Abandon hope, all ye who enter here...

Stolened!

2008-02-19T22:00:04Z

1. Pick 15 movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. No Google/other inferior search engines.

(Updates with answers)

1. ~~First person that comes out this fucking door gets a... gets a lead salad, you understand?~~ -Fight Club
2. ~~May I have ten thousand marbles, please?~~ -Animal House
3. Listen, I'm a politician which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lollipops. But it also means I keep my options open. -The Hunt for Red October
4. ~~You know, there's a million fine looking women in the world, dude. But they don't all bring you lasagna at work. Most of 'em just cheat on you.~~ -Clerks
5. If someone asks me, should we bomb Japan? A simple yes, by all means sir, drop that fucker. Twice. -Crimson Tide
6. Hee hee hee. "Get her." That was your whole plan, huh, "get her." Very scientific. -Ghostbusters
7. ~~Sand is overrated. It's just tiny, little rocks.~~ -Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8. ~~I was told to tell you that you're a fascist pig.~~ -Children of Men
9. ~~What if they come in through the back door or the bathroom window like that infamous Beatles song?~~ -A Scanner Darkly
10. Like the sign says, "speed's just a question of money. How fast can you go?" -Mad Max
11. ~~I don't do drugs, though. Just weed.~~ -Half Baked
12. Jimmy was the kind of guy that rooted for bad guys in the movies. -Goodfellas
13. The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive. -Full Metal Jacket
14. ~~We should give this man some marijuana. Nurse! Get all the medical marijuana you can! Like a big bag of it.~~ -Harold & Kumar go to White Castle
15. Well why don't you give me your number in case anything happens to my wife. -Old School

For what its worth...

2008-02-15T21:38:51Z

Dear Mr. Smars,
Thank you for your recent letter of support. I appreciate you letting me know that you support my cosponsorship of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Cheney. Congress has a lot of work ahead and I value your input.

Thank you again, and please feel free to contact me again in the future.

Sincerely,

Gwen Moore
Member of Congress

Attention Hollywood...

2008-02-12T15:06:16Z

Would you please stop cramming this "Jumper" movie down my throat. Anything you need to promote this much must not be very good. I'm imagining that only Sam Jackson escapes from this fiasco with an intact career. That is all.

Roleplaying the Collapse

2007-05-08T15:37:17Z

So 10 strangers who met in an airport got this idea to simulate what the world would look like after peak oil. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting signed on as a sponsor, and World Without Oil was born. The premise: an oil shock on April 30, 2007. At one virtual "week" per day, we are in week nine of the worst energy crisis that the world has ever seen.

Check it out. Ask nicely and I might even show you what I came up with.

When you're too lazy to write...

2006-03-16T18:41:32Z

..post links.

So on that note, heres one from the Best Blogger You're Not Reading(TM) Dave Neiwert

Warning: Interactive entry

2006-03-12T17:58:05Z

So, if you caould write a warning label for me, what would it say? I'd imagine something like this:

CAUTION
Contents extremely unstable. Proximity may cause intoxication. Prolonged exposure may cause gambling outbreaks. Avoid exposure to sunlight. Contains a substance known to the State of California to cause aggravation and/or annoyance. In the case of spills, please contact local authorities immediately. Not for sale to minors.

Feedback appreciated, feel free to steal this idea if you think it's funny.

More fearmongering

2006-03-03T18:29:44Z

It's ridiculous what the government is getting away with these days...

Response from Gwen Moore

2006-02-25T01:17:17Z

Seeing as I posted the original message, it's only fair to say I recently recieved a response from Congresswoman Moore. Basically, she says that House Democrats are helpless against a GOP majority determined to prevent criticism of the administration.

The full text:

Dear Mr. Smars,

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about certain actions and activities of the Bush Administration. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns.

In the last year, numerous accusations have emerged questioning the President's justification for going to war in Iraq, including allegations that he and others in his Administration misled Congress and the American people. Recently, it has also been revealed that the President authorized the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without court approval which appears to conflict with the law. I am extremely concerned about these revelations and have cosponsored several measures, called "resolutions of inquiry", the passage of which would allow Congress to begin to get to the bottom of these allegations. A resolution of inquiry is a House procedure to seek factual information from the executive branch.

However, attempts to use this means to get the facts from the administration on these issues have been rebuffed by GOP-controlled committees and the House GOP leadership. When the House International Relations Committee considered a resolution which I cosponsored, H. Res. 375, calling on the White House to turn over information regarding the Downing Street Memo, it was voted down 22 to 21. It is highly unlikely that the House GOP leadership will allow H. Res. 375 or any other inquiry resolutions to receive further consideration.

I am a cosponsor of H.Res. 641 which would direct the Attorney General to submit to the House of Representatives all documents in his possession relating to the NSA's surveillance of telephone conversations and electronic communications of persons in the U.S. A similar resolution of inquiry was recently rejected by the House Judiciary Committee.

I would vote for these resolutions were they permitted to come before the House for a vote. But the simple truth is that the GOP-controlled House and its leaders have clearly demonstrated that they will not ever allow them to be brought up for debate. I will continue to support efforts to get the facts behind all these matters, in my belief that getting to the truth is critical for our nation and our democracy.

Regarding the appointment of a special prosecutor, the provisions of federal law governing the appointments of "independent counsels" expired in 1999. No new independent counsels may be appointed by a special three-judge panel at the request of the Attorney General, as had been provided for under the statute. However, the Attorney General could appoint a "special counsel" to conduct investigations and or prosecutions on behalf of the United States. Unlike statutory "independent counsels," the conduct of investigations by "special counsels" would be under the contro! l and review of the Attorney General.

It is important that Congress and the American people have all the facts about some of these programs authorized by President including whether or not he directly contravened specific statutes. Congress must exercise close scrutiny to ensure that in pursuit of terrorists or suspected terrorists, the Executive Branch is not secretly and needlessly breaking the law in order to erode the rights of U.S. citizens.

Thanks again for contacting me.

Sincerely,
Gwen Moore
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

"Tricky Dick" vs. George dubya

2006-02-06T18:21:07Z

From MoveOn.org (Quicktime video)

Also, Senator Feingold seeks 10,000 signatures supporting investigation into NSA wiretapping, read more at the Progressive Patriots Fund website.

For those that think I'm prone to flipping out

2006-02-02T16:39:14Z

You should really check out this guy. I'm not saying he's nuts, lets just say that a pessimistic view of the situation in the US would be putting it lightly. Check it out if you're bored and/or hate the government.

One more thing

2006-01-17T22:11:45Z

I was actually feeling inspired enough to write this brief letter to Representative Gwen Moore (WI-4th):

Representative Moore,
No doubt you are aware of the recently disclosed unconstitutional and unethical actions perpetrated by the current executive administration against our fellow citizens. I am no longer content to remain silent as our civil liberties are continually eroded by this corrupt leadership. If we do not take action now, I'm afraid that these abuses will only continue, if not increase, during the remaining years of the Bush administration. Therefore, I come to you, as my representative voice in Washington, to urge you to demand that a special council be appointed to investigate these admitted crimes against the Constitution of The United States. I hope that you agree that an attack of this magnitude on the rule of law that this country was founded on demands no less.

Thank you for you time.

A concerned constituant,
Nathan Smars

More political stuff

2006-01-17T21:41:25Z

From Al Gore's speech last night:

"Can it be true that any president really has such powers under our Constitution? If the answer is 'yes' then under the theory by which these acts are committed, are there any acts that can on their face be prohibited? If the President has the inherent authority to eavesdrop, imprison citizens on his own declaration, kidnap and torture, then what can't he do?

The Dean of Yale Law School, Harold Koh, said after analyzing the Executive Branch's claims of these previously unrecognized powers: 'If the President has commander-in-chief power to commit torture, he has the power to commit genocide, to sanction slavery, to promote apartheid, to license summary execution.'"

and

"Fear drives out reason. Fear suppresses the politics of discourse and opens the door to the politics of destruction. Justice Brandeis once wrote: 'Men feared witches and burnt women.'

The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk.

Yet, in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the Bill of Rights.

Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of missiles poised to be launched against us and annihilate our country at a moment's notice? Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march-when our fathers fought and won two World Wars simultaneously?

It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they. Yet they faithfully protected our freedoms and now it is up to us to do the same.

We have a duty as Americans to defend our citizens' right not only to life but also to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is therefore vital in our current circumstances that immediate steps be taken to safeguard our Constitution against the present danger posed by the intrusive overreaching on the part of the Executive Branch and the President's apparent belief that he need not live under the rule of law.

I endorse the words of Bob Barr, when he said, 'The President has dared the American people to do something about it. For the sake of the Constitution, I hope they will.'

A special counsel should immediately be appointed by the Attorney General to remedy the obvious conflict of interest that prevents him from investigating what many believe are serious violations of law by the President.

Second, new whistleblower protections should immediately be established for members of the Executive Branch who report evidence of wrongdoing -- especially where it involves the abuse of Executive Branch authority in the sensitive areas of national security.

Third, both Houses of Congress should hold comprehensive-and not just superficial-hearings into these serious allegations of criminal behavior on the part of the President. And, they should follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Fourth, the extensive new powers requested by the Executive Branch in its proposal to extend and enlarge the Patriot Act should, under no circumstances be granted, unless and until there are adequate and enforceable safeguards to protect the Constitution and the rights of the American people against the kinds of abuses that have so recently been revealed.

Fifth, any telecommunications company that has provided the government with access to private information concerning the communications of Americans without a proper warrant should immediately cease and desist their complicity in this apparently illegal invasion of the privacy of American citizens.

Freedom of communication is an essential prerequisite for the restoration of the health of our democracy.

It is particularly important that the freedom of the Internet be protected against either the encroachment of government or the efforts at control by large media conglomerates. The future of our democracy depends on it."

From DailyKos:

"Al Gore and Bob Barr are right. The President has broken the law and has thrown the gauntlet down and said that he will continue to break the law.

CNN is airing Gores speech and a piece with Gonzales claiming that Article II of the Constitution gives him the right to do so.

The time to act is now... no more debate on who can win in 08 or snarking at trolls! Contact your Congressmen and women today and tell them:

This President has committed high crimes and misdemeanors, specifically he committed multiple felonies by evading compliance with the FISA Act, each count carries a five year prison term and $10,000 fine. He states Article II of the Constitution as his justification... yet the Supreme Court already decided this in 1972 in the Keith decision and ruled his rationale as unconstitutional, Article II doesn't nullify the Fourth Amendment.

Congress is incapable of investigating this matter because of the obvious conflict of interest and demand a Special Prosecutor be appointed!

The USAPATRIOT Act must not be renewed until our Constitutional liberties are protected.

Contact your Senators and Representatives today! Its speak now while you still can!

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.house.gov/"

Republican Senator Arlen Specter (on ABC's "This Week"):

"When asked what could happen if lawmakers find Bush in violation of the law, Specter answered: 'Impeachment is a remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution, but the principal remedy ... under our society is to pay a political price.'"

What do you think?

More from Wisconsin's junior Senator

2005-12-20T20:44:20Z

(From The Hill)

Senators launched new salvos in the battle over national security and civil liberties yesterday as recent revelations of domestic spying continued to color the chamber’s stalemate on an extension of the anti-terrorism law known as the Patriot Act.

“None of your civil liberties matter much after you’re dead,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a former judge and close ally of the president who sits on the Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), who has led a bipartisan filibuster against a reauthorization of the Patriot Act, quoted Patrick Henry, an icon of the American Revolution, in response: “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Oil depletion stories...

2005-12-14T16:50:50Z

...trickling into the mainstream media. This one from Fortune magazine

Oh, and a little Critical Mass legal update: We won our court case last week. The city prosecutor basically admitted that none of his witnesses (read: Police officers) could positively identify any of us as actually having violated anything. All counts dismissed.

I should keep my mouth shut

2005-12-01T19:23:24Z

So after my occasional outbursts about people losing their winter driving skill over the course of summer, I go and make an example of myself this morning. Yes, I spun and then backed my truck off the freeway at approximately 50 mph while attempting to change lanes on I-43. No damage, other than a towing bill and a truck covered in cat-tail seeds from my little "field trip" (quite literally, in this case, a trip through a field.)

Yes I'm fine, no one was hurt, nothing got broke, and I may have even learned something. Whatever.

Grrrr

2005-11-21T18:58:32Z

I'm going to post this without an explanation. Scary much?

Oh yeah, it's my birthday. I feel old.

Just for the sake of saying something

2005-10-27T17:41:12Z

I'd write something about how waking up alone sucks, but I sure *someone* would get the wrong idea...

If you're bored...

2005-10-26T16:18:52Z

...take this stupid test.

If anyone can beat me, I'll be impressed.

Sooo

2005-10-24T20:40:26Z

What to say about the last couple of days? I don't know, but I was in a surprisingly good mood considering I really didn't do much of anything...

I will never learn

2005-10-19T21:08:54Z

I really need to stop thinking that I can go to bed at 4am and function normally the next day.

On another note, the pre-trial briefing for the Critical Mass group that was ticketed in July was yesterday. A lawyer (who I believe is the father of one of the other guys that was cited) offered us all some legal representation. My roommmate Adam and I were quite disappointed that out of the group of 30 or so - most of whom were quite vocal about fighting this - there were only 4 of us who didn't cop-out and take a plea bargain. I'm sorry, but my concience won't allow me to pay a $77 ticket for doing nothing wrong just so that the city will leave me alone. Hopefully, we actually stand a chance here. We're waiting to see the written report filed by the officers on the scene, but I doubt it will be as detailed as my "definitive" written accout :) Trial date is December 7th, hopefully I'll have some good news then...

Non-update

2005-10-17T17:21:53Z

Didn't do anything exciting this weekend. Drank a fair amount, won about $300 playing poker... Yeah, that's about it.

Sick and tired

2005-10-12T21:52:58Z

No, literally. I think I see a couch, a nap, and far too much tv in my immediate future...

Feeling the urge...

2005-10-11T17:31:51Z

...to do something stupid:

http://www.infiltration.org

Anyone else?

*EDIT*
From the aforementioned site:
"Me and a friend have been on two field trips to UCLA specifically to explore their tunnels. UCLA's tunnels are much more extensive than UCSD's, and have much more history as the campus is much older. There is much folklore about UCLA's tunnels, including the forgotten underground bridge — the tunnels connect through a very impressive two-storey 100-by-200 foot underground room with a road on top of it. So we had to see this."

Been there!

Of bikes and beer

2005-10-10T17:58:36Z

So Saturday night I took my bike down to Bay View for some pub-crawl action that they call Biketoberfest. Unfortunately I was stuck going by myself because all my friends either aren't bikers or had something better to do, but whatever. I did run into one Critical Mass-er there (Scott) and met a few more people worth hanging out with for the night. Now while all this was a lot of fun, I must say that drinking and biking like that is a lot harder then I would have thought. I effectively rode from my house on the east side to the airport and back in the course of four hours, but with most of that time actually spent inside of bars. So yeah, I gave up after bar number five and rode home, because I thought I might not make it if I waited much longer...

That was pretty much the only interesting event of my weekend. Anyone do better?