Coolest. Data Center. Ever.

Can your data center withstand a hydrogen bomb? This one can.

GOP VP Kwestionere

Click to enlarge.

Wuuuutever, Dude

P.J. O'Rourke laments about how conservatives blew it. In the end though, I'm not exactly sure what he is trying to say. I guess it's that he wanted conservative government more than liberal government, but conservative politicians were too shitty at their jobs to ever make conservative government a reality--or at least a sustainable one.

The piece is mostly ornamented with cliched, metaphor shtick--as is most everything he writes--so don't expect to do much learnin' (liberals are tofu-eating, sandal-wearing, tree-hugging dimwits who don't know how the real world works, blah, blah, blah). But it makes me wonder if he's asked himself the very hard question of, "was I, maybe....wrong?"

Since 1959, under Republican Presidents, the US has, on average:

• Higher deficits
  
• Higher national debt
• Higher federal spending
• Higher unemployment

Don't believe me? Look at the Economic Report to the President and Michael Kinsley's article on it.

The numbers are far from earth-shattering in their difference, and some could well argue that it is all a coincidence. But if one is prepared to make the coincidental argument, one better be prepared to say that Presidents don't matter for an economy and that Democratic presidents sure have a way of being lucky. And surely the numbers prove that Ds don't spend as much as the GOPs (we can afford our own tofu and chai lattes).

So why support these buffoons? Beats me--that's why I voted against them--but I suspect it can come down to cultural issues. Maybe you do want to deny gay people the right to marry and keep Terry Schiavo alive by federal governmental fiat and take away Habeus Corpus and track private citizen's phone calls and strike out on Utopian wars and mortgage your children's economic future by banging a tamborine and holding out a tin cup to China--all at the expense of your own income--just enough to support the present day GOP, the "real" America. But you don't, P.J., you don't.

You said it yourself:

And where would you rather eat? At a Vietnamese restaurant? Or in the Ayn Rand Café? Hey, waiter, are the burgers any good? Atlas shrugged.

Socially, you are more with the Ds in wanting a more open, diverse society. Economically, most of America does better under the Ds. I assume you want rule of law and things like torture and secret imprisonment of people ended, given your professed love of liberty. So you are conservative why?

Maybe you are just a dude, an Independent like me. And maybe, just maybe, you've been wrong for the last ten years or so. Possible?

Keynesian Economics on its Head (and Acid)

My brother forwards me an article about section 382 of the tax code and how its unilateral repeal by our Treasury Department is going to be a multi-billion windfall for US banks--perhaps as much as $140 billion.

It looks almost certain to be illegal:

"Did the Treasury Department have the authority to do this? I think almost every tax expert would agree that the answer is no," said George K. Yin, the former chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the nonpartisan congressional authority on taxes. "They basically repealed a 22-year-old law that Congress passed as a backdoor way of providing aid to banks."

But the Treasury Department doesn't think so, of course:

Andrew C. DeSouza, a Treasury spokesman, said the administration had the legal authority to issue the notice as part of its power to interpret the tax code and provide legal guidance to companies. He described the Sept. 30 notice, which allows some banks to keep more money by lowering their taxes, as a way to help financial institutions during a time of economic crisis. "This is part of our overall effort to provide relief," he said.

The Treasury itself did not estimate how much the tax change would cost, DeSouza said.

The Bush Administration is not known for rigid compliance with law, nor competency, so this comes as no great surprise. But it continues to amaze me how many supposedly conservative economists and politicians absolutely prostitute themselves for big business. Actually, it's not even prostitution--that's at least a business relationship. It's more like a star-gazed groupie blowing the bass player on the bus. And it's done sincerely:

Some conservative economists argue that not only should a firm be able to use losses to offset gains, but that in a year when a company only loses money, it should be entitled to a cash refund from the government.

Now that's brilliant. Create an economy that makes it impossible to fail if the bank gets big enough. How is that not national socialism--and terribly misdirected national socialism at that? Privatizing profits and socializing losses is "conservative?" And how is this not wealth distribution on a grand scale?

I don't know near enough to speak to section 382 of the tax code. Perhaps there is an argument to be made that it is somehow unfair. But I don't think that this, along with decades of Republican measures, can be interpreted as anything but a sincere belief that government needs to be active in helping big business make more money--even at the cost of small business and everyday citizens--because that is what fuels the American economy, in their view.

That is an argument to make, and some may find it a good one, but what it most certainly is not is an argument for laissez faire, free market capitalism. It is more of a sloppy De Gaulle approach to economics where government subsidizes anyone in the Russel 2000--preferably the Fortune 100--and uses the tax revenue from average citizens to do it.

Meet the Emanuel's

From this article, I think I like them...from a distance.

End of Chris Tucker?

Let's hope so--at least in his normal form. I always thought he was an unfunny dipshit that appealed to the lowest common denominator for attempts at humor, but looking at this now, I can only repel. He is not an unfunny dipshit now. Just pathetic.

Chris, that shit never really was funny. Now, given what has happened, it's just stupid.

Charles Alexander

I saw this weeks ago and didn't post it for whatever reason, but I can't help it now, no matter how Pollyannish it might look. And I can only hope I'm close to half as engaging and charming as Charles when I'm an old codger (if I ever make it that long).

Sanctimonious

What is it with modern Country music and the odious sanctimonious bullshit associated with it? I just got done listening to some cliche shit-can tune about the "Red, White, and Blue" and how we (the US) will "put a boot in your ass."

I've heard similar Country tunes and it makes me cringe. Not because I'm not a fan of my country or of putting a boot in the ass of our enemies, but because it's so stupid and childish. If you want to talk about being tough, be tough. Talk of throwing your enemies before you and delighting in the sound of the lamentation of their women. And if you want to talk about love of your country, do it in more ways than saying "soldier, beer, USA, Jesus, or Smokey Mountains."

I don't know why it makes me cringe on the level that it does, but it does. I suppose it's the same kind of cringe that one gets if their drunk parent is making an ass of herself--just plain embarrassment, really. Does that make me an elitist snob? No, I don't think so. I just hope for more from my fellow citizens. And seeing how the sweatsuit-and-Bud Light-combo woman that is subjecting me to this mind numbing drivel is having trouble figuring out how to use the phukin jukebox, I don't see why I should not hope for more--and certainly don't see why I should not be embarassed.

GOP Civil War Watch

Yet another article about the oncoming GOP civil war, though a pretty decent one. My favorite part:

This election ought to once and for all teach conservatives that Ronald Reagan is dead, and he's not coming back.

But before the D's and liberals get too excited, they don't exactly have a coherent philosophy either. If you asked me now what the Democrats stand for, I couldn't really tell you. It doesn't seem that tough to do either, which makes it even more curious. How about something like:

1. Support for American working families through fair taxation, universally available and affordable health care, and a world-class educational system.
2. Strong military, but restraint in foreign affairs--focusing on diplomacy, and using our military only when absolutely necessary.
3. Fierce defense of our Constitution and the Civil Liberties it guarantees.
4. Commitment to a robust infrastructure in all 50 states.
5. Commitment to a cleaner, safer United States through massive reduction in pollution and forming a Green Economy.

That's just jingoism I came up with off the top of my head and, honestly, numbers 2, 3, and 4 used to be known as Republican stances however long ago. But if the GOP is going to give them to you, take them! And, hopefully, the GOP will try to take them back--we could use a good debate.

But whatever form the D platform takes, it needs to form quickly. If I'm honest with myself, I voted for Obama more because he is anti-current-day GOP platform vs. a D. The GOP has become a victim of its success and needs to rebuild, but it will rebuild. If the D's want to stay formidable, they need to become more of a party to vote for vs. a party of protest.

Reading Kristol

I can't help but think that Bill Kristol is a bright guy, but his columns seems so....unthoughtful. I have no idea what he is trying to say with this one, really. It's a little tongue-in-cheek, I'm sure (though only funny to him), but is that the best he can do? From the article--speaking of how he was somewhat optimistic of the GOP's near-term future but was then watching Obama's acceptance speech:

Obama told his daughters, “And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the new White House.”

I gulped.

Not out of my deep affection for dogs, fond of them though I am. But because while we’ve all known that Obama is a very skillful politician, he hasn’t until now been a particularly empathetic one. Competence plus warmth is a pretty potent combination.

Maybe this partially explains his early lobbying for Sarah Palin as VP choice. I think he truly views American politics as a pseudo-American Idol competition which, cynically, it partially is, but there is more to it than that.

Then again, I really have no idea what he is ultimately trying to say. And I sometimes wonder if he ultimately knows what he believes in.

Future Energy Sources?

Promising signs for geothermal, and a new form factor for nuclear power.

Wooten

I don't always like the finger tapping stuff and I'm not the biggest fan of the stuff he does with Bela Fleck, but how could I possibly deny that he is a phenomenal bass player. He just does things that many people didn't think was possible--or couldn't even imagine in the first place.

Caribou Barbie

Remember that this is Fox News reporting it. Governor Palin didn't know the three countries in NAFTA (all three of them) and thought that Africa was a country instead of a continent. I don't know which is dumber, though I have to lean toward 'Africa is a country' as dumbest. That's the kind of shit Jay Leno pokes fun of on his "Jay Walking" segments when he talks to clueless bimbos on the street (male and female bimbos, I should say).

Bill Maher was right. She's a BIMBO. A BIMBO.

But We Still Hate Homo's

As the United States elected its first Black candidate, it repudiated equality in marriage. Proposition 8 in California has passed. Proposition 102 in my state of Arizona has passed. Both propose to disallow gay marriage by state constitutional ammendment. And, with quite painful irony, Proposition 8 was given a huge boost of support from the African-American vote in California. Andrew Sullivan laments here. His co-Atlantic blogger, Ta-Nehisi, has his back here.

So bigotry is not gone from our country by any stretch, my dear readers. And bigotry can exist in the hearts and minds of those who have been victims of bigotry themselves (see: Hispanic rejection of Obama in the Democratic primaries, Chinese-Americans who won't acknowledge my presence in their shops when in San Francisco's Chinatown, Puerto Ricans that talk shit about Mexicans and vice-versa, White Northerners that immediately think "idiot" when they hear a White Southern accent, etc., etc.).

But this issue of bigotry seems especially cruel. Homosexuals aren't asking for anything other than the chance to be part of a family. That's it--only to allow them to pick a person they fall in love with and bring them into their family while being part of their loved one's family as well. Marriage is the only vehicle to do this. And to deny this to homosexuals who are otherwise law-abiding, tax-paying adult citizens--while affording any law-abiding, tax-paying heterosexual adult citizen the right--can only be explained by bigotry, not law or reason. It is discrimination. Period. And both California and Arizona should be ashamed of themselves.

The Onion Strikes Again

Yet another brilliant article.

"The election of our first African-American president truly shows how far we've come as a nation," said NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. "Just eight years ago, this moment would have been unthinkable. But finally we, as a country, have joined together, realized we've reached rock bottom, and for the first time voted for a candidate based on his policies rather than the color of his skin."

"Today Americans have grudgingly taken a giant leap forward," Williams continued. "And all it took was severe economic downturn, a bloody and unjust war in Iraq, terrorist attacks on lower Manhattan, nearly 2,000 deaths in New Orleans, and more than three centuries of frequently violent racial turmoil."

Fringe Right Schadenfreude

How delightful is this?

Imagine Reality as a planet. Then imagine its solar system. Then imagine the universe that solar system finds itself in. Then go somewhere to the right of that universe. This is the space they inhabit.

I am so happy to see them in soul-wrenching turmoil. I truly am. Does that make me mean or petty? Perhaps so. Do I feel the slightest bit sorry for it? Heh heh heh heh....NO.

And one final word to you lunatics: KISS MY RED, WHITE, AND BLUE ASS! USA! USA! USA!

And Still They Come

I'm trying not to be too Polyannish about this, but this election has damn near got me emotional. Every article, blog snippet, video, and news story I come across says the same thing: the turnout is huge. Reports from all over the country are saying that they have never seen voter turnout like today's and--keep in mind--40 million people have already voted.

In states like New York, Massachusetts, California--states that have been put in Obama's win column for months now by all the polls and pundits--are seeing lines of voters unlike any they have seen before. And in states like Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Wyoming--states that have been firmly McCain's for months--are seeing the same thing.

There is something tectonic going on in American politics right now. And I firmly believe that Obama has led nothing short of a movement--possibly even a revolution. The American political Left has been organizing and leading grass-roots initiatives for years now and Obama owes them quite a bit, no doubt. But Obama has forever changed the American political and cultural landscape.

We will be reassessing just who we are for decades to come after this election. Questions and policies regarding ethnicity, economic fairness, the role of government, war and peace, what makes one liberal or conservative, what is...possible--all will all be revisited and redefined.

And still the voters come. People that have never voted before. People that have felt bullied, disenfranchised, inferior, intimidated, and many who have just been apathetic in the past, are now voting, now making phone calls, now driving people to polling places, now taking part in writing their own future, now feeling pride, now believing, now knowing hope. What a great day to be an American.

I Voted

Not only was I able to vote, but I was treated to this poem once I got back in the car and turned on the radio (written by the great American writer, Walt Whitman):

If I should need to name, O Western World, your powerfulest scene and show,

'Twould not be you, Niagara - nor you, ye limitless prairies - nor your huge rifts of canyons, Colorado,

Nor you, Yosemite - nor Yellowstone, with all its spasmic geyserloops ascending to the skies, appearing and disappearing,

Nor Oregon's white cones - nor Huron's belt of mighty lakes - nor Mississippi's stream:

This seething hemisphere's humanity, as now, I'd name - the still small voice vibrating -America's choosing day,

(The heart of it not in the chosen - the act itself the main, the quadrennial choosing,)

The stretch of North and South arous'd - sea-board and inland - Texas to Maine - the Prairie States - Vermont, Virginia, California,

The final ballot-shower from East to West - the paradox and conflict,

The countless snow-flakes falling - (a swordless conflict,

Yet more than all Rome's wars of old, or modern Napoleon's): the peaceful choice of all,

Or good or ill humanity - welcoming the darker odds, the dross:

- Foams and ferments the wine? it serves to purify - while the heart pants, life glows:

These stormy gusts and winds waft precious ships,

Swell'd Washington's, Jefferson's, Lincoln's sails.

Today is a good day.

Prescience of the Onion

The Onion, per norm, is positively brilliant in this article from January of 2001. We will have to see how accurate this one is.

Andrew's Case

His last--and hopefully best--case is made here.

I agree with most of it, but do not have the industry or talent to match it. Certainly not with words, anyway. And though my take is a slight bit more negative than his in proclaiming my endorsement and future vote for Obama, I will say the following: I am tired of being ashamed.

I am ashamed by the fact that we torture. That Americans, serving in an official American capacity, have tortured people--many of them innocent by the Pentagon's own admission. Some, tortured to death. Yes, innocent people--tortured to death. By Americans.

I am ashamed that we can't deal with our nation's successes and accomplishments--left to us by our generations past--and continue to fail again and again by managing wars without competance, economies without reason, and politics without respect.

I am ashamed that my president for the last 8 years has viewed the Constitution of the United States as an obstacle vs. something that he needs to protect (as is mandated by his Oath of Office, btw).

I am ashamed that my conservative friends can sit with my liberal friends and, within minutes, all of us come to levels agreement that show a way forward through the most contentious issues in this country such as abortion, the death penalty, economic equality, etc., but my goverment cannot.

I am ashamed of having a President who is rightfully mocked, rebuffed, and disrespected. Of our loss of respect in the world, our dreadful economic situation, of having people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell playing an influential role in our politics. I am ashamed of it all, but I will never be ashamed to call myself an American.

And that is what Andrew and I share mostly. A desire to be believers in America again. A desire to be proud of ourselves again. And that's why I am voting for Barack Obama.

Brubeck's A-Train

Not one of the best performances I've heard from Mr. Brubeck, but certainly one of the most interesting. It's overlong and a little self-indulgent, but it seemed like he was trying to do something new--even as popular as he was at the time. I can certainly respect that.

Though a Duke tune (actually, a Billy Strayhorn tune, technically) it seems done more in the style of Thelonious Monk. But what do I know? So, here it is: