Disqus - Latest Comments for surakmn

Re: Caster Semenya Update

surakmn — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:32:00 -0000

This is one of those situations that basically sucks because there is no solution that is fair to all parties involved. They'll almost certainly not take away her medal, she wasn't doping. It will be interesting to see what they do wrt future eligibility. Her competitors cannot level the playing field without illegal doping (and comparing hormones to longer legs isn't an argument if you understand biology), yet Semenya has done nothing wrong at all. It's a fluke of mother nature, and mother nature isn't fair.

The asshats who released her results to the public before the courtesy of conferring with her and with South African officials should burn in hell. She deserves more respect and common courtesy than that.

Liss' comments wrt Michael Phelps are interesting. Yes, if you are that much above average, which at the elite sports level is a pretty damn high average, something must be "wrong" with you. Wrong probably isn't the right word, but certainly "different" would apply. Intersex isn't the same thing as Marfan's, but at what point are they consistent in how they apply the rules and are they interpreted differently for men vs. women?

Re: I have Issues with cell phones. Do you?

surakmn — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:41:27 -0000

I disagree that talking to people in the car, etc., can't be just as distracting - I've missed turns, etc. because of it. The problem is distracted driving rather than cell phones in particular. That said, laws prohibiting texting and the like while driving are needed, even if it's a sad commentary on the state of common sense that people need laws to compel such.

Re: John Ensign, Double Standards On Both Sides ?

surakmn — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:37:08 -0000

Who are the people on the left calling for his resignation? I've heard a lot of amusement over his hypocrisy and that he would condemn Clinton and Craig but not Vitter, but nobody seriously expects him to resign.

Re: Star Trek Open Thread

surakmn — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:26:08 -0000

They did a good job with it over all, and after 40+ years the Trek franchise was drowning in its own canon and desperately needed a reboot to thrive in the future.

Pike is a canon character and is male, but Number One was conspicuously absent. She should have been there as first officer. Rider was OK as Spock's mom as far as it went....but they wrote the character wrong. She came off as a trophy housewife, not an accomplished scholar and professional in her own right. Chapel and Rand were also missing, though Chapel/Spock in canon interferes with Uhura/Spock in the new. Kirk's pathological resistance to the lady having said "no" rubs me the wrong way. He crosses the line separating persistence from deserving a knee to the groin.

Re: On the American Idol Finale; Or: Your Blogmistress Is Nutz

surakmn — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:33:45 -0000

Idol is what it is, and the result is hardly surprising. Adam and Kris both appear to be nice guys who appear to actually like one another, and they clearly knew the score coming into the final. It's sad, but t's reality. The good thing is that Adam is a known quantity and coming in second isn't going to make any difference in terms of him having an opportunity to get a recording contract. Coming in first will give Kris some opportunities he wouldn't have otherwise had.

Someday we'll cross a threshold where assholes who vote 400 times for someone whose name they don't know out of bigotry won't be enough to sway the vote. Everyone knows what it is, including Adam and Kris, and they are both being gracious on the night of the awards. I'd expect no less from them. I'd not be surprised to see them address the issue in the future.

Kris is good, and he comes off as a genuine, nice guy. Yes, I voted for Adam, but I don't begrudge Kris his day. It's not his fault that some voters are fucknecks.

Re: The Maldonado Effect

surakmn — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:37:34 -0000

Great first name....but an even better surname. (Maldonado = roughly "evil gift")

Re: Will Kirsten Gillibrand Split the New York Democratic Party?

surakmn — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:40:12 -0000

Setting the stage for the first Republican Senator from New York in nearly twenty years? You have heard of Alphonse D';Amato, I presume.

Re: Franken Wins, Maybe... Most Voters Less Than Thrilled

surakmn — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:12:58 -0000

The swing was closer to 400 votes, and out of nearly 3 million cast it's a trivial number. Simply demographics - machines aren't allowed to make judgment calls and there are cases where voter intent is clear but the ballot isn't machine readable. The recount sorts those out. The only controversy here stems from Coleman's failed attempts to change the rules midstream - attempts which were slapped down by a conservative leaning canvassing board, and a conservative leaning supreme court.

Yes, Franken isn't exactly a prize, neither was Wellstone. But this is a state that has a history of electing colorful figures, after all. Given the strong third party presence in Minnesota it's impossible to know who is really the stronger candidate in a head to head match.

Re: Building Wheelchair Ramps

surakmn — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:43:48 -0000

The question, "Why is government building XXXX" is often a function of the general distaste for unfunded government mandates - that is, the expectation that government assume the cost for regulatory changes. If you are building a new facility the expectation is it is built to code and doing such is the cost of doing business. Changing your building to reflect new regulation is costly and often burdensome, especially for small business.

Re: Memo To Minnesota, Just Follow The Rules

surakmn — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:19:55 -0000

What patronizing nonsense. Minnesota is neither a banana republic, nor Florida. It's process and personnel are among the best to be found anywhere. Everyone wants this to be over, but the election really is that close and there's nothing to do but keep counting. The unanimous rulings from the tri partisan commission is a good sign that things are proceeding fairly and according to the rules.

Re: A Coup In Canada?

surakmn — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:44:32 -0000

Smack of overturning the will of the voters? The will of the voters was to give the Conservatives a minority. Having proven unfit to govern, it's only right the other parties give it a go.

Re: Shrill Partisanship Not Embraced By Some New Lawmakers

surakmn — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:46:25 -0000

Jason Chaffetz of Utah did NOT defeat an incumbent Democrat. Utah's lonely democrat, Jim Matheson, was reelected with over 63% of the vote. Chaffetz defeated a sitting Republican in the primary.

Re: Time to boycott Utah, and Marriott?

surakmn — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:28:51 -0000

Do we boycott Massachusetts (or Italy) every time the Pope says something stupid? Frustration with the Mormon church's involvement is understandable, but that the headquarters is in Utah doesn't mean that much. Yes many Utahns are Mormons, but many Utahns are not and ironically those most impacted by a tourism boycott would be those who are more gay friendly. Being sufficiently calm to plan and do the right thing will ultimately be more effective than flailing about trying to do "anything".

Re: Bill Clinton's Obama Unenthusiasm Raises More Eyebrows Again

surakmn — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:36:25 -0000

Did you see Clinton on TDS? The Clintons have their deficiencies, but I really question whether all the current criticism is fair. It really doesn't matter what they do, for some people it will not be enough.

Re: What earrings would you choose for visiting a national disaster?

surakmn — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:02:14 -0000

Not a common style because female candidates are not common. They're just earrings, and of a style that is quite common in many areas. Nothing unusual about a woman, even a professional one, wearing earrings in public. In Louisiana there's nothing blingy about hoop earrings. Frankly, the topic is as lame as focus on Hillary's wardrobe instead of her policy positions. Some day the electorate will mature past that and take female politicians on their merits.

Re: What earrings would you choose for visiting a national disaster?

surakmn — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:07:15 -0000

Pretty common style of earring for the south. Nothing noteworthy about them. The real issue is McCain's attempt to use a looming crisis for political advantage.

Re: Sarah Palin and children conceived out of wedlock - an uncomfortable question needs to be posed

surakmn — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:21:21 -0000

He is "legitimate" because his parents were married when he was born. The date of conception has nothing to do with it.

Social conservatives care about OTHER PEOPLE'S sex lives, not their own. In Palin's case, she didn't abort and she married the baby's father so the theocrats and the religious wrong will be fine with it.

There are real issues about Palin - like her positions on just about every issue you care to name - that justify discussion. This is not necessary.

Re: Minneapolis, we have a problem…

surakmn — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:47:15 -0000

Minneapolis?

Re: US infrastructure falling apart

surakmn — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:25:46 -0000

35W through Minneapolis is where the bridge collapsed. As fate would have it, this last weekend on 35E through St. Paul, 1200 pounds of concrete fell off an overpass bridge onto the freeway - two cars were damaged but amazingly nobody was injured. But hey, the roads and bridges are safe, spending is more than adequate to meet the infrastructure needs, and there was no reason to approve a 2 cent a gallon increase in a gas tax that hasn't been raised for decades.

Re: Campaign Advice For Barack Obama: Forget About The Center?

surakmn — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:38:18 -0000

I think this misses a funadmental part of Huffington's premise -- the center has shifted toward Obama and he doesn't *need* to tack as far to the right.

Re: An Homage to High Gas Prices (and Taxes)

surakmn — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:09:09 -0000

As a highway car I'll keep my Jetta - seats 5 comfortably and gets same or better mileage than the ironically named "Smart" car. But if your driving is mostly on city streets the Prius is a very reasonable alternative and you can't beat the hatchback's cargo capacity.

I think you're on the right track with a lot of your comments here. Artificially high energy prices help nobody, but it's naive to think we have a free market. There are so many regulations and subsidies (ethanol anyone?) that government does play a part whether some people like to admit it or not.

Our lack of a coherent energy policy is easily one of the biggest threats, but nobody seems to care. Our whole way of life is built on cheap energy, and that's a thing of the past. Even coal is rising quickly. For all the whining about price gouging, the world markets have changed and we are no longer the only one bidding in world markets. China, India, and other developing countries have absorbed excess capacity and we are approaching peak oil.

I doubt cheap energy is ever going to be an "issue" again.

Re: If Obama’s Inevitable, Why Can’t He Sew Up the Nomination? (& Why that’s the Wrong Question)

surakmn — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:25:53 -0000

"Why can't he sew it up" is kind of a silly question. The Democratic process is very differently structured than the GOP one, and it's one that's not necessarily going to give a clear, early winner when you have a race with such atypical candidates as this one.