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Monday, March 31, 2008
More of Obama's Chickens Come Home To Roost
I once thought that Obama would be tough to beat in November. But he's been creating a lot of video footage for Republican campaign ad producers.
Male Prostitute Strike Imminent?
Now there is a call for a fucker strike by 1,000 male prostitutes. Bush better pull his head out of his ass soon. A shut down would be catastrophic for the economy and like the fuckers have stated "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"
Victory in Nebraska
NEBRASKA: In a major victory for pot-law reformers, Legislative Bill 844 – which sought to recriminalize minor marijuana possession offenses in Nebraska — has been amended. Under current state law, first-time marijuana possession offenses are punishable by a non-criminal citation and a $100 fine. As introduced, LB 844 sought to impose a sentence of up to 90 days in jail for first-time marijuana offenders. As amended, the proposal would increase the maximum fine for pot possession to $300, but would not impose criminal sanctions. The bill now awaits action from full legislature.
CALIFORNIA: California’s Dale Gieringer submitted written testimony opposing Assembly Bill 2389, which seeks to require drug testing for recipients of certain state benefits or cash assistance. Gieringer will testify before the Committee on Human Services in opposition to the proposal at a legislative hearing on Tuesday, April 1. Gieringer will also testify at an upcoming hearing in support of AB 2279, which seeks to end state employment discrimination against qualified medical cannabis patients.
HAWAII: The House Judiciary this week passed an amended resolution (HCR 49) that seeks to allow for state-qualified farmers to provide medical cannabis to authorized patients. The Senate Judiciary is expected to vote imminently on a separate measure, House Bill 2675, which seeks to establish a legislative task force to study issues pertaining to the legal supply of medical marijuana for authorized patients.
CALIFORNIA: California’s Dale Gieringer submitted written testimony opposing Assembly Bill 2389, which seeks to require drug testing for recipients of certain state benefits or cash assistance. Gieringer will testify before the Committee on Human Services in opposition to the proposal at a legislative hearing on Tuesday, April 1. Gieringer will also testify at an upcoming hearing in support of AB 2279, which seeks to end state employment discrimination against qualified medical cannabis patients.
HAWAII: The House Judiciary this week passed an amended resolution (HCR 49) that seeks to allow for state-qualified farmers to provide medical cannabis to authorized patients. The Senate Judiciary is expected to vote imminently on a separate measure, House Bill 2675, which seeks to establish a legislative task force to study issues pertaining to the legal supply of medical marijuana for authorized patients.
Castro champions gay rights in Cuba
Last Updated: Thursday, 27 March 2008
There is a Castro who is fighting to introduce radical changes in Cuba.
A meeting of transvestites and transgender people in Havana
Transsexuals have a chance to meet at support group sessions
Not the new president, Raul, although he has promised to push through "structural and conceptual" changes to this communist island in the Caribbean.
It is Raul's daughter, Mariela Castro.
As head of the government-funded National Centre for Sex Education, she is trying to change people's attitudes towards minority groups in the community.
She is currently attempting to get the Cuban National Assembly to adopt what would be among the most liberal gay and transsexual rights law in Latin America.
The proposed legislation would recognise same-sex unions, along with inheritance rights. It would also give transsexuals the right to free sex-change operations and allow them to switch the gender on their ID cards, with or without surgery.
There are limits: adoption is not included in the bill and neither is the word marriage.
"A lot of homosexual couples asked me to not risk delaying getting the law passed by insisting on the word marriage," Mariela Castro said.
"In Cuba marriage is not as important as the family and at least this way we can guarantee the personal and inheritance rights of homosexuals and transsexuals."
She says that her father is supportive of her work, although he advises her to move slowly.
"I've seen changes in my father since I was a child. I saw him as macho and homophobic. But as I have grown and changed as a person, so I have seen him change."
Mariela's mother, the late Vilma Espin, was an internationally recognised champion of women's rights.
For Mariela, it is the rights of homosexuals and transsexuals that need fighting for.
Mariela Castro
In the early years of the revolution much of the world was homophobic. It was the same here in Cuba and led to acts which I consider unjust
Sunday, March 30, 2008
John Edwards Signs Autographs For Young Democrats
You just can't make this stuff up
The Washington Post photo caption:
Former presidential candidate John Edwards signs an autograph for Clara Frade at the Annual Young Democrats Conference in Research Triangle Park, N.C., Saturday, March 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)
U.S. "Helps" 650,000 Iraqis Dead
"...just a few days ago, the Japanese observed the 62nd anniversary of the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by your nuclear weapons."
"And among the things which catch the eye of the one who considers the repercussions of your unjust war against Iraq is the failure of your democratic system, despite it raising of the slogans of justice, liberty, equality and humanitarianism. It has not only failed to achieve these things, it has actually destroyed these and other concepts with its weapons - especially in Iraq and Afghanistan- in a brazen fashion, to replace them with fear, destruction, killing, hunger, illness, displacement and more than a million orphans in Baghdad alone, not to mention hundreds of thousands of widows. Americans statistics speak of the killing of more than 650,000 of the people of Iraq as a result of the war and its repercussions."
"People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of the tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there, which has led to the vast majority of you being afflicted with disappointment."
"And here is the gist of the matter, so one should pause, think and reflect: why have the Democrats failed to stop this war, despite them being the majority?"
"I will come back to reply to this question after raising another question, which is:"
"Why are the leaders of the White House keen to start wars and wage them around the world, and make use of every possible opportunity through which they can reach this purpose, occasionally even creating justifications based on deception and blatant lies, as you saw Iraq?"
"In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, Rumsfeld and his aides murdered two million villagers. And when Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation."
"And so Kennedy was killed, and al-Qaida wasn’t present at that time, but rather, those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing. And the war continued after that for approximately one decade. But after it became clear to you that it was an unjust and unnecessary war, you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, Rumsfeld. And even more incredible than that is that Bush picked him as secretary of defense in his first term after picking Cheney as his vice president, Powell as secretary of state and Armitage as Powell's deputy, despite their horrific and blood history of murdering humans. So that was clear signal that his administration - the administration of the generals- didn't have as its main concern the serving of humanity, but rather, was interested in bringing about new massacres. Yet in spite of that, you permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you - with your full knowledge and consent- to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"Then you claim to be innocent! This innocence of yours is like my innocence of the blood of your sons on the 11th - were I to claim such a thing. But it is impossible for me to humor any of you in the arrogance and indifference you show for the lives of humans outside America, or for me to humor your leaders in their lying, as the entire world knows they have the lion's share of that. These morals aren't our morals. What I want to emphasize here is that not taking past war criminals to account led to them repeating that crime of killing humanity without right and waging this unjust war in Mesopotamia, and as a result, here are the oppressed ones today continuing to take their right from you."
"This war was entirely unnecessary, as testified to by your own reports. And among the most capable of those from your own side who speak to you on this topic and on the manufacturing of public opinion is Noam Chomsky, who spoke sober words of advice prior to the war, but the leader of Texas doesn't like those who give advice. The entire world came out in unprecedented demonstrations to warn against waging the war and describe its true nature in eloquent terms like "no to spilling red blood for black oil," yet he paid them no heed. It is time for humankind to know that talk of the rights of man and freedom are lies produced by the White House and its allies in Europe to deceive humans, take control of their destinies and subjugate them. "
"So in answer to the question about the causes of the Democrats' failure to stop the war, I say: they are the same reasons which led to the failure of former president Kennedy to stop the Vietnam war. Those with real power and influence are those with the most capital. And since the democratic system permits major corporations to back candidates, be they presidential or congressional, there shouldn't be any cause for astonishment - and there isn't any- in the Democrats' failure to stop the war. And you're the ones who have the saying which goes, "Money talks." And I tell you: after the failure of your representatives in the Democratic Party to implement your desire to stop the war, you can still carry anti-war placards and spread out in the streets of major cities, then go back to your homes, but that will be of no use and will lead to the prolonging of the war."
"However, there are two solutions for stopping it. The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out, and I ask Allah to grant them resolve and victory. And the second solution is from your side. It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations."
"And with that, it has become clear to all that they are the real tyrannical terrorists. In fact, the life of all of mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories of the major corporations, yet despite that, the representative of these corporations in the White House insists on not observing the Kyoto accord, with the knowledge that the statistic speaks of the death and displacement of the millions of human beings because of that, especially in Africa. This greatest of plagues and most dangerous of threats to the lives of humans is taking place in an accelerating fashion as the world is being dominated by the democratic system, which confirms its massive failure to protect humans and their interests from the greed and avarice of the major corporations and their representatives."
"And despite this brazen attack on the people, the leaders of the West - especially Bush, Blair, Sarkozy and Brown- still talk about freedom and human rights with a flagrant disregard for the intellects of human beings. So is there a form of terrorism stronger, clearer and more dangerous than this? This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings, and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system."
"If you were to ponder it well, you would find that in the end, it is a system harsher and fiercer than your systems in the Middle Ages. The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations under the label of "globalization" in order to protect democracy."
"And Iraq and Afghanistan and their tragedies; and the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes; and the abject poverty and tragic hunger in Africa: all of this is but one side of the grim face of this global system."
"So it is imperative that you free yourselves from all of that and search for an alternative, upright methodology in which it is not the business of any class of humanity to lay down its own laws to its own advantage at the expense of the other classes as is the case with you, since the essence of man-made positive laws is that they serve the interests of those with the capital and thus make the rich richer and the poor poorer."
"And among the things which catch the eye of the one who considers the repercussions of your unjust war against Iraq is the failure of your democratic system, despite it raising of the slogans of justice, liberty, equality and humanitarianism. It has not only failed to achieve these things, it has actually destroyed these and other concepts with its weapons - especially in Iraq and Afghanistan- in a brazen fashion, to replace them with fear, destruction, killing, hunger, illness, displacement and more than a million orphans in Baghdad alone, not to mention hundreds of thousands of widows. Americans statistics speak of the killing of more than 650,000 of the people of Iraq as a result of the war and its repercussions."
"People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of the tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there, which has led to the vast majority of you being afflicted with disappointment."
"And here is the gist of the matter, so one should pause, think and reflect: why have the Democrats failed to stop this war, despite them being the majority?"
"I will come back to reply to this question after raising another question, which is:"
"Why are the leaders of the White House keen to start wars and wage them around the world, and make use of every possible opportunity through which they can reach this purpose, occasionally even creating justifications based on deception and blatant lies, as you saw Iraq?"
"In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, Rumsfeld and his aides murdered two million villagers. And when Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation."
"And so Kennedy was killed, and al-Qaida wasn’t present at that time, but rather, those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing. And the war continued after that for approximately one decade. But after it became clear to you that it was an unjust and unnecessary war, you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, Rumsfeld. And even more incredible than that is that Bush picked him as secretary of defense in his first term after picking Cheney as his vice president, Powell as secretary of state and Armitage as Powell's deputy, despite their horrific and blood history of murdering humans. So that was clear signal that his administration - the administration of the generals- didn't have as its main concern the serving of humanity, but rather, was interested in bringing about new massacres. Yet in spite of that, you permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you - with your full knowledge and consent- to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"Then you claim to be innocent! This innocence of yours is like my innocence of the blood of your sons on the 11th - were I to claim such a thing. But it is impossible for me to humor any of you in the arrogance and indifference you show for the lives of humans outside America, or for me to humor your leaders in their lying, as the entire world knows they have the lion's share of that. These morals aren't our morals. What I want to emphasize here is that not taking past war criminals to account led to them repeating that crime of killing humanity without right and waging this unjust war in Mesopotamia, and as a result, here are the oppressed ones today continuing to take their right from you."
"This war was entirely unnecessary, as testified to by your own reports. And among the most capable of those from your own side who speak to you on this topic and on the manufacturing of public opinion is Noam Chomsky, who spoke sober words of advice prior to the war, but the leader of Texas doesn't like those who give advice. The entire world came out in unprecedented demonstrations to warn against waging the war and describe its true nature in eloquent terms like "no to spilling red blood for black oil," yet he paid them no heed. It is time for humankind to know that talk of the rights of man and freedom are lies produced by the White House and its allies in Europe to deceive humans, take control of their destinies and subjugate them. "
"So in answer to the question about the causes of the Democrats' failure to stop the war, I say: they are the same reasons which led to the failure of former president Kennedy to stop the Vietnam war. Those with real power and influence are those with the most capital. And since the democratic system permits major corporations to back candidates, be they presidential or congressional, there shouldn't be any cause for astonishment - and there isn't any- in the Democrats' failure to stop the war. And you're the ones who have the saying which goes, "Money talks." And I tell you: after the failure of your representatives in the Democratic Party to implement your desire to stop the war, you can still carry anti-war placards and spread out in the streets of major cities, then go back to your homes, but that will be of no use and will lead to the prolonging of the war."
"However, there are two solutions for stopping it. The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out, and I ask Allah to grant them resolve and victory. And the second solution is from your side. It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations."
"And with that, it has become clear to all that they are the real tyrannical terrorists. In fact, the life of all of mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories of the major corporations, yet despite that, the representative of these corporations in the White House insists on not observing the Kyoto accord, with the knowledge that the statistic speaks of the death and displacement of the millions of human beings because of that, especially in Africa. This greatest of plagues and most dangerous of threats to the lives of humans is taking place in an accelerating fashion as the world is being dominated by the democratic system, which confirms its massive failure to protect humans and their interests from the greed and avarice of the major corporations and their representatives."
"And despite this brazen attack on the people, the leaders of the West - especially Bush, Blair, Sarkozy and Brown- still talk about freedom and human rights with a flagrant disregard for the intellects of human beings. So is there a form of terrorism stronger, clearer and more dangerous than this? This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings, and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system."
"If you were to ponder it well, you would find that in the end, it is a system harsher and fiercer than your systems in the Middle Ages. The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations under the label of "globalization" in order to protect democracy."
"And Iraq and Afghanistan and their tragedies; and the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes; and the abject poverty and tragic hunger in Africa: all of this is but one side of the grim face of this global system."
"So it is imperative that you free yourselves from all of that and search for an alternative, upright methodology in which it is not the business of any class of humanity to lay down its own laws to its own advantage at the expense of the other classes as is the case with you, since the essence of man-made positive laws is that they serve the interests of those with the capital and thus make the rich richer and the poor poorer."
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Livin' in the AmeriKKKa
The WSU College Republicans sent the following e-mail to the faculty members of the WSU Comparative Ethnic Studies department:
Your higher-education tax dollars at work....
CES Department,Kelvin Monroe, a CES instructor, responded as follows:
I would like to cordially invite you and your students to an eye-opening guest speaker, Dinesh D'Souza. A former Reagan Policy Analyst, now one of America's best selling authors, Dinesh D'Souza is coming to Pullman to discuss the state of American race politics and other issues surrounding the modern era. This eye-opening speaker will be hosted on Tuesday, March 25, at 7:30pm in CUE 203. This is going to be a great learning opportunity for all of those in attendance. It may be conducive to offer extra-credit to your students to entice them away from their busy schedules to experience this prominent speaker. I hope to see you there!
Featured sponsors: The Foley Institute, Young America's Foundation, ASWSU, RHA and the WSU College Republicans
This is great learning opportunity indeed for our students to witness neo-conservative race politics (masquerading as Liberal universalism) in our modern era. D'Souza and his contemporaries--W. J. Wilson, F. Fukuyama, S. P. Huntington--are a great example--and indeed a good learning moment--of a revitalized enlightenment project (liberal at its absolutely best) in the Amerikkka. Lack of response to Katrina is only one many great examples of this country's Race politics. Reagan, I think of de-industrialization, New jack drug policies, trickle down economics, the list goes on....Another CES instructor, Sarah Hengtes, forwarded the CRs e-mail and Monroe's response to her students with this note:
I would suggest that the college republicans go learn some history. We got it over here in CES...
Our students should be more concern with the persistence of a War fought on ghostly premises. Do the research. Stop watching Fox, drink water and not Kool-aid.
Take care and see you there.
Peace
K.J.M.
Dear Class,I don't know what's worse. Monroe's use of "Amerikka" or Hengtes' apparent acceptance of the term.
Sometimes students take this class and want to hear "the other side." While this class presents a variety of opinions as well as "the other side" to much of what we learn in elementary and high school, there is also another "side" that we don't spend time on in class. This other side is the Neo-Conservative view of race and racism. While we don't discuss these views much, we have been discussing some of the effects of such views in class. (For instance, what happened in Tulia or Jena.)
This being said, there is a unique opportunity for you all to hear this "other side" and to get some extra credit in the process. In fact, you all have been invited by the College Republicans to attend a talk by Dinesh D'Souza entitled, "Racism is Not the Problem." March 25, CUE 203 7:30 pm. I highly reccommend this event and I would like to hear your thouhts about, and critical analysis of, D'Souza's talk.
Below is the e-mail invite from the president of the College Republicans as well as a response from a CES faculty member. I hope you will attend, ask questions, and formulate your own ideas.
Sarah
Your higher-education tax dollars at work....
If Pullman Could Speak...
Gratuitously borrowed from The Guardian:
Hell, I've always been old. Ya' know what though, I don't mind. I mean if my farm buildings look worn, it's because I've used 'em to feed millions. Maybe my hills have no architecture, but countless young people have walked up 'em every day seeking knowledge. My houses might be cookie-cutters, but they are not insignificant to the kids who go to sleep in 'em every night safely sheltered against the Chinook winds that blow over my prairie. I've got some peeling paint here and there, but I've laid under thousands of skies with sunny days. I look and feel this way, well cuz I'm a working town. I've made wheat, lentils, peas, electronics, and scholars that are world class. I lived and I loved, danced, partied, sang, cheered, shouted, cried, mourned, sweat, built, tore down, and rebuilt my way thorough a pretty damn good life if you ask me. Getting old ain't bad. Getting old, that's earned.
Hell, I've always been old. Ya' know what though, I don't mind. I mean if my farm buildings look worn, it's because I've used 'em to feed millions. Maybe my hills have no architecture, but countless young people have walked up 'em every day seeking knowledge. My houses might be cookie-cutters, but they are not insignificant to the kids who go to sleep in 'em every night safely sheltered against the Chinook winds that blow over my prairie. I've got some peeling paint here and there, but I've laid under thousands of skies with sunny days. I look and feel this way, well cuz I'm a working town. I've made wheat, lentils, peas, electronics, and scholars that are world class. I lived and I loved, danced, partied, sang, cheered, shouted, cried, mourned, sweat, built, tore down, and rebuilt my way thorough a pretty damn good life if you ask me. Getting old ain't bad. Getting old, that's earned.
Quote Of The Day (From 4 Years Ago)
"The real issue is this," Dean said in March 2004, when endorsing former rival Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., "Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star on the battlefields of Vietnam?"
Surely, this will show up on a campaign ad sometime, or at least on a YouTube video.
It could even be better than this one.
McCain, by the way, has been awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Surely, this will show up on a campaign ad sometime, or at least on a YouTube video.
It could even be better than this one.
THE STAR
Basic Tarot Story
On the bleak landscape where the Tower stood, the Fool sits, empty, despairing. He hoped to find himself on this spiritual journey, but now he feels he's lost everything, even himself. Sitting on the cold stones, he gazes up at the night sky wondering what's left. And that is when he notices, nearby, a beautiful girl with two water urns. As he watches, she kneels by a pool of water illuminated with reflected starlight. She empties the urns, one into the pool, one onto the thirsty ground.
"What are you doing," he asks her. She looks up at him, her eyes twinkling like stars. "I am refilling this pool, so that those who are thirsty may drink, and I am also watering the earth so that, come spring, the seeds will grow," she tells him. And then she adds, "Come. Drink." The Fool comes to kneel with her by the pool and drink. The water tastes wonderful, like liquid starlight. "I can see you are sad," the girl continues, "and I know why. But you must remember that you have not lost all. Knowledge, possibilities, hope, you still have all of these. Like stars, they can lead you to a new future." Even as she says this, she began to fade away, like dew, vanishing. All that remains is a gleam that was at the center of her forehead. This rises up and up, until it settles in the night sky as a shining star. "Follow your star," the woman's voice seems to sing from that light, "and have hope." The Fool takes in a breath and rises. It is a dark night, a desolate land. But for the first time, he has a guiding light to show him the way. Distant as it is, it heals his heart, and restores his faith.
Amazonian Memory Loss Caused by Global Warming
From Medical News Today
The researchers found a rapid decay in farmers' memories even of major climate events. For example, more than 50 percent of the farmers surveyed in 2002 did not recall the El Nino-caused drought of 1997 and 1998 -- the worst drought in recent recorded history.
"Because there's so much variability -- even within a three-year period -- most farmers do not seem to maintain a memory of major weather events unless they had some unusual and specific relevance to their lives,"
Friday, March 28, 2008
Quote of the Day
Angela Congdon thinks the city of Pullman could have done better when planning Bishop Boulevard.-"Students protest city's 'architorture'," Moscow-Pullman Daily News, March 28, 2008
The 21-year-old Washington State University student said the boulevard's box stores (?) and strip malls add no quality to the Pullman community and detract from the well-planned, pedestrian-friendly downtown area.
"There's no cohesion," she said of recent construction along the boulevard. "Everything is random."
[...]
Congdon, who came to Pullman from the north Seattle area, said she likely wouldn't have initiated the protest without Rahmani's leadership. But she wanted to leave her mark on Pullman, since she soon will leave town to finish her degree at WSU-Spokane.
Bye Angela. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Don't forget to e-mail Professor Ayad Rahmani at arahmani@wsu.edu and WSU President Elson Floyd at floyde@wsu.edu and let them how you feel about the taxpayer-funded insulting of Pullman during "Cougar Pride Days."
Stormy Weather
Stronger Solar Storms Predicted; Blackouts May Result
John Roach
for National Geographic News
March 7, 2006
The next 11-year solar storm cycle should be significantly stronger than the current one, which may mean big problems for power grids and GPS systems and other satellite-enabled technology, scientists announced today.
The stronger solar storms could start as early as this year or as late as 2008 and should peak around 2012.
"We predict the next solar cycle will be 30 to 50 percent stronger than the last cycle," said Mausumi Dikpati, a solar scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, yesterday in a telephone briefing with reporters.
The last cycle peaked in 2001.
A new technique enabled the scientists to better predict the severity of the next cycle. The technique, called helioseismology, allows researchers to "see" inside the sun by tracing sound waves reverberating inside the sun—creating a picture of the interior like ultrasound creates a picture of an unborn baby.
"For the first time we can predict the strength of the 11-year solar activity cycle using computer simulations of the sun's physics," Dikpati said.
Storms in the Sun
Solar storms are linked to twisted magnetic fields in the sun that suddenly snap and release tremendous amounts of energy. The storms can disrupt satellite communications, cause power outages, and expose astronauts to high amounts of radiation.
Predicting space weather is becoming more important as more people rely on technology that solar storms can disrupt, according to Richard Behnke, director of upper atmosphere research with the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia.
"This prediction of an active solar cycle suggests we are potentially looking at more communication and navigation disruptions, more satellite failures, possible disruption of electric grids and blackouts, more dangerous conditions for astronauts—all these things," Behnke said during the briefing. Solar storms tend to occur near sunspots, cool regions on the sun's surface that appear as dark blotches. Scientists believe the spots result from concentrated magnetic fields inside the sun.
The number and intensity of sunspots fluctuates over time, reaching a peak about every 11 years. This 11-year pattern is known as the solar cycle.
Joseph Kunches, chief of the forecast and analysis branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Environment Center in Boulder, equated the space weather forecast to the annual hurricane forecast.
"The kinds of questions that are posed to hurricane forecasters also come to us in terms of space weather," he told reporters.
"When is the next cycle going to start? How strong will it be? When will it quiet down? And compared to, say, the last [cycle in] recent memory, what are the effects going to be?"
Stormy Forecast
The new forecast draws on new understanding of how plasma currents in the sun's interior generate sunspots and the related solar storms. These plasma flows transport, concentrate, and help spread out solar magnetic fields.
Two major plasma flows govern the cycle, the researchers said.
The first, known as the meridional flow pattern, circulates between the sun's equator and its poles over a period of 17 to 22 years and acts like a conveyor belt of sunspots. The flow transports imprints of sunspots that occurred over the previous two sunspot cycles.
This imprint is carried into the interior, where scientists believe the sunspot-producing magnetic fields are generated. New sunspots form based on the imprints created during the most recent cycle.
The second flow results from the sun rotating faster at the equator than it does near the poles. This periodically concentrates the solar magnetic field at the equator, leading to peaks in solar storm activity, the researchers said.
The team expects the next cycle to begin in late 2007 or early 2008, which is about 6 to 12 months later than the cycle would normally start. The researchers' model shows the plasma circulation has slowed down during the current cycle.
David Hathaway, a solar astronomer with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said that models used by him and his colleagues to predict the next solar cycle agree with the greater activity predicted by Dikpati's model.
But Hathaway differs on the timing.
According to Hathaway's team's analysis of past solar cycles, intense cycles are preceded by shorter cycles. This would suggest that the next cycle will start by the end of this year or early next year.
"At this point, we are anxiously awaiting the appearance of those first spots from the new cycle," Hathaway said at the briefing.
The Audacity of Cynicism
Shortly after Barack Obama gave a campaign speech in which he condemned lobbyist and an "ethic of greed," he hustled to a fundraiser hosted by Credit Suisse, one of the primary contributors to the subprime mortgage meltdown.
Barack Obama went to New York on Thursday and blamed lobbyists, greedy businessmen and complacent Washington politicians for creating “an ethic of greed” that led to today’s foreclosure crisis.
Not long after he left the stage, the Democratic presidential hopeful attended a fundraiser held by his campaign in a room in the Manhattan headquarters of Credit Suisse, one of the major investment companies caught up in the subprime lending mess.
Here's what you get with planned growth
On the heels of the story about the idiot professor who coerced his students into protesting growth yesterday
Moscow area growth slowest in Idaho
Updated at: 12:03 pm
The Moscow area is growing slower than all other Idaho regions of its size, according to U.S. Census Bureau Data released Thursday by the Idaho Department of Labor.
The Moscow "micropolitan" area, which encompasses Latah County, grew 0.5 percent from mid-2006 to mid-2007. Micropolitan areas are counties with "urban concentrations of 10,000 to 50,000 people."
The rate makes Moscow the 246th fastest-growing among the nation’s micropolitan areas. The area’s total population is 36,299.
For more on this developing story, check out DNews.com or the weekend edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News
Moscow area growth slowest in Idaho
Updated at: 12:03 pm
The Moscow area is growing slower than all other Idaho regions of its size, according to U.S. Census Bureau Data released Thursday by the Idaho Department of Labor.
The Moscow "micropolitan" area, which encompasses Latah County, grew 0.5 percent from mid-2006 to mid-2007. Micropolitan areas are counties with "urban concentrations of 10,000 to 50,000 people."
The rate makes Moscow the 246th fastest-growing among the nation’s micropolitan areas. The area’s total population is 36,299.
For more on this developing story, check out DNews.com or the weekend edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News
The Rantings of an Arrogant and Contemptuous Jerk
Your blood will boil when you read what elitist WSU archictecture prof Ayad Rahmani wrote in an op-ed that appeared in the October 27, 2007 issue of WSU Today. Some quotes:
WSU’s claims to “world-class” status, while true, ultimately ring hollow because the reality finds no match with those statements. World-class ambitions cannot be met with low-class ideas. High-class faculty will refuse to live in scattered and inconsequential buildings. [And after all, it's only the "high-class" faculty that matter in this town. The rest of us are just low-class. Oh my God. -tf]
The university also cannot rely on the town to resolve this problem; the town is too bogged down in trying to increase tax revenues to worry about the role of architecture in improving matters. The university must lead the way in not only improving its own grounds but in transforming the town. [Oh sure. The poor townies are so plebeian wanting to pay the bills for parks, police, fire and emergency services, schools, etc., etc. Let the highly-educated solons take over. I have read some elitist and snobby crap before, but this takes the cake. - tf]
The new housing stock in Pullman sadly represents the worst of the effects of a market economy; it has neither respect for art or the environment — or for that matter the fact that within a short walk there is an architecture school with graduates who have gone on to change the world. [So what's stopping them for developing houses with respect for "art and the enivonment?"? Oh yeah, money. It's much easier to tell someone else how to spend theirs. - tf]
Rather than taking clues from cities such as Portland and Seattle — whose architects and developers have joined forces to create a denser and more community friendly environment [and that obsession with "density and community friendly environment" has added $200,000 to the average price of a Seattle home - tf] — Pullman developers have made more suburbs. These offensive McMansions, with garages looking onto the streets, use materials and planning that are highly wasteful and unsustainable. [You mean like wood, which is a renewable crop? Concrete? Seems to me there is a virtually infinite supply of sand and gravel. Vinyl, which can be recycled? What's wasteful and unsustainable? - tf]
Rather than building inward and promoting walking and bicycling, these suburbs force those who live in them to use their cars. And rather than building with materials that have a low-carbon footprint and reflect an inventive approach to scarcity, these same suburbs persist with a cookie-cutter mentality. [So why did Pullman just get nationally recognized as a "pedestrian-oriented" city? And where in the hell are we going to build "inward" in Pullman??????? College Hill?? Downtown?? There's no room left but at the periphery of town. But in any case, there is no "suburb" in town that is more than two miles from the WSU campus. What a joke to call that "sprawl." And that "cookie-cutter mentality" is otherwise known as "affordable family housing." How dare you insult my home as "cookie-cutter" when that is all I can afford, you snobby asshole. - tf]
"Urban Sprawl" in Pullman?
Nope, not according to the U.S. Census Bureau:
Many of Washington's metropolitan areas have grown substantially since 2000, with the Tri-Cities, Bellingham and Olympia showing the highest percentage growth, the Census Bureau reported today.In fact, Pullman had the smallest growth rate of all metropolitan and micropolitan areas in Washington.
The state's smaller communities, called micropolitan areas, also showed solid growth, the agency said.
[...]
Micropolitan areas also showed steady growth. Ellensburg grew 15.5 percent and Shelton 14.1 percent between 2000 and 2007.
Moses Lake, with 83,047 residents, was the largest of those and grew 11.2 percent. Pullman (1.2 percent) had the smallest growth rate.
Urban Sprawl or Urban Decay?
So if WSU Professor Ayad Rahmani and his "volunteer" student protesters think these new developments on Bishop Blvd. represent "architorture" and "urban sprawl":
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Then what do they think about this urban decay along Pullman's most traveled and visible road, Grand Avenue?:
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Perhaps rather than advancing an elitist, liberal fascist political agenda, a better extra credit project would be volunteering the students' expertise/labor to refurbish/demolish these dilipidated structures, the true archictectural "eyesores" in Pullman. How about a carwash or bake sale to raise money for the Grand Avenue Greenway project?
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Then what do they think about this urban decay along Pullman's most traveled and visible road, Grand Avenue?:
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Perhaps rather than advancing an elitist, liberal fascist political agenda, a better extra credit project would be volunteering the students' expertise/labor to refurbish/demolish these dilipidated structures, the true archictectural "eyesores" in Pullman. How about a carwash or bake sale to raise money for the Grand Avenue Greenway project?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Carolina Blue
Many of you may not know that I have close ties to North Carolina. I grew up in southwest Virginia, about a two hour drive away from Chapel Hill.
So it was with great dread that I heard that my brother and nephew back in Virginia had called while I was at work, wanting to place a large wager on the outcome of this evening's WSU-Carolina basketball game, with generous offers of points-spread in my favor. By the time I called my brother back, the game was over and I knew the intense grief that I was going to get.
In any case, thanks to the Cougs for a great season. Good luck Derrick and Kyle in the NBA or wherever you end up after Pullman. Thanks for the memories.
"WSU class protests Pullman sprawl"
How unbelievably repugnant. An elitist professor bribes students who are not even from Pullman to go out and protest supposed "sprawl." They don't even know what "sprawl" really is. If those students are unhappy with the economic development that helps pay for the police, fire, streets, water, sewer, bus service, etc. that they enjoy, then they are more than welcome to run for City Council and effect a change. Perhaps they could actually even show up at a City Council meeting or Planning Commission meeting. But Bishop Blvd. is being developed in accordance with the city's Comprehensive Plan as determined by our democratically-elected representatives.
The good professor and his students are also more than welcome to purchase a lot on Bishop and build their own "sustainable" structure if they choose. Until then, they should just shut up and stop meddling in things they nothing about. These kinds if things only exacerbate tensions between the university and the town and build resentment towards students and professors.
I encourage you to register your disapproval of this agenda-advancing cheap stunt to Professor Rahmani at: arahmani@wsu.edu and WSU President Elson Floyd at floyde@wsu.edu. Let's clog their inboxes with our indignation at our town being used as some social engineering laboratory.
From Dnews.com:
The good professor and his students are also more than welcome to purchase a lot on Bishop and build their own "sustainable" structure if they choose. Until then, they should just shut up and stop meddling in things they nothing about. These kinds if things only exacerbate tensions between the university and the town and build resentment towards students and professors.
I encourage you to register your disapproval of this agenda-advancing cheap stunt to Professor Rahmani at: arahmani@wsu.edu and WSU President Elson Floyd at floyde@wsu.edu. Let's clog their inboxes with our indignation at our town being used as some social engineering laboratory.
From Dnews.com:
A group of more than 100 Washington State University students protested building sprawl on Bishop Boulevard Thursday morning.
Enrolled in an Architecture 202 class taught by Ayad Rahmani, the students carried signs proclaiming “Stop Architorture in Pullman” and “The Show Starts on the Sidewalk.” The group’s purpose was to promote sustainable structures and growth, not haphazardly constructed strip malls and big box stores.
“There’s no cohesion,” said 21-year old WSU student Angela Congdon. “Everything is random.”
Participation in the protest was optional for the roughly 200 students enrolled in the class. Extra credit was given to students who protested, as well as those who didn’t — as long as they justified their position in writing.
Quote of the Day
He simplified a really complex idea. It was frustrating because it’s not as easy or as simple as he made it out to be.- WSU Progressive Student Union member Chelsea Tremblay, "Best-selling author talks about race", The Daily Evergreen, March 27, 2008
Apparently, however, the issues of globalization, international trade, and manufacturing in developing countries are pretty cut-and-dry for Ms. Tremblay.
Bad Timing or Bad Karma?
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The Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute's "Focus the Nation" climate change panel discussion and screening of the film, "Revolution Green: A True Story of Biodiesel in America," scheduled for January 31 in Moscow was cancelled after a blizzard dumped 14 inches of snow.
So they must have figured that rescheduling it for March 27, one full week into spring, would be safe, right?
Wrong.
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A strong spring snowstorm blew through the Palouse overnight. There is 5 inches of the white powdery stuff here at Forbicite HQ. Moscow schools are closed. Pullman schools are two hours late. U.S. 195 is closed between Pullman and Colton. No word yet on the "climate change" event.
!$%?$! Global Warming!
There's nothing quite as unpleasant as waking up to 3 inches of fresh snow a full week into spring. Actually, there is something more unpleasant
I see on the NWS website that we should expect up to 4 more inches by noon.
I see on the NWS website that we should expect up to 4 more inches by noon.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Dinesh D'Souza Diversifies Washington State Campus
On Tuesday March, 25, 2008 I had the privilege of attending one of the greatest speakers to ever step foot on the WSU campus. After months of the planning the WSU College Republicans were finally able to confirm that we would in fact be bringing one of the brightest Conservative minds in America to our campus (with much thanks going to the Young America’s Foundation). We decided to use a lecture hall that seated around 225 people where Mr. Dinesh D’Souza would give his speech titled “Racism is Not the Problem”.
After a great dinner with Dinesh and a select group of the CRs at the Old Post Office, we made our way to the lecture hall where I would be giving the introduction of our special guest. As I walked in into the room I was unsure as to how many people were going to attend this event, but when I saw the entire room packed and students sitting in the aisles I knew that all our hard work had paid off, there must have been around 250 people curious to hear what this man would say.
Mr. D’Souza started off his speech with a bang, getting the crowd into it with some funny and witty commentary and then jumped right into business. D’Souza talked about the race issues which affect America today and mainly how Affirmative Action is actually racial discrimination in itself. Of course anyone with a brain already knows that Affirmative Action is a policy that is considerably outdated and unfair to those who are better qualified for let’s say a job, but do not get the job because a person of color with significantly less qualifications gets it on basis of race and “political correctness”. Mr. D’Souza gave great examples of this “reverse discrimination” stating that you don’t see Koreans or Jews filing lawsuits because there are not more of them in professional sports. Professional sports teams pick the best athletes regardless of race, how come most other jobs then use Affirmative Action policies then? Should whites or Asians go to court because there are fewer of them in the NBA than there are blacks? Shouldn’t the point of any job be to find the best qualified person regardless of skin color?
Mr. D’Souza gave so much great information based on facts and reason rather than emotions, which many people in the crowd used to get into heated discussions with D’Souza after his speech. The one thing I was thinking during the entire question and answer session was that D’Souza has the advantage here even if 95% of the crowd hated what he said because everything he said in his speech was true. These Liberal students likely did not realize that this man who just spoke before them is a true scholar, someone much smarter than anyone in that room. Any question or argument that his detractors were going to have, Dinesh had heard a thousand times and he was ready to fight for his cause using his brains rather than trying to use illogical, highly flawed, and emotional arguments. My favorite line was during one of the questions when he explained why he does what he does, and he stated “to show you diversity, intellectual diversity”. Diversity is sure something that is lacking at WSU, and I do not mean we do not have enough minority students I am talking about intellectual diversity, the right to have an educated opinion, but as a Conservative and a Republican in the massively Liberal/leftist/socialist/even communism college world I am not supposed to voice what I believe in. College professors look down upon you if you identify with the Right, sometimes even grade you down, publicly ridicule you, and simply try to demoralize you. How is that diverse? How come I am wrong and they are right when what I say is actually true most of the time and what most of what they preach is propaganda, outright lies, and personal attacks. I am more of a minority on campus than any person of color, I am a real Conservative, a true Republican, a freedom loving American, and I’m damn proud of it. No matter how many times I get pushed down by the Left, I will get back up and keep fighting and working hard for what I believe in. Hard work seems like an ancient phrase nowadays with freebies given out left and right, and it is time for some change - change that will make things equal for everyone.
I am so thankful that Pullman had the opportunity to see such an influential speaker and hope this is only one of many great Conservatives that will grace their presence on our campus.
I will be posting pictures and likely some more blog posts on my own blog in the next few days so check it out, here.
After a great dinner with Dinesh and a select group of the CRs at the Old Post Office, we made our way to the lecture hall where I would be giving the introduction of our special guest. As I walked in into the room I was unsure as to how many people were going to attend this event, but when I saw the entire room packed and students sitting in the aisles I knew that all our hard work had paid off, there must have been around 250 people curious to hear what this man would say.
Mr. D’Souza started off his speech with a bang, getting the crowd into it with some funny and witty commentary and then jumped right into business. D’Souza talked about the race issues which affect America today and mainly how Affirmative Action is actually racial discrimination in itself. Of course anyone with a brain already knows that Affirmative Action is a policy that is considerably outdated and unfair to those who are better qualified for let’s say a job, but do not get the job because a person of color with significantly less qualifications gets it on basis of race and “political correctness”. Mr. D’Souza gave great examples of this “reverse discrimination” stating that you don’t see Koreans or Jews filing lawsuits because there are not more of them in professional sports. Professional sports teams pick the best athletes regardless of race, how come most other jobs then use Affirmative Action policies then? Should whites or Asians go to court because there are fewer of them in the NBA than there are blacks? Shouldn’t the point of any job be to find the best qualified person regardless of skin color?
Mr. D’Souza gave so much great information based on facts and reason rather than emotions, which many people in the crowd used to get into heated discussions with D’Souza after his speech. The one thing I was thinking during the entire question and answer session was that D’Souza has the advantage here even if 95% of the crowd hated what he said because everything he said in his speech was true. These Liberal students likely did not realize that this man who just spoke before them is a true scholar, someone much smarter than anyone in that room. Any question or argument that his detractors were going to have, Dinesh had heard a thousand times and he was ready to fight for his cause using his brains rather than trying to use illogical, highly flawed, and emotional arguments. My favorite line was during one of the questions when he explained why he does what he does, and he stated “to show you diversity, intellectual diversity”. Diversity is sure something that is lacking at WSU, and I do not mean we do not have enough minority students I am talking about intellectual diversity, the right to have an educated opinion, but as a Conservative and a Republican in the massively Liberal/leftist/socialist/even communism college world I am not supposed to voice what I believe in. College professors look down upon you if you identify with the Right, sometimes even grade you down, publicly ridicule you, and simply try to demoralize you. How is that diverse? How come I am wrong and they are right when what I say is actually true most of the time and what most of what they preach is propaganda, outright lies, and personal attacks. I am more of a minority on campus than any person of color, I am a real Conservative, a true Republican, a freedom loving American, and I’m damn proud of it. No matter how many times I get pushed down by the Left, I will get back up and keep fighting and working hard for what I believe in. Hard work seems like an ancient phrase nowadays with freebies given out left and right, and it is time for some change - change that will make things equal for everyone.
I am so thankful that Pullman had the opportunity to see such an influential speaker and hope this is only one of many great Conservatives that will grace their presence on our campus.
I will be posting pictures and likely some more blog posts on my own blog in the next few days so check it out, here.
My Dangerous Trip to Bosnia
(Special thanks to Hillary for helping me write this.)
Our plane had to corkscrew in, lots of enemy sniper fire but somehow we landed safely. It was me, a guard dog and my driver in war torn Bosnia. The enemy kept popping up in the least expected places. The good lord must have been on our side that day because we made it through forty seven surprise attacks one of them involving twelve motorcycle riders armed with machine guns! Without a doubt the most harrowing experience I've ever lived through.
Below is the only known video of the events of that day.
Our plane had to corkscrew in, lots of enemy sniper fire but somehow we landed safely. It was me, a guard dog and my driver in war torn Bosnia. The enemy kept popping up in the least expected places. The good lord must have been on our side that day because we made it through forty seven surprise attacks one of them involving twelve motorcycle riders armed with machine guns! Without a doubt the most harrowing experience I've ever lived through.
Below is the only known video of the events of that day.
Thank You for Flying Saddam, Buh-Bye Now!
Looks like ol' Baghdad Jim may be facing a Travelgate of his own. From the Associated Press:
US: Saddam paid for lawmakers' Iraq trip
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
An indictment unsealed in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a member of a Michigan nonprofit group, of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam's regime. Prosecutors say Iraqi intelligence officials paid for the trip through an intermediary.
At the time, the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq.
The lawmakers are not named in the indictment but the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California. There was no indication the three lawmakers knew the trip was underwritten by Saddam.
"Obviously we didn't know it at the time," McDermott spokesman Michael DeCesare said Wednesday. "The trip was to see the plight of the Iraqi children. That's the only reason we went."
During the trip, the lawmakers expressed skepticism about the Bush administration's claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. Though such weapons ultimately were never found, the lawmakers drew criticism for their trip at the time.
Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, the second-ranking Senate Republican at the time, said the Democrats "sound somewhat like spokespersons for the Iraqi government."
In exchange for coordinating the trip, Al-Hanooti allegedly received 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.
DeCesare said McDermott was invited to go to Iraq by a Seattle church group and was unaware of any other funding for the trip.
"D'Souza: Affirmative action no longer needed; Former Reagan policy analyst tackles tough topics at WSU"
In today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Amy Gray does a decent job of providing a précis of Dinesh D'Souza's remarks at WSU last night. For the sake of clarity, I will add my comments after hers in red:
Conservative author Dinesh D'Souza told a packed house at Washington State University on Tuesday that affirmative action as it exists should be retired.
D'Souza is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in India and came to America as an exchange student at 17. He was educated at Dartmouth College and went on to become a policy analyst for President Ronald Reagan and a Robert and Karen Rishwain Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
He was introduced at WSU's Smith Center for Undergraduate Education as "one of America's most influential conservative thinkers, a highly acclaimed scholar and true patriot." [No mention of the WSU College Republicans sponsoring this event at considerable cost? Come on.]
D'Souza said affirmative action was "conceived for one group - African-Americans, blacks - for a specific period of time." Other groups such as gay people and women eventually began to seek affirmative action to counter discrimination in employment and education.
He said blacks are a small minority in America - 10 percent. Hispanics make up another 10 percent of the population, and women make up 50 percent.
"Now we have a majority," he said.
He told the audience of a debate he had with the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
"Our skin colors were identical. Why do I and he have an opposite take on the same set of facts?" D'Souza asked.
He said the answer is he represents immigrants and Jackson represents indigenous minority groups such as blacks and American Indians - people who "have been here longer than the Italians and the Jews."
He said the difference in the two populations is that immigrants compare America to the rest of the world whereas Jackson "was comparing America to Utopia, to a garden of Eden, and America consistently falls short." [He also asked Jackson to specifically name where this discrimination that is supposedly being fought still exists; to name just one example from today. Jackson couldn't. How's that for "comparative ethnic studies?"Dinesh didn't mention it, but I would imagine this also explains Barack Obama's poor polling numbers with Hispanic and Asian-American voters. D'Souza commented how Obama could be uniquely positioned to transcend racism. Obama is much more like the immigrant. His Kenyan father only attended college in Hawaii and then returned to Kenya. Obama's ancestors were never slaves. The only "indigenous" part of Obama is his white Kansas family. But, somewhat unexpectedly, race has become an issue in the presidential race, with Jeremiah Wright's sermons demonstrating the "typhoonic rage" of the indigenous minorities.]
D'Souza pointed out that 50 percent of National Football League players are black, and no one complains about discrimination in that case. [Dinesh didn't say the NFL was specifically 50 percent black. He mentioned several pro sports and several percentages. More accurately, 75% of the of NFL players and 85% of NBA players are black. His point was that blacks, comprising some 10% of the population, are overrepresented in pro sports. He wondered where are the protests about having more Koreans and Jews in pro sports. Pro sports teams pick players based on merit, not race. This merit standard results in the inequality observed.]
"They're outperforming everybody as a result of achievement, not social power or a game that's rigged in their favor," he said.
He countered notions that standardized tests are racially biased, focusing on math portions of tests that require absolute answers.
"Is it really possible that all these tests are conspiratorially based?" he asked. "In any test given to a group - reasoning, math, vocabulary, legal skills - I will tell you the results. Asian-Americans and whites will do the best. Hispanics will come in second and African-Americans will come in last." [Dinesh offered three theories as to why these test results happen:1. The Genetics Theory - it's how you're born.
2. The Liberal Theory - it's all society's fault.
3. The Cultural/Behavioral Theory - it's up to you and your family.
He believes that the "Cultural/Behavioral Theory" is the most plausible and empirically proven. As an example, he talked about a study conducted of racial groups and the amount of time spent on homework weekly. Those numbers corresponded exactly to how well each group did on tests. Dinesh suggested this had to do with parental involvement. Asian-Americans have the lowest illegimacy rate and Hispanics and blacks have the highest. It could be that children from two parent homes have more parental involvement/supervision than children from single parent homes. Ironically, this is the same point that Chuck Pezeshki made in his column yesterday, even though I'm sure Pezeshki would disagree with most everything D'Souza said.]
Francene Watson, a doctoral candidate in the WSU College of Education, told D'Souza she believed he was oversimplifying race issues with regard to educational advancement.
"In 10 years as a public high school teacher, I've never had a student ask me to lower the standards," she said. "We're talking about something that's institutionalized. Public school has always been about oppression. I would like to hear a more critical analysis than saying everyone is a blank slate and they show up in a class and test."
D'Souza likened affirmative action to "lowering the net" for basketball players who are not as tall as Michael Jordan. [Dinesh discussed how much Michael Jordan himself would have resisted this. If that had happened, all of Jordan's records and accomplishments would be asterisked, much as Barry Bonds' will be. Affirmative action and lowered standards strengthen racist stereotypes. In essence, the liberals who claim to be racism's biggest foes are actually the worst racists, intentional or not, demonstrating a "plantation mentality."For example, Pullman's Don Orlich had a column on the WASL that appeared in both the Daily News and Spokesman-Review earlier this year. Orlich pointed out what D'Souza pointed out last night:
Orlich's solution? Dump the WASL, for everyone. Here are some reactions to Orlich's column from letters to the editor in the Spokesman-Review:Data for all 10th-graders – approximately 75,000 – who took the WASL in 2006-07 show the following: The percentages meeting standard — that is, passing an arbitrary score — were 80.8 on reading, 83.9 on writing, 50.4 on math and 36.4 on science.
White and Asian students exceeded those performances in all categories.
But the percentages for black students were 37 for reading, 39.3 for writing, 14.2 for math and 9.2 for science.I find much of Mr. Orlich's commentary insulting, and suggesting that establishing a common standard of achievement and testing for it is inherently discriminatory against those who don't measure up ought to be insulting to them, too. Accepting that line of thinking will keep you right where you are – instead of reaching for the stars.And:Donald Orlich, for his scathing rebuke of the WASL (Jan. 31), gets my vote for poster child for the soft bigotry of race-based, lowered expectations, his allusion to MLK's "I have a dream" speech being completely inapposite, highly offensive rhetoric. It comes as a complete shock and outrage to read a WSU professor's admission that he has little hope of blacks and, to a lesser extent, Hispanics and American Indians, ever competing academically with whites.
Of course, Orlich doesn't see himself as a bigot, but that's the perfect word for the person who, in giving up on minorities, indirectly labels them as inferior. I have seen this before in education, where the teacher who says somebody's got to work at Burger King is venerated, viewed as experienced and positive, and the one who pushes black, red, brown and white all just as hard called naive, not suited for teaching, counterproductive, even racist!
Spokesman-Review, don't you ever again trash a national icon like MLK by publishing plain racism, however indirect or subtle, racism purporting to have his endorsement no less! If MLK stood for anything, it is stop judging people by the color of their skin, his "I have a dream" speech being the best example of this conviction.]"Racism in America is substantially different than it was in the past. In the South, it was systematic," he said, using segregated water fountains as an example.
"Racism today is not only less than it used to be but it is episodic rather than systematic," D'Souza said. "We may be in the best position to correct this. We must sometimes take responsibility for things we didn't do. Individual responsibility means you need to take the cards you're dealt and do the best with them. Policies need to be based on achievement, development and merit. Instead of trying to rig the outcome, invest resources to allow people to do better." [Dinesh referred to this as the two strategies that minorities could use: The "Protest Strategy" (or the "Cornel West Strategy"- West believes blacks face "existential angst" from their slave past and that accounts for their problems) or the "Assimilation Strategy."Are a lot of school subjects not culturally "neutral?" Sure. It's AMERICAN history, for example. But shouldn't we all learn that as we live in America?
Yes, America was slaveholding longer than it has been free. But what's the point in bringing up the past? No one alive today was a slave, nor was anyone's parents or grandparents. Rather than protest against things in the past that cannot be changed, why not make the best of it now? He gave an example from his own experience in India. People would blame British colonialism for plumbing leaks and broken down trains. And indeed, it was the British that had originally laid those pipes and tracks. But if all the Indians did was to blame the British, nothing would ever get fixed. D'Souza pointed out how the stereotype 40 years ago of "eat your food, there are people starving in India" has changed to "be careful or an Indian will take your job." This has been accomplished by an assimilation attitude, not a protest attitude.]
D'Souza's comments were met with mixed reaction. As students exited, one shouted, "That guy's racist!"
WSU freshman Shera Shupert thought her fellow students were rude to D'Souza.
"He's a respected speaker at our university and people were yelling at him," she said. [Not hard to believe at all, considering just a year and a half ago, a WSU professor called a student a "white shitbag" and likened a College Republican demonstration to a "swastika in a Jewish neighborhood" and only faced minimal disciplinary action.For the most part, the faculty/students asking questions last night weren't really asking questions or engaging in debate. They were making statements (one guy admitted as much); precanned statements regurgitating what they have been indoctrinated about concerning "white supremacy" from the likes of John Streamas, David Leonard, Richard King, TV Reed, et. al. (Were any of those guys there? I didn't see them, nor did I see Alex McDonald.)
The ad hominem argument is really about all the liberals have in their arsenal. Other commenters tried to imply that D'Souza was somehow "elitist" and "privileged," even though he is a dark-skinned Indian immigrant from a humble background. They chided his humorous comments as being "insensitive." That and a few straw man arguments thrown in here and there for good measure. There were implications that Dinesh was denying that racism had ever occurred or was somehow glossing over the damaging effects of racism. He made no such allegations. D'Souza just stated that those things are not happening NOW.]
D'Souza reminded the group that "In a university you also need racial, gender, cultural, and language diversity -- but you also need intellectual diversity and I hope I've tried to provide that," he said. [He did. I hope a few young minds were enlightened. The unenlightened ones were certainly embarassing to WSU, but I'm sure Dinesh is used to that.]
"Legislators: $25M gift could have affected budget; Next session could benefit WSU's Pullman campus"
Pay close attention to this quote from Senator Mark Schoesler:
Do you think that WSU Pullman will play second fiddle in funding to the branch campuses in the next few years?
From yesterday's Moscow-Pullman-Daily News:
In the '05-07 biennium, they dropped down the list; the (branch campuses) were treated very well. I hope it's time to get back to the parent campus, and this provides a heck of an incentive.Scotty and I discussed this issue on The PES Monday and it was also a topic at last week's Palunchitics.
Do you think that WSU Pullman will play second fiddle in funding to the branch campuses in the next few years?
From yesterday's Moscow-Pullman-Daily News:
Ninth district legislators and Washington State University leaders had a card they couldn't show during the legislative session that just ended.
State Sen. Mark Schoesler and Rep. Joe Schmick knew WSU was in negotiations with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the largest private gift ever given to the university - $25 million for the School of Global Animal Health.
The deal had not been sealed, however, so it was kept a secret, even though WSU asked the Legislature to include $7.4 million for design of a new veterinary medical research building in the supplement budget and $3.85 million to study global animal health.
Both requests were left out of the state's supplemental budget.
"It was unfortunate," Schoesler said. "Had we had this tool in our toolbox, I am confident that the result may have been different.
"I can't tell a donor what to do."
The Gates Foundation announced the $25 million gift, which will go toward the $35 million centerpiece building for the School of Global Animal Health, on Monday. The WSU Board of Regents created the school Friday.
"If we had been able to talk about it, I think we would have been successful, but I don't have the historic perspective that (Schoesler) has," said Schmick, who was appointed to his legislative seat last fall.
A spokesman for Gov. Chris Gregoire did not return calls seeking comment.
Schoesler said WSU's Pullman campus is due for attention in the next biennial budget process.
"In the '05-07 biennium, they dropped down the list; the (branch campuses) were treated very well," he said. "I hope it's time to get back to the parent campus, and this provides a heck of an incentive."
Schoesler said he supports WSU President Elson S. Floyd's focus on improving animal health.
"Veterinary medicine is widely popular," he said. "People understand it whether they have small or large animals and there is a global need as well. It follows with what President Floyd has said, to do what we do well even better.
"It's a showcase for WSU as a land-grant university."
Schoesler said the state's bonding capacity is low because of corrections projects and capital projects at other university campuses, such as the Life Sciences buildings at WSU-Spokane.
"The entire budget process will be under a crunch for bonding capability for capital budget projects. The majority party has been heavy in nontraditional areas," Schoesler said.
But, he added, "Cougars are always eternal optimists."
Ten Years After
Randy Snyder/AP Photo - Former United States President Bill Clinton poses for a photo with a supporter following a speech on behalf of his wife and Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., on Wednesday at the Jefferson Elementary Center in Parkersburg, W.Va.
HT: Huckleberries Online
Moscow-Pullman Daily News to Start Blog Sites
Dale Courtney over at Right Mind noticed that Dave Oliveria posted this at Huckleberries Online:
Editor Steve McClure of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News called this morning to ask about newspaper blogs. Seems the Moscow-based paper is going to dip its toe into the blogosphere and Steve was interested re: what we're doing up here. He blurks at Huckleberries Online occasionally. Good guy.Here is the comment I left on Dale's blog:
Agreed. The Trib blogs are really bad, unless you're an American Idol fan. Total fluff. It has its place, but let's have some hard news too.Good luck with the blogs, Steve. But unless you get the trolls under control, you'll still have the same problems.
The Spokesman does it up right. Dave is a good guy. I urged Nathan Alford to pursue blogs at Dnews.com two years ago as a way for the reporters to provide more coverage and insight on local issues.
It is interesting to note that the Spokesman does NOT allow comments on its online version, only through the blogs. And HBO DOES moderate offensive/spam comments and bans users after being warned (as do you and I, Dale).
I'm guessing based on the open sewer the Dnews.com online comments section has become (which I also warned Nathan about), Steve is looking at better (and perhaps more legally defensible) alternatives to remain competitive with us in the New Media.
Dinesh D'Souza Pictures
Some shots of the capacity crowd:
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WSU College Republicans Vice President Alex Williams introduces Dinesh D'Souza:
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Dinesh D'Souza:
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WSU College Republicans Vice President Alex Williams introduces Dinesh D'Souza:
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Dinesh D'Souza:
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
An Evening with Dinesh D'Souza
First of all, major kudos to Danny, Alex, Chris and the other CRs for a dynamite event. It was standing room only in CUE 203 to hear Dinesh D'Souza discuss "Racism is Not the Problem.". I estimate that [edit]200-225 were in attendance tonight. It was nice to see a good community representation, including some of our local elected officials and Republican Party leadership. Paul Zimmerman was there along with some other regular Palousitics readers.
My evening got off to an interesting start. I was waiting in the parking garage for the elevator with my 15-year old daughter. The elevator doors opened, and the only person I could see was.......Dinesh D'Souza!!! Funny!! We got in the car and CR Chris Del Beccaro was nice enough to introduce me to Dinesh.
I'll get into much more detail about what was said later (with pictures,) but I'll conclude the way Dinesh concluded tonight: Universities need intellectual diversity the way they need racial, gender, cultural, and language diversity. It was obvious by the reactions and questions from some in the the crowd tonight that there is not very much of that at WSU. Dinesh challenged those liberals in attendance to open their minds to viewpoints that they don't hear very often, like his. If that was his goal, he was quite successful.
Danny, Alex, WSUCollegeRepublican, Paul: Please feel free to chime with your own posts and pictures if ya got 'em.
My evening got off to an interesting start. I was waiting in the parking garage for the elevator with my 15-year old daughter. The elevator doors opened, and the only person I could see was.......Dinesh D'Souza!!! Funny!! We got in the car and CR Chris Del Beccaro was nice enough to introduce me to Dinesh.
I'll get into much more detail about what was said later (with pictures,) but I'll conclude the way Dinesh concluded tonight: Universities need intellectual diversity the way they need racial, gender, cultural, and language diversity. It was obvious by the reactions and questions from some in the the crowd tonight that there is not very much of that at WSU. Dinesh challenged those liberals in attendance to open their minds to viewpoints that they don't hear very often, like his. If that was his goal, he was quite successful.
Danny, Alex, WSUCollegeRepublican, Paul: Please feel free to chime with your own posts and pictures if ya got 'em.
Guest Speaker Invitation 3/25/2008!!!
I would like to cordially invite everyone and anyone to an eye-opening guest speaker, Dinesh D'Souza. A former Reagan Policy Analyst, now one of America's best selling authors, Dinest D'Souza is coming to Pullman to discuss the state of American race politics and other issues surrounding the modern era. This eye-opening speaker will be hosted on Tuesday, March 25, at 7:30pm in CUE 203. This is going to be a great learning opportunity for all of those in attendance.
Featured sponsors: The Foley Institute, Young America's Foundation, ASWSU, RHA and the WSU College Republicans
For further information, please contact:
Daniel F Schanze
President of the WSU College Republicans
dannyschanze@mail.boisestate.edu
(208) 891-5004
BREAKING NEWS: "Suspicious Package" Found at Stadium and Grand
*UPDATED @ 5:30 PM* The Defense Intelligence Agency accessed this post at 5:23 PM. Your Homeland Security dollars at work...
From KREM.com:
From KREM.com:
The Spokane Bomb Unit is en route to Pullman where there is a report of a suspicious device on the Washington State University campus near the intersection of Stadium Way and Grand. Stay tuned to KREM 2 News and KREM.com for more details.And from Dnews.com:
Spokane bomb squad to evaluate suspicious suitcase found in PullmanAnd LMTribune.com:
Updated at: 16:03 pm
Pullman Police and fire crews are awaiting a bomb squad to evaluate a suspicious suitcase found near a trash bin off of Stadium Way today.
Pullman Police Commander Chris Tennant said police received a hazardous materials call about 3:30 p.m. regarding a suitcase full of suspicious contents located near a Dumpster in the parking lot behind Pizza Hut. Further evaluation of the suitcase, which is about the size of a vintage record player, revealed it contained more than 12 small glass bottles, wires and a battery, Tennant said.
The bomb squad from the Spokane Police Department is expected to arrive in several hours. Police have not yet evacuated neighboring businesses or residences, although they may, Tennant said.
“I have a feeling this is someone’s science project or chemicals they just wanted to get rid of. Or I hope that is the case,” Tennant said.
Bomb squads are called in in any circumstances that are suspicious, he said.
Bomb squad investigates suspicious package in Pullman
March 25, 2008, 4:31 pm
PULLMAN -- A bomb squad from Spokane should arrive around 6 p.m. to investigate a suspicious package found near the intersection of Grand
Avenue and Stadium Way in Pullman this afternoon.
Mayor Glenn Johnson said the small box or suitcase was found near a Dumpster outside a business on the northwest side of the intersection. Johnson said it appeared to contain small bottles typically used to store chemicals, and that it looked like they were connected to a battery.
Pullman police have cordoned off an area around the package, but traffic continues to flow normally in the area.
"WSU helps orphans in China"
Nice story featuring Dr. Forbes in yesterday's WSU Today. I'm quite proud of her and the other faculty and staff that participated in the China trip.
"Competition from Wal-Mart lowers prices at local retailers"
This is another story about one of those "no-duh" studies. University of Massachusetts researchers have found that Wal-Mart supercenters affect the prices of conventional supermarkets located within a five-mile radius, resulting in lower prices for consumer goods.
And of all places, I found this story at the Wal-Mart Watch website! According to the UMass Daily Collegian:
And of all places, I found this story at the Wal-Mart Watch website! According to the UMass Daily Collegian:
Lavoie said that from the results, she could conclude that "families that shop exclusively at supermarkets within five miles of a Supercenter can expect to save between $37 and $104 per person each year, since Wal-Mart will cause these stores to lower their prices."Plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter near the UMass campus recently fell through. So, insert brainwashed co-ed comment here:
Families that shop exclusively at Supercenters "can save $88 to $223 per person," Lavoie said.
For towns and cities that do not have a Supercenter nearby, the supermarket prices did not lower in response to the competition. Shoppers who are willing to travel away from these towns and cities to Supercenters can expect to save from $186 to $298 per person each year.
"I try my hardest to avoid shopping at Wal-Mart and giving them business, because I know now how evil of a company it is and I do not want to support that."Obviously the writers of the Collegian are not like the writers at the Watermelon, as they conclude:
Although it is a fact that some students would rather support local businesses that shop at big chains, it is also a fact that individuals and families can save money if they shop at Wal-Mart.Refreshing. Thanks Wal-Mart Watch!Technorati Tags: wal-mart walmart
Computer Error?
Is that like a "wardrobe malfunction?" I pointed out that the comment that Chris Lupke made on Dnews.com where he used my name to falsely identify me as an anonymous commenter was suddenly removed from the website. So I contacted publisher Nathan Alford again about removing Lupke's "homophobic joke" comment, as obviously the Dnews.com forum is being moderated if comments are being removed. You'll absolutely LOVE his response:
Greetings Tom."Computer error," eh? Funny that was the only comment that got removed. Of course, if the forum is moderated, that would make the Daily News legally liable for any comments being posted there. Oops.
Your note was received.
As I've mentioned before, the comment section is not moderated and remains unmoderated. The comment was not deleted. A computer error removed it from the thread. We are correcting the error.
Regards, Nathan.
Tom Forbes wrote:
>
> Nathan,
>
> I see that this comment:
>
> /lupke wrote: on 3/20/2008 11:07 am:/
>
> /Yes, Tom, we all know about your habitual resorting to name calling
> when you've run out of cogent responses (which is pretty quick). I
> think the only one "raging" is you. Even your sidekick Lobo seems
> embarrassed by you at times, though not enough in my opinion. When
> people disagree with you, you panic, call them names, threaten their
> tenured status. You're not much of a neighbor and you really seem to
> hate collegetowns. If you're unhappy here, consider moving. Just a
> suggestion. I won't resort to calling for you to be run out of town,
> as you have us -- in a fit of rage./
>
> /Yes, you always claim to speak for "the rest of us" (another
> fallacy), but your pathetic attempt at garnering a pro-Wal-Mart
> petition resulted in fewer signatories than we gathered in any one
> hour of gathering signatures locally. You may have forgotten, but we
> gathered OVER TEN THOUSAND asking Wal-Mart not to build. All locally. /
>
> ...has been deleted from Dnews.com. Whether you decided to do it or
> Chris Lupke requested it, thank you! In any case, it is obviously no
> longer an "unmoderated forum." Accordingly, I ask again that the
> comment referring to "homophobic joke" please be deleted. Lupke has a
> long history of associating me with "tjkong" and his other comments in
> this thread are obviously addressed to me (e.g. "trying to claim I'm
> related to some guy named Chad Lupke," referring to a comment made
> only on my blog some 2 1/2 years ago) regardless of whether he uses my
> name or not.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Tom Forbes
Monday, March 24, 2008
"Dem Goes From ‘Sleazy’ to ‘Seattle’ and Back Again in One Short Weekend"
Remember Washington Democratic Party staffer Kelly Steele, the one reponsible for the ad calling Dino Rossi "sleazy?" It gets worse. Much worse. According to the Centralia Chronicle:
The day after the video was released, on a Friday, a Chronicle reporter interviewed Steele on his motivation, and asked him if he understood how blatant and hurtful this video is to journalists when their unbiased reporting is so misused. Steele was unconcerned. He did tell our reporter, Rossi was guilty of “a shameless attack by a sleazy politician.”What unbelievable hubris. It's time to sweep the liars out of Olympia.
Steele must have realized he made a mistake over the weekend. By Monday he was telling both the reporter and a member of the Editorial Board that he didn’t say “by a sleazy politician,” but had been misunderstood and had uttered “by a Seattle politician.” Steele was told his revision was unbelievable.
So it came as no surprise, but with some satisfaction, when Steele changed his story when he was interviewed by The Olympian as published this past Tuesday.
Steele told their political reporter “he was calling Rossi’s politics sleazy, not him,” as reported in that newspaper.
It appears quite clear that Steele is less than honorable with his word. Steele was adamant with us he never used the word “sleazy,” but “Seattle.” He then changed his story and admitted he used “sleazy,” but in a different context. We are astounded the state Democratic Party continues to use such operatives that exhibit such low ethics. We believe in our word. We wish we could believe in the words coming out of a Washington State Democratic Party spokesman.
The Homophobic Nazi Suicide Bomber
Below is my letter to the editor published in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News about Chris Lupke mistakenly identifying me as an anonymous commenter on Dnews.com and accusing me of making "homophobic jokes" and being "fascinated" with Nazis.
I know several of you here disagree with my philosophy. But for those of you that endorse anonymous/unmoderated comments at Dnews.com as a way of instantly responding to news stories/opinion, protecting "whistleblowers," or making arguments based on merit not the person, I ask you two simple questions: Is it your name and reputation being affected by these online comments? Does your family have to answer questions about things you did not say?
At what point does the First Amendment become a letter of marque to go after your enemies with no consequences? A newspaper is not a blog. Everyone in the community reads it. They don't go there expecting to read personal attacks, lies, and unsubstantiated claims (or maybe they do, possibly explaining why Nathan Alford insists on keeping the comments turned on.) People go to a newspaper website expecting the truth, in the form of news.
If Chris Lupke hates me so much, as he obviously does, then why doesn't he start his own blog? www.tomforbesistheantichrist.com. The answer is that he won't. He's getting a free ride without putting in any work other than thinking up some pithy putdown. It's much more effective to lob grenades at me at a website he knows gets thousands of hits a day to inflict maximum damage on me. And I pay money every month for this privilege.
Rather than "encouraging a constructive community dialogue," these comments chill it considerably. Most people do not have the thick skin that I do. And what can I do to get my good name back? The onus is all on me to go after Lupke by putting down thousands on a retainer for an attorney. The Daily News provides this platform for Lupke and then just says "sucks to be you buddy." It doesn't matter to them how untrue or damaging any of his garbage is.
Let me give you some examples of this "constructive dialogue" that Lupke and his toadie Matthew Root have indulged in, all in response to a story that did not concern me in response to a commenter who is not me:
Here is my letter:
I know several of you here disagree with my philosophy. But for those of you that endorse anonymous/unmoderated comments at Dnews.com as a way of instantly responding to news stories/opinion, protecting "whistleblowers," or making arguments based on merit not the person, I ask you two simple questions: Is it your name and reputation being affected by these online comments? Does your family have to answer questions about things you did not say?
At what point does the First Amendment become a letter of marque to go after your enemies with no consequences? A newspaper is not a blog. Everyone in the community reads it. They don't go there expecting to read personal attacks, lies, and unsubstantiated claims (or maybe they do, possibly explaining why Nathan Alford insists on keeping the comments turned on.) People go to a newspaper website expecting the truth, in the form of news.
If Chris Lupke hates me so much, as he obviously does, then why doesn't he start his own blog? www.tomforbesistheantichrist.com. The answer is that he won't. He's getting a free ride without putting in any work other than thinking up some pithy putdown. It's much more effective to lob grenades at me at a website he knows gets thousands of hits a day to inflict maximum damage on me. And I pay money every month for this privilege.
Rather than "encouraging a constructive community dialogue," these comments chill it considerably. Most people do not have the thick skin that I do. And what can I do to get my good name back? The onus is all on me to go after Lupke by putting down thousands on a retainer for an attorney. The Daily News provides this platform for Lupke and then just says "sucks to be you buddy." It doesn't matter to them how untrue or damaging any of his garbage is.
Let me give you some examples of this "constructive dialogue" that Lupke and his toadie Matthew Root have indulged in, all in response to a story that did not concern me in response to a commenter who is not me:
My wife's friends and co-workers read this bullshit and she has to deal with it. Think about if you would want your family to be subjected to that.tj -- calling yourself "reasonable and responsible" should elicit guffaws from even the most dotrinaire of observants. Your "reason" reminds me more of that employed by the nazis for whom you hold such a prurient fascination, as illustrated by your obsessive discussion of them on these pages. Yes, Tom, we all know about your habitual resorting to name calling when you've run out of cogent responses (which is pretty quick). I think the only one "raging" is you. Even your sidekick Lobo seems embarrassed by you at times, though not enough in my opinion. When people disagree with you, you panic, call them names, threaten their tenured status. You're not much of a neighbor and you really seem to hate collegetowns. If you're unhappy here, consider moving. Just a suggestion. I won't resort to calling for you to be run out of town, as you have us -- in a fit of rage. Yes, you always claim to speak for "the rest of us" (another fallacy), but your pathetic attempt at garnering a pro-Wal-Mart petition resulted in fewer signatories than we gathered in any one hour of gathering signatures locally. You may have forgotten, but we gathered OVER TEN THOUSAND asking Wal-Mart not to build. All locally. [This comment appears to have been deleted from the Daily News website, making Alford's claim to me that Dnews.com is an "unmoderated forum" de facto (and likely de jure) untrue. But any reasonably intelligent onlooker can tell from Lupke's non-deleted comments that he is referring specifically to me.]
Hi Chris, yes he resorts to name calling again; its all he’s got. I suggest we just let him ride the bomb to his own self-destruction, like his fake namesake. I find it funny that the fictional T J Kong was a suicide bomber. I also basically agree with you about tj. I knew he would be a waste of time the first time I heard of him trying to claim I'm related to some guy named Chad Lupke and that therefore I'm not a permanent resident of Pullman. He has a small palette of rhetorical techniques that consist mainly of blathering his point of view (fine, who cares); if that doesn't work, insulting his interlocutors with vicious, slanderous names; lies about other people in the community; threats such as running people out of town; and rather pathetic attempts at self-arrogation mixed with a real envy of the academic life. I'm not sure what trauma occurred in his academic life, but it clearly left him scarred. In all his blather, I have never once gotten the impression that he wanted to persuade his adversaries of anything and am confident he never has.
It is remarkable, though, that in his frustration his only recourse is a homophobic joke. What was it last week -- nooses? Disgusting. Never ends.tj -- your lies never end. I never said I hated you and, as a Christian, I don't. That doesn't mean I approve of your unsavory tactics. But there is hope for everyone. Even Lee Atwater, for example, who is the modern inventor of the style of character assasination and dirty tricks methods you employ, repented on his death bed, writing many apologies to those whom he verbally assaulted. I therefore hold out hope that anyone can reflect on the rotten things they inflict on others and change. I would hope they would come sooner than they did for Atwater.
Here is my letter:
Daily News publisher Nathan Alford insists on running an anonymous, unmoderated online forum, despite the legal and moral risks this poses.Technorati Tags: wal-mart walmart
Authors of letters to the editor and opinion page columnists are required to divulge their identities before being published. Why should online commenters be held to a different standard? Libel laws apply equally to online editions as to print ones.
Even though there are numerous blogs and message boards not owned by newspapers that allow anonymous, unmoderated comments, that doesn't mean our community newspaper should. Newspapers, especially in small towns, have a special responsibility to their readers to encourage constructive discussion and debate. MIT Professor of Sociology of Science Dr. Sherry Turkle has conducted research into "identity and multiplicity" online and postulated that the quality of online forums is inversely proportional to the anonymity of its participants.
Several months ago, the Daily News took steps to eliminate "sock puppet" accounts. While a good first step, the anonymity and unmoderated nature of the online comments still allows for reprehensible, irresponsible, and destructive comments. For example, in responding to recent posts from a regular commenter known as "tjkong," Chris Lupke mistakenly assumed that it was me and leveled accusations that I made a "homophobic joke" and showed a "prurient fascination" with Nazis. It is Lupke's constitutional right to have an opinion about my public stance on various issues (as I do about him). However, he is not entitled to associate me with controversial comments that I did not make without prior and incontrovertible evidence concerning my identity. The Daily News refused to delete those comments.
I encourage you to contact Nathan Alford (alford@dnews.com) and urge him to restore decency to our community newspaper and hold it to a higher standard by eliminating the anonymous unmoderated online comments.
Tom Forbes, Pullman
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