Quote from today:
"The (Bush) administration seeks to boost funding for its controversial missile defense program by 13 percent to $10.2 billion next year from $9 billion requested for fiscal 2004...
"The Pentagon's plan to begin deploying the initial parts of a missile defense shield by September has drawn sharp criticism from some U.S. allies and Democrats who say it has not been adequately tested and could spark an arms race in space."
Assholes. Assholes. Assholes. My bet is that the entire reason Bush busted out with his recent announcement about expanding NASA's funding is nothing more than a thinly-veiled means of stepping up R&D for his own new-millenium space-based defense program. I did a lot of research about his dad's version of the program back in '92 as part of my Poli Sci major. In doing so I became (and remain) convinced that there is no way we could ever deploy a system that would be reliable enough to work and have sufficient resistance to countermeasures.
Moreover, the question of whether a system could be reliably developed is, to me, secondary to the question of whether or not such a system should be developed. I think that it's not only politically but absolutely morally wrong to militarize space - either unilaterally, or even worse, with the result of creating a multilateral space-based arms race.
Adding to the bullshit-plan factor, Bush is initiating this kind of spending in an economy that's only just beginning to achieve some tentative recovery from recession. With shit like megafunding space-based defense research and persisting in touting the dubious benefits of tax cuts as a way to stimulate the economy, this administration is doing all it can to run the nation's budget not only into the ground but all the way down into the fucking molten core of the Earth. From nailing Saddam to renewing the Strategic Defense Initiative, this entire neofascist Administration seems hell-bent on nothing more than rectifying unfinished business left over from the Reagan and Bush I administrations, under the guise of "national security", and fattening the pocketbooks of their cronies in the process. One more item on the checklist of "why those responsible for 9/11 should be flayed alive and rolled in salt" is that they gave Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and the rest of Bush's puppetmasters all the justification they'd ever need for implementing their dream agenda of renewed world dominance and profiteering.
My vote for President this year? Anybody but Bush, baby. Feh.
OK, so the site MusicPlasma is kind of cool if you're looking for suggestions about new music to check out, based on which musicians you like already...
Reverend Horton Heat? Squirrel Nut Zippers? Dance Hall Crashers? Black Keys (for Wee)? Check check check check. I'm sure some of you out there will be able to stump it. Still, a useful tool when using iTunes or eMusic... Cool interface, too.
So yeah. Happy New Year and all.
I feel like I've only just now begun to regroup from the sturm and drang of the holidays. Which were fine, thanks (other than my getting the Ubercold right before Christmas, Bill getting it right after, American Airlines losing our luggage on the way home from Oregon, and Bill's brother Mickey going into the hospital...).
Christmas in Corvallis was brief but fun, in spite of my craptastic state of health. It was a gaming holiday - we had some rousing tournaments of Apples to Apples, cribbage and even Texas Hold'Em. We had lunch at McMenamin's, which is a requirement for every time we visit Oregon, and visited one of the best used book stores in the known universe, the Book Bin. Both were reminders of why it would be so very cool to be able to move back there someday. We missed the snow there by only a couple of days, which vexed me - I mean, snow at Christmastime? I would've loved it too much - loved it long time, even. I suspect our failure to encounter any more extreme weather than a hard rain had to do with the fact that we'd pre-emptively rented a 4WD Outback; if we'd have gone with, say, a Geo Metro, I'm quite sure we'd have been facing snowpacks and black ice on the way home.
We spent an unexpected amount of time in AZ waiting for Mickey to be sprung from the hospital. Our original plan was to get home on New Year's Eve, since for once we actually had invitations to something potentially fun and non-stressful enough to lure us out of the house. As it turned out, though, our NYE was stunning in its lack of spectacle, with only Bill, me and Bill's dad at the family compound. Still, being there for family was the right choice. Besides, it was actually nice to relax for a couple of days in the middle of the holiday shuffle. Spending time at Club Rhodes isn't exactly a hardship, either. Indoor pool, sauna, pool table, movie theater... it really is like a wee (Wee?) resort.
We passed the time on NYE playing online poker with Bill's aunt and uncle. I've become a bit obsessed with Texas Hold'Em from watching tournaments on TV, so it's cool to be able to go online and practice playing against people. I'd never play people for real money online, but a lot of people apparently do. Interestingly, the guy who just won the World Series of Poker was an amateur online player who'd never played a live tournament game in his life; he'd earned his $10,000 stake for the WSOP by winning an online tournament with a $40 entry stake. He won $2.2 million in the WSOP. Not a bad return on investment.
Anyway, Mickey got out of the hospital on New Year's Day and we had a nice belated Christmas with him and the rest of the family, thus officially extending our Yuletide season right into 2004. He went back in a couple of days later for another week or so, unfortunately; but he's home again now, albeit rightfully bummed because he had to miss his appointment to visit the "Friends" set to watch the taping of their second-to-last episode.
In other news, Frogopolis is back! The tank is up and running again with two very perky baby frogs in residence. We've named them Jean Loup-Garou and Pierre. Get it? Frogs? Ahem. Anyway, I'll post pics shortly. Wish them lots of luck surviving the crucible of life as a pet in Casa Del Rhodes!