tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77102412024-01-31T01:16:39.097-08:00Manifest ContentA game of badminton with a hand grenade played on a lawn of hot lavaM@http://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.comBlogger273125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1134075636399668592005-12-08T12:35:00.000-08:002005-12-08T13:00:36.496-08:00go with itokay. so the thing i don't get about companies who are morally bankrupt? why not just admit you're the anti-christ and move on? why pretend to be something you're not? these companies spend millions of dollars, millions of dollars that could be given to...oh, i don't know...ME, on spin control when it's discovered the yummy breakfast sandwich they marketed directly to kids not only causes ebola, but was also manufactured by convincted sex offenders. poor, destitute sex offenders. in third world nations. who knows what a poor, destitute sex offender from a third world nation is desperate enough to do to your breakfast sandwich! <br /><br />but i digress. the point is, if you're evil and you know it, if you can virtually feel the flames of hell licking at your very soul because of the evil, <span style="font-style:italic;">evilocity</span> that resides in the dark underbelly of your company's soon to be shredded document vault, if your company screws the dog every chance it gets, you should embrace it -- don't shun it! take advantage of it. use it in your favor. "yeah, we screwed the pooch on that one. so what? wanna fight about it?" <br /><br />that's what <span style="font-weight:bold;">i'd</span> do if i were starbucks and accused of unfair trade practices, adding genetically engineered ingredients to my coffee, and making huuuuuuge profits by raping every damn street corner in the world with one my over-priced coffee shacks. <br /><br />but, you know, that's just me. <br /><br /><img src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b38/kimberfae/Starbucks_Dr_Evil_small.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"><br> Starbucks Brand Coffee: The Official Beverage of Evil.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16392632890309481029noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1134084680675732742005-12-07T15:16:00.000-08:002005-12-08T15:31:20.686-08:00kinky kinkyi read <a href="http://www.bookslut.com/features/2005_12_007323.php">this article</a> over at <a href="http://www.bookslut.com/">bookslut</a> on kinky friedman and his run for governor of texas. i'm not against him running. i'm not even sure i'm against him winning. i've pretty much given up on believing anything politicians say anymore so, win - lose - whatever. makes me no nevermind cause they're going to get in there and do whatever the hell they want anyway. <br /><br />the question i have is this: isn't there at least a requirement for a semblance of sanity anymore? no, i'm asking. seriously. check it out: <br /><br /><blockquote>You’ve talked about your “anti-wussification” campaign for Texas. What does that involve?<br /><br />Making it okay to say “Merry Christmas.” Making it okay to smoke where you want to. Bringing back the Ten Commandments. I may have to change their name to the Ten Suggestions. I want to bring them back to the public schools. They were taken out not because of church and state, but because of political correctness. Some atheist came up and said he didn’t like the Ten Commandments. We all know what happens when an atheist dies. His tombstone reads “All dressed up and no place to go.” By the way, I’ve written my own epitaph, Mike, which is: “If you can read this, you’re standing on my head.” It’s a good one, ain’t it? </blockquote><br /><br />it sure ain, kinky! i'm all for making it okay to say merry christmas. and smoke em if you got em, boys. but jesus h christ, he sounds like his doo rag's on a little tight there. despite this, he has plans. big plans for the great lone star state: <br /><br /><blockquote><br />Do you think you’d be able to work with the Democrats and the Republicans in the state legislature?<br /><br />Absolutely. I will charm their pants off. Invite ‘em over, we’ll have some barbecue, smoke some cigars together, and we’ll get this thing rolling. And a lot of things can be done without the legislature, by the way. I’ll tell you five things a governor could do right now. One, have a listed telephone number, so during certain hours, he could talk to the people, because I think this governor is out of touch with the people of Texas, not to mention the spirit of Texas. Two, biodiesel. Put that in all the school buses and all the state police (cars). You can do that by decree. Three, I plan to open the Indian casinos that have been closed down -- the Tigua and the Alabama Coushata. Four, the (state university) Boards of Regents. I want to fill them with the best, brightest young people, not old farts that have given the most money. Let’s get college students (on the Boards) who are really passionate about education. And finally, I’d like to rename four state highways after Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, and Buddy Holly. Not toll roads, by the way.</blockquote> <br /><br />well. paint me white and call me cotton. i've been saying for years that texas needs a new governor. a governor with a listed phone number who'll invite me over for barbecue while we chaw the fat. they need a governor who is *in touch* and ...uh, biodiesel! also. come on, who wouldn't be excited to drive down willie nelson highway sangin' "owwwn the road agin, ah jes cain't wait ta git on the road agin!" --without paying a toll, by the way? <br /><br />i don't know. maybe i'm being too harsh. i like kinky. i do. i like his books and his fast livin' freewill lifestyle. hell, come to think of it, maybe he's just what texas needs. crazy as a bed bug or not. <br /><br />owwwwwwwn the roooad agin'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1134080581024289632005-12-05T14:19:00.000-08:002005-12-08T14:24:49.213-08:00R.I.P.C.They are killing Christmas. Do you hear me?<br /><br /><a href="http://laughingsquid.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">killing it!</span></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099592847626883032004-11-04T11:27:00.000-08:002004-11-04T11:11:51.823-08:00A Kansan asks "What's the matter with Harvard?"Well, not really. But he is a <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=341710">Kansan who writes for the Harvard Crimson</a> about the stereotypes the Ivy League intellectuals level against the group they claim is responsible for relying on prejudicial stereotypes for their bigotry and dogmatism:
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<br />My experience with people at Harvard is that they apply stereotypes to the Midwest in ways that they would be outrageously offended by if the same kind of simple-minded stereotypes were applied to people of a particular race or religion or what-have-you. For shame. Everyone knows that the South is where America keeps its imbeciles. I suppose the Midwest receives a lot of flak because of the notion that its inhabitants are close minded. What irony! The people who dis my homies from the Great Plains are the close minded ones. They claim to be cultured because they have studied abroad in Italy for a semester, but they neglect to accept that the Midwest has anything to offer besides wheat, boredom and fanatic Protestantism. In my art class, the lecturer mentioned that a particular painting was located in a museum in Kansas City and people in the crowd snickered as if the idea was preposterous. “Kansas City?!?! It must have been placed next to the cow patties and the photo of Dorothy and Toto.”</blockquote>
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<br />Good stuff, read the whole thingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099589907827587732004-11-04T09:38:00.000-08:002004-11-04T10:05:20.196-08:00The beast stirs...Hillary Clinton was mentioned in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/nyregion/04hillary.html?ei=5006&en=dfc20f84753541d8&ex=1100235600&partner=ALTAVISTA1&pagewanted=print&position=">New York Times</a> yesterday. They are already trying to launch the good ship Hillary on its way to the White House in '08. Don't expect Hillary to say anything about it until after her re-election to the Senate in New York, as the article says. The RNC hasn't got anyone picked to run against her that I've heard. In the Senate race in '06, I mean. So sayeth the article:
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<br /><blockquote>
<br /> Finally, Democrats say that a danger for Mrs. Clinton is that if she is seen as the top contender at this point, her Democratic rivals have nearly four years to try to undercut her.
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<br />But it is not just Democrats who will look to undermine her if she widely perceived as a leading presidential contender, political analysts say. It is also Republicans, particularly those in New York, who are certainly going to argue during her re-election campaign in 2006 that she is simply using the state as a launching pad for her national ambitions.
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<br />"If she runs for re-election in New York, that will bring the inevitable question of whether she will serve out her full term in the Senate," said one person who is close to the Clintons.</blockquote>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099586741044614842004-11-04T09:30:00.000-08:002004-11-04T09:30:38.330-08:00President giving one finger victory salute in press conferenceThe President was in the Q & A period of his live press conference just now...He has been ribbing the press good naturedly, and showing that he is both game and unwilling to be bullied now that he's got a second term. At the same time, he is friendly and gracious. He seems to be respectful even as he points out the press violating the "one question rule". He points it out, and then answers the whole question. He's got breathing room now, and this time around is already looking different. There are several cabinet changes coming, and W seems to be setting up a front of unifying outreach, at least politically.
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<br />Speaking of unifying...does anyone think <a href="http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/2883040">Arlen Specter's "warning"</a> was an unexpected slap at the president? No, I think it was a mutually beneficial political statement. Specter is one of Bush's bridges to the middle. The fact that Bush was a prime mover in Specter's political career, by most conservative accounts at least, tells me that they have some sort of prearranged agreement. I am not suggesting disingenuous behavior here, but I am suggesting political compromise that counterintuitively helps Bush by allowing for public display of both dissent from and tacit support for these so-called RINOs. Bush knows when it comes down to it Specter owes him but it helps Bush more politically to have an ally restraining him than an enemy, even knowing that his enemies will publicly use the dissent of the ally against him. He knows that allowing for the Specters and the McHaGar(lately just HaGar, but post-election look for McCain to reappear in the triumvirate) costs him no real capital, and creates a political buffer between himself and the people he *can't* make deals with. The second tier *can*, and he's already spoken to them behind closed doors about this, betcher bottom dollar.
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<br />More on that later maybe, but just hearing that Arafat is dead! That's what the radio is saying, anyway. Nothing on Google news yet. No one knows really. Bush said "God bless his soul." in his press conference. French doctors are saying he is not dead, so it's up in the air.
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<br />Anyway, that was a big gripe of conservatives during the election, right? Laura Ingraham was always angry at McHaGar, because they were being used against the Bush campaign. They seemed like traitors to her, especially after all Bush did for them! Well that's true on one level...it bugged me too. It's hard to watch that, and perhaps our rankling at it was part of the benefit of having three. The left ran with every quote from the dissenters, the ones who suddenly appeared to break with their party. But not one of them endorsed Kerry did they? In fact, that's why McCain had to disengage and support Bush. He was in it to build capital for a presidential run in '08, or get a Sec Def job in a possible Kerry presidency but he was too valuable to Bush, and had to take sides in the end. So now that he can't really hurt Bush, he can go back to building his credit for the primary in '08. Fair enough, and the Dems can keep howling all they want, if they want, that there is dissent in the Republican party. The fact is, it's political genius judo-chess.
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<br />So on the Iraq war, the bridge people was McCain, Lugar and Chuck Hagel. On the judicial committee in the Senate, putting in a guy who owes Bush big and who first thing after a Bush win comes out and "slaps" Bush in the press on the abortion issue is such judo-chess! The premise is that whomever he appoints will be opposed most fervently by the Democrat minority. They will probably try to be mature about it this time around(It might get dirty but it will start out reasoned) but really this is the big fight coming in D.C., don't fool yourself.
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<br />The big thing I saw at the RNC this year was the appearance of compromise between divisions. Lots of people showed willingness to show a big tent of reasonably conflicting points under a general ideological agreement around the middle of conservatism. I assumed this was mostly political expedience for the election campaign, and I still assume that. But looking down the road, and knowing that I'm certainly not the furthest sighted guy in the party I am also assuming that some of these compromises were made for after the election season too. There are real political divisions among these conservatives, and that's why Specter isn't being disingenuous, nor were any of the McHaGar triumvirate. But Specter won't be selling out the president when it comes down to it.
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<br />Ah, and Specter is now compiling a transcript of what was actually said from a tape and is preparing a clarifying statement. Rush is saying this now on the radio, and is leading in to the tendency of the left to hail any sign of disunity. We'll see what he says...I agree with Rush when he says that he doesn't trust Specter to be a Republican. But that's where the Judo comes in, I think. If the Democrats present a responsible party to switch to, it's possible the Rhode Island Republican would turn for his own political interests. That's the game, but meantime Bush will be using him for the party as a strength that looks like a weakness. Very Sun Tzu, very Judo.
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<br />I'm just sayin' Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099581558617012392004-11-04T07:18:00.001-08:002004-11-04T07:23:14.513-08:00Red/BlueThis map <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm">here</a> shows the red.blue breakdown by county. Red state/Blue state just doesn't cut it.
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<br />And <a href="http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=615518§ion=news">Yasser Arafa</a>t is in a coma. Hmm, this means Arafat could already be dead. Well how's about them apples...Right after Bush wins a second term...
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<br />And the <a href="http://www.belgraviadispatch.com/archives/004124.html">Belgravia Dispatch</a> notes some sour grapes writing from Adam Nagourney in the NYT...I don't think this is the only example, but I'm not looking for the stuff. It's not all peaces and cream, post-jubilation. Still, amazing how a respected guy like Nagourney could have such a subtly misleading take on Kerry's concession. This kind of journalism won't rebuild any credibility, and it won't help the country move forward. But then, maybe that's exactly the intent. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099529712001609322004-11-03T16:54:00.000-08:002004-11-03T16:55:12.003-08:00W stands for "Winner"I feel...SO good. All kinds of good news, and I didn't post once during what was likely a high traffic time. I am feeling great, but I'm also ready to move on.
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<br />I'm also getting ready to move this weblog to a new domain, and was out all night watching returns. I'll be back around shortly, but I am taking a quick jubilant break so that I don't gloat. I feel more relieved than anything. The perspective I've got on the whole process is improved and I like the way I see my side acting, and encouraged at most of how I see the other side acting. We are two sides of the same country, and that's the most important thing.
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099380177165728002004-11-01T23:22:00.000-08:002004-11-01T23:22:57.166-08:00I failed this quizSee how well you do on this <a href="http://www.learnthat.com/quiz/">"Who said it?"</a> quiz
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099373115691492162004-11-01T21:25:00.000-08:002004-11-01T21:25:15.693-08:00Foomp went the UniverseUniverse Today has an article on new paper about an idea that's been floated around for a while, and is pretty interesting. I don't know how well the idea that <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/why_time_flow_one_direction.html?1112004">entropy can be infinite</a> will go over, but I'm not the guy that's gonna shoot it down. It was a cool idea when I read it in a Kip Thorne book, at least. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099358528411928152004-11-01T17:21:00.000-08:002004-11-01T17:22:08.410-08:00Ah, that makes more senseI was not alone in my surprise that Slate listed Christopher Hitchens as having endorsed Kerry for president. And my surprise was well founded, it turns out. Hitchens leads off his <a href="http://slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2108966&">column of today</a> in Slate with an editorial correction by Slate apologizing for the mischaracterization:
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<br /><blockquote>Correction, Nov. 1, 2004: Due to an editing error, Christopher Hitchens' entry in the "Slate Votes" survey was mistakenly classified as an endorsement of John Kerry. As Hitchens explains below, he did not intend his contribution as a statement of support for either candidate. Slate apologizes to Hitchens for this error. Click here to read the corrected survey.</blockquote>
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<br />Of course, supporting neither candidate is not quite what I'd hoped for but you can also read this article at the <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041108&s=hitchens">Nation</a> if you'd like to console yourself that he actually has endorsed Bush in print.
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<br />(hat tip to <a href="http://bitheads.blogspot.com/2004/11/hitchens-is-for-bush.html">Bitsblog</a> and <a href="http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/000582.html">Michael Totten</a>)
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099348606042761332004-11-01T14:31:00.000-08:002004-11-01T14:36:46.043-08:00Full of crow, and still smartEject! Eject! Eject! was one of the bloggers that posted about being wrong that Osama was dead, and he has a <a href="http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000111.html">final thought</a> before the election tomorrow. He spells out some good reasons for voting Bush, not that anyone is around to have their mind changed by this point. Still worth a read, I thought:
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<br /><blockquote>
<br />I will be able to live with a Kerry Presidency. But what tortures me is the thought that this country is no longer capable of doing hard, dirty work -- that we have reached the point where nothing difficult is attainable because the cost is something less than free.
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<br />I believe, from a reading of the history and the very words of the leaders of North Vietnam, that John Kerry was instrumental in convincing them that if they were able to hang on and inflict enough American casualties, eventually we would tire and go home.
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<br />I further believe that history shows that the Ayatollah Khomeini had our number in this regard, and I regard the start of this current conflict as the day they overran the US Embassy in Tehran, to which our response was...what? </blockquote>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099341399870267622004-11-01T12:36:00.000-08:002004-11-01T12:36:39.870-08:00Think this is as divided as we've ever been?Jennifer Nelson <a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2004/10/25/jnelson.DTL">pokes a hole in that balloon</a>. In '84 Reagan v. Mondale, and in '60 Kennedy v. Nixon...we've seen this before. She even points out that Nixon lost due to obvious voter fraud in two key states, yet declined to challenge the results:
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<br /><blockquote>
<br />That year, John F. Kennedy beat Richard M. Nixon by 113,000 votes out of 68 million cast. The two deciding states were Texas, where Kennedy beat Nixon by 9,000 votes, and Illinois, where he won by 46,000 votes. Reports of election fraud surfaced in both states, but, despite urging by his staff and others, Nixon refused to call for a recount. In his 1962 memoir, "Six Crises," he wrote that he did not challenge the result, because he felt that the nation would be harmed by the notion that "the presidency itself could be stolen by thievery at the ballot box."
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<br />In November 2000, former Nixon White House official Pete Flanigan told John H. Taylor, executive director of the Nixon Foundation, "Within a couple days after the election, Nixon emphatically said he would not challenge the results. And he did more than that. He told all of us on the staff to have no part of any challenge, and he sent back donations, all of them unsolicited, which were sent to finance a challenge.</blockquote>
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<br />And was there voter fraud? Oh yes...yes there was. The irony of Democrats claiming that Bush stole the '00 election or that he will steal this one is nothing more than infuriating to anyone who thinks Bush defended and will defend a victory against fraud. The fact is, those of you who don't like to hear the truth can look away now, it is the Left that has a history of stealing elections:
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<br /><blockquote>"There was a cemetery where the names on the tombstones were registered and voted," Mazo told The Washington Post in 2000. "I remember a house. It was completely gutted. There was nobody there. But there were 56 votes for Kennedy in that house."
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<br />Mazo also uncovered fraud in Texas and was planning an investigative series on the episode. However, Nixon found out about it and called Mazo, and later his editors, to squash the story. Again, Nixon believed fueling the fire of what many people thought was a fraudulent election would do more harm than good for the nation. </blockquote>
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<br />I don't think we're seeing anything different this time around. Massive efforts at registration fraud by the left are already out there in the news. The Daly machine is humming right along, people. It might not end up being pretty but I'm not willing to let this keep going on and you shouldn't be either. Kennedy, sure lots of people were genuinely behind him but I'm just not going to buy that all of you are hot for a Kerry presidency. Bush may not set you on fire, but you know very well that Kerry is a convictionless panderer with an arrogant mean streak besides. Is this the guy you want to strangle your morals over? Think about it hard, because it's almost time to calm everyone down. You might have to make a hard decision after November 2. Are you going to support the legal challenges that are levelled to try to force the Dem's guy in? Are you going to be complicit in voter fraud ruining the legitimacy of the voting process yet again? Think hard, because it's a real possibility. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099338881956768972004-11-01T11:54:00.000-08:002004-11-01T11:59:55.530-08:00Last callIt's the last day to be undecided...and after reading the new translations of the Osama Bin Laden video, which now has him saying 'states that go for Kerry are safe, and states that go for Bush are asking for it' I want you to think about that when deciding. At least I hope you do. The guy is saying 'We'll leave the weak and cowardly alone'. So which are you? I live in a state that's going for Bush anyway, but this makes me wish even more that I lived in a blue state so that I could vote my defiance against OBL.
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<br />This is a good opportunity to restate what we all said after 9/11: WE ARE ALL AMERICANS. Don't let them split us up like that...The message of this tape is clear, that after the election there will be more attacks no matter what. The only matter to be decided for Al Qaeda is in which states they will attack. When that happens it will be an attack on America, not Bush states. It's time to be an American NOW. The world is watching...
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Update:</span> Jonah Goldberg has this point over at the <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp">Corner</a>:
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<br /><blockquote>
<br />FOR THE NOSE-HOLDERS [Jonah Goldberg]
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<br />I have a lot of friends who are holding their noses when they vote for Bush. I have sympathy for their views, I really do. Much of what Bush has done -- and hasn't -- bugs me too. But I ask you folks to look at it from a slightly different perspective. If thinking in terms of who the better candidate is doesn't work for you, think of it in terms of which candidate's victory will cause the most happiness among the worst people. If Kerry wins some truly horrible people will be happy. Some perfectly fine and decent folks will be happy too, of course. But if Bush wins, Michael Moore won't be on the Today Show the next day cheering and hugging his friends. Katie Couric will wear black. Alec Baldwin won't give interviews. P Diddy will go away. Susan Sarandon will mope. Al Franken still won't be funny, but it will be easier to laugh at him. Jon Stewart will go back to comedy. Terry McAuliffe will go down in history as the most disastrous DNC Chair in modern history.
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<br />But if Bush loses, all of these people will be gloating and skipping with joy.
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<br />Vote your fears people. </blockquote>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099337084133114712004-11-01T11:24:00.000-08:002004-11-01T11:24:44.133-08:00Glenn Reynolds tells the futureInstapundit, run by Professor Glenn Reynolds, is one of the foremost contributors to the political blogosphere. His latest article for Tech Central Station has some good thoughts about where the whole thing is headed in the big picture. I think he's right as far as anyone can predict what the true impact of weblogs will have on our culture and society, and of course anyone who has spent much time fooling around with them probably considers most of this pretty obvious. Still, it's well said and lays it out for the uninitiated...worth a read I think:
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<br />Over the next few years, blogs will grow both more and less significant. They'll grow more significant because more people will be reading them, and -- at least as important -- more people will be writing them. That will expand their impact considerably. On the other hand, they'll grow less significant, in a way, because they'll grow more ordinary. Like other communications media, from newspapers to email, they'll just become part of the background, and their particular thread of impact will be less noticeable. </blockquote>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099291665371254302004-10-31T22:47:00.000-08:002004-10-31T22:47:45.373-08:00MEMRI offers a slightly different translationMEMRI.org has done its own <a href="http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SA1404">translation</a> of the OBL tape released yesterday and found a subtle mistranslation that has been accepted by us here in the West. Go check it out, it is interesting to note the change and its meaning...
<br /><blockquote>
<br />When he [Osama Bin Laden] said, 'Every state will be determining its own security, and will be responsible for its choice,' it means that any U.S. state that will choose to vote for the white thug Bush as president has chosen to fight us, and we will consider it our enemy, and any state that will vote against Bush has chosen to make peace with us, and we will not characterize it as an enemy. By this characterization, Sheikh Osama wants to drive a wedge in the American body, to weaken it, and he wants to divide the American people itself between enemies of Islam and the Muslims, and those who fight for us, so that he doesn't treat all American people as if they're the same. This letter will have great implications inside the American society, part of which are connected to the American elections, and part of which are connected to what will come after the elections."(3)</blockquote>
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099247675913326622004-10-31T10:34:00.000-08:002004-10-31T10:34:35.913-08:00NYT finds Nick Nolte's blogNick Nolte caused a big stir back when he got arrested for driving under the influence. No, not the gossip pages. The stir was in the blogosphere, when people found a weblog supposedly written by Nolte which chronicled, among other things, a stint in rehab. Of course, it was both hilarious and a hoax. Greg.org, who started it all, has a bit on the subject <a href="http://greg.org/archive/2004/10/30/nick_nolte_diarys_diary.html">here</a>. Now the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/31/movies/31alle.html">NYT takes a look</a> at the phenomenon of fake celebrity blogs and focuses on this one. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099245141527557572004-10-31T09:52:00.000-08:002004-10-31T09:57:27.903-08:00SNL does OBLI was slipping in and out of consciousness last night during Saturday Night Live, but the parts I caught were pretty funny. <a href="http://www.watcherofweasels.com/archives/001387.html">Watcher of Weasels</a> has transcribed the cold opening, which I thought was pretty funny:
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<br /><blockquote>
<br />For a time, I feared that I would not be eligible to vote in this election. But recently, praise Allah, I was tracked down by two volunteers from the Kerry campaign. They signed me up, and apparently, I am now registered in Cincinatti. Since then, I have tried hard to follow the campaign, and to study both the candidates, and the issues. This has often been frustrating, as I am constantly moving from cave to cave here in the mountains of northwestern Pakistan, and thus have very little contact with the outside world. The only person I see regularly is Michael Moore. And frankly, I'm not sure I can believe half of what he tells me. So, I am not as well-informed a voter as I would like.
<br /></blockquote>
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<br />I noticed the same thing he did about the audience reactions to the best lines. There was a crack about Bush early on that got laughter and applause, and two jabs at the Kerry campaign that seemed to get even more. The Teresa Heinz Kerry joke went over *really* well.
<br /><blockquote>
<br />On the whole, if you ask my opinion, I don't see much difference between the two candidates, although, and I will probably get in trouble for saying this, I cannot stand Teresa Heinz Kerry. She is awful. Just awful. Our religion forbids us to strike a woman, although I admit, I do it all the time, and I know I shouldn't. But if she were my wife, with Allah as my witness, I would not stop beating her. </blockquote>
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<br />They also did another sketch from behind the scenes of the Kerry campaign with Clinton again overshadowing the lackluster Kerry, but I was having trouble concentrating by then. I also seem to remember a Robert Smigel cartoon that was political but I can't for the life of me remember anything about it. I was trying to stay focused but I had woken up to see the show purely by chance really.
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<br />The other thing I saw was that SNL was playing on last week's lip-syncing debacle with Ashlee Simpson. The cold opening got some good laughs with OBL cracking on it, and Kate Winslet's monologue was a demonstration of how to do a live song-and-dance number(the song was about picking yourself up and starting over again while she tap danced and sung). Weekend Update brought Horatio Sanz out as Elton John to parody "Tiny Dancer" which tore Ashlee up for blaming the mistake on her band and acid reflux, and that's about all I can really remember. If I had been more awake I might have found there was less to laugh at than I think, but those were the highlights I saw...I mostly tuned Eminem out, but he sang his anti-Bush screed "Mosh" and I couldn't tell if he was lip-syncing or not. At some point I realized that I was using up my extra hour of sleeping time and the next thing I know it was morning. This one will probably make it in to the end of season reruns...
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099160425899311952004-10-30T11:20:00.000-07:002004-10-30T11:20:25.900-07:00Orson Scott Card already said itHere's <a href="http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2004-10-17-2.html">something</a> from two weeks ago that I missed...it's opinionated, but openly so and still a valid view of things. I happen to agree with it, and it's the least angry way of saying it that I've come across lately...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099154439622839772004-10-30T09:40:00.000-07:002004-10-30T09:40:39.623-07:00Fourth Rail fisks OsamaThis is a good <a href="http://billroggio.com/archives/2004/10/osamas_tape_and.html">fisking of the latest Al Queda tape</a>, which was released 4 days before the election with whatever intent...and apparently in lieu of any pre-election attacks, if anything can be inferred about his ability to do so from that fact...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099149106350039912004-10-30T09:29:00.000-07:002004-10-30T10:04:37.770-07:00If I eat crow, so should theyI said in the last post that a lot of us who thought OBL was dead will have to eat crow. Well I see a lot of people doing that, but so far none of the prominent people who insisted that George Bush had the man in some dank cell awaiting his use for political gain in the election. I also haven't heard anyone suggest that this new tape is a Karl Rove plot, and Bin Laden was forced to make and release this after Abu Ghraib-style torture. So...anyone willing to ask Teresa Heinz what she has to say now about the big October Surprise? Since she was so upset about "neanderthal" attacks on her husband, she really should consider saying something like 'I'm sorry I was so eager to believe the worst and say so out loud'.
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<br />And what about all of you? It wasn't just her, there were quite a few Democrats that smugly assured us that come October we would be seeing the capture of OBL with a triumphant Bush taking all the credit for fighting the war on terror. We can argue the point that Bush should have already caught him by now, and my position will be that Kerry might not have even *been* in Tora Bora to try getting OBL in the first place. And since you were superposing your points, ie Clumsy Bush let OBL go/Sneaky Bush has OBL hidden for October Surprise, you're already arguing from a disadvantage with me. We know which one you're forced to take now.
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<br />How many of you smugly commented to people out loud that Bush was merely biding his time until the political profit was going to be high enough? Come on, be honest. I really thought it was safe to assume he was dead, because the argument for it seemed reasonable. I wasn't dead sure, but I did suffer from a few outbursts of out-loud overconfidence in the opinion, this is obvious in hindsight.
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<br />So how about everyone getting in line and saying out loud "I was wrong, Bush didn't have him in his pocket all along."? I'm sure your answer will be "Oh, but he *would* have done that, if he hadn't been so inept and was able to capture the wily outlaw OBL" but then your logical deficit turns in to bankruptcy with me. Why? Because even if your premise were true(and somehow at the same time you believe Kerry is not a political opportunist to at least the same degree) your conclusion is that Kerry could have or would have done a better job of things. What would he have done? Or more devastatingly, now that we know OBL is alive, what more would he do? Come on, what? I somehow suspect he would answer the question himself by attacking what Bush "didn't" do at Tora Bora, because he doesn't. have. an. answer.
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Update:</span> Over at the <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp">Corner</a> I see I was wrong again, prominent people are already floating the ubiquitous-no-matter-how-implausible Karl Rove theory:
<br /><blockquote>
<br />ACTUALLY [KJL]
<br /><a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/29/lkl.01.html">Walter Cronkite</a> believes Rove was behind the tape; this from Larry King last night:
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<br /> Cronkite: "I'm a little inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing."
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<br />
<br />Posted at 10:41 AM</blockquote>
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<br />I will hold off until I'm sure he wasn't joking or suffering from an undetected aneurysm before insulting Mr. Cronkite's unwillingness to shut up and eat the crow on his plate but I really have to look my rational friends on the left in the eye and once again ask that you please help get your party's head out of its ass. You don't have to proclaim the man a genius or even like it, but a silent vote for Bush behind the curtain would be the right thing to do for some of you. For others it's a Nader vote or a Badnarik vote. Some of you, the right thing to do is just not vote and take your chances that P Diddy will get taken down before he kills you. Maybe you'll still decide to vote for Kerry but make sure you have a clear handle on the reasons why. That's all I'm asking.
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<br />To those who don't really think this stuff through: How many overt acts of absurd/ugly/violent/dishonest/wrong from people on the left do you have to see before you stop believing that Karl Rove would be the first suspect in *anything* you have concluded might be an manipulative PR stunt? Come on, Sherlock! Karl Rove's brilliant strategy is brilliant not because of his deified ability to manipulate, but because it is judo-like, if you want to know what I think. Look at yourselves! You're acting like ninnies. Sorry, but you are. Complete ninnies. You guys and gals need to do a reality check like everyone else and make it thorough. You've let yourselves become as dogmatically Fundamentalist and blind to reality as you accuse Bush and I of being, haven't you? Before ya 'cuse me...take a look atcho sef...'fore ya 'cuse me...
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<br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099151116872454542004-10-30T08:41:00.000-07:002004-10-30T08:51:52.256-07:00Gmail vulnerable to hackers?The register has a story about <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/29/gmail_vuln/">Gmail from Google</a> and a new vulnerability found which makes it easy to break in and read someone's mail:
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<br /><blockquote>
<br />Gmail accounts 'wide open to exploit' - report
<br />By John Leyden
<br />Published Friday 29th October 2004 16:50 GMT
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<br />Google's high profile webmail service, Gmail, is vulnerable to a security exploit that might allow hackers full access to a user's email account simply by knowing the user name, according to reports.
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<br />The security flaw allows full access to users' accounts, with no need of a password, Israeli news site Nana says . Using a hex-encoded XSS link, the victim's cookie file can be stolen by a hacker, who can later use it to identify himself to Gmail as the original owner of an email account, regardless of whether or not the password is subsequently changed. Following up a tip from an Israeli hacker, journos from the site confirmed the attack and verified the exploit with local security firm Aladdin Knowledge Systems.
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<br />It's unclear whether the hole has been maliciously exploited. Google has been notified of the issue and is reportedly working on a fix. No-one from the company was available to update The Register on the issue at time of going to press. ®</blockquote>
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<br />I trust Google to get this fixed quickly, but the faster the word gets out on this the better, most likely. I don't use Gmail, but somehow I don't think that makes my e-mail any safer from a hacker who knows what the hell a hex-encoded XSS link is. It does make me a little less likely to try out Google's new hard drive search capability...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099145096916864102004-10-30T07:04:00.000-07:002004-10-30T07:22:45.130-07:00The Belmont Club responds to Bin LadenWell, Bin Laden looks like he is still alive. Lots of us were wrong, and have to eat crow now. The clips I've see looked to me like he was sitting while trying to give the impression that he was standing. He looked old. I'm sure the whole media is going to buzz about this, from whether Bush screwed up at Tora Bora to how closely his speech sounds like Kerry's talking points and Michael Moore's college speeches.
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<br /><a href="http://belmontclub.blogspot.com/2004/10/osama-bin-ladens-surrender-proposal.html">The Belmont Club</a> posted a good bit of the transcript and a comment at the end. The fact that he is trying to influence our election with only a videotape tells me that he doesn't have quite the tactical ability he had over 3 years ago. It's also important to remember that it took 7 years to track down Eric Rudolph(remember him?) and he was hiding in *this* country. I'm confident that we'll get him eventually, and now I'm even more confident he can't do much except hobble from cave to cave planning his next videotape.
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Update:</span> The Truth Laid Bear has a good point which he calls <a href="http://www.truthlaidbear.com/archives/2004/10/29/the_batman_effect.php#001525">"The Batman Effect"</a> and also runs down commentary by the top bloggers. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099078640460853082004-10-29T12:35:00.000-07:002004-10-29T12:37:20.460-07:00more simple diagramsIMAO has a funny post up that <a href="http://www.imao.us/archives/002181.html">breaks the election down</a>. (hat tip to <a href="http://www.instapundit.com/">Instapundit</a>)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02205909508938376542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7710241.post-1099076122903774802004-10-29T11:54:00.000-07:002004-10-29T11:55:22.903-07:00Adventures for a Particle ManThe <a href="http://particleadventure.org/particleadventure/index.html">Particle Adventure</a> is a very good simple explanation of our standard model of particle physics. All the information is presented in the simplest terms possible, and still very extensive. Not a whole lot of math, but the concepts are covered well with some easy to follow pictures. Worth a bookmarking for me...
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0