So sad, Cabrini Green being torn down

Most people have probably heard of Cabrini Green, one of the notorius high rise housing projects in Chicago knows for drugs and violence. I remember sitting in the stands at Comiskey Park, looking out to see Cabrini Green across the highway. You could see burn marks on the walls where people had started fires. This article talks about the process of them going away and where they are moving people that used to live there. The towers of Cabrini Green are a prime example of how public housing has often been a failure. I am not saying it was not needed, just that in many cases it has not been well executed, and not just in Chicago. The article even mentions that at one point 15,000 people lived in the buildings there, that is just scary. What a surprise that crime ensues when you have people crammed in there like that in buildings that are not taken care of properly.

Read about it here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=716&e=26&u=/latimests/20050301/ts_latimes/itsbleakbutitshome

Pentagon getting selective on strip clubs

Saw this story on Channel 9's website about the military barring soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood from going to one particular strip club. It doesn't really say why, maybe they didn't think the dancers were hot enough or maybe they charged too much for a cover charge perhaps? Sounds like typical bureaucratic genius at work. They interviewed the owner of the club, who said it would cost jobs there and that his club employed more people than a Wal Mart supercenter. Not sure I believe that part, but sounds like a lot of people worked there.

I am curious to hear the reason for the direction, but we probably never will.

Read it here:
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/4251559/detail.html

Wisdom from Robert Byrd

I have never been a fan of Senator Byrd to begin with, he is one of the kings of pork barrel spending in the Senate, and that is saying something with that bunch. Check out this article about some comments he apparently made comparing Hitler's political tactics in the 30's with that of the GOP threatening to change the rules in the Senate to prevent filibusters. You can read the article at the link below. As far as changing those rules, I would put that on the same ethic footing as Tom DeLay's creative redistricting plan in Texas. I think if Republicans try to change the rules because they no longer benefit them (and the very rules they themselves have used in the past) it could very well come back to haunt them. It might speed progress on passing legislation, but it really weakens the minority part. Chances are the Republicans will not have a majority forever, so such a move would be risky.

But harkening back to some of the geniuses in that party (Gingrich, Lott, etc.) that may not make a difference. Part of me almost wants to see them change it because the notion that a handful of people can hold up progress on legislation in some cases seems silly. But that is the system that has been in place for a long time too.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-byrd03.html

Check out this from Grassley

I know I was just on Grassley a few weeks ago for supporting the handout to the credit card industry known as bankruptcy reform (mark my words, once there are fewer bankruptcies, the credit card companies will cut back on what they contribute to consumer credit counselers as well), but I agree with him this time. He is advocating focusing more on fixing the problems in Social Security rather than just focusing on private accounts. That does make sense, because if anyone tells you that private accounts alone are the solution and you believe it, you might as well get on ebay and buy yourself the Brooklyn bridge while you are being so gullible. Not saying the accounts are altogether bad, I personally like the idea so far, but it won't solve the problem by itself. Oh, by the way, I normally am a big Grassley supporter, I think he for the most part has done an excellent job as a Senator, especially his efforts to reform military spending abuses.

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050303/NEWS09/503030433/1001/NEWS

Gov't has to try or free Padilla

In a move that will certainly make my brother happy, and one that is probably well overdue, a federal judge ruled that the gov't must charge or release Jose Padilla within 45 days. According to an article from the LATimes via Yahoo (click the link below to read it), Padilla has been behind bars for nearly 3 years without even being charged. Apparently they want to get as much info as possbile about Bin Laden's network, although not sure what would be left to find out after 3 years, any info he had would likely be outdated by now.

This is another example of how the administration obviously did not count on a judge anywhere ruling against their indefinite imprisonments. The reason I say that is that in these cases where a judge does make a ruling, the gov't seems to be scratching their collective heads saying "Hmm, never thought of that, what do we do now?"

I didn't have a problem holding him for awhile, but I would have to agree, 3 years is probably enough. Time to charge him or cut him loose.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=716&e=27&u=/latimests/20050301/ts_latimes/judgerulesterrorsuspectmustbechargedorfreed

Backlash on Municipal Broadband

I posted maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago about cities starting their own broadband networks to compete with private industry. To no one's surprise, those with the most to lose from this (cable comanies and telco's) are now lobbying to get laws passed to prevent cities from establishing such networks.

Check out the story at the link below for one of my favorite sites, slashdot.org.

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/22/1414248

Website of the week

Sorry I haven't done this in awhile, this website is nothing spectacular but had one feature that I thought was interesting. This site, for the New Jersey Dept. of Transportation, has a meter on its front page showing how much money their state has been cost by there being no transportation funding agreement. Instead there have been a series of stopgap extensions.

They also have quite a few traffic cameras, those I have checked out a couple of times when the big snowstorms were coming through. Yeah, maybe its lame, but I have always been a bridge and road nut. After all, one of my favorite things as a kid was throwing rocks off the old bridge near grandma and grandpa's house into the creek.

You can check it out here (the site, not the creek)
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/

Want a free Gmail account?

I have some free Gmail account invitations to give away if anyone wants them. If you want one either email me or post your email as a comment and I will send you the info. Its similar to hotmail and yahoo mail but with more storage and some other features as well. If you are not familiar with Gmail, its a beta email account from Google.

Tug of war between Depts. of Defense and State

It appears a little behind the scenes battle is shaping up between the Department of Defense and the Department of State concerning control of special ops missions in other countries (unless we are fighting a war there of course). The Pentagon wants the authority to put Special Ops. troops in another country without notifying or receiving the approval of the local ambassador and CIA station chief. Of course the DOD wants the power and the Dept. of State does not want the Pentagon having that power.

You can read it for yourself here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&ncid=716&e=17&u=/washpost/20050224/ts_washpost/a48522_2005feb23

Interesting story about states trying private accounts

If you are at all concerned about the current social security debate over private accounts, this article at the link below is an interesting read. It discusses how several states have tried some form of private accounts in their pension plans and their results have apparently been less than stellar, especially concerning the number of people who have opted into the program. Its not the same thing, but raises some interesting questions about private accounts.

Read about it here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=716&e=28&u=/latimests/20050222/ts_latimes/statesprivatepensionsmakeaweakshowing

Possibly good news from China

It looks like China is inching closer to having its currency, the Yuan, fully convertible. This will make trade easier for many countries, making it harder for China to have dirt cheap exports (they will still be cheap, but our goods won't be as expensive for them). They are not all the way there yet, but they announced some steps that signal a potential start to that process.

If that happens, it should lead to lower trade deficits with China, although it certainly won't eliminate them given the far cheaper labor available in China.

You can read about it here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=1&u=/nm/20050226/bs_nm/economy_china_yuan_dc

I saw this coming too! Damn, I must be psychic!

When the standard was set to end the broadcasting of analog TV signals at the end of 2006, I remember thinking they would not be ready by then. And that was 3 or 4 years ago I think, or something like that. This article talks about that, and whether or not there is any possibility or even intention of meeting the deadline. This could have huge ramifications for non cable/sat users that have older tv's.

Converters of some kind will surely be available, not sure of the cost yet. I personally think they will slide the deadline back another couple of years.

Read about it here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=597&ncid=763&e=10&u=/nm/20050218/tv_nm/television_digital_dc

Should the Pope resign because of his health?

I am sure you have heard about the Pope John Paul II's health problems by now, you would have to be living in a cave to not have heard about this. Should he step aside because of his health? I personally don't think he will, not much precedent of that happening, and I would think that one if that position naturally is going to worry about his people rather than himself.

I personally think he should resign if he can no longer do his job effectively, especially given all of the challenges facing the church today, but it should be his decision of course.

Let me know what you think.

More PFD!

When I hear or read a story like this, it just makes me wonder what the hell these freakin morons were thinking? Granted, someone in the drug business may not be a genius to begin with, but this is amazing. I guess rule #1 for transporting illegal drugs is that your vehicle should be in perfect shape, not attract any attention, and don't do anything stupid to get pulled over (like speeding, running a red light, etc.). This guy has a million, yeah a million, bucks of pot in his van, and his tags don't match the vehicle. This moron had a sticker for one state, his trailer licensed in another, and his driver's license in yet another state. And what a shock, he got pulled over!

This happened in Lenexa, one of the burbs here on the Kansas side, you can read the story from Channel 9 here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=716&e=26&u=/latimests/20050225/ts_latimes/kansasprosecutorwantsabortionpatientsfiles

Is the Kansas AG trying to pull a fast one

The attorney general in Kansas, Phil Kline, a Republican, is demanding that two health care clinics (both perform abortions) on about 90 late term abortions. He claims he is just trying to investigate crimes against children (maybe who were raped and had an abortion?), and that he needs those records to do so. The police in Wichita, where both clinics are located, say one of the clinics in question, has given them appropriate information on such cases when an obvious crime has been committed and have not had any problems. That begs the question, "Phil, what are you really trying to do?"

A recent court ruling says the clinics have to give him the information, that ruling has been appealed, should be interesting to see what happens there. If the clinic indeed does have to turn over the info, it could have a chilling effect on those who are raped or the victims of incest that seek to have an abortion. Will they try to go somewhere else for an abortion, or just not report the crime?

You can read about it here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=716&e=26&u=/latimests/20050225/ts_latimes/kansasprosecutorwantsabortionpatientsfiles

Another union loss at Walmart

Labor unions were dealt yet another defeat at the hands of Walmart this past week. Employees in the tire and lube express at a Colorado Walmart supercenter voted on whether or not to unionize their department with the United Food and Commerical Workers Union (UFCW). The UFCW has been trying to unionize Walmart for years, their only success so far being a lone meat department in a Texas store. Following that, Walmart decided to make their meat departments self service nationwide.

I am actually surprised that the unions have not won anywhere else. Having once worked for the evil empire, my experience was that they did not treat people all that well. But anyone who knows me is probably aware of how I feel about unions (hint: its one reason I could never be a democrat).

You can read about it here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=10&u=/nm/20050225/bs_nm/retail_walmart_dc

This should scare the hell out of you if you fly.....

Check out this article about shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, and the fact that probably over a thousand of them (and that is probably a conservative estimate) are unaccounted for around the world and potentially in the hands of terrorists. I, for one, cannot believe that we haven't seen an airliner brought down by these yet given that terrorists can probably get them and it doesn't appear to be that hard to get access to areas close enough to an airport where you could use such a weapon.

Unfortuantely, I think we may see an attack with one of these in the next couple of years. I hope I am wrong. It has been discussed to fit commercial airliners with devices to protect against such an attack, but you can bet the airlines won't spring for that.

You can read the article here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=536&e=3&u=/ap/20050224/ap_on_re_us/missile_threat