telescreen.org

The Bush/Cheney campaign insisted on knowing the race of a newspaper photographer assigned to shoot a Cheney rally in Arizona.

Now, when you visit non-public areas of certain security-conscious government sites, they do a brief background/watchlist check, for which they require your full name, date of birth, and social security number. I've had to provide this information when I visited the White House, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Kennedy Space Center, and the 2000 Democratic National Convention. But they don't ask for your race.

It sounds to me like the campaign was either a.) being bigoted, or b.) engaging in some sort of half-baked racial profiling. Neither is necessary, and both are deplorable. The campaign insisted it's necessary for security purposes, but declined to explain how. I found this nugget of information to be interesting:

Organizer Christine Walton asked for Popat's race in telephone conversations with two other Star editors before she spoke to [Arizona Star managing editor Teri] Hayt. They also refused to provide the information. Walton told Hayt that Popat's race was necessary to allow the Secret Service to distinguish her from someone else who might have the same name.

"It was a very lame excuse," Hayt said.

Indeed. Because the campaign already has her social security number. Is the Secret Service worried about having two different people with the same name and social security number, but with different races? That's, shall we say, a stretch.

Interestingly enough, I went to school with Mamta Popat, the photographer in question. She was an acquaintance -- we had a few classes together, and wound up at some of the same parties. I haven't seen her since graduation, but she had no discernible terroristic tendencies when I knew her.

ADDENDUM: I wonder if you have to sign a loyalty oath endorsement form to get into the rally...

I've also really been enjoying Aqua Teen Hunger Force lately. Here's an interview with its creators.

From the great Roger Ebert's review of "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle":

Is a slider worth the trouble leaving home and journeying through two states? If you're stoned and have the munchies, as Harold and Kumar are, and if you're in the grip of a White Castle obsession, the answer is clearly yes. The only hamburger worth that much trouble when you're clean and sober is at Steak 'n Shake. Californians believe the burgers at In 'n Out are better, but that is because they do not appreciate the secret of Steak 'n Shake, expressed in its profound credo, "In Sight, It Must Be Right." (Many people believe the names of In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake perfectly describe the contrast in bedroom techniques between the coast and the heartland.)

Both Steak 'n Shake and In 'n Out make a fine burger. But even though some of my roots are in the Midwest, I think I might have to give the nod to In 'n Out.

Ever since the last election, there's been a lot of talk about the "red states" and the "blue states." The metaphor has been invoked in service of cogent commentary about America's urban vs. rural cultural divide, not to mention heavily anecdotal cultural analysis of that same perception gap (and one especially half-baked, asinine quiz in Slate.)

But this post isn't about that.

This post is about the utter failure of Bush's economic policies. He talks a big game about "creating jobs", but 81% of job growth in the past year was in low-end industries, according to Morgan Stanley. According to the same report, 97% of the cumulative increase in employment over the past four months was in the part-time sector.

Which brings me back to the red-state/blue-state dichotomy. Look at that map at the upper left of this post. Click on it so you can see it bigger. Figured it out yet? The red states -- 46 of 'em -- are the states in which the unemployment rate is worse than it was in March 2001. The blue states -- all three of them -- are the states in which the unemployment rate is better than it was in March 2001. (And Louisiana is white because the rate there is unchanged.) (Source)

That's your real red-state/blue-state issue right there: Where are the jobs? You know, the ones the President is promising? And what is the President saying about these failed policies of his?

The economy is strong. It is getting stronger. The tax relief we passed is working.

I honestly don't know what to make of Bush's statement above. Is it ignorance? Optimism? Delusion? A shameless lie? Stubbornness? Absolute certainty, untempered by actual facts? Who knows? It doesn't really matter...but it's unmistakably bad for our country.

(The reporting, the idea for this post, and the map all came from the excellent Talent Show. Go check it out.)

Great gallery of old comic-book ads. (via BoingBoing.)

I see (in BoingBoing, where I get all my links) that Target is jumping on the ultra-trendy Kabbalah bandwagon. On their website, they're selling six feet of red string for $25.99. It purportedly is a "centuries-old spiritual tool" that blocks the evil eye:

What makes this particular piece of string so special is, in part, the fact that it has traveled to Israel, to the ancient tomb of Rachel the Matriarch, and returned, imbued with the essence of protection. The string is tied to the left wrist—the left being the body and soul's receiving side—and worn to essentially deflect the negative energy brought forth by unfriendly and envious stares, unkind glances and looks of ill will. A feeling we've all experienced, the evil eye is considered by Kabbalah to be a powerful force and an influential factor in regards to achieving goals and everyday well-being. The string draws upon the connection to and awareness of Rachel and must be tied on by a loved one and sealed with Rachel's protective energy by reciting the Ben Porat prayer (included on a card).

It turns out that Target invites users to submit reviews of their products. This was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. Here's the review I just submitted:

I've really been enjoying Jessamyn's blog from the DNC, over at librarian.net. Her pictures are especially interesting:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3 ...well, these are all that are up as of this writing, but you're a bright kid. Take a look at the URL and you can figure it out, I'm sure.

She's also got a directory full of textfiles of convention speeches.

Interesting that the AP filed this wrapup of Edwards' speech tonight...at 3:57pm:

BOSTON (AP) - John Edwards, the upbeat Southern populist on John Kerry's ticket, was accusing Republicans on Wednesday of trying to "take this campaign for the highest office in the land down the lowest possible road."

In a speech to convention delegates poised to make him their vice presidential candidate, the North Carolina senator was asking Americans to "reject the tired, old, hateful, negative politics of the past" and embrace a Democratic ticket he said was full of promise and hope.

Yeah, I know that all the press gets advance copies of the speeches...but you're not supposed to move it on the wires until it, y'know, actually happens.

So the Republicans made fun of John Kerry's photo op at NASA. (Funny how they're not passing around the pix of John Glenn wearing the same thing.)

Well, live by the sword, die by the sword. (via XQUZYPHYR.)

That's no space station... (via MeFi.)

[vidi-geek]
Let's hope they don't happen to have a Grass Valley 1600 production switcher on board, then...
[/vidi-geek]

Someone in the White House speechwriting office isn't doing their research properly:

Speaking to Florida law enforcement officials on July 16, Bush claimed the Cuban leader shamelessly promotes sex tourism.

“The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here’s how he bragged about the industry,” said Bush. “This is his quote — ‘Cuba has the cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world’ and ‘sex tourism is a vital source of hard currency.’”

The president made his accusations amid the release of the State Department yearly report on global human trafficking, which lists Cuba among the top ten violators.

Three days after Bush’s remarks, the Los Angeles Times reported that the White House found the comments in a Dartmouth undergraduate paper posted on the Internet and lifted them out of context. “It shows they didn’t read much of the article,” commented Charlie Trumbull, the author.

Speaking in 1992 to the Cuban parliament, Castro actually said, “There are prostitutes, but prostitution is not allowed in our country. There are no women forced to sell themselves to a man, to a foreigner, to a tourist.”

Oh, dear. Plaigiarizing from an undergrad paper? They really are in trouble.

Like the Democrats, the Republicans will have bloggers at their convention. But what I think is interesting is that the GOP doesn't even pretend to have an open application process...they're just inviting who they want there. They say it'll be a mix of ideologies and will consist of "those who we believe are moderate in their tone"...well, we'll just see who gets the nod.

ADDENDUM: There might be some (unofficial) RNC blogging right here at Telescreen...

Here's a good reason why e-voting, in its present state, is a really bad idea:

MIAMI - A computer crash erased detailed records from Miami-Dade County's first widespread use of touchscreen voting machines, raising again the specter of elections troubles in Florida, where the new technology was supposed to put an end to such problems.

What I found scariest was this little nugget of information:

Also Tuesday, election reform groups asked a judge to strike down a state rule preventing counties that use the machines from conducting manual recounts from them.

Y'know, technology is great and has made our lives easier in so many ways. But I can think of no conceivable reason why you would prevent a manual recount. Machines can fail. It's good to have a backup plan, rather than blindly placing your faith in what is essentially untested technology whose flaws have been pointed out before. Repeatedly. By politically disinterested parties.

The actions of Florida's elections officials are making me seriously question their commitment to fair elections and democracy.

But that's really nothing new, is it?

News flash: Bill O'Reilly denounces "blind ideology."

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Seriously, I just finished watching O'Reilly debate Michael Moore on Fox News. Fascinating and fun to watch -- both guys scored points and know how to make compelling TV.

Here's Fox's transcript of the interview. It doesn't include O'Reilly's closing thought/last word, though, which is when the "blind ideology" quote above happened.

(Can I just say that the Fox News website is a morass of confusing layout, bad design, and bombast? It's really hard to find what you want on there. Do they really not have full-show transcripts available? If not, they should.)

I'll chalk this up to one of those Wacky Transatlantic Word Mix-Ups, then...

Is your reaction time good enough to hit a fastball?

Iams pet food reports its strangest customer-service calls. (via Czeltic Girl.)

Larry Lessig takes Bill O'Reilly to task, and gives him a long-overdue fisking for his shameful treatment of Jeremy Glick. (via BoingBoing.)

Piss in those rations, soldier!

(Congratulations to the Army; they've figured out a way to make MREs even less appetizing.)

(via BoingBoing, natch.)

Sometimes, someone knocks it out of the park and I couldn't phrase it any better, so I'll just quote this post from Sadly, No!:

In a previous post, we quoted a random FoxNews personality who had argued that:

Mr. Secretary, I know you don’t get into politics, but Senator Kerry has been saying if he is elected, he will work hard to strengthen our military. That implies that our military is weak.

And yet here we have President Bush saying:

As he campaigned around the country last week, President Bush asked voters to give him another four years to make the nation "safer and stronger and better."

That implies the US is not safe, not strong, and not good. Why does President Bush hate America?

Here's a good way to make sure Florida swings Republican this time around:
--Go hang around naturalization ceremonies;
--Offer the brand-new U.S. citizens the opportunity to register to vote for the very first time;
--Make sure the voter registration forms you hand them already have "Republican" pre-selected for the "party affiliation" choice. Every one.

Shameless.

(via Political Animal.)

ADDENDUM: They tried it in New York State four years ago, too.

You know, if MLK gets on the $20 bill, they gotta put Ray on the ten.

George W. Bush:

"I am a uniter, not a divider."

"I believe the heart and soul of America is found in places right here, in Marquette, Michigan. We are strong because of the values we try to live by: courage and compassion, reverence and integrity."

"Civility does not require us to abandon deeply-held beliefs. Civility does not demand casual creeds and colorless convictions. Americans have always believed that civility and firm resolve could live easily with one another. But civility does mean that our public debate ought to be free from bitterness and anger, rancor and ill-will. We have an obligation to make our case, not to demonize our opponents."

"We can teach our children values that will make an enormous difference for our country as a whole, the values of respect: respect the land; respect somebody with whom you may not agree; respect your neighbor, regardless of where they were raised or where they were born; respect somebody else's religious views, be willing to listen."

Jefferson County (Kentucky) Republican Party:

"Kerry Is bin Laden's Man/Bush Is My Man"

RepublicanGear.com:

"Satan's For John Kerry/Are You?"
"Terrorists Are For John Kerry/Americans Are For Bush"
"[bin Laden wants] You/To Vote For John Kerry"

(Bush quote cites here, here, here, and here. RepublicanGear link via Hoffmania.)

My favorite part about this AP story is the last line:

Airport officials said they are working with police and the airline to determine if security changes need to be made.

Um, you think?!

(via Mark Hasty.)

Got a spare $40-60K? I so want my very own KITT. (via BoingBoing.)