It seems just about everyone is on autopilot these days. I talk about the importance of critical thinking in a time when it seems to be severely lacking.
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Why impeachment is imperative |
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Written by Brian Houser
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Sunday, 03 August 2008 14:52 |
On the evening of June 9, Representative Dennis Kucinich introduced a resolution in the House to impeach President Bush. The resolution cites 35 counts of high crimes and misdemeanors committed by President Bush stemming from his use of warrantless wiretaps and other violations of FISA, the illegal invasion of Iraq and the use of propaganda to promote the war, violations of the Constitution and Geneva Conventions in regards to detainment of his self-created category of "enemy combatants", involvement in the Plame Affair and subsequent commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence, and many others. The list is long. In short, during his administration, President Bush has done egregious damage to our system of law. He has been arrogant in his flouting of the Constitution and other high laws. In fact, Bush himself has even admitted his unlawfulness on several occasions. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 August 2008 21:02 |
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Reaching the digital preference point |
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Written by Brian Houser
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Monday, 28 July 2008 22:12 |
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It happened sooner than I expected: earlier this week I reached what I'm calling the "digital preference point (DPP)". I realized, where possible, I now prefer acquring stuff in digital format rather than in physical form. I already had been getting a lot of bills via email and the web rather than by regular mail. And the Amazon Kindle nudged me further in the digital direction--it's great having so many books portable and searchable instead of taking up space in the house. But I hadn't really made the switch with music. That was mainly because I refused to deal with low quality DRM'ed selections from the online vendors. But that all changed this year with Amazon MP3s and iTunes Plus. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 28 July 2008 22:56 |
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Kindle at the beach |
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Written by Brian Houser
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Monday, 14 July 2008 15:39 |
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 Ever since it was released last year, I'd been considering buying an Amazon Kindle. I had a few concerns, including the price and wondering if the next generation would be coming out anytime soon. But I finally gave in to the temptation a couple of weeks ago when I was getting ready for a week's vacation at the beach.
I always look forward to having some good quality time for reading at the beach. I pick out a new book or two that I really want to dig into during the week. But the book I really wanted to read this year, Team of Rivals, weighs in at 944 pages, and I wasn't looking forward to lugging that three blocks to and from the beach each day. So, the time was right to get a Kindle.
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Learning to play the piano: it's just hard |
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Written by Brian Houser
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Sunday, 13 April 2008 13:20 |
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One of my lifelong goals has been to learn to play the piano. That seems like a natural desire for me since my parents both have strong musical talents including having been music teachers and church musicians. In fact, my mother has long taught piano lessons, and attempted to teach me as a kid.
It didn't take.
I had two problems: the main one was that I just couldn't stay dedicated enough to practice as much as I apparently needed to; the other was that I didn't seem to be coordinated enough to be able to move more than one finger at a time.
Well, I recently purchased a musical keyboard in hopes of finally learning. I have been using a combination of a book and software program to pick up where I left off so many years ago. Not the same personal touch as Mom, but it seems to be going OK so far. |
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Last Updated on Saturday, 26 July 2008 19:24 |
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Beware of Adobe rebate fraud |
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Written by Brian Houser
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Sunday, 24 February 2008 13:15 |
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I just want to put a warning out there for anyone counting on the rebate for Adobe products. You might get the rebate, but it's going to take some work. |
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