Constantine's Journal

6:16pm: New dog!
My family got a new dog, and this is her:


So adorable! Her name is Summer, and she's part poodle, part shih tzu.

10:29am: Neil Gaiman on the defense of free speech. A good read.

"It's because the same laws cover the stuff you like and the stuff you find icky, wherever your icky line happens to be: the law is a big blunt instrument that makes no fine distinctions, and because you only realise how wonderful absolute freedom of speech is the day you lose it."

10:00am:

It's an adorable cat eating broccoli. It sounds like a mogwai.

10:45am: Arcade Fire, "Keep the Car Running"

10:30am: Unions
The New England Coalition of Public Safety has a list of union vs non-union differences. Basic point: Union workers make 30% more than non-union workers, and enjoy about 380% more benefits.

American Rights at Work has a breakdown about some of the finer points of the Employee Free Choice Act. It doesn't get rid of secret ballots, it just provides an alternative in the form of a 51% majority in card-check, which has a higher success record of forming unions. A good breakdown about the nature of the secret ballot as far as unions go by Alex Keyssar.

Damon Silver has an excellent read concerning the current financial crisis. Basically a society built upon increasing consumption and debt while decreasing employee wages does not make for a very stable economy. Higher ups pressure people to live outside their means and take on manageable debt. While this creates a temporary boom for investors and bankers, the resulting debt becomes insurmountable and creates an unstable economy, which eventually collapses. There are other factors in play during our current financial meltdown, but this is the bedrock.

8:09pm: Prop 8 the Musical

7:48pm: There is a significantly important bill working its way through Congress right now, The Employee Free Choice Act. In short, it would do away with the secret ballots that employers can demand if workers seek a Union. It also imposes civil penalties on any company that fires or violates the rights of someone who is trying to form a union. In short, the normal bully tactics that companies use to prevent unions would be done away with. In addition, states would no longer be allowed to be "Right to Work" states, thus empowering Unions again.

Currently there is a grassroots campaign in support of the bill. Dropped my signature yesterday, and am planning to right a letter to Obama and Harry Reid concerning my support for the bill.

"The REALITY is the Employee Free Choice Act Helps American Workers and their Families"

Getting Congress to pass this bill is imperative, as labor unions are the corner stone of a progressive country. And it because of this, I expect that big businesses and conservatives are going to be pouring a ton of money into anti-card check campaigns. The best way to combat this is to spread the word about card check and to educate people on it.

10:46am: Dancing Plague of 1518

"Historical documents, including "physician notes, cathedral sermons, local and regional chronicles, and even notes issued by the Strasbourg city council" are clear that the victims danced. It is not known why these people danced to their deaths, nor is it clear that they were dancing willfully."

10:44am: Kentucky Anti-Terror Law Requires God Be Acknowledged

Oh, Kentucky. You crazy coots, you.

State Rep. Tom Riner, a Southern Baptist minister, tucked the God provision into Homeland Security legislation as a floor amendment that lawmakers overwhelmingly approved two years ago.

...

"This is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect safety of the people of Kentucky," Riner said. "Government itself, apart from God, cannot close the security gap. The job is too big for government."

I'd like to take a moment to quote the first amendment, if I could:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

12:53pm: Arcade Fire, "Rebellion"


Win Butler gives a passionate, drunk performance. I love this song.

10:07am: BLACK DYNAMITE


Coming January 2009

Second Trailer of BLACK DYNAMITE

11:24pm: Bruce Springsteen, "Candy's Room"

12:22am: The Religious
Billboard promoting atheism will be removed

"Judy Rooze, administrator of First Baptist Church of Rancho Cucamonga, which is two blocks from the billboard, was relieved it was coming down.

Rooze said it was unsettling.

"I understand people have freedom of speech, but this is taking it too far," she said. "It's very jarring.""

7:52pm: Dan Savage refuting Tony Perkins


Dan Savage on Anderson Coopers show delivering the rhetorical smackdown to wingnut Tony Perkins over Prop 8.

4:07pm: Newt Gingrich, former Republican Speaker of the House


"I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion."

Gingrich/Palin 2012!

Gingrich is of course the patron St. of Traditional Religion

2:53pm: War on Christmas
I do believe I just heard a K-Mart commercial where they declared that, "K-Mart saves Christmas!"

11:25pm: Fugazi, "Epic Problem"
Fugazi, "Epic Problem"

8:35pm: Gentlemen, behold! The Ultimate LARP:

10:08am: Daily Create!
Kind of screwed the pooch on the first week, so I'm officially restarting this today.

The phrase for today is:

Rootin Tootin Spootin Putin

3:04pm: Daily Create
Little bit late on the word for today.

Innocence


Will also post my project from yesterday later tonight.

10:05pm: FUCK YES

5:20am: The Morning Cometh!
When setting up your coffee pot to brew in the morning before going to work, remember to adjust for daylight savings time.

I'm glad people participated in my Daily Create! Here's a the next phrase:

Natural Selection

10:43pm: And the result


It's not the best, but I did it. That's one down, I'll post the next word before I leave to work the polls tomorrow.

8:41am: Daily Create!
Today begins the Daily Create Project. Everyday I'll post a word, and you have until the next word is posted to create a piece of art, be it a drawing, painting, literature, song, whatever you want, to match the word.

So to get us started, the first word is:

Puppy Love

9:23am: "Charles Meets Barack"
I gotta admit I was touched.