MetaFilter

On Oct. 3, the day the Miers nomination was announced, Mr. Dobson and other religious conservatives held a conference call to discuss the nomination. One of the people on the call took extensive notes, which I have obtained. According to the notes, two of Ms. Miers's close friends--both sitting judges--said during the call that she would vote to overturn Roe.
comment posted at 10:06 AM on Oct-17-05
comment posted at 10:08 AM on Oct-17-05
comment posted at 10:15 AM on Oct-17-05
comment posted at 11:17 AM on Oct-17-05
comment posted at 11:24 AM on Oct-17-05
comment posted at 1:02 PM on Oct-17-05
comment posted at 2:47 PM on Oct-17-05
comment posted at 3:12 PM on Oct-17-05
comment posted at 3:32 PM on Oct-17-05

His hand had been blown off in Iraq, his body pierced by shrapnel. He could not walk. Robert Loria was flown home for a long recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he tried to bear up against intense physical pain and reimagine his life's possibilities
...
But nine months after Loria was wounded, the Army garnished his wages and then, as he prepared to leave the service, hit him with a $6,200 debt. That was just before last Christmas, and several lawmakers scrambled to help. This spring, a collection agency started calling. He owed another $646 for military housing.
...
comment posted at 4:56 PM on Oct-16-05

The politics of fear 101: Meet the Fundies! The Texas senate is about to vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage AND civil union. Here are some of the proponents in their own words.
comment posted at 10:58 AM on Oct-16-05

Is the modern GOP a repackaging of the old Whig party? (archive link) The blend of businessmen's aversion to government regulation, down-home cultural populism and Christian moralism that sustains today's Republican Party is a venerable if loosely knit philosophy of government dating back to long before the right-wing upsurge that prepared the way for Reagan's presidency. A few pundits and political insiders have likened the current Republicans to the formidable, corporate-financed political machine behind President William McKinley at the end of the 19th century. The admiration Karl Rove has expressed for the machine strengthens the historical connection. Of course, the Whigs couldn't hold their disparate coalition together in the face of the slavery issue. What might undo the current disparate coalition in the GOP?
comment posted at 5:26 AM on Oct-16-05

UN Hits Back at US in Report Saying Parts of America are as Poor as Third World Parts of the United States are as poor as the Third World, according to a shocking United Nations report on global inequality.
comment posted at 7:11 AM on Oct-16-05
comment posted at 11:06 PM on Oct-16-05

What of Iran's nuclear program? That was not a pressing concern for the young people I met. None of them raised the issue in conversation with me. When I asked them about it, they fell into two groups... Yet both insisted with equal vehemence that an American or Israeli bombing of nuclear installations, let alone an Iraq-style invasion, would be a wholly unacceptable response to Iran's nuclear ambitions... A perceptive local analyst reinforced the point. Who or what, he asked, could give this regime renewed popular support, especially among the young? "Only the United States!" If... whatever we do to slow down the nuclearization of Iran does not end up merely slowing down the democratization of Iran; and if, at the same time, we can find policies that help the gradual social emancipation and eventual self-liberation of Young Persia, then the long-term prospects are good. The Islamic revolution, like the French and Russian revolutions before it, has been busy devouring its own children. One day, its grandchildren will devour the revolution

Soldiers of the Hidden Imam
comment posted at 5:56 PM on Oct-14-05

Unexpected Downside of Wind Power - Wired reports on the shutdown of wind power turbines along Altamont Pass in California. Wind power is seen by some as an alternative to burning fossil fuels; yet these turbines are being shut down over environmental and ecological concerns. Some of the concerns about turbines are that they endanger bird migrations, yet others say that they are not a problem for bird migrations. It's not just a question of the ecological footprint, though. The entire environmental impact has to be assessed for any project. Hydroelectricity is not without its effect on ecosystems, either (Scroll down to "Ecosystems and Large Dams", about 40% of the way down).

If even green or renewable energy sources cannot be accessed without a significant adverse environmental impact, how can we meet our energy needs? Reducing consumption is only approaching the problem from one side. How do you properly gauge the environmental impact of a project and when is it okay to give it the green light? Or are we being oversensitive and should we let natural selection handle the birds that can't adapt?
comment posted at 2:36 PM on Oct-14-05

How Bob Iger Saved Network Television - Mark Cuban explains how the Apple/Disney deal for content on the video iPod is a huge turning point for the entertainment industry.
comment posted at 12:41 PM on Oct-14-05
comment posted at 2:10 PM on Oct-14-05
comment posted at 5:37 PM on Oct-14-05

thepartyparty.com hosts a set of mindblowingly amazing mixes using the recorded speech of American political figures -- mostly President Bush, but others, like Hilary Clinton and Gov. Schwarzenegger, both make appearances. It's a brilliant exercise in free speech, using the words of the administration against them, especially in the middle and later parts of Who's The Nigga? (Streaming m3u and downloadable mp3.) And did I mention it rocks? Because it rocks- after it breaks your head completely. You must listen to this.
comment posted at 7:17 AM on Oct-14-05
comment posted at 7:18 AM on Oct-14-05

Bush teleconference with troops staged. Nothing in the article says who is responsible for organizing the staged question and answer session, The White House, military officials, or others in the defense department. Just that it infact was staged, and that the troops were coached for 45 minutes prior to the actual teleconference. When Bush, in an unscripted move, asked an officer if he had anything to say, he stammered through a sentence, in stark contrast to the well put together responses to all the other questions, thanking the President and saying, "I like you." More PR from the Bush administration.
comment posted at 2:29 PM on Oct-14-05

Bush Ignores Generals and Admirals, Again Once again, President Bush is ignoring the good advice of the most experienced military officers, and endangering our troops in the process. A host of retired flag officers are asking the Supreme Court to stop Bush's military tribunals because it destroys our moral credibility abroad.
comment posted at 7:27 PM on Oct-13-05

Send A Birthday Greeting To Laura Bush courtesy of the (previously linked but always fascinating) Presidental Prayer Team. Here's Mine: Happy Birthday, Mrs. Bush! You and The President are the greatest! I hope Jenna and Barbara recognize that their parents are "cool" — as do the rest of us!
comment posted at 7:28 AM on Oct-14-05

Gone by 2040: Religious Hierarchy, Japan's Passivity, The Chinese Communist Party, Auto Emissions, Monogamy, The Euro, The War on Drugs, Sovereignty... To mark their 35th year in publication Foreign Policy magazine asks 16 influential thinkers which ideas, values, or institutions will be gone by the year 2040. Also discussed on NPR radio today.
comment posted at 3:30 PM on Oct-13-05

You know that ranger job in the National Park Service that you're gonna apply for as soon as you get through school or quit waiting tables? Fuhgeddaboutit, unless you've pledged your loyalty to the Ba'ath party President's Management Agenda and its roster of "faith-based and community initiatives," "competitive sourcing," etcetera, and Interior Secretary Gale Norton's "4C's," which seem to have to do with communication, consultation, cooperation, conservation, and Clinton-bashing. (Oh, sorry, that's 5 C's. It's just that Norton can't seem to stop denigrating "the previous administration" -- while advocating drilling in ANWR -- for such absurd ideas as banning snowmobiles from Yellowstone.)
comment posted at 3:31 PM on Oct-13-05

WXPN listeners have picked the 885 best albums of all time. In a follow-up to last year's list of the 885 best songs of all time (commented on here), Philadelphia's WXPN has polled its listeners to come up with the top 885 albums and is playing three tracks from each. The countdown is continuing as I type this. I have no doubt the entire Metafilter community will agree on the selections. Here's my prediction for #1.
comment posted at 3:46 PM on Oct-13-05
comment posted at 9:39 AM on Oct-14-05

Sine Wave Music A group of internet musicians have taken up the challenge of creating complete musical compositions derived from a single one second 440 hz sinewave tone. This tone (often called a test tone) is simplest musical unit. The musicians had to manipulate the sinewave into new tones by changing the pitch and harmonics of the noise and passing the tone through effects to create new sounds. These were then used to create complete pieces of music. Three volumes of sinewave music are found in Audiobulb Records 'project' page under the title Root of Sine. The label has posted a 'Prime Numbers' compilation on their front page .
comment posted at 11:36 PM on Oct-12-05

What you watch Tucked deep inside a massive bill designed to track sex offenders and prevent children from being victimized by sex crimes is language that could put many Hollywood movies in the same category as hardcore, X-rated films. The provision added to the Children's Safety Act of 2005 would require any film, TV show or digital image that contains a sex scene to come under the same government filing requirements that adult films must meet.
comment posted at 11:44 PM on Oct-12-05

What would it take to revolt? There has been lots of debate, lots of outrage - both false and real, justified and not, over the various foibles of the current administration and President Bush (too numerous to list here). There has also been talk about revolution, uprising, impeachment, etc, and I wonder - theoretically - just would it take for a modern individual to engage in active revolution? This for me might be it. Fortunately at least one republican representative and perhaps 69% of U.S. households are with me.
comment posted at 7:54 AM on Oct-13-05

Visualization of particle physics [via]
comment posted at 3:36 PM on Oct-12-05

Pre-announcing Google Wallet. A Pay-Pal competitor from the little search engine that could...
comment posted at 2:01 AM on Oct-12-05
comment posted at 6:18 AM on Oct-12-05

Does dark matter exist? Dark matter has been suggested as a solution to the galaxy rotation problem where individual stars don't seem to rotate the way Newton's laws would predict. Now, some scientists are saying that observations fit with Einstein's general relativity, without any dark matter needed. I just find it amazing that no one has tried this yet.
comment posted at 6:00 PM on Oct-10-05
comment posted at 8:38 PM on Oct-10-05

Global warming -- the upside: the entrepreneurs poised to make millions from new ports and shipping lanes in the formerly ice-bound Arctic circle. A fascinating New York Times article on the international land-grab following the news (reported here, discussed here, whitewashed here, et. al.) that the polar ice caps and Siberian permafrost are melting. Goodbye Gulf Stream, hello Club Med Santa-style -- first SUV to the North Pole wins!
comment posted at 11:42 AM on Oct-10-05
comment posted at 11:49 AM on Oct-10-05
comment posted at 12:22 PM on Oct-10-05
comment posted at 1:05 PM on Oct-10-05
comment posted at 3:51 PM on Oct-10-05

Interesting "New Yorker" article about online extortion via DDoS attacks. Call me naive and underinformed, but I had little understanding of how this works. "In the most common scenario, the bots surreptitiously connect hundreds, or thousands, of zombies to a channel in a chat room. The process is called “herding,” and a herd of zombies is called a botnet."
comment posted at 12:50 PM on Oct-7-05

The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard Anas platyrhynchos (Aves: Anatidae)
comment posted at 10:22 AM on Oct-7-05
comment posted at 10:24 AM on Oct-7-05
comment posted at 10:28 AM on Oct-7-05
comment posted at 10:34 AM on Oct-7-05
comment posted at 10:44 AM on Oct-7-05

Unwed mothers have difficulty finding 'good' husbands What is to be done? The many children born under such condtions repeat this pattern and malthusian-like place increasing burdens upon society. Causes? Solutions?
comment posted at 8:10 AM on Oct-7-05
comment posted at 10:04 AM on Oct-7-05
comment posted at 12:34 PM on Oct-7-05