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Friday, November 11, 2005
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Pressure from the blogosphere has forced the White House to answer more questions about the transcript of the October 31 press briefing. Video of the briefing clearly demonstrates that, after NBC’s David Gregory described the involvement of Karl Rove and Scooter Libby in the CIA leak scandal, McClellan said “that’s accurate.” Nevertheless, the White House transcript lists McClellan’s answer as “I don’t think that’s accurate.”
Editor and Publisher asked the White House spokeswoman Dana Perino about the discrepancy:
When asked about the fact that the White House version contradicts video accounts of the briefing, Perino added, “the White House stenographer was in the room and I was in the room” and they heard McClellan say “I don’t think that’s accurate.”
You’d think from Perino’s answer that this was the early 20th Century and video had just been invented. In 2005, however, no one can seriously argue that their recollection is more reliable than a video recording.
(Via Think Progress.)
11:47:13 PM 
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Sigh. They start the Christmas season earlier and earlier each year, and we hear the traditional song of the wingnuts whining about some supposed anti-Christian hate crimes. Fortunately, we have some sane people around:
I know lots of Christians and lots of non-Christians. None of the non-Christians I know are bothered by having someone say "Merry Christmas" because they are reasonable enough to know that Christmas is a prominent holiday that dominates the winter season in this country for Christians and non-Christians alike, and because they understand that the person who says it is wishing them merriment, regardless of particular holiday it's attached to. And quite frankly, anyone who reacts badly to being told "Merry Christmas" is just looking for something to get bothered about.
Likewise, none of the Christians I know, at least to my knowledge, would be the least bit offended at being told "Happy Holidays" or even "Happy Hannukah" by someone because, again, they're reasonable enough to understand that the person speaking is wishing them happiness and joy in whatever way they think is appropriate. And quite frankly, any Christian who is offended at being told "Happy Holidays" is just looking for something to get bothered about. And if they take it further than that and declare, as Pat Buchanan did last year, that department stores with signs saying "Happy Holidays" are a "hate crime against Christians", then they've simply lost their minds and have wandered off into a bizarro universe of irrationality.
When did Christmas become a Republican holiday? Who reminds you more of Bill O'Reilly? Scrooge or Bob Cratchit? Come to think of it, aren't Scrooge and Bob Cratchit roughly comparable to the Republican and Democratic parties? It's going to be a long holiday season.
11:33:06 PM
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 Engineers from MIT's Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department have tested the radiation absorbing properties of tin-foil hats, often represented as stopping microwave based 'mind control' technology.
The abstract of the study suggests describes the study, and suggests some worringly conclusions:
Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250,000 network analyser, we find that although on average all helmets attenuate invasive radio frequencies in either directions (either emanating from an outside source, or emanating from the cranium of the subject), certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. These amplified frequencies coincide with radio bands reserved for government use according to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Statistical evidence suggests the use of helmets may in fact enhance the government's invasive abilities. We theorize that the government may in fact have started the helmet craze for this reason.
Link to study text (via slashdot).
Link to news story discussing the study.
(Via Mind Hacks.)
Damn! The worse thing about it is, they don't tell us what we should use instead!
5:55:02 PM
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Dr. Janet Smith, a Catholic moral theologian, explains the evils of contraception: Men are not as attracted to women who use contraception because they are infertile, Smith said. “A test was done with a group of men in a room who were shown slides of female super-models. They were asked to rate the women for their attractiveness. Then something soaked with female fertile hormones was placed in the room while the men were shown slides of ordinary looking women. They found them more attractive than the models.” A farmer once told her it was all quite natural. “You can put a cow in the same pen with a bull when she isn't fertile and he isn't interested. But put him in a barn a mile away with three metal fences in between and when she is fertile, he will find a way to get there.”
Contraception blocks God too
(Via Gullibility isn't in the dictionary.)
9:41:39 AM
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From Telic Thoughts, the best argument I've yet read for Intelligent Design.
Thaks slka pwnpsj ajan alalsn lglgp ajmgle. Jkspaksp sppl a laps upspow Amjgkpolytuc ksji sujt jsnhftsy shbcyt, jsjt ocjs klps. Ytahsp pleiosjk haju Pslotksa htqysl jdhyta kiypoiq Akyst. Lksipo gat hy arfwg ahyst josyu kauj jsuht qetar hytpol lkou. Kyaht whtsyj qraik tyjsu ploe justyc qrj. Ploksuty hsthlay htysur kuitos Qte. Rafag jhusy hy woopq oopis tyuqp. Plaoi yuqlitos ityhat gtaray jhtuyd. Mnsjije aolo wul qoild skio oalo euqil. Mwuks lotiru jslitoisu htryw poloooy autpaostmski. Uorapol wyualpso lotiuas jutos twpqo dru tep qpotsy jwi amio.I kalos qooi yhjul ytuapos ujy thaqp loskiu. Jjhays ytauc bahah owk woqlk jushy. Ujayray tryeham hys twoiui hystoci ytwyaois kiyysu naunn ijwokq jiajsnt. Wqomsi okajnsn ij unuinm auhuif msuhujs euj lgoks qoikiq. Thaks slka pwnpsj ajan alalsn lglgp ajmgle. Jkspaksp sppl a laps upspow. Amjgkpolytuc ksji sujt jsnhftsy shbcyt, jsjt ocjs klps. Ytahsp pleiosjk haju Pslotksa htqysl jdhyta kiypoiq Akyst. Lksipo gat hy arfwg ahyst josyu kauj jsuht qetar hytpol lkou. Kyaht whtsyj qraik tyjsu ploe justyc qrj. Ploksuty hsthlay htysur kuitos.
9:38:08 AM
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Over in the latrine of ideas that is Tech Central Station, Douglas Kern (a lawyer and therefore expert in damn near everything) offers the following five reasons why “Intelligent Design theory is destined to supplant Darwinism as the primary scientific explanation for the origin of human life”. Welcome to the alternative reality of the right.
- ID will win because it’s a religion-friendly, conservative-friendly, red-state kind of theory, and no one will lose money betting on the success of red-state theories in the next fifty to one hundred years.
- ID will win because the pro-Darwin crowd is acting like a bunch of losers.
- ID will win because it can be reconciled with any advance that takes place in biology, whereas Darwinism cannot yield even an inch of ground to ID.
- ID will win because it can piggyback on the growth of information theory, which will attract the best minds in the world over the next fifty years.
- ID will win because ID assumes that man will find design in life — and, as the mind of man is hard-wired to detect design, man will likely find what he seeks.
Ummm. Interesting that there was no mention of research or idea or predictiveness or any of that damned annoying stuff that scientists do.
The boys at ARN see this as “informative”. Enough said.
(Via stranger fruit.)
9:10:24 AM
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The GOP fiscal irresponsibility continues unabated. Tennessee congressman John Tanner hits us with this little bit of wisdom:
President George W. Bush and the current administration have now borrowed more money from foreign governments and banks than the previous 42 U.S. presidents combined, which the Blue Dog Coalition in the House of Representatives called %u201Castounding.%u201D
Throughout the first 224 years (1776-2000) of our nation%u2019s history, 42 U.S. presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign governments and financial institutions according to the U.S. Treasury Department. In the past four years alone (2001-2005), the Bush Administration has borrowed a staggering $1.05 trillion...
h/t to Peter @ Blondesense and Jesselee @ The Stakeholder
Update, 10:30AM EST: Here's another record for the Bush administration: U.S. Trade Deficit Hits All-Time High
(Via All Spin Zone.)
8:42:57 AM
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Why does the GOP hate veterans?
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ — A proposal to end the long-standing practice of veterans groups addressing a joint session of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees is an insult to all who have fought, sacrificed and died to defend the Constitution, according to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). And in a strongly worded letter to House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), the DAV has urged him to continue the joint hearings as an invaluable tool in formulating public policy toward America's veterans.
Chairman Buyer recently announced that veterans service organizations will no longer have the opportunity to present testimony before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees.
Buyer (R-IN), pronounced BOO-yer, was chosen to replace the well-liked Chris Smith (R-NJ) as comittee chair when Smith angered GOP leadership with his staunch support of the troops in budget matters as well as his amicable bipartisan rapport with ranking Democrats. He was also removed from the House Veterans' Affairs Committee after serving 24 years there. Buyer immediately offered a glimpse of his concern for the troops by comparing veteran's benefits to welfare ...
At a time when every veteran knows the VA needs more funding, Buyer said, “I want to modernize the system. I am not a defender of bloated bureaucracies.” Buyer then went on to paint a perfectly clear picture of the VA of the future: “Some of the veterans service organizations, they are having this belief that everyone should have open access to the VA system, when in fact I believe that the VA system should follow its core constituency and the intent of Congress when we laid out our priorities, and that was in fact to take care of our disabled and indigent veterans first.”
Bush has steadily cut support and funding for the V.A. since taking office, including more than $4 billion for PTSD. The reason? According to the Pentagon, helping the troops cope with service-related mental illness harms national security.
(Via All Spin Zone.)
8:38:01 AM
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QUOTE FOR THE DAY I: "I fear you do not fully comprehend the danger of abridging the liberties of the people. Nothing but the sternest necessity can ever justify it. A government had better go to the extreme of toleration, than to do aught that could be construed into an interference with, or to jeopardize in any degree, the common rights of its citizens," - Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of a national insurrection. It's on page 523 of Doris Kearns Goodwin's wonderful new book, "Team of Rivals." The italics are in the original.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY II: "We do not torture," - George W. Bush, earlier this week.
(Via Daily Dish.)
8:25:40 AM
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Next week Medicare will begin enrollment for its new prescription drug benefit. With literally dozens of different enrollment plans available, Medicare unveiled a new Web site this week meant to simplify the process. But a new survey finds that it's going to take a lot more than a fancy computer program to help seniors sign up.
(Via NPR Programs: Morning Edition.)
Everything I've heard about this thing sounds like it's a total mess. Remember what Frist said at the convention last summer: Dr. Frist sent you. He designed the thing, they broke their own rules to get it passed, and it's a huge expensive nightmare.
8:20:17 AM
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© Copyright 2005 Steve Michel.
Last update: 12/2/2005; 7:09:12 PM.
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