Red squares are President George Bush; yellow squares are
President Richard Nixon; and, ahem, blue squares are President Bill Clinton.

Poll numbers this week continue the downward trend for President George Bush. The dip to 34 percent is significant because it indicates that Bush’s core supporters are starting to wake up and even once stanch NEO/Theocons are looking at the fall elections and beginning to tremble. This quote from Andrew Sullivan is only one example:

It is always a mark of failing ideologies and cults that their first response to acknowledging reality is to blame the press — then the people. We appear to be in the second phase.

Let’s see, President Richard Nixon resigned at 25 percent. Anybody know what the line is on President Bush in Vegas these days?

My Soundtrack: Number 1 by Goldfrapp on WOXY.

Much has been made of late that even if Dubai Ports World is allowed to take over operations at six American ports, the United States Coast Guard (or the knee-deep Navy as we deep-water sailors used to kindly call them) would still be responsible for security at those ports. Now it seems the Coast Guard isn’t really satisfied with the deal.

From Findlaw:

The undated, unclassified U.S. Coast Guard intelligence assessment on U.S. port security, released by Senator Susan M. Collins (R. – Maine), Chairmain of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. The Coast Guard expressed serious concern about the Dubai-based DP World”s proposed takover of security operations for a number of U.S. ports if it buys U.K.-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., the company currently responsible for signficant U.S. port security operations.

To be fair, the Coast Guard now says the section of the memo is being taken out of context and that the whole memo should be considered. Problem is, we can’t. It’s classified.

My Soundtrack: Raising The Sparks by Akron/Family on WOXY.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, so did President Bill Clinton. Lewis Scooter Libby wants us to help defray his legal costs. Considering that my tax money is already paying for the prosecution, I think that he (and President Clinton) should do what every other person who thinks he can’t afford counsel does: call legal aide.

Writes John Dickerson on Slate:

The vice president’s former top aide spent his career behind the scenes, which may be laudable from a policy perspective, but it’s problematic now that he’s in a fix. Americans didn’t have much of an image of him before he was indicted on five felony counts of obstruction of justice, perjury, and false statements. The newspaper photos published since have made Libby look like he’s stood in line all day at the free clinic.

The Web site is the public face of the Libby Legal Defense Trust, which is raising money for Libby’s defense. Good lawyers are very expensive, says the site. And Scooter and his family already have made many sacrifices during Scooter’s ten years of dedicated public service. Now they need our help to win this fight.

Maybe Scooter should go to court with the lawyers he can afford and not the lawyers he wants.

My Soundtrack: I Believe She’s Lying by Rhett Miller on WOXY.

Technology is running so fast ahead of the dinosaur corporations that they’re reduced to playing whack-a-mole as users figure out the real implications of what they found. The memes are flashing faster and faster. Jeff Jarvis is in Europe right now and a friend of his dropped an important communications tip. Writes Jarvis:

I”m in London and thanks to advice from Ken Rutkowski, I just did something neat with my telephony: I forwarded my U.S. mobile to my Skype account and, in turn, forward that to a UK mobile phone, so my family and colleagues can call my U.S. number locally and I will pay local rates here.

The only way anyone will ever be able to control the Internet will be to kill it. The Communists tried something similar in the Soviet Union when they set about smashing every press that wasn’t controlled by the Party. What resulted was Samizdat, hand-written publications that were circulated for years among those who wanted to know what was going on.

My Soundtrack: Wet Book Of Matches by Staggering Statistics on WOXY.

Two expatriot Clevelanders now living in Israel are blogging for the Cleveland Jewish News. Clifford Savren and Marcy Oster will be blogging their experiences there. This week Savren blogs from Ra”anana and Oster from Karnei Shomron in the West Bank.

[Full disclosure, I was interviewed last week by the Cleveland Jewish News for a story on Cleveland’s Jewish bloggers and I once studied Torah with Marcy Oster’s husband for several months.]

Both open this week with commentary on the upcoming elections in Israel.

Writes Savern:

It may sound overly dramatic to suggest that the upcoming Israeli election will shape the future borders of the state of Israel, but I think that is the reality. Relations with the Palestinians have dominated the election campaign despite the efforts of some of the 30 parties on the ballot to inject economic and social issues.

And writes Oster:

Looking around my community of Karnei Shomron, one would never know that there is a national election coming up in less than six weeks. No banners. No signs. No information sheets posted on the public bulletin boards located on nearly every block.

My Soundtrack: Bob’s Yer Uncle by Happy Mondays on WOXY.

The name of the publication is irrelevant because the message is universal. Dead-tree media have a space problem. Having been an editor in the industry I know the battle you fight for the number of pages available for copy. The formula is set depending upon the number of advertising pages, and it’s pretty rigid.

That’s why dead-tree media editors have to print statements like this.

To ensure that as many [insert name of dead-tree media here] readers as possible have an opportunity to get their letters printed, the [insert name of dead-tree media here] has instituted a policy that no single reader can have their letter printed more than one time per month. Only with rare exceptions is this rule waived.

The [insert name of dead-tree media here] also reserves the right to edit all letters for space, logic, grammatical accuracy and brevity.

To consider letters for publication, we must have your full name, home address and daytime telephone number for verification puproses.

This is the just one of the many reasons why dead-tree media don’t like blogs. We don’t have to restrict the number of comments we publish. We don’t have to edit for space, logic grammatical accuracy (hell, some of us do a lousy job of that on our own posts) or brevity. Brevity? Brevity! We don’t need no stinkin’ brevity!

My Soundtrack: Lights by I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness on WOXY.

A while back George Nemeth asked the question: What makes for a dynamic, vibrant, and desirable downtown? I gave a list of three or four things that I remembered from my time in Chicago, Seattle and San Diego. An NPR story on the Olympics reminded me of another aspect of big city life: around the clock happenings.

The radio story was about what Europeans calls White Nights.

Not all cities can go 24/7 the way New York or Los Angeles do, but there is a European tradition that began in cities like St. Petersburg where the summer Sun never sets that involves picking one or two nights a year where nothing closes and people time shift. You can visit museums at 3 a.m. Walk the streets with carnival-like crowds. This year Turin added a third White Night in honor of the Olympics and it was a hit.

I used to enjoy hanging out at the Phoenix on West 25th when it was open all night. It was a fascinating crowd. Chuck’s on Lee Road also used to stay open all night. Then there was ordering a 4 a.m. breakfast at The Big Egg on Detroit. The only place I know of that’s open now is the IHOP at Severance. Not even irony can make that cool.

Where are Cleveland’s afterhours clubs? Where do musicians go after they finish their bar gigs? Where do shift workers stop to unwind? Where can a writer with a severe case of gloom go to brood and pen dark thoughts? Is there a White Night culture in Cleveland?

My Soundtrack: Blood Moon by Lab Partners on WOXY.

I had a hamburger and fries yesterday at the Hark Queer Ass station. While I was sitting by the window I watched two boys — most likely brothers — wearing matching green dinosaur headgear tussle on the platform as their parents did their best to maintain order. What’s your favorite RTA anagrammed station?

It’s all about saving the children. The tragic images of toddlers forced to listen to Rush Limbaugh while being fed pap by Anne Coulter wannabes is just to horrible to contemplate. Fortunately, one Ohio lawmaker has decided that enough is enough and intends to introduce legislation that would end this hideous form of child abuse.

From the Akron Beacon Journal:

If a Youngstown lawmaker’s proposal becomes Ohio law, Republicans would be barred from being adoptive parents.

State Sen. Robert Hagan sent out e-mails to fellow lawmakers late Wednesday night, stating that he intends to introduce legislation in the near future that would ban households with one or more Republican voters from adopting children or acting as foster parents. The e-mail ended with a request for co-sponsorship.

On Thursday, the Democrat said he had not yet found a co-sponsor.

Keep trying Bob. We’re with you.

My Soundtrack: Saeglopur by Sigur Ros on WOXY.

Listening to Morning Edition the other day, I learned about Elder Wisdom Circle, an organization that draws on communities of senior citizens to offer life advice. While I think that some people are sincere when they ask for advice, most are, I believe, looking for validation. Just look at listeners/viewers of doctors Laura and Phil.

Your dear Aunt Sally would most likely be very happy to tell you that you need to get off your butt and stop stuffing your face with potato chips. And the reason you can’t seem to find a nice girl? Ask Grandpa. I’m sure he has plenty of advice about the low possibility of finding one at the local titty bar.

Yet Elder Wisdom has a point. Speaking as one who has crossed over to the other side of 50 and is dodging AARP junk mail, I know that we live in a society that does not generally value the wisdom that comes with experience. The role of wise men and women doesn’t exist in most communities. And there are a lot of reasons for that.

The most obvious reason has to be that being older does not mean I’m smarter. Yes, I’ve made stupid mistakes — for instance there was that unfortunate incident involing two Greek sailors and several bottles of something Ouzo-like in Hong Kong — and learned from them, but I don’t know that telling anyone that they were stupid mistakes would make any difference.

What I think are missing is not elders, but rather heroes. Heroes today tend to be those who are rich and famous, those being the primary measurements in the 21st century for sucess. It think that’s sad.

My heroes are men and women are not typically rich or famous in a Hollywood kind of way. But they are people who have lived lives that on their deathbeds they could look upon and say, I did pretty well.

If you could nominate someone to an elder council, who would you name?

My Soundtrack: Behold The Wolf by Summerbirds In The Cellar on WOXY.

I am not surprised. There was a reason that the United Arab Emirates deal went through on a fast track. The Associated Press reports this morning that the administration of President George Bush was in bed with a sweetheart deal to turn over the operations at six United States ports. According to Ted Bidris, Dubai Ports World:

…promised to cooperate with U.S. investigations as a condition of its takeover of operations at six major American ports.

Further, writes Bidris:

In approving the $6.8 billion purchase, the administration chose not to require state-owned Dubai Ports World to keep copies of its business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to orders by American courts. It also did not require the company to designate an American citizen to accommodate requests by the government.

Gee, what could Dubai Ports World possibly have to hid from American courts? They’re good guys, right? Nothing to hide there.

My Soundtrack: Rich Man’s War by Steve Earle on WOXY.

(I swear, I do not make these up!)

South Dakota is throwing down the gauntlet and with the NEO/Theocon dream team in place on the high-court bench the real battle will now be joined on whether or not a women has a right to choose how to care for her own body. There is no doubt how the case will be decided. The question is how will America react in the aftermath.

Any society can make a cup of coffee, but it takes a civilization to pull an espresso. From Worth 1000 comes this series of modern products displayed in a vintage light. It also goes the other way with vintage technology given a 21st century twist. Grandpa’s laptop is really cool too.

Well, that was quick. Yahoo has decided to unban the use of IDs that contain the word Allah. Bill and the rest of the of the Callahans of the world can sleep safely knowing that they can once again proudly send email as callahan12345 at yahoo.com. Yahoo said it was reacting to a small group promoting hate. Damn those small groups promoting hate.

Feck! My president has succeeded in doing the impossible. He has managed to engineer an issue so bizarre and twisted that I find myself on the same side as the folks at the American Family Association. Hell has truly frozen over, dogs and cats are living in harmony, the apocalypse is upon us. Somebody notify Pat Robertson.

What is the issue? Why President George Bush’s plan to allow a foreign nation to manage six American ports. Yes, yes, I’ve heard all the reasons why this is no big deal. The Coast Guard maintains responsibility for security, the United Arab Emirates would just be managing select terminals, blah, blah, blah.

This is either just so monumentally stupid or royally arrogant on the part of my president that I’m in awe. I did not think it was possible to top: Good job, Brownie!

Is this a great country or what?

My Soundtrack: You are the Generation that Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve by Johnny Boy on WOXY.

OK. Would one of my Republican friends please explain why President George Bush is so hell bent on having a company based in the United Arab Emirates, a known base for terrorists, manage the six most important seaports in the United States? Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has proposed legislation to delay any transfer of control.

President Bush has promised to veto any such legislation.

According to this morning’s Washingotn Post:

Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) called Bush politically tone-deaf. Of all the bills to veto, if he lays down this gauntlet, he’ll probably have 350 members of the House ready to accept that challenge, Foley said.

For the record, I’m not crazy about the idea that this has come about because the company in the UAE has bought the present port manager from a London-based company. Aren’t there any business in the United States capable of doing this job? Will we outsource the Border Patrol to Guatamala next?

My Soundtrack: Mondo ’77 by Looper on WOXY.

…Tim Berners-Lee’s http://info.cern.ch/. Reader Tim in Tampa pointed me to Dave Winer’s Weblogs.com News where I found The History of Weblogs. There he credits Berners-Lee and provides a link to an 1992 archive of Blog Zero. This, and other early blogs were news sources about the just-birthed World Wide Web.

…At least not from Yahoo which has decided that Bill’s surname is unacceptable because inbedded in it is the word Allah. Strangely enough, it’s OK to use Jesus, God, Buddah, Satan and a whole other list of names discoverd by a guy who wanted to use the moniker Kallahar. Am I the only one who thinks Yahoo/ Google are getting too big?

In a coffeehouse conversation yesterday I was asked: what was the first blog? I admitted that I had no clue. I suspect Blog Zero is mythical. Unlike MTV which switched on with Video Killed The Radio Star, I don’t think anyone announced: I am Blogger, see me post! Anybody have a clue as to whom this mysterious blogger might have been?

I love the parody of Aerosmith’s Janie’s Got A Gun.