Anybody reading with WaMu credit cards?

Anybody with Washington Mutual credit cards - soon to be Chase credit cards - should be aware of these changes in terms Chase have been forcing onto their customers. In the writer's view, they're violating truth-in-lending laws and existing contracts in doing so - either way, the changes are worth noting.

oh good, "later."

Oh good, Sec. Gates says the Obama administration will deal with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" sometime, oh, later. Not "soon." It's been "push[ed]... down the road." Now, it's possible "later" means "the late summer when nobody's paying attention," and that's okay. But if it's not 2009, the realities of Democratic politics means it's going to be 2013, maybe. (Why? Because 2010 means "it's an election year!" which of course really means, "We can't alienate the queerhaters! They matter more than you!" And 2011 is coming off mid-terms and only the GOP will want to take stands (not that the Democrats want to, ever, anyway), and in 2012 "it's an election year!" which means 2013.)

So there you go.

In other news, Japan still doesn't allow same-sex marriage, but now will recognise those marriages for immigration purposes and co-operate fully with identity issuance required for those marriages. So that's useful, and, of course, leagues ahead of the US, where the Federal government doesn't even recognise legal same-sex marriages performed in US states.

I wonder whether there's any calendar for repealing DOMA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA <cries>

Oh, and Vermont's governor pledges to veto marriage legalisation. A legislative process arose after separate-but-theoretically-equal domestic-partner laws were used by an appellate court to discriminate against the survivor in domestic partnerships. The survivor had tried to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, but the court threw it out on the basis that the separate laws implied same-sex couples could be treated differently than heterosexual couples. It was an excuse, of course, but that's how these things get used. If you're in Vermont, or have friends or family in Vermont, political action now would be good - if the House passes the bill by enough votes, the governor may back off and let it become law without a signature.

In war crimes news, a Spanish court is doing what American justice won't even investigate; starting work on war crimes prosecutions for members of the Bush administration. Great Britain's Conservatives are also pushing that government towards investigations of American torture. Andrew Sullivan notes - and notes - that when it's not the US doing the waterboarding, the Washington Post is more than happy to call it torture. Same with repeated beatings. As Mr. Sullivan puts it:

Remember: we don't torture. When Bush said that he meant: when we do it, it's not torture. And the WaPo and the AP and the NYT's news divisions agree.

Glenn Greenwald also makes another catch, where Newsweek's Evan Thomas states outright that he considers himself a member of the "ruling class," and that as such, his interest is preserving the status quo. Again, it's not the reality - that's long obvious - but the bare statement of it that's kind of neat.

surprise! thanks!

So, I guess once you have CD sponsors three and four it's time to make a mailing list? I dunno! Maybe! Thanks, maellenkleth and gytha_telchwyn, for being sponsors three and four!

Here's some of the equipment so you can see where your money is going:



I had one of the mic stands already, and the computer; I built the Fuzzy Monolith (gobo) from PVC and 20¢/sq. ft. carpet remnant, and bought the mics (M-Audio Novas) used at a pawn shop with a big musical equipment section up in SnoHOmish County, and upgraded the RAM in the computer, and bought the shock mounts for the mics new, and one of the stands. I'd already bought the little sound interface box with the bright blue LED (FastTrack USB Pro), and already had a few mics (not out in this pic), the other mic stand, the music stand, and cables and headphones, tho' I did buy new foam pads, because the old ones were nasty. Thanks!