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Kelsey asks how I would save social security. Here's my attempt but take into consideration that social security and the trust fund and the budget are all super complicated and I simply don't care that much to learn all the nuances. Here's my answer: It may have been one of the Founding Fathers, or possible someone on The West Wing who said: "The price of democracy is taxes." We've got to raise taxes. Not necessarily on everyone, but on some. Income is only taxed up to $90,000. That may have...

Three Denver residents yesterday charged that they were forcibly removed from one of President Bush's town hall meetings on Social Security because they displayed a bumper sticker on their car condemning the administration's Middle East policies. The three, all self-described progressives who oppose Bush's Social Security plan, said an unidentified official at an event in Denver last week forced them to leave before the president started to speak, even though they had done nothing disruptive, said their attorney, Dan Recht. I know that these sorts of things probably seem trivial....

MGM vs. GroksterThats what is ahead of us if Grokster loses. Thats what happens if the RIAA is able to convince the Supreme Court of the USA that rather than the truth, which is , Software doesnt steal content, people steal content, they convince them that if it can impact the music business, it should be outlawed because somehow it will. It doesnt matter that the RIAA has been wrong about innovations and the perceived threat to their industry, EVERY SINGLE TIME. It just matters that they can spend more...

A great story of how an intrepid nerd busted his identity thiefs. Includes a Denny's, a Red Lion Motel, and a bunch of needles. "Oh! I know who you're talking about. He has a roommate and they're in room 327." How the hell this lady remembered the guy and which room he's in, I'll never know, but I'm completely blown away at my stroke of luck. Do I have my thief? The people behind the desk start rooting around for information and we get the smoking gun. They have a...

if you want to comment and can't, you're entering the wrong word. it's bicycle. Also: I changed the way it works a little. I think some of you were clicking the links under the comments recently listed in the sidebar. You can click read over there and skip the spam killing page where you have to enter the secret word. Now, you can click 'read' to avoid the spam killing page and just read the comments, or you can click the 'comment' to read and comment, but you have to...

Electablog reports that: In 1999, then-Gov. Bush signed the Advance Directives Act, which lets a patient's surrogate make life-ending decisions on his or her behalf. The measure also allows Texas hospitals to disconnect patients from life-sustaining systems if a physician, in consultation with a hospital bioethics committee, concludes that the patient's condition is hopeless. Bioethicists familiar with the Texas law said Monday that if the Schiavo case had occurred in Texas, her husband would be the legal decision-maker and, because he and her doctors agreed that she had no hope...

I'm ready for the Courts to unleash the biggest bitch-slap of recent history. Congress and the GOP have seriously crossed the line in passing legislation that, in turn, overrules 19 (now 20) court decisions and two recent rejections by both the US Supreme and the Florida Supreme Court. It's scary to see Bill Frist, a doctor, make medical judgements about Terri Schiavo's condition without ever examining her (remember, Frist is the one who said that we can't be certain that you can't get AIDS from sweat and tears). It's...

"Sideways" lived up to all the hype and adulation. I can't think of very many better film I've seen in the last few years. The humor and personal strife was so real in this film. Everything about it was genuine. If you haven't seen it, it's only in Lubbock for another week I believe. It's out on DVD on 4/5/05. I'm thinking of having a viewing on the 5th with some nice wine and the film. Let me know if you're interested....

Great summary of a sad, sad day for baseball... Then again, maybe the worst part of this day was that just about nobody took any responsibility. Jose Canseco did a 180 on stuff he said in his own book, then used the alibi that it was because he wrote it two years ago. Whereupon Rep. Stephen Lynch sneered: "I'll wait for the sequel." Curt Schilling, who otherwise comported himself better than almost anyone in the room, still backed off many of the anti-steroid quotes that got him invited to this...

Over the weekend of March 4th - 6th, Market Street had a big event called the Living Well Expo. I saw several of you guys there, but for the people who missed, it was basically a big showcase of the store and services we offer. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Over Valentine's weekend, I was promoted to the Sales and Sampling Coordinator. You might think my job was just to organize the little ladies handing out free food. But it's a little different,...

It's really strange how, every year, Spring seems to sneak up on me. I never notice the subtle change in weather. It's just that one day, I notice it's warm and the grass is turning greener and the weeds are back in full force. I'm excited to get back on the bike more often. I've been riding pretty regularly, but mostly at night in the cold. It'll be nice to get out on the road and work on a sweat. This time of year is all about renewal and...

Last time I said that American's don't care about black people dying, several people tried to rip me a new one. But really, how much does this graph tell you? Do we really care? Uganda is making strides because of increased and often subsidized condom use. So how do we feel now about the Global Gag Policies imposed by Conservatives? Why does everything involving sex have to be off the table? Let's get real. (via Via BeMuse)...