Olbermann: The 'stuff' Bill O'Reilly thinks is more relevant than the war

"Bill O'Reilly has resumed telling you what you can and cannot think and what you can and cannot watch," Keith Olbermann stated on Wednesday



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Vern Ehlers Voting "Reform" Bill is not Reform.

Any voting "reform" that does not require a paper trail is bad policy. Republicans like to pretend "voting fraud" is the problem when it is "voting suppression" we need to worry about. Thanks to Grand Rapids Media Mouse on this article.


Last month, Grand Rapids area Congressional Representative Vern Ehlers (Republican) introduced the Voting Enhancement and Security Act of 2007 (HR 2360) in the House of Representatives. The bill would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish state guidelines for an independent and verifiable voting record on electronic machines, require state auditors to certify audit plans, and require states to develop contingency plans and emergency ballot protoc

Republicans on the House Administration committee--on which Ehlers is a ranking member--are urging their colleagues in the House to vote for Ehlers' bill instead of another popular voting reform bill known as HR 811. That bill would require that electronic voting machines generate voter-verified paper trails and require them to be in place by 2008 and would require mandatory audits of a portion of precincts in federal races.

A key difference is that Ehlers' bill does not require changes by the 2008 election, nor does it require the paper trails that many voting reform organizations have sought.

Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice Under Law of New York University said that Ehlers' bill "does nothing to address the serious voting system security vulnerabilities experts have identified" and cites it as an example of Republicans using the tough deadline imposed under HR 811 to ensure that Congress does not address the security and accuracy of voting machines.

However, some critics of HR 811's deadlines have introduced legislation calling for paper trails. On May 25, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced the Ballot Integrity Act of 2007 that would implement safeguards to prevent errors and tampering at the polls, require states to use voting systems with voter-verified paper records subject to public manual audits in the 2010 federal elections, and ensure that voters are not denied the right to vote by faulty purges of voting rolls.

Ignorance Museum Opens in Kentucky

I miss living in Kentucky it is a beautiful state, I made many friends there who i miss very much. It pains me to see that a Museum honoring false science and anti-reason. Bluegrass Roots has a great post on a visit to the 27 million dollar Answers in Genesis Creation Museum. Keep in mind that while these fanatics fight to "put God/Prayer back in Public Schools" they are also busy eroding the basic foundations of Science and History in the name of Jesus. God and prayer never left the public schools, by the way, it just can not be school/state sanctioned and thank God for that. If you don't believe me about the science and history crack open a public school text book. It is my understanding that in Kentucky and other state public schools they are not allowed to use the word evolution, but only "change over time". The Creationists need a dumbed down science in order for their straw-man arguments to get a footing. Anyhow enough of my rant. Here is an excerpt :

Two of my heretical friends and I ventured an hour north up I-75 from Lexington, just short of Cincinnati, to discover a museum full of shocking idiocy and unintentional humor.

Early in the museum, the visitor is given advice on the proper mind frame to have for your visit: “Don’t think, just listen and believe”. As you can see in the picture below, Human Reason is the enemy and God’s Word is the hero. Descartes represents Human Reason, saying “I think, therefore I am”. But God tells us there no need to waste your beautiful mind, for God says “I am that I am”.

Pass the Onion Rings, the Sopranos Ends

Apparently many devoted fans are angry and/or disappointed with the Sopranos finale. I have been mulling over the ending today with the Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" repeating in my head. I am content with the open-ended closure to a incredible and incomparable series. Part of me expected a Reservoir Dog shoot out or a Godfather III tragic death. Say what you will about the cut to black but it could have been worse with a predicable or copy-cat end. The tension building up to the end leads the viewer to believe Tony is about to be arrested or "whacked." Many have pointed out Bobby's reflection on death in the first episode of this last season "I bet you never hear it when it happens." And didn't Tony say to Sil in an different episode "in the end everything goes black." Someone else pointed out it was the viewer that "got whacked" when the screen went blank, I think this theory is the best. It is still a great season and a great series, I think those who are most upset are those who do not appreciate the more subtle qualities of the show. It can't always end with guns blazing.
At least I still have that other crime family to watch, the one scheduled to end in 2009.