The Terminator Lives

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4140446

The US government has authorized $127 billion (billion with a 'b') for fully automated 'robot' soldiers to fight in Iraq and elsewhere.

This has certain advantages, I admit. One loses fewer US troops, and it must inspire street rebels with a sense of frustration to fight robots all day.

But what worries me is, if we send cold automatons to fight real people, the public gets totally seperated from the realities of war. No triggers to pull, no grenades to throw, no buildings to dynamite. Let the machines do it. It's a form of numbing therapy, and it sounds very dangerous.

Gunga Dean

So Howard Dean became DNC chair with little real opposition. Better him than that Republican-in-disguise Simon Rosenberg, or that creepy weirdo Bernie Fowler.

The right-wing press and bloggers have been glooating publicly and quaking privately. They know perfectly well that Dean can inspire the Democrats to action with his fiery spirit and help their grasroots effort with his organizational skills.

Don't believe the GOP when they say 'By choosing Dean, the Democrats have doomed themselves!!!" Remember when it looked like Dean would be the nominee, and all the Republicans said we'd lose if he was nominated? Well, guess what.

NY Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gaymarry5feb05,1,4213064.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true

"A New York judge struck down the state's ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional Friday, paving the way for five same-sex couples to wed and opening the door to a contentious battle over the issue in the Empire State."

Another blow to the malicious specter of homophobia. I've always maintained that 'activist judges' ought to be active if something is in violation of the US constitution.

I also want to attend the wedding of my cousin Bruce and his lover Frank, who currently live in Manhattan. They've been together for 25 years or so, which is longer than most marriages that have been blessed by the clergy.

Oh yeah; the State of the Union. Barely worth talking about. Fluff and vinegar, I say.

Indecision 1425

Did everyone become a neocon while I was asleep? Even Al Franken seemed thrilled by the prospect of Iraq elections going off ‘so well’. Let’s look at the facts:

- Most people didn’t know who they were voting for, as the names were not on the ballots.
- Many voters were threatened with the loss of their ration cards if they didn’t vote.
- Voter turned was grossly inflated (72%!...no, 60%! Wait, maybe less than 50%...)
- Who was elected? Doesn’t that count for something?
- It’s going to take a week or two to count the votes; plenty of time for fraud.
- The US is still occupying the country, and will do so for an indefinite period.
- These are not the real elections. Those don’t happen for another year.

If we really wanted to ‘export democracy’ to the rest of the world, we wouldn’t sacrifice the genuine democratic movements in the 3rd world on the altar of trade. Charging in and wreaking havoc doesn’t inspire confidence in our system.

"I Was Cold, and They Were Only Jews"

At last week's ceremony at Auschwitz, Dick Cheney stood out like a sore thumb among the mass of black-clad world leaders and Holocaust survivors by wearing a fluffy white parka:



Class.

He also looks etremely disturbing no matter what the context:




He looks like he's going to eat our children.