Year: 2006
Unindicted Co-conspirator
Posted on November 10, 2006 in Occupation of Iraq
Should Rumsfeld hang with Saddam?
Is the Movie Next?
Posted on November 10, 2006 in Media
Das Kapital has been adapted for the stage:
Eight people – selected from among the few who have read the book from cover to cover – tell their own stories, creating a theatrical collage where Marx forms the common thread.
The play, Kapital: Volume One, is the brainchild of Rimini Protokoll, a collective of young German directors who have made a name for themselves in “documentary theatre”.
In Kapital, the participants make up a diverse bunch. There is a staunch Marxist who rails against Coca-Cola and the evils of consumer society, a socialist singer from the former communist east Germany, and a blind call-centre worker who dreams of going on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
Couldn’t be any more silly than Dancing with the Stars or Survivor, can it?
Allen Concedes
Posted on November 9, 2006 in Campaign 2006
We also have the Senate. What a great week for America!
How it Came Out
Posted on November 8, 2006 in California Watch Campaign 2006
| Prop # | Title | How I Voted | How It Came Out |
| Prop 1A | Transportation Funding Protection | No | Yes |
| Prop 1B-1E | Various Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Prop 83 | Sex Offender Monitoring | No | Yes* |
| Prop 84 | Water Quality, Park Improvement | Yes | Yes |
| Prop 85 | Parental Notification on Abortion | No | No |
| Prop 86 | Tax on Cigarettes | No | No |
| Prop 87 | Alternative Energy Tax | Yes | No |
| Prop 88 | Education Funding, Real Property Tax | No | No |
| Prop 89 | Public Financing of Political Campaigns | No | No |
| Prop 90 | Private Property | No | No |
*I was in a decided minority on this one.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Posted on November 8, 2006 in Campaign 2006
Doesn’t that have a great ring to it? I am proud to be part of this history.
Election bonus: Rumsfeld resigns.
How I Will Vote
Posted on November 7, 2006 in California Watch Campaign 2006
You can probably guess that I am voting a straight ticket — it’s been years since the Republicans launched a candidate that I could stomach — so here are my intentions for the day:
| Prop 1A | Transportation Funding Protection | No, I am tired of initiatives which attempt to prevent legislators from moving around funds when greater needs arise. |
| Prop 1B to 1E | Various Bonds | Yes |
| Prop 83 | Sex Offender Monitoring | No. Similar plan failed in Iowa. Money does not target family predators who constitute 80% of criminals in this category. |
| Prop 84 | Water Quality, Park Improvement | Yes. The Jarvis people don’t want this. |
| Prop 85 | Parental Notification on Abortion | No. Protects minors from incestuous and abusive families. |
| Prop 86 | Tax on Cigarettes | No. Some funny language about letting hospitals avoid anti-trust. A trojan. |
| Prop 87 | Alternative Energy Tax | Yes. Anything to piss the oil companies off. Drilling tax is the law in many other states including Texas. Why not use it to create alternative energy sources? |
| Prop 88 | Education Funding, Real Property Tax. | No. I would have to pay the same amount as a guy with 100 acres. |
| Prop 89 | Public Financing of Political Campaigns | No. League of Women Voters does not like this. |
| Prop 90 | Private Property | No! Written by big land interests. |
Answer to Questions #3
Posted on November 6, 2006 in Interviews Psychotropics
Raine asks: have you ever taken a MAOI ?
No.
Answer to Questions #2
Posted on November 6, 2006 in Campaign 2006 Interviews Terrorism
Dave Asked: Does it make sense to diagnose the mental health of societies as if they were individuals, or is that just a bad analogy?
Societies don’t acquire organic brain dysfunctions. They can, like the sufferers of personality disorders, begin to act in ways that qualify as dysfunctional. A fine example is the reaction that many Americans had after 9/11. For the longest time (and it may continue after the election with or without a Democratic victory). The United States became phobic and adopted all kinds of measures to “protect” itself. When all was said and done, many of these measures proved unenforceable (such as the airport security checks — Bruce Schneier’s blog provides a fine continuing account of these). Likewise, in our panic, we were unable to maintain national security. We were literally running around in a panic.
We can lay the greater part of this blame at the feet of the Republicans — who seem to suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder if not Sociopathy — but the Democrats have been caught up in it, too. They, in turn, have voted without criticism for many of the measures which have been introduced by the Republican majority. The uncritical thinking, I think, marks this disorder. The Republicans can’t criticize their leader, the Democrats can’t vote for measures that might offend the public, and the public can’t vote for third parties.
What we have is a set of individual phobias multiplied into a pandemic. The relations between ourselves have been affected by our personal fears. Does this make America a sick society? I can’t think of a better descriptor for it.
More questions? Keep asking them!
Robocalls
Posted on November 6, 2006 in Campaign 2006
A rumor is afoot that Karl Rove is resorting to dirty tricks in the form of robocalls. These work by having Democratic and swing voter homes bombarded with calls alledging to be from a Democratic candidate at all hours of the day and night. If this is actually happening (the source says that it is too late for legal intervention or newspaper coverage — a claim that I somehow doubt) then the advice is to vote anyways and tell others who is behind the phone calls.
This election is surely one of the most anxious I have ever witnessed.
Pomona Freeway
Posted on November 4, 2006 in Driving
Moving onion cells scrutinized below a blue lens.
My Look Alikes
Posted on November 3, 2006 in Whimsies
I need a more recent photo. I don’t let my beard get like that these days.
