Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Guest bloggers

I will be away for most of October and part of November. I am going to be studying Spanish in Mexico for over a month. I will try to make a few sporadic posts here and there, but I am relying on The Kid to keep this place afloat while I am gone. I still have open invitation for anyone who'd like to guest blog as well.

So anyway, I have my shots, my pepto bismol and my English/Spanish dictionary. I am ready to go.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Fixing up the City

After the success of last year's outdoor exhibition of Tom Otterness' sculptures, the Arts Council of Indianapolis has a new exhibition featuring English artist Julian Opie's work.



I look forward to seeing all of his displays, except for maybe the 16 foot electronic likeness of Bryan Adams at White River State Park. The Indianapolis Star has an article on the exhibition.

Also, Jason has a fine post about a contest to create a downtown landmark for Indianapolis.

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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Ann Coulter

Torporindy was recently linked on on Michelle Malkin's site as an example of a cruel liberal blogger. This was because I mentioned in passing that Ann Coulter had a horse face. I wonder what Michelle would think of David Honig's cartoon satirizing Horseface's treatment of the 9/11 widows.



Hilarious.

Check out other funny political cartoon's at Honig's site

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But, but, wait...These are Christian terrorists!

It's amazing how Michelle Malkin's perspective changes when those who are accused of terrorism are Christian. Read this piece from Glenn Greenwald.

Busy day. That's all I got.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

John Hostettler: Wingnut

According to dkos (thanks to Jim for pointing it out), Johnny Ho has another trick up this election year. He introduced new Christian Supremacy legislation into Congress.

H.R. 2679 has emerged from the House Judiciary Committee and is ready to hit the floor. What is H.R. 2679 designed to do ? Well, it's designed to defund plaintiffs in Establishment Clause cases by eliminating awards for attorney's fees. What will that mean ? Well, let's take a case that's not hypothetical at all, a real incident.

So - to take a real example [ link directly below to "Jews On First" who have the best coverage of the case in question ] - if you're a Jewish family living in Southern Delaware and you complain about the rather blatant and exclusionary promotion of Christianity in the local public school and you and your family are subsequently harassed and your children called "Christ killers", subject to death threats, and eventually hounded out of town ( and along the way you have to sell your house of 18 years under duress ), the point of the law is to make it harder for you to seek some sort of legal redress.

So, if H.R. 2679 ( ironically titled "the Public Expression of Religion Act" ) passes the US House and Senate, that family hounded out of its home in Southern Delaware would be hard pressed to scratch up the money to take the school board - that was defending (and even condoning) the "Christianizing" of local schools - to court. It would be financially prohibitive. Now, somebody might start a petition "Regarding Religious Intolerance In Public Schools" ( in fact, someone did and you can even sign it - please do* and if your org. wants to join the coalition let me know ) but that would be unlikely to help your family out directly.

Or - to bring up another recent and notorious case ( see below, "the 2% Solution" ) you might be told by the speaker of the Indiana House, Brian Bosma, to buzz off because you only represent about 2% of the Indiana population.


The article goes on to quote Hostettler as blaming the Jews for killing Jesus and that it is okay for citizens to carry nuclear weapons under the second amendment.

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Monday, September 18, 2006

War on Terror by Numbers

14,000 – the number of detainees held by the US in secret prisons around the world.

70-90 -- Percentage of 2003 Iraqi detentions that were “mistakes” in a report of US officers to the International Red Cross.

770 -- number of chained, wearing blacked-out goggles prisoners sent to Guantanamo in January 2002. These inmates are described as the “most dangerous” of all prisoners.

455 – population of inmates today.

10 – number of Guantanamo inmates charged with any crime.

98 –Reported amount of worldwide detainee deaths.

14 – number of cases where officials have been punished for a death in detention.

5- number of months of the stiffest sentence in a torture-related death.

ap link (style inspired by Harper's Index)

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Friday, September 15, 2006

Law enforcement is upset about "where to buy pot" website

As soon as you click it, it boasts of new towns being added every day.

"Curently [sic] covering 366 cities. New cities and cities updates every day!," the site says.

But what this Web site offers is illegal -- at least in the United states.

The site that tells travelers where they can buy marijuana -- a global guide to where and how people can get pot -- has upset officials in at least two suburban Philadelphia towns.


link

Oh, in case you are wondering, the Indychannel has chosen not to display the website.

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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Banksy pulls one over on Mickey

I found this on Wooster Collective





"Families visiting Disneyland on their holiday this week saw a life-size Guantanamo bay inmate standing inside the Rocky Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland in Anaheim California.

The sculpture, consisting of an inflatable doll dressed in an orange jumpsuit with its hands and feet manacled remained in place for one and a half hours before Disneyland's security staff shut down the ride and removed it amid fears over public safety."

Banksy is responsible.


Monday, September 11, 2006

Wake me up when September ends

Thoughts on 9/11 -- Patriot Day

Over the past few years, September has been a terrible month for America and for me. Today, we mark the anniversary of September 11th. Last year, Hurricane Katrina killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands. Two years ago my father died during this month.

As a child I hated September because it meant the end of summer, the return of school and the beginning of an Indiana winter. I dread it even more now.

I always feel guilty during the 9/11 tributes. Over three thousand innocent people died, yet I have come to hate what 9/11 stands for. It has come to stand for jingoism, know-nothing superiority, the surrender of our freedom, our integrity and the beginning of an endless war.

The attack on the United States created an unquenchable bloodthirst for some. For weeks after the attack, I listened to Americans talk about bombing Afghanistan, Iraq and other brown people. I listened to our President speak of a new crusade. I listened to explanations like “they hate us for our freedom”. I listened to attacks on Islam and other non-Christians. I knew it would not take long for bombs to fall.

War came. I am no pacifist. I supported action in Afghanistan, but I was worried whether we would be there to pick up the pieces after the Taliban had gone. Five years after their “defeat”, they are in control of a large part of Afghanistan.

The real war came later. The President spoke of weapons of mass destruction. He linked Saddam Hussein to 9/11 by innuendo. Over 70 percent of Americans believed Saddam had some responsibility for 9/11 even though there was no proof. The President promised he would bring freedom and Democracy to the Middle East. Our President and our military were brilliant in planning for war, but abysmally stupid in planning the peace. He was completely unaware that there existed two rival religious factions in Islam. He was completely unaware that given the chance the people would elect a hardline fundamentalist like Mahmood Ahmadinejad in Iran.

At home, the war on terror has affected our lives. The act of flying on airplane, attending a major public event or even driving near the Hoover Dam may never be the same. In our rush to protect the homeland, we have forgotten our Constitution. We offered new powers to the government in the Orwellian named Patriot Act. American citizens have been held indefinitely and without access to a lawyer. We have captured foreign nationals and have held them indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay. We have become torturers. We have secret prisons. We have become many of things we have fought against.

There are two Americas. There are those with the yellow ribbons that read “God Bless America”. They do not question when the President can only say they “hate us for our freedom” rather than looking inward and asking why this happened. They are the ones who meet dissent with the cry of “Support our Troops”. These same patriots fail to support our troops by voting in a Republican administration and Congress who have failed to provide adequate Kevlar jackets; armor for humvees; and tried to cut imminent danger pay. This same administration is also responsible for creating a reliance on “citizen soldier” National Guard units; has tripled the cost of military medical insurance; and began a back door military draft. This same administration has created an expensive reliance on private contractors to do the job the Army once did at several times the price. These facts mean more than the empty rhetoric of a yellow ribbon magnet.

Now, it is September 11, 2006 or as it is newly known -- Patriot Day. America has changed a lot in the past five years. I respect those who serve in the military and wish them a safe passage home. I mourn those who died on 9/11 and those who have died in the war on terror, but forgive me if I do not wave my flag.

Monday, September 4, 2006

Grand Canyon

I didn't bring the adaptor for my digital camera, but here is a shot from my crappy camera on my phone. Not bad.

Saturday, September 2, 2006

The Grand Canyon and Las Vegas is where I'll be all week.

Catch you later.
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