PSA for composers and musicians who don't have sheet music software

Finale NotePad for Windows and OS X, sheet music software which you can use to compose and print basic sheet music, is currently downloadable for free. This has been the normal state since it was released. However, they're about to yank the 2008 version and replace it with a new (2009) version, which will not be free of charge, and all previous versions will be yanked from their website and unavailable for download. So if you want to play with a version that does not require payment, you should grab it soon.

Linux users could grab a variety of things, including Rosegarden, which also does a lot of other things, but which sadly does not have compiles for OSX and because of their current toolkits would be a nontrivial conversion effort.

i've seen this movie before

This is stupid: Federal rules are now so interventionist that the Seahawks can't have Metro shuttles anymore - they're required to pay over three times as much to a private company instead if they want the service.

Meanwhile, a variety of Hersey's products no longer meet the definition of "Chocolate" in any form. Labels have been changed subtly to match.

Over here, a national automatic vehicle tracking system is being shopped to Homeland Security.

And finally, The New York Times is giving positive commentary to an Alan Dershowitz book proposing to reform torture - not eliminate torture, "reform" it - by creating torture warrants.

Welcome to Brazil.

A couple of pieces

elfs has a post worth reading here, noting most importantly a report that White House Deputy Press Secerary Antonio Fratto says this "emergency" plan has been put together over months, and concludes that this is exactly the raw looting you think it is.

Also, check out the popular impression of the economy numbers here, particularly the 0% responses in the economic sector. I've never seen that before. You can usually get 1-3% of people to say anything, and they had no people saying the economy was getting better and no people saying their household financial situation was getting better. Nobody. When these numbers show up in the official consumer confidence stats, it's gonna get even uglier.

oh well

Ron Paul has endorsed Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate. What a damn shame. The Constitution Party, formerly the US Taxpayers Party, is big into the Christian Nation shtick and supports state-level recriminalisation of queers:

The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States.

This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ... The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries. ...

We affirm the importance of Biblical scripture in the founders' intent as eloquently stated by Noah Webster: "The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitution and laws… All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts in the Bible." ... We reject the notion that sexual offenders are deserving of legal favor or special protection, and affirm the rights of states and localities to proscribe offensive sexual behavior. We oppose all efforts to impose a new sexual legal order through the federal court system. We stand against so-called "sexual orientation" and "hate crime" statutes that attempt to legitimize inappropriate sexual behavior and to stifle public resistance to its expression. We oppose government funding of "partner" benefits for unmarried individuals. Finally, we oppose any legal recognition of homosexual unions.

And so on. They're against abortion rights, stem-cell research, etc., etc., etc. What a damn shame.