Scholars and RoguesScholars and RoguesA diverse band of thinkers, social analysts, activists, grousers, jesters, and troublemakers. We're different in many ways, but we share a general belief in progress, a conviction that smarter is better, and a passionate distaste for convention. 
Articles
A person?s a zygote?
2008-05-15 00:06:00 It’s official. According to Mark Hotaling, executive director of the Christian Family Alliance of Colorado, “Colorado is going to be ground zero for the issue of life in America.” (Source: Denver Post) The reason is that the Colorado non-profit Colorado for Equal Rights has turned in nearly double the number of signatures required to get an amendment to the Colorado constitution onto November’s ballot. Here’s the complete text of said proposed amendment: Person defined. As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of Article II of the state constitution, the terms “person” or “persons” shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization. Our own Dr. Slammy brought up this issue in a post (Every sperm is sacred) three months ago, and the ramifications of this range from the absurd, awful, and terrifying all the way to downright misogynistic. And yes, you read that right. Think about it for a moment. If a zygote (fertilized egg...
GOP Senate candidate not entirely sure what state he lives in
2008-05-14 22:55:00 As the Colorado Senate campaign starts to hot up, GOP hopeful Bobblehead Shaffer has launched a new TV ad telling us how he’s the change Colorado needs. It’s a pretty spot, which features this scenic shot of Mt. McKinley towering majestically over … ummm, hold the phone… Sweet fancy Jesus, does this braying jackass even know what state he lives in? The staff at The Onion are probably sitting around right now wondering how they’re going to top this one. We need a change, all right. Specifically, we need to change to a candidate who can find Colorado on a map. Meanwhile, Alaska, you’re welcome to him. UPDATE: Anchorage mayor Mark Begich, himself a US Senate candidate, responds here: “While Alaskans can understand why Bob Schaffer would promote our beautiful mountain, I hope he doesn?t expect Alaska to cede North America?s highest peak to the State of Colorado.” Tell you what - we’ll trade you Colorado Springs for it. Thanks to Lar... More About: Republicans , Lives
The Weekly Carboholic: boosting energy efficiency is hard to do
2008-05-14 22:16:00 Energy efficiency is tricky. You might think that increasing energy efficiency would be a no-brainer, since it usually pays for itself, improves the reliability of electrical transmission systems, reduces the number of power plants that need to be built, and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. You’d be wrong. And last week, The Economist had a great overview as to why improving energy efficiency is so difficult. And according to the article, the reasons that energy efficiency gains aren’t metaphorically exploding all over the place come down to the intersections of these three areas: prices, markets, and governments. Price affects energy efficiency in at least two ways. The first is that energy efficient products almost always cost more to purchase, and so the up-front costs that consumers see cause “sticker shock”. This is obvious when you compare the price of a compact florescent lightbulb to that of an incandescent - the CFL costs a lot more even... More About: Energy , Energy Efficiency , Hard , Weekly , Efficiency
Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party
2008-05-14 16:23:00 If you want to understand why Democrats often pursue a timid, fear-based strategy in their attempts to get elected, Glenn Hurowitz’ Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party is an excellent starting point. From the formation of the Democratic Leadership Council to the early months of the 2008 Democratic Presidential primary season, Hurowitz gives a detailed look at the shortcomings of the typical Democratic strategy of playing a game stacked against them, the politics of fear. In the preface, Hurowitz explains the frustrations he encountered while working for various state and national environmental organizations. It soon became clear that the main obstacle preventing Democrats from voting their conscience was fear. When Democrats voted against us, it was rare to hear them say they disagreed with us on the merits. Instead, they?d tell us they were afraid: afraid that their constituents wouldn?t support a pro-environment position; afraid of defying President Bush and the Republi... More About: Democratic Party
Fortune 435: How wealthy is Congress?
2008-05-13 20:09:00 Jane Harman, who represents California’s 36th District, may be the wealthiest member of Congress . She may also be running second as the member of Congress who has seen the greatest accretion of net worth since attaining her House seat in 1994. According to an analysis by the Sunlight Foundation called Fortune 435, Rep. Harman’s net worth in 2006 may have been $409,426,887, up from $241,334,326 in 2000. (Sunlight bills itself as “a catalyst to create greater political transparency and to foster more openness and accountability in government.”) The site allows inspection of each member of Congress in terms of net worth. Tabs lead to “Wealthiest,” “Greatest Change,” “Started with $0 or less,” and “Ended 2006 with $0 or less.” It’s great fun. But Fortune 435’s worth is not its revelation of congressional wealth; rather, it demonstrates the weaknesses in the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 that requires ... More About: Wealthy
TunesDay: What once was old shall be new again
2008-05-13 17:48:00 There is nothing new under the sun, or so they say. I’m not a big fan of groups that slavishly imitate their influences, but I do love bands with a sense of history and a desire to explore older styles in search of new angles. This obviously establishes a tricky standard - be true to the masters, but not … too true. It’s equally tricky for me as a listener and armchair critic, as well - I might like a contemporary band for the same reasons I liked the bands they’re riffing on, but is there enough in the way of originality going on? As I’ve noted before, the CDs I like and those I think are great aren’t always the same ones. Which brings me around to today’s TunesDay topic - the recent explosion of artists and bands taking their cues from ’60s acts, especially girlpop groups. I have to admit that I didn’t see this coming. Musical trends will cycle, but the period is usually closer to 20-25 years than 40-45. In any case, there are ... More About: Diana Ross , Arts , Amy Winehouse , The Supremes , Dusty Springfield
Are escort services poised to go mainstream?
2008-05-13 13:27:00 Whores no more. On the job, the key for many of us is adapting by adopting — an alternate personality, that is. But some jobs arouse emotions and sensations that are too overwhelming for the conscious mind. In the process called splitting, we shunt those off to a kind of branch line of our consciousness. Sex work is such a job. Its laborers often find the only way to survive is by putting as much distance as possible between their real and work selves. The lack of self-respect inherent in these evasion tactics is magnified by the need to hide the nature of their work from loved ones. If only because of the contortions into which many are forced to twist their psyches, sex workers deserve as much respect as those tilling any field. Granting them the legal right to organize and providing them with protection under labor and employment laws would be a start. Is that likely to happen anytime soon? It’s tough to say. But, due to its prevalence on the Internet, porn has begun ... More About: Services
No taxpayer left behind
2008-05-13 01:21:00 by Rich Herschlag Iraq got you down? Plummeting real estate values? Bad credit? Soaring fuel prices? Impending recession? Fear not. Your six-hundred dollar or so tax rebate check is on its way. Time to pay off the bogus internet charges on your cell phone bill. Time to finish decorating the trailer. Time to get that Fender Strat out of hock. Don’t spend it all in one pawn shop. Six big ones will keep us in our overleveraged homes for weeks and our kids in college for days. It may even cover a lab fee or two, which will come in handy when you and Junior open that crystal meth factory you’ve been dreaming about. Six hundred dollars will get you a few minutes with Ashley Alexandra Dupree. And not even prime minutes. Speaking of which, Eliot Spitzer never got full credit for his own stimulus package. A new independent study says idle hookers are bad for the economy. Unfortunately, however, the entire six hundred will be in dollars. I asked for mine in Euro s, but the Treasury... More About: George Bush , Exxon , Mobil , Left
Pols fail to comprehend breadth of infrastructure crisis
2008-05-13 00:43:00 About 10 months have passed since the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River during afternoon rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145. Construction of the bridge’s $234 million replacement may be finished in mid-September, three months ahead of schedule, earning builders a $20 million bonus. The Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty have agreed on a $38 million state fund to help compensate the victims of the Aug. 1 disaster. All’s well, eh? Perhaps for this bridge in this city. But nationwide, all is not well. Road, bridge and other important public-works infrastructure continue to age and deteriorate as Congress dithers elsewhere. Only disasters move our representatives to act ? and in an election year, even those actions seem spotty at best and disingenuous at worst. The United States has much more than failing bridges to find, fund and fix. The proposals of the remaining presidential candidates do little to inspire faith that th... More About: Iraq , Democrats , Republicans , Infrastructure
Attack Iran? Why not just paint targets on the backs of kids like those on
2008-05-12 14:29:00 After the National Intelligence Estimate last November which reported that Iran had no nuclear program since 2003, many of us breathed a sigh of relief. It was official: When it came to attacking Iran, the administration hadn’t a leg to stand on. But, as with Iraq , it was used to that. Once anointed lame duck, it didn’t skip a beat and continued to stumble forward. In a recent post at his blog “Early Warning,” Washington Post security analyst William Arkin writes: “Those predicting war with Iran or some Bush-Cheney October surprise attack on Tehran are constantly looking for signs of military preparations.” He cites the unauthorized transfer of nuclear warheads from Minot to Barksdale Air Force bases, extra aircraft carriers sent to the Persian Gulf, and the B-1 that crashed in Qatar last month. Then Arkin recalls a secret mission conducted last August over Afghanistan. He claims it “tells us everything we need to know about the ability of t... More About: Kids , Hezbollah , Paint
Nota bene
2008-05-12 14:20:00 Got hot links if you want ‘em! In “Mr. Cool’s Intensity” in the Washington Post, David Ignatius writes of Obama’s reluctance to write off Rev. Wright. There’s “an instinctive American fondness for people who don’t rat out their friends, even when their friends are creeps. That’s why a Wright-based strategy may backfire for the Republicans, just as it did for Hillary Clinton.” The New York Times’s pro-globalization and once pro-Iraq war columnist Tom Friedman seems to have mellowed during the sabbatical from which he recently returned. In “Who Will Tell the People?” he writes: “Much nonsense has been written about how Hillary Clinton is ‘toughening up’ Barack Obama so he’ll be tough enough to withstand Republican attacks. Sorry, we don’t need a president who is tough enough to withstand the lies of his opponents. We need a president who is tough enough to tell the truth to the ... More About: Democrats , Iran , Afghanistan , Bush administration
Saturday Video Roundup: the jury-rigged symphony
2008-05-10 16:12:00 Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends… You know, as any musician can tell you, instruments are expensive. So what to do if you love music but are running low on cash? Silly artiste - you make yourself an instrument. Like this guy - got some empty soda bottles laying around the house? Cool - git yer Bach on! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN6TiQ5w8V 0 Hey - I wonder if these guys know that “Viva Viagra !” song? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJLcwIEWD9 o In this case, it seems like it might have been cheaper to just buy a loop program, but who are we to stand in the way of innovation? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wreP8FMupy M Wondering how this instrument was made? Talk to the guys in the music department at Home Depot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyvJChWgIr o A caution, though. Just because you’ve invented an instrument, it doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily a virtuoso, mmmkay? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3OxKdDxkp g ... More About: Video , Roundup , Saturday , Symphony
Quotabull
2008-05-09 17:05:00 If our profits are taxed, that means we’ll have less capital to invest in new production. ? John Hofmeister, president of Shell U.S., to CNNMoney.com; May 6. These companies are spending a very small amount of their operating cash flow on exploration. They are spending the majority of their funds buying back stock. ? Amy Myers Jaffe, a fellow in energy studies at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, discussing results of her just-finished a two-year study looking at oil companies and how they spend their money; May 6. Q: [The] President is more excited, or you are more excited? MRS. BUSH: We’re both really, really excited. We’re very thrilled, and of course Jenna is so happy and Henry is very happy. And that makes their mother and dad really happy. Q: Why the wedding didn’t take place here at the White House? MRS. BUSH: Well, she just wanted to get married at home. She just feels a lot more comfortable there. And it will be really beautiful. T...
A newspaper?s leap into the Internet pond: Will it sink or swim?
2008-05-08 22:18:00 Long ago, in the beginning, a newspaper developed a Web site. Hundreds followed that lead. Now, one newspaper has only a Web site. In the end, what will there be? And what will be the consequences for readers? A Wisconsin daily newspaper, whose readers have been increasingly shedding it, has now shed a significant expense ? newsprint. The Capital Times of Madison , whose circulation has fallen from more than 40,000 to 18,000, said “-30-” to its printing press. It has become an online information enterprise around the Madison.com portal. The 90-year-old newspaper ? one of two serving Madison under a joint operating agreement ? will only publish a tabloid-sized edition twice per week carrying some news, opinion and a weekly arts, entertainment and culture section. It will be distributed in its home-delivered partner paper, the Wisconsin State Journal. It’s a dicey move, but critics like me have said for years that the Web-only newspaper will see its day come (which d... More About: Internet , Pond , Swim , The Internet
WordsDay: SMS and ?The Emerald Espadrille?
2008-05-08 18:53:00 It’s a totally new literary genre! Well, sorta. You may have noticed that mobile is getting to be a really big deal, and you may have noticed that Them Danged Kids® are texting until their thumbs fall off. You probably didn’t realize, though, the magnitude of mobile and the SMS phenomenon. There are now over 3 billion mobile phones in the world and nearly all of them have SMS capability. Telephia estimates that revenue from premium SMS entertainment services in the US topped $1B last year. And the stuff that people are paying for - $5/month for a joke of the day (and Yo Mama joke of the day!), horoscopes, music reviews, health tips, sports, and on and on. It’s all a little hard for a guy like me to believe, but there it is. Anyway, you have this new medium, so it was only a matter of time before it began sparking artistic innovation. One of my businesses is an SMS entertainment content company, and a couple years ago we developed something called online blitz ficti... More About: Culture , Arts , Sync , Emerald , Espadrille
Graduation Day
2008-05-08 17:13:00 As our friend Pat so eloquently noted yesterday, graduation season is upon us. Commencements hit full stride today up the road at CU, and I suppose at hundreds of other institutions across the country, as well. So S&R would like to take a moment and congratulate the Class of 2008. If you’ve read us much at all you know that this year’s seniors are part of a generation that’s been much examined and oft-critiqued, but rest assured - if we’ve been harsh on you, our fondest hope is to be proven very, very wrong. Also, let us offer some advice, clichéd though it may be. Today marks an ending and a beginning. As Head Automatica points out, what comes next may surprise you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOEVVihCyR U Best of luck. More About: Graduation
MC Gravel vs Obama Girl (vs Soulja Boy)
2008-05-08 15:34:00 Damn, Mike Gravel is the most interesting thing in this campaign so far. He’s a better rapper than singer, though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI6PA4v6dZ g More About: Barack Obama , Obama , Girl , Soulja Boy
S&R poll results: I believe!
2008-05-07 23:13:00 The results of the most recent S&R poll are now available. Which of the following statements best reflects how you feel about the candidate you plan on voting for in November’s presidential election? I genuinely believe in my candidate. (39) Presidential politics is inherently dirty. I believe my candidate is the best I can reasonably hope for, given our current system. (33) tied with; I?m not happy about my choices, but my candidate is better than the alternative. (33) I?m too disgusted to vote. (12) Our new poll, which asks you to predict the November election, is now posted in the column to the right. More About: Results , Poll
Secret McCain campaign slogan memo leaked
2008-05-07 22:53:00 by Lee Camp With McCain likely to face Obama in the general election, it appears his staff has realized they have an uphill marketing battle ahead of them. Obama has some of the best marketing money can buy. He has a brilliant logo, multiple slogans, a pretty face, and he’s even laid claim to the words “change” and “hope.” The following memo by a high level McCain staffer was accidentally leaked to the press. It shows the McCain campaign’s struggle to find the perfect slogan. Over the past four years Lee Camp has performed stand-up comedy at over 300 colleges nationwide, but we don’t hold that against him. He was called one of the best New Faces at the Montreal Comedy Festival, and he’s been featured on Comedy Central. He has also performed countless shows with Laughing Liberally, and writes and produces comedic activism videos. He recently went on Fox News’s morning show and called them a “parade of propaganda and a festi... More About: Barack Obama , Campaign , Secret , Memo
TunesDay: NIN, Lefsetz and the realities of Net success
2008-05-07 18:47:00 In case you missed it, Trent Reznor yesterday released the new Nine Inch Nails CD, The Slip, as a free download. I’ve only had time to listen to it once, and that was while I was working. So I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve been able to give it a few minutes of real attention. In any case, it’s free NIN, and what’s not to love about that. Industry watcher and pundit extraordinaire Bob Lefsetz predictably has some thoughts about the release. I’m a big Lefsetz fan, mainly because of his relentless assaults on music industry greed and stupidity, and if you’re somebody who’s disgusted, dismayed or confused by how bad the music biz has gotten in recent years, you need to be a Lefsetz Letter subscriber. That said, Bob has his blind spots. Yes, the Internet represents a big opportunity for bands, as he notes in yesterday’s letter. Some snippets: The Net is the very best thing that has ever happened to everybody but superstars. &... More About: Culture , Mariah Carey , Success , Arts , Led Zeppelin
The Weekly Carboholic: powering Europe from the Sahara
2008-05-07 17:58:00 Spiegel Online published a story last week about how a group of Europe ans have formed the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Corporation (TREC) to develop enough solar-thermal power in the Sahara to power all of Europe. The idea is to build enough solar thermal power plants, plants that use concentrated solar energy to heat salts or boil water which then turn turbines to generate electricity, and then to transmit that energy across the Mediterranean to be used in Europe. Europe gets all the electricity it needs and North Africa gets a massive influx of development money and energy for desalinization plants, among other things. Source: TREC, via Spiegel Online The image at right shows why TREC believes this is a good idea. The big red box is, to scale, the area of the Sahara that would have to be covered with solar thermal plants to electrify the entire planet currently. The smaller box is just the current EU member states, and the red dot is Germany alone. And solar thermal t... More About: Weekly
End times?
2008-05-07 16:37:00 by Patrick Vecchio The 10 days between the end of classes and commencement is the most poignant time of the academic year. That?s because commencement is the last time I will see the graduating seniors. They have changed so much since I started working with them four years ago that it seems only their student ID numbers are still the same. When they arrived on campus, most of them were kids: 18, legally adults, but kids nonetheless, lugging anxiety or bravado like an overstuffed suitcase, unwilling or unable to advance those first conversations with faculty: ?Why do you want to major in journalism/mass communications?? ?I like to write.? ?What was the last thing you wrote?? ?I dunno.? ?Do you blog?? ?Huh?? ?Blog, keep a journal, a diary ? anything like that.? ?Sometimes.? ?When was the last time you wrote something?? ?I can?t remember.? ?What was the last book you read?? ?Something for English class, I think.? ?Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?? (Silence.) ?What are you p... More About: Times , End Times
What is it with men and torture?
2008-05-07 13:39:00 Hint: It’s not just upbringing and culture. Back in 2005 James Wolcott wrote of torture: “Women may take part — though I imagine it’s rare, and under duress — but only men could devise the intricate and cruel tortures and torture devices that have been inflicted over the centuries.” This is one generalization about women that feminists let slide. Lynndie England of Abu Ghraib fame was a blip on torture’s radar screen and women would like to keep it that way. But what infuses men with the urge to torture? For starters, never underestimate the impact of a hard-ass father. Then there are the tyrannies under which many live where rule by force is the norm. Meanwhile, for those men who live in a democracy like ours (however putative), our cultural cup runneth over with blood from movies like the “Saw” and “Hostel ” series and video games like Mortal Kombat and Gods of War. Then, of course, there’s “24,” wh... More About: Islam , Jack Bauer , Torture
The pin question
2008-05-06 21:59:00 by Djerrid On April 16, 2008 ABC hosted the 20th Democratic debate in Philadelphia where the infamous “pin question” came up. In an alternative reality, this was Obama’s response. _____________ NASH MCCABE (Latrobe, Pennsylvania): (From videotape.) Senator Obama, I have a question, and I want to know if you believe in the American flag. I am not questioning your patriotism, but all our servicemen, policemen and EMS wear the flag. I want to know why you don’t. MR. GIBSON: Just to add to that, I noticed you put one on yesterday. But — you’ve talked about this before, but it comes up again and again when we talk to voters. And as you may know, it is all over the Internet. And it’s something of a theme that Senators Clinton and McCain’s advisers agree could give you a major vulnerability if you’re the candidate in November. How do you convince Democrats that this would not be a vulnerability? SENATOR OBAMA: Everyone here; I’d l... More About: Question , Vietnam , Barack Obama
The truth about ?straight talk?
2008-05-06 18:44:00 Q: How can you tell when politicians are lying? A: When they say they aren’t. As we wade deeper into the silly swamp that is Electoral Trainwreck ‘08 I realize that most nights I wind up giggling myself to sleep. My old friend Disraeli famously observed that people tend to get the government they deserve, and as I’ve noted before, the average US citizen is barely smart enough to come in out of the rain, and under no circumstances should be entrusted with something as important as the franchise. Stupid is as stupid votes. A significant part of the problem has to do with the nation’s obsessive fixation on the individual. If a candidate lies, he’s a liar! If an office holder commits some act of malfeasance, she’s dishonest! If all politicians (or a distressingly high majority) prove themselves unreliable, then - and here’s where it gets good - all politicans are crooks! However, an American can make that kind of sweeping statement without, rema... More About: Truth , Talk , Straight , The Truth
Barackula - the musical
2008-05-06 18:30:00 Oh, my. This is … uhhmmm … I guess this what happens when a crew of Obama’s kids gets a little punchy after watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode #107 ten times in a row. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE6ECiDTzx o Thanks to Jim Gilliam for pointing this out. I think. More About: Barack Obama , Musical , Arts
Nota bene
2008-05-06 17:26:00 Got hot links if you want ‘em! We’re still experiencing aftershocks from Hillary’s Iran comments. In “Hillary Strangelove,” the Boston Globe editorialized: “A presidential candidate who lightly commits to obliterating Iran — and, presumably, all the children, parents, and grandparents in Iran — should not be answering the White House phone at any time of day or night.” In “Hillary the Dream-Slayer” at OpEdNews, Steve Bhaerman writes: “What about the dream many women have about finally having a woman President? The real question for forward-thinking voters is not whether we need the feel-good symbol of a woman President, but whether we are ready to empower genuine feminine wisdom.” Writes James Kunstler at Clusterfuck Nation: “A President Hillary will also go a long way to defeating the popular delusion that a world ruled by female humans would be heaven-on-earth. (It would be more like one of those c... More About: Bene
Negativity in the Crossroads of America
2008-05-06 15:20:00 First, some recent history. Unfortunately, a familiar pattern has emerged. The Clinton campaign was afraid she’d lose, so they went negative in New Hampshire, and it worked. Then it was Wisonsin, where they went negative again. It was much of the same in Ohio and Texas. She ran a television ad suggesting that the youthful Obama could not be trusted if a world crisis forced the president from bed in the middle of the night. She questioned his ethics by repeatedly raising questions about his relationship with a disgraced supporter who, by the luck of the draw for Clinton, is the target of a federal corruption trial that began Monday in Chicago, where Obama lives. And, highlighting a meeting between a top Obama aide and the Canadian government, she painted him as a typical, two-faced politician who told the voters one thing about his intention to change the North America n Free Trade Agreement but with a wink and a nod assured a foreign government he would not follow through. I... More About: Crossroads
Happy Cinco de Mayo
More articles from this author:2008-05-05 21:09:00 What you know about Cinco de May is only half the story. It is also known as the great mayonnaise mess. Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo. Fooled ya! Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken... More About: Happy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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