GriffJon.com = Blog

GriffJon.com Blog

September 23, 2009

Rachel Maddow Interviews Tom Ridge On Politicizing Terror Level

( politics )

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September 09, 2009

Franken talks down angry mob at State Fair

( politics )

Franken answers questions and deals with doubt around health care reform.

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August 26, 2009

Whistleblowing from Health Care

( politics )

Via Boingboing; High-ranking insurance PR flack defects, explains dirty tricks used to fight universal healthcare:

BILL MOYERS: Was [Michael Moore's SICKO] true? Did you think it contained a great truth? WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely did.

BILL MOYERS: What was it?

WENDELL POTTER: That we shouldn't fear government involvement in our health care system. That there is an appropriate role for government, and it's been proven in the countries that were in that movie.

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August 25, 2009

Pray against health reform

( politics )

Minnesota's Michell Bachmann is calling for prayer and fasting to defeat healthcare reform:

“That’s really where this battle will be won — on our knees in prayer and fasting,” she told the listeners. “Remember: faith without works is dead. So we’re asking you to do all of it: pray, fast, believe, trust the Lord, but also act.”

As well as repeating misinformation and lies and a whole lot more insanities.

I am all for this. I think prayer and fasting are the best opposition to health care reform -- and also the solution! Have cancer? Just pray! High blood pressure? Pray! (actually, fasting might really help there). Can't get insurance because your new pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition and thus you're breaking the laws by not getting prenatal care? God'll make sure you birth that baby -- you might die in the process, but hey, mysterious ways, right? Who needs insurance if you've got god on your side.

Also, guns. I think gun ownership for "protection" reveals a lack of faith in your savior to protect you. If God sends a thief to steal your money, molest your wife, or pillage your home, maybe he's sending you a message? I mean, there's that story about the guy with the boils and stuff - do you think he'd have learned his holy lesson if he'd had good health insurance and a gun?

Seat belts also are the cradle of the devil. If it's your time, then it's your time. All this safety stuff is blasphemy.

I welcome a national prayer-and-fasting against healthcare reform. Indeed, I think it is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING for god-fearing opponents to reform to take action on right now. Stop watching Fox News, stop emailing your congressman and start praying or risk being caught worshipping false idols.

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January 19, 2009

Inauguration Concert Photos

( life | politics )

A and I went to the concert on Sunday. There were a few people there. I guess if you get U2, Bruce, Steview Wonder, Beyonce, Usher, and more - as well as the Bidens and Obamas, people will show up?

More...

Continue reading "Inauguration Concert Photos"

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January 17, 2009

Inauguration Insanities

( life | politics )

So, I realized in talking to on of my old Austin friends that DC is really it's own unique snowflake right now. Let me share the insanity which is the Inauguration.

We're closing all bridges from VA into DC. Take that for not funding the Metro system more, VA! If VA residents want to share the celebration, they get to drive around through Maryland or *gasp* take public transit (Virginians are known for driving - a lot). Also, for any tricksy outdoorsy-type Virginians, the Coast Guard is dispatching over 40 boats to patrol the potomac against kayakers. Really.

We're shutting down huge portions of downtown to secured-access, no cars, etc. It will be a great, if cold, day for pedestrians and bikers - the local bike advocacy group secured a deal with the City to offer a free Bike Valet program for bike riders. The street in front of our house is a designated pedestrian pathway, and they're going to tow all the parked cars from it on Monday night.

My work building is within a "lock-down" area, so I'll have to have my secure-entry card, photo-ID, and be on a pre-approved list if I want to get inside on Tuesday.

Which is fine, because Tuesday is a DC-only federal holiday. Everything is shutting down.

Except for the Metro, which is operating very extended hours (opening at 4am on Tuesday!) and ... bars, which got an emergency ordinance passed to allow them to stay open and serving booze until 5am all weekend. So - monday night, party until 5, then take the metro to stand in line for the inauguration security checkpoint drunk! (note: not my current plan)

They're setting up ~6 jumbotrons along the National Mall between the museums and the Washington Monument to rebroadcast the event.

I mean, all of that is crazy enough, right? It goes deeper. All the craft vendors at Eastern Market are selling Obamabelia, there's a store downtown that /only/ sells Obamabelia, and each and every random street-vendor, who usually makes their money from emergency umbrellas, ties, and hats, is selling obama hats (with blinged-out glittery Obama faces, etc.).

We were doing some emergency stock-up shopping at the local Safeway last night. They had photo-on-icing obama cookies (we bought some), cakes, and patriotic-themed cupcakes, and were blasting orchestral versions of classic American jingoistic songs - you've never shopped until you're selecting avocados to the tune of "Johnny Comes Marching Home" by a full orchestra)

Everyone's trying to cash in - people are trying to rent their homes out for extravagant amounts on Craigslist (http://dcist.com/2009/01/has_the_inauguration_rental_bubble.php), and despite the posted "prostitution free zone" (http://dcist.com/2009/01/dc_tries_to_ban_prostitution_for_in.php), there's also a hot trade of dates-for-ball-tickets (http://lostintransition.nationaljournal.com/2009/01/inaugural-ballers.php).

Half of DC is battening down the hatches and not even planning to venture out, the other half is getting ready for a 4-day-long bacchanalia.

Good times.

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December 27, 2008

We fish you a merry xmas and a happy new year

( life )

This fish pillows cannot really be explained - only experienced. And let me tell you, carrying the newest purchase home on the DC Metro at rush hour was marvelous.

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October 20, 2008

Sunchokes

( Food )

So, you might remember that I planted sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes / girasoles) this year. I planted them in the time-honored tuber (...or starfish) method of chopping one up and planting the pieces. I chopped one decent-sized sunchoke up into six marble-sized chunks and they turned into plants.

Big plants.

Two weekends back I was by the NutHouse to pick up my half of our shared beer-bottle collection, and harvested one and a half of the plants, which are now taller than I am. I am now the proud owner of a few pounds of sunchoke. Also, realizing the amount of lost sunchokes still hiding in the garden soil, plus untold yards of good root, I am confident that while every other positive change I might have tried to enact on the NutHouse may go away and fade, no one will ever - ever rid the yard of sunchokes.

I've been seeking out recipes that use lots of sunchoke. Soup was my first stop.

Sunchoke Bisque turned out pretty well - it, er, tasted like sunchoke.

Next recipe to try - pickled sunchokes!

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September 05, 2008

Two things you must read/watch

( politics )

First, Jon Stewart attacks pundit hypocrisy - using their own words:

Second, Douglas Rushkoff on the RNC:

I realized I was no longer filtering a speechwriter’s intentional manipulation; I was trying to look beyond real hate. These folks were gritting their teeth, shaking their fists, and smiling the way gladiators do when going into combat against barbarians. And this is the incumbent party. The ones currently in power.

What is it they hate? Guiliani and Palin both made it pretty clear: community organizing. Community organizing is energized from below. From the periphery. It is the direction and facilitation of mass energy towards productive and cooperative ends. It is about replacing conflict with collaboration. It is the opposite of war; it is peace.

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August 20, 2008

Round up of updates

( Food | life )

I realize that while I comment often here, I don't post much. So here's a wrap-up post on my life.

Work continues. Less horrible than a few months ago, but still I have too many tasks, too many interrupts, too little funding, and not enough pay or belief to work unpaid overtime to get it all done in a timely fashion. I'm still pursuing leads for a good and engaging ICT4D / social media 4 dev or citizen journalism via SMS/civic engagement type position with some field time, but based in DC. I've spent the last 5 months in a long distance relationship (after swearing I'd never do one of those again!) and I'm done with LDRs (again) (this one ends (happily) next month, see below). I've mostly made peace with DC. There's a hidden but interesting group of folks here. It's a stuffy, stodgy town (especially considering its voting record), but for the time being at least, it's my home.

Speaking of, I'm moving in with A (big step) in a real, honest-to-god rental rowhouse in a month. It's in the Capitol Hill area, essentially across the street from Eastern Market, which houses a great selection of regional produce and meat, and has a decent farmer's market combined with a craft/flea market on the weekends. We have a guest bedroom, so the open invite to friends stands. It has less crazy outdoor space than the Nut House, but it's also well maintained, and not shared with 6 others, not counting raccoons. I'll still be able to garden a bit.

Gardening is going well. The peppers are coming in, and the "random packet of peppers" has turned out to produce 1 anaheim, 1 poblano, 4 jalapenos and 5 banana pepper plants. I'd prefer more of the first few and no banana peppers, but them's the breaks. I planted 2 habanero pepper plants separately. The sunchokes are taller than I am, and it's looking like I'll have to come back to visit the house in the fall to actually harvest them. The tomatoes are peaking currently, which is great. I've been eating at least 2 huge tomatoes every day :)

The summer homebrews turned out decent; a solid lager and an experimental whitbier with lemon zest. Ironically, now that the two perfect-for-hot-august-days beers are ready, August is ending up with a series of downright pleasant days.

I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. If you haven't read that book, I highly recommend it. I considered myself decently informed on the importance of local sustainable food, but I still learn one amazing thing per chapter, and it's just a heartwarming story that makes me want to go farm.

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August 08, 2008

Papers, Please. Laptops, iPods, cameras, phones, pamphlets, too.

( Hactivismo )

After pressure from a slightly odd combination of civil liberties watchdogs and business traveler associations, the DHS has revealed the extent of their laptop/electronic device policies at the US border:

Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing ... The policies state that officers may "detain" laptops "for a reasonable period of time" to "review and analyze information." This may take place "absent individualized suspicion."

But it's not just laptops, either (bad though that may be, and in violation of at least two amendments:

The policies cover "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cellphones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover "all papers and other written documentation," including books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.' "

Reasonable measures must be taken to protect business information and attorney-client privileged material, the policies say, but there is no specific mention of the handling of personal data such as medical and financial records.

So, basically, don't travel to a conference outside the US or risk having all your materials confiscated at the border. But it's keeping us safe from the terrorists:

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wrote in an opinion piece published last month in USA Today that "the most dangerous contraband is often contained in laptop computers or other electronic devices." Searches have uncovered "violent jihadist materials" as well as images of child pornography, he wrote.

Yeah, because that makes for great reading on the plane. Can you imagine a faster way to get a plane grounded if someone reads something like that over your shoulder? With the plethora of online storage spots, it's much, much safer to encrypt, upload, and then download after traveling - and with laptop theft (by the government or from the government - Laptop containing 33000 Clear users information stolen) so prevalent, a good idea for any traveler, terrorist or business.

How many years, decades, or administrations will it take to just get us back to the level of freedom and democracy (not to mention peace, economic strength, and good standing in the world) we had just eight years ago? Is it even possible?

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August 05, 2008

A wedding in Crested Butte

( life )

While all the cool kids were offline at ASA this weekend, I was out seeing probably my oldest friend get hitched (we were first introduced at the tender youth age of 6 mos). He had a "destination" wedding in Crested Butte, Colorado (near Aspen) (both their families are from Texas, and they're now living in Alaska, so it seemed a fair location for all).

The wedding was great, and CB, despite it's one-trick pony of being a ski destination, was still a beautiful location.

Photos and HDRs after the jump

Continue reading "A wedding in Crested Butte"

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July 27, 2008

Produce!

( Food )

Warning: Posted from a state of food bliss.

The garden is doing well. A few of the tomato plants are struggling -- the new varieties that I hadn't tried before -- Early Girls (which didn't put out as much as promised) and a weird type that makes tapered-bottom tomatoes (I'll find its tag when I dig the plant up later). The rest of the plants are Quite Happy and I have probably 20 beautiful tomatoes in the kitchen waiting to be eaten. The potatoes, as I've already mentioned have come and gone and I have a handful left to eat. The sunchokes are still growing strong, and like potatoes I have to wait until the plant part dies back before digging in.

My squash was odd this year. The yellow/summer squash produced a few early on, then mysteriously died back. My cucumbers and zucchini never showed up, replaced instead by monstrous acorn squash plants which have produced around a half a dozen of humongous gourds so far. Packaging mishap? Mutants? Who knows.

The corn managed to make ears. They never filled out fully, but were tasty. I got about a half a dozen ears from the 5 plants that survived

The food bliss part is from enjoying the (literal) fruits of my labor - in the form of a BLT for lunch, using my homegrown tomatoes on freshly baked (by my machine) bread with homemade truffle-oil-infused mayo and local+organic bacon; combining into a heart-attack of YUM.

Photos after the jump..

Continue reading "Produce!"

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July 25, 2008

Great roundup on the war on terror

( politics )

CNN reporter critical of TSA gets pestered every time he flies:

CNN's Drew Griffin reported on the bloating of the watch list, which an ACLU count pegged at 1,001,308 names Wednesday afternoon. Griffin's is one of those names, he says.

"Coincidentally, this all began in May, shortly after I began a series of investigative reports critical of the TSA. Eleven flights now since May 19. On different airlines, my name pops up forcing me to go to the counter, show my identification, sometimes the agent has to make a call before I get my ticket," Griffin reported. "What does the TSA say? Nothing, at least nothing on camera. Over the phone a public affairs worker told me again I'm not on the watch list, and don't even think that someone in the TSA or anyone else is trying to get even."

Yankees stadium bans sunblock:

Security guards collected garbage bags full of sunblock at the entrances to Yankee Stadium over the sweltering weekend, when temps hit 96 degrees and the UV index reached a skin-scorching 9 out of 10 - a move team officials said was to protect the Stadium from terrorism. The team contends that sunscreen has long been on the list of stadium contraband, but there is no mention of it on the Yankee Web site.

Four weeks ago, Stadium officials decided that sunscreen of all sizes and varieties would not be permitted, a security supervisor told The Post before last night's game.

"There have been a lot of complaints," he said. "We tell them to apply once and then throw it out."

For fans who bring babies or young children to cheer on the home team, the guard had suggested they "beg" to take the sunblock in.

Luckily, the stadium sells 1-ounce bottles of SPF 15 sunblock for $5 a pop. But it's to prevent terrorism, not to turn a huge profit.

And Amnesty continues doing their job of trying to remind us that people have now been in Gitmo with no hope of release or even trial for years.

GO AMERICA! GOOD JOB THERE!

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June 15, 2008

Garden updated

( DIY/HomeImprovement )

After some false starts, replants, serious weeding and re-mulching, the garden is doing pretty well now.

Here's the "before" shots:

And now the "in progress" shot:


This garden protected by Creepy Found Doll Head, Inc.:



There's one tomato almost ready, and the squash is starting to fruit.

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