KPIG is here in
the Bay Area, on 1510 AM.
For the vast majority of people who have no idea what I'm talking about, KPIG is a country station. Not the kind that will play Toby Keith, though. Their playlist runs the gamut from folk to bluegrass to rock, with a lot of humor in between.
Up until now, you had to pay RealAudio for the privilege of listening to them in the Bay Area. I missed my Pig, but not enough to deal with Real. I'm excited that now they're as close as my radio.
Bill Frist says something sensible!
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Friday threw his support behind House-passed legislation to expand federal financing for human embryonic stem cell research, breaking with President Bush and religious conservatives in a move that could impact his prospects for seeking the White House in 2008.
``It's not just a matter of faith, it's a matter of science,'' Frist, R-Tenn., said on the floor of the Senate.
Edited to add: Just noticed this paragraph a little further down. Emphasis mine:
At the White House, press secretary Scott McClellan said Frist had given Bush advance notice of his announcement. ``The president said, `You've got to vote your conscious,''' McClellan said.
Yeah, I bet he did say just that! (Has McClellan started channeling Bush to the extent that he repeats his Bushisms verbatim? Was he thinking of Terri Schiavo? Paging Dr. Freud...)
So pretty!
First there was this:
FALK, Ralph Alfred - Born in San Francisco, CA on June 12, 1913, Ralph passed away peacefully at age 92 in Burlingame on July 3, 2005. He is survived by Ann, his devoted wife of 63 years; as well as his loving sons, Robert, Ronald, and Richard; by his eight grandchildren; and by his 15 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Jerome and by many relatives and loyal friends. All will miss him dearly. Ralph, son of Emile Sampson Falk and Julia Reiss Falk, was a third generation San Franciscan and graduated from Galileo High School. During the Great Depression, Ralph worked for his father in the millinery business in Los Angeles where he met his beautiful future wife, Ann Wexler. Later, he worked in the steel business. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII as a drill sergeant training the troops and became a second lieutenant. After the war, Ralph wanted to expand the steel business to Northern California and found an opportunity with Pacific Steel and Supply in San Leandro. He built the business into one of the largest steel distributors on the West Coast. Ralph retired as the president of the company and continued as a member of the board of directors. He was an original member of Peninsula Temple Beth-El in San Mateo and lived in the communities of Burlingame, San Mateo and Hillsborough. Ralph, always a gentleman, was a devoted family man with a generous heart and winning smile. Family and friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service celebrating his life on July 24, 2005 at 1:30 PM at Peninsula Temple Beth-El, 1700 Alameda de las Pulgas, San Mateo. Memorial donations may be made in the memory of Ralph Falk to the Alzheimer's Association of America, 2065 W El Camino Real, Ste C, Mountain View, CA 94040-2217.
Published in the San Francisco Chronicle from 7/13/2005 - 7/17/2005.
Then there was this:
FALK, Ann Wexler - Born October 3, 1921, in Detroit, Michigan and slipped away peacefully July 22, 2005 in Burlingame at the age of 83. Her devoted and adoring husband, Ralph, left this world nineteen days before her. Their loving devotion to each other was a bond that could not be broken. Ann, daughter of Isadore Wexler and Celia Berzinski Wexler, is survived by her brother Jack; loving sons Robert, Ronald, and Richard; eight grandchildren; and fifteen great-grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by all of her family and wonderful friends. Ann served as a volunteer for the Red Cross, Mills-Peninsula Hospital, and worked at various charities throughout the community. Within her social network, she was the belle of the ball, always perfectly attired. She and her husband traveled extensively throughout the world, many times on cruises where they dined at the Captain's table. Ann will be in our hearts forever, never to be forgotten. She will be remembered for her beauty, her charm, and her gift of kind and generous friendship to all who knew her. The Falk family would like to extend a special gratitude to all their caregivers. Family and friends are invited to attend a Funeral Service at 1:30 PM on July 27, 2005 at the Home of Peace Cemetery, 1299 El Camino Real, Colma. Memorial donations may be made in the memory of Ann Falk to the Alzheimer's Association of America, 2065 W El Camino Real, Ste C, Mountain View, CA 94040-2217.
Published in the San Francisco Chronicle on 7/26/2005.
And finally, this:
FALK, Jerome B. - Born in San Francisco, CA on October 23, 1909, Jerry passed away peacefully at his home in Los Altos on July 23, 2005 at the age of 95. He is preceded in death by his wife, Mimi Bernbaum Falk, and his brother, Ralph Falk, who passed away at the age of 92 only two weeks earlier. He is survived by his son, Jerome Falk, Jr.; his daughter-in-law, Nancy; his granddaughters Katherine and Susanna Falk; his grandsons-in-law Michael Arick and York Kennedy; and by his great-granddaughter, Pippa Falk Kennedy. Jerry was proud to be a fourth-generation San Franciscan, whose great grandfather arrived in the City in 1850, where he became the sixth member of the local police force. His uncle, Adrien Falk, was the first President of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, and presided over its creation. Jerry was a successful businessman until his retirement at the age of 75 as Vice President of the largest houseware distributing company west of the Mississippi. Jerry was an intelligent man with a keen interest in public affairs, an avid reader, an intrepid traveler (an interest shared by Mimi) and a loving husband, father and grandfather. He had a cheerful and optimistic view of life and events: a glass was half-full, not half-empty (unless it contained his evening Scotch-on-the-rocks). He was an unapologetic fan of a good pun and the creator of many a "groaner." Nothing made him happier than to spend time with his family, particularly if it was at a good restaurant over a half-dozen oysters and a tasty steak. Services will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Jerome B. Falk Scholarship Fund, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley, 2080 Addison Street, Berkeley, California 94720-4200.
Published in the San Francisco Chronicle on 7/27/2005.
Our world is turning into a horror film. I never particularly cared for horror movies, especially after I had lived in Beirut off and on during the opening years of the Civil War. Once you've seen real blood, the Hollywood ketchup just isn't that much of a hoot.
The horror is captured in this para. from al-Sharq al-Awsat: "Eyewitnesses said that a man was sitting in the cafeteria watching three of his sons play soccer on the plaza in front of the bazaar. Then the bomb exploded and they were blown to bits. The father, hysterical, ran around gathering up their body parts, shrieking and weeping."
I made corn pancakes for dinner tonight, after seeing a restaurant review that mentioned them. The recipe was based on this one, with a few changes...
Anyway, they turned out well. I'd definitely make them again.
I've been listening to the Redwalls "Universal Blues" album this week. They sound sort of like early Beatles, and sort of like early Bob Dylan, but more like a garage band from 1965 who was trying to sound like them. I really like it.
I just finished reading Zadie Smith's The Autograph Man. I enjoyed it, but... something was slightly off about it. I think she had some big ideas but the novel was structured a little too weakly to be able to pull it off. Still, it was enjoyable and well-written, and maybe it doesn't matter.
It's really, really hot here.
That is all.
Andrew Sullivan is concerned about something other than Karl Rove:
GENEVA SUSPENDED: We have new evidence that president Bush's suspension of the ban on torture under the Geneva Conventions and under American law was ordered over the objections of the judge advocate generals (JAGs) for the Army, Air Force and Marines. Money quote:
A law enacted in 1994 bars torture by U.S. military personnel anywhere in the world. But the Pentagon working group's 2003 report, prepared under the supervision of general counsel William J. Haynes II, said that "in order to respect the President's inherent constitutional authority to manage a military campaign ... [the prohibition against torture] must be construed as inapplicable to interrogations undertaken pursuant to his Commander-in-Chief authority." Haynes -- through Daniel J. Dell'Orto, principal deputy general counsel for the Defense Department -- wrote a memo March 17 that rescinded the working group's report, and Dell'Orto confirmed that withdrawal yesterday at the hearing. According to a copy of the memo obtained by The Washington Post, the general counsel's office determined that the report "does not reflect now-settled executive branch views of the relevant law."Notice how broad the original exception was. It legalized torture anywhere for any POWs - not just enemy combatants - if the president so ordered. And we now have a precedent that would permit even legitimate U.S. POWs to be tortured in retaliation. We had a president declaring himself above the law, and he got his legal lackey, Alberto Gonzales, to rubber-stamp it. Does any sane person really believe that president Bush's personal suspension of the law against torture had nothing to do with the abuses that followed in every single theater of the war on terror? Or that his decision hasn't put U.S. soldiers now and in the future at greater risk even in conventional combat? Notice also how the military's legal representatives opposed it. The secretary of state opposed it. This was Bush's choice. The line from Abu Ghraib and Gitmo to the White House is perfectly straight. And people are fixating on Karl Rove?
Click on the link to the story he was referring to, and you also find this exchange:
Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.), ranking Democrat on the committee, asked the JAGs if they felt the tactics recently reported by investigators were consistent with Geneva Conventions prohibitions on torture. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jack Rives said he believed they were inconsistent. Levin also asked the generals if they would want U.S. prisoners of war treated that way.
"No, Senator, we would not," Rives said.
But when the sufferers are Dubya and Turdblossom, it's hard not to feel at least a twinge of glee.
Dan Froomkin rounds up the commentary...
President Bush's lackluster refusal to comment yesterday on his political guru's involvement in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame did nothing to ease growing worries at the White House that trouble may be around the corner.
There were no words of support for Karl Rove. No expression of confidence that the White House will come through all this unscathed. Speaking with exceptional restraint about an incident that occurred fully two years ago involving his longtime friend and confidante, Bush said he "will not prejudge the investigation based on media reports."
Bush's approval ratings are way down. It's sounding like at least one person in the White House will get indicted for something related to the Plame outing case.
They've screwed with this country long
enough. It had to blow up in their face sometime.
From somebody on DailyKos who lives there:
The worrying thing is that with the possible exception of the bus bomb, these weren't suicide bombs. There is still an Al-Qa'eda cell out there, ready and able to kill dozens of people. Don't draw too many parallels from Madrid or Casablanca. In Istanbul they were able to strike twice in one week. I don't plan on panicking, but I don't plan on getting too complacent either.
You might think this was an attack on "White People". If so, you don't know this city. There were Bengali chefs on their way from Camden to the West End when that bus blew up. There were Turkish bankers on their way from Stoke Newington to the City when one tube went up, Pakistani civil servants with a nasty commute from Tooting to King's Cross when another went up, Ghanaian shop assistants heading from East Ham to Bayswater when the Liverpool Street train went.
We are the central front, those of us in the big cities in the West with our multi-national multi-class populations and our dodgily liberal politics, and our counterparts in the developing world megacities like Casablanca and Jakarta, not to mention Baghdad and Basra. Al-Qa'eda don't check that their going to kill Bush-Blair supporting racists before they set off a bomb. Al-Qa'eda don't put bombs in Tewkesbury, and they don't put bombs in Topeka, Kansas either.
I've been a bit worried about our Mayor, Ken Livingstone, about some local issues and his ever more vaulting ego. But he was a star today and spoke brilliantly for this city. Let's think macro, not micro, at the moment...
[snip]
The people who did this want to divide people against one another. I have this to say: Riyadh - New York - Casablanca - Jakarta - Jeddah - Nairobi - Tikrit - Madrid - Istanbul - Dar es Salaam - Bali - Washington - Baghdad - Mobasa - Mosul - London. We have all been through this together and we are stronger than you despite the idiocy of our leaders.
This is what the mayor said today:
I want to say one thing specifically to the world today.
This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and powerful, it was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jews, young and old; an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any consideration for age, for castes, for religions, whatever.
That isn't an ideology, that isn't even a perverted faith. It is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder. We know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other.
I said yesterday to the International Olympic Committee, this city of London is the greatest in the world because everybody lives side by side in harmony. And Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack.
They will stand together in solidarity around those who have been injured and those who have been bereaved. That is why I am proud to be the mayor of that city.
Finally, I wish to speak through you, directly, to those who came to London today to take lives. I do know that you do not fear to give your own lives. That is why you are so dangerous. But I do know that you fear you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society.
I can show you why you'll fail. In the days that follow, look at our airports, look at our seaports, and look at our railway stations. And even after your cowardly attacks, people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential.
They choose to come to London, as so many have come before, because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves.
They flee you, because you tell them how they should live. They don't want that. And however many of us you kill, you will not stop their flight to our cities where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another.
Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.
Why am I so obsessed with these terrible events? I suppose it's partly the theory that's being bantered about - that Americans are still so freaked out about terrorism ("OMG! We're praying for you!") while the rest of the world accepts it as a part of modern life. But it's also that I've been in love with London since I first stayed there for five weeks when I was 11.
I'm taking this somewhat more personally than I should.
Al Queda.
I wonder if my parents have talked to their friends over there yet. I hope everyone is O.K.
Somehow, an attack on London feels very close to home.
Why London? Fuckers.
Bush:
"The contrast between what we've seen on the TV screens here, what's taking place in London and what's taking place here, is incredibly vivid to me," Bush said.
"On the one hand, you've got people here who are working to alleviate poverty, to help rid the world of the pandemic of AIDS, and working on ways to have a clean environment. On the other hand, you've got people killing innocent people," he said.
"The contrast couldn't be clearer between the intentions and the hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty, and those who kill, those who have got such evil in their heart that they will take the lives of innocent folks."
Um, excuse me Mr. President? Would you mind just SHUTTING THE FUCK UP?!!? JUST SHUT UP!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Lovely, lovely Ricky Santorum is publishing a book.
Here are some of the things he has to say.
"In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don’t need to, or at least may not need to work as much as they do… And for some parents, the purported need to provide things for their children simply provides a convenient rationalization for pursuing a gratifying career outside the home." (It Takes a Family, 94)
"Many women have told me, and surveys have shown, that they find it easier, more “professionally” gratifying, and certainly more socially affirming, to work outside the home than to give up their careers to take care of their children. Think about that for a moment…Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism, one of the core philosophies of the village elders." (It Takes a Family, 95)
"The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong." (It Takes a Family, 138)
Ricky, meet Elizabeth Warren!
Here's some of the things she has to say (from an interview with Bill Moyers a while back:)
MOYERS: You say in here that every 15 seconds some American is filing for bankruptcy?
WARREN: That's exactly right. That's 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. In fact, this year, more children will live through their parent's bankruptcy than will live through their parents' divorce.
MOYERS: Well, what are we to make of that?
WARREN: I think what we're to make of it is the middle class has been pushed right to the edge. They are on a cliff. And increasing numbers are falling off every single day. Families live in a much more dangerous economic world than they did a generation ago.
They tried to deal with it by sending both mom and dad to work. You know, a generation ago, early 1970s, the median earning family had one person at work.
And today, just 30 years later, the median earning family has two people at work, and now here comes the zinger. Even though they're making 75 percent more money in inflation-adjusted dollars, because now they've got those two incomes, by the time they pay the mortgage payment, health insurance, a second car, because they're further out in the suburbs and mom needs to get to work, and pay for their pre-school and daycare, they actually have less money to spend than their one income parents had a generation ago.
And what we found was that well over 90 percent of the families who file for bankruptcy, when you look at the enduring criteria, are middle class families.
They're moms and dads who worked hard, played by the rules. They went to college. They bought a house. They had kids. And then they ended up in financial collapse.
Also, I need to make clear here bankruptcy's just a little piece of that iceberg. Not only will 1.6 million families file for bankruptcy this year, but in addition to that, we've got 9 million families who are in credit counseling already.
Of course, Santorum voted for that recent bankrupcy bill. So did Hillary Clinton, who pursuaded her husband to veto a similar bill when she was First Lady, but had to jettison her principles as Senator.
We're really teetering on the edge of a financial meltdown in this country. But hey, at least the important stuff will be taken care of, like preventing gays from getting married and women from having abortions!
Updated to add: check out the Amazon.com page on the book. The reviews are hysterical!
"Thanks Mr. Santorum! Thank you so much! After reading "It Takes a Family" I made my wife quit her job. We're now working on having our third child. Hopefully things will get better though, because we can't afford to eat too much these days. A meal usually consists of what we call "ketchup sandwiches". But, I must say I'm truly enlightened and this outweighs the hunger in my stomach and the fear of not being able to pay the mortgage. Mr. Santorum, you're a true American hero."
"Wonderful book. I'm hoping this book turns my life around -- I now realize that being gay is a choice -- I only thought that I was gay, (I guess I thought that because even my very first memories include being attracted to other males), I can now choose to marry a woman, have children and UNTIL THE DAM BREAKS AND I GO BACK TO HAVING SEX WITH MEN BEHIND MY WIFE'S BACK, contriubte something to America -- unlike now (where I only have a 17 year-old stable, moderately successful business, pay taxes, hire people, and create other jobs -- but all that shouldn't count because I'm not currently married). When I get over hating myself maybe I'll be good for society. Thanks again Rick Santorum."
"As a now formerly gay man, thanks to this truly enlightening book, I now realize the great error of my ways. As someone who was looking to truly cement the values of amerika, I now, with the help of the great rick "man on dog" santorum, that I need to get married, have tons of kids, and live my life in absolute torture. This will help amerika find it's true calling! Really, the only way for people to be truly and happily amerikan, is for the men to go to thier poverty wage job for 60 hours a week, be married by the age of 17, and be constantly beating the wife, as long as she's not pregnant. Thanks Rick! Go buy this book and you'll realize why Man on Dog is truly an inspiration to all conservatives and christians alike!"
U.S. government secrecy reaches historical high
By Scott Shane
The New York TimesWASHINGTON — Government secrecy has reached a historic high by several measures, with federal departments classifying documents at the rate of 125 a minute as they create categories of semisecrets bearing vague labels such as "sensitive security information."
A record 15.6 million documents were classified last year, nearly double the number in 2001, according to the federal Information Security Oversight Office. Meanwhile, declassification, which made millions of historical documents available annually in the 1990s, has slowed to a relative crawl, from a high of 204 million pages in 1997 to 28 million pages last year.
The increasing secrecy and its rising cost to taxpayers, estimated by the office at $7.2 billion last year, are drawing protests from a growing array of politicians and activists, including Republican members of Congress, leaders of the independent commission that studied the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the top federal official who oversees classification.
The acceleration of secrecy began after the 2001 attacks, as officials sought to curtail access to information that might tip off the al-Qaida terrorist network about the nation's vulnerabilities. Such worries have not faded; last week, the Department of Health and Human Services sought unsuccessfully to prevent publication of a scientific paper about the threat of a poisoned milk supply on the grounds that it was "a road map for terrorists."
But there is concern the hoarding of information could backfire. Thomas Kean, chairman of the Sept. 11 commission and a former Republican governor of New Jersey, said the failure to prevent the 2001 attacks was rooted not in leaks of sensitive information but in the barriers to sharing information among agencies and with the public.
"You'd just be amazed at the kind of information that's classified; everyday information, things we all know from the newspaper," Kean said. "The best ally we have in protecting ourselves against terrorism is an informed public."
Ah, but an informed public would have bounced these clowns into
jail, now wouldn't it?
Well, that war in Iraq shows no signs of winding down any time soon, and its less prominent sibling, the war in Afghanistan, continues as well.
So I decided to put together a list of ways to "support
the
troops." It's kind of long, so click through to read the whole thing.
(Parts of it may look familiar if you've seen my voting resources
guide...)
Jeanne at Body & Soul discusses just how much Bush is failing to help Africa,
despite promising a bunch of money to help fight AIDS. It's the same
old game. Slash the budget, add back some money for a shiny "new
initiative", and then say you're increasing spending!
And Bono is getting used and misquoted by the White House.
Really, really sickening.
That's what I said this morning when I saw this.
O'Connor to Retire From Supreme Court
Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court and a swing vote on abortion as well as other contentious issues, announced her retirement Friday. A bruising Senate confirmation struggle loomed as President Bush selects a successor.
"It has been a great privilege indeed to have served as a member of the court for 24 years," the 75-year-old justice wrote Bush in a one-paragraph resignation letter. "I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its role under our constitutional structure."
Presidential aides said Bush would make a late-morning statement. It was not clear when he would divulge his choice to take the seat that O'Connor has held since President Reagan appointed her in 1981.
O'Connor's announcement marked the first retirement in 11 years on an aging court. It came as a modest surprise, particularly since Chief Justice William Rehnquist has been the subject of retirement rumors for months. Rehnquist, 80 and ailing with thyroid cancer, has offered no hint as to his future plans.
O'Connor, in a separate one-sentence statement, cited her age and said she "needs to spend time" with family. She and her husband, John, a former classmate at Sta nford, have three sons, Scott, Brian and Jay.
At the same time, her position on abortion — a majority maker in at least one case where the court split 5-4 — raised the stakes as the president weighed candidates to replace her.
"We'll look back on Justice O'Connor as someone who put reason ahead of ideological fervor, which stands her in stark contrast to many of the judges who might replace her if the radical right gets its way," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Progress for America, a conservative group, instantly launched a humorous Web-based advertisement meant to anticipate attacks on Bush's as-yet-unknown choice and mock them at the same time.
"The president nominated George Washington for the Supreme Court. Democrats immediately attacked Washington for his environmental record of chopping down cherry trees," it said.
The White House has refused to comment on any possible nominees, or whether Bush would name a woman to succeed O'Connor. Her departure leaves Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the only other woman among the current justices.
