New Orleans' blessing; New Orleans' curse

New Orleans' blessing; New Orleans' curse

"Geographers refer to this as the difference between a city's 'situation'—the advantages its location offers relative to other cities—and its 'site'—the actual real estate it occupies. New Orleans has a near-perfect situation and an almost unimaginably bad site."

NASA Images - Flooding in New Orleans

NASA Images - Flooding in New Orleans

Hurricane Donations (Brett Favre website, 100% of $ to Mississippi relief organizations) or any other relief organization is good too.

Here comes the story of the hurricane

Here comes the story of the hurricane

The sheer scale of the disaster on the Gulf is likely to have as much or more impact on everyday life than 9/11. I have little to add but a few links.

Boing Boing quotes email attributed to a rescue worker in New Orleans:

The poorest 20% (you can argue with the number -- 10%? 18%? no one knows) of the city was left behind to drown. This was the plan. Forget the sanctimonious bullshit about the bullheaded people who wouldn't leave. The evacuation plan was strictly laissez-faire. It depended on privately owned vehicles, and on having ready cash to fund an evacuation. The planners knew full well that the poor, who in new orleans are overwhelmingly black, wouldn't be able to get out. The resources -- meaning, the political will -- weren't there to get them out.

MyDD has an overwhelming but excellent overview of the economic impact of the disaster.

Media: enough with the looting already. There's more important life and death stuff to worry about. And a pox on those who say the storm was God's retribution on either a) white supremacists or b) the New Orleans gay community. (I've seen both but refuse to give `em the links.)

And sports may seem irrelevant now but as a Wisconsin native, thoughts of Southern Mississippi naturally make me think of Brett Favre, a guy who's made millions of us very happy and had more than his share of personal bad breaks. Once again:

His mother and grandmother spent Monday night in the attic as water inundated their entire house in Kiln, Miss. in five to 10 minutes. Bonita Favre told Brett that Hurricane Camille did not compare to this one. She indicated the family home is "destroyed" and probably will be bulldozed.

That's just one of hundreds of thousands of stories.

This feels like one of those Jason or Freddy or Alien movies where the killer seemingly comes back from the dead, then strikes back unexpectedly. That Monday morning sigh of relief seems so long ago...

Political Wire: Most Americans Favor Teaching Creationism

Most Americans Favor Teaching Creationism

The results of this poll, and others that are similar, continues to shock me. Am I so far out of the mainstream to think this is nuts, that half of America takes the Adam and Eve parable as literal truth? And as we slip further and further behind the rest of the world in educational standards, we seriously think we should now submit our woefully lacking science education to a theocratic litmus test?

Here's a hint of how out of touch we are:

American adults in general do not understand what molecules are (other than that they are really small). Fewer than a third can identify DNA as a key to heredity. Only about 10 percent know what radiation is. One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an idea science had abandoned by the 17th century.

Three word rebuttal to evolution deniers: drug resistant infections. At somepoint in the not too distant future we will enter the post-antibiotic era of medicine. But I digress.

I read a great article about a month ago about the scale of time, and how that works against evolution supporters. Human perception simply can't concieve of time frames of millions or billions of years. It's much easier to fall back on something we understand - what we see here and now - and to think it was created that way from whole cloth. It's counter-intuitive to believe the universe was created through time so huge we literally can't imagine it.

But what takes more faith? What's the greater miracle?

---

From the not so sublime to the ridiculous:

"We're putting evolutionists on notice: We're taking the dinosaurs back," said Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, a Christian group building a $25-million creationist museum in Petersburg, Ky., that's already overrun with model sauropods and velociraptors.

If anything sinks the creationists, it'll be Dino. Everybody loves Dino.

Texas abortion law could mean death penalty for docs

Texas abortion law could mean death penalty for docs

Texas doctors who perform abortions without parental approval or after the third trimester could face capital murder charges because of a new law that takes effect this week.

The Texas District and County Attorneys Association has outlined that scenario in its new book updating the Texas penal code and in public presentations around the state. The group says such charges could occur under the new law because of the 2003 fetal protection law.

Key legislators said Monday that wasn't their intent.

Ah, but the skeptic in me wonders...

Firefox Memory Leaks/Other Issues

Firefox Memory Leaks/Other Issues

One of the few problems I've noticed since starting my love affair with Firefox has been its apparant tendency to eat up memory and not release it. I never really compared it against IE for this, but I did notice that the longer I had Firefox open the more memory it seemed to take up.

I first addressed this issue by restarting Firefox, then I found an excellent memory manager. But this blogger seems to have found a geek tweak.

---

Other items not really worth a full post:

I seem to have climbed to the level of Slithering Reptile in the TTLB Ecosystem. The increase in traffic is good but it makes me think of Slytherin too much, so indulge the traffic obsession, hit me a few more times, and make me a Flappy Bird. (I started out all the way down at Wiggle Worm!)

The Smallest Farm is all but abandoned, though I did pick some catnip this past weekend which was much enjoyed by the furry roommates.

We're on a mission from God.

US 'harming' Uganda's Aids battle

US 'harming' Uganda's Aids battle

"At the moment, the government of Uganda appears to be under the influence of the American policy through the presidential initiative of emphasising abstinence far and away over condoms..."

'Swift Boating' Science

'Swift Boating' Science

Book review:

Bush's comments about deus ex machina versus book learnin' are not just a goofy one-off. They are, as science writer Chris Mooney so brilliantly shows, part of The Republican War on Science.

It's not news that the reign of Bush fils has been marked by an antagonism toward science and scientists unlike any since 1954, when Robert Oppenheimer had his security clearance revoked and Linus Pauling had his passport pulled. The many times this administration and its supporters have fudged or even lied about scientists and scientific research are well-known. Global warming, stem cells, cloning, sex, land use, pollution and missile defense come to mind...

NJ-Gov: In Desperation, Forrester Attacks... Mya?

NJ-Gov: In Desperation, Forrester Attacks... Mya?

MyDD reports:

That's right. Mya. The singer. The singer whose single "Take Me There" was a big hit off of the soundtrack to the 'Rugrats' movie. Now, why would the Republican candidate for Governor of New Jersey be attacking Mya? Mya is not running for office in New Jersey. Nor is she helping the Corzine campaign to formulate policy. And no, she's not having a torrid affair with Dick Codey.

Mya is set to perform tonight in Atlantic City at a fundraiser for Jon Corzine. And the state GOP... doesn't approve of Mya's lyrics.

Apparantly Forrester has Tipper Gore managing his campaign...

Study says coffee delivers more health benefits than fruit and veg

Study says coffee delivers more health benefits than fruit and veg

No wonder I'm so damn healthy!

OK, the headline's a bit misleading. Still.

"Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source - nothing else comes close," said the leader of the study, Professor Joe Vinson, of Scranton University, Pennsylvania. Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee appeared to provide similar antioxidant levels. The US findings probably reflect a similar trend in the UK, with 47 per cent of the population drinking about 70 million cups of coffee each day.

Antioxidants help to rid the body of harmful free radicals - destructive molecules that damage cells and DNA - and have been linked to a number of health benefits, including protection against heart disease and cancer.

Studies have associated coffee drinking with a reduced risk of liver and colon cancer, type two diabetes and Parkinson's disease. But Prof Vinson urged moderation, recommending that people drink only one or two cups per day.

Sure, Doc, spoil my caffeine buzz.

Cannonball man flies over border

Cannonball man flies over border

Smith, a professional cannonball, was launched head first across the border between Tijuana, in Mexico, and the US city of San Diego.

Mr Smith waved his passport in the air as he sat on the lip of the cannon, before leaving on the brief journey.

I'm sure Steve King and Tom Tancredo will call on the Air Force to stop this in the future - or perhaps a 500 foot tall border wall.

President Dick Cheney? Bettors think Americans prepared to put Vice President in charge

President Dick Cheney? Bettors think Americans prepared to put Vice President in charge

You mean he's not already?

Sportsbook.com says bettors are zeroing in on Vice President Cheney as the next American President. The world's largest online sportsbook and casino has seen a significant rise in wagering on Vice President Dick Cheney as the likely winner of the presidential race in 2008. Odds on Cheney have improved from 100-1, when
betting on presidential candidates opened in May, to 20-1 currently.

I though third terms were banned?

Strategizing a Christian Coup d'Etat

Strategizing a Christian Coup d'Etat

The theocrats want to take over South Carolina. I thought they already had...

Christian Exodus activists plan to take control of sheriff's offices, city councils and school boards. Eventually, they say, they will control South Carolina. They will pass godly legislation, defying Supreme Court rulings on the separation of church and state.

"We're going to force a constitutional crisis," said Cory Burnell, 29, an investment advisor who founded the group in November 2003.

"If necessary," he said, "we will secede from the union."

Which of course is a great tradition in South Carolina.

Sunset Planets

Sunset Planets

"Venus and Jupiter are converging at the noticeable rate of 1 degree per day, with closest approach coming on September 1st when the two will be a little more than 1 degree apart.

Try catching the pair just after sundown and just before the first stars appear. Venus and Jupiter pop into view while the sky is still twilight-blue.

After September 1st, the two planets separate, but the show's not over. On September 6th, with Jupiter and Venus still pleasingly close together, the slender crescent Moon will leap up from the sun's glare and join the two planets."

Space

Conlin backs Judge

Conlin backs Judge

Women maybe winning in Iowa...

The timing of this move is really good news for Patty Judge, coming the same week as Mike Gronstal decides not to run. Lots of liberals were hoping for a Gronstal bid, and now face what appears to be a final set of choices:

Culver, who continues to suffer from a gravitas gap;

Blouin who is absolutely unacceptable on choice;

or Ed Fallon, Iowa's own Dennis Kucinich, who burned a lot of party bridges in 2000 with his Nader endorsement. (I loved it, but there's lots of folks who'll never forgive Ed - or me.)

Patty Judge looks pretty good in comparison. And with the Conlin endorsement, she reminds Iowa Dems that we join only Mississippi on the never elected a woman list.

I'm counting out Mike Fitzgerald, who doesn't seem to be moving very fast and who is all but tenured in his job as state treasurer.

Sal Mohamed is worth mentioning for sheer comic relief. He's adopted the unique strategy of standing at busy intersections holding up his sign and waving. I've seen him twice - at the Coral Ridge Mall exit where he stood for at least an hour and a half, and on Burlington Street in downtown Iowa City. Still, that's a more active campaign than some of the major contenders seem to have managed. And give the guy credit for coming to the U.S. and taking the American dream at face value, and for being a Democrat in unfriendly Steve King territory.

In terms of biography, and it feels weird to say this, but Chet Culver and Jim Nussle feel a lot alike. Two 40-something slick big white guys who, let's be honest, didn't grow up in Iowa. A tune in at the last second voter might have a hard time telling them apart despite clear policy differences (tune in at the last second voters don't notice that). Patty Judge presents a hell of a contrast in biography; a Genuine Iowa Farm Gal and about a generation older. Someone rural Iowans can picture out in the barn - a quality Roxanne Conlin and Bonnie Campbell conspicuously lacked.

So Iowa progressives can take a chance on the Culver machine, or cast a protest vote for Fallon and risk throwing the nomination to Blouin. Or they can try something really different. I'm still thinking but I have a good idea what I'd do TODAY...

Politics, Iowa

Bush's Obscene Tirades Rattle White House Aides

Bush's Obscene Tirades Rattle White House Aides

This is the second story on this subject by Capitol Hill Blue, which was a leading conservative political site back in the pre-blog years, the dark ages of the Starr Report and framesets and excessively large animated MAIL .gif's, when browsers were something you had to BUY. Before "Blue" implied Democratic states. I didn't even know the site still existed till this came along:

Bush, administration aides confide, frequently explodes into tirades over those who protest the war, calling them “motherfucking traitors.” He reportedly was so upset over Veterans of Foreign Wars members who wore “bullshit protectors” over their ears during his speech to their annual convention that he told aides to “tell those VFW assholes that I’ll never speak to them again is they can’t keep their members under control.”

White House insiders say Bush is growing increasingly bitter over mounting opposition to his war in Iraq. Polls show a vast majority of Americans now believe the war was a mistake and most doubt the President’s honesty.

“Who gives a flying fuck what the polls say,” he screamed at a recent strategy meeting. “I’m the President and I’ll do whatever I goddamned please. They don’t know shit.”

Language worthy of LBJ. But no one else is picking up on this story. Is Capitol Hill Blue's Doug Thompson resurrecting his site's significance from beyond the Internet grave, or does he need to upgrade to Windows 98?

Politics

Leach Joins Demand for Documents on Downing Street Memos

Leach Joins Demand for Documents on Downing Street Memos

Good for Jim. He needs to get beat anyway:

Leach is the first Republican member of Congress to publicly support a demand for an inquiry into the Bush Administration's pre-war claims. The 131 congress members who have signed Congressman John Conyers' letter to the President about the Downing Street Memo are all Democrats. The 11 Senators who have asked the Senate Intelligence Committee to do the investigation it committed to in February 2004 but never did are all Democrats.

Even though Leach on occasion does something good, he's a vote for Republican control, a vote for Republican committee chairs, a vote for DeLay, a vote for stonewalling the very Downing Street Memo he votes to release.

Partisanship matters. Party matters. A majority of Democrats have signed on to Conyer's inquiry, as opposed to less than one percent of Republicans.

Why Good Programmers Are Lazy and Dumb

Why Good Programmers Are Lazy and Dumb

Interesting title. Interesting article about troubleshooting and the thought process; the simplicity principle of Occam's Razor seems to be at play. "Is the network cable plugged in?" may seem like a dumb question, but something that basic usually solves the problem...

The Annual I'm Old List

The Annual I'm Old List

Each year Beloit College kindly (HA!) notes the birth year of the incoming freshman class and notes various cultual milestones associated with that year:

“It is an important reminder, as faculty start to show signs of ‘hardening of the references,’ that we think about the touchstones and benchmarks of a generation that has grown up with CNN, home computers, AIDS awareness, digital cameras and the Bush political dynasty. We should also keep in mind that these students missed out on the pleasures of being tossed in the back of a station wagon with a bunch of friends and told to keep the noise down, walking in the woods without fearing Lyme Disease, or setting out to try all of the 28 ice cream flavors at Howard Johnson’s.”

Uh, thanks.

Maybe that's why the 19 year old checkout clerk didn't get my joke last night. Excuse me while I go comb my backwards Mohawk and take my Geritol.

THE MORAL-HAZARD MYTH

THE MORAL-HAZARD MYTH

"A country that displays an almost ruthless commitment to efficiency and performance in every aspect of its economy—a country that switched to Japanese cars the moment they were more reliable, and to Chinese T-shirts the moment they were five cents cheaper—has loyally stuck with a health-care system that leaves its citizenry pulling out their teeth with pliers."

Lengthy must-read on American health care.