Politics
pharyngula | October 20, 2008There is currently a proposal before Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to rip through desert wilderness in your state to put powerlines. Chris Clarke makes the case against it; you don't have much time to respond, so phone or email your protests IMMEDIATELY. Let the state government know that there is a dedicated bloc of environmentally aware voters in the state who are not going to sacrifice what makes California a state worth living in for power company profits.
pharyngula | October 20, 2008Those are two good words to describe McCain/Palin supporters…and I don't know which one is scarier.
pharyngula | October 20, 2008This video contains a nice breakdown of exactly who the wackaloons on the Texas Board of Education are, and will help you figure out who to vote for in the upcoming elections.
I always find it astonishing that Don McLeroy and Terri Leo actually have positions of responsibility in the Texas educational system. The system is really messed up down there, have you noticed?
oracknows | October 20, 2008I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief when I saw this:
It boggles the mind that in 2008 such views still exist. I lived in Ohio for eight years, and I had no idea. Of course, I did live in Cleveland...
gregladen | October 20, 2008Tim Tingelstad says: ".... I believe that justice is served when judges fear God and love the people, and as a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, I will be impartial to the parties, while partial to the original intent of the Constitution."
And of the Constitution, on his web site, he notes:
"We the people, of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings, and to secure the same to ourselves and to our posterity, do hereby establish and ordain this Constitution."
-Preamble to the Minnesota Constitution
and his motto, on…
tqa | October 20, 2008
I've got to admit that when I heard that Colin Powell was planning on endorsing a candidate for president yesterday, I was unimpressed. I figured that whichever candidate he chose would be on the receiving end of a lukewarm endorsement that would be easy to dismiss and would fade from the news rapidly. I didn't expect to see such a painfully honest assessment of the problems with the way the Republicans are campaigning, but I was even more surprised and impressed by Powell's simple, clear, and eloquent dismissal of the "he's a Muslim" argument:
I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain…
drorzel | October 20, 2008Checking in from Cairo, Senior Uncertain Principles Middle East Correspondant Paul Schemm, with a wire story titled "Ultraconservative Islam on Rise in Mideast":
Critics worry that the rise of Salafists in Egypt, as well as in other Arab countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, will crowd out the more liberal and tolerant version of Islam long practiced there. They also warn that the doctrine is only a few shades away from that of violent groups like al-Qaida -- that it effectively preaches "Yes to jihad, just not now."
In the broad spectrum of Islamic thought, Salafism is on the extreme…
drorzel | October 20, 2008the New York Times Magazine has a cover story this week about Barack Obama's efforts to reach working-class voters. The headline writers did it no favors by tagging it "Will gun-toting, churchgoing white guys pull the lever for Obama?," which makes it sound like the worst sort of demographic electoral college nonsense. The actual article, though, is much better than the title suggests.
It's not perfect-- it's still got a lot of pundit-class chin-stroking about whether Obama is actually connecting with working-class whites, written in a manner that suggests that these elusive creatures are…
gregladen | October 19, 2008In my opinion, it is time to bring McCain and Palin in for questioning. There is currently a $5,000 reward being offered for information leading to the capture and conviction of the members of the McCain gang who are responsible for this latest outrage.
Boston:
ACORN Massachusetts' head organizer Noemi "Mimi" Ramos arrived at the organization's offices in Fields Corner Thursday morning, Oct. 16, to find the front door unlocked, three desktop computers missing, internet and phone lines ripped out of the walls and general disarray.
Ten minutes after she was scheduled to start for the day…
gregladen | October 19, 2008Did you see Oliver Stone pop his head up in the audience on Saturday Night Live last nigh?
I have not yet seen W but I plan to. I know a lot of you find Oliver Stone annoying, but I want to make an argument that he is less annoying than you think.
Oliver Stone
I think most people who are annoyed at Stone are annoyed because of one film: JFK (1991). This was an amalgam conspiracy film, bringing in every single known conspiracy idea regarding the tragic assassination of the President of the United States in 1963. But consider these two things; First, Stone has made quite a few films,…
clock | October 19, 2008Voting For Obama Even If You Believe He Was A Terrorist:
This is a person who actually believes that Obama was in a "terrorist group," and she's still backing Obama. Relatedly, a remarkable finding in the new New York Times poll: While 64% said they'd heard a lot or some about William Ayers, only nine percent cited it as an association that bothers them.
Obama Dominating Among Early Voters in Five Swing States:
What these results would seem to suggest, however, is that there are fairly massive advantages for the Democrats in enthusiasm and/or turnout operations. They imply that Obama is quite…
grrlscientist | October 19, 2008
I got this email during the wee hours and thought I'd share it with you (with my editorial rewrites);
Dear Red States:
We're leaving. We will form our own country and we're taking all the other Blue States with us. If you aren't aware, the Blue States include California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. Even Florida and Ohio are seriously considering joining us -- we've given them until November 4th to decide. We believe this split will be beneficial to both newly-formed nations, and we know we'd be happier and we sincerely think…
gregladen | October 19, 2008It was predicted that Sara Palin would not be able to pull off laughing at herself. They were right. But that's OK, there were plenty of people tuned in to laugh at her.
The BEST part of the show was of course the Sarah Palin rap done during Weekend Update. Again, Palin showed an inability to laugh at herself. But again, we can ROFLOAO at her:
gregladen | October 19, 2008General Colin Powell, the African American former Secretary of State famous for winning the First Gulf War as Chief of the Amy and, later, for being duped by Dick Cheney and George Bush to convince the world that Iraq was harboring illegal weapons of mass destruction, oft considered to be a presidential candidate, running mate, or some other important thing, has endorsed a candidate for the presidency of the United States of America.
This is a man who knows George Bush and worked for years in Republican Administrations. He is a man people listen to. He is a man most believe does not play…
sb admin | October 19, 2008My Fellow Americans,
In a very short time, you will be given the chance to exercise one of the greatest and gravest responsibilities for citizens of the world's most successful democracy. On that day, you will be choosing between two candidates, both tireless public servants whose personal stories show our nation's ability to nurture the success of people who have had diverse and remarkable personal journeys.
As often happens during a heated campaign, there has been some divisive rhetoric and appeals to some of our baser natures. I wish to make it perfectly clear that at a time when our…