"I even take the position that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged." — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

He also said, at the same speech at Harvard, that the 17th Amendment — which provides for the direct election of U.S. Senators by the people — was "a bad idea." Here's the full report.

[spotted at Fark]

The onetime musician formerly known as Cat Stevens has a few things to say about where we're at today. It seems that in Bush's America, there's no room for a man of peace named Yusuf Islam.

I have two long, narrow rugs adorning the hardwood floor in my hall at Chez Newton (The Global House of Chillage). Until recently, said rugs were held in place by these nifty sorta-sticky things that IKEA makes that go under rugs. The IKEA name for this sorta-sticky thing is Patrull, a strange name to be sure, even for IKEA. And I'm pretty certain that the plural of Patrull is Patrull. But I digress.

The problem with Patrull is that over time, they lose their grip and you need new ones. Not wanting to deal with the traffic and parking nightmare that is modern-day Emeryville, I decided to stay away from IKEA's brick-and-mortar store and instead head to IKEA.com to order myself a new pack o' Patrull. more...

Tuesday night, two members of my reading group told me — with absolute seriousness — that if George W. is re-elected, they're leaving the country. While I understand the emotions that drive such a plan, I think it's terribly shortsighted to think that all is lost and the only way to live in peace and sanity is to pack up and get outta Dodge. I'm as upset about the current regime as anybody, and even more upset about John Kerry's rudderless campaign. But I'm already growing weary of the whining I'm hearing on the left. It seems Jon Carroll is sick of it, too.

My photos from Burning Man 2004 are now on display in the museyroom. With that done, this blog should start to flow again.