Bill Maher on oil spill

"Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill baby drill' should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty"

-Bill Maher's Twitter feed via Balloon Juice.

Herzogging

Werner Herzog interprets Where's Waldo?:


and Curious George:

The 51st state of Columbia

Statehood for Washington, DC seems fair and just to me. And it would probably tilt the balance of power in Federal Elections in a more progressive direction. Jonathan Bernstein asks why nobody is pushing for it:

I still don't understand why the Democrats didn't just push through DC statehood while they had the chance, during the brief period in which they had 60 votes in the Senate. Even more so, I really can't understand why no one within the Democratic coalition even bothered trying to push for DC statehood during this Congress (the Constitutionally-safe option would be the carve-out, leaving a small Federal District with the monuments and some government buildings, including the White House and Capitol, along with a small state that contained all the residences; it's a lot safer, Constitutionally, than the House-vote bill). Hey, Chris Bowers and other electorally smart lefties: why didn't you fight for statehood?

Some of his commenters recommend giving DC's land to Maryland instead, which would probably give Maryland one more (presumably Democratic) representative in the House. This might be more palatable to Republicans and others who would fear reduction of their power caused by the creation of two new Senators.

We all knew this, but nice to hear RNC chair admitting to "Southern Strategy"

If we ever want to stop re-fighting the Civil War, the first step is going to have to be admitting that in the space of American mythology and imagination (and hence politics), we're still fighting the Civil War. Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele comes out and says it:

"We have lost sight of the historic, integral link between the party and African-Americans," Steele said. "This party was co-founded by blacks, among them Frederick Douglass. The Republican Party had a hand in forming the NAACP, and yet we have mistreated that relationship. People don't walk away from parties, Their parties walk away from them.

"For the last 40-plus years we had a 'Southern Strategy' that alienated many minority voters by focusing on the white male vote in the South. Well, guess what happened in 1992, folks, 'Bubba' went back home to the Democratic Party and voted for Bill Clinton."

I can't imagine most Republican powers will be happy with Steele's statement.

By the way Ta-Nehisi Coates at The Atlantic has a great series of posts commemorating "Confederate History Month" from the perspective of an African-American Civil War buff.

The expectations gap

I don't use alcohol that way, but I feel the sentiment.

New iPhone prototype found

http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone?skyline=true&s=i

[I sent this from my iPhone, so please excuse any excessive brevity or
typographical errors.]
--Zachary Drake

Our back yard is full of wonderful surprises

Why we need gay marriage

To prevent outrages like this:

Ignoring Clay’s significant role in Harold’s life, the county continued to treat Harold like he had no family and went to court seeking the power to make financial decisions on his behalf. Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s “roommate.” The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care.

What happened next is even more chilling: without authority, without determining the value of Clay and Harold’s possessions accumulated over the course of their 20 years together or making any effort to determine which items belonged to whom, the county took everything Harold and Clay owned and auctioned off all of their belongings. Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from his home and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county workers then terminated Clay and Harold's lease and surrendered the home they had shared for many years to the landlord.

Andrew Sullivan and Dan Savage are mad as hell. So am I. Why should stuff like this happen to anyone?

Internet killed the peep show star

The Lusty Lady (a peep show) in Seattle is closing. Apparently,
there's too much porn available on the Internet. I do remember the
ridiculous double entendres on their marquee from my Seattle days. I
seem to recall they often punned on Microsoft "Windows."

http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/04/iconic_lusty_lady_to_close_managers_blame_internet_porn.html?ana=from_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TechFlash+%28TechFlash+-+Seattle%27s+Technology+News+Source%29

[I sent this from my iPhone, so please excuse any excessive brevity or
typographical errors.]
--Zachary Drake

Medusa hunting tips

Saw Clash of the Titans 3D yesterday. After viewing this highly educational film, I came up with some tips for hunting Medusa:

1. No matter what happens, always keep a cool expression on your face: at any moment you could be petrified, and the last thing you want is to be turned into a statue with a stupid look on your face.
2. Comb your hair first.
3. Wear a plaque around your neck engraved with your name, birth date, and today's date. That way, if you're petrified, you'll be properly labeled. You can make the plaque out of any flimsy material at hand: remember, it'll be turned to solid stone for you.

Remember, the vast majority of those who hunt the Medusa and up petrified, so prudence requires that you prepare for that likely outcome. Eventually, someone will slay Medusa, and her lair will become a tourist attraction. If you follow these tips, you will be a much more popular exhibit than all those unlabeled schlubs with messy hair and dumb expressions.