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 Tuesday, May 21, 2002
I wasn't going to hop on this bus, but after trying them I just can't help myself. Google has released four new toys to play with [via Scripting News]:
- Glossary: Gives explanations and definitions for any term. Better than any online dictionary I've used.
- Sets: Enter a few items "from a set of things" (i.e. green, purple, red), Google will then complete the list by adding similar items. Could be killer for research of any kind.
- Voice Search: Enter a Google search via a phone call. I don't really get this, since you need a web browser to see the results. Eventually it might be cool if you could get the results via phone as well. I guess if you have a web-enabled cell phone, this would be cool. But then, why not enter the search via your cell phone web browser in the first place?
- Keyboard Shortcuts: Allows you to navigate your Google search results via keyboard commands. Pretty helpful, actually.
Google is almost scary it's so cool. But is it? Are these things truly helpful, or are they just fun? Stuff like this makes me wonder if humans need to reprogram their operating systems to be able to appreciate what they are now capable of. 9:42:02 AM 
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With all the shouting about what Bush and Co. knew about 9-11 and when, and whether they could have warned us or whatever, I'm afraid that the issue of welfare reform is getting lost and ignored. Today Douglas MacKinnon -- a Republican who grew up in poverty (imagine that!) -- offers some perspective on this:
 Americans who live below the poverty line (a horrifying $14,630 for a family of three) have the same dreams, hopes and aspirations as those lucky enough never to worry about food, rent or the cost of going to see a doctor. What they don't have are opportunities or understanding. More often than not, they were born to poverty instead of a nice suburban home with the advantages of financial stability and an unclouded future.
And yet, because of that randomness of birth, we tend to punish, ignore or fear those who live in poverty. As Congress continues to debate reauthorizing the 1996 federal welfare law, it should seek better ways to help the working poor who can't make ends meet. It needs to understand what happens to families after they leave welfare. The Senate could, for example, invite people who have left welfare to Washington to testify about their experiences and the factors that stand in the way of their getting productive jobs. More education and job training would clearly help. Congress also needs to push corporate America and the religious community to play greater roles.
As a person who grew up in poverty, I believe there should be limits to governmental assistance to the poor, but those limits must be accompanied by common sense and compassion. Welfare programs, for example, need to have sufficient flexibility so that all parents can get the support they need. We will all be better off if the poorest families in our communities believe that they, too, have a chance. They certainly deserve nothing less. 
9:06:34 AM
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The following press release qppeared today on the Illinois Prairie Greens mailing list:
HAVANA (Associated Poets) -- Despite the pleadings of Governor Ryan of
Illinois and representatives of the huge American agribusiness cartels,
Fidel Castro of Cuba refused today to resume trade with the United States
unless George Bush releases political prisoners, conducts independently
monitored elections and accepts a list of tough conditions for "new
governments in Washington -- and Florida -- that are fully democratic." He
did however agree to offer political asylum to Gov. Ryan.
Castro said the United States' legacy of freedom "has been insulted by a
despot who uses police methods to enforce a bankrupt vision, under the
name of a 'War on Terrorism.' That legacy has been debased by a relic from
another era who, with this secret police chief Ashcroft, has turned their
beautiful nation into a prison."
"Without political reform, without economic reform, trade with the US will
merely enrich George Bush and his cronies -- including his family and the
so-called 'Carlyle Group,'" he said Monday. "It will not help the American
people."
To win his approval of easing restrictions, Castro said the US must:
-Allow opposition parties, such as Greens, access to the ballot.
-Allow independent trade unions.
-Free all political prisoners, notably those the US holds in Cuba, at
Guantanamo Bay.
-Allow human rights organizations to visit the US to ensure that the
conditions for free elections are being created, especially in the
upcoming Florida elections.
-Allow outside observers to monitor 2004 elections.
-End discriminatory practices against US workers (recently described in
detail by B. Ehrenreich).
"Full normalization of relations with the US, diplomatic recognition, open
trade and a robust aid program will only be possible when the US has a new
government that is fully democratic, when the rule of law is respected and
when the human rights of all Americans are fully protected," Castro said
He voiced support for a referendum in the US asking voters whether they
favor civil liberties, including freedom of speech and assembly, and
amnesty for political prisoners.
--end-- 8:54:21 AM
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Literacy Weblog offers an abundance of terrific, smart, and thought provoking links, plus it has the backlinks in effect. Too bad it has no RSS subscription option, but you can't have everything. I found this via Dr. Laurel Clyde's article on blogging at FreePint. Clyde also has an academic web page about blogs -- the first I've seen.
While I'm at it, Clyde also provides links to more great sites, including:
- Crag's Booknotes: I think I've been here before, but again, since it has no subscription option I'm less likely to make it a daily read. I need to change that. Saturday's entries offer a wealth of great links to the ongoing developments in post 9-11 investigations, accusations, etc. The highlight is the full text of Georgia Democrat Cynthia McKinney's statement on terrorist warnings. McKinney says:
Because I love my country, because I am a patriot, and because the American people deserve the truth, I believe it would be dangerous, loony and irresponsible not to hold full congressional hearings on any warnings the Bush Administration had before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Ever since I came to Congress in 1992, there are those who have been trying to silence my voice. I've been told to "sit down and shut up" over and over again. Well, I won't sit down and I won't shut up until the full and unvarnished truth is placed before the American people.
Go McKinney!
- Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog: The title is pretty self-explanatory. One of the only blogs I've seen to actually link to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- The Laughing Librarian: Great library humor... Here's a taste.
7:56:05 AM
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I finally got around to reading "Use the Blog, Luke," and found it to be a great analysis of the potential for blogs as a new kind of communication that helps improve traditional journalism, rather than replacing it. But the best part of the article was its description of how the Web should work:
Punch up a URL and if Jason, or Andrew Sullivan, or Sopsy has an opinion about that page, you see their comments in a floating window alongside your main browser window. It's a simple enough trick: Sites like Blogdex are already tracking blog-borne references to different URLs. All your browser would have to do is send an additional request to a database of blogged URLs anytime you pulled up a page: If there's a match -- if one of the bloggers you're following has referenced the URL -- their comments get sent back to your machine and appear in the floating palette.
That's such a cool idea. It's like backlinking (or auto-linkbacks or whatever you want to call it when a page automatically links to all pages which link to it), except it's so much better. It seems like this would be so easy to do.... I wish I were a programmer. But it should include all links to a page, not just blogs. Generation of 1-3 line summaries of web pages (a la Google's search results) should also become standard and automatic to make the whole thing that much more useful. 7:20:46 AM
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David Horowitz wants to blame Clinton for the 9-11 attacks and the ensuing problems currently culminating in more calls for investigations of Bush, the intelligence agencies, etc. His piece provides a helpful history of some crucial data points leading to 9-11, but where he sees this data as an argument for increased U.S. military aggression, I see it as exactly the opposite. If the U.S. wasn't such a horrible global citizen, it would not be such a huge target for attacks. Terrorism against us will not be decreased by terror inflicted by us. It just doesn't work that way. 7:11:21 AM
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Doc points to this account of a less than stellar experience with a visit to an emergency room, which points to Health Care: How America Has Failed. Together, these two short pieces show the tiniest tip of the giant iceberg of a health care system that is anything but healthy. How has America failed?
We should be ashamed that in a country of unmatched wealth and prosperity we simply allow people to suffer and die if they don't have the money to pay for our vast array of medical technologies and services.
We should be ashamed that, with everything we have to offer, people who work hard to support their families frequently find that there is nothing for them when they are sick. Why? Because they can't afford health insurance.
We're all "free" in this country to work our asses off and purchase whatever we decide is valuable. Obviously this means we're all "free" to suffer and die because health care is a for-profit enterprise that some of us can't afford. I really don't understand people who think nationalized health care is a bad idea. Do you? 7:05:41 AM
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Last night NBC earned a little bit of respect in my book when it aired "Enemy of the State" because the movie begs a question that we should be giving a lot more attention right now: What's the balance between civil liberties and national security? And what are the dangers of reducing civil liberties in order to increase national security? Who is more likely to benefit from such action? The answer to that last question seems clear: Not you and me.
Later: "Enemy of the State" focuses on the evils of the NSA, but today's Mondo Washington shows how the FBI might be even worse. 6:53:56 AM
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Could it be that Apple is going mainstream? Doc notes that people* who yesterday swore by Windoze are buying macs today. Even better, developers are making software for macs. Doc says:
The energy coming off Apple right now is very stong and positive. People there are having fun. They're competitive, but not combative (a critical advantage over Microsft's only serious [~] but perhaps fatal [~] character flaw)
My advice (no, I don't own any): buy Apple stock. There is a sea-change happening, and it's going down fast. 
I'll say. Today Apple introduced new 700 mhz G3 iBooks with ATI Mobility Radeon graphics cards, which just adds to the compact goodness packed into that icy white package. They're claiming a 35% speed boost, and I don't doubt it. Anything they can do to boost graphics performance on these things is going to improve them dramatically. I wish I was one of those people who could buy a new computer every year or so... 6:51:05 AM
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