You Can't Say That On Television
The Federal Election Commission is considering banning ads for Fahrenheit 9/11 after July 30th:

In a draft advisory opinion placed on the FEC's agenda for today's meeting, the agency's general counsel states that political documentary filmmakers may not air television or radio ads referring to federal candidates within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general election.

The opinion is generated under the new McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law, which prohibits corporate-funded ads that identify a federal candidate before a primary or general election.

This is so insane, I am actually hoping they do it. If anyone thought there was a reason for McCain-Feingold besides restricting political speech for the purpose of protecting incumbents (of both parties), maybe this disgusting episode will make them see the light.

At least one FEC commissioner (Bush appointee Michael Toner) thinks the ban would be a bad idea:

I think there's evidence that when Congress created the press exemption they intended for it to cover media in all its forms," said Toner. "If a documentary produced by an independent company would be subject to restriction or, equally important, if efforts to promote the documentary would be subject to restriction, I think that is very problematic.

Marc

Old Hickory On Sprawl
From P.J. O'Rourke's All the Trouble in the World:

What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a few thousand savages to our extensive Republic, studded with cities, towns, and prosperous farms, embellished with all the improvements which art can devise or industry execute?

Marc

Ars Gratia Artis


What is the meaning of this?

Marc

Trained Meat Men Needed
You still looking for a new job, chief?

Marc

Klingons For Kerry
I saw this combination of stickers on a parked car this morning:



Which prompted the question: which US presidents do the Star Trek captains most resemble?

Kirk is clearly JFK - two forceful leaders who aren't afraid to roll the dice in a tough situtation, be it Cuban Missile Crisis or Kobayashi Maru. Picard strikes me as a Wilson type - a righteous egghead who thinks he can reason his way out of any situtation, but sometimes resorts to force in frustration.

I haven't seen enough of either DS9 or Voyager to form an opinion on those captains. From the few episodes of Enterprise I've seen, Captain Archer is pretty badass - the last one I caught had him tossing a alien into an airlock to get information out of him. Andrew Jackson, maybe?

Marc

Validation
Pictures of my LEGO cicada are making the email rounds with the LCV crowd. A friend of Liz's boss had this reaction:

Cicadas rock. Legos rock. Lego cicadas rock hard. A nerd who makes lego cicadas rocks you, as the kids say, like a hurricane!

Marc rocks.

Marc

Colin Blow
Holy God, am I tired of seeing Colin Powell on the Sunday talk shows. Powell made a clean sweep today, at least on the shows I watch: Fox News Sunday, This Week Without David Brinkley, and Meet The Press.

I understand why the Bush administration wants to put Powell out there, but why do the shows keep putting him on? Is this really what people want to see - is Colin Powell ratings catnip?

Marc

Thank You, Mr. President
I've been thinking a lot about President Reagan since I heard the news of his death on Saturday. Unlike Ken Shepherd, I have strong memories of Reagan's time in office. The two that really stand out are his speech after the Challenger disaster and the bombing of Libya (which taught me, among other things, that the French are not our friends). I'm not ashamed to say that I teared up a little listening to the old Reagan clips on the radio.

The other thing that has been on my mind is Reagan's place in history. The media, which was always confounded by Reagan's popularity, is doing its best to portray him as the "amiable dunce" - the guy who told some good jokes and gave some good speeches but didn't really know what he was doing. I'm not terribly worried about that, because the leftist intelligentsia isn't nearly as influential as it thinks it is, and people have already formed their (mostly positive) opinions of President Reagan's legacy.

What I was thinking about was how Reagan will show up in our children's history textbooks. Personally, I think Reagan is maybe the third most important president of the 20th century (edging out Truman). First comes Wilson, who turned America into a player on the world stage and set the precedent for later and larger government intervention in the economy. Next is FDR, for obvious reasons, and then Reagan.

But in textbook terms, I think that list will be winnowed down to FDR and Reagan for thematic reasons - first half of the century vs. second half, NY Democrat versus California Republican, FDR began the struggle against totalitarianism and Reagan won it, etc.

Anyway, even though my political views have changed since my youth, I still think Ronald Reagan was a great president and a good man - maybe one of the best men to ever hold the office. I'm sure I'm not the only person my age who will always measure presidents by how they stack up against the Gipper. Thank you again, Mr. President.

Marc

Addendum: Crass political comment to cut through the treacle... How bad do the current presidential candidates look next to 24 hours a day of Ronald Reagan's Greatest Hits? At least Kerry has the option of waiting it out in Boston - poor Bush has to go out there and speak! Ah, well.

And how many times do you think we will hear the phrase "win one for the Gipper" at the GOP convention? It's already working on me, against all rational impulses...

Another Goddamned LEGO Post
I promise, this is it for a while... presenting my LEGO cicada:

Marc

Paramus In The Springtime
So this Tuesday, myself, Remy, and my lovely bride made the trip up to New Jersey to visit the LEGO Store there. We were only planning on going to the Paramus store, but wound up hitting the Nyack, NY location as well, since it was so close. And I know you're interested in what I got there, right?

Well the deal is, these stores have Pick-A-Brick, which means you fill up a cup (about the size of a Big Gulp) with LEGO for $12.95. I bought three cups into which I stuffed 1129 pieces for an average of 3.44 cents per piece. Not too shabby! I also picked up a grab bag of 755 Clikits pieces for $6.95 - 0.92 cents per piece!

We received a rather chilly reception at the Paramus store. The manager followed us around suspiciously, and told me I couldn't take pictures in the store. This is kind of odd for a place where grown men stuffing LEGO bricks into a cup is normal behavior.

The Nyack store was much more pleasant. I spotted some stray gray 1x2 bricks in a container and asked if there were any more. A LEGO employee looked in the back and emerged with a huge box of the bricks for Remy and I to fill our cups with. It turns out that one of the Nyack employees was an AFOL (Adult Fan Of LEGO). So, just for being fellow LEGO nerds, we received these neato LEGO Stanley Cups free.

So, to sum up: I spent my off day driving 400 miles to spend $50 on toys. And you just read about it!



Marc

Presidential Uniform Update: If You Want To Live LIke A Republican, Dress Like A Democrat
John Kerry channels Harry S. Truman:

The only thing missing is the hat!

Marc

Downstate Gatos Gordos
It certainly has been a rough couple of weeks for Allegany County, what with the prisoner abuse scandal and all. Now Jorge Ribas, chairman of the Maryland Hispanic Republican Caucus, is piling on.

Putting in his two cents on the Ehrlich multiculturalism stink, Ribas compared Ehrlich to Hitler in his pandering to poor white people who blame their problems on immigrants:

Some people would call it white trash, people who are largely uneducated. Places like Cumberland ... Ehrlich country.

It's very easy to make remarks like that by a politician to cater to this kind of crowd. It pays off for a politician. It paid off for Adolf Hitler.

But don't worry, my upstate Nazi friends, Kevin Kelly is on the case, defending Allegany County from downstate fat cats of any political stripe:

Kelly denounced Ribas' remarks as "contemptible" and invited him to tour Cumberland and Allegany County.

"Allegany County possesses a rich multicultural heritage," Kelly wrote.

Marc

Bike racing in Patterson Park
Hey Jerks and Jerk well wishers. I am racing (a bicycle) this Saturday in Patterson Park Baltimore, MD. My race is at 4.15p. And you all should come, I mean, come on. This is no ordinary bike race with a bunch of loser amateur bike racers with shiny legs and big lungs, this is the biggest cycling festival in the mid-atlantic region. There will be stuff going on all day, kids races, exhibitors, music, and a pro race, the real fast guys. Should be a good time, and again I race at 4.15.

By the way, this should be a wonderful day to be outside, the weather will be sunny and perfect in the 70's.

Please come if you can.

Draper

Ahead Of The Curve (Finally!)
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try some rye whiskey. I drink mostly bourbon and scotch, but after rereading Jim Murray's The Complete Guide To Whiskey, I was intrigued by rye.

Before Prohibition, rye was the most popular spirit in America , especially in Pennsylvania and Maryland. During Prohibition, sweeter bourbons became the whiskey of choice, and now only a few rye brands remain. Just as bourbon must be distilled from at least 51% corn, rye must be distilled from at least 51% rye, giving rye whiskey a less sweet and more spicy flavor than bourbon. To date, the only rye I have sampled is Pikesville, a product of the Heaven Hill Distilleries. I'll let Jim Murray describe it:

The rye hides behind butterscotch and leather with sweet oils trying to contain its hardness. There's a sprig of mint to lighten things, but the finish is complex with a spurt of fruit juice before the drying finale.

What he doesn't say is how cheap Pikesville is: $10 for a one-liter bottle! This is the best booze bargain you will find, and also a reflection of rye's unpopularity.

So imagine my surprise when I opened this month's GQ to find a feature on rye whiskey! The piece, on page 66 of the June issue, profiles several high-end ryes (although not Pikesville, sadly), and provides this nugget of knowledge:

Many of today's bourbon drinks (the Manhattan, the old-fashioned) first called for rye, and the original recipes have an equilibrium that will redefine such drinks for even die-hard bourbon fans.

Well, I am sipping a rye Manhattan as I type, and I concur. The spiciness of the rye makes an interesting contrast with the sweet vermouth, and I plan on ordering one of these the next time I'm out. So, to wrap up: I'm cooler than GQ!

Marc

P.S. Hey Draper, if I order rye Manhattans at Rocky Run, will you name the drink after me?

P.P.S Shout-out to Sean, Defender of Kosovar Freedom, Menace to National Guard Foxes, for providing me with several (bourbon) Manhattans this weekend.

The Kids Don't Know What The Jazz Is All About
The Cos unloaded on the shortcomings of American black culture during an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal," he declared. "These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids -- $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics.' . . .

"They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English," he exclaimed. "I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' . . . And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. . . . Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. . . . You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!"

Marc