Apparently,
bicyclists aren’t allowed to ride in large groups, peacefully in New York City.
Well, normally they would but apparently these days, anytime a gathering that
large convenes, and is politically motivated, tons of arrests are
made.  
In the first major clampdown on protesters before the Republican National Convention, New York police arrested 264 people Friday night during a mass demonstration.

About 5,000 cyclists gathered in Union Square Park at 6 p.m. for “Critical Mass,” a monthly bike ride around Manhattan, sponsored by environmental group “Times Up!”
Police started making arrests at around 8:30 p.m. in several locations along the bike route, including Madison Square Garden — the venue for the Republican National Convention.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne said in a statement
that the cyclists caused "massive disruptions including of people trying to
get to the hospital and so we took appropriate action".  Nice call–
Everyone believes people should be able to get to the hospital,
but we have an equal right to have free speech. Stop trying to appeal to our
emotions.

What’s next? Are they going to roll tanks into town, like at Tiananmen Square. 
Is our Republic turning into
something else?

In a slightly related story, "Bikes against Bush" creator, Joshua Kinberg,
was
busted for vandalism while giving an interview to MSNBC. Since when is using
water-soluble chalk considered "vandalism"?  Free speech takes
another blow.

Here is an image of the arrested cyclists

Last
week, the Kerry campaign made desperate calls to Bush to denounce ads that accused John Kerry of inflating his own Vietnam War record.

It is my opinion that the Kerry campaign thought Bush wouldn’t say anything
about it–wrong.
Today, Bush
denounced the ads saying "I think they are bad for the
system".  Bush also went on to say that broadcast attacks by outside
groups have no place in the race for the Whitehouse.

Naturally, the democrats were still not happy. “The moment of truth came and went, and the president still couldn’t bring himself to do the right thing,” Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards said in a statement. “We need a president with the strength and integrity to say when something is wrong.”

“Too little, too late,” added party chairman Terry McAuliffe.

They’re pissed because Bush didn’t say something earlier. Apparently, Bush
"ignored" calls to condemn the ad while it was running, or so they
say.

To me, it doesn’t matter. Bush denounced them. There. Done. Is
it any surprise that the Kerry campaign is still not happy?  I’m
getting sick and f*cking tired of this overly-political bullsh*t from the likes
of Kerry and his cronies.

It’s good that Bush spoke up about this–even though I think he didn’t have to.
It’s also good to see Kerry doing the same thing. on August 18th, Kerry
asked one of his allies to pull an anti-Bush advertisement.
Kerry asked the MoveOn PAC to pull a commercial assailing President Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard, even though it was produced in response to an ad attacking Kerry’s Vietnam War record.

“This should be a campaign of issues, not insults,” Kerry said in a written statement.

It’s good to see these men at least attempting to act
"presidential" in this race. Well, at least sometimes– then they’re not acting like 13 year old snot-nosed brats.

I went to an AT&T
retail store today, and I’ve got to give it to the salespeople there–they’re smarter than the average village idiot.

Unknowingly, I walked into the store with the apparently obvious “oh my God my phone sucks” look. I didn’t realize how good they were at seeing it. The picture to the right shows what my face must have looked like while I was there.

Here’s the other thing I learned when you have the “oh my God my phone sucks” look. The salespeople there ignore you–seriously. You’d think I had a big mole on my face, or had a booger on my nose. They would walk around me staring at the floor, it was crazy. I wanted to catch one of them with a wicked elbow-drop as if to say “hey dimwit, I’ve been here two hours and you haven’t acknowledged my existence”. I’m dead serious folks, If you walk into AT&T looking like your cat just died, you won’t get any service. Then again, if you’re looking for some alone time, this might be a
good place to find it. No one will ever bother you with the patented “oh my God my phone sucks”™ look.

If I had been smart, I would have gone into the store with the “oh my God I’m getting a new phone!” look, also known as “oh my God this place is heaven” look. The picture to the left is an accurate depiction of what that look resembles. AT&T salespeople instantly notice you this way. It probably would have helped if I had been a hot chick, 6 feet tall, and had more legs than a bucket of chicken. Oh well, I wasn’t dealt those cards–besides, I’m a dude. Anyway, two girls came into the store with this “oh my God I’m getting a new phone” look, and they got snatched up quicker than smack at a detox clinic, and even faster than herb at a Snoop Dogg concert (which is crazy-go-nuts fast).

Anyway, my service with AT&T still sucks, and I don’t think they’re going to do anything about it. If you try to call me while I’m at my house, you probably won’t get me. My phone won’t work at my house. Then again, if you do magically get connected to me, I’ll probably be standing in line at AT&T all pissed off–since that’s the only place my phone actually works. See how that sucks? Now you know why I had the “oh my God my phone sucks” look on my face when I went in there.

Next time you need to go to AT&T, or whatever cellphone carrier you have, make sure you go in there with the right face on. It might also help if you put on a wig and heels. (you never know)

"Circular Definition"

Definition:

The definition includes the term being defined as a part of the definition.
(A circular definition is a special case of a Failure to Elucidate.)

Example: 
Someone asks you "What is a sovereign entity?".
Your response goes something like this: "A sovereign entity is an entity
that is sovereign".
That’s a circular definition.

In this video, you will see George W. Bush squirming to explain
something.  It was a question I wouldn’t know the answer to, but then again
I’m not the president of the free world, and neither have I ever been the
governor of a state. If I were, I’d probably need to know how to answer these
questions.