Stupid naive Puritans

I love a faith-based approach to policy, don't you? $131 MILLION is going to be spent on promoting abstinence education but NOT safe sex education.
This is YOUR tax money that is almost literally being set on fire. You could distribute the $131 million to the teenagers directly and they would still have sex.

Quoth Wade Horn, the assistant secretary of Health and Human Services in charge of federal abstinence funding:

"[P]eople who are sexually abstinent have a zero chance of becoming pregnant or getting someone pregnant or contracting a sexually transmitted disease."

James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth responds:

"The only 100 percent way to avoid a car collision is not to drive, but the federal government sure does a lot of advocacy for safety belts."

Read the story and be horrified. I'm sorry, this is just beyond stupid.

Interview with God

An exerpt from "The Beast" and laugh out loud funny. Link to enjoy the whole thing.

God: This whole notion that I guide or even talk to the President is simply laughable. No to say that I didn't try - you see, Karl Rove won't let me anywhere near him.

Beast: What about those "values" Bush is always talking about; you more or less come down on the Republican side of things don't you?

God: Not at all. I mean come on-I just killed like 5000 people in Bangladesh with an enormous flood; why would I give a rat's ass about gay marriage?

Beast: You're for gay marriage then?

God: (Laughing) Keep it in your pants there, fella. But seriously, why the fuck would I care. I tried to make it very clear to you people from the get go that I don't care at all about anything you do really.

Beast: Any predictions for Bush's second term?

God: You people are fucked.

Health news summary

The news today is...extremely depressing. Sorry.

The Miami Herald reports on the anarchy that has become Haiti: broad day kidnappings, unchecked gang violence, disease and extreme poverty.

Elsie Dejamie, 22, says she has to eat clay to give breast milk to her 1-year-old boy, Belange.''When I don't have enough food, I eat the dirt,'' Dejamie said. ``When I eat dirt it gives me more milk.''

Wonderful. As a corollary, see the New York Times report on the corruption that has brought Haiti's health care system (if it can be called that) to its knees.

The hospital suffers chronic shortages of materials and working lab machines. Three of the six operating rooms are out of service, and anesthetists are often not available, doctors say. The morgue has no electricity, and bodies covered with worms line the sidewalk.

A recent report from the United Nations Development Program described health care as nearly catastrophic. One of every three deaths in Haiti is that of a child. With most people earning less than $1 a day, many do without medicine. Death during childbirth is the second leading cause of death among women, H.I.V. rates are climbing, and tuberculosis is common, the report said.

Sigh...

On a bright note, the San Francisco Chronicle has a story about some French researchers who may be on their way to developing an HIV vaccine.

From the LA Times, a tragic report on the heroin epidemic that seems to be reborn in Norway. (Notice the New York Yankees hat worn by the 18-year old Norwegian junkie/prostitute. Fuck the Yankees.)

And last but certainly not least, today's healthcare news wouldn't be complete without mentioning the Supreme Court's hearing on medical marijuana laws.

Yushchenko poisoned

The Times, a British daily, today confirms that Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko was, in fact, poisoned. Take a look at this before/after picture and tell me that you didn't already know that. I mean, I suppose it's nice to have actual medical authorities weigh in on the issue, but just looking at the guy it's pretty clear he didn't just have "some bad sushi", as some critics were claiming. I don't know how CNN can pubilsh THAT with a straight face. This stuff makes American politics look pretty tame.

Social Security Rhetoric

Gerald Sieb from the WSJ quotes RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie:

"The political risk of doing nothing is fast exceeding the political risk of doing something when it comes to Social Security reform."

Unless your short-term memory is akin to that of a goldfish, this method of persuasion probably sounds familiar:George Bush on March 6th, 2003:

"The risk of doing nothing, the risk of hoping Saddam Hussein changes his mind and becomes a gentle soul, the risk that somehow inaction will make the world safer is a risk I'm not willing to take for the American people."

Is there an echo in here? Things are getting risky again. You gotta hand it to the Repubs: they find something that works and they stick with it. From their rhetoric one can only assume that they have already decided what they're going to do. Lets hope the War on Social Security goes a wee bit better than that Operation Iraqi Freedom snafu. I think that there is reason for optimism: old people are much easier to kill than insurgents.

(Though it hasn't picked up much steam as of yet, I still say that my earlier suggestion of an army of elderly-draftees could solve the Iraq and Social Security problems at the same time.)

Bush proposes conscription of elderly to fix Social Security

If you haven't been following, there is a rather strong and shrill voice out there asking for someone to please, PLEASE! fix the social security problem that threatens the catfood-free dietary habits of our elderly. The Bush administration has heeded that call and is now experimenting with various hairbrained ideas. I've been following the most realpolitik of these prospective solutions(see here and here and here) . Instead of a draft, this phenomenon will, from now on, be referred to here as Social Security Reform (SSR).

The most recent example of SSR is Dr. John Caulfield. Read. He's 70 and he's in Afghanistan.

Kobe Bryant is one funny

Kobe Bryant is one funny guy, and of course when I say 'guy' I mean rapist. Kobe reportedly said this In Re: Karl Malone allegedly making a pass at the lovely Mrs. Bryant:

[Kobe] said he called Malone and told him, "Stay away from my wife. What's wrong with you? How could you?"

Yes, what's wrong with Karl Malone? That is the question on everyone's lips. Well, actually it's like the 5th question on people's lips. The first 4 are:

1. Did anyone really believe they'd live to see Kobe make sanctimonious comments about the institution of marriage?
2. Can you believe there's a rapist with a $136 million contract?
3. Didn't you think that Kobe's wife only agreed to stay with him through the criminal proceedings because of that big ol' rock he gave her?
4. Why do obviously immoral public figures feel justified making ethical pronouncements simply because they have the capacity to do so?

Seriously though, what's next? O.J. and Scott Peterson co-author a bestselling book about troubled marriages? At this point, I don't even think that could shock me.

The last major hurdle of

The last major hurdle of this semester (my 9th if you're keeping score) is a term paper about the poetry of Linda Pastan, due approximately 16 hours from now. In lieu of writing that, however, I'm trolling the internet for interesting news.

I guess it's a toss-up as to whether this is "interesting" or not, but apparantly D.C. is damn close to losing the major league baseball team they thought they had locked up. The D.C. city council passed a resolution approving the financing plan needed to build a new stadium, but had the gall to demand that the mayor find private donations for half of the construction costs. And these people call themselves public servants? Why shouldn't a private enterprise like professional sports be subsidized by D.C. taxpayers? It's not as if there are other pressing problems where public money could be used. The schools are great. The water is clean. Great public transportation. Why not use HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS to buy a bunch of anabolically enhanced gorillas a new tot-lot?

Thank God someone had the decency to refuse to go along with this. Fuck professional baseball. Linda Cropp, I salute you.

Now for that blasted paper...

Taibbi's article this week is

Taibbi's article this week is about the Ukraine. The guy used to live in Russia, so he has an interesting perspective. Essentially, he argues for postponing the deification of Yuschenko. Not that the guy doesn't deserve some respect; the man was poisoned. But he points out that,

"[w]hen William Safire starts holding his lighter in the air and waving his hand to the sunny tune of humanist evolution, you know it's usually time to place your bets on the other guys."

Just a warning: this story

Just a warning: this story might make you physically ill. I am, in general, against the death penalty, but I would like someone to suffer for this.

UPDATE: Found: 1 fetus

It's official: FASB wants stock

It's official: FASB wants stock options expensed. And about time. Though I'm sure no one that isn't an accountant or accounting major will care, this is a step in the direction of full-disclosure. Read more here if you care.

After giving some thought to

After giving some thought to what went down in D.C. this week, I've decided that I agree with Linda Cropp and the D.C. council's actions, not just in terms of public policy, but also from a business perspective. Bear with me here. In yesterday's Post, Michael Wilbon says/asks:

The time to say no was before, not after. The time for Linda Cropp to ask for amendments and show the city how tough...she is was before Mayor Anthony A. Williams and other city officials agreed to do it baseball's way. If you're that tough, that smart and so creative as to come up with these measures now, why wasn't that done two months ago? Why not 10 months ago?

The answer to these questions is fairly simple if you start by asking yourself this question: what would I do if I wanted D.C. to get a baseball team but I didn't think taxpayers should have to foot the entire bill?

Well, to begin with, Linda Cropp wants a baseball team in D.C. If she starts making noise about stadium financing 2 months ago there's NO WAY that would ever happen.

Secondly, MLB wants to be in D.C. This is the best available market in the country: I know it, Bud Selig knows it, Mayor Williams knows it, and obviously Linda Cropp knows it. Why do you think the owners voted 29-Peter Angelos to move the team to D.C.? The team has already received deposits for 18,000 season tickets!

Thirdly, there's a fairly strong probability that there will be, at the very least, a 2005 season in D.C. This is the lynch-pin for Cropp's gamble. If the Expos stay in Montreal or find another host city all bets are off. However, at this point that seems unlikely as the MLB has already made clear their intention to get out of Canada and there aren't any other obvious options.

Having already declared their intentions to come to D.C., Major League Baseball doesn't have too many options. They don't have much a reputation left to save (see also: steriods, lack of salary cap), but shleping this team around the country is a pain in the ass and creates instability in the league. A team name has been announced, uniforms unveiled, tickets have been sold, and at this point I think they would rather just stay here.

Bottom line: To be sure, the whole thing is a gamble on Cropp's part. But most good business decisions are gambles. Everyone wants D.C. team. If there is baseball here in 2005, D.C. will end up with a permanent team and a stadium under a plan that saves taxpayers a bunch of money.

Realpolitick? Maybe, but so what? The tone is set from the top. In this day and age the ends justify all means.

The Yankees deal to obtain

The Yankees deal to obtain Randy Johnson is off!

Joy to the world. And pain and pestilence upon the Yankees.

UPDATE: The Yankees get Johnson for $16 million. Sonuvabitch.

A better, if imperfect deal,

A better, if imperfect deal, has been passed by the D.C. city council. Ultimately, the city ended up with a better deal which limits the liability for not completing the stadium by 2008 to $5.8 million per year and encourages the search for private financing to continue. Hurray Linda Cropp.

Endgame: D.C. still getting a baseball team. Like I said before, I liked Cropp's strategy from the beginning. And check out these cool uniforms! If you're looking for a Christmas gift for me, one of these would be swell (the one that says "Washington", not "Nationals")

The CEO and Chairman of

The CEO and Chairman of Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines, was forced out of the top-spot yesterday amid yet another accounting-related business scandal. This comes just over a month after revelations that its methodology in performing certain calculations in 2001 an 2002 were, "not consistent with GAAP." Moreover, Big 4 accounting giant KPMG was dismissed as auditor of the world's biggest non-bank financial services company whose total assets exceed $1 trillion.

Interestingly (or not?), Raines is also a general partner of the Washington Baseball Club, a group attempting to purchase the new Washington Nationals. I doubt that this means very much, but it is interesting to note how small the world gets at the upper echelons of power in Washington.

Excluded from being nominated for

Excluded from being nominated for Andrew Sullivan's coveted Malkin Award, Ms. Coulter extends these thoughts to the Islamic world:

To The People Of Islam: Just think: If we'd invaded your countries, killed your leaders and converted you to Christianity YOU'D ALL BE OPENING CHRISTMAS PRESENTS RIGHT ABOUT NOW! Merry Christmas

Lovely.

Bush plans to spend $40

Bush plans to spend $40 million on TV and radio ads in his push to privatize social security. Apparently, the ads are expected to portray elderly folks scared to death about what might happen to their grandkids if SS isn't privatized. A lovely tactic, though nothing new.

In a related item, read today's New York Times editorial which points out that,

If Mr. Bush were not so serious about privatizing Social Security, his urgency would be silly.

Indeed. However, he is serious, so his urgency is somewhat terrifying. The editorial goes on to point out that not only is the SS system not in need of fixing, but that privatizing would be that absolute wrong way to go about it. The parallels I noted earlier between the run-up to the Iraq war and the current run-up to change social security have been noted in other places (see also: Boston Globe; Josh Marshall). If this NYT editorial is any indication, this time around the press isn't simply going to reprint whatever lies come spewing uncontrollably out of Scott McClellan and W.

All of my final grades

All of my final grades for the fall 2004 semester have now been posted, and I received straight A's for the first time in my life. A stunning accomplishment if I do say so myself.

Some people recognized the moral

Some people recognized the moral perils of mixing religion and politics, but many more were seduced by it. It was the pseudo-religious transfiguration of politics that largely ensured his success, notably in Protestant areas.

An futuristic/Orwellian comment on the 2004 election of George W. Bush? Nope. It's from a speech given by Dr. Fritz Stern, a refugee from Nazi Germany and Columbia University professor, about the rise of Hitler in prewar Germany. Read the whole article from the New York Times (via Andrew Sullivan). The professor goes on to say:

The Jews in Central Europe welcomed the Russian Revolution but it ended badly for them. The tacit alliance between the neo-cons and the Christian right is less easily understood. I can imagine a similarly disillusioning outcome ... The radical right and the radical left see liberalism's appeal to reason and tolerance as the denial of their uniform ideology. Every democracy needs a liberal fundament, a Bill of Rights enshrined in law and spirit, for this alone gives democracy the chance for self-correction and reform. Without it, the survival of democracy is at risk. Every genuine conservative knows this.

The bar for inflammatory rhetoric has surely been raised a notch or two, but is it justified? Is it really appropriate to start making comparisons between the rise of Bush and Hitler? Maybe, maybe not. Better too soon than too late, though.

Kevin Drum rants about social

Kevin Drum rants about social security reform and ask a good question:

Someday our children will look back on this era and wonder what kind of madness overtook us. Healthcare costs are spiralling out of control, we're spending $100 billion a year on an unwinnable war overseas, the combination of budget deficits and trade deficits threatens to ruin us, and yet somehow what really matters is that we have to cut Social Security benefits today — today! — in order to avoid the mere possibility of a small tax increase decades in the future.

It's madness. And yet we live in a time when madness has become conventional wisdom. I wonder what it will take to wake us up?

What would it take? I don't want to think about that.