See my column on The Rhythm Track about Ralph Nader.#

Dave Winer explains why Nader should run, or rather why he should be allowed to run.#

What's so fixed about our political system that a minority independent candidate, who likely won't be able to register in many states, is going to spoil it for.. who exactly is he going to spoil it for? Think. Is this the America you imagined when you were a kid? Why can't we make it better? Why can't we have a dozen people running for President? By trying to hold back Nader (good luck) maybe you're preventing exactly the kind of transformation we need. I think Nader is a patriot. Give him a medal. And think instead of being part of the herd.

Heidi writes about how preconceived thoughts about intelligence may have an effect in the end.#

So, what's the problem? I'm reminded of a story a friend told me about an irascible old professor who firmly believed that women couldn't be good scientists. His proof was that women always did worse in his class than men. When my friend (also a professor) responded that the women in his class were statistically indistinguishable from the men, he was astounded, and figured that my friend's experience was anomalous. After all, the old coot had been teaching for decades, and had never found a woman who "really had the spark."

I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a math professor at a community college when I lived in the South. He said that it was sad--but true--that black people couldn't do math. No black, he said, had ever gotten an A in any of his classes. It wasn't that he was racist, he said; they just couldn't get a handle on quantitative skills. My dad, who also teaches quantitative material at a community college, guffaws at this. He's had black students at the tippy-top of his class before.

Ted and Julie work things out and retain their Cutosity™.#

So we talked and explained and listened and understood and forgave. And at the end, each of us went away with some things to think about, because neither of us are perfect. Accepting the fact of our mutual imperfection allows us to accept, love, and forgive each other. Even when THAT got said.

I just bit my tongue really hard.#

Lawrence Lessig has questions for Ralph Nader.#

(1) Do you agree that even if it would be best if you were President, it would be second best if a Democrat were President rather than President Bush?

(2) If so, then will you promise that if 2000 repeats itself — if it is clear that you are not going to be elected president, but probable that votes for you will deny the Democrat of the Presidency — then you will ask your supporters to vote for someone else?

Because if Mr. Nader can answer both questions "yes," then I'm all for his candidacy. His views, his integrity, and (except for one important gap) his judgment certainly deserve to stand on the stage with any Democrat, and with President Bush.

Matt Stoller thinks there's something wrong with Nader because he's not "on the web." (As if we're not on the web, and not talking about him.)#

But the most revealing portrait of why Nader seems irrelevant to this year's contest is from Micah Safrey:

"Today, he's quoted in the New York Times as saying that he wasn't bothered by the fact that as of Saturday, he only had 375 people registered at Meetup.com, against 188,000 for Dean, 45,000 for Kerry, 23,000 for Kucinich and 9,000 for Edwards. In response, he says, 'I really don't deal with the Web. There isn't enough time in the day to go into virtual reality.'"

And this really cuts to the heart of why Nader is irrelevant; the conversation he wants to have with the country is on the web, but he is not.

Meetups do not a President, make.

Richard Tallent makes some predictions.#

5% of Dean's supporters will switch to Nader.

Sharpton's campaign is just a way to make a living and market himself for air time, speeches, books, etc. He won't drop out until he gets arrested for something...

Rands on Writing explains his process.#

The crucial step. Something popping into my head that I feel is relevant. This happens to me many times during the day... no particular clustering around morning, afternoon, or evening, but coffee is often nearby. Maniacal idea poppers write every single pop down, I don't because, yes, it's a rule. The rule is "if you don't write it down, it never happened". I believe in this rule in other situations, but I don't let it hinder me when it comes to the Idea Pop. The main reason being that just because it popped once doesn't mean it's worth my time. I usually wait for a multiple pop-situation before I write it down.

I basically never plan or revise or let thing stew. I write them through, publish, and fix changes if someone else reads it. I think it may do me well to have a bit more a process but I think at first I would not write as much.

Maybe I will try something different with my Roma Journals.

Bill Poser has news about the monolingual dinosaurs.#

Chuck T. writes about Nader.#

I just finished watching Ralph Nader announce his bid for presidency on "Meet the Press". Damn you Nader! Not for running again, but running for the same good reasons and reminding me why I voted for him in 2000. Only this time I will resist his clarion call. Nearly every progressive-minded individual will resist him, if not outright condemn him. Yes, the two-party system sucks. Yes, Washington is full of corporate lapdogs. Yes, we need to change all that. But you know what? First we need to get this fucker out of the White House. Period.

I'm gonna stay 18 forever... so we can stay like this forever. (You're just jealous cause we're young and in love.)#

I can't help but laugh at this story from Matt May about air travel.#

I explained my situation to the American rep at the counter in Dallas, preparing to make pleading eyes. Instead, he looked down at the terminal, punched four keys, and handed me a new boarding pass.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Fuck United Airlines. Fuck them right in the ear.

The pleasure we find from the misfortune of others come from the same place as the pain we feel at our own misfortune.

Bob Herbert shows his spots.#

In light of these changes, said Senator Schumer, we should at least be asking some tough questions about the real-world effects of free trade as we've known it.

Referring to David Ricardo, the 19th-century British economist whose theory of comparative advantage became the basis of free trade, Mr. Schumer said: "Ricardo set up a model that served very, very well for a very long time. But now there are new facts on the ground."

The biggest and most ominous new fact for American workers is the dreadful employment environment of the current economic expansion. In terms of job creation, it's the worst expansion on record.

Paul Krugman from 1996.

I like Russel Beattie's idea on how to clean up Atom.#

Philip Greenspun writes about The Fog of War.#

The first depressing take-away from the movie is that our intelligence efforts are almost worthless. The CIA assured JFK that the Russians did not have nuclear warheads in Cuba at the time of the crisis. The missiles were in place and the warheads on their way. In fact it seems that the warheads were already in Cuba at the time of the dispute. Not only that but Fidel Castro met McNamara face-to-face in the 1990s and said that he'd recommended to the Russians that they use them even though he knew that Cuba would be destroyed and all of its citizens killed. (N.B.: Personal ownership of a third-world country is a beautiful thing!)

Chip Gibbons on how rationality is being weeded out of the species.#

There is no such thing as a "public interest" or "public good" and forcing individuals to believe in it, is forcing them to be delusional. There is no such thing as a "right" to take another man's money or property but the government would have us believe that there is. If the environment requires that individuals believe in things that don't exist in order to survive, than human beings that are better adapted genetically to delusion will thrive and pass along their genes to the next generation.

Gary North writes about the "implosion" of the American Empire.#

The war in Iraq has been costly in every sense, yet Americans still are paying higher prices at the gasoline pump. The price of oil has risen. The flow of oil out of Iraq today barely trickles. The pipelines cannot be defended by our troops. They are being blown up, although the media rarely report this. The Iraq adventure has now become a vast foreign aid program, and Americans do not like foreign aid programs. The do not like to share the wealth. They want to get their hands on the wealth confiscated politically from their neighbors. They resent foreign interlopers who tap into the flow of stolen goods.

(He goes on to suggest that the West and Israel should launch pointed nuclear attacks on Mecca and Medina to destroy the will of Islam.)

I love Michael Feldman's stories. I can't believe they're real.#

Two days to the Ecuadorian border, two days to hitchhike across Ecuador, then another day in the back of a truck to get from the Columbian border to Cali. Subsisting on leftovers and hand-outs, local travelers feeling sorry for the obviously mad, starving gringo, restaurant owners with pity or scraps to spare, we inched our way northward on the map. By the time we got to the airport we were starving, filthy, semi-delirious and odorific.

William Safire writes about Free Trade.#

I stand here before you in my $24 Rockport shoes — yes, I went and bought a pair; my momma didn't raise no fool — and say yes, there are "two Americas."

Pessimistic America is pandered to by politicians demanding tariff walls and costly entitlements, preaching resentment, envy, anger, class war.

Optimistic America responds to competition, opportunity, openness, freedom — ready to do the business that not only creates tomorrow's jobs but spreads the prosperity that leads to peace around the world.

My friends, I've chosen my America. I hope it's yours.

Richard writes more in my favourite style of his, much like Lesbian Kisses: Not Shocking.#

She links to a multicoloured rant on the subject, amounting to "who the fuck cares as long as you're in love with the person". That's my attitude. (That's been my attitude since a year or so ago: it took longer than expected for me to get to that point.) An Asian female friend once emailed me asking why I hadn't responded to her writing about her newfound interest in white guys, and I told her that I read it but didn't think it needed responding to. So she liked white guys. And so skin colour or other physical attributes are a factor in whether a girl likes someone. Like that's news to anybody.

Richard also help me with some French, he's a pal.

Charley Reese thinks Bush vs. Kerry will be interesting.#

At any rate, a Kerry-Bush contest will be interesting. We can all expect a dirty campaign, but however much the Republican strategists try to spin it, this campaign, like all campaigns against an incumbent, will be a referendum on George Bush's administration. If people are happy with it, he'll be re-elected; if not, whoever the Democratic nominee is will go to the White House.

Look what happened to Bush's father. Bill Clinton had no credentials, no impressive résumé, yet he beat the elder Bush. Why? Because most people weren't voting for Clinton, they were voting against Bush. We'll see how it goes this time.

Michael Feldman talks about disappearing cultures.#

The Dowbrigade has written previously on the ongoing disappearance of indigenous cultures around the world. We realize it is not a question of somehow preserving these cultures like some kind of exotic insects frozen in amber. Rather, we must search for a form of engagement which allows each culture to learn and benefit from the other, enriching without destroying.

I was talking to Lee about this and, being Lee, he measures things in terms of unique languages. In North America, prior to the European colonization, there were between 1000 and 520 (the later is Lee's quote) languages of natives. Today there are between 700 and 480 (same sources.)

Lee's point: Yes, there are some cultures that are disappearing. But only losing 40 out of 520 is not bad.

I got the impression that he felt this was an example of the outsiders of a field being much more enthusiastic about something than the people who are actually involved... something that has been on my mind because of Nation article on Women's organizations and outsiders who claim they don't do enough.

The New York Times on Ralph Nader...#

The most regrettable thing about Mr. Nader's new candidacy is not how it is likely to affect the election, but how it will affect Mr. Nader's own legacy. Ralph Nader has been one of the giants of the American reform movement. His crusades for consumer rights and product safety alone should earn him a place in history. But he has always been an outsider, and his candidacy in 2000 seemed fueled by bitterness at the way he had been marginalized in Democratic politics. His anger is understandable, but it would be a tragedy if Mr. Nader allowed it to give the story of his career a sad and bitter ending.

Chip Gibbons writes about Ralph Nader's announcement.#

This is just one more reason to turn off the TV until after November.

Can you imagine what kind of impact it would have on advertisers, and in turn on politics if everybody turned off their TV for the next eight months? It's far more powerful than voting. Think about it. Imagine all the networks in a panic because a huge number of people turn off their TVs to avoid the huge insult that this presidential race is to truth, freedom and the American people.

Oliver Willis writes about how not everyone with support should get a say in democracy.#

I don't think Nader will have much of an effect, because 90% of the people who voted for him before understand that the parties are not "the same" as Nader keeps intoning in that zombie-like monotone. If there is any group of people out there dumb enough to vote for Ralph, they get the government they deserve. As a Democrat, I don't think the party should bow down at Nader's feet to let him have any say. Unless he polls within the acceptable number he shouldn't be in the debates (unless you plan to allow the entire cast of loons in).

<sarcasm>I completely agree.</sarcasm>