I've been periodically gathering the interesting-er stuff that's recently gotten my attention for a little while now, and I thought -- what the heck? Why not post it somewhere?  I don't post much anywhere these days, and this is one window into what's on my mind, anyway.  And maybe, if I get back in the habit, I'll think of posting more personal stuff, which I think is the more valuable in any case.

As a warning, these will tend toward the political, but there's always some variety.  Ignore or comment at will.

• President Obama finally took a confrontational stance to obstructionist Republicans -- and appointed Richard Cordray head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Cordray is a former OH attorney general).  As a recess appt, it only last through this year, but Republicans had pledged not to confirm anyone to this position until the Bureau was gutted of authority and independence (prompting Elizabeth Warren, who created the CFPB, to run for Senate).
• Obama's also made a few other much-needed recess appointments (there are dozens of vacancies, from the EPA to judicial seats, which really pisses Sen. Leahy off).  Maybe it's just because it's an election year, or maybe the President's finally learning there is no "bipartisan" to be had with these cretins.  Either way, it gives me hope he'll follow through in blocking Keystone XL... there are more than enough warnings to nix it, esp. now that Congress has jettisoned a full environmental review.
• The Roman Catholic church reaffirms its status as a regressive haven.  I wonder, though, if the existence of married priests could have unintended effects?
• NPR's blog notes the passing of an Olympic fencer and Hollywood choreographer (from Princess Bride to Lord of the Rings), who also -- at the age of 60 -- played Darth Vader in a number of classic combats (such as the duel w/ Luke in the carbon freezing chamber).
• An intriguing National Geographic article taking in its scope twins, genetics, and autism. Also, naturally, some cool photo portraits.
• In case you managed to miss it (in which case, congratulations!) -- the main story out of the Iowa caucus was that Santorum (the latest in a long string of Not-Romneys) tied Romney, with only 8 votes separating them.  (Closer than Bush-Gore!  And so much less meaningful.)  Bachmann, coming in dead last, has dropped out; Gingrich (4th place, behind Ron Paul!) basically promised a scorched earth campaign against Romney from here on.  With that pseudo-event out of the way, the craziness is now headed this way.... 

Whoa... interesting.  Long story short: Jim Swilley, leader (bishop?) of a megachurch in Atlanta, GA, came out as gay to his congregation after encouragement from his ex-wife, children, and a sense of conviction from hearing homophobic reactions to the recent gay teen suicides.  (NPR story here, incl. extended interview and full video of his church address in which he told his story.) 

It's a startling step closer to the day when a rejection of homophobia is no longer a conservative or liberal issue, in the church or in society.  There is so much that distinguishes this from other high-profile outings (like Ted Haggard), most importantly that Swilley isn't just trying to get out in front of some scandal.  In fact, it bears none of the usual sense of hypocrisy: he doesn't treat it as a sin from which he must repent, and he says that he's never made derogatory or homophobic remarks.  He just wants to be honest about who he is.

There's lots of good stuff in the interview; for instance, Swilley seems willing to consider marrying a gay couple, and rejects the "marriage only for procreation" argument by saying "I marry folks on their 2nd or 3rd marriage who aren't going to have kids... and am I supposed to do fertility tests on all the couples I marry?" I'm not clear exactly what your title as bishop means, but -- right on, Bishop Jim!

It was also fascinating to hear him seemingly working through the issues anew even as he's talking to the interviewer, as if he's still just realizing the new vistas that have opened to him for thinking about civil rights, marriage equality, and so on.  For me, his most touching comment was: "Saying all these things out loud is just so new for me..." 

Dear Interwebs,

I have always held a small grudge against you for depriving me, by your conquest of bookstores and library catalogs, of much of the joy and serendipity of browsing through shelves, and unexpected discoveries this has brought into my life.

I am moved to confess this chiefly because I have noticed of late that you have now become a sort of expansive library yourself, full of the profound and trivial and organized by as many different systems as you have contributors.  Now, any foray away from my routine path of email, news, and blog aggregates feels as chaotic a jaunt as I could ever have had filling my arms with books pulled at random from the shelves of a quality used bookstore.

In a single day, for instance, my regular news addiction can bring me video of an artist's rendering of viral replication and the immune response; a quick detour through Paul Krugman's blog will remind me to go read up on this year's Ig Nobel Awards; and following a trail of hyperlinks educating me on Rick Warren's misogyny might lead me to the funniest music video I have ever seen (whose topic is almost, but not quite, entirely unrelated to Rick Warren).

So all in all, Tubes, I forgive you.

Bruorton

I'm not a huge fan of the Silver Bullet Theory of crisis solution -- for example, that a single technology will save us from global warming.  There are too many structural things that need to be changed for us to actually live within our means, habitat-wise; I also think that much of our structure itself needs to become decentralized, with everyone depending more on the food, energy, and community in the places they live.

That said, as far as large-scale power generation goes, concentrated solar power is the only thing I'd feel particularly inclined to support.  I only happen to mention this because over lunch today I read an article describing the history and theory of CSP which included the amusing revelation that "Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks contain many designs for solar concentrators, including some for industrial purposes, because he worried about the destruction of the earth's vast forests in humanity's search for fuel."  Gotta love that guy.  550 years old, and he still knows how to keep with the times.

That article, on the other hand, is a bit out of date.  It was a link in an article today about the challenges to actually building these plants, one of which appears to be either Sen. Dianne Feinstein, or conservationists' concerns about building power plants in the fragile desert ecosystem... depending on how you look at it.  Anyway, I really only bring this up to suggest (if reading about climate change issues appeals to you) to check out this blog in general.  Joe Romm is one of those people who likes silver bullets, and wants to find ways for us to keep living more or less the way we do now, but nonetheless knows what's going on in the world of climate science, politics, and economics.

He's also the one who came up with my favorite line so far on the whole thing (I'm paraphrasing): "We're all Bernie Madoffs...  we have constructed the grandest of Ponzi schemes, whereby current generations have figured out how to live off the wealth of future generations." 

Now that's what I call staying on the rhetorical cutting edge.

I climbed into my car to go to work this morning, and NPR's financial reporters began explaining to me about "zombie banks."  What a way to start the morning.  But they have a lot of fun with it, including serious suggestions of how to deal with the problem drawn from Night of the Living Dead.  "You can't cure zombie-ism," one analyst asserts.  "You have to shoot them, or chop off their heads."  Who knew this economy would be so much fun?

And strangely apropos, Sluggy Freelance (still my favorite webcomic, thanks graheim ! ) has been following Riff and Torg through a deserted underground lab overrun by zombies, prompting a little suspense followed by a little fun.

It is my understanding that Chief Justice John Roberts is a strict constructionist, believing that every word in our Constitution was fully intended just so, and is therefore unalterable.

So -- whether he was nervous, or just in a hurry -- it's at least ironic that he screwed up the oath of office when he administered it to Obama yesterday.

(Just for the record, the oath is not what makes it official.  According to Amendment XX, Article 1, Obama became President at noon, five minutes before the oath was given.)

Ich bin ein Vermonter Update: Obama has taken the oath a second time, "out of an abundance of caution."  Curiously, he will be only the third President to be sworn in twice, and the other two -- Chester Arthur and Calvin Coolidge -- were both Vermonters.

Coincidence?  I think not.

They call the end of an election that for a reason, I guess.

First off, Jesus' General has documented some of the people McCain is proud to have at his rallies.  (He also directs us to the alarming expose, Jesus Christ: Wrong for America.)

Sure, you say, it's not news that the racists probably migrated into the McCain camp early.  But then the New Yorker reports people using the "n-word to declare their support for Obama" and a Republican led focus group finds people who think he used to be a terrorist but hey, if he'll do something about health care... and I really don't know what to think any more.  I think the word "demographics" might not mean what we think it does.  This phenomenon was also documented in this week's K Chronicles (since this post wouldn't be complete without at least one cartoon).

I'm not going to get into the whole "Joe the Plumber" fiasco, though the last debate devolving into both candidates trying to talk to a theoretical person of dubious existence (something like 2 dozen references to him between them) is sort of the epitome of the term silly season.  But with at least one campaign trying to go in all directions at once, it looks like we can expect plenty more of this kind of absurdity in the last week and a half. 

I'll close with this, for you gamers out there: the campaign as a campaign.  Lots of throw-away references for the serious nerds in there.  (And if you're a nerd but not a gamer, maybe you'd like to consider what you would do with $3 trillion instead of have a war.)

Enjoy!


(PS -- I'd give every American household a herd of 125 Angora goats!)

To be living in VT, that is. Well, sure, there's the fresh air, the close-knit community, and the unparalleled stargazing, but I'm taking that for granted just now. Actually, it was the (comparatively unromantic) health care I was thinking of.

See, I got the notification that my state-provided health insurance has been approved to continue for another 6 month installment (available to any state resident who doesn't have insurance through a job/school/etc). The bad news? It used to be free. My notification this time, though, said I might be billed for up to $50. (That's for all 6 months.)

Gosh, I really can't complain.

Oh, by the way: if y'all are confusé about what to call me by, feel free to still use tua, if you want, or bruorton, if that seems more proper... or bru, or whatever you like. I think I might feel most like a tua, but I haven't too much emotion invested in my nickname around here.

Hello, sheikhs, sheikhal consorts, and all: I just wanted to say I am very honored to be accepted into this part of the sheikhal community. It is so nice to have a way to keep in touch with all of you, and to be a part again of all the great discourse (which is a mark of the Sheikh).

The only observation I have at this point is to say, I'm stunned at how many of my 'interests' were shared. Would you have guessed 14 hits and fan art for binturongs? Hm. There may be whole binturong communities out there we are only beginning to guess at.