The Skinny on Human-Animal Hybrids, from PZ Meyers:

[Bush]'s trusting that everyone will think he is banning monstrous crimes against nature, but what he's really doing is targeting the weak and the ill, blocking useful avenues of research that are specifically designed to help us understand human afflictions. His message isn't "We aren't going to let the mad scientists make monsters!", it's "We aren't going to let the doctors help those 'retards.'"

That's certainly a little bit of a downer, though not exactly surprising for Mr. Bush.

I was thinking about the little flap with Google censoring its search results last night, and I wanted to clarify things.

I don't know that it's "evil" of Google to block searches for "democracy." It's not ideal, but the net result of having a good search tool is still probably positive. There's something of a moral issue at stake, but it's hardly black and white. If the choice is Google minus "democracy" searches or no Google at all, you can make a case that the compromise is a net positive.

However, I think there's a harder moral line for this sort of thing:

Reporters Without Borders said Yahoo's Hong Kong arm helped China link Shi Tao's e-mail account and computer to a message containing the information.

The media watchdog accused Yahoo of becoming a "police informant" in order to further its business ambitions.

A Yahoo spokeswoman said it had to operate within each country's laws.

When you sell out someone for sending an email and that person goes to prison for 10 years, you've crossed the line from trying to provide as good a service to the Oppressed as the Oppressor will let you, and become a part of the Oppressor's system itself. Pretty simple really.

Watched the speech with Luke and Nick and Kim, his compadre from Hastings. Not really much to say.

The president sure does like setting up false dichotomies.

Human-animal hybrids?

Tim Kane needs to tame that eyebrow if he wants to get anywhere further in politics.

Drupal 4.7 is pretty fucking kick-ass. I'm actually looking forward to overhauling my own web presence with it. Good job guys!

It's a day of celebration for fundimentalists and hard-liners all over the US of A. Samuel Alito, a man who opposed the admission of minorities and women to his alma matter of Princeton, has replaced Sandra Day O'Conner, the first female on the Supreme Court. The right wing political machine will churn up an increasing number of challenges to Roe v. Wade to the court over the next several years, as well as attacks on affirmative action programs, etc. The framework of federal standards for equality which was the legacy of the last liberal generation will be significantly eroded over the next few decades.

For all of us living in nice places like New York and California, Massachusetts and Vermont, this doesn't really mean all that much. The real action now is on the state level, and all the places I'd ever consider living have a pretty solid bedrock of progressive values. Over in Mississippi, where there's already literally only one clinic in the whole state where you can get an abortion, people are going to have a harder time, I think. Welcome to the century of states rights. Make the most of it.

On the national level the only issue is Presidential power. Should any of Bush's abuses of Presidential power be investigated or otherwise tested in court, there are probably four solid pro-King-George votes, meaning only one of the moderates needs swinging. And it will go to court. If by some miracle the Democrats are able to build enough momentum to force some investigations, I don't think it's likely that Bush will bow to any demands from congress. Any attempt to curb or centure his behavior will be fought to the end, meaning the SCOTUS, where he's got quite a little fan club going.

But I don't think it's very likely he'll be investigated, which is in some ways better. If no one presses the legal question, the imperial Presidency may just fade away, an embarassing relic of a turbulent time, like when we locked up all the Japaneese people in those camps in the desert. If it's ratified by the Supreme Court, that's real, a solid blow against the Republic.

The action now is in the states. For people who disagree with the radical right's view of what America should be (a legislatively-mandated Leave It To Beaver), the real task is now to build local organizations which can place progressive representatives in State Senates and Assemblies, resist crackpot citizen-initiatives, and begin pushing for local leaders -- from Governors down to Mayors -- to be innovative and bold in crafting good governance.

There are opporunities here, but States are going to be ineffective at regulating corporate behavior, which remains one of the greatest challenges of government in the modern era. I mean, Exxon pulls in significantly more revenue than even the State of California. So that's a problem.

Also, PFAW and NAARAL should probably go up on a mountain and figure out why they keep taking honest people's money.

You know, at some point you really have to reach back into the TR bag and reformulate the language of Trust Busting. High energy prices, driven by our meddling in the Middle East and a devistating hurricane season, are definitely hurting working Americans, even inconveniencing members of our vaunted "investor class."

Meanwhile, Exxon/Mobil has posted the largest profit of any US company: $36.13 billion.

Other oil syndicates should report similarly grand tallies for the year.

That's the invisible hand at work.

An interesting theory on why Bush's wiretapping program couldn't go though the FISA court:

[T]he source of the intel tips is tainted. If you are generating leads from persons being held in secret prisons or if the info is obtained thru torture, then it makes it difficult to make a truthful declaration before a judge. Why not lie to the FISA court? That's called perjury. I suspect this explains the real motive for the refusal of the Bush Administration to go the FISA route.

This seems much more probable than the idea that Bush had the NSA spying on John Kerry, although since they won't tell us anything about this program we have no real way to know.

The Girth is in town. We met up last night and threw down a few. I've been fighting a cold, so was not really as animated and engaged as I hope to be. I was sort of distressed to hear him say there's some significant support for Bush's wartime-powers wiretapping defense within the Law School cotire.

Pawing around some borrowed internet -- sometimes the neighbor's signal comes through well enough to web-surf from bed -- I see that the groundlings are hard at work on the possibility of an Alito filibuster. This is good, but I also agree with Mr. Stoller, that the establishment blew it on this one, and that this "Fillibuster" smells like an act of political theater to keep the Party's base from tuning out in disgust. Particularly innefectual in all this have been the likes of PFAW and NAARL, who have made the Supreme Court a core part of their reason d'etre for more than a decade.

I go into this because I'm trying to design a career arc for myself, and being some kind of change-agent remains fairly important to me. Questions of how, where and under what terms to interface with established institutions (like the Democratic Party) are somewhat prominant in my mind.

Over dinner last night, Frank and Laura were talking about the possibility of leaving New York to start married life. Though it was a little surprising, it makes sense to me. Unless you're pulling down big money in Manhattan or you've got a pile of cash in trust or inheratence, it doesn't make a lot of sense to try and start a business enterprise or a family here.

Free Fax to a number of Senators to fillibuster Alito. It will take all of 5 minutes, and it can't hurt. If you don't want this weasely little creep to get a lifetime appointment to sit in judgement on the highest court of the land, clicky clicky.

Representing perennial powerhouse, Hastings college of Law, he will eat the competition at The national Moot Court competetion just like he ate that plate of steak and potatoes.

To get yrself pumped up, may I suggest a quick... montage!

It's gonna be a show-down... goin' downtown, gonna mess around, showdown, put your nose down... SHOW-DOWN!