Category: Rants

From what appears to be an April Fools editorial by the editors of Scientific American, Okay, We Give Up: There’s no easy way to admit this. For years, helpful letter writers told us to stick to science. They pointed out that science and politics don’t mix. They said we should be more balanced in our ...

Dahlia Lithwick at Slate absolutely nails the issue of the deplorable Schiavo situation: Activist Legislators – The boundless overreaching behind Congress’ new Schiavo bill.. I said yesterday that this is just grandstanding to energize the base (which, according to a recent poll, do not approve of what Congress is doing), but the ramifications are astounding. ...

I’m aghast. Via Roachblog: Suddenly, the count of prisoners dead in captivity is up to 108. Boy, that happened fast, didn’t it? When I did my seven year hitch in the Navy, the gold standard for horrible, communist, totalitarian, non-Geneva convention deadly bastards who you never wanted to get captured by was the North Vietnamese. ...

It really sickens me that the GOP – especially Tom DeLay, who knows this is a good sideshow to divert attention from the investigations into his many ethical lapses – are thrusting themselves into the affairs of the Schiavo family. Frankly, this isn’t something that should be elevated (brought down to?) to the political realm: ...

Is there any doubt that Bush and his administration are driven by ideology, even at the expense of reality and the good of the country? Nominating Paul Wolfowitz as president of the World Bank solidifies it. Read Michael Lind’s piece at Salon.com: Mr. Magoo goes to the World Bank. Critics are wrong to portray Wolfowitz ...

I don’t think I ever expected to know someone described in the newspaper as “an Idaho drifter who claimed he was on a mission from God.” But it turns out that I graduated high school with Zack Sinclair, the man who was recently convicted of stalking Mel Gibson. Sinclair was first arrested in September for ...

Today’s news that Bush is appointing John Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations shows that this administration has no interest in being part of the world. Fred Kaplan at Slate quotes Bolton as once saying: “It is a big mistake for us to grant any validity to international law even when it may ...

The New York Times has an article today investigating the unconscionable lack of body armor for US troops serving in Iraq: International > Middle East > Missing in Action: The Supply Gap in Iraq: Many Missteps Tied to Delay in Armor for Troops in Iraq” href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/international/middleeast/07armor.html?hp&ex=1110258000&en=4c8f9c351e1cfaa3&ei=5094&partner=homepage”>Missing in Action: The Supply Gap in Iraq: Many Missteps ...

I love The Onion: Bush Determined To Find Warehouse Where Ark Of Covenant Is Stored WASHINGTON, DC—In a surprise press conference Monday, President Bush said he will not rest until the warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant, the vessel holding the original Ten Commandments, is located. “Nazis stole the Ark in 1936, but it ...

Saw on CNN.com this morning that Bush has taken the pledge and started his second term. I’m going to try my best to stay away from the news and coverage of his extravagent inauguration. I understand that all that money ($40 million) is going toward rewarding and schmoozing fat cats who are benefiting from Bush’s ...