The Big Easy Rollergirls embraced Spain’s 41-year rule over New Orleans on Saturday morning with a running of the bulls on Bourbon St. They formed up at 7am on Bourbon.; as some hearty party animals were winding up from the night before. The run started at 8am on the same day as the original Spanish event occurs in Pamplona.
Over a dozen of the Big Easy Rollergirls were guest bulls in the first ever San Fermin in Nueva Orleans on Saturday, July 7th. The rollergirls wore horns on their helmets and wielded wiffle ball bats. The matadors (runners) wore all white with read sashes. The girls hit the runners with their bats as they made their way past the deadly rollergirls! The festivities began at The Three Legged Dog Bar (400 Burgundy) on the corner of Burgundy and Conti in the French Quarter. Spanish Wines were available to enhance “valor” before the run with the "bulls" The run ended at the Sidebar (620 Conti) on the corner of Conti Street and Exchange Alley.
Deep into the summer, New Orleans can be a very strange place.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
My ideal cell phone
The introduction of the iPhone has led me to think about my ideal phone. It would be a phone on permanent roam that would chose whatever network was providing the best service. Imagine, for example, using your cell phone to talk on Sprint because it had the best voice coverage in Alaska, while at the same time using Verizon's 3G network for Internet access.
The iPhone has Wi-Fi access, which is a giant step forward. Wi-Fi has been kept off American cell phones for years, for reasons that have never passed the smell test ("for security reasons" or "to protect battery life"). The real reason the cell providers have kept Wi-Fi out? To keep consumers eating up minutes on the carriers' networks and to prevent people from grabbing ringtones and other media from their computers, which the industry calls "revenue leakage." Don't you love "revenue leakage"? Only corporate thinking could give us that.
But while the iPhone has Wi-Fi, it doesn't let you do one very obvious thing with its Wi-Fi connection: make phone calls. In an ideal world, you might want to use AT&T when on the road and have your phone switch automatically to Skype or Vonage when at home, since they're much cheaper and can have better voice quality.
I hope the development of the iPhone will spur others to think outside the box.
The iPhone has Wi-Fi access, which is a giant step forward. Wi-Fi has been kept off American cell phones for years, for reasons that have never passed the smell test ("for security reasons" or "to protect battery life"). The real reason the cell providers have kept Wi-Fi out? To keep consumers eating up minutes on the carriers' networks and to prevent people from grabbing ringtones and other media from their computers, which the industry calls "revenue leakage." Don't you love "revenue leakage"? Only corporate thinking could give us that.
But while the iPhone has Wi-Fi, it doesn't let you do one very obvious thing with its Wi-Fi connection: make phone calls. In an ideal world, you might want to use AT&T when on the road and have your phone switch automatically to Skype or Vonage when at home, since they're much cheaper and can have better voice quality.
I hope the development of the iPhone will spur others to think outside the box.
Friday, July 6, 2007
The accumulation of little lies
I was talking with a conservative friend the other day and he casually mentioned that Saddam had kicked the weapon inspectors out of Iraq. This is a good example of the power of the little lie. Saddam never did kick them out. Bush did. Saddam, toward the end, completely cooperated and that was reported in the news at the time. So why did my friend get it so wrong? Its the power of the little lie.
This lie is one of many that were (and continue to be) repeated over and over again by the conservative echo chamber. The same lie, in the same words, and even in the same tone of voice is drummed into the heads of the American public. It becomes "conventional wisdom". The truth is reported at the time and then not repeated. There was no counter balancing propaganda effort and Fox News and other Bush supporters dominated the propaganda. The little lie is repeated over time while the truth is not.
When I pointed out the error of his statement, my friend just brushed it aside and went on. It didn't fit with his beliefs and attitudes and he didn't stop to examine it. The accumulation of little lies was so great it formed a firm, and irrational, belief for him. So what are we to do?
The answer is to question.
This lie is one of many that were (and continue to be) repeated over and over again by the conservative echo chamber. The same lie, in the same words, and even in the same tone of voice is drummed into the heads of the American public. It becomes "conventional wisdom". The truth is reported at the time and then not repeated. There was no counter balancing propaganda effort and Fox News and other Bush supporters dominated the propaganda. The little lie is repeated over time while the truth is not.
When I pointed out the error of his statement, my friend just brushed it aside and went on. It didn't fit with his beliefs and attitudes and he didn't stop to examine it. The accumulation of little lies was so great it formed a firm, and irrational, belief for him. So what are we to do?
The answer is to question.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Time's Up!
I'm tired of spineless Democrats who won't push back when Bush acts like a political bully. I'm tired of members of both parties who let him get away with outright lies. I'm tired of reporters who meekly take whatever Bush hands out and don't dig for facts. I'm really tired of Fox acting like administration propaganda is news.
To be fair, things are getting better. But they are only getting better at the margins. I want to see Congress demanding answers from the Bush administration about the Iraq war and their illegal spying program, and not backing down until they get them. Cheney won't testify? Subpoena him. He won't come? Hold him in contempt of Congress and send over the police. And if that doesn't work, impeach the guy.
To be fair, things are getting better. But they are only getting better at the margins. I want to see Congress demanding answers from the Bush administration about the Iraq war and their illegal spying program, and not backing down until they get them. Cheney won't testify? Subpoena him. He won't come? Hold him in contempt of Congress and send over the police. And if that doesn't work, impeach the guy.
Bush and Chaney are risking the future of American and soiling our present.
Its time to stand up to them and not back down.
Don't pity Libby
The Bush pardon of Libby won't go away easily. Bush's reason is so transparently false that one wonders what the real reason might be. (The sentence was the normal one for the crime and others in the same circumstances as Libby served the time. The Supreme Court recently ruled on a case that was almost identical and upheld the sentence.) As an aside, I remember many times thinking that Bush's reason was false and wondering what the real reason might have been. My favorite was the original reason for his tax cut for the super rich: we had too much money in the treasury. Then he gave it away and we went into debt. His next reason for his tax cut was that we didn't have enough money in the treasury! The rich were going to get their tax cut no matter what. The same goofy reasoning was used in whipping up support for the (unnecessary) invasion of Iraq.
Before I get too sidetracked, back to Libby. Being kept out of jail and "taken care of" will assure that Libby will continue to keep his mouth shut. He knows what went on in Chaney's office and some of what went on in the Oval Office. Bush can't afford for Libby to tell what he knows. Libby's supporters are claiming that probation and the fine is punishment enough. I've heard them on TV loudly expressing pity for poor Libby for having to come up with the $250,000 for the fine. Nobody challenges them. The fact is that the fine is meaningless because he will certainly not be paying it himself. His legal defense fund, supported by the friends of the president and vice president, boasts a treasury of $5 million. He has been well taken care of.
I expect he'll quietly be appointed to a paid, do-nothing position a corporate board, be given consulting fees, and generally live a life of comfort in the bosom of the right wing.
Don't let them fool you into pity for Libby.
Before I get too sidetracked, back to Libby. Being kept out of jail and "taken care of" will assure that Libby will continue to keep his mouth shut. He knows what went on in Chaney's office and some of what went on in the Oval Office. Bush can't afford for Libby to tell what he knows. Libby's supporters are claiming that probation and the fine is punishment enough. I've heard them on TV loudly expressing pity for poor Libby for having to come up with the $250,000 for the fine. Nobody challenges them. The fact is that the fine is meaningless because he will certainly not be paying it himself. His legal defense fund, supported by the friends of the president and vice president, boasts a treasury of $5 million. He has been well taken care of.
I expect he'll quietly be appointed to a paid, do-nothing position a corporate board, be given consulting fees, and generally live a life of comfort in the bosom of the right wing.
Don't let them fool you into pity for Libby.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Bush's gift to trial lawyers
“By saying that the sentence was excessive, I wonder if Mr. Bush understood the ramifications of saying that,” said Ellen S. Podgor, who teaches criminal law at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. “This is opening up a can of worms about federal sentencing.”
By yesterday morning, in fact, Mr. Bush’s arguments for keeping Mr. Libby out of prison had become an unexpected gift to defense lawyers around the country, who scrambled to make use of them in their own cases.
Indeed, Mr. Bush’s decision may have given birth to a new sort of legal document.
“I anticipate that we’re going to get a new motion called ‘the Libby motion,’ ” Professor Podgor said. “It will basically say, ‘My client should have got what Libby got, and here’s why.’ ”
Bush did not run his decision through his own Justice Dept., where there is a special section for just such actions. Not having that legal input; Bush simply blundered ahead.
By yesterday morning, in fact, Mr. Bush’s arguments for keeping Mr. Libby out of prison had become an unexpected gift to defense lawyers around the country, who scrambled to make use of them in their own cases.
Indeed, Mr. Bush’s decision may have given birth to a new sort of legal document.
“I anticipate that we’re going to get a new motion called ‘the Libby motion,’ ” Professor Podgor said. “It will basically say, ‘My client should have got what Libby got, and here’s why.’ ”
Bush did not run his decision through his own Justice Dept., where there is a special section for just such actions. Not having that legal input; Bush simply blundered ahead.
The U.S. vs. Lewis Libby
In the case, U.S. vs. Lewis Libby; Bush sided with Libby. Bush kept him out of jail. Lucky for Libby that he isn't poor and black.
Once again, Bush is managing to mismanage and in the process, even screwing his fellow Republicans. He commuted the sentence instead of pardoning Libby. Later, he'll decide about a pardon. A pardon would have ended the matter well in advance of the 08 election. As it is, the matter will drag on and on. No Republican candidate wants Libby hung around his neck.
I remember the outcry from conservatives over a couple of Clinton pardons at the end of his second term. Now the same people are advocating for a pardon (of Libby). Its not about principles.
Could it be that Hillary has been silent about Libby until now because she does not want to re-kindle the memory of her husband's controversial pardons?
Once again, Bush is managing to mismanage and in the process, even screwing his fellow Republicans. He commuted the sentence instead of pardoning Libby. Later, he'll decide about a pardon. A pardon would have ended the matter well in advance of the 08 election. As it is, the matter will drag on and on. No Republican candidate wants Libby hung around his neck.
I remember the outcry from conservatives over a couple of Clinton pardons at the end of his second term. Now the same people are advocating for a pardon (of Libby). Its not about principles.
Could it be that Hillary has been silent about Libby until now because she does not want to re-kindle the memory of her husband's controversial pardons?
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