AZspot: Archive

The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new analysis.

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed, according the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

/weeps

Apr 30, 20098 notes

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Apr 30, 200932 notes

“…in the past, the paranoid stylings of media ideologues like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck were simply background ranting to the more reality-based lead vocal of the party’s actual politicians. But now the election is over. The candidates have all gone home. And the GOP’s party structure is in tatters. There are no credible political leaders left to drive the conservative conversation. That leaves a power vacuum on the front line that the right-wing hate talkers are now rushing forward to fill. When Rush Limbaugh is considered the GOP’s spiritual leader and Glenn Beck is its leading prophet, the conservative movement’s entire discourse is now driven by whatever outrageous rhetoric seems most likely to boost Fox’s ratings. The moral hijacking of the movement has begun, and nobody should be surprised when these folks finally end up in the same moral abyss these kinds of leaders always bring their followers to.” —Sara Robinson

Apr 30, 20091 note

Okay, so here’s what we know. We know that there is actually a limited part of the country that makes for good solar power. California’s desert, Arizona, and New Mexico are really about it. And we know that solar power takes a lot of space to make a difference. Here’s what else we know. Every business has parking associated with it. And it is hot parking here in Arizona’s sun. So, here’s my idea.

What if we started building solar panels in parking lots? Elevate them, of course, and put them in the rows of parking. They wouldn’t disturb any animals, and they would provide much appreciated relief for people who park there. Larger businesses would have larger parking lots and provide larger solar arrays. If the businesses installed them, they could use the output to offset their energy expenses. If power companies put them in, they could “rent” the space at a small fee. Everyone gains. There are probably hundreds of square miles of parking lots in Arizona, more than enough to provide a large, clean power source for more than just Arizona. It would add shade, make parking more pleasant, lots of benefits.

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Apr 30, 2009

“The point isn’t MICROSOFT SUXXX0RS!!! AAPL ROOLZ!!!, though if you had to boil it down to four words those ones are much closer to true than to false. Rather, the problem is that Microsoft is the Detroit of software. It makes big, ugly, dangerous, resource-hogging crap, and its “success” is based on…its “success.” Vast sectors of our economy, from enormous enterprises to mom-and-pop shops, desperately depend on its continued dominance; and when it collapses, they—and we—will be screwed. It was hardly obvious that falling real-estate values would materially contribute to the sudden collapse of Detroit; and it’s far from obvious what will topple Microsoft.” —!=

Apr 30, 20092 notes

“The United States invented the bomb. The United States — alone among members of the nuclear club — actually employed it as a weapon of war. The U.S. led the way in defining nuclear-strike capacity as the benchmark of power in the postwar world, leaving other powers like the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and China scrambling to catch up. Today, the U.S. still maintains an enormous nuclear arsenal at the ready and adamantly refuses to commit itself to a no-first-use policy, even as it professes its horror at the prospect of some other nation doing as the United States itself has done.” —Andrew J. Bacevich

Apr 30, 20092 notes

“The Internet derives its disruptive quality from a very special property: IT IS PUBLIC. The core of the Internet is a body of simple, public agreements, called RFCs, that specify the structure of the Internet Protocol packet. These public agreements don’t need to be ratified or officially approved - they just need to be widely adopted and used. The internet’s component technologies - routing, storage, transmission, etc. - can be improved in private. But the Internet Protocol itself is hurt by private changes, because its very strength is its public-ness. Because it is public, device makers, application makers, content providers and network providers can make stuff that works together. The result is completely unprecedented; instead of a special-purpose network - with telephone wires on telephone poles that connect telephones to telephone switches, or a cable network that connects TVs to content - we have the Internet, a network that connects any application - love letters, music lessons, credit card payments, doctor’s appointments, fantasy games - to any network - wired, wireless, twisted pair, coax, fiber, wi-fi, 3G, smoke signals, carrier pigeon, you name it. Automatically, no extra
services needed. It just works.” —David S. Isenberg

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Apr 30, 2009

“People think either that they’ll die before the bill comes due or that somebody else will pay for it. But the world is complex, and if we are to make fit responses to the world, then our thinking—not our equipment, but our thoughts—will have to become complex also. Our thoughts can never become as complex as the world is—but, you see, an uncanny thing is possible. It’s possible to use the world well without understanding it in all of its complexity. People have done it. They’ve done it not by complicated technology, but by competent local adaptation, complex thought, sympathy, affection, local loyalties and fidelities, and so on.” —Wendell Berry

Apr 29, 20091 note

“Evangelicals immediately claim Prejean as their new spokesperson on the gay marriage issue and at the same time are totally silent over her public display of nudity. Not one word about the perverseness of beauty pageants or the objectification of women. Not one word about modesty or women being clothed in modest attire. Have they forgotten the thousands of sermons preached over the years on 1 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array. There is also a rumor floating around that Prejean’s boobs are not even her own. Where are the preachers decrying those who are not satisfied with what God has given them? After all, are we not to be content no matter what state we are in (be it 34b, 36dd, or 42dd)?” —The Hypocrisy of The Evangelical Movement

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Apr 29, 20093 notes

African-Americans in Alabama are 3.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than whites. The ratio is 3.3 in Georgia, and within 2 points, the same throughout the South.

This New Jersey resident is absolutely, totally appalled by this sickening display of Southern racism.

And he would be even more absolutely, totally appalled if the corresponding ratio for his home state was not… 12.4 ! Let me rephrase this. If you’re lucky enough to live in Jersey but you made the silly mistake of being born black, and not white, your chances of going to prison shoot up by a factor of 12.4. That’s 3.5 times higher than Alabama.

Apr 29, 2009

“For leftists, Obama has been a total bust. He’s escalated the war in Afghanistan, increased the cross-border bombings of Pakistan, hemmed and hawed about prosecuting war crimes, refused to actively lobby House members to make it easier for workers to organize (EFCA), and surrounded himself with bank industry reps who’ve committed $12.8 trillion to sinking financial institutions with no assurance that the money would be repaid. Apart from a trifling bill on stem cells, Obama has done absolutely zero to confirm his bone fides as a liberal. The truth is, Obama is neither liberal nor conservative; he’s simply an inspiring orator and a skillful politician who has no strong convictions about anything. If he achieves greatness, it will be because he was thrust into a crisis he couldn’t avoid and reluctantly acted in the best interests of the American people. That possibility still exists, although it seems more unlikely by the day.” —Pinter to Obama: “Smash the Mirror”

Apr 29, 20092 notes

Tumblr Photo Post Not Found

It was there, not it’s not.

And when I attempted to repost, it still doesn’t show.

What a rare occurrence — an actual Tumblr bug!

UPDATE: Now visible again.

Apr 29, 20091 note