Got this email from my friend Peter in Canada. Quite funny.

1. Cabal of oldsters who won’t listen to outside advice? Check.

2. No understanding of ethnicities of the many locals? Check

3. Imposing country boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check.

4. Unshakeable faith in our superior technology? Check.

5. France secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

6. Russia secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

7. China secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

8. SecDef pushing a conflict the JCS never wanted? Check.

9. Fear we’ll look bad if we back down now? Check.

10. Corrupt Texan in the WH? Check.

11. Land war in Asia? Check.

12. Right unhappy with outcome of previous war? Check.

13. Enemy easily moves in/out of neighboring countries? Check.

14. Soldiers about to be dosed with our own chemicals? Check.

15. Friendly fire problem ignored instead of solved? Check.

16. Anti-Americanism up sharply in Europe? Check.

17. B-52 bombers? Check.

18. Helicopters that clog up on the local dust? Check.

19. In-fighting among the branches of the military? Check.

20. Locals that cheer us by day, hate us by night? Check.

21. Local experts ignored? Check.

22. Local politicians ignored? Check.

23. Locals used to conflicts lasting longer than the USA has been a country? Check.

24. Against advice, Prez won’t raise taxes to pay for war? Check.

25. Blue water navy ships operating in brown water? Check.

26. Use of nukes hinted at if things don’t go our way? Check.

27. Unpopular war? Check.

Vietnam 2, you are cleared to taxi

But unfortunately it does all seem to fit.

Practice to Deceive - Chaos in the Middle East is not the Bush hawks’ nightmare scenario–it’s their plan. Very scary indeed. And more so because it matches what I am seeing everyday on the news.

I can only hope we can get some sense back into the political system in 2004.

Spring is almost here. Flowers are ready! I am really looking forward to see how the hundreds of flowers we planted last fall turn out. The flowers at left are very tiny, and they have a wonderfully sweet smell. View full sized image.

• President Bush will give Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq or face military action, administration sources say
• Iraqi foreign minister says Saddam won’t leave, suggests Bush leave office instead

I like option B.

In New Orleans. Coworker brought camera. Hilarity ensues.

Pictures

Sleep optional.

Man arrested for wearing a peace t-shirt

First, read the article (and notice the source, it gives the article more weight):

The Expanding Racial Scoring Gap Between Black and White SAT Test Takers This is a well written article full of disturbing facts. The source of the article moves it past many of the knee-jerk reactions to those facts. As one who would like to see a race neutral policy in place, I am bothered by this information. I feel that in many ways the race supporting policies currently in place do not help solve this solution; they only act as a crutch.

But in reading the article, and the information presented, it really make me wonder what is going on here. As an example:

Black students who study hard are often the subject of peer ridicule. They are accused of “acting white” by other blacks. This so-called “ghetto chic” in the form of peer pressure to shun academic pursuits undoubtedly has a dragging effect on average black SAT scores.

I see a clear dichotomy here. On one hand, it seems that many black leaders rail against how “white society” has towered above “black society.” I do not argue that has happened, but at the same time it seems that mainstream black society is preventing it’s own members from rising above the status quo.

The connection between academics, critical thinking, and education seems, in some people’s minds, to be tied to “whiteness.” Those concepts should transcend any individual and be accepted by all as a goal that is worthy of any individual regardless of race.

Ironically, the support system that has been put in place to attempt to compensate for past injustices against blacks has in some ways hampered their ability to overcome their past. By making a system that helps one race, it teaches society that those people need help and can’t achieve the same level of success without it. This is patently untrue, but I am afraid it is a value that has pervaded the thoughts of all races.

Every person, regardless of race has a level of academic ability that they can reach. This level is different for each person and every race will have it’s brilliant and it’s mediocre individuals; but I truly believe that the high and low and the distribution of people between those extremes is statistically identical no matter what race is looked at. The ability to reach this goal is the key; and that depends primarily upon the will of that individual and access to information.

The problem of access to information is often brought up as lacking for blacks of low socio-economic status. This appears to be a determining factor, but can not the same argument be made for other racial groups that find themselves in similar economic situations? Nor does this argument provide an explanation of the high end case, were one would assume both the black and white families have equal access to the internet, libraries, and schools.

The question that needs answering but was not, is the question of why even among blacks and whites of the same socio-economic group (whether high or low), that blacks consistently scored so poorly. This gets at the root of the problem; Is there some social or cultural difference that is at work here that is not being talked about or not found?

I have no answers to these questions.

Of the 18 regime changes forced by the United States in the 20th century, only 5 resulted in democracy, and in wars fought unilaterally, the number goes down to one — Panama.

This was a “test” that a few of us found around the 2000 election that I found to be particularly insightful as it goes beyond the normal “left - right” designations. Have fun!

Political Compass

This hardly comes as a suprise, but the list is impressive (even if the source has an obvious agenda and a horribly designed webpage).

The Bush Credibility Gap