Overheard in the supermarket…

Posted on March 24, 2008 | Comments Off on Overheard in the supermarket…

amd_obamabarack.jpgSunday I was in the supermarket and overheard this from a worker there:

“If Obama is the President, OSAMA will be the Vice President!“

This is one of the things I’m afraid of: people believing the misinformation that exists about Sen. Obama. Even some my co-workers, people who read the news paper, thought Sen. Obama is Islamic (he’s actually a Christian) and would not vote for him on that basis alone.

After 8 years of stunning incompetence, a disregard for the law, and various other things, Sen. John McCain may win due to misinformation put out by the GOP and their allies.

Music I’m listening to right Now:
“Won’t Go Home Without You” by Maroon 5 from the “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” Album. You can see the video here.

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Glen Greenwald nails it again

Posted on March 22, 2008 | Comments Off on Glen Greenwald nails it again

Don’t know how I missed it when he wrote it but Glenn Greenwald once again wriote a great post about the state of affairs in politics. This time, his post “Some hateful, radical ministers — white evangelicals — are acceptable” approaches the odd dichotomy of Sen. Obama’s minister friend being bad while Sen. McCain’s minister friend is apparently acceptable. Good reading.

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Dept. of Homeland Security Outsourcing Law Enforcement??

Posted on March 19, 2008 | Comments Off on Dept. of Homeland Security Outsourcing Law Enforcement??

Dept. of Homeland Security LogoIMO, This is more evidence that the GW Bush Administration does not really care about Security.

From USA Today (emphasis is mine):

WASHINGTON – Airlines are protesting a government plan that would require them to take fingerprints of foreign travelers as they fly out of the USA, saying it could create massive lines at airport check-in counters.
(snip)
The Homeland Security Department, which currently fingerprints foreigners coming into U.S. airports, wants airlines to be responsible for taking fingerprints as these travelers leave.

Follow that logic: The Department of Homeland Security is so concerned about Security, that they want the Airlines to do part of their job.

Ignoring the privacy issues here (Anyone happy with a Corporation storing travelers Finger Prints?!?): How serious are they if they seek to outsource it? Wasn’t this kind of thinking one of the problems that lead to 9/11??

I’m not sure fingerprinting will solve any problems, but if it does why would DHS want to outsourced?

Music I’m listening to right Now:
“Rescue” by Eve 6 from the Horrorscope Album.

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Modifying PageView Plugin for my needs

Posted on March 15, 2008 | 13 comments

Recently, I needed to insert an IFRAME into a post. I could just insert the IFRAME code into the post, but the Tiny MCE editor chewed it up and occasionally would blow up. Looking for a WP Plugin that handles IFRAME’s, I came across John Godley’s PageView plugin. I like how it’s written and presented, but I wanted it take all the IFRAME parameters and not always have a header. So I modified the following files:
pageview/pageview.php
pageview/pageview.css
pageview/view/pageview/pageview.php

[pageview src=”//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23601329#23601329″ frameborder=”0″ height=”339″ scrolling=”no” width=”100%”]

Done via my modifications:
[ pageview src="//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23601329#23601329" frameborder="0" height="339" scrolling="no" width="100%" ]
If “src=” is in the plugin string, my modification will make an assumption that the entire string is the IFRAME parameters. As I don’t do any error checking, this could be potentially dangerous but it suits my needs.

[pageview http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23601329#23601329 “Keith Oberman” Special Comment]

Done via original 3 parameters:
[ pageview http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23601329#23601329 "Keith Oberman" Special Comment ]
This will use any defaults in the CSS file and in the case of the MSNBC IFRAME doesn’t work too good. This isn’t a deficiency of the plugin, it’s a good plugin doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. On top of that, the Code is well written and easy to read which made it easy for me to find the exact spot to modify for my needs.

Music I’m listening to right Now:
“Big Bang Baby” by Stone Temple Pilots from the “Tiny Music…Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop” Album.

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Posted in Cool Stuff, Different, In Development

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Keith Olbermann Special Comment

Posted on March 15, 2008 | 1 comment

[pageview src=”//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/23601329#23601329″ frameborder=”0″ height=”339″ scrolling=”no” width=”100%”]

Many people assume that since GW Bush is a frequent target of Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment that he’ll ignore anything other people say. Quite frankly, this is not the case as he demonstrated on his March 12th show. I read about it at the Huffington Post (transcript) and have to say: He nails the issues perfectly.

I know Sen. Clinton wants to be the next president, but the actions Mr. Olbermann calls her out on make me wonder if she should be the next president. After 8 years of incompetence in the GW Bush adminstration, A democrat getting elected should be a no brainer, but the way this is playing out makes me wonder.

If the Democratic Party blows it, Sen. John McCain seems to be running a campaign where he’ll act as the Third Term of GW Bush. Frankly, that would be a disaster for the United States as we’re in horrible shape now and can’t continue in the direction we’ve been going in. The Right Wing policies of the GOP just aren’t working (Unless your Bear Stearns of course…) and The Democratic Party, while holding a majority in the House and Senate, can’t seem to develop the backbone needed to change the path we’re on.

BTW: The IFRAME above was done via a slightly modified PageView plugin. I liked the plugin so I modified it for my own nefarious purpose.

Music I’m listening to right Now:
“The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson from the “Girls and Boys” album. You can see the video here on VH1.com’s site.

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Hey! House Democratic leaders may be developing a Backbone!

Posted on March 13, 2008 | Comments Off on Hey! House Democratic leaders may be developing a Backbone!

Glenn Greenwald writes that: Chairman Conyers and 19 Members of the House Judiciary Committee have now issued a comprehensive report concluding that “the Administration has not established a valid and credible case justifying the extraordinary action of Congress enacting blanket retroactive immunity as set forth in the Senate bill.” Good to hear.

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Talk of a “Dream Ticket”, Geraldine Ferraro and Spitzer Watch

Posted on March 12, 2008 | Comments Off on Talk of a “Dream Ticket”, Geraldine Ferraro and Spitzer Watch

Democratic PartyThese past few days has been odd for the Democratic Party.
Let’s See:

  1. Sen. Hillary Clinton is sending interesting messages. She has mentioned a “Dream Ticket” with apparently her as president and Sen. Barack Obama as Vice President. Which would be ok *IF* Sen. Barack Obama didn’t have more delegates. To put it mildly, it’s a bit premature for her to suggest that. To make matters worse, this talk may eliminate any chance of a “Dream Ticket” with either one of them.
  2. Former Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro threw a Verbal Hand Grenade into the mix with This quote:

    “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”

    It’s her opinion and she’s welcome to it, but this put Sen. Hillary Clinton on the spot forcing her to publicly disagree with Ferraro.

  3. Saving the BEST for Last: My personal favorite: Gov. Elliot Spitzer.
    Like many New Yorkers, I’m incredibly disappointed in the man. As more details come out, he’s looking really bad and frankly, just stupid. If he really has been using prostitutes for years, I’m amazed this did not come out sooner.The real victims are his family not the public.

UPDATE: Gov. Elliot Spitzer has resigned, effective Monday. See good coverage on Gothamist.
Music I’m listening to right Now:
“Crazy” by Seal from the “Seal (1991)” Album.

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Just “Wow”…

Posted on March 10, 2008 | Comments Off on Just “Wow”…

spitzer-mug-sm.jpg1st saw this on Gothamist.com: Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a man who ran on a platform of “Reform”, has been linked to a prostitution ring.

From the NY Times:

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.

I admit, my first reaction was “No Way! Another ‘reform’ politician caught in a Sex Scandal?” but sure enough, he made a public apology (See it below the fold) and pretty much admitted it.

To put it mildly, I’m disappointed in the man. Ignoring the whole cheating on his wife bit: you’d think he’d be smart enough not to use a phone himself (it would be just perfect if he used his Office Line!). To really complicate things for him, from the article:

An affidavit in the federal investigation into a prostitution ring said that a wiretap recording captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room. The person briefed on the case identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.

Which make it a possible federal case as he apparently arranged for a prostitute to cross state lines (Mann Act). He hasn’t resigned, but I bet it’s coming. In a related matter, Hillary Clinton needs to distance herself now. Gov. Eliot Spitzer endorsed her back in May of 2007…

When he was the NYS Attorney General, he was very effective, but now? If he gets anything done, it will be an uphill battle to say the least.

Can’t wait for Jay Leno and David Letterman tonight, Not to mention The Daily Show!

Music I’m listening to right Now:
“Big Bang Baby” by Stone Temple Pilots from the “Tiny Music…Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop ” Album.
Continue reading →

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Renovations…

Posted on March 10, 2008 | Comments Off on Renovations…

Right now, after we delayed it for a few months, our bathroom is being renovated. I took “before” images and will post them all  when it’s done.

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From MSNBC: “Addicted gambler files $20 million casino suit”

Posted on March 9, 2008 | Comments Off on From MSNBC: “Addicted gambler files $20 million casino suit”

Dunes ChipsI read about this and had to shake my head a bit.

I’m sure it’s safe to say that Ms. Taveras has a gambling problem, but at what point does she take responsibility for her actions? From the article:

She lost her law practice, her apartment and her parents’ home, and she owes the IRS $58,000. She said she even considered swerving into oncoming traffic to kill herself.

In interviews with The Associated Press, Taveras admitted she dipped into her clients’ escrow accounts to finance her gambling habit. She was disbarred last June and faces criminal charges stemming from those actions, but is trying to work out restitution agreements in order to avoid a prison term.

I’m glad she didn’t try to kill herself as that would be a horrible thing to do to herself and her family. Regarding her gambling, it’s tragic, but it seems she did this to herself. Me, I hope she avoids jail, but this dire situation seems to be entirely of her doing, not the casino.

Music I’m listening to right Now:
“The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson from the “Girls and Boys” album. The video on VH1 is great.

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