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92176626

A Protestor Poll Tax

Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is proposing that anti-war protesters be charged a fee to pay for their prosecution and the costs of police and safety officials needed to work their protests. Although the nascent governor hasn’t taken his plan to the legislature, and although the entire plans reeks of judicial turnover, the very idea that those who do not support GW in his war are to be treated as second class citizens angers me to no end. As the CNN article states, this is the kind of thing done in Communist China, not the Good Ol’ USA. Makes you kind of miss Gov. Ventura after all.

  • Tax the protestors, let the courts sort’em out
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    92152450

    “U.S. Tanks Offer Deal To Iraqi Druggists”

    Let the fun begin. Newzoid is a random headline generator that takes words and headlines out of the days news and then randomly arranges them into a news headline of its own. Some are great, some suck royally and some are sheer genious. Then you can vote for the best of the lot, hit refresh and go at it again.

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    92111021

    Priest Rules! – Worship The Mullet

    Last year I was praising a great book about metal band and heavy metal rock and roll – Fargo Rock City. A funny, smart look at the sub genre of rock and roll. I never understood the metal scene but lived through it while serving in the Army in the middle ’80s. Your basic enlisted white male is the target demographic of heavy metal/hair band rock and I got to live that life through many of my Army pals while partying and living it up in Germany. This link is to a website of 15 minute documentaries by Jeff Krulik. Take a moment (or for those of you with dial up, take a few hours (ahem, upgrade, ahem)) and watch the fine cinematic feature “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” where our filmmakers record the tailgate parties in preparation for a 1986 Judas Priest concert. A good time was had by most.

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    92092532

    NBC’s David Bloom Dies In Iraq

    Somewhere below I posted about how to watch the war on television. And among the links was a story from the Washington Post. In that piece, we were told that best reporter to watch, who offered a fresh and balanced perspective was David Bloom. Bloom died of a blood clot today while reporting from the Iraqi desert. His death was not a result of conflict.
    He was a pretty good television reporter and talking head and this is sad.

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    Friday Fives

    1. Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not?
    I used to. But my last three jobs have involved talking on the phone all day and as a result I tend to avoid or ignore the phone, at least while I am at home.

    2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
    Michelle

    3. About how many telephones do you have at home?
    Three

    4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened?
    My Grandpa is terrible on the phone. Not bad manners, per say, and with his bad hearing, it is totally understandable. He just can’t talk on the phone for more than a minute or two before either ending the call or passing it on to someone else. It is kinda cute. I work in customer service in a call center and bad phone manners are the norm. People just don’t seem to get the fact that they are talking to a person on the other end sometimes. So, while they are calling up a customer service representative they are also eating, disciplining children, working around the house or the car. I talked to one guy once who was trying to mow the lawn while talking to me on his cordless. I asked if we could schedule this for a more convenient time. He stopped mowing. The victories are small when they come, but still sweet.

    5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an E-mail or a letter? Why or why not?I am not a great letter writer. I think it is the whole idea of the formality of a written and mailed letter that tends to put me off. With family and distant friends and relatives I tend to rely on email. For immediate family and friends, the phone works great for checking in.

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    91940900

    I Come From A Land Of Heroes

    It made me smirk when I read this piece in my hometown newspaper, The Craig Daily Press. Small profiles of all the men and women serving the gulf war conflict. I suppose for a small community paper, this is proper and fitting. And I was struck by how many Craigites have been sent overseas.

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    91940744

    Best of Denver

    This is a steady read each year – when Westword publishes its best of issue. And some years are better than others. But giving the nod to Mike Landess, and creating some fun categories such as best place to rent a poochie for a day makes for some entertaining reading this time around.

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    91872299

    I Am No Bobby Fischer

    I have talked about my New Year’s resolution to learn chess on perhaps to many occassions this year. And admittedly, it has become an obsession. An obession that has worn off onto others, with most of my immediate friends now playing chess. I recently bought a book on fixing amateur misconceptions for the novice chess player as well as a swell portable mini chess set to take my game and study on the road. In the words of my sister, I have become an Uber Geek. But the real chess geek, the ultimate chess geek, the man considered to be the best to have ever played the game is apparently just plain nuts. Of course, I am talking about Bobby Fisher, who is a racists, anti semitic and more than just a little nuts. A chess savant, perhaps, but clearly not able to exist in the real world, with the rest of us mortals.
    It is my pledge that I will never be near as good as him, nor will I go off the deep end in any way, as he certainly has.

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    Friday Fives

    1. If you had the chance to meet someone you’ve never met, from the past or present, who would it be?
    Mark Twain or Ambrose Bierce. I love a good story teller.

    2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?
    1850s London

    3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be?
    Iceland. Reportedly a very nice place.

    4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?
    Gatsby

    5. If you had to live with having someone else’s face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be?
    hmmm. Interesting. I wouldn’t mind looking in the mirror every day and seeing old school Elvis. Or that kid from That 70s Show – Ashton Kutchter. It must be rough going through life looking like that.

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    91603598

    Setting A Musical Mood,
    Each And Every Day

    For fun and frolic, here is a link to download a different public domain MP3 every day of the year. Some really, really odd stuff here. What the guy does it takes those old use records you see for sale at thrift stores, used books stores and even garage sales, finds some gold and then burns them to an MP3 and uploads them. Hilarity ensues. It is inspired. The link for today comes from from a Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Album of the 1960s entitled “Chips of Wisdom.” Winchell was a very popular ventriloquist and Mahoney was his wooden dummy – the chip of wisdom. You will recognize the voices as he does lots of commercials and cartoon voice dubbing. After that, go to the archives section and have fun.