Well, it’s official. We were lied to about the Weapons of Mass Destruction. About the whole purpose of this idiotic war. You remember the WMDs, don’t you? The ones we simply couldn’t wait for the UN to find and are now telling everyone to be patient while we look for them? Yeah, those.

Officials inside government and advisers outside told ABCNEWS the administration emphasized the danger of Saddam’s weapons to gain the legal justification for war from the United Nations and to stress the danger at home to Americans.

“We were not lying,” said one official. “But it was just a matter of emphasis.”

I’m sorry…they weren’t lying, say the liars, they just changed their emphasis. So all you people out there with loved ones getting bitten by sand fleas in the desert, they’re there because of a slight shift in emphasis. All you flagwavers at home cursing at protesters, you keep on supporting the matter of emphasis.

Here’s another article:

A high-level UK source said last night that intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic were furious that briefings they gave political leaders were distorted in the rush to war with Iraq. “They ignored intelligence assessments which said Iraq was not a threat,” the source said. Quoting an editorial in a Middle East newspaper which said, “Washington has to prove its case. If it does not, the world will for ever believe that it paved the road to war with lies”, he added: “You can draw your own conclusions.”

“But Legomancer!” you say. “Surely the liberation of Iraq is a Good Thing! They were under the heel of tyranny!” Well, you’re right. The United States should be all about the tyranny fighting. I would love for our nation to stand for something other than making everyone else bow to us. If George Bush had said, “You know, I’ve had it up to here with tyranny and I’m going after tyrants. Who’s with me?” and began a campaign to free people everywhere from oppression, that would be promising. But that’s not the case. Whatever freedom the Iraqi people may or may not experience is a coincidental by-product, and as we’ve seen in the past, if another tyrant emerges to rule over them who also happens to be friendly with the US, we won’t bat an eye.

For example, supposedly their actual reason for the war was 9/11. We’re back to that again. Never mind that there’s no connection between Saddam and Osama, never mind that we never bothered to finish any of our tasks in Afghanistan, never mind that the majority of the hijackers and funding for 9/11 came from our buddies in Saudi Arabia, who didn’t get the crap bombed out of them. We were sending a message: Don’t mess with the U.S. That’s what 150 soldiers were sent to die for. “Support the troops” indeed. If supporting the troops means sending them to die for a lie, maybe they could use a little less support.

To me, what the most appalling about this whole thing is that they’re admitting they lied so soon.
They really don’t care anymore. Who’s going to stop them? CNN has nothing about these allegations about lies. What will the opposing party do in the face of this? They were all clamoring to be the first to support Bush, because no Democrats have the guts to stand up and say anything that might be perceived as unpatriotic. Republicans have no problem with declaring that homosexuals are evil deviants, but Democrats don’t dare suggest that this war might not have been a good idea. Thankfully, Random House is starting a new imprint just for Conservative authors so that their voices can finally be heard above the din of the powerful left wing. And while no one in the liberal media had a problem with people calling Bill Clinton a murderer, Diane Sawyer tried for an hour to get the Dixie Chicks to apologize for not liking George Bush.

FX: Sound of head beating against wall.

This past weekend Dave T, Rob, and I did a little playing around with the Mutants and Masterminds RPG from Green Ronin Press. It’s a d20-based superhero game. We made up characters and then had them fight some characters out of the book.

Chargen (character generation) was pretty cool. The customization was nice. It was a little strange to have to buy Base Attack Bonus and such. And there are some powers that are so cheap and effective, I don’t know why everyone wouldn’t take them all the time. Amazing Save on Damage at ten levels? For only ten points I make myself incredibly hard to damage? Why wouldn’t I?

(Two things: there’s a lot of major errata for the book, so be sure to visit their website before playing! Also, there’s no example of chargen in the book. In my opinion, every gaming book should have an example of creating a character in it - this is an important aspect of any game and should be treated as such.)

The combat was a bit off. It basically came down to everyone shooting at each other with energy blasts. We got one guy unconscious for ten rounds and figured that would be plenty of time to finish off the other one, but that was not the case. It was very difficult to put someone down, but I guess that’s pretty much like comics.

I’ve played Champions before and enjoy it, but it’s an incredibly convoluted (albeit powerful) system. M&M is a lot easier to deal with, though I’m not sure it’s well balanced.

For instance: When you buy a power, you can buy “extras” attached to it as an effect. My character was an electricity manipulator, so I bought Energy Control: Electricity. As extras (part of his ability to control electricity), I bought flight, energy blast, force field, stun, teleportation, and a few other things. Doing it this way made them all really cheap. So my character was totally tricked out. The only disadvantage to doing things this way was that if someone had a “Drain” they could drain one power “Energy Control” on me and as a result, all of my stuff would be gone. That would certainly suck a lot, but is the chance that a bad guy has the one power that can stop me enough to dissuade me from going this route? No. On the contrary, it just seems like incentive for everyone to pack a Drain just in case they can hose someone this way.

Also, since there aren’t limits on power usage, such as in Champions, there’s no reason NOT to use your most powerful attack at any given opportunity. If we were playing right, any ranged, level 10 power is functionally the same as any other ranged, level 10 power (as far as hitting and damage is concerned), so just pick the cheapest one and go with it.

All in all I think it’s a good system for some basic supers gaming, but anyone who really wants to get into the genre may find it a little disappointing. The usual caveat may apply: we might not have been following the rules correctly. If you’ve played it, I’d like to hear your story.

So Senator Rick Santorum says he was misquoted and misinterpeted. Let’s take a look at what he said (full text can be found here):

I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts. As I would with acts of other, what I would consider to be, acts outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. And that includes a variety of different acts, not just homosexual. I have nothing, absolutely nothing against anyone who’s homosexual. If that’s their orientation, then I accept that. And I have no problem with someone who has other orientations. The question is, do you act upon those orientations? So it’s not the person, it’s the person’s actions. And you have to separate the person from their actions.

For those who’ve never seen this before, this is the traditional Conservative Christian stance on homosexuality. It’s fine to be gay, as long as you don’t actually have gay sex.

He also nicely reminds us about a fundamental right we don’t actually have, even though everyone thinks we do:

Again, it goes back to this moral relativism, which is very accepting of a variety of different lifestyles. And if you make the case that if you can do whatever you want to do, as long as it’s in the privacy of your own home, this “right to privacy,” then why be surprised that people are doing things that are deviant within their own home? If you say, there is no deviant as long as it’s private, as long as it’s consensual, then don’t be surprised what you get.

It baffles me that people like this still exist. Not only that, but they feel so comfortable with these views that I’m sure he has no idea why anyone would have a problem with them.

Now granted, in the long run, it’s a good thing. Anything that has Republicans at each others’ throats is fine by me. I have no problem with having them pull off their own rubber masks to reveal the rodent-eating lizards they truly are. Saves us the trouble. But I am still confused. Why is the possibility that somewhere out there a gay man is putting his peepee in another gay man’s bottom more of a dire problem than, say, Enron? Or poverty? Though I can’t understand why it’s an issue at all for these people, I really don’t understand why it’s so big of one.

I guess this kind of explains what was confusing me before, about how all the conservatives are so terrified of the leftists even though the leftists are all a bunch of goldfish flopping about and gasping for air on dry land. If the thought that somewhere out there are two gay men having sex, somewhere there’s a guy who doesn’t like the war in Iraq, somewhere there’s a college professor not teaching that Capitalism is ordained by God, if all that’s so terrifying then yeah, I can see where they would have reason to still be huddled in fear of the world around them, even though they own it.

If there are any Republicans still reading this far, just remember. The so-called party of smaller government insists it must know where your genitals are at all times and what you’re doing with them. If that’s not government intrusion, I really don’t know what is.

Preparation has begun massively for our upcoming move. We have been the busiest of busy bees lately. An old crappy fence got torn up, we cleaned out most of the garage, some painting was done (with more to come), stuff was thrown out or given away, and the packing — oh, the packing. The geek room has had much of its contents cleared out, thanks to the help of Brian and Dave T.

All of this is in anticipation of the house going on the market on Monday. The House Inspector gave us a (nearly) clean bill of health, and a handyman company will be doing many small jobs we can’t do ourselves. Now all we need to do is, like, find an actual house to move into. And with our jobs and credit history, we’ve been approved to owe a veritable metric buttload of money on a house. No more igloos and yurts for us!

Our crazy neighbors, Lois and Johnny, found out we’re moving and it has unnerved them. We’ve been treated to almost daily visits from them, in which they ask over and over to be introduced to the new people, not realizing that if we introduce them to the new people, the new people won’t be the new people. I also learned that Johnny is nearly 50 years old, thinks it’s cold, and has a sore on his face. Why oh why didn’t we put up a fence all this time?

This weekend is an engagement party for Jeff and Gabe, who are getting married in May, so we’ll be heading up to Chicago for that.

Well, that’s the “moving” portion. For the “shaking” portion, check out this article: Jesus Plus Nothing

Thanks thanks to Dave Thiel for sending me the link to this editorial by NPR’s Bob Edwards. It’s a fantastic expose of the so-called liberal media and the new ‘journalism.’

But last month’s news conference was remarkable for more than the fact that it happened at all. Reporters were ushered into the East Room in pairs — summoned two-by-two, like the animals boarding Noah’s Ark. Once the news conference got underway, the President did not recognize reporters who raised their hands. Instead, he called their names from a list prepared by news secretary Ari Fleischer, the man who told reporters after Sept. 11 that they should watch what they say. When CNN’s John King attempted to ask a question, the President told him to wait because, the President said, “This is scripted.” Then he called the next name on his list: John King. Then he taunted King for daring to ask a multi-part question. Among the names not called — and perhaps not on Ari Fleischer’s list of approved questioners — were the reporters from Time, The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek and Kentucky’s own Helen Thomas, who for decades has had the distinction of asking the first question and then closing the news conference by saying, “Thank you, Mr. President,” which became the title of her autobiography. But Helen is no longer a reporter. She’s now a columnist, paid to give opinions, and one of her recent opinions is that George W. Bush “is the worst President ever.” Clearly, she did not watch what she said. Another White House tradition, the follow-up question, also appears to be history.

And as long as I’m here, here’s a story about an embedded reporter who decided to embed a little looting in his reporting.

Oh yeah, one more ‘journalism’-related thing. I am totally creeped out by the fact that I get in-depth reporting on the Laci Peterson homicide case on “Entertainment Tonight”. J. Lo, Madonna, and a dead woman who may have been murdered by her husband. That’s Entertainment.

No idea why, but lately I’ve been thinking of a poem by e. e. cummings. So sit back, have a nice cup of tea, and enjoy this combination of art, wry social commentary, and copyright infringement (the latter provided by me).

“next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims’ and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn’s early my
country ’tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jingo by gee by gosh by gum
why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful than these heroic happy dead
who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter
they did not stop to think they died instead
then shall the voice of liberty be mute?”

He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water.

Well, looks like we doves were wrong. I’m man enough to admit it. When I said, a few weeks ago, that under no circumstances would the US prevail in Iraq, and there’s no way we would ever pull giant statues of Saddam down, I was 100% wrong, as news reports will happily point out. I’m so embarrassed. I should never have doubted–say, wait a minute! I never said any of that! What I said was that this war was morally reprehensible, unfounded, and an unwise move in view of foreign relations. We never said we wouldn’t win, we said we shouldn’t go. But I guess it’s to be expected that since the administration and its fans get to retcon their reasons for the war, they would also get to retcon our reasons for opposing it. Remember, in America, facts are determined by popular opinion.

But enough of that, let’s talk about some positive things. As you can see, Easter egg dying happened this weekend, and photos are available. The Middeljanses reached new pinnacles in egg artistry, with all sorts of high-tech gizmos like cheesecloth and rubber cement.

In baby news, Michael and Erika have a new one, named Isabel! Photos can be seen here! Also, Sydney has begin crawling, as can be witnessed here. And click here for Sophia asking Beebo to scoot back.

As geek news goes, Dave T. took over the command chair at the gaming table this weekend to run his first D&D adventure in 18 years, which delighted and amused us. I don’t want to give too much about it away, but there will be a writeup soon on the Arnheim page.

As for the England pages, I’m working on some graphics for them, and I’ll be getting some text in there soon. As far as graphics go, I bought a guide to Paint Shop Pro this weekend, and the receipt for it read that I had purchased ‘SAMS Teach Yourself Pain’. I envision Paul Atreides from Dune learning Paint Shop Pro as the Reverend Mother holds a gom-jabbar at this neck. How geeky is that?

Move plans also proceed apace. This weekend we sent about six bags of clothes to Goodwill, and cleared out a bunch of books. I’ve got a lot of geek stuff that will be exiting soon. On Tuesday we’ll be seeing a realtor and a handyman, who will both help us to get the house in selling condition. And we’ve already made contact with realtors in Massachusetts. So it’s been quite a time at Chez Mancer!

Those who know me know that I hate being a Grumpy Gus. I don’t like people who are constantly complaining. I keep my own impulses to do so firmly in check with a diet of coffee, watered-down Buddhist philosophy, and Celexa. So imagine my surprise when yesterday I found myself in the comic book store griping about the band Radiohead.

For those not in the know, Radiohead is a British shoegazing band that turned itself into avant-garde experimental pop geniuses several years ago. They’re critical darlings with an enormous fanbase. If you’ve heard Coldplay, you’ve heard the radio-friendly version of Radiohead. If you’ve heard the song “Creep” then you most surely have not heard Radiohead, because that song is nothing like the rest of their stuff and EVEN THE BAND HATES IT AND WISHES THEY DIDN’T HAVE THAT ALBATROSS AROUND THEIR NECK AS THEY SING ABOUT IN “MY IRON LUNG” AND THAT’S WHY ‘PABLO HONEY’ IS THEIR WORST ALBUM AND…

sorry.

I don’t hate Radiohead. If someone puts on some Radiohead in a room where I’m sitting, I’ll have no problem with it. Of course, I say the same thing about “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” by the Buckwheat Boys. I just don’t get it. And I’ve tried, honestly I have. A lot of people whose opinions I really respect have told me time and again how good Radiohead is and how I just need to give it a good listen. I’ve listened to their two masterpieces, ‘OK Computer’ and ‘Kid A’ and I admit they did grow on me somewhat. But I didn’t have even one orgasm while listening, much less the non-stop flurry of them I was assured of. I just don’t hear the absolute genius there. What I hear is atonal warbling over modulated static.

Top Ten Signs You’re Probably Listening to Radiohead

10. You’re too stupid to appreciate the genius of it.
9. You’d like to listen to someone a little less whiny, like Morrissey or Michael Stipe.
8. You’re looking at the liner notes to see if the guy playing the out-of-tune trombone is the same guy that bangs on the radiator on track two.
7. You keep adjusting the tuning knob to get the station in clearer, even though you’re listening to a CD.
6. You’d like to listen to something a little less jarring and musically intrusive, like Kraftwerk or early They Might Be Giants.

…oh, you get the idea. Let’s just skip to number one.

1. You’re 20 years old, white, male, and alone in the dark in your dorm room chatting on IRC.

Now, I want the record to show that I didn’t start the Radiohead argument in the comic book shop. It was already going on in full force when I innocently walked in. All I did was offer my opinion to back up the poor guy who also didn’t see the beauty and magic of Radiohead. During the exchange, Radiohead was compared to the Velvet Underground, and perhaps that is apt. For example, I love several bands that were heavily influenced by the VU, but can barely make it through an actual VU album. They say that only a few people bought the Velvet Underground’s first album, but each one started a band. That’s probably correct. The same wouldn’t be true of Radiohead fans, because they’d get as far as downloading Fruity Loops before they were distracted by a Slashdot thread or a Cowboy Bebop marathon.

I admit that I’m getting old. I’ve developed a low tolerance for screaming and whining in my music. I miss fun music. It seems to me that even the allegedly fun music these days isn’t. It’s brutally urgent, demanding I start the party, get my ass on the dance floor, and have sex with teenage girls. That sounds like work to me. These days I prefer nice hooky power-pop, three minute songs about cars, being in a band, or how much the singer adores this girl that doesn’t know he exists. Fountains of Wayne, The Minders, The Apples in Stereo — these are the staples of my CD player. I also admit that I have a bad habit of letting something’s fans detract from my enjoyment of the thing itself, and Radiohead fans are extremely…vocal. Apparently you can’t be into Radiohead halfway. You’re either in it to win it or you’re an idiot with no musical taste who should go back to listening to N’Sync. So that could be a big part of it. After all, there are very few bands that could, to me, hold up to the kind of rabid word-of-mouth that Radiohead’s gotten. For two years I was submerged on a message board where every other person was in the Radiohead Army, so I’m sure that had an effect.

Whatever the reason, I need to brace myself. They’ve got a new album coming out soon, and advance word is that it’s a work of genius which can cure cancer and end world hunger. Fortunately I just bought ‘Golden Street’ by The Minders.

(To save some of you some trouble, here’s a handy email link.)