Around the Internets: Pictures of Titan, Ken Layne on Sucession and the American Apartheid System of Voting

(To see these photos go to www.threeriversonline.com)

The above photo of Titan was rendered by an "amateur". It looks like a nice place to visit, even though it's all methane and explosive gases. Why doesn't it go up in a ball of smoke? They must get lightening on Titan. Looks pretty though.

Interesting Hellraising Atheist Site (He's starting a Carnival of the Atheists.)
A Presidential Run by Robert Kennedy? He would be great. I've seen him in action...And I now predict a plane crash and/or lone gunman will kill him in 3, 2, 1...
Dennis Roddy on Race Haters and the Local Rush Limbaugh Archetype that Sustain Them. More at Honsberger is a liar.

Also at Common Dreams:

10 Worst Corporations (From the guys at the Multinational Monitor)
New Essay From My Indirect Former Boss George Soros
Ted Rall on Tort Reform (Short Version: Won't reduce insurance rates, backdoor way to make your accidental death affordable...check out Public Citizen for more.)
Jackson and Palast on our Ever So American Apartheid Voting System

Why Do We Have Reproductive Choice Laws?

Excerpt:

"These women came in dying from botched abortions and infections. It was just such a waste of human life," says Tyrer.

The first deaths "sear the soul," says Tyrer, and they remain fresh memories for her, as do images of women lined up on gurneys outside the operating room 18 hours a day, "waiting for doctors to take them in and scrape out the remnants of what was causing the hemorrhaging and infection."

"One woman came in already in shock, she was hemorrhaging so much. The first thing we did was to give her blood to rebuild her strength so she could go through the surgical procedure to remove leftover tissue from the partial abortion. Despite getting a transfusion, she continued to bleed," says Tyrer, who then discovered that the abortionist had torn the cervix and the uterine artery. Tyrer had to cut through the abdomen and tie off the uterine artery to stop the bleeding.

Free Juliana Hatfield Downloads Right Here
The Essential Ken Layne Columns on Secession. Here, here, here and here.

Excerpt or two:

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

To Balkanize Or Not To Balkanize ...

Lots of people are asking -- on blogs, on talk radio, in my e-mails -- how do you chop up a country? Has it been done recently? Can it be done without horror?

Yes, it can be done peacefully, with good will and good riddance toward all.

A dozen years ago, I lived in a country that found itself in the same situation the United States faces today. One part of the country was mostly modern, intellectual, secular, democratic and (as usual) comparatively wealthy. Another part -- with only a third of the population -- was mostly economically backward, socially conservative, fond of "strongman" rulers, xenophobic, reliant on a state-sponsored economy, and (as usual) comparatively poor.

The country was already divided by culture and slight (though exaggerated) linguistic differences, but the elections of 1992 made that divide especially visible. The "Jesusland" in this case chose an authoritarian nationalist as leader of its region. He promised an impossible combination of independence and confederation. The wealthy side was led by a Thatcherite secularist and co-governed by liberal intellectuals.

It took about six months of tense meetings and the dismantling of the federal constitution, and then the two sides shook hands and walked away. That country was Czechoslovakia. (Here's a boring economics article I wrote at the time; none of the good stuff is online. Maybe someday ....) Interestingly, Czechs and Slovaks were overwhelmingly against breaking up the country. It was the political elite who brought about the "Velvet Divorce," mostly because the Slovak leader was impossible to deal with.

Today, the Czech Republic is stable and secure, with a GDP of about $160 billion, a strong export market, low inflation and robust foreign investment. It has weathered various political and financial troubles with relative ease and was rapidly accepted by political and economic alliances.

The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology Has Built A
Timeline for Real Molecular Manufacturing (Short version:10 to 20 years)

You can now get your own Jesusland T-Shirt Here

Artsy and Less Artsy Nekkid Girls at the Red Light Distrist

If you insist that your naked women be rendered in a high class, cutting edge Adobe style, then please check out the various pics of D Young's gifted designer cousin.

If you're not so demanding, check out the other nekkid goirls...

Support the Buy Blue Campaign

Please check out the Buy Blue link on the lefthand corner of Three Rivers Online. It's one way you can show your displeasure with the Bush administration more than once every four years. In other words, you must give up Walmart for Costco.

(Horrible Confession: I have shopped at Walmart even though I know how evil they are. I feel like those people in the Southpark cartoon. When we were registering voters before the election there were some cool places that allowed you to register without hassle. Most Giant Eagles, unionized, for example allowed us to register voters. Waterworks in Homestead shooed us away in under 30 minutes. Took Walmart about 10 minutes. Eeeeevil company that Walmart. SEIU union firebrand Andy Stern is planning a jihad against the Big W.)

Wearing Black in Honor of the Inauguration

We're going black today to protest the inauguration. I sure hope the day is eventful.

Four New Blogs Added to Pittsburgh's Best Blogs

I probably should have added these sooner, but I wanted to take a deeper look at them.

Unspace. (Rare Science blog. They don't get a lot of hits but they're important. Check out his recent posts about Titan.)

Ant In A Hailstorm. (Should have been included originally. Check out those scary and futuristic animated gifs. Looks real science fictional. Does more hip hop writing than the Pittsburgh Courier, which explains its problems and why its back to once a week publishing.)

2 Political Junkies (Leftie political site. I'm a leftie. Do the math.)

2RA.org (Group that wants a nonviolent overthrow of the government.)

I'm still ignoring Tunesmith and Anthony out of vengeful spite. That's just the way I am...

AROUND THE INTERNETS: Cool Politics and Science Links

River at Baghdad Burning Tells Us Life Still Sucks in Iraq
Site About Companies That Engage In Sweatshops
Essay About Corporations Corrupting Academia
Nanotech and Energy Startups
Sunlight Dimming (So much for solar...is it an oil industry plot?)
Freedom to Tinker Guy Comments on Wired Article, Wired Writer Comments in the Comments Section
Primer on What the Falling Dollar Means
Oddly In Depth Yet Insulting Profile of Anti-Aging Spokesman Aubrey De Grey("He sho' is weird...he dresses funny! N' he's got that crazy assed beard!)
Predictable Yet Justified Outraged Reaction At Fighting Aging and Cyborg Democracy here and here .

The Return of Media Watch

When In Pittsburgh got bought out those many years ago, there were a number of columns and writers that just didn't seem to be too welcome. One writer was Kathy Jo Kramer, who wrote about life from a working class perspective and her adventures on Pittsburgh buses. There was a labor writer. And then there was the Media Watch. I wrote some of those columns and I'm proud to say those columns were some of my best work. I define best as relentlessly cruel, yet perceptive. New "alternative" ownership, however, effectively killed off those features. I suppose this is what gave me my first insight into how far right so called "alternative" media had gone.

Out here on the Internets, however, there is a free press. With that in mind, I now bring back Media Watch, which will not only feature our usual corporate media suspects, but bloggers of every stripe and hue, local and national...

Watch this space for updates.

My Private Little War with Ales Rarus: The Final Conflict

I tried to respond to some of the counterarguments you've offered.

"I forgot a point. Go to http://www.stemcellresearch.org/ post-haste and educate yourself."

I did check out that site and I found it to be a kind of propaganda. I'm not saying that the catholics who make up the founding members don't have a right to spout propaganda or that propaganda in itself is a bad thing (In fact, that's what I like about the net is that I have a much better sense of the biases of the authors.), but these are people who will stick to their position no matter what the evidence says. And again, and I hate to repeat this, we do the research to find out things. There may be a way to do embyronic stem cell research without violating the "sanctity" of the embyro. And if you were rational about this your immediate response would be "great". But it wasn't, and so I presume that you're not making your case based on reason and evidence but religious sophistry, ever so circular and ever so arcane.

I feel that the site is on a par with what tobacco companies say about the cigarette/cancer link or how polluters feel about global warming.

I suppose I choose to get my information here at the Union of Concerned Scientists, or from the Henry Waxman website. I might note that I have nothing against adult stem cells. In fact, I probably have a lot more adult stem cells than I do embryonic stem cells. I simply think that the research is very exciting. We could cure many a disease, perhaps even figure out our genetic workings. I think these things should be done.


"This is neither relevant nor true. If I find the time I'll dig into my archives and find a link to an excellent shredding of common myths regarding Galileo. Besides, that's a guilt-by-association argument and blatantly fallacious. It's also a red herring."

Actually, it's both relevant and true. On the other hand, please invite me to your dissertation talk when you tell all those perfessors about how well Galileo was treated by the church. ( I know that the church burned some scientists at the stake...is that your standard? "Welluh, at least we didn't burn him at the stake...") More on relevancy later.


War against science?!? I guess you haven't read my autobio. I'm a scientist in training. I do a lot of work in computational aspects of biophysics and proteomics. Going around calling people fundamentalist theocrats might make you feel better, but it doesn't put you on the moral high ground, nor does it advance serious discussions on the ethical issues at hand. Also, not that it really matters, I'm not a fundamentalist. Nor do I believe in premillenial theology. Get your religious insults straight.

And later is now. Keep in mind that I've been following this debate for about five years. I was actually alerted to the Leon Kass problem by notorious right winger Virginia Postrel (who once openly advocated, in my interpretation, beating up anti-war protesters).

Here's how Postrel characterized the pro death (or as I call them the Die on Time crowd 'cause God wants it that way) Kass Crew:

After all, no respectable public figure is pro-death. Right?

Wrong. A pro-death coalition has been building for several years, crossing the traditional left-right divide. Its advocates aren't primarily interested in abortion or euthanasia, the traditional life-and-death political issues. They don't focus on the gray areas of personhood. They oppose the extension of healthy, active human life beyond its current limits. They are, quite literally, pro-death. Their viewpoint got some exposure recently, when the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania and the John F. Templeton Foundation gathered scientists, bioethicists and theologians for a conference called "Extended Life/Eternal Life."

Both Kass and Callahan have been arguing for years that open-ended medical progress is an affront to nature and humanity. Both promote static, closed definitions of medicine and health. Both find markets, technology and scientific research far too subservient to the individual desire for life, health and biological self-determination.

In his 1998 book False Hopes, Callahan laments that the spirit of contemporary medicine "is that of unlimited horizons, of infinite possibilities of ameliorating the human condition." He wants "sustainable" medicine that has "embraced finite and steady-state health goals and has limited aspirations for progress and technological innovation."

Yeah, let's stop that horrible option of "unlimited horizons". Sounds just awful.

The other point here is that the Bush stem policy, the notorious 60 lines policy, came from folks who do seem to look at their science in a religious way. Most of the people who serve on the Kass bioethics commission aren't scientists. So, while you yourself may not be a fundie, the site that you quote and the policy you approve seems to be driven by religious fundies, whom, I must contend, find a future of controlled self evolution to be very threatening. And for good reason.

We do, however, know that adult stem cells have shown promise. Isn't a sure thing preferrable to a shot in the dark? Who's operating by faith now? God has nothing to do with seeing that ESCR is all talk and no substance. There is no logical reason for scientists to shun ASCR.

I actually thought Chris Mooney, arguably the best online science writer out there (He actually talks to real scientists and has a ton of them as sources. I'm jealous.) sort of addressed not only the argument between emybronic vs. adult, but the whole "framing" propaganda aspect to the argument.

Boston, Mass.: It seems that adult stem cells have been more fruitful in healing diseases. Why shouldn't billions of dollars be spent of research that works rather than use it for research in embyroic work that still remains immoral and fruitless.

Chris Mooney: Alas, the fact that I'm getting this question--and the fact that John Kerry himself got a similar question in the second presidential debate--attests to the vast amount of questionable scientific information that's floating around out there on this issue. The truth is that all the leading research scientists in this field will tell you the same thing: 1) both "adult" and embryonic stem cells have research promise; 2) at this point it's impossible to say which is "better," and in fact, future cures may well draw upon both types of cells; 3) given this, it would be foolish to cut off either line of research. Don't just take my word for this. Here's a June 2004 letter (PDF) from the star studded International Society for Stem Cell Research to President Bush. "Research on all types of stem cells warrants increased federal funding," it reads. "These include stem cells found in fetal and adult tissues and pluripotent stem cells isolated from blastocysts or derived by nuclear transfer." Furthermore, scientists have been studying human adult stem cells--and particularly hematopoietic stem cells--far longer than they've been studying embryonic ones. So it's no surprise that in some respects, research in this area may be further along. However, we need to be very cautious about claims for adult or embryonic stem cell therapies that haven't been proven safe and effective in clinical trials. Unfortunately there's a lot of this kind of stuff out there.

What's more important, profit or ethics? Even if ESCR could be done ethically, there should be serious discussion before proceeding. Not everyone shares your love of progress for its own sake. You accuse those against ESCR as advocating a theocracy. Has it ever occured to you that those supporting it are advocating a technocracy?


No to the last question. I actually write for a site called Better Humans that's very much concerned with making sure that everybody has access to these new technologies. I've always thought, like William Gibson, that the open anarchic structure of the Internet was just a lucky strike. I personally want genetic research to go forward because I'm of the firm belief that we'll have to reengineer ourselves in order to go into space. (Anyone remember the Guardians of the Galaxy? All the heroes were genetically engineered...)

I also think that the payoffs are beneficial to mankind. I think that the cures for illness, organ engineering and expanded lifespans are worth the cost. I don't define embryos as people with rights. Women throw 85 percent of their own embryos...Is god or nature a "baby-killer"? Perhaps we should firebomb a church to show our displeasure at these policies.


We do, however, know that adult stem cells have shown promise. Isn't a sure thing preferrable to a shot in the dark? Who's operating by faith now? God has nothing to do with seeing that ESCR is all talk and no substance. There is no logical reason for scientists to shun ASCR.


Please read the aforestated Chris Mooney quotes. I never said anything about shunning research. I support research into adult stem cells. I support research into embyronic stem cells and I might note that the president's directive doesn't stop private companies from doing whatever they want. I support your research into AI. Please use whatever tools to advance science. I won't tell you that you can't get ideas from Wolfram because my savior Satan thinks it's a bad idea.

Ales Rarus Taps Outs. Deletes me from comments section....

I actually posted my rebuttal in the comments section of Ales Rarus' site. And like all good fundamentalists if he sees something he doesn't like he stamps it out. I mean, he is the PH D candidate, what is he afraid of...? Perhaps they'll be restored...

Update: The comments reappeared again hours later! It's a miracle of the Lord...Slaughter the Red Cow at once! Or, I should have refreshed the comments in Haloscan, a notoriously clunky comments function. Consider an apology forwarded, not that I haven't been banned by many a decent and some not so decent people...

Take That Ales Rarus...N' That, N' That! Tap out!

First, excellent rebuttal. It's always good to debate somebody who actually knows something. I'm also not sure if I can win since I made such a horrible mistake on getting the South Korean story mixed up with other promising results regarding embryonic stem cells. Then again, I am the guardedly optimistic atheist who expects his vote for democrats to actually be counted...Into the breach...

1) Embryonic stem cells have done nothing noteworthy. Adult stem cells have.

One: That's actually not true. There have been promising embryonic research results here, here and here. (I read them carefully this time! One of the problems with starting a paper all by yourself is that you're usually in a rush...!) This also skips over the point of basic research. We do research because some of us aren't in the common everyday communion with Our God Jehovah Cthulu or the Great Pumpkin. We do research because we wish to find out. That should be left up to Scientists by the way and not the same clergymen who tortured Galileo.

2) Umbilical cord stem cells are categorized under "adult" because they are not from embryos.

Two: You're right. I made a mistake and got it wrong. Let's move on. I'm sure you would do the same if science proved that your Sunday wine didn't turn into Christ's blood or DNA extracts from the Turin Shroud proved Christ was just another guy (with kids, you can trace genetic heritage don't you know) or that the pope was fallible, especially during the holocaust. Of course, that's the great thing about science: you can admit your mistakes and your worldview doesn't crumble around you like so much dust.

3) The federal government hasn't banned privately-funded ESCR. If it's really the market that matters to you and not the science, why care about government involvement? The government didn't drive the microchip revolution.

Three: Actually, the government drove both the microchip revolution and the development of the Internet by way of the space program's need for miniaturization and the military's need for a robust communications system that would survive nuclear attack. Government funding determines which markets will thrive in the future. That's why it would be nice if we had an administration that was pro progress. And again, stop being parochial. We're competing against other countries for what could conceivably be the most important market ever: The Better Health/Short Term Immortality Market.

4) Given #1, why would you want the government to invest in a less promising line of research? Do you like wasteful spending?

Four: Because the argument you make in one is incorrect. We just don't know. Again, some of us don't talk to God on a first name basis.We have to explore and research things to truly know something. By the way, the fate of those donated stem cells is the trash can. And as Futurepundit has pointed out we may have a way of doing the research without harming the "sanctity" of the embryo.

5) Just because other countries are doing something doesn't mean we should. If other countries were making lots of dough by continuing Josef Mengele work, should we follow suit? How about genocide? I bet that has some hefty financial rewards.

Five: Let us agree to disagree. I don't think that this kind of research is the equal of the experiment s done by Mengele. And if you follow the Futurepundit prescription no harm would be done to the embyro, that you would eventually throw away, anyway. Any pro lifers willing to accept implantation to make sure these "people" reach their potential? I'll hold my breath...By not addressing this point by the way you get to the heart of the matter. Your war against science is a war against the future. It's a war you can't win, unless you can get fundamentalist theocratic tribes to initiate nuclear strikes and set back progress by centuries. You might get your wish. I'm hoping I'll be off planet by then. Think of it as a voluntary rapture.

6) Not publicly funding ESCR makes Americans dumb and stupid? Huh? Show me a connection between stupidity in America and ESCR.

Six: If you base your scientific research based on myth or fairy tale or make believe (religion), then, yes, that is a kind of gross stupidity. American preeminence is based upon science, not prayer. Everything can be weaponized. What you don't know can definitely hurt you. You learn things not just for your own self awareness and improvement but because your enemies can use your ignorance against you.

7) Theocratic rule? What?!? You've obviously been listening to too many conspiracy theories. There are lots of people who object to ESCR from non-religious standpoints. I read that Futurepundit link. Begged questions, myths, and lies were abundant. This comment really cracked me up: "Religion offers endless conflict,where as science offers a world without conflict." Riiiiiight.

Seven: Is Osama Bin Laden a secular humanist? Or Jerry Falwell? I would never kill you because of your religion because I find such beliefs to be meaningless. By the way, Futurepundit does trend libertarian. I don't agree with him about the war though. It's not right and certainly not Christian to slaughter 100000 Iraqis for their oil. And if the choice is between science or religion, then I choose science. I don't need or want the bliss stations that religion offers. Or to quote Woody Allen: "If the choice is between air conditioning and the pope, then I'll take air conditioning".

To Jerry: Again, let's do the research. Perhaps you think Jesus or Santa Claus or Krishna is opposed to terabyte storage memory on a keychain. That's great. But let's do the science anyway and find out. And what happened in South Korea was a miracle. I'll take that and air conditioning over prayer any day of the week...

Your Fire, Car Wreck And/or Tsunami/Natural Disaster Story

There was a car wreck, fire and possibly a tsunami in your town today.

People were hurt, burned beyond recognition or swept out into an unforgiving sea in no particular order. Imagine me sticking a microphone into their faces and asking them how they feel. They will say something like "Ouch. The twisting cacophony of metal caused me some discomfort...that and losing my six kids" or "Yowtch. That fire sure was painful. We lost everything, including possibly the cat, or something" or "Glub glub. Nearly drowned. Thank God the supermodel survived".

These kinds of stories, interesting though they may be after 7000 versions (plus murder and petty theft) on your local television news, serve primarily as a distraction. Please study these rules for further explanation and this website for the Bigger Picture.

Meanwhile, there's an excellent possibility that your presidential election was stolen and that aside from that there's a continuous effort to privatize your public institutions and to get you to pay for rights and things that you used to expect for free, perhaps because you thought you lived in a decent country. You were wrong. You should discard a corporate media that doesn't tell you this every day, every hour, every moment.

YOUR ELECTION MAY HAVE BEEN STOLEN. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Pittsburgh Progressive 01-01-05

HAPPY NEW YEAR. YOUR ELECTION MAY HAVE BEEN STOLEN. TALK AMONGST YOURSELVES: I spent midnight watching a Souixsie Sioux and the Banshees live show on VH1-Classic--a station that's extremely disappointing at times but not last evening--and was surprised by how much they rocked. Killer guitar riffs throughout every tune. I thought I was at a Motorhead concert or something. Her drummer and I think husband was just an incredible player. Every beat sounded triumphal and anthemic. Never saw a guy use mallets like that. Most drummers just live on their hi-hats. You could take those beats to war. Only downside: A woman pushing 50 doesn't have to take off her top. Besides, with her money she can pay to look mid 30s forever. Spend it. Still a great set though...

Later on in the day, without the hint of even an appropriate transition, still watching TV (The sad man's family...) I caught up with my old friend Jerry Starr on CSpan, who's been a one man lobbyist machine for a fair and decent public television. I ran into him when I wrote a media watch column for In Pittsburgh back in the early 90s. I made the argument then (1995 I think) that the net would be our salvation because the Conservative Washington DC players would never allow a progressive public media to emerge, or even an American BBC--I once begged George Soros to create such a thing using his own trust fund. No word yet and no checks yet for your humble site. Jerry still hasn't gotten decent public television but he does have a website. He also promotes a number of shows that you can only see on the Internet, at least here in Pittsburgh. I think I won that point. See the links on the right if you're wondering what a progressive media would truly look and sound like.

This is also kind of what this paper aspires to be, a real alternative to the corporate press. And I don't mean alternative in that I can say "fuck" and post pictures of nude women--which I enjoy certainly. I mean alternative in the sense that I can say that the system is fucked up. It's not fair. It's not even close. You should be thinking about not ever joining the military--either voluntarily and certainly not by a forced draft. The Bush administration is evil enough to steal the election. They've already done it once. You need to respond by getting involved politically and you should measure your every action, your every purchase, by how you can achieve the current regime's overthrow. And with that, I will end my writing for the day and go spend some time with my real family.

Pittsburgh Tech (Today's Cool Stuff)

The new issue of Wired is very impressive. It features a big cover article about Richard Branson, the man who might bring private space flight to the world. While I usually find privatization schemes to be of questionable merit, this is one that I can get behind. Anything that improves competition and choice is usually a good thing. The question is: will the American government let them go into space. And if he took his plans to Britain, then would they let them do it? I no longer know what my Evil Country will do.

There's also a very good profile on the guy who invented Bittorrent, which is where I download all my perfectly legal files and/or porn really quickly. The story makes it sound like a brand new broadcasting medium. I always thought that you needed something like perfect compression to do that (allowing broadband downloads allowable through dialup using better math or something), but I guess Torrent is close enough. I can attest that it is faster and all the files I've downloaded seem to work, something I couldn't claim with Emule, for example. There's also a story about something called the Shadow Internet. Boy, did William Gibson call it...

There's also a story that hits closer to home in the Wired Magazine archives about Intelligent Design, or, as the title of the story states, The Plot to Kill Evolution. There's a lawsuit by some crazy parents here in Pennsylvania that apparently want their kids taught science and not faith. Our own 12th Century Senator Rick Santorum has already ghosted a piece in support of ID. (No wonder he wants to homeschool. You wouldn't want any harmful science to get in the way of learnin'.) Chris Mooney, probably the best science blogger out there, has commented on this. And so has the worldclass blogger at Pittsblog. Good for them.


Links N' Stuff

Quantum teleportation doesn't mean teleportion of people, but it could mean quantum communication--which could lead to the teleportation of people. Just have to build that quantum communication receiver...

The Steam Engine Car

Tiny Biofueled Cars...One Day They Will Eat People

How Craigslist Takes Away Ad Revenue From Newspapers (I used to have something up called five dollar classifieds but why bother...? Can't say I would lose any sleep if corporate media newspapers went under. Any press that allows fascist governments to rule unquestioned and unchallenged deserve to die...)

Cory Doctorow Reams Out Wired Management. No comment from Boing Boing Poster and Wired staffer Xeni Jardin (who's hot!).

Best Line:

If I were in Chris's seat, I would be sure that every single review of a DRM device carried the following notice: WARNING: THIS DEVICE'S FEATURES ARE SUBJECT TO REVOCATION WITHOUT NOTICE, ACCORDING TO TERMS SET OUT IN SECRET NEGOTIATIONS. YOUR INVESTMENT IS CONTINGENT ON THE GOODWILL OF THE WORLD'S MOST PARANOID, TECHNOPHOBIC ENTERTAINMENT EXECS. THIS DEVICE AND DEVICES LIKE IT ARE TYPICALLY USED TO CHARGE YOU FOR THINGS YOU USED TO GET FOR FREE -- BE SURE TO FACTOR IN THE PRICE OF BUYING ALL YOUR MEDIA OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AT NO TIME IN HISTORY HAS ANY ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY GOTTEN A SWEET DEAL LIKE THIS FROM THE ELECTRONICS PEOPLE, BUT THIS TIME THEY'RE GETTING A TOTAL WALK. HERE, PUT THIS IN YOUR MOUTH, IT'LL MUFFLE YOUR WHIMPERS.

Notable Pittsburgh Bloggers

Update: Ales Rarus is out. I just find his prattling about the nuances about his fantasy belief system to be really uninteresting. He also doesn't write about science, unless he's denouncing it. He'll still be found in link collections. But his site is just about as interesting as someone who writes about Hobbits everyday or the Great Pumpkin, which is to say not interesting at all.

To fill the void, I've added Bizz Bang Buzz, whose writer is actually attempting to do four blogs. I can state without hesistation that what's he's trying to do isn't easy. It might also be time to admit that lawyers make really good bloggers. Just the way it is.


I took a look through just about every blog that was listed over there at the Pittsburgh Webloggers site. I wanted to link to every site that I thought would be worth looking at on a daily basis. There were some blogs I left out because they simply didn't post enough or I didn't think they were interesting or because they were just starting and had only one or two posts (Jam Sandwich I'm talking to you.) There were also sites that I had trouble initially looking at because their site link was apparently their RSS or Atom feed and I don't have a newreader and I was kind of in a hurry. So, I'll try to rectify that when I have a few hours this weekend. (My Bad.) And for some reasons I didn't like any of the sports blogs, especially about the Phillies...(yeech.).

I posted all of those blogs that I thought to be interesting, readable and updated frequently here over at a page I call Link Collections. I didn't say it was a poetic name.

I'll take another look at these sites in several months.

I'm posting these sites on the main page because I think they're interesting enough to read every single day. Obviously, my politics are left of center (to say the least) so there aren't a lot of conservative sites out there but there are a few that are noteworthy. I might also add that most of the sites are liberal sites. I really think that the Internet trends left in that sense. If you're not a rich guy, then this is the place to make your voice heard. Where else would we go...Talk Radio...?

So here's my top slightly more than a dozen Pittsburgh blogs.

0Madgeworld: I actually was more impressed by the design than the content here. But it's a very impressive design. I feel like I'm entering another world, a particularly kitschy period of the 50s perhaps, redolent of toys and mannequins. Content wise, it's strictly personal diary stuff, almost like it's being whispered...

A Green Conservatism: I'm not entirely sure what this guy is up to but it's interesting.

Ales Rarus: This is also a conservative site, but interesting. It's kinda religious.
.

Anklebiter: Yet another deep thinker. Definite high brow type.

D Young.: A really talented African American blogger who stunned me with his design skill. That's an incredible graphic on his screen. My only complaint is that I think the fonts are too tiny. But then again I'm old and I'm getting older.

Danny Boy: A site about design. Talented writer.

Forward Retreat: This is a very intimidating arts site. Incredibly well educated.

Grassroots Pa: This is as close to Frontpage as you're going to get in Pittsburgh. Very right wing. But I think they're good at what they do. Evil though that may be...

Inner Bitch: This is a site run by two geek women. I really love all the sci fi and comics stuff that they do. They also seem to be establishing themselves as the social nexus of the Pittsburgh blogosphere. Kneel before them I guess...

Innocence Blog: A very important blog that I thought I was going to get a lot of stories out of, but they're affiliated with the Post Gazette so no go. If memory serves, I think it's being run by former PG staffer Bill Moushey, one of the most talented investigative reporters I've ever seen. This is why, of our two corporate media papers, I've always found the PG to be the decent one. It's kind of like being the decent business party that nonetheless allows fascism to flourish but there is a difference...

Photosuperstar: I've already stolen some of his pics and I plan to steal many more.

Pittsblog: I suppose if the Instapundit was a decent man with decent politics then he would write this blog. I think it's the best blog in Pittsburgh.

Teacher, Wordsmith, Madman: This person would probably be 2nd or third best. He's clearly a professional writer. He's wide ranging and interesting. He has a style and he's worked on it.

This Isn't Writing, It's Typing: The title is taken from a notorious comment that Truman Capote made about Kerouac's "On the Road". The writer runs a premier freelance writing shop that never got back to me. I was bitter. Of course, now that I know that he aspires to be the Pittsburgh Instapundit (he even links to Postrel and others of the notorious neconned crew...) I could see where he wouldn't like my politics much. Yet he's a very good wordsmith. Thoughtful, interesting.

You can find the rest of the blogs that I thought were worth taking a look at over at the Link Collections. I even categorized them a bit.

And you can read all of them over at Pittsburgh Webloggers and make your own choices.

Origin Statement for Three Rivers Online

THE FUTURE OF NOW: So why Three Rivers Online? I think the more appropriate question is "Why Not?" If I wanted to start an alternative print weekly then I would need about 8 million dollars. If I wanted to start my own online weekly, comfortable in the knowledge that I could do everything to start, I figured my costs would be about several hundred a month, as long as I don't go over 600000 hits a month or 20000 hits per day. Then I'm probably looking at more. Who knows. The point is that here in 2003 I could give it a try. So why the Hell not.

You might also, if you were a bit of a devil's advocate, argue who needs a new alternative press. We've got Pittsburgh Indy Media. Heck, I think they're a swell bunch of kids and I plan to steal stories from them constantly. Yet, and I guess I'm a stickler for this: You have to pay writers something. It doesn't have to be a lot. If I make a whopping $12 grand a year from this I'll be happy.

I just think that you have to pay people, something, anything, in order for the progressive community to get the info it needs. Who's the Indy Media person covering the city or county councils? There are some things that you can't do for free. Again, somebody like a Soros or the Hollywood Community could fund 12 of these papers in swing states, with modest staffs of five to seven people for about 100 million and pay salaries for ten years, but until then...Let's try to build something for ourselves. This is my attempt. Let a thousand online papers bloom, just in time for November 2004.

Some initial ground rules: We'll be on all of the time. There should be something new in all of the sections every single day. Also, since we're online I won't be shy about linking to everything in sight and acting as things on the Net are a big deal. Because, guess what, if you're an online paper everything on the net is a Big Deal. This is our medium. It matters if it's taxed obsessively or priced out of the ordinary consumer's hands. Our progressive theory, by the way, is that you can push your radical progressive agenda (over the next year or so that will include a new president who can talk) as long as you have lots and lots of small ads from small businesses. Please note the Pittsburgh Five Dollar Classifieds Section. There's actually the far outside chance that I could get rich from this but I doubt it. (Update: I've just discovered Craigslist. Five dollars classified is dead. All classifieds might be dead. Not good. Then again, I'm not basing my stuff on what the corporate media does so I'll live...I'll build a new model for new times.)

As for our reporting philosophy, I'm looking for opinionated perspective pieces, backed up by supporting links. The shorter version of our journalism philosophy: columnists with teeth. Teeth usually will be defined as supporting links. I do know that the American Left needs a credible, rigorous press of its own. Let's build it together

Merry Christmas From Riverbend!

I brazenly stole that from Tom Tomorrow.

And here's a Christmas Wish from Riverbend:

Saturday, December 18, 2004

Christmas Wishlist...I have to make this fast. No electricity for three days in a row (well, unless you count that glorious hour we got 3 days ago...). Generators on gasoline are hardly working at all. Generators on diesel fuel aren't faring much better- most will only work for 3 or 4 straight hours then they have to be turned off to rest. Ok- what is the typical Iraqi Christmas wishlist (I won't list 'peace', 'security' and 'freedom' - Christmas miracles are exclusive to Charles Dickens), let's see:


1. 20 liters of gasoline
2. A cylinder of gas for cooking
3. Kerosene for the heaters
4. Those expensive blast-proof windows
5. Landmine detectors
6. Running water
7. Thuraya satellite phones (the mobile phone services are really, really bad of late)
8. Portable diesel generators (for the whole family to enjoy!)
9. Coleman rechargeable flashlight with extra batteries (you can never go wrong with a fancy flashlight)
10. Scented candles (it shows you care- but you're also practical)

When Santa delivers please make sure he is wearing a bullet-proof vest and helmet. He should also politely ring the doorbell or knock, as a more subtle entry might bring him face to face with an AK-47. With the current fuel shortage, reindeer and a sleigh are highly practical- but Rudolph should be left behind as the flashing red nose might create a bomb scare (we're all a little jumpy lately). By the way, until further notice, please send any emails to riverbend_baghdad@yahoo.com as I'm having some minor problems with the other accounts.
posted by river @ 3:57 PM

Fundamentalist Christians Don't Like Jews: Why Did You Vote for Them?

And by the way: He obviously doesn't get the point: We know who killed Christ. Your retribution is at hand...Thank God for Jews who routinely don't question their vote for right wing Christian fundamentalists.

The Purpose of Red Light District

It's primarily financial. I also like naked girls. Although, even that might get boring after awhile. I might look for more stylish nudes.

And no w I'm testing my atom feed...

I don't think it's working.

A Word From Our Sponsors...

I now plan to focus everything I've got on www.threeriversonline.com. It's an attempt to start an online paper here in Pittsburgh. I get tired just thinking about all the work I'll have to do, all the calls I have to make, all the ads I have to create, and all the sections I'll have to fill.

That means that, essentially, www.threerivertechreview.com and www.majic12.com will be sites where I mostly just link to stuff. Oddly enough, they'll be more material to see at all the sites because I'll be dumping a lot of stuff from Three Rivers Online.

Anyway, I wish to thank my dozen or so readers. I truly think that Three Rivers Online offers a bigger future and a better reading experience.

Strategies for the New Resistance: Seccession.

Perhaps you've seen this flag. I think the man behind it is probably joking.

On the other hand, I sincerely hope that the people behind Move On California are quite serious. I support them. There has to be a more vigorous way to show our dissent other than voting for Democrats who won't even fight for our votes. I can't think of anything more serious than seccession. I might add that I'm willing to fight and die for things I actually believe in, as opposed to slaughtering Iraqi civilians for fossil fuels. It's aggressive. And it puts the right on the defensive. To use the crudely inappropriate football metaphor that our Moron in Chief uses to describe the War on Terror, we get to take it to them. We get to ask what's so great about the United States? You clearly don't give a fuck about us. We don't even have basic healthcare. We get to say that if you criminalize stem cell research or a woman's right to choose, then we're out of here. I've emailed those Move On folks and I'm not clear if they've thought of the ballot initiative. I guess there's a question of legality and this is where you would need some leadership with some balls that would say: "You just try and stop us from taking this vote and you'll have a civil war on your hands." And for some strange reason I could imagine Arnold mouthing those words. Offer him a shot at being the King of Cascadia or something, or vote someone in who has the guts to move for radical change. Time it for the 2006 Gubernatorial elections. Condition it's adoption based on the choice issue or approval of transparency in the voting process.



If California could pull this off, then the rest of us could follow. We could create a Canadian Union. I'm ready for a radical change. How about you? This is what the new country might look like:




Again, I'm not sure where the MoveOn folks are at in terms of a constitution or the ballot initiative. But, again borrowing from Oliver Willis' Brand Democrat theme, here's how you could brand progressive change.

Polls Smolls!

If you're depressed about the polls, let me take you back to the faraway time of the fall of 2000. Gore had been beaten like a drum in all of the polls. In fact, I was hoping that Gore could win by winning the electoral college yet losing the popular vote--a distinct possibility for Kerry by the way if Bush rolls up huge margins in Red states. I'm sure that the Republicans will accept that result like the gentleman that they are.

It was most dire right before the election. As I recall, nobody showed Gore with a lead. My memories were confirmed by this post at AMERICAblog.org. Over the several days before the election only two out of 26 polls showed Gore with a lead. You might ask yourself if Big Corporate Media, the same guys who conduct these polls--the Newsweek and Time polls are especially funny in this light--might have a strong interest in a second Bush term. Your answer, especially in light of how Howard Dean's pronouncements about applying antitrust law to the media monopolies out there preceded the 10000 free showings of his "scream speech", should be obvious.

I certainly communicate that at the doors I hit. Folks tell me about those polls and I respond by saying that very few polls had Gore winning the election. I figure my job is to work as hard as I can and let the votes fall where they may. What gives me hope? Whenever I ask someone why they're leaning Bush (Leaners only. I'm not going to swing any definite pro life Bush supporters...) there's almost always that vague look in their eye--unless they work for the oil industry. Sometimes they answer the "war on terror" and of course I explain that Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism directed at the US--when we attacked them anyway. Now, with all those fat juicy American targets without adequate body armor, well, what decent anti-american terrorist wouldn't want to go to Iraq? I sometimes think they know that but what they really think is that they want someone in the White House who can kill indiscriminately, even selfishly and stupidly. I guess it's the Tony Soprano theory of foreign policy: no one will mess with that psychotic Tony's crew. Of course, one good psychotic turn deserves another. I think it's spelled Islamic Fundamentalism and a takeover in Pakistan.

I will knock onward in the hopes of preventing that catastrophic counterturn.

Philip Shropshire ran a consumer group, worked as a general assignment reporter and sold white box computers. He has written for Better Humans, Locus Online, American Times, Tech Central Station and more alternative weeklies than he can remember. He believes in the future. His main site is Three River Tech Review and you can reach him at pshropshire@yahoo.com.

GL-SEPT 7

(PERMALINK FOR GRAVITY LENS BLOG ENTRY)

Bruce Sterling takes us inside the unfathomable superhuman future after the "singularity" over at Wired.

Assorted Items: Godzilla's now starring in a Japanese Honda ad.
Eye of the Goof links to the Land of the Lost 80s Music.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is back on BBC Radio 4 with adaptations of the later books. Much of the original cast is back as well.

Diplomatic Solutions: Diplomacy tends to be sometimes overlooked in science fiction. Here's the Region One Alien Ambassador Corps and the Martian Embassy. The Klingons have both an embassy and an Imperial Diplomatic Corps online. Shows about aliens living among us, like Earth: Final Conflict and Alien Nation, had a lot of diplomatic undertones. The remake of Battlestar Galactica began with a diplomatic ambush. All of these stand in the shadow of Babylon 5, where many of the major characters are ambassadors. People also forget that Wonder Woman was originally the ambassador of the Amazons.
We can take comfort in the fact that The Raelians want to build an alien embassy...

Recommended Readin': SciFi Weekly interviews author Larry Niven.
Sam Harris dissects the myth of religious moderation in his new book.
Space.com looks at 100 people who made a difference in space exploration.
Keith Lockitch of the Ayn Rand Institute tallies the death toll of environmentalism.

GL-SEPT 6

(PERMALINK FOR GRAVITY LENS BLOG ENTRY)

The Mondolithic Image of the Week is the imposing Mademoiselle Chose.
My time at Noreascon is wrapped. I am exhausted but grinning. Big thanks to Bob Eggleton for leading a tour through the mind-boggling Retro Art Exhibit, where the original paintings of many classic book and magazine covers were displayed. Congrats to Randall Ensley, who nabbed a ribbon for his creepy picture Final Frontier. He also pointed me in the direction of the amazing preview art for Joe DeVito's upcoming Kong: King of Skull Island project. Also kudos to James Hughes, who spend endless hours manning the World Transhumanist table and selling neat bumper stickers. He's also about to release a book about our technological future called Citizen Cyborg, which you should all buy.

While I was gone the Blogospherics continued: Exclamation Mark links to this nice Ray Harryhausen appreciation site that includes a heart-breaking index of unfinished projects.
The Cartoonist sends us to study The Rules of Dueling.
Grow-A-Brain points to the very cool Russian Tank Museum.
Geekpress found this strange site where Spiderman reviews crayons.

GL-Sept 5

(PERMALINK FOR GRAVITY LENS BLOG ENTRY)

Recommended Readin': Steve Carroll of The Age looks at philosophy's recent popularity.
Simon Smith of Better Humans chimes in on the war on drugs. Michael Belfiore of New Scientist examines the near-term future of space tourism. Dave Barry tells us about the letters he doesn't print.

Taking a brief breather from frantic Noreascon activities. Jennifer and I spent Saturday hiking around the colossal innards of the Hynes Convention Center absorbing all manner of SF related madness. We also stumbled quite serendipitously into the line for a Neil Gaiman autograph. Big thanks to Colleen Doran for tolerating my stammering and grinning like a fanboy while she rendered a magnificent space shuttle in silver pen on the matte-black endpaper of my oft-read copy of Orbiter and letting me peruse advance pages from the upcoming Stealth Tribes (pdf). Ms. Doran has quite a bit of her original art for sale at reasonable prices. If you all love me you'll buy it for me.

Also thanks to Randall Ensley for the signed copy of his magnificent work, and for telling Jennifer there was free food. Finally thanks to Dave for the coffee.

And the Hugo Award winners are in.

As great and wonderful as the weekend has been so far I cannot help but seethe with petty jealousy that SF Signal landed an interview with author John C. Wright.
Once more into the breach...

Pic of Alleged Wampeter at the Science Fiction Con

James is probably way too bashful to include a pic of himself at the recent Hugo Award ceremonies. But I'm not. What's interesting is that this pic was taken by El Jefe, who writes one of the more interesting blogs out there called "Gravity Lens". I find this interesting because both El Jefe and James are charter members of what Kurt Vonneget called the "karass". I am now convinced that these two are in my personal karass. Perhaps James is some kind of focal point or Wampeter. Sounds like something The Question should investigate...

Definition, keeping in mind that I'm a an atheist who thinks religion is basically the foma:

A karass is a "team [of people] that do[es] God's Will without ever discovering what they are doing". [ 1 ] Humanity is organized into many such teams. One can try to discover "the limits of [one's] karass and the nature of the work God Almighty has had it do ... but such investigations are bound to be incomplete." [ 2 ]

And for the record, "foma" is defined thus, from memory:

"The harmless untruths that keep us happy, healthy, wealthy and wise."

Top 25 Censored Stories

I didn't read anything about the top 25 Censored Stories in any of the Pittsburgh major papers. (God knows I wouldn't see anything about these stories in my car crashed murderous local television media. I no longer have hope for them.)...and I guess that's the point about why Pittsburgh needs an online paper like this one. By the way, this paper isn't ready yet, but it needs to be done now and so I'm starting. What did Kirk say Evil Spock with goatee in "Mirror Universe" about what one man could do...? (I just looked it up: "In every revolution there is one man with a vision"...)

Out of the 25 the ones that struck me as the most frightful were: The Bush admininstration censorship of science, those very scary electronic voting machines and their lack of a paper trail, and the evils of Wal Mart. What was also very informative were all the cool links these stories came with.

Here's just a few I'll be checking out:

Global Issues Org: For all of you who remember that groundbreaking "Global Reach" book about the rise of the multinationals here's your companion website.

Free Press: This one is done by Robert McChesney, one of the most important corporate media critics out there, and it's a clearinghouse of ideas of why the corporate media doesn't inform us very well about pretty much anything.

The Center for Digital Democracy: I already link to this site at Three River Tech but this is still really really impressive. This is must reading if you'd like the Internet to stay at buffet prices and not charged the way you're charged for cell phone services. Were you aware that the Brand X court case might determine the future cost of broadband? Now I know...

My Dream Version of the VH1's Classic Sunday Alt Show

Well here's my dream version of the Sunday Alternative...


"Drivin' Aloud (Radio Storm)" by Robyn Hitchcock
"Black Hole Sun" Soundgarden
"Downtown" Lloyd Cole

Hey, I'll throw in a script...!

"Frank Zappa isn't what you might call your traditional "alternative" artist. He has nothing to do with either grunge or 80s synth pop and if he were alive no doubt he would be making ruthless fun of both styles. But he does represent a kind of excellence and ambition, which isn't reflected in sales. And he certainly is "alternative". With that in mind, we bring you "Peaches En Regalia"."

Peaches En Regalia Frank Zappa (often played on the old Ben Sidran jazz show, which I wish BET on Jazz would pick up and rerun)
"Pretty Pink Rose" Adrian Belew and David Bowie
"Jump They Say" David Bowie
"Bull in the Heather" Sonic Youth"

"Planet" not the video but from Sugarcubes Live at Auburn University (played 3 times in its entirety on 120 Minutes)
"11 o clock tick tock" U2
"Uncontrollable Urge" from Devo Live from Urgh A Music War
"Deluxe" by Lush

Second Hour

"Be With You" Jack Rubies
"e=Mc2" by BAD
"Hallalujah Man" Love and Money

"So, last hour we warmed you up with an instrumental by Frank Zappa. There actually were many many cool videos that we have sitting around from that great Ben Sidran jazz show. They're kind of alternative, but in a completely different way. I mean, you complain that you see so and so a million times trust me you've never seen these. If you want more, tell us. Less, tell us that too. We're of the opinion that prog rock and jazz might appeal to trad alt fans but we don't know... anyway, here's Pat Metheny's "Yolanda You Learn" and after that the late Mike Hedges doin' one of the most impressive acoustic versions of "Along the Watchtower" that you'll ever see..."

"Yolanda You Learn" Pat Metheny
"Along the Watchtower" late Mike Hedges, from VH1's much missed Jazz show with Ben Sidran
Snowbound" Donald Fagen


"Song for a Future Generation" B52s
"Big Prinz" The Fall
"Avalon" Live Roxy Music at the Apollo
"Girls and Boys" Blur

What I'm Willing to Do For Science

I know there are many legtimate reasons to hate the Bush administration. I have one that doesn't appear on our palm pilots: science policy. I addressed that issue in a recent column that I wrote for Better Humans--my stomping grounds which could be described as what would happen if you could mix the early 90s Wired magazines with the Nation--where I talk about the horrific Bush science agenda and my work with ACT.

I've always taken politics pretty seriously ever since college. It's sort of like what Ralph Nader (please don't vote for him; go here for why) says: If you don't act on politics, then eventually politics will act on you.

For me, in the early 80s, I was always watching to see if the late President Reagan would be successful in "acting" to gut my student loans. He always proposed it, but Congress, controlled by Democrats, always kept my loan burden intact.

It was in those summers—when I started realizing that who was in office could affect my life for the better or worse—that I first started canvassing in support of political issues. Canvassing for money, if you're not familiar with it, isn't the easiest way to make a living or cash for college. Back in the early 80s, the quota was US$80 dollars a night. Now, the quota is about US$130 a night. I've estimated that I've spent about five years of my life canvassing on everything from lower cable bills to abolishing the North American Free Trade Agreement. I even ran a field canvass for three years in Evansville, Indiana. Call me committed.

Today, I'm back at it in Pittsburgh, knocking on doors and asking people if they're registered to vote. You might ask yourself what this has to do with the transhumanist dream, where we live out our lives in fusion-driven Betterhumans space habitats, whiling away our several century lifespan seeking to understand every allusion and reference in the works of Joyce or Alan Moore, or actively partaking in the terraforming of Venus or Titan, or even studying up on that hot new personal genomic cosmetic item, the black rhino horn, grown wherever you like, with accessories.

The answer is that unless transhumanists think seriously about politics and self-promotion, this vision will always remain an interesting dream and not a reality. In fact, not only will you have to work for such a future—a future with real self-determination, no wage slavery and more than a vote every two or four years when all the real issues have already been settled—you will have to fight for it. And most likely, your opposition will be violently stupid people who refuse to give up what Carl Sagan described as the "demon-haunted world" and the obligatory yet soothing bliss stations—an eternity with Jesus and departed loved ones or Allah's 40 virgins—that go along with it.

I understand that there are those in the transhumanist movement who don't want to be involved in politics. Politics is a dangerous, messy game. On the other hand, if you're not involved in politics you're simply not relevant. I mean, what good is it if you can genetically modify yourself to live in space, if both genetic modification and space travel are made illegal?

Here in the US, you'll soon have a chance to get involved. I try not to even think what a George Bush victory means in terms of science policy. But it certainly can't be good, unless the tech emerges under the radar or concern of the government, much as the Internet has arisen. (For more info on the horrible tech record of the Bush administration, go see this Sterling essay, or this Scientific American article—they both mention Lysenko, serendipitously enough—or this Science article, or this Henry Waxmen Website or these Nobel Prize winners.) In a nutshell, a Bush future means a more top-down and regulated science, where the Little People never get an Internet or, if they do, it costs several thousand a month.

I'm not saying that Kerry would bring about tech Nirvana. I don't trust him on trade, or with having the balls to punish American multinationals for profiting from Third World slave labor. And whenever there's talk of him picking a Republican VP (reward the very evil and silly party with the number two position?) I gnash my teeth so loudly that it can be heard from 10 meters away. I'm a former Dean supporter, so I don't worship at the alter of Kerry. But it would be nice to see an American president on an international stage and have absolute confidence that the French or Soviet leader doesn't have a superior grasp of the English language. Call me a wild-eyed utopian.

And I think that any progressive person would find Kerry's science policy favorable. It's full of good ideas such as investing in long-term research and development, and working away from fossil fuels—as opposed to profiting from them and stealing another country's oil. There's even a graph or two about software defined radio and encouraging a world class broadband system in the US. Kerry's also wholeheartedly in favor of stem cell research.

I just think that the equation for any decent future requires Bush to be written out of the calculations. It's beyond my grasp why any sane person who believes in a worthwhile future would fail to understand this. I'm not just a transhumanist who thinks that, I'm willing to work for my dream future, one door at a time.