Proving that our Idiot In Chief isn't the only quasi-illiterate Republican, the state chairman of the Maine delegation to the GOP convention, in his nominating speech, just said of President Stupid that "...he embodies our state motto, Italian, err, Latin, for 'I go, Dirigo'..."

Now, is it that he can't read his pre-printed speech, which he was visibly holding right in front of him and regularly referring to, or that he doesn't know the difference between Italian and Latin?

Listening to NPR, who are having a blast interviewing conservatives (who, after all, spend an enormous amount of money "underwriting", read, advertising, on their affiliates.) Among the usual prattle from BigotFest 2004, they interviewed a "conservative comic" (which seems redundant to me):

Brad Stine is a conservative Christian comedian, who performed last night at a party hosted by Jenna and Barbara Bush.

To follow the Queen's lead in Wonderland, which any political convention can resemble, let's begin at the beginning, so that we can end at the end:
1. "conservative Christian comedian": what a stupid, stupid, stupid description. I mean, does it imply that comics as a whole are non-religious? By way of comparison, I guess I'm a "leftist atheist blogger."
2. "conservative Christian comedian... performed": again, a redundancy?
3. The party was hosted by the Cokehead In Chief's daughters -- should this be a surprise?

But I'm not entirely cynical: the real reason I decided to blog about this was something said by the stupid comedian (who, no, is not really very funny at all, objectively or subjectively: it was pretty painful to listen to him talk, actually.) He mentioned that he went to NYC planning to be angry with the protestors. He then said (paraphrased) that he was surprised to instead feel like he was watching democracy in action, and in fact, he sort of paraphrased a chant popular in the anti-imperialist movement: "this is what democracy looks like!"

Weird.

p.s. the People have been heard: more nastygrams will follow!

I just talked to my sister on the phone for three hours and fifty-one minutes. Two thoughts: (1) she's a genuis, and (2) Love those free nights and weekends! Now back to our regularly scheduled program, Zuma.

i was a legal observer today for an anti-war, anti-imperialism, anti-bush protest today (i know, they are basically all the same). the crowd was impressive for this military town, 400+ at its peak (though the program dragged on for WAY too long, and people who would've marched started to leave).

also present was the usual cadre of bigoted, stupid, trashy counter protestors. interestingly, their leader was unusually restrained, while they have a new idiot, a young kid, maybe 23, who prattles on a megaphone about how those who seek a peaceful world and less imperialist behavior from america "hate america."

Olympic Sports That Absolutely May Or May Not Really Be Sports:

• synchronized swimming
  
• flatwater canoeing, because the craft is so narrow and stupid: it's really more of a low-function kayak. you couldn't actually get anywhere in it, except to do a sprint, since you can't sit down. dumb.
  
• figure skating
  
• speaking of winter sports, curling is, at best, highly questionable
  
• freestyle wrestling
  
• the random dancing pieces of the floor exercise in women's gymnastics
  
• beach volleyball, just because it's so offensive what the women wear, compared to what the men wear, that it's more like watching the shooting of the SI swimsuit edition than an olympic sport. (i mean, shit -- this is an event where you get SAND all over you. what they hell are they thinking?)
  
• women's track is clearly a sport, but gets an honorable mention on this list for the same offensive clothing discrepancy as beach volleyball.
  
• table tennis: an entertaining pasttime, perhaps, but most decidedly not a sport.
  

My Argentina Budget
by Danny-Danny

• $35.10: roundtrip ticket on Evil Airlines from San Diego to Buenos Aires(!), resulting from the Shameless Mileage Run detailed in the previous post.
  
• $0.00: travel insurance, because I'm not a Responsible Person
  
• $6.25: wine in HPDE nalgene bottles, for, uhhh, airports (Concha y Toro Frontera Merlot)
  
• ~$25 lunch, with beer, in San Diego, since Evil Airlines won't be feeding us for many hours, and the food at DFW, inarguably the Worst Airport In America, is about as good as the main beer in airports these days: Spam Adams, and Spam sLight, (I tried to deduce a direct link to their page for sLight, but their Flash webpage is as disgusting as their beer, and makes it impossible) allegedly the best tasting light beer in America (which is, really, a bit like a determination of "The Best Tasting Raw Sewage In America"). But I digress: since Spam Adams has sort of taken over the airport beer world, good beer is almost impossible to find in most airports, and DFW, the showcase airport for Big Shitty Chain Restaurants that it is, of course, is no exception.
  
• <$1: transport to the SAN airport (gas for Petunia!):
  
• $0.00: food at DFW, since it's all inedible.
  
• $5.00: approximate cost of peanuts and Clif Bars for the approximately 12 hour flight from Dallas to Buenos Aires, since Evil Airlines will surely screw me ont he non-dairy vegetarian meal I just requested.
  
• $7.00: return flight food, since it's less predictable what vegan food will cost in Argentina to come back.
  
• $100: eleven nights of lodging in and around Buenos Aires, and Montevideo. The Good Senator seems to think it'll be cheapest in a hostel, but since hostels have never yet been cheaper for two people anywhere else I've ever gone, I suspect we'll be looking for cheap hotels. I LOVES me some local wildlife in my room!
  
• $100: approximate food budget. Yeah, we're gonna eat well, but since restaurants in Latin america seem to think vegetarian shouldn't include any protein besdies beans, it doesn't cost too much.
  
• $150: miscellaneous expenses, including transportation and border "taxes" between Argentina and Uruguay, and the ~$28 exit tax from Argentina, which makes me want to cry for them.
  

I get too much flak from The Good Senator for not updating my blog, so... here's the first update in many moons.

In those moons, I've been a little busy; trips have included:

• Colorado Springs (January 2004, work)
  
• Detroit (January 2004, "pleasure," as much as such a notion can exist in Michigan in January)
  
• San Diego->New York (JFK)->New York (LaGuardia)->Miami->Key West->Miami->New York (LaGuardia)->New York (JFK)->San Diego (January 2004, this ridiculous trip was the most shameless kind of mileage run, leading to a free ticket anywhere Evil Airlines (which shall remain unnamed, but is sometimes abbreviated as AA) flies, resulting in the next major trip, to Argentina, this September 2004!
  
• various and regular trips to Los Angeles, mostly for work and work related things
  
• El Salvador (March 2004, I acted as an elections observer for the presidential elections, then travelled)
  
• Sacramento (May 2004, for my own wedding!)
  
• Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Guatemala (May-August 2004)
  

Pictures of the summer's galavanting in Central America are being processed (by me) as we speak (windows are open in the background), but it'll eb a while before any are really ready to display: I took a little over 1,2000 pictures, thanks to the seven 256mb compact flash cards I took with me.

Planned travel for this fall includes:

• September: Idyllwild for a NLG-LA conference
  
• September: Buenos Aires, Argentina; probably also Montevideo, Uruguay, with The Good Senator
  
• September: Colorado Springs: to see Olive Margaret, and happy parents
  
• September-October: Boston, to see A.'.C, DD, &c., and possibly meander up towards Vermont
  
• October: Birmingham: for the NLG National Convention
  
• November: Sacramento, for B&S party celebrating their marriage!
  
• November: Sacramento (yes, again), for a holiday to remember how privileged and lucky we all are, and one whose backs we stole this country.
  
• December-January: Boston, then Vermont, then Boston again

You might wonder, when will I find time to work in all of this? Well, I sort of wonder myself. Fortunately, I'm able to do a lot of my work via email, and much of my work energies this fall will be dedicated to photography and writing.

meloncholy? maybe a little. illness in the immediate family will do that to you.
and cold. in san diego, of all places: cold. the winds have died down a bit; earlier sustained winds at the airport were 24mph, gusts up to 30, both higher four blocks from the ocean where i live. my feet are cold. my feet! wearing thick-ish socks, and slippers, no less.
preparing a training for homeless youths on how to do legal research. give them the tools to rise up.
all sorts of super extra special commentary may be due, but at the end of a week of a cold/flu-like thing, and the only thing that worked to calm the coughing being copious alcohol, i need to sleep.
happy? heh.

Tom McClintock may be a freako wingnut, but I can't say he's not good for smart soundbites, such as this gem in the San Francisco Chronicle : "If Schwarzenegger's campaign spent a fraction of the time studying the issues as they have trying to muscle me out of the race, they'd be in better shape today," McClintock said.

Indeed.

Good article, once again in the Guardian (UK), on yesterday's protest at the San Diego/Tijuana border (which I acted as a National Lawyer's Guild legal observer for.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3144254,00.html
Why, again, is the only good coverage through foreign sources? (Since the domestic articles are, in a word, terrible:
www.nbcsandiego.com/news/2482162/detail.html ; and
www.kfmb.com/topstory18075.html [confidential to KFMB: Camino De La Plaza Road is redundant, and incorrect: 'Camino' means 'Road')

Finally! A nastygram which yields a quick and good response. Well, it really wasn't a nasty nastygram at all. Maybe that has something to do with it? Nah...

From: "curt [at] SelectSmart.com"
To: "dan gr"
Subject: Re: california recall selector
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 18:05:25 -0700

Dan,
We think you're right. We made some adjustments to the page. Namely, we disabled the priority function which seemed to the problem in your scores.
Geez...We'd hate to be responsible for putting Gary Coleman in office.
Curt
SelectSmart.com

BTW, no comment on whether I'm voting yes or no on the recall itself: I've gotta keep you in some suspense to make you come back here, right?

hmmmmm. SmartSelect.com's California Governor Recall Candidate Selector seems to suck. Below is the e-mail I just sent them; we'll see if they respond.

Incidentally, I'm going to vote for Peter Camejo . Hold your concerns about Camejo being a potential spoiler (ala Nader 2000); I don't vote for people who kill people -- ever. Therefore Cruz Bustamante simply cannot have my vote -- ever. Not only does he support state-sponsored murder, he also has godtalk prattle on his website, www.noonrecallyesonbustamante.com : "An opportunity for every person to make the most of their God-given talents."

Ironic domain name, that, since he's basically abandoned the "No on the recall" position. How about: www.whateveronrecallyesonmurder.com? I bet nobody has registered it yet -- move quick, Cruz!

Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 13:56:33
From: [dangr]
Subject: Fwd: california recall selector
To: Manager {at} SelectSmart.com

Hello,

I just tried your recall candidate selector, and am pretty doubtful about the results it returned. Almost every single position Peter Camejo has, I support; almost every position Gary Coleman states, I oppose, yet Camejo is scored at 10%, and Coleman at 15%.

For example, I listed the death penalty as something my ideal candidate would fully oppose, and an issue of high importance for me;
yet, all the people who your system scored above 11% for me except Arianna Huffington support the death penalty.

I also disagree with almost everything Arnold Schwarzenegger says, and agree with almost everything Arianna Huffington says, yet they both rate 26%?

Below I've pasted in the results your system returned for me. I'd be happy to tell you how I answered the questions if you like. I'm
curious about why this came up like this, and would love a response.
Thanks!

-Dan

1. Gray Davis (41%) Click here for info
2. Cruz Bustamante (36%) Click here for info
3. Arianna Huffington (26%) Click here for info
4. Audie Bock (13%) Click here for info
5. Peter Camejo (10%) Click here for info
6. Peter Ueberroth (dropped out) (36%) Click here for info
7. Arnold Schwarzenegger (26%) Click here for info
8. Gary Coleman (15%) Click here for info
9. Mary Carey (10%) Click here for info
10. Bill Simon (dropped out) (9%) Click here for info
11. Tom McClintock (5%) Click here for info
12. Larry Flynt (3%) Click here for info
13. Angelyne (0%) Click here for info

WTO meetings update:
speaking of European newspapers, when was the last time you saw an American newspaper print a headline like this: "EU reneges on pledge to third world", an article like this, or a first paragraph like this?

The European commission was last night secretly preparing to sabotage plans to help poor countries trade their way out of poverty, as backstairs wrangling dominated the opening day of the World Trade Organisation's talks in Cancun, Mexico.

I've had no responses to the various nastygrams contained in previous posts here until today, when, almost a month after my message, I got this wholly inadequate response from United. (Reminder: I complained about their ending their partnership with Delta, thus limiting people's options in accrual and renewal of miles.) My favorite part is the nearly incomprehensible line "The mutual agreement to end the partnership was due to the respective alliance relationships both United and Delta have formed." (I provided the bolding.) Huh? What the hell does that mean?

My second favorite part is the "PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL" part which directs me that "If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. ..."
Fortunately for you and me, kind reader, I was indeed the intended recipient, and so my dissemination of it here is just peachy with Laura Marshall (and the legal department at United.)

And incidentally, my Mileage Plus number, which I did, indeed, provide to them, was sufficient to indicate that I am a "Premier" flyer for 2003, which, if you would've though it would result in a faster response than the one I got, well, we were both wrong. Without any further ado, then, here is the peice of crap they sent:

From: CustomerVoice@ual.com
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 15:53:49 -0500
Subject: RE: ending partnership with Delta
To: me@yahoo.com

Dear _________,

Thank you for contacting us about the discontinuation of the Delta partnership. I'm sorry that you were disappointed with the email
announcement. The mutual agreement to end the partnership was due to the respective alliance relationships both United and Delta have formed.

If you should have any additional questions about the partnership, you may contact our Mileage Plus Service Center staff directly by calling 1-800-421-4655. Or, you may email them from our Home Page under the ABOUT UNITED heading. Click "Contact United", "Email" and then "Mileage Plus" (found under the UNITED PRODUCTS and SERVICES heading). Please include your Mileage Plus membership number.

Your business is important to United and we look forward to the continued privilege of serving you.

Best Regards,

Laura Marshall
Customer Relations
United Airlines

**********************************************************************************************************
This message is intended only for the use of the Addressee and may contain information that is PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please erase all copies of the message and its attachments and notify the sender immediately. Thank you.
**********************************************************************************************************

Been a while -- been busy. Really.
Today's quote, thinking about the WTO meetings in Cancun: "The world we want is one where many worlds fit ..." -Subcomandante Marcos. See the Sup's communique in the Guardian (UK):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/wto/article/0,2763,1039754,00.html
Now, why do ya suppose I couldn't find this republished in an American newspaper? And at that, certainly not the detailed coverage on the WTO meetings that the Guardian provides.
Another quote, from the communique: "We hope the death train of the World Trade Organisation will be derailed in Cancun and everywhere else."
Just in case that link above expires, you'll probably be able to find it on this Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) page , although it may only be in Spanish.

KPBS "These Days" is talking about stuff. You know, why people collect it, and why this is good/bad/healthy/unhealthy.
(traffic-lane-flash: "westbound 8 at Hotel Circle: a box, and some glass, and all sorts of things.")
No responses to report to any of my missives or nastygrams of last week (Kahlua, California-ABC, Panda Express, etc.) I hate it when people don't respond to me.

...

today's yummy cheese of the day, with no consumer protection implications whatsoever: Mike's Beer Cheese: The new Stone 7th Anniversary Ale with Basil and Sun Dried Tomatoes; Stone Imperial Stout and Garlic; Stone Ruination IPA and Mustard; and Double Napalm Bastard. http://www.mikesbeercheese.com

Here's my complaint to Panda Express about their offensive advertising slogan: "Chinese for: yummy", which grates every time I hear it on San Diego radio stations. I contated them at:
http://www.pandaexpress.com/default.asp?nav=contact .
Your Comments were received successfully as follows:
Subject: Other
Comments: I write to express my dismay with your advertising slogan: "Chinese for: yummy", which I find offensive. I am aware that your corporation was founded and is apparently still operated by people of Chinese heritage, nevertheless, such crass sloganeering is typical of the American advertising industry''s lowest common denominator approach: anything for a laugh. I would love a response and explanation about how the company doesn''t think the slogan is demeaning. Thank you for your time. -[DG], San Diego, CA
Require a Response?: Yes

I'm hardly the first to complain about this, as can be seen at the 05.04.02 and 05.03.02 entires of Angry Asian Man's web page/blog . However, I still felt the need to complain, since it's not clear if Panda Express knows that people continue to find this slogan offensive.