Fonzi

Here he is! Fonzi came home last night, and obviously is wasting no time settling in to his new home. Amazingly his last race at the track was in November. It looks like he's really digging his retirement.

Origin of Species

Give 'em what they want...

Wrapped Up In Books

Give 'em what they want...

Disharmony In My Head

This post by Mark Kleiman is a real piece of work.

It's hard to disagree with Mark that Missouri is screwed up, so lay that aside. My issue is with this style of argument from Mark's piece:

As it happens, I really don't have a dog in the capital-punishment fight. I would prefer, if executions are to be carried out, that they be as painless as possible. Death seems a sufficient penalty, without adding torment. I'm sorta-kinda in favor of execution if the alternative is really life in prison without parole. I'm agnostic about the net effect of executions, compared to long imprisonment, in deterring crime; whatever the sign of the result, at any practicable frequency of execution the total effect must be negligible compared to the homicide rate, so it seems to me the decision should be made on other grounds, and that debating it is mostly a distraction from the debate we ought to be having about how to control crime.

Well, yes, if you limit the debate to the mode of execution this is superficially a somewhat reasonable argument; but taking this tack, whether you have a dog in the hunt or not obscures the very real, and important, debate over judicial homicide.

Mark is againt life means life laws, and that's reasonable too. And, so, he's sorta in favor of the option that makes it absolute "dead certain" that you can never correct a mistake.

How noble of him.

Because, you know, debating that would detract from the far more important debate we should be having about how to control crime.

Just another in a long line of "why are you concerned about this when clearly this other thing is more important" arguments. There's always something more important, indeed how we control crime is probably not the world's single most important discussion and so there's little reason why we can't have that discussion at the same time we have the modes of execution discussion and the "shouldn't every state be like Wisconsin" discussion.

But, you know what to do. Give 'em what they want.

I've got to admit, it's getting better...

...it's getting better all the time (it can't get no worse!)

Name that tune! Better yet, name the band AND album and you'll earn a whole new level of respect in my book. This song has been stuck in my head all day, which is rather odd, but since the songs that float through my cranium usually reflect my mood or whatever is going on in life, it's no wonder. Situations at work are getting much better, and there's hope on the horizon for all bursting capacitor wranglers. I also managed to reconnect with a good friend, when out of the blue he called me this weekend. I finally feel more at peace.

As for the rest of the world, sadly I have no idea what's going on, aside from the rediculous Anna Nicole debacle. An hour-long biography of her life caught my attention this weekend. It was a pathetic train wreck - Horrifying, yet strangely facinating and you just can't look away.

Oh, yes, and the greyhound lady visited the house with her two dogs, and we passed the test and have been recommended as suitable adopters of a greyhound companion. Yipee! Now to await the next call saying we can go pick one out.

It's getting better. Finally.

m.f.

watch those drinks around me!

Your results:
You are Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy 76% Apocalypse 72% Catwoman 66% Dr. Doom 61% Dark Phoenix 56% Magneto 56% Mystique 56% Mr. Freeze 56% Green Goblin 56% Lex Luthor 51% Juggernaut 48% The Joker 44% Venom 42% Riddler 39% Kingpin 39% Two-Face 32%

You would go to almost any length for the protection of the environment including manipulation and elimination.

Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz

Something's Gone Wrong Again

You are The Joker The Clown Prince of Crime. You are a brilliant mastermind but are criminally insane. You love to joke around while accomplishing the task at hand.
The Joker	69%
Magneto	62%
Mr. Freeze	59%
Riddler	58%
Apocalypse	57%
Poison Ivy	55%
Dark Phoenix	51%
Dr. Doom	50%
Catwoman	49%
Two-Face	48%
Mystique	48%
Lex Luthor	47%
Venom	45%
Green Goblin	44%
Juggernaut	36%
Kingpin	35%
Give 'em what they want...

What's The Matter Here?

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 — The most lethal weapon directed against American troops in Iraq is an explosive-packed cylinder that United States intelligence asserts is being supplied by Iran.

The assertion of an Iranian role in supplying the device to Shiite militias reflects broad agreement among American intelligence agencies, although officials acknowledge that the picture is not entirely complete.

In interviews, civilian and military officials from a broad range of government agencies provided specific details to support what until now has been a more generally worded claim, in a new National Intelligence Estimate, that Iran is providing “lethal support” to Shiite militants in Iraq.

There's an obvious problem here and it starts way back when the Bush Administration decided they needed to sex up the intelligence so they could legitimize the invasion of a country with a secular government which was more than indifferent, if not actively hostile to, al Qaeda. The problem is the Bush Administration has no credibility in these matters and they have no one to blame but the Bush Administration.

Having "fixed the intelligence around the policy" in the past, having obscured this and then having denied it long past the point of no return, any claim of broad agreement from American intelligence agencies is tarnished and difficult to accept.

By their actions the Bush Administration has simply lost any claim to believability; indeed most rational people now start from the assumption that the claims of this administration, if not outright false on their face, are based on dubious and tortured abuse of the actual facts.

They have nobody to blame for this reality but themselves, and the truth is that this is far more dangerous, far more damaging to national security, than anything their opponents have done. Indeed, it is far more damaging to the functioning of the democracy, this democracy, our democracy, than anything al Qaeda could have dreamed up.

Give 'em what they want.

No one Left To Scream In The Night To Condemn Our Stupidity

Collateral damage, what is it good for?

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. airstrike Thursday killed 13 insurgents in a volatile area west of Baghdad, the military said. Local officials said 45 civilians, including women and children, died in the attack.

Absolutely nothing.

Say it again.

And, give 'em what they want.

Shiver In My Bones Just Thinking...

It's 0°, does that mean there's no temperature?

You know what? Can we cut the crap? It would be stupid if it wasn't so damned annoying; if you could take at face value anything coming out of the mouths of GOoPers.

Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the People's House, treat her like it.

Which reminds me... The Lisa Nowak "story"? Can't the Gang of 500 stop rubbing their thighs long enough to have a little compassion? A sad, sad, sad story on every level. Love and desire are powerful mind altering drugs, what society does to women is even stranger.

Can we not back off and cease making everyone's pain grist for our mills?

Suggested reading for this morning.

Have a nice day, this day. And... Give 'em what they want.

Could there be a companion greyhound in my future?

Hello! My name is Mongomory Ferret. Some call me Montgomery Weasel, or Weezel, but most just call me Monty. I am a ferret who lives a rather plush life. I get my full of crunchies (food) and have plenty of cozy places to nap. But the most exciting thing is that I might be getting a companion ex-racing greyhound for a friend. My owner says that she's going to pull that greyhound out of retirement and start racing it again to supplement her wages at the fruit company. And guess what? I get to be the jockey! My owner is already looking for a little silk jockey outfit, hat, and goggles for me, and and a saddle and whip for the dog.

Tonight the lady from the greyhound association called. While she really seemed to like my owner, she posed several concerns about living with me and my brother, Riley. She seems to think that the greyhound will chase us around the house and try to hurt us. Little does she know of our plan! I'm not afraid of a dog, and certainly not one that I'll be riding, so it should be just fine. Besides, everyone who meets me instantly likes me anyway.

Hopefully we'll know more soon. I'm really looking forward to meeting my new companion greyhound.

m.f.