I'm watching Bill O'Reilly interview Michael Moore (?!) on Fox right now at the convention. The issue is whether President Bush "lied" to the American people when he claimed that Iraq had WMD, or whether he was merely "misinformed."

We won't get into all the reasons why this is such a gross over simplification of a very complex, multi-faceted issue -- instead, I will just cut right to the chase, and quote O'Reilly. He actually says to Moore:

"Its not a lie if you believe it."

Life imitating art: O'Reilly has just given the President the George Costanza defense for the missing WMD.

As George would say, "Do you ever just get down on your knees and thank God that you know me and have access to my dementia?"

Posted at 08:56 PM in Humor, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Great collection of Bob Hope quotes:

ON TURNING 70 "You still chase women, but only downhill."

ON TURNING 80 "That's the time of your life when even your birthday suit
needs pressing."

ON TURNING 90 "You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than
the cake."

ON TURNING 100 "I don't feel old. In fact I don't feel anything until
noon. Then it's time for my nap."

ON GIVING UP HIS EARLY CAREER, BOXING "I ruined my hands in the ring ...
the referee kept stepping on them."

ON GOLF "Golf is my profession. Show business is just to pay the green
fees."

ON PRESIDENTS "I have performed for 12 presidents and entertained only
six."

ON RECEIVING THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL "I feel very humble, but I think
I have the strength of character to fight it."

ON HIS FAMILY'S EARLY POVERTY "Four of us slept in the one bed. When it
got cold, mother threw on another brother."

ON HIS SIX BROTHERS "That's how I learned to dance. Waiting for the
bathroom."

ON HIS EARLY FAILURES "I would not have had anything to eat if it wasn't
for the stuff the audience threw at me."

-Bob Hope: May 29, 1903 - July 27, 2003

Source: Quotes of the Day,
(rheamo@centurytel.net
subject=Subscribe_Quotes_of_the_Day)

Posted at 07:34 PM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Pretty cool idea: A recent advance in light-emitting diodes may illuminate the path to replacing light bulbs with LEDs within the next five years, according to researchers. Fred Schubert, a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, N.Y.), claims to have invented a 99-percent efficient reflector that promises to speed the replacement of light bulbs with LEDs:

"Until now, all lighting systems, especially incandescent bulbs, generated more heat than light. But our 99-percent efficient reflectors for LEDs makes them the first candidate for light-bulb replacement that generates more light than heat," said Schubert.

By tipping the scales towards more light than heat, Schubert said, there's also light at the end of the tunnel. He envisions white LEDs beginning to replace incandescent light bulbs within five years. Schubert has so far only demonstrated his omnidirectional reflector LEDs in red and blue, achieving more than twice the brightness of earlier LEDs. The next step is to demonstrate white LEDs for light- bulb replacement."

25% of U.S. electrical consumption is for lighting. Wow. That's a potentially huge oil/coal/nuclear power saver . . .

Source:
Bright idea: LEDs poised to replace light bulbs
R. Colin Johnson
EE Times, July 23, 2004 (1:00 PM EDT)
http://www.eetimes.com/at/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=25600144

Posted at 07:54 AM in Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Banned Music.org is a peer-to-peer collaboration that makes it impossible for the major record labels to ban or censor musical works. When record labels send legal threats to musicians, record stores, or websites, we will post the music here for download and publicize the censorship attempt. There is a clear fair use right to distribute this music, and for the public to decide whether current copyright law is serving musicians and the public, they need to be able to hear what's being suppressed.

via Trubble.com

Posted at 06:44 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

The Truth About Cars is one of those terrific websites that have yet to be found by the mainstream press. Put out by a pair of freelance automotive journalists -- Robert Farago and Chris Paukert -- its heavy on reviews, and light on filler.

I particularly liked their recent review of the RX8:

"Imagine you’re zizzing along in third gear, waiting for an opportunity to put pedal to metal. The instant you floor it, the RX8’s tacho needle begins an Olympic sprint around the dial straight to - hold on, is that really 9000rpms? “Nine”, as in one before “ten”? After a few seconds spent listening to the binging rev limiter, you look down at the speedo and discover you’re doing over 80mph, with three more gears available for your dining and dancing pleasure. All of which offer identical levels of blender-smooth grunt and go.

Slot the flyweight gearbox into fourth, fifth or sixth. Guide the RX8 into a bend. Notice that the turn-in is quick, crisp and accurate. As you seek out the apex of the turn, the RX8’s perfectly-balanced chassis adjusts to your throttle and helm inputs both intimately and infinitely. You can change your attitude mid-corner without life-threatening repercussions."

Source: The Truth About Cars

Posted at 07:06 AM in Design | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Television Critics Association embraced my favorite new sitcom, Fox's low-rated social satire "Arrested Development," giving it the award for outstanding comedy and best new program.

I find the show hysterical, and I'm dumbfounded that so few people watch it -- the characters are amusing, the writing is brilliantly sharp

The show virtually owes its survival to the support of critics, who lobbied all season for its return and were rewarded when Fox announced it would bring the show back this fall in the post-"Simpsons" slot at 8:30 Sundays.

You should catch as many of the summer reruns as you can. They are brilliantly subversive.

Oh, and the TCA presented a real journalism award, to Jon Stewart and the Daily Show: "Only television critics, for instance, would have conferred this year's prize for outstanding news and information programming to Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" — vaulting it over rivals like PBS' "Frontline" and ABC's "Nightline."

It was a decision made on both merit and message. As my cross-town rival, Melanie McFarland of the Post-Intelligencer, said when presenting the award, at a time when the mainstream media seem cowed, Jon Stewart and company embody "a core of truth."

Source:
TV critics vote for merit, message
Kay McFadden / Times staff columnist
Seattle Times, July 21 2004
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2001983225_kay20.html

Posted at 10:07 PM in Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

MP3 Aggregator . . . http://www.mp3blogs.org/

An aggregated feed of mp3 weblogs: updated every hour on the hour. Read online or via the RSS feed. Never miss a link to your new favourite tune again.

Posted at 11:52 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tom Toles always seems to capture the heart of the moment in politics just so:

via Yahoo!

Posted at 06:08 AM in Humor, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Here's a fun game... First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on "Customer Reviews," and sort them by "Lowest Rating First." Hilarity ensues! It's the Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game!

Post your own favorites in the comments!

Here's a fun game... First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on "Customer Reviews," and sort them by "Lowest Rating First." Hilarity ensues! It's the Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game!

via Waxy

Miles Davis, "Kind of Blue" "This is one of the worst albums I've ever bought. It's so boring and lifeless. Good to fall asleep to." "its boredom,nostalgia and scarcely concealed contempt make it the perfect background music for this narcissistic age of ours." "I found Mr. Davis' playing to be laughable at best. Finally, it's irritating; and confusing that so many people laud it." Abbey Road I bought this album because I totally thought the guy on the right was Kate Hudson's husband. So I mean, I THOUGHT I was scoring some QUALITY stoner grooves or like, something kinda White Stripey.

Dude, was I wrong.

Like, are there ANY phat beats on this thing? Um, NO--I heard they don't tour at all--I bet they can't dance, 'cause not one of their boy band harmonies has a kickin' beat behind it, so what's the point?

And what's with the look? I mean, dude, hit a gymn already, and like, catch Queer Eye like even once, and get some product in your hair.

And those lyrics...they don't take it from the streets to the suburbs (props to Eminem) or the suburbs to the suburbs (shout out to tha Kid)--in fact THEY DON'T RAP AT ALL. I Want You (She's So Heavy)--I mean, sure we all want the hot girl, but do you have to make the other girl who's fat feel bad by telling her that? Too cold. And what's with Carry That Weight--is the guy going with the fat girl after all, or has he gotten fat himself? Confusing. Give Me "your body is a wonderland" any day.

Speaking of heavy, forget slammin' tracks--these guys are ENGLISH, so they don't hit it like like Korn or Limp Bizkit or Phantom Planet. And okay, yeah, Sun King was kind of cool to chill to, but it would be better if it lasted like, twenty minutes with the same downbeats going all the way through--you can't get halfway through your doobie before the song is like, over. And Polythene Pam right after? Freaked me out, man.

So, in summary, check out a real band like Incubus.

posted by par on July 2, 2004 12:20 AM

There are 100s of reviews, and some are utterly hysterical . . .

Posted at 05:09 AM in Books, Film, Humor, Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The photograph below was taken by the crew on board the Columbia during its last mission, on a cloudless day.

The picture is of Europe and Africa when the sun is setting. Half of the  picture is in night. The bright dots you see are the cities lights. The top part of Africa is the Sahara Desert. Note that the lights are  already on in Holland, Paris, and Barcelona, and that's it's still daylight in  Dublin, London, Lisbon, and Madrid.

The sun is still shining on the Strait of Gibraltar. The Mediterranean  Sea is already in darkness. In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean you can see the  Azores Islands; below them to the right are the Madeira Islands; a bit below are  the Canary Islands; and further South, close to the farthest western point of  Africa, are the Cape Verde islands.

Note that the Sahara is huge and can be seen clearly both during Daytime  and night time.

To  the left, on top, is Greenland, totally frozen.

click for larger chart

Source: Graphic Humor & Inspiration (ghi@lists.tagnet.org)

>

UPDATE: August 30, 2005 7:31am
Turns out this was not taken by the Columbia crew:

"The photograph included in this mailing predates the Columbia shuttle disaster by quite some time. As we found with the World Trade Center attacks of 2001, even the most nondescript of chain letters seems somewhat more "special" when associated with a national tragedy. Fortunately, this one appears to be a hopeful misattribution and not an intentionally misleading hoax (like another chain, supposedly including a series of photographs of the Columbia's destruction)."

Posted at 05:50 AM in Art & Design, Science | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

In true Jeopardy fashion,
kottke poses an question: What if the reigning Jeopardy champ, Ken Jennings. never loses?

Here's an excerpt:

"[What if] Jennings is still the reigning champion and remains champion for years to come? The nerdy Mormon's appearance on television will become a part of normal life in America. Lincoln's on the $5 bill. Sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Michael Bay's movies suck. Ken Jennings is the Jeopardy champ. There are now three constants in life: death, taxes, and Ken Jennings.

In short order, the ratings of the now-live show go through the roof, singlehandedly propping up the dying network television networks. To placate the increasingly vocal anti-Jennings contingent of viewers, the producers start throwing all sorts of special contestants at him. Harvard professors, Disney Imagineers, Rhodes Scholars, a 10 yo genius from South Korea, Danny Hillis, David Foster Wallace, Edward Witten, and even Ben Stein. Jennings defeats them easily, deciding the games well before Final Jeopardy, much to the glee of Jennings' burgeoning fan club.

Jennings, now making hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsements (he's under exclusive contract to Nike, promoting their sportswear geared toward the "intellectual athlete") protests when -- starting in early 2009 -- contestants are allowed to use Google's new S4 (Synaptic Semantic Search System) interface during the show to research answers, but still defeats all challengers. In 2012, the first contestants sporting genetically enhanced "buzzer thumbs" appear on the program. In 2013, the first computer systems to pass the Turing test are allowed as contestants. Jennings handles them all, au naturel.

Inevitably, a Jennings-based religion springs up. A young Mormon living a few blocks from the studio where Jeopardy tapes, reveals he has recently discovered a previously unknown book of the Old Testament. The lost book, coincidentally entitled "Trebek", tells of a living God from "the land of salt, jazz, and many wifes Who shall smite His enemies with a magical rod and infinite wisdom for the amusement of His followers" and promises salvation and everlasting life for whosoever believeth in him. After the new religion's leader appears on Oprah, the Church of Jennings becomes the fastest growing religion in the world.

Go read the rest of it . . .

Posted at 07:50 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I think I read a variation of that statement -- Dennis Miller is not funny -- a dozen times or so this week:

Ironically, as Matt Stoller observed:

"Yes, honest discussion would be a major step forward. It would be THE major step forward. This lack of an effective and honest analytical framework for modern politics is underlying the political success of The Daily Show and The Onion. Comedians can call what's going on fraudulent and crazy, because like with bloggers there's no pretense of balance. I have always had tremendous respect for comedians, because you can't fake funny.

It's interesting that SNL's failure to seize the political moment is palpable, whereas The Daily Show is attracting top political talent as guests. I also think that Jon Stewart is doing better interviews than anyone on TV. Stewart is not nasty to anyone - he's nice, inquisitive, and he always gives his guests the benefit of the doubt. But he doesn't tolerate bullshit, and he doesn't talk down to his audience. In fact, he's a lot less cynical than the journalists he interviews - he expects quality from our politics and media, and is still disappointed when he doesn't get it. How refreshing."

Back to Miller -- he stopped being funny a long time ago. While there's humor in popping the bubble of sanctimony and pomposity of those in power; It can hardly be called edgy comedy to defend the "Powers that be." There's little funny to be found in the blind defence of poorly thought out policies executed miserably. Where's the humor in that?

I wonder why no one has tried Google bombing the phrase "not funny" to Dennis Miller (Maybe its because he doesn't have a permanent home page).

Let me suggest this parody site: http://www.whitehouse.org/ask/dmiller.asp

Bomb away!

Posted at 06:40 AM in Humor, Politics | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

A very funny piece of satire, attributed to Nancy Greggs of The Guardian-UK, 5/25/04 (I could only find it via topplebush)

Dear Mr. and Mrs. G.H.W. Bush,

Once again, it is that time of year when we update the parents of our students on their child's progress, and we regret to inform you that your son, Georgie, is not doing as well as we'd hoped and expected when he embarked on his four-year program at our school.

As you are well aware, Georgie was installed as class president at the start of the school year, despite the fact that the majority of his fellow students did not vote for him. We foresaw problems immediately, but were assured by several school board members (who, as we understand it, are friends of your family) that this would not result in any real difficulty. Unfortunately, they have been proven wrong.

In the area of scholastic achievement, despite our best efforts, Georgie is still reading and speaking at a grade level far below our usual standards.. At this point, we are not sure if his failure to learn is due to laziness and a lack of ability to apply himself to his studies, or if he simply lacks the intellectual capacity to improve in these areas.

His oral presentations to the class are particularly troubling; it is apparent that Georgie has not read the necessary materials, and he often simply fabricates facts to hide this shortcoming. In oral exams, he tends to repeat the same answers over and over, e.g. "The economy is good; jobs are on their way," indicating a profound failure to keep up with the Current Events portion of the curriculum.

Georgie also tends to fabricate elaborate stories about himself - which, admittedly, can sometimes be very amusing. During a school celebration last May, he delighted his fellow students by coming to class in a little "flight suit" (just like the grown-ups wear!), and had everyone in stitches with his story about the family dog having eaten his report card from military pre-school!

On the whole, however, Georgie does not play well with other children. His "leadership" in the classroom continues to divide many students, one against the other. Other study groups, such as our French and German-language classes, are no longer willing to cooperate with Georgie's group, even though they have traditionally done so in the past.

Your son also displays a lack of taking responsibility for his failings, and seems unable to appreciate the consequences of his actions. Although he was provided with the best textbooks on the subjects of the Economy, Job Creation, The Environment, et cetera, these books were damaged or completely destroyed within a matter of months. Georgie insists that he "inherited" these books in poor condition, despite all evidence to the contrary. (In fact, these same textbooks were previously used by one of our very best students, who actually returned them in better condition than he found them!)

During his first few weeks with us, Georgie quickly became part of a group of other "problem students." Despite warnings, he has consistently befriended children whom we consider to be "bad elements," such as Little Kenny Lay and a foreign-exchange student named Chalabi. Both of these youngsters have been expelled from other schools due to their involvement in cheating other students out of their lunch money. We feel that these kinds of relationships can only lead to no good, and hope that you will advise your child accordingly.

Georgie often displays aggressive behaviour in the schoolyard, and recently assaulted a student in another school district, completely unprovoked. When asked about this incident, Georgie insisted that the other child was armed and dangerous. When investigation into the matter proved otherwise, Georgie changed his story several times: he was just trying to "democratize" the other child, the other child's school was harboring gang members, and so on. Quite frankly, his story on this topic has so changed from week to week, we simply can't trust his word at all anymore.

Georgie's friends, while not great in number, are very loyal, but tend to be over-protective. If any of the other students point out Georgie's failing grades, these friends simply shout them down and tell them not to speak at all. When Georgie was summoned to the principal's office several weeks ago, he insisted that his "best friend" come with him. We feel that it is in Georgie's best interest to learn to stand up for himself; failure to do so could seriously damage his ability to handle a leadership role in his adult years.

As you are aware, final exams will be held in November, and Georgie's past performance leads us to conclude that he will not be able to achieve the grades necessary to continue on with another four-year term at our institution.

Yours Truly,
Ms. J.Q. Public,
Assistant Principal

Posted at 11:30 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

As everyone knows by now, the NY Post ran a front page story, headlined "Kerry Picks Gephardt to be VP."

Only he didn't.

Now, via Fark, comes this collection of dozens of front page stories from the New York Post, photo-shopped for your amusement.

These are my favorites:

Posted at 08:20 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Here’s an unusual way to use both broadband and MP3s to make a political statement: A CD Compilation of Anti-Bush, Anti-War Music -- given away for free -- via the internet:

SEA LION RECORDS is proud to present a CD COMPILATION of ANTI-BUSH, ANTI-WAR music to be released to college and public radio stations during late SUMMER 2004, titled: ELECTION DAY USA

ALL 20 SONGS on the COMPILATION are LISTED BELOW, with FREE RealAudio and MP3 links...  ENJOY!

16 different artists were selected to be part of this compilation. The relatively small number of songs that professionally made CDs can hold did limit how many songs we could include. Our sincerest thanks to everyone who submitted work that wasn't included. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by all of us, looking for 'closure' to this Bush matter in November 2004.

I’m not usually a fan of alt.protest rock, but some of the songs are pretty good, and more than a few are quite humorous and amusing.

Check ‘em out.

Here's a song list: 

DUCT TAPE 3:34 They are knock-you-dead funny, those folks in our Bush administration, when you look at things through John McCutcheon's eyes. His music is sticky (you'll want to hear it more than once), as his subject. In this case, it's the common household product that BushCo told us we needed to protect ourselves against terrorism last year. This song's message still holds true today. It really is sticky, this Duct Tape.

DUCT TAPE 2003 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)

codePINK 3:28 You gotta hand it to this energetic duo of award-winning musicians. Pat Humphries & Sandy O nailed the Bush-backed Carlyle Group and their backroom business dealings with the bin Ladens long before Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 brought that fact to theatres nationwide. This song takes music beyond the traditional music industry, which, like government and other war profiteers, silences dissent. Witness the rise of Clear Channel's monopolization of our "public" airwaves, at the hands of right-wing Republican ownership, but that's another story (we'll be talking about real soon).

codePINK 2004 Pat Humphries & Sandy O / Moving Forward Music (BMI)

KICK OUT THE REPUBLICANS 2:40  Humorous and harmonious amped-up classic rock that practically demands your attention, Donny Daley rocks the world with this catchy tune. Kick Out The Republicans is a candid look at the Bush Administration, and what needs to happen to them in November '04.... Remember, somewhere in Texas, a village is missing its idiot.

KICK OUT THE REPUBLICANS c 2004 Donny Daley

BAD PRESIDENT 1:31  Yikes! This release from folk artist Yikes McGee tells you Guthrie-style how he feels about President Bush, and we hear that his viewpoint is shared by lots of folks everywhere. There are two more short folk songs from Yikes later in the compilation, so stay tuned.

LISTEN to a FREE RealAudio stream of the full-length Bad President song, optimized for dial-up modem connections... click here .

DOWNLOAD aFREE MP3 file of the full-length Bad President song... click here using the right button on your mouse and 'save target as' .

BAD PRESIDENT c 2003 A.J. (Yikes) McGee

SONOFA BUSH 3:52   An enlightened, musical, satirical look at the President we 'elected' in 2000. In a nutshell, it's comedic alternative spoken word with a downtempo hip-hop feel. The 'voice' of George W Bush, rappin' his way through recent history, with lyrics inspired by actual mispronunciations and misguided thoughts that Dubya has shared with the world.

LISTEN to a FREE RealAudio stream of the full-length Sonofa Bush song, optimized for dial-up modem connections... click here .

DOWNLOAD aFREE MP3 file of the full-length Sonofa Bush song... click here using the right button on your mouse and 'save target as' .

SONOFA BUSH c 2004 Sea Lion (BMI)

LET’S PRETEND 3:25  Five-time Grammy-nominated musician John McCutcheon has released literally dozens of records, and is master of a dozen different instruments. In this tune, he shares his genius Randy Newman-esque vocals in an attempt to pretend-his-way-out-of current events, just like the man we call Dumbya.

LET'S PRETEND c 2003 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)

CONSEQUENCES 2:52  In the words of artist Amy Martin, "We are so proud, in this country, of our ability to take action, and at the same time, often so unaware of how those actions affect other people and places. When writing this song, I was overcome by a feeling of urgency for us to examine those repercussions, and take responsibility for them." We couldn't have said it better.

CONSEQUENCES c 2003 Amy Martin (BMI)

DO YOU HEAR? 2:59  Veteran song collaborators Phil Klein and Maria DeAngelis teamed up to create this French 'musette' sound, unlike anything else in this compilation. Originally composed in French, the lyrics were translated to make the sage lyrics accessible to all of us non-French speaking folks.

DO YOU HEAR? ?2001 Phil Klein & Maria DeAngelis (ASCAP)

PEACE INSIDE 8:10  The longest track on this compilation, with Tom Waits style vocals countered by sweet female harmony. Songwriter and vocalist Ralph Stever says, "I saw where Bush and the boys were going with their Iraq spin, and I knew they were opening the War Room. Soon I realized it was hard to be an activist for peace while in the midst of fighting my own anger toward what the administration was doing." This song is the result.

PEACE INSIDE c 2002 Dancing Mountain Records

HOME NO MORE 2:42  The beautiful voice on this slow sad ballad belongs to Kris Penn. The guy seated at right is Thomas Pace, who interrupted work on a follow-up CD to his successful debut to write some songs that address the current political climate. This is one of 'em, and a great one at that.

HOME NO MORE c 2004 Thomas Pace

I DON’T WANT TO BE A SOLDIER 3:36  Time marches on, but 88-year-old Julius from George and Julius keeps on telling us all 'like it is.' The fact that Julius is as committed to fighting Bush’s re-election as he is gives us all hope for the future. If he can do it, everyone can do it. George Mann and Julius Margolin are anti-Bush pro-Labor folkies, and they dedicate this to all the victims of Bush’s illegal invasion and especially to the young men and women who might be considering joining Bush’s armed forces. War is ugly and evil, and this war is especially so.

I DON'T WANT TO BE A SOLDIER c 2003 Julius Margolin and George Mann

CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE 3:36  John Kasper's musical talent and ambition rival that of many big-time musicians. Anthony Krizan of the legendary *Spin Doctors* produced this great song from the New-Jersey-based John Kasper Band.

CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE c 2004 The John Kasper Band

PROPAGANDY 2:22  Yikes McGee sings out the truth about propaganda, as the Bush team practices it.

PROPAGANDY c 2003 A.J. (Yikes) McGee

OPERATION IRAQI LIBERATION 2:43  Proof that there are some brilliant satirists who have infiltrated the government at its highest levels, "OIL" is, in fact, the acronym first (briefly) used to name the invasion of Iraq, which was later changed to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

OPERATION IRAQI LIBERATION c 2003 David Rovics (BMI)

ROGUE NATION 2:34  Mike and Dave (the tightly wound springs of COILER) consider themselves forward-thinking throwbacks to a simpler, more complicated era, when creating retro-modern acoustic techno-pop folk metal was encouraged in schools and churches. Now that schools and churches create only bullies and the hapless drones they ride like donkeys, isn't it time to make up your own mind?

ROGUE NATION c 2004 Coiler

COWBOY PRESIDENT 2:38 Yikes McGee’s third appearance on this compilation, Cowboy President is a smooth folk protest song. Proof that one voice and one guitar is all it takes to make great music. Listen and help rid the world of mad cow(boy) disease.

COWBOY PRESIDENT c 2003 A.J. (Yikes) McGee

SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE 2:38 Country rock roots with a thick dirty edge, framing the band's lyrical passion for justice with a wildly original rock and roll sound. The upside down MAYDAY MAYDAY flag motif the band has adopted befits the results our current befuddled administration has embraced.

SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE c 2004 Old No. 8

RISE UP! 3:14  Living in Thailand, musician David Freyer watched coverage of a Washington DC protest march, got fired up, and wrote some lyrics. Within a week, his band The Positive Chi Units had laid down this emotive track honoring the true voice of America. You! Make your voice heard on (or before) November 2, 2004. Use it, or lose it. And please, register to vote, if you haven't already done so.

RISE UP! c 2004 David Freyer and the Positive Chi Units

SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN 4:47  Promoting peace through culture, the hip yet unsettling backbeat and use of minor chords help make this song majorly appealing... Rhett Redelings-MacDermott's thoughtful and engaging lyrics are something to believe in, for sure. In addition to our collective urgency to find peace, we also need to believe that Bush will go back to Texas in November, with your help.

SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN c 2004 R-Three (BMI)

THE WAR IS OVER 3:08  It's true, David Rovics has a tight fist on the pulse of intervention through music. Since the mid-90's, he has spent most of his time on tour, playing concerts across the US, Canada and Europe. Here, he gives us this song of lies that George W Bush started propagating back when he thought he could do what he wanted (and perhaps more importantly, what Dick Cheney wanted) in 2003. David is an established voice in musical protest against the Bush Company administration, and he should be commended for that service to our country.

THE WAR IS OVER c 2003 David Rovics (BMI)

unlike some folks we know of, we actually are "uniters, not dividers"

sea lion records brought together the artists for this compilation, in the hope that all this great music in one place will inspire folks out there to participate in the ongoing political dialogue, in whatever way(s) you see fit.

remember... it's now or never... use it or lose it... just do it...

...AND THANKS FOR LISTENING
 
 

Posted at 09:03 AM in Music, Politics | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

On February 18, 2004, 62 preeminent scientists including Nobel laureates, National Medal of Science recipients, former senior advisers to administrations of both parties, numerous members of the National Academy of Sciences, and other well-known researchers released a statement titled Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policy Making. In this statement, the scientists charged the Bush administration with widespread and unprecedented "manipulation of the process through which science enters into its decisions." The scientists’ statement made brief reference to specific cases that illustrate this pattern of behavior. In conjunction with the statement, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released detailed documentation backing up the scientists’ charges in its report, Scientific Integrity in Policy Making.

Since the release of the UCS report in February, the administration has continued to undermine the integrity of science in policy making seemingly unchecked. Many scientists have spoken out about their frustration with an administration that has undermined the quality of the science that informs policy making by suppressing, distorting, or manipulating the work done by scientists at federal agencies and on scientific advisory panels. For instance, Michael Kelly, a biologist who had served at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service for nine years, recently resigned his position and issued an indictment of Bush administration practices. As Kelly wrote, "I speak for many of my fellow biologists who are embarrassed and disgusted by the agency’s apparent misuse of science."¹

Scientific Integrity in Policy Making: Further investigation of the Bush administration's abuse of science investigates several new incidents that have surfaced since the February 2004 UCS report. These new incidents have been corroborated through in-depth interviews and internal government documents, including some documents released through the Freedom of Information Act. The cases that follow include:

• egregious disregard of scientific study, across several agencies, regarding the environmental impacts of mountaintop removal mining;
• censorship and distortion of scientific analysis, and manipulation of the scientific process, across several issues and agencies in regard to the Endangered Species Act;
• distortion of scientific knowledge in decisions about emergency contraception;
• new evidence about the use of political litmus tests for scientific advisory panel appointees. These new revelations put to rest any arguments offered by the administration that the cases to date have been isolated incidents involving a few bad actors.

Concern in the scientific community has continued to grow. In the months since the original UCS report, more than 4,000 scientists have signed onto the scientists’ statement. Signers include 48 Nobel laureates, 62 National Medal of Science recipients, and 127 members of the National Academy of Sciences. A number of these scientists have served in multiple administrations, both Democratic and Republican, underscoring the unprecedented nature of this administration’s practices and demonstrating that the issues of scientific integrity transcend partisan politics.

The United States has an impressive history of investing in and reaping the benefits of scientific research. The actions by the Bush administration threaten to undermine the morale and compromise the integrity of scientists working for and advising America’s world-class governmental research institutions and agencies. Not only does the public expect and deserve government to provide it with accurate information, the government has a responsibility to ensure that policy decisions are not based on intentionally or knowingly flawed science. To do so carries serious implications for the health, safety, and environment of all Americans.

Given the lack of serious consideration and response by the administration to concerns raised by scores of prominent scientists, UCS is committed to continuing to investigate and publicize cases—corroborated by witnesses and documentation—in which politics is allowed to stifle or distort the integrity of the scientific process in governmental policy making. UCS—working with scientists across many disciplines, other organizations, and elected officials—will also seek to develop and implement solutions that will protect government scientists from retribution when they bring scientific abuse to light, provide better scientific advice to Congress, strengthen the role of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, strengthen and ensure adherence to conflict of interest guidelines for federal advisory panels, and ensure full access to government scientific analysis that has not been legitimately classified for national security reasons.

Download the new report.

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