Nope.

Just a week or so ago, it looked like there might be some hope that the truce between Israel and the Palestinians would be sticking around for a while. Then it stopped. Great.

The anti-Israel crowd is wrong. Israel does a lot of things poorly, but Hamas is sending rockets into Israel without regard for who they kill, and the ONLY reason that people see the responses by Israel as extreme is because Israel has better weapons. Rest assured that if Hamas got their hands on larger weapons, MANY innocent Israelis would die, as Hamas does not aim for specific targets, they aim to kill innocent people in cities.

The extremists in Palestine also house their command centers in preschools and hospitals. You want to know why so many innocent Palestinian children die? It is because the only way to take out a Hamas terror cell is to destroy its base, and if its base in placed in some place with lots of kids, kids will die.

That said, Israel is equally in the wrong. The response to an attack that barely hurt anyone and killed no one should not and should never be an enormous missle strike that kills innocent people, no matter who you were actually aiming for. It is stupid and accomplishes nothing, and now innocent children are dead as a result of.. what? Responding to loud noises? That's horrific. If a bomb falls in the forest and no one is around to be hurt by it, get over it and figure out something less deadly.

Both sides are equally as wrong. Which is why both the anti-Israel group and pro-Israel group are wrong as well. Both need to stop blaming the other side - they are both to blame, and need to be treated as though they are both in the wrong. Blaming Israel for its "Atrocities" when it response to being bombed is stupid, but supporting the country for bombing the hell out of people that only really sent in a loud firecracker is equally so.

SHOCK! OBAMA TEAM HAD NO CONTACT WITH GOVERNOR

The papers are released, the research has been conducted, and the end result is scandal city:

Barack Obama and his team did not talk to Governor Blagojavich about his Senate seat.

WOW. This truly is amazing and scandalous news. I am so glad that every major news organization and every Republican ever were pushing to learn more from Barack Obama after he so emptily claimed "I had no contact with the governor."

Well, thank God they kept at it, because if they hadn't kept poking and prodding and keeping the public well aware of how there were serious holes and unanswered questions about Obama's claim, we might never have known that Barack Obama had no contact with the governor. I mean, why couldn't Barack Obama just come out and say that in the first place?

For Just 80 Cents a Day, You Can Save a Starving Child in Africa... or a Dog

The ASPCA commercials, while for a good cause, tend to offend me. There are Christian Children's fund commercials that claim they can help a starving child survive for just 80 cents a day. For 60 cents a day - 75% of the children's fund - you can help an old dog that was mistreated live a few years longer.

I <3 Animals - but I refuse to believe that it costs only 20 cents more per day to save a starving human than a dog. If I can save a child for 80 cents a day, I should be able to save a dog for 10 cents a day or less. I also am a little angry at people that refuse to fork over the extra 20 cents a day to save a child over a cat.

At the very least, I would prefer they not use the same sales tactic on their charity. If nothing else, it would make me feel as though their commercial was in better taste.

Canada is cool.

They are way too nice in Canada.

TORONTO — The federal and Ontario governments will provide the Canadian subsidiaries of the Detroit Three automakers with 4 billion Canadian dollars ($3.29 billion) in emergency loans, the prime minister said Saturday.

The announcement follows a pledge Friday by U.S. President George W. Bush to offer $17.4 billion in emergency loans to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada's bailout plan, the equivalent of 20 percent of the U.S. aid package, will help keep the plants afloat while the automakers restructure their businesses to retain one the country's most important economic sectors.

"We cannot afford, in the United States or Canada, the catastrophic short-term collapse of the Big Three automakers. The U.S. has signaled that they are not going to allow these companies to fail, and we will do our share of the North American package to see that this doesn't happen either," said Harper speaking at a news conference in Toronto.

What a sweet holiday present.

We Need to Know the Full Extent of Shut the Hell Up

Newspapers are slowly going out of business, but it is the cable news companies that really deserve to fail.

While this may be preaching to the choir, irresponsible journalism is not just a serious problem - it is also seriously stupid. In fact, Fox News may have it right - making up news is sometimes better than the news reported on.

Every day on every channel, some Republican or news anchor says "We need to know the full extent of Barack Obama's relationship with Governor Blagojavich." Every day. And every day Barack Obama has a news conference that says "I have not been in contact with the Governor." And every day the SAME news anchors and Republicans remind the audience that there is evidence that Barack Obama had no contact with the Governor, just like he said. And then these same people say, yet again, "We need to know the full extent of Barack Obama's relationship with Governor Blagojavich."

Dude. Shut the hell up. We know the full extent - you yourself have literally said the full extent out loud to us just moments ago. If you are going to fabricate news, do some actual journalism and research things so that you have something more interesting to lie about. What the hell are you paid for? Asking stupid questions that have already been answered is for the blogs. You are supposed to report news. Rather than reporting on things that you, yourself, have already admitted [in the exact same sentence as that stupid question] to be untrue, why don't you try to see if you can find Barack Obama lying so that you can be the first one to report real news.

When Sean Hannity says Barack Obama has nothing to do with it, you either need to shut the hell up or prove he's lying. Otherwise all you are doing is wasting my time.

A Sign of Change?

If this is a sign of something new happening, then today is a good day.

GAZA — Hamas leaders in Gaza on Sunday left open the possibility of renewing a tenuous truce with Israel that is due to expire Friday, putting themselves at odds with a statement by the exiled political leader of the group in Damascus, Syria.

Khaled Mashal, the exiled leader, told Hamas’s satellite television station Al Quds in an interview broadcast Sunday that “the truce was limited to six months and ends on Dec. 19.”

They'd Take a Bullet - Just Not a Shoe

G-Dub went to Iraq for the last time today. As he was there, in the middle of doing a news conference, someone threw a shoe at him which - to his credit - he dodged extremely well. Where was the secret service?

Word is that George Bush will no longer allow shoes on planes as a result of the incident.

The Video

Stole This

Is this funny? It seemed funny.

John McCain and Barack Obama somehow ended up at the same barbershop. As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken. The barbers were even afraid to start a conversation, for fear it would turn to politics.

As the barbers finished their shaves, the one who had McCain in his chair reached for the aftershave. McCain was quick to stop him saying, "No thanks, my wife will smell that and think I've been in a whorehouse," The second barber turned to Obama and said, "How about you?" Obama replied, "Go ahead, my wife doesn't know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like."

2 Stupid Commercials

Commercial #1: Buzz Quiz TV

He talks too fast, the commercial is not memorable, the game is low quality (in terms of graphics) and REALLY, he got the phone number? Because of the game? I don't think so. What an irritating commercial that I will quickly forget. Once it shuts up.

Commercial #2: The Whopper Virgins

They fly in 10 people that have never had a burger. 7/10 like the Whopper over the Big Mac. That's not a difference of four, that's a difference of 2. And that's an extremely small sample, in a clearly not double blind study. Even if the testing was done correctly, the chances of getting 7/10 due to chance (assuming a 50/50 split) is nearly 20%, and that does not include that most likely the McDonald's burger was ordered long before the Whopper was. Also, which did they eat first? Which one was made larger? And do you not think that the people being flown out from their home country would not have some idea which one they are supposed to pick?*

This is why I am a vegetarian.
~~~~
*no, I do not think they actually conducted this study.

Free Market Military

Of the two of these, which do you think a government would be better at regulating:

1) The military
2) Social welfare programs

I cannot imagine a military run by a business that would go into stupid, unnecessary wars, waste money on dumb strategies and go into a war totally unprepared with an inadequate number of "employees" to run its extensive programs despite ample evidence that more are needed.

Social welfare? It is not the best in terms of cost/benefit analysis, so a business would likely not do a good job, but the benefits help all of humanity. Run like a monster-sized mandatory charity, it would be helpful if 1.00 of every 1.00 went straight to the people that need it, but 80 cents a day is better than nothing.

*No, I'm not advocating the military should be run by anything other than the government.

Al Franken for Senate

Late?

I really want(ed) Al Franken to win. He's surprisingly intelligent, politically minded, but best of all he is funny. Can you imagine him on some major Senate committee grilling an old Bush appointee on his failures? He would probably be the first Senator to actually say what the country is thinking, rather than give long, boring speeches with no major content.

Senators give annoying substanceless diatribes all the time. We may as well have someone funny doing them to give them a purpose.

We Need Checks and Balances

Democrats do not have 60 senate seats. This allows Republicans to filibuster, should they see the need.

Should they see the need?

Politics, as irritating as it is, is a game. The goal of the game is to try to win reelection. It is not to make a difference. While there are some things (game marriage, abortion rights, etc.) that politicians believe in so strongly they cannot vote any other way, the general way that votes work is:

Does voting yes appease my constituents?

If yes, vote yes.
If no, vote no.
If maybe, vote with the party if and only if the measure is likely to pass anyway.

Right now, some 60% of the country approves of the majority of the Democrats' plans. If they filibuster stem cell research, any type of social program that is widely approved, an automotive bailout, healthcare, or anything else that Barack Obama has championed, they are not going to win reelection in 2010 and 2012 as long as Democrats can make sure they take the brunt of the blame.

60 seats would be nice because the Republicans suck on multiple levels, and tend to fight for things that go against the country's interests, only to find a way to blame the Democrats for its failure. But if the Democrats can make their failures public, then it shouldn't matter too much because they will either vote with Barack Obama's plans or secure their own demise.

Bush to Historians: Make Me the Worst

Apparently realizing that his only chance for a true legacy is to become the worst president of all time, Bush has decided to rush a few agendas into action. One of those agendas?

WASHINGTON — The Labor Department is racing to complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.

The rule, which has strong support from business groups, says that in assessing the risk from a particular substance, federal agencies should gather and analyze “industry-by-industry evidence” of employees’ exposure to it during their working lives. The proposal would, in many cases, add a step to the lengthy process of developing standards to protect workers’ health.

"Oh no! I only have a few months left! Quick, let's make sure that we make it easier for employers to kill their employees with toxic fumes!!!"

This administration makes so little sense it blows my mind.

I Realized Today that No One Can Play Rick Astley Anymore Just for Fun

Unhappy With Your Riches Cuz You're Piss Poor Morally

Some businesses deserve to fail. On Friday I was told I could get a package to Boston on Tuesday, December 2nd for $10.00, or on Wednesday, November 26th if I pay 26.00 for 3 day mail (ironically named considered it would have been 5 days).

I sprung for the 3 day mail so that it would arrive before Thanksgiving. 16 extra dollars for what is essentially 1 business day. It is often referred to as "3 day guaranteed" mail.

Today is Wednesday. Package did not arrive. UPS tracking said that they, without warning, "rescheduled" it for December 2nd - 11 days after I paid for the service, and the same date I could have gotten had I only paid 10.00. The UPS store I went to was more than happy to refund the money, but they had to call the corporate office to get permission, and the corporate office denied any refund. UPS makes $49,700,000,000 per year. They denied a $16 refund for a service which they failed miserably.

There are two cars, a Kia and a Mercedes. The Mercedes is more expensive, but it is better, so you pay the extra money. The company thanks you for your purchase, but rather than give you the Mercedes, the company gives you nothing but an engine, three tires, a back seat and an ash tray, all of which originally came from the Kia. The company sees nothing wrong with this.

~~~~~~

The moral? Some companies deserve to go out of business, because they are run by complete morons with [ironically] small packages. While I may support the automotive bailout, that in no way implies that just because a business employs many people it automatically deserves government help if it runs itself into the ground. If UPS ever lobbies for assistance, I'm going to personally go down to Washington and see that they don't get it.

A Higher Standard

While some are annoyed, I believe it is nice to see the complaints Obama is getting for keeping former staff members and bringing the Clintons back to the White House. The idea is that to "Change" Washington, you need to use only new people in high Washington posts.

Well, that is neither here nor there. George Bush used new people. But at the same time, it would be nice to hear a name that is a surprise. That said, when was the last time you heard a Republican upset with his own party for choosing a party leader that has expertise in the area?

That type of accountability is nice to see, no matter how warranted it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the election over and Obama elected, I am running out of interesting things to talk about.

The Automotive Bailout

Whether you agree with bailouts or not, Mitt Romney's "let the company fail" can't work. Almost 2 million jobs have some tie in to the auto industry, and if it goes out of business, there is a chance that at least half of those jobs are lost, if not more.

That said, the "Big Three" are awful companies - awful. An untrained monkey could have run these companies better. What kind of moronic institution lobbies the government to not require they make their cars more fuel efficient and then act shocked as the more fuel efficient cars sell better? While this is not an industry I think the government should control, sometimes I wish that the government just bought the auto industry so they could fire the morons in charge. Each and every one of them deserves to go out of business, and if the country could survive with them gone, I'd demolish them all.

But a bailout, unfortunately, is necessary. So what should be the conditions?

Here are my thoughts. Add your own:

> Must be paid back in 15 years
> All cars should be have a minimum highway MPG of 50 by 2012 (this should not be difficult, the technology already exists).
> If the company can get all their new cars to 50 before 2012, they can keep some of the bailout without having to pay it back. If their models drop back below 50, they owe it again.
> Researching alternative energy should be mandatory. Strict government oversight in that area, however the government can help pay for the research.
> Government has a "say" - though not a final say - in executive management. Not decisions, but leadership. If the companies are ever run that stupid again, the government is allowed to try to oust them. Beyond that, no government involvement in management.

Any others?

Women Still Secretaries

Badum Bum. Hillary Clinton? While Bill Richardson would probably be a better choice, Hillary Clinton has earned a spot in the White House, and still represents a fairly brilliant politician. So... Neat.

Considering this is not necessarily real news, here is a photograph of Snoop Dogg back in High School.

Disappointed in My Own Community

One of the interesting aspects of online polling is that it allows far more people to be accessible for cheap - something that is not true with phone and paper polling. One of the least interesting aspects of online polling is that it allows people to game the polls, cheat, lie, and steal - whatever they can to win.

Dailykos readers participated in this type of deceit and slander with a recent college scholarship. A liberal blogger was running against a sports blogger, and in an effort to win once the sports blogger was over 7,000 votes down, he and a few of his friends started scamming Dailykos, posting 1 new story an hour and making up some almost unbelievable lies against the sports blogger. Their hate speech got so strong, that Right Wing blogs thought it would be funny to ask people to vote for the sports writer out of spite. What did the liberal writer do? He claimed that the Right Wing blogs supported the sports blogger because he was a neocon and continued to make up lies to win more votes. With voting coming to a close tonight, it looks like he is going to win the 10,000 dollar scholarship.

Contrary to many of the sports blogger's supporters, I see no real problem with spamming Dailykos - That is one of the main reasons that online polls are stupid, but that is how people win, so okay. But the tactics that this liberal blogger used are ridiculous, and he should be ashamed of himself, as should all other Dailykos commenters who propagated that bullshit. You have given every legitimate liberal a bad name, and you do not deserve any award or respect for what you did.

Educated Guess

One thing was very clear with this past election: Strictly negative, substance-less platforms are not the perfect political strategy - and may be on there way to a loud, obnoxious and well deserved death.

Rove politics are not dead, but they are severely damaged. They have shown a weak link - and that link is that when the candidate can generate positive news coverage about himself, people tend to ignore - and possibly even respond to - stupid, personal character attacks.

How bad was it this year?

There are a lot of different stats that can be explored, but the best is number is 52.

52% of all individuals that make over 250,000 dollars voted for Obama. They knew there taxes would be raised (the entire Republican platform) and they still voted for the Democrat.

When the Republicans cannot even grasp their own platform, their political style is gone. But interestingly, the far right - the people whose sole claim to fame is that they are generally voted in overwhelmingly by the uneducated racists that vote against their own interest - sees no problem with this strategy and are still spouting it constantly on Fox News.

Part of the reason for this is that the uneducated vote in the uneducated. So a lot of Republican politicians, particularly in the House of Representatives, are complete idiots. Obviously idiots are going to say stupid things. That idiot from Georgia who compared Obama to Hitler is a prime idiot example. What a colossal idiot.

But they are certainly not alone. There are a number of Governors, Senate members and other individuals that are not quite as dumb as those in the House and still using character slams to win their point. In fact, I'd say they represent over half of the Republican party.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

Republican political strategy may still be to demonize intelligence, but there are still intelligent people in the Republican party - people that do not care as much about social issues and simply believe that Republican tax policy is the best way to run the country. Whether these people represent 50%, 40% or 20% of the Republican party, there is no way they are going to be able to stand these moronic political tactics for much longer - especially if the Republicans keep losing elections.

And because of that, I predict that by the 2012 election, the Republicans may experience a huge split in their party if they do not change their philosophies. In fact, if they select another hard right candidate (Sarah Palin), I predict there is about a 50% chance the party splits in two, and some moderate Republican runs as an independent, taking all other moderates with them.

There is no way that intelligent Republicans, however many there may be, are going to be able to stand for these things any longer. Anyone that has... you know... thoughts... is going to have a difficult time believing that the best way to run the country is to make everyone hate everyone else.

When Republicans were winning, it was easy to ignore these tactics in the interest of getting things done. While I do not believe that McCain is a moderate, it is not hard for me to believe that he probably only enacted his character slams of Obama in order to win, and not because it was the right thing to do.

But they are no longer working, and if they are not working I cannot see any way that actual moderates are going to take it anymore, even if it means losing.

Discuss.

It's a New Day

It still feels good. One week later, two weeks later - every day feels better than it did the day before, and it is nice to finally not be worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow. For at least 2 years and as many as 8 years, I am going to be less worried about how decisions are made, and what their consequences will be.

How to Tame the Fat Ugly Beast (Working with Congressional Republicans)

Barack Obama may have won the election, but congressional republicans still exist, and through no fault of their constituents they tend to all be assholes. John Boehner is a complete prick, and he has surrounded himself with equally moronic individuals dead set on pretending as though they have something important to fight for.

While the Republican party may have many beliefs I disagree with, generally they are just disagreements. But Boehner and them are awful in every way, and the fact that they are in control of the Republican representatives in the house is nothing short of a death sentence for the future of Republicanism, and a huge stupid barrier in front of getting anything accomplished during the Obama presidency.

So how should they be dealt with?

Ignoring them is mistake number 1. While many bills can pass without them, their verbal response is going to make it hard for the Democratic party to win support in 2010 and 2012 if even a single bill does not accomplish what it is expected to accomplish.

So one possible proposal is for Barack Obama himself to call these Republican leaders in to a meeting, one at a time, in order to play what is essentially a game.

Barack Obama is a liberal senator, Boehner is a Conservative. Perhaps instead of discussing issues from their point of view, they should argue the opposite point of view.

In other words, Obama plays the conservative, Boehner plays the liberal, and they have a real, non spiteful debate trying to explain "their side" in order to come up with a compromise. The only way to do this is to play each role (liberal for Boehner, conservative for Obama) very seriously, doing a lot of research and trying to ensure they are well versed in expert reasoning for their "new" side. Then they slowly start to give until they can come to a middle ground that works well enough for both of them.

At that point they present the bill as a dual effort. It becomes a bipartisan bill that isn't going to make everyone happy, but is a good enough compromise that it will help to get things done without too much disagreement.

That is one thought. There are many other ways to deal with them - and all of your ideas are welcome in the comments section below - but I think that is Obama's best option especially if he hopes to be reelected in 2012.

Thoughts?

Need Work

This song seems particularly fitting.
Press play.

So now what? Obama is president, the Democrats control the house and senate, Bush is out of office in 2 months... There is little left to openly complain about.

Obama, as great as he is, is not going to solve all of the world's problems. I expect that there will be several things that start to occur once he takes office, few of them positive, but few of those his own fault. I expect John Boehner to be one of the worst people in the world on a regular basis, and I expect the psychopaths that frequent Michelle Malkin's site to continue to spew their ignorant bile because that's what they do.

But all of that is significantly less interesting. For 2 years+, there was ample material, and now there will be only minor nitpicking. Interesting. I suppose it is going to be time to simply start talking about whatever, and hopefully life will be as frustrating and funny as politics.

Barack Obama is the Next President of the United States of America!

Thank. God.

HOLY CRAP WE'RE ALMOST DONE

Thank. God.

It's almost over. A vote today and then a chance to sit back and watch the results. Whatever happens, it will be done, and that - in itself - is a victory.

The only question now is whether or not the polls were right. The likely voter models do not adjust for youth, so Barack Obama can have a very good turnout, but they also do not include the rigged election vote, which has always been notoriously anti-Democrat, so they should even each other out. I still expect 70% of the undecided voters to go to McCain, because I believe they are likely Republican leaning independents that needed an excuse to vote for McCain, never got one, claim to be undecided independents and will ultimately just vote for him in the voting booth. But that should not be enough to win McCain the election unless the rigged election vote gets a record turnout.

We'll see what happens. At any rate, tomorrow there will be drinking.

John McCain:Leader - A Case Study

1) Palin Goes Rogue, McCain can't stop her.
2) McCain Says "No Reverend Wright." 2 Republican groups spend over 3 million of Rev Wright ads.
3) McCain wants clean campaign. Supporters discuss murdering Obama at his rallies. McCain doesn't stop them.
4) McCain says he will stop his campaign to be in charge of bailout talks. Goes to meeting. Claims success and bailout fails. Republicans don't vote for it.

John McCain: Leader.

The Uneducated Voter Enigma

When voting rules were established, the founders were left with two choices:

1) Only those educated in American politics who understand current issues and current events could vote.
2) Everyone, regardless of social status or intelligence, could vote.

They chose the latter. And they chose to let everyone vote because the belief is (rightfully) that by allowing uneducated, unintelligent individuals to vote, politicians (who we assume are more intelligent than the population as a whole - insert snark) would be forced to consider everyone - including those of a lesser social class and lesser intelligence - when they decide how to run the country, because they will need their votes.

Everyone's ability to vote is why the government created social programs to help those in need. It is why scholarships were invented. A number of great things came from allowing everyone to vote.

So it is a strange turn of events, then, that so many of these uneducated, poor voters vote completely against their own self interests. In fact, they are a driving force of the Republican party, a party that essentially believes that those without money are worthless. And it is the educated voters with good, high paying jobs that are voting for Democrats - a political party that supports social programs.

Conclusions are for another day. Today is simply a day to marvel at that phenomenon.

Bradley Effect - Asian Americans?

According to all pertinent evidence, there is no proof the "Bradley Effect" will have any play in this election, and there is even evidence that it did not occur in the race it is named after.

That said, already this election 3 Asian American friends of mine (who do not know each other) have performed the action (saying they are voting for Barack Obama, voting for McCain) that the Bradley effect is named after.

That is a small sample, and there is a good chance that their Asian American background has nothing to do with that decision. However, when you think about the Asian American community, you start to notice some trends:

- Many Asian Americans live in tight knit communities.
- These same communities often have their own politics.
- Those politics make a number of families relatively indifferent to US politics.
- There are a lot of social conservatives in the Asian American communities that do have strong US political beliefs (they will vote for McCain).
- Fiscal conservatism and tradition make Republicanism not necessarily conflict with their values.

All three of my friends that voted for McCain had either a boyfriend (2 of them) or a parent (the other) that is incredibly socially conservative tell them that they are voting for McCain, and their relative indifference to American politics led them to simply vote for McCain instead.

In this election, it is hard to be indifferent to American politics. Even if you don't care about politics, it is very hard not to care between McCain and Obama. So my interest is in those people who can still have this general indifference between McCain and Obama, and what their vote will end up being.

To summarize, I think Asian Americans will end up voting for Obama in high numbers - 60-70% at least. But I wonder who is still "indifferent" about this election, and who is going to be influencing that vote. I will be interested to see what the results end up producing.

This election needs to be over already.

Joe the Plumber is an Idiot

Obama Informerical

This was a weird idea. But it does give him a chance for numerous sound bites over the rest of this campaign.

People talk about how this half hour is just this half hour, but by creating a half hour commercial, they are creating a full half hour of things people can quote over the next 6 days.

We'll see if it matters. He was winning anyway, so probably not.

Yeah... Awesome

Read this article. Here are some gems:

Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.

"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."

"She's no longer playing for 2008; she's playing 2012," Democratic pollster Peter Hart said. "And the difficulty is, when she went on 'Saturday Night Live,' she became a reinforcement of her caricature. She never allowed herself to be vetted, and at the end of the day, voters turned against her both in terms of qualifications and personally."

There is a reason that McCain's judgment should be questioned.

The Strategy to Win McCain the Election

Palin and McCain have found the strategy it looks like they are going to stick with. The "Don't Write Us Off" strategy. What they do is they go from state to state and say "we can still come back" or "it's not over yet" or "team X knows a little something about being an underdog" and then they compare Obama to a socialist and then leave for another state.

This is a stupid strategy.

There are less than 2 weeks until the election. You are not going to pick up 7-10 more points nationally by telling people that you are losing but hope to pick up votes. What McCain is doing is analogous to apologizing before a speech - "I'm sorry in advance if this speech sucks, I didn't have time to practice." He is making himself sound bad before he tries to excite people - and with that, with the exception of the socialism argument that hasn't seemed to hold much weight, he doesn't say anything to win over those 7-8% of voters. He is speaking directly to his supporters assuming that he is going to win over voters that are not in attendance at every one of these events.

He has very little left. Attack ads haven't worked. This socialism thing is stupid. Robocalls only served to alienate voters and trying to steal the message of "change" away from Barack Obama was never going to work, ever. It is time to give up - not on the campaign, but on these stupid strategies that were designed to appeal to the Bush parts of America.

McCain has one option left. The Republican strategy has always been to appeal to gullible people that will somehow believe that the Kerry swiftboat attacks were real, or that Obama is a Muslim, or that Hillary Clinton secretly had someone killed. It is the Sarah Palin strategy - be a good hockey mom that someone can have a beer with or buy a beer for and you will get people to think: "Awesome, this woman is just like me. She would make a perfect president because I would too!"

But this year, people are finally looking for something different - they are looking for someone to show that they can intelligently run this country. Someone that has actual, substantive, possibly even complicated plans to run this country. Someone that can understand complex things.

The only way McCain can win the election is if he starts running it how campaigns were meant to be run - as though he were intelligent. Explain specific, complicated plans - don't talk in ways that Joe the Belcher can understand, but show that you are not an unintelligent prick by laying out comprehensive plans for the country.

His last hope is to show people his actual plans for the country in all aspects of foreign and domestic policy. What Barack Obama does every day that seems to give him this "elitist" label is what McCain needs to do, otherwise he is wasting time and money.

John McCain should lose. Obama is a better candidate in every way. But McCain's best strategy is also the one that even many Barack Obama supporters want to see - because if McCain also finally starts providing a clear, intelligent message, it will be easier to have hope for the future country.

Healthcare and Socialism

With Barack Obama's universal healthcare plan, many Republicans are screaming "socialism," saying it will be the end of quality care and health services.

"Look at the UK! You have to wait months to get seen by a doctor. More people die waiting than are saved by the universal care."

The idea, then, is that universal healthcare will cause doctors to leave the country, and hospitals to go out of business.

The problem with that is that it is already happening. Over 50% of hospitals are in severe debt and at risk of closure. Over half have either already claimed bankruptcy or is close to it, and even more are slowly hemorrhaging money. And because more and more people are now uninsured due to the state of the economy, that number is expected to balloon.

Doctors are already leaving. Hospitals are already closing. And because people DON'T have insurance, that number is going to get worse.

As much as Republicans like to complain that universal healthcare is going to bring about the end of quality care, at this point that end is already just a short time away, and without universal healthcare, it's guaranteed to occur sooner, rather than later.

The Hairdamentals of Our Economy are Strong

Clearly I went into the wrong profession. I should have become a makeup artist - that's where the money is at:

Who was the highest paid individual in Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign during the first half of October as it headed down the homestretch?

Not Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser; not Nicolle Wallace, his senior communications staffer. It was Amy Strozzi, Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night.

Ms. Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy award for her makeup work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?”, was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October alone, according to the records. The campaign categorized Ms. Strozzi’s payment as “Personnel Svc/Equipment.”

To put that in perspective, the president of the United States makes $400,000. A United States senator makes $169,300 per year. The governor of Alaska makes approximately $90,000. At Amy Strozzi's current rate, she would make $592,000. Excellent use of taxpayer money.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL:

In addition, Angela Lew, who is Ms. Palin’s traveling hair stylist, got $10,000 for “Communications Consulting” in the first half of October.

There are no Republican hair stylists willing to volunteer their time?

Open Debate

Yes or No: Do you think that an Osama Bin Laden tape will be "released" in these final 2 weeks until the election?

Colin Powell

Obama receives Powell's endorsement. This is good news, but also irrelevant news. The scenarios about this endorsement were:

- Obama receives endorsement. Not likely to change anyone's mind.
- McCain receives endorsement. Shock makes this bigger news than it would have been. McCain gets wave of undecided voters that had been looking for an excuse to vote for him.

The endorsement of a major political figure only matters when people do not know much about the candidate. At this point, everyone knows Barack Obama. He's "the biggest celebrity in the world."

It would have made a difference if he supported McCain because he would have received the endorsement during a time where the media narrative is discussing his "surprise comeback" (though there is no evidence that is actually occurring) and because everyone expected him to choose Obama, so the narrative is only fed. Since media narrative is really the only way an endorsement like this can sway voters, this endorsement should unfortunately not make any difference to either candidate.

Still, it is nice to hear.

The Curmudgeon John Sidney McCain III

This is less funny than I thought it would be, but I took the time to write it and no one is going to read it anyway, so here you go:

Op-Ed Columnist
The Curmudgeon John Sidney McCain III
By Joe the Plumber
Published: October 16, 2008

IF you think way back to the start of this marathon campaign, back when it seemed preposterous that any old man could be a serious presidential contender, then you remember the biggest fear about John McCain: a crazy person might give him a heart attack.

“I’ve got the best health in the world, so stop worrying,” McCain reassured his supporters. Eventually the country got conditioned to his appearing in loud arenas without incident (though I confess that the first large numbers of young people at the end of his convention speech gave me a start). In America, nothing does succeed like success. The fear receded.

Until now. At Obama-Biden rallies, the raucous and insistent cries of “Octogenarian!” and “Senile!” and “Nursing Home!” and “Get off my lawn!” as well as the uninhibited slinging of elderly epithets, are actually something new in a campaign that has seen almost every conceivable twist. They are alarms. Doing nothing is not an option.

What makes them different, and what has pumped up the Weimar-like rage at Obama-Biden rallies, is the violent escalation in rhetoric, especially (though not exclusively) by Obama. McCain “launched his political career in the living room of James Garfield.” He is “palling around with elderly Jews” (note the plural noun). McCain is “not a man who sees America the way you and I see America. At this point in his life, he’s not sure where he is.” Wielding a wildly out-of-context McCain quote, Biden slurs him as an enemy of young kids and their music.

By the time McCain asks the crowd “Who is the real John McCain? I’m serious, I forgot.” it’s no surprise that someone cries out “Corpse!” The rhetorical conflation of McCain with old dead people is complete.

That’s a far cry from simply accusing McCain of being a senile-by-correlation-with-his-age erratic old fogey. McCain is being branded as an accessory to past attempts at signing the constitution. “John McCain’s friend tried to discover India” was how an Obama press release last week packaged the remembrance of the Santa Maria incident from 1492 — when McCain was 8.

Could the old ageist politics still be determinative? I’ve long been skeptical of the incessant press prognostications (and Republican panic) that this election will be decided by educated young men on the Coasts.

But we’re not at Election Day yet, and if voters are to have their final say, both America and McCain have to get there safely. The Obama campaign has crossed the line between tough negative campaigning and inciting ageism, and each day the mob continues to listen to that “rap music.” The onus is on the man who says he puts his country first to call off the dogs, pit bulls and otherwise.

Fox News: Fair and Balanced

One side note - Kristol and a few other neoconservatives on Fox News very reluctantly (and with a hint of disappointment) called Obama the winner of the debate. Shocked, I went to Fox News message boards to check what people "thought" of the debate.

Scrolling down the comments, I found that over 30% of the comments were about these neoconservatives "becoming traitors to their party."

"Traitors" requires that one believe that the purpose of Kristol et al. as a "political pundit" is to try to get McCain to win, not actually to analyze the event. It is good to see that at least Fox News supporters understand what Fox News is for.

Debate 3

Well, the third and last debate is over, and it was - as far as I'm concerned - the most exciting one thus far with everything that went on. Perhaps I will write more on it tomorrow, but I do like this statement that popped up on FiveThirtyEight:

10:26 EDT: [Sean] McCain keeps saying Palin's son has autism, but it's Down's Syndrome.

I forgot about that, but that is funny.

Anyway, McCain did his best. His first and second were less so. But was it a victory? I doubt it. If any debate was a tie, it was this one, and since Obama wins in a tie, that's what I'm guessing he was going for.

Not that Important, Interesting Nonetheless

Several years ago, William Buckley Jr., a conservative, founded the National Review - A Newspaper with a right wing lean. In a way, it is the Fox News of Newspapers, except they generally do not make up facts - only choose what to discuss and believe, and hire almost exclusively conservatives for their editorials.

Buckley's son, Christopher, is equally as conservative and also wrote for the National Review.

Until now.

Despite a like for McCain and his continued conservatism, Chris Buckley endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Needless to say, the subscribers of the National Review were displeased - so displeased, in fact, that his personal opinion of a presidential candidate had thousands of individuals emailing the Newspaper to cancel their subscription - even though the endorsement did not actually take place in the pages of the National Review.

Buckley resigned from his own dad's newspaper.

For an editorial columnist, his endorsement is not that well written. But his reasoning is sound, even for a conservative, as to why someone with his views seems McCain as the wrong pick.

Hint: Palin - big part of that.

Full article here.

More Times Plugging

Today is a day of several well written articles and gems. Some quotes:

The Republican campaign strategy now involves sending their candidates to areas where everybody is a die-hard McCain supporter already. Then they yell about Obama until the crowd is so frenzied people start making threats. The rest of the country is supposed to watch and conclude that this would be an enjoyable way to spend the next four years.

From here.

“Barack Obama’s friend tried to kill my family” was how a McCain press release last week packaged the remembrance of a Weather Underground incident from 1970 — when Obama was 8.

From the start, there have always been two separate but equal questions about race in this election. Is there still enough racism in America to prevent a black man from being elected president no matter what? And, will Republicans play the race card? The jury is out on the first question until Nov. 4. But we now have the unambiguous answer to the second: Yes.

There are indeed so few people of color at McCain events that a black senior writer from The Tallahassee Democrat was mistakenly ejected by the Secret Service from a campaign rally in Panama City in August, even though he was standing with other reporters and showed his credentials. His only apparent infraction was to look glaringly out of place.

From here.

Something Nice About McCain

While it was his fault for getting this started, I have to give credit for McCain for realizing that it has gotten out of hand. At the recent rally, he had to correct someone in the crowd that said he was genuinely scared of Obama as President, by pointing at that Obama was a good man (receiving boos from his own supporters).

He then took the Microphone away from a woman that called him a Muslim and said "no, he's not. He's a good family man and not a Muslim." You also hear the woman saying out of embarrassment and confusion "He's not?"

While it is McCain's fault that all of this got started, and likely his fault that it will still continue, at least he did what few other Republicans would and tried to correct them - at his own rallies, on the Microphone.

Don't vote for him. You don't get credit for correcting something that you caused, and it was his own strategy of trying to refer to Obama as a terrorist that made this anger arise in his supporters. But at least he's said something about it. Let's see if that kind of honesty will continue so that he loses with dignity instead of with disgrace.

Palin Abused Power. Will She Step Down?

From the New York Times, only a few minutes ago:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A legislative committee investigating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has found she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner.

The investigative report concludes that a family grudge wasn't the sole reason for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan but says it likely was a contributing factor.

This sounds like old news, but this is the first step towards saying outright that she abused her authority. She can now officially be called "corrupt" without the word "alleged" though nothing is going to happen quite yet.

If she is going to leave the campaign in order to help McCain, this is exactly when she would do it. Within the next 72 hours, if she does not step down, she won't do it at all. I hope she stays.

zOMG by BFF is ROFL, LOL!

Well, I've changed my mind. Sarah Palin is qualified to be President. I recently found out she is multilingual. Observe:

The governor fired back from her private e-mail account: "I've never driven Trig anywhere without a new, approved carseat. I want to know who said otherwise — pls provide me that info now."

Notice she used the world "pls." There is nothing I respect more than someone that writes in abbreviated chatroom speak like a 13 year old girl. Nothing.

From here. Article itself is only somewhat newsworthy.

How to Solve the Economic Crisis

To solve the economic crisis, the United States needs to shut up. That's it. Shut up. Stop cutting rates, stop approving bailout packages - stop panicking. Stop doing things to fix a market that is based solely on consumer confidence. If you stop trying to "save" the market, people will stop worrying that something is horribly wrong with it.

Get on it. Get on it by stop getting on it and shutting up.

Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator

Sarah Palin has picked out an All-American set of names for her children. There's Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow, and Piper.

Ever wonder, What would your name be if Sarah Palin was your mother? Well now you can find out!

Link

My name would be Copper Catfish Palin.

Food for thought:

If McCain were truly a "Maverick," wouldn't he be an Independent? Doesn't calling himself a Republican serve as a label against the term "Maverick" which means, officially, a "person without a brand or label"?

Why I Love MSNBC

Republicans watch Fox News so they can see blatantly false "facts" about Democrats spewed like fire from a dragon.

So who watches MSNBC?


Yeah, that's right. I do.

Yep.

In case you don't believe that McCain and Palin's tactics are going to lead to intolerance and hate:

Her demagoguery has elicited some frightening, intolerable responses. A recent Washington Post report said at a rally in Florida this week a man yelled “kill him!” as Ms. Palin delivered that line and others shouted epithets at an African-American member of a TV crew.

Apparently Wasilla is a racist and dangerous city.

Is it a Strategy or a Tactic?

It seems my earlier post was only part one. The McCain campaign and the Republican Party are working together to try to create conspiracy theories about Obama being a terrorist. Palin starts discussing how Obama has domestic terrorist ties. McCain claims Obama takes illegal campaign contributions and then the Republican Party tells the FEC that Obama is taking contributions from Iran.

Except he isn't. "IR" which the RNC claims stands for "Iran" actually stands for "Information Requested." They know this, since it was widely available to the public, but they are pretending they don't so that the rumor starts to spread amongst the uneducated that Obama may be less than trustworthy.

It is no coincidence that all of this came out within 24 hours. This is a group effort - to use racism and ignorance to win an election. If anyone tells you to define sociopathology, Republican strategists are a good place to start.

A Republican Using Dirty Politics?

Color me surprised.

Behind in the polls, Republican John McCain on Monday called Democratic rival Barack Obama a liar as he leveled his harshest criticism yet, and said the campaign boils down to one basic question: Who is Obama really?

Adopting an aggressive tone on the eve of their second debate of the season, the Republican presidential candidate criticized Obama's ties to Chicago, his legislative record and even his pair of best-selling memoirs.

The crowded shouted "liar" and "send him home" and booed loudly and angrily. McCain has decided not to start a discussion, but rather to energize his party to hate and want to physically harm his opponent.

Way to Maverick yourself. Way to set yourself ahead of the pack. You, McCain, are a horrible person and your ultimate defeat should be followed by an extensive stoning and public humiliation. Go away.

A New York Times Plug

It's hard to use an editorial piece from the New York Times and claim that it accurately reflects what the country sees, but this piece by Bob Herbert was exceptionally well written, and I also think that this year a lot of the points he brings up matter to voters - at least to over half of voters.

Some gems:

For Ms. Palin, such things as context, syntax and the proximity of answers to questions have no meaning.

After Ms. Palin had woven one of her particularly impenetrable linguistic webs, Joe Biden turned to the debate’s moderator, Gwen Ifill, and said: “Gwen, I don’t know where to start.”

Of course he didn’t know where to start because Ms. Palin’s words don’t mean anything.

This is such a serious moment in American history that it’s hard to believe that someone with Ms. Palin’s limited skills could possibly be playing a leadership role.

Where is the evidence that Governor Palin even understands these complex and enormously challenging problems?

She has done pretty much nothing that has displayed any competence for a leadership role in any occupation, let alone the most complicated job in the world. And while her "gosh golly gee" is likely to win over some voters still, I think displaying competence (even if it is fake) is far more important in this election than others.

~~~~

Also, I want to note that this election is really about McCain vs. Obama. The reason Sarah Palin is so important, however, is because it reflects so poorly on McCain's judgment as to reflect on his ability to be president. I'd prefer to go off on how stupid McCain is, but going off on Sarah Palin is essentially the same thing.

I Remember 2004

I remember when a single debate was really two debates, where one candidate was debating nothing but issues, and another debater was essentially reading from a transcript various forms of propaganda that never actually addressed the issue. When one candidate was considered boring for actually wanting to discuss substance while another one made strange, false, vague references to intangibles like [lack of] patriotism and elitism. When one candidate was seen as whiny for pointing out with facts how almost everything the opponent said was wrong, while the other opponent was allowed to make up blatant falsities that were left unchecked by both the media and the American people.

But before you say that 2008 is exactly like 2004, I don't believe it is. Back in 2004, "have a beer with" was still considered a qualification. It was a time where enough Americans assumed things were going smoothly that they were able to believe that issues were less important than character, and in 2004, Bush had the character, Kerry had the issues.

It was that belief that gave Bush that election, and - in my opinion - it is that belief that was essentially shat on when Bush continued to suck at his job. That is not to say that there aren't large numbers of people that still view intelligence as a negative quality - they are still there, probably at least a fourth of the country - but these days they are in much more of a minority. In this election, they matter less.

So when Sarah Palin decided to bring out the "Gosh golly gee willickers" into the debate, what would have worked in 2004 I do not believe is going to work this year. That is not to say that the country is more intelligent - not at all. Just that they are more hesitant. They need to be convinced that someone is going to be capable before they are able to accept their character. Not that capable, mind you, but more capable than the president needed to be in 2004.

After the Couric interviews, among other things, Palin fell far below the baseline of "capable." Far below. So with today's debate, she couldn't bank on the character aspect. She needed to win back confidence.

And she didn't. All she did was read scripted answers without substance that did not establish her as a qualified individual. She may have reaffirmed the belief in some die hard republicans that had doubted her after her recent blunders, but a small gain is not what she needed, and certainly doesn't help McCain win the election.

With these debates, sometimes the winner is simply the lesser loser. Though I believe Biden did a good job without any major blunders, even if you assume he just did "okay" I would argue that Palin did below that, and Biden won the debate, because "Gosh Golly" isn't cutting it anymore.

For The Love Of GOD Woman, Give Me One Specific Example

Katie Couric is hilarious.

Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?

Palin: I've read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.

Couric: What, specifically?

Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.

Couric: Can you name a few?

Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where it's kind of suggested, "Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?" Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.

Couric: Librocrat, can you tell me where, exactly, you are right now?

Librocrat: Well, you know, where I am at the moment is where I am physically.

Couric: But Librocrat, can you name the specific place that you are.

Librocrat: That's exactly right, I'm where you'll find me, you know, where I am. That place, you know, it's like, that's what I do... Where I am.

Couric: Some people have credited the morning-after pill for decreasing the number of abortions. How do you feel about the morning-after pill?

Palin: Well, I am all for contraception. And I am all for preventative measures that are legal and save, and should be taken, but Katie, again, I am one to believe that life starts at the moment of conception. And I would like to see …

Couric: And so you don't believe in the morning-after pill?

Palin: ... I would like to see fewer and fewer abortions in this world. And again, I haven't spoken with anyone who disagrees with my position on that.

Couric: I'm sorry, I just want to ask you again. Do you not support or do you condone or condemn the morning-after pill.

Palin: Personally, and this isn't McCain-Palin policy …

Couric: No, that's OK, I'm just asking you.

Palin: But personally, I would not choose to participate in that kind of contraception.

Couric: So, tell me, Librocrat, do you think puppy rape should be legalized?

Librocrat: Well, I personally believe that puppies grow up to be dogs.

Couric: But about puppy rape, do you think that is an acceptable thing to do to puppies.

Librocrat: All kinds of dogs, too. Like, Golden Retrievers. Like, when those puppies - those ones that were born from older dogs, grow up, they can - you know, become other animals, and big dogs pull sleighs but sometimes they die young from cancer.

Couric: Okay, but about puppy rape - do you support its legalization. Yes or No.

Librocrat: Well, me, personally, I do not participate in surprise sex with baby dogs.

Couric: I want to start with climate change, if I could. What's your position on global warming? Do you believe it's man-made or not?

Palin: Well, we're the only arctic state, of course, Alaska. So we feel the impacts more than any other state up there, with the changes in the climates. And certainly it is apparent. We have erosion issues and we have melting sea ice, of course. So what I've done up there is form a sub-cabinet to focus solely on climate change. Understanding that it is real.

Couric: Is it manmade in your opinion?

Palin: You know … there are man's activities that can be contributed to … the issues that we're dealing with now with these impacts. I'm not going to solely blame all of man's activities on changes in climate. Because the world's weather patterns … are cyclical. And over history we have seen changes there. But kind of doesn't matter at this point, as we debate what caused it. The point is it's real, we need to do something about it. And like … Tony Blair had said … when he was in leadership position, he said, "Let's all consider the fact that it is real." So instead of pointing fingers … at different sides of the argument as to who is to blame, and if nature just to blame, let's do something about it. Let's clean up our world. Let's reduce emissions. And let's go with reality.

Couric: Because, if it's not man-made, then one might wonder, well, how can human beings contribute to a solution?

Palin: Well, human beings certainly are contributing to pollution today. And to some adverse effects on the environment. And it's all of our jobs to do to clean things up. And that's what we're committed to doing.

Couric: So you do believe … that man is contributing to global warming, because you just said they're causing pollution. Of course, pollution causes global warming.

Palin: I believe that there are a lot of causes. And there is one effect. And one is changes in the climate. And there are things that we can do to make sure we're cleaning up the environment. I also formed an integrity office that solely is focused on petroleum, on pipelines, on those things that we do up there in Alaska to contribute to the U.S. domestic supply of energy.

Wow, this sounds familiar. Where have I heard this before?

Oh, RIGHT!

Palindangerous

Girl I can't notice but to
Think of you (you)
Governing me (me)
From across the room I can see it
And can't stop myself from shaking and
Thinking of you
Governing me
Watch out I've seen her type before
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is a bad girl
I've seen her type before
She's so dangerous
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is a bad girl, yeah

Ohhh yeah thats her
The big dog tryin to get her little kitty to purr.
Ex-man lookin at me like I'm Lucifer,
Cause he knows I will be on the case
Yes sir!
If I was the last man on earth
I would only blame that girl
End of search
She give a new definition to the word curve
Got chicks in the strip club envyin her
Body's like a weapon of mass erruptions,
See the glad on that phat obstruction,
Tongue game give a new type of seduction.
(Im trying to give that girl something... CHA!)

Girl I can't notice but to
Think of you (you)
Governing me (me)
From across the room I can see it
And can't stop myself from shaking and
Thinking of you
Governing me
Watch out I've seen her type before
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is a bad girl
I've seen her type before
She's so dangerous
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is a bad girl, yeah

Ohh...Bad to the bone,
Everything locked like a two-three zone
I wanted to make my black snake moan
Talk a lick a bit and take that home
She bad and she know the deal
That sweater can’t hide what she want to conceal
I mean Megan Good and Halle Berry
Put together ain't close to the JUBEE i see (no no)
No disrespect but this gyal a pon another level
Cut the check..uhhh
Tell the king,
Man stop the press
Say kid can I get a witness

Girl I can't notice but to
Think of you (you)
Governing me (me)
From across the room I can see it
And can't stop myself from shaking and
Thinking of you
Governing me
Watch out I've seen her type before
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is a bad girl
I've seen her type before
She's so dangerous
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is a bad girl, yeah

I see you got that fire
By the way that you walkin' (walkin')
from left to right
i watched her go down
Girl I just want it right now
Don't wanna do no talkin' [talkin']
Shorty's so right I need to slow down

Figure 8
Good body shape
When she on the dance floor
Gyal dem irate
When she do her thing
A man can’t walk straight
That biscuit can soak up everyting on my plate
Bad heels like Jessica B
I'm tryna give homegirl sex and the cit-it-it-ty
Itty bitty waistline moves with the baseline
One lick of punch.. I’m fine

Girl I can't notice but to
Think of you (you)
Governing me (me)
From across the room I can see it
And can't stop myself from shaking and
Thinking of you
Governing me
Watch out I've seen her type before
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is a bad girl
I've seen her type before
She's so dangerous
That girl is so dangerous
That girl is a bad girl, yeah

Undecideds in Polling

In the past, the undecided voters heading into the election are generally split 50/50, 60/40 or some other number close to half barring some sort of very effective advertisement or tremendous gaffe.

This year, however, I think we have to assume when we look at general tracking numbers that the undecided voters are going to be split more extreme - something like 70/30 or 80/20 in favor of John McCain. The reason for this is, I believe, because one of the reasons that these undecided voters are "undecided" is because they generally want to vote for John McCain, but he is too terrible a candidate for them to make the commitment. While they claim they are weighing their options, they are probably not. Instead, they are simply embarrassed that they'd rather vote for McCain and are waiting for a good excuse. If they do not "make up their mind" before the election (probably related to whether or not McCain becomes a popular choice again) they will still likely vote for him on election day.

Why do I believe they will not vote for Obama?

For starters, Obama's strength is his ability to inspire pride in your beliefs. There is not a single voter that is "reluctantly" voting for Obama, not including previous Hillary Clinton supporters. Secondly, McCain is and has been an awful candidate thus far. So voters that are undecided are likely not committed to Obama because:

- They really believe that experience is somehow a big issue
- They are socially conservative
- They are gullible and believe propaganda
- They do not want to vote for a black man (not something I believe, but possible)

All of those are not terribly likely to change come election day, but they can change. If election day comes and they have not, however, McCain is going to be their likely choice, since his only flaw is that he sucks.


FiveThirtyEight.com has shown some great polling lately for Obama, including a 4% lead in the popular vote. But there are still 6-8% undecided voters, and in this case I think Obama needs to try to win 1 or 2% more undecideds at least before election day, because if they do not make up their mind they'll probably vote for McCain.

Zero -

That is how many times John McCain looked at Obama during the entire debate. Even after being instructed to look directly at Obama, he did not glance over, nor did he ever engage in discussion.

A man that cannot look at his opponent is not presidential. He's a coward. The only reason not to look is because you're frightened. You're either frightened or racist, and since I'm not going to assume the latter, the only choice is the former. He wants to say he isn't afraid, but the old man wouldn't look at him once. Even when they shook hands at the end of the debate, McCain looked away. That's pathetic.

Open Debate Thread

I don't want to make numerous posts, so I'll leave my thoughts as comments.

Bailout Talks Shut Down

Recently I haven't been needed. The Republicans are doing it for me.

“We’re in a serious economic crisis,” Mr. Bush told reporters as the meeting began shortly before 4 p.m. in the Cabinet Room, adding, “My hope is we can reach an agreement very shortly.”

But once the doors closed, the smooth-talking House Republican leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, surprised many in the room by declaring that his caucus could not support the plan to allow the government to buy distressed mortgage assets from ailing financial companies.

Mr. Boehner pressed an alternative that involved a smaller role for the government, and Mr. McCain, whose support of the deal is critical if fellow Republicans are to sign on, declined to take a stand.

And there we are. I don't care about the bailout. But rest assured that everything bad that happens from now on is the fault of the Republicans.

In the Roosevelt Room after the session, the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr. literally bent down on one knee as he pleaded with Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, not to “blow it up” by withdrawing her party’s support for the package over what Ms. Pelosi derided as a Republican betrayal.

“I didn’t know you were Catholic,” Ms. Pelosi said, a wry reference to Mr. Paulson’s kneeling, according to someone who observed the exchange. She went on: “It’s not me blowing this up, it’s the Republicans.”

Mr. Paulson sighed. “I know. I know.”

Paulson knows. Pelosi knows. Democrats know. Even Bush knows, and Bush doesn't know anything. The Republicans are ruining this country.

Also,

and Mr. McCain...declined to take a stand.

No shit.

Political Ploys

John McCain (canceling the debates):

“I am calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.”

Barack Obama:

“This is exactly the time when people need to hear from the candidates. Part of the president’s job is to deal with more than one thing at once. In my mind it’s more important than ever.”

McCain needs more time to deal with the problem that he himself created. Meanwhile, Barack Obama can multitask. Which of these two people appears more qualified to be president?

The Point has Been Said Before. The Point Should Be Said Again.

This should be a bigger deal. This is essentially the mantra of the Republican Party - helping people is not important. C.R.E.A.M.

It's a sad world when the people that are most viciously mocked are the people trying to make life better for those mocking them.

Via JohnBai

Seattle Times Recommends Barack Obama for President

Now, I know what you're thinking. Conservative Seattle voting for Barack Obama? What?!

But before the sarcasm meter erupts, the Seattle Times itself is not necessarily a liberal magazine, though obviously its readers lean that way. Hopefully the Seattle Times is the first of many to follow suit.

Article.

The Fundementals of Our Economy Are Strong

So, so true. Using that same logic, here are a number of other things that are true:

- Fox News is fair and balanced.
- The Bridge to Nowhere goes somewhere.
- The Muppets are based on the characters from Casablanca.
- MySpace is user friendly.
- The most effective way to get over depression is to cut yourself.
- Mosquito bites are love bumps by Jesus.
- Sarah Palin is qualified to be President.

That one line may have singlehandedly lost him over 200,000 votes or more from people who now realize he's an idiot.

~~~~

One more quick thought on the Palin pick:

One of the things picking Sarah Palin did was it brought John McCain back into the spotlight. Before the conventions, Barack Obama was on every channel and John McCain was barely mentioned. This brought a lot of complaints by the McCain campaign about unfair coverage.

But it was that unfair coverage that allowed John McCain to get away with the numerous mistakes he was making throughout his campaign. His geography mistakes, his accidentally saying he wants to bomb Iran and Russia before getting corrected by Lieberman, the blatantly incorrect statements about the economy, foreign policy, and his own voiced political beliefs...

But with Palin, John McCain has thrown himself back on stage. This may make the McCain campaign happy, but it shouldn't, because now his mistakes are finally being reported on as well, and his complete incompetence is finally a news story.

In other words, there is a chance that his new popularity is what loses him the election. He may have had a better chance if he had simply stayed in the shadows, feeding on children's dreams or whatever else he does.

Sarah Palin Explains Why You Should Vote for Obama

Palin - A Failed Heartbeat Away from the Presidency

This woman could not be more unqualified if she were Bush's wart. Which she is. She's essentially Bush, 20 years younger and on estrogen. Her entire "cabinet" (that includes when she was a mayor) are her own personal friends with no qualifications other than they are her friends. She fires people that disagree with her. She is, without a doubt, the worst pick for a Vice President in terms of someone that "Should" be at that high a position in the government.

And yet she is helping McCain win, because the country is intent on being impressed that someone is as stupid as they are. The President you can have a beer with, the Vice President you would buy a beer for, and the White House full of people as dumb as the rest of America. This is what Americans aspire to, and if you wonder why so many people insist on claiming they plan to run away to Canada, it is because it they do not want to be surrounded by people that somehow consider "average intelligence" a qualification for the highest position in the world.

McCain Blind on The View

John McCain was grilled by the women on The View while he tried really hard to suck up to Hillary Clinton supporters. Grilled. But both my favorite and my least favorite issue was when McCain claimed that Palin supported 0 earmarks while she was a governor. She supported 52, for almost 200 million dollars.

And I'm upset, because people are going to continue to believe it. People are going to believe when the Republicans simply lie. These are not stretches of the truth. These are lies.

Time for the beginning of the end for America

Shut. Up.

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. (AP) -- John McCain and Sarah Palin criticized Democrat Barack Obama over the amount of money he has requested for his home state of Illinois, even though Alaska under Palin's leadership has asked Washington for 10 times more money per citizen for pet projects.

Republicans are the worst people in the entire world.

Off Topic - What Are Dog Years?

I'm fairly positive that the entire population of the world has "dog years" wrong. People often refer to a dog's age in terms of "Dog years," like in the sentence:

"My dog is 5 in dog years, which is about 40 in human years."

Wikipedia, every dog site in the world - they all refer to the age of the dog in this manner. But this just wrong. 5 years may be equivalent to 40 human years, but the 5 years that passed are still 5 human years.

So if someone says "My dog is 7 in dog years." My response is "Ah, so hasn't he been alive for 7 human years?" And the answer is "yes."

The dog is 5 in human years. 5 human years is the equivalent, to a dog, as 40 (or 35 or 45 depending on the weight of your dog). So it should be 40 dog years. The time is measured in human years, and so it should be referred to in human years. When 7 human years pass, whatever the equivalent is should be called "Dog years" because that is the rate to which the dog aged. I am not 40 years older when 7 "dog years" pass, because it was 7 human years that passed, not dog years.

Wow that bugs me.

(note: the embedded chart is the only one that I saw that had it right)

They Can Literally Do Nothing Right.

To review some of the more well known apolitical errors at the RNC:

1) Somehow John McCain ended up being in front of yet another green screen.
2) The Republicans, after (yet again) failing to do their research, had an image of Walter Reed High School in California behind McCain as he spoke, when they meant to put Walter Reed Medical Center, which is strange in its own right, considering the tremendous failures of Bush and McCain with the Medical Center itself.
3) The teleprompter was clearly a Democrat.

And now, to add onto the failures of the McCain administration (get it?), the Republicans used a song by the Seattle based rock group "Heart" called "Barracuda" to introduce Palin twice, first on the day she spoke and then when she walked in to meet up with McCain.

The band is made up of avid liberals, and the song itself was meant as a statement against corporate corruption, something they believe both McCain and Palin are a part of. The Republicans failed to ask Heart if they could use their music, and the entire Republican party has now been told that they, under no circumstances, are allowed to play the song again.

Wow.

----

Also, for fun, an official statement from the band:

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late '70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

Some Points and Poorly Worded Quickly Typed Rant

- In McCain's speech, he used the phrase "They Broke Me." That was him saying that the torture was so bad that he gave away government secrets. Now, I don't blame him for that - torture is a terrible thing. So then why does he support it?
- Throughout all of the Republican speeches, none of them were about what they plan on doing with the country. All of them, somehow, were still about John McCain representing change. None of them explained why.
- Sarah Palin has now said twice as an example of how she is against pork barrel spending that she did not want money for the "Bridge to Nowhere." Sarah Palin not only asked for money for the bridge, she also begged for the money, got the money, started plans on building the bridge and when the funding became a national embarrassment led by none other than John McCain, she cancelled the bridge but did not give any of the money back. I can't believe this isn't a bigger deal.
- Mitt Romney called both the executive and the judicial branch of the government "liberal." This man is a tremendous idiot.
- "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHHA Community Organizers? What a fucking joke! Fuck you, people that want to make the world a better place."
- Flip flopping worked on John Kerry because some people are really really stupid. John McCain has "flip flopped" more, all of them are documented on video, all of them are about very serious Republican issues (tax cutting, abortion, religious conservatism) and John McCain is not going to lose any votes. Think about that for a second: Stupid people did not vote for the Democrat because he may have changed his mind. Stupid people are still voting for McCain even though he did to. Nothing about that reflects well on the Republican party.
- "It's close to Russia" may be the absolute stupidest qualification in the history of American politics.

At this point I think something needs emphasizing. If Obama loses this election, it will have absolutely nothing to do with him being black. Zero. There were all of these stupid quotes from pundits that said "They may say they support Obama, but as soon as they get to the voting booths, when they have to choose a black president, many of them will not be able to mark the bubble."

Bullshit. It will have nothing to do with it. If Obama loses, it is because a signficantly large portion of America is unintelligent.

Had Obama not been winning until now I could not say that with as much confidence as I can now. But he was winning going into the convention, and the convention was a non-stop barrage of false information. The current government is a liberal government? Sarah Palin did not support the bridge? Barack Obama attacked Palin's family?

All of those speeches were interesting. They were not badly performed. But they were complete falsities. Some of them (Palin's bridge, again, as an example) were not just misguided but literally just lies. They are simply things that were not true in the slightest - in fact, they were the opposite of things that really did happen.

---
To those that were swayed by thes speeches, I want to put what the Republicans did into a perspective that you may understand:

Say your mother bought a brand new puppy as a surprise birthday gift. You have always wanted a dog, and your mom thought this puppy would be the one thing to make you truly happy. This puppy would be very important to you. Your mom asks the Republicans to watch it until you get back from your vacation. While you are gone the Republicans brutally anal rape your puppy and then roast it on an open flame. You come home and there is black ash on the lips of the Republicans and a fork in their hands. There is video evidence and paper documents explaining the entire event, as well as news stories about it happening. There are even adoption papers for the puppy available, as well as photos of your mom buying it for you and her holding a sign that says "this is your present."

But before you even find out the puppy exists, the Republicans say "Hi. Welcome back to your empty home. Just so you know, if you ever got a puppy, we would never anally rape it or eat it like the Democrats would." And you have believed them, because you took their word for it and never bothered to check that the proof is right in front of your face. Sarah Palin literally brought up a bridge that no one knew about as an example of something she did when in reality she did the exact opposite. She mentioned it first with the hopes that you are too stupid to look up the documented evidence to the complete contrary. And Republican politicians did similar things the entire convention.

For those that were impressed by the Republican convention: These people are purposely talking down to you, assuming you are too stupid to look up the truth for yourself. Don't let them.

Part of Biden's Response

Finding the full clip is more difficult, but this man knows what he's doing.

Time to Reminisce

Okay - Romney, Giuliani and Palin crossed so many lines I'm surprised their legs aren't tired. If I'm still pissed in the morning, I'll write something about it. For now, I was recently looking back through my old work and I found these old things I wrote when I used to try to be funny. Enjoy:

Fake News


Gripes List

By the way, good fucking idea ranking on community organizers. That will win you a lot of votes.

If the Election Ended Today

All conventions lead to bumps in polling data as people wowed by the speeches move from "undecided" to "decided." Those bumps tend to not be permanent, especially because after both conventions are over the two bumps tend to cancel each other out.

But in this case we are seeing some interesting signs - the country, for all its glory, has been far less stupid this year. Take the Palin pick - it does not matter if you like her or not. She very clearly was chosen because she is a woman. Is she qualified? Will she do a good job? That answer has a lot to do with your opinion of her and the parties (no and no). But the country has been far less predictable in how it welcomes her - they are looking at it critically, and although a large number of them are still making the wrong decision, at the very least it is a decision, not the blind following of leadership.

That brings hope. But that is just one issue. We will still have to see whether or not the speeches of the last few nights (as well as tonight and tomorrow) continue that trend. Yesterday we were treated to Joe Lieberman's awful, awful speech, where he was essentially saying nothing but praises about McCain's manhood:

"John McCain is all man. John McCain is made of penis. He bleeds testosterone and shoots bullets from his fingers."

Right after we were treated to Law and Order's Fred Thompson strange speech where he talked about McCain screwing a stripper and then went on for about 15 minutes on gore porn, where he discussed nothing but violence:

"John McCain was legally dead for 15 days. During that time he was sexually assaulted by rabid albino monkeys, some of whom weighed over 15,000 tons. Afterwards, John McCain woke up and subsequently knocked all of them unconscious with nothing but his big toe and a frito chip. Now, I'm not saying that's what makes this man qualified to be President. I'm saying that this man is qualified to be President because of everything I said."

The entire thing was a joke. Thompson's speech, despite its... um... eccentricities... was fine, because it was about McCain's character, which is the only platform he is really running on. But Lieberman's was hilariously awful. A true testament to a guy that doesn't know what he is doing. Here is where we see two speeches that people may still have "liked" in the end, but we have yet to see if they were taken at face value or if they were critically analyzed before people come to the wrong decision.

Today, we already have experience Bob Dole's interview on MSNBC where he was like "This is so exciting, what a great pick. I can't talk about her though because I don't know anything about her and have never met her, but she is definitely qualified..." Are people critically thinking about this? Or are they blindly following the propaganda?

My thought will be that even if these speeches work, if they are being thought about critically the "convention bump" would take place over a few days rather than right away, as people try to figure out whether or not they are going to agree with what was said. If immediately after Sarah Palin's speech the public thinks she was a great pick, then nothing has changed.

Watching the Republican Convention

Smaller arena, less enthusiasm. Still, it is interesting to see what the other side has to say.

While I am admittedly bias, when I hear these officials, politicians and delegates speak, I can't help but feel unimpressed. I'm not talking about the main speakers (there really haven't been any since I started watching) I am talking about the interviews. The "hope" in their voice seems fake and disingenuous. They say things about how Sarah Palin "is qualified" because "John McCain chose her" which is obviously bullshit, and they express that somehow McCain represents all of the Republican values that he has tried to distance himself from.

John McCain is not an exciting candidate, and while I cannot blame Republicans for trying to make him sound like an exciting candidate, I can't help but feel that it is obscenely obvious that they are lying. Few of them know how to say Palin's last name, many of them admit to not knowing anything about her, yet say that this pick makes perfect sense and was done for the good of the country, not out of a hasty political decision.

While it is unlikely that their interviews are going to affect the election at all, I can't help but feel as though they are going to struggle to experience any gains simply because it is implicitly obvious - if not explicitly so - that they are making statements they don't believe in the hopes they will win the election.

Sarah Palin's Drama

It has only been... What... 3 days since the announcement that Governor Sarah Palin was going to be the Republican running mate and it already looks like that decision is going to lead to the end of the McCain chance at a Presidency.
I had written previously that I was worried that Sarah Palin would affect the election - not necessarily by gaining votes, but rather convincing social conservative women that they definitely need to vote this year.

Luckily, that worry seems all but gone and if it were not for the hurricane, I would assume that it would be a complete wash by the Obama camp. In the last 72 hours, we have learned:

- John McCain in his "long search for a VP" never even bothered to check the local newspapers about Palin, as a Newspaper researcher went to Alaska and was told he was the first person to search the archives (Alaska's local papers are not online). So his "long search" was really a "hasty decision." And it is costing him.
- Sarah Palin was a member of an independence party that wants Alaska to Secede from the union that she is expected to lead. Yeah.
- Sarah Palin's unwed 17 year old daughter is pregnant, even though she is against sex education. She is "Choosing" to keep it even though she is not "pro-choice." The birth will take place when Palin would be sworn in.
- There is this awesomeness:

In her nationally televised speech accepting the job as John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she "championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress" and opposed federal funding for a controversial bridge to a sparsely populated island.

"I told Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' on that bridge to nowhere," Palin said Friday in Ohio, using the critics' dismissive name of the project. "'If our state wanted a bridge,' I said, 'we'd build it ourselves.'"

While running for governor in 2006, though, Palin backed federal funding for the infamous bridge, which McCain helped make a symbol of pork barrel excess.

- Troopergate. Maybe a stupid word, but it's still a big deal. Don't believe me? She just hired a lawyer for the case. Snap.

- Thankfully the hurricane passed without much damage. However, all of this information was released TODAY with the intentions of it being overshadowed by the hurricane. While we could discuss how vile it is to use a hurricane to hide news, instead all the attention is still front page of the paper, because the hurricane did not do enough damage to take over as the sole major story.

One thing needs to be remembered here. No one is blaming Sarah Palin for this. Yes, many of these things are her own fault and attest to her character, but as governor of Alaska they were much less important. Here, the blame is on McCain, for not doing his research and allowing all of these personal things to be made public because he was trying to take advantage of women voters by choosing a woman to be on the ballot with him.

You brought this on yourself old man.