Warning: This podcast is my first attempt at an unscripted show! It’s… o-kay, but like my wife said when I played it for her, “I think you do better with a script.”

Well, screw it. This is all an experiment, anyway. Just be glad I didn’t decide to call it 180 Minutes Max!

You can download the show directly here, or subscribe to the Stumax.com RSS 2.0 feed.

Just one more thing: I hate to go on about the audio quality, so let this be the last word about it until I upgrade. I just wanted to mention it since I notice where it’s inadequate and there might be some who are curious. These ‘casts have actually come out pretty well considering my setup, but it seems like there’s a lot more mic noise in this show. I’ve reached the limit of what I can do with my current equipment and don’t have the cash flow to get new gear yet. I’m recording these shows with a cheap headset mic that I got free with a copy of ViaVoice. I’m using a piece of toilet tissue wrapped around the mic as a windscreen, but it still picks up a lot of extraneous noise. I process the audio in Audacity after recording, which helps.

Hoping for some new equipment before too long, but since I’m just getting started, I’m not too displeased with what I’ve been able to produce to this point.

The second edition of 5 Minutes Max—American Values—is online. Download it directly or enter the Stumax.com RSS feed in your favorite feed reader.

Here are some links referenced in the ‘cast:

The National Archives has a great website with all of our founding documents online.

There’s also a very nice interactive version of the Constitution, with explanations and commentary, at Constitution Center.

You can find the full texts of the Geneva Conventions here.

Here’s an MSNBC story about the Bush administration and the so-called “torture memos.”

Some perspectives on the administration’s stance on human rights and the Geneva Convention can be found at the Human Rights Watch site here, here, and here.

The Center for American Progress looks at Alberto Gonzales’ record as White House Counsel.

Finally, see Hullaballoo for a couple of pertinent blog posts.

At The Poor Man, John Derbyshire plays the straight man:

The Poor Man—Easy Answers To Unnecessarily Stupid Questions

Over at National Review (happy 50th, guys!), John Derbyshire blogs from a sensory deprivation chamber deep beneath the surface of Mars:

Define “abusing.” Some of these prisoners are ruthless terrorists with the blood of Americans—and, of course, many Iraqis—on their hands. Most of them have done something or other to end up in custody. If U.S. interrogators yell at them, is that “abuse”? If they threaten or intimidate them, is that “abuse”? If they prevent them going to the bathroom for a couple of hours, is that “abuse”? If they smack them upside the head, is that “abuse”?

Click here for the punch line.

It’s inventory clearance time here at Stumax.com. These links didn’t get out before the end of the year, so my accountant says they’ve gotta go. My loss is your gain. So here’s a bunch of stuff you should have been reading last year…

• Andrew Cline at Rhetorica.net has been beating the drum about structural bias in the news biz for some time. In Call a Ph.D…., he notes a good recent example of the fairness bias at work.
• Cory Doctorow goes off on the editor of Wired for said editor’s dimwitted take on DRM.
• There’s a killer Flash animation at JPL that takes a look at the past year in Mars exploration.
• Choose the Blue helps you support companies based on their political contributions.
• A commenter to Juan Cole’s Informed Comment thinks that maybe war just doesn’t work anymore. James Wolcott provides more evidence.
• This reported exchange between a congressional delegation and representatives of the Indian government is pretty chilling. The US represents only about 5 percent of the world’s population. Is it so hard to imagine that if the world wanted to avoid doing business with us, we might not have much say in the matter? (Road to Surfdom)
• Are we really willing to become a nation that commits war crimes? (Washington Post, registration) What are we doing, for cryin’ out loud. (Washington Monthly) I mean, really, is this the United States of America? Land of the free, defenders of truth and justice? (Sid’s Fishbowl)
• I think Digby’s right. The way to whup the Republicans next time is to call them on their shit.

Well, I’ve been talking about it for weeks, and it’s finally here… my very first podcast! I really wanted to have it posted before 2004 was over, but I suppose that posting on January 1st isn’t too bad, either. I won’t go into all the technical stumbles I encountered on the way to getting this recorded, but suffice to say that if the audio sucks, it’s tons better than my first attempts, and as soon as I can invest in a new mic and mixer, it’ll get even better. The audio quality, that is. The actual show content may never improve, but we work with what we have.

Today’s podcast is the first of what I intend to be a series. I’ve got no agenda for 5 Minutes Max other than producing something reasonably listenable and non-offensive. And, of course, short.

Today’s premiere episode of 5 Minutes Max can be downloaded directly here, or you can subscribe to the Stumax.com RSS feed in your favorite Podcatcher.

Just one show note: I reference Hugh MacLeod’s excellent blog GapingVoid.com. The post that contains the specific quote I refer to is entitled the world is changing”.

Thanks for listening, and Happy New Year!