Politics
drorzel | October 17, 2008In the wake of the debate the other night, there's been a lot of talk about the disparity between the way tv pundits "scored" it-- most of them thought McCain did well-- and post-debate polling of actual voters, which gave a huge edge to Obama. Kevin Drum, Mark Kleiman, and Steve Benen all comment on this, and they have links to other people saying similar things.
None of them take the logical next step, though. The important question isn't "Why are the pundits so wrong?," the important question is:
Given that the tv pundits are so far off, why are you watching them?
It's not like Wednesday'…
oracknows | October 16, 2008Here's a new one on me:
Senator Obama's support for preventative medical care is another little noted but important key point of difference with Senator McCain that emerged from the debate. Under Obama it is far more likely that insurance plans will cover alternative medicine, including acupuncture, therapy, and government approved herbs and vitamins. This category alone could more than double the current spending by pharmaceutical companies, and would give a boost to local market media as Alternative Care centers compete with traditional medicine. Again, a McCain presidency is likely to…
pharyngula | October 16, 2008After a long hiatus, we're having a Drinking Liberally event at 7 tonight, at Old #1. I guess we're optimistically revitalized by the Democratic prospects for November.
Actually, it's also because Robin, of WOMB blog, Power Liberal, and the Minnesota Independent is passing through, so we have to show her that Morris is much more exciting than the boring old Minneapolis/St Paul metropolitan area. So come on down, locals!
gregladen | October 16, 2008Well, of course. She's a suburban middle class Republican hockey mom running on the Republican ticket for Vice President. But, do we have anything more specific to say about it at this time? Well, of course.
A complaint was filed this week with Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg over the governor's failure to make a required annual Juneteenth Proclamation.
The complaint was filed Wednesday by jazz musician Gregory Charles Royal, who claims state law required Gov. Sarah Palin to make the Juneteenth Proclamation in honor of the freeing of the last remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas, on…
pharyngula | October 16, 2008That guy Phil is complaining that none of the big sites like Daily Kos or Crooks & Liars are covering the political campaign of Hal Bidlack for the 5th Congressional District of Colorado. Hey, Phil! Is that an admission that your site is tiny and insignificant? Cover it yourself!
At least I'll offer my support. I met Hal at The Amazing Meeting, and he's a good guy — a skeptic and rationalist who ought to be in congress. I hope you eligible Coloradans give him your vote!
j7uy5 | October 16, 2008I'm sure I am not the only one who was underwhelmed by the series of
Presidential debates. Here is what the candidates and the
moderators forgot...
1) Regarding energy problems: Government should act more
swiftly to promote solar and wind installations.
Specifically,
they need to do more to promote small, distributed installations.
Because of economy of scale, coal, natural gas, and nuclear
power
generation does not scale down very well. Wind and especially
solar power can be scaled down reasonably . This is
not merely
a question of where the power will come from; it is a question of…
clock | October 16, 2008The first clips in the AVoteForScience YouTube Challenge are being uploaded. Here is my friend and SciBling Jennifer Jacquet:
gregladen | October 16, 2008 the poll that counts There is a ugly and annoying trope in American politics: All the politicians are the same; both major parties are the same; nobody ever really says anything different than anyone else; and for debates, nobody ever wins a debate. If you ask people who won the four debates that have happened over the last several weeks, you will frequently get the following responses: 1) "Nobody ever wins those things"; and 2) "Debates don't matter."
I promise you this: If during the next presidential election a person or organization of influence gets up and says "Nobody ever…
drorzel | October 16, 2008Once again, God help me, I watched the entire debate last night. I don't quite know why, as it wasn't that great as spectacle, and it's not like there was any way it would change my vote...
I wound up being struck by something, though. The last eight years have made me pretty cynical about American politics and the American public. Hell, the last twenty-eight years have made me pretty cynical-- I first became politically aware during the Reagan era, after all. I've spent most of my life watching sleazy pandering contests-- Bill Clinton was a bright spot, and that tells you something.
I was…
pharyngula | October 16, 2008McCain really annoyed me last night, and there are a few things I have to mention now.
First of all, his gripe about the $3 million "overhead projector" simply marks him as an idiot — and not just an ignorant idiot, but the kind of idiot who ignores readily available evidence. What he is dismissing is a tool for science education. Take a look at what the sky projector looks like — your teacher didn't have one of those babies to flash her transparencies up in the classroom. And while you're there, you can always donate to the Adler Planetarium. The other thing McCain leaves out of his…
aardvarchaeology | October 16, 2008
A few hours ago, activists broke into two Swedish arms factories and vandalised weapons destined for US and Indian military forces. Among other things, they rendered twenty m/48 Carl Gustaf bazookas inoperable.
This really takes me back. An older cousin of mine used to be an activist in the Plowshares Movement. In 1993 him and some friends broke into a military airfield outside Linköping and, using hammers, disarmed a number of JAS 39 fighter planes. They made no attempt to escape afterwards, quietly got arrested and spent a year in jail.
While in prison, my cousin was called "Jesus" by the…
jrosenhouse | October 15, 2008Huffington Post has the details:
Who is Joe the Plumber?
He is Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio man looking to buy a plumbing business who came to symbolize the notion of "spreading the wealth" in Wednesday night's third and final presidential debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Earlier this week, when Wurzelbacher got a chance to speak with Obama when the candidate visited Toledo, he told Obama that his tax plan would keep him from buying the business that currently employs him.
Judging from the Huff Post article, Joe seems more comfortable with McCain. But I don't…
jrosenhouse | October 15, 2008Tough one to call. At the beginning I was a bit glum, since I thought McCain had the better of the early exchanges. The Joe the Plumber stuff was pretty effective (the first time). I felt McCain seemed forceful and confident, and he was pretty successful at fitting his criticisms into his answers. Obama took his usual supercool, do not engage approach, but this left him on the defensive.
But the tide definitely turned toward Obama as the night wore on. It became more and more obvious that McCain was struggling to remember his lines, and his tone was frequently snide, condescending, and…
laelaps | October 15, 2008... and this time he called him "Senator Government." It was the first time I've laughed during this entire debate series.
(McCain seemed be having a good time, though. He cracked himself up after he tried to get the last word in edgewise about school vouchers. I think I even heard a snort.)
gregladen | October 15, 2008Just the salient points.
McCain does not want to spread the wealth around.
Obama wants to cut the 15 billion dollar subsidy to insurance companies.
Obama wants to invest in higher education.
McCain is taking copious notes as Obama speaks. Maybe he'll pick something up.
McCain is having a hard time finishing a sentence. But Obama is having a hard time not smirking.
McCain is taking credit again for stopping the DOD aircraft manufacturing deal, and he's talking about the planetarium projector again. But he's still not really finishing his sentences.
McCain is getting mad. Staring to…
pharyngula | October 15, 2008It's been a long day for me, and now I get to cap it off with another presidential debate. This could be awful. I'm just hoping that McCain is feeling desperate and will do something that's bug-eyed crazy to change the status of the election. Go ahead, say what you think in the comments.
McCain brought up the "overhead projector" again! He really is an anti-science loon.
After claiming that Obama was running a negative campaign, McCain than tried to defend the ugly attempt to tar Obama by association with Ayers. Hypocrite alert!
My final opinion: McCain didn't blow up as I hoped, making it…
gregladen | October 15, 2008The latest polls are interesting. Locally we have Ashwin Madia in a statistical dead heat so if you are in Minnesota Congresstional District 3 it is NOW TIME to either volunteer or kick in a few bucks. Madia has an excellent chance of taking this seat away from the Republicans. The Minnesota Senate race is generaly seen as the hottest race in the nation, with more interest -- and money -- flowing into this knock down, drag-out fight between incumbent Republican and Absolute Dit Norm Coleman, and Former SNL star, and much smarter than your average politician Al Franken. Oh, and Dean…