Sunday, December 7, 2003

Via Matt Croydon The Last Samurai. I saw The Last Samurai tonight.  I would give it a solid 4.5 Thauvin-stars.  It is easily one of the best movies that I have seen in quite some time.  This is one to see in the theatres and own on DVD when it comes out. On a related note, I hope you're feeling better, Erik. [Matt Croydon::postneo] 9:08:11 PM

Snow Photo New England Snowy New England street. [Scripting News] 12:16:55 PM

Debating Media Ownership - Dec. 15th in NYC, Free Admission ActNow!: Debating Media Ownership--Dec. 15. Media ownership has been the second most discussed issue in 2003, after the war. [The Nation Weblogs] 12:13:13 PM

Larry Hardiman. "The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'." [Quotes of the Day] 9:22:23 AM

The U.S. Budget Problem "President Bush has yet to meet a spending bill he doesn't like," The Wall Street Journal complained in a recent editorial denouncing what it called "the GOP's spending spree." An analysis by the Cato Institurte, a libertarian research center, branded Bush "the Mother of All Big Spenders" and compared him unfavorably to Clinton. By Cato's accounting, after adjusting for inflation, nondefense spending decreased by 0.7 percent during Clinton's first three years in office, while it increased nearly 21 percent during the comparable period under Bush. The Heritage Foundation, usually a White House ally, found that 55 percent of the spending increases since Bush took office had nothing to do with defense or homeland security. The Heritage analysis also concluded that spending has reached $20,000 per household." U.S. budget skyrockets under Bush. WASHINGTON - President Bush came to office saying he was a fiscal conservative, but federal spending has skyrocketed on his watch. And it's not just the Pentagon that's getting more federal dollars. [Arizona Daily Star: Front Page] 9:17:07 AM

Solar Energy in Austin, TX Austin going solar in a big way: " In a near-complete turnaround from its public position just a week ago, Austin Energy has announced plans to adopt specific, highly ambitious, and undeniably expensive goals for adding solar energy to the Austin electric and economic mix. At a town hall meeting held Tuesday night to discuss the AE plan -- also the subject of a public hearing at City Council today (Thursday) -- AE's Roger Duncan announced the utility's commitment to develop 15 megawatts of solar generating capacity by 2007, escalating to 100 megawatts by 2020. The AE plan also calls for a study of the "comprehensive value" of solar power -- putting a dollar amount on the economic and environmental benefits .. Brewster McCracken -- the emcee of the town hall meeting -- and Mayor Will Wynn were both in attendance to reiterate their support for making Austin the "home of the international clean-energy industry" (in McCracken's words) -- a goal toward which, advocates feel, AE's solar commitment is a giant first step. .. "We will try to meet 100 percent of new load growth" -- that is, customer demand -- "with conservation and renewables if at all possible," said Duncan. "We're trying to get off natural gas entirely." " [Ken Novak: Future energy] 8:41:15 AM

Kyoto Protocol on Global Warming No matter what happens to the official Kyoto Protocol, countries and individuals should begin reduction of greenhouse gas emissions voluntarily. Enough waiting around. It's the right thing to do. It's good for us biologically and economically. Let's begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions today. Article from Canada: Kyoto not dead, Martin says [The Globe And Mail: National] 8:26:32 AM