---

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Signs of Intelligence: Anthropologists: American Marriage is not the Norm. An article quoting various anthropologists and sociologists, all debunking the idea that homosexual marriage is somehow unnatural. "In the big sweep of human history and broad cross-cultural comparison, monogamous, heterosexual marriage, voluntarily entered into, is a pretty rare form of marriage." This from Roger N. Lancaster, a professor of anthropology at George Mason... [morons.org headlines] 7:37:06 PM  Permalink  comment []

Record Labels Must Pay Shortchanged Performers. An investigation conducted by the New York Attorney General's office found that many record companies had stopped making required payments to thousands of artists. By Lola Ogunnaike. [New York Times: Arts] 7:35:37 PM  Permalink  comment []

Joe Wilson Thinks the Republican Party Has Gone Insane. Via Hullaballoo: Hullabaloo : This Week's Water Cooler Talking Point: Joe Wilson puts it very nicely: Conason: What's the difference in the GOP from when you were growing up? Wilson: If you're fiscally responsible, this is not your party. If you believe in a moderate foreign policy characterized by alliances, free trade and the ability to operate in an international environment, this is not your party. If you believe in limited federal government, this is not your party. If you believe that the government should stay out of your bedroom, this is very definitely not your party. In fact, I would argue that unless you believe in the American imperium, imposed on the world by force, or unless you believe in the literal interpretation of the Book of Revelations, this is not your party. [Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal (2004)] 5:20:39 PM  Permalink  comment []

It's a Good Life It's a good life.. Via Michael Bérubé, Jerome Bixby explains the Bush Administration.... [Electrolite] What a terrific post. The Bush Administration is just like that old Twilight Zone with Billy Mumy: It's a good thing we invaded Iraq-- a real good thing. Richard Clarke is a bad man. We're gonna put him in the cornfield with Paul O'Neill and Joe Wilson. Paul Bremer better keep thinking happy thoughts or we're gonna turn him into a jack-in-the-box just like we did with . . .  and then it occurred to me, has anyone seen Colin Powell lately? 11:15:38 AM  Permalink  comment []

Abu Ghraib Christopher Hitchens, who supported the invasion of Iraq, writes in Slate about the disaster that is Abu Ghraib. It seems to me that this is really the death of any reasonable positive outcome of Iraq. Kerry is going to have to dig us out of this mess. One thing, I've heard a lot about applying the military code of justice to those in the military who perpetrated this. But what about the mercenarys, er, private contractors, who were involved, in this and the undoubted others we're going to learn about? What sort of justice will they face? Will they be tried in Iraqi courts? US courts? Will they even lose their jobs? There's more disaster here to come, count on it. Later: Slate answers my question about the "contractors" involved in Abu Ghraib. Apparently quite a lot can happen to those involved. Bull will it? 11:09:07 AM  Permalink  comment []

Report says Bush administration broke the law by withholding Medicare data. It's hard to choose the best White House scandal that, in a just world, would be destroying the president's credibility. There are just so darn many criminal or near-criminal controversies surrounding Bush right now. The Medicare scandal is about to heat up again in a big way. We already know the administration lied to Congress and the public about the cost of the White House plan and we know that Bush officials are refusing to share cost estimates with lawmakers, despite previous promises to do so. Now we're learning that... [The Carpetbagger Report] 8:16:00 AM  Permalink  comment []

© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.