Potpourri on a Saturday afternoon

Still playing catch-up from the past few days. Here’s some non-election stuff.

POLITICS

1. North Texas house burns because local authorities… – Wow — to protect against some sort of vague threat of Terrorist Water Contamination, we have to leave fire hydrants not under pressure? Yeesh.
2. Canadian man changes name to beat no-fly list – I feel more secure!
3. Rep. Jane Harman: Finally, Some Progress in Combating… – Rape and sexual assault of women in the military is more than just a heinous crime. This programs is taking the right tack, I think, by trying to reinforce the idea that it’s also unmanly and against the traditions of the service.
4. Lieberman Introduces Amendment To Recognize The ‘Strategic… – Lieberman’s only hope of not being moved into a broom closet for his office come January is that (a) McCain wins, and (b) he gets some sort of cabinet job. The man has not only burned all his bridges to the Democratic party, he’s pissed on the ashes and capered about laughing.
5. Sex, Drug Use and Graft Cited in Interior Department – NYTimes.com – More details on the Interior Dept. scandal. Though as Better Metaphors Needed points out, the whole thing is so cliche it’s almost … unbelievable in its cliche-ness.
6. On 7th Anniversary Of Attacks, White House Claims… – So is the point that they are now trying to downplay Bin Laden’s role so that their failure to capture him doesn’t seem so bad?
7. More Things That Matter More Than Lipstick – Why we need a strong federal government, and just the sort of regulatory spending that John McCain thinks is a waste of the taxpayers’ money. Not that he or his circle have to worry about working for a company that falsifies time records.
8. Government bureaucracy makes a donation impossible. – On the other hand, nobody would claim that government regulations always make sense. In this case, the answer is clear: charge $1 for the marble to fix the Tomb of the Unknowns so that the bureaucrats have something to put in their spreadsheets that doesn’t cause a #DIV0 error.
9. Why would any sane person put a Level 4 biodefense lab in Galveston? – Check and see whose district it’s in. Check and see who was the lead Congresscritter (House or Senate) that pushed for the location. See, that’s one of those there “Earmark” things that causes problems.
10. Eventually Clever » Blog Archive » Let’s Talk Politics… – Politics? Ah, Canadian politics.

FUN!

1. Tennant Mulls Who Movie – Woot!
2. Maybe the LHC is a bad idea after all… – Yeah, that’s a bad sign. Oh, and be sure and check out the site Webcams.
3. cbs4denver.com – CDOT To Raise Speed Limit On Part… – The stretch of I-225 from I-25 to Parker is straight, wide, and has minimal exits. Why it’s ever had a 55mph limit surpasseth understanding — though it’s certainly added to state revenue due to speeding tickets. Ah, well — it will make Margie’s commute a bit easier.
4. False Memories of tragic and happy events – If we are defined by our memories, what does it mean that our memories are so easily fooled.
5. “Changeling” – First Trailer – FilmoFilia – Coolness. This is the big “breakthrough” screenwriting job for Joe Straczynski. Everything I see and hear makes it look like a winner.
6. No more happily ever afters. – Good writing advice. Living in a real novel would not be a happy experience.
7. The saint of 9/11 – How a Catholic priest who was lionized by so many after his death during 9-11 fell from grace after the Vatican became aware he was gay.
8. Rickover, Hyman, George Bernard Shaw, Heinlein, Robert A. — Quotes a-plenty!
9. Voice deepening gas – My voice is already deep, but I don’t care — this sounds veyr cool.
10. The Latest on DVD Copying – This could be the sort of schema that both gives 99% of the public what it wants and keeps the production company suits happy — if they let it.
11. Dollhouse halts for Tweaks – That doesn’t bode well.
12. Seth MacFarlane’s AdSense Cartoons Now Available – Both amusing and disturbing. As is YouTube – Doctor Who “What Would Brian Boitano Do” –