The more I think about this bit of political grandstanding by Bush, the madder I get. And my anger has little to do with "gay rights" or even the defination of "marriage". Those subject can be debated on their own merits. No, what pisses me off is this bit of drivel:

"Yes, I am mindful that we're all sinners," the president said Wednesday when asked for his views on homosexuality. "And I caution those who may try to take the speck out of the neighbor's eye when they've got a log in their own."

This notion that "we're all sinners" and the "log in the eye" bit is religious rhetoric - it has no place in political discourse. I, for one, do not consider myself a "sinner", and would respectfully suggest that the President speak for himself on this, and not for the nation.

And we wonder why Islamic nations are convinced that America is a new Crusader bent on religious domination....
10:14:44 PM     comment []

This is really out of the realm of believablity ... following this link from A Copyfighter's Musings I discovered that I wasn't aware of the Somma Case. I should've been. And so should you.

This has to be a prime reason why copyright extensions in general are a bad idea, and also serves as a sterling example of how the public domain is being eroded to the point of destruction.
9:24:36 AM     comment []

I, for one, thought this was a very innovative and potentially very useful tool. Too bad we let politics and "political correctness" stand in the way of exploring these kinds of ideas.

The Case for Terrorism Futures. The Senate wasted no time in smacking down a proposal to create a futures market that would allow people to wager on the likelihood of terrorist strikes, but supporters of the idea say lawmakers may have missed the point. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News]
9:06:09 AM     comment []

Having some familiarity with digital audio, I'd bet my bottom dollar that most of the problems have to do with the fact that they're using Windows Media format(s) as their prime vehicle.

Technical Glitches Plague BuyMusic.com [Slashdot]
8:42:55 AM     comment []

A very interesting concept (and site). Check it out.

Publishing for the Little Folks. The RedPaper is an experimental online information exchange that blends self-publishing with micropayments. An author's success depends on how popular poetry, police files and recipes are. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News]
8:41:09 AM     comment []

This should be titled "Yahoo! Does the Math" .... let's see, 5 or ten million to settle, or 20 million and ten years to litigate and win ... DOH!

In another age this would be referred to as "extortion".

Yahoo! Settles Patent Dispute [Slashdot]
8:40:27 AM     comment []