googlicious

after a long somewhat frustrating day of neglecting work yet again to do politics, i headed out toward a party, stopping over at a friends house around the corner from said party. we had a glass of wine and somehow ended up sharing stories of our strangest sexual encounters. not that we had many, but i learned some things about my ex i didn’t know before… Read more »

This just in from our costa rica correspondent - MW

Howdy Folks

So, here goes a little game of catch up from the past plant/spiritual retreat i participated in. This actually will not be so little, so feel free to skip and/or skim as you will. This has been simply one of the most profound experiences of my whole life. Therefore, i feel compelled to write at length in order to try and encompass at least a good portion of who and what has made it so special. This has been a considerable labor of love for those of you who are interested and for myself as well. Read more »

Greetings to those who stay up late and talk long into the night, a happy new year to pursuers of knowledge in the midst of composing a thesis, a thank you to all singers and dancers, and celebrating especially those who chose this night to cut loose. A warm evening to all teenagers struggling to make their parents into better people. A happy new year to guatemalans and those in search of a parent. A prosperous new year to traders in futures and instruments.

thank you e.b.

So it seems that Ms. Kathy Dent isn’t even showing up for the audit of her failed voting machines. She says she trusts her competent staff to take care of it for her. Jenny Nash, that lovely spokeswoman again, Read more »

the reports tendered at the district 13 vote irregularity hearings overwhelmingly described recurring problems voting for christine jennings. there were reports from registered republicans who were unable to vote for CJ the first time, there were reports from poll workers, there were reports from a sarasota city commissioner, ken shelin, all of whom were very sure they had successfully registered their vote for CJ on screen two, and then had found it missing on the summary screen. computer programmers, engineers, voters who carried cheat sheets and checked off their votes, voters who would never *think* of missing a vote.

the local paper has finally grown up and has really covered the story- not bad at all. josh marshall is usually quite current and entertaining…

it’s 2 am and i’m smoking another cigarette and gathering up the gumption to finish a writing project, the taxes are still undone, and i just spent $200 buying dinner for the leading lights of the election reform movement gathered here this week in sarasota - Read more »

Disclaimer: I’m not a journalist - and this is not a well researched piece of writing. I did not take notes. Names will likely be mispelled or misapplied and the order of events may be jumbled… so, onwards -

The following short quote is from the Sarasota Herald Tribune Nov 13, 2006 (i have been following phil davis’ feckless postings recently, to my dismay - somebody with talent should take this persons job away from him… the beauty of the free market)

By Phil Davis
Associated Press Writer

“The first day of the recount was mostly uneventful, except for one terse exchange between Dent and an observer who raised constant objections to the process.”

This guy wasn’t there- Read more »

Update: Despite continued and strident calls for a revote, the Sarasota Elections Commission, with Paul Mercier heading it up, certified what is probably the most clearly defective election in florida.
This just in from a correspondent in Sarasota Florida - Steve Runfeldt -
Hi,

The following photos document incidents in Sarasota County at precincts 4 and 22 on November 7, 2006. There were four main incidents.

1. The opening tape for pct 22 that was posted on the door of the polling place showed that only three machines had been zeroed that morning. 10 machines were in use during the day. At the end of the day the closing tapes showed that the remaining seven machines had been zeroed at about 6:30 am, about 45 minutes prior to the three machines shown on the opening tape. The poll clerk was instructed not to speak to me, the elected Democratic Precinct Committeeman, and the County Supervisor of Elections refused to answer direct questions about the anomaly. The following day, in a press conference, Supervisor Kathy Dent stated that the battery in an activator had died and so they switched to a new activator. None of this information was forthcoming on Nov. 7. Read more »

It’s not going to be pretty…

Science is a wonderful source of knowledge, and knowledge is power. As humans gradually come to understand and then to muck about in their own genome, it is likely that the the current pattern of severe environmental degradation will carry over to the microscopic level.

This comes about as a natural result of our efforts to plunge into our own navels, we will manipulate our selves in very profound ways.

the disneyfication of the human genome is a nearly inevitable result of the understanding of it. For humans are busy by nature and enjoy mucking around in things. Take a close look at the details of Disneyland, and what do you see? Not much. The fine grain detail is missing. The walls and floor are filled in but the underlying nature of the place is sterile. Just as a desert is nearly devoid of life When you look into a richer natural environment,  such as my backyard here in Sarasota, there is an incredible variety of life. The harder you look, the more you see.

in several nearly unrelated phenomena this past week the power of a name has been revealed to me.

1. say this out loud: HD DVD
now way this out loud: Blu-Ray

with not much functional difference, which would you put your money on to succeed in the market? Perhaps germane, the terms BetaMax and VHS.

2. Religionism - the last great ism. now that sexism, racism, classism, and the unremembered others are becoming unfashionable, it’s high time that religionism receives the scrutiny it deserves. christians do it, hindus do it, muslims do it, and everybody smiles and says that’s their right you know, separation of church and state and all. think about it. they get a fucking exemption from having to obey the law? enshrined in the constitution? destroy the separation of church and state and look at religion for what it really is, discrimination on the basis of a belief in the supernatural. makes racism look really smart, doncha think?

3. Foleygate- all inherent irony aside, the term has a real ring. now, comingle the references and imagine richard nixon covering up a penchant for young men… what’s really on the missing tapes?