First of all, you have to understand that Halloween in Chapel Hill is very different from any place I’ve known. It is very common for adults to dress up and go to parties and/or to Franklin Street. In recent years there have been about 80,000 people on Franklin at Halloween, which is more than the population of Chapel Hill and Carrboro combined.

I am a strong believer in Adult Halloween because it allows us to dress up in a way we otherwise wouldn’t and act out some part of our id that normally doesn’t see the light of day. In the past I have been J.R. “Bob” Dobbs, a sexy beatnik, and Valerie Solanas, among other things.

Continue reading “Meet Wangari Maathai” →

I just sent this to the local papers, so I might as well tell you. I had to keep this short because of the length restriction on letters to the editor. You can get more info about all of the candidates at http://OrangePolitics.org/elections-2005
Continue reading “Progressive picks for Chapel Hill and Carrboro” →

…that Harriet Miers’ replacement would be a man.

“Look we tried to nominate a woman, it didn’t work. What do you mean ‘qualifications?’“

I was just listening to the news and thinking about this Republican investigator and how hard it must be for him to indict Bush and Cheney’s brains. They say this Fitzgerald guy is all principled and stuff, but you don’t get to be a powerful Republican in this country by pissing the Bush family off.

It seems to me that he’s not really that concerned with the leak that compromised U.S. security, he’s more pissed off that the guys lied to him personally. I suspect that this is why Scooter Libby and maybe Karl Rove are only going to get charged with obstructing the investigation instead of with the crime that was being investigated.

As far as I know, there has been no evidence that pointed to anyone but Cheney -> Libby -> Rove as the source of the leak. I haven’t heard any explanation for why Fitzgerald is unable (or unwilling) to indict on the crime that led to his investigation.

Remember this entire investigation is a result of Bush’s lying to convince Congress to support his war for oil. Let’s make sure voters don’t forget that.

UPDATE @ 2:00pm: it’s official:

Libby was indicted on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements. The five-count indictment charged that he gave misleading information to the grand jury, allegedly lying about information he discussed with three news reporters. It alleged that he committed perjury before the grand jury in March 2004 and that he also lied to FBI agents investigating the case.

Shortly after the indictment was announced, Libby resigned his White House positions.

Isn’t it obvious? Republicans don’t want Katrina refugees voting because they know who they are pissed off at right now. I don’t blame them, if I was devoid of ethics I would do the same thing.

[T]he Displaced Citizens Voter Protection Act of 2005 (HR3734) … would allow displaced Katrina evacuees to vote in their home state elections by absentee ballots under the same protections afforded absent military and overseas voters.
…
To date, 38 Democrats and no Republicans have cosponsored the House bill, and two Democrats (Kerry and Landrieu) cosponsored the Senate version. Republicans are reluctant to sign on.
– Facing South: Absentee voting for Katrina evacuees

In what should come as a suprise to asbolutely no-one, Miers has withdrawn her Supreme Court nomination. I wonder if they’ll hurry to pick another nominee before Rove goes to the slammer?

Dave Slusher of Evil Genius Chronicles (cool blog and podcast) interviewed Marjane Satrapi author/illustrator of the brilliant, moving, informative, and all-around-wonderful book Persepolis. The book is about her childhood growing up in the middle of turbulent Iran in the 70’s. When I read the last page of Persepolis I just sat and had a good, hard cry. I was sitting next to my beloved on an airplane at the time, but he had read it too, so he understood. In fact he’s the one who told me to read it – what a wonderful man.

Salon called Satrapi ‘the Persian love child of [Art] Spiegelman and Lynda Barry.” So you know I’m in love. Watch the video of Dave’s interview at Ourmedia.

While we all sit around waiting to celebrate Fitzmas, we should also anticipate the 2,000th American soldier killed in Iraq, and the ensuing media frenzy. I expect it to happen today at this rate, but if not it will surely be tomorow.

We are also at something approaching 30,000 civilians killed in Iraq. And it’s all just a P.R. problem for Bush.

I have a weakness for farts. They always crack me up. (This topic is Brian’s secret weapon for when I am in a bad mood.) In fact, I am a fan of bodily functions in general and have been known to cause people to burp more frequently as a result of simply being in my presence. I guess that’s my super power.

Anyway imagine the giggle fest when I found this: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Farts and Flatulence. Some choice excerpts:
Continue reading “Questionable taste” →

Rosa Parks has passed away. Don’t let the history books fool you, she was no accidental hero. She wasn’t just a tired old lady wanting a seat. Rosa Parks was a trained activist who took a calculated, strategic, and very effective action.

When media reduces a story of committed, long-term leadership to a 30-second celebrity moment, more harm than good is done… This reportorial reductionism suggests to the public that social activists “come out of nowhere to suddenly take dramatic stands.” Indeed, the overly-condensed, freeze-dried version discounts those people who spend years toiling for a cause without fame.
– The Hidden Leaders

Here’s to the heros who have come before us and the heroes that keep on coming.