Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:10 PM

Rumors have been swirling for ages about Neil Gaiman's super-secret project for Marvel comics titled 1602. Well, they've just officially announced the details. It's the early years of the Marvel universe re-set at the end of the Elizabethan reign. This hits so many of my favorite interests, all rolled into one. It sounds amazing and I just can't wait! [Must call comic shop now.] I'd go on about it, but everything I'd glee about is in the article.

Speaking up upcoming entertainment, I've been interested in P.J. Hogan's faithful big-budget live-action Peter Pan since I first read about the script on AICN. The theatrical trailer is now available online and it looks so cool! Need I mention that Jason Isaacs, probably best known for Lucius Malfoy, stars as Hook and Mr. Darling. I'm looking forward to this. [More details from Upcoming Movies]

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:34 AM

I've started something I want to write up in time for July 4, but I don't have time to give it the attention it deserves. If you know a thing or two about Bush's violations of civil liberties, have time this week, and want to work on something that I think/hope will make an impact, please contact me as soon as possible. Thanks!

Posted by Lis Riba at 3:33 PM

I just submitted these Clarence Thomas quotes to Slate's Whopper of the Week^* column:

I do understand that opinions can and do change over time, but to go from such absolute extremes... I mean, he could've said "I once believed in a right to privacy, but I've since come to realize I was deluded because..."

Don't know whether they'll post this one, since I'm submitting it quite late in the day, but wanted to share it publically.

^*To be considered, an entry must be an unambiguously false statement paired with an unambiguous refutation, and both must be derived from some appropriately reliable public source.

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:32 PM

Speaking of election 2004 predictions, DailyKos about major signs of discontent in the military press. They've noticed that despite all the GOP's loud public praise, when the cameras aren't rolling, they've been cutting the basic standard-of-living expenses. He also provides an analysis of military voting patterns. The notion of the military as a solid Republican block is a gross oversimplification, but here's another chance to drive a wedge between the GOP and a voting group they thought was safely theirs. [via BT!]

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:18 PM

MoveOn.org has announced the results of its internet primary: No majority, but when asked to choose one candidate, Dean came in highest at 43.87%. The next closest was Kucinich with 23.93%. Using the approval voting method, where voters were asked which candidates they'd enthusiastically support, only Lieberman and Sharpton scored below 50% (okay, Graham got 49.70%, but that's close enough). These results were confirmed by a followup telephone survey, and the over 300,000 voters was "larger than both the New Hampshire Democratic primary and Iowa caucuses combined."

In other news, the U.S. Justice Department is finally going to investigate "the role of federal officials in last month's hunt for Texas lawmakers." [The inspector general has been doing a lot of praiseworthy stuff lately.]

And for those who don't have the time/bandwidth/interest to watch the video of Bush on the morning of 9/11, here's a heavily annotated timeline of his schedule.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:27 AM

After noted crackdowns on offenses like chewing gum in the streets, Singapore sends noise police to libraries, patrolling the libraries and shushing noisemakers. Makes me wonder what they'll do about overdue books... [In all seriousness, so far, they don't have authority to fine or evict anybody.]

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:51 AM

Remember what I wrote yesterday about the GOP's no-win situation responding to Lawrence v. Texas? Let their words speak for themselves.

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:06 PM

Strom Thurmond died today. That's all.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:31 PM

Okay, recently I've found loads of links that I've wanted to share. Let's see if I can't do this fairly quickly and clear out some of this rapidly accumulating backlog:

• Usability guru Jakob Nielsen writes that In the Future, We'll All Be Harry Potter, pointing out current technology advances that may soon be indistinguishable from Rowling's magic.
• Felix Salmon shares images of the US & UK Harry Potter book covers for comparison purposes.
  Personally, I prefer the British covers, especially for the latest two books. If book covers are supposed to snag new readers, then all the last two American covers (with their giant closeups) say is "Harry Potter" and anybody unfamiliar with who Harry Potter is (be kind, there may be somebody out there still uncertain) has no incentive to flip through it. The UK editions, on the other hand, are colorful and spotlight the action. Much more appealing, IMO.
• Remember what I said yesterday about Cheney's inconsiderate pre-empting of traffic? Well, Avedon found a letter showing his boss has a similar impact on the nation's airways.
• Speaking of flying, the government previewed a new airport security device today. Look at the image it's able to give security guards!
  While voyeurs and exhibitionists may enjoy that kind of thing, it reveals a bit too much for my comfort (outside a comfortable and consenting relationship). This also makes me want to rethink any plans to travel by air while this system is in operation...
• According to Israeli paper Haaretz, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas says that George W. Bush told him:

  "God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them."

  I agree with spector (where I found this quote), who writes: "Boy, I hope that's just a poor translation or an outright misunderstanding."
• Dahlia Lithwick found another nugget of gold in today's Supreme Court decisions:

  Stogner v. California invalidates a California law that did away with statutes of limitations for sex abuse crimes. Not only does this foil prosecutors who were seeking to nail sex offenders, and specifically Catholic priests whose abuses may have occurred decades ago, but the logic used here also has implications for John Ashcroft's Patriot Act, which retroactively did away with statutes of limitations in cases involving hijackings, kidnappings, bombings, and biological weapons.

• Meanwhile, the blogosphere is roiling as people try to predict the impact of Lawrence v. Texas. A few notable comments:
  • Tom Spenser made a similar point to my post this afternoon regarding its potential as a problem for the GOP.
  • To the barricades performs some careful parsing of the clauses limiting the scope of precedent. Quite interesting.
  • Balkin's also got a lengthy and worthwhile analysis of the decision, as do most of today's posts on Volokh.com.
  • Phil Carter's already pondering its effect on the military policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" [Apparently many anti-gay laws now invoke Bowers as their precedent. If Bowers "now is overruled" then what does that mean for laws that use it as their primary justification??]
  • TalkLeft sees application in medical marijuana laws.
• Overall, most of what I've seen/heard about the decision has been jubilant. This seems like a good opportunity to share share this post of Ian's on the echo chamber effect. Over dinner, he was commenting about the decision pointing out that other Americans are probably looking on this decision with as much horror as others are rejoicing. And if we can't find some way of bridging this dichotomy, we will end up with a nation in which half its residents find intolerable, one way or another.
• MoveOn's "primary" results will be out tomorrow. I've seen a lot of strategy suggestions (often contradictory) for how Democrats can defeat Bush. A friend writes an interesting essay on electability although I think that Will Shetterly sums it up best with this quote:

  I'm finally scared about the future of democracy in this country. Not because of the right. Because of the left and its mantra, "vote for someone who can win." By that logic, vote for Bush, because you've already lost if you won't vote for who you want.

• Despite the concerns about echo chambers and electability, however, most American Jews remain strongly Democratic.
• Economically, the Bush tax cut is bogus (because states have to increase taxes to compensate), 401(k)s may be hurting the economy and somebody's tinkering with the unemployment figures.
• It may actually be truthful to call U.S. senators "crooks" However, the Inspector General invites Americans to report fraud, waste or abuse of authority to them.
• Regarding the justice system:
  • a two-and-a-half year study found massive and systematic prosecutorial misconduct nationwide. [Frankly, this is why I sympathize with (former) Judge Maria Lopez, because these are exactly the kinds of tactics I remember her trying to block in the Horton case.]
  • Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has delegated his authority for running the military tribunals to Wolfowitz Wolfowitz will be running a system that "Under an order that President Bush issued in November 2001, individuals brought before the tribunals would have no right to a jury trial, no right to confront their accusers and no right to judicial review of trial procedures or sentences, which could include death." And Wolfowitz is going to be running the show.
  • Legal experts are already saying the rules are stacked and unfair
  • Even though Ashcroft hasn't seen anything worth prosecuting in the abuses of detained immigrants after 9/11, the inspector general will conduct an internal affairs-disciplinary type investigation into the mistreatment.
  • And once again the legislature is trying to end run around the judiciary, this time helping the Interior Department screw over the Indian Trust Fund.
• Skeptical Notion is a recent discovery who writes some excellent posts, such as this one on administration lies about Iraq:
  Talking Points Memo wrote My own sense is that what the administration did was analogous to the actions of the cop who frames someone whom he's sure is guilty.
  Skeptical Notion goes farther: Rather than framing someone because you believe they're guilty, you're framing someone because their presence in jail is important to another goal of yours. That is, guilt and innocent are entirely superfluous.
  The subsequent post, on filibusters, also makes some good points.
• More evidence that Bush was warned about bin Laden eight months before 9/11. Of course (grumble - can't find the link) Congress has further limited investigations into intelligence before 9/11 which could prove who knew what when. Found it! in the Washington Post (10:53 PM) And, of course, everybody's blogging about the video showing Bush the morning of 9/11 reading and enjoying himself for five minutes after being informed of the second attack. Chris of Interesting Times suggests split-screening it with footage of that timespan in NYC.

For fun, take a look at this t-shirt

Well, that took an hour-and-a-half. Consider it a summary of some of the noteworthy posts and articles I've seen on my web wanderings in the last day or so. Theoretically, this should mean that I can ease off blogging for a little while, but I'm sure I'll find more stuff before long.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:10 PM

How Appealing notes: "Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist did announce from the bench this morning the retirement of the U.S. Supreme Court's librarian. A spirited confirmation battle, and possibly a filibuster, are anticipated. And any nominee who refuses to reveal his or her personal views about the Dewey Decimal System may have a very difficult time winning the votes of certain Senators."

Note: I'm trying out the new Blog This! feature in Google Toolbar 2.0 beta. Expect numerous small posts until I get the hang of this...

Added slightly later: More seriously, the Washington Post reports Judith Gaskell of the DePaul College of Law has already been selected for the position.

Posted by Lis Riba at 2:40 PM

The mood for today has been jubilant, which is as it should be. Today's ruling was a big win. But beyond just celebrating our rights to carnal pleasures, let's look for ways to build on this for a larger victory.

Kevin Drum (CalPundit) has written in the past about whether gay rights can turn voters away from the GOP. American public opinion is increasingly tolerant of homosexuality. Centrists don't approve of blatant bigotry. Meanwhile, as with Rick Santorum, the GOP's extremist base is going to demand Bush and other Republicans take a strong stand.

Quoting Kevin again: "[H]e either loses about 5-10% of the moderate electorate who are appalled by his opposition, or he loses 5-10% of the far right who are appalled by his support.

But this won't happen unless we make it happen. We need to push Bush and Republican politicians to take clear unambiguous stands on gay rights issues. And we need to draw attention to their statements when they do. Let's get in their faces!

PS: Please use my comments box to share further ideas for taking advantage of this, or other opportunities (see last night's post as well) to end the GOP control of government.

Posted by Lis Riba at 2:05 PM

Over lunch, I finally had a chance to skim Scalia's dissent, and get a load of the good news in his opinion:

It also looks as though Scalia wrote his dissent quite recently -- it references the Canadian sanction of same-sex marriage, just a couple weeks ago.

Today is my friend Jeff's birthday. Happy birthday, Jeff! Isn't the timing of this decision a lovely gift?

Posted by Lis Riba at 1:21 PM

What a great day for court rulings.

Of course, by now everybody's talking about the verdict in Lawrence v. Texas, but that's not the only good news:

For more news on these cases, I strongly recommend SCOTUSBlog, How Appealing and TalkLeft.

I'm still not pleased with the ruling in favor of CIPA against the ALA (see the Shifted Librarian for coverage) [For one thing, they're ignoring how flawed a tool filters are, managing to be simultaneously too broad and missing sites. For another, in this age of budget cuts how are libraries supposed to afford the software and training to use them.] But today's rulings fill me with hope that somebody's safeguarding our civil liberties...

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:00 AM

At 11:30 pm, we discovered that Boopsie pissed on the bed again. My side of the bed. Soaked through the quilt, sheets and matress pad. Just before bedtime. So we threw the linens in the wash and saturated the wet spot with Simple Solution. Ian and I slept (poorly) on the air mattress, which wasn't terribly comfortable. When my alarm woke me up, I noticed that Boopsie was, in fact, lying on a clean spot on the mattress. There's something just very wrong when the humans are sleeping on the floor and the cat is on the bed.

After my very important post last night (which I do believe is very important), LiveJournal decided to start getting parse errors reading my posts. Meaning that it hasn't been syndicated to LJ yet, which has probably one of my largest groups of readers.

BTW, this morning at 10 AM the Supreme Court will be announcing its final decisions for the term, including several major cases (good summaries from Washington Post and Howard Bashman):

• Lawrence v. Texas: whether states can ban same sex sodomy
• Nike v. Kasky: whether corporations have free speech rights
• Wiggins v. Smith: minimal standards for lawyers in death penalty cases
• Stogner v. California: removing statutes of limitations on child molestation cases
• Georgia v. Ashcroft: gerrymandering and minority voting

I've got a meeting at 10:15, so may not be able to blog about these immediately. For anybody interested (and I know many people on tenterhooks over Lawrence v. Texas), I recommend SCOTUSBlog as one of the earliest places I've seen decisions posted. How Appealing is also very good about announcing Supreme Court news promptly.

Finally (for now), today is Appropriate Michael Savage's Name For Your Own Purposes Day. I think the ideal parody would be to answer some of Dan Savage's mail in the style of Michael Savage. But I just don't have the time or wit today to do it. Any takers?

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:20 PM

Joshua Micah Marshall writes:

I read this aloud to Ian, who pointed out that this means the administration may be about to openly ackonwledge that they've been lying. They're going to put a spin on it to imply that everybody does it so it's no big deal, but that's still an important opportunity.

Right now, those opposed to Bush have been spending a lot of time and energy trying to convince the public that he's been lying to us.

My question to you readers is: If the Bush administration publically admits that they've been lying, are we prepared to take advantage of that to sway public opinion?
What should we be doing and how?

Off the top of my head,

1. We can't let them get away with minimizing the enormity of what they did. Bush lied. People died. Let's make sure everybody knows the consequences of their deceit.
2. This may be a place for some quiet "I told you so"s not to gloat, but to convey the message that this isn't the only unpleasant secret of the Bush administration that we're right about. Use this to get the press and people to listen to our messages.

Thanks to Josh Marshall, we've got advance notice of their tactics -- a promising opportunity if we take advantage of it! We've got a little time, let's plan something effective!

Please respond in the comments to this post with your suggestions. Anybody is free to recopy all or part of this post elsewhere to garner further ideas/support, but I wouldn't mind a link back here and/or mention of where it's been copied in the comments so I can collate suggestions and possibly update this later.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:55 PM

How odd. For no reason in particular, I logged onto BlogShares, the "fantasy stock market for weblogs," and to my surprise discovered that (a) this blog apparently has a valuation of $2,623.42, and (b) four other people, whom I do not know personally, think Riba Rambles was worth owning! [And others have also bought and sold shares.] I don't know what they see in it, but I'm flattered...

Trying to keep things light and relaxed around here, my British edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix just arrived in the mail -- and in good time, because I've been really dying to reread it. [I'm a very fast reader, so I often go back to books for the nuance.]

Traffic seems to be a big deal in the local news, jams caused by the new Krispy Kreme (first in Massachusetts) and by Dick Cheney apparently shutting down 128 and the Mass Pike during rush hour. If I ever run for office, I'm going to schedule my travel as best as possible to avoid fouling up commutes, whether that means arriving early, staying late, or taking a helicopter.

Of course, that sentiment (concern for not unduly inconveniencing others) seems to tie into this Mort Sahl quote:

Maybe that's part of the GOP's strength in pressing their message -- they don't care who they inconvenience as long as they get what they want. They just bulldoze straight ahead regardless of who's in the way.

Ah, but I was trying to maintain a lighter tone in tonight's blog post, and stay away from the angry politicking of the last few entries...

The release of Harry Potter has gotten me recommending other good YA books. BTW, for friends in the Boston area, I've grown frustrated with trying to hook people on Lemony Snicket verbally. We just bought a copy of The Bad Beginning (the first book in the series) primarily as a lending copy. Just say the word; you want to read it. We also recently bought Holes, mostly for ourselves because we enjoyed it so much, but if you want to borrow that, just ask.

If you're interested in reading what other people have to say about books, I recently discovered AllConsuming.net which spiders weblogs for book discussion. Rather interesting, although it depends on bloggers linking to Amazon, which cuts out many threads. But still neat.

I've also been playing around a bit with the template for this journal today. I'm sorry if anybody was messed up by my republishing (which re-pinged weblogs.com) over the course of the day. I think I've got it settled for now.

And other than that, I really don't have much to write about. I'm still intending to describe the Harry Potter night at the bookstores and my birthday party the following day; I still intend to write a review of Book 5, but for now it's a little too hot for much heavy writing...

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:31 AM

You know, while it's interesting to see one's results upon taking the SelectSmart Presidential candidate selector, I find the aggregation of how people voted to be even more fascinating and potentially important. After all, their selector merely compares your preferences with how the candidate answered according to various checklists. The aggregate shows what most responders were actually looking for.

Here's a shorter version of their results, showing (a) all responses chosen by more than 50% of the responders, and (b) if no choice received a majority, the selection with the highest plurality:

Note: This was derived from http://www.selectsmart.com/PRESIDENT/how.php at about 11:15 AM. As more people take the poll, expect their numbers to change.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:59 AM

The new Blogger interface keeps messing things up. Most recently, my last post was supposed to be titled "Injustice, lies and the (new) American way". I did enter that when I wrote it; but Blogger didn't retain it. This morning when I discovered it had been omitted, I tried re-editing it to re-add it, but it won't let me. As I said, <grump>

Other than that, I'm feeling a bit better than I did when writing last night's rant.

Anyway, two brief tidbits for this morning. If you're curius, here's a Presidential candidate selector quiz^* (although there may be some glitches in the system). Also, MoveOn's candidate interviews are informative.

^*Limited only to candidates currently in the race, here are my results:

I don't know how much I agree with these, as I still have to conduct futher research on the candidates, but curious nonetheless...

PS: This Modern World links to some great patriotic flyers for the Fourth of July. Take a look; they might be worth printing out and passing around. Would be a nice counterargument to the pro-Iraqi fireworks celebrations...

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:05 PM

Lambert from Atrios puts together two disparate pieces into a disturbing whole:

Lambert sees this as further evidence of the political nature of the Department of Homeland Security (which the BATF has been incorporated into).

In other news, Bush has reclassified a criminal suspect as an enemy combatant, pulling him out of the criminal justice system and sending him to secret military proceedings without constitutional protections. Some more facts and opinion on the case: