ambivalent bits

MovableType Licenses:
In case you'd like to read the details of what you'll be getting into if you decide to upgrade.

100 Reasons Not to Vote for Bush:

The Dead End of Lesser Evilism:
In an "Open Letter to Ralph Nader" (Feb. 16, 2004), The Nation rashly predicted: "The odds of this becoming a race between Bush and Bush Lite are almost nil." Famous last words. Whether one calls him Bush Lite or a "kinder and gentler Bush," that is exactly what Kerry has turned out to be. And he more closely resembles the real thing with each passing day.

White House Tries to Rein In Scientists:
The request is the latest instance in which the Bush administration has been accused of allowing politics to intrude into once-sacrosanct areas of scientific deliberation.

SCOTUS Rejects Death Row Appeals:
The US Supreme Court refused to strike down the death sentences of about 100 convicts who argued their punishments should have been decided by a jury instead of a judge.

Court won't order Cheney papers released:
Justice Scalia refused to apologize for protecting his duck-hunting buddy.

U.S. abandons bid to extend war crimes immunity

Kerry/Dean 2004
Why isn't this poll in the headlines?

"the phallic equivalent of a scalp"
The story of how President Bush ended up with Saddam Hussein's pistol mounted in his private study off the Oval Office has dribbled out in the last few weeks, and it is a good one.

Jason's NYC Subway Rules:
Apply these to the D.C. Metro, as well, please. Stand right, walk left!!!!

The Plain Truth:
Of all the ways Mr. Bush persuaded Americans to back the invasion of Iraq last year, the most plainly dishonest was his effort to link his war of choice with the battle against terrorists worldwide.

Law School Discussion.org:
Talk talk talk (apparently from Andrew Sinclair, maker of the Tortfeasor and the new Miss Feasance t-shirts)

Wanted: Legal Superstars:
After three years of belt-tightening, law firms are hotly competing again for lawyers who can defend executives charged with fraud or understand engineering and other highly technical fields.

Sneak Peak:
Clips from "The Hunting of the President."

Scientists Demonstrate Teleportation with Atoms:
"There are quite a few implications ... more on the scientific side," Blatt said. "We are far away from beamers, like beam me up Scotty," he added. Damn!

U.S. Constitution on your iPod:
Have the full Constitution at your fingertips wherever you go, thanks to the American Constitution Society.

RSS: The Next Generation:
A roundup of Mac OS newsreaders.

iPod/iRaq Mock Posters:
What are these posters saying?

Jet-Powered PDA for Astronauts:
Astronauts really needed something that acted like a 'tricorder' device, like they had on Star Trek," said Gregory Dorais, the robot's program manager.

Gmail Swap:
Geeks on the loose: Swap your extra Gmail invitations for someone's eternal thanks. Then you, too, can be ultra-techno-cool!

TiVo Breaks Into Home Networks:
I guess that Home Media Option "free trial" is now permanent. Hooray!

Wireless iPod?
Just speculation, but certainly a neat idea. Completely unnecessary, yes, but neat.

Supersize Me guy has become big cheese:
Only in America could a guy take a movie that cost a mere $65,000 to produce and use it to embarrass and wig out a multibillion-dollar international corporation.

Doctors threaten to refuse treatment for plaintiffs' attorneys:
"RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association notify physicians that, except in emergencies and except as otherwise required by law or other professional regulation, it is not unethical to refuse care to plaintiffs' attorneys and their spouses."

Memo Says Bush Not Restricted by Torture Bans:
"It's like saying the Earth is flat. That's the equivalent of what they're doing with saying that the prohibition of torture doesn't apply to the president," said Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Dean Plots Comeback:
Howard Dean has jumped back into this year's elections, urging support for his old nemesis, John Kerry, and promoting himself as a spokesman for the progressive wing in the Democratic Party.

Bush turns campaign site into tribute to Reagan:
If you don't think President Bush's campaign is trying to gain political advantage from Ronald Reagan's memory, take a look at his campaign website.

Text Messages May Turn Up in Bryant Case:
A few hours after NBA star Kobe Bryant had sex with a Vail-area hotel worker last summer, the woman exchanged cell phone text messages with a former boyfriend and someone else. What's in those messages could help determine whether the sex was consensual or whether Bryant is guilty of rape as charged. Hello computer forensic specialists!

What is Judicial Check?
JudicialCheck.com not only allows you to comment and rate other Attorneys, Judges, Expert Witnesses, Law Firms and Law Professor's but also gives you the ability to see what others in our profession are saying about each other. Most importantly, you can see what's being said about YOU.

Web Checks for Student Cheating:
The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen says the Turnitin tool can search 800 million websites and previously submitted work for copying.

SCOTUS Justices get richer:
"When you're talking about people who make monumental decisions that are essentially unreviewable ... public confidence is enhanced by broad disclosure,"

Broken Windows:
Here’s a billion-dollar question: Why are Windows users besieged by security exploits, but Mac users are not?

Wal-Mart Growth Subsidized by Taxpayers:
Wal-Mart Stores have enjoyed more than $1 billion in economic development subsidies from state and local governments across the United States, according to a new study released by a Washington, D.C.-based research group.

Former M$ Employee goes Mac:
I just rid myself of my Windows computer, switching my work to the Mac and OS X because of the reliability it has shown as I’ve added peripherals and other software. I know I won’t waste as much time making the technology simply work. In most ways, OS X is superior to Windows XP.

Business Week says iPod needs more partners:
To stare down a raft of new music players, Apple needs to broaden its product line. It should consider forming partnerships to add iPod technology to cell phones and other futuristic devices.

Porn 3X more popular than searches:
Online porn sites get about three times more visits than the top Web search engines, including market leader Google Inc., a research firm said Thursday.

Apple's Newton Just Won't Drop:
The Newton should have gone away, but amazingly, it has kept current, in both hardware and software, thanks to the efforts of Newton enthusiasts. The Newton community is holding steady and may even be growing.

Microsoft Patents PDA double-click:
A patent recently obtained by Microsoft for its Palm-sized PC product line is raising concerns among intellectual property experts who say it could be used to demand licensing fees from other mobile-device makers.

President Bush: Flip-Flopper In Chief:
President Bush's serial flip-flopping raises serious questions about whether Congress and foreign leaders can rely on what he says.

Who killed Nick Berg?:
"there's something fishy about this video." More from Aljazeera. [link via WWDT]

From Bush, Unprecedented Negativity:

Bush so far has aired 49,050 negative ads in the top 100 markets, or 75 percent of his advertising. Kerry has run 13,336 negative ads -- or 27 percent of his total.