NBC has revamped their “The More You Know” line of Public Service Announcements. This one really spoke to me.

NBC - The More You Know

Facebook, the extremely popular social-networking Website for college (and now high-school) students is looking to cash in on its success. Having turned down an offer of $750 million from Viacom, the Harvard students-turned-entrepreneurs are hoping for a cool $2 billion.

Even at $750 million, the deal would make Rupert Murdoch’s recent acquisition of MySpace for $580 million look even smarter.

Fortune magazine:

MySpace has simply exploded since the deal was done last July. Measured in terms of page views, MySpace has become the second-most popular site on the Internet — behind Yahoo!, but ahead of MSN, AOL, and Google. It has 66 million members, and about 250,000 new ones sign up each day. That’s a mind-boggling growth trajectory for an Internet site that was launched less than three years ago.

Bonus: The Daily Show’s Demetri Martin takes an in-depth look into the world of MySpace

Props: Lost Remote

Zelda, one of the most successful video game franchises ever, will finally become a feature-length film this fall. They don’t have a King-Kong-sized budget, but an independent group of film makers called BMB Finishes is putting the final touches on The Legend of Zelda: The Hero of Time. The trailer (up on YouTube), shows that the film is features a large cast, detailed sets, and even CGI.

The theme music devolves into the now-cliché theme from Requiem for a Dream, but hey, Peter Jackson did it.

It’s no Lord of the Rings, but you’ve got to admire the effort these guys put into creating this extremely geeky piece of cinema.

Coming soon to a basement near you.

Chad Heeter - My Saudi Arabian Breakfast

From Slate:

Why Do Giant Tortoises Live So Long?

They’re big, they’ve got armor, and they live on an island.

Done and done.

My apologies for the lack of posting this week, I’ve been working on several side projects lately (Ok, fine. I’ve been lazy and watching college basketball).

Posting will probably be remain pretty sporadic over the next couple months, but I hope to return in full force when I get back to WI in May.

To make it up to you, here are the stories TNV is keeping tabs on:

• YouTube: Matt Stone and Trey Parker make fun on Scientology - USA Today: Voice of Chef leaves, but his character lives on
• AP: Scott Walker drops out of race for Governor
• Boston Globe: President Bush issued a “signing statement” along with the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, giving the proberbial finger to Sen. Russ Feingold and anyone hoping to keep tabs on the Administration’s actions.

“In the statement, Bush said that he did not consider himself bound to tell Congress how the Patriot Act powers were being used and that, despite the law’s requirements, he could withhold the information if he decided that disclosure would ‘’impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the executive, or the performance of the executive’s constitutional duties.’”

• NYT: Big Money dominates politics
• CBS: March Madness

This year’s Winter Olympics were a disappointment. Although the excitement of curling and storied history of snowboardcross always bring tears to my eyes, my heart just wasn’t in it. Torino (Turin?), Italy turned out to be a great location, providing majestic landscapes, old-world charm, and even some snow… but the entire event just doesn’t capture the world’s attention as it once did.

Maybe the dramatic increase in entertainment choices or a media shift toward “micro-casting” to small audiences had an effect on viewership, but one thing is certain: the Olympics need a shot in the arm to draw a crowd and unite the world in peaceful solidarity.

The only real solution: a major change of venue.

The Hoth 2014 Olympic Movement is petitioning the International Olympic Committe to hold the games on the ice planet Hoth, location of the hidden Rebel base in The Empire Strikes Back.

According to the movement’s web site, events could include the 2-man snowspeeder race and the Bi-Hoth-alon. Show your support and sign the petition.

Unfortunately, Hoth won’t actually be eligible for the 2014 Games… the deadline was in July. There’s also apparently a lack of suitable accomodations in the area.

Overloaded Vehicles

Yesterday, a poll by the American Research Group said that Americans favor a censure of President Bush 46% to 44%.

Well, today Rasmussen Reports released their own poll showing that only 38% of Americans favor censure, while 45% oppose it.

How can this be? Scott Shields at MyDD shows that the answer is in the questions:

While Rasmussen is known for being fairly reputable for a partisan pollster, this poll was horribly skewed against censure. Just take a look at the question they asked.

“Senator Russ Feingold has introduced a measure to censure, or publicly reprimand, President Bush for authorizing the NSA wiretapping program. Should President Bush be censured for authorizing the NSA wiretapping program?”

Now compare that with ARG’s question.

“Do you favor or oppose the United States Senate passing a resolution censuring President George W. Bush for authorizing wiretaps of Americans within the United States without obtaining court orders?”

The difference is pretty obvious. As Rasmussen frames it, the question is whether or not the President should be publicly reprimanded for authorizing a program. There is no indication that authorizing such a program may be, in fact, against the law. Though it gives at least some information, even the ARG poll is somewhat vague on the topic.

It appears that both questions are at least somewhat biased. The Rasmussen question decidedly omits information about questions regarding the legality of the program. If someone didn’t know the details behind the wiretapping program, why would they want to censure the president simply for authorizing it? Even I might answer “no” to this question… it could easily be about an NSA wiretapping program that falls well within the parameters of established law.The ARG question states that the president authorized the program without obtaining court orders, but that could imply that he should have - and that depends on your point of view.

As Chris observes at MyDD, the true opinion of the American public is probably somewhere inbetween these numbers. But, just to give you an idea of the ideology behind some of Rasmussen’s tactics, here’s their question on the withdrawl of US troops from Iraq:

“Which is more important, getting American troops home as soon as possible or making sure that Iraq becomes a peaceful nation enjoying freedom and democracy?”

It’s interesting to note that the margins of error for the Rasmussen and ARG polls were 4% and 3% respectively. This means that the true results for poll could easily have come within a percentage point of each other. Or, they could be up to 15% points different. Moral of the story: polls are bunk. At least they are when the questions are shoddy.

Update: A Newsweek poll says 42% of Americans favor censure, while 50% oppose.

In my previous post, I wrote that Vice President Cheney criticized Sen. Feingold’s resolution to censure the president, saying that, “The American people already made their decision… They agree with the president.”

Note that the VP doesn’t mention the airtight legality of the program, but what he believes to be the popular opinion of the American public. Following popular opinion would also have us believe that Dancing with the Stars is quality television.

But, if you want to play the popular opinion game, bring it.

Americans actually favor Feingold’s censure of President Bush 46% to 44%, according to a poll by the American Research Group.*

Apparently, someone is wrong here.

*Be sure to observe, however, that the margin of error for the poll is 3%, meaning that the true numbers could be anywhere within three percent of the reported percentages. So, statistically speaking, it’s about half of Americans.

From today’s NY Times:

Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who has expressed reservations about the surveillance, said Mr. Feingold had failed to make a case for censure over what amounts to a dispute over the legal basis of the program.

“The president may be wrong,” Mr. Specter said, “but he has acted in good faith.”

Wait! What?

Mr. Specter, the president may be wrong? As in, he may NOT be able to authorize this program under the law? You and many of your colleagues in the Senate have stated that the president was, in fact, right in attempting to protect American citizens (and I would agree with you), so you must be saying that he did might not be legal.

Unfortunately, the Constitution doesn’t allow for illegal action, even it’s taken “in good faith”.

Republicans have demonstrated in the past that presidents must be held accountable, even if they are only suspected of breaking the law.
Impeaching President Bush and removing him from office may not be the right answer, but surely the Senate should acknowledge when the president has overstepped his constitutional bounds.

Yesterday, in Wisconsin, Vice President Cheney said, “The American people already made their decision… They agree with the president.”

That’s quite a pretty broad (and inaccurate) generalization from an Adminstration that’s facing approval ratings of 36%.

I believe Cheney is referencing a recent ABC/WP poll that shows “54% of Americans call the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretap program acceptable.”

A slight majority makes it difficult to say that the American people agree with the president.

And nowhere has it been asked whether the American people believe that President Bush can supersede the law as long as he “acts in good faith”. I doubt the numbers would be anywhere near as high.

NY Times: Democrats beat quick retreat on call to censure president
AP: Feingold draws little support for censure
Harris Poll: President Bush’s approval ratings continue to drop
ABC News Poll: Bush strong on terrorism, wrong on Katrina

This is not democracy.

Michael E. Toner, the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, has some friendly advice for presidential candidates who plan to be taken seriously by the time nominating contests start in early 2008: Bring your wallet.

“There is a growing sense that there is going to be a $100 million entry fee at the end of 2007 to be considered a serious candidate,” Toner said in a recent interview.

The Washington Post: Money’s Going to Talk in 2008

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) announced a resolution to censure President Bush for the NSA wiretapping program during an appearance this morning on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”.

Feingold has called the program illegal because it bypasses the special FISA court set up to deal with giving out warrants in instances of foreign surveillance.

Senate Majority Leader (and winner of the SRLC 2008 straw poll) Bill Frist (R-TN) appeared on “This Week” right after Feingold and criticized Feingold’s proposal, saying, “The signal that it sends, that there is in any way a lack of support for our commander in chief who is leading us with a bold vision in a way that is making our homeland safer is wrong.”

To me, Feingold’s proposal is a prime example of the checks and balances that the founding fathers intended when they divided the US government into three separate branches. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that leadership shouldn’t be questioned or that Americans should acquiesce to their leaders just because they are told they will be safer.

Here’s the breakdown:

• President Bush authorized an NSA program to listen in on conversations between American citizens and suspected members of Al Qaeda who are outside the country.
• Usually, a warrant from a special court set up by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 is needed before this kind of electronic wiretapping can occur.
• The Bush Administration contends that the authorization to use “force” to fight terrorism passed by the Senate following 9/11 gives them the right to bypass the law
• A large, bipartisan contingent of Senators have said publicly that they did not intend that resolution to automatically include authorization for electronic wiretapping outside of current law.
• Feingold said today, “Almost every member of Congress is saying, ‘Well, yes, he broke the law — but let’s see if we can fix the law.’” Many Senators have said that what Bush did may be illegal, but that the solution is to retroactively make it legal because it protects American citizens.

Herein lies the problem:

Is it ok to break the law as long as your intentions are to protect the American people?

No.

No matter what your intentions, you cannot simply break the law. Nor can you simply go back and make your actions legal. That’s not how our government works.

Of course we should be doing everything we can to protect Americans from terrorism. But we should be doing it under the rule of law.

“Our number one priority is fighting terrorism. The president is right about this,” Feingold said today.

“His intentions here may have been honorable. He may have been just trying to do everything he could to protect the country.

But that’s not our system of government. He has a right to do everything he can to protect our country within our laws. We have to respond in a way that’s responsible.”

Feingold emphasized his point, saying, “The idea that the president can just make up the law in violation of his oath of office has to be answered.”

ABC News - Ed O’Keefe: Feingold Calls for Bush’s Censure

AP: Feingold Wants Bush Censured for Spying

Thomas Friedman - The Other Side of Outsourcing

I don’t usually follow Major League Soccer, but this is a new development in U.S. sports: Red Bull, the maker of Red Bull Energy Drink has bought the New York / New Jersey MetroStars and renamed them, you guessed it, Red Bull New York.

Red Bull already owns a team in Austria, where the drink was created, called Red Bull Salzburg.

Pro soccer teams around the world have had advertisements prominently displayed on their jerseys for the last decade, but I haven’t heard of a team actually changing it’s name to that of a product before.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) is known for the “listening sessions” that he conducts in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties each year. He’s also been conducting them as he travels to states like Georgia and New Hampshire, exploring a 2008 presidential bid. Today marked Feingold’s first national on-line listening session, where he responded to questions and comments from people around the country.

An excerpt:

Meryl_From_NYC:

do you plan to seek our party’s nomination for President?

Russ_Feingold:

Meryl – Thanks for the question. I’m still trying to figure that out. I have truly been so consumed with my work on Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Intelligence and Budget Committees, as well as going to places like Colorado and Vermont to try to elect Dem members of Congress, that I think its best for me to evaluate whether I am the right guy for 2008 sometime after the November elections. I am thoroughly enjoying doing my 72 Listening Sessions in WI but let me assure you that I am absolutely determined to have a Dem President in 2008.

Feingold has some major challenges to overcome if he’s going to make the top tier of presidential candidates, but he’s also the most unique figure in the field. He’s also gaining major support from the netroots, in part thanks to attempts to reach out to the online community through chats, podcasts, and blog entries.

As I was riding home on the bus the other day, I was thinking the role that the Internet has played in my life (at least in the last year or so).

• I’m currently doing an internship in DC that I found and applied for online.
• Most of my internship is done doing online research.
• The apartment I’m living in, I found posted on craigslist by my roommate.
• I’m making some extra cash by doing web design for someone in Madison, WI.
• Every couple of days I get a new movie in the mail from Netflix.
• I use Skype, Gmail, Facebook and AIM to communicate with my friends and family back home.
• I check how much money I have in my checking account online.
• I’m in a NCAA Tournament pool with friends from home at CBS Sportsline.
• I get practically all of my news online.
• I’m currently in a frisbee league with people I found on Meetup.org.
• I navigate the DC Metro/Bus system using their Web site.
• Most of the TV I watch is downloaded with bittorrent.

Essentially, without the Internet I’d be unemployed, poor, homeless, socially isolated, and bored.  Or something like that.

This is amazing: “For the first time ever, CBS along with the NCAA will stream the first 56 games the March Madness tournament for free.”

source: Lost Remote

I’m giddy with anticipation for Brewers Baseball.

I can’t wait to listen to Uke, crack open a Miller Lite, scarf down some brats, and cheer on the  Crew to what Dave Roloff predicts will be our first playoff birth in over two decades.

We all know that nothing’s guaranteed (or even probable), but there’s nothing that says I can’t spend spring training dreaming that Milwaukee will actually have a winning season.

Some wonderfully optimistic propaganda for your enjoyment: