Big Al, bringing more inconvenience, this time in CO. I wish we had that much sense, Al. Seriously, I’d like to see those a—holes condemning “doomers” in the comments at Grist bet their entire life savings that we’ll get our act together on any of this within the next 10 years? Not one substantial piece of evidence to support their “optimistic” vision they insist is realism for the next decade, but they knee-jerk to people who understand human history, ignorance, and self-absorption. What tools. (Let's not tell them that new studies show smog and ozone levels may cripple tree and vegetation ability to capture carbon as "sinks" and may mean that, once again, existing models are underestimating the speed of greenhouse gas buildup and its effects. They might lose their smiley faces.) . . . Speaking of tools, a really, really nice takedown at RealClimate of the latest “deniers” who believe their position on top of a completely different mountain qualifies them to add to the obfuscation that the “optimists” above don’t believe have any influence and won’t obstruct any meaningful action in the next decade. . . . The extreme weather news around the globe—like this piece on Europe generally, this one about SE Europe, this one about Eastern Europe, this one about Britain’s flooding woes—has gotten so common that I’m having a hard time deciding whether I should even keep saying anything about it. (Not to mention the record temps in US cities this year.) But if I don’t, will it make a sound? . . . If one of the leading nations on global warming prevention like Japan can’t make its targets, what does that say about the rest of us non-leaders? . . . Reindeer not doing well, but they can go swimming in their rivers in Northern Russia so even trade-off, right? . . . Big Oil making record profits again, and since we didn’t require anything major of them 3 decades ago when all this started hitting the fan and now the refineries are all “breaking down” for real or not, I’m betting they’ll set another record profit next year. The Free Market serving us all. Isn’t it wonderful? . . . Here’s one of those ideas that sounds great and super-wonkish on paper or around the peak point of a really good bull session but will just open the door for massive game-playing and harmful effects if we really tried it—letting companies “borrow” credits for gas emissions with the promise they’ll pay them back later. You know, like what Congress is doing “borrowing” Social Security surpluses. Bwahahahahaha. . . .
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Weather, Water, Energy 7-25-07
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Tuesday Pirates Rant™
What a Rant™-worthy week we just had. I love it when things come together.
Pirates Trade for Cesar Izturis!
As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Stats Geek noted today, there aren’t many middle infielders worse offensively than the tandem of Jack Wilson and Jose Castillo, but the Pirates found one of them. And being that he was a favorite of manager Jim Tracy because of his “versatility” (meaning he’s equally mediocre at a bunch of different positions), there’s a chance the Pirates might keep him beyond this year.
There’s also a chance that, because Tracy loves him so much, the “player to be named later” is actually one of the Pirates’ 3-4 actual prospects. Woohoo.
Jack Wilson for Troy Glaus!
Rather, Pirates “inquire” about Jack Wilson for Troy Glaus. Blue Jays roll eyes, laugh heartily, and hang up the phone.
Here’s the typical Dave Littlefield trade negotiation: 1) Littlefield asks for something unbelievably ridiculous (like Wilson for Glaus, or Kris Benson for David Wright a few years ago), 2) offended, the GM on the other end of the phone scoffs and offers insultingly little, 3) negotiations stagnate, 4) Littlefield caves before deadline, accepting 50¢ on the dollar (i.e. a low-ceiling AA relief pitcher) after aiming for $50.
Former #1 John Van Benschoten uncoached!
"Coming up through the system and being the No. 1 pick and no one really stepping up because no one wants to mess you up," said Van Benschoten, who was the team's first-round selection in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft. "They have a big organization and they need to take care of other people, so I think being almost left alone has just come to a head this year with a crash course here."
Others have a “big organization” and manage not to “mess up” every #1 pick. Just saying.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Van Benschoten, the Pirates’ #1 pick in 2001, is now 27 with a career record of 1-7 and career ERA of 7.49. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
1-8 since the break!
And oh by the way, the Pirates have won once since the All-Star Break and are 0.5 games out of last place in the worst division in baseball. They’re on pace for 93 losses. Average wins the six years before Littlefield: 71.7. Average record the six years since Littlefield’s hire (if they do indeed live up to their 69-93 pace): 70.3.
Honestly, there’s a glimmer of hope here since Pittsburgh is looking for a new CEO, someone who is supposedly an actual, honest-to-God baseball man. If that’s the case, there might actually be a 10% chance for accountability, i.e. Littlefield (and Jim Tracy, for that matter) looking for a new job next year. Cross your fingers.
I Wish I Were As Good at Anything...
...as Glenn Greenwald is at methodically outlining a conservative’s rank hypocricy. I mean, I’m pretty darn good at Random 10’s and all, but I just don’t compare.
John Yoo, 1998:
Presidents Ford, Carter and Bush formally raised the privilege only once each, and President Reagan three times in two full terms. In less than 1 1/2 terms, Mr. Clinton has claimed executive privilege at least six times, four times before Congress and twice in court. Like the boy crying wolf, Mr. Clinton's regular use of the privilege threatens to dilute its effectiveness for future presidents on matters of true national importance . . . .John Yoo, 2007:
Presidents, Congresses, and the courts have long accepted a president's right to keep internal executive discussions confidential.John Yoo, 1998:
...
Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Polk, Lincoln, both Roosevelts, Truman, Eisenhower (whose administration invented the phrase "executive privilege") Kennedy and Reagan, among others, have kept executive deliberations secret from congressional inquiries, usually over matters of diplomacy, national security and law enforcement.
In democracies, we distinguish between a public office and the person who holds that office; people for whom the office and the person are one and the same are called kings.John Yoo, 2007:
Without secrecy, the government can't function.
Daniel Snyder and Kos
He doesn't indicate that he wrote this thorough and dead-on post about how the defilement of the Bill of Rights due to the War on (Some) Drugs has blown up under the Iraq War like it was on crack in response to Kos' latest idiocy regarding the possibility of "it happening here," taken down well and truly by Lambert at Corrente, but Ian Welsh might as well have been. I'd blame Kos for once again demonstrating his usual and complete ignorance of human history and all the conditions that those highly trained historians, the Framers themselves, warned about the loss of our republic and how we've enacted them, but then again, most everyone seems to have forgotten that he was a Republican before he wasn't and his major claim to political fame is having gotten Howard Dean elected President. He reminds me of Daniel Snyder, another guy who hit big time turning a communication form into fame and then thought that made him a genius in the area he truly loved (Snyder--Redskins football, Kos--politics). They're both wrong.
Nuke the Nuke
“The accelerating threat of global warming requires innovation and may demand risk-taking, but there are better options than nuclear power. A combination of energy-efficiency measures, renewable power like wind and solar, and decentralized power generators are already producing more energy worldwide than nuclear power plants. Their use is expanding more quickly, and the decentralized approach they represent is more attractive on several levels.”—LA Times editorial
h/t Grist
Monday, July 23, 2007
Random 10!
Hello, Random 10. It's been too long. Sorry, baby.
1. Love Sick, Bob Dylan
2. Lullaby + Exile, M. Ward
3. Goodbye Earl (live), Dixie Chicks
4. Sleep Now in the Fire, Rage Against the Machine
5. All of Me, Willie Nelson
6. Running Joke, Queens of the Stone Age
7. Peaches & Cream, Beck
8. Caravan, Van Morrison
I start running into trouble when I start thinking of lists like "Ten Favorite Albums". I'll create the list, then realize I forgot about 2-3 that should have been at the very top. I forget about Moondance from time to time, but then I stumble across "And It Stoned Me" or "Moondance" or the "Into the Mystic", the greatest ballad of all-time (today, anyway), and it makes me listen to the whole album twice. Nobody captures a specific vibe like Van Morrison. Even today, as he continues to put out an album every couple years or so...his work might not be quite as amazing, but he finds a vibe, nabs it, sticks it in a jar, and preserves every wonderful ounce of it. It says something about him that Tupelo Honey, one of the happiest, most content albums ever, isn't his best album.
9. Gimme Some Truth (live), Pearl Jam
10. Tears of Rage, The Band
Randomness...
- From the ??? Department: US Authorities will know the sexual habits of Brits flying to the US now. I’m sure that’s just infinitely useful for homeland security purposes.
- From the What Are Those 25% Thinking? Department: Dubya’s approval rating hits record low. Meanwhile, Americans blame Republicans for just about everything. Okay, not everything...just war, global warming, prejudice, poverty, corruption, and crime.
- From the We’re All A-holes From Vermont Department: The best reason yet why a Hillary candidacy scares the crap out of me? All that grassroots progress in 2006? Eradicated.
- From the In Case You Missed It Department: Olbermann’s Special Comment from last Thursday. I don’t want Hillary to win the Dem nomination, but I don’t want her to be unfairly targeted by an extra-politicized Pentagon either.
The Next Economic Boom
British people spent 389 million dollars on illicit liaisons in the past three months.
Having an affair can be expensive - money is required for hotels, restaurants, clothes, dinners and gifts. According to an article by the British paper, The Guardian, the average tab of an affair per night is $600. The Guardian reported that 260,000 Brits are having illicit affairs.
This "affair economy" is booming. In Britain , the total amount that people spent on affairs increased by 60 percent over the last year.
The website which conducted the study, Illicitcounters.org, found that people would rather pay for an affair than a divorce. Responses also showed that people chose having an affair over getting a divorce because it was better for their children.
Weather, Water, Energy 7-23-07
Study in Nature confirms that warming is changing global rainfall patterns. Don’t tell Bushnev, President Cheney, or Australia’s idiot PM. . . .Other nations do get it. The new guy in Britain is calling for reevaluating the placement of its infrastructure in the face of extreme weather and global warming. Floods will do that to you. . . . Active Atlantic hurricane season and muchas Asian monsoons. La Nina (tilde challenged) coming soon to a country near you. . . . Toyota ready to move on the plug-in hybrids. Another lost chance for the US auto industry. . . . Governors laying claim to leadership on climate and energy issues since the fed throne has been abdicated. (Except MI, of course.) . . . Navaho fighting for water rights. Surely they deserve consideration. Except the water will probably be used for nuke power. Still deserve it?
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Best Songs and Albums of 2007
We're 55.3% of the way through the year, so you know what that means...it's time for another Best of 2007 update!
Best Albums of 2007
1. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black. Still the freshest, most unique album of the year, no matter how many times she gets on a magazine cover.
2. The White Stripes, Icky Thump. I'm not a huge White Stripes fan by any stretch of the imagination, but this is just such a strange, fun album...easily my favorite from WS. It really came pretty close to unseating Back to Black.
3. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible. My opinion still changes every time I listen to it, but this was certainly a nice step forward for The Fire.
4. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky. I actually look forward to Volkswagen commercials now.
5. Pat McGee Band, These Days (The Virginia Sessions). This album gets penalized for being so short (9 songs, nothing particularly long), but it's strong throughout, and there are three brilliant songs, which you'll see on the list below.
6. The Ike Reilly Assassination, We Belong to the Staggering Evening. The biggest surprise on the list. I bought it on a whim after hearing a couple good things, but I didn't expect a lot. Strong licks and extreme wit make for a really fun listen.
7. Blue Scholars, The Long March EP. We're cutting spending afer our big purchase a couple weeks ago, otherwise I would have purchased their June full-length by now. This is a lengthy EP (9 songs), and this is some of the strongest storytelling I've seen from hip hop in a while.
8. Brother Ali, The Undisputed Truth. Knocked from the "Best Hip Hop Album" slot by Blue Scholars, but it still has the best hip hop song of the year, "Truth Is".
9. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Living with the Living. All sorts of variety on this one, a nice mix of R&B and rock...with a little Rage Against the Machine thrown in.
10. Bright Eyes, Cassadega. Ups and downs abound here. The high points are brilliant emotional efforts ("I Must Belong Somewhere" has significantly grown on me), but there are some weak points like "Make a Plan to Love Me". Dude's got charisma and skill, though.
11. Queens of the Stone Age, Era Vulgaris. A letdown after 2005's fantastic Lullabies to Paralyze, this is still pretty strong. Only a couple truly great songs, but everything's good.
12. Paul McCartney, Memory Almost Full. I liked it more than I thought I would...though I guess it says something that I still put it below Queens of the Stone Age.
13. Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. I'm all over the place with this one. I almost slipped it into the Top 5, and then it ended up #13. Sorry, Isaac and Johnny.
14. Elk City, New Believers. Quirky, quirky, quirky.
15. Ozomatli, Don't Mess with the Dragon. A great band that tries to sound a little too much like Black Eyed Peas on this one.
Best Songs of 2007
1. "Rehab", Amy Winehouse (sorry, haters...this song's still great)
2. "Maybe It's Time", Pat McGee Band
3. "Truth Is", Brother Ali
4. "I Must Belong Somewhere", Bright Eyes (this one keeps working its way further up my list)
5. "On and On and On", Wilco (sad and optimistic)
6. "You Know I'm No Good", Amy Winehouse
7. "It's Hard to Make Love to an American", The Ike Reilly Assassination (the perfect IRA song to my ears...strutting and witty)
8. "You Got Me", Elk City
9. "Conquest", The White Stripes (the weirdest, most fun cover of the year)
10. "Spitting Venom", Modest Mouse
11. "What Light", Wilco
12. "(Antichrist TelevisionBlues)", Arcade Fire
13. "Tears Dry on Their Own", Amy Winehouse
14. "Icky Thump", The White Stripes
15. "Me & Mr. Jones", Amy Winehouse
16. "Side with the Seeds", Wilco (best guitar work of the year)
17. "I Don't Think I'm Listening", Pat McGee Band
18. "Effect and Cause", The White Stripes
19. "Suture Up Your Future", Queens of the Stone Age
20. "We're Not Alone", Dinosaur Jr. (second-best guitar work of the year)
21. "Back to Black", Amy Winehouse
22. "How Come You Don't Hold Me No More", The Hot Puppies
23. "Dashboard", Modest Mouse
24. "End of October", Pat McGee Band
25. "Gallina", Ozomatli
26. "Dance Tonight", Paul McCartney (slight point deduction from the "iTunes commercial" overkill, but this song annoys the crap out of The Butterfly, so...yeah, it stays on the list!)
27. "The Sons of Cain", Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
28. "How Do I Let a Good Man Down", Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (I found out the other day that the Dap-Kings were the backup band from Amy Winehouse, so I guess I should congratulate them for getting 6 songs on the top 30)
29. "8 More Days Till the 4th of July", The Ike Reilly Assassination
30. "2 O'Clock in the A.M.", Swati
So the next question is...what albums have I missed so far this year? At some point, I'll end up with Blue Scholars' Bayani, along with earlier 2007 releases from Rufus Wainright and Arctic Monkeys...anything else that this list just doesn't work without?
Your Future
The Surveillance Society. While everyone sits and assumes that the 2008 elections will make things better. God, it will be good to be dead within the next couple of decades. Enjoy your weekend.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Weather, Water, Energy 7-20-07
“. . . all biofuels are not equal. Expansion of the corn ethanol industry will lead to more water and air pollution and soil erosion of America's farm belt, while failing to significantly offset fossil fuel use or combat global warming." The conclusion of a report issued yesterday that repeats what people with understanding have been saying for months now. Given the power of the corn lobby, should only take 3-4 decades for it to seep down to the people without understanding. Like this “legislator” in IA who’s so eat up with wanting corn in his car despite the tremendous pressure it puts on water supplies that he’s refusing to support regulations on aquifer use there until “he sees proof that Iowa's aquifers are in trouble.” Words fail. . . . A couple of good news items. One, Peru is launching a drive to replenish its forests, and two, progress is being made on research on alternate cropping practices that might reduce the amount of fertilizer getting into important water supplies. . . . And here’s interesting if not good news. Turns out the melting of glaciers and ice caps will likely add more to the ocean level rises predicted than the loss of the massive Arctic or Greenland ice sheets. Like I said, interesting, not good. . . . Interesting study in Britain about rural communities and their use of local, alternative energy sources. Far-reaching results hopefully: “A study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, of community renewable energy projects in Britain has found that so far, projects are largely based in the countryside, some quite remote. From wind turbines to shared heating systems, small-scale renewable energy doesn't just help in the fight against climate change. It can also bring people together, revitalise local economies and help alleviate poverty.” . . .Not a good headline for weather, water, energy: China's economy roars ahead. . . . State of emergency declared for a drought-stricken county in CA. . . . Nonlinear change that will come faster than we’re historically prepared for socially or politically (but actually has promise for economic change)? Sounds like the next book on my reading list. "I want to scare you about climate change," says Fred Pearce, veteran environmental journalist and author. "We are probably the last generation to be able to rely on a stable climate." Addressing a sympathetic audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival, Pearce is preaching to the converted about the reality and risks of climate change. But it is his fear -- as the title of his new book, "The Last Generation: How Nature Will Take Her Revenge for Climate Change" (it is called "With Speed and Violence" in the U.S.), suggests -- that we still haven't fully realized the apocalyptic forces we have awoken and the reality of what is at stake if global warming continues untrammeled. This is not just about warmer weather, environmental degradation and a looming refugee crisis, according to Pearce, but "about our survival as a species, as homo sapiens." Oh, well, when you put it that way . . . .
No Wonder Parents Get Confused and Angry
One story today on how Ritalin helps ADHD kids, another that shows it screws with their brains’ development.
[Pssst. You really want to scare them? Let them know that Ritalin is chemically virtually the same as cocaine and produces the same effects at the same dosages. Then, when they're coming to, ask them why it's okay to lock guys away for decades for taking the same drug they're giving their children in baby form. I'm betting they'll ask you to go away.]
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Only 474 days to go...
FindLaw points out one more reason (#1,187?) why a Dem winning in 2008 is three steps beyond critical: the next three Supreme Court Justices in order of retirement likelihood are the three most liberal on the bench. If a Giuliani or Thompson wins in ’08, the 5-4 decisions about which we rant could turn into 7-2 or 8-1 decisions. Awesome. Meanwhile, if a Dem wins, well...things don’t get better, but they don’t get worse. Good to know.
Since I haven’t written anything about ’08 in a while, let’s check in on candidates:
Republicans
Giuliani – the more you learn about him, the less you like him.
McCain – his staff are jumping like rats abandoning a sinking ship, but that’s okay because he’s just like Reagan.
Romney – the real Breck Girl.
Thompson – like Dubya, only more southern.
Ron Paul – he’s crazy, but he’s the only truly pro-military Republican candidate...and it’s showing.
Democrats
Hillary – not fading just yet...and re-establishing her ‘inevitability’ vibe.
Obama – not rising just yet. And with the 24-7 coverage, the fact that he’s still losing six months before the first primary is being treated like major stagnation. And he’s still got the money to make some noise.
Edwards – best asset = wife. Oh, and he’s not colluding with Hillary.
Richardson – spending most of his efforts in (predictably) Iowa and New Hampshire, and is being rewarded with 3rd place in NH.
Biden – not worth mentioning.
Dodd – hasn’t dropped out yet!
And now my current odds...
Republicans
Thompson – 40%
Giuliani – 32%
Romney – 15%
McCain – 7%
James Dobson (saying, “Screw it, I’ll do this myself”) – 5.9%
Ron Paul – 0.1%
Democrats
Obama – 37% (my naïve optimism at work)
Hillary – 36%
Edwards – 19%
Richardson - 8%
