21 October 2006

TIME TO SADDLE UP AGAIN…

1444 by Jeff Hess

Scott Bakalar emailed me and several other bloggers this afternoon with news that yet another unprincipled organization has stolen his work. This time the culprit is that source of specious and vapid noise: WOIO Channel 19. You can read the whole story at both Word Of Mouth and TMC News.

Here’s what I wrote in emails to News Director Dan Salamone and VP/General Manager Bill Applegate:

Shalom,

Your news organization knowingly – because the owner called with proof and spoke with both your managing editor and the reporter doing the story – used photos it did not have authorization to use.

You can read what I”m sure is only the first of many reports of your theft by following the link.

You need to immediately do two things: apologize for your theft in the same time slot in which you aired the stolen pictures; and pay the owner of the pictures a standard usage fee that he agrees to.

Else, prepare yourself for an international blogstorm.

B”shalom,

Jeff Hess

hess@havecoffeewillwrite.com
http://www.havecoffeewillwrite.com

It didn’t take long for Jeff Coryell to line up representation when Earl Martin’s lame campaign stole a photo from his blog. I’m expecting that the legal response will be even more rapid in Scott’s case.

In the mean time, unlimber the thunderbolts and let the blogstorm begin.

Posted in Blog Theft, Blogging | 8 Comments »

21 October 2006

FROM THE SANDBOX…

1202 by Jeff Hess

From NCO at Campbell : Recently I read an article that centered on how males don’t seek help for mental problems and the like for fear of reprisal from other males. I never realized how true that was until I came back from Iraq and started thinking about it. Look at the facts, and I say facts, because this is truth, no nonsense, no b.s. to it: When soldiers try to get…

Posted in The Sandbox | No Comments »

21 October 2006

STUNNING… MOVING… DAMNING…

1128 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Election 2006, Michael J. Fox, Video | 3 Comments »

21 October 2006

A MERIT BADGE FOR COPYRIGHT…?

0834 by Jeff Hess

I am an Eagle Scout. I earned merit badges in camping and first aid. Canoeing and citizenship. Swimming and pioneering. Twenty-one badges in all. They were all badges that made me a better young man, a person who was confident and able to face real-life challenges. So I have to ask, who was the feckin’ idiot who came up with this?

From this morning’s Los Angeles Times;

Scouts will now be able to earn their stripes by proselytizing about the evils of copyright piracy.

The 52,000 Scouts who are eligible may earn the patch by participating in a curriculum produced by the MPAA. To earn the badge, Scouts must participate in several activities including creating a video public-service announcement and visiting a video-sharing website to identify which materials are copyrighted. They may also watch a movie and discuss how people behind the scenes would be harmed if the film were pirated.

But will the patch be a badge of honor or a scarlet letter of uncoolness?

That is such a dumb question I want to demonstrate my knot-tying skills. This is not about coolness, this is about political indoctrination. Last time I checked, there were no merit badges for trustworthiness, loyalty, helpfulness, friendliness, courtesy, kindness, obedience, cheerfulness, thrift, bravery, cleanliness or reverence.

Hell honesty isn’t even mentioned anywhere in the Scout oath, motto or slogan. It’s understood that a Scout is honest. Scouts don’t steal. So why do Scouts need a merit bade for not stealing?

This is an example of how the leadership of Scouting has changed. The Los Angeles Local Council was inspired by Scouts in Communist China:

The inspiration for the new badge came from Hong Kong, where the local Boy Scouts organization had its members pledge not to use or buy pirated materials. In addition, the Scouts agreed to search Internet file-sharing sites and turn in sites and users they see violating the law. The campaign was launched at a stadium before a slew of pop stars where the so-called “youth ambassadors” pledged to stem the rise piracy.

The move raised concerns from civil libertarians, who feared the group was creating thousands of young spies to snitch on copyright abusers.

Feckin’ China; the country where American computer and Internet companies are caving into censorship demands because the Authoritarian government fears citizens with too much information.

[Update — 1021 — Boing Boing is all over this.]

Posted in Culture, Life, The Universe & Everything, Music, Video | 2 Comments »

21 October 2006

FROM MY CHAPBOOK…

0003 by Jeff Hess

My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.

This is a passage I copied from Now Is The Time To Open Your Heart by Alice Walker.

What does it mean to be completely outside the circle of goodwill? That was the question that came as she contemplated the snake.

Because of religious indoctrination, almost everyone feared and loathed the serpent.

What damage had such hatred done to it; a magical expression of Creation? Was this, the banning of the serpent from the circle, the beginning of separation?

Was this the model for all other banishments? Hunted and killed, or killed instantly, on sight, forced to hide at all times, what did the serpent think of humanity?

Why had women, long ago, befriended the serpent, loved it? Why had Cleopatra had asps for pets? p. 204

Posted in Chapbook | No Comments »

20 October 2006

JIMI HENDRIX, PURPLE HAZE, 1967…

2359 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Music, Video | 4 Comments »

20 October 2006

I HAVE NO…

2020 by Jeff Hess

When I had no roof I made
Audacity my roof. When I had
No supper my eyes dined.

When I had no eyes I listened.
When I had no ears I thought.
When I had no thought I waited.

When I had no father I made
Care my father. When I had
No mother I embraced order.

When I had no friend I made
Quiet my friend. When I had no
Enemy I opposed my body.

When I had no temple I made
My voice my temple. I have
No priest, my tongue is my choir.

When I have no means fortune
Is my means. When I have
Nothing, death will be my fortune.

Need is my tactic, detachment
Is my strategy. When I had
No lover I courted my sleep.

Samurai Song by Robert Pinsky.

I wonder if Pinsky acknowledged this 14th century warrior’s creed?

Posted in Poetry | No Comments »

20 October 2006

BLACKWELL SATIRE… NO… REALLY…

1648 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Election 2006, Ohio, Video | No Comments »

20 October 2006

IN GEORGE BUSH’S AMERIKA…

1609 by Jeff Hess

At least A.J. Nukols was still covered under Habius Corpus, else he might have found himself spirited off to a star chamber in some undisclosed location where the truth would have been beaten out of him. Those of us who have studied 20th century History know that tactics such as these were the tools of the Facists and the Communists.

From the Pittslyvania Star Tribune:

I am a local farmer; my wife teaches elementary school; our three children are well-adjusted, “A” students.

We go to church, work hard, and pay our bills and taxes.

We are law-abiding, responsible members of society; we have never had reason to fear the law.

On Saturday morning, Sept. 23, 2006, many police vehicles appeared in our driveway. Men in black with flak jackets ran to and around our house.

My wife was at home alone. I drove up and asked, “What’s going on?”

Men ran at me, dropped into shooting position, double-handed semi-automatic pistols pointed at me, and made me put my hands against my truck.

I was held at gunpoint, searched, taunted, and led into the house. I had no idea what this was about. I was scared beyond description. I feared there had been a murder and I was a suspect.

My wife and I were interrogated about Internet crime. We are not avid computer users; we do not even e-mail. We knew nothing of what they were speaking.

After seemingly convincing them of our computer “illiteracy,” we were questioned about our children and made to doubt their innocence.

Our home was searched by a para-military search-and-seizure team.

Our computers, digital camera, disposable cameras, DVD’s, and VHS tapes were seized.

We were held in our home under guard for five hours.

Our children came home and were also interrogated.

It was awful. We were accused of horrible crimes, crimes that even the mention of would ruin our reputations.

Do not doubt what powerful individuals are capable of when they fear no retribution.

Posted in Impeach Bush | No Comments »

20 October 2006

SOMEHOW…

1556 by Jeff Hess

From Kevin Tilman, via Truth Dig: It is Pat”s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people.

How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we get out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Keep reading…

Posted in Operation Iraqi Freedom | No Comments »

20 October 2006

STAYING THE COURSE… OFF THE CLIFF…

1400 by Jeff Hess

From The New York Times:

The United States military command in Iraq acknowledged on Thursday that its 12-week-old campaign to win back control of Baghdad from sectarian death squads and insurgents had failed to reduce violence across the city. A spokesman for the command said intensive discussions were under way between American and Iraqi officials on ways to “refocus” the effort, which American officials have placed at the heart of their war strategy.

From The Los Angeles Times:

The top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq acknowledged Thursday that a much-touted security crackdown by American and Iraqi forces had failed to reduce violence in the capital and called the results “disheartening.”

With attacks in Baghdad having increased by 22% in the first three weeks of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began in late September, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV said that military planners might have to go back to the drawing board.

From The Washington Post:

A two-month U.S.-Iraqi military operation to stem sectarian bloodshed and insurgent attacks in Baghdad has failed to reduce the violence, which has surged 22 percent in the capital in the last three weeks, much of it in areas where the military has focused its efforts, a senior U.S. military spokesman said Thursday.

The assessment by Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV followed a 43 percent spike in attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces in the capital since midsummer that has pushed U.S. military fatalities to their highest rates in more than a year. The military reported that three soldiers were killed in Anbar province west of Baghdad on Wednesday, bringing the number of U.S troops killed so far this month to 74.

Push a button, any damn button.

Posted in Election 2006, Impeach Bush, Operation Iraqi Freedom | No Comments »

20 October 2006

LET THE SLAUGHTER BEGIN…

1310 by Jeff Hess

We’ve all known that this would happen. That all the deals and license agreements would not be able to stop the massive deletion of the YouTube library. This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that 29,549 videos were removed after Japan Society for Rights of Authors identified them as being posted without permission. YouTube is dead.

Posted in Video | 5 Comments »

20 October 2006

ARE YOU BETTER OFF TODAY…?

1247 by Jeff Hess


During the 1980 presidential campaign, candidate Ronald Reagan asked Americans: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” If you were an Iraqi how do you think you might answer Reagan’s question? Specially when you consider that after nearly four years of occupation, we can’t even keep the lights on. Hat tip Daily Dish.

Posted in Impeach Bush, Operation Iraqi Freedom | No Comments »

20 October 2006

FROM THE SANDBOX…

1200 by Jeff Hess

From Capt. Lee Kelley: When this thing is over… Just drop me off on any Arizona or Utah highway, where the Buttes and the red rock canyons create optical illusions in the distance and across the horizon – I’ll walk home. Place me right at the top of a hill; I’ll let gravity help me down. Leave me on a back road in rural America, it doesn’t matter where, so long as the leaves…

Posted in The Sandbox | No Comments »

20 October 2006

TRUMPING OUR OWN CIVIL WAR…

0820 by Jeff Hess

I don’t like writing about death and destruction. I don’t like reading about death and destruction. But I also have a moral sense that demands I look, that I think and that I write. I know the dangers of becoming a one-note busker but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. From Greg Mitchell at Editor and Publisher:

Would it surprise you to learn that if the Johns Hopkins estimates of 400,000 to 800,000 deaths are correct — and many experts in the survey field seem to suggest they probably are — that the supposedly not-yet-civil-war in Iraq has already cost more lives, per capita, than our own Civil War (one in 40 of all Iraqis alive in 2003)?

Despite attempts by the Bush administration to poo poo the numbers, the study’s methodology was sound. Reality is a bitch.

Posted in Impeach Bush, Operation Iraqi Freedom | No Comments »

20 October 2006

FROM MY CHAPBOOK…

0034 by Jeff Hess

My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.

This is a passage I copied from Now Is The Time To Open Your Heart by Alice Walker.

…you have never brought a greater good, no matter where you traveled. That is because what is good is integral to itself. That is also why it is not worthwhile to change yourself, your hair or skin or eyes. What is integral to you will always be superior to what is tacked on, simply because it is yours. p. 202

Posted in Chapbook | No Comments »

19 October 2006

THE WORST MONTH EVER IN IRAQ…?

1549 by Jeff Hess

I confess that part of me has expected the White House to order all U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to hunker down until 8 November so as to minimize casualties during the run up to the election. And that may be in fact what it has done. But the horrible news is that it hasn’t worked and more and more of our troops are being killed.

From Slate:

Digging into the details of the Iraq casualty reports reveals that the numbers are actually worse than they first appear. The two deadliest months of the war for U.S. forces were April 2004 (with 135 deaths) and November 2004 (with 137 deaths). Significantly, those months were marked by full-scale offensives in Falluja and Najaf. This month, the NYT notes, the “military has not conducted any major operations,” and yet at the current rate, around 120 Americans will have died by November 1. In other words, day-to-day operations in Iraq are now nearly as deadly as open warfare was two years ago-and perhaps for those on the ground, there is little distinction.

2,785… 2,786… 2,787…

Sigh

Posted in Election 2006, Impeach Bush, Operation Iraqi Freedom | 9 Comments »

19 October 2006

NOW I KNOW WHY I LIKED MY DAD’S CHARGER…

1449 by Jeff Hess

Posted in Video | No Comments »

19 October 2006

BEYOND DRUNKEN SAILOR STATUS…

1351 by Jeff Hess


For all you people out there who still think the Republican Congress is a good thing, take a look at this information from the Conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation. I know drunken sailors, hell I was a drunken sailor, but I never saw anyone spend other people’s (yours and my tax dollars) money like this. Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan.

And in case you think ear marks went down this year, the Heritage Foundation reminds you that: There were more earmarks in 2005 than from 1991 to 1999 combined. Although the number of earmarks went down in 2006, their cost increased $6 billion in one year — from $23 billion in 2005 to $29 billion in 2006.

That’s a 26 percent increase in one year. Do you get the feeling the drunken fools were raiding the treasury as fast as they could, knowing they’d be unemployed come January?

Posted in Election 2006, Election 2008, Impeach Bush | 2 Comments »

19 October 2006

FROM THE SANDBOX…

1200 by Jeff Hess

From EOD Officer: I should have had enough practice by now, but I’m still not sure how to respond. I just got off the plane a week ago, finally home again. It was my third trip to the Middle East since 9/11, and my second to Iraq. I know by now how to reunite with my wife and kids. I know not to argue with my wife about chores or bills, and to take my place as the outsider in…

Posted in The Sandbox | No Comments »

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