[star]The American Mind[star]

December 31, 2005

2005 TAM Music Awards

Nothing really floored me this year. Plenty of good music was made just nothing that made my jaw drop. Coldplay tried but wasn't consistent. My fave King's X got harder and almost made it. There's always next year.

  1. In the Clear by Ivy

    Ivy gave us cool pop, smooth singing, and icy sexiness. This album has lots of hooks and emotion behind the breathy vocals.

  2. Body of Song by Bob Mould

    Mould returns to his power-pop sound his fans adore. Crunchy guitars combine with pop hooks. This is how we like our rock and roll.

  3. Buzzin' Fly Volume 2 by Ben Watt

    This is the first mix album to get a TAM award. Watt tried to create a concept album around the feelings of New York City after the Sep. 11 attacks. There's haunting poetry, funky beats, and plenty of New York style. Watt succeeds in his task.

  4. Confession on a Dance Floor by Madonna

    Yes, she's getting old, but she made a great dance album. It's full of energy and life even though it has some stupid lyrics. Just ignore them and her Flashdance-inspired videos.

  5. Speak for Yourself by Imogen Heap

    This woman touches your soul with her voice. That's talent. This electronica has layers of sound but you can still feel Heap through it all. Electronic gizmos or not, this woman is going places.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Music at 11:42 PM | Comments (2)

2005 TAM Weblog Awards

As the weblogs become more known weblogger's numbers increase. That makes for tough choices for the coveted (I would like to believe) TAM Weblog Awards. My criteria is simple: 1) it must be on my blogroll; 2) I have to think it's good for whatever reason I choose. It's the most subjective weblog awards in the blogosphere. Here we go:

  1. Captain's Quarters

    For the first time in TAM Weblog Awards history we have a repeat. Captain Ed sealed the deal by being the conduit to get news about a Canadian political scandal around a judicial gag order. That news led to new elections for our neighbor due north. Ed has also been on the forefront of the Able Danger story. Still, that's not all. He consistently puts out lengthy posts filled with insight and solid argument. All the while he values the community that has grown around his weblog.

  2. Boots & Sabers

    When Wisconsin politicians want a glimpse of the thoughts and feelings of passionate local conservatives they turn to B&S. Owen Robinson comments on the latest news with a consistent conservative viewpoint. Party means squat to him. It's ideas that matter. His good writing and thinking has made him a great spokesman for the conservative blogosphere in the Badger State.

  3. JustOneMinute

    Tom Maguire followed the Valarie Plame case like he had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He parsed stories line by line. Such detail drove me batty at times. Still, he kept you informed of all possible angles.

  4. RedState.org

    Sure, it's a giganto-mega-weblog made up of lots of diaries. But they were the center of the blogospheric dissent to Harriet Miers' nomination. Add to that so many good writers take on issues to philosophy to political strategy. You can be sure some future strategist will come from this group.

  5. Charlie Sykes

    The radio yapper fully embraced the blogosphere using them/me for ideas and a gauge of opinion. Without him the Wisconsin conservative blogosphere would not have become the growing force it is today.


Congratulations to the winners.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)

Mob Beating was Crack Deal Gone Bad

So we were lied to the past few days. Monday night's brutal beating of shocked Milwaukee. Many wondered what was happening to parts of the city. Was she being taken over by barbarians? We now know McClain, father of 12, tried to get crack cocaine then claimed he was being ripped off. Then the beating took place. The victim is hardly innocent. Still, no one deserves the punishment McClain took. Those thugs who kicked and stomped on his head should be locked away for a very long time.

This shows the harm drugs can do to a community. Or does it? Maybe drugs being illegal is the problem If cocaine were legalized gangs wouldn't be selling it on the street. You'd go to your local convenience store or bar to get your fix. Legal cocaine might have prevented the invention of crack. We know for sure its illicit status keeps it in the realm of nasty, brutal people.

I'm not totally on the "legalize drugs" bandwagon, but I'm getting closer. It's like the decades-long approach to Fidel Castro's Cuba: the status quo isn't working. It's time to try something new. The first place we can start is by legalizing marijuana and give it the same status as alcohol. If someone wants to used it to relieve pain, fine. If they just want to get high, that's fine too. The McClain beating demonstrates the need to get drugs off the black market.

"Quarrel Over Drug Deal Led to " [via Badger Blogger]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 06:35 PM | Comments (1)

Starting the Party Early

No big night out on the town for me this New Year's Eve. Instead my family made a turkey and I've opened up a 2001 . That grape hasn't been my favorite but this bottle burst with blueberry and cherry aromas immediately after I uncorked it. In my mouth it's velvety smooth with a bit of lemon acidity. It's the best cabernet I've ever drank. Kudos go to my mother for finding me a great Christmas present.

Tonight, the plan is to post the 2005 TAM Awards in all three catagories (books, music, and weblogs--I'm accepting bribes via my tip jar) then to pop open a bottle of bubbly to ring in the New Year. If you want to keep me company IM me on MSN at shackbar--at--hotmail.com or on Google Talk at sean.hackbarth--at--gmail.com.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 05:39 PM | Comments (0)

New Year's Party in the Big Easy

They're partying in New Orleans. The place is a party town so a celebration is fitting after the horror its citizens have gone through. A moment of celebration lifts the soul from the torment surrounding it. One resident said, "New Orleans is back open, so come on down and start visiting. That's the word to get out." Unfortunately visitors may be the only ones returning for quite some time. The Big Easy was dying before Hurricane Katrina hit. The city's further dependence on tourism won't bring its people back.

"Rollicking Sendoff for 2005 in "

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Katrina at 05:17 PM | Comments (0)

Roger Scruton Interviewed

Before you get all wild and crazy this New Year's Eve here's an interview with conservative philospher Roger Scruton from last month on the 25th anniversary of his book The Meaning of Conservatism.

"The Joy of Conservatism: An Interview with "

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 05:48 AM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2005

Snow Shovel Alert

The snow is falling in Green Bay so watch the team's website or call their new "snow shovel hotline" 920-569-7100 if you want to help shovel out Lambeau Field.

" Issue 'Snow Shovel Advisory'"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)

Worst Americans Ever

Alexandra von Maltzan at All Things Beautiful came up with a question perfect for the least productive week of the year: name the ten worst Americans ever. This is sure to stir up discussion. Let me take a stab at it in no particular order:

  • Benedict Arnold--The man betrayed the revolution. 'Nuff said.

  • Margaret Sanger--She was a racist and eugenitcs advocate. She also founded Planned Parenthood. Bad, bad, bad.

  • Aaron Burr--The freak almost became President. Later he killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel and tried to create a nation in the West.

  • John Wilkes Booth--Killed Abraham Lincoln for a lost cause.

  • Beardsley Ruml--"Father of the modern American state" because he's the father of the withholding tax. [see Amity Shlaes' The Greedy Hand]

  • Jefferson Davis--Led the Confederacy in the name of "States' Rights" which meant legalized slavery.

  • Stephen Douglas--His "popular sovereignty" led to "Bleeding Kansas" and didn't ease the pressures that led to the Civil War.

  • Ed Gein--It's too easy to put a murderer on the list, but Gein wasn't just your "ordinary" serial killer. The loon made furniture out of his victims.

  • Timothy McVeigh--He may have thought he was being patriotic, but his hatred of the federal government was so intense he blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and killed 168 people.

  • Roger Taney--He authored the awful Dred Scott case that fueled the fire of civil war.

I really wanted to add Franklin Roosevelt. We're stuck with his expansion of government in the name of fighting the Great Depression. He failed, and we're paying the price for his welfare state. But he did lead the Allies in World War II. U.S. Grant could also make this list if you only looked at his corrupt Presidency. But Grant is a war hero. That saves him.

Who would you put on your list?

[via Captain Ed]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 03:49 PM | Comments (8)

What Was He Thinking?

Sixteen-year-old Farris Hassan wanted to really research what is going on in Iraq before writing editorials for a class assignment. So he hopped on a plane and went alone to Iraq via Kuwait and Lebanon. Mom was scared to death while dad says Farris has "a new appreciation for all the blessings" he has in the U.S. The 101st Airborne found him, and the U.S. embassy is getting him back to the States. Irresponsible? Yes, but you know he's going to get a book deal out of his adventure.

"U.S. Teen Runs Off to by Himself"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 12:44 AM | Comments (5)

Majority Approve NSA Eavesdropping

64% of respondents in a Rassmussen poll approve of the government being "allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States."

So what? Something being right and wrong, constitutionality or unconstitutionality doesn't depend on public opinion. It only means President Bush's opponents won't be able to turn the NSA story into a damaging political attack.

The right-leaning Orin Kerr brings up plenty of questions about the NSA's activities by combing through a Robert Turner op-ed.

"64% Approve Of Intercepts"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 12:09 AM | Comments (2)

December 29, 2005

103-Year-Old to See First Packers Game

Margaret McKenney has been living in Green Bay since 1947. Only now, at the age of 103 will she finally watch a game in Lambeau Field. What took her so long? The problem was her husband wasn't "too keen about football." He must have felt like an outsider in football-crazy Green Bay. At least he wasn't a Chicago Bears fan.

McKenny, healing from a recent hip injury, said she "would be thrilled to death" if the Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks Sunday. I hope she didn't mean that literally.

"103-Year-Old Great-Great Grandmother to Attend First Packers Game"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)

Presidential Power in Wartime

Steven Taylor links to a NSA-inspired Huffington Post entry where he writes,

If, as news accounts suggest, the action was part of Vice President Cheney’s campaign to strengthen the executive against the legislature, it is not a warranted adjustment in the balancing of liberty and security, but an act arrogance that the administrationcan ill afford when it needs the support of moderates in perilous times.

I wonder how Cheney could make his case that the President's powers have been unconstitutionally limited unless he had a tangible example at hand. Think tanks and scholars have argued about the constitutionality of such laws as the War Powers Act and how much Congress can limit a President (beyond funding) for years, but it's all remained theoretical. Presidents ignore it, and Congress hasn't gone to court to enforce it. If Cheney and the rest of the administration pre-Sep. 11 had argued Presidential power during wartime was as broad as they claim it would have been only a small story, and debate would have been minimal.

From my plain reading of the constitution (something very old fashioned) I think Cheney and John Yoo make a reasonable case. Congress shouldn't be able to run roughshod over the President, and the courts have their limited place as well. However, to get things done with Congress the administration needs to explain itself and retain the "support of moderates in perilous times," the most important part of Nye's post. From recent history, we know Dick Cheney is not best generator of goodwill on Capitol Hill.

UPDATE: If you don't know if you should buy Yoo's book download his 2004 paper "War, Responsibility, and the Age of Terrorism." I'm about a third through it and it's fascinating reading.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 04:46 PM | Comments (0)

Breaking News in the Valarie Plame Case

Valarie Plame's and Joe Wilson's 5-year-old son spilled the beans and told reporters, "My daddy's famous, my mommy's a secret spy." No word if Peter Fitzgerald will ask a grand jury to indict him.

"CIA Couple Outed by 5-Year-Old Son"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 03:13 PM | Comments (3)

December 28, 2005

"Time to Make the Donuts"--in Heaven

The actor famous for his Dunkin' Donuts commercials died at age 83. The nearest DD isn't that far away from my store. I'll have to stop in sometime soon in Michael Vale's honor.

"Dunkin' Donuts Ad Actor Dies" [via Lone Star Times]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 01:21 PM | Comments (2)

December 27, 2005

Not So Hip

It's bad enough to not watch Battlestar Galactica, the best show of 2005 (good choice), but Glenn Reynolds doesn't even own a TiVo. His geek cred has dropped significantly.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 07:53 PM | Comments (3)

A Fiesty One

Not only is Eva Longoria hot (I'm very jealous of Tony Parker), but she has a mouth. When Parker was confronted by a San Antonio cop it's claimed she said, "He's just a Mexican bike cop. He only wants your autograph."

"The Spurs Hate (Or Something Like That)"

"Spurs' Parker Cited for Impeding Traffic in Car with "

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 06:51 PM | Comments (0)

Retired Pitcher Robs Jewelry Store

The odd story of the day is ex-pitcher Jeff Reardon arrested in Florida for robbing a jewelry store:

The 50-year-old Reardon, retired since 1994 and sixth in career saves, walked into Hamilton Jewelers at the Gardens Mall on Monday and handed an employee a note saying he had a gun and the store was being robbed, police said Tuesday.

Reardon, who starred with the Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox, fled the store with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police found him at a nearby restaurant, recovered the stolen money and charged him with armed robbery.

Lt. David O'Neill said Reardon did not have a gun and offered no resistance when handcuffed.

"He said it was the medication that made him do it and that he was sorry," O'Neill said.

He said Reardon has lived in the city for more than 20 years and has never caused any problems.


I don't like his "the pills made me do it" excuse. But he's been dealing with the death of his son and heart problems. I wonder if he was contemplating "suicide by cop" but then changed his mind when the police actually arrived.

James Joyner and comment.

"Former Pitcher Arrested on Robbery Charge"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 06:37 PM | Comments (1)

A Pointless Game

Pete Dougherty of PackersNews.com writes:

For the long term, there’s no doubt the Green Bay Packers are better off losing their regular-season finale Sunday against Seattle than winning it.

A loss means a higher draft pick — with a 3-13 record, they’d have an outside shot at the first pick and at worst would choose No. 5 overall. But with Seattle likely to limit key starters such as quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and halfback Shaun Alexander to a quarter or so of playing time because they’ve locked up the top playoff seeding in the NFC, the Packers have a good shot at winning the game, even in their terribly short-handed state.

Coach Mike Sherman and his staff have said and done nothing to suggest they’ll hold back anything or anyone Sunday. They’re looking to avoid becoming the first Packers team to lose 13 games in a season.


I know the NFL would frown on a team tanking a game, but a win for either team is meaningless. The Packers only benefit from a loss along with lots of help from other teams to have a shot at drafting Reggie Bush. I don't think most Packers fans would be upset since the season is already a total disaster. What I'd like to see is Brett Favre go for a couple of series then get pulled for Aaron Rogers. Give the kid some playing time. There's nothing to lose, except the game.

Digging in the TAM archives I remember the last time the Seattle Seahawks came into . They got their feathers plucked.

" Likely to See Seahawks’ Backups"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 06:02 PM | Comments (1)

TAM's Quiet Time

The week in between Christmas and New Years is the least productive of the year. I'm going with this flow with a relatively quiet week at TAM HQ. If some big story happens, say another terrorist attack or natural disaster, I'll be on top of it. But for the next few days expect posts on the not-so-serious and odd.

That's not to say I'm relaxing all week. In retail things don't slow down now. There are gift returns and people wanting to use gift cards burning holes in their pocket. I won't be able to catch my breath until the kids go back to school after Christmas break.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 05:38 PM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2005

Christmas in Iraq

The Blog General has a short Christmas story from Iraq that reminds us about the blessings of freedom.

"Merry , Infidels!"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 01:39 PM | Comments (2)

December 25, 2005

The Season of Giving

Judging from my Site Meter stats I know few people are using their computers to read TAM's latest. Good, because there's nothing happening here. I'm just casually cooking for the family (waffles and omelets done with a ham in the oven) and relaxing until the Packers-Bears game. With your computer on and not doing anything how about donating some of your cpu time to Folding@Home. It will help with research into "Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers and cancer-related syndromes." If you're a gadget geek hook up with the Team Engadget, or if you're a political geek there's the RedState.org team.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 12:18 PM | Comments (1)

December 24, 2005

Christmas in TAM Land

This Christmas Eve is a change for me. Due to scheduling conflicts my family is celebrating tomorrow. We've always done the dinner and gift giving on Christmas Eve. We're turning it into brunch and and all-day feed--we've got enough food for that, yeesh. So tonight has been cleaning up the house and being lazy watching NORAD's Santa Tracker. (It's just so cute!) Oh, and I made my first gin gimlet. That is a slow-sippin' cocktail. Whoa, and potent too.

Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope you enjoy your time spent with family and friends.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 09:55 PM | Comments (2)

Mao Book Hoax Confirmed

The UMass Dartmouth student who claimed Homeland Security agents (which don't exist) talked to him about checking out Mao's "Little Read Book" admits he made the story up. Professor Brian Glyn Williams confronted the student about the huge holes in his story only to be told it was a hoax. Williams said, "'I feel as if I was lied to, and I have no idea why." The rest of us would like to know why the student lied too. It looks like the student is suffering from a mental illness. His story became more elaborate with the inclusion of a second visit from DHS agents dressed "just like the guys in Men in Black." We also would like to know why Williams bought the story at face value. The professor appears to be a knee-jerk Bush basher who saw an opportunity to attack the President and took it. I do not buy Professor Williams' claim that he "wasn't involved in some partisan struggle to embarrass the Bush administration, [he] just wanted the truth." Someone interested in the truth would look into the story before passing on the unsubstantiated claim to a reporter.

Let's not forget the New Bedford Standard-Times who first published the story. Reporter Aaron Nicodemus and his editors were irresponsible, plain and simple. They weren't critical of the student's far-fetched claims. Readers deserve an apology and an explanation for how such bad journalism occured.

"Federal Agents' Visit was a "

"Student's Tall Tale Revealed" [via Viking Pundit]

UPDATE: Tim Blair chides Molly Ivins and James Carville and has lots of links.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 09:19 PM | Comments (5)

Everywhere You Turn There's a Football Stadium

How many stadiums does Texas have that are big enough to host bowl games? I ask that because I had no idea where they were playing the Fort Worth Bowl last night. It's played in Texas Christian University's Amon Carter Stadium. So, just in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex I count four big-time football stadiums: Amon Carter, Texas Stadium, Gerald Ford Stadium, and the Cotton Bowl. Then there are two in Houston, one in San Antonio, one in Austin, and one in Waco (I'd go to the "Wacko Bowl" in Waco). Those are just off the top of my head. I know I'm missing Texas Tech, North Texas, and Texas A&M.

In Texas they're crazy about football. Even some high school fields have facilities that would impress colleges. There's even an online database of Texas high school stadiums. Everything is bigger in Texas, including their passion for football.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 12:24 AM | Comments (4)

December 23, 2005

Slow to the Mao Hoax

If certain webloggers (who will remain nameless) read TAM more often then they'd already know the Mao book story was a hoax.

Kudos go to Boing Boing for getting the ball rolling.

UPDATE: I hold my head in shame. Eric Lindholm of Viking Pundit didn't buy the story a week ago. Obviously I need to read Eric's weblog more often.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 10:35 PM | Comments (4)

Daschle's Originalism

President Bush's argument that Congress gave him the authority for expansive eavesdropping was countered by ex-Senator Tom Daschle in an Washington Post op-ed:

On the evening of Sept. 12, 2001, the White House proposed that Congress authorize the use of military force to "deter and pre-empt any future acts of terrorism or aggression against the United States." Believing the scope of this language was too broad and ill defined, Congress chose instead, on Sept. 14, to authorize "all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations or persons [the president] determines planned, authorized, committed or aided" the attacks of Sept. 11. With this language, Congress denied the president the more expansive authority he sought and insisted that his authority be used specifically against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.

Daschle goes on:
If the stories in the media over the past week are accurate, the president has exercised authority that I do not believe is granted to him in the Constitution, and that I know is not granted to him in the law that I helped negotiate with his counsel and that Congress approved in the days after Sept. 11. For that reason, the president should explain the specific legal justification for his authorization of these actions, Congress should fully investigate these actions and the president's justification for them, and the administration should cooperate fully with that investigation.

In the meantime, if the president believes the current legal architecture of our country is insufficient for the fight against terrorism, he should propose changes to our laws in the light of day.


To support his argument Daschle went back into (recent) history to gleen the sense of the Senate. He was trying to determine their original intent. Is this Tom Daschle or Antonin Scalia?

It's interesting we can determine the intent of Senators from four years ago, but we can't determine the Founding Fathers' original intent (or the very words they used) to support a more literal reading of the constitution (no mention of abortion, Miranda rights, creation of the modern welfare state, etc.).

Then we have Captain Ed blasting Daschle:

Nowhere in that resolution does it restrict the Bush administration from conducting its war operations within the US, and contrary to what Russ Feingold and Tom Daschle would have Americans think, laws do not enable government power but restrict them. That which is not explicitly forbidden is therefore assumed to be legal, and not the other way around, as a moment's thought will clearly show.

As a conservative I'm not comfortable stating it like that. What Ed is talking about is "negative liberty." While I agree the concept should be applied to individuals I'm not so sure it should be applied to governments. Government must be limited to secure liberty. But liberty is meaningless without adequate security. Creating institutions and writing words on paper can only limit actions so much. Lawyers, because of their years of training, analyze what can and can't be done under the law. They find loopholes and seams to squeeze their clients through--be it a petty thief, a corporation eyeing a tax break, or the government using new methods to find terrorists.

Also on the right, John Hindraker analyzes the NSA's activities starting with the President's constitutional powers as commander-in-chief:

The starting point, of course, is the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution sets out the powers and duties of the President. Some people do not seem to realize that the executive branch is coequal with the legislative and judicial branches. The President has certain powers under the Constitution, and they cannot be taken away or limited by Congressional legislation any more than the President can limit the powers of Congress by executive order.

Article II makes the President Commander in Chief of the armed forces. As such he is preeminent in foreign policy, and especially in military affairs.

A limiting factor is the Fourth Amendment. Hindraker points out it "does not apply to terrorists overseas." There is also that important word "reasonable" before "searches and seizures." Is it unreasonable for the President of the United States to listen in to conversations of people in the U.S. are having with terrorist suspects overseas? Hindraker agrees:

The only constitutional limitation on the President’s power to intercept communications by Americans for national security purposes is that such intercepts be “reasonable.” Is it reasonable for the administration to do all it can to identify the people who are communicating with known terrorists overseas, via the terrorists’ cell phones and computers, and to learn what terrorist plots are being hatched by those persons? Is it reasonable to do so even when—rather, especially when--some portion of those communications come from people inside the United States? I don’t find it difficult to answer those questions; nor, if called upon to do so, would the Supreme Court.

Politically the President wins this argument. The intent of President Bush is to stop terrorist attacks. The public will accept that argument if the White House does a good job arguing that. If it's found the NSA was used to spy on political enemies then get ready for impeachment hearings. But there hasn't been any hint of this. After Congress holds its hearings next year this issue will pass. Some new legislation might be passed to limit the President's intelligence capability but that will receive Bush's (first!?!) veto. Another effect will be increased paranoia and rage from Bush bashers.

Daschle's originalism versus Hindraker's textualism, which one wins? Hindraker does because he goes straight to the heart of powers of the American government, the constitution. Daschle only tries to pop a balloon in one of the Bush administration's arguments.

"Power We Didn't Grant"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 04:57 PM | Comments (1)

Creative Commons Fund Drive

Our digital age means evolving law. Part of that are more flexible rules on how intellectual property can and can't be used. That's where comes in. As they say on their website:

We use private rights to create public goods: creative works set free for certain uses. Like the free software and open-source movements, our ends are cooperative and community-minded, but our means are voluntary and libertarian. We work to offer creators a best-of-both-worlds way to protect their works while encouraging certain uses of them — to declare "some rights reserved."

Thus, a single goal unites Creative Commons' current and future projects: to build a layer of reasonable, flexible copyright in the face of increasingly restrictive default rules.


I don't use any of their licenses--too damn lazy. But I know I've used content on TAM that is under CC licenses. They're having a year-end fundraising drive. I gave them a few bucks, you should too.

[via digg]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Law at 12:51 AM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2005

Crying Victim

Cindy Sheehan thinks she was so "scrutinized," and that the MSM didn't do the same to President Bush. Yeah, right! Then why does Cindy get big pics in Time and Vanity Fair?

"Poor "

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Cindy Sheehan at 09:02 AM | Comments (1)

Last-Minute Ann

Ann Althouse has "yet to do any Christmas shopping!" Judging from her weblog she won't take it out on weary retail workers.

"Running out of Time"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)

Christmas Shoppers are Miserable Humans

The more Christmas seasons I work in retail the more I become a Scrooge. I offered plenty of complaints last year that are still applicable today. Let me add some more:


  • When a heavy security gate is coming down that doesn't mean you should run under it. If you are that stupid don't be surprised when a manager pushes you out of the way so you don't get crushed.

  • When the store closes that means you're supposed to leave. Hearing the announcement that the store is closed doesn't mean you get to run to the restroom because you were too stupid to do it 15 minutes before. Being closed also means we can't look up a book for you. You'd be surprised at how many unreasonable requests we get when we're trying to get people to leave. Store employees actually like to get home at a reasonable time. Long shopping hours are a convenience to customers not an entitlement.

Maybe I'm just getting more and more cynical but while the good customers are still around the bad customers are getting worse. I encounter too many people who have no respect for other's property and treat stores worse than their own homes. Then they complain the store is trashed and they can't find anything. Retail workers toil hard and get paid squat. While there are some who could really give a damn about customers there are plenty who do the best they can but get discouraged by people who treat them like dirt. My concluding remark from last Christmas still applies:
You may notice and like that smiling face helping you compensate for your inability to be organized, mildly helpful, and considerate. But behind the facade is contempt for how much of an idiot you are. To you morons we wonder how America will continue to be the world's sole superpower. We wonder if the nation's collective I.Q. goes down with each new child you bring into the world. Stupid people shouldn't breed, and we could certainly like to have easy access to enough x-rays to fix the problem.

Is it a coincidence that Satan and Santa are anagrams? Isn't it also interesting that they both wear red? December 25 can't get here soon enough.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 02:02 AM | Comments (3)

Going to CPAC

TCS wants me to run around CPAC again next February. So I'm going to Washington, D.C., hang out in Bloggers Alley, and see if I can get insulted by Wonkette again.

Karol from Alarming News is invited back too. I wonder who else.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in CPAC 2005 at 01:17 AM | Comments (2)

December 21, 2005

Laughing at Wikipedia

On science subjects may be as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. However, when it comes to preening egos it's turning into a joke:

Sleuthing into the accuracy of the open-source web encyclopedia known as Wikipedia has led to the door of its founder, Jimmy Wales.

Public edit logs reveal that Wales has changed his own Wikipedia bio 18 times, deleting phrases describing former Wikipedia employee Larry Sanger as a co-founder of the site.

Wales has also repeatedly revised the description of a search site he founded called Bomis, which included a section with adult photos called "Bomis Babes."


" Founder Edits Own Bio"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)

Punching More Holes in Mao Story

First, on the Association of College and Research Libraries weblog they state:

Today, the University issued a statement. Though they aren’t contesting the student’s claim, and they are protecting his identity at his request, they offer some reassurance that their library, at least, didn’t participate in violating the student’s rights. The student says he made the request through another library, unnamed.

The library has changed. Did the professors who gave the story to Aaron Nicodemus, The Standard-Times reporter, mistate the library, or did the still-unnamed student change his story?

Professor John McAdams talked to a spokesman for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They have no book "watch list." Also, until they know the name of the student they can't determine if one of their agents investigated him.

I was leaning hoax. Now, I'm convinced the student made the story up to his professors who then passed it on to a reporter. It was a lie created for some unknown reason that ended up in a newspaper then spread across the internet. Who really should have egg on their faces are Professors Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Pontbriand who irresponsibly passed on a bogus story. With Williams there's a tinge of Bush bashing since he passed on the story when asked about NSA domestic spying. Then there is Aaron Nicodemus and The Standard-Times who got lazy and barely investigated the story.

TN Grrl has the entire UMass Dartmouth library press release. GalleyCat is happy to have waited on posting about this. Little Lies is declaring this story an "urban myth." Time to call Snopes.com.

"Apparently Bogus: Homeland Security Visited Student Who Ordered Mao’s ''"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 12:04 AM | Comments (1)

December 20, 2005

Witness Mental and Physical Competition

Want to see what happens at a chessboxing match? Yes, I know you're all shouting, "YES! YES! YES!" Here you go, a match from Berlin. Sorry, I think the captions are in French.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)

Possible Abuse of Patriot Act

Despite movements in Nepal and India Maoism is an ocean of blood on 20th Century history rather than a serious threat to U.S. security. A Massachusetts newspaper reported a student received an unexpected meeting from Department of Homeland Security agents after requesting Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung AKA Mao's "Little Red Book." Interestingly, no agency is mentioned. Looking at DHS's website I'm not sure what agency would have visited him. Maybe it was the Secret Service. But this sounds like something the FBI would do, not someone from DHS. The student wishes to remain anonymous so we have no details from him. No word also from DHS. Only two professors conveyed the story, one, of which, Dr. Brian Glyn Williams stands by the story he was told. In fact, he only mentioned the story to the reporter as a comment on the NSA spying story. In an e-mail he wrote, "I cited this incident as an example of the White
House policies' very real applications and how they trickle down to the university level." This incident supposedly happened in October, and only now did the professor tell someone.

Two glaring factual errors in the original story include the university has no record of the book coming into their library, and the library doesn't require a student's Social Security for an inter-library loan request.

Something is fishy, and Bush bashers are eating it up. Is this the best they can do to show the Patriot Act has trampled civil liberties? After four years of the Patriot Act all the "abuse" they have is a story full of gaping holes.

"DHS Agents Visit Student over Little Red Book - HOAX DEBATE"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 09:41 AM | Comments (11)

December 19, 2005

Bush Fights Back

In today's press conference President Bush defended NSA spying on terrorists that was revealed last week in the NY Times. For someone defending his actions he wasn't defensive. In fact, he was angry the program was revealed. He told reporters, "My personal opinion is it was a shameful act for someone to disclose this program in a time of war. . . . The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy." He also countered a reporter's claim that he had "unchecked power" by referring to Congressional briefings by his administration. "There is oversight. We're talking to Congress all the time. . . . To say 'unchecked power' is to ascribe dictatorial power to the president, to which I object." Robert Byers liked that Bush "boldly and unapologetically stat[ed] his case."

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said the President had constitutional and statutory authority for the eavesdropping. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) strongly disagreed:

Nobody, nobody, thought when we passed a resolution to invade Afghanistan and to fight the war on terror, including myself who voted for it, thought that this was an authorization to allow a wiretapping against the law of the United States.

Of course from Feingold's preening it seems he doesn't want the government to have any ability to investigate terrorists like they can drug dealers and organized crime. Thus, his opposition to the Patriot Act.

Going off the deep end and showing off the dark side of weblogging, John Aravosis thinks the NSA was/is spying on reporters. He has no proof but still wants "some enterprising journalist" to ask the White House about it.

Ace sees this as a losing issue:

When Democrats are apparently incapable of selective outrage and critique -- when they do not choose their fights, but simply climb aboard every anti-American and terrorist-coddling bandwagon -- it can't help be concluded that the San Fransisco Democrats are back, baby, and this time out and proud.

(As if they ever really went away, of course.)

"Bush Defends Program"

" Had 'Constitutional' and 'Statutory' Authority, Some Say"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 01:28 PM | Comments (4)

Money Making Opportunity

People in the U.S. really, really want an Xbox 360. Some want it so much they are shelling out $600 on eBay for these machines. Yet they're plentiful in Japan and running for a little over $300 (35,000 yen). I smell an abitrage play. If only I could read Japanese to see how much Amazon.co.jp would gouge me for overnight shipping.

"Need to find an Xbox 360? Buy a ticket to Tokyo"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Congressional Idiots

Somehow the House of Representitives thinks Americans have a God-given right to television. Thus, they want to spend $1.5 billion for converter boxes when TV goes all digital in 2009. I didn't know this was such a pressing issue. Heck, in four years most people's TV will be broken and replaced anyway. The Heritage Foundation's writes,

For most of the millions of Americans with analog sets, this switchover will mean “absolutely nothing”—85 percent of households have cable or satellite service and won’t even notice.

You'd almost think we weren't in the middle of a war.

"House Moves for All- by 2009"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)

Domestic Spying

Since this is ultimately a political issue Bush bashers will have a problem. They can't argue the government has no right to ever secretly intercept communications without a warrant because any reasonable person could imagine a (non-24) scenerio. A few days into the story and already Bush critics are digging into line-by-line analysis of FISA law. I can already see people's eyes glazing over.

At worst the President can be accused of overzealous prosecution against terrorists. Now, if it comes out that the NSA, FBI, or the Defense Department is found to be spying on political enemies (and I don't consider the recent DoD revelation to be such) then it becomes Nixonian. The public will tolerate, to an extent, actions done with good intentions. They will not tolerate using government power for personal or political gain.

Steven Taylor makes a good point:

In terms of reaching understanding, the sad part is that it seems to me that too many on the left are prepared to assume evil and too many on the right are automatically predisposed to assume good. It is rather difficult to have a cogent policy debate in such a context, is it not?

Also, we don't have a full understanding of how the spying program operates and what the thinking of all the participants is. The program may be constitutionally "reasonable" but as James Joyner asks why wasn't a FISA court warrant gotten after the fact. Ann Althouse hopes upcoming Congressional hearings will shed more light on this including "the question of who blew the secret and why." RedState.org's Leon H. writes that the case of President Bush violating the law "is anything but the slam dunk the media and the Democrats (sorry for being redundant) are making it out to be."

One more thing: if is see someone slap a "-gate" onto this story I'll puke. Think of something original.

"Purposely Misquoting FISA to Defend the Bush Administration"

"Much Ado About Nothing"

"Update on Question"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 11:45 AM | Comments (1)

Sponsored by ACME

Not TAM, but this week's Carnival of the Capitalists hosted by Coyote Blog.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Economics at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)

Patriot Act Abuse

Earlier this week, I was chastised for making the point that no one has come forward with any claims of abuse of the . DJ said that's because people are legally prevented from talking about it. But when has that ever stopped the ACLU or the NY Times? You'd think the former would have listed examples of abuse in its talking points. The latter went to the Supreme Court to defend their right to publish the Pentagon Papers. Also, something being "classified" didn't stop the Times from telling the world (and terrorists) about the NSA monitoring their conversations with people inside the U.S.

But don't take my word for it. Here's FBI Agent Timothy Fuhrman from the Salt Lake City office:

The record is clear - since the inception of the Patriot Act there has not been one finding that the FBI has ever misused the authority granted to it by the Patriot Act.

"FBI Has Never Misused Authority Granted in the Patriot Act"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 04:12 AM | Comments (18)

December 18, 2005

Study Finds Liberal Media Bias

A UCLA-led study has concluded that much of the media leans to the left.

While the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal is conservative, the newspaper's news pages are liberal, even more liberal than The New York Times. The Drudge Report may have a right-wing reputation, but it leans left. Coverage by public television and radio is conservative compared to the rest of the mainstream media. Meanwhile, almost all major media outlets tilt to the left.
...
The most centrist outlet proved to be the "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer." CNN's "NewsNight With Aaron Brown" and ABC's "Good Morning America" were a close second and third.

The mention of Jim Lehrer's show is interesting. I know a few conservatives who watch it nightly. I figured it was to get more in depth news. It might be for its balance.

The study's methodology is complex. It links media mentions of ideological think tanks to Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) voting scores of lawmakers. There's holes here. Those who don't see Leftist media bias will attack this part of the study. A good critic would have to think of a better way to determine bias. I'll be expecting something from Media Matters in 3...2...1...

What we do know is this will be the most popular article ever from the arcane Quarterly Journal of Economics.

" Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist" [via Charlie Sykes]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 11:34 PM | Comments (5)

Why I Can't Rip on Instapundit

Not only is a weblogging superstar, but he's also a nice guy:

CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY ADVICE to blog readers: Don't do this here, as I don't need it, but go to one of your favorite blogs and make a donation or send an appreciative email. Especially one of the smaller blogs, where the attention is especially likely to be noticed and appreciated. There are a lot of blogs out there, and the bloggers with low traffic often work just as hard as the ones with big numbers. Let 'em know if you like their work.

I've met Glenn a couple times. What you read on his weblog is what you get in person: curious, thought-provoking, and generous to others.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 06:24 PM | Comments (3)

Colder than Ice Cream

As cold as it was outside the Milwaukee Bucks were even colder inside the Bradley Center Saturday night. I witnessed live inside the arena a team out of gas from a hard-fought victory the night before in Boston. When their three-pointers didn't go in their layups clanged off the iron. The Bucks got down early to the Utah Jazz and had to fight their way back. Every time something good came to them, a three-point play or a steal for an easy bucket, they lost momentum immediately by allowing a Jazz fast break. The Bucks did end up with the lead briefly at the end of the third period, but the referees decided to replay the final ten seconds because they didn't let a fouled Jazz play shoot his free throws. In the fourth quarter the ice cold shooting returned, the Buck went down ten points, and the end result was an 88-80 loss.

"Utah 88, 80"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)

December 17, 2005

State Senator Harassed by Hispanic Group

The Hispanic advocacy group Voces de la Frontera went beyond their free speech rights and harassed State Senator Cathy Stepp outside her home last night. Stepp described the obnoxious tactics:

On the evening of Friday, December 16th, a group of people advocating the issuing of drivers’ licenses to non-citizens appeared outside my windows yelling and attempting to intimidate me to vote against Assembly Bill 69. Law enforcement was notified and the group disbanded. This group justifies their actions by claiming they have not had their phone call returned when in reality all constituent calls are returned until callers become belligerent or profane.

"Advocacy Group Harasses Senator Stepp at HOME"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 04:53 PM | Comments (3)

Christmas Craziness

With this being the weekend before Christmas the bookstore was packed with shoppers. They're not desparate yet, but they're close. No longer can we order books into the store by Christmas. So, if you really want something in particular nab the book's ISBN from an online bookstore then get on the phone. This will save you the stress of jumping from one bookstore to another. If that fails think of alternatives. The best way is to go to your nearest bookstore and find the section where the book you wanted is. Asking a bookseller is also an idea, but to be honest at this busy time we're trying to help as many customers as we can. I don't think it's fair to suck up that person's time while other people are waiting just because you don't know what Uncle Joe wants. Most importantly, please be polite to the employees. We're trying our best. Both customers and employees are stressed out. Kindness can go a long way. Of course, if you're treated badly ask for the manager. No one deserves that.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 04:49 PM | Comments (0)

S'Mores Nativity

Is this sacrilegious? Will Bill O'Reilly be screaming about this anytime soon?

[via Slashfood]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 12:28 AM | Comments (2)

Free Porn

Thanks to this guy's inspiration I'm doing my own little experiment to see if mentioning free porn will boost traffic.

[via digg]

UPDATE: The experiment is working. TAM is #1 on Google's weblog search for "porn."

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 12:08 AM | Comments (3)

December 16, 2005

Suburpia

People are waiting 90 minutes for sub sandwiches at the newly opened Suburpia in Wauwatosa. Those must be damn good subs.

For my sub cravings I like Jimmy Johns. Their bread has a better crust and the meats have more flavor than Subway's (which aren't bad). Cousins used to have a great warm chicken breast sub. I haven't eaten there in a long time. So I don't know if they still have it. Where do you go for really good subs and sandwiches?

"Customers Come Back for a They Remember"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 06:38 PM | Comments (11)

Let's Question the Timing

The NY Times must tell its readers why to chose today to run the NSA domestic spying story. In the story the Times tells its readers it waited a year to run it because of government conerns. Did the newspaper time the story to affect the Patriot Act vote? Well, it affected Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY):

I went to bed last night unsure of how to vote on this legislation...but today's revelation that the government listened in on thousands of phone conversations without getting a warrant is shocking and has greatly influenced my vote. If this government will discard a law that has worked well for over 30 years without a wit of discussion or notice, then for sure we better be certain that we have safeguards on that government....Today's revelation makes it crystal clear that we have to be very careful.

Just asking this question should let you know what I think. The NY Times engaged in advocacy journalism. That's fine. More power to them. But they should take the "All the news that's fit to print" mantra off their front page. Or they should change it to "All the news that's fit to print to advance our agenda." That would be truth in advertising.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 03:56 PM | Comments (4)

Howard Stern Leaves FM

Today was Howard Stern's last day on over-the-air radio. Being the publicity whore he is Stern had to turn it into huge NYC event. Yahoo webcast it all. In a speech to the crowd he called the Religious Right the "American Taliban." Moron.

Stern moves to Sirius Satellite Radio next month. The big question is how many of Stern's fans will follow.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 03:01 PM | Comments (2)

Patriot Act Filibustered

The Senate couldn't defeat a filibuster by Sens. Larry Craig (R-ID) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) that would extend provisions of the Patriot Act.

Two concerns:


  1. The act passed quickly in 2001. Few legislators read the law.
  2. Sen. Feingold stated [via Hit & Run] that "most warrants are issued for drug investigations." That's creeping government immediately moving beyond the original intent of the act.

In a related note one of the elements of the House-Senate compromise includes tightening "restrictions on cold medications that can be cooked into methamphetamine and increases penalties on methamphetamine production and trafficking." Give me a break. Al Qaeda is too busy building bombs to care about cold medication. More creeping government.

"Senate Rejects Extension of "

UPDATE: JunkYardBlog makes an important point:

PATRIOT hasn’t resulted in any—not one—of the legions of abuses many people feared with varying degrees of reasonableness.

UPDATE II: Sen. Feingold posted at TPMCafe just after the cloture vote failed.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 01:49 PM | Comments (14)

Hooray!

weblogawards-finalist2005.jpg

TAM didn't win, but she wasn't last. (Sorry Gary at Ex-Donkey Blog.) Thanks for all who voted. Next year, I hope TAM gets creamed by some Top 250 weblogs.*

*That's a subtle hint to tell other weblogs to link to TAM.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

Investigate this Leak

Will Patrick Fitzgerald start investigating who told the NY Times about classfied NSA spying of international communications made from people inside the U.S.? This now-public knowledge is far more damaging to the nation (and helpful to al Qaeda) than whatever Karl Rove and Scooter Libby are accused of doing.

To my Bush bashing readers: Before go off on how this evil administration is riding roughshod over civil liberties put yourself in the President's shoes. On Sep. 11, 2001 you witnessed horrific attacks on your country. For almost 60 years the national security mindset was about great power war when the focus in the past 10 years should have been terrorism. New information is found that has to be quickly used, or it's wasted. What do you do? Decisions have to be made quickly because the window of opporunity is closing to seriously hurt the enemy and protect the nation. You do what you think is right and live with the consequences. Imagine the outcry if after another attack we learned the NSA had information that could have stopped it but they didn't have a warrant? The President would be cruicified. To paraphrase Justice Robert Jackson, the Bill of Rights isn't a . If you want an apology from the President, Scott Ott wrote one for him.

Notice in the Times story the Justice Department audited the program. This is not just a case of an administration drunk with power gleefully wading through Americans' e-mails and telephone conversations. They are concerned about balancing security with civil liberties. These are tough decisions for tough times. You may not agree with the decisions, but at least respect the difficulties they are facing.

Now this is out in the open. Fine. Let's have a discussion. Why did the administration feel the need to bypass getting FISA warrants? Let's look and see if this program has been abused or if mistakes have been made. I'll be shocked if everything went perfectly. This is the government, remember? Let's see how serious people are about protecting the nation from terrorists. Let's see how many have already forgotten the burning Twin Towers and the gaping hole in the Pentagon.

"Red Alert: on the Loose"

"Much Ado About Surveillance …"

UPDATE: Mark Levin thinks he knows why President Bush signed the order:

The reason the President probably had to sign an executive order is that the Justice Department office that processes FISA requests, the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review (OIPR), can take over 6 months to get a standard FISA request approved. It can become extremely bureaucratic, depending on who is handling the request. His executive order is not contrary to FISA if he believed, as he clearly did, that he needed to act quickly. The president has constitutional powers, too.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 12:21 PM | Comments (7)

Rand Opening

Absolutism, cultishness, bad fictional sex scenes, and right-wing utopianism pretty much sum up Ayn Rand's life. Jenny Turner profiles the woman.

"As Astonishing as Elvis" [via The American Scene]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Books at 10:47 AM | Comments (3)

December 15, 2005

Great Progress on Iraqi Election Day

How can you not cheer when an old man in a wheelchair was the first in line at his polling center then said, "I'm here at this early hour to challenge the terrorists who want to kill the democratic process in Iraq and I want to encourage the healthy people to vote"? From Jeff Goldstein's survey it's easy for the Bush bashers.

UPDATE: Captain Ed delivers a solid smackdown on the anti-warriors:

The only losers in this election will be those who have told us over and over again that democracy could not be imposed at gunpoint. That the cut-and-run Coalition of the Gutless could still today stand and make that argument is a testament to the enduring power of freedom: stupidity and cravenness is no crime. The Iraqis didn't get democracy imposed on them at gunpoint at all. They had their oppressors removed at gunpoint -- and then the Anglo-Aussie-Italo-Polish-etc-American coalition kept them from falling prey to even more oppressors by gunpoint while they slowly took charge of their own destiny. No one who has watched the three free elections in Iraq this year could possibly describe the march to the polls as being "at gunpoint". These people rose up as a nation -- perhaps in this election especially for the first time -- in defiance of the guns and bombs of their erstwhile oppressors to take their nation back from them.

In doing so, they made fools of the people around the world who sold them short, who criticized George Bush and Tony Blair and John Howard for having the guts to stick by the Iraqis to make sure they got their chance at freedom. Those purple fingers point in accusation to those who doubt the power and desire of freedom, who claim that all forms of government have legitimacy depending on the kinds of people over which they rule. The purple fingers pull the mask off a global media effort to cast the situation in Iraq in the worst possible light to belittle the effort made by the West to rescue millions from hopeless tyranny and in so doing, keep their own people safer.

"Have We Gotten The Message Now?"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 11:07 PM | Comments (4)

Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine

This is the time of year when life interferes with this weblog. After 8+ hours of managing Christmas shoppers my brain is fried. Few synapses are firing to put together a decent post. I just keep telling myself that in nine days the worst will be over.

Have any Christmas shopping stories--past, present, or hell, future--you want to share? If not then go over to the Weblog Awards and help TAM stay out of last place.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 09:47 PM | Comments (2)

Iraqi Election Coverage

is covering the Iraqi election. Correspondents across the country will be reporting in.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 01:55 AM | Comments (0)

Charlie's Show Prep #17

Here are some stories Charlie Sykes should talk about on today's show:

  • President Bush admits he was wrong about . So were Germany, Russia, China, France, the U.N., and a former administration. The "I was wrong" strategy surely won't quell his critics who are beyond hope.

  • President Bush gave the State Department the lead on rebuilding failed states. This doesn't solve the bureaucratic infighting since State will have to ask the Pentagon for the muscle (military police, counter-insurgency soldiers) in that mission. Plus, the Pentagon has now put "stability operations" on par with war waging. One, the other, or some new department has to be the sole destroyer and rebuilder of failed states. [I think I've completely drunk 's kool-aid.]

  • The state investment board wants to pour $50 million into two firms for local companies.

  • Quanta, a Taiwanese manufactuer, won the contract to make the . They're doing it for charity but also to be in position for a commercial version.

UPDATE: It would have been nice of Charlie to let me know he was done for the year. I'm done too. No show prep for Jeff Wagner. Not until he stops doing his impression everytime he gives out telephone numbers. ;-)

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 01:16 AM | Comments (1)

CotB Christmas Edition

RealDebateWisconsin put some effort into hosting the Carnival of the Badger. He wrote poetry, and it rhymes!

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:09 AM | Comments (0)

December 14, 2005

More Blegging

weblogawards2005finalist.jpg

My goal of catching Meryl Yourish is fading. I'm again worrying about falling into last place. Give this poor weblogger a hand and vote today, then tomorrow, then the next day. I won't cry if you don't support me, but I will be very disappointed.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:29 PM | Comments (2)

A Tight Web They Weave

Here's some quick inside baseball weblogs stuff: Only Pajamas Media weblogs are linking to the PJM site. Without Glenn Reynolds they'd hardly have any links. PJM might be bringing in readers (no Sitemeter so who knows) but they certainly aren't winning over webloggers.

" - Building A Better Echo Chamber"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)

Coke + Coffee = ???

Coca-Cola Blak is a new "cola-coffee beverage" coming soon to a store near you. In the words of the company's press release:

Coca-Cola Blak is not just a flavor extension. It is a blend of unique Coke refreshment with the true essence of coffee and has a rich smooth texture and has a coffee-like froth when poured.

When I think of soda I dread anything having to do with "texture" in it. Water plus flavoring should not have texture. Still, I'll try it. Maybe it will be a winner with me like Coke Zero is.

"Coke to Launch Coffee-Infused "

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in New Stuff at 01:04 PM | Comments (3)

Charlie's Show Prep #16

Here's what Charlie Sykes should talk about on his show today:

  • When it comes to the network news negative stories about Iraq are the name of the game.

  • The Army met its recruiting goal for the first two months of their fiscal year. This despite the negative media coverage of Iraq. (See above.)

  • The fire is out at . Now, comes the job of figuring out what happened. A driver thinks he cause the explosion. The blame game as also begun.

  • Iran's president again called the a myth.

  • Sheboygan better get moving with its spaceport plans. New Mexico has agreed to build billionaire a $225 million facility.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 02:10 AM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2005

AlGore Might Be Onto Something

Ripping on AlGore's Current has been a minor hobby of mine. The jury is still out if it can make a go of it broadcasting short videos, many made by amateurs. Current has some big advertisers but their problem is they're only available to 20 million homes. The DIY nature is what's in and hip. Mix, remix, cut,