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July 31, 2003

ANNOUNCING INDYBLOGS.COM

I'm pleased to announce a new website / blog project that I'm involved with... IndyBlogs.com. Christina, of ChristinasWeb, and I have been hard at work these past couple of months developing the concept and design for this new endeavor. From the site's "About This Site" page:

"Welcome to IndyBlogs.com, an Indiana-based website dedicated exclusively to Indiana's growing community of people who manage personal weblogs, online journals and diaries, photologs, and other creative online projects. If you maintain a blog and live in Indiana, then IndyBlogs.com was built for you!

Our Mission -- to encourage and support blogging in Indiana, and our Vision -- to create a strong sense of community among Indiana's bloggers, are fulfilled in many ways, including:

1. By maintaining IndyBlogs.com.

2. By hosting social and educational events throughout the state of Indiana, where bloggers can meet and network with each other.

3. By encouraging non-bloggers to blog.

So, anyone reading this message right now... please take a look at IndyBlogs.com and let me know what you think. (It's still somewhat under development -- and always will be, most likely -- but the dozen or so users we have so far really seem to like the approach.)

And, of course, Christina's the real brain behind this project, whereas I'm involved only due to my stunningly good looks :o) But seriously folks, Christina *has* worked her butt off on the site, so major props to her for all her hard work and dedication!

Posted by Mikal at 7:15 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

July 30, 2003

ALL BETS ARE OFF

As long as there's terrorism, people might as well profit from it, right? And if the federal government orchestrates some friendly wagers on the next terrorist strike, who could argue with that, right? A U.S. Pentagon office that strove to be the Big Brother you never thought you had has been setting up a futures-trading scheme based on the likelihood of future terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East. The so-called Policy Analysis Market (PAM) would let investors exploit "a market in the future of the Middle East." The PAM Web site (which has been taken down) explained how this might work:

Suppose that an expert on Jordanian affairs believes King Abdullah will be overthrown. She buys a "futures contract" on the belief that the king will be assassinated; she holds a minority opinion, so the price of her investment is low ó 35 cents per share. As more people follow her example, the price of the deposed-king future goes up, say, to 50 cents. The early investor sits tight, and if someone slams a bullet through the king's skull, "then she can make a handsome profit."

Those who feel unsure about Jordanian prognostication could bet on other acts of terror: the potential assassination of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat or the likelihood that North Korea will shoot nukes at someone.

News of this morbid means of money-making, which hit the papers Tuesday, outraged Democrats (and, later, Republicans) in Congress. They said the whole proposition was morally repugnant and grotesque.

Within hours of the first front-page headlines, PAM suffered its own untimely demise. (And we didn't even get a chance to bet on its fate.) In a terse statement, DARPA said it made no sense "to continue our participation in this effort."

At the same time, the office reiterated its rationale for the you-bet-a-life scheme. "Futures markets have proven themselves to be good at predicting such things as elections results; they are often better than expert opinions. The program was part of DARPA's overall thrust to find new ways to avert terrorism."

By early Tuesday afternoon, the PAM Web site (www.policyanalysismarket.org) disappeared from public view. And in Congress, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz confirmed that the program would be dropped. He said, "I share your shock at this kind of program."

Sure. Wolfowitz would have more credibility if DARPA had no history of launching offensive initiatives.

The Policy Analysis Market was the brainchild of the now-controversial Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Late last year, the public learned that the research office was launching a program called Total Information Awareness (TIA). TIA was envisioned as a massive data-mining project that would gather and analyze mountains of citizens' personal information. Never mind the trifle known as the Fourth Amendment. Some politicians denounced the massively unwarranted invasion of privacy, and they strove to outlaw TIA surveillance on citizens. Since then, the program has been renamed "Terrorism" Information Awareness.

The man behind all of this is John Poindexter, who runs DARPA but is better known as a rogue agent in the Reagan administration's Iran-Contra scandal. Poindexter was convicted of charges of lying to Congress about selling weapons to Iran and funneling the proceeds to insurgents in Nicaragua. His conviction was overturned because he'd been granted immunity for his deceitful testimony. (Copyright 2003 - Boulder Daily Camera)

Posted by Mikal at 6:54 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Iíve never been a fan of the ìUniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001,î or, what is more commonly referred to in the media as the USA Patriot Act. The 56,000-word Act, which was signed into law in October of 2001, broadly expands law enforcement's surveillance and investigative powers in the post 9/11 world. Nowadays, under the Act, bookstores are required to turn over sales receipts to law enforcement officials if said officials feel that you pose even an inkling of a threat to national security, and librarians are similarly required to turn over an individualís library records upon demandÖ that is, of course, until the Boulder (Colorado) Public Library stepped in.

According to yesterdayís Denver Post, if a federal agent asks a Boulder librarian for a list of the books checked out by John Q. Public in the last month, the answer will be "Records? What records?" From the Post:

I tip my hat to the Boulder Public Library for protecting its customers civil liberties. (As an aside though, the Post also reports that the Library will continue to keep records of late fees. Apparently, those records are needed in case disputes arise as to whether or not perople like me have been paid up :-)

July 29, 2003

Have you heard about "Flash Mobs" yet? Either had I, that is, until Christoph tipped me off to their existence. New Yorkers recently used e-mail to coordinate a huge, instant gathering of people, i.e., a Flash Mob, around a particular rug in a New York City Macey's rug department. Participants were instructed to tell inquisitive salesmen that they all lived together in a warehouse in Queens, and that they were considering purchasing the cloth for use as a "Love Rug" back at the warehouse. After exactly ten minutes the crowd completely dissipated. And there you have it... you've just learned everything there is to know about Flash Mobs.

Thus far I've been able to ascertain that the infrastructure exists for organized Flash Mobs in New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Tokyo, and there's even a Yahoo! group devoted to Flash Mob devotees and their instantaneous formation.

Anyone got any bright ideas for where and under what circumstances future Flash Mobs could be held? Leave a comment below!

July 27, 2003

I guess I'm back to my VH1 stint - the station just aired its list of the 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons. Like a college ranking system, it can hardly be accurate or even sometimes fair. But, sometimes you just have to question how and what others could possibly be thinking? My brother & I verbally ran through possibilities for the top spot and came up with Elvis, Mickey Mouse, Madonna, or Wacko Jacko - Michael Jackson. Well, all 4 of our guesses were in the Top 17, Mickey Mouse beating out Bill Clinton by 1 spot. To our surprise, and really our chagrin, Oprah Winfrey was #1 followed by Superman at #2. Elvis, the king of all media, yesteryear and today, was at #3. How could this be? How could this be? How could this be? Check out the results and weigh in with your opinions.

July 24, 2003

The news from Wall Street late yesterday afternoon was that U.S. stocks -- led by gains in the technology sector and news that Eastman Kodak would be cutting 4,500 to 6,000 jobs -- managed to close higher than the day before. The part about this news which stinks, in my humble opinion, is that Eastman Kodak's stock gained $2.27 per share, or 9.2 percent, to close at $26.86 per share AFTER an announcement that the photo services giant would be cutting 8.5 percent of it's workforce.

Why do we continue to reward corporate America for doing the wrong thing? Sure, I get that by cutting its workforce a company saves on its fixed costs, but I'm here to tell ya... it's wrong, it stinks, it's ass-backwards, and all of us that hold stock in publicly-traded companies thru the major markets should be ashamed by what it is that we're supporting at a core level.

What makes the stench even harder to handle is the fact that Kodak's sales revenue edged up from $6.04 billion to $6.09 billion, and that just last year the company eliminated 7,000 jobs, and in January of this year announced that it'd be eliminating 2,000 additional positions. In all, over a 24 month period, this company made plans to reduce it's workforce by nearly 20 percent... AND WE -- it's shareholders -- continue to reward the company itself and OURSELVES with a higher valuation, all while more and more of our fellow humans lose their jobs and face a very uncertain future.

When will this practice of rewarding ourselves at the expense of our fellow human beings end? When will we, the shareholders, insist on socially responsible management? Is what we stand for today here in the U.S.A. any different than what we stood for before divestiture in South Africa? I Think Not? What do you think?

July 22, 2003

There I was, minding my own business, when all of the sudden one of my co-workers says, "Hey Mikal, what's that on the back of your shirt?" Sure enough, there was bird dung on my back. So, I ask, what does it mean a bird craps on you? Is it an omen of some kind? Anyone care to weigh in?

July 21, 2003

I have grown nostalgic for the 80ís as I watch ìI Love the 80ísî on VH1. Itís a year-by-year chronicle of events, personalities, trends, fashion, and music of the decade of greed. Each segment, which focuses on a single year, has a ìMr. & Ms.î feature narrated by Andrew Dice Clay, and a ìMake-Out Songsî section given by Lionel Richie. Seeing Pac-Man, soap opera queens, the GoGosí raunchy home video, and early cell phones makes me long for the roaring high times of my adolescence. I became a teenager in 1983 and lived in a small rural town in Missouri. All this big-city and other stuff seemed both very cool and very weird.

Wow! What a difference a decade or two can make. Watching snippets of the hedonistic era of Wall Street, Reaganism, and all manners of excess is a fun and a decent way to spend half an hour. Plus, it has that funky 80ís electronic voice in the title theme song. It seems like episodes are on all the time, so check it out and itíll probably jog some dormant memories and stories just dying to be shared for a laugh or two. Like, OK? Wax on. Wax off. Greed is good. Itís so popular that a 70ís version is planned for August. What do you think?

July 18, 2003

Q: How do you feel about the salaries made by professional athletes in the United States?

Q: If the next U.S. presidential election were held today would you vote for George W. Bush or for some other -- as of today "unknown" -- candidate?

July 17, 2003

What has been keeping me awake at night -- on and off for the last five months or so -- just became a lot clearer. For those of you who don't know much about Indianapolis, I live right next to the main city library, which -- as my luck would have it -- is currently undergoing a major renovation that includes the construction of a new six-story wing. (So large is this project that it isn't scheduled for completion until the first quarter of 2006.)

Many a night since late-February has been spent trying to sleep thru the rumble of dump trucks and cement mixers, along with the continuous flow of street cleaners that follows each mega-ton machine out of the construction zone. Last night, after trying to turn down my one-way street (which, by the way, was a two-way street up until late last year, but is now one-way due to the massive construction) and finding that the street was blocked off by a big cement pouring crane that sort of looked like this, I decided to take a closer look at the "big dig" across the street from my apartment building.

In short, I marched over to the construction zone, introduced myself to the project manager (a nice guy named Jeff), and watched -- for three hours (go figureÖ Iím a guy and I love watching construction projects) -- as cement truck after cement truck poured 170,000 cubic feet of underground parking garage. Then, as I was about leave, I ran into a nice lady who told me about a webcam that's focused on the construction 24/7. So, if you'd like to see what keeps me awake at night, click here (IMPORTANT NOTE: The "click here" link will take you to a live video feed of the construction zone, which is best viewed using an extremely high-speed Internet connection.)

Okay... so how do you know when you've been too lackadaisical about updating your Blog? When your brother, who just last month sent his first e-mail message, leaves a message like this on your site:

No good excuse, really, for not being more regular with my posts. I could plead innocent due to work and volunteer and social obligations, but at the end of the day the fact is that I just haven't felt much like writing. Sorry Bro, hope you like the new Quote Of The Day. I picked it out just for you!

July 15, 2003

Pat Robertson is up to his old ways ñ heís launched a prayer offensive against the US Supreme Court urging the retirement of 3 unnamed ìliberalî justices, based on the Courtís recent ruling that overturned a Texas law that banned same-sex sodomy, effectively overturning similar laws in 12 other states. His actions speak for themselves ñ heís gone so far out in left field that he has reached what Isaac Asimov called ìcircleís end,î ñ right where you started. He is just as dangerous to the American way of life as are Islamic fundamentalists who advocate a state run by religious leaders in a religious manner. And . . . for another religious matter, I offer Christmas in July.

I recently met Mike Reiss, a writer for The Simpsons, and he talked a lot about writing comedy and connecting with the audience. Iím fascinated by his cartoon short series called "Queer Duck," which aired on Showtime following episodes of Queer as Folk. The episodes are only about 2 minutes long. Go to this website & check out Episode 19, ìSanta Claus Is Gay.î

July 11, 2003

Q: With its armed forces deployed in so many different parts of the world, do you think that the U.S. is spreading itself too thin?

MEB's A: My answer to this question may surprise some of the regular Beli-Bloggers (yes, I'm now referring to the most active of my site's visitors as "Beli-Bloggers")... but no, I do not necessarily think that the U.S. is spreading its troops too thinly around the rest of the world. While I certainly question the U.S. government's motivations, and thus the appropriateness of its actions, I do not really think it makes much a difference here at home if we have troops in five or fifty different countries (except to the loved ones of those overseas, of course). In my view, having our troops here on U.S. soil won't make any bit of difference when it comes to defending against terrorism. If someone is hell-bent on flying a plane into another building, or driving a car packed full of dynamite into the local grocery store, or on dumping some sort of biological contaminant into a local or regional source of water, no amount of troops will ever stop them. If the question were phrased, "Do U.S. troops belong in (enter the name of any combination of countries where we currently have a military presence)," and my answer may be different.

Q: Should the words "under God" continue to be a part of the USA's Pledge of Allegiance?

MEB's A: While I am a firm believer in the notion of "all there is is what people say and what you choose to believe about it," I do feel that the "under God" reference should be removed. And while the reference itself doesn't specifically state 'whose God', there is the inference that God is somehow on the U.S.A.'s side, and I do not believe that's true in any way, shape or form.

Q: If you were expelled from your country and had limited financial resources, where would you try to rebuild your life?

MEB's A: I'd head up north to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, or some other English-speaking Canadian town or location. Canada's close enough to the U.S. for family and friends to visit, and it's goods and services closely resemble those afforded to citizens of the United States.

Q: How much time do you spend in front of your computer at work and at home on a daily basis?

MEB's A: While at work... six to eight hours a day; while at home... between two and five hours a day. By my own crude calculations, about 11 hours a day each weekday; eight hours total on the weekends.

July 10, 2003

If you awoke from a coma that lasted nearly for two decades, what would your first words be? "Mom" and "Pepsi" were the first things spoken by Terry Wallis, a 39-year-old Arkansas man who had been in a coma since a 1984 car crash. According to the Associated Press, Wallis was riding in a car with a friend on June 13, 1984, when their car plunged into a river, killing the friend and leaving Wallis a comatose quadriplegic. Then, on June 13, 2003 (yes, that's 19 years to the day), Wallis awoke, only to learn that his grandmother had passed away and that Ronald Regan was no longer President of the United States.

Think about what a mind-blowing experience it would be to basically be comatose for 19 years, and to then wake up with nothing whatsoever about your personal life or the world around you being the same. I can't even begin to understand what Wallis must be going thru right now, but I'm totally fascinated by the possibilities.

Co-worker Tom and I were talking about this yesterday afternoon. Tom commented that Wallis could be looking out a window and observe someone talking into their hand while it's up near their ear and mouth. To anyone else observing this scene, the person in question would be observed using cell phone, but to someone who just came out of a 19 year coma, who the heck knows what he's thinking or can make out of the situation.

What else has changed over the last 19 years that will totally blow Wallis away?

I experienced something yesterday that hadn't happened in quite some time. I received, and witnessed others receiving, outstanding customer service at a fast food restaurant. Now, before any of you start to go off on me for eating fast food -- especially after I've blogged about my cholesterol levels -- you should know that I ordered two salads, and nothing else! Anyway, here's what happened:

In this day and age, where a lot of people in the service sector seem lifeless and to generally hate their jobs (especially those punks working the concession counter at the movie theaters), it was refreshing to receive excellent customer for no reason other than the fact that I Am The Customer. Now, if Arby's could just make a good salad!

As you may have heard by now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday that it will soon require manufacturers of most conventional foods to list in the Nutrition Facts panel the trans fat content of the product, in addition to the information about the product's overall fat content and saturated fat content. While this is certainly a good move, it upsets me that the FDA is giving manufacturers until January 1st of 2006 to include the new information on nutritional labels. If the FDA feels that it's important for the information to be included on the label, then why not require that it be done sooner?

According to the FDA, estimates are that by three years after the compliance date of 1/1/06, trans fat labeling will have prevented between 600 and 1,200 cases of coronary heart disease and 250 to 500 deaths each year in the U.S.A alone. In addition to the lives saved each year, the FDA also estimates that the changes in regulations will save between $900 million and $1.8 billion each year in medical costs and lost productivity.

July 9, 2003

To comment on the above snippets, as well as to read co-worker Phil's latest thoughts on MTV's The Real World, vist the PuddingTime blog by clicking here (look for the post titled "grab bag").

July 8, 2003

The US Supreme Court ended its term recently with a spate of historic decisions -- one on gay rights & privacy, one on affirmative action & the value of diversity, and one on political re-districting and the diluting of minority voting strength. The Village Voice posed an interesting question of the day, and I submit it to you, along with my response -- just scroll down to "Lee M., Joplin, MO":

Have you ever agreed to keep a secret that you were dying to share with anyone who would listen? Who hasn't, right? Well, I'm holding onto TWO secrets right now that I'm just dying to share, but out of strict allegiance to two people who have been very special to me from the day they came into my life, I won't say what information I'm holding onto. Despite my loyalty, anyone care to take a guess? While these two items are secrets today, they won't be in a few weeks, so go ahead... take a guess :-) To make it all that more interesting, I'm willing to answer "Yes" and No" questions only.

Thanks to the good folks over at TalkLeft.com, I've learned about an interesting new website called The Dossiers. From TalkLeft:

Dig just below the surface of the Ashcroft dossier, and you find information like this:

Visit The Dossiers website by clicking here. The site also contains an in-depth profile of President George W. Bush, and promises dossiers on Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld in the near future.

July 7, 2003

Another sign that Blogs are catching on... from an industry e-mail message I received earlier today:

Earlier this week I noticed that About.com migrated their entire site -- more than 450 distinct websites -- over to a Blog platform. And just this weekend, The New York Times ran yet another article on the popularity and utility of Blogs in the workplace.

July 6, 2003

I continue to stumble across really cool Internet-based clocks. Add this one to the list. Enjoy!

George Bush: "Condoleeza! Nice to see you. What's happening?"
Condoleeza Rice: "Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China."
George: "Great. Bring It On!"
Condoleeza: "'Hu' is the new leader of China."
George: "That's what I want to know."
Condoleeza: "That's what I'm telling you."
George: "That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?"
Condoleeza: "Yes."
George: "I mean the fellow's name."

Well, even though you know how the rest of this joke goes, you should still click thru to read it. It's actually quite funny. Thanks to Christoph for pointing it out!

George: "Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he was in the Middle East."

George: "Look, Condoleeza. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone."

George: "No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then
get me the U.N."

July 4, 2003

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Folks may have read Guest Beli-Blogger Lee McDaniel's question earlier this week about this very issue. Lee, "right you are, good sir"... the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals did rule earlier in the week that listserv editors (and by defult, Bloggers like me) cannot be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending important First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers.

From TalkLeft.com: "In order for the provider or publisher of the information to receive immunity, the publisher reasonably must have determined that the author/sender/user meant for his communication to be published. In cases where a user directly posts his own comments, this is obvious. But when a user sends an email to an online publisher, such as a blog, and does not intend for it to be published, the immunity issue gets murky. The Ninth Circuit determined in this decision that the test should not be the intent of the author, but rather, whether the provider (publisher) reasonably could assume that the information was sent with the intent for it to be published."

Matt's Question: Have you ever posted an ad or response to one via an Internet dating service?

Mikal's Answer: Why yes, yes I have. At one point or another I have posted ads (and responses to ads) on Yahoo! Personals, Match.com, American Singles, and other random sites. I've meet some really nice women this way. Internet dating rocks!

Matt's Question: Do recent increases in the U.S. jobless rate reflect the future of the Bush tax cut?

Mikal's Answer: Hmmmm... while I would like to be able to connect the current rate of unemployment to the President's recent tax cut, the reality of the situation is that the tax cut just went into place, while the unemployment rate has been dropping since the first quarter of 2001. My sense, unfortunately, is that we'll continue to experience high unemployment rates for another two to three years, and that by the time we come out of it, Bush's tax cut won't really matter all that much (except to proponents of the cuts, who will attempt to take credit for the turn-around).

Matt's Question: Have you ever danced around your home with incredibly loud music†like Bridgett Jones while either depressed or crazy-happy?

Mikal's Answer: Like Bridget Jones? No way. Like Joel Goodson... you betcha! (For those of you who don't recall, Joel Goodson is the character Tom Cruise played in the 1983 movie 'Risky Business.')

Mikal's Answer: At home, an Apple iBook, running the Jaguar operating system. At the office, a PC of some kind, running some version of Windows (not XP, I know that). I actually like it that way... using both systems.

Don't be shy (yes, you)... click on the "Comments" link below to share your own answers. You can do so anonymously now due to some changes made to the posting form!

July 3, 2003

According to the Associated Press, United States government officials and private sector technology experts are warning that hackers might be planning to attack Internet websites this coming Sunday (July 6th) in a loosely coordinated "contest" that could disrupt Internet traffic on a global scale. The Kansas City Star reports this morning that a website was set up to manage the coordinated hack, but was shut down by government officials late yesterday afternoon. Various sources have reported that before the site was removed (originally located at defacers-challenge.com), it listed in broken English rules for hackers who might participate.

Regardless of whether this is a hoax or a real threat, it's a good idea for everyone reading this message to make sure that their web servers have all recommended security patches in place before the holiday weekend!

July 2, 2003

Hi everyone! I am Lee McDaniel, a friend of Mikalís since our college days, and he has invited me to join this blogging endeavor. I accepted his invitation and will contribute the occasional posting to this site. I am a 33 year old, single, white, gay, Protestant, male. I do residential retail mortgage loans in New England (through Refi.com) and in the rest of the nation (through SBS Financial Group). I live & work in Providence, RI and Joplin, MO.

My favorite topics include politics, religion, baseball, college basketball, theatre, travel, and high culture. Perhaps my next post will be on politics, religion, and sex ñ itíd be a trifecta of Western taboos. Any other ideas?

A few months ago I started to think about ways in which I could make my website, my Blog, more enjoyable for both myself and others that choose to stop by from time to time. With that thought in mind I invited a few Blogless friends to make posts of their own on my site. Thus, as you can see from the post immediately above this one, my friend Lee McDaniel has signed on to provide now-and-again commentary on issues and ideas that he feels are appropriate for the Beli-Blog. Please join me in welcoming Lee to the world of Blogging.

By the way, if youíre currently Blogless and looking for an outlet for your thoughts and ideas, leave me a note in the ëCommentsí area below.

Does anyone know of a use for the lint that comes out of the dryer? It seems like such a waste to be throwing it away all the time. Any ideas?

Click here for another very cool online clock (submitted by my old high school pal, Ed, who now goes by the name AJ).

July 1, 2003

The rhetorical tack that opponents of last week's Supreme Court decision seem to be market-testing is, if you think what gays and lesbians do in private is their own business, then you must be in favor of incest--or you might as well be, because as sure as candy's sweet that'll be legal tomorrow, too. (Between adults, anyway.)

Which is, of course, horseshit six different ways, but it's interesting that I've heard the word "incest" a half-dozen times since Thursday, and not once from somebody who actually wanted to do his own sister. Am I so out of touch? It never even occurred to me that there might be a Brother/Sister Love Lobby just waiting for the right cultural moment to bring their shame into the sunlight. (To think I used to work in a liquor store that carried "Family Love" magazine on the porn rack. Right under our noses, people!) And Rick Santorum sternly intones that marriage isn't open to man and dog (no matter how committed their relationship)--but that could change.

I'm not ignorant of the Abyss that beckons in the heart of Man; I know there is vile business being conducted in attics, cellars, and darken'd apartments the world over. But if religious conservatives truly believe the Rehnquist Supreme Court has set a course for the depraved dystopias that burn blackly in their tortured sleep, they ought to be spending more time in therapy and less in church.

I'm a card-carrying Married who's successfully bred once. There are a lot of things I worry may threaten my family. This isn't one of them.