Nov 25, 2008
Not really. But he's going after farm subsidies, which I can certainly get behind if anything actually happens. McCain would have been better because Ethanol looms as the worst subsidy of all. But this is a step in the right direction. And fortunately for Republicans, this is political suicide in a number of swing states. Powell '12 suckers!
Nov 24, 2008
While the Men were busy rehabilitating their bussed livers on Sunday, Venezuelans were out voting.
In Venezuela, red still means leftist. They havent gotten the memo.
As you can see by the map, the brand new United Socialist Party totally cleaned up.
It won 17 governorship contests and lost 5.
It won 265 mayoralties and lost 62.
Yet the headlines read:
Key gains for Venezuela opposition
Chavez May Lose Ground in State Elections, Then Grab More Power
Chavez foes claim symbolic victories in Venezuela
Opposition gains ground in Venezuela elections
Chavez loses biggest states on defections by Venezuela's poor
Maybe all those ugly passengers on the bar bus were Venezuela's foreign press corps. There is really no other explanation for the crappy copy editing.
Nov 21, 2008
Could this be the Robert Novak?
It seems right up his alley.
Nov 20, 2008
Nov 19, 2008
As I am wont to do every now and then, I've been reading a book. Though I just started it, I am quite enjoying it. The book is Truck: A Love Story, by Michael Perry. He writes in a humorous yet philosophical manner which is nice. While he spouts out his big thoughts, he mixes in a large dose of self-depreciative humor just to show he's not so full of himself that he can't see that he's full of it as well.
While reading it, I came across this quote. First the set up. He is talking about his inability to follow through on projects he starts, and he's lack of focus in general. Now the quote:
"Once while speaking to a camp for troubled youth, I looked down at my sandaled feet and noted I had trimmed nine out of ten toenails."
How is this an inspirational quote you ask? Well, this man, who apparently lacks the focus to finish cutting his toenails, was able to start and finish not only one, but three books. No small feat. So, don't doubt yourself too much. In the immortal words of too many Adam Sandler movies, you can do it!
Nov 18, 2008
Or, A pirate's life for me?
Maybe some of you who are on the cutting edge of the news world have heard this, but pirates, who headquarter in Somalia, have just captured a Saudi Super Tanker that was carrying $100 million in crude oil. They captured it at sea and have now taken it back and it is anchored of the coast of Somalia. All 25 crew memeber are reported as being unharmed, and so far both the US and NATO navies have said they plan no intervention. Previously Somali pirates have ransomed ships for $1 million, but those were smaller, less valuable vessels.
SO what do you fools think? You up for a career change? I mean if the navies aren't going to do anything about, what's the risk? I've got some kitchen knives, and SZ, you have a canoe right? That's all we need to get started. We'll hijack one of those barges on the Willamette and with the proceeds we can buy a bigger boat and maybe some weapons and the skies the limit.
Nov 17, 2008
From the folks who brought you Dick(Cheney)-in-a-box...
Further proof of my blinding whiteness.
Nov 16, 2008
For the 32nd consecutive week, George W. is the Bush of the Week. Although Laura nearly took this week's award for pulling in millions to write her memoirs, GWB gets the nod for demonstrating to the Arizona State track-and-field team how his sexual preferences dovetail with his administration's foreign policy: 
Nov 14, 2008
"That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did. When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist...
We can't be lulled into complacency. You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential of going down that road."
Senator Paul Broun (R-Georgia) speaking about President Elect Barack Obama.
Hate to break it to you Paul, but while you say you're not comparing Obama to Hitler, you actually just did.
Nov 13, 2008
This video is a great summary of what Mrs. Gee Whiz deals with from day to day
compared to Science Fact.
'We've never seen an aurora like this elsewhere,' said Tom Stallard, a scientist working with Cassini data at the University of Leicester.
Just wanted to add to the provocative headline theme we have going.
Nov 12, 2008
Nov 11, 2008
Grant Park at daybreak. When the weather is not too unfavorable hundreds of unemployed men sleep on a newspaper in Grant Park...across the street from these scenes in Grant Park is one of the largest hotels in the world. It has 3,000 rooms. At the time these pictures were taken approximately 2,700 of these rooms were vacant. The Paradox of Plenty.
--Published in 1933, the year of the Chicago World's Fair.
(originally posted on Ptak Science Books)
Nov 10, 2008
Mama Africa died last night in Italy. I heard the news on NPR this morning when Carl Kasell began a story, "Miriam Makeba..." and I immediately thought, "No no no," but why else does Carl Kasell ever mention random foreign musicians other than to say they passed on? At least she was able to return from exile early enough to enjoy her fame in ZA. If you don't know who she is you might recognize her if you've seen Amandla! She's one of the two old ladies sitting and laughing about being forced into the locations at the onset of apartheid.
Nov 9, 2008
University of Michigan professor Mark Newman produced this interesting cartogram showing the voting breakdown of the 2008 election based on population. The blue areas denote a sharp trend toward Obama, the Red a sharp trend toward McCain, and the various shades of purple are where results were mixed. Space Zombie sees a lot of blue and purple.
Some more of Newman's cartograms.
Nov 7, 2008
Next time someone generalizes rural Oregon as filled with hicks and republican's, you might want to tell them about Silverton's mayor : Stu Rasmussen.
Silverton has elected what is thought to be the country's first openly transgender mayor.
Stu Rasmussen served two terms as Silverton's mayor in the 1990s, but he was still living in the closet -- and dressing in men's clothing. He came out a few years ago, proudly donning a skirt and high heels.
On Tuesday, Rasmussen won a third term, by 13 percentage points. He attributes his victory to his deep knowledge of the issues.
"The first 30 seconds they think, am I in freak show? Is there a camera behind me? What's going on here?" Rasmussen told a local news station about voters' reaction to him.
"And then we get down to discussing whatever the issue is -- city business or whatever -- and they figure out this guy's different, but he knows what he's talking about."
In comparison, Austinites may have to question just how progressive they are if Leslie can't get elected there...
Maybe Leslie needs to stop flashing people and get a better website.
Nov 6, 2008
Nov 5, 2008
to invade Afghanistan.
Take a look around here.
Or watch here.
Oh, me likee: a fascinating look behind the curtain. Choice bits:
One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family...a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill...An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
My incisive commentary: Hillbillies? Jajajajajajajaja...
On the Sunday night before the last debate, McCain's core group of advisers—Steve Schmidt, Rick Davis, adman Fred Davis, strategist Greg Strimple, pollster Bill McInturff and strategy director Sarah Simmons—met to decide whether to tell McCain that the race was effectively over, that he no longer had a chance to win. The consensus in the room was no, not yet, not while he still had "a pulse."
Uh, I wonder if Mr. Pork-Barrel Spending and His Magic Black Pen feel bad about all that tax-payer money they shit away those last few weeks for a lost cause.
McCain was dumbfounded when Congressman John Lewis, a civil-rights hero, issued a press release comparing the GOP nominee with former Alabama governor George Wallace, a segregationist infamous for stirring racial fears.
I'm pretty surprised McCain was genuinely caught off guard by this: I figured it was the standard rhetorical posturing. Perhaps this speaks to an inability to detect nuance, which portends his likely reaction to any sort of diplomatic crisis: "What, Putin sneezed? Bomb Ecuador!" Seriously, what did the wanker expect? Who is Barack HUSSEIN Obama? Well:
The Obama campaign was provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that many crowds at Palin rallies became more frenzied.
I'm pretty sure John Lewis made a perfectly valid point. You can't run on your integrity if you have none.
Also, it's too bad politics is mostly about appearances and tight scripts. I wish Obama would have been this candid in the debates:
So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f---ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective.'
Apparently Newsweek does this for every election and will be releasing more and more behind-the-scenes as the days pass. Cool.
With the election having come to a pleasant and thankfully not surprising finish we now have a chance to evaluate the nations polling process. What was the final "poll of polls"?
52.1% Obama to 44.5% McCain.
If you give the undecideds to McCain you end up with 52.1 to 47.9 which is pretty darn close to the current ratio of 53 to 47. What does this mean? Well to me it means that the polls are actually a decent indication of what is happening. In turn, if you remember back to the previous elections where the polls said one thing and the vote counts said another, it makes you wonder doesn't it?
Nov 4, 2008
My friends and I began trading haikus just before knocking off from work. Perhaps the creative types in here can add their own to mark commentary as the night rolls on.
Feel the energy
Our man Barack will win big!
And Bush will be done.
---------------------
obama must win
or i'll flip my fucking shit
move to canada
---------------------
I may be alone
In my love of Obama
Utah has Utards
---------------------
it's still too early
old white asshole still could win
no lovin' tonight
Nov 3, 2008
I would rather have Obama than McPalin as our next president, obviously, but I honestly don't understand this representation of him as a great hope. I think the US may be shooting itself in the foot by not further considering other options. Why do we allow republicans and democrats to convince us their two party system is the only one?
I think, like religion, a lot of people are fooling themselves into believing fairy tales because it's comforting. Facts and logic seem to go by the wayside when contrasted by a prepacked, comforting myth. Eternal bliss in the afterlife? Sign me up. The Change We need? Sounds great. The fact that reality doesn't match up with these outrageous promises doesn't seem to even matter. That's what I don't understand.
The one counter argument is that Obama is "hiding" his true beliefs so as to appeal to moderates. That kind of sounds like "the ways of god are mysterious and not for me to understand." In otherwords, a closed hermeutic cirlce that allows for no outside information. If it's true, it can only lead to charges of being a liar and a hypocrite when he acts differently than he has promised.
I would like to support Obama. If anyone can read the below article and tell me why his stances on war and torture (nearly identical to McCain) aren't enough of a reason to pull our heads out of the sand and stop pretending he's something he's not ... well I'd be glad to hear it.
This article on The Nation does a great job of catching things Obama hasn't said or done in terms of foreign policy.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/365222/verdict_on_obama_mealymouthed_pathetic
If, God forbid, foreign policy had to be the deciding factor in choosing between Barack Obama and John McCain, then last night's terrible showing by Obama would make me a Ralph Nader voter in a heartbeat. Obama's performance was nothing short of pathetic, and only a Democratic-leaning analysts and voters with blinders on could suggest that Obama won the debate. More important, he utterly blew a chance to draw a stark contrast with John McCain on America's approach to the world.
He checked all the boxes. Barack ("Senator McCain is right") Obama couldn't find anything to disagree with the militarist Arizonan about. Support for NATO expansion? Check. Absurd anti-Russian diatribes? Check. Dramatic escalation of the war in Afghanistan? Check. I'm ready to attack Pakistan? Check. (Actually, on this one, McCain was the moderate!) Painful sanctions against Iran, backed up by the threat of force? Check. Blathering about the great threat from Al Qaeda? Check. It went on and on.
Here's Obama on Afghanistan:
Yes, I think we need more troops. I've been saying that for over a year now.And I think that we have to do it as quickly as possible, because it's been acknowledged by the commanders on the ground the situation is getting worse, not better. ... So I would send two to three additional brigades to Afghanistan.
Obama on invading Pakistan:
You've got cross-border attacks against U.S. troops. And we've got a choice. We could allow our troops to just be on the defensive and absorb those blows again and again and again, if Pakistan is unwilling to cooperate, or we have to start making some decisions. ... You don't muddle through the central front on terror and you don't muddle through going after bin Laden. You don't muddle through stamping out the Taliban.
When McCain bumbled by calling Iran's Revolutionary Guard the "Republican Guard" (that would be the name of Saddam Hussein's elite force, not Iran's), Obama bumbled along, stupidly agreeing that the Guard is a "terrorist" group:
I believe the Republican Guard of Iran is a terrorist organization. I've consistently said so. What Senator McCain refers to is a measure in the Senate that would try to broaden the mandate inside of Iraq. To deal with Iran.
Sure, Obama said he would talk to Iran, but so did McCain. And they both cast Iran policy as related to US support for Israel, our "stalwart ally," Obama said. Like Sarah Palin, Obama isn't about to second-guess Israel.
On Russia, Obama acknowledged that the US can't go back to a Cold War posture, and then he proceeded to do so, sounding exactly like McCain:
A resurgent and very aggressive Russia is a threat to the peace and stability of the region.Their actions in Georgia were unacceptable. They were unwarranted. And at this point, it is absolutely critical for the next president to make clear that we have to follow through on our six-party -- or the six-point cease-fire. They have to remove themselves from South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
It is absolutely important that we have a unified alliance and that we explain to the Russians that you cannot be a 21st-century superpower, or power, and act like a 20th-century dictatorship.
And we also have to affirm all the fledgling democracies in that region, you know, the Estonians, the Lithuanians, the Latvians, the Poles, the Czechs, that we are, in fact, going to be supportive and in solidarity with them in their efforts. They are members of NATO.
And to countries like Georgia and the Ukraine, I think we have to insist that they are free to join NATO if they meet the requirements, and they should have a membership action plan immediately to start bringing them in.
He added, for good measure: "I think Senator McCain and I agree for the most part on these issues." No criticism at all of McCain's idiotic concept of a League of Democracies, which McCain touted last night. No criticism at all of McCain's thundering demand to kick Russia out of the G-8.
On torture, Obama totally blew it. "I give Senator McCain great credit on the torture issue, for having identified that as something that undermines our long-term security," said Obama last night. Come again? This is the McCain who supports waterboarding, who wouldn't force the CIA to adhere to military standards about torture. Did you miss that, Senator Obama?
Where was Obama's criticism of the "Bush doctrine" -- you know, that thing that Palin likes, about shooting first and asking questions later? Where was Obama's vision of an effort to reach out to Muslim countries with a new vision of US-Muslim cooperation? What about casting the principle challenge of foreign policy in terms of hunger, disease, lack of housing and access to clean water, that plagues the Third World and drives desperate people to violence?
Time for another MVC contest. This time the sport is horse racing--er, I mean presidential politics.
Please submit the number of electoral college votes you think Obama will net. You need not list the states (though you can, if you wish, for the Men's curiosity).
Per usual, each loser must buy a pint for the winner(s).
[As a reminder, yall still owe pints to Max for NFL playoffs and to JGW for NBA playoffs--convenient clearing of all debts can occur Nov. 20-24.]
Nov 2, 2008
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