![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
So much to do, so little time. Doc’s visit went well, got all checked out n’ stuff. No major problems, from the looks of things. Yay, insurance. Got back in time to tell stories, as well, so things happened basically according to schedule. And then there was work, and work was work. Work-work. I made a stir-fry-ish thing tonight, and the thing I need to learn most about cooking so far is how to get all the oil to stay in the godsbedamned pan when the heat is high - the food itself turned out fantastic, despite a substitution that I wasn’t sure was going to work, but I’m getting a bit tired of having to clean up all the area around my frying pan when I’m done. At least I have four almost-level burners to work with, now. I don’t think any of them are actually level, and it would probably require me to go out and spend some money to buy appropriately-grooved drip pans... but excepting those occasions where fat and oil are jumping out of the pan as fast as they can, it works pretty well for me.
Art leads tonight’s entry with manhole covers in Japan. Not the standardized, boring things you see here in America, but little works of art separating the above-road from the below-road.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off, carrying another ISS module, and apparently, Luke’s lightsaber. Several missions planned for the shuttle while it is docked with the ISS. As always, hoping everything goes off without a hitch and everyone comes down safely.
Starting the lineup with something stupid, a Congressman apologizes for speaking truth after his fellows move to censure him for it. I do believe the Congressman is snarking his fellows, though, if that last sentence is any indication of his actual mood. The resolution for censure was tabled and killed quickly, but it was apparently sufficient to bring out at least an apology for the record.
Ecuador, however, gets one better in the snark department by offering a simple deal: If the Untied States wants to maintain a base in Ecuador, Ecuador wants to maintain a military base in Miami. Simple give-and-take, right? Kind of like asking a prospective attorney general to say that waterboarding torture is illegal.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals says that those who take sexually explicit pictures, still or moving, should not be required to maintain records of the models, photographers, and places of publication of those pictures. This is not endorsing kiddie porn by any standards, but amateurs who want to post (or people running their own websites) have to go through and create, maintain, and make available without prior warning, any records related to the pictures that they post.
Muddying the financial waters some, do you know how many children are giving maximum contributions to political campaigns? Where an actual child would come up with $2,300, I don’t know, but apparently, plenty of them have found the money and have found it in their hearts to give to a political campaign. Or perhaps their parents are using them as donors so they can evade campaign finance laws. But parents would never do anything like that, right? And certainly wouldn’t make donations in the name of their 2-year old daughter.
Ron Paul supporters on RedState will have to wait some time and contribute to other discussions before being able to mention their candidate, as new policy takes effect. Apparently, the shilling technique isn’t really working so well, and has annoyed the moderator there sufficiently that it will take a sixmonth before someone can then resume speaking about their favored candidate. Having run into a couple of Ron Paul shills myself, I can see why such steps were taken. I don’t think it’s necessarily a wise thing to do, unless the shillers were just over-running everything and preventing useful discourse from taking place. Steven Reynolds agrees, saying that the RedState decision basically makes the most Republican of Republicans hostile to the Republicans, and that in the general election, they may desert the part and vote for someone else. More fissures in the Republican ranks. We’ll see if the Democrats can manage to self-destruct in a spectacular way or not to match.
Getting into meatier things, Walter E. Williams champions a law, first introduced in 1995, that would require Congress to cite the Constitutional authority it has when introducing a bill. Not just overall, but for each section. He also believes that the current government has long-overstepped its limited powers in all three
branches, and favors a strict interpretation of Amendment X. Which, if you happen to live in a state that generally embodies the ideas that you want seen enacted, would be great. If you’re a misfit, however, that would be a rather horrible situation to be in. I would imagine significant population shifts if and when it was left up to the states to decide just about everything. The states with the best statutes would also have most of the people. It would certainly make it easier for states to become Jesusland, if they wanted to. Or the atheist paradise. Creation in schools? No problem. Evolution only? Easy enough. Great potential for all sorts of things from that idea.
More directly malevolent, the Bush administration has decided that an easy way of countering high oil prices is to cut the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, in essence once again telling the people who can’t afford something that they’ll just have to mortgage themselves or do without. Which in states where it gets really freaking cold in the winter, could very easily mean the death of those who can’t afford the heating bill. Which is why it’s illegal in some states to turn the heat off in the winter for nonpayment, last I checked.
The American Family Association, predictably, believes that if a non-discrimination bill that adds sexual orientation to the list of protected classes passes, then Christian businesses will be forced to hire the dirty, dirty sinners. Good example of the “Innocent Backlash” theory at work, with the mention of “special protections” to a group that is, apparently, “not disadvantaged”. Not disadvantaged, despite not being able to enter into a contract that ensures rights of succession, joint property ownership, and several advantages on tax assessments.
Well, I’m sure there are plenty of ways that the conscientious Christian employer could ensure that the hiring was made on decisions that are nondiscriminatory. The only way they’d be forced to hire a homosexual is if it could be proven that the sole or a major reason why the candidate wasn’t hired was because they were homosexual. Something, I note, that shouldn’t really have any bearing at all on the skills someone brings to a job. Oh, and there’s that “religious exemption” part, too, which was put in there so that people like the AFA could continue to discriminate merrily in the name of respecting their religious belief.
Our runner up for the quiche competition tonight is the United Kingdom's FACT group, which just shut down a site and threatened to fine them one hundred million pounds because they provided links to where copyrighted content could be found. Not actually hosting said content themselves, just pointing users in the direction on where it could be found. If you would like to see, instead, an example of how copyright could work, protecting works from pirating while allowing for expressions of creativity, go no further than the Japanese dojinshi market. Dojinshi is illegal under copyright law, but the benefits of letting it slide, even in the great numbers of dojinshi produced every year, are gigantic.
Our winner of a piping hot quiche to the face, courtesy of fine quiche-makers everywhere, is a double whammy, as the writer says because J.K. Rowling never mentioned Dumbledore's sexuality in her books, he's not gay, and that if he was gay, he led a life that was perfect on how anyone "afflicted" by homosexuality should lead it - celibate and without drawing any attention to it. The author’s word means nothing at all, unless she should write another book and place those words into the canonical storyline. Despite, y’know, being the person who knows the characters best, and probably had to take all the data she had on them and condense it down into something that would make for a readable narrative. Thus, unless it had some bearing on the plot or would become important later on in the series (following the guns on the mantle rule), it was probably going to get cut. The books are about Mr. Potter, after all. Further riling is the idea that homosexuals are diseased in some manner and should hide their sexuality. I believe the disease part has been squished, and the hiding of the sexuality is probably what helped a lot of HIV spread, because people were convinced that HIV was strictly a gay man’s disease. Thus, for insulting the legions of Harry Potter fans, the creator of the work, and the community of homosexuals in the world, you earn your rightful place at the nadir. Enjoy your quiche. You might want to share some with Senator Obama, who continues to associate himself with anti-homosexual performance artists. Jasmyne Cannick is a bit more forgiving, painting the situation as a teaching moment for the Senator, so that he can avoid alienating what could be a great strength for him through misunderstanding and bad perceptions.
After all that, though, go have fun and Build Your Wild Self, as big, bug-eyed, and tentacle-equipped as you like. And after that, read up on how important it is that children be able to play by themselves, even with a little risk involved. If your fun runs a little more toward adult tastes, Durex is looking for a condom tester. If you think you’ve got the stuff for it, apply to be one one of their condom testers. Could be worth product and $1000. Assuming that you’re a fan of the brand. If you're inclined and a Canadian, you can instead visit the Canadian site and try there.
And now, I’m going to bed. If you waited for this post just so that you could read it, unless you’re somewhere across the world, you should, too.
Art leads tonight’s entry with manhole covers in Japan. Not the standardized, boring things you see here in America, but little works of art separating the above-road from the below-road.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off, carrying another ISS module, and apparently, Luke’s lightsaber. Several missions planned for the shuttle while it is docked with the ISS. As always, hoping everything goes off without a hitch and everyone comes down safely.
Starting the lineup with something stupid, a Congressman apologizes for speaking truth after his fellows move to censure him for it. I do believe the Congressman is snarking his fellows, though, if that last sentence is any indication of his actual mood. The resolution for censure was tabled and killed quickly, but it was apparently sufficient to bring out at least an apology for the record.
Ecuador, however, gets one better in the snark department by offering a simple deal: If the Untied States wants to maintain a base in Ecuador, Ecuador wants to maintain a military base in Miami. Simple give-and-take, right? Kind of like asking a prospective attorney general to say that waterboarding torture is illegal.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals says that those who take sexually explicit pictures, still or moving, should not be required to maintain records of the models, photographers, and places of publication of those pictures. This is not endorsing kiddie porn by any standards, but amateurs who want to post (or people running their own websites) have to go through and create, maintain, and make available without prior warning, any records related to the pictures that they post.
Muddying the financial waters some, do you know how many children are giving maximum contributions to political campaigns? Where an actual child would come up with $2,300, I don’t know, but apparently, plenty of them have found the money and have found it in their hearts to give to a political campaign. Or perhaps their parents are using them as donors so they can evade campaign finance laws. But parents would never do anything like that, right? And certainly wouldn’t make donations in the name of their 2-year old daughter.
Ron Paul supporters on RedState will have to wait some time and contribute to other discussions before being able to mention their candidate, as new policy takes effect. Apparently, the shilling technique isn’t really working so well, and has annoyed the moderator there sufficiently that it will take a sixmonth before someone can then resume speaking about their favored candidate. Having run into a couple of Ron Paul shills myself, I can see why such steps were taken. I don’t think it’s necessarily a wise thing to do, unless the shillers were just over-running everything and preventing useful discourse from taking place. Steven Reynolds agrees, saying that the RedState decision basically makes the most Republican of Republicans hostile to the Republicans, and that in the general election, they may desert the part and vote for someone else. More fissures in the Republican ranks. We’ll see if the Democrats can manage to self-destruct in a spectacular way or not to match.
Getting into meatier things, Walter E. Williams champions a law, first introduced in 1995, that would require Congress to cite the Constitutional authority it has when introducing a bill. Not just overall, but for each section. He also believes that the current government has long-overstepped its limited powers in all three
branches, and favors a strict interpretation of Amendment X. Which, if you happen to live in a state that generally embodies the ideas that you want seen enacted, would be great. If you’re a misfit, however, that would be a rather horrible situation to be in. I would imagine significant population shifts if and when it was left up to the states to decide just about everything. The states with the best statutes would also have most of the people. It would certainly make it easier for states to become Jesusland, if they wanted to. Or the atheist paradise. Creation in schools? No problem. Evolution only? Easy enough. Great potential for all sorts of things from that idea.
More directly malevolent, the Bush administration has decided that an easy way of countering high oil prices is to cut the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, in essence once again telling the people who can’t afford something that they’ll just have to mortgage themselves or do without. Which in states where it gets really freaking cold in the winter, could very easily mean the death of those who can’t afford the heating bill. Which is why it’s illegal in some states to turn the heat off in the winter for nonpayment, last I checked.
The American Family Association, predictably, believes that if a non-discrimination bill that adds sexual orientation to the list of protected classes passes, then Christian businesses will be forced to hire the dirty, dirty sinners. Good example of the “Innocent Backlash” theory at work, with the mention of “special protections” to a group that is, apparently, “not disadvantaged”. Not disadvantaged, despite not being able to enter into a contract that ensures rights of succession, joint property ownership, and several advantages on tax assessments.
Well, I’m sure there are plenty of ways that the conscientious Christian employer could ensure that the hiring was made on decisions that are nondiscriminatory. The only way they’d be forced to hire a homosexual is if it could be proven that the sole or a major reason why the candidate wasn’t hired was because they were homosexual. Something, I note, that shouldn’t really have any bearing at all on the skills someone brings to a job. Oh, and there’s that “religious exemption” part, too, which was put in there so that people like the AFA could continue to discriminate merrily in the name of respecting their religious belief.
Our runner up for the quiche competition tonight is the United Kingdom's FACT group, which just shut down a site and threatened to fine them one hundred million pounds because they provided links to where copyrighted content could be found. Not actually hosting said content themselves, just pointing users in the direction on where it could be found. If you would like to see, instead, an example of how copyright could work, protecting works from pirating while allowing for expressions of creativity, go no further than the Japanese dojinshi market. Dojinshi is illegal under copyright law, but the benefits of letting it slide, even in the great numbers of dojinshi produced every year, are gigantic.
Our winner of a piping hot quiche to the face, courtesy of fine quiche-makers everywhere, is a double whammy, as the writer says because J.K. Rowling never mentioned Dumbledore's sexuality in her books, he's not gay, and that if he was gay, he led a life that was perfect on how anyone "afflicted" by homosexuality should lead it - celibate and without drawing any attention to it. The author’s word means nothing at all, unless she should write another book and place those words into the canonical storyline. Despite, y’know, being the person who knows the characters best, and probably had to take all the data she had on them and condense it down into something that would make for a readable narrative. Thus, unless it had some bearing on the plot or would become important later on in the series (following the guns on the mantle rule), it was probably going to get cut. The books are about Mr. Potter, after all. Further riling is the idea that homosexuals are diseased in some manner and should hide their sexuality. I believe the disease part has been squished, and the hiding of the sexuality is probably what helped a lot of HIV spread, because people were convinced that HIV was strictly a gay man’s disease. Thus, for insulting the legions of Harry Potter fans, the creator of the work, and the community of homosexuals in the world, you earn your rightful place at the nadir. Enjoy your quiche. You might want to share some with Senator Obama, who continues to associate himself with anti-homosexual performance artists. Jasmyne Cannick is a bit more forgiving, painting the situation as a teaching moment for the Senator, so that he can avoid alienating what could be a great strength for him through misunderstanding and bad perceptions.
After all that, though, go have fun and Build Your Wild Self, as big, bug-eyed, and tentacle-equipped as you like. And after that, read up on how important it is that children be able to play by themselves, even with a little risk involved. If your fun runs a little more toward adult tastes, Durex is looking for a condom tester. If you think you’ve got the stuff for it, apply to be one one of their condom testers. Could be worth product and $1000. Assuming that you’re a fan of the brand. If you're inclined and a Canadian, you can instead visit the Canadian site and try there.
And now, I’m going to bed. If you waited for this post just so that you could read it, unless you’re somewhere across the world, you should, too.
