August 31, 2008
Over the source of several hours before the announcement by John McCain that Sarah Palin was to be his running mate, Palin's Wikipedia entry was heavily edited. The editors included individuals who were simultaneously updating McCain's Wikipedia entry. Apparently, similar activities associated…
August 31, 2008
There has been enough change in the predictions regarding Gustav to make it worth a fresh look. Bottom line: It is weaker than previously predicted, it is still almost exactly on the same track, and it may be speeding up a little bit. Tropical Storm and soon after hurricane force winds may strike…
August 30, 2008
Gustav's eye has passed over western Cuba, and remained a category four hurricane the entire time. One gust in Cuba, where Gustav mainly affected the tobacco growing region, as clocked at 204 miles per hour. Miles. Not kilometers. The storm has caused considerable damage there (source).
Here is…
August 30, 2008
Razib has noted that there is a 15% chance that if McCain/Palin is elected, that Palin will take office based on actuarial data. However, I beg to differ with this given that the presidency is a) known to add years to a person's life, b) is a somewhat more dangerous job than average (there are 43…
August 30, 2008
Sarah Palin comes in at 4 minutes 20 seconds. Turns out she wants all the Polar Bear to die.
August 30, 2008
In November, 2007, a small group of six citizens - two screenwriters, a physicist, a marine biologist, a philosopher and a science journalist - began working to restore science and innovation to America's political dialogue. They called themselves Science Debate 2008, and they called for a…
August 30, 2008
The following announcement regarding Sarah Palin is from Move On Dot Org. This is about McCain's running mate.
Obviously, in my earlier post I was too quick to judge this woman. It turns out that she is not a bad choice, not a person with less than ideal experience, not a person unsympathetic…
August 30, 2008
This may be premature by an hour or two, and if so, I'll update again, but there is enough new information on Gustav to provide an update.
Gustav is now a Category Four Hurricane and is bearing down on Cuba. The hurricane will strike the northern Gulf coast as a serious, possibly major storm. I…
August 29, 2008
According to the BBC, John McCain has picked Alaskan Sarah Palin for VEEP.
...John McCain has picked Sarah Palin, the female governor of Alaska, as his surprise ... mate.
...
"She's exactly who I need .. to help me .. turn ... old ... head."
Thanking Mr McCain, Ms Palin said she would be…
August 29, 2008
ABC's coverage of this is here
Hat Tip: Ed Brayton
August 29, 2008
.... Or so goes the last sentence in the current National Hurricane Center forecast discussion.
This is Gusav. Even though it is only a strong tropical storm, it looks a lot like a hurricane already. This could be a Category IV hurricane in two or three days (Gustav, Atlantic Floater 1 Visible…
August 29, 2008
Webster Cook, the Florida student who was physically and politically attacked by forces directly and indirectly allied with the Catholic Church, was impeached and found guilty by the school government of his college. This is according to a source close to Webster, his friend, Benjamin Collard.…
August 28, 2008
Extraordinary speech, Barack.
But as Julia said at the end ... "OK, guys, now step slowly away from the stage before it gets cheesy .... oops, too late..."
I have the following thoughts. Remember the Friend of Bill hats? Hey, we can re-use them as Friend of Barack hats. The money saved can be…
August 27, 2008
The current track places the storm dead on New Orleans. But this is many, many days in advance so you can't expect this to be accurate. But, this is worth keeping an eye on.
Speculation: RNC opens on September 1st. Gustav hits the Gulf Coast September 1st. RNC second and third day play out…
August 27, 2008
Minnesota Governor Tim "Falling Bridges" Pawlenty is going to be asked to join the John "The Creep" McCain as his Vice Presidential Running Mate. Mark my words.
This is going to happen during the present calendar week, most likely on McCain's birthday, which is Friday. (He'll be 72.)
August 27, 2008
I have not been able to find a news reference on line for this yet, not even AP seems to have it, but I can tell you what I heard on the car radio moments ago. A group of documentary film makers who have previously documented police abuse of demonstrators in other cities has just arrived in Saint…
August 27, 2008
Is it true that everyone in the US knows about this talking fish thing? Billy Bass, or maybe Wally the Walleye? Almost everyone in Minnesota no only knows about this, but owns or at one time owned a billy bass or a wally the Wally. Not me, but everyone else, almost.
Anyway, here's the new ad:
August 27, 2008
Ashwin Madia is running for congress in my district. As a Democrat, he'll replace (if elected) a long term Republican who is retiring. I was a delegate for Madia at the local level.
I live in one of those gerrymandered districts. It looks like a giant amoeba attempting to engulf the Twin…
August 26, 2008
With Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, and a zillion other people looking on, Hillary Clinton made clear her support of Obama, re-articulated key Democratic values (especially focusing on health care, education, human rights, workers rights, and the environment), Eulogized the recently dead, and kicked…
August 26, 2008
Oh wait, that wasn't a campaign ad. Whatever.
August 26, 2008
I know women that are older than suffrage. Mind boggling.
Today, Aug. 26, marks the 88th anniversary of the day that the U.S. Constitution was amended to grant women the right to vote. The nonpartisan League of Women Voters, formed when women were first granted the right to vote, will mark this…
August 26, 2008
But please, avoid Minneapolis, OK?
With the Democratic National Convention going on in Denver, and the Republican Convention about to start in Saint Paul, I thought I'd pass on some helpful advice for Republican delegates and others who may be coming to town.
This is for your own good. Pay…
August 26, 2008
Hillary speaks tonight. The word on the street is that the Obama people have not seen, and will not seen, this speech. That is actually highly unusual for a convention speech.
Maybe she's going to make one last appeal......
August 25, 2008
They say Lake Itasca is the source of the Mississippi. This is why there is a big state park surrounding the lake, a park that preserves some beautiful old forest despite the best efforts of 19th century lumberjacks to cut it down.
Amanda next to the tallest white pine tree in Minnesota I've…
August 25, 2008
FOX is not a news network. Here, they are being shown the door. These protesters are mostly fairly silly, but here I applaud them.
August 25, 2008
David Campbell is a life science teacher in Florida who was recently profiled in the New York Times because of his involvement in the debate between Creationism and Evolution. This discussion is being picked up in the Blogosphere, and this is very timely, as this is the time when teachers in most…
August 25, 2008
I am currently reading Charles Darwin (Blackwell Great Minds), and so far I mainly like it.
Ruse, as you may know, is a philosopher, something of a science historian, and a science writer who has criticized what he calls "strident" atheism for being too fundamentalist. So that is as annoying as…
