burst

4000

can i get a napkin please | food court musical

five years in Iraq | bring your daughter to war day

Army Holds Annual 'Bring Your Daughter To War' Day

Barack Obama | A More Perfect Union

In case you missed this on 18 March, 2008. Find the transcript here

food fight | there's no such thing as a winnable war

going straight | the kingdom of God is like...

The kingdom of God is like a person who watched and waited for someone going against the flow...and surrendered to the dance.

RPS | tell it like it is Dr Laura

This morning on Today, I heard Laura Schlesinger say Gov. Eliot Spitzer's sexual infidelity was his effort to fix what was wrong in his marriage. Dr (sic) Laura placed the blame for the whole thing squarely on the shoulder of his wife — apparently for her failure to be his mommy, though I admit I was lost there for a moment.

Come On! why can't Dr Laura call it what it is? She's a doctor, why can't she bring the weight of medical science to bear and describe this tragedy in medical terms? Gov. Spitzer is a victim of the scourge of RPS — restless penis syndrome.*

I first learned about RPS from a medical segment on the NBC News Magazine Saturday Night Live and it really helped me understand the anguish so many of my friends and relatives have endured. It also, just between us, made me take a good look at my own genetic risk for RPS...but that's another story.

What's important to say right now is, this is not a time for recrimination; this a time for healing. Give to the Restless Penis Foundation today. Someone you know suffers from RPS. Come on! Give it up!

After six years of not being able to find his pen (well, except for 150+ signing statements, President Bush last Saturday exercised his prerogative to veto a measure for the...I think, ninth time since the balance of congressional power tipped ever so slightly to the Democratic side of the aisle. This time he vetoed a bill that would have taken torture off the table as a legal option for the Central Intelligence Agency.

(Sec. 327) Prohibits any individual under the custody or control of an IC element, regardless of nationality or physical location, from being subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations.

Now, the good citizens of the United States of America have the obligation to exercise our prerogative to direct Congress to override that veto.

Doing so will say to the world that Mr. Bush does not represent our will in directing that torture may be authorized at his will — and will be one step back toward civilization (which he has inadvertently reminded us is not defined by technology, wealth or power but by...wait for it...civility).

You can sign a petition hosted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at Give 'Em Hell Harry.

Senator Reid noted today:

George Bush has once again compromised the moral leadership of our nation. By vetoing a bill establishing a single, government-wide interrogation standard, the President has substituted his own judgment for that of the vast majority of military and foreign policy experts -- including Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq -- who all agree that torture is simply counterproductive.

Ironically, George Bush has warned against ignoring the advice of our commanders in Iraq -- while at the same time ignoring the Army Field Manual's determination that horrific tactics such as water boarding elicit unreliable information, put U.S. troops at risk and undermine our counterinsurgency efforts.

I hope you'll join me in signing the petition directing Congress to override the president's veto. When the followers lead, the leaders will follow. Lead on.

don't interrupt

If we can't have Jed Bartlet...

"Americans need real change."

We may not know the final outcome of today's voting until morning, but the results so far make one thing clear.

When the dust settles from today's contests, we will maintain our substantial lead in delegates. And thanks to millions of people standing for change, we will keep adding delegates and capture the Democratic nomination.

We knew from the day we began this journey that the road would be long. And we knew what we were up against.

We knew that the closer we got to the change we seek, the more we'd see of the politics we're trying to end -- the attacks and distortions that try to distract us from the issues that matter to people's lives, the stunts and the tactics that ask us to fear instead of hope.

But this time -- this year -- it will not work. The challenges are too great. The stakes are too high.

Americans need real change.

In the coming weeks, we will begin a great debate about the future of this country with a man who has served it bravely and loves it dearly. And we will offer two very different visions of the America we see in the twenty-first century.

John McCain has already dismissed our call for change as eloquent but empty.

But he should know that it's a call that did not begin with my words. It's the resounding call from every corner of this country, from first-time voters and lifelong cynics, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

And together you and I are going to grow this movement to deliver that change in November.

Thank you,

— from Barack Obama, overnight, March 4, 2008

if the candidates were brands

from Brand Aids, Salon, 03 March, 2008

sorry but the Europeans have better shopping

You're probably already familiar with the Dutch retailer, Hema. But maybe you haven't seen the clean lines and uncanny product mix on their new website — a clear indication of where things are going and worth browsing for a couple of minutes if you ask me.