SPECTER: When did you last read the case?

GONZALES: It has been a while, but I’ll be happy to — I will go back and look at it.

SPECTER: I looked at it yesterday and this morning again.

GONZALES: I will go back and look at it. The fact that the Constitution — again, there is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution. There is a prohibition against taking it away. But it’s never been the case, and I’m not a Supreme —

SPECTER: Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. The constitution says you can’t take it away, except in the case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus, unless there is an invasion or rebellion?

GONZALES: I meant by that comment, the Constitution doesn’t say, “Every individual in the United States or every citizen is hereby granted or assured the right to habeas.” It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except by —

SPECTER: You may be treading on your interdiction and violating common sense, Mr. Attorney General.

GONZALES: Um.

______________________


Please do not let this stunning bit of Attorney General ass-hattery overshadow the wonderful smackdown of Tim Hardaway Hardaway courtesy of Mr. Sulu.

Fscking pwned.

(courtesy of ella)

Oh Don Piano.

• Accidentally bleached my favorite shirt while cleaning.

• Managed to dislocate the door on my girlfriend's dishwasher. Fixed it but not after ripping some skin off a finger.

• My computer has developed a virus. About two months of images hang in the balance. Sad about the whole thing, really.

Save for some bright spots, the weekend has been semi-craptacular.

In line yesterday @ Fillipe's, a restaurant in Harvard Sq.

me: Sorry for staring, you look just like someone I know. But ...you're not him.
stranger: I hope he's a nice guy.
me: Ex-boss, actually and yeah, he's nice. Aside from being a Republican.
stranger: [pause] What's wrong with Republicans?
me: Dude, I only have a half-hour for lunch.

So ...a funny thing happened to me yesterday...

sent: Feb 14, 2007 3:21PM from: Jason to: Jane subject: re; sales order These parts (PT1234 x 3) shipped by DHL, tracking # xxxxxxxxxxx

sent: Feb 14, 2007 3:26PM [5 minutes later, this can be forgiven] from: Jane to: Jason subject: re; PT1234 Please ship PT1234 x 3 ASAP.

sent: Feb 14, 2007 4:40PM [74 minutes later] from: Jason to: Jane subject: re; PT1234 The PT1234s already shipped (see email time stamped Feb 14, 2007 3:21PM).

sent: Feb 14, 2007 5:59PM [79 minutes later] from: Jane to: Jason subject: re; PT1234 Please provide a tracking number for 1234's shipment and confirm how many parts were sent.

"I'll bury her. She has never written anything that's been a hit."

     Toby Keith in 2002 on Natalie Maines

Here's a little chart to help Mr. Keith. Maybe the Grammys are past his bedtime, I don't know.

     Grammy count
     ------------
    Toby Keith: 0
Natalie Maines: 5

I've said it for years. People turn their brains off when it comes to computers. So hats off to whoever came up with this skit -- says it better than I ever could.

A shot from the free Jewel show @ South Station:



And the Dixie Chicks got a grammy. Me, I hate country music, I think award shows are generally for artistic whores but I'm really, really glad this goes up the collective asses of every Republican and Clear Channel.

Fuck them. Fuck them right in the ear.

It's kind of creepy that Anna Nicole Smith drops dead and her Wikipedia page is updated before the CNN email alert hits my inbox.

[edit: people are just mean...]

An element of my job is to coordinate with the Mexico office to facilitate movement and orders of parts.

This is an exchange that occurred yesterday, presented in chronological order.

This is why they drive me nuts.

sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 10:34AM from: Bob to: Jason cc: Jane subject: broken 3005s Sixteen of these part arrived broken, please send replacements.

sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 4:20PM from: Jason to: Jane cc: Bob subject: re; broken 3005s These go out today via UPS, tracking # xxxxxxxxxxxx

sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 4:57PM from: Jane to: Jason cc: Bob subject: re; broken 3005s Thanks!

sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 5:20PM from: Jane to: Jason subject: re; broken 3005s Sixteen of these part arrived broken, please send replacements.

My bad. It wasn't Dick Cheney that said the child wasn't a prop, it was Mary, his daughter

I thought it was kind of odd that ole Tricky Dick referred to his grandchild as "my child..."

That having been said, my sentiment doesn't change much. I'd elaborate but theStranger.com sums it up nicely.

In today's New York Times Mary Cheney defends her decision to get her lezbo self knocked the fuck up. Like her father, Mary Cheney believes she shouldn't have to answer for her party's attacks on same-sex parents. Nice try, Mary. Yes, it's a baby, not a prop. My kid isn't a prop either, but that never stopped right-wingers from attacking me and my boyfriend over our decision to become parents. The fitness of same-sex couples to parent is very much part of the political debate thanks to the GOP and the Christian bigots that make up its lunatic "base." You're a Republican, Mary, you worked on both of your father's campaigns, and you kept your mouth clamped shut while Karl Rove and George Bush ran around the country attacking gay people, gay parents, and our children in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. It's a little late to declare the private choices of gays and lesbians unfit for public debate, Mary.

Meanwhile, I learned that it isn't illegal to take photographs on the MBTA like I've been told (and thrown out of stations for). Further, there is no written MBTA rule against it. The ACLU threatened to sue the MBTA if they didn't knock off their capricious and utterly ridiculous, selective harassment of photographers.

What does this mean? It means the next time I get told or asked to not take pictures, and assuming I can afford the time to be detained, I'm going to refuse.

re; gay parents:
"This is a baby," Cheney said Wednesday at a forum sponsored by Glamour magazine. "This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child."

That's rich, coming from a guy whose party's policy has been to do precisely that for the last thirty years.

re; Mooninites attack repelled:
Assistant Attorney General John Grossman called the light boards "bomb-like" devices and said that if they had been explosive they could have damaged transportation infrastructure in the city.

Yeah, and if the worms had machine guns the birds wouldn't fuck with them. So?

Judge Paul K. Leary told Grossman that, according to law, the suspects must intend to create a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices.

Yay, someone sane enters the fray!

"It's clear the intent was to get attention by causing fear and unrest that there was a bomb in that location," Assistant Attorney General John Grossman said at their arraignment.

Ok, so ignore my previous post. The AAG is a shameless, lying political whore. As pissed as some people are at these guys, if you were going to try to cause fear and unrest, is this how you'd do it?

Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 10:39:00 -0500 From: Jason To: Boston Metro, Boston Herald, Boston Globe Subject: Reality Check on the ATHF Advert If thirty of these illuminated, Lite-Brite-esque, page-sized advertisements have been blinking all over Boston for the last two weeks, why weren't they noticed sooner? And if thirty of these can sit in plain sight (in ten major metropolitan cities) for fourteen days, witnessed by tens of thousands of people and dozens (if not hundreds) of cops, none of whom felt concerned enough to raise an alarm, why are some people so eager to say those responsible are criminal charge-worthy fools who should have known better? Fact is, Menino & Co. are screaming at the top of their lungs so nobody notices we aren't actually safe but we have become a nation of robots in the process of pretending we are. Really, does anyone seriously believe a terrorist would decorate their bomb with an obscene gesturing alien that lights up? Sincerely, Jason Desjardins

From a Boston Globe article titled "Froth, Fear, and Fury":

"Berdovsky, who described himself as " a little kind of freaked out," faces up to five years in prison on charges of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct."

Checking Massachusetts General Laws we find:

CHAPTER 266. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY
Section 102A1/2. (a) Whoever possesses, transports, uses or places or causes another to knowingly or unknowingly possess, transport, use or place any hoax device or hoax substance with the intent to cause anxiety, unrest, fear or personal discomfort to any person or group of persons shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

If you don't have intent, you don't actually have a crime, and the Attorney General obviously knows this. So what does it mean when the AG is willing to charge those responsible with a law they know wasn't actually broken?

Everyone needs to get a grip. It was a bone-headed mistake made by some poor sap that, unfortunately, spiraled way out of control. No more, no less.

Shit happens. Get a fucking helmet.

So this morning I'm at the North Station Green Line inbound and the announcer is yak yak yak but I've got Regina Spektor on the phones. Something about the Orange Line being fuxx0red.

I get to work and Ella tells me Boston is paralized due to "suspicious packages" being found all over Boston. She rattles off the locations, I know them all.

Later we catch a screenshot of one of the objects being removed.



Ella: Hey, look, it's a Mooninite.
Me: Holy crap you're right...

So amidst the sirens that have been screaming past my window all day long, we find out that this is an advertising campaign gone horribly, horribly wrong. Even better, this is happening all over the country.

And so Ella sends me this:

"I hope you can see this, Boston, because I'm doing it as hard as I can."


Which reminds me...

I'm an entropy fan, when I first heard of entropy in high school science I was attracted to it immediately. When they told me that in nature all systems are breaking down, I thought what a good thing, what a good thing, perhaps I can make some small contribution in this area myself.

     George Carlin ("Jammin' in NY")

[update] Christ, I really wish I was on that bomb disposal crew.



...because I would have just died laughing.

Me: merfy merfy merf merf.
Ella: Shut up, Muffy, or I'll punch you in the dash.
Ella: ... I got nuthin'
Me: merfy merf.
Thais: You guys are funny.
Me: You should see us when we're stoned.
Ella: That was funny. ... Where's Paul? Don't say that again.

• Got a raise. It was scheduled and it was deserved. Yay.

• Got a small bonus. It was mentioned, once, and described as completely arbitrary. I forgot about it. So that was a nice surprise.

• Apparently the Mexico office loves me. More good news.

• I don't have strep which is good and bad. Good because it isn't strep and bad because I just have to live with it. BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY, I ALWAYS SAY!

That's all for now. My life has been nothing but a blur of commute and shipping stuff so ...nothing worth adding. =)

This is an exchange I had with a co-worker in China. They're extremely nice.

From: Jason To: Sunny Sent: Tue 1/23/2007 3:13 PM Subject: 7-2870 | DS2434 x 1,050 早晨好, Kavin & Sunny!, Your 1,050 x DS2434s ship today via DHL, tracking # [redacted]. 恳切地, Jason

From: Sunny To: Jason Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 4:25 AM Subject: RE: 7-2870 | DS2434 x 1,050 Dear Jason, Noted with thanks! Your chinese is better and better. For good morning, we often say "早上好" not "早晨好". Sunny

From: Jason To: Sunny Sent: Wed 1/24/2007 10:43 AM Subject: RE: 7-2870 | DS2434 x 1,050 Thanks Sunny! It’s funny you should point that out – about ten minutes ago I was thinking, “I should probably ask Sunny if the translator is accurate or if I just asked her something silly. Like "have a large bowl of Polish icecubes." 恳切地!, Jason

From: Sunny To: Jason Sent: Thu 1/25/2007 4:59 AM Subject: RE: 7-2870 | DS2434 x 1,050 Dear Jason, I am very happy I can help you learning Chinese. Would you like teach me English? I am not sure what is meaning for "have a large bowl of Polish icecubes". Could you explain for me? Thank you very much in advance. Best regards! Sunny

Uh oh...

My throat is killing me. Feels like someone took a band-saw to it. But it's the only thing that isn't functioning right, so that's a plus. The downside is that coughdrops are barely helping.

Plus they taste like sh*t after ten hours.

This pretty much sums up the bane of my existence:



well maybe you should just drink a lot less coffee
and never ever watch the ten o'clock news
maybe you should kiss someone nice
or lick a rock
or both

     Regina Spektor ("Ghost of Corporate Future")

"So then she sticks her finger in my asscrack and says woooooOOOOOO."

Oh, this is a riot.

"Britain, Japan and Australia joined the United States on Friday in voicing concern about the rising militarization of space after China successfully carried out a test of an anti-satellite weapon."

This is what drives me absolutely batshit about this country; one set of rules for us, another for everyone else.

"It's politically sensitive, but it’s going to happen. Some people don’t want to hear this, and it sure isn't in vogue, but—absolutely—we're going to fight in space. We're going to fight from space and we're going to fight into space. That's why the US has development programs in directed energy and hit-to-kill mechanisms. We will engage terrestrial targets someday—ships, airplanes, land targets—from space."

     Commander-in-Chief of US Space Command, Joseph W. Ashy, Aviation Week and Space Technology, August 9, 1996, quoted from Master of Space by Karl Grossman, Progressive Magazine, January 2000

"The United States will preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space; dissuade or deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so; take actions necessary to protect its space capabilities; respond to interference; and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to US national interests."

     Bush's National Space Policy

"The United States has been researching satellite-killers of its own, experimenting with lasers on the ground that could disable, disrupt and destroy spacecraft."

     MSNBC.com

Some of the news stories actually point out this hypocritical stance but it's buried at the bottom 1/3rd of every story I could find.

This isn't isolated. The United States government lies, assassinates, installs puppet regimes, you name it -- then musters up enough chutzpah to expresses righteous indignation in the same breath.

We should be indignant. But if we weren't participating ourselves, maybe we wouldn't be laughed off the world stage.