More fun on the campaign trail

(Video link)

AND HERE'S A COMMENTARY on why the fact that McCain is mega-rich matters.

The "Straight Talk" hits just keep coming

Get this:

What the McCain campaign doesn’t want people to know, according to one GOP strategist I spoke with over the weekend, is that they had an ad script ready to go if Obama had visited the wounded troops saying that Obama was...wait for it...using wounded troops as campaign props. So, no matter which way Obama turned, McCain had an Obama bashing ad ready to launch. I guess that’s political hardball. But another word for it is the one word that most politicians are loathe to use about their opponents—a lie.

Read the rest of this BusinessWeek story here.

Via Matthew Yglesias.

Fun with light

Alan Jaras took these great photographs... without a camera. He exposes 35mm film directly without the use of a lens.

Thanks to the Daily Dish.

Are you kidding me?

I just opened today's mail and found a fundraising letter from John McCain (I sent him a small contribution back in January when it looked like Huckabee might actually gain some momentum):

"Barack Obama is ruthlessing running misleading ads in virtually every state--unleashing an enormous tidal wave of accusations, distortions, misrepresentations, and propaganda."

Now put aside for the moment that I think that this characterization more fairly describes the McCain campaign, that statement about Obama is demonstrably false on one key fact: the Obama campaign is not running ads in "virutally every state." In fact, in the last two months, Obama has spent significant advertising money in only thirteen states. And that's a matter of public record (here and here).

BUT THERE'S MORE: the McCain campaign included with the letter a personalized membership card.

What in the h#%@ am I supposed to do with this?

The back of the card suggests: "This card is presented to you in grateful appreciation of your unwavering friendship and support. Please carry it with pride as we work together to help shape the future of our great nation."

Okay, at the risk of being ageist, will this card get me a senior discount at Denny's??? ;-)

TO RESPOND TO MCCAIN'S NEW LOWBALL TACTICS, the Obama campaign has launched the LowRoadExpress.

Obama asks McCain: Is that the best you can do?

Responding to John McCain's ad which attempts, bizarrely, to link Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Obama wonders:

Given the magnitude of our challenges when it comes to energy and health care and jobs and our foreign policy, you’d think that we’d be having a serious debate. But so far, all we’ve been hearing about is Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. I do have to ask my opponent, is that the best you can come up with? Is that really what this election’s about? Is that what is worthy of the American people?

It is a bit laughable. :-) First Read reports on additional reactions to the McCain ad from the press and GOP strategists.

OBAMA ALSO REITERATED his position that offshore oil drilling will do little to help the American people in the short-, medium-, or even long-term:

Obama defended his opposition to expanded offshore oil drilling, saying it wouldn’t provide “short-term relief or medium-term relief or, in fact, long-term relief.”

“Now, although it won’t save you dollars at the pump, I have to say that it has helped raise campaign dollars,” he added. “Because last month, Senator McCain raised more than a million dollars from -- guess who? -- oil and gas company executives and employees – most of whom, most of these campaign contributions came after he went to Houston to meet with a bunch of oil executives and announce that he was in favor of offshore drilling. That’s not a strategy designed to end our energy crisis, it’s a strategy designed to get politicians through an election.”

Latest risk for developing Alzheimer's: being single!

My friend Maddy passed on an article about a new study which suggests that people who are single in their midlife years are more likely to develop Alzheimer's when they are older.

The researchers suggest that the "communication" (aka arguments :-) that take place between people in relationships help keep the brain sharp.

"Hey, honey, let's have another fight! It's good for us!" :-)

ActBlue likes Jilly Derby :-)

Jill Derby was profiled today as one of their very favorite people.

You can read more about her at her website; I also wrote an earlier post on her campaign.

A good day at school

I am just about done with my summer term. Today I had an anatomy & physiology lecture exam and a final in lab: identification of 50 body parts (muscles, nerves, and structures of the eye and ear). Both went well; I just have the final next Tuesday and then I'm off until August 25!

Obama's latest ad responds to McCain's falsehoods

(Video link)

Energy speculation

I'm not in much of a position to comment on whether or not speculation is going on in the oil markets, but I will say this: when Enron collapsed, I initially defended the company in conversations with friends. I had worked on Enron's ill-fated broadband video project in 2000, and I was intimately familiar with the "irrational exuberance" in the technology world, not to mention the financial markets.

But as more information about Enron's actions came out, including the famous audio tapes of traders talking about making those "grannies" in California suffer, I realized just how much sway speculators held over commodities like electricity.

Apparently there is even an "Enron loophole" in the commodities trading laws which exempts the electronic petroleum trading markets from government regulation. It's widely believed that Phil Gramm (the senior economic adviser to John McCain best known lately for his "nation of whiners" remarks), helped to usher in this loophole on Enron's behalf back in the 90's.

SO GIVEN ALL THAT, it seems perfectly reasonable that some of the rapid rise in oil prices is due to speculation. Nevada Congressman Dean Heller apparently disagrees as he voted against the Commodity Market Transparency and Accountability Act (H.R.6604) today.

I don't know about you, but the Gramm-Bush-Cheney-McCain-Heller energy strategy isn't working for me.

Jill Derby is running for Heller's seat. Her campaign had this to say about Heller's vote; I'm eager to hear more about her position on energy issues.

UPDATE: Just checked the Obama website, and his energy plan also calls for closing the Enron loophole.

McCain backlash?

Looks like McCain's increasingly aggressive and negative campaigning is raising concerns that he's damaging his brand. More from Marc Ambinder and the New York Times.

Campaign funnies

OMG I've just been watching some of the television ads that the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee have been putting out, particularly the ones attacking Obama for his Berlin speech to 200,000 Germans (here and here).

Can you say, ENVIOUS???

Hilarious :-)

Limiting the use of antibiotics in factory farming

A startingly high 70% of all antibiotics used in the U.S. are given to livestock. This overuse of antibiotics results in increased bacterial resistance and immunity to their effects, which limits the drugs' usefulness in treating humans.

The Center for Food Safety has an active campaign to urge Congress to impose tighter regulation of antibiotic use for livestock (H.R.6432 and H.R.6433):

Did you know that an estimated 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States are regularly added to the feed of livestock and poultry that are not sick--a practice with serious consequences for our health? Bacteria that are constantly exposed to antibiotics develop antibiotic resistance. This means that when humans get sick from resistant bacteria, the antibiotics prescribed by doctors don't work.

AIDS in America

Commentary from CNN on one of their latest headlines: One in two HIV-positive people in America are black. What do the presidential candidates have to say? Not much.

Oatmeal (Michael style)

Made oatmeal this morning just the way I like it. I use regular (not quick) oats, sweeten it with molasses and honey, season it with cinammon, vanilla, and a touch of ground cloves, and then supercharge it with:

• fruits: bananas, raisins, dried apricots and plums (yes, I know they are really prunes :-)
• nuts: almonds and walnuts
• seeds: pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, and ground flax seed

A harder line with Pakistan

The Bush administration finally puts a bit more pressure on the Pakistani government as evidence of their involvement with anti-U.S. elements in Afghanistan is revealed.

The AFL-CIO and Obama

The AFL-CIO has an informative labor-focused website with information about Obama and his positions on trade, healthcare, retirement security, and other issues.

They are also working to combat Internet-fueled rumors about him with a flyer being sent to union members in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio.

No TV for you

At least that would be the rule if I had kids!

Apparently U.S. businesses spend around $1.6 billion a year marketing to children. Frightening.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25914206/

Justice Dept: Dems, gays need not apply

Mounting evidence that aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired or declined to hire lawyers based on politics and sexual orientation. One example is a man not hired because his wife was active in the Democratic Party; another was a career attorney fired because of rumors of a lesbian relationship.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25885761/

McCain in the Senate

Both Obama and McCain have been busy campaigning this year and frequently away from the Senate.

But while Obama didn't wrap up his race until June, McCain essentially did so at the end of January. Despite this, Obama has still shown up to vote twice as often as McCain (who hasn't actually voted on anything since April!).

Even more surprisingly, he hasn't attended an Armed Services Committee meeting on Afghanistan in the last two years!

More here.

The Gleaner on Titus and energy

The Las Vegas Gleaner had a good post yesterday on Dina Titus (Democratic candidate for Nevada's third Congressional district), her position on energy, and smart energy strategies in general. Titus has chosen to support offshore drilling.

Titus is running to take Congressman Jon Porter's seat.

The Gleaner talks up the benefits of micropower (e.g. generating electricity on-site at home from solar and wind) and investing more in efficiency.

Lysozyme: a little goes a long way

Lysozyme is an antibacterial enzyme produced by the body in tears, saliva, and other secretions. It helps protect moist parts of the body exposed to the environment, like our eyes.

In this MSNBC article, the idea of attaching billions of copies of the lysozyme enzyme to carbon nanotubes and then using them to coat surfaces in hospitals, gyms, and other places where germs are a problem is suggested.

My worry: that dramatically increasing bacterial exposure to one of the human body's frontline defenses runs up the odds that some bacteria evolve to defeat the enzyme.

And then where does that leave us?

Our modern germ problem has more to do with our attempt to live in a sterile environment and our habit of raising livestock in unnaturally close quarters than it does from not having the right tools to fight disease.

Housing price declines

Las Vegas maintains its unenviable distinction of having the fastest falling home prices in the nation, with prices down over 28% in May compared to a year ago.

Two West Coast cities where I've lived--San Francisco and Portland, Oregon--are also seeing heavy declines.

I swear it's not my fault. As evidence, I heard yesterday that Wichita currently has the lowest gas prices in America. :-)

Who is John McCain?

And why is he running for the presidency?

All he seems to talk about is Barack Obama.

And I remember admiring McCain when he ran in 2000. I just can't remember why.

Here's more on John McCain.

Read his lips: no new taxes (maybe)

McCain has backed off his no new taxes pledge.

And with a record budget deficit, that may be wise. Eliminating earmarks, a favorite McCain talking point, simply won't save enough money to close the gap much.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25906611/

Happy birthday, NASA!

The agency is 50 years old today.

Where they stand on Yucca Mountain

Brian Greenspun at the Las Vegas Sun states it clearly: for Nevadans, Obama is on the right side of the Yucca Mountain issue, and McCain is on the wrong side.

Obama on Meet the Press

Tom Brokaw discusses Obama's Middle East and Europe tour on yesterday's Meet the Press. Transcript here.

It amazes me that after his crazy schedule (at least seven countries)...

A week ago on Saturday you were in Kuwait visiting troops. On Sunday you moved to Afghanistan, where you visited troops and met with President Karzai. Monday, the epicenter of the trip, Baghdad, meeting with Prime Minister Maliki and American commanders. Tuesday you were in Amman, Jordan, with the king of that country, King Abdullah. And Wednesday meeting a variety of Israeli leaders and a prominent Palestinian. Thursday you were in Berlin meeting with the German Chancellor Merkel, and you gave a speech to a huge throng at Brandenburg Gate. Friday, in Paris, meeting with President Sarkozy of France. Saturday, in London, meeting with Tony Blair, the former prime minister, then with Gordon Brown, the current prime minister, and with David Cameron as well, who is the opposition leader in this country where there's a fair amount of political turmoil here as well.

that Obama is still able to sit down at the end of it all and respond with poise and clarity to everything Brokaw throws at him.

On some key domestic issues:

The mortgage crisis

MR. BROKAW: Let me ask you a question about housing. A lot of attention this past week to federal aid for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government quasi-agencies that got themselves in real trouble. Banks have gotten in trouble. There's now a housing bill out there to take care of people whose homes are being foreclosed.

MR. BROKAW: This is not as cold-blooded as it sounds, but I hear a lot of people around this country saying, "Look, I did the right thing.... I, I got a prudent mortgage," or I hear a lender saying, you know, "I wouldn't have gotten involved in one of those things." Why should they bail out people, many of whom were simply speculating? Or the lenders who were taking the fees and doing loans that they knew that would not be being paid back and walking away? Why should the hard-working taxpayer in this kind of an economy have to bail those people out?

SEN. OBAMA: They shouldn't, which is why a couple of points that I've made. Any assistance to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac should not be focused on the investors and the shareholders. It should not be focused on management. It should be focused on making sure that we've got liquidity in the housing market. And there are ways of making sure that we are not giving a windfall to investors who were enjoying the upside all these years of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, extremely profitable partly because there was this implied federal guarantee. Well, if they enjoyed all that upside, they should enjoy some downside as well.... So there are, there are a host of complicated issues here. It is true that there may be some folks who didn't make the best decision that will still benefit from the home foreclosure plans that have been put forward. But keep in mind that many of these folks were not so much speculators as they were probably in over their heads. They tried to get more house than they could afford because they were told by these mortgage brokers that they could afford it. We are better off helping them stay in their home if you can fix the mortgage and let them pay it off over time than have them foreclose, in which not only do they lose their home, not only do the lenders lose a lot, but that community suddenly sees its property values going down. And what we need is a floor in the housing market, a, a stop to the decline in housing values, as well as some certainty on the part of lenders in terms of what houses are worth so that we can start restoring confidence in the housing market, but also confidence in the financial markets where credit has been contracting....

The price of gas

MR. BROKAW: As painful as it is, is the idea of $4 gasoline a good thing in a way because it's forced the country to confront finally the idea that we do have an energy crisis, and it's forcing Detroit to retool its line of automobiles, make them more energy efficient.... People are driving less now. In some states, there's an indication that maybe even traffic deaths are down.

SEN. OBAMA: Yeah. Well, I do not think that high gas prices are a good thing for American families. I mean, I've, I've met teachers who have quit their jobs because the school where they were teaching was just too far. It was consuming too much of their income. I've met people who lost their job and couldn't go on a job search because they couldn't fill up the gas tank. Ordinary families are under extraordinary stress as a consequence of these high gas prices, so we need to do what we can to bring those prices down, but...

MR. BROKAW: But there's no easy answer for that on a short term.

SEN. OBAMA: ...but there, but there, but there isn't, and, and that's what I was about to say. The, the fact of the matter is that we should have, over the last 20 years, been planning for this day. I have been an advocate for raising fuel efficiency standards for years, something that John McCain has opposed. Had we taken those steps, we would not be in the same situation that we're in right now, the fact that all the big three U.S. automakers are getting hammered. Had we worked with them to adjust and retool to adapt to this market, we would not be losing as many jobs as we're losing right now. That's, that's all hindsight. Going forward, what we have to do is we do have to continue to push to make cars much more fuel efficient, and I think that the direction of hybrid plug-ins, where we can get a hundred miles per gallon of gas because we've developed battery technology and created a new electricity grid, that can make a huge difference. Industrial use of oil, we can change that. That's why I want to put $150 billion, $15 billion a year, into all these new technologies, research and development. We have to have the same approach that John Kennedy said, "We're going to the moon in 10 years." We should be saying, "In 10 years time, we're going to be cutting our oil consumption drastically." That will bring down, by the way, the price of oil for when we do need to use it.

ALSO ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT, Michelle Obama spoke today about Obama's plans to assist working women.

The Dark Knight

We saw The Dark Knight last night and, well, uhhhhhh... it was just another Batman movie to me. Not quite sure what all the fuss is about, lol.

Heath Ledger was awesome as the joker. But sorry, he's no Hannibal Lechter. :-)

Red alert! Red alert!

I don't know if any of you get fundraising requests from the McCain campaign or the Republican National Committee, but if you do, have you noticed that every one is an "emergency request"?

Thanks, George

George W. Bush's gift to the nation and the next President: a record (in dollar terms) budget deficit of $490 $482 billion:

Measured against the size of the economy, that mark, at 3 percent of the gross domestic product, is still eclipsed by the deficits of Bush's first term, as well as the deficits of George H. W. Bush's administration and Ronald Reagan's.

Those Republicans... such strong fiscal conservatives, right?

Making decisions really IS hard

Turns out that making decisions really is tough work. And like physical exertion, we can "exhaust" the part of our brain that helps us choose between different options the same way we can tire our muscles.

Even worse, seemingly trivial tasks that require our attention can impair our ability to make good decisions afterward.

Indeed, University of Maryland psychologist Anastasiya Pocheptsova and colleagues found exactly this effect: individuals who had to regulate their attention—which requires executive control—made significantly different choices than people who did not. These different choices follow a very specific pattern: they become reliant on more a more simplistic, and often inferior, thought process, and can thus fall prey to perceptual decoys. For example, in one experiment participants who were asked to ignore interesting subtitles in an otherwise boring film clip were much more likely to choose an option that stood next to a clearly inferior "decoy"—an option that was similar to one of the good choices, but was obviously not quite as good—than participants who watched the same clip but were not asked to ignore anything. Presumably, trying to control one's attention and to ignore an interesting cue exhausted the limited resource of the executive functions, making it significantly more difficult to ignore the existence of the otherwise irrelevant inferior decoy. Subjects with overtaxed brains made worse decisions.

These experimental insights suggest that the brain works like a muscle: when depleted, it becomes less effective. Furthermore, we should take this knowledge into account when making decisions. If we've just spent lots of time focusing on a particular task, exercising self-control or even if we've just made lots of seemingly minor choices, then we probably shouldn't try to make a major decision. These deleterious carryover effects from a tired brain may have a strong shaping effect on our lives.

Orangutans get sore, too

And apparently they've found a way to deal with their muscular aches and pains. A researcher reports witnessing wild orangutans chewing a particular kind of leaves and then applying the "poultice" to their limbs.

Turns out people living in the same region also use the plant as a natural anti-inflammatory.

The foreclosure crisis

Here are a couple of different views of the U.S. foreclosure crisis. The first, via Ezra Klein, is a graph of foreclosures in America from January of 2005 through June of this year:

And here's a local look at the problem with a map of the homes in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure in our west Las Vegas neighborhood:

More on Iraq today

Following up on my post about Iraq yesterday: I just read a post from Matthew Yglesias which reminds us again that the violence in Iraq is essentially down from its worst levels, but still on par with 2005. And 2005 was no walk in the park.

McCain's outlook

I just read the transcript of John McCain's interview yesterday with George Stephanopoulos.

What struck me is how his comments are peppered with things like, "We would make them shamed into it" (referring to oil companies) and "We need to improve their behavior" (referring to Russia).

The interview reads to me like McCain has an idea of how people will act and how they should act that's not that different from George W. Bush's. The notion that the oil companies or Russia might have motives and objectives wholly different from or as valid as his own is absent. "He knows," and he'll bring everyone into line.

Haven't we had enough of that?

Another revealing statement: he apparently still thinks that we were greeted as "liberators" in Iraq and that Obama was wrong about his pre-war opposition to invading Iraq.

And in a surprise (or not) to fiscal conservatives, McCain thinks the government should get stock in the companies that it bails out.

Finally, there's this bizarre exchange on gay adoption:

STEPHANOPOULOS: What is your position on gay adoption? You told the “New York Times” you were against it, even in cases where the children couldn’t find another home. But then your staff backtracked a bit.

What is your position?

MCCAIN: My position is, it’s not the reason why I’m running for president of the United States. And I think that two parent families are best for America.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, what do you mean by that, it’s not the reason you’re running for president of the United States?

MCCAIN: Because I think — well, I think that it’s — it is important for us to emphasize family values. But I think it’s very important that we understand that we have other challenges, too.

I’m running for president of the United States, because I want to help with family values. And I think that family values are important, when we have two parent — families that are of parents that are the traditional family.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But there are several hundred thousand children in the country who don’t have a home. And if a gay couple wants to adopt them, what’s wrong with that?

MCCAIN: I am for the values that two parent families, the traditional family represents.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you’re against gay adoption.

MCCAIN: I am for the values and principles that two parent families represent. And I also do point out that many of these decisions are made by the states, as we all know.

And I will do everything I can to encourage adoption, to encourage all of the things that keeps families together, including educational opportunities, including a better economy, job creation.

And I’m running for president, because I want to help families in America. And one of my positions is that I believe that family values and family traditions are preserved.

Let me know if you can figure out where he stands! Doesn't seem like he's very comfortable with the subject, though. :-)

Grass-fed beef: better all around

I wrote a recent post about the fact that it takes several times more grain to produce a pound of beef than a pound of pork or poultry.

If you are still set on that steak or burger, there's another way to reduce the environmental impact. According to this article, raising grain-fed cattle requires only half the fossil fuels of the corn-fed variety. Why? Grass only needs sunlight; corn requires mechanical cultivation and artificial fertilizers (which just happen to be made from natural gas and petrochemicals).

I'm betting the water usage is considerably lower as well.

And to make it a win-win, grass-fed beef has less fat, and the fat it does have is of a healthier profile (e.g. more omega-3's and a better omega-6 to omega-3 ratio).

Midwest topsoil

It takes nature thousands of years to form a single inch of topsoil. Recent flooding in the Midwest not only destroyed this year's crops but also irreplaceable fertile topsoil.

De-briefing the trip

Obama talks with Tom Brokaw about his Middle East and Europe trip, as well tomorrow's meeting with his top economic advisors to re-focus on domestic issues like jobs and energy.

Calling all junkies!

Political junkies, that is. :-)

Here are a few sites making presidential (i.e. electoral map) projections:

• FiveThirtyEight.com
• Electoral Vote
• 270 to Win
• Pollster
• Zogby

Most of these sites currently project an Obama win. But it takes time and money to turn those projections into a reality. Volunteer your time here, make a donation here.

Yes, we can! ¡Si, se puede!

Iraq today

I have to say, things in Iraq have turned out better than I have expected. It's been a year and four months since I shifted my position on Iraq. While I opposed the war from before it began, once we were there, I felt that we had a moral responsibility to clean up our mess.

But in March of 2007, I felt that we had done all we could, and that it was up to the Iraqis to put the pieces back together.

I'm surprised, but happily so, that that is finally happening. If the surge is partly responsible, hooray! But my original sense is unchanged: only an Iraqi reconciliation can bring lasting peace to the country.

It's time to plan our departure.

Here's a good piece from the Associated Press summing up the current state of affairs in Iraq.

McCain's fuzzy math

Apparently the McCain campaign's "official" numbers on his proposals for program expenditures and tax cuts don't equal the numbers that McCain mentions in person at his campaign events.

But his campaign thinks that's just fine and notes that just because McCain says it "doesn't mean it's official." Huh!?!?

More from Matthew Yglesias.

Why do we age the way we do?

These days, that's a question I ask more and more. :-)

And why, for example, do humans live to around 80 years, but chimpanzees only make it to 40? How do some whales make it to 200?

The prevailing theory about aging is that it results from wear and tear of our cells, which eventually lose the ability to repair themselves. But how does that explain the wide disparity in different species' lifespans?

A new study led by Stuart Kim at Stanford suggests an alternative: that changes in the expression of certain genes results in aging. In essense, each species is pre-programmed to live for a certain length of time before beginning to fall apart. (A more detailed article here.)

Interesting stuff. But I'm not sure I'd want to live any longer than that 80 years...

FDIC takes over Nevada bank

No cause for alarm, they say.

Whoa! McCain an Obamacon?

In a Friday CNN interview, McCain said Obama's 16 month plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq was a "pretty good timetable."

Say it isn't so, John!? What happened? Does Obama have even you on board now?

More here and here.

Here's the video... I love McCain's initial insistence that the Iraqi Prime Minister couldn't possibly follow-through and actually ask for U.S. forces to leave.

Obama: pics from Berlin

A slideshow from the NY Times.

Obama in Berlin

Obama spoke today in Berlin about the threats and challenges that America and Europe have faced together in the past, as well as the ones that we confront today. We are all in this together, and this is our time--all of us, Europeans, Americans, and all the rest--to come together and break down the divisions that hold us back.

Here's video of and an excerpt from today's speech:

People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.

Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall – a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope – walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history.

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers – dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.

The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.

As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.

Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all....

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another.

The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

What's in sardines?

After reading about sardines in the NY Times a few weeks ago, I bought a tin and ate some tonight. There wasn't any nutritional data on the tin, so of course I googled to find out. :-)

I found a cool website called NutritionData. While they get most of their information from the USDA's food and nutrient database, they present it in a really colorful and helpful way.

I was surprised by some of the information I found (e.g. the protein in pumpkin seeds is more complete than that in edamame; broccoli's protein profile is surprisingly complete as well).

Check it out the next time you feel like comparing the mineral content of spinach and green onions, lol.

McCain's qualifications

I was thinking today about McCain and some of his self-admitted "areas for improvement."

He's noted the fact that he's not as well versed in economics as he should be.

He's written in his books that he wasn't a great aviator.

He regularly admits that he's not a great orator.

He's shared that he wasn't a great student at the U.S. Naval Academy (near the bottom of his class: 894th out of 899).

He admitted that he behaved badly in his first marriage, having an affair with his second wife before he divorced his first.

SO WHAT EXACTLY DOES JOHN MCCAIN THINK HE'S GOOD AT???

While thinking about writing this post, I ran across this one by Gary Patrick Garry. I guess someone else had the same idea. :-)

More on fat

Gary Taubes, an author who's written a lot about fat's effects on human health, sees some evidence in a recent Israeli study that saturated fat isn't the cardiac villain that it's made out to be. (Here's an older post about one of his articles.)

On the flip-side, there's some evidence that fructose may be more easily converted to fat than other types of sugar. But there's an important point here: eating fruit, which contains a lot of fructose, isn't the problem. Fruit is a "whole food" containing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

The source of fructose that people need to be watching is high fructose corn syrup, a commodity produced industrially and used by the food industry in places you'd never imagine.

Read the label, and avoid it when you can.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

A veterans group responds to the Iraqi government's call for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal and McCain's unwillingness to adjust his position:

(Video link.)

Via Matthew Yglesias.

Summertime in Vegas

From our July power bill:

Oh, John, there you go again

Clearly frustrated about Obama's ability to charm the citizens of one of our closest European allies, McCain criticized Obama today for making a political speech in a foreign country.

The only problem is that McCain seems to have forgotten that he did the same just one month ago in Canada. Or did McCain just confuse the Great White North with North-North Dakota?

Hospice training

Two years ago, my grandmother spent her final days in an inpatient hospice care facility. And last year my Aunt LuJean received home hospice care while fighting lung cancer. Both experiences were very positive and eased their end-of-life passings.

Hospices provide palliative care: treatment meant to alleviate the symptoms and suffering of patients diagnosed with terminal illnesses. The objective is to allow people to die with dignity and, when possible, in their own homes.

Today I started volunteer training at Solari Hospice here in Las Vegas. I'll be providing companionship and support to patients and their families.

To find a hospice in your area, or to learn more about hospice care, check out this website.

Cell phone risk?

The head of a cancer research institute has encouraged his staff to be cautious in how much they use their cell phones without a headset, suggesting that unpublished data on cell phones may indicate a higher risk than most studies to date.

I don't know whether there's a danger or not, but given that cell phones have really only been in widespread, mainstream use for fifteen years or so--and it can take cancer decades to develop--I wouldn't rely too much on the existing studies to draw the conclusion that cell phones don't present a danger.

And as noted in the article, children's developing brains would likely be especially at risk if there is a general problem with electromagnetic radiation from cell phones.

One thousand!

Believe it or not, this is my one thousandth post on Torqopia. All in just over two years. :-)

Slow Food Nation

For anyone who's going to be in San Francisco this Labor Day weekend, check out the first Slow Food Nation. It's a four day event all about food that's good for people and good for the planet.

Would love to hear from any San Francisco friends who go!

(An old post on food if you're interested in reading more about my thoughts on the subject. :-)

Black in America

CNN's Soledad O'Brien has put together a documentary, Black in America, and is writing a series of companion pieces for it. Here's one about three 20-something black women who were detained for shoplifting at an Old Navy in Georgia. No evidence was produced, and no apology was offered. The women chalk it up to racial profiling. (The manager has since been fired.)

About 15 years ago, my sister, her then husband, who is black, and I went shopping in Hutchinson, Kansas, a city of about 40,000 near the town where I grew up.

As soon as we entered one store, I become aware of the store staff perking up and watching my brother-in-law like a hawk. I hadn't ever witnessed such an obvious and blatant reaction to someone simply shopping. It happened as soon as we entered the store, and he hadn't behaved any differently than my sister and I had.

I asked him about it... it was far too familiar an experience for him.

Free Obama buttons

MoveOn is giving away free Obama buttons.

A couple of pics from the annual San Diego Pride zoo party

With Northern California friends Mikey and Antonio:

And Southern California friends Martín and Javier:

Anniversary roses :-)

McCain's confusion on the surge

Obama has admitted that the surge turned out differently than he had expected, but noted that other events that happened around the same time also contributed to the drop in violence in Iraq. Namely, the Anbar Awakening (the Sunni disenchantment with al Qaeda) and the standing down of the Shia militias.

In an interview yesterday with Katie Couric, John McCain claimed that the surge was responsible for the Anbar Awakening. Specifically, he cited actions by a U.S. officer, Colonel McFarland, as the impetus for the Awakening. Yet McFarland's involvement with the Sunnis in the Anbar region pre-dated the surge; he had, in fact, left Anbar before the surge began.

More from Matthew Yglesias and Marc Ambinder. (And updated: from Andrew Sullivan.)

AND ON THE TOPICS OF AMBITION AND PATRIOTISM, Sullivan notes an interesting McCain flip-flop:

"Putting the Country First", July 4, 2008:

Patriotism is deeper than its symbolic expressions, than sentiments about place and kinship that move us to hold our hands over our hearts during the national anthem. It is putting the country first, before party or personal ambition, before anything.

Worth The Fighting For, p. 373, published September 2002:

I didn't decide to run for president to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to be president.

The Pinwheel galaxy

A new image from NASA. The outer red ring is devoid of organic molecules (specifically, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), most likely due to harsh radiation levels. More here.

Worth the trip

Obama's visits to Afghanistan and Iraq went off without any missteps according to this NY Times report on his trip so far. Here also is a video report from the Times and a slideshow from the Washington Post.

Happy anniversary, mi amor

Thanks for everything, it's been a wonderful year. :-)

¡Te quiero!

Want to go to Denver?

For a chance to win a trip to the Democratic Convention in Denver next month (and help elect Democrats to Congress), enter the DCCC's contest here.

Don't count on big oil to make gas cheaper

Bush and McCain want to open our coastlines and Alaskan wilderness areas to drilling, but how committed to exploration are the big oil companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips?

Not so committed, apparently. Even with the price of oil going up dramatically over the past few years, the percentage of their profits spent on exploration has remained flat. They spend far more cash on paying dividends and buying back their own stock. What they appear to be committed to is making tons of money for their stockholders.

And don't forget that they've already got 68 million acres of federal lands leased for exploration... on which they are not producing any oil.

More leases aren't the answer. More drilling isn't the answer. It's time for real change.

Careful what you wish for

Al Gore's energy speech

Last week Al Gore made a major speech on energy. He challenged Americans to commit to producing all of our nation's electricity from renewable, carbon-free sources within ten years.

Think about that. It's a unreasonable request. And yet, it's exactly what our country needs.

Compare it to the McCain and Bush call for additional drilling. We can't keep doing the same old things and expect to get a different result.

To express your support for the bold action that Gore described in his speech, sign this petition from MoveOn and join Gore's campaign at WeCanSolveIt.org.

THOMAS FRIEDMAN had this to say in a commentary about Gore's speech:

After 9/11, Mr. Bush had the chance to summon the country to a great nation-building project focused on breaking our addiction to oil. Instead, he told us to go shopping. After gasoline prices hit $4.11 last week, he had the chance to summon the country to a great nation-building project focused on clean energy. Instead, he told us to go drilling.

Neither shopping nor drilling is the solution to our problems.

What doesn’t the Bush crowd get? It’s this: We don’t have a “gasoline price problem.” We have an addiction problem. We are addicted to dirty fossil fuels, and this addiction is driving a whole set of toxic trends that are harming our nation and world in many different ways. It is intensifying global warming, creating runaway global demand for oil and gas, weakening our currency by shifting huge amounts of dollars abroad to pay for oil imports, widening “energy poverty” across Africa, destroying plants and animals at record rates and fostering ever-stronger petro-dictatorships in Iran, Russia and Venezuela.

When a person is addicted to crack cocaine, his problem is not that the price of crack is going up. His problem is what that crack addiction is doing to his whole body. The cure is not cheaper crack, which would only perpetuate the addiction and all the problems it is creating. The cure is to break the addiction.

Ditto for us. Our cure is not cheaper gasoline, but a clean energy system. And the key to building that is to keep the price of gasoline and coal — our crack — higher, not lower, so consumers are moved to break their addiction to these dirty fuels and inventors are moved to create clean alternatives.

HERE IS VIDEO OF GORE'S SPEECH:

An excerpt:

... We can see the common thread running through [the seemingly intractable problems that we are facing], deeply ironic in its simplicity: our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges - the economic, environmental and national security crises.

We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change....

We have such fuels. Scientists have confirmed that enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the entire world's energy needs for a full year. Tapping just a small portion of this solar energy could provide all of the electricity America uses.

And enough wind power blows through the Midwest corridor every day to also meet 100 percent of US electricity demand. Geothermal energy, similarly, is capable of providing enormous supplies of electricity for America.

The quickest, cheapest and best way to start using all this renewable energy is in the production of electricity. In fact, we can start right now using solar power, wind power and geothermal power to make electricity for our homes and businesses.
But to make this exciting potential a reality, and truly solve our nation's problems, we need a new start.

That's why I'm proposing today a strategic initiative designed to free us from the crises that are holding us down and to regain control of our own destiny. It's not the only thing we need to do. But this strategic challenge is the lynchpin of a bold new strategy needed to re-power America.

Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.
This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a challenge to all Americans - in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen.

A few years ago, it would not have been possible to issue such a challenge. But here's what's changed: the sharp cost reductions now beginning to take place in solar, wind, and geothermal power - coupled with the recent dramatic price increases for oil and coal - have radically changed the economics of energy.

Tragedy in San Diego

Victor and I returned this morning after spending the weekend in San Diego with friends from Vegas, SF, LA, and San Diego.

We had tickets to a boat cruise on Saturday night, but after overindulging on Friday night, decided to sell our tickets and stay in so that we'd be fresh for Sunday's tea dance at the zoo.

Seems that it was good move: the cruise ended in tragedy when a performer jumped or fell overboard. He was fatally shot by police officers when he attacked them while they were rescuing him. Bizarre.

http://www.towleroad.com/2008/07/performer-fatal.html

Is our solar system unusual?

A new study suggests that solar systems like ours with Jupiter-sized planets may be "rare." But the article puts the figure at 6-8%, and with billions of stars in the universe, that doesn't sound too rare to me. :-)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25784858/

2010

The Iraqi government has now firmly stated that they'd like to see American troops leave their country by 2010.

Saddam has been deposed and executed, a democratic government has been elected, and sectarian violence has eased considerably. Isn't this "mission accomplished?"

The Iraqis are ready to stand on their own, and their timetable coincides with Obama's plan. The agreed horizon--2010--still has U.S. forces on the ground in Iraq for two more years, providing plenty more time for further stabilization of the country.

It's time to elect a president who understands that continuing to keep troops in Iraq is bankrupting us, weakening our military, and failing to make us any safer.

On his international tour, Obama is demonstrating that he's ready to be commander-in-chief and that he understands the foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.

The McCain campaign, in turn, staged an event with him riding in a golf cart with the first President Bush. It also leaked the rumor that he will name his VP pick this week, an effort to distract from positive coverage of Obama's trip. And on ABC, McCain referred to the "Iraq-Pakistan" border. Sounds like he needs a map (and perhaps a better strategy).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25774091/

Obama on tour

I'm a little behind on the news, but sounds like Obama's international trip is going well so far. And the Iraqi government agrees with Obama and a majority of Americans: it's time to plan for the withdrawal of American troops.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25745500/

Iraq withdrawal

Thank God we don't have a "timeTABLE."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25736448/

San Diego pride...

Queer pink flamingos at Mo's. :-)

Obama gains a slight edge in Nevada

The latest Rasmussen poll has Obama over McCain in Nevada by two points, 42% to 40%. A month ago McCain was up by three.

Science to the rescue!

The good news: scientists have figured out why people are getting fatter.

The bad news: we may become extinct as a result!

Just kidding. But read on if you are interested in evolution.

Viva the vultures!

California condors, bred in captivity, passed a big test this past month: surviving the Big Sur wildfire.

Goodbye, oil; hello, wind

Texas invests in the infrastructure needed to bring more electricity generated from wind to its cities.

McCain and Social Security

I suspect that if my partner and I were worth $100 million, I was running for President, I was running ads about "putting country first," and I was old enough to collect Social Security, then I wouldn't be collecting my retirement checks from the government like John McCain is.

But hey, that's just me.

A quick energy post...

I had both an exam and a quiz in Anatomy & Physiology today, but I'm done for the week and heading to San Diego tomorrow for their pride celebration.

It also just happens to my anniversary with Victor. :-D

AL GORE SPOKE TODAY about energy and the need to make the transition to renewable sources a national priority. Read all about it here.

You owe more than you think you do

And your kids are in even worse shape!

My buddy Bette sent me a story from the San Francisco Chronicle about the national debt:

A rare consensus has developed across the political spectrum that the government's own fiscal affairs are precarious, with an astonishing $53 trillion in long-term liabilities, according to the Government Accountability Office.

To put that number in human terms, the debt has reached $455,000 per U.S. household. As that debt grows, the United States increasingly relies on foreigners, including China and Middle East oil producers, for financing.

And more:

Breaking down the numbers

Current liability:

• Social Security: $6.7 trillion


• Medicare: $34.1 trillion


• Total long-term government liability: $53 trillion

Source: Government Accountability Office, Long-term Fiscal Outlook, Jan. 2008

Where it goes

U.S. debt held by foreigners as of mid-2007:

• Foreign holdings of U.S. equities: $5 trillion


• Foreign holdings of U.S. corporate bonds: $3 trillion


• Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities: $2 trillion


• Foreign share of U.S. Treasury securities: 45 percent

Source: UC Berkeley economists Ashok Bardhan and Dwight Jaffee, YaleGlobal online, April 2008

A few days ago I wrote a post about our reliance on foreign money to finance our debt spending...

Energy flow in the U.S.

Where does our energy come from? Where does it go?

This graph illustrates the flow from nuclear, natural gas, coal, petroleum, and other energy sources to where it gets used, namely residential, commercial, and industrial consumers and transporation.

The point of this post from the Huffington Post is that petroleum is mostly used for transportation in the U.S., and the author suggests we just need to find an alternative energy source for getting from point A to point B.

Notice also how much energy is lost... almost 60%. Where does it go? A lot of it is lost as electricity flows from power plants to electrical outlets, a lot is lost as heat (think of your car engine).

Growing up

My sociology class ended today. For our final project, my group gave a short presentation on adulthood. We talked about how the U.S. and other societies define what it means to be an adult and how the privileges and responsibilities of adulthood are conferred on individuals crossing that threshold.

Here are a couple of videos that we included in our presentation: "What does it mean to be an adult" and "Emerging adulthood."

Wikipedia has a lot of information on the topic; start with "age of majority" (and check out the links in the See Also section of that entry).

"Changing World"

Obama's got a new ad highlighting that he understands the challenges America faces in today's world.

EARLIER TODAY "Senator Obama joined a experts on nuclear non-proliferation, bio security and cyber security, as well as Indiana Senator Evan Bayh and former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana to discuss security issues in a changing world. Following his opening remarks, the panel spent over an hour discussing the dangers of what the 9/11 Commission called our 'failure of imagination,' and the need to stay one step ahead of the threats of the 21st century."

Bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

Whether it's "backing them up" or "bailing them out," I think approaching the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mess with caution and a little healthy skepticism is a good idea. We're talking about a pretty open-ended request for money from the Bush administration, after all.

More from the NY Times.

The Senate passed the AIDS funding bill

The bill (S.2731) reauthorizes the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. And the version that passed included the amendment that lifts America's embarassing ban on HIV-positive travelers. :-)

More from Towleroad.

What the f@#k???

Senator Elizabeth Dole (I didn't even realize she was still in office, I never hear anything about her) just pulled one of those crazy moves that leaves me incredulous.

She submitted an amendment to rename the PEPFAR bill (S.2731) after the recently deceased Jesse Helms.

Why so ludicrous? Because the bill provides money to combat HIV/AIDS in countries like Africa that are hard hit by the disease and will hopefully lift the travel ban on HIV-positive individuals who want to come to the U.S. (I say "hopefully" because there is still--amazingly--some opposition on that point.)

And what was Jesse Helms' position on HIV and AIDS? He just happened to be one of the biggest opponents to doing anything for people with the disease here in the U.S.

What is Dole smoking???

More here, via to the Daily Dish.

Finally talking to Iran

Wow, the Bush administration has finally decided to talk to Iran. Technically they are saying that our envoy is heading over there to "listen" (which might actually be better than speaking, it often is).

Don't tell McCain, though, since he still thinks Obama is "naive" for his willingness to engage in dialogue.

I just hope that this is a sincere effort and not simply cover for future military action.

Jill Derby is back...

And running for Congress. Her race is a re-match with Dean Heller for Nevada's second congressional seat. She narrowly lost in 2006, but I'm betting that the result will be different come November.

I recently had a chance to join Jill and her campaign manager on a conference call. I found that we had a lot in common, starting with growing up in rural areas and going to college in the Bay Area. I've always thought that those twin perspectives--small town and big city--have helped me understand the world a little bit better. Listening to her, I got that it's been a benefit for her as well.

Given the turmoil in the Middle East in general and Iran and Iraq specifically, I was impressed to learn that Jill lived and worked in the region for three years and that she learned to speak Arabic while there. That kind of first-hand knowledge of and familiarity with that part of the world and its peoples is something sorely lacking in Washington.

She just posted this diary at Daily Kos; here are some excerpts:

I am not a career politician. I am an activist like many of you, who got my start in politics fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. Since then I have stayed active, serving on Nevada's Board of Regents, and later as Chair of the Nevada Democratic Party.

I have always taken a strong stand against the Iraq War. I opposed it from Day 1. When my good friend Darcy Burner called me to about a plan she was putting together to find a comprehensive solution to the Iraq War and the problems it had created, I was thrilled to sign on as one of its first supporters. The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq is committed to bringing our troops home from Iraq and repairing the damage done to our democracy by eight years of Republican mismanagement.

I stand together with many members of the Netroots community in supporting our civil rights and condemning the recent passage of the FISA amendments granting retroactive immunity to the telecom industry. Here in Nevada, we take our civil liberties very seriously. This abdication of the constitution by the Bush Administration, supported by my right-wing opponent Dean Heller, has let big telecom off the hook. This was wrong, plain and simple....

Nevada has the highest rate of home foreclosures per capita in the United States. We have a high rate of bankruptcy as well. I stand with my friends in organized labor in supporting a living wage, healthcare for all Americans, secure retirement benefits, and the right to collective bargaining. I am appalled by the assault on middle America, with gas prices rising and bankruptcy protections eroded at the same time that oil companies make record profits and Republicans--including my opponent--refuse to make critical investments in energy independence and renewables.

Since November of 2006, the Republican registration advantage in this district has been cut by a remarkable 40%, from 48,000 to 29,000. This 19,000 voter Democratic shift is more than 50% greater than Heller's margin of victory in 2006.

Here's a link to her campaign website.

UNLV

On the UNLV campus for the first time. I registered to take organic chemistry II here in the fall.
The pic above is the entrance to the main library.

Obama on Iraq and national security

From Obama's speech in D.C. this morning:

I am running for President of the United States to lead this country in a new direction – to seize this moment’s promise. Instead of being distracted from the most pressing threats that we face, I want to overcome them. Instead of pushing the entire burden of our foreign policy on to the brave men and women of our military, I want to use all elements of American power to keep us safe, and prosperous, and free. Instead of alienating ourselves from the world, I want America – once again – to lead.

As President, I will pursue a tough, smart and principled national security strategy – one that recognizes that we have interests not just in Baghdad, but in Kandahar and Karachi, in Tokyo and London, in Beijing and Berlin. I will focus this strategy on five goals essential to making America safer: ending the war in Iraq responsibly; finishing the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban; securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states; achieving true energy security; and rebuilding our alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Click here for the full speech.

Bush's global warming plan

Tom Toles reveals Bush's multi-year plan on global warming.

Thanks, Jack!

The EPA report sees sunlight

The EPA report on the health impacts of global warming that the White House tried to quash is out:

In a 149-page document released Monday, the experts laid out for the first time the scientific case for the grave risks that global warming poses to people, and to the food, energy and water on which society depends.

"Risk (to human health, society and the environment) increases with increases in both the rate and magnitude of climate change," scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency said. Global warming, they wrote, is "unequivocal" and humans are to blame for the relatively recent jump in temperatures.

The document suggests that extreme weather events and diseases carried by ticks and other organisms could kill more people as temperatures rise.

Allergies could worsen because climate change could produce more pollen. Smog, a leading cause of respiratory illness and lung disease, could become more severe in many parts of the country. At the same time, global warming could mean fewer illnesses and deaths due to cold.

Bill Gross

I often enjoy trying to make my way through Bill Gross' montly "Investment Outlooks" on the PIMCO website. I say "trying" because his arguments can be a bit opaque for someone without a solid economic background, but he's a smart guy so I give it my best shot.

This month's Outlook is a witty letter to "President Obama" (Gross, a Republican, thinks he'll win).

Here's an excerpt from his January Outlook where he comments on the shaky banking situation that's been making headlines again this week:

In addition to the pyramid shape of its securitized assets and the endless chain of its letters, finance and especially modern finance is centered around banking and now, unfortunately, around shadow banking. Both, The Economist magazine points out in its September 22nd issue, are built on a fundamental (and ever present) mismatch: they borrow short and lend longer and riskier. Recognizing this flaw, governments have for over a century mandated that banks have an ample percentage of reserves in order to bridge the liquidity and investment risks that periodically ensue. Like Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life, the critical job of a traditional banker was to have enough reserves or cash on hand to prevent a run. Stewart’s modern day counterpart must follow similar guidelines, although a 21st century banker now can always look skyward for a guardian angel in the form of the Fed, the ECB, or the Bank of England. Recent infusions of over a half a trillion dollars by this triumvirate point to the perennial need for reserve banking in either an earthly or a more heavenly sense.

But today’s banking system as pointed out in recent Investment Outlooks, has morphed into something entirely different and inherently more risky. Our modern shadow banking system craftily dodges the reserve requirements of traditional institutions and promotes a chain letter, pyramid scheme of leverage, based in many cases on no reserve cushion whatsoever. Financial derivatives of all descriptions are involved but credit default swaps (CDS) are perhaps the most egregious offenders. While margin does flow periodically to balance both party’s accounts, the conduits that hold CDS contracts are in effect non-regulated banks, much like their hedge fund brethren, with no requirements to hold reserves against a significant "black swan" run that might break them. Jimmy Stewart—they hardly knew ye! According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), CDS totaling $43 trillion were outstanding at year end 2007, more than half the size of the entire asset base of the global banking system. Total derivatives amount to over $500 trillion, many of them finding their way onto the balance sheets of SIVs, CDOs and other conduits of their ilk comprising the Frankensteinian levered body of shadow banks.

Can't resist...

A little celebrity gossip. :-)

And I post this only because it's BRAD PITT. I figured I needed to have at least one star crush, lol.

Congrats to Brad and Angelina on the birth of Knox and Vivienne!

Birds in flight

A short, beautiful video of a flock of birds... really amazing.

I remember watching flocks of migrating birds when I was a kid, as well as the nightly flight of chimney swallows round and round my grandmother's house before they flew up and dove down into the chimney.

But I hadn't seen anything quite this complex. (Maybe those Texans who keep reporting UFOs are really just seeing birds. :-)

Via The Daily Dish and BoingBoing.

"My Plan for Iraq"

I just re-read Obama's guest op-ed piece in the New York Times. What a refreshing experience... reading a well-written and intelligent argument for a specific course of action: getting out of Iraq.

And doing so in a careful, well-planned way, in support of the Iraqis who are now asking for a timetable for our exit.

When was the last time you heard something like that from Bush? Or McCain?

We can't drill our way out of this mess

But we can sure dig ourselves into a deeper hole.

Bush and McCain are eager to hand over the U.S. continental shelf to oil companies to allow for offshore drilling.

Problems:

• The oil companies have already leased 68,000,000 acres of federal lands for oil production but aren't using them as of yet. So why not give them a "use it or lose it" notice on those leases before handing them sensitive offshore areas or the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge?
• The best estimates I've seen suggest that drilling in these additional areas would only lower the price of a barrel of oil by a buck or two. That's just pennies off the price of a galon of gas.
• Production is a decade off... that's not going to help us in our short term squeeze and only puts off the inevitable: moving to sustainable energy sources like solar and wind. And we may need to rely more on nuclear as a bridge to get us there. It's also ignoring the best solution: energy efficiency which we can start putting into place today.

And one thing to remember when the issue of oil company profits comes up: a large portion of the land where U.S. oil comes from is owned by the federal government. In other words, it's ours, the American people's. The oil companies are just leasing it from us, and for ridiculously low amounts of money.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are moving to shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the "government-sponsored entities" that either own or guarantee about half of U.S. mortgages.

How much is half of the U.S. mortgage market? Try five trillion dollars.

One of the reasons Fannie and Freddie have grown so large is that they are quasi-government agencies. They're able to borrow more cheaply because of the belief--accurate or not--that the federal government would back them up in a pinch. And sure enough, that's exactly what the Feds are doing.

But reading between the lines, what I get out of this NY Times article is that the real fear is that foreign governments and other overseas investors are growing leery of U.S. investments. And if they don't continue to send billions of dollars our way every month--money used to support all of our debt spending--the U.S. economy would be in a full-blown crisis.

We're on dangerous ground, folks.

Obama and al-Maliki in sync

Now that the Iraqi government is calling for the U.S. to set a timetable for withdrawal, let's elect a President who wants to do just that:

The call by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for a timetable for the removal of American troops from Iraq presents an enormous opportunity. We should seize this moment to begin the phased redeployment of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States. The differences on Iraq in this campaign are deep. Unlike Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake to allow ourselves to be distracted from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban by invading a country that posed no imminent threat and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Since then, more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion. Our military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face - from Afghanistan to Al Qaeda to Iran - has grown.

Study finds no evidence that gays are bad for the military

A new study supports the repeal of Bill Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The study was conducted by four retired military officers, including the three-star Air Force lieutenant general who in early 1993 was tasked with implementing President Clinton's policy that the military stop questioning recruits on their sexual orientation.

"Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion," the officers states.

To support its contention, the panel points to the British and Israeli militaries, where it says gay people serve openly without hurting the effectiveness of combat operations....

The study was sponsored by the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which said it picked the panel members to portray a bipartisan representation of the different service branches.

TORTURE

The evidence mounts that the Bush/Cheney White House has officially sanctioned the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo, despite warnings from the CIA that up to a third of the detainees might be have been imprisoned mistakenly.

Jane Mayer has a new book (The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals) coming out Tuesday which documents what our government has been doing in our name.

Stories from the New York Times and the Washington Post, a review from the Post, and more from The Daily Dish.

Back in February, John McCain sided with Bush in voting against a measure that would have banned the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh tactics.

Torture produces unreliable evidence. Torture is immoral. Torture is the kind of behavior that most Americans associate with societies that we find abhorrent.

TORTURE IS WRONG.

George Moscone once said this about capital punishment:

My late father was a guard at San Quentin and who I was visiting one day, who showed to me and then explained the function of the death chamber. And it just seemed inconceivable to me, though I was pretty young at the time, that in this society that I had been trained to believe was the most effective and efficient of all societies, that the only way we could deal with violent crime would be to do the ultimate ourselves, and that's to governmentally sanction the taking of another person's life.

And it seems inconceivable to me that the United States of America would need to rely on torture to protect itself. People died to bring this nation into existence and to preserve its Union. Surely we can safeguard ourselves without destroying the ideals for which so many have sacrificed themselves. Surely we can remain free without teaching our children the lesson that Moscone rejected.

Surely we can preserve our lives without losing our humanity.

Another McCain surrogate stumbles on economics

So Mark Sanford, a potential McCain VP pick, was unable to come up with any economic policy differences between McCain and George W. Bush:

BLITZER: Are there any significant economic differences between what the Bush administration has put forward over these many years as opposed to now what John McCain supports?

SANFORD: Um, yeah. For instance, take, you know, take, for instance, the issue of -- I'm drawing a blank, and I hate it when I do that, particularly on television. Take, for instance the contrast on NAFTA. I mean, I think that the bigger issue is credibility in where one is coming from, are they consistent where they come from.

Story and video here.

Pearls Before Swine: blogging and the world

Monsanto inspires another documentary

After volunteering for the "Yes on 27" campaign in Oregon back in 2002, I haven't been much of a fan of Monsanto. Why? Had that ballot initiative passed, it would have required the labeling of all genetically-modified food (aka GMOs), and Monsanto is a big producer of these crops. They hold the patent, apparently, on 90% of seed varieties that have been genetically-engineered.

(I've got no problem with producing hybrids, preferably the old-fashioned way. But when you start moving genes between species, I believe you're setting the stage for a bunch of unintended consequences... and mostly negative ones ones at that.)

A new French documentary, The World According to Monsanto, reveals more dirt on Monsanto. The documentary I blogged about earlier today, The Corporation, does as well.

Besides their support for GMOs, a big black mark on Monsanto is their product Posilac:

More recently Monsanto received a bad reputation for the promotion of growth hormones from GE organisms known as rBGH, which the company sells in the US under the brand name Posilac. Monsanto claims that Posilac holds, “benefits to consumers”. The reality is that, rBGH growth hormones were banned in Europe and Canada after the authorities found out about the health risks resulting from drinking milk from cows treated with rBGH hormones. Monsanto's way of "addressing" this problem was to sue the Oakhurst dairy company in the state of Maine (US) - attempting to force them, and other dairies, to stop labelling diary products “rBGH-free” and “rBST-free”.

Here's a link to a related post which just happens to be one of my oldest.