Internal Monologue

Speaking of the Blogometer, remember back when I posted that the Blogometer accused Markos of hypocrisy for attacking Lieberman despite his claim to be a “big tent” Democrat? And that this misunderstanding of why the Netroots doesn’t like Lieberman prompted me to reply? And that I posted my reply on DailyKos? And that it made the recommended list? Well, probably you don’t remember but in any case the Kossacks weren’t the only ones who liked my response. The folks at the Blogometer itself have posted my reply under the original entry! They also sent me a very nice little e-mail, which expressed thanks for the “thoughtful non-profanity laced reply”. I’m so happy that my avoidance of foul language as enabled me to be the representative of the progressive blogosphere for this issue on this site. And this is a site people actually look at! Well, I look at it anyway, and link to it. Unfortunately, not too many people will see my writing there, because I suspect people only look at the

Well, it looks like those dreams of seeing Rove frog marched out of the Whitehouse will have to wait. It’s unclear to me right now if Rove cut a deal or if there just wasn’t enough evidence (yet) to indict him. I’m sad about this. There’s actually no law against lying. Digby and Andrew Sullivan both comment on the non-indictment. Here’s Sullivan (who often gets called “Sully” but unlike our president, I don’t want to saddle people with nicknames they didn’t pick themselves): Jonah asks : "Where does Karl Rove report to get his reputation back?" He might start in South Carolina. (Referring to Rove’s smear of John McCain in the South Carolina primary. If I recall correctly, Rove spread false rumors that McCain had an illegitimate child.) According to the 6/13 Blogometer , Rove’s non-indictment was the hot topic in the Blogosphere.

Here’s a question for those who are against gay marriage: What exactly should gay people do with their lives? Be alone and celibate? Have an endless stream of affairs? Even when they are in their 80s? Should they undergo “therapy” to change their sexual orientation, despite extremely low success rate and lasting harm these “programs” can cause? Do they think those things are better, healthier ways for gay people to live than marriage? It seems so much of this gay marriage debate stems from not taking homosexuality seriously, or even truly admitting that it exists. (I think the same thing could be said about their attitude towards sex in general.) Trust me, puritans, gay people are not just straight people acting perverted in order to piss you off. They are really gay.   When sensible folk criticize Bush’s war and his strategy, the retort is often something along the lines of, “Well, what would you have him do?” And if we’re serious about our war criticism we should have an answer to th

The Shameless Commerce division of Internal Monologue is open for business! If you scroll down on the right side of the blog, you will see a Barnes & Noble button and some books I’ve read recently that I recommend. Clicking on any of them will take you to the Barnes & Noble site where you can buy stuff. I get a cut of anything you buy, not just the specific items I’m showing. You pay nothing extra, of course. Unlike the Google ads at the top of the site, I have complete control over which items get shown. So you can complain and wheedle to get me to change the items or even get me to advertise something you or your friend wrote/created. I just love adding this kind of stuff to my blog! It’s so cool. It’s like playing with Legos or something, except that the WHOLE WORLD can see your little creations. Of course, only a tiny percentage of the world will ever bother.

I just wanted to mention an important site for leading a progressive, politically aware lifestyle: BuyBlue.org . They rate companies in a number of areas, and track how much money they give to Democrats and Republicans. If you have a choice between two companies, check them out and “buy blue” if you can. Some interesting things I found out/confirmed: Amazon leans Republican , but Barnes and Noble donates only to Democrats . (So when I open my shameless commerce media club, I will use Barnes and Noble.) Target gives a lot of money to Republicans . Their Republican/Democrat ratio is even worse than Walmart’s , though Walmart’s totals are larger. That’s very disappointing. I know Target supports the arts and many other things in the Twin Cities area. But I don’t want to support companies that give to people who are doing horrible things to our country! Microsoft, my former employer, leans Republican . Good thing I don’t work there any more! Costco Wholesale gets high marks, and gives alm

If you haven’t yet signed Faithful America’s petition to shut down the Guantanamo gulag yet, I strongly urge you to do so. I don’t think Bush will listen, but people in this country and abroad need to know that we abhor what’s going on there. They also need to know that religious people aren’t all a bunch of Christianist/Dominionist sheep that will bow our heads and say “yea” to whatever crime Dear Leader Bush asks us to commit. This administration’s policies on imprisonment and torture show that it is not just incompetent, but also morally sick and disconnected from what makes America a great nation. Guantanamo is a stain on our national honor so deep that it will take generations to remove. The sooner it and its cousins get shut down, the sooner we can get to work setting things right. UPDATE: As usual Andrew Sullivan speaks strongly on this. This is going to be something our children will ask us about. "Is it true, Daddy? Why did it happen? Didn't you do anything to stop

Here’s a story from AMERICAblog about a cell phone ring that adults aren’t supposed to be able to hear. It’s a very high frequency, and high frequencies are the first to go as hearing loss sets in. Well, I CAN hear it. But maybe by the time my future son gets a cell phone, I won’t be able to hear it. Of course by then, our cell phones should be able to stimulate our brains directly and we can be done with this primitive business of bashing air molecules around to produce sound waves.