Thursday, April 28, 2005

Homeland Security Advisory System

President George W. Bush went to an underground shelter Wednesday after security officials received a false alarm that an unidentified aircraft had entered restricted space near the White House. Vice President Dick Cheney was also taken to a secure location. Obviously, it turned out to be a false alarm, but it got me thinking. What happened to the Homeland Security terror threat levels? I remember those jumping up and down prior to the election. By the way, we are currently at the yellow level for those who give a crap about it.

Filibustin'

The Republican's are up in a ruckus about the Democrats using the filibuster to stop some of the President's judicial nominations. They are calling it unconstitutional and bitching about it, although the filibuster has been around for 200 years. They are threatening to invoke what they call the "Nuclear Option", essentially changing the rules to only require a majority vote to end debate, which would result in a backlash from Democrats paralyzing operations in Congress. (Read this essay by someone far more knowledgable than me).

In the last session of Congress, the Senate approved 204 judicial nominees selected by President Bush. Only 10 were rejected (I believe that another 10 were neither confirmed nor turned down and Bush is renominating all 20 who were not confirmed). According to Senator Patrick Leahy's website, that is more federal judges than were confirmed for President Reagan during his first term, more than in President George H.W. Bush’s presidency, and more than in either of President Clinton’s terms. Republicans defeated the nominations of more than 60 of President Clinton’s judicial nominees and more than 200 of his Executive Branch nominees in Senate Committees (Republican's controlled Congress during much of Clinton's presidency, thus filibusters weren't needed). Not even George Washington got all of his nominees confirmed.

So what are they really bitching about? Well, the current filibuster issue is all about control and power. The Republican's are using the unique position of power that the current situation has granted them to set the wheels in motion to dramatically change many aspects of life and government that we take for granted. Recent polls have shown that 66% of the public opposes changing the rules on filibusters. Let's just hope that things don't change. I don't want to our rights and other inherent values taken from us.

Monday, April 25, 2005

Search Over

Nuggs!

I must give props to the Nuggets for stealing a win and the home court advantage from the Spurs in San Antonio last night. The Spurs had a 38-3 record at home this season, but the Nuggs didn't let that get in their heads. Andre Miller had a huge game, scoring 24 of his 31 points in the first half. Now, I realize that this is the first game of the series and Tim Duncan is still getting back to normal, but it is hard not to feel overconfident about the Nuggets this year.

Human Rights

Here are more articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To see the first six click here.

Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Friday, April 22, 2005

U2 Denver


Denver 4/20/05
Photos taken by Colin Burke.
U2 left town today after two killer shows. Playing on back to back nights, the band did a pretty good job of mixing things up. Both shows were much better and tighter than the San Diego shows. Bono threw in a verse of "She's a Mystery to Me", a song he wrote for Roy Orbison, near the end of "One" at the request of a fan. I have never danced and jumped up and down at a U2 show as much as the second night. The opening five songs almost killed me. I don't think I have ever heard them play The Fly or Elevation better than that night. It was good seeing so many close friends at the show and getting to hang out. I also want to say that I am grateful that Cherilyn survived the second show.

Night 1:
Love and Peace
Vertigo/ Stories For Boys
Elevation
Cry/ Electric Co.
An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart
City of Blinding Lights
Beautiful Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
New Year's Day
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky/ Hands That Built America
Running to Stand Still
Pride in the name of love
Where the Streets Have No Name
One/ She's a Mystery to Me
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
All Because of You
Yahweh
"40"
Denver 4/20/05Denver 4/20/05
Night 2:
City of Blinding Lights
Beautiful Day
Vertigo
Elevation
Gloria
The Ocean
New Year's Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky/ Hands That Built America
Running to Stand Still
Bad
Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
All Because of You
Original of the Species
"40"

Monday, April 18, 2005

A three hour tour...

Give me a comment with what album you would want to have with you if you were stuck on a desert island. Don't forget to say why.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

"Under a thunder cloud and rain."

This is Red Rocks!

Friday, April 15, 2005

Sheffield Incident

I am sure that those of you who are sports fans have seen about a bajillion replays of the Sheffield incident at last nights Red Sox-Yankees game. That was about all that sports talk radio could cover today, and everyone had an opinion on who was in the wrong. So I am going to add mine. I don't really hold either the fan or Sheffield at fault. Watching the replay over and over and over again on Sportscenter last night, it appeared as though the fan wasn't intentionally trying to hit him. He was just moving his arm and it hit Shef in the face. I do think that it was right to boot him out of the game. I also don't blame Sheffield for going after the guy. He was running down the sideline, his eye on the ball, he was bending down to pick it up, and got hit in the head. He was in a vulnerable position, and knowing that most of the fans their hate him, it is understandable that he freaked. This is in real time, and he didn't have the luxury of thinking it over in slow motion. If he would have gone after the fans after he threw the ball, then he would have crossed the line in my book. The kid doing security on the sideline did a great job jumping between the fan and the player. One thing I can say after this whole incident is that I still hate the Yankees, and I am to get sick of the Red Sox and all the hype around them. Is it me or are Boston fans changing from sore losers into sore winners.

Ligres, Tigons, and...

Wholphins. Oh my!

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Guest Author

Well, against my better judgment I am allowing another person to put a post on this blog. But, I found this to be pretty damn funny and decided to accept the request from "Professor Esteban Lument". I found it to be pretty funny in a slightly perverse, conspiracy theory way. So please, if you dislike this, complain to me about putting it on here and not about the content of what is written:

I would like to start off by thanking Mr. Stewart for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with you the readers. Secondly, I want to say that my writings are often of an adult nature. If you are offended by the language that I use, you are probably an ignorant little mole. You should be offended about the topics I write about, not the goddam words I use. You should be offended that certain cosksuckers out there are screwing our birthright, raping our identities, and setting fire to our heritage. Too much for me to write about now, but plenty of time for that, as much time as God gives us.

Seems as though the powers that are in charge of our rights and constitution are finally starting their agenda to refashion the fabric of America. When they got their whipping boy into office they realized that they were still missing the stomach to make change. No such thing as a mandate when you are given the throne by Daddy’s appointees and lawyers. But along came that infamous day that gave the citizens an enemy to unite against. And boy do we need an enemy. Limeys, injuns, Japs, Nazis, Commies. What the fuck did we have to fight against in the last decade. Yeah, Saddam was around, but he wasn’t menacing enough to occupy our rapidly declining attention spans. Thank goodness for Monica’s cigars and reality TV. What the hell else would we have done with ourselves?

So sum crazy ass fucks plotting in caves and tents in Afghanistan come along and rearrange the picture. Everything stops, tears are shed, life is honored. But now the Ties in Washington have their Helen. A war can be started. Shit, it doesn’t matter if it has nothing to do with those who did it.

Hit someone where it hurts. Show em what we are made of. Why else did we make all them bombs and tank if we weren’t gonna use em!

We had to quench our thirst with a little blood in order to get to what we really need. America has survived and thrived off of cheap calories, kilowatts, horsepower, kilojoules. Ever since the seventies, we have been stuck relying on others to satisfy our thirst for energy. Never believe that the head of the government is slow and stupid. Even if he is, you know that someone has their hand up his ass telling him where to look and what to say. Fuckin eh, W knew what he was doing. He had his fingers crossed the whole time about WMD’s. Finding them woulda been like winning a fifty on a scratch ticket. You don’t really expect it, but what a nice surprise. They knew that we had to gain a stranglehold on part of that region and the easiest way to do it was to invade a country that our sanctions had forced to dismantle their weapons programs and thus any hope of thwarting an attack. It was easy pickings. Now we have to put up with some stubborn nutjobs who have gone guerrilla style to try to beat us back, but nothing will stop our desire for oil.

The war might have destabilized the world, but if it will stabilize the future of our energy needs a little longer. It was something They are willing to put up with. But war is messy. Woman, children, elderly were killed, maimed, raped, or just vanished. (Now calm the fuck down, I ain’t accusing the troops of raping woman...well, maybe prisoners in Abu Ghraib, but that’s another story). Other weird ass shit is constantly going on in the war zone. Our own soldiers who survive this mess will suffer through shell shock and hellish memories for the rest of their lives. 1,500 dead so far. A tradgedy. But at least we can keep America strong for another 50 years with energy that we need. Ahh....sweet crude. It'll be good to know that I can keep my 1965 Pontiac GTO on the the road and live in the manner I am accustomed to.

And watch out for what’s next! Corporations are going to become more powerful than anyone can even imagine. The world will become more unstable as the poor grow in size and want. Big brother is going to be watching your every move. Be ready to feel helpless as you lose any sense of control of your destiny. Everyone is a security threat.

If you hadn’t figured it out by now, Esteban sure as hell ain’t the name given to me by my blessed mother and father. But you never know who out there might be reading this. Such as that is, I still chose a pretty low crawlspace of the internet to place my thoughts. But those who need to read this have been or will be told of the location. Dissemination will occur. Over and out.

The Professor

Monday, April 11, 2005

Wages Not Keeping Up With Expenses

Article

Hockey? Ice Hockey?

I know you are probably shocked, but there is hockey news to report. The University of Denver Pioneers won their second straight NCAA hockey title, defeating the North Dakota Fighting Souix 4-1. The Pioneers finished the season with a 32-9-1 record. It is good to see that while the Avs and the rest of the NHL are sitting out this season, the State of Colorado is still representing (DU knocked off Colorado College in the Frozen Four). But despite this brief interruption in the wasteland that is hockey news, I must admit that I really don't miss the NHL all that much. I think some serious changes are needed to bring life back into the game. You know that something is wrong when Arena Football has higher ratings on the same day as the NHL All-star game or when one NFL team has a larger TV contract than the entire league.

Jump on the Bandwagon

ESPN Power Rankings

Nuggets are at the top baby!

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Winter Wonderland

Mother Nature decided to bring us some clouds from the Pacific full of heavy, wet snow. The Front Range has received between 1-2 feet and winds have been gusting at up to 30 mph. So much snow had built up on the steps to our house that our dog didn't even want to venture out to go pee. According to weather reports, whiteout conditions shut down a 16-mile stretch of I-25 between Denver and Colorado Springs and I-70 was closed in both directions in the Denver area. The airport even shut down. Thus, we are spending a lazy day at home watching movies and catching up on email. If I was still a kid, I would be praying that school will be cancelled tomorrow.

Saturday, April 09, 2005

Nuggets Baby!

The Denver Nuggets are now 20-2 since the all-star break and are by far the hotttest team in basketball. Last night they showed off their impressive numchuk skills and pushed Kevin Garnett's Timberwolves to the brink of playoff elimination. How sweet is that! Andre Miller had 22 points and a season-high 15 assists to lead the Nuggets to a 107-104 victory. Melo and Martin added 26 and 24 points respectively. For those of us who suffered through the Bickerstaff debaucle and then the 17 win season (only two years ago), this is truly amazing. The Nuggs are sitting a half game back of the Rockets, and, if they can pass them, would end up playing the Sonics in the first round. That would be an ideal matchup between Coach Karl and the organization that let him go. It would also be a much better matchup than facing either the Suns or Spurs.

In other NBA news, the LA Fakers are out of the playoffs for just the fourth time since they moved to LA in 1960, and have their first losing season since the 1993-94 season. Who's to blame? Duhh...Kobe. It was Kobe that pushed management to trade Shaq. And it was Kobe that soured relations with Phil Jackson, pushing him into temporary retirement. Looks as though he is getting the Karma that he deserves.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

More Dirt on Delay

I think I missed a couple other items, but here are some of the more recent ones;

Delay's Wife and Daughter Paid $500,000

$70,000 Trip Paid for by Indian Tribe and Gambling Company

Another Delay Trip Under Scrutiny

Associates Indicted

Man Stuck in Elevator for Three Days

A Chinese food delivery man was stuck in an elevator for three days after making a delivery to a high rise apartment building in New York City. Apparently, building security and maintenance workers didn't hear his screams for help. I think he will probably take the stairs from now on.

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

The Tarheel's Tourney

Congratulations to the University of North Carolina on winning the NCAA Men's Basketball championship. This year's tournament was one of the most exciting in recent memory, but I hope that they vote for the rule change to move the three point line back an inch or two. I am extra happy that the Tarheels pulled out the win over Illinois, as I won my office pool. And for those of you who are wondering what the heck a tarheel is, our friend Lindley gave us the scoop:

Tar Heel
Dictionary
Tar Heel or Tar·heel (tär'hel')
n.
A native or resident of North Carolina.
[Perhaps from the tar that was once a major product of the state.]
Tar Heel
Legend has it that the Tar Heel nickname applied to the state and inhabitants of North Carolina--as well as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's athletic teams--dates back to the Civil War. Supposedly, a North Carolina regiment stuck to their line like they had "tar on their heels" during a fierce battle. In fact, the term "Tar Heel" is a pejorative-much like the term "Georgia cracker"-that dates back to colonial times. North Carolina was the poorest of the 13 original colonies, and the state's primary exports were naval stores-pitch and tar. "Tar Heel" was thus an insult levied at the state's residents who were so poor and ignorant that they "walked around barefoot with tar on their heels".

Friday, April 01, 2005

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There are 30 Articles total, so I am going post sections of it over the next few weeks. If you feel that these statements should be applicable to yourself, shouldn't they be applicable to everyone?

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

U2 San Diego

Just got back from catching the opener in San Diego. I won't spoil it too much for those of you who are heading to shows in Denver or other cities. All I can say is that this is a must see for anyone. While the stage set up is pretty similar to the Elevation Tour, the highlight of this show is the definitely the songs. They pulled out some oldies (An Cat Dubh, 40), as well as seven songs off the new album. The new songs are much better live in my opinion, as they lose some of the glossy production and have a more raw feel to them. Love and Peace or Else is a new favorite, as it really rocks live. I had a great time in SoCal hanging out with some great U2 friends and doing the touristy stuff. I can't wait until the band hits Colorado in a few weeks.

San Diego 1 Setlist
San Diego 2 Setlist

If you want a copy of the first show, post a comment with your contact info. (wav, mp3, or aac)