Alabama vaults to NCAA championship

In Women's Gymnastics, if anyone cares. With the football team given a bludgeoning by the NCAA, we're now a basketball/gymnastics school. The competition was held in Tuscaloosa, so it wasn't exactly fair, but I find I don't care.

Electrolite: April 2002 Archives

I am so damned embarrassed. I didn't notice that Patrick Nielsen Hayden was nominated for a Hugo.

CNN.com - Northeast of U.S. quivers in rare quake - April 20, 2002

Is it me, or are things feeling increasingly like the end-time? I don't believe that, but if I were the sort of person who was likely to... It looks like we were lucky, here; this was a quake that could have caused "considerable damage", but nobody seems to have been hurt, and the damage seems mostly confined to roads.

CNN.com - Body found in rock singer's home in Seattle - April 20, 2002

A body has been removed from the University District residence of Layne Staley, the lead singer of the Seattle rock group Alice in Chains, a spokesman for the King County Sheriff's Department said Saturday.

It could be Staley's. The body is said to be "partially decomposed", ick.

Hugo Nominees Announced

I don't read SF short stories very often, but I note that Allen Steele has a novella entitled "Stealing Alabama" nominated. "Once More, With Feeling", the Buffy musical episode, is up for an award, but it's against Lord of the Rings, so don't bet on it.

CNN.com - Sources: al Qaeda linked to bank threat - April 19, 2002

Potentially, suicide/homicide bombing (CNN uses the older phrase) would be part of a plan to attack financial institutions in the Northeast. That homicide bombers (in forms like we see in Israel, rather than the spectacular ones we're all too familiar with from September) would eventually appear in the US has been a given.

This information allegedly comes from Abu Zubaydah, the high-ranking al-Qaeda member captured some weeks ago. Apparently, he's singing like a little bearded canary. My theory was that the government was going to pretend he died, then use his information later, after people had forgotten about him. Another brilliant theory shot to hell.

Speaking in San Francisco, FBI Director Robert Mueller said people should be suspicious of individuals entering banks who "normally don't come into banks" and of "trucks parked alongside the building."

In other words, racial profiling away!

Malnutrition, Disease Rampant at Prison for Taliban (washingtonpost.com)

This is the one in Afghanistan, and not under US control. But it's still our fault, of course: we're supposed to use our influence to resolve the problem. Everything is America's fault.

Meanwhile, the only people going hungry at Camp X-Ray are the ones on hunger strikes. But they were the ones everyone was all concerned about, until it turned out that the foreign press couldn't make their torture allegations stick.

A brand-new blog, Robert Thompson's Liberal Imperialist, is now added.

InstaPundit.Com

The Professor suggests that the administration (fresh off the change of "Suicide Bomber" to "Homicide Bomber") begin referring to Saudi Arabia as simply "Arabia".

Early on in this weblog, I tried to do just that. I eventually stopped, though. There were a number of reasons, but what comes to mind is:

1. "Arabia" is a geographical expression. The peninsula includes several states -- Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE -- who don't deserve to be tarred with the Saudi brush.

2. Talking about "Arabia" comes too close to comfort to talking about "Arabs". Any use of the phrase, unqualified, could easily be distorted to take in all Arabs.

al.com: News Tutu: America led way for his nation

Desmond Tutu is in Birmingham this week; he's speaking at the Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Advent (I went to school there!) today. In a speech yesterday, he spoke of being inspired by the American civil rights movement. Birmingham, of course, was a big part of the civil rights epic. Anyone who doesn't think we've all come a long way... Desmond Tutu spoke in a Birmingham that has a black mayor, and this year's Birmingham International Festival is saluting a free South Africa.

Bush Favors Dozens of Sites for Exploration

"Dammit, you may not let me dig up ANWR, but I'm gonna drill somewhere!"

The obsession with use of public lands -- including national parks -- for every sort of commercial use is troubling to say the least. I always thought that public lands were, you know, public property. Not a backdoor way to funnel cash to corporations.

Thor Heyerdahl, Anthropologist and Adventurer, Is Dead at 87

I always thought of Heyerdahl as something of a crank; just because it's possible for one man (who knew where he was going!) to cross the ocean on a raft doesn't make large-scale ocean crossings at all likely. That there's no reason to think that Polynesia was settled from South America, or that there were any regular contacts there, is almost beside the point.

CNN.com - Studies: Global warming to worsen - April 18, 2002

There are three questions here. One is easily answered, the other two are out of my league.

1) Is global warming real?

Yes, no question.

2) Is it caused, wholly or in part, by humans?

No idea. The UN commissioned a study that seemed to indicate so, but long-term, pre-industrial trends already were headed towards warming. My guess is that carbon dioxide emissions are at least part, perhaps most, of the problem, but I'm no scientist.

3) Is there anything we can do about it?

Probably not directly without making things worse; if it is in part or in whole due to human influence, we could probably slow it. But even that isn't a given. The climate is amazingly complex, as I expect most people know by now.

There is one major problem that could be caused by global warming, the melting of the Greenland and particularly the Antarctic ice caps. Given the huge percentage of the world population that lives in low-lying areas, it's a potential disaster. On the other hand, we don't really know that large amounts of ice will melt. Some parts of Antarctica are warming, but others are actually cooling.

This story mentions a potential minor problem:

Zwiers, an author of the U.N. study, said a warmer world could have a number of affects on health. Even a couple of degrees could make some areas more hospitable to pests and insects that carry diseases, he said.

Or less hospitable to them. More likely, some areas more, some areas less. One thing I've noticed about people in the environmental movement (I am only a sympathizer) is that a lot of them can't believe that any change can be positive. If the whole world becomes warmer, some places will benefit immensely; Canada, Russia (especially Siberia) and southern Argentina would likely all see huge jumps in agricultural productivity, for example, through longer growing seasons.

Californians -- you may have noticed -- are overly represented in the environmental movement. I remember reading a lot of them saying that global warming would lead to a widespread drought. I never understood why, really; surely more heat would mean more water would evaporate? I think they were just using their own experience of Southern California's long drought. Me, I'm looking for monsoons.

I am not a Catholic

I just post that for the guy who came in yesterday and told me that I was Catholic (three times, after I said I wasn't) and that the I supported the Pope, who was going to hell (I doubt it) and that the Pope supported "the faggots" who molested children (not true; also, most child molesters are straight) and that all Catholic priests are "faggots" (not true, and offensive to priests and to gays) and that I am "probably a faggot too" (not true, not that there's anything wrong with that) and that the Christian Church was formed by white supremicists who were trying to keep Africans in slavery (huh?) and that Jesus was a pagan god (not true) because his name in some languages sounds something like "Zeus". I think; he wasn't all that clear.

Yes, it was all pretty much one sentence, and took a half hour. I told him we had some nice literature on Buddhism if he wanted to try that out.

Also, at some point I said that Jesus was Jewish, and another patron heard me and was offended by that.

CNN.com - Rattlesnake roundup rattles rights groups - April 18, 2002

Say that five times fast.

I am, of course, an environmentalist. I believe in the balance of nature. But I don't have any particular problem with trying to get rid of poisonous snakes. And I hear the chili is delicious.

protein wisdom

Jeff has a domain name problem today, but this link should get you in.

CNN.com - Sources: bin Laden wounded in Tora Bora battle - April 18, 2002

Great, great. We actually hit the guy, and he still escapes. But if he really was at Tora Bora when the fighting started, that indicates he went to Pakistan, not Iran as some people have been pushing. Of course, he could be just about anywhere by now.

House G.O.P. Moves to Make Tax Cuts Permanent

The tax cuts, which could be made without busting the Social Security budget only by calling them temporary? Surprise! The House Republicans were lying about that, they want them permanent.

Q. How can you tell if a member of the House Republican Leadership is lying?

A. His lips are moving.

2 Killed as Small Plane Hits Skyscraper in Milan (washingtonpost.com)

The pilot was the only man on board, and he sent an SOS before crashing into a building housing the regional government. It was apparently an accident. Small planes crash into buildings all the time, usually by accident. But I doubt we'll be able to just brush off those accidents ever again.

Doctors Close In on Hepatitis C Suppression, Data Show (washingtonpost.com)

Wow. This would be great news. About one percent of Americans -- with a heavy concentration among boomers -- are infected with Hep C.

Great Moments In Headline Writing

April 18, 2002: The Miami Herald turns its headline into an editorial.

POWELL MISSION FAILS

Firstly, I'm not sure that he really wanted to stop the fighting. But we're talking about 55 years of war, here. You think one man can end it in a week? If it were that easy, there wouldn't be a war.

Moore must turn in encouragement cards for lawsuit

Alabama Chief Justice Roy "I Am The LORD Thy God" Moore is being sued by the Southern Poverty Law Center over putting up a monument in the state judicial building displaying the Ten Commandments. Yes, the ACLU has a suit, too. And everyone knows this is unconstitutional; we just have a chief justice who doesn't care about the constitution.

> Law firm sues O.J. Simpson

You know, if you're OJ -- and I hope you're not -- one thing you really want to be careful about is paying your lawyers. Odds are, you're going to need them again.

That's All for 'Ally'

"Ally McBeal" has been cancelled. All together now: "It was still on?"

Four Canadian Soldiers Killed by Friendly Fire (washingtonpost.com)

Oh, boy. Friendly fire is bad enough when it's your own troops, but when it's an ally...

This situation is getting ridiculous. I know that there will be accidents, but there's something wrong when the death toll in a war runs 10:1 in favor of them versus actual combat.

I have pretty broad permalinking standards. Basically, I'll link to any relevant weblog I read regularly or anyone who links to me. My only standard is that they update regularly. So Newsrack, now four weeks with no word, goes to the "Lost In Cyberspace" bin. I'm going to fill his spot with Tal G. for now, but I'm probably going to reorder everything within a couple weeks anyway.

Ray Mikell has linked to me and I was meaning to link to him, but he was out of town for awhile and I waited. He's back and so he's on the list.

And Dan of Lake Effect tells me he should be up again soon.

Anti-cloning people need to go f--- themselves

The Clone Song
by Randall Garrett and Isaac Asimov
(To the tune of "Home on the Range")

Oh, give me a clone
Of my own flesh and bone
With its Y chromosome changed to X.
And after it's grown,
Then my own little clone
Will be of the opposite sex.

Clone, clone of my own,
With its Y chromosome changed to X.
And when I'm alone
With my own little clone
We will both think of nothing but sex.

Well, if it's Poetry Day

I don't have any talent for it, I'm afraid, but I'll put this up for the drug warriors:

Prohibition is an awful flop.
We like it.
It can't stop what it's meant to stop.
We like it.
It's left a trail of graft and slime,
It don't prohibit worth a dime,
It's filled our land with vice and crime.
Nevertheless, we're for it.

Franklin P. Adams (1931)

(Via the Cato Institute, of all places.)

St. John's Wort: Weed of Death

WebMD - St. John's Wort Reduces Chemotherapy Effects

Herb ineffective as anti-depressant

The people who are really screwed here are people who get depressed because they need chemotherapy.

Loose connections
by Anjana Ahuja
Forget 'six degrees of separation'. We may not be as well connected as we thought

Oh well. You can still play the Kevin Bacon game.

A new review of the original "Small World" study suggests that the idea that you can link any two people by five links is either exaggerated (applicable only to well-connected people) or a myth. Or maybe not.

I wonder what a new study would show; in particular, I wonder about the impact of the Internet. Here I am, and I've communicated with people I almost certainly never would have except for the Net, some who don't even live in this country.

Eminent biologist hits back at the creationists who 'hijacked' his theory for their own ends

Stephen Jay Gould is here to kick creationist butt and classify snails, and he's all out of snails!

He's not particularly fond of Richard Dawkins, either... Some of Gould's critics have accused him of "giving comfort to the enemy". I always thought that was absurd; are they saying that evolutionists should never argue among themselves because creationists might use that as a wedge? On the contrary, I always thought that the whole idea of science as a world view was based upon testing, debate, and trying to prove and disprove ideas. If punctuated equilibrium leads to a better version of evolutionary theory -- I am not nearly qualified enough to say if it is, though it fits my own personal biases -- then supressing it would be counterproductive and wrong. And if it doesn't lead to a better version, it would still be counterproductive and wrong.

CNN.com - The latest in home decor: Elvis furniture - April 17, 2002

I figure Elvis furniture could be one, two, or all of three things:

1. Extremely tacky;
2. Food-stain resistant;
3. Able to hold up a great weight.

Sign me up! Think they'll carry a TV with a clicker shaped like a revolver?

Buffy in-joke Department

CNN.com - Peru: Thousands of Inca mummies found - April 17, 2002

New dating opportunities for Xander!

Judge Backs Oregon Assisted Suicide Law (washingtonpost.com)

Not a good week for Lord High Minister Ashcroft. First, the Supremes smacked down the porn law, and now this. The opinion is apparently very critical of Ashcroft, who far overstepped his authority with the ban even if you don't claim to be a Federalist. The assisted-suicide ban, more even than the previous attempts to manipulate state drug laws, showed the real hypocrisy of the Republican Party. They're all for giving power back to the states, except when it involves things the culture-warriors of the Bennett wing don't approve of.

Ashcroft never should have turned down Letterman's request to sing. You should never cross Dave.

Five Arrested in Shoe Bomb Case

IT TOOK SIX PEOPLE TO COME UP WITH THE SHOE BOMB PLOT?

The French -- who take a lot of grief, but they've actually held up their end fairly well -- arrested these guys. All are Pakistanis, while Maxwell Stupid is British.

ajc.com | Opinion | Tucker: McKinney's easy answers irresponsible

Cynthia Tucker -- who wrote a particularly stupid column saying that the family of Mark Shapiro were "victims of terror" because they received threatening phone calls -- writes a much better one today about Cynthia McKinney. Oddly, she echoes some of what I said on the subject:

The extreme left of the political spectrum is as capable of buying into ludicrous conspiracy theories as the extreme right.

Remember those videotapes hawked endlessly by the wacko right wing that claimed President Clinton had committed several murders? Remember when Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) shot a watermelon to prove Clinton had killed Vince Foster?

Well, McKinney has now essentially accused Bush of murder -- or, at the very least, of being an unindicted co-conspirator. This lunatic theory has been circulated on the Internet for months; it is the wacko left-wing version of paranoid hatred of the president.

Mubarak Will Not Meet With Powell (washingtonpost.com)

Methinks Hosni needs to remember who pays his salary.

What, No Web Version?
Only in New York, Kids

Supposedly, the New York Sun will start posting "some" stories on the Web in a month to six weeks.

Seinfeld moment:

"Not that there's anything wrong," with working at an online publication, she said. "But these [the editorial staff] are all newspaper people."

Condoleezza Rice's Dream Job: Commissioner

President? Feh. Condi Rice, native of Alabama (unofficial state motto: Football Is Life) wants Paul Tagliabue's job.

Space Camp bookings stay down; concern up

Where's Kate Capshaw when you need her?

Indians' Finley files for divorce after attack by wife

I think Chuck has a pretty good case here, seeing as how Tawny beat him up. But then, California is a no-fault state, isn't it? Oh well.

At any rate, neither Finley's career nor Kitaen's is doing so hot; Finley is this close to getting knocked out of the rotation, and Kitaen hasn't been seen since 1997. Actually, this might just be the shot in the arm it needed.

'Virtual' Child Pornography Ban Overturned

So here I am, headed home, listening to the radio. (OK, I admit it, the oldies station.) The 5 PM news comes on, and the announcer says, all incredulous, "Child porn, legal?!?" The oversimplication of this is mindboggling, but not unusual. I don't think the media is particularly biased towards the left or right, but it does have its biases. One of these is a persistent sort of nonpartisan nanny-statism, the "What action will the government take?" line. Another is a dislike for nonestablished media. Throw those two together...

Powell Concludes Mideast Trip With No Firm Plan to End the Violence

Does this surprise anyone?

Rope-a-dope or not, if solving this were so easy, it would have been solved long before. I personally don't think there is a solution until one side is definitively a loser, but if a peace with honor can be found, it won't be just because one man makes one trip.

I swear, this is the last blogroll, it was just too good to pass up.

This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow

Somebody in the Bush Administration had a beautiful, beautiful Freudian slip.

Monty Python: The Lumberjack Song

Consecutive posts mentioning logging or lumberjacks have gotten another Monty Python song stuck in my head. Enjoy!

CNN.com - Segregated school meetings spur parents' outrage - April 16, 2002

A school principal -- who is black -- had four separate meetings to discuss test scores, one each for black, white, hispanic, and Asian parents. I don't know what he did for mixed-race children. Excuse me, I'm just going to bang my head on the desk for a minute.

...

OK, I feel better now. Man, is this stupid! If I ever do become a Republican, this sort of crap -- which goes against everything I believe and was taught to believe about solving racial problems in this country -- will be a big reason why. I can't believe I'm on the same side as Linda Chavez, of all people!

"Now everyone knows the levels their children are at," said Maria Mendoza through daughter Ariana, who translated.

For instance, Ariana doesn't know that she shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition. We're making progress already!

Bush Asked to End Logging in Parks

"What are you, stupid? I'm a Republican!" Bush didn't reply to the environmentalists and scientists (Edward O. Wilson, for one) making the requests. But he felt like it. The logging industry would easily survive a ban, but it's not going to happen. Well, maybe in a couple of years if the election looks tight; the environment is probably the Democrats' best issue and a ban would be the sort of thing to help defuse that.

Profiles In Young Leadership

Lumberjack Online - Student gives birth in dorm room

That's less than half the story. The best parts:

A) The student in question did not realize she was pregnant until she felt the baby's head coming out;

B) The student in question was the dorm president.

(Via the Obscure Store.)

Of Early Writing and a King of Legend

Egyptology has never really recovered from the discovery that Egypt wasn't really the first civilization, that cities were invented in Canaan and Anatolia, and that the state, wheel, and -- apparently -- writing were invented in Mesopotamia. So this discovery of writing apparently dating to before its emergence in Mesopotamia makes them happy. Plus, some of them are getting cash out of it through a Discovery Channel special tied to some wrestler's movie. Others are acting all Freudian:

A few experts expressed initial skepticism. "Sometimes a falcon and a scorpion are just the image of a falcon and a scorpion," said one Egyptologist, Dr. James P. Allen of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

What I'll say is this; archaeology in Iraq, other than to glorify the current tyrant, has come to a standstill. I expect archaeolgists using modern techniques could find plenty, and will, once we get rid of Saddam.

Amazon.com: buying info: Clearing the Bases : The Greatest Baseball Debates of the Last Century

When we were doing the Croix du Grits, I maybe should have thought about nominating Alabama native Allan "The Only Reason to Still Read Salon" Barra. He's got a new book coming out next month. There is an awful lot of promising baseball material being published right now.

Catholic Church Feels a Sense of Urgency Over Scandal

Sex scandal tips: Also avoid using the word "urge" or any permutation thereof when discussing sex scandals, especially those involving practices usually considered perverse.

Matt Welch
Riordan to Start New L.A. Paper?

Since I seem to be in blogrolling mode today, Welch admits what he's been up to; plotting a new LA paper together with former mayor/defeated gubernatorial candidate/rich guy Richard Riordan. Hmmm.

tedbarlow

Ted's making Bill Bennett his whipping boy. Go to it; Bennett is loathsome. Or as Ted has it:

The guy is just what the Republicans don't need- an unsympathetic moralizer and dedicated drug warrior, with a flagrant disregard for the truth and a mile-wide hypocritical streak.

ESPN.com - Page2 - A real mockery of a draft

Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback -- the best sports column ever -- has found a new home, ESPN.com's Page Two. I don't even particularly like pro football -- hey, I'm from Alabama -- but this is always a must-read.

VodkaPundit

Steve's back from St. Louis, and it appears he's been saving up things to say.

Court Strikes Down Virtual Child Pornography Law (washingtonpost.com)

It was "unconstitutionally vague and far reaching". Well, we knew that.

The 6-3 ruling is a victory for both pornographers and legitimate artists such as moviemakers..."

Now, don't go around calling moviemakers legitimate artists. They'll never make any money that way.

Two weeks of war games begin in our 'Balkans-like' area woods

It's never a good sign to be compared to the Balkans. Really, the similarities are eerie. For instance, nobody can tell the difference between Alabamians and Mississippians, yet we hate each other. Well, "hate" is a strong word. And we haven't started killing each other yet.

The war games are getting publicity. In part, this is a reaction to the shooting of a National Guard officer by a deputy sheriff in North Carolina in February, in a similar exercise. They want to make sure everyone knows this is a game.

I have no idea why I'm posting this.

al.com: Forums and Chat

Today's guest: George "Goober" Lindsay, 2 PM CT.

Student says he was beaten over Confederate flag shirt

Another in the "I don't know what to think about this" series. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the Confederate Flaggots, but they generally don't deserve to be beaten.

Dutch Government Resigns Over Report on Srebrenica Massacre

Elections were coming up anyway; I don't know why they couldn't have held up another month, but then I've never really gotten parliamentary politics. Nice to see some accountability, though.

Candidate charged in connection with Ky. sheriff's slaying at political rally

Hey, if you can't beat them, kill them. Unsurprisingly, both were Republicans.

Syria Rejects Sharon Proposal

Oh, and surprise, Lebanese officials did too. I guess Assad's hand up their butts didn't get in the way.

Police: Siblings confess to killing brother

Sweet Jesus... A 15-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother have confessed to the murder of their 6-year-old brother. Apparently the older boy held the younger down while their sister punctured his neck. How does this sort of thing happen?

For Palestinian Refugees, Dream of Return Endures

"Dream" is pretty accurate. How about "fantasy", that's even better. It's not going to happen, it can't happen. As long as people encourage them, there will be no peace.

Couldn't sleep last night, wound up playing word games in my head...

The letters in "Mac Thomason" can be rearranged as "Match No Moas". I'm not sure what that means except maybe "stay away from New Zealand".

Words using only the letters in "Republican":

LICE
LIAR
CRUDE
PURE
CLUB
PAIN

Words using only the letters in "Democrat"

RAT
MORT
COME
DREAM

Words using only the letters in "Libertarian"

LIAR
BILE
BANE
REAL

Words using only the letters in "Reform Party"

PEROT

Alex Ramati writes from Washington, where he attended the pro-Israel rally today. All views are his (I largely agree), and all words with a little proofreading.

Democracy Celebrated: A Day at the United States Capitol with Supporters of Israel
By Alex Ramati

I am an American and I am a Jew. I am a Jew and I am an American. As an American Jew, I proudly wear both hats, but even more important, is I wear the hats together in unison. I love and I support the United States of America and the land of Israel as they both fight wars against terror. Today, in my home city of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, I saw many thousands of people just like me--American Jews, and we were not protesting. We were not fighting. We were all celebrating the proud heritage we share with two great countries, The U.S.A. and Israel.

There were equal numbers of men and women, young and old, rich and poor, religious Jews and reformed Jews, Jews from New York to Jews from California, all agreeing on one thing--Yassir Arafat must go and Israel and the United States must stand side by side in opposing anyone who would strap bombs to their chest, stand in the middle of a crowded street on a Saturday evening and blow up innocent men, women, and children.

There were all types of signage out there from "Arafat must Go" to "Twins starring Yassir Arafat and Osama Bin Laden" to "Christians who support Jews and the land of Israel." Indeed, that last poster is the most telling because not just Jews agree that it's wrong to blow up innocent people and call it 'politics as usual', it's Christians and people of other faiths who came out here today to recognize Israel as a democratic and peace-loving sovereign state.

To emphasize this point even further, members of Congress on both sides, Democrats and Republicans, walked up to the podium and spoke out against terror and against that very terror that Mr. Arafat is employing through Islamic Jihad daily against innocent Israeli citizens. He's trying to turn Jerusalem and Tel Aviv into a sea of blood, but if today's turnout -- at least 50,000, or even more -- is any indication, people who live through terror such as Yassir Arafat, Saddam Hussein, and Osama Bin Laden will all fail, because of our basic beliefs that in the end, good will triumph over evil.

It's not surprising that over 90% of the United States Congress -- which is constituted of Democrats and Republicans who are mostly non-Jewish -- staunchly support the state of Israel and the Democratic way of life. It's not surprising that two men as dire opposites as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle from South Dakota, and Republican Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott from Mississippi, both adamantly support Israel and denounce terror and Chairman Arafat. This couldn't be more telling that two men, two Christian men who stand as polar opposites on the majority of political issues, both stand strongly with the sovereign state of Israel.

The reason that the United States continues to be looked on as the country most likely to bring about peace in the Middle East is because the United States is the most just country with the most just laws and no matter where you are politically, we all believe in freedom and having rights. The United States is the most powerful country in the world and the best friend and maybe only true friend the state of Israel has. Too many countries have their own agendas about oil, large Muslim populations, centuries of anti-Semitism -- pick your poison if you will. But the United States, which does have elements of all three, especially with a dependency on oil, understand very much their Democratic allies, Israel. This was never made more clear than in the vicious attack by militants of the Arab world on September 11th when two separate hijacked planes brought the World Trade Center towers, New York's most powerful symbols, crashing down to the ground, along with thousands of innocent people, including Americans, Israelis, Germans, French, Italians and yes, Arabs as well. Did these Arabs, some of whom may have even sympathized with Arafat, ask to have their life take away on a Tuesday morning while trying to earn a living? Not likely.

But I digress. This rally was a culmination of support for Israel, but also frustration at the stress placed on Israel from the Arab world as well as their "friends" in Europe. And with the negative media surrounding Israel, anti-Semitism, our biggest enemy for 5000 years, is rearing its ugly head again. Synagogues in South America, Tunisia, France, and Spain are all being attacked. Jewish students at Cal-Berkeley are being harrassed and beaten by Arabic students. Then there are the 'calmer' forms of anti-Semitism in places like England -- maybe the only other ally Israel has -- seeing its form of 'parlor' anti-Semitism where the upper class of London society gather and insultingly point fingers at Israel.

That is why this rally today was so important. That is why it was important for Jews from Richmond, Virginia to Reno, Nevada to take some time away from their normal lives and let our nation's capital and the Bush Administration know that we stand behind their policy of fighting terror and stand behind their policy of putting Arafat to the test; a test we know he's incapable of passing but a test nonetheless, to stop terror. He has not only not stopped "homicide attacks" on innocent Israeli's, he's stepped them up. More than 3/4's of his personal "Fatah" army, the supposed Palestinian Security force that would stop terrorism, have been identified as the suicide bombers or helping the suicide bombers. When Israel handed Mr. Arafat a list of over 180 proven Hamas or Islamic Jihad members, Arafat not only did not arrest them, but the less then five he did corral, were out the back door the very next day. Until the Palestinian people are led by a man of passion and intelligence who has a legitimate vision of peace and being neighbors with the Israeli people, then they will continue to be poor, starved and convinced that their only enemies are the Jews.

I hope I get the chance to attend another rally and once again, assert my support for the two most democratic nations in the world, the United States and Israel. It was a real honor today to sing both "Hatikvah" and "God Bless America" with 50,000 others.

Electrolite: April 2002 Archives
Damon Knight, 1922-2002

Damn. The last of the giants aren't going to be with us long; enjoy them while we can.

A primer for the frazzled flier

I rarely fly; I don't have job reasons normally, and most of my family is usually around Birmingham. I do it about once every two years. Well, twice, once there, once back. Since I flew last Thanksgiving, I should be OK for about a year and a half. But for you frequent flyers, here's another article with tips.

Jobs key issue, but can winner deliver?

OINK! If I am reading this correctly, successors to Mobile's Rep. Sonny Callahan are being judged on who is most likely to bring home huge barrels of pork. Since the power of a freshman representative is pretty limited, they're probably going to be found wanting.

Getting ready for West Nile virus

Whee! This is in Mobile County, the western of the two counties that make up Alabama's coastline. It's been spotted in Florida, too, and I assume will make its way to Louisiana and Texas soon. It'll love the Mississippi Delta. To be safe, I am wearing long sleeves, staying indoors, and 200 miles away from the ocean. Of course, I live near a river.

Wolfowitz Booed at Pro - Israel Rally

Hee.

Wolfowitz was drowned out by chants of ``no more Arafat'' and booed as he told a packed crowd of thousands that ``innocent Palestinians are suffering and dying as well. It is critical that we recognize and acknowledge that fact.''

Actually, I think we do recognize that fact; the problem is that Israel is doing this in self-defense and doesn't want to cause civilian casualties. The deaths of innocent Palestinians are on the heads of Arafat and Company.

Amazon.com: buying info: The Simpsons - The Complete Second Season

July 23. Start saving your pennies.

Pope Summons American Cardinals to Talk About Sex Scandal (washingtonpost.com)

How to improve this headline: Take out "Scandal". "Pope Summons American Cardinals to Talk About Sex" would be much more interesting. And more likely to solve the problem, really.

I'm sure the Pope wants to solve the problem; he's a good guy. But I'm not convinced he's actually running things any more, and I don't think his underlings recognize the gravity of the problem. Really, I think they'd be perfectly willing to let the American Church hang to protect themselves and the goals they've set.

Lawsuit in Texas Challenges Ban on Personal Watercraft in National Parks

Ah, yes. The personal watercraft, which combines the worst aspects of motorcycles, powerboats, and small planes. The way I see it -- and I am unredeemably biased because I think personal watercraft are stupid, loud, and dangerous -- is that trying to end the ban perfectly symbolizes the nature of Republican "libertarianism"; the liberty of a few extended at the expense of that of the many, at least when there's money to be made. Ending the ban would be:

Bad for the environment;
Bad for swimmers;
Bad for fishermen;
Bad even for the people in personal watercraft, 'cause they're gonna die.

It would be good for:

Manufacturers of personal watercraft;
The petroleum industry;
Personal injury lawyers.

Oh, well, you can't win everything, and we'll take care of the lawyers with "tort reform".

Mr. Roberts, for one, says he has been diverted to more congested lakes and would rather be on the ocean. "When you're on the seashore, it's more open, with a long, wide beach," he said. "Would you rather drive along the open winding road in Colorado or on the streets of New York City? That's the difference."

Hey, why stop there? Let's open up the beaches to cars again! I'm sure Mr. Roberts would love to get a Jeep and drive it over a protected wildlife reserve. Nothing like driving on the open beach.

Astronauts Reroute Cables on Space Station

This week on: Electricians... in... SPAAAAACE!

Bizarre things I have cataloged department

Main Author: Bean, Orson.
Title: Me and the orgone

ajc.com | Metro | Pet koi 'murdered'

Technically, I don't think fish can be murdered. And I don't think that fish that live outside can be considered pets. But hey, deep pockets!

The Kochs say about 150 of their koi -- a special breed of carp, top examples of which are viewed as art and can sell for more than $1 million -- died after chlorinated water from a broken water line above their property off Columns Drive flowed through the ponds.

An AT&T Broadband crew was installing new cable in the neighborhood April 3 when the incident occurred.

Your AOL/Time-Warner stock at work

Ted Turner, vice chairman and senior adviser for AOL Time Warner, billed the company for $396,867 last year for the use of his personal $20 million Challenger jet for business purposes, the NY Pose [sic] reports.

CNN.com - Powell: Arafat not needed at Mideast conference - April 15, 2002

Unfortunately, he's not saying Arafat is irrelevant. He's saying Arafat can send a representative.

D.C. Prepares for Pro-Israeli Rally (washingtonpost.com)

Stay tuned for a report from my friend Alex Ramati, who lives in Washington and will be at the rally.

2002 Libertarian Party candidates in Alabama

Otherwise known as "losers".

I actually vote for the occasional Libertarian. I live in one of those areas where for some races the Democrats won't put anyone up, but the Libertarians -- because they expect to lose everything -- will. So I vote for the Libertarian.

This is the worst formatted article ever, by the way.

Legislature down to last two days

Unfortunately, not the last two ever. They'll be back. And what have they accomplished so far?

They've passed next year's state budgets and 3-percent pay raises for state employees and teachers and other employees of public schools and two-year colleges. They've also passed a plan to limit driving privileges for all 16-year-olds and some 17-year-olds, and they passed laws redrawing districts for Congress and the state school board.

Now, what are they forgetting.... There was something... Oh, I know, they left out blocking the wildly popular proposal to re-write the state constitution, because they wouldn't be allowed to take part and their power to block local lawmaking would be curtailed. That's it.

They're not done yet, of course. They're looking at a bill to require clinics to give women seeking abortions a booklet on "risks and alternatives", including "color photos showing what an embryo, fetus and child look like every two weeks through a pregnancy, from fertilization to birth", at least 24 hours before the procedure could be performed. Or, as it's better known, "an unconstitutional restriction on abortion which the Federal courts will strike down quicker than you can say Roe v. Wade."

And there's the always popular Ten Commandments; there's a constitutional amendment that says schools and other government agencies can display it. This goes directly into the face of another SCOTUS decision, and it won't get that far this time; the Court of Appeals will kill it and the Supremes will deny cert like they are everything else controversial. And I reiterate:

Here's a new one:

Barron said he wants the Senate to give final legislative approval to a move that would require voters to show ID before voting or sign a sworn statement that he or she is registered to vote at that polling place. Some Senate Republicans oppose the plan because it would not require a photo ID.

Please explain that to me. If the measure doesn't go far enough, can't you fix that later? It seems that if you think this is a problem, some restriction is better than no restriction.

Report: Israel Captures Arafat Aide

The aide being "Marwan Barghouti", said to be a "leader of the current uprising". Good for the Israelis; even better if he can provide them with intelligence. Of course, even if he admits openly that he was part of the revolt and that Yasser the Weasel was behind it all, the sort of people who blame Israel for everything won't believe him.

Skirmish on Iraq Inspections (washingtonpost.com)

Paul Wolfowitz, who will go down in history as the man who made Deputy Defense Secretary a cabinet post, had the CIA investigate the Swedish diplomat who heads the UN team in charge of inspecting Iraqi weapons programs. It doesn't appear he had any reason to suspect Hans Blix of wrongdoing, and that this is just a Nixonian fishing expedition.

Powell Warns of Danger on Lebanon-Israel Border (washingtonpost.com)

I've been worried about that, too, though of course Secretary Powell would know far better than I. When it comes to US interests, as long as war is confined to the West Bank, we can go on normally. I'm not saying we like it that way, but it's something we can work around. But if Syria gets involved, it could easily escalate into a regional war. And a regional war with US troops on the ground in Saudi Arabia, preparing for an assault on Iraq, could escalate further into World War III.

Worst-case scenario: Iraq supports Syria, and attacks Israel (and the American troops in Saudi Arabia) with chemical weapons. Israel retaliates by nuking Baghdad. The southern Arabs come into the war on the Iraqi side. To secure its bases, the US is forced to occupy Saudi Arabia, and this is seen as an attack on Islam itself. Islamist revolution sweeps out all the really moderate Arab governments and Pakistan, maybe even Turkey.

ajc.com | News | McKinney comments

You know what? Outrageous as McKinney's claims were, I'm not particularly concerned by them. How are they any different from the various ridiculous attacks from the other side of the aisle on President Clinton during his administration? The only difference I can see is that McKinney is a very peripheral figure in the Democratic Party, while Clinton's attackers were men in the Republican leadership like Lott and Armey.

McKinney's backtracking statement is, of course, stupid:

"We hold thorough public inquiries into rail disasters, plane crashes and even natural disasters," she wrote. "Why then does the administration remain steadfast in its opposition to an investigation into the biggest terrorism attack in history?"

Jordan Times (News Section)
Israeli pacifists protest near Jenin

How can you be an Israeli pacifist? Why not just cut your own throat?
I seriously doubt the details of this story, but I'd guess that there actually are some pacifists and they actually protested.

Mercury News | 04/13/2002 | Woman protesting timber sale falls to death from tree

Hee. The great thing is that the logging plan had already been cancelled but she wasn't going to leave until the paperwork was signed.

I'm an environmentalist, but tree sitters really are stupid. I'm all for forests, but individual trees? Bleah. They're just plants.

Got Soy? Not in a School Lunch (washingtonpost.com)

Got Lactose Intolerance? Too bad, kid; you get milk or you get nothing.

Activists calling for children to be allowed milk substitutes with their school lunches don't get it. They seem to think that the program is for kids, not dairy farmers. But Jean Daniel, Dept. of Agriculture public affairs director for food and nutrition, will set them straight:

"Milk must be served with school lunch, according to USDA regulations. If not, it's not considered a reimbursable meal."

In other words, you have to have milk. Not orange juice, not water, not nothing; no milk, no free lunch.

Death toll from Nepal violence reaches 112

Maoist rebels are trying to overthrow the monarchy. Maoists! Israel has been getting most of the foreign-affairs attention of late, but there are troubles all over... Nepal isn't an area the US would normally pay attention to anyway. If there's a Chinese sphere of influence, that's part of it.

White House Ends Environmental Fellowship

The Bush White House ending an environmental program? What are the odds?

Venezuela's Chavez Looks Set to Return in Triumph

If there's one thing worse than a coup, it's an incompetent coup... Chavez will only be worse now. This is a blow to the US -- which wasn't directly involved, but I'll bet somebody in the CIA was making suggestions the last few months. Venezuela will hold to the OPEC line, and Chavez might even be angry enough to go along with the "oil weapon".