tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860342011-04-21T16:36:32.777-04:00politics, news, media, commentary, science, logic, critical thinkingDave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.comBlogger651100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1176428537473298552007-04-12T21:39:00.000-04:002007-04-12T21:42:17.486-04:00

finally takes a beating. And a well deserved one!

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1138919296554860292006-02-02T17:28:00.000-05:002006-02-02T17:28:16.603-05:00

Inside the hollywood liberal conspiracy. Too funny.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1138719013911490162006-01-31T09:50:00.000-05:002006-01-31T09:50:13.963-05:00

Courtesy of Skeptico"The fact that [it] was never tested, and goes against all science tells us, does not necessarily mean it is wrong. But it does mean the evidence it works needs to be stronger than the evidence we demand for other things.""Why should homeopathy not be required to demonstrate that it works to the same standards of real medicine? Why is it that this magic water defies the simple

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1138215114032629052006-01-25T13:51:00.000-05:002006-01-25T13:51:54.083-05:00

Very nice media analysis of the news pundits role in political discourse.Salon.com - Daou Report

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1137256058842839232006-01-14T11:16:00.000-05:002006-01-14T11:27:38.850-05:00

Jake Tapper on Nightlight did a nice takedown of informercial marketing scam artist Kevin Trudeau.The video interview broadcast on Nightlight (1/13/06) from which the transcript was created even more dramatically illustrated how sleazy this guy is.He impressively spins his out of court settlement and agreeing not to sell any more products to "there was no finding of wrongdoing" and "they had to

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1135357604214761732005-12-23T12:01:00.000-05:002005-12-23T12:06:44.216-05:00

A beautiful quote, via the howler:No one could believe, as a general matter, that lowering tax rates brings higher revenues. For example, did George Bush believe this during Campaign 2000? Obviously, no—he did not. During that campaign, Bush proposed lowering the marginal tax rate from 39.6 percent down to 33 percent. But if lowering the tax rate brings higher revenues, why would Bush have drawn

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1135357133035731222005-12-23T11:58:00.000-05:002005-12-23T11:58:53.046-05:00

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1134755462153432042005-12-16T12:51:00.000-05:002005-12-16T12:54:22.703-05:00

Nice follow up to the Sternberg saga, the guy who went on O'Reilly to complain about the horrible treatment he received from scientists when he allowed an ID paper to be published in the journal he edited.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1134399054425640522005-12-12T09:37:00.000-05:002005-12-12T09:59:28.470-05:00

Andrew Tobias points out an argument that isn't heard nearly enough.We've heard it argued countless times that when the government cuts, it's revenues always go up, which is absurd on it's face. Of course, as Andrew argues, that is clearly true when the top tax bracket is preposterously high, as they were during, Ike, Kennedy, and even Reagan's terms.However, there is an obvious limit to this

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1133898155588931312005-12-06T14:30:00.000-05:002005-12-06T14:42:35.600-05:00

Brought to you by fox news. O'Reilly, Gibson, and the entire network are pushing this thing, and I have to say that I completely don't get it. Among all the "secular progressives" I know, I don't know anyone who is against "Merry Christmas". Lots of non-religious people enjoy christmas as a secular event, myself included.I'm sure there are a handful of crackpots out there, but I fail to see the

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1133895411120149942005-12-06T13:44:00.000-05:002005-12-06T13:56:51.130-05:00

The Howler helps the media break down the disconnect between the booming economy, and the reality of most people. Just because the GDP is growing nicely and corporate profits are high doesn't mean most people are better off, as Krugman and Reich explain. As with the Bush tax cuts, the economic boom mostly only helps those at the top of the income scale. As Andrew Tobias says, "It's a grand time

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1133233673794806902005-11-28T22:05:00.000-05:002005-11-28T22:08:24.373-05:00

by Adam Felber.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1132502513825029802005-11-20T10:58:00.000-05:002005-11-20T11:01:53.833-05:00

I strongly believe that science and religion need not, should not, and must not be at odds. Those trying to convince people of faith that science is at odds with their faith does them and this country a great disservice. It's insane to be discouraging anyone from pursuing science for such absurd reasons.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1128606193709754082005-10-06T09:30:00.000-04:002005-10-06T09:43:13.716-04:00

Nice work, Senators McCain, Graham, and Warner, for forcing this issue to the floor. Not to mention heroes like Ian Fishback for risking their careers to tell the truth.And the shame award goes to the Torture is OK! Senate delegation from Oklahoma.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1128528050131477822005-10-05T11:56:00.000-04:002005-10-05T12:00:50.136-04:00

From the fine folks at The Two Percent Company.I especially love it when psychics make supernatural claims that would be trivial to prove beyond any doubt, "Yes, when I'm playing poker I can hear other people's thoughts".But of course, they never actually do. Gee, I wonder why.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1127502006622100042005-09-23T14:50:00.000-04:002005-09-23T15:00:06.626-04:00

...at least some of the time. And no one is more surprised than me, but good for her.Today she's going after the obscene Alaskan "pork" in the highway bill. Previously she's been beating on the administration's dangerous cronyism hiring practices.Here's hoping we can all agree that professionalism, competence, and responsibility are bipartisan values. The absence of such must be called to account

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1127320597517630092005-09-21T12:33:00.000-04:002005-09-21T12:36:37.523-04:00

Don Feder. He used to infuriate me several times a week when I read his column in the Boston Herald 10 or 15 years ago.He makes the unassailable case that Katrina is god's punishment for, well, you know, the usual stuff.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1125499352631369132005-08-31T10:35:00.000-04:002005-08-31T10:42:32.633-04:00

Meet Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Now we are all learning what it’s like to reap the whirlwind of fossil fuel dependence which Barbour and his cronies have encouraged. Our destructive addiction has given us a catastrophic war in the Middle East and--now--Katrina is giving our nation a glimpse of the climate chaos we are bequeathing our children.So, Haley Barbour caused the hurricane by writing an

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1125498889134564112005-08-31T10:32:00.000-04:002005-08-31T10:34:49.140-04:00

Meet John J. Tierney Jr.The author said he has "grave, grave problems with the conduct of the operation in Iraq" and wouldn't want to see his 20-year-old son go there. But he said it is "automatic" that anybody who joins a protest by one of the offending groups is supporting communists.The war may have grave, grave problems, and I wouldn't send my son, but anyone who protests is a commie. Nice!

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1124944847132772652005-08-25T00:15:00.000-04:002005-08-27T12:01:31.773-04:00

Caught this guy on O'Reilly tonight. He was the editor of a biological journal that published a paper by Stephen Meyer on "Intelligent Design". Sternberg was claiming he's been subject to tremendous harassment by the scientific community for publishing this supposedly peer reviewed paper. O'Reilly was only too happy to jump in and claim the usual claptrap about the secularist scientific community

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1124859313540232102005-08-24T00:49:00.000-04:002005-08-24T00:55:13.546-04:00

Yes, it's true, you can be a moonbat anti-evolutionist without being a christian fundamentalist! I give you new age whackjob Deepak Chopra, and an appropriate fisking by pharyngula.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1124503952586993932005-08-19T21:32:00.000-04:002005-08-19T22:12:32.593-04:00

I don't know why it isn't obvious that it isn't actually about her. Ultimately, it doesn’t actually matter whether the president meets with her or not. And no reasonable person thinks Cindy Sheehan should set US foreign policy. She’s not running for any office. So, it’s irrelevant whether or not she’s a crackpot or a partisan or anything else. The Ad Hominem attacks upon her are senseless. The

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1124501468415900802005-08-19T21:02:00.000-04:002005-08-19T21:31:08.423-04:00

Today brings us the news that Senator Frist agrees with President Bush that we should teach intelligent Design alongside of evolution in science classes.This issue is nothing less than a threat to the future economic leadership of this country. The Chinese sure aren't teaching their kids that evolution is "just a theory, not a fact". They're studying hard to become the new generation of top

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1124241214671530662005-08-16T21:11:00.000-04:002005-08-16T21:13:34.676-04:00

"Wouldn't it be great if anybody who speaks out against this country, to kick them out of the country? Anybody that threatens this country, kick 'em out. We'd get rid of Michael Moore, we'd get rid of half the Democratic Party if we would just import that law. That would be fabulous. The Supreme Court ought to look into this. Absolutely brilliant idea out there."Such a great idea, I can't believe

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1123292690324503372005-08-05T21:42:00.000-04:002005-08-05T21:44:50.330-04:00

Choice excerpts:"FOR MORE THAN 30 years, the conservative movement in America has been doing battle with the forces of relativism, the Â?do your own thingÂ? philosophy that eschews objective truth and instead sees all beliefs and all personal choices as equally valid. Instead, philosophically minded American conservatives have argued that there is such a thing as objectivity and that some beliefs

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1123164683440147722005-08-04T10:05:00.000-04:002005-08-04T10:11:23.446-04:00

This article/editorial suggests the thoroughly depressing idea that the security forces being trained to take over in Iraq are largely loyal to the religious leaders, and are eager to enforce religious law over any emerging secular/national/constitutional government.The epilogue to the story is that the reporter was killed days after the article appeared.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1121267386406715732005-07-13T10:53:00.000-04:002005-07-13T11:09:46.410-04:00

I'd say there is a fairly good chance that Karl Rove didn't do anything technically illegal when he revealed to reporters that Joseph Wilson's wife was a CIA operative. I do hope we learn how he knew such classified information himself. I don't see how anyone can claim that the CIA would put an operative in a front company if it wasn't a secret that she worked for them. But the criminal outing

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1119321028381749122005-06-20T22:17:00.000-04:002005-06-20T22:30:28.386-04:00

A nomination vote was blocked again today by failing to reach the 60 votes needed to force cloture.I'm on record as not caring about the Bolton nomination to be UN ambassador, but I think the issue holding up the vote does have merit. Senators Biden and Dodd are being denied access to certain documents they'd like to see before a final vote. No Democrat has said that they wish to filibuster this

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1119047833107091462005-06-17T17:54:00.000-04:002005-06-20T22:15:32.316-04:00

It's truly sad to see a strong environmental advocate like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. get swept up by junk science. His recent article in Salon and Rolling Stone about the supposed link between autism and vaccines w/thimerosal, a preservative which contains mercury seems to show that he doesn't understand the difference between causation and correlation.A few points: (Almost) no thimerosal has been

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1117728747557565172005-06-02T12:06:00.000-04:002005-06-02T12:12:27.560-04:00

Actual Malpractice costs (both legal judgments and out of court settlements) continue to grow at about the same rate at medical costs. The data shows little increase in the past 10 years. There have been slightly higher settlements, and slightly fewer cases.So why the giant spikes in malpractice insurance rates, and fearmongering about doctors being driven out of business? Ask the insurance

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1117662946670799502005-06-01T17:51:00.000-04:002005-06-01T17:55:46.676-04:00

Maybe this will be the time he's right. Let's hope so."I think we may well have some kind of presence there over a period of time. The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." - vice-president Dick Cheney, May 31, 2005."They will do everything they can to disrupt the process

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1117205423001152422005-05-27T10:49:00.000-04:002005-05-27T10:50:23.006-04:00

Theocracy watch! I'm sure praying optimistic(?) this one will easily get kicked on appeal.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1116636583441928972005-05-20T20:49:00.000-04:002005-05-20T20:49:43.493-04:00

One of the best articles I've read on Inteligent Design/Creationist ideas.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1116259663281533522005-05-16T12:07:00.000-04:002005-05-16T12:07:43.320-04:00

Fun article.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1115989941701014182005-05-13T09:12:00.000-04:002005-05-13T09:12:21.736-04:00

Hard to believe I haven't blogged on this topic yet. I've been watching it closely for the last few weeks, and the good news is that I believe claiming that "darwinism" is scientific dogma, and not well established and non-controversial, were largely exposed as fraudulent and biased. It may not actually make a difference in what the Kansas Science Curriculum Standards Committee decides, since the

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1115703631670402092005-05-10T01:36:00.000-04:002005-05-10T01:40:31.686-04:00

The news from Darfur seems to keep getting worse. More people have died and been left homeless in the Sudan than from the December tsunami, yet the US and the world have done virtually nothing about it. It's time for the president and the country to give this problem some attention if we really believe in a culture of life.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1115702898962315442005-05-10T01:23:00.000-04:002005-05-10T01:28:18.980-04:00

"[Bush has] nominated persons to fill barely one-third of the vacancies, including 10 of 16 vacancies in the appeals courts, 6 of 29 vacancies in the federal district courts, and nobody to fill the single vacancy at the US Court of International Trade."It's interesting that the president is apparently itching for a fight on his 10 or so Judicial nominees that have been stalled, when so many other

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1115310789611772862005-05-05T12:03:00.000-04:002005-05-05T12:36:40.956-04:00

To call someone a liar is almost universally unhelpful in a debate, and is unable to persuade anyone about your position... unless of course it is demonstrably and indisputably true that the person is lying.I'm afraid the president has clearly crossed that line. His statements on social securities solvency are a lie. In his so-called town meetings, he has repeatedly said that in 2041, the social

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1115177689917481652005-05-03T23:03:00.000-04:002005-05-03T23:37:24.186-04:00

Chinese medical practitioners some thousands of years ago determined that the body has 12 meridians and some 400 points through which one's qi (chi) flows. Regulating/correcting the flow of qi with needles on the appropriate points counteracts these imbalances, and thus restoring health and curing a wide variety of ailments is the practice of acupuncture.Let's put aside the fact that this medical

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1114744502787451492005-04-28T23:07:00.000-04:002005-04-28T23:15:02.786-04:00

I honestly don't understand this vote, but I would like to. The GAO reports that armored humvees have not been produced at full capacity. Bayh & Kennedy sponsor an ammendment to the Iraq appropriations bill for extra $$ to maximize their productions, which passes in a 60-40 vote.Seriously, what is the story with the senators (39 Republicans) who voted against it?

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1114692566615079832005-04-28T08:07:00.000-04:002005-04-28T08:49:26.616-04:00

President Bush signed a bill into law (interestingly, with no public signing ceremony) that allows a specific software company to "edit" movies by skipping sections of a DVD that they deem to contain objectionable material. It is unquestionably a huge victory for one company, Clearplay, based it Utah (Thanks, Orrin!) that sells this add-on service to your DVD player at $5/month. The movie

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1114625873173118192005-04-27T14:17:00.001-04:002005-04-27T22:05:18.086-04:00

Interesting comments from anti-skeptics about the Two Percent Company's recent fine piece on the claims/ravings of self-proclaimed psychic/medium Allison Dubois. Some are upset that they were unable to completely prove that everything she said is untrue.No one can prove that I am unable to magically elevate off the ground and fly away, either. My claim is no less valid (or likely to be true,

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1114625407099688602005-04-27T14:10:00.000-04:002005-04-27T14:25:33.640-04:00

U.S. Figures Show Sharp Global Rise In Terrorism"The State Department announced last week that it was breaking with tradition in withholding the statistics on terrorist attacks from its congressionally mandated annual report."It's hard to conceive how not reporting the statistics is helpful to any claim of success, or even denial of blame for failure.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1114573283358766192005-04-26T23:21:00.000-04:002005-04-26T23:43:03.730-04:00

The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial with statistics purported to show that the wealthiest americans are paying a larger share of the tax burden then they did 20 years ago. (There is no free link, but excerpts of it are here.) For example, the chart shows that the top .1% paid 5% of all taxes in 1979, and 11% in 1999.Sounds pretty cut and dried, right? Well, except for a few pesky facts that

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1114113109931106572005-04-21T15:49:00.000-04:002005-04-21T15:51:49.933-04:00

Who can it be?!?"The time has come that the American people know exactly what their Representatives are doing here in Washington. Are they feeding at the public trough, taking lobbyist-paid vacations, getting wined and dined by special interest groups? Or are they working hard to represent their constituents? The people, the American people, have a right to know...I say the best disinfectant is

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1114092536570931692005-04-21T09:25:00.000-04:002005-04-21T10:30:33.710-04:00

Just to clarify a few things here, I am absolutely not interested in perpetuating any democratic/liberal orthodoxy. As I read my site, I noticed a rail against the Ann Coulter article, and a filibuster snippet cut from dailykos. Both are worthy of note, and things that I think are important, but one might get the impression from that small sample that I am a 100% leftist demagogue, which is not

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1114025439959934972005-04-20T13:38:00.000-04:002005-04-20T15:31:02.843-04:00

..that this kind of thing passes for journalism. Per usual, the howler has the best breakdown and analysis.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1113964601784078282005-04-19T22:32:00.000-04:002005-04-19T22:38:42.326-04:00

Senator Smith (R-NH) onthe floor of the senate, 3/7/2000:"That is my advise and consent role, and I intend to exercise it. I don't appreciate being told that somehow I am violating the Constitution of the United States."Senator Frist voted with him.Via dailykos.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1113745887347768692005-04-17T09:31:00.000-04:002005-04-17T09:55:55.176-04:00

There is an interesting point to consider from a recent Antonin Scalia talk at NYU, where he was assailed by a student on the judges dissent in Lawrence. The student asked the Scalia - "Do you sodomize your wife?". Scalia's reply was "the question is unworthy of an answer".Scalia does not believe there is a constitutional right to privacy, and therefore the government has a legitimate authority

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1113582924030810182005-04-15T12:24:00.000-04:002005-04-15T12:35:57.860-04:00

By the way, I'm certainly in favor of reasonable measures to reduce backruptcy fraud, such as the disallowing of excessive excemptions available only to the wealthy. For example, the exemption for assets placed in an Asset Protection Trust, or the unlimited homestead exceptions like they have in Texas and Florida, where your "primary residence" can't be taking from you if you declare bankrupcy,

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1113528227345158862005-04-14T21:14:00.000-04:002005-04-14T21:23:47.346-04:00

The bill who's only constituency is the lobbyists for the banking and credit card industry passed today. Republicans bravely voted down amendments that would have exempted families who can't pay their bills because they've been called up to military service, families with catastrophic medical bills, people who've been the victims of fraud, and many other varieties of deadbeats.Today's news story

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1113443099729859522005-04-13T20:09:00.000-04:002005-04-13T21:44:59.730-04:00

A simple, yet astute post from the always worthwhile Skeptico, on so-called "alternative" medicine.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-1113414367171460252005-04-13T13:44:00.000-04:002005-04-13T21:46:16.676-04:00

I'm thinking about reviving this blog. Perhaps I'll have something to say of interest to you. Perhaps not. Perhaps I'll get bored in a month and go on a three year hiatus. Life is a mystery.I'm going to be experimenting with blog titles until I find one I like. At this moment, I'm fond of the trans-Wisconsin Yogurt Pipeline.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-844616262002-11-13T02:39:00.000-05:002002-11-13T02:39:16.610-05:00

There's an interesting case up for review by the Supreme Court this week. I think it's called the "Children's Internet Protection Act" that was signed into law a couple of years ago. (It's always interesting how they name these things, to make it seem completely one-sided. "How can you be against this? Are you against children? Are you against protecting them??") This law requires that all

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-844595862002-11-13T01:32:00.000-05:002002-11-13T01:32:24.030-05:00

I was thinking a great business idea for the upcoming tax season would be a combination bar and H&R Block. I'm certain there are lots of people who would enjoy having a few drinks while waiting for their taxes to get done. And it'd be an opportunity to create all these painfully unfunny tax-themed cocktails, the "brain cell exemption", etc. Of course you'd also have to always use preposterous tax

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-843064842002-11-10T02:03:00.000-05:002002-11-13T03:12:37.000-05:00

As timely as the headlines from, errr, umm, earlier in the week - here's my all important "Election Breakdown": I believe Shannon O'Brien lost the MA governor's race because of two factors 1) She failed to successfully deflect the charges that she would one way or another end up raising taxes, and 2) her somewhat abrasive and annoying personality. Reason number one was just clearly a failing of

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-822971912002-09-29T23:46:00.000-04:002002-09-29T23:49:51.000-04:00

Here's a fascinating fact for you: I was born on the exact same day as television legend Jill Whelan. Apparently, some people find her annoying.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-822243252002-09-28T00:55:00.000-04:002002-09-28T00:55:39.880-04:00

This is truly sad, I actually just spent 15 minutes of my time on this planet watching other people play video games on TV. The Digital Cable universe is a disturbing place. There is a channel called G4 dedicated exclusively to video games. There was a Halo tournament happening on tv, hosted by Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame.

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-821899112002-09-27T08:56:00.000-04:002005-04-13T13:37:32.586-04:00

Ok, this is a beyond pointless comment, but I can't help but wonder what entertainment need is filled by VH1 Classic, now available on a digital cable hookup near you. Does anyone really feel compelled to revisit the video oeuvre of Billy Squire?

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-800572252002-08-10T01:22:00.000-04:002002-08-10T01:24:54.000-04:00

Ah, caffeine. It motivates one in ways that nothing else can. So I'm looking up references on my new favorite artist Joel Phelps and I came across an interesting site for connecting musical taste called gnod.net a.k.a. "global network of dreams .. even if you don't know what you are looking for - gnod will find it" It seems pretty cool. Maybe it's not so different from how amazon or any other

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-114454642002-04-04T03:12:00.000-05:002002-04-04T03:14:16.000-05:00

The other day I made my first post ever to Slashdot.org aka "News for nerds, stuff that matters". Most of the stuff is far too techy for me, but there are often items that interest me. There was an article/discussion about some freaky science nut claiming to be working on an anti-gravity device. This particular guy had been specifically mentioned in a good book I'd just read called Voodoo Science

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-114448222002-04-04T02:39:00.000-05:002002-04-04T02:39:56.286-05:00

First in a continuing series? Perhaps. Anyway, here's a Dave recommends: Skinny Cow lowfat ice cream. Yeah, it's good stuff. Expensive, though! The vanilla ice cream sandwiches are most outstanding, though I'm not crazy about the chocolate ones for some reason. Also, the fudge bars are excellent - very cocoa-y!

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-114446842002-04-04T02:32:00.000-05:002002-04-04T02:35:09.000-05:00

Here's a rather interesting article from the NY Times magazine about the beef industry. There was a lot of information that I had heard before, but after reading it again in this form, I may actually retain it. Yeah, yeah, it makes you not want to eat beef, sort of, at least for a while. But it also makes me want to support more natural forms of beef production, where the steer are actually fed

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-114443822002-04-04T02:17:00.000-05:002002-04-04T02:34:12.000-05:00

Ticketmaster is an evil institution. This isn't news to anyone, I'm sure. Their monopolistic practices and exorbitant fees are legendary. But perhaps even worse is the fact that they aren't even competent at what they do. I'm annoyed since I purchased White Stripes tickets weeks ago over the web, and apparently they lost my order. Customer service was a nightmare itself, it took a tremendous

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286034.post-97435652002-02-14T22:45:00.000-05:002002-02-14T22:45:48.906-05:00

I recently discovered the most amazing place - it's called a "library". Here's the deal: they have all these books, - some of 'em you actually would want to read - and they let you just borrow them. It's like this - you go there, pick a book, take it home, read it, and all you have to do is return it when you're done with it. And here's the completely crazy part, it costs NOTHING! They don't

Dave Matsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16383320395853551772noreply@blogger.com0