Check out this interesting post on Slashdot... Apparently the drug, named Zolpidem, is able to activate dormant areas of the brain, even allowing some patients to become aware of their surroundings. The legal and moral implications surrounding patients in a persistent vegitative state (PVS) are obvious.

When the Terri Schiavo affair was dominating the news, I argued that her alleged wish to be taken off feeding tubes should be honored. One piece of my argument was that her PVS was irreversible.

The lesson, it seems, is that we never should underestimate life.

Apple loses its trade secrets case against online newssite Think Secret.

The Indianapolis 500, in its 90th running, proved once again that it is the greatest spectacle in racing.

Besides the thrill of the race itself, the event was attended with the customary pomp and tradition. Numerous celebrities were there (not that I care about that), the Archbishop gave the invocation, the Purdue marching band played the Indiana state song "On the Banks of the Wabash," Jim Neighbors sang "Back Home Again in Indiana," Florence Henderson sang "God Bless America," a military trumpeter played "Taps," the Marion County sheriffs stood on their motorcycles, the balloons were released, Mary George said "Lady and Gentlemen start your engines!," F-16's flew over, etc. etc. etc.

For anyone who has gone to the race as long as myself--16 years now--this routine is ingrained in our memories. Though really there is nothing routine about it as every year I get goosebumps at hearing the sounds of the engines coming to life before the start of the race.

...

The race itself was great as well. A handful of drivers were competitive for the top spots, and there were many great storylines. Would the race see its first female winner in Dana Patrick? Would Michael Andretti, coming out of retirement to race with his son Marco, make a run for victory lane? Would Marco, only 19 years old, be able to compete, or perhaps even become the youngest winner in the race's history?

With 5 laps remaining, the race saw Michael Andretti in the top spot, Marco in 2nd, and Penske driver Sam Hornish in 3rd. These storylines could hardly have been better served. And with Hornish pulling out the second closest victory ever in Indy, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing was over once again.

[check out the Indy Star's excellent coverage of the race...]


...photo by Kelly Wilkinson / The Star

Let me take this occasion to thank the troops that are serving us throughout the world, and to memorialize the soldiers that have given their blood for the United States and the cause of freedom. This is but a modest token of the praise owed them, and I'm afraid I lack the eloquence to give them their just.



Jonah Goldberg pointed out an interesting omission by Google. They celebrate holidays by changing their website logo, even including Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday just last week. But they have done nothing to celebrate Memorial Day (via Instapundit). Was this a careless omission or have they intentionally made this omission to avoid some sort of controversy. Neither possibility is good, but if it is the latter, I have lost all respect for Google.

Finally, please consider making a donation to Wounded Warriors, a non-profit organization founded to help our soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. To see their mission, go here.

As many of you know, G.K. Chesterton is one of my favorite authors. His novels are symbolically brilliant. He was also a portly Catholic who enjoyed drinking beers and smoking pipes at pubs. Sounds like somebody else I know...

Well, Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born on this date in 1874, so I thought it'd be appropriate to repeat one of my favorite quotes of his:

"If you look at a thing nine hundred and ninety-nine times, you are perfectly safe; if you look at it a thousandth time, you are in frightful danger of seeing it for the first time." - The Napoleon of Notting Hill

What is 'net neutrality' you ask? Well, here's the short of the matter: the major U.S. telecommunication companies (e.g. AT&T and Verizon) want to be able to charge different customers different rates for transferring data over their internet backbones; net neutrality would take the form of legislation that would forbid this varying rate scheme.

Google and Microsoft both support net neutrality and say that a varying rate scheme could disadvantage them as major content portals on the net. The telecoms could setup their own content alliances and favor them over the already existing market leaders. This could hurt consumers by limiting choice and raising prices.

Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the web, argues that a varying pricing approach could segment the net and is thus antithetical to the openness and equality that has allowed the net to flourish. I agree.

Unfortunately, net neutrality legislation has not yet gained traction on Capitol Hill.

Update (5/29): A House committee has passed a net neutrality provision. Let's see if it advances from here...

Gay Gary, IN teen shut out of prom for wearing dress...

The headline really says it all.

Apologies for the lack of blogging the last two days. I've been very busy (riiiggght).

So the next cool iPod accessory is due out soon, and it's a collaboration between Apple and Nike. Basically, the new gadget is a pedometer shoe insert that wirelessly transmits data to an iPod Nano.

Nike bills this device as being able to 'tune your run' and that's a fairly accurate description for what it does. With this setup a jogger can have their iPod announce to them how much distance or time they have left in their run, or how much has elapsed. Then, after the run is over, the iPod can be plugged into a computer and synced with a new Nike Plus website that will chart your run's speed over time. It'll even store your runs for the sake of comparison.

At $30, this cool gadget is a steal.

As anyone who knows me could confirm, I have been an outspoken critic of John McCain. Too often his politics haven bordered on populism (e.g. campaign finance reform, anti-tobacco company legislation, etc.) and his personality bordered on self-serving maverick. But while I disagree with some of his political positions, I increasingly feel that he may be just what this country needs in 2008.

My growing support is not due to his positions on certain issues but rather to his spirit of leadership. Our nation needs a leader who can aptly communicate the problems and possible solutions to the challenges that face it. Our nation needs a leader who can work with political opponents in order to overcome the intractability that is now the rule in the Congress and the federal government.

Is John McCain that leader? I don't know, but his commencement address to the New School in NYC is a positive indication. Here are some excerpts... On the need to assume that one's political opponents in America are well-intentioned:

That passion for self-expression sometimes overwhelms our civility, and our presumption that those with whom we have strong disagreements, wrong as they might be, believe that they, too, are answering the demands of their conscience....

Americans deserve more than tolerance from one another, we deserve each other's respect, whether we think each other right or wrong in our views, as long as our character and our sincerity merit respect, and as long as we share, for all our differences, for all the noisy debates that enliven our politics, a mutual devotion to the sublime idea that this nation was conceived in--that freedom is the inalienable right of mankind, and in accord with the laws of nature and nature's Creator.

On the goodness of American freedom and the danger of relativism:

We have to love our freedom, not just for the private opportunities it provides, but for the goodness it makes possible. We have to love it as much, even if not as heroically, as the brave Americans who defend us at the risk and often the cost of their lives. We must love it enough to argue about it, and to serve it, in whatever way our abilities permit and our conscience requires, whether it calls us to arms or to altruism or to politics....

Relativism, in this contest, is most certainly not a sign of our humility or ecumenism; it is a mask for arrogance and selfishness. It is, and I mean this sincerely and with all humility, not worthy of us. We are a better people than that....

We are not a perfect nation. Our history has had its moments of shame and profound regret. But what we have achieved in our brief history is irrefutable proof that a nation conceived in liberty will prove stronger, more decent and more enduring than any nation ordered to exalt the few at the expense of the many or made from a common race or culture or to preserve traditions that have no greater attribute than longevity.

On the Iraq war:

I stand that ground [in support of the war in Iraq] because I believed, rightly or wrongly, that my country's interests and values required it.

War is an awful business. The lives of the nation's finest patriots are sacrificed. Innocent people suffer. Commerce is disrupted, economies damaged. Strategic interests shielded by years of statecraft are endangered as the demands of war and diplomacy conflict. Whether the cause was necessary or not, whether it was just or not, we should all shed a tear for all that is lost when war claims its wages from us. However just or false the cause, however proud and noble the service, it is loss--the loss of friends, the loss of innocent life, the loss of innocence--that the veteran feels most keenly forever more. Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes war.

On self-identity and the problem with egoism (remember Pope Benedict's rant against the triumph of the ego?):

In that confrontation, I discovered that I was dependent on others to a greater extent than I had ever realized, but neither they nor the cause we served made any claims on my identity. On the contrary, they gave me a larger sense of myself than I had before. And I am a better man for it. I discovered that nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone. And that has made all the difference, my friends, all the difference in the world.

Read the whole speech...

It's not just Republicans that have been taking part in the recent bout of corruption in Congress.

The latest Democrat to fall is Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana... Jefferson accepted a bribe near $100,000 from an FBI informant, and then he hid the money in his freezer wrapped in tin foil.

What? To begin with, let's all agree on what the U.S.'s terms should be on the matter of Iran: a theocratic Iran with nuclear weapons is completely unacceptable. All options, including the use of military force must be considered and evaluated.

Why? Some argue that a nation has a "right" to develop nuclear weapons, and that the U.S., having used nukes against Japan, has no right to tell another nation they cannot possess such weapons. This is really a 2-part argument, and I'll quickly deal with each part.

No nation has a right to develop nuclear weapons. Creating weapons of mass destruction is an inherently negative activity and is a privilege contingent on that nation's internal stability and the danger it poses to its neighbors.

The U.S. has not surrendered its legitimacy in demanding that a nation such as Iran refrain from making nukes. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred during a war, not to start a war or to take land from another nation. It occurred to end a war and to save lives. Right or wrong, the intentions of the judgment were good. Since that fateful decision, it has been the avowed policy of the U.S. government never to strike first with nuclear weapons against another nation.

Iran, however, is governed by a fanatical theocracy. Its government is not accountable to the people of Iran and it derives its power from a fundamentalist interpretation of Sharia, the Islamic law that it vows to uphold and perpetuate. Iran has threatened another nation with annihilation (i.e. Israel), and it attacks Israel, U.S. forces, and British forces in the region by proxy of terrorist groups.

Iran thus forfeits its privilege to develop nuclear weapons.

How? This is a much trickier question, and the crux of the matter before us. I'll cover it in a separate post. If anyone disagrees with the premises set forth above, make that disagreement known now.

The amazingly deep lyrics of the Red Hot Chili Peppers ;-)

Hard To Concentrate - Red Hot Chili Peppers
hustle, bustle and so much muscle awww
cells about to separate
and i find it hard to concentrate and

temporary this cash and carry
i'm stepping up to indicate
the time has come to deviate and

all i want is for you to be happy and
take this moment to make you my family and
finally you have found something perfect and
finally you have found

death defying this mess i'm buying
it's raining down with love and hate
and i find it hard to motivate and

estuary is blessed but scary your
heart's about to palpitate
and i'm not about to hesitate and

one to treasure the rest of your days here and
give you pleasure in so many ways dear and
finally you have found something perfect and
finally you have found......here we go

do you want me to show up for duty and
serve this woman and honor her beauty and
finally you have found something perfect and
finally you have found......yourself

with me....will you...agree...to take
this man...into your world
and now...we are as one

my lone ranger the heat exchanger
is living in this figure eight
and i'll do my best to recreate and

sweet precision and soft collision awww
hearts about to palpitate
and i find it hard to seperate and

all i want is for you to be happy and
take this woman and make you my family and
finally you have found someone perfect and
finally you have found...

all i want is for you to be happy and
take this woman and make you my family and
finally you have found someone perfect and
finally you have found...yourself

- RHCP, "Hard to Concentrate"

Bono's latest endeavor to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa is named simply: RED. Project RED appears to be taking several forms. Recently it was announced that there would be a RED-branded cell phone sold in Europe, part of the proceeds of which go to Africa.

Then yesterday, Bono guest-edited a special RED edition of the The Independent, with topics largely focused on the AIDS epidemic and with 10% of revenues from the edition also going to Africa.



Now, I have traditionally not been a fan of Bono's. Not only do I think U2's music to be overrated (look, I think they're a great band, but I don't think they're the second coming of the Beatles), but I am also turned off at Bono's stoking of his own personality cult.

However, his efforts have been too consistent and determined for me or anyone else to question his sincerity with regards to the African AIDS epidemic. Merely giving part of the revenue of one edition of a newspaper or from cell phones is not going to solve the problems that face Africa, but communicating the problem, as Bono has done in The Independent, can have a much larger impact.

Bono aptly points this out in his column, "I am a witness. What can I do?"



Yet, I still am not a big fan of Bono. It is indeed refreshing that Bono understands his own vanity:

May I say without guile, I am as sick of messianic rock stars as the next man, woman and child. I am also tired of average work being given extra weight because it's attached to something with real gravitas, like the Aids emergency. So I truly try to tread carefully as I walk over the dreams of dignity under my feet in our work for the terrible beauty that is the continent of Africa. I'm used to the custard pies. I've even learnt to like the taste of them. But before you are tempted to let fly with your understandable invective, allow me to contextualise. Not for the sake of my vanity, but for the sake of people who are depending on you - the reader - to respond to the precariousness of their lives.

...but while however vane he remains, unctuous he is not. As I said, I no longer question his sincerity; so then why do I still dislike him?

Perhaps it is his artform that I dislike--more so than the man himself. U2's muse has always been the obvious and charged issues of our day: the plight of the Irish in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" for example. When U2 sang at the Super Bowl a few years ago, they displayed a list of the victims of 9/11, though they didn't even show the whole list. When U2 came to Notre Dame, suddenly Bono dramatically increased his references to God and thanksgiving before, during, and after the songs.

Meanwhile, U2 earns a ton of cash and fame from this artform, which they in turn prominently use to combat problems like AIDS in Africa. I realize that the consequences of this cycle may be positive, but forgive me if I find it's foundation contrived.

I have yet one year before I graduate from law school, but I still find this graduation season to be a useful time of reflection. Bill Cosby, John McCain, and others have given notable commencement addresses--both of which I'll quote in coming days--and some of my friends are graduating from college.

I am not typically a sentimentalist, but I do remember with a bittersweet fondness my last stroll around Notre Dame's campus as an undergrad. It is that memory, and countless others, that fuel my passion for ND football. And I am not alone.

...

I'm currently reading Ralph McInerny's Irish Coffee, a story in his Notre Dame-set mystery novel series. McInerny, a professor-emeritus of ND, is most famous for his Father Dowling mystery series.

This quote from the story is appropriate amongst my graduation season ruminations:

In winter the world awaits its resurrection, spring is the Easter season when ducks and geese and swans move about on the melted lakes, and for seniors commencement looms. It is an academic conceit that the end of their time at Notre Dame should be called a beginning, but so in a way it is, for then they will join the great silent majority, the quick and the dead, that have walked this campus and, however little remembered, take indelible memories of it with them when they go.

There are some strange towns in the great state of Indiana. And by strange, I don't necessarily mean bad, but I mean the towns have a quirky story to tell.

Such seems to be the case with Roseland, a small town on the north side of South Bend, Indiana. Well, one of my friends at ND, and his film group, have created a documentary about Roseland. Check out this South Bend Tribune article on it.

...unfortunately, it's all too real. Just check out this quote by Bishop Alfred Owens, Jr., pastor of a 7,000 strong congregation in Washington, D.C.:

"It takes a real man to confess Jesus as lord and savior. I'm not talking about no faggot or no sissy. Wait a minute! Let all the real men come on down here and take a bow. All the real men -- I'm talking about the straight men. You ain't funny, and you ain't cranky, but you're straight. Come on down here and walk around and praise God that you are straight. Thank him that you're straight. All the straight men that's proud to be a Christian, that's proud to be a man of God."

[via Andrew Sullivan]

It has been suggested to me that I should make a slight revision to my immigration bill. I agree. Here's the amendment:

- The 2-year registration/amnesty period would not begin until a period of 1 or 2 years has elapsed. This will allow the border security to be bulked up prior to that period.

- The period will be reduced from 2 years to 3-6 months. Two years and excessively long and would promote illegals to make their immigration attempt in order to secure the amnesty.

...

Iran post coming soon... Promise.

My posts on energy and immigration last week inspired me to engage in some productive discussion on those matters with friends and family.

With regards to energy, I left out of my post an idea that I think is promising: distributive power generation.

Under this system, small businesses and homeowners operate electricity-producing generators on their property. If they produce less than they use, then they draw what they need from the power grid, but if they produce more, then they sell power back to the grid.

With older generator technology, however, there would be no benefit to homeowners or to society at large by employing such a scheme. However, fuel-cell based generators are here and now. The current crop run on natural gas or gasoline but produce virtually no pollution. They are also very efficient. Again, however, only 2 of the 3 energy goals are met by this approach, as the fossil fuels would still be required.

Future generations of fuel cells could feasibly run off bio-wastes or other "green" fuel sources.

...

The technology is not currently suitable for cars yet, as it is too bulky.

Chris asks 'Is Congress good for anything?'

I say no.

So now that I tackled immigration, it's time to discuss the nation's energy policy. See how much more I get done than Congress?

But in all seriousness, while I don't have a detailed energy plan, like I did with immigration, I think there are a few issues that need to be addressed.

The goals... The U.S. energy policy must address 3 goals: reducing carbon pollution, obtain energy as efficiently as possible, and to reduce our dependence on any one region of the world.

The strategy... Each of these goals is in tension with the other two. An effective energy policy must identify its priorities and create the most effective balance between the three. Easier said than done, I realize.

The strategy generally should be to explore all options and to remain skeptical regarding any purported "fix-all" solution.

The possibilities... For electricity, coal and nuclear power remain the only two viable large-scale solutions. Coal is dirty, but it is plentiful and we will not be able to transition away from it quickly. The government should therefore retain or increase its funding of "clean coal" technologies, including advanced filtering devices to be used during this transition.

The government should also begin building a handful of nuclear power plants. The U.S. must reduce its carbon output. As China and India develop, and as the U.S. continues to increase its carbon output, worldwide atmospheric carbon is increasing at a great clip. The signs of global warming are undeniable. Utilizing nuclear power will not only output much less pollution but it is also highly efficient.

These power plants should incorporate breeder reactors that produce much less nuclear waste, which would require a change of U.S. law previously forbidding the use of these reactors. Europe has had much success using this form of nuclear power. The reactors could also use the new pebble-bed technology developed by the U.S. Pebble-bed reactors are nearly meltdown proof.

For cars and trucks, the options are more numerous, though the good options are still few. To begin with, corn-based ethanol should be abandoned unless significant technological gains are made. E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gas) sounds too good to be true, and it is. While it burns vastly cleaner than gasoline and it uses an American-grown resource, some estimates say that it takes just as much energy to produce as it yields (1 unit to every 1.3 units). Other estimates say it actually takes MORE energy than it yields. Plus, the only reason E85 is reasonable at the pump is that the U.S. government is heavily subsidizing ethanol production. Clearly, the use of E85 works directly against the goal of procuring energy efficiently, even if it works in favor of the other two goals.

Notice, though, that I said corn-based ethanol should be abandoned--not all ethanol. It just so happens that sugar-cane based ethanol is much more efficient, producing over 8 units of energy for every 1 unit it requires to be made. Brazil is by far the largest producer of this form of ethanol, but currently we have 40%+ tariffs on the import of ethanol. These should be eliminated. This form of ethanol would meet all three above-stated goals. However, no form of ethanol will be nearly sufficient to supply all of the U.S. or global gasoline demand.

Thus, demand must be reduced. For economic reasons (see debate below this post), I would not support a large government tax on gasoline or on oil company profits, but I would support personal tax breaks for purchase of hybrid autos. Additionally, I think market forces will work to encourage adoption of hybrids over gas-hogs like SUVs. Think about it: if every American family owned a car that was twice as efficient as their current car, then U.S. demand would roughly shrink by 50%! Again, all three goals are addressed by this technology.

Musings of a Domer and Kelly Green both have the latest...

Luke's immigration bill:

WHEREAS an insecure border with Mexico presents a risk to the nation's homeland security;

WHEREAS illegal immigration promotes disrespect for the laws of this nation;

WHEREAS many illegal immigrants are productive participants in this nation's economy;

WHEREAS many illegal immigrants do not pay taxes on their income, yet they receive government services;

WHEREAS illegal immigrants often lack the worker protections accorded to legal immigrants (e.g. minimum wage, workers' comp., etc.);

WHEREAS businesses encourage and promote the problem of illegal immigration by knowingly hiring illegals;

WHEREAS this nation has been historically welcoming to immigrants of various ethnic backgrounds and it has geographical and economic room to accept many more;

WHEREAS the IRS and other federal agencies currently refuse to disclose the identity of illegal immigrants to the INS

BE IT ENACTED:

1. Secure the border... While a perfectly secure border is impossible, we can do a lot better than we are now. Multiply the Border Patrol's budget by a factor of 10, with an according increase in the number of agents. This is needed not only to help us control the number of immigrants entering the nation, but it is also necessary for security reasons.

2. Create an amnesty grace period of 2 years... During this period, any illegal immigrant in the country must register. There would be no fines associated with this, as any fines would discourage illegals from registering. The registration would do the following: give the immigrants a legal permanent Visa, place them at the back of the list for citizenship, document them for tax purposes.

3. Penalize unregistered illegal immigrants after the end of the grace period... Any illegal discovered by any institution of the federal government will be deported.

4. Penalize businesses employing unregistered immigrants after the end of the grace period. Fine businesses $20,000 (or some effective amount) for each illegal immigrant they employ. Workers who have presented fraudulent registration information shall not count against the employer. It is the government's responsibility to confirm this information.

5. Require all institutions and agencies of the federal government to disclose information to the INS regarding unregistered immigrants.

6. Double the number of Visas and Citizenship applications.

Whoever said that NASA has to operate in a bubble? I came across a couple interesting collaborative projects, while I was checking out the wonderful blog Slashdot this week.

The first is an agreement between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to explore the Moon together. Under the agreement India's first spacecraft to the moon, an unmanned craft planned to launch in 2008, will carry some U.S. instruments to scan the Moon's surface for ice and minerals. This should aid the U.S.'s goal to send a person back to the Moon by 2012.

The second collaboration isn't nearly as interesting. With the demise of the Concord supersonic passenger jet, Japan has sought to fill the void with a speedy plane of their own. But they've been having problems with their design, and they're seeking NASA's expertise.

As I see it, the three biggest issues facing America these days are energy, immigration, and Iran. I'll be covering each of these in the next couple days. Believe it or not, I have a lot to say about these things. Okay, none of you will have trouble believing that :-)

I think this is a good thing. That the agreement by the pop distributors was urged by the William J. Clinton Foundation--well, I'm not sure what to think about that.

As recently as April 25, I was bragging about being correct about Tony Blair choosing to stay on for his full term. But the recent word is that following intense battles within the Labour Party, Blair has said he'll step down earier than the term's end and that he'll hand the job over to the party's number 2, Gordon Brown.

Andrew Sullivan recently had a "pop quiz" on his blog asking who said the following quote:

"Liberalism and Western style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems. We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point – that is the Almighty God."

Sullivan then suggested that people might guess it was Pope Benedict XVI, Rick Santorum, or perhaps Pat Robertson... The real answer, as you my intelligent readers may have guessed, is Iran's "president" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Sullivan's suggestions, all widely considered to be conservatively minded Christians, expose his current built-in bias against these people. For, in reality, Benedict, Santorum, and Robertson would all reasonably be presumed to be proponents of Western-style democracy.

His repeated attempts to paint Christian-conservatives as theocrats should fall on deaf ears.

"Science offers the prospect of eventual cures for terrible diseases -- and temptations to manipulate life and violate human dignity... With the Internet, you can communicate instantly with someone halfway across the world -- and isolate yourself from your family and your neighbors... My advice: Harness the promise of technology without becoming slaves to technology. My advice is that science serves the cause of humanity and not the other way around."

- George W. Bush, giving a recent commencement address

...

Sensible advice I think. Also, part of it is kindof similar to what the Dalai Lama said a month ago.

With the movie version of Da Vinci Code due in theaters soon, many Christians are speaking out against the story. Count me as one of them. The story's shoddy research irresponsibly distorts the history of Christianity, passing off pure fiction as a factual basis for the novel.

That said, I applaud the efforts of Christian writers, both Catholic and Protestant, writing articles and books to combat and correct the Da Vinci distortion.

However, I am extremely disappointed with the words of Cardinal Francis Arinze, one of the frontrunners for the Papacy after John Paul II's death. The Cardinal has called on Christians to bring legal action against the movie and novel for the offense they bring against our faith. Apparently referring to the Muslim response to the Danish Mohammed cartoons, he said,

"Those who blaspheme Christ and get away with it are exploiting the Christian readiness to forgive and to love even those who insult us. There are some other religions which if you insult their founder they will not be just talking. They will make it painfully clear to you."

What's his point? Is he saying that we should abandon the Christian principle of forgiveness? While Islamists pushed violent protest in response to the Mohammed cartoons, Cardinal Arinze would have Christians use (nay, abuse) the legal system to fight insults to our faith.

The problem, of course, is that the legal system in the West was not intended to promote or protect certain religions over others. And in most western nations it was also intended to protect freedom of speech and expression.

Would Cardinal Arinze want a Christian theocracy established in the West, or is he simply ignorant of the concept of free speech?

I am thinking it's a sign that the freckles
In our eyes are mirror images and when
We kiss they're perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate that God himself
Did make us into corresponding shapes like
Puzzle pieces from the clay
True, it may seem like a stretch, but
Its thoughts like this that catch my troubled
Head when you're away when I am missing you to death
When you are out there on the road for
Several weeks of shows and when you scan
The radio, I hope this song will guide you home

They will see us waving from such great
Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away,
'come down now,' but we'll stay...

I tried my best to leave this all on your
Machine but the persistent beat it sounded
Thin upon listening
That frankly will not fly. you will hear
The shrillest highs and lowest lows with
The windows down when this is guiding you home

- The Postal Service, "Such Great Heights"

Here are the first 10 songs that came up on my iPod's shuffle...

[per the Onion's AV Club "Random Rules" piece]

1. Billy Joel - It's Still Rock & Roll to Me

I'm a pretty big fan of Billy Joel, but he's one of the artists that goes in and out of favor with me. Sometimes I just can't get enough of his stuff, but lately I have been ignoring him, so this is a good opportunity for me to start another listening spurt. My favorite BJ song is actually "She's Always a Woman to Me" though I didn't start liking that song until I heard Rufus Wainwright sing it at a concert 2 summers ago. Also, "We Didn't Start a Fire" made an appearance in the last German video I made in high school.

2. The Beatles - Savoy Truffle

Wow, I'm so happy this song came up. Literally the first two albums I ever listened to were Pink Floyd's The Wall and The Beatles White Album. To this date they are two of my favorite albums period. "Savoy Truffle" is certainly not the most famous song off the White album, but its flare exemplifies what makes that album so great. It was the first Beatles song I was "hooked" on.

3. Van Morrison - Moondance

Ok, there's really nothing interesting I can say about this. It's a classic song, but Van Morrison is one of those artists I just have a few songs from and probably should get more.

4. The Strokes - What Ever Happened

The Strokes. One of the bands that I call "retro" but for which I'm sure there's a better or more used term for. It seems like the Strokes, the Hives, the Vines, and the White Stripes all started getting radio play about the same time. I still regret not seeing the Strokes concert in Indy 2 years ago.

5. Powderfinger - Up & Down & Back Again

Ah, a good story behind this band. Frosh year of college, I went to Cedar Point with a few friends. We stated at this cool Ohio state park the night before and we had a young Australian couple as neighbors. They came over to our campsite and drank and chatted us up the whole evening. A cool night. They told us about some Australian bands, including... you guessed it, Powderfinger.

6. Counting Crows - Round Here

I was going to brag that I didn't have any songs come up that I'm not fully proud of. Consider that streak broken.

7. Snow - Informer

Haha. Not much to say here, except that this is one of those songs that I was forced to listen to while I played high school football, and after so many listens it just grew on me.

8. The Beatles - She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

Off Abby Road. My second favorite Beatles album after White. I like this album because it all flows together as one artistic work. "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" can easily be missed while listening to the album, as it's not that long, but despite its brevity, it's awesome.

9. CCR - Down on the Corner

I had heard CCR as a kid and always liked them, but the first time I really got into them was after I heard one of their songs in Blue Chips. Yeah, okay, I'm not proud that I saw Blue Chips.

10. Oasis - Don't Look Back in Anger

Amazing song by an Amazing group. I meant to see them while in college, but they got in a car wreck in Indy and that opportunity was blown. Then, I finally got to see them live at Indy's Murat Theater this year. This song was written and sung by Noel Gallagher. He's not as much of a prick as the group's frontman, Liam (his brother), but he's got a far better voice.

...

How 'bout your's?

Pope Benedict the 16th has excommunicated two Chinese bishops today. The two were "consecrated" by the Chinese government to the state-run church.

The bottom line: Don't mess with apostolic succession!

Apparently President Bush isn't the only one suffering from low approval ratings.

A new Harris poll shows that support for the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion has dropped to an all-time low. For the first time since the poll began, public approval of the decision has dipped below a majority to 49%. This is down from a 1991 high of 65% approval. 47% disapproved.

Further breaking things down, only 24% of those surveryed supported abortion rights under any circumstances. 73% said abortion should be restricted in at least some cases.

What conclusions to draw from this? First, that the issue of abortion in this country is far from "decided". Furthermore, along this line, one of the original justifications offered by Roe supporters, that having the Supreme Court decide the issue would "settle" it, has proven to be a gigantic mistake in judgment. Second, the public does not support abortion on demand, which is exactly what Roe gives us. The vast majority of those surveryed want at least some restrictions on the availability of the proceedure. Finally, what is most promising is that the pro-life movement is gaining ground in this fight. More and more Americans are rejecting the "culture of death" and viewing abortion as the horror that it really is.

Apple has a new TV commercial campaign, called Get a Mac. The commercials each feature two men standing next to each other: a nerdy looking middle-aged man on the left who is a PC, and a hip (scruffy) looking younger dude who is a Mac. They engage in witty banter, and the viewer is supposed to suddenly realize how much better Macs are than PC's.

Personally, I think these commercials will be ineffective in grabbing the attention of the home viewing audience. Too much dialogue. Too witty. Not obvious enough.

But they're funny to watch anyways. Click here to see them...

The battle for the next-generation, higher density DVD format continues to heat up. And while before I was leaning towards HD-DVD taking over the market, my inclination now falls with Blu-Ray. Still too close for me to make an official prediction, though... I wouldn't want to tarnish my nearly perfect record at predictions :-)

Each format has strong backers in the technology and entertainment sectors. In recent months, Blu-Ray has gained additional media backers and HD-DVD grabbed HP away from the Blu-Ray camp (it was one of Blu-Ray's founders). Ultimately, price and availability are going to determine the victor in this war. Here's how those factors are aligning:

- HD-DVD discs are about a third cheaper to make than Blu-Ray discs

- HD-DVD discs are already available, but in very limited quantity; Blu-Ray won't be out for a month

- HD-DVD has the better name, in terms of attractiveness to the consumer

- *But here's the big one: when Blu-Ray comes out next month, they will be playable on all of Sony's PlayStation3's. Currently, HD-DVD players are hard to come by and they are way too expensive. Unlike the VHS-Beta war, Sony is opening up the Blu-Ray standard so that other manufacturers can make Blu-Ray players

- The pornography industry appears to be backing Blu-Ray over HD-DVD, possibly because of BD's higher capacity. Read this article to get an idea of the significance of this...

Dana Priest
Washington Post

President Bush today called for the Justice Department to look into allegations of price-gouging by Time Warner. The news came as the media conglomerate announced a record 60% increase in its profits for the first quarter of 2006.

"I want to assure the American people that those who take advantage of U.S. consumers of information will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said that various Senate committee will be holding hearings next week to determine if some CNN executives and reporters, most notably Larry King and Nancy Grace, are being "excessively compensated".

"There's no excuse for Anderson Cooper making millions off the backs of hard-working American citizens, who feel the pinch in their pocketbooks every time they turn on their television sets."

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy echoed Reid's sentiments at a rally on the steps of the Capitol.

"We're addicted to information!" bellowed the senior Democrat. "For far too long, the President and his pals in Big Media have been exploiting America's need for news. This is all the fault of the Bush tax cuts, and it's time we... (incomprehensible)."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the profit figures "obscene" and lamented that low-income families are being hardest hit.

"We need to find and develop alternative sources of news in order to reign in these heartless media monopolies."

The California Representative went on to say that Americans should consider buying more news-efficient televisions sets, and perhaps even having families share televisions. She also stressed making use of alternative forms of communication to get information, such as telepathy.

"President Bush should take the tax breaks for Big Media out of his budget, and use that money to hire 14,000 federal town-criers, who could deliver the news of the day on a mass scale."

Former CEO of Time Warner and current member of its Board of Directors Ted Turner denied the allegations of price-gouging, and called them "asinine." The SEC is also investigating the retirement package Mr. Turner received when he stepped down as head of the company.

As of 10:30 this evening, Columbus television is reporting that Ken Blackwell has won the Republican nomination for Governor of Ohio!





















He's gunnin' for you, Ted Strickland!

1. If I go to a bar and ask for a Mint Julep, will the first bartender I ask know how to make it?

2. Will my manhood fall into question for ordering this drink?

Thanks. That is all. Now back to finals...