog posts in a newsreader these days, so the awards will reflect a bias toward blogs with full-text RSS feeds as well as all of my other biases and personal preferences.

Check'm out and add to your feeds and rolls as suits your tastes.

Via beSpacific (Kennedy's choice as #1).

Posted by Steve on December 27, 2004

December 25, 2004

MERRY CHRISTMAS


Posted by Steve on December 25, 2004

December 24, 2004

Friday Ark

Cats, Dogs, Spiders and ? every Friday.

I'll post links to sites that have Friday (or shortly thereafter) photos of their chosen animals as I see them (no photoshops and no humans).

Leave a comment or trackback to this post and I'll add yours to the list.

Remember The Carnival of the Cats every Sunday and hosted this week at Laurence's place.

Archive editions of the Friday Ark.

Cats

DogsBirdsOther VertebratesInvertebratesDidn't Make It

Posted by Steve on December 24, 2004 | Comments (3)

December 23, 2004

The War on Comment Spam

MT-Blacklist v2.03-beta released

and

Movable Type 3.14 released

I'll give both a week plus to go through some more real life testing before upgrading but upgrade I will!

I have been very, very happy with MT 3.12 and MT Blacklist.

Posted by Steve on December 23, 2004

Talking out Their....

Media Matters lists their pick of the Top Ten Most flatulent Outrageous Statements of 2004.

Has anyone run across a right leaning variant of this? A comparison might be entertaining.

Via Political Parrhesia.

Posted by Steve on December 23, 2004

December 21, 2004

8 More Months

Well, slightly less until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released on July 16, 2005.

It is already number 1 at Amazon.

Hey, I like this series and I want it now!

And, I want more not less. These are pretty easy reads so if weight is a factor, and the last one was heavy, make the print smaller, use lighter paper, whatever, just don't cut back on the content.

Posted by Steve on December 21, 2004 | Comments (1)

December 20, 2004

Previewing the Supremes

For those of you who would like to know a little more but not everything about upcoming Supreme Court cases here is some help:

The liibulletin is a Cornell Law School electronic journal. Its editorial board comprises second- and third-year law students, who are responsible for every aspect of the journal's management, from selecting decisions for commentary to researching, writing, editing, and producing the journal content in HTML. The 2004-05 bulletin will explore cases currently before the US Supreme Court. Bulletin content is available on this site and by (free) email subscription.
Happy reading!

Via beSpacific.

Posted by Steve on December 20, 2004

Let the Kid Out Regularly

PZ Meyers posts his 3rd grade class picture:

And for you younger readers, I have to tell you�that buck-toothed kid with the crewcut in the middle row is still here. All of us greying geezers still have a little boy or girl somewhere inside us, and there are still days when we�re a little dismayed that we�re not going to have recess after lunch, or that we don�t get to go home to mom and dad anymore. Youth is never really gone, it just gets buried under layers of new stuff as time goes by.
You will feel more comfortable if you remove some of those layers from time to time....even if a tear or two flows.

Posted by Steve on December 20, 2004

December 19, 2004

Are You a Vegan Stuck in Leather?

Check out the "cruelty-free" products at MooShoes.

Via A Handful of Sand.

Posted by Steve on December 19, 2004

December 17, 2004

Friday Ark

Cats, Dogs, Spiders and ? every Friday.

I'll post links to sites that have Friday (or shortly before or after) photos of their chosen animals as I see them (no photoshops and no humans).

Leave a comment or trackback to this post and I'll add yours to the list. If there is interest I'll keep this as a weekly feature.

Do remember The Carnival of the Cats every Sunday and hosted this week at Sharp as a Marble.

Archive editions of the Friday Ark.

Update: I'm on the road most of today so next updates will be early evening Eastern time.

Cats

DogsBirdsOther VertebratesInvertebratesDidn't Make It

Posted by Steve on December 17, 2004 | Comments (8)

December 16, 2004

Need a Unique Gift?

Consider a carnivorous plant!

For instance, if fruit flies are a nuisance a Lance-Leafed Sundew (Drosera adelae) might be just right:


Lance-leafedsundew.gif


Via The Esoteric Science Resource Center.

Posted by Steve on December 16, 2004 | Comments (2)

December 15, 2004

Dissent

Geof Stone, author of Perilous Times, is guest blogging at Lawrence Lessig's place.

Start here:

Can we learn the lessons of history? Can we avoid repeating the mistakes of the past? Given the pressures and fears of war, can we discipline ourselves both as individuals and as a nation to respect civil liberties even in a time of war? And is it even sensible to talk seriously about civil liberties in wartime? What do you think?
Then go back to the main blog page to pick up subsequent entries.

What do I think? In brief: our servants shall not infringe on our freedom.

I am, though, going to follow this thread closely and may have more to say as it progresses. And, I added Stone's book to my Amazon Wish List (I'll probably buy it when I place my last xmas order).

Posted by Steve on December 15, 2004

December 14, 2004

From the Medical Community

Grand Rounds 12.

Via db's Medical Rants.

Posted by Steve on December 14, 2004

Turkey and the EU

There are probably lots of good reasons for the EU to bring Turkey into their club. However, taking a page out of the bush playbook is not one of them:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned European Union leaders that violence from Islamic extremists could escalate if the EU rejects Turkey as a member.
But, then, extortion is an oft used tool of government.

Via the Mahalanobis.

Posted by Steve on December 14, 2004

December 13, 2004

Government Failure

Via Avedon I learned that John Perry Barlow is going to court, is doing battle for our freedom:

Apparently, everyone else who has been arrested as a consequences of these inspections, and there have been many, has pled guilty rather than face the cost and trouble of mounting a constitutional defense.

I might have done so myself had it not been for Gilmore's willingness to support the handsome cost of my defense. That, and the recognition that unconstitutional behavior by the authorities is constrained only by the peoples' willingness to contest them.

That his defense has a handsome cost, that people plead guilty rather than face the cost and trouble of contesting in court tells me that we no longer have a system of justice for the people of this country. People must be able to challenge the behavior of government, business, and other people in a timely fashion and at a reasonable cost. The backlogged courts and monopoly cost of legal assistance are significant failures of federal, state, and city governments in the US.

Posted by Steve on December 13, 2004 | Comments (1)

December 10, 2004

Another Cool Google Feature

Search autofill or auto guess. By the second letter of your query entry, Google Suggest, starts making suggestions and includes the number of references available. This should be especially helpful if you are not quite sure of your spelling, the best search string to use, or the exact description of your desired bit of information.

Another way to spin out cobwebs.....some of this stuff is getting too damn fun.

Via Dan Gillmor.

Posted by Steve on December 10, 2004

Friday Ark

Cats, Dogs, Spiders and ? every Friday.

I'll post links to sites that have Friday (or shortly thereafter) photos of their chosen animals as I see them (no photoshops and no humans).

Leave a comment or trackback to this post and I'll add yours to the list.

Remember The Carnival of the Cats every Sunday and hosted this week at CathColl.net.

Archive editions of the Friday Ark.

Cats

DogsBirdsOther Vertebrates
InvertebratesDidn't Make It

Posted by Steve on December 10, 2004 | Comments (2)

December 9, 2004

Going in Circles

Our local transportation folks are excited about traffic circles. I have not been as thrilled. The first one installed creates backups in a direction that did not have backups before and does not eliminate the backups on the side street that previously had them.

It may be that I have not been thinking about this in the right way:

The circle is remarkable for what it doesn't contain: signs or signals telling drivers how fast to go, who has the right-of-way, or how to behave. There are no lane markers or curbs separating street and sidewalk, so it's unclear exactly where the car zone ends and the pedestrian zone begins. To an approaching driver, the intersection is utterly ambiguous - and that's the point.

Monderman and I stand in silence by the side of the road a few minutes, watching the stream of motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians make their way through the circle, a giant concrete mixing bowl of transport. Somehow it all works. The drivers slow to gauge the intentions of crossing bicyclists and walkers. Negotiations over right-of-way are made through fleeting eye contact. Remarkably, traffic moves smoothly around the circle with hardly a brake screeching, horn honking, or obscene gesture. "I love it!" Monderman says at last. "Pedestrians and cyclists used to avoid this place, but now, as you see, the cars look out for the cyclists, the cyclists look out for the pedestrians, and everyone looks out for each other. You can't expect tr

This makes me reconsider my dislike for our local traffic circle. It seems to make sense to eliminate things like stop signs and traffic lights so that users can make decisions based on the existing local context. Perhaps we will see more of this in other areas of government activity.

Via Marginal Revolution.

Posted by Steve on December 9, 2004 | Comments (1)

December 8, 2004

Wine and Commerce

Lynn Kiesling is a bit unhappy with Justice Souter. Her words to him: with all due respect, sir, bite me.

I second this.

The case argued before the Supremes yesterday has to do with interstate sale of wine, the commerce clause, and the 21st amendment. In the grand scheme of things this is pretty important stuff . Lynn's post has links to additional informative material.

I do, though, hate to see so many bright folks wasting energy on issues that should not even be up for discussion. A much more interesting and valuable constitutional amendment than some of the others that have been floated recently would be something like:

federal, state and local governments may not interfere with commerce between or amongst individuals and associations of individuals. Federal, state, and local governments may provide services for the adjudication of disputes related to fraud, theft, or contractual disagreement. Adjudicants may, by mutual agreement, use alternate dispute resolution services.
And strike the commerce clause, the 21st amendment and anything else gets in the way of me, Lynn, or anyone else making consensual exchanges of whatever we want to exchange domestically or internationally.

Posted by Steve on December 8, 2004

December 7, 2004

bush43 joins bush41 as Double Winner

bush43 won the Doublespeak Award for the second year in a row joining his father bush41 as a two time winner. Other two time winners include: ronald reagan, the US departments of state and defense, and newt gingrich.

Well, I stretched that a bit. The 2004 award went to the entire bush administration and:

President George W. Bush, for the second year in a row, has set a high standard for his team by the inspired invention of the phrase "weapons of mass destruction-related program activities" (1) to describe what has yet to be seen. Further he has made clear the principle of democratic discussion: "[A]s you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say."
Read the list of past recipients and some of you may find this article useful: Doublespeak Detection for the English Classroom (PDF).

Via Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...it's all FUBAR now.

Posted by Steve on December 7, 2004

December 6, 2004

Bringing Freedom to Iraq

Just how soon might we expect the bushies to bring home their latest version of freedom?

US commanders and Iraqi leaders have declared their intention to make Fallujah a "model city," where they can maintain the security that has eluded them elsewhere.
Which apparently requires stuff like this:
Under the plans, troops would funnel Fallujans to so-called citizen processing centers on the outskirts of the city to compile a database of their identities through DNA testing and retina scans. Residents would receive badges displaying their home addresses that they must wear at all times. Buses would ferry them into the city, where cars, the deadliest tool of suicide bombers, would be banned.

......

One idea that has stirred debate among Marine officers would require all men to work, for pay, in military-style battalions. Depending on their skills, they would be assigned jobs in construction, waterworks, or rubble-clearing platoons.

And, it is convenient to try to place the blame somewhere else:
To accomplish those goals, they think they will have to use coercive measures allowed under martial law imposed last month by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

"It's the Iraqi interim government that's coming up with all these ideas," Major General Richard Natonski, who commanded the Fallujah assault and oversees its reconstruction, said of the plans for identity badges and work brigades.

If these are really Allawi's ideas then why is the US supporting someone so obviously opposed to basic principles of freedom? It seems to me that representatives of the land of the free should just say no to this kind of crap.

Via Scott.

Posted by Steve on December 6, 2004

December 5, 2004

November's Top Referrers

On the right side bar is the updated roll of Modulator's 20 top referrers for the month of November. Number 20 produced 21 referrals compared to 16 for number 20 in October.

November churn: 7 blogs dropped and 7 new ones added compared to 9 and 8 in September.

Overall traffic was up about 34.5% from October and up 423% from November 03 (no I do not expect the year to year growth to continue at that rate). I am also seeing an increasing number of visits from folks who have bookmarked Modulator and I thank all of you for visiting!

Top Referrer: Talkleft! Thanks, Jeralyn.

Top search phrase/word: live strong bracelets

Most popular post: Live Strong

Statistics are culled from AWStats running on Modulator's server at Hosting Matters.

Again, thank you one and all!

Also, I'd like to acknowledge referrals from some of the blogosphere's 'service' sites: Technorati, weblogs.com, blogrolling.com, MovableType, Blogdex, Bloglines, blogoshpere.us, Sitemeter, NZ Bear's Ecosystem, Bloogz and Daypop.

All of the blog rolls are ordered by most recently updated so be sure to ping weblogs.com or blogrolling.com to push to the top of the rolls. These are certainly the sites I tend to look at first and visitors will see you at the top of the roll as well.

For a brief discussion of Modulator's blog rolls look here.

Posted by Steve on December 5, 2004

December 4, 2004

Sex Education Homework

Henry Waxman had the gall to criticize aspects of many of the abstinence only education programs funded in whole or in part by the federal government. Amongst other concerns, his report noted cases of "false, misleading, or distorted information" in the course material of many of the programs. Talk radio hosts1 and others on the right reacted heir usual ad hominum to hell with the facts response.

Abstinence is a fine choice to make and one that should be made with all the facts of life in hand. However, if one is going to choose to be sexually active, also a fine choice, then this choice should also be made with all the facts in hand.

So, in the spirit of christmas, and especially if you or your children have attended one of the abstinence mis-education classes head over here and here to learn a little bit about why if you are not going to abstain you should at least use a condom.

Warning: Not work friendly.

1Medved began his discussion of the topic by trying to discredit Waxman because Waxman is a liberal from the California coast.

Posted by Steve on December 4, 2004

December 3, 2004

Small Collision

Based on the Standard Model of the interactions of fundamental particles, Collision II shows a time-lapse view of two particles colliding.

gallery_collisionII.jpg

There is more of Dawn Meson's work here in Volume 1, Issue 2 of Symmetry and at her site.

PZ Myer should like this gallery of Deep Creatures.

Via David Harris.

Posted by Steve on December 3, 2004

Friday Ark

Cats, Dogs, Spiders and ? every Friday.

I'll post links to sites that have Friday (or shortly thereafter) photos of their chosen animals as I see them (no photoshops and no humans).

Leave a comment or trackback to this post and I'll add yours to the list. If there is interest I'll keep this as a weekly feature.

Do remember The Carnival of the Cats every Sunday and hosted this week at The Peoples Republic of Seabrook.

Privious editions: 11/26/04, 11/19/04, 11/12/04, 11/5/05, 10/29/04, 10/22/04, 10/15/2004, 10/8/2004, 10/1/2004 and 9/24/2004.

Cats

DogsBirdsOther VertebratesInvertebrates
Didn't Make It

Posted by Steve on December 3, 2004 | Comments (4)

December 2, 2004

Oh, My!

When you have some time zoom in!

Via Scott.

Posted by Steve on December 2, 2004 | Comments (1)

December 1, 2004

Federalism?

Jonah Goldberg thinks federalism is a good thing and rues the apparent abandonment of the concept by bush and other conservatives:

The virtue of a federalist, republican form of government is that the more you push these decisions down to the level where people actually have to live with their consequences, the more likely it is they will be a) involved and interested in the decision-making process, and b) happy with the result. Federalism is also morally superior because it requires the consent of the governed at the most basic level.
Goldberg, though, believes the "most basic level" is the individual state when, in fact, state level legislation exhibits the same problems as federal legislation, e.g., it can not properly take into account the local1 context and, as above, legislators at all levels are disconnected from the consequences of their decisions, their feedback loops are broken, the have likely been captured by moneyed interests, and their citizens are poorly served.

It is time for us, the citizens, to eliminate the federal, state, and, perhaps, city monopolies on creating law and implement federalism carried to a more appropriate level, a polycentric government structure.

Via Running Scared.

1At the level where human interactions take place.

Posted by Steve on December 1, 2004