I can not fathom what lies ahead for our country through the remainder of Bush’s term.  We continue down a slippery slope of police-state tactics and the continuous infringement and violation of our constitutional freedoms and rights, all by a president who repeatedly declares himself above the laws of our nation including that most sacred document: the United States Constitution.  It is more than disheartening that our government now embraces evil: torture; maintaining secret jails around the globe where they can surreptitiously hold and brutalize those called enemies of the state; using deception, blatant lies, and propaganda against the American public, even when the intent of such activities is to incite war against another sovereign state; overspending in the name of security while providing no additional safety for the homeland or its peoples; and encouraging a spirit of corruption and no accountability throughout government.  This place is alien to me now, certainly not the once great America I grew up in and learned to love and cherish.

I keep telling myself it can not possibly get worse, that we have scraped the bottom of the barrel and are now sadly lying underneath it.  Each time that thought crosses my mind, I am horribly disappointed to find yet another attempt by those in charge to take us even lower than we have already fallen.

You know about the domestic spying scandal: our president in his idiotic way has declared the law irrelevant when it comes to monitoring secretly the activities of American citizens, including listening to every phone call and reading every e-mail, not to mention tracking all online activity.  Thankfully, it appears some action is being taken to challenge this unlawful practice by the dictator-to-be, King George.

Not only has the EFF filed a lawsuit against AT&T alleging it supported the government in gaining illegal wholesale access to its networks and all its traffic, a lawsuit AT&T is challenging by attempting to suppress the documents showing specifically how they gave the NSA access to those networks, but now Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, throws down the gauntlet on the program by threatening to cut the NSA’s funding if it does not provide Congress with the details and information it repeatedly has requested so it might understand better this en masse eavesdropping.  That happens to be what congressional oversight is about: monitoring the activities of the president and the government agencies under that position’s purview.

“Is the president doing anything wrong?” Specter asked. “We don’t know, because we don’t know what the program is.”

There’s no doubt that the program is going on in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, a 1978 law that requires a secret court to approve investigative wiretapping before it occurs, Specter said. What remains murky, he added, is whether the president’s constitutional powers as commander-in-chief would justify the program’s existence without a court order.

Expressing he does not want this issue to fade into the background of the American consciousness, Specter went on to say, “Here you have a lot of taps going on in America, in violation of a statute. They may be necessary, they may be vital, but there needs to be a determination of that…to ensure they’re not a violation of privacy without probable cause.”

Already concerned because Dubya and his cronies once again got caught with their britches down, the DOJ interfered with the lawsuit late last week hoping to have it altogether dismissed.  For an official whose sole purpose is to act as the highest legal advocate for and protector of Americans, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales betrayed his true job so he might instead act wholly as a puppet and crony for the Bush administration, turning his back on the role of guardian of rights and diving in head first to a new position as chief violator of the law and trouncer of freedoms.  In this case, he intends to interfere in the lawsuit so the illegal spying on American citizens without judicial oversight can continue sans interruption.  Because the government is not named as a respondent in the lawsuit, and because there is only one sure way for the Executive Branch to demonstrate despot-like control over the other branches, the DOJ filing indicates they will invoke the “State Secrets Privilege” in order to stop all legal proceedings.

Glenn Greenwald clarifies precisely what that privilege is and how often Bush has used it.

In other words, the doctrine is notable because the Executive Branch can decree that the documents should not be disclosed because disclosure will harm national security, and that decree is, in practice, often blindly accepted without anyone reviewing its truthfulness or propriety. For that exact reason, and quite unsurprisingly, the Bush administration loves this doctrine, as it is so consistent with its monarchical view of presidential infallibility, and the administration has become the most aggressive and enthusiastic user of this doctrine as a means of preventing disclosure of government documents…

Unsatisfied with the mere power to unilaterally block courts from obtaining relevant documents while he is in office, President Bush, while the rubble from the World Trade Center was still sitting in lower Manhattan and everyone was distracted by that, had the presence of mind to extend this power to assert the State Secrets Privilege to both his father and to himself for life and even thereafter…

As the Chicago Tribune detailed last year, the administration has also used this doctrine repeatedly to obstruct any judicial proceedings designed to investigate its torture and rendition policies…

Sadly, overzealous use of this Executive privilege continues unabated and unchallenged, and its application in the domestic spying lawsuit may well mean the government will once again be able to hide forever its unconstitutional and illegal activities in this matter.  If the judiciary fails to challenge it and does not allow the lawsuit to move forward with the evidence on hand, we all can assume we are targets of this criminal activity, our private and innocent communications are being monitored, the government has instituted a policy of “guilty until proven innocent” so it might suspend constitutional freedoms and legal rights, and, most critically, a very bad precedent has been set for all presidents to come.

But this is not the only new assault on America perpetrated by the Bush régime.

Our nation historically supported freedom of the press, and this extended to journalists and protection from forceful identification of their sources.  This ensured both are not treated as criminal lest they cause nationwide panic or otherwise deliberately endanger the public in some way.  Freedom of the press ensures the American public can rely on news from sources not influenced, controlled, or otherwise threatened by the government.  Any media not enjoying such protections would be less likely to report factual or alleged information contrary to or critical of the ruling class, thereby placing the country’s denizens in jeopardy of only receiving state-approved propaganda, a very Soviet-like existence.  Consider the result of a cowardly press — more cowardly than they have become thus far — resulting from journalists threatened with KGB-style tactics regarding everything they say.  As Peter Daou says, “This is the power of the media to choose the news, to decide when and how to shield Bush from negative publicity. Sins of omission can be just as bad as sins of commission.”

While I have expressed concern about the dictatorial tendencies of our president, including his utter and complete disregard for all law and the U.S. Constitution, only now does the general media begin reporting Bush as a self-proclaimed dictator, a man holding himself above the law with full support of the military, a growing number of the courts, a press increasingly subdued by state force, and a disturbingly large number of covertly theocracy-supporting individuals and organizations alarmingly supportive of any Christian willing to declare open and relentless war on all disbelievers in Jesus.  Our nation is quickly becoming everything it once stood against.

Oh, it just doesn’t stop, does it?

My ex-employer, in what can only be called grand theft and a violation of Texas law, and one would hope a federal law or two, has cleaned out one of my bank accounts.  They not only cleaned it out, they left it with a significant negative balance.  This was all accomplished electronically and discovered today.

Do you realize it’s the end of the month?  I can’t possibly comprehend what the hell happened; what I do know is that this screwed me nine ways from Sunday.  I can cover the loss, but it will take a bit of time to transfer funds into that account to bring the balance above zero and to deal with the outstanding debits that will undoubtedly strike on Monday or Tuesday — and that will be too soon, I’m afraid.

This is truly unfathomable.

Another week has gone by.  Wow!  Where’s time going in such a hurry?

Despite the apparent feeling of temporal whiplash with which I’m suffering at present, at least I know it’s time for yet another installment of free association.  Once again we can let our minds regurgitate telling information in the hopes of one day better understanding ourselves.  I’ll admit I think that’s highly unlikely; I’m too insane to be understood clearly, and I rather like it that way.

Without further ado, here are this week’s stimulating mental titillations.  My answers are below the fold and you’re invited to play along in the comments if you have a few minutes to waste.

1. Out of place ::
2. Helicopter ::
3. Francis ::
4. Ryan ::
5. Wedding ::
6. Appalled ::
7. Historian ::
8. Powerful ::
9. Sex symbol ::
10. Uncomfortable ::

Read the rest of this entry »

You know how much I like science fiction.  You also know how much I like Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica.  Well, imagine my excitement in learning Sci Fi has announced they will make a prequel called Caprica that will explain the events leading up to where Galactica started.  To wit:

SCI FI Channel announced the development of Caprica, a spinoff prequel of its hit Battlestar Galactica, in presentations to advertisers in New York on April 26. Caprica would come from Galactica executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, writer Remi Aubuchon (24) and NBC Universal Television Studio.

Caprica would take place more than half a century before the events that play out in Battlestar Galactica. The people of the Twelve Colonies are at peace and living in a society not unlike our own, but where high technology has changed the lives of virtually everyone for the better.

But a startling breakthrough in robotics is about to occur, one that will bring to life the age-old dream of marrying artificial intelligence with a mechanical body to create the first living robot: a Cylon. Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the Battlestar Galactica), Caprica will weave together corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television’s first science fiction family saga, the channel announced.

Very cool, eh?

Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world.

— Arthur Schopenhauer

This is an interesting engagement of patriotism and common sense.  I don’t know how you feel about the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, being inappropriately co-opted and violated for the sake of the immigration debate, but I feel strongly about this one in a manner opposite my general standing on the issue overall.

Leave the damn song alone.

You see, it’s America’s song, a symbol of our nation that stands on its own two feet, and it is and forever should remain in English.  This may seem a trite and somewhat pedantic opinion, perhaps even a bit unintentionally jingoistic, but there is some level of patriotic anger that arises when something as meaningful and sacred as a national anthem is defiled by such blatant hijacking.  I’m confident this feeling is the same as that felt by most Muslims when they see terrorists using their peaceful religion for political purposes.

Francis Scott Key surely must be rolling in his grave at this point.

I see the new Spanish version of the song as spittle in the face of Americans.  I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel.  Again, I know this seems a rather minor consideration in the scheme of things, but it’s not: it’s our national anthem, for fuck’s sake!

What this essentially means is that Latinos have commandeered the song and changed it to suit their needs.  Apparently, those responsible for this felt they could not be Americans unless they had their own version of our national anthem.

I have long felt that anyone wishing to be a member of our society should learn English at least at a sixth-grade level in order to be able to function in the majority of circumstances.  This little endeavor seems to be taking us in the wrong direction, I’m afraid.

Consider this: It is America’s song.  Americans speak English.  The song was written in English.  It is our country’s national anthem and represents our society.  Are you following the logic?

Sing the damn thing as it is meant to be: in English and without modification.  Do not offend our heritage.

You see, poppets, we did not make the national language Spanglish simply because so many Spanish-speaking people were coming to our borders seeking refuge and opportunity.  We did not change the colors of our flag to include those of other nations simply because people emigrated from those countries and came knocking on our doors.  We did not expand our national bird into a category to compensate for the melting pot of nationalities coming to America.

And we sure as hell don’t modify our national anthem because immigrants won’t learn English or want to make it their own.  Such action will alienate a great many supporters of the immigrant struggle currently taking place here, and support for amnesty and/or citizenship will be hurt by this.  Come on!  Let’s use some common sense, shall we?

While I realize this stance places me squarely on the conservative side of this issue, I stand with them proudly in this respect.  Leave our national anthem alone, will you?  Instead of trying to make this country in your own image, understand it’s our society and you must meet us on our terms.  It offends — or certainly should offend — every American to have this blatant mangling of our national anthem standing there before us like some repulsive disfigurement.

I’m sorry, but this is not acceptable to me, and it certainly shouldn’t be to any American.  There are times when inclusiveness and tolerance are assaulted, and this is just such a time.

Just leave the song alone.

Black holes.  They are an amazing bit of cosmological mayhem, even religiously — and jokingly — referred to as a place where god divided by zero.  They represent the omnipotent force of the universe in which we live, a place where the laws of nature are abolished, time slows and eventually stops — or at least breaks, space is curved infinitely and beyond our ability to comprehend, mass can no longer be measured as it races off the high end of the scale, and even light is prohibited from shining.  They are the the glue that holds galaxies together.  They swallow stars on scales well beyond anything we can imagine, even to the degree of consuming stellar matter equal to billions of suns.

Because of their quantum properties, however, black holes can actually create energy despite their tendency to consume anything and everything that falls within the sphere of their immense gravitational field.  In fact, the discovery of their energetic properties is something for which we can thank Stephen Hawking, and that is why this radiative expulsion is called Hawking radiation.

Why all the talk of these astronomical wonders?  They are so distant from us that there is little chance in our lifetime of ever observing one, right?  And even more importantly, we will never be able to tap the near infinite energy available via its energetic mechanics, correct?

Welcome to the future.

For the first time ever, humans have created the first artificial black hole, and it happened in a laboratory in New York.  That’s right, poppets.  We crafty Americans have once again accomplished the impossible.

Lasting for only 10 million billion billionths of a second, the artificial singularity (a place where the laws of physics break down) was created using a particle accelerator at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.  Two beams of gold nuclei were shot at each other at the speed of light.  Collisions of this type break down the nuclei of the matter used into even smaller particles, quarks and gluons, which are part of the most elementary building blocks of all known matter.  Under the conditions in this experiment, those basic particles formed a ball of plasma that absorbed all the other particles resulting from the experiment.

Voila!  A black hole.

Despite its very short life, this particular spacial abnormality generated heat 300 million times hotter than the surface of our own sun.  Imagine the implications if we were able to harness that kind of Hawking radiation.  It’s staggering to consider, although it’s equally troubling to contemplate the repercussions of such a thing growing out of control right here on our own planet.  But never let fear inhibit progress lest we stand still or even move backward.

This is a truly phenomenal event despite its brief life and minuscule size.  As Ed Shuryak, a physicist at Stony Brook University in New York, said, “It’s very useful in that it will inspire thinking in that direction.  But it’s going to be another thing to see if it produces any fruit.”  Therein lies the heart of the matter: it would take tremendous technological and scientific advancement to harness the potential of such a man-made creation, and to do it safely with absolutely no risk of harm to the planet would be of the utmost concern.

Despite all other considerations, nonetheless, this is a fascinating and utterly beguiling accomplishment that has far-reaching impact, and I speak not only of energy production but of a great many other areas, including theoretical physics, the nature of the universe, time and time travel, interstellar travel, and the list goes on.  I can not tell you how absolutely exciting this is.

It is, to coin a gay phrase, utterly fabulous.

On a related note…  If you’ve never read The Krone Experiment by Dr. J. Craig Wheeler, a physicist, you will want to both read it and see the new independent film adaptation of the work.  I will not spoil the book for those who have not read it as I did almost two decades ago, but I will say that it’s related to this black hole experiment and is both intriguing and scientifically accurate (in that he’s a physics Ph.D. and knows what he’s talking about).  I intend to see the film version at my earliest convenience.  In the meantime, I can not recommend enough that you read the book (although I can not vouch for the movie).  It captivated me in my late teens and ignited within me an even greater fire of interest in physics than that with which I was already cursed at the time.  Like the works of Carl Sagan, Wheeler ensured I filled my mind with both the fantastic and factual, and I believe you will also enjoy his various writings, but I strongly suggest you start with this one.

[via Unscrewing The Inscrutable]

A God who kept tinkering with the universe was absurd; a God who interfered with human freedom and creativity was tyrant. If God is seen as a self in a world of his own, an ego that relates to a thought, a cause separate from its effect, “he” becomes a being, not Being itself. An omnipotent, all-knowing tyrant is not so different from earthly dictators who make everything and everybody mere cogs in the machine which they controlled. An atheism that rejects such a God is amply justified.

— Karen Armstrong

A koala is sitting up a gum tree

smoking a joint when a little lizard walks past
and looks up and says

“Hey Koala! What are you doing?”
The koala says: “Smoking a joint,
come up and have some.”

So the little lizard climbs up and sits next
to the koala and they have a few joints.

After a while the little lizard says his mouth is
“dry” and is going to get a drink from the river.

But the little lizard is so stoned that he leans
too far over and falls into the river.

A crocodile sees this and swims over to the little
lizard and helps him to the side, then asks the little
lizard: “What’s the matter with you?”

The little lizard explains to the crocodile that he was
sitting smoking a joint with the koala in the tree, got
too stoned and then fell into the river while taking a drink.

The crocodile says he has to check this out and walks into
the rain forest, finds the tree where the koala is sitting
finishing a joint, and he looks up and says,
“Hey you!”

So the koala looks down at him and says:

“Shiiiiiiiiiiit dude… How much water did you drink?!!”

[via Nathalie]

Not well, I can tell you that.

In 2004, there were 3,129 terrorist attacks worldwide.  Seems excessive, doesn’t it?  One would hope with America’s War on Terror™ that the numbers would be on the decline.  Um, it ain’t so.

In 2005, there were more than 11,000 terrorist attacks worldwide.  Does anyone see a problem here?  If our war is going so well, can someone explain to me why they nearly quadrupled from one year to the next?

The State Department would like to blame the discrepancy on a difference in the method of counting attacks, but I’m unclear on how you might count them differently from year to year: it was either a terrorist attack or it wasn’t; civilians were either targeted or they weren’t; the attacks were either carried out using unconventional tactics or they weren’t.

Am I the only one who thinks this is more spin in the face of horrible results?  And you can bet that number went up due in no small part to attacks occurring in Iraq under the “protection” of the U.S. occupying force, another military move on our part intended to make the place better and safer but that has had a polar opposite effect.

But wait, there’s more.

Our beloved government in its infinite wisdom wants us to believe al-Qaida leaders lost control of their terrorist network last year.  Um, sure.  I’d say the numbers show they must be on the run and out of control.  Wouldn’t you agree?

I’m sorry, but give me a fucking break.

[via AMERICAblog]