Sequoia is the new Diebold. If voting machines cannot be freely examined by outside experts, they aren't voting machines. They are crap.
By now, everyone has heard about PZ Myers being barred from seeing a Creationist movie that he was tricked into appearing in. And you've all probably heard who PZ's guest was who managed to see the movie because they only kicked PZ himself out. But I couldn't not link to the story.
In a much sadder story, Peter David quotes the Bible after learning about a child who was murdered by her parents' "faith".
Simply clicking a link could get your home raided. The article says the FBI isn't bothering to record the referrer, which means some "prankster" could put the link up in a major forum and it would get tons of hits... I'm afraid clicking a link should NEVER be "probable cause" for a federally condoned home invasion and robbery.
Speaking of stupid things, the drug war... the Seattle PI has an opinion piece on marijuana and how many tax dollars go to waste fighting it.
The 5 Most Ridiculously Over-Hyped Health Scares of All Time.
Pastafarians in Crossville Tennessee got permission to put a Flying Spaghetti Monster statue on the Courthouse lawn. I want one! (A statue of the FSM, not a courthouse) Be sure to scroll down for pictures on how they made the FSM.
Republican administrations are bad for our soliders. Active duty military deaths under the last few presidents: Under Reagan (eight years): 17,201 (2150 a year average). Under Bush I (four years): 6,223 (1556 a year average). Under Clinton (eight years): 7,500 (938 a year average). Under Bush II's first six years: 8,792 (1465 a year average). If you are a soldier, you'd better pray for the Democrats to win, because you are more likely to live if they do.
More Iraqi Voices.
Thoreau reminds us that Iraq is not an intellectual exercise, it's a real war, and people are dying there every day.
As Obama's eighth cousin once removed (his mother was my eighth cousin), I find this article fascinating. "While family trees such as these throw up interesting links, genetically they are meaningless. While children carry half the genes of their father, cousins as far removed as Obama and Bush would have no more genetic link than someone they bumped into at random in the street."
