A pen is like a scholarship to these children

You should go to Eschaton and read the whole post, but I wanted you to see this.

It seems that the children of Afghanistan want nothing more than they want a pen.

It was explained to me that the villages through which I traveled (near Kandahar, where I’m based) are so poor that a pen is like a scholarship to these children. They desperately want to learn but, without a pen, they simply won’t. It’s a long story. I won’t bore you with it. Trust me, though, when I say that it would be a big deal if even a few of you could put up the call for pens for me. Anyone interested in helping out could either send some directly to me or go to these sites and send them, where you can find them for as cheap as $.89 a dozen.

You can send them to me at this address:

Terry L. Welch
105th MPAD
Kandahar Public Affairs Office
APO AE 09355

Atrios edited the sites Welch included but says Office Max works.

The Daily Show, simply the best

Rob Corddry: How does one report the facts in an unbiased way when the facts themselves are biased?

Jon Stewart: I’m sorry, Rob, did you say the facts are biased?

Corddry: That’s right Jon. From the names of our fallen soldiers to the gradual withdrawal of our allies to the growing insurgency, it’s become all too clear that facts in Iraq have an anti-Bush agenda.

AND

Jon Stewart: Stephen, what do you think about this idea that we are hearing from Rumsfeld, and now Sen. Inhofe, that the press was somehow irresponsible for releasing these photos of abuse?

Stephen Colbert: Jon, I agree entirely with Secy Rumsfeld that the release of these photos was deplorable, but these actions of a few rogue journalists do not represent the vast majority of the American media.

Stewart: The journalists did something wrong?

Colbert: I’m just saying those journalists don’t represent the journalists I know. The journalists I know love America, but now all anybody wants to talk about is the bad journalists–the journalists that hurt America.

But what they don’t talk about is all the amazingly damaging things we haven’t reported on. Who didn’t uncover the flaws in our pre-war intelligence? Who gave a free pass on the Saddam-al Queda connection? Who dropped Aghanistan from the headlines at the first whiff of this Iraqi snipehunt? The United States press corps, that’s who. Heck, we didn’t even put this story on the front page. We tried to bury it on “60 Minutes II.” Who’s on that–Charlie Rose and Angela Lansbury?

Stewart: Stephen, what do you think is at play here?

Colbert: Politics, Jon, that’s what. Pure and simple. I think it’s pretty suspicious that these tortures took place during a Presidential campaign. This is a clear cut case of partisan sadism. You know, come to think of it, I’m pretty sure those Iraqi prisoners want Bush out of office too. You know I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if a pile of hooded, naked Iraqis has a job waiting for them in the Kerry Administration.

An increasing number of states that are nearly evenly divided

Adam Nagourney reports on the increasing importance of Arizona and Colorado in the presidential campaign.

The broad map, including such unusual additions as Arizona, Colorado and Louisiana as well as the traditionally contested states like Ohio, is partly the result of the vast amount of money each candidate has raised and their decision to quit a campaign finance system that would put a ceiling on their spending. That has allowed Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry to spend – and experiment – in states they might otherwise have been forced to ignore, campaign aides said.

The new map also reflects demographic shifts that have put places like Arizona, a nominally Republican state, in play because of its growing Hispanic population, as well as polling that has found an increasing number of states that are nearly evenly divided.

Read more and check out the great graphics (link in sidebar of Times article).

Tough place to be sick

The Albuquerque Tribune reports —

According to 2002 U.S. Census figures, New Mexico, at about 21 percent, has the second-worst rate of uninsured after Texas. The national average is 15 percent.

About 73 percent of the state’s uninsured are ages 19 to 64 and not covered by Medicaid or Medicare.

Fewer than half of New Mexico employers offer health insurance – 49.7 percent, compared with 62.6 percent nationally.

And the state has a higher rate of children without health insurance – 15 percent vs. 12 percent nationally.

Etymology of the f-word

South Knox Bubba, in the post linked below, questions whether people had even heard of the f-word at the time of Deadwood (1876). Indeed they had, as the American Heritage Dictionary tells us.

The obscenity fuck is a very old word and has been considered shocking from the first, though it is seen in print much more often now than in the past. Its first known occurrence, in code because of its unacceptability, is in a poem composed in a mixture of Latin and English sometime before 1500. The poem, which satirizes the Carmelite friars of Cambridge, England, takes its title, “Flen flyys,” from the first words of its opening line, “Flen, flyys, and freris,” that is, “fleas, flies, and friars.” The line that contains fuck reads “Non sunt in coeli, quia gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk.” The Latin words “Non sunt in coeli, quia,” mean “they [the friars] are not in heaven, since.” The code “gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk” is easily broken by simply substituting the preceding letter in the alphabet, keeping in mind differences in the alphabet and in spelling between then and now: i was then used for both i and j; v was used for both u and v; and vv was used for w. This yields “fvccant [a fake Latin form] vvivys of heli.” The whole thus reads in translation: “They are not in heaven because they fuck wives of Ely [a town near Cambridge].”

Personal aside: NewMexiKen attended a high school run by the Carmelite Fathers. Knowledge of this poem then would have been both lucrative and dangerous.

Family values

Story from The New York Times —

President Bush will be going to three college commencements in coming weeks — but not those of his twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.

Mr. Bush and his wife, Laura, said they did not want to subject other families to the disruptions of a presidential visit when Barbara Bush graduates from Yale University on May 24 in New Haven and Jenna Bush graduates from the University of Texas on May 22 in Austin.

Mr. Bush turned down an invitation to speak at the Texas ceremony. But he will give a commencement address at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and at Concordia University in Mequon, Wis.

You don’t suppose this has anything to do with Connecticut and Texas not being in play and that Colorado, Louisiana and Wisconsin are “battleground states,” do you? [Colorado has come into play, though technically not one of the “battleground states.”]

Thanks to Jesus’ General for the pointer.

When did Gray Davis get a personality transplant?

From Sideline Chatter in The Seattle Times —

If Los Angeles ever lands another NFL team, look for local rain-barrel sales to go through the roof.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see another football team here,” former California Gov. Gray Davis told ESPN.com. “The NFL keeps claiming they’re going to come here. It may happen.

“It could also rain beer.”

Admittedly not that funny, but for Gray Davis amazing.

Albuquerque number one

For the sixth year Forbes has evaluated 150 metro areas and 168 smaller places to find the best for business and careers.

The best metro areas to launch a business or a career often revolve around universities that offer a diverse, educated work force and, especially when they are far from big cities, relatively low costs. Such regions–Raleigh, Austin and Ann Arbor among them–are also attractive places to live, judging by the patterns of migration.

Top 10 Metropolitan Areas

1. Madison, WI
2. Raleigh-Durham, NC
3. Austin, TX
4. Washington, DC
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Provo, UT
7. Boise, ID
8. Huntsville, AL
9. Lexington, KY
10. Richmond, VA

NewMexiKen’s very own Albuquerque ranks 12th overall, and number one for the lowest cost of doing business.

The top small place is Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Buckle up

From a report in Native Times —

Motor vehicle crashes are the third leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaskan Natives, according to the Indian Health Service. According to Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, the death rate from motor vehicle crashes among American Indians is 2.5 times higher than the general population….Indians also had the lowest seat belt use rate.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs plans aggressive enforcement during the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign.

Most Americans are concerned

According to Gallup (polling May 7-9) 79% of Americans are bothered a “great deal” (54%) or a “fair amount” (25%) by the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. 73% think there are no circumstances that would justify the behavior. 71% think the offenses are serious.

Outrage

NewMexiKen is just outraged that anyone can think that the behavior toward the captives in Iraq (and likely elsewhere) is justified under any circumstances. What kind of people are we becoming?

And, though I think that individual soldiers are culpable — they should know right from wrong — it’s their military and our political leaders we need to hold responsible.

Senator Inhofe said he was “more outraged by the outrage than…by the treatment.” I, among many, am outraged at Senator Inhofe.

Idiots, we’re represented by idiots

The sanctimonious, self-serving jerks who serve in the U.S. Senate like Daniel Inhofe are too much for NewMexiKen. Today Inhofe said,

The idea that these prisoners, they’re not there for traffic violations. If they’re in cell block 1A or 1B, these prisoners, they’re murderers, they’re terrorists, they’re insurgents, and many of them probably have American blood probably on their hands and here we’re so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.

The Red Cross tells us however, that “military intelligence officers told the ICRC that in their estimate between 70% and 90% of the persons deprived of their liberty in Iraq had been arrested by mistake.”

Furthermore, the purpose of the Geneva Convention is to protect our servicemen should they be captured. It’s a reciprocal agreement among civilized nations, of which we presume to be one.

Pointer via Kos.

Update: CNN implied McCain walked out on Inhofe’s remarks. They all should have!

Going the distance

The New York Times has an article on Ethiopian long-distance runners today (Tuesday). It’s worth reading. NewMexiKen thought the following gave some indication of how important running is to the world’s fourth poorest country (but one never colonized by Europeans).

The social event of last summer in Addis Ababa was the June wedding of the reigning men’s Olympic marathon champion, Gezahegne Abera, to Elfenesh Alemu, who finished second in the women’s race at the Boston Marathon last month.

The wedding was at the national stadium, and the train on the bride’s dress circled the quarter-mile track and was carried by scores of schoolchildren.

It’s a good article.