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The Hackenblog
| "It's morning in America, Hackenbush, and you work the nightshift."
Saturday, January 31, 2004
"Both Laurel and I are trained in linguistics, and over the course of the last several years (five for me, seven for Laurel) we have worked as corporate naming consultants in the San Francisco Bay Area. We happened to be working in this field in a place of extraordinary innovation and expansion at a time of rapid economic growth in the late 1990s. We found ourselves smack in the middle of some tumultuous times from a corporate naming perspective. Companies that wanted corporate names consisting of real words found that these types of names were almost completely unavailable in relevant trademark classes (most notably classes 9 and 42), and much desired URLs (or Internet domain names) were either already being used or were being held ransom by cyber-squatters for enormous sums of money." Just when you thought Laurel couldn't get any cooler. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 10:00 AM PST [Link]
USDA Veneman sees no need for blanket mad cow tests Idiot. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 09:59 AM PST [Link] "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Marine Corps lawyer assigned to defend an Australian terror suspect being held at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba Wednesday criticized the military tribunal process and said it will not allow a fair trial. "Maj. Michael Mori, who in November was assigned to be the military attorney for David Hicks -- an Australian held at the U.S. military prison in Cuba -- said the system set up by the Pentagon for trials of non-U.S. citizens captured during what U.S. officials call the war on terror was unfair." Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 09:58 AM PST [Link] Friday, January 30, 2004 Just to put my blog where my mouth is, I've decided to start The Mayerson Voter Registration Drive! And to that end, here is the link for Californians to register to vote online: http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/votereg1.html I recently moved and used this form and it was easy. About two weeks later I got my voter registration card and yesterday I got the pamphlet thingy for the May 20 election. See? You, too, can be registered to vote in California, no muss, no fuss. All you need is to live here and internet access. Other states must have this, too, y'think? Voter Registration Begins at Home! (Originally ran on May 3, 2003 [it's not deja vu, sorry] Here's the original entry and a follow-up) Oh, and NO NO NO!!! on the $15B bond issue. Californians Against Mortgaging Our Children’s Future has launched a statewide media campaign opposing Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to borrow $15 billion, saddling our children with debt for decades. Grrrrr. And I don't even have kids. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 07:14 PM PST [Link]
"Rainer said the decision by doctors to remove the testicles at birth and perform reconstructive surgery to make the child appear female was based on the belief that children are sexually and psychologically neutral at birth, and that gender is based on what the genitals look like and how they are raised." AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH! The trick to staying healthy and sane in is to stay the hell away from western medicine as much as possible. Barbarians. And if this isn't enough of a trauma, they decide to raise the boys as girls? AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH! Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 07:05 PM PST [Link] "Our members view is of a country that, since the President's election, has lost more jobs than during any president's term since Herbert Hoover. All through the Midwest, they see factories shuttered, Wal-Mart forcing out small business, goods pouring in from China, and now learn those new-age jobs in software and telecommunications, engineering and architecture (3 million more) are on their way to India. "Every new collective bargaining agreement is about health care. They watch the strike of Safeway workers in LA for their health care and wages and wonder when they are next. They know some of the 43 million Americans without health care, and face rising health care costs that are up nearly 40 percent in just the past two years, while the President sat idly by. "Their state and local taxes are up, while their federal taxes are going to those who need it least. Those hard-earned taxes dollars are being spent like druken sailors for tax breaks for wealthy people, and big corporations and their kids are going to be left with a $500 billion a year debt on their parents' credit cards." Is it November yet? Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 07:04 PM PST [Link] "However, the questions in this case go well beyond mere neener-neenering. If these accounts prove accurate, the Reagan team's behavior in this instance constituted treason, by any definition of the term. As Mark suggests, the Reagan folk directly undermined government negotiations to free the hostages. If George H.W. Bush was a direct participant in this, it casts an even darker light on not only his presidency but his subsequent actions regarding Iran-Contra and Iraq, actions for which we continue to confront the consequences. "The issue, really, is one of history -- and we're talking about the kind of history that directly informs our current situation. Although these events occurred 24 years ago, there's nothing particularly stale about this -- as Mark himself rather clearly points out. The principals may indeed have said their piece, but sadly, the public is spectacularly unaware of this. The point is to put our current events in a clear and factual context that erases the mythology favored by Republican propagandists, who would have us get all misty-eyed over the wonders of the Reagan administration's moral clarity and farsighted vision." . . . the wonders of the Reagan administration's moral clarity and farsighted vision. . . . Their what? That must be the parallel universe Reagan administration he's talking about. I still really hate the Reagan gang. That administration, though legally elected, was almost as vile as the illegal one we got now. Is it November yet? Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 07:03 PM PST [Link] Thursday, January 29, 2004 "The enduring accomplishments of our nation's leaders are those that are grounded in the fundamental values that gave birth to this great country. As our Founders so eloquently stated in the preamble to our Constitution, this nation was founded by "We the People... in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." Over the course of two centuries, these ideals inspired and enabled thirteen tiny quarreling colonies to transform themselves-not just into the most powerful nation on earth, but also into the "last, best hope of earth." These ideals have been uniquely honored by history and advanced by each new generation of Americans, often through great sacrifice." *snip* "I believe that this Administration is indeed leading this country to a perilous place. It has broken faith with the American people, aided and abetted by a Congressional majority willing to pursue ideology at any price, even the price of distorting the truth. On issue after issue, they have moved brazenly to impose their agenda on America and on the world. They have pursued their goals at the expense of urgent national and human needs and at the expense of the truth. America deserves better. "The Administration and the majority in Congress have put the state of our union at risk, and they do not deserve another term in the White House or in control of Congress. "I do not make these statements lightly. I make them as an American deeply concerned about the future of the Republic if the extremist policies of this Administration continue." *snip* "At our best, America is a great and generous country, ever looking forward, ever seeking a better nation for our people and a better world for peoples everywhere. I'm optimistic that these high ideals will be respected and reaffirmed by the American people in November. The election cannot come too soon." I'm with Ted. Is it November yet? America, Iraq and Presidential Leadership, Remarks of Edward M. Kennedy, Member, United States Senate (D-MA), Washington, D.C., January 14, 2004 (via Tristero) Worth taking the time to read. The Senator puts it all in context, in all it's damming context, and if you needed more reasons to disapprove of the bush gang. . . well, here ya go. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 10:54 PM PST [Link] "Liberals hate America, they hate flag-wavers, they hate abortion opponents, they hate all religions except Islam, post 9/11. Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like Liberals do. They don't have the energy. If they had that much energy, they'd have indoor plumbing by now." These and ten other quotable quotes available from the Ann Coulter Talking Doll, part of the "America's Real Action Heroes" set (I don't know who else is included in that appellation, but this site also sells Bush, Rumsfeld, Clinton, and Dennis Miller dolls). (Dennis Miller?). Well. It would be just too obvious to talk about how this is what Ann Coulter is - a plastic blonde anorexic bimbo who talks when someone else pulls the string - so I won't. But I will say that it would be fun to buy this doll, cut off the hair, and pour nail polish remover on its head and watch the face melt. Limb removal optional. What, you never did that to your dolls? Posted by Laurel Sutton @ 11:10 AM PST [Link] 6. President Bush is in trouble and can be beat., Fight for the Future, January 28, 2004. But it's only January and a lot can happen between now and November. And then, as we now know, much can happen after November. So let's not let down our guard and open the champagne just yet. Like, until January 22, 2005. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:13 AM PST [Link] Wednesday, January 28, 2004 I read about this four hours ago, I'm blogging it now, and it's probably old news already: "This is a collection of remixes (none made by me) to Howard Dean's now infamous January 19, 2004 Iowa Caucus Concession Speech. If you haven't heard it before (impossible) here's a clip of the original and here's a clip of just the "yeargh!". I have been gathering these clips, only in the hopes of bringing "Star Wars Kid" like fame to Howard Dean's hilarious speech. These are the "Dean Scream" remixes." The site is called Dean Goes Nuts. Better go listen before the RIAA shuts them down. Support Dean, support the Dems, ANYONE BUT THE REPUBLICANS! Posted by Laurel Sutton @ 08:27 PM PST [Link] More Doom! MyDoom Worm Aimed at SCO Web Site Gloomy forecast for MyDoom fallout Worm Targeting SCO Hits The Net Running Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 07:18 PM PST [Link]
"When you apply for an American visa to be able to get into the US, you have to deposit $100 into their bank account. If you get rejected, they keep the money." And if you're in Warsaw, sorry, Warszawa in winter, our fucking embassy makes you stand in line outside in the freezing cold for hours. You'd think we could at least be nice, even to people we pretend to like, but we're not. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:43 AM PST [Link] "SAN DIEGO ---- County officials said last week that public safety funding is threatened by the budget proposal of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, although they said it was still too early to predict what services or programs the county might trim if the proposal is approved intact by the Legislature. "County-run health programs, social programs, parks and libraries, which are typically the first targets in budget crunches, still appear to be at risk of being cut. "But officials said that public safety programs ---- which are usually considered politically secure from cuts ---- also face reductions in Schwarzenegger's budget." And watch, Republicans will blame the ensuing crime wave on Democrats. Sigh. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:40 AM PST [Link] "(SINGAPORE) Trend Micro Inc, the world's third-largest anti-virus software maker, said on Friday that computer virus attacks cost global businesses an estimated US$55 billion in damages in 2003, a sum that would rise this year. "Companies lost roughly US$20 billion to US$30 billion in 2002 from the virus attacks, up from about US$13 billion in 2001, according to various industry estimates. "'The economic and financial impact of virus attacks will continue to climb in 2004,' Lionel Phang, Trend Micro's managing director, told Reuters in an interview. He did not have a forecast for the year. "Spam threats and network viruses are likely to become more prevalent in 2004, he said." Wired News say the MyDoom worm is slowing, but I'm still getting hello scary emails. If you're smart enough to make a thing like this, wouldn't your time be better spent, oh, trying to cure cancer or something like that? Y'think? Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:39 AM PST [Link] Tuesday, January 27, 2004
 Andrzej says this is the signal that the end of the world is coming. Strange, I thought it was this:  Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:46 PM PST [Link] Doonesbury on Dean: I sometimes wonder what Garry Trudeau is thinking. Boondocks on MJ: I'm quoting _The Economist_ here - "The Bowties of Allah". See if you can get that out of your mind this week. Foxtrot on the moon: Well, Paige is ready for Jason to blast off. Non Sequitur on the money: Ow. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:14 AM PST [Link] "The morning after the 2000 election, Americans woke up to a disturbing realization: our electoral system was too flawed to say with certainty who had won. Three years later, things may actually be worse. If this year's presidential election is at all close, there is every reason to believe that there will be another national trauma over who the rightful winner is, this time compounded by troubling new questions about the reliability of electronic voting machines. "This is no way to run a democracy." PS. The new interview at J LHLS is with David Allen, the publisher of Bev Harris' Black Box Voting, among other things. (Like webcomics. Okay, there, I said it.) Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:04 AM PST [Link]
"Star Trek fandom was born out of a traumatic break in the ranks of sf fandom. Literary sf fandom could not deal with the gender shift in its own population, and Trek fandom was born. If you look at it historically, it's at the moment that women writing literary sf are gaining critical mass and visibility; they're starting to go to science fiction cons and they're not comfortable there because it's been a boy's club for thirty or forty years. There's a lot of hostility to those women, a lot of argument that Joanna Russ and Ursula Le Guin aren't writing real science fiction. The 'hard/soft' sf split takes place, and it's at that moment that Star Trek emerges as a series that offers a foothold for female fans to insert themselves into the science fiction realm, because there are at least professional women in the series. However flawed it may seem to us today, there was an assertion of professional competency there that women gravitated to. If you look at the early organizers of the Star Trek letter-writing campaign they're always women, like Bjo Trimble, who themselves had been literary science fiction fans but felt in some sense expelled from that realm." Henry Jenkins Obviously I was raised in a Post-Trek world because I just can't get my mind around the idea that Ursula Le Guin isn't writing "real" science fiction. Certainly seemed real to me. Sigh. I suppose I'll live. Somehow. Oh, and guys; it's a BIG sandbox, we can all play in it. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:00 AM PST [Link] "China is refusing to disclose the origins of a lethal "bird flu" virus that could make SARS look like "a puff of smoke", according to angry scientists and World Health Organisation officials. "They fear that the country's Guangdong province, from where the SARS virus began to spread last winter, could be the source of the flu, which has killed at least 13 people, most of them children, in Vietnam, South Korea and Japan in recent weeks. "The Chinese authorities deny that the country harbours the virus, even though it has been discovered in poultry meat exported to its neighbours." China! The scary virus epicenter of the world! Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 07:58 AM PST [Link] Monday, January 26, 2004
W32.Novarg.A@mm Great, just fucking great. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:48 PM PST [Link] Doonesbury Y'know, Edwards is kind of cute. Foxtrot Hey, Jason is ready for the Moon even if I'm not. Non Sequitur Ouuuuch!. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:33 AM PST [Link] Non Sequitur and Boondocks, Jan 23, 2004 Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:31 AM PST [Link] Will Irving next become a Metrosexual? Sigh. Is Cathy getting annoying or am I just getting impatient with it? Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:30 AM PST [Link] Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 08:28 AM PST [Link] Sunday, January 25, 2004 Virtual Censorship in the SIMS, Bitter Shack of Resentment, January 16, 2004 Sometimes I'm SO glad I'm forty-three, really I am. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 05:35 PM PST [Link] "SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - A California legislator proposing higher income taxes said on Saturday that half of her Democratic Assembly colleagues support her measure, setting up a fight with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has ruled out tax increases to narrow the state's budget gap. "Assemblywoman Wilma Chan said 24 Assembly Democrats have signed on as co-authors of her bill to raise taxes on California's high-income earners, a measure introduced a week after the Republican governor unveiled his first budget proposal, a $99 billion plan with some $4.6 billion in spending cuts and no tax increases." "In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man-if you want anything done, ask a woman. Margaret Thatcher These are strange times indeed when I quote that woman. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 05:33 PM PST [Link] "This campaign is not about who supported the war in Iraq and who did not," said Senator John Kerry. "This campaign is about who's got the best hair." Chortler.com, January 17, 2004 You know, even in these days, when something is funny, we must laugh. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 05:32 PM PST [Link] Eating the Seed Corn, Gropinator on the Schwarzenegger budget, January 16, 2004 I couldn't have put it better myself. Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 10:16 AM PST [Link] Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 10:15 AM PST [Link] "RuPaul, America's favorite drag-diva, had a cold last week that left his 'poor nose-e-poo' raw. Hillary Duff, teen diva of the nanosecond, is a fan of the triple exclamation!!! And Eliana Johnson '06, alias 'Yale Diva,' thinks Howard Dean is a 'bumbling idiot.' "How do I know all of this diva-licious trivia? Why, daahhling, I've been blogging. "Short for weblog, the blog is the latest coup d'Internet. These days, minor celebrities, gossips and political aficionados have begun shelving their soap boxes and opening their laptops. The rockstar rant is moving off the stage and onto the blog." Ew. Is this what a Yale education does to people? Posted by Ginger Mayerson @ 10:13 AM PST [Link] |
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