:: blame the extended gestation.... ::

:: Saturday, November 05, 2005 ::

There seems to be a common misconception in the press lately. In this article on Bush's trip to the Latin American Summit the article states:

President Bush left the Summit of the Americas Saturday with no more than he expected: a cold shoulder from some Latin American leaders, no consensus on a free trading bloc for the hemisphere and biting criticism from anti-U.S. protesters and Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez.

anti-US protesters? They weren't anti-US they were Anti-George Bush.

:: Jim Nichols 11/05/2005 08:28:00 PM [+] ::
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George Carlin made me think of my favorite quote of all time.

The people who own this country ought to govern it --John Jay

:: Jim Nichols 11/05/2005 07:46:00 PM [+] ::
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I've posted before on my question in regards to what happens if Roe is overturned. My first assumption seems to be correct--it reverts back to the states.

Roe's reversal would not outlaw abortion nationwide; the issue would revert to the states, with patchwork consequences. Some states would likely ban almost all abortions, others would allow them to continue unfettered, and a middle group might impose restrictions that would make abortions harder to obtain.

:: Jim Nichols 11/05/2005 05:47:00 PM [+] ::
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Okla. High School Hoops Team Loses 112-2 Thats got to suck

:: Jim Nichols 11/05/2005 04:55:00 PM [+] ::
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There are two kinds of people when it comes to the question of terrorism. There are people who believe we are different from terrorists and there are people who think we are just the same. John Mccain is of the former. While Dick Cheney is of the later.

:: Jim Nichols 11/04/2005 11:38:00 PM [+] ::
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Zogby poll: Majority of likely voters support considering impeachment
over Iraq, 51-45 percent

A new poll of likely voters by Zogby International has found that a majority of Americans support Congress considering the impeachment of President Bush if he “did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq,”

:: Jim Nichols 11/04/2005 11:07:00 PM [+] ::
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LA TV station apologizes to Schwarzenegger after audience mix-up

KNBC-TV apologized to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign Friday after the station found that the audience it organized for a voter forum this week apparently included several Democratic activists.

So the story is Schwarzenegger wasn't supposed to be confronted by the other side. Somehow a voter forum is supposed to be free of opposition. Fuck that. He should get tough questions and if he doesn't have answers that should speak loudly to the authority or should I say duplicity he holds on that subject matter.

:: Jim Nichols 11/04/2005 10:42:00 PM [+] ::
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Carter condemns abortion culture

Former President Jimmy Carter yesterday condemned all abortions and chastised his party for its intolerance of candidates and nominees who oppose abortion.

My thoughts: you're an old man who couldn't win a second term. I'd rather be right on an issue rather than taking a more popular approach. Abortion should be safe and legal. Period. Thats all there is to that issue. If you disagree with me go to another party. But hey i'm not a Democrat so what right do I have to say shit about what Democrats believe.

:: Jim Nichols 11/04/2005 09:56:00 PM [+] ::
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George Carlins HBO special is coming up soon. The NYTimes caught one of his warm up shows.

:: Jim Nichols 11/04/2005 12:19:00 AM [+] ::
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Just heard Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Cassation. Must track that down at some point.

:: Jim Nichols 11/04/2005 12:02:00 AM [+] ::
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Just got back from seeing The Weather Man with Nicholas Cage. Fucking great movie. There were some great one-liners. I was the only one in the theater which made it even that much better. The movie totally captures the essence of life in all of its fucked up glory.

:: Jim Nichols 11/03/2005 11:51:00 PM [+] ::
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Don Boudreaux goes off on a bumper sticker.

:: Jim Nichols 11/03/2005 03:24:00 PM [+] ::
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The elections are drawing ever so near. Some bad news on one front, it appears that Prop 73, the parental notification on abortions is barely passing with 51%. I found it interesting that the poll found Men tend to support parental notification more than women do.

:: Jim Nichols 11/03/2005 02:06:00 PM [+] ::
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From Political Wire:

"I was part of that wild and crazy Class of '94 that shook the political landscape by taking over the House after more than 50 years of unfettered Democrat control. We came to Washington full of ideals and conviction. But sadly, what they say about absolute power is coming to reality in the 2005 GOP Washington. Republicans in just 10 years have developed the arrogance it took the Democrats 30 years to develop."

-- Former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK)

:: Jim Nichols 11/02/2005 08:55:00 PM [+] ::
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Poll data

If it becomes clear Alito would vote to reverse Roe v. Wade, Americans would not want the Senate to confirm him, by 53% to 37%

:: Jim Nichols 11/02/2005 08:26:00 PM [+] ::
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Brad Delong on tax reform

If you poll economists and budget people about what is most wrong with our tax system, they will tell you that the thing that is most wrong is that it does not do the very first thing that Eddie and Jim mention: our tax system will not generate the government's required revenue. As America ages and as health care costs rise, the government is going to be spending a larger and larger share of GDP. The Republican leadership has no plans to close this funding gap, either by reducing planned spending or increasing taxes. That's the big thing wrong with America's tax system today.

:: Jim Nichols 11/02/2005 08:19:00 PM [+] ::
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You can hear Western Addictions new album here. Western Addiction will be touring with Propagandhi on their upcoming tour.

:: Jim Nichols 11/02/2005 08:01:00 PM [+] ::
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Alito on civil rights

:: Jim Nichols 11/02/2005 03:46:00 PM [+] ::
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The Living End has a new video posted here

:: Jim Nichols 11/02/2005 03:44:00 PM [+] ::
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The nomination of Samuel Alito has got me to thinking. What would happen if Roe was overturned? From what I understand it would revert back to the states. But if a majority of people think abortion should be safe and legal won't you create a new wedge issue? Voting for a pro-life Republican is easy with Roe v. Wade standing strong. But with abortion in question will pro-life Republicans be able to gain the moderate votes they need to win? I say no. But what do I know...

:: Jim Nichols 11/01/2005 10:34:00 PM [+] ::
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The greatest intellectual?

:: Jim Nichols 11/01/2005 08:10:00 PM [+] ::
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In the New York Times article, After a Career of Quiet Focus, Alito Is Leaving the Background, on Judge Alito this quote stands out:

"Make no mistake: he will move the court to the right, and this confirmation process is really going to be a question about whether Congress and the country wants to move this court to the right."

Now the question is does the Congress, does this country, want a court that moves farther to the right. I don't think it does. Can the Democrats take advantage of that fact? Deep down; I doubt it.

:: Jim Nichols 10/31/2005 09:31:00 PM [+] ::
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Alito's mother

"Of course, he's against abortion,"

:: Jim Nichols 10/31/2005 05:40:00 PM [+] ::
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Savethecourt.org has a petition up.

:: Jim Nichols 10/31/2005 05:11:00 PM [+] ::
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In this article on Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. The third paragraph reads

"A more outrageous and haunted writer never lived," Hicks says. "And we have rarely seen such a tragic decline."

The article then goes on to talk about In Cold Blood. But what I want to know more about is the 'haunted writer' and his 'tragic decline' guess I'll have to track that down somewhere else...

:: Jim Nichols 10/31/2005 04:56:00 PM [+] ::
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They are streaming the new Lagwagon album here

:: Jim Nichols 10/31/2005 04:38:00 PM [+] ::
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Who is Alito?

:: Jim Nichols 10/31/2005 11:27:00 AM [+] ::
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Hugo Chavez is hugely popular in his home country of Venezuela. He's hovering at 70% approval. The question is can he make it last? Todays article in the NYTimes looks at Venezuela and their version of 21st century socialism. The article goes on to note

Still, there is restlessness in the boardrooms, with executives worried about government intervention, which is sometimes seen as haphazard and improvised. Economists say the government has not made the investments needed in the oil sector. And political analysts and mainstream economists warn of recession and dourly note that foreign investment is about a third of what it was five years ago. They say that Venezuela's vast oil profits give the illusion of prosperity - the economy's growth rate is 9.3 percent - but that if prices fall, or Venezuela's growing spending catches up, the economy could founder.

I guess we have to wait and see what happens.

:: Jim Nichols 10/31/2005 12:42:00 AM [+] ::
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Went to see Prime with Uma Thurman in it. It wasn't great. But it fit nicely together at the end so I left the theater in a good mood.

:: Jim Nichols 10/31/2005 12:12:00 AM [+] ::
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Virginia Postrel thinks she'd rather be watched than searched.

:: Jim Nichols 10/30/2005 11:52:00 PM [+] ::
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Word on the streets is that Bush will anounce his Supreme Court nominee. My hunch is he will nominate a true conservative. Now the question that remains is will Democrats give a good fight?

:: Jim Nichols 10/30/2005 09:03:00 PM [+] ::
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One more article showing how religion is encroaching in on every day life.

Increasingly, Football's Playbooks Call for Prayer

:: Jim Nichols 10/30/2005 06:45:00 PM [+] ::
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Over at TPM Cafe David Sclar is going more in-depth into the recent Wal Mart memo that I blogged about earlier this month. Sclar goes on to note that

[the]Wal-Mart memo provides another example of how the employer-based health care system distorts who has access to health care coverage by incentivizing business decisions that disadvantage certain workers.

Side note: Am I the only one who hates how TPM is formatted?

:: Jim Nichols 10/30/2005 06:25:00 PM [+] ::
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The Boondocks to be on TV

Since its national debut six years ago, the strip, about two black children living in white suburbia, has slaughtered its share of sacred cows, eviscerating everyone from Condoleezza Rice and Strom Thurmond to 50 Cent and Ralph Nader. President Bush has been a frequent target. As a result, the strip has been suspended, banished to editorial pages and dropped from some newspapers (it currently appears in more than 300).

I'd have to say reading the Boondocks has been one of the salvations of living through the Bush administration.

:: Jim Nichols 10/30/2005 05:50:00 PM [+] ::
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These are a bunch of sickos.

Forbes has an article attacking blogs.

Blogs started a few years ago as a simple way for people to keep online diaries. Suddenly they are the ultimate vehicle for brand-bashing, personal attacks, political extremism and smear campaigns.

But blogs are just tools, tools used by extremists and smear tacticians. Forbes is trying to draw blood before blogs manhandle all mass media. But as one commenter noted

"Bloggers are more of a threat than people realize, and they are only going to get more toxic. This is the new reality,"

:: Jim Nichols 10/30/2005 05:08:00 PM [+] ::
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Thomas Barnett on Iran

Iran is getting the bomb on this current trajectory, and we are playing into the hard-liners' hands in Iran right now.

And THEY'RE PLAYING US LIKE CHILDREN WHEN WE RESPOND TO EVERY SINGLE TAUNT THEY DECIDE TO THROW OUT.

People need to grow up. American needs to grow up. We need to be able to think strategically, without being so casually manipulated and turned against our real strategic interests every time some loud-mouth cares to do so.

If you want a stable Middle East, then Iran will be part of that. Iran can get the bomb if it so chooses, and eventually, inevitably, it will have it.

The only question that remains, as I have said time and time again, is: What are we going to get in return?

Because if we get nothing in return, then we're fools, and easily manipulated fools at that.

:: Jim Nichols 10/30/2005 01:04:00 AM [+] ::
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