What the Hell: A Music Meme

Last week, someone tagged Medley with a song meme, and now that I'm back from Ireland, I thought I'd foist on you all what I've been listening to.

Sliabh Notes -- heard them in person in Galway, bought a CD in Doolin. I love the song "Galway", which I also heard them perform live. That's a beautiful song. And the Galway Sessions -- two weeks of music, music, music -- was just amazing as a whole.

Andy Irvine and Paul Brady -- bought on the shopkeeper's recommendation in Doolin. Definitely a good choice.

A couple of collections of 'essential Irish music' -- pub songs to instrumental airs.

George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice, vol 1 -- a fantastic album, especially Praying for Time and They Won't Go When I Go.

And I'm about to go hunting for the minidisc with 4 songs on it by Bright Eyes, because I could use some of that right about now.

While I was *in* Ireland, I listened to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, a mix of Hot Topic bands that I put together last year, and Ottmar Liebert (flamenco), all on my minidisc player -- I only brought 4 discs, and one (some bluesy stuff) I never listened to at all. And I listened to the Sliabh Notes album, but I had to borrow W's CD player and adapter to do that.

But, since I can't listen to people singing and study at the same time, I mostly had to stick to the LOTR and flamenco.

It's Still Not Science

But Is It Intelligent?

Fanning the Controversy Over 'Intelligent Design'

I don't have anything new to say about 'intelligent design' today, I've blogged about this subject before:

Science is a method of asking questions based on observations, predicting behaviours, and testing if those behaviours occur. Science is not a thing, it is a process of analyzing the world we live in.

Go ahead, teach ID -- please. But teach it as philosophy or theology or something else, because unless you can make predictions based on intelligent design and then test those predictions, you are not doing science and you should not be teaching it in a science class.

This Novak Walking Off The Set Thing

There's just no visible motive. I've seen the clip -- they weren't yelling, really. I've read the transcript:

HENRY: And the "Strategy Session" continues on INSIDE POLITICS. Still here: James Carville and Robert Novak.

Katherine Harris made a name for her self during the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential race. She was then Florida's secretary of state. She went on to the House of Representatives.

Now she wants to move over to the United States Senate. Today she got the news that the speaker of the Florida House won't challenge her for the Republican nomination. In the meantime, Harris is blaming unnamed newspapers for tarnishing her image by doctoring her makeup with Photoshop. -- that computer program. Bob Novak, have you been investigating this make-up story?

NOVAK: No, but I've had the same experience that she did. A lot of my trouble in the world is that they've doctored my make-up and colorized me in a lot of newspapers on my picture. So, I sympathize with her.

HENRY: This is breaking news. I've haven't heard this.

CARVILLE: Breaking news. Who did it? What paper?

NOVAK: Well, I don't. I can't tell you.

CARVILLE: Yes. You know the two happiest people in America today about this decision, is Bill Nelson and Jay Leno. I mean --

HENRY: Bill Nelson the Democratic Senator.

CARVILLE: The Democratic Senator and Jay Leno. That -- I mean, they're going to go nuts over this. They're messing with my make-up, but you really don't know who it is. I mean, let's say this: She's going to be good for the humor circuit. She's going to be good for the speech circuit and she's good for a lot. And I think that Nelson -- I think, it's probably no secret that the White House wanted the speaker to run and I suspect that the Nelson people are, you know, feeling pretty good here today.

NOVAK: A couple of points here: The first place, don't be too sure she's going to lose. All the establishment's against her and I've seen these Republican -- anti-establishment candidates who do pretty well. Ronald Reagan, I guarantee you that the establishment wasn't for him. We just elected a senator from Oklahoma, Senator Tom Coburn, everybody in the establishment was against him. She might get elected -- So, wait. Just let me finish what I'm going to say, James. Please, I know you hate to hear me, but you have...

CARVILLE: He's got to show these right wingers that he's got backbone, you know. It's why The Wall Street Journal editorial page is watching you. Show 'em you're tough.

NOVAK: Well, I think that's bullshit. And I hate that. Just let it go.

(Novak leaves set.) HENRY: OK. James, what do you think though, seriously about this Senate race, James, that the -- that basically the Katherine Harris and Bill Nelson, if they do square off, what do you think -- what will that mean for Bill Nelson? He's considered an endangered incumbent.[...]

He just gets up and leaves. I mean, Novak and Carville weren't even in each other's faces. That's what surprised me. Where's the impetus to get up and leave? What the hell was that?

Not that I care, much, except that Novak is the guy who ought to be strung up and vigorously sued if not held criminally liable for outing CIA agents and stuff.

US To Play Shell Game With GTMO Prisoners

Just sounded cooler that way. Possibly more true, too.

US aims to empty Cuba terrorist camp by 70%

The Bush administration is negotiating the transfer of nearly 70 percent of the detainees at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to three countries as part of a plan to share the burden of keeping suspected terrorists behind bars.

You know, the only burden this is going to reduce is that now the US can express horror and dismay at the treatment of prisoners in some other country's prison, as opposed to one of our own.

I Blame the Patriarchy

You should, too.

The current craze for pretending that certain kinds of knowledge do not exist, for the purpose of promulgating antediluvian godbag superstitions about “Baby Jesus” or “Creation” or “The Virgin Mary,” is chapping my hide almost as hard as the current infestation of Austin-based singer-songwriters who continue to employ the overwrought phrase “I’m down on my knees!” and then rhyming it with “please” (but never “cheese”) in their trite masterworks, and that goes double if the singer-songwriter also tries to yodel. The godbags are completely insane with no hope of a cure, sure, but one could argue that it’s because they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and now can’t help it. Whereas lame poetry accompanied by acoustic guitars is an entirely preventable atrocity. What’s more, it’s never art, and it’s rarely entertainment, and of course yodeling should never be attempted by anyone whose cousin is not also her brother.

Sheer poetry. Of the good variety.

I also love Shakespeare's Sister, who you should go read right now, especially when she lays the smack down on Christians Who Support President "Liar Liar Pants on Fire" Bush.

This is what will always irritate me about conservative Christians who adore Bush. They genuinely don’t seem to care that he constantly behaves in unchristian ways. They genuinely don’t seem to care that he doesn’t even attend church regularly. Their biggest concern seems to be that he “isn’t afraid to show” that he believes in God, which isn’t even an honest claim; he isn’t afraid to say he believes in God. He, in reality, does precious little to show it.

Art Prankster Goes after Israel's new 'Berlin Wall'

Art prankster sprays Israeli wall

I like this guy.

GTMO Prosecutors Quit In Protest

Gitmo prosecutors quit in protest

...two Gitmo prosecutors quit in protest, accusing fellow lawyers of "ignoring torture allegations, failing to protect exculpatory evidence and withholding information from superiors"...

Don't tell me it's a fecking tropical paradise, Dick.

Two quit jobs as Gitmo
tribunal prosecutors

The Pentagon acknowledged on Monday that two former members of the military team handling prosecutions of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba, had alleged last year that the trial system was rigged in favor of the government.

Downing Street, Joe Wilson, and Rove, oh my

Help Rep. Babara Lee's inquiry into the Downing Street memo

Congresswoman Barbara Lee and 29 co-sponsors are backing a Resolution of Inquiry which, if passed, will require the White House and the State Department to "transmit all information relating to communication with officials of the United Kingdom between January 1, 2002, and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of the United States with respect to Iraq."

Thompson, dems seeks information around Downing Street memo

"In addition, since the May 1 story in the Sunday London Times, seven additional documents have been leaked to the press," the letter reads. "Collectively, the documents present serious questions as to whether intelligence was manipulated and whether officials in both the U.S. and Britain misled the public as to whether military action in Iraq was really the last resort as both nations purported to be the case."

Truth, kids. That's aaaaalllll I'm asking for.

And while we're talking about manipulating intelligence, how about that Karl Rove?

Karl Rove in deep do-do? The man who always ends up smellin’ rosy "[O]ver the years Rove has been charged with more than just loose lips".

Bush: Rove has 'my compete confidence' despite leak

Bush said last month that he would fire anyone found to have acted illegally in the case, but critics accused him of lowering the "ethics bar." Bush and his aides have at times in the past been broader in saying that those involved in the leak would face consequences.

You know, I don't normally notice bias in the media, but that was the softest way possible to say "Bush had previously stated 'We must remember the high standards that come with high office', and is now backpedaling by saying well, if someone gets convicted maybe we'll fire 'em".

“Bush warned that he expected his White House staff to meet the highest ethical standards, avoiding not only violations of law, but even the appearance of impropriety.”

“”We must remember the high standards that come with high office,” he said. “This begins careful adherence with the rules. I expect every member of this administration to stay well within the boundaries [that] define legal and ethical conduct.”

Oh, I live for the day.