In honor of Philo, Chris, and the Summer of Rock, I present:

The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida:

Why cities without gays and rock bands are losing the economic development race.

I didn’t know he had a web site! He is one of the only playwrights, along with Stoppard and Albee, that can get me to actually pay Broadway prices for a ticket.

OK. I’m done for now with the new and improved version. The more artistically-minded of you will notice the color scheme — it’s based on Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue (1921). I examined the RGB values from the image.

The blogrolling thing on the right isn’t always accurate about whether a blog has been updated recently. It’s because some programs (including the one that james is using) fail to send a “Last-Modified” header. So don’t yell at me if your entry is wrong.

Not really new, but it’s new to me. I love it!

As someone who thinks a pre-emptive strike on a country that few people other than Bush believe is a significant threat to us, I just signed Move On’s petition. This group got started during the horrors of the Clinton impeachment/Republican coup.

I will not feel safe in a world, as an American and a New Yorker, that justifiably believes that force is the only way to convince the USA of anything.

A Republican administration that has Kissinger telling it this is a bad idea is a danger to us all.

P.S. Are we really going to be safer if every country with weapons of mass destruction thinks we might attack them? It brings new meaning to the phrase “use ’em or lose ’em”.

James has posted reports from friends with Jews Against the Occupation currently staying in the Occupied Territories.

To be fair (because I’m morally superior to Republicans¹), I need to mention it when the Bush administration does something even remotely positive. Unfortunately, it only applies to new aid, not the $2 billion we currently give annually.

Bush, in Shift on Egypt, Links New Aid to Rights

The Bush administration will oppose any additional foreign aid for Egypt to protest the Egyptian government’s prosecution of human rights campaigner Saad Eddin Ibrahim and its poor treatment of pro-democracy organizations, administration sources said yesterday.

The Ibrahim case makes it “impossible” for the administration to contemplate extra money for Egypt, according to a White House official who said President Bush will soon advise Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in writing of his decision. Existing aid programs will not be affected.

¹ Just a single example: The horrible Ann Coulter, she of let’s have a crusade and convert the Arab world to Christianity by force fame (does she think we should try that with Jews again too?), says Manhattan doesn’t count as part of America. I recommend she visit NYC around the anniversary of 9/11 and say that.

Los Angeles Times columnist Jonathan Turley: Ashcroft has suggested camps for U.S. citizens he deems to be “enemy combatants”.

Today’s quiz: The U.S. is about to begin fingerprinting visitors from a list of Arab/Muslim countries. Which country won’t be included in the list? Hint: 15 of the 19 hijackers came from there.