Last Week's Playlist

Because I just posted it...
Come and Get It...

This Week's Playlist (10/23/04)

1. Architecture in Helsinki - One Heavy February (0:59)
2. Architecture In Helsinki - Souvenirs (2:25)
3. Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around The Block (3:44)
4. Apollo Sunshine - I Was on the Moon (4:15)
5. Mercury Rev - Opus 40 (5:11)
6. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (6:55)
7. The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now (3:23)
8. Frou Frou - Let Go (4:12)
9. Junior Boys - More Than Real (6:39)
10. William Shatner - I Can't Get Behind That (feat. Henry Rollins) (3:00)
11. The Weakerthans - Confessions of a Futon-Revolutionist (2:13)
12. Radio 4 - No Reaction (6:27)
13. Television - Marquee Moon (10:40)
14. Sigur Rós - Starálfur (6:45)
15. Nick Drake - Which Will (2:59)
16. DNTEL - Anywhere Anyone (4:37)
17. Manitoba - People Eating Fruit (6:09)
18. The Notwist - This Room (4:45)
19. Azure Ray - Displaced (3:41)
20. Spoon - The Way We Get By (2:40)
21. Mirah - Cold Cold Water (5:10)
22. The New Pornographers - From Blown Speakers (2:49)
23. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat (9:09)

100 Facts and 1 Opinion

The Non-Arguable Case Against Bush

Really good stuff, the PDF is perfect for handing out (on your college campus!)

As they say, GOTV!

(via DailyKos)

IRAQ

1. The Bush Administration has spent more than $140 billion on a war of choice in Iraq.

Source: American Progress

2. The Bush Administration sent troops into battle without adequate body armor or armored Humvees.

Sources: Fox News, The Boston Globe

3. The Bush Administration ignored estimates from Gen. Eric Shinseki that several hundred thousand troops would be required to secure Iraq.

Source: PBS

4. Vice President Cheney said Americans "will, in fact, be greeted as liberators" in Iraq.

Source: The Washington Post

5. During the Bush Administration's war in Iraq, more than 1,000 US troops have lost their lives and more than 7,000 have been injured.

Source: globalsecurity.org

... ... ...

TREASURE BOX

(via Screenhead)

A brief game of curiosity and mechanical inclination. Nothing is too hard if you do it right!

Hunt for treasure in a world unlike ours: just keep the ball rollin'!

Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Hollow Victory

Markos' newest article is up at the Guardian. In this episode, he discusses all the voter fraud (and attempted voter fraud) going on around the country as part of the Republican party "Victory" campaign.

He ends the article with this quote:

Alluding to the fraud committed by his party in his home state of South Dakota, former Republican governor and congressman Bill Janklow told the Associated Press last week that the entire Victory programme is rife with electoral fraud: "These people are cheating. When you tamper with it, you cheat the system. And cheating in elections is the worst form of cancer because it's uncontrollable."

Republicans for Kerry 2004 - dKosopedia

Recently updated, this is a long list of Republicans planning on voting for Kerry, or at the very least, not voting for Bush...

Join the list at Nation First - Party Second.

The Short Path to Oil Independence

An article from the Earth Policy Institute expounds on the usefulness and efficiency of hybrid and wind power. These statistics are probably optimistic, but still very convincing. Realistically, if we shift to "alternate" energies under the Kerry administration, we could quickly and (increasingly) inexpensively move away from dependence on foreign oil.

With gas-electric hybrid cars now on the market, the stage is set for the second step to reduce oil dependence, the use of wind-generated electricity to power automobiles. If we add to the gas-electric hybrid a plug-in capacity and a second battery to increase its electricity storage capacity, motorists could then do their commuting, shopping, and other short-distance travel largely with electricity, saving gasoline for the occasional long trip. This could lop another 20 percent off gasoline use in addition to the initial 50 percent cut from shifting to gas-electric hybrids, for a total reduction in gasoline use of 70 percent.

The plug-in capacity gives access to the country's vast, largely untapped, wind resources. In 1991, the U.S. Department of Energy published a National Wind Resource Inventory in which it pointed out that three of our 50 states—Kansas, North Dakota and Texas—have enough harnessable wind energy to satisfy national electricity needs. Many were astonished by this news since wind power was widely considered a marginal energy source.

Yet in retrospect, we know that this was a gross underestimate simply because it was based on the wind turbine technologies of 1991. Advances in design since then enable turbines to operate at lower wind speeds, to convert wind into electricity more efficiently, and to harness a much larger wind regime.

The average turbine in 1991 was roughly 120 feet tall, whereas new ones are 300 feet tall—the height of a 30-story building. Not only does this more than double the harvestable wind regime, but winds at the higher elevation are stronger and more reliable.

In Europe, which has emerged as the world leader in developing wind energy, wind farms now satisfy the residential electricity needs of 40 million consumers. Last year, the European Wind Energy Association projected that by 2020 this energy source would provide electricity for 195 million people—half the population of Western Europe. A 2004 assessment of Europe's offshore potential by the Garrad Hassan consulting group concluded that if European governments move vigorously to develop this potential, wind could supply all of the region's residential electricity by 2020.
...
The cost of wind-generated electricity has been in free fall over the last two decades. The early wind farms in California, where the modern wind industry was born in the early 1980s, generated electricity at a cost of 38¢ per kilowatt-hour. Now many wind farms are producing power at 4¢ per kilowatt-hour, and some long-term supply contracts have recently been signed at 3¢ per kilowatt-hour. And the price is still falling.

Like I said, the numbers are likely optimistic exaggerations, but the prospects are looking good. Elsewhere in the article Brown discusses the revenues earned from "hosting" a wind turbine, which greatly outweigh the profit made from cattle-ranching or even cash-crop farming. He suspects that before long, the farmers of rural America will be asking for turbines (the PIIMBY syndrome that he talks about).

I say Rock On clean, renewable energy sources.

(via DailyKos)

In the Shadow of No Towers

From the author of Maus, a two page spread comic anthology about Sept. 11, 2001. I'll be getting my hands on this as soon as possible, because he is a powerful artist, and with comics as the medium, he finds ways to undermine the cultural perception of the comic to make it even more powerful

Enjoy The Draft!

Dude, you're gettin' a draft!

Yet another rumor on the internets...

Pandagon: Terrorist Who?

George W. Bush gives another speech...

Assuming this was, as stated, a speech on terrorism, it seems quite clear that George W. Bush believes the main terrorist threat facing our country is John Kerry. It's further clear that Osama bin-Laden has been totally neutralized, as he didn't merit a single mention in a 4,500+ word address on terrorism. As for Al Qaeda, they barely figure, with a pathetic single appearance, and even then only in context of how many of their leaders George Bush has (presumably, personally) killed.

You mean Dubya can talk 4,500 words?

Periodic Table of FUNK

Just what I needed, a handy guide to everything funky.

Notice my main man James Brown is in the #1 spot. That's cause he's funk, pure and simple.

(via Screenhead)

Neverending GIF animation

NEWSFLASH: Boy Eats Self, Escapes From Own Mouth!

Sanchez begged for more body armor, etc. in Iraq

I think this is two things:
1) timely and powerful
2) a really cool look at the progression of a news story from blog diary to front page news.

Markos Could Be Coming To My School!

I'll consider it, sure. Let me know when you have more details. Thanks! markos


> I know you've got a busy schedule, what with the elections coming up, but I'd like you to consider something. Up until a moment ago, I wasn't sure you were dealing with this kind of thing, but I noticed an ad on the media section page that seemed to indicate you would be giving some kind of talk at Moravian College.
> I go to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. I am a member of the Campus Progressives, which used to be affiliated with the Green Party, but has since determined that we'd rather not be restricted to working within (or outside of) party lines. I've been an avid reader of dailykos for a really long time now, and when we discussed having a seminar course next semester, my mind quickly jumped to you. I don't know the specifics, but I do know that we have a budget, and that if you were to decide to teach a class for the school or even just come and give a talk, there would be some form of reimbursement/payment...
> I'd just like you to think about this. It wouldn't be for a while, and I still don't know the specifics, but it's been laid out to me like this: a professional comes and partners with a professor, and together they teach two full weekends of classes. It involves maybe one paper and a lot of discussion (open threads, if you will). Students receive two credits or so, and I imagine it would be very rewarding for all parties involved. I would think the topic could be Political Journalism or grassroots activism or something like that...
> At any rate, I know you get tons of email, but once you get to this, I would really like a serious reply. If you would digest this idea and get back to me, it would be much appreciated.

Given, it's a very tentative response, but how can I not be excited?

Gay Bashing GOP

Republicans have been blocking anti-hate crime laws in the Congress for years now. Most recently, House leaders blocked another one last week, when, even though a House resolution instructed them to pass it, DeLay and Hastert stripped the provision from the omnibus bill it was attached to.

So why is everyone and their Republican mother up in arms about Kerry's comment about Mary Cheney?

Inseperable

inseperable
temperate but alone
emperor with no throne
means with no end
best but no friend
carry my burden
bury me deep
words in my haven
no castle and no keep
cherish no love
peace but no dove
carry my burden
bury me deep
blankets no comfort
darkness no sleep
self no esteem
I and no team
nightmare no dream
crying no scream
carry my burden
bury me deep
suprise no excitement
faith but no leap
cherish no love
peace but no dove
carry my burden
bury me deep

NYT: John Kerry for President

So the New York Times finally weighs in. This is an extremely well written argument for JFK, and I'd like to think we'll probably see some of this reflected in the polls. My personal regard for the Times may not match that of the average American, but I can certainly say that Kerry's chances of winning are definitely not hurt by this. The whole article is interesting and persuasive, and while I doubt you need to be persuaded of Bush's ineptitude, I know plenty of people who are not yet sure why they should vote for Kerry. Read on.

There is no denying that this race is mainly about Mr. Bush's disastrous tenure. Nearly four years ago, after the Supreme Court awarded him the presidency, Mr. Bush came into office amid popular expectation that he would acknowledge his lack of a mandate by sticking close to the center. Instead, he turned the government over to the radical right.
...
We have specific fears about what would happen in a second Bush term, particularly regarding the Supreme Court. The record so far gives us plenty of cause for worry. Thanks to Mr. Bush, Jay Bybee, the author of an infamous Justice Department memo justifying the use of torture as an interrogation technique, is now a federal appeals court judge. Another Bush selection, J. Leon Holmes, a federal judge in Arkansas, has written that wives must be subordinate to their husbands and compared abortion rights activists to Nazis.
...
The Bush White House has always given us the worst aspects of the American right without any of the advantages.
...
We look back on the past four years with hearts nearly breaking, both for the lives unnecessarily lost and for the opportunities so casually wasted. Time and again, history invited George W. Bush to play a heroic role, and time and again he chose the wrong course. We believe that with John Kerry as president, the nation will do better.