CMoore.com

CIA seeks probe of White House

so we may see rove frog-marched out of DC in chains yet.

sweet.

The Sharer

NYT interviews Linux Torvalds. Further evidence that linux is becoming mainstream.

Call List Is Again Blocked In Court

So the asshat telemarketers sued in OK and CO federal courts (what other places?), in what looks to be some obvious forum shopping.

Then both courts hold on First Amendment grounds.

See, the problem I'm having here is that there is no first amendment right for commercial speech. So how, exactly, is a sales pitch for a new credit card protected?

Congress actually acted immediately and overturned the first opinion (50 million signups to your list show you've got a winner of a topic, I guess). Let's see if they can do it again tomorrow.

Clubhouse sparks fly after loss

So Edgar (Edgar!) yells at Pat Gillick, after Gillick acts like an asshat.

Go Edgar! You rule, baby!

Gillick said, apparently, "… today, we looked like it was the last game of spring training. We're still in the race, hanging on by our fingernails.

Take some pride in what you do as a professional. Take some pride in wearing the uniform. I don't think our team showed that today."

This, coming from the guy who was moving into his new home in Toronto at the MLB trading deadline. Retire, you washed up old carcass. Grr. Hate hate hate Gillick.

Powell Gives Iraq 6 Months to Write New Constitution

Or else, what? They'll be invaded by an imperialist power on trumped up charges?

Deadlines are nice and all, but one has to wonder about the effects of a rushed constitution…

Iraq has now become the crucible of global politics

"Six months after the launch of the invasion, it has become ever clearer that the war was not only a crime of aggression, but a gigantic political blunder for those who ordered it and who are only now beginning to grasp the scale of the political price they may have to pay…

Every key calculation [duhbya and blair] made – from the response of the UN to the number of troops needed and the likely level of popular support and resistance in Iraq – has proven faulty."

a) right on; and

b) why the hell do I have to go to England to actually find out what is going on in America? That's largely unrelated to this article, but I'm thinknig about it now, so here's where I type it.

The Pied Sniper

I’m against the death penalty not because I think human life is sacrosanct or holy or good, but rather on the grounds that our system is far too corrupt and ineffecient to properly apply Justice (objectively or subjectively). This is particularly true given that every final decision of these kinds is based in politics (read: governor’s make clemency decisions), and, given the nature of we homo sapiens, this system is impossible to fix. Wrapped into this systemic imbalance, of course, are factors such as race and socioeconomic status.

Essentially, my opposition is based on a fairness argument (and a conservative one in the measure-twice-cut-once definition of conservative) as opposed to a life-is-precious one. The effective result is the same in this instance, but you can think of plenty of ways in which my viewpoint differs from the anti-death penalty norm. Sure, it could just be hair splitting, of course, or giving me one leg in the macho man/blow their brains out world of course, but that’s for your interpretation, not mine.

All that said, this crazy fucker needs to die. Should die, deserves to die, but if humans do it, it would be wrong. Unless and until there is a perfect, infallible system of Justice, humans should not be in the business of executing one another. Officially. In a non-war capacity, of course. And I think such a system is an impossibility. Dammit. Tough to uphold that view when you’ve got an itchy trigger finger.

Oh, and Dahlia, keep the new mother editorializing bullshit about computer games being a factor to yourself, unless you can bring some substantive proof to the table. Gawd I hate new parents.

Linux from the trenches: A frank analysis of Linux as it moves toward critical mass

Dammit, this guy's doing what I should've been doing for the past two years. More power to 'im.

Democracy Receding In Russia

because Putin is consolidating authoritarian power … but we need Putin's support in the UN, so shhhhh, nobody say nuthin

Bush to World: Drop Dead!

I wasn't going to link this, but on further review… sure, why not.

You see, the problem with unilateralism and a preemptive strike doctrine is that when the shit hits the fan, you're all alone. When you're all alone and need help, a very bad tactic is to not apologize or try to meet halfway those from whom you would receive assistance.

I'd love to see duhbya penniless and on the streets, just to see how, exactly, he would beg for change or food.

Draft Report Said to Cite No Success in Iraq Arms Hunt

Gee, could it be because they aren't there and haven't been (outside a very few number) since 1991?

The Rat of Baghdad

"It's not unprecedented for TV correspondents to bribe their way into a country or for reporters to flatter their handlers to win a visa extension, but Burns does visit new territory with his shocking claim that a correspondent "with a major American newspaper," seeking the favor of the Iraqis, printed copies of his and other reporters' stories and gave them to the ministry of information "to show what a good boy he was compared to this enemy of the state"?namely Burns."

… so it's not just people at my workplace who run to the commandants to protect their precious little fiefdoms.

I used to think I was a misanthrope. I used to think I hated people. Now I know what it means to truly loathe homo sapiens (in the aggregate and particular, which it should be noted is not also an assertion that I do not love in either the aggregate or the particular). Back to what I was saying: people suck.

Husband spiked drink for sex

First the guy is cuckolded… by his brother … then he…

nevermind. That was enough. Jebus, what a nightmare. It's spelled D-I-V-O-R-C-E, people.

Call Centers Struggle in Face of Do-Not-Call Rules

My response? Good. Fuck 'em. They're an annoying blight on society. Sure, they make lots of money, but at the expense of the natural use and enjoyment of our phone.

It's not like the people who were going to spend money aren't going to spend it anyway, it will just be spent differently (incidentally the same argument to use when sports teams threaten to leave. Buh bye).

So all this wailing and gnashing of teeth and rending of clothes by the telemarketing head honchos? Here's a quarter. Go call someone who cares. Someone you know. Not during dinnertime, either.

Mel Gibson accused of anti-Semitism

… because he is anti-Semitic. His dad was the real nutjob, being an originalist Catholic who thinks the current pope is illegitimate, among other things.

The New Republic had a great expose on this about 6 weeks back.

Cute? Sure. Funny? When he's manic. Whacked out? Totally.