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| campaign web page strategies |
| 07.09.04 (11:36 am) [edit] |
The following might not be true in a few days, but I noticed this while comparing the front pages of the George W. Bush and John Kerry official websites today.
The [url=http://www.georgewbush.com/]Bush website[/url] has more pictures of Kerry than of Bush.
The [url=http://www.johnkerry.com/inde...]Kerry[/url] website has no mention of Bush at all.
What do you suppose this means? I have my ideas.
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| career culture |
| 06.28.04 (8:08 pm) [edit] |
So, I've been looking for a new job and have been concentrating my efforts in major American cities. I've noticed minor differences in the way a position is described, depending on where the job is located.
But Los Angeles is the only place I've seen this request: "No head shots."
Too bad. I was hoping they'd see how pretty I am and hire me for that research analyst position. :wink:
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| Movies for these dark times |
| 06.26.04 (8:30 pm) [edit] |
I'm sure by now that a some of you have rushed out to see Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" (myself included). If you're a news junkie, you probably didn't see anything there that you didn't already know, but if it was nice having it all in one place.
There's a scene early on where members of the Congressional Black Caucus try to contest the outcome of the 2000 election (after the Supreme Court decision), but they are unable to act, because not a single Senator would sign on. I considered who was in the Senate at that time who might have been willing to help out. Wellstone was still around, although he was probably worried about his upcoming election in two years. Feingold might have been one to join in (it suits his personality), but didn't. Boxer also said nothing, but I'm not that surprised. So why no action?
Does it really come down to the fact that there were (and are) no African Americans in the Senate? What does it say about representation when only 4 African Americans have [i]ever[/i] been [url=http://www.senate.gov/pagelay...]elected to the Senate[/url] (with a 90 year gap between #2 and #3)?
If you're still in a movie-watching mood after Fahrenheit 911, I suggest you check out (or revisit) Mike Nichol's "Catch-22." Without giving away too much, let's just say that there are a number of parallels between the two films.
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| is this jerk for real? |
| 06.13.04 (7:17 pm) [edit] |
I was reading over the [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com...]transcript[/url] of Ashcroft's testimony the other day. Here is one of my favorite parts:
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LEAHY: ...Has there been any order directed from the president with respect to interrogation of detainees, prisoners or combatants, yes or no?
ASHCROFT: I'm not in a position to answer that question.
LEAHY: Does that mean because you don't know or you don't want to answer? I don't understand.
ASHCROFT: The answer to that question is yes.
-----
Boy, John Ashcroft is a grammatical genius!
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| Thank you for turning me on |
| 05.28.04 (2:51 pm) [edit] |
Did any of you ever have one of these?
![]() =http://www.tblog.com/user_ima...
For those of you not in the know, 2-XL was a "robot" that used 8-track "technology" to quiz you on all sorts of things. The commercials for him indicated that he was also supposed to be your friend. A really bizarre friend.
I never really thought about this until today, but what kind of an accent did 2-XL have exactly? Is he from New Jersey? You can help me decide by listening to some of 2-XL's clever witticisms here: http://www.2xlrobot.com/morei... El Wrongo, indeed.
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| The truth behind Bush's bike accident |
| 05.24.04 (8:43 am) [edit] |
Why doesn't this surprise me at all?
[i][url=http://www.dailykos.com/story...]More Bush lies[/url]?
by kos
Sun May 23rd, 2004 at 20:18:22 EDT
Here's the official story line from Crawford:
President Bush took a spill during a Saturday afternoon bike ride on his ranch, suffering bruises and cuts that were visible later on his face just two days before he was to deliver a major prime-time speech on his Iraq policy.
The president was nearing the end of a 17-mile ride on his mountain bike, accompanied by a Secret Service agent, a military aide and his personal physician, Richard Tubb, who treated him at the scene, said White House spokesman Trent Duffy.
"It's been raining a lot and the topsoil is loose," Duffy said. "You know this president. He likes to go all-out. Suffice it to say he wasn't whistling show tunes."
So it's been raining a lot in Crawford, we are told. So here's the recent precipitation levels from Crawford:
May 22: 0"
May 21: 0"
May 20: 0"
May 19: 0"
May 18: 0"
May 17: 0"
May 16: 0"
May 15: 0"
May 14: 0.03"
May 13: 2.79"
May 12: 0"
May 11: 0.15"
May 10: 0"
May 9: 0"
May 13th saw some serious rain, but other than some sprinkles on the 14th, Crawford saw nothing but sun. In the last week alone, the temperature was in the high 80s the entire time.
So rain on the 13th and (barely) 14th was blamed for a Bush fall on the 22nd. As everything else, it wasn't Bush's fault. Nothing is Bush's fault.
Ever.
Liars. [/i]
It's just so silly. People fall off of bikes all the time. It's not like he was [url=http://www.straightdope.com/c...]attacked by a rabbit[/url] (although I'd love to hear how the Bush folks would have spun that story).
And don't get me started on the "whistling show tunes" part.
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| failure |
| 05.13.04 (10:03 pm) [edit] |
It's happened. Squirrels have now decapitated every one of my tulips. Yesterday I saw one of the little bastards rip the last head off, trailing flower petals as he ran up the nearest tree. What in the hell do they want them for? They don't even appear to eat them.
All of my neighbors' tulips look fine. They must know something I don't about how to keep the squirrels away. When I walk up my street I'm filled with sadness about the sorry state of my own garden.
I'd grow them inside, but one of my cats (who is the cat version of a crackhead) devours them too. I guess I should just learn to accept a tulip-free existence.
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| Andrew Greeley on Kerry and the Church |
| 05.05.04 (9:54 pm) [edit] |
The NY Daily News ran a column by Andrew Greeley the other day. Andrew Greeley is not your typical priest. He's also a sociologist at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona and, if you're wondering why his name sounds a little familiar to you, he also wrote a couple of bestselling novels, such as [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/ob...]The Cardinal Sins[/url] and [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/ob...]Thy Brother's Wife[/url] .
I met him a few years ago when he gave an academic talk and he was pretty cool. I've often told myself that if I were living in the same town he was, I might go to mass again.
In [url=http://www.nydailynews.com/05...]this column[/url] he makes some pretty good points about current flap about Kerry taking communion. Here's part of it:
[i]There is currently a discussion among some Catholic bishops about refusing the sacraments to Democratic Sen. John Kerry for not opposing abortion, thus doing the Republican National Committee's work for it.
But the Pope and the national hierarchy also have condemned the death penalty and the war in Iraq. Are these bishops willing to deny the Eucharist to Catholic politicians who support the death penalty or the Iraq war? And if not, why not?
Moreover, will they tell Catholics that it is a sin to support an unjust war and to vote for a candidate who is responsible for such a war? And, again, if not, why not?
I can think of a couple of reasons. First, denouncing abortion will get you attention in the Vatican. Attacking the death penalty and the war are not likely to promote your career. Second, the rules are different for Democrats and Republicans. It is curious, to say the least, that 30 years after Roe vs. Wade, the issue of denying the sacraments would be raised during this election year.
Bishops also threaten political leaders who support civil unions between homosexuals. Given their tolerance for sexual abusers in the priesthood, that looks a bit hypocritical. I have never heard any of them criticize gay bashing. Followers of Jesus cannot tolerate hatred of anyone, especially since the church now teaches that the homosexual condition is not freely chosen. [/i]
It's funny how Democratic candidates always seem especially liable to be tested on their views about abortion, as if Catholic voters will fall in line with whatever the Vatican says. For the record, in America Catholics are no more likely to be against abortion rights than Protestants are (according to the General Social Survey). Furthermore, I've yet to meet anyone who agrees with every single belief that their church promotes, much less follows them (except for Unitarians. But they get to pick and choose. What's the fun in that?).
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| douchebag |
| 04.29.04 (3:28 pm) [edit] |
Due to severe political depression, I don't have anything new to say, but some of you might enjoy this:
[url=http://www.johnkerryisadouche...]johnkerryisadouchebagbut imvotingforhimanyway.com[/url]
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| you know, that crap I usually write about |
| 04.20.04 (9:51 pm) [edit] |
It's been a while since I've posted anything about voting technology. So here goes.
[i]Diebold was aware of shortcomings early
By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER
Attorneys for Diebold Election Systems Inc. warned in late November that its use of uncertified vote-counting software in Alameda County violated California election law and broke its $12.7 million contract with Alameda County.
Soon after, a review of internal legal memos obtained by ANG Newspapers shows, Diebold's attorneys at the Los Angeles office of Jones Day realized the McKinney, Texas-based firm also faced a threat of criminal charges and exile from California elections.
Yet despite warnings from the state's chief elections officer, Diebold continued fielding poorly tested, faulty software and hardware in at least two of California's largest urban counties during the Super Tuesday primary, when e-voting temporarily broke down and voters were turned away at the polls[/i]
Full story: http://www.trivalleyherald.co...,1413,86~10669~2095693,00 .html
So, anyone wanna give me odds that all the glitches from all of these voting machine companies are going to be worked out by election day this November? Yeah, I thought not.
We are all so screwed. Sigh...
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| No 2004 election? |
| 04.06.04 (12:35 pm) [edit] |
Let me make a confession to all of you. I'm depressed. Not depressed in the usual "let me see a doctor at my HMO for 5 minutes so I can get some good drugs" kind of way, but in the "what in the hell is going on in the world" way.
So just as I had settled in with the strong feeling that Bush is going to pull off the next election, a friend of mine forwarded me a possibility that is [i]even worse[/i].
(but before we begin, a small aside: that Bush will probably "win" the election is simply my opinion, and not one I really care to admit to myself. I know many of us here are hoping and praying that it will go another way, but unless a few [i]really big [/i] things change, I can't imagine it happening. A topic for another day)
[i][b]Will the 2004 Election Be Called Off? Why Three Out of Four Experts Predict a Terrorist Attack by November[/b]
by Maureen Farrell
On Dec. 31, 2003, New York Times columnist and former Nixon speech writer William Safire offered his standard New Year’s predictions. This time, however, one item stood out. In addition to speculating on everything from which country would next "feel the force of U.S. liberation" to who would win the best picture Oscar, Safire predicted that "the 'October surprise' affecting the U.S. election" would be "a major terror attack in the United States." [Salt Lake Tribune]
While such speculation is hardly worth a trip to the duct tape store, when combined with repeated assaults to our democratic process and troublesome assertions from noteworthy sources, it warrants further investigation.
In Nov. 2003, you might recall, Gen. Tommy Franks told Cigar Aficionado magazine that a major terrorist attack (even one that occurred elsewhere in the Western world), would likely result in a suspension of the U.S. Constitution and the installation of a military form of government. "[A] terrorist, massive, casualty-producing event somewhere in the Western world -- it may be in the United States of America -- [would cause] our population to question our own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to avoid a repeat of another mass, casualty-producing event," he said. [NewsMax.com][/i]
Just what I need to hear. Read the rest of it at http://www.buzzflash.com/farr...
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| Help me by answering my poll |
| 03.28.04 (8:23 pm) [edit] |
I'm trying to put together a course on how Hollywood interprets and portrays political events and I need a few more good movies to show a bunch of 18 year olds.
So tell me, what is your favorite political movie and why? It can be old or recent.
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| spy on your neighbors |
| 03.22.04 (7:35 pm) [edit] |
This is my favorite new toy.
http://www.fundrace.org/neighbors.php" title="http://www.fundrace.org/neighbors.php" target="_blank"http://www.fundrace.org/neigh...
Most frequent donation size in my neighborhood to Democratic candidates : $250
Most frequent donation size in my neighborhood to George W Bush: $2000
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| I heard a fly buzz when I died |
| 03.08.04 (10:01 pm) [edit] |
Today I had the most terrifying driving experience of my life (well, the most terrifying without actually getting into an accident).
It was massively icy outside today. I was leaving a parking ramp and I had the choice of either turning right, which would take me up a hill to the main road, or turning left, which would send me down a long hill that eventually curves alongside the Mississippi river. Normally, I would have turned right, but I noticed that about 75% of the people who tried that ended up sliding backwards down the hill. So I decided to try my luck at turning left.
I pulled out, no problem. I turned the car left, but the car kept going straight toward the sidewalk in front of me and a group of smokers, who seemed like they had been getting a lot of entertainment watching people try to leave the ramp. Nothing I did would make the car turn. Hell, I was lucky to make it even stop. One of the smokers suggested I just drive into the curb, which would bounce me back onto the road and down the hill (and probably to my death in the river. Well, at least I was next to a hospital).
I tried it, because I figured it was better than just sitting there and weeping. It didn't really work. Rather, it sent me headed straight for a telephone pole. In the end, three people had to run up and push my car sideways to keep it headed in the right direction down the hill.
As I slid down the hill diagonally with the window open in case I decided to abandon ship, several thoughts crossed my mind. Should I have been less of a cheap bastard and purchased snow tires this year? I wonder if that guardrail by the river is up to code. Why in the hell is that pedestrian crossing in front of my obviously out of control car? I mean, seriously.
Somehow, through no skill of my own, the car slowed down and I was able to steer it again. The pedestrian lived. I lived.
Time to move, eh?
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| Fabio? |
| 03.01.04 (8:41 pm) [edit] |
Fabio? Freakin' Fabio??? That's a deep dark secret that can get you dumped? (ok, I watched the Average Joe 2 finale, so sue me)
I mean, we've all have ex's whom, in retrospect, we find embarrassing. But how could Gil flip out [i]that [/i]much over Larissa's Fabio past?
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| gay marriage kills? |
| 02.28.04 (11:48 am) [edit] |
I keep seeing this quote by Governor Schwarzenegger about why Newsom's decision to allow gay marriage was wrong. http://story.news.yahoo.com/n...
[i]In San Francisco, it is license for marriage of same sex. Maybe the next thing is another city that hands out licenses for assault weapons and someone else hands out licenses for selling drugs, I mean you can't do that[/i]
So let's think about what Arnold is saying. First, he's associating San Francisco's rampant acts of loving commitment with those that kill thousands of people every year (guns and drugs). (For the record, there are millions of people who are actually looking forward to the expiration of the assault weapons ban this year, for example [url=http://www.awbansunset.com/]these fine folks here[/url]. That kind of freaks me out, but ok)
But let's move on to the drug analogy. Several years back, a majority of Californians voted to legalize medical marijuana. While the federal government has done everything it can to stop medical marijuana programs in cities, most people in California are sympathetic to the idea of providing useful medicine to people who are in pain.
Whom does gay marriage hurt? And if you're one who believes that there should be a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, do you also believe that the federal government should have a say in how heterosexual marriages are performed? Where do your limits on the separation of church and state end?
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| I never thought I'd admit this |
| 02.24.04 (9:43 pm) [edit] |
Wonders never cease. George W. Bush (or rather, his re-election website) has provided a service that I actually like. If you go to: https://www.georgewbush.com/GetActive/WriteNewspa pers.aspx, there is a form that allows you to write a letter that will be sent automatically to the editors of all of your local newspapers.
The website doesn't say that you have to be a Republican to use it. I wonder if the Bush folks read what's sent from the website. Could be fun.
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| oh, Nader! |
| 02.22.04 (4:09 pm) [edit] |
Nader's [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/0...]decision to run for president[/url] has my blood boiling, which is probably what he was shooting for. Bravo, Ralph!
Nader continues to claim that there are no candidates who care about environmental issues and the needs of ordinary Americans. But what about Kucinich and Sharpton? They're still in the ring.
Seriously, if you're looking to vote for a megalomaniac who has absolutely no self-awareness, there are plenty of candidates who fit that bill just as well as Ralph Nader does.
This time he can't even claim the moral high ground of trying to get federal funding for the Green Party. So what's the point? If you actually want to make a difference in this world, go work or volunteer for some organization you care about. Symbolic votes really don't amount to much in the long run (except possibly 4 more years of W).
Finally, and this is just my personal opinion, I believe that anyone who votes for Nader in '04 deserves to never get laid again.
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| Ted Rall on gay marriage |
| 02.21.04 (10:30 am) [edit] |
I thought this was cute.
![]() =http://www.tblog.com/user_ima...
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| Pruno nation |
| 02.20.04 (9:31 pm) [edit] |
It's great that the [url=http://nytimes.com/2004/02/21...]Supreme Court[/url] is finally agreeing to look at the subject of enemy combantants. Then again, knowing this court, things may not go so well for the future of prisoners' civil liberties.
So, if you're fearing that you too may someday be held behind bars indefinitely without a trial or access to a lawyer, perhaps you should acquaint yourself with this recipe for pruno, a nearly toxic alcoholic beverage you can make in the privacy of your own cell from fruit, sugar, and ketchup. Eric Gillin of the Black Table writes:
[i]By most accounts, pruno isn't something a normal human would want to drink, so potent that two gallons is said to be "a virtual liquor store," enough to get a dozen people mindblowingly wasted. And while it tastes so putrid that even hardened prisoners gulp it down while holding their noses, they'll go to incredible lengths to make it, whipping up batches from frosting, yams, raisins and damn near everything. [/i]
He also notes:
[i]Back in December 2002, the warden at Lancaster prison in Los Angeles County removed fresh fruit from box lunches in the maximum-security lockup, as an effort to reduce violence. Apparently, sober, scurvy-addled felons are much easier to control than drunken, violent convicts. [/i]
Read about Gillin's attempt to make his own pruno [url=http://www.blacktable.com/gil...]here[/url].
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| historical scandal |
| 02.17.04 (7:38 am) [edit] |
The [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/am...]BBC reports[/url] that presidential campaigns were much more scandal-driven in the 19th century than they are today. Actually, I already knew that, but I really like these stories:
[i]One of the most vitriolic elections was in 1828.
John Quincy Adams was nicknamed "The Pimp" by the campaign of his opponent General Andrew Jackson, based on a rumour that he had once coerced a young woman into an affair with a Russian nobleman when he had been American ambassador to Russia.
Adams' supporters hit back with a pamphlet which claimed: "General Jackson's mother was a common prostitute brought to this country by British solders! She afterwards married a mulatto man with whom she had several children of which number General Jackson is one!!" Jackson won anyway.
And just to show that this kind of thing goes right back to the start of American campaigning, we have the election of 1800 in which Thomas Jefferson was accused of favouring the teaching of "murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest". Jefferson won. He did not teach the offending subjects. [/i]
Well, it's off to murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest class!
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| Coulter and Cleland |
| 02.14.04 (10:19 am) [edit] |
Ann Coulter has recently accused Max Cleland of [url=http://www.salon.com/politics...]not being a "real" war hero[/url] because of the circumstances under which he lost three of his limbs in Vietnam.
Let's consider the circumstances under which Cleland was awarded the Silver Star, 4 days before the grenade incident that took his arm and both of his leg:
[i]"Action: For gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. Captain Cleland distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous action on 4 April 1968, while serving as communications officer of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Calvary during an enemy attack near Khe Sanh, Republic of Vietnam.
"When the battalion command post came under a heavy enemy rocket and mortar attack, Capt. Cleland, disregarding his own safety, exposed himself to the rocket barrage as he left his covered position to administer first aid to his wounded comrades. He then assisted in moving the injured personnel to covered positions. Continuing to expose himself, Capt. Cleland organized his men into a work party to repair the battalion communications equipment which had been damaged by enemy fire. His gallant action is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
"Authority: By direction of the President, under the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved 9 July 1968." [/i]
Full link [url=http://www.gainesvilletimes.c...]here[/url]
Sounds like a hero to me.
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| For those who think the John Kerry intern story will stick... |
| 02.13.04 (9:51 pm) [edit] |
...don't be so quick to jump to conclusions.
Back when the Monica Lewinsky story broke, Clinton's approval rating experienced one of the larger one-month changes in presidential history -- his approval rating went UP 10 points.
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| More on the Barbie-Ken split |
| 02.12.04 (4:21 pm) [edit] |
Many have asked why Barbie and Ken have decided to part ways after 43 years of molded plastic matrimony. The folks at Mattel assured the public it had nothing do to with the [url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/...,2933,111234,00.html]rumors[/url] about Ken's sexual orientation.
But, surely, there are some of us who remember some of the more questionable sartorial experiments that Ken went through. Witness the most famous of the bunch, Earring Magic Ken:
![]() =http://www.tblog.com/user_ima...
Lavender vest, mesh shirt, one earring...well, it was the 80s. We're all allowed to make one mistake. But how about Ken in the 70s:
![]() =http://www.tblog.com/user_ima...
The 90s (can't stay away from that mesh, Ken):
![]() =http://www.tblog.com/user_ima...
Even his attempts to butch it up seem a little misdirected:
![]() =http://www.tblog.com/user_ima...
Poor Barbie -- in 1961 could she have ever expected her dream man would have ended up like this? Well, maybe...
![]() =http://www.tblog.com/user_ima...
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