Condi like W.

When asked about the Iraq elections, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview on ABC TV's "This Week" that "What we are seeing here is the voice of freedom."

This is reminiscent of the line from Ghostbusters: "Listen, did you smell something?"

PhD or not, she’s doing her best to meet the Bushie malapropism quota.

Feith No More

One of those news one liners -- Feith is leaving the Pentagon but not immediately. His will be a more liesurely departure. Sic Transit Gloria Feith -- the man Tommy Franks identified as possibly the dumbest (obscenity) in the government.

Obscene is a great description for Feith's work.

Barbara Boxer!

Let's hear it for Barbara Boxer! I watched her on the News Hour yesterday -- she obviously had done her homework and calmly articulated the case against Rice, using Rice's own words, framed in the context that Rice had the chance to set the record straight but chose to not to.

Bravo! The Bushies have left a trail of lies and need to be reminded of their actions, which are part of the public record.

OTOH, would someone remind Joe Lieberman that he is a Democrat. Not a Republican, not a Likudnik, but a Democrat. The man is dense, if nothing else.

Boston's Safe

Looks like the Boston Dirty Bombers threat was a hoax, caused by an intoxicated cab driver from Mexicali. The cabbie reportedly phoned "911 in California" to report the scheme and had tossed a package over a border fence with visas, ticket stubs and other stuff belonging to the four Chineese suspects. The kicker here, mentioned in passing in the Globe story, is that one of the suspects had been arrested on November 11, 2004, and was in custody in San Diego.

Who's on first?

While we're on the subject of Terror, I'll predict that now that GWB is re-annointed by God we'll have no more of those "code indigo" alerts. No need to feed the public paranoia. Fear is a tactic long used by the right wing to push its agenda -- what Richard Hofstadter called the "paranoid style."

Been down so long....

I installed and ran "Windows Registry Repair Pro" by 3B software, only to have a system file destroyed in the process, hence the machine wouldn't boot. Microsoft tech support, at least on the initial call, compounded the problem. The next call to MS tech support solved the problem but at the price of a clean install, necessary to fix the first fix it seems.

Long story short: avoid "Windows Registry Repair Pro" like the plague. I've used "Registry First Aid" for years without incident and should have left well enough alone. It's better to learn from other people's stupid mistakes that to learn from your own stupid mistakes.

Fortunately, most of my files were backed up on a separate drive but I did lose a weeks worth of email and notes. So to quote the Gubernator, "I'll be back."

Get Out of Jail Free

According to the Prez, all is forgiven, there is no need for retrospection, and everything he and his crew have done meets with the approval of Americans. He came to this conclusion based on the fact that he was re-elected. So don't expect him to be accountable for what's gone on or, for that matter, for what's to come. He's large and in charge.

In other matters of outrage, Sen Dianne Feinstein plans to offer a glowing intro for Condi Rice when her confimation hearing opens on Tuesday. One wonders if Sen. Feinstein has been awake the last few years. Rice's performance should have gotten her fired. You know, little things, like 9/11, WMD's in Iraq -- that kind of stuff. How about supporting a coup in Venezuela, which failed, and then having the gall to tell the intended victim that he had to respect democracy? Remember that Condi was put in charge of the working group that was to manage Iraq. How's that been going?

At least Calilfornia's other Senator, Barbara Boxer, seems immune from the facile "you go girl" gushing intened by Feinstein. Maybe they should talk.

Gangs Buy Silence

The NY Times reports that gangs are killing people who testify against them and details the "snitch prevention" methods they employ.

Maybe it's time for the Salvadoran Option -- hey, if its good enough to be considered for Iraq then it should really be effective in a country where peace and justice reigns in the era of El Busho. A little street justice. Slap leather, partner (which for, those who still have their youth, was a phrase used in Westerns to signify a challange to a gunfight).

For the terminally dense, this is sarcasim. Don't write me about it.

Oh, please.

"Mr Bush, whose turns of phrase have become famous, said he regretted using phrases like 'bring 'em on' and 'dead or alive'....'So I do have to be cautious about, you know, conveying thoughts in a way that maybe doesn't send wrong impressions about our country,' he said." (cited in a BBC story)

These are the words spoken by the man in the middle of the most scripted presidency in history. A man not known for introspection. A man not given to deep thought, just his interpretation of Scripture.

He's not serious nor are the Mayberry Machiavellis that surround him. He just wants to top Poppy and not "cut and run." OK, enough now Georgie boy, the struggle's over. You've gotten farther. Laura loves you. Go home and cut some brush, willya.

Frankly, Scarlet, he doesn't give a shit.

Go get 'em, Ted!

Nobody, but nobody, can deliver a stemwinder of a speech like Ted Kennedy. Read what he had to say to the National Press Club. Then read it again.

More Falling Apples

Geeze, I shoulda shorted Apple stock yesterday.

I thought Apple had 4% of the PC market but the Mercury News reports it at 3%. Quite a triumph, since I can remember a 10% market share -- but that was long ago and far away.

Apple fans reportedly flocked to the website and stores looking for the new PC, no doubt willing to think differently about parting with their money and overlooking the release date. IMHO, Apple doesn't create terribly many new customers, they more or less recycle the old ones (and may actually begin promoting recycling efforts for their products). For a very PC (as in politically correct) product, Apple hasn't been quick to get into recycling (unlike, say Dell). I do believe Apple dropped its development and support of accessibility devices for handicapped users years ago, while Microsoft continues to address accessibility issues.

Here's a company that tells you to think differently while it sells you products you can't customize or easily upgrade and will now sell you a music player that picks songs for you, rather than let you choose. Different all right.

The problem Apple faces is software. If they really want people to switch they'd develop a WinTel emulator or give you some sort of a deal on replacing your software. It would cost me far and away more than the machine to replace the software. Besides, I don't see any compelling advantages to changing platforms. The other side of the software problems is that fewer programs are being written for Apple. Apart from a couple of specialized, high end, photography applications I haven't seen much of anything written exclusively for the Mac. The market's not there.

The moral of the story is hubris goeth before the drop in market share.

Watch for falling apples.

Apple released its new "mini" version at $499, without monitor, mouse and keyboard to great fanfare today. Yo, Steve, you tried the without monitor, mouse and keyboard routine. That's why you have 4% of the market. Dell is advertising a machine at $499, with monitor, mouse and keyboard (before the $50 rebate). So tell me how it is you're going to compete? Oh wait, I know, elegance -- the Steve way. Just become one with the mini-borg.

I'm facinated with the way Apple has been able to position itself as somehow liberating one from what used to be the domination of IBM to liberating one from the domination of I don't know who, maybe just Intel since IBM builds the PowerPC chips for Apple machines and Microsoft writes most of the Apple compatable software.

Sort of the same way I'm facinated that the Bushies can get folks to suspend reality and agree to their world view. In both cases, the Monica Machine we call news reporting helps both along: "Gosh all Mighty: Lookie that, will ya'." If fairness to Bush, he sustains more negative reporting than Steve but then again he's more dangerous. At last tally, he had 53% of the market.

Death Squads for Iraq?

Oderint dum metuant: Let them hate so long as they fear.

(A favorite saying of Caligula and an operating principle of John Negroponte and others in the Bush Administration.)

It's been awhile.

Philoking has been neglecting blog duties for quite some time it appears. Life's been a tad out of hand and I've been trying not to rant over the same things that everybody else is commenting on. But alas, tsunami relief and the shortage of troops seem to be the topics to scribble about (to use Emerson's term).

From the pages of a now old newspaper -- Sandra Bullock gave $1 million for tsunami victims and on the same day it was announced that country music singer Brad Paisley made a donation to a skate board park in his home town of Glen Dale, West Virginia. Seems Brad's a skateboarder too and couldn't fathom the idea of not having a concrete skate park in West VA., a state that has not heretofore known such a modern convenience. Now that's a humanitarian gesture. Not being a fan of country, I don't know if ol' Brad's been singing about our war effort but it does beg the question as to why he and his other big hat wearing, country lovin', moral and God-fearing red staters aren't enlisting in droves. They aren't. It's called hypocrisy.

Of course, Bullock's donation brought a slew of commentary about personalities and publicity stunts. Brad's didn't, presumeably because he kept the amount of his donation secret (but press accounts put the cost of the concrete playground at $200,000 to $250,000, so we can assume it was a modest effort).

Maybe it's time we brought back the draft, including women. Can you imagine General Ann "Kill 'em or Convert 'em" Coulter leading the feared "Screaming Skanks" into battle? Now that would insure victory. How about Tucker Carlson's magnificent "Bowtie Brigade" kicking a little Iraqi ass? They could both operate on battlefield intelligence from Tom "I have a master's degree" Friedman. Even ol' Brad could get in on the action -- wearing his big white hat to let everyone know he's a good guy. If we had a draft, Ol' Brad would be eligible. I wonder if he has a song about dogs, pickup trucks, trains, jail and lost love? Maybe they'll name the concrete "Paisley Park."