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Choof.org Monthly Archive Commerical Alert Petitions FTC, FCC on Product Placement Commercial Alert has filed a petition with the Federal Trade and Federal Communications Commissions requesting the agencies to investigate product placement as an unfair and deceptive trade practice. Gary Ruskin writes: "Put simply, TV networks and stations are shifting advertising from commerical breaks to programming itself. They are inserting branded products directly into programs, in exchange for substantial fees or other consideration. This advertising technique, called “product placement,” has become closely integrated into program plots, to the point that the line between programming and “infomercials” has become increasingly blurred. Some commentators see no line at all. [...] The interweaving of advertising and programming has become so routine that television networks now are selling to advertisers a measure of control over aspects of their programming. Some programs are so packed with product placements that they are approaching the appearance of infomercials. The head of a company that obtained repeated product placements actually called one such program “a great infomercial.” Yet these programs typically lack the disclosure required of infomercials to uphold honesty and fair dealing. [...] American children are suffering from an epidemic of marketing-related diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and alcoholism, while millions will eventually die from smokingrelated illnesses. Gambling is a serious problem for millions of young people as well. This is an affront to basic honesty. We urge the Commission to investigate current TV advertising practices regarding product placement and other embedded ads, and to take the steps necessary to restore some honesty and fair dealing to the presentation of these ads, by requiring concurrent disclosure that the ads are, in fact, ads. required of infomercials5 to uphold honesty and fair dealing. Should We Call Newspapers "Adpapers?" Just came across this interesting footnote in Cincinnati v. Discovery Network: Fn 16: Some ordinary newspapers try to maintain a ratio of 70% advertising to 30% editorial content. See generally C. Fink, Strategic Newspaper Management 43 (1988). TIA Killed, NIMD Lives On? Secrecy News reports that although Congress has killed TIA and closed the Information Awareness Office, "Novel Intelligence from Massive Data" lives on: [...] "Indeed, one TIA-like program conducted under the auspices of U.S. intelligence is the "Novel Intelligence from Massive Data" (NIMD) initiative of the little-known Intelligence Community Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA). "Pursued with a minimal public profile and lacking a polarizing figure like Adm. Poindexter to galvanize opposition, NIMD has proceeded quietly even as TIA imploded. "The existence of NIMD was first noted last year by Jim McGee of CQ Homeland Security. More recently, on July 24, 2003 he wrote in CQ Homeland Security that NIMD was "roaring down a parallel research track to TIA." NIMD was also cited in a May 21, 2003 article in the New York Times. "A summary description of the NIMD program is available on the ARDA web site here: Nature Attacks, Avenges Development in C-Ville That big storm colluded with the tree pictured below to drop an enoromous branch on my parents' home! Bigger Banks = Fewer Services I just got back from Bank of America, where they say that they no longer notarize documents! The CSR used some lame excuse about 9/11, saying that they could be liable if they notorized a document! Now, that's a load of crap. I was able to get my document notarized at a local bank... The Federal Reserve recently issued a report (PDF) on availability of services, saying that larger banks charge more fees and that services are declining: "Of the fourteen fees for which comparisons are available...multistate banks charged significantly higher fees in eight cases and in no case charged a significantly lower fee...Of the twenty-four measures that may be considered indicators of service availability, six changed a statistically significant amount, and five of these were in the direction of less service availability." Senate Limits Prostitution on National Mall The Senate voted yesterday to prohibit the Department of the Interior from whoring out the National Mall to Pepsi and Britany Spears. Senators Bingaman, Dorgan, and Reid passed Senate Amendment 1740, which is now incorporated in the Interior Bill. The language is not in the House version, so the conferees will have to preserve the language in order for it to become law. SA 1740. Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. Dorgan, and Mr. Reid) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 2691, making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for other purposes; as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the following: SEC. .. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this or any other Act, hereafter enacted, may be used to permit the use of the National Mall for a special event, unless the permit expressly prohibits the erection, placement, or use of structures and signs bearing commercial advertising. The Secretary may allow for recognition of sponsors of special events, provided that the size and form of the recognition shall be consistent with the special nature and sanctity of the Mall and any lettering or design identifying the sponsor shall be no larger than one-third the size of the lettering or design identifying the special event. In approving special events, the Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that public use of, and access to the Mall is not restricted. For purposes of this section, the term "special event'' shall have the meaning given to it by section 7.96(g)(1)(ii) of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations. Who Owns the Airwaves? PR Watch reports that the Center for Public Integrity has created a database showing the ownership of every media, cable, and telephone company in the country: Curious about who owns your local media, telephone and cable company? This searchable database contains basic information on every radio and television station in America as well as every cable television system and telephone company. You may search by company, by call sign or by area. Searchers will find basic information on some of the most important telecommunication companies, including a brief corporate profile and basic financial information. Universal Adjusting Terms of Price Drop The Washington Post reports that pressure from big retailers such as Best Buy has resulted in Universal changing its price drop policy to one where the company won't directly print the new price on the CD. What's really interesting is the wholesale price of a CD: "Shortly after the Sept. 3 announcement, Universal Music sent a letter to its retailers, saying it would place the $12.98 sticker on most of its new CDs beginning around Oct. 1. In addition, the world's largest music company, which accounts for about 30 percent of all music sales, would lower its wholesale price to $9.09 per CD, from $12.02. Medea Challenges Perle to Visit Iraq, Sans Bodyguards I am very fond of Medea Benjamin, one of the organizers of Code Pink, a pro-peace org. She organized a Xmas caroling event outside Rummy's house last winter that was great. Tonight Medea was on the offensive against Richard Perle on the Newshour. The full excerpt is below. Perle makes some good points, and I don't fully agree with Medea, but nevertheless, it was one of the better debates on the Newshour. Perle prinicpally objected to Medea's arguments by poisoning the well--by accusing her of being a liberal, and by characterizing the U.N. as a "bureaucracy." Medea challenged him to actually visit Iraq: MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, I challenge to you go there with me, Mr. Perle, because I was there in July, I was there in August, I don't stay in the presidential palace, I don't go around with bodyguards and helicopters and sniffing dogs like Paul Bremer and Colin Powell. I challenge to you go with me, without any bodyguards and let's walk around the streets of the cities of Iraq and see what it looks like six months after the U.S. occupation... RAY SUAREZ: For more on the funding request and how to spend the money, we get two perspectives. Richard Perle serves on the Defense Policy Board, which advises the secretary of defense, and was assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan. Medea Benjamin is founding director of Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based human rights organization. She recently visited Iraq with human rights organizations tracking the reconstruction. Medea Benjamin, we all just heard Paul Bremer lay out the spending plan and the priorities for the Iraq reconstruction. Is it the right plan, and is it the right amount of money? MEDEA BENJAMIN: No, it's not the right plan. Bremer doesn't have an idea what he's doing. I just came back from Iraq, it's a disaster, people don't have electricity, water, garbage collection, sewage collection, jobs. They're angry, they're bitter. They say the United States money is not getting down to the people, it's going to Halliburton, it's going to Bechtel. We should not approve this $87 billion, instead there should be immediate transition over to the United Nations and as soon as possible to Iraqi self rule. RAY SUAREZ: Richard Perle, did Paul Bremer's plan sound right to you both in its focus and its spending priorities? RICHARD PERLE: Yes, it did, and I find it a bit ironic to listen to someone say there's no electricity, there's no water, therefore we must not spend money on electricity and water. What we are attempting to do in Iraq is precisely restore essential services, as Ambassador Bremer indicated, provide security, and open the way to a decent Iraqi government and a private Iraqi economy. MEDEA BENJAMIN: But we haven't been able to do it in six months. RICHARD PERLE: Of course it can't be done in six months, no one is proposing that it could be done in six months-- MEDEA BENJAMIN: It certainly can and should have been done in six months. The electricity should be up and running, if the Iraqis were in charge they would have done it themselves. The water supply should be running, the telephone system should be up and running. There is no reason to have this chaos that's in Iraq right now. And it's because the U.S. Administration doesn't have a clue about what it's doing. That's why it needs to be an immediate transition the U. N., and then to the Iraqis who know how to rebuild their own economy much better than Paul Bremer. RAY SUAREZ: Richard Perle. RICHARD PERLE: Well, I certainly believe that the Iraqis should be involved in the rebuilding their economy, and they will be. Much of the work that will be done under this program will be carried out by Iraqi workers. I can't for the life of me see how adding the United Nations bureaucracy to this is going to expedite getting Iraqis to work, rebuilding their country. RAY SUAREZ: Let's return to the -- Ms. Benjamin, let me continue here. By many accounts inside the Senate there is no appetite for turning down this package. Can we look at the money that's been spent in Iraq already and see that it's been spent well so that there's some confidence that the next $87 billion might be spent well also? MEDEA BENJAMIN: No, we can't at all. We've already spent $78 billion. RAY SUAREZ: Let Richard Perle answer that question, then I'll give you a chance. MEDEA BENJAMIN: Sure. RICHARD PERLE: The amounts that have been spent on reconstruction up until now have been spent under extremely difficult circumstances. And I have no reason to believe that that money under those circumstances has not been spent reasonably or spent well. This is not a situation in which you can go out and offer contracts where contractors are free to employ work forces without security concerns. It's a very difficult situation. And so if one were to go back and do an audit, I suppose you'll find that some of the standards of peacetime stable societies didn't apply. But on the whole, given the circumstances, I think we've done rather well. RAY SUAREZ: Medea Benjamin? MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, we've done miserably, Ray. Just think -- Halliburton is making $2 billion, Bechtel is making $1 billion. And they haven't been able to turn on the electricity or turn back the water supply. They can't do the job, plus they're wasting massive amounts of money. Even the governing council that was hand-appointed by the U.S. is saying that the money being spent is being wasted because it's U.S. companies in charge instead of Iraqis. RAY SUAREZ: So you would suggest immediate turning over of authority to the U. N. Does the U. N. have a track record in these matters that's more encouraging than America's thus far? MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, it certainly has a track record that's more encouraging than the Americans. It's been six months since this occupation, and even the Iraqis who welcomed the U.S. with open arms and were so happy to get rid of Saddam Hussein are now extremely bitter and angry. The resentment will only grow unless the U.S. turns this over to a legitimate authority, which is the United Nations, which will have a quick time line for Iraqi self rule and that the money that is pledged by the U.S. and the international community -- and let's remember the international community will not pledge money unless it is in the hands of the United Nations -- and that money should go directly to Iraqis and not to companies like Halliburton and Bechtel that are profiteering from this war. RICHARD PERLE: What you just heard is a tirade against American companies in the left-wing tradition that she represents. Her characterization of the situation in Iraq is not at all borne out by many conversations I've had with Iraqis, including members of the governing council she's been referring to. MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, I challenge to you go there with me, Mr. Perle, because I was there in July, I was there in August, I don't stay in the presidential palace, I don't go around with bodyguards and helicopters and sniffing dogs like Paul Bremer and Colin Powell. I challenge to you go with me, without any bodyguards and let's walk around the streets of the cities of Iraq and see what it looks like six months after the U.S. occupation. RICHARD PERLE: With all due respect, your sojourns in the cities of Iraq are hardly the appropriate measure of how well we have done in restoring electricity and getting water back on track. I don't think -- MEDEA BENJAMIN: You know better sitting in Washington, D.C.? RAY SUAREZ: Let him finish, please. RICHARD PERLE: Let's be clear. This is a massive undertaking and very significant progress has been made, and it makes no sense for to you sit there and say nothing has been accomplished when a great deal has been accomplished. MEDEA BENJAMIN: It's an absolute disaster, Mr. Perle, and I think you know it, but go with me and you'll see with your own eyes. RAY SUAREZ: If we are in a situation where even by Paul Bremer's own admission, things are not where they wanted them to be by this point in the occupation, is there also a political price that's eventually paid -- as far as working with a civilian population that is becoming impatient, regardless of what happened before the invasion, but becoming impatient with American administration right there at the moment? RICHARD PERLE: People are impatient when they can't get electricity. I was without it until earlier today. For four days. And I was awfully impatient, after the storm we had here. So it's perfectly understandable that people are impatient. It is also very clear that no one wants Saddam Hussein back. That was a regime of terror and we're well rid of it and the Iraqi people are well rid of it and they are a good deal more tolerant than some Americans, as we've just seen. They're prepared to work with us, they're eager to work with us and they are working with us, and the bitterness that I just heard described is not the prevailing sentiment in Iraq. MEDEA BENJAMIN: Because you haven't been there - go on any street corner. RAY SUAREZ: Did you see no electricity in evidence, no public utilities in evidence? I mean all the reporting that's coming out of Iraq shows that these things are sporadic, perhaps not as reliable as they should be, but in some evidence. MEDEA BENJAMIN: The electricity is sporadic, it's less available than it was under Saddam Hussein. The streets are full of green bubbling sewage, there is no decent garbage collection. There is no decent access to water. There is an unemployment crisis because so many people have been thrown out of their jobs, and perhaps worst of all, there is no law and order. Women, particularly, are afraid to go out of their homes, afraid to go out on the streets. There will be no law and order until the U.S. troops leave Iraq, it's turned over to the United Nations, and then becomes in the hands of the Iraqis themselves, that's the only way this situation is going to improve for the Iraqis themselves, and let's remember that many Americans feel there's a much better use of $87 billion to put into our schools, our health care system, our public transportation system, instead of spending it to put our boys and girls in harm's way in Iraq, a country where they don't want to be and a country where the Iraqis don't want us. RICHARD PERLE: Now we've gone full circle. We've come from deploring the situation in Iraq, to saying that things have to be done to fix it, to saying we shouldn't spend any money to fix it. I think it's very clear that she's just not the least bit interested in the people of Iraq. RAY SUAREZ: But can American policymakers expect the kind of help that they're looking for from the U.N. without ceding some oversight of the reconstruction? RICHARD PERLE: I don't know what help we're looking for from the United Nations. You asked earlier about the track record of the United Nations. I had a conversation with a very senior Afghan official, a cabinet minister, just recently, who said to me everything the U. N. does in Afghanistan costs three times as much as what we are able to do for ourselves. We do it - MEDEA BENJAMIN: The governing council in Iraq is saying that it's costing ten times… RICHARD PERLE: Could I - RAY SUAREZ: Let him finish, please. MEDEA BENJAMIN: … to give to the U.S. what would be used in Iraq. RICHARD PERLE: We -- we do agree on one point, which is that the sooner the people of Iraq are in control of their own destiny, the better. And the way to facilitate that is by providing a jump start, by providing some money that will start the reconstruction. This is a country in which there was virtually no investment for three decades, there was nothing but tyranny and murder. And so it is at the beginning in every respect, with respect to electricity, with respect to water, with respect to -- MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, there's less electricity, there's less water, there's less jobs available. People are miserable, Mr. Perle. This is not working, it is I quagmire, we need the world community to invest funds into Iraq because we can't do it alone and the only way we're going to get that help from the international community is if we turn the situation over to the United Nations, the only legitimate authority to oversee the transition to Iraqi self rule. RAY SUAREZ: We have to end it there. Medea Benjamin, Richard Perle, thank you both. Search for Bank Affiliates The National Information Center of the Federal Reserve has this neat search engine that allows you to search the organizational hierarchies of federal banks. For an idea of how your personal information can be shared when you hold a Citibank credit card, check out the relationships that Citigroup Holdings has... How to Beat an Intervention Modern Drunkard Magazine has an excellent how-to on beating interventions. The advice is brilliant: "Crush the Quisling "At least one member of the group won’t want to be there. He’ll be the one lurking in the background, refusing to make eye contact. He may be a drinker himself. Probably not the same quality of drinker you are, but a fellow imbiber nevertheless. This traitor is very vulnerable to the Fruitarian Gambit. Developed as a forward defense against aggressive vegetarians, the gambit goes like this: When a vegetarian starts ranting about how meat is murder, identify yourself as a Fruitarian (super-vegans that only eat what a plant gives up willingly, such as an apple falling off a tree) and shrill, “Do you know the anguish of the wheat stalk at harvest time? Did you know they can sense when their brethren are being slaughtered around them? Is that a polyblend shirt, cotton killer? Where’s my red dye?” Adbusters Black Spot to Air Adbusters' Black Spot commercial will be on CNN's Crossfire on Monday, September 22nd at 4:30. The ad was rejected by free speech advocates Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS and MTV. A Trend in College Football? Gordon Gee, Chancellor of Vanderbilt, explains why he is revamping the institution's athletic department with "a new body that is more connected to the mission of the university and more accountable to the institution's academic leadership. We'll no longer need an athletic director. We're not eliminating varsity sports, mind you, or relinquishing our membership in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference. Rather, we're making a clear statement that the 'student-athlete' -- a term invented decades ago when college sports was faced with another seemingly endless parade of scandals -- belongs back in the university." Part of this might be motivated by a claim that Rick Telander made in The Hundred Yard Lie: that in many cases, college football is a money drain, and actually does not support other programs, as it is often reputed to do. At Vandy, football directly drains the academic resources, affecting student-to-faculty ratios. For a variety of other reasons, some colleges, including Swarthmore, have decided to drop football. Posted
by chris at 03:42 PM
Bill Maher on Taxes Bill Maher's Real Time is one of the better political talk shows on television. He commented on taxes recently: "How did taxes get to be something that people think just don't belong in society at all?" […] "Teachers spend an average of $589 a school year of their own money buying school supplies. Somebody should sit the kids down and say, 'kids you know what, no matter what daddy tells you, or what the politicians tell you, nothing gets between daddy and his tax cut.'" Magnetic Pain Relievers a Sham If you have half a brain, you probably already now that magnetic pain relievers are a sham. A recent JAMA Study confirmed this. It found that: "No significant between-group differences were found on any outcome variables studied when comparing active vs sham magnets…Static bipolar magnets embedded in cushioned shoe insoles do not provide additional benefit for subjective plantar heel pain reduction when compared with nonmagnetic insoles." NY to Account for "Stop and Frisks" A settlement in a New York class action lawsuit will formally require police to report on "stop and frisks." The stop and frisk is a limited search, first approved by the Supreme Court in Terry v. Ohio. That case involved a police officer who, for very good reasons, thought that suspects he observed were carrying weapons, so he searched the subjects before actually arresting them. Thus, the so called "Terry" stop was born to protect police from suspects who could be armed. It was supposed to be limited to a search of the outside of clothing for concealed weapons when the police officer possessed a "particularly suspicion" that the suspect was armed or dangerous. Since then, the Terry stop and frisk is used by many police to simply harass the public—especially the minority public. As plaintiff Khalil Shkymba explains in a Washington Post article, "No officer would think of pulling a gun and telling an innocent man to pull down his pants on 60th and Lexington." The civil liberties implications of the justifiable Terry decision come into full focus when one considers how it has been combined with other exceptions to the Fourth Amendment. For instance, under the "plain feel" doctrine, a police officer can reach into the pockets or clothes of a suspect during a Terry stop if the officer can feel the outline of a weapon or contraband concealed in clothes. In practice, this doctrine can give police justification to make a more invasive search if anything at all is within the suspect's pockets. Batteries and camera film feel like containers for crack, pens and markers feel like crack pipes, anything soft feels like marijuana, etc. Stop Naming Your Kids After Cars, Mermaids! Gene Weingarten goes on the offensive in the Washington Post against all this weird naming of children, and specifically on all these people who are naming their daughters "Madison:" "When you do this, your victim is your own child. I know of a kid, born in the mid-1960s, who used to introduce himself thus: "Hi, my name is Caribou, but you can call me Mike." Little 3-year-old Madison is someday going to be 60. ("Hi, sweetie, I am your Grandma Madison, but you can call me Mom-Mom.") It is hard to overstate the creepiness of some of this recent naming. Among the 1,000 most popular girls' names in America today are Essence, Precious, Journey, Heaven, Unique, Cadence and, of course, Lexus. (Elantra hasn't made it, yet.) All of those names are more popular than Betty, which has fallen off the list altogether. […] "Editors have warned me that this is a dangerous column -- that names are a personal thing about which people feel strongly, and parents should be free to name their children what they want without fear of public ridicule. "I know, I know, but I don't care. The Madisonness must end. Theives Don't Fear the Intrepid The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released data on automobile theft for calendar year 2001. In absolute numbers and as a percentage of models in the market, the Chrysler/Dodge Intrepid took the prize. Here are the top ten most stolen cars: 1. Daimler Chrysler...... Dodge Intrepid Sept. Harper's is Awesome As usual, Lewis Lapham has served up another excellent issue of Harper's. Here's a portion from Lapham's notebook, which contains a colloquy between President Bush and a reporter on the California recall: The President (insulted): It is the biggest political story in the country? That's interesting. That says a lot. That speaks volumes. First Reporter: …You don't agree? The President (irritated): I don't get to decide the biggest political story. You decide the biggest political story. But I find it interesting that that is the biggest political story in the country, as you just said. Second Reporter: You don't think it should be? The President (cute and sarcastic): Oh, I think there's maybe other political stories. Isn't there, like, a presidential race coming up? Lapham continues: "In California the Hollywood press corps would have known better. It's never any good mentioning the names of two action-movie stars at the same news briefing…. Marilyn Manson Pre-Sale If you are subscribed to the 9:30 Club mailing list, you can buy MM tickets right now. Parents: Are Your Kids in a Gang? Find out by reading the Fairfax County, VA Signs of Possible Gang Activity Guide: BTW: Doesn't "Nut Up" refer to ejactulation? [...] Some Common Slang Gang banger: an active gang member. Clark's Ties to Military Contractors General Clark's ties to Acxiom are again covered in today's Wall Street Journal: "After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Gen. Clark counseled clients on how to pitch commercial technologies to the government for homeland-security applications. One is Acxiom Corp., based in Gen. Clark's hometown of Little Rock, Ark., where he formally launched his campaign Wednesday. He joined the board of the Nasdaq-traded company in December 2001, as the company started to market its customer-database software to federal agencies eager to hunt for terrorists by scanning and coordinating the vast cyberspace trove of citizen information. "He has made efforts at putting us in contact with the right people in Washington ... setting up meetings and participating in some himself," says Acxiom Chief Executive Charles Morgan. "Like all of us around 9/11, he had a lot of patriotic fervor about how we can save our country." MM @ 9:30 Just announced: Marilyn Manson is playing at the 9:30 Club on Saturday, October 25th. Since it is so close to Halloween, the holy high holiday in my religion, and because it is at the 9:30, this is sure to be a wacked show! Flashpoints USA: Can You Trust the Media?
Wow! This rather provocative full-page ad was run in the Washington Post yesterday to annouce Flashpoint USA's new episode on The Media Today: Truth or Lies. I've been on Flashpoints. It's an intelligent show, run by two television anchors who are smart and who have a commitment to civil liberties and democratic norms. 9th Cir: Liberal or Conservative? Neither? There is an interesting article in today's Washington Post on whether the Ninth Circuit, which encompasses California, Guam, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Hawaii, is conservative or liberal. The 9th is so big that it has more judges than other circuits. Conservatives have long targeted the 9th Circuit, saying that it is out of control and that as a result, the Supreme Court spends an inordinate time reversing opinions from the 9th. But Erwin Chemerinsky, a prof from the University of Southern California Law School, argues that this is not true: "…in its past term, the Supreme Court reversed 74 percent of the cases it reviewed from all of the appellate courts and 75 percent of the cases it heard from the 9th Circuit. He (Chemerinsky) said the 9th Circuit's reversal rate has closely tracked the national average the last several years. "Chemerinsky also said that the 9th Circuit's reputation for unbridled liberalism was the result of a "very unfair and inaccurate attack" by conservatives. "It's absolutely diverse ideologically, and its reversal rate is right at the national average," he said. "For every liberal there is a very conservative judge. For every moderate liberal you can point to a moderate conservative. There is no consensus on the court, certainly no liberal consensus." Machiavelli on Perception of the Past, Present One of the best discussions of fondness of the past and condemnation of the present times was written by Machiavelli in his Discourses. The full text is in the extended entry. "Men always praise the ancient times and find fault with the present, but not always with good reason; and they are such partisans of things past, that they celebrate not only that age which has been recalled to their memory by known writers, but those also which they remember having seen in their youth... Men always praise the ancient times and find fault with the present, but not always with good reason; and they are such partisans of things past, that they celebrate not only that age which has been recalled to their memory by known writers, but those also which they remember having seen in their youth. And when this opinion of theirs is false, as it is most of the times, I am persuaded the reasons by which they are led to such deception are various. And the first I believe is that the whole truth which would bring out the infamy of those times, and they amplify and magnify those others that could bring forth their glory. Moreover, the greater number of writers so obey the fortune of the winners that, in order to make their victories glorious, they not only exaggerate that which is gotten by their own virtu, but they also exaggerate the actions of the enemies; so that whoever afterwards is born in either of the two provinces, both the victorious and the defeated ones, has cause to marvel at those men and times, and is forced summarily to praise and love them. In addition to this, men hating things either from fear or envy, these two reasons for hating past events come to be extinguished, as they are not able to offend or give cause for envy of them. But the contrary happens with those things that are in operation and are seen, which because you have a complete knowledge of them as they are not in any way hidden from you; and knowing the good together with the many other things which are displeasing to you, you are constrained to judge the present more inferior than the past, although in truth the present might merit much more of that glory and fame; I do not discuss matters pertaining to the arts, which shine so much by themselves, which time cannot take away or add a little more glory which they merit by themselves; but I speak of those matters pertinent to the lives and customs of men, of which such clear evidences are not seen. I repeat, therefore, that the custom of praising and blaming as mentioned above is true, but it is not true that you err in doing it. For sometimes of necessity our judgment is the truth, as human affairs are always in motion, either ascending or descending. And we see a City or a Province well-organized in its government by some excellent man, and for a time always progressing toward the better through the virtu of that organizer. He who is born in that state, and praises the past more than the present, deceives himself; and his deception is caused by those things mentioned above. But if they are born in that City or province after the time when it has begun to descend to its bad times, then he does not deceive himself. And in thinking of how these things go on, I judge that the world has always been in the same condition, and that there is as much good as there is bad in it; but this bad and good vary from province to province, as is seen by the historian of those ancient Kingdoms which varied from one another because of the variations in customs, while the world remained the same: the only difference was, that where virtu first found a place in Assyria, it then to Media, afterwards to Persia, and from there came to Italy and Rome: and if after the Roman Empire no other Empire followed which endured, and where the world kept together all its virtu, none the less it is seen to be scattered in many nations where people lived with virtu, as it was in the Kingdom of the Franks, the Kingdom of the Turks, that of the Soldan (of Egypt), and today the people of Germany, and before then that Saracen Sect which accomplished such great things and occupied so much of the world after having destroyed the Eastern Roman Empire. In all these provinces, therefore, after the Romans fell, the Sects possessed, and yet possess in part, that virtu which is desired and lauded with true praise. And whoever is born in them and praises the times past more than the present, may deceive himself: but whoever is born in Italy and Greece, and has not become either an Ultramontane in Italy or a Turk in Greece, has reason to find fault with his times and to praise the others, for in the past there are many things that make him marvel, but now there is not anything that will compensate for the extreme misery, infamy, and disgrace in these times where there is no observance of religion, of laws, or of military discipline, but are stained by every brutish reasoning. And these vices are even more detestable as they exist more in those who sit in the tribunals, commanding everyone, and desiring to be adored. But returning to our argument, I say that, if the judgment of men is corrupt in deciding whether the present or the ancient age is better, in those things where because of their antiquity they cannot have a perfect knowledge as they have of their own times, the old men ought not to corrupt themselves in judging the times of their youth and their old age, they having known and seen the latter and the former equally. Which thing would be true if men throughout all the periods of their lives had the same judgment and the same appetites. But as these vary, things cannot appear the same to those men who have other appetites, other delights, and other considerations in their old age than in their youth. For as men wane in strength but grow in judgment and prudence, so it is that those things which in their youth appeared supportable and good, will turn out unsupportable and bad, and where they ought to blame their judgment, they blame the times. In addition to this, human appetites being insatiable because by nature they have to be able to and want to desire everything, and to be able to effect little for themselves because of fortune, there arises a continuous discontent in the human mind, and a weariness of the things they possess; which makes them find fault with the present times, praise the past, and desire the future, although in doing this they are not moved by any reasonable cause. I do not know, therefore, whether I merit to be numbered among those who deceive themselves, if in these Discourses of mine I shall laud too much the times of the ancient Romans and censure ours. And truly, if the virtu that then reigned and the vice that now reigns should not be as clear as the Sun, I would be more restrained in talking, being apprehensive of falling into that deception of which I accuse others. But the matter being so manifest that everyone sees it, I shall be bold in saying openly that which I learned of those times and these, so that the minds of the young men who may read my writings can avoid the latter and imitate the of the former, whenever fortune should give them the opportunity. For it is the office of a good man to show others that good which because of the malignity of the times and of fortune, he has not been able to accomplish, so that some of those more loved by Heaven can accomplish them. Bush the Son Couldn't resist posting this one...from Reuters. FDA Cooking Manual: How to Grind Up Elk and Deer and Feed Them to Other Nice Animals The FDA is issuing a guidance on "Use of Material From Deer and Elk in Animal Feed." It will also cover how to grind up Deer and Elk "that are positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) or are considered at high risk for CWD." [Federal Register: September 16, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 179)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. 2003D-0186] AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the DATES: Submit written or electronic comments on agency guidances at any ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on this guidance document to the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Burt Pritchett, Center for Veterinary I. Background In the Federal Register of May 16, 2003 (68 FR 26628), FDA II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 FDA concludes that this guidance contains no collections of III. Significance of Guidance This level 1 guidance document is being issued consistent with IV. Comments As with all of FDA's guidances, the public is encouraged to submit V. Electronic Access Persons with access to the Internet may obtain a copy of the final
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S Palahniuk At Press Club Saw Chuck Palahniuk tonight at the National Press Club. He read an excellent short story called Guts, a three-part story of the risks of weird masturbation. He also remarked that some of his writing was intended to challenge the idea that individuals will find hapiness in money. Despite the darkness of the topics he covered, Palahniuk's talk was uplifting. He clearly has a love for life. He didn't describe his personal life in detail--he only said that he was happily married, and that he lives somewhere where there is no broadband. New Anti-SUV Bumper Stickers Have Arrived "SUVs: Roll Over And Die" stickers have just arrived, in time for a new report on SUVs that is covered in this New York Times story. They measure 3x5", and are made of real bumper sticker material (whatever that is). It depicts a overturned Chevy Blazer SUV with an exhortation to SUV owners everywhere: ROLL OVER AND DIE! If you'd like one, send me a SASE. They are FREE! Note that the report covered by the New York Times was not written in conjunction with government agencies, because doing so would trigger openness requirements. It's hard to trust a report written in secrecy, especially one that is provided weeks in advance to the regulated industry before being released to the public. Zoellick's Rhetoric Robert Zoellick accuses the poorer countries that broke up the trade talks of using "rhetoric as opposed to negotiation," but then employs rhetoric to defend his position: "Whether developed or developing, there were 'can-do' and 'won't-do' countries here," Zoellick said in a statement. "The rhetoric of the 'won't-dos' overwhelmed the concerted efforts of the 'can-dos.'" NOAA: Okay to Blow Up Cute Animals The NOAA has just issued a final rule regarding "the unintentional takings of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to missile launch operations from San Nicolas Island, CA (SNI)." Unintentional takings? What happened to the plain English requirement? Citination Cards Available Citination Cards are now available at my online Cafe Press Store. The card reads inside: *Except in the 9th Circuit Nike, Commerical Speech, and the First Amendment Lawrence Tribe and other prominent First Amendment lawyers are quick to act when the speech interests of big business is threatened. But where are these lawyers when expression is threatened in the workplace, in schools, or when the D.C. Police wrongfully arrest 400 IMF protestors? John Ritter: Dead at 54 "Three's Company's" John Ritter died yesterday at 54. Although he was best known for that inane sitcom, I saw him at the Kennedy Center in A Dinner Party, and he was excellent. Oddly enough, that production of the play also had the guy who played "The Fonz," and he was terrible! Senate, House Not for Sale? It seems that the Senate and House buildings are not for sale. Felony Depicted in Family-Friendly Mark Trail Comic Hide your children's eyes! Mark Trail has no respect for 18 U.S.C. § 1702. A One-Party Two-Party System? So it seems that some of the Democratic candiates are haunted by their past votes, where they supported the PATRIOT Act and other obnoxious legislation...What does this say about Nader's assertion that we have a one-party two-party system? Two Excellent Letters to the Ed in the Post Often the letters to the editor in the Washington Post are more insightful than the columists. Here are two excellent ones from Friday: The Blame Game Seventy percent of Americans think Saddam Hussein had a role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Seventy percent of Arabs think the Israelis were behind Sept. 11. The Arabs read a controlled press. What is our excuse? THOMAS P. LOWRY After listening to President Bush's address to the nation Sunday night, I found it interesting to note that more chemical weapons have been found in Spring Valley than in Iraq since the end of the war. JOE COFFEY Firebird & M$ Why is it that every time I check my spam account at Hotmail, Mozilla Firebird just times out? M$ IE seems to work instantly...What's going on here? For more browser compatability gripes, see Adam Kessel's battle with Lexis Nexis. Posted
by chris at 08:50 PM
Are Prisons The New Form of Lynching? There is an excellent summary of David Garlan's Do Not Pass Go: The Culture of Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society in the current issue of the New York Review of Books. In reviewing Garlan's book, Jerome Bruner asks whether prisons have become a new form of lynching for unsucessful blacks: "I mentioned earlier the deplorable epidemic of lynching in the South in the 1890s and in the three decades following (the subject of the book David Garland is currently working on). Has imprisonment now become the covert but official method of dealing with "disorderly" blacks in America, with capital punishment its extreme expression? Is "indifference" to the huge imbalance of blacks in our prisons less an expression of "indifference" than of denial, of wanting to turn away from the problems of race in America? After all, the Supreme Court affirmed the principle of integration in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954: it's up to "them" now. To paraphrase Loïc Wacquant's remark, mentioned earlier, yes, we build prisons to provide housing for the black poor. And yes, of course, we have come to accept better-educated blacks who have made it. Prison is for the blacks who haven't. Is this progress? Posted
by chris at 08:54 AM
Watch Out Bloggers... ...the hucksters are trying to figure out how they can use the medium to "increase their business revenue." Posted
by chris at 08:04 AM
Dem's Favorite Songs The Washington Post reports today on the favorite songs of the Democratic candidates. A bit of patriotic pandering is present! Carol Moseley Braun: "You Gotta Be," by Des'ree. Al Sharpton: "Talking Loud and Saying Nothing," by James Brown. John Edwards: "Small Town," by John Mellencamp John Kerry: "No Surrender," by Bruce Springsteen Howard Dean: "Jaspora," by Wyclef Jean. Joe Lieberman: "Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)," by Fleetwood Mac, and "My Way," by Frank Sinatra Dennis Kucinich: "Imagine," by John Lennon Dick Gephardt: "Born in the U.S.A.," by Bruce Springsteen Bob Graham: "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes," by Jimmy Buffett Posted
by chris at 08:01 AM
Kinkade Galleries Losing $$ The Hook reports that many dealers of Thomas Kinkade's "Art" are unhappy with the artist's marketing practices. The article even quotes the owner of the Main Street Gallery in Charlottesville, which apparently is the "home base" for Kinkade's work. What's bizarre about this article is that it claims that Kinkade, who is this Christian artist, signs his paintings with his own blood. I am sticking with H. L. Mencken on this one: The truth is, as every one knows, that the great artists of the world are never Puritans, and seldom even ordinarily respectable. No virtuous man -- that is, virtuous in the Y.M.C.A. sense -- has ever painted a picture worth looking at, or written a symphony worth hearing, or a book worth reading, and it is highly improbable that the thing has ever been done by a virtuous woman. Posted
by chris at 07:37 AM
Harper's Harper's has a limited online presence, but it worth checking out the magazine's Weekly Review, and of course, the Harper's Index. Posted
by chris at 10:00 PM
CCIA: DHS Shouldn't Rely Upon M$ The Computer & Communications Industry Association has told Secretary Ridge not to use M$ exclusively. from: http://www.ccianet.org/letters/dhs_030827.pdf August 27, 2003 Dear Secretary Ridge: In light of last week’s events revealing additional serious flaws in The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) is an CCIA also has a long history of advocacy and expertise in the area We believe that for software to be truly secure it must be well We are currently engaged in extensive security research in this area In just the last two weeks, Microsoft products have been attacked by In short, we have seen these most recent worms and viruses directed [T]he main cause of virus prevalence, say computer experts, is Because of these recent developments, historical experience, and the Sincerely, Posted
by chris at 07:10 PM
Jesus Wants You to Have a Fake ID I keep on getting spam from Jesus Christ urging me to visit FakeIDMan.org. It turns out that this is a pretty neat site that rates fake IDs that you can buy on the Internet. In any case, a serious evaluator of IDs should buy the ID Guide. Posted
by chris at 11:39 AM
Robert Samuelson: Simpleton Post Columnist I'm considering the creation of a blog devoted simply to criticism of the opinion-editorial columns written by Robert J. Samuelson of the Washington Post. He seems to write about free speech frequently, but only in defense of large corporate interests. The free speech interests of employees, students, and other humans don't appear to be within his areas of self interest. His recent works include a poorly-reasoned pieces on campaign finance reform, media concentration, and free "speech". These columns are rife with fallacies of relevance and rationality. In fact, there are good conservative arguments on all of these topics, but Samuelson always seems to find the dumb ones. How in the world do people like this get regular columns in good newspapers? Posted
by chris at 08:21 AM
NAS: Collective Action Needed on Drinking The Washington Post reports on a new National Academy of Sciences study calling for collective action to reduce underage drinking. The NAS claims that it costs society $53 billion a year, most of this is in the form of traffic accidents and violent crime. I, for one, would like a reduction in the trend of being treated like a criminal for drinking as an adult. The DC bars now require ID from everyone, and they kick you out of the bars at night, rather than letting you sleep over in your chair. Posted
by chris at 08:14 AM
America Braces for Three Days of Prayer George Bush has declared that September 5-7 are National Days of Prayer. Presidential Documents Title 3-- [[Page 53011]] Proclamation 7701 of September 4, 2003
By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation As we approach the second anniversary of September 11, The passage of time cannot erase the pain and We thank God for the unity and compassion Americans We pray that God watch over our brave men and women in This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this [[Page 53012]] Independence of the United States of America the two (Presidential Sig.)B Posted
by chris at 08:07 AM
Clark for Acxiom Pt. II Saw Wesley Clark on Real Time, where he seemed to make sense. I've said it before, but will say it again here: Clark was a registered lobbyist for Acxiom corporation in 2002 and 2003. Here are the forms, via the Senate Public Records Web Site. Acxiom is a company that focuses on data integration, and the one of the chief special interests behind CAPPS II. They also specialize in helping direct marketers annoy you more effectively. A good question for Clark is whether he'd wear the Suspected Terrorist Pin. Posted
by chris at 09:58 PM
New Puppy I hate to encourage her too much, but here's my mom's new puppy. And here's an extra puppy that is looking for a home. Interested? Email me. Posted
by chris at 10:18 PM
NY Blackout Essay Looks like Mary was lucky enough to get stuck in NY during the blackout. Posted
by chris at 08:45 PM
National Mall and Commercialism The National Park Service made a determination that all that NFL crap on the Mall is "sponsorship" and not advertising. The Park Service hasn't been so lenient in the past. In the 1990s, the Park Service attempted to ban all t-shirt sales on the Mall, and they were sucessful! The regulations on sale of items on the Mall are in title 36 of the CFR at 7.96 (k)(1). Posted
by chris at 10:54 PM
MDMA Study Withdrawn So it seems that Science has withdrawn that hysterical study on Ecstasy that found that a single dose of the drug could cause permanent damage. The study's author, Johns Hopkins University Professor George Ricaurte receives a lot of money from NIDA, and his study was conveniently delivered to Congress when the Judiciary Committee was considering the Anti-Rave Act. That bill, which punishes organizers of events where certain drug use occurs, has no place in a free society. Posted
by chris at 11:07 AM
IE, AOL Track Misspelled Site Traffic Another reason not to use M$' IE or AOL. An excellent alternative brower is Mozilla. Posted
by chris at 09:32 AM
Age of Mammon This guy hit the nail on the head: America's relgion is consumerism. Commercializing the Mall Friday, September 5, 2003; Page A20 The Post's Sept. 3 editorial expressing anguish over the crass commercialization of the Mall missed something fundamental about modern America. Our core values no longer focus on family or community but on the marketing and consumption of products and services. Instead of erecting affordable housing or inspiring public works, we build malls and sports complexes, the temples at which we can worship our capitalist gods such as Nike, Pepsi and Microsoft. Thus, converting the Mall into another consumerist spectacle represents more accurately what America has become. We should applaud the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior for openly endorsing the new realities. MICHAEL BRIAN SCHIFFER Hinckley Field Trips So, John Hinckley is said to be well enough to go out on his own. I've thought that it would be interesting to erect a statue of Hinkley and place it on the grounds of the Hinckley Hilton, which just happens to be one block away from my little home. Posted
by chris at 05:45 AM
Ashcroft Terror Tour I formally apologize for not creating the Ashcroft Terror Tour T-shirt in time. Mark Fiore beat me to it. Here was my draft design for the back of the shirt. Posted
by chris at 08:17 PM
Amish Sex, Booze, and Drugs In The Devil's Playground, Amish children are set free at the age of 16 to live like normal people. The movie explores several kids' lives during this rite of passage. Posted
by chris at 09:26 PM
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