Fred Thompson Running Game on the Neo-cons

Fred Thompson has spoken. Wonkette nailed this back in March.

All of the sudden, he's the furthest right of the Republican Presidential candidates. And don't forget, the ladies love him.

Troop Levels In Iraq At Record High

It was announced today that there are now approximately 168,000 US troops in Iraq, which is an all time high. Could this be the reason that we are now 'kicking ass in Iraq'?

I find myself wondering why we didn't just send in more troops to begin with, but I have to stop because it makes my brain hurt.

Atlanta Christian Rock Band Hits #2 On Billboard Charts

Ever since the advent of online music piracy, I have found the Billboard charts to be slightly dubious. Seriously, how accurate can these things be if the entire 18-34 year old market is listening to music in ways that aren't tracked by Billboard? That pretty much just leaves teenage girls and their mothers (ie, people who can't figure out how file sharing works) as the only people who are actually buying music, and this is made obvious by the persistent status of 'High School Musical' as the #1 album on the charts.

Oh, apparently fundamentalist Christians are still buying music, too:

"Casting Crowns, the McDonough-based Christian rock band, made history this week. The septet's third album, "The Altar and the Door," is easily the week's highest debut, selling 129,000 copies and landing at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. That puts it just behind sales powerhouse "High School Musical 2," which sits at No. 1 for a third week, according to Billboard magazine. Since "HSM2" is a soundtrack, Casting Crowns is the week's top-selling artist. That chart placement makes the album the highest-ever debut for an artist marketed solely through Christian channels and with no general market radio support."

Find the whole article here.

Why Didn't We Think of That?

Probably because we don't understand this phenomenon:


Basically, the story is that a 17-year-old girl is making $70,000 a month off her website.

Checking out the site, linked here, it's clear that she understands her market. I guess that's all it takes. . .

This just in: Republicans are God-Friendly

Wait, what does that even mean?

To Those of You that Say "No News is Good News":

Suck on this.

Wait, He's Not A Cyclist...

NEWS FLASH: MLB Players are still using illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

At what point does doping in professional sports stop being news? Are we enforcing a double standard by expecting inhuman performance from these athletes while requiring them to be human? Is it really all our fault?

Perhaps most importantly, can we still love Rick Ankiel as a great comeback story? Deadspin says yes.

But, She's Hot...

More kids become high school legends, this time right nearby in South Carolina.

Let me be the first to say:

The Crying Game

Apparently, "W" is not the only crier in the highest levels of our government.

The Race to the Bottom

Immigration is fast becoming the hot-button issue around the world.  Here in the US, we are building a huge fence along the border with our neighbors to the South. France and England have had to deal with huge numbers of immigrants over the last 10 years.

And now come the Swiss, with their reputation for tasty chocolate and obnoxious time-pieces, and do this:

There have been some concerns about the Swiss in the past; all of those numbered bank accounts that swelled up in the early 1940's come to mind immediately.  And to go along with the poster, lawmakers such as Dr Ulrich Schlüer are working on instituting draconian laws targetting immigrants; one proposed law would deport the entire family of any immigrant convicted of a crime.   Another proposed law would ban the building of minarets in Switzerland.

These laws seem to be ideologically closer to 1930's Germany than to the modern West; in fact, the family responsibility for criminal acts is very similar to the Nazi practice of Sippenhaft - kin liability.  When the EU's special rapporteur on racism, Doudou Diène, voiced his concerns about the new laws, Dr. Schlüer replied that perhaps Diène should focus on problems in his native Senegal and leave the Swiss the fuck alone (slight paraphrasing).  

The Discussion Point(s):  Given the current realities of international migration and immigration, how can a government be responsible to its citizens, and protect the interests of the people currently living there, without crossing the line into this sort of xenophobia and racism?  Where is that line?  

Delicious 2.0 preview

Techchrunch has an exclusive preview of Delicious 2.0.

For those of you that don't use it, Delicious is a great service; it allows you to take your bookmarks anywhere, and easily share bookmarks with friends.  Here's a little how-to.  You can even put a button in your browser to save the current page to your own bookmarks.

A Public Service Announcement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 
As implausible as it sounds, eating popcorn heated with microwave radiation after soaking them in genotoxic chemicals is bad for you.   Dr. Cecile Rose says so.  WebMD has picked up the trail. 

College “too easy” for 9-year-old

I wanted this story to be from the U.S. so that I could give a critique on how undergraduate work (at least in some areas) is the new high school, but it’s not, and I’m not going to go spouting off about foreign education systems.

However, in reading the short blurb, I came to think that the retractors — worried about the kid’s social development — possibly are right. Now, college certainly is a social endeavor in many respects, and I’d contend that you can learn if you want to, but it’s not required to get a degree (i.e. you don't have to learn anything to get answers right on a test). So, to want this kid to have a "normal" childhood is plausible.

On the other hand, my argument against the social development thing says to me if this kid is saying college classes are too easy, I think he’s going to have even more problems with social development in secondary school; the kids that are so incredibly bored are often the ones that have to find something else to do with their time, which is not always positive for them. Why not let the boy be challenged?

Televangelism continues to erode

As we've already introduced you to one of our our favorite TV preachers, here's another classic story of turmoil in the televangelism trenches, and no, (unfortunately) it does not involve MC Hammer.

For Those Having Baseball Withdrawals

Nerdy Statistics for Football.

Top Gun UK

News out of Russia keeps getting worse.

I doubt any of those limey flyboys could do an inverted 4g negative dive.

Support Your Local Law Rock Band

A friend of the Quail, Michael Melonakos, finds himself embroiled in a battle of the law rock bands and needs your help. His band's claim to be the 'Nation's Premiere Law Rock Band' has been challenged in the hallowed pages of the Wall Street Journal (Well, to be fair, its actually on the law blog on the Journal's web site, but nonetheless he needs your support).

So click here, check out the debate, and then use your superior arguing skills to crush those West Coast pansies. Thanks!

Welcome to The Big Show

While announcing on Leno last night, Fred Thompson was getting ripped at the debate.

Why is everyone so concerned about having a lazy president? How bad could it be?

Get Your Space Nerdiness Here

Wired has a photo essay commemorating the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Voyager 1 Probe. From Wikipedia:

"The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 733-kilogram robotic space probe of the outer solar system and beyond, launched September 5, 1977, and currently operational. It visited Jupiter and Saturn and was the first probe to provide detailed images of the moons of these planets."

In other space news, the designs for the first US space port in New Mexico have been released. A write up on the announcement can be found here.

Credit Market Woes Continue

The percentage of mortgage holders starting foreclosure proceedings hit a record high at .65 percent in the second quarter of 2007. There are signs that this won't let up anytime soon:

"an estimated 2 million adjustable rate mortgages are scheduled to reset this year at sharply higher interest rates, which will cause monthly payments in some cases to double or even triple."

Clearly this is bad news for all the people that bought houses using the cheap credit that has been readily available for the past 10 years, but it remains to be seen how it will affect the credit market as a whole. Some people seem to think that the sky is falling here, while others are claiming that the whole problem is mostly illusory.

EDIT: Someone at the Fed thinks this is a big deal.

Here We Go Again

The BBC reports that Israeli jets entered Syrian airspace early thursday morning and received fire from their air defense system.

There was a lot of talk in the Spring and early part of the Summer that Israeli was preparing for an offensive on terrorist groups in Lebanon. I am wondering if this is part of that rumored plan.

The Information Age Strikes Again

Being a future teacher, I'm sort of ambivalent on this one, but the state of Florida has released the permanent records of its teachers to the public.

This can go a couple ways: my libertarian side says that's a major violation of privacy, and that if the teacher is good enough to keep his or her job, then shouldn't that be the business of the school? If, say, a young teacher has a small misdemeanor on his or her record, that's probably not a big deal to most people, but at the same time, if it's a "morally reprehensible" act, it could change the perception of them for some parents.

On the other hand, the school systems can't always be trusted because there is such a dearth of teachers, and in the present age we really have to expect any and all information about ourselves to be public knowledge. As a future parent as well (probably), I'd imagine I would be fine knowing that my kid's teacher had been convicted for pedophila (ideally, they wouldn't be hired, but see the problem already stated in this paragraph).

I encourage everyone to weigh in on this: is it a violation of privacy for every single parent in Florida (and soon in other states as well) to have access to teachers' legal records? Is it their right to have that information?

Moreover, is it everyone's right to have information on everyone else just because the technology is available? Let us know.

Song/Video/Album Review: Kanye West

This is a bit old, but since the album isn't released until Tuesday, Sept. 11, it's still somewhat fresh. Our good friends at Idolator have given a rave review to Kanye West's new album, aptly titled (in reference to his previous records), Graduation.

However, I'm rather skeptical based on the following song and video, so have a quick look and listen:

I don't know: my (hopeful) analysis is that this is Kanye's cheeky take on Southern trap music (i.e. Jeezy or T.I. or something), but I just can't tell. He's never been the best rapper, but his clever lyrics and notorious wit seem conspicuously absent from this song; it just seems kind of lazy. That, and I consistently reflect my own opinions on the artist's intent (like we all do), hoping that my perception of him remains the same, even though he is a human being and is susceptible to change. Maybe I just don't like the song, but regardless, I hope that the album is much more appealing.

Anyhow, let us know what you think about the video, the album, Kanye in general, anything.

Just What We Need, Another Presidential Candidate

Fred Thompson plans to finally announce his candidacy to run for President; he will do so at 12:01 am Thursday on his website. I'm not totally sure what Thompson adds to the whole campaign aside from being an actor (like Reagan!), and, um, being pretty good with the ladies. Oh well, the more the merrier, right?

New Ipods Coming Soon

Hopefully you took our advice to hold off on purchasing that new Ipod, because Engadget has the scoop on the new Ipod that will be shipping soon. The highlights: Touchscreen (just like the iphone) and Wifi capability.

A Glimpse Into The Future?

Yesterday, the British Conservative party proposed a plan to stabilize the struggling National Health system. Their plan? Bribe healthy people into continuing their healthy ways, and refuse services to those who take part in unhealthy activities.

The Evening Standard has the story:

"Like a supermarket loyalty card, the points could be redeemed as discounts on gym membership and fresh fruit and vegetables, or even give priority for other public services - such as jumping the queue for council housing. But heavy smokers, the obese and binge drinkers who were a drain on the NHS could be denied some routine treatments such as hip replacements until they cleaned up their act."

As you might guess, I find this level of government intrusion troubling, but once you have nationalized health care this is how it has to be. The government can't just drop people from the plan if costs get out of control, so they must force people to live healthier (aka cheaper) lifestyles instead. Can someone explain to me why it isn't better to just allow people to pay for the services that they need, regardless of why they need these services?

Lets not forget that democratic candidate for president, John Edwards, has proposed that under a nationalized health system in the US check-ups would be mandatory.

Big Girls Don't Cry

The Tears of A Clown

2 Goats, To Go Please

In these trying times, it good to see some people are still sticking to their traditional values.

More Presidential Candidates Looking Like Douchebags

That's Sen. Sam Brownback speaking to a nearly empty room in New Hampshire. I think its clear that we can expect big things out of the Senator in the coming months.

App. State, more than just hippies

Since no mention has yet been made of one of the greatest sights ever seen in college football, we must say that Appalachian State's phenomenal victory in front of 109,000 depressed Michigan fans was pretty ridiculous.

Though every small school has hopes and dreams of coming into a top program's stadium and winning, it turns out that these App. State bloggers were actually right.

Need a new job?

Will Leitch, editor of Deadspin, offers a suggestion. I always wanted to join one of those focus groups, but figured they were bullshit. Apparently not.

More from the Battle of the Sexes

Yes, we love Slate magazine. Tim Harford, resident economist, has put together some interesting evidence regarding the fact that boys benefit from being in school with girls, while the opposite is not true.

Some things are just too good. . .

. . . not to post. Via Deadspin, this picture is just excellent. Just to give some context, this stunt was performed at the Colorado-Colorado State football game to promote water conservation.

God, not guns

Sure, it's an admirable request. But just as a point of argument, some might prefer God and Guns, or Guns and not God, but regardless, I'm not sure why the two have to be dichotomized as they are in this sense; there are plenty of options out there. For one, this editor doesn't really like gun violence and is relatively ambivalent toward God. So there you go.

But, as long as robots don't have guns, I think we're all better off.

Shocking New Study Reveals Ugly Truth...

men prefer attractive women! I'm glad they finally cleared that up. (Thanks Mike).

As an addendum, I'd like to point out that the reverse is not necessarily true.

Russian Propaganda Machine Rolls On

If you are anything like me, you didn't do much reading this weekend. In that case, you missed a 10-page special advertising section in the Washington Post extolling the virtues of the new Russia. Two of my favorite sections:

- When a little paranoia is good for you - About protecting the Russian language in former Soviet satellite states.
- Why the Russians explore the Arctic - Briefly establishes Russia's claims to the disputed territory in the Arctic.

Also, check here for Slate's take on the segment.

The War On Drugs, Still Not Working

The Tierneylab Blog at The New York Times has a report on current issues in the war on drugs. There is an especially interesting section that discusses how US policies on drugs have spread world-wide; here is a relevant quote:

"Looking to the United States as a role model for drug control is like looking to apartheid-era South Africa for how to deal with race"

Read the whole piece here.

SNL Bites The Hand That Feeds It

Another excellent clip from the people that brought us that whole 'dick in a box' phenomenon.

PLA Accused Of Hacking Pentagon Computers

The Financial Times reports:

"The Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department, say American officials. The Pentagon acknowledged shutting down part of a computer system serving the office of Robert Gates, defence secretary, but declined to say who it believed was behind the attack. Current and former officials have told the Financial Times an internal investigation has revealed that the incursion came from the People’s Liberation Army."

Read the full story here.

Shibam, Yemen

Here are some pretty amazing pictures of a 500 year old city in the Yemeni desert featuring towering buidings made of mud. Although it is affectionately known as the 'Manhattan of the Desert,' it is now home to only about 7000 people.

Just about 4,000 years too late

If only Pharoah had had a bridge over the Red Sea, then maybe Moses wouldn't have gotten away.

In all seriousness, though, this new construction project is aimed to promote commerce between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula — an interesting development all its own.

Hillary, meet Jesus

This editor of the Pasty Quail is personally reserving judgment on Hillary Clinton's religious beliefs.

You (nor the other editors here) are by no means held to this same reservation. Please comment — the Left's embrace of religio-political rhetoric is paramount to the coming election. . .