I think my drinking team has a cooking problem. In any case, I present “Pinatas and Weird Women: The Chet Farmer Rodeo Story.”

Here’s a lovely snapshot from 1983. That’s Rumsfeld on the left. I expect you know who the guy on the right is. Nice ‘stache.It’s not a “liberal conspiracy.” We really were buddy-buddy with WMD-using Saddam back then.

Glengarry Glen remix.

(It should be obvious that you’ll need headphones or privacy, if not both.)

Career US Diplomat John Brady Kiesling has submitted his resignation, citing the incompatibility of our nation’s current policies with our stated values. His letter to Mr. Powell is available at the New York Times (free registration required; use nogators/nogators).

The policies we are now asked to advance are incompatible not only with American values but also with American interests. Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been Americaâs most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson. We have begun to dismantle the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known. Our current course will bring instability and danger, not security.

You may think they’re okay, they’re charming, they’re quiet, even elegant. But don’t be fooled. Blimps are evil.

This site — at a house.gov domain, no less — documents a number of occasions when Mr Bush has said one thing, but enacted policies more or less diametrically opposed to his rhetoric.

PBS icon Fred Rogers died today, after a brief battle with stomach cancer. He was 74.

While his last episode aired more than a year ago, I enjoyed just knowing he was out there, and hoped he’d somehow make it until I had children of my own. Even in retirement, though, he was still around — he taped a new segment last September, about how to deal with the frightening images on television associated with the 9/11 anniversary.

Over the last few years, Mr. Rogers was the recipient of many awards and tributes, including a Salon Brilliant Careers column, an Esquire cover (for an issue devoted to heroes), a lifetime achievement Emmy (plus 4 other “conventional” Emmys), induction to the Broadcasting Hall of Fame (4 years ago today, in fact), a Peabody Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

There’s plenty of coverage on the web, of course. I’ll call your attention to the PBS release, as well as to an editorial at CNN. The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s coverage includes a selection of quotes from Mr. Rogers. This one’s worth remembering: “There’s a generous current in the American spirit. And if we can simply give voice to that once in a while, I think it’s a good message.”

More: Salon has posted another encomium that’s worth your time.

…we change stuff just because we can.

Herr Ashcroft’s Justice Department has started raiding online head shops in an effort to reduce the supply of “drug paraphenalia.” Excellent work, Mr. Ashcroft. I can only assume you’ve solved that domestic terrorism problem, seeing as how you have time to chase Internet bong vendors. Way to go.

BoingBoing editor and SF author (and EFF evangelist) Cory Doctorow has published his first novel. I read it yesterday; it’s a blast. You can buy it via Cory’s site or, if you prefer, download it for free.

There are 162 ZIP codes for New York City, New York.

Moose 1, Car 0.

There’s a touring exhibit of The Quilts of Gee’s Bend that’s well worth seeing. The creativity here is amazing, especially in light of the fact that quilting is an activity of necessity for these women.

We need someone to point out the madness happening daily, and being done in our name.

It’s not what you think. Some guy in California made his own weather balloon, which he launched and recovered. It included an on-board mini-Linux box recording (and reporting, via packet radio) altitude, temperature, and position via a GPS. Thanks to a small digital camera, it also took pictures.

If you’re anything like me, the answer to your next question is “nearly 80,000 feet.”

…since there are some things man was not meant to adapt to musical theater.

Wireframe skeleton. I’m pretty sure I cited this before, but the archives got hosed, so here it is again.

The White House cited a completely nonexistent report in stumping for its tax cut.

Danger, Inc. — the folks who make the gadget I mentioned earlier — have a facility on their site to support mobile blogging; obviously, I have to take part. There’s no much there now, but since the device can take pictures and post them, I suspect we’ll have some amusing bits later today.

Taking the idea a bit further is Hiptop Nation, a communal weblog to which anyone with a Danger device can contribute. Interesting notion; I’m interested to see how both bits pan out.

Take the HP Lovecraft Sani-Test and find out. I’m particularly interested to see how Padgett scores.

Paige Padgett.

We’re marooned at the cookoff. We’re 500 yards from the car and it’s come up a damn monsoon.

Fortunately, there’s an awful lot of beer here. And a zydeco band. It could be worse. We could be in New Jersey.

Maybe we should just duct-tape the border. Or, even better, stop hiring idiots to do customs screening.

Johnny Paycheck died. Make up your own joke.

How much do ferris wheels cost?

But it’s still funny. (Thanks to Senior Video Editing Correspondent D. Nutt for this catch.)

I expect this guy may have been confused. I wonder if he tried to reload the game upon being busted?

I think this might work better with sheep’s blood, but these days maybe duct tape is the next best thing.

Thanks to sharp-eyed Senior NoGators Montrose Architectural & Duct Tape Anomaly Correspondent E. O. Corn.

If you’re like me, you have concerns about U.S. intellectual property law. Maybe you just have some questions. In that case, I direct you to the U.S. Copyright Office’s Frequently Asked Question list. In fact, I strongly suggest that you investigate question #58.

My friends and I, well, we’re concerned about our Republic. Consequently, we sought out our local chapter of the ACLU, since supporting 9 out of 10 Amendments ain’t bad. It seems, at least according to the local pseudo-alt paper, that they meet at La Mexicana for happy hours on the first Thursday of each month, so in early January, there we were.

Completely alone. Yup, nobody there. Well, we thought, perhaps they’ve taken a bye on January; it was very soon after the holidays. We’ll try again in February.

And so we did. This time, we check both the Press and their local web site. Enter problem the first: they disagree. The Press says they’ll meet at La Mexicana, as expected, but the site says Cafe Noche. Fortunately, they’re across the street from each other, so once again we set out to support our civil liberties.

There was, of course, no one at Noche. Nor was there anyone at Mexicana, and at neither place did any employees know of such a gathering.

Frustrated, I called the number supplied in the Press. I reached Annette Lamoreaux, or at least her voice mail. I left her a message including the following points:

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Some folks at Harvard are doing groundbreaking work in the new field of Squirrel Fishing.

For years in the mid-nineties, I enjoyed a band called Morphine. It was a minimalist, laconic, jazzy three-piece made up of Mark Sandman (vocals, 2-String Slide Bass), Dana Colley (baritone, tenor, and double saxophones) and Billy Conway (drums). The odd mix of instruments coupled with Sandman’s voice made for a very distinctive sound, even without considering their songwriting talent. Here’s a sample from Cure for Pain).

On July 3, 1999, Morphine were playing a show just outside Rome. During the second song of the set, Mark Sandman had a massive heart attack. He collapsed, and died en route to the hospital. He was 46 years old. (Obits from Boston Phoenix and Salon.) Posthumously, the band released what many think of as their strongest record, The Night.

If you enjoyed Morphine, or just enjoyed the track I supplied above, you might look into Twinemen. Conway and Colley, joined by Laurie Sargent, are still making music. They don’t have Mark anymore, but the samples from the site were enough to convince me to order the record.

The Bush Administration failed to request any aid monies to help rebuild Afghanistan. Congress has stepped in. What the hell were they thinking? If we’d done right by those folks 20 years ago, I suspect we’d be in better shape now.

(The link is now correct. NoGators thanks sharp-eyed Senior Jackson Legal Correspondent Triple-F for catching the error.)

Here’s some of that stuff you’ll need.

Masturbate for Peace.

I’m posting this with a Danger “HipTop” device at a T-Mobile store while I wait for my phone to get fixed. According to BoingBoing, you can get these for free (as in beer, Mike) at Amazon. Tempting.

Congress grows a spine. The Pentagon’s Total Information Awareness meets legislative roadblock in the form of a Senate provision prohibiting its use to monitor Americans’ email, or do further research on the program without Congressional oversight.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., senior Democrat on the subcommittee, said of the program, “Jerry’s [Lewis, R-CA, head of the defense appropriation subcommittee] against it, and I’m against it, so we kept the Senate amendment.” Of the Pentagon, he said, “They’ve got some crazy people over there.”

Slightly different than it ever was.

This is clearly something we should do at my next party. When we’re drunk.

Flyguy.

Here is a mouse accelerator for OS X. I’ve been grousing for one for weeks.

If I said to you “pencil carving,” I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have this in mind. Don’t miss the gallery. There’s one with actual ball-and-socket joints.

Which of you can figure out how this works?

I realized that a similar trick has been passed around before. It may be a little easier to figure out, but it’s also cool.

These two sort of define a genre of “web based slight-of-hand.” It’s sort of neat to think there’s room for such a thing.

Salon has coverage today.

Grover is Bitter.

This is my favorite picture ever of two basketball players and a pop star. Really.

The Bush administration is now claiming that marijuana poses a greater health risk than any other drug. Whew! I guess we can stop worrying about heroin and crack now, huh?

This about covers it.

The General Accounting Office has decided not to appeal in its quest for access to Cheney’s energy task force information. Damn.

Ashcroft, et. al., are busy drafting a sequal to the civil liberties disaster passed in the hysteria following 9/11, the USA PATRIOT act. This sweeping new “ domestic security” law set to ride roughshod over our already endangered Bill of Rights.

Dr. David Cole, Georgetown University Law professor and author of Terrorism and the Constitution, reviewed the draft legislation at the request of the Center, and said that the legislation “raises a lot of serious concerns. It’s troubling that they have gotten this far along and they’ve been telling people there is nothing in the works.” This proposed law, he added, “would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize secret arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive ‘suspicion,’ create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups.”

The link is slow; please give it time. (Via BoingBoing.net)

I’m sorry I keep harping on this, but damn, it’s so amazingly wrong I don’t know what else to do.

Thank goodness someone’s explained the Theory of Relativity in words of 4 letters or less.