Current stories on CNN.com:
"Could McCain Lose His Home State?" - Jesus, people, enough with the senility jokes already.
"Obama Could Steal McCain's State" - Yeah, because all black people are thieves. WTF.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Life on Mars
Just finished re-watching the complete Life on Mars TV series (the original BBC one, not the dubious American remake)... fucking amazing show. I recommend it. I've been watching the US series, actually; out of curiosity more than anything else. It's kind of embarrassing to watch some of the little scenes that they needlessly aped from the original. Totally unnecessary. The value of this new show, though, is that 1973 New York is substantially different from 1973 Manchester, and watching both is really interesting for their time capsule captures of those years.
You'd think that Harvey Keitel (who replaced Colm Meaney from the US version's pilot) co-starring would also bring something to it, but so far his character/performance seems pretty weak. But then, I'm also comparing him to the original series' actor Philip Glenister. And this actor for the main role of Sam Tyler, Jason O'Mara (of Resident Evil: Extinction fame) can't help but pale in comparison to my man-crush Jon Simm. Besides starring in LOM, he most visibly played The Master in some awesome Dr. Who episodes last year, in which he got himself elected as the new prime minister of England. Amusing connection... when working undercover in an episode of Life on Mars, he took the name of "Tony Blair," as he gets himself invited to a swingin' key party. Cute.
Wow! From IMDB, I just learned that Simm and Glenister just did a movie together, called Tuesday (not yet released, I don't think?). And Simm's filming this crazy series called Seven Days, about a guy and his relationship with his wife, while he serves out a prison sentence. The crazy part is that they're filming this thing for a few weeks at a time, over a period of the next four or so years. At the end, it'll be released as a film worldwide. Simm has also been rumored to be the next Dr. Who, but I'm betting against that one.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
So You Think You Can Vote?
Here’s a partial roundup of recently reported election fraud. Wee! (I’m not even touching on voting machine fraud here… I imagine it will be easier to spot post-election.)
Most of this information has been taken from the Brennan Center for Justice and the Voter Suppression Wiki, as well as msnbc.com and Commondreams.org
Oh, where to begin…
We don’t take kindly to strangers around here:
In Virginia, someone has been putting up flyers informing of a separate election date for Democrats, on Nov. 5th. In Kern County, California, a radio host also announced that Republicans are being urged to vote on November 4 and Democrats on November 5.
At Virginia Tech, students have been informed that if they're from out of state but vote locally, they'll risk losing their scholarships, health insurance, and cause their parents to pay more in taxes. Similarly, anonymous robocalls have warned that out-of-staters living in Virginia that vote in-state are committing an outright criminal offense.
Students in Virginia and in several other states have been denied registration when listing their dorm room addresses, even though these are completely valid.
An anonymous flier circulating at Drexel University in Pennsylvania – and in African-American neighborhoods in North and West Philadelphia - has been informing voters that undercover police officers will be hanging out at the polls to arrest people with outstanding warrants, or even traffic tickets... a nice touch was the text in the flier mentioning that this warning comes from "an Obama supporter."
Robert Balink, El Paso County Recorder and Republican Delegate, sent a letter to the president of Colorado College stating that if a student is a dependent of out-of-state parents, the student is not eligible to vote in Colorado. This has happened in other states as well.
South Carolina’s voter-registration site says students who want to register to vote at their college address must demonstrate “a present intention to remain in the community.”
Similarly, in Idaho and Tennessee, students cannot establish voting residency unless they have affirmative plans to remain in the state after graduation. Virginia and Indiana also make it difficult for students to establish residency.
Michigan and Tennessee require all first-time voters who registered by mail to vote in person; they cannot vote absentee. This makes it nearly impossible for college students (a great percentage of whom are young, first-time voters) to vote in their hometowns.
Boo!
New Mexico: two families reported visits by a private investigator inquiring about relatives that the state Republican Party alleges voted fraudulently in the June primary. Obviously, if two people report something, there are many more that haven’t.
In Ohio, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters recently requested, via subpoena, personal information for 40% of the voters who registered and immediately cast a ballot during the weeklong period in which Ohio allows same-day registration and voting. Could this guy’s last name be any more clear of his intentions?
Dozens of voters reported that a firm hired by the California Republican Party tricked them into registering with the GOP when signing a petition they believed to toughen penalties against child molesters.
Purging registered voters: No match, no vote, late purging practices, and so much more.
Several states have been illegally purging their voter rolls this year, including Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Nevada.
“Voter caging” is the practice of sending mail to addresses on the voter rolls, compiling a list of the mail – which is marked with a “do not forward” instruction - that is returned undelivered, and using that list to purge or challenge voters’ registrations on the grounds that the voters on the list do not legally reside at their registered addresses. Another favorite tactic is to simply purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, which is against federal law.
Michigan has done both of these, illegally purging its voter rolls this year within 90 days of an election, and by sending out non-forwardable mailings to recently registered voters. But Michigan’s masterstroke of evil genius is in the current attempt to use home foreclosure lists to prevent voters registered at those addresses from voting. In addition to anybody who's unable to prove their current address at the polls, the threat of humiliation might also help deter many foreclosed homeowners and their families from even attempting to vote.
In Colorado, the Secretary of State admitted that at least 2,454 voters were purged illegally within 90 days of a federal election. Several thousand additional records were purged as potential "duplicates" within 90 days of the election, also in violation of federal law. Another several thousand were illegally purged based, again with the tactic of sending non-forwardable mailings to newly registered voters.
Georgia recently began using an unreliable matching process to purge the voter rolls of alleged non-citizens. The process they use misses naturalized citizens because it only checks the citizenship documents used to obtain driver's licenses, no matter how long ago, and those records are not updated when legal residents become naturalized.
These aren’t the voters you’re looking for:
The Department of Veterans' Affairs in Virginia denied voter registration access to residents and patients of its facilities, refusing to allow election officials or nonpartisan groups to offer voter registration services, and failing to provide such services itself.
Several states, including New Mexico and Florida, haven’t been providing voter registration services at social service agencies, as required by the federal Motor Voter law.
Felons can’t vote, even if they’re not:
In many states, felons can’t vote. In some, they can at least vote once they’ve gotten out of prison. I’m sure they’re told the former, when entering prison, but the latter fact might be overlooked. In any event, this is another source ripe for shenanigans. Personally, I think everyone should be allowed to vote. But then, I’m into the idea of democracy and due representation.
Mike Hubbard, Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, sent a letter to the Alabama Commissioner of Corrections opposing and suspending a voter registration drive for prisoners. Alabama Law prohibits felons convicted of crimes of "moral turpitude" from voting, although the inmates being registered did not fall into this category, per an opinion issued by the State Attorney General in 2005.
Earlier this year, a county election administrator in Muscogee County, Georgia purged 700 people who were supposedly ineligible because of criminal convictions. The purge was highly inaccurate and included people who had never received even a parking ticket.
Don’t bother showing up, suckafish!
In Florida, some voters have been robocalled, stating that they have apparently "voted by phone already," in the hopes that voters will not actually hit the polls on Nov. 4th (or whenever). Go ahead, pick on the senile retirees.
Recently, the republican mayor's office in Indianapolis made 31 polling location changes and there has not been, nor will there be, an official announcement or mailing to the voters to inform them of these changes. Surprise: a lot of these location changes are in areas of the city with strong democratic followings. Other areas with the changes are of those with a low socio-economic status. Polls in Indiana are only open from 6am-6pm; due to the early closing time, people tend to want to vote in the morning, since it’s difficult to do so after work. Hopefully they’ll go early, and then decide to vote at their new station, in exchange for being late; those trying to squeak in before closing after work might well not have the time to get to their new polling location.
Fun with ballots:
In Rensselaer County, New York, absentee voters received ballots that listed the Democratic candidate as “Barack Osama.” The County Elections Office Commissioners claim it was a typo.
In a number of states, ballots have the option for a voter to check off a “straight ticket” option. Meaning, you can tick off a straight ticket vote for one party or another, and it counts as if you voted the party line in every election listed. But in many cases, election boards have decided that this doesn’t count for the election of president, and some also of judges. So if you don’t also check off your party’s candidate for president, you didn’t vote in that contest at all. This isn’t new: historically, this has caused a 1% "undervote" for President -- an estimated 35,800 votes in 2004. With many new voters this year, it could be higher.
In Ohio, Absentee Ballot Requests contained an extra box to check indicating whether or not you’re a registered voter; respondents who sent back the form without checking the box won’t receive absentee ballots. The Board of Elections found that, although ticking off the box was not listed in the form as being required information, returning the form without checking the box was tantamount to requesting a ballot without being a registered voter. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner offered to contact voters who forgot to check the box and allow them to correct the issue, but the Republicans – who sent out over one million of these forms - rejected the proposal (not sure who these “Republicans” were though… if they could reject something, I imagine it would have been a government official in a position above Brunner?).
In Colorado, 18,000 ballots weren’t mailed to voters in Denver. If voters don't get the last-minute mail sent out Monday (Oct 27) and return their ballots by Friday (Oct 31), their votes won't be counted. The Sequoia Voting System organization was behind this; they originally blamed it on the post office, but has since admitted blame.
Okay, that's it for now. But don't worry, there will be more! We still have almost a week left, and Election Day will be just like Christmas!
Most of this information has been taken from the Brennan Center for Justice and the Voter Suppression Wiki, as well as msnbc.com and Commondreams.org
Oh, where to begin…
We don’t take kindly to strangers around here:
In Virginia, someone has been putting up flyers informing of a separate election date for Democrats, on Nov. 5th. In Kern County, California, a radio host also announced that Republicans are being urged to vote on November 4 and Democrats on November 5.
At Virginia Tech, students have been informed that if they're from out of state but vote locally, they'll risk losing their scholarships, health insurance, and cause their parents to pay more in taxes. Similarly, anonymous robocalls have warned that out-of-staters living in Virginia that vote in-state are committing an outright criminal offense.
Students in Virginia and in several other states have been denied registration when listing their dorm room addresses, even though these are completely valid.
An anonymous flier circulating at Drexel University in Pennsylvania – and in African-American neighborhoods in North and West Philadelphia - has been informing voters that undercover police officers will be hanging out at the polls to arrest people with outstanding warrants, or even traffic tickets... a nice touch was the text in the flier mentioning that this warning comes from "an Obama supporter."
Robert Balink, El Paso County Recorder and Republican Delegate, sent a letter to the president of Colorado College stating that if a student is a dependent of out-of-state parents, the student is not eligible to vote in Colorado. This has happened in other states as well.
South Carolina’s voter-registration site says students who want to register to vote at their college address must demonstrate “a present intention to remain in the community.”
Similarly, in Idaho and Tennessee, students cannot establish voting residency unless they have affirmative plans to remain in the state after graduation. Virginia and Indiana also make it difficult for students to establish residency.
Michigan and Tennessee require all first-time voters who registered by mail to vote in person; they cannot vote absentee. This makes it nearly impossible for college students (a great percentage of whom are young, first-time voters) to vote in their hometowns.
Boo!
New Mexico: two families reported visits by a private investigator inquiring about relatives that the state Republican Party alleges voted fraudulently in the June primary. Obviously, if two people report something, there are many more that haven’t.
In Ohio, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters recently requested, via subpoena, personal information for 40% of the voters who registered and immediately cast a ballot during the weeklong period in which Ohio allows same-day registration and voting. Could this guy’s last name be any more clear of his intentions?
Dozens of voters reported that a firm hired by the California Republican Party tricked them into registering with the GOP when signing a petition they believed to toughen penalties against child molesters.
Purging registered voters: No match, no vote, late purging practices, and so much more.
Several states have been illegally purging their voter rolls this year, including Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Nevada.
“Voter caging” is the practice of sending mail to addresses on the voter rolls, compiling a list of the mail – which is marked with a “do not forward” instruction - that is returned undelivered, and using that list to purge or challenge voters’ registrations on the grounds that the voters on the list do not legally reside at their registered addresses. Another favorite tactic is to simply purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, which is against federal law.
Michigan has done both of these, illegally purging its voter rolls this year within 90 days of an election, and by sending out non-forwardable mailings to recently registered voters. But Michigan’s masterstroke of evil genius is in the current attempt to use home foreclosure lists to prevent voters registered at those addresses from voting. In addition to anybody who's unable to prove their current address at the polls, the threat of humiliation might also help deter many foreclosed homeowners and their families from even attempting to vote.
In Colorado, the Secretary of State admitted that at least 2,454 voters were purged illegally within 90 days of a federal election. Several thousand additional records were purged as potential "duplicates" within 90 days of the election, also in violation of federal law. Another several thousand were illegally purged based, again with the tactic of sending non-forwardable mailings to newly registered voters.
Georgia recently began using an unreliable matching process to purge the voter rolls of alleged non-citizens. The process they use misses naturalized citizens because it only checks the citizenship documents used to obtain driver's licenses, no matter how long ago, and those records are not updated when legal residents become naturalized.
These aren’t the voters you’re looking for:
The Department of Veterans' Affairs in Virginia denied voter registration access to residents and patients of its facilities, refusing to allow election officials or nonpartisan groups to offer voter registration services, and failing to provide such services itself.
Several states, including New Mexico and Florida, haven’t been providing voter registration services at social service agencies, as required by the federal Motor Voter law.
Felons can’t vote, even if they’re not:
In many states, felons can’t vote. In some, they can at least vote once they’ve gotten out of prison. I’m sure they’re told the former, when entering prison, but the latter fact might be overlooked. In any event, this is another source ripe for shenanigans. Personally, I think everyone should be allowed to vote. But then, I’m into the idea of democracy and due representation.
Mike Hubbard, Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, sent a letter to the Alabama Commissioner of Corrections opposing and suspending a voter registration drive for prisoners. Alabama Law prohibits felons convicted of crimes of "moral turpitude" from voting, although the inmates being registered did not fall into this category, per an opinion issued by the State Attorney General in 2005.
Earlier this year, a county election administrator in Muscogee County, Georgia purged 700 people who were supposedly ineligible because of criminal convictions. The purge was highly inaccurate and included people who had never received even a parking ticket.
Don’t bother showing up, suckafish!
In Florida, some voters have been robocalled, stating that they have apparently "voted by phone already," in the hopes that voters will not actually hit the polls on Nov. 4th (or whenever). Go ahead, pick on the senile retirees.
Recently, the republican mayor's office in Indianapolis made 31 polling location changes and there has not been, nor will there be, an official announcement or mailing to the voters to inform them of these changes. Surprise: a lot of these location changes are in areas of the city with strong democratic followings. Other areas with the changes are of those with a low socio-economic status. Polls in Indiana are only open from 6am-6pm; due to the early closing time, people tend to want to vote in the morning, since it’s difficult to do so after work. Hopefully they’ll go early, and then decide to vote at their new station, in exchange for being late; those trying to squeak in before closing after work might well not have the time to get to their new polling location.
Fun with ballots:
In Rensselaer County, New York, absentee voters received ballots that listed the Democratic candidate as “Barack Osama.” The County Elections Office Commissioners claim it was a typo.
In a number of states, ballots have the option for a voter to check off a “straight ticket” option. Meaning, you can tick off a straight ticket vote for one party or another, and it counts as if you voted the party line in every election listed. But in many cases, election boards have decided that this doesn’t count for the election of president, and some also of judges. So if you don’t also check off your party’s candidate for president, you didn’t vote in that contest at all. This isn’t new: historically, this has caused a 1% "undervote" for President -- an estimated 35,800 votes in 2004. With many new voters this year, it could be higher.
In Ohio, Absentee Ballot Requests contained an extra box to check indicating whether or not you’re a registered voter; respondents who sent back the form without checking the box won’t receive absentee ballots. The Board of Elections found that, although ticking off the box was not listed in the form as being required information, returning the form without checking the box was tantamount to requesting a ballot without being a registered voter. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner offered to contact voters who forgot to check the box and allow them to correct the issue, but the Republicans – who sent out over one million of these forms - rejected the proposal (not sure who these “Republicans” were though… if they could reject something, I imagine it would have been a government official in a position above Brunner?).
In Colorado, 18,000 ballots weren’t mailed to voters in Denver. If voters don't get the last-minute mail sent out Monday (Oct 27) and return their ballots by Friday (Oct 31), their votes won't be counted. The Sequoia Voting System organization was behind this; they originally blamed it on the post office, but has since admitted blame.
Okay, that's it for now. But don't worry, there will be more! We still have almost a week left, and Election Day will be just like Christmas!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Back then, I could have gotten away with the unitard, too.
Your results:
You are Deanna Troi
You are a caring and loving individual. You understand people's emotions and you are able to comfort and counsel them.
Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test
Deanna Troi 80%
Worf 60%
Will Riker 55%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 55%
Data 48%
Spock 45%
Jean-Luc Picard 45%
Geordi LaForge 40%
James T. Kirk (Captain) 35%
Mr. Sulu 35%
Chekov 30%
Uhura 30%
Leonard McCoy (Bones) 20%
Beverly Crusher 20%
Mr. Scott 0%
Ackshully this kind of makes sense. Especially if you saw me when I was a 22-year old transvestite with long, curly hair. Funny that the next highest results are the guys that Troi bonked. Oh, and I don't know how to drive a car, and Troi managed to crash the Enterprise every time she tried to fly the thing.
You are Deanna Troi
You are a caring and loving individual. You understand people's emotions and you are able to comfort and counsel them.
Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test
Deanna Troi 80%
Worf 60%
Will Riker 55%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 55%
Data 48%
Spock 45%
Jean-Luc Picard 45%
Geordi LaForge 40%
James T. Kirk (Captain) 35%
Mr. Sulu 35%
Chekov 30%
Uhura 30%
Leonard McCoy (Bones) 20%
Beverly Crusher 20%
Mr. Scott 0%
Ackshully this kind of makes sense. Especially if you saw me when I was a 22-year old transvestite with long, curly hair. Funny that the next highest results are the guys that Troi bonked. Oh, and I don't know how to drive a car, and Troi managed to crash the Enterprise every time she tried to fly the thing.
The original Ambiguously Gay Duo: Captain America and his rascally pal Bucky!
 |
| From Captain America |
Ok, I've been reading some of the earliest Captain America comics, from 1941, and man... they're magic. For your viewing pleasure, check out a bunch of pages and panels I've uploaded here. You won't be disappointed.
Grasping at straws... yer doin' it wrong.
I love that Joe Biden actually threw that WFTV news anchor's ridiculous bullshit back into her face. Why doesn't this happen more often? How is that female candidates generally have bigger balls than the men? Well, maybe they have to, just to be able to compete against the old boys' network.
Anyway, it's about fucking time. And is it that I don't read the right sites (pun unintended but nifty nonetheless), or has the media generally ignored that John McCain has had just as much (and more recent) involvement with ACORN than Obama? I may well have missed this on whatever news source, I only got to hear it from Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann.
In short, McCain was the keynote speaker of an ACORN-sponsored rally in 2006. Obama was involved 13 years ago, when as a lawyer, he and the US Justice Department co-represented ACORN when pushing through a motor-voter registration law. So, yeah, in general Republicans hate ACORN, since unregistered voters - once registered - are overwhelmingly likely to vote for a Democrat. Of course, ACORN is not guilty of voter fraud. They were the ones that reported that they'd discovered some of their pay-by-the-registration employees to be guilty of fraud.
Anyway, it's about fucking time. And is it that I don't read the right sites (pun unintended but nifty nonetheless), or has the media generally ignored that John McCain has had just as much (and more recent) involvement with ACORN than Obama? I may well have missed this on whatever news source, I only got to hear it from Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann.
In short, McCain was the keynote speaker of an ACORN-sponsored rally in 2006. Obama was involved 13 years ago, when as a lawyer, he and the US Justice Department co-represented ACORN when pushing through a motor-voter registration law. So, yeah, in general Republicans hate ACORN, since unregistered voters - once registered - are overwhelmingly likely to vote for a Democrat. Of course, ACORN is not guilty of voter fraud. They were the ones that reported that they'd discovered some of their pay-by-the-registration employees to be guilty of fraud.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Quote of the Day
From the amazing series Life on Mars (the real one, by the BBC, not the new American remake):
"He's got fingers in more pies than a leper on a cookery course..." - Gene Hunt
Am I boring you yet?
Okay, in addition to the low-key excitement I feel in Alaska giving a senate seat to the Democrats, there are some other big senate races that I've been looking at lately. The most highly-contested elections all lean heavily toward the Dems taking more Republican seats.
In Georgia, Republicans have trounced the last two elections. But this year, the Dem candidate (Jim Martin) is only 2% behind incumbent Saxby Chambliss. Of course, seeing as how Georgia has gotten an early start in disrupting peoples' right to vote, that's a big 2%. There's also the obstacle of having to run against an opponent with such a cool name.
In Kentucky, 4-term Mitch McConnell won his last re-election (in 2002) 65-35%. Somehow, his lead over the latest Dem challenger (Bruce Lunsford) has shrunk down below 4%! I'd be amazed if the seat changed hands. The polls vary widely for this one though... last week, one had him at +7%, and another had them at dead even.
In Minnesota, of course, there's Al Franken. He's split the polls with incumbent Norm Coleman. Actually, most polls put Franken ahead, but a couple lopsided ones for Coleman average them out.
When Franken first got his show on Air America Radio, I called in and spoke with him, once, in mid-2004. He was of the belief that somehow the voter suppression bullshit that plagued the 2000 election would no longer be a factor. He actually said - seriously - that congress would fix the system. I called him naive, though I used nicer words. I wonder how he feels about it these days... more importantly, I wonder how he'll feel about it if he loses this election.
Mega-Republican voting Mississippi is somehow a contest. The guy that picked up the pieces of Trent Lott's seat in the senate is named Roger Wicker, and he's got barely a lead over some guy named Ronnie Musgrave. Lott used to win his elections by 30%+. His feller senator from Mississippi is Thad Cochran, and he's had his position for 30 years now... I looked him up when I was reading about Wicker v. Musgrave, and saw that he won his last re-election in 2002, by a score of 85-15%. Christ.
In New Hampshire, ex-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen looks set to rid congress of the vile presence of John Sununu. They went up against each other in 2002, and she lost by 4%; now she's up by 8%.
In New Mexico, it seems a done deal that a Democrat is taking Republican Sen. Pete Domenici's seat. He didn't run for re-election, and Tom Udall is whipping Republican Steve Pearce in the polls. The other senator from NM is Democrat Jeff Bingaman, who has been wicked popular for 25 years now.
The Dems could also possibly take North Carolina, which sounds unreal. A current state senator, Kay Hagan, is actually up a point or two over Elizabeth Dole, hoping for a second term after she took over from Asshole "Jesse" Helms. Taking her out would be huge. Of course John Edwards quit the other seat in 2004, and the current guy is a Republican... I guess that seat has bobbled back and forth between parties for 30 years now.
In Oregon, Gordon Smith, Republican, has held down his chair for about 10 years. Now he's being beat by State House Speaker Jeff Merkley, but only by a little. The other seat is held by a Democrat, who also took it from a Republican 10 years ago.
Lastly, in Virginia, their big-shot 5-term Republican Senator John Warner didn't re-up again, basically handing the seat to wicked popular ex-Gov. Mark Warner, who's up by like 30%... over a Republican, in a supposedly red state. The Republican was actually Warner's predecessor in the governor's mansion, and isn't leprous or anything, but is getting so trounced. Of course, Warner's winning because of that fake, north Virginia.
There, reading I done did for my own demented enjoyment is now yours. It's heartening to see how many seats might well change hands, particularly because next to none of them involve the possibility of a Republican taking a Democrat's existing seat.
In Georgia, Republicans have trounced the last two elections. But this year, the Dem candidate (Jim Martin) is only 2% behind incumbent Saxby Chambliss. Of course, seeing as how Georgia has gotten an early start in disrupting peoples' right to vote, that's a big 2%. There's also the obstacle of having to run against an opponent with such a cool name.
In Kentucky, 4-term Mitch McConnell won his last re-election (in 2002) 65-35%. Somehow, his lead over the latest Dem challenger (Bruce Lunsford) has shrunk down below 4%! I'd be amazed if the seat changed hands. The polls vary widely for this one though... last week, one had him at +7%, and another had them at dead even.
In Minnesota, of course, there's Al Franken. He's split the polls with incumbent Norm Coleman. Actually, most polls put Franken ahead, but a couple lopsided ones for Coleman average them out.
When Franken first got his show on Air America Radio, I called in and spoke with him, once, in mid-2004. He was of the belief that somehow the voter suppression bullshit that plagued the 2000 election would no longer be a factor. He actually said - seriously - that congress would fix the system. I called him naive, though I used nicer words. I wonder how he feels about it these days... more importantly, I wonder how he'll feel about it if he loses this election.
Mega-Republican voting Mississippi is somehow a contest. The guy that picked up the pieces of Trent Lott's seat in the senate is named Roger Wicker, and he's got barely a lead over some guy named Ronnie Musgrave. Lott used to win his elections by 30%+. His feller senator from Mississippi is Thad Cochran, and he's had his position for 30 years now... I looked him up when I was reading about Wicker v. Musgrave, and saw that he won his last re-election in 2002, by a score of 85-15%. Christ.
In New Hampshire, ex-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen looks set to rid congress of the vile presence of John Sununu. They went up against each other in 2002, and she lost by 4%; now she's up by 8%.
In New Mexico, it seems a done deal that a Democrat is taking Republican Sen. Pete Domenici's seat. He didn't run for re-election, and Tom Udall is whipping Republican Steve Pearce in the polls. The other senator from NM is Democrat Jeff Bingaman, who has been wicked popular for 25 years now.
The Dems could also possibly take North Carolina, which sounds unreal. A current state senator, Kay Hagan, is actually up a point or two over Elizabeth Dole, hoping for a second term after she took over from Asshole "Jesse" Helms. Taking her out would be huge. Of course John Edwards quit the other seat in 2004, and the current guy is a Republican... I guess that seat has bobbled back and forth between parties for 30 years now.
In Oregon, Gordon Smith, Republican, has held down his chair for about 10 years. Now he's being beat by State House Speaker Jeff Merkley, but only by a little. The other seat is held by a Democrat, who also took it from a Republican 10 years ago.
Lastly, in Virginia, their big-shot 5-term Republican Senator John Warner didn't re-up again, basically handing the seat to wicked popular ex-Gov. Mark Warner, who's up by like 30%... over a Republican, in a supposedly red state. The Republican was actually Warner's predecessor in the governor's mansion, and isn't leprous or anything, but is getting so trounced. Of course, Warner's winning because of that fake, north Virginia.
There, reading I done did for my own demented enjoyment is now yours. It's heartening to see how many seats might well change hands, particularly because next to none of them involve the possibility of a Republican taking a Democrat's existing seat.
Ch-ching....
Late-breaking news: Sen. Ted Stevens vows to fight his conviction on federal corruption charges and says he remains a candidate for re-election.
The first senators for Alaska were Democrats, beginning at the time of initial statehood (1959). Sen. Ernest Gruening was replaced by another Democrat, Mike Gravel, at the start of 1969; while the other first senator, Bob Bartlett, was replaced by Republican Ted Stevens at the same time.
Republican Frank Murkowski - later replaced by his daughter Lisa - have held onto Gravel's seat since 1981, but for Stevens, his reign is about to end, after 38 years. He and Democrat Mark Begich (mayor of Anchorage) have been in a dead tie in the polls for his re-election, whereas Stevens had previously been re-elected by wide margins, time after time.
So, long story short: the Dems just picked up a seat in the senate, in the state that's home to the opposing party's candidate for VP, no less.
An interesting part of this story, though, is of the incoming Senator Mark Begich: his father, Nick Begich, was a representative in congress from 1970-1972, at the end of which he disappeared in a plane crash, the remains of which have never been discovered. But the Republican that he beat for his seat in congress back in 1970 was... Frank Murkowski, who as mentioned above, ended up making it as a senator in 1981.
Murkowski held his seat in the senate until he gave it to his daughter Lisa in 2002, as he had won governorship of Alaska. Which he then lost to some zero-experience wretch from his own party, named Sarah Palin. Now all that's left for Mark Begich is to steal the governorship from Palin in 2010. And uh, hand off his senate seat to someone in his family.
How the fuck is it allowed for an elected official to just pass on their job to a family member? It happens all the time, though I've no idea how or why. I guess I have more reading to do.
The first senators for Alaska were Democrats, beginning at the time of initial statehood (1959). Sen. Ernest Gruening was replaced by another Democrat, Mike Gravel, at the start of 1969; while the other first senator, Bob Bartlett, was replaced by Republican Ted Stevens at the same time.
Republican Frank Murkowski - later replaced by his daughter Lisa - have held onto Gravel's seat since 1981, but for Stevens, his reign is about to end, after 38 years. He and Democrat Mark Begich (mayor of Anchorage) have been in a dead tie in the polls for his re-election, whereas Stevens had previously been re-elected by wide margins, time after time.
So, long story short: the Dems just picked up a seat in the senate, in the state that's home to the opposing party's candidate for VP, no less.
An interesting part of this story, though, is of the incoming Senator Mark Begich: his father, Nick Begich, was a representative in congress from 1970-1972, at the end of which he disappeared in a plane crash, the remains of which have never been discovered. But the Republican that he beat for his seat in congress back in 1970 was... Frank Murkowski, who as mentioned above, ended up making it as a senator in 1981.
Murkowski held his seat in the senate until he gave it to his daughter Lisa in 2002, as he had won governorship of Alaska. Which he then lost to some zero-experience wretch from his own party, named Sarah Palin. Now all that's left for Mark Begich is to steal the governorship from Palin in 2010. And uh, hand off his senate seat to someone in his family.
How the fuck is it allowed for an elected official to just pass on their job to a family member? It happens all the time, though I've no idea how or why. I guess I have more reading to do.
Lots of fucking election shit.
Well, fuck. I've been thinking of venting out my near-violent frustrations over many aspects of our electoral process lately, but didn't get around to it until now. It's about 3 AM, and I've read the news bit linked just below, and it triggered it for me... now I can't stop myself from ranting about all of this.
Okay: On CNN there's the first - of I'm sure to be many - stories regarding voter suppression. This isn't the first article on the issue during this election season, but this is the first major incident they're reporting (to my knowledge): 50,000 Georgians have been purged from the voter rolls.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/voter.suppression/index.html
Besides my pet project essay on the electoral college process, the many other ways in which we mis-manage our federal election just drives me fucking insane. How fucking hard is it? Fuck off with the need to verify someone's current address, whether it's the person's most recently registered address, whether the person lives in this or that state, city, whatever. One citizen, one social security number, one fucking vote. DONE. No pre-registration. What, we don't have the technology to make it this simple and straightforward?
One fucking ballot: we need the exact same design, same printing, same names listed, same method of checking off your choice, no matter who or where you are in the country. Not only should a federal election be conducted and orchestrated by the federal government, states simply shouldn't be able to make up their own ballots, using their own designs, and their own list of candidates, creating their own convoluted requirements for getting a name on the ballot, etc. It's a federal fucking election. The other elections to be made on Nov. 4th should be on a different ballot entirely. This has nothing to do with any individual fucking state.
Election Day: The idea that Nov. 4th isn't a national holiday is fucking moronic. People must be fully able to get to the polls, although the new passion for early voting is a great thing to help in this regard (assuming that these votes won't somehow get lost, which is an unsafe assumption). But if you're going to have national holidays, wouldn't it make sense to have one that celebrates democracy, and the actual act of voting, perfectly combining the two? If people want to feel patriotic, how can this not be the perfect fucking holiday? Not only should people have the time needed to vote, but they should have the time to get others to the polls as well; and how many more volunteers would we have helping out at our polling stations if people had the day off? Some polling stations are seriously understaffed, and all kinds of problems ensue (besides the ones that ensue from various voter suppression issues). And wouldn't such a patriotic holiday even help to guilt people into meeting their obligation to vote? Use it or lose it, you fucking fucks.
Not that I can really be that angry at people who don't vote. If you've read my bit on the electoral college and how intensely assinine it is that we still use it, then I needn't say more. But if we're talking about voter suppression, that's what the electoral college is; not just because of my detailed inequity of disproportionate voting power state by state, but because almost every state uses the "winner takes all" system. Using the direct election process, everyone's vote is worth the same (assuming it gets counted in the first place... again, unsafe assumption).
What fucking blows my mind even more, is that this isn't a partisan issue. There's no fucking "red vs. blue" or "us vs. them" for our nation of idiots to spaz over. It's all no-brainer shit, that any fucking fool can understand. And yet, we can't. We're the most mentally inept country on the planet, sometimes, on this and way too many other issues. All I can think of right now is the insanity depicted in Terry Gilliam's classic film, Brazil. Like Sam Lowery, I start to dream of escape from our crushing mediocrity.
And in the end, what makes me even more fucking nuts about all of this is that no matter how well Obama is doing in this election, it doesn't matter how many people want to vote for him. What matters is how many votes are successfully cast and counted. Not only does he have to overcome the loss of hundreds of thousands (or more) votes that the Republican party/operatives will steal or destroy (this is a simple, undeniable fact, that this is a blatant part of their campaign strategy for the last decade), but he - and many of his voters - are also going to be undercut by the hurdles that will be placed in their way on Election Day. Hiring off-duty cops to hang around outside urban polling centers. Greeting people with lists of names, telling them they can't vote, or that they'll even be breaking the law by voting. Telling naive (especially first-time) voters that voting for their district has been pushed back a day. If we thought the past two elections were bad, I think we ain't seen nothing yet. I would so love to be wrong.
Gah.
As for me, I'm not voting for Obama. I'm voting for Bob Barr, Libertarian candidate. I'm so far left of there it's surreal for me to vote for him, but... a third-party candidate that gets 5% or more of the direct election tally qualifies for federal election funding in the future. I figure, if the Libertarian party could actually get some funding, that will help to tear apart the Republican party even more than it has already. It's lame that I've ended up thinking this way, instead of just voting for my candidate of choice, but, hey, I'm in Massachusetts. Obama will win my state. McCain supporters in my state needn't bother ticking off a box for president, since our winner-takes-all system ends up making them worthless. I actually voted for Nader in 2000, for the federal funding issue, but at this point, since we're stuck in our two-party system (and will always be, until our country rips itself apart), I figure weakening the GOP of Bastards is the best we can do.
Lame (fucking lame).
Meh.
Okay: On CNN there's the first - of I'm sure to be many - stories regarding voter suppression. This isn't the first article on the issue during this election season, but this is the first major incident they're reporting (to my knowledge): 50,000 Georgians have been purged from the voter rolls.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/voter.suppression/index.html
Besides my pet project essay on the electoral college process, the many other ways in which we mis-manage our federal election just drives me fucking insane. How fucking hard is it? Fuck off with the need to verify someone's current address, whether it's the person's most recently registered address, whether the person lives in this or that state, city, whatever. One citizen, one social security number, one fucking vote. DONE. No pre-registration. What, we don't have the technology to make it this simple and straightforward?
One fucking ballot: we need the exact same design, same printing, same names listed, same method of checking off your choice, no matter who or where you are in the country. Not only should a federal election be conducted and orchestrated by the federal government, states simply shouldn't be able to make up their own ballots, using their own designs, and their own list of candidates, creating their own convoluted requirements for getting a name on the ballot, etc. It's a federal fucking election. The other elections to be made on Nov. 4th should be on a different ballot entirely. This has nothing to do with any individual fucking state.
Election Day: The idea that Nov. 4th isn't a national holiday is fucking moronic. People must be fully able to get to the polls, although the new passion for early voting is a great thing to help in this regard (assuming that these votes won't somehow get lost, which is an unsafe assumption). But if you're going to have national holidays, wouldn't it make sense to have one that celebrates democracy, and the actual act of voting, perfectly combining the two? If people want to feel patriotic, how can this not be the perfect fucking holiday? Not only should people have the time needed to vote, but they should have the time to get others to the polls as well; and how many more volunteers would we have helping out at our polling stations if people had the day off? Some polling stations are seriously understaffed, and all kinds of problems ensue (besides the ones that ensue from various voter suppression issues). And wouldn't such a patriotic holiday even help to guilt people into meeting their obligation to vote? Use it or lose it, you fucking fucks.
Not that I can really be that angry at people who don't vote. If you've read my bit on the electoral college and how intensely assinine it is that we still use it, then I needn't say more. But if we're talking about voter suppression, that's what the electoral college is; not just because of my detailed inequity of disproportionate voting power state by state, but because almost every state uses the "winner takes all" system. Using the direct election process, everyone's vote is worth the same (assuming it gets counted in the first place... again, unsafe assumption).
What fucking blows my mind even more, is that this isn't a partisan issue. There's no fucking "red vs. blue" or "us vs. them" for our nation of idiots to spaz over. It's all no-brainer shit, that any fucking fool can understand. And yet, we can't. We're the most mentally inept country on the planet, sometimes, on this and way too many other issues. All I can think of right now is the insanity depicted in Terry Gilliam's classic film, Brazil. Like Sam Lowery, I start to dream of escape from our crushing mediocrity.
And in the end, what makes me even more fucking nuts about all of this is that no matter how well Obama is doing in this election, it doesn't matter how many people want to vote for him. What matters is how many votes are successfully cast and counted. Not only does he have to overcome the loss of hundreds of thousands (or more) votes that the Republican party/operatives will steal or destroy (this is a simple, undeniable fact, that this is a blatant part of their campaign strategy for the last decade), but he - and many of his voters - are also going to be undercut by the hurdles that will be placed in their way on Election Day. Hiring off-duty cops to hang around outside urban polling centers. Greeting people with lists of names, telling them they can't vote, or that they'll even be breaking the law by voting. Telling naive (especially first-time) voters that voting for their district has been pushed back a day. If we thought the past two elections were bad, I think we ain't seen nothing yet. I would so love to be wrong.
Gah.
As for me, I'm not voting for Obama. I'm voting for Bob Barr, Libertarian candidate. I'm so far left of there it's surreal for me to vote for him, but... a third-party candidate that gets 5% or more of the direct election tally qualifies for federal election funding in the future. I figure, if the Libertarian party could actually get some funding, that will help to tear apart the Republican party even more than it has already. It's lame that I've ended up thinking this way, instead of just voting for my candidate of choice, but, hey, I'm in Massachusetts. Obama will win my state. McCain supporters in my state needn't bother ticking off a box for president, since our winner-takes-all system ends up making them worthless. I actually voted for Nader in 2000, for the federal funding issue, but at this point, since we're stuck in our two-party system (and will always be, until our country rips itself apart), I figure weakening the GOP of Bastards is the best we can do.
Lame (fucking lame).
Meh.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
One Man, One Vote
Ok! Here's a re-post of something from 3 days ago, but the link for the PDF here should work.
This is an essay/report that I wrote about four years ago, although it's undergone a lot of revision. Read it, you momo, since no-one else will!]
Just how much is your vote worth, in this and any other election for president?
Does it count? Does it matter? Is your vote worth the same as that of everyone else?
Especially considering the consequences, the presidential race of 2000 will be remembered in history for its dubious nature: everything from misleading ballots to biased officials to unequal access to the voting booth to party operatives scaring away voters from the polling stations. Voting machines manufactured by a blatantly partisan company, bogus absentee ballots, disproportionate numbers of voting booths for districts of pointedly different leanings, and more, and more, and more.
On top of this, the candidate that received the most votes simply lost. And the course of this country, and others, changed drastically. While a president and his administration cannot be held responsible for everything that happens during his term of office, few would contest that a different administration would have had very different effects in the world. But the focus of this brief report is not on these differences - which are potentially massive, and open to great speculation and argument - this is about the electoral college process, by which we select our president.
"One Man, One Vote!"
The Questionable Value of a Vote in United States Presidential Elections under the Electoral College System"
This is an essay/report that I wrote about four years ago, although it's undergone a lot of revision. Read it, you momo, since no-one else will!]
Just how much is your vote worth, in this and any other election for president?
Does it count? Does it matter? Is your vote worth the same as that of everyone else?
Especially considering the consequences, the presidential race of 2000 will be remembered in history for its dubious nature: everything from misleading ballots to biased officials to unequal access to the voting booth to party operatives scaring away voters from the polling stations. Voting machines manufactured by a blatantly partisan company, bogus absentee ballots, disproportionate numbers of voting booths for districts of pointedly different leanings, and more, and more, and more.
On top of this, the candidate that received the most votes simply lost. And the course of this country, and others, changed drastically. While a president and his administration cannot be held responsible for everything that happens during his term of office, few would contest that a different administration would have had very different effects in the world. But the focus of this brief report is not on these differences - which are potentially massive, and open to great speculation and argument - this is about the electoral college process, by which we select our president.
"One Man, One Vote!"
The Questionable Value of a Vote in United States Presidential Elections under the Electoral College System"
Thursday, October 23, 2008
"One Man, One Vote!"
[This is an essay/report that I wrote about four years ago, although it's undergone a lot of revision. Read it, you momo, since no-one else will!]
Just how much is your vote worth, in this and any other election for president?
Does it count? Does it matter? Is your vote worth the same as that of everyone else?
Especially considering the consequences, the presidential race of 2000 will be remembered in history for its dubious nature: everything from misleading ballots to biased officials to unequal access to the voting booth to party operatives scaring away voters from the polling stations. Voting machines manufactured by a blatantly partisan company, bogus absentee ballots, disproportionate numbers of voting booths for districts of pointedly different leanings, and more, and more, and more.
On top of this, the candidate that received the most votes simply lost. And the course of this country, and others, changed drastically. While a president and his administration cannot be held responsible for everything that happens during his term of office, few would contest that a different administration would have had very different effects in the world. But the focus of this brief report is not on these differences - which are potentially massive, and open to great speculation and argument - this is about the electoral college process, by which we select our president.
"One Man, One Vote!"
The Questionable Value of a Vote in United States Presidential Elections under the Electoral College System"
[If someone could please test out this linked PDF, I'd appreciate it... it was intensely annoying to format properly, and I don't trust google-docs (in which it's stored) to cough it up properly for potential readers.]
Just how much is your vote worth, in this and any other election for president?
Does it count? Does it matter? Is your vote worth the same as that of everyone else?
Especially considering the consequences, the presidential race of 2000 will be remembered in history for its dubious nature: everything from misleading ballots to biased officials to unequal access to the voting booth to party operatives scaring away voters from the polling stations. Voting machines manufactured by a blatantly partisan company, bogus absentee ballots, disproportionate numbers of voting booths for districts of pointedly different leanings, and more, and more, and more.
On top of this, the candidate that received the most votes simply lost. And the course of this country, and others, changed drastically. While a president and his administration cannot be held responsible for everything that happens during his term of office, few would contest that a different administration would have had very different effects in the world. But the focus of this brief report is not on these differences - which are potentially massive, and open to great speculation and argument - this is about the electoral college process, by which we select our president.
"One Man, One Vote!"
The Questionable Value of a Vote in United States Presidential Elections under the Electoral College System"
[If someone could please test out this linked PDF, I'd appreciate it... it was intensely annoying to format properly, and I don't trust google-docs (in which it's stored) to cough it up properly for potential readers.]
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
It hurts my brains.
Gotta love these morons: people like Pat Buchanan, Rush Limbaugh, and millions of others, I imagine, believing that Colin Powell endorsed Obama because he's black.
Everyone knows that Obama's an Arab, motherfuckers.
Everyone knows that Obama's an Arab, motherfuckers.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Unhappy endings.
Finished Neverwinter Nights 2 (original campaign) late late last night. After a fairly decent climactic battle, they deliver an epilogue via still pictures and narration. A really unsatisfying ending, but mostly because of the choice of narrator... one of those situations in which it sounds like they got some guy from the office to read off something. The massive amount of voice acting throughout the game is fantastic, then they end it with this sudden ending and epilogue that just sounds ridiculous.
Gah. Well, on to the first expansion, Mask of the Betrayer. It's supposed to be betterer than the decent OC, but it starts you out at epic levels (18, or if you import your existing character, as high up as he is). I always prefer lower level play, personally. I wonder if the second expansion is also epicky.
Gah. Well, on to the first expansion, Mask of the Betrayer. It's supposed to be betterer than the decent OC, but it starts you out at epic levels (18, or if you import your existing character, as high up as he is). I always prefer lower level play, personally. I wonder if the second expansion is also epicky.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The People's Choice
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| From Phobrek's Blog |
In torrenting some comics, I found that someone uploaded this classic old issue of Captain America from 1980, in which our hero faces the possibility of running for president. Thanks, anonymous donor!
Captain America has always been my favorite superhero... imagine me, an ultra-liberal socialist pinko bastard that is critical of most things American, idol-worshipping the man with the flag on his chest (and mighty shield). But most "real" patriots would consider Cap to be a pinko bastard himself, if they read the comic over the decades. Questioning authority... frequently at odds with the government... and OMFG he's got a Jewess for a girlfriend! Well, he did, until she died, and of course he'd dead now, too. But the comic remains brilliant nonetheless.
Anyway, click the pic above to go to a gallery including a scattered bunch of pages from that issue. Classic stuff! And enjoy this blast from the past:
Thursday, October 16, 2008
git out of my hed!
Strange days. I'm half-way through my pharmaceutical detox, a 2-week period in which I'm neither on my previous meds or my new one. Various difficult episodes and effects, the most notable would be about 36 hours of having the inside of my right heel itch furiously. Anyway. The only thing I really want to share with the world now should be:
Background: Technohead was a hubby/wife duo of Lee Newman and Michael Wells in the 90s, who also recorded under many, many other names. Their biggest hit was I Wanna be a Hippy, which topped the charts in like 20 countries, of course none of which was the US. If you haven't heard the tune before, well, blame the Republicans... I always do. But I was bored and so cruised through youtube for the video. I wish I had a decent copy of the thing.
The second vid is of the Ska remix of the tune. I probably have about 15 different mixes of the original track (hey, I even have the fucking t-shirt of it), but this is one of the best, and I'm psyched someone made a video of it, a very very awesomely awesome video.
I'd never seen this last vid before today: it's for their track Headsex, and I was so happily shocked to see that Newman and Wells are actually in it. At least, I'm almost positive that Newman is the woman in the video (it's definitely Wells walking around in a uniform). But the only other pics I've seen of her are:
and 
.
I hope this is her in the video; she died soon after this album came out, and I love the idea that this hot/wild she was she. If not, it's still probably an appropriate representation of her willz & skillz.
Oh but the best I Wanna Be a Hippy video of all has to be...
Background: Technohead was a hubby/wife duo of Lee Newman and Michael Wells in the 90s, who also recorded under many, many other names. Their biggest hit was I Wanna be a Hippy, which topped the charts in like 20 countries, of course none of which was the US. If you haven't heard the tune before, well, blame the Republicans... I always do. But I was bored and so cruised through youtube for the video. I wish I had a decent copy of the thing.
The second vid is of the Ska remix of the tune. I probably have about 15 different mixes of the original track (hey, I even have the fucking t-shirt of it), but this is one of the best, and I'm psyched someone made a video of it, a very very awesomely awesome video.
I'd never seen this last vid before today: it's for their track Headsex, and I was so happily shocked to see that Newman and Wells are actually in it. At least, I'm almost positive that Newman is the woman in the video (it's definitely Wells walking around in a uniform). But the only other pics I've seen of her are:
and 
.I hope this is her in the video; she died soon after this album came out, and I love the idea that this hot/wild she was she. If not, it's still probably an appropriate representation of her willz & skillz.
Oh but the best I Wanna Be a Hippy video of all has to be...
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Umber Hulks Lub Korn.
Here's my latest goofy pic illustrating that I have too much time on my hands.
It's a (modified) screen grab from Neverwinter Nights 2, the main D&D computer RPG (besides the MMO D&D game, that is). I'm more than half-way through the game, and was psyched to discover that my guy got to take over a keep, and be involved with re-building broken structures, raising and improving a militia, dealing with various problems, etc. The pic here is just some farmland outside the place, though. Click the pic for full size, of course.
It's a (modified) screen grab from Neverwinter Nights 2, the main D&D computer RPG (besides the MMO D&D game, that is). I'm more than half-way through the game, and was psyched to discover that my guy got to take over a keep, and be involved with re-building broken structures, raising and improving a militia, dealing with various problems, etc. The pic here is just some farmland outside the place, though. Click the pic for full size, of course.
 |
| From gallery |
Friday, October 10, 2008
All hot and bothered.
On CNN's site there's a link to "Christians Create Moral Movie," which by those words alone is too enticing to pass up. So: Fireproof
The article begins:
Okeydokey. Next I had to hit Rotten Tomatoes to check the reviews. I wasn't going to discount it; it could be a great flick. Regardless, I got what I expected: a bunch of reviews noting that the selling point is the heavy-handed preaching to the converted, serving up an otherwise unimpressive story/production. Then I noticed that RT allows people to leave comments in response to the different reviews, and this got me all hot and bothered. Go look up a book by Michael Moore (easy example) on amazon.com, and you'll find a zillion comments from people who rant with such insane, frightening levels of hate and idiocy that you become rudely jolted back to the reality that we are a doomed people. Isn't that fun? Oh, c'mon!
I flipped through one with a good number of comments, and the predictable laughs ensued. Then I looked at the review excerpts again, to find the one that I thought would best elicit high quality duh.
"Fireproof isn't merely preaching to the already converted; it's helping to further alienate the unconverted and the skeptical." - Ken Hanke
Found it! I thought this brief line so perfectly nutshelled the biggest problem of any heavy-handed approach to pushing a possibly-controversial idea: it makes the unconverted potentially defensive and reactionary, and you end up sabotaging your own cause (or in the case of this movie, a theme, an issue, etc... I'm not pretending that the film-makers were on some mission here). Again, the easy example is Michael Moore. His overly broad strokes, sarcasm and self-righteous sneer can betray his content, which, were it to stand more by itself (which he did best in Fahrenheit 911), would have a far greater effect in changing people's minds, educating them, etc. But he's so polarizing w/his "us vs. them" swagger. Don't get me wrong, I love Moore, but I keep wishing he'd remove himself more and maintain a distance in his films/shows, letting the content speak for itself.
Digression transgressed. Apologies. So, to get to the punchline, here's the money shot comment aimed at the above reviewer:
HAW HAW HAW!
The article begins:
When brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick were looking for inspiration for their third feature-length film, they turned to God for help.
"To be honest, I prayed about it," Alex Kendrick said. "I said, 'God, would you give me an idea that will impact all of our culture.' "
While he was out jogging and praying one day, the idea for "Fireproof" came to him. He footed it over to his brother's house about a mile away and told him the story: A firefighter who lives by the mantra "never leave your partner behind" at work is about to do just that in his personal life.
Okeydokey. Next I had to hit Rotten Tomatoes to check the reviews. I wasn't going to discount it; it could be a great flick. Regardless, I got what I expected: a bunch of reviews noting that the selling point is the heavy-handed preaching to the converted, serving up an otherwise unimpressive story/production. Then I noticed that RT allows people to leave comments in response to the different reviews, and this got me all hot and bothered. Go look up a book by Michael Moore (easy example) on amazon.com, and you'll find a zillion comments from people who rant with such insane, frightening levels of hate and idiocy that you become rudely jolted back to the reality that we are a doomed people. Isn't that fun? Oh, c'mon!
I flipped through one with a good number of comments, and the predictable laughs ensued. Then I looked at the review excerpts again, to find the one that I thought would best elicit high quality duh.
"Fireproof isn't merely preaching to the already converted; it's helping to further alienate the unconverted and the skeptical." - Ken Hanke
Found it! I thought this brief line so perfectly nutshelled the biggest problem of any heavy-handed approach to pushing a possibly-controversial idea: it makes the unconverted potentially defensive and reactionary, and you end up sabotaging your own cause (or in the case of this movie, a theme, an issue, etc... I'm not pretending that the film-makers were on some mission here). Again, the easy example is Michael Moore. His overly broad strokes, sarcasm and self-righteous sneer can betray his content, which, were it to stand more by itself (which he did best in Fahrenheit 911), would have a far greater effect in changing people's minds, educating them, etc. But he's so polarizing w/his "us vs. them" swagger. Don't get me wrong, I love Moore, but I keep wishing he'd remove himself more and maintain a distance in his films/shows, letting the content speak for itself.
Digression transgressed. Apologies. So, to get to the punchline, here's the money shot comment aimed at the above reviewer:
"For a non-Christian to critique a Christian film to me is mean-spirited, dishonest and stupid."
HAW HAW HAW!
Switching my vote to Sarah, no doubt
I just read in the Worcester T&G that Sarah Palin (nee Sarah Heath) spent Thanksgiving weekend of 1986 here in Worcester... a few houses over from mine, on Elm Street. What's more, it was a Levi Lincoln house (Governor/Senator of Massachusetts in the early 1800s, native of Worcester, that built a bunch of houses and buildings in the city), as is mine. Anyway, Sarah ate at her boyfriend's family's house, I think (something like that... not interested enough to go back and read the article). Meanwhile, I was turning 17 that weekend (Nov. 24, specifically) and was much more interested in seeing Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which opened on the day after.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Legend of Jessie Cristos
The greatest unknown band on the planet. The Legend of Jessie Cristos was a country/goth rock band that played the soundtrack for the film of the same name, which was never intended to be made. Instead, the songs told the story of the Old West messianic vampire cowboy Jessie Cristos, his martyrdom in the hands of the Elders, his tragic romance of the lady Elizabeth, the pursuit of her father, The Judge, and last but not least, Jessie's Dirty Dozen. When the Dirty Dozen Make Merry, run. Anyway, the band occurred briefly in the late 90s, in Boston, and my participation was in graphics, flyers, playing with a fog machine and lights, and even a couple of times performing on-stage, to read from the Book of Jessie. I'd say "Rest in Peace" to Jessie Cristos, but I doubt he ever will. Ha!
Anyway, I've had these old drawings of mine scanned in for ages, and a brief conversation w/the aforementioned Shannon inspired me to upload them.
Go listen to some LoJC tunes at: Original Snub (note: the versions there are fairly low bit-rate... easier to DL, but don't quite do justice to the recordings)
Anyway, I've had these old drawings of mine scanned in for ages, and a brief conversation w/the aforementioned Shannon inspired me to upload them.
 |
| From The Legend of Jessie Cristos |
Go listen to some LoJC tunes at: Original Snub (note: the versions there are fairly low bit-rate... easier to DL, but don't quite do justice to the recordings)
Aspartame in your brain
Please read about aspartame, also known as Nutrasweet, Equal, and other artificial sweeteners. If you can find the documentary Sweet Misery (you may need to pirate it via torrent), it can be compelling.
Aspartame is used in almost every diet soda, and in every sugarless gum I've ever found. Google "aspartame" or "aspartame poisoning" and you'll find plenty of information that may well make you want to kill the people who make and use it, as well as the FDA that approved its use starting in the mid-80's. Splenda (sometimes marketed as Sucralose) also has its damaging effects, but sounds more like health food when compared to aspartame. Please: you are much better off imbibing sugary soda/coffee/tea/etc. than that sweetened/poisoned by aspartame. You can, however, find some diet sodas using Splenda: oddly, I've found that you can actually get Splenda-sweetened Diet Coke in that unending soda aisle in your local supermarket, whereas I've only ever seen the aspartame version in convenience stores. In seeking out other diet sodas, the Weight Watchers brand is aspartame-free. As ever, the golden rule is: read your labels.
Aspartame is used in almost every diet soda, and in every sugarless gum I've ever found. Google "aspartame" or "aspartame poisoning" and you'll find plenty of information that may well make you want to kill the people who make and use it, as well as the FDA that approved its use starting in the mid-80's. Splenda (sometimes marketed as Sucralose) also has its damaging effects, but sounds more like health food when compared to aspartame. Please: you are much better off imbibing sugary soda/coffee/tea/etc. than that sweetened/poisoned by aspartame. You can, however, find some diet sodas using Splenda: oddly, I've found that you can actually get Splenda-sweetened Diet Coke in that unending soda aisle in your local supermarket, whereas I've only ever seen the aspartame version in convenience stores. In seeking out other diet sodas, the Weight Watchers brand is aspartame-free. As ever, the golden rule is: read your labels.
NO BEETS?
These days, not so good. Other days, better.
Aside: This reminds me of the wisdom once spoken by (the ravishing) Claudia Christian on Babylon 5: "No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There’s always a boom tomorrow. Boom!, sooner or later. BOOM!"
I'm officially off my meds, for the most part, a required difficulty as I switch onto a new med. I've gradually phased out my previous anti-depressant (Cymbalta), and once gone, I've dropped a couple of others cold turkey, as of this morning. The sudden loss of doxepin (AKA Silenor, AKA Aponal) was felt last night: Wiki defines the drug as a psychotropic agent with tricyclic antidepressant and anxiolytic properties, but is also helpful in dealing with insomnia. I slept one or two of my ideally 40 winks, although this did help me remember fragments of dream from those scattered moments. So hey, at least there was some entertainment. I'm also off the currently-trendy Adderall, my legal speed, which I came off of a few days early actually, since I ran out of pills and then lacked the oomph required to visit the pharmacy. My only remaining drugs are lamictal (treating bipolar effects in a less blunt way than lithium) and my testosterone gel (Androgel), which to be honest, often feels useless.
After coming down from Cymbalta for the last two weeks, I now get to spend two weeks dry of those three drugs, so as to remove the remnants of them, as they clash with my new drug of choice, tranylcypromine (brand name version is Parnate). This is an MAIO (monoamine oxidase inhibitor), which carries with it serious restrictions on diet. It's hard to imagine your regular omnivore taking this on, but as a vegan I've got a real head-start.
Anything that is aged or fermented is out. This, and other things, contain Tyramine, which is a no-no amino acid-based compound. Here's a partial list of the forbidden, some of which are extremely serious, and others are to be avoided, or in some cases, allowable in very small amounts:
Anchovies, Avocado, Banana peels, Bean Curd, Beetroot, Booze, Bouillon, Brazil Nuts, Bread w/high yeast, Broad Beans (Fava, Italian Green Beans, Lima, Lentil), Caffeine, Cheese, Chinese pea pods, Chips w/vinegar, Chocolate, Coconut, Coffee, Coke, Corn (sweet), Cucumbers, Eggplant, Figs (canned), Ginseng, Grapes, Meat, Miso, MSG, Mushrooms, Oranges, Peanuts, Pineapple (fresh), Plums, Protein Extracts, Prunes, Raisins, Raspberries, Red plums, Salad Dressing, Sauerkraut, Shrimp Paste, Soy Sauce, Spinach, Teriyaki sauce, Tofu, Tomato juice, Vegemite, Yeast, Yogurt
Aw man - fuck me in the eye! NO BEETS? Kids, for that reason alone, remember: don't do (legal) drugs.
Aside: This reminds me of the wisdom once spoken by (the ravishing) Claudia Christian on Babylon 5: "No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There’s always a boom tomorrow. Boom!, sooner or later. BOOM!"
I'm officially off my meds, for the most part, a required difficulty as I switch onto a new med. I've gradually phased out my previous anti-depressant (Cymbalta), and once gone, I've dropped a couple of others cold turkey, as of this morning. The sudden loss of doxepin (AKA Silenor, AKA Aponal) was felt last night: Wiki defines the drug as a psychotropic agent with tricyclic antidepressant and anxiolytic properties, but is also helpful in dealing with insomnia. I slept one or two of my ideally 40 winks, although this did help me remember fragments of dream from those scattered moments. So hey, at least there was some entertainment. I'm also off the currently-trendy Adderall, my legal speed, which I came off of a few days early actually, since I ran out of pills and then lacked the oomph required to visit the pharmacy. My only remaining drugs are lamictal (treating bipolar effects in a less blunt way than lithium) and my testosterone gel (Androgel), which to be honest, often feels useless.
After coming down from Cymbalta for the last two weeks, I now get to spend two weeks dry of those three drugs, so as to remove the remnants of them, as they clash with my new drug of choice, tranylcypromine (brand name version is Parnate). This is an MAIO (monoamine oxidase inhibitor), which carries with it serious restrictions on diet. It's hard to imagine your regular omnivore taking this on, but as a vegan I've got a real head-start.
Anything that is aged or fermented is out. This, and other things, contain Tyramine, which is a no-no amino acid-based compound. Here's a partial list of the forbidden, some of which are extremely serious, and others are to be avoided, or in some cases, allowable in very small amounts:
Anchovies, Avocado, Banana peels, Bean Curd, Beetroot, Booze, Bouillon, Brazil Nuts, Bread w/high yeast, Broad Beans (Fava, Italian Green Beans, Lima, Lentil), Caffeine, Cheese, Chinese pea pods, Chips w/vinegar, Chocolate, Coconut, Coffee, Coke, Corn (sweet), Cucumbers, Eggplant, Figs (canned), Ginseng, Grapes, Meat, Miso, MSG, Mushrooms, Oranges, Peanuts, Pineapple (fresh), Plums, Protein Extracts, Prunes, Raisins, Raspberries, Red plums, Salad Dressing, Sauerkraut, Shrimp Paste, Soy Sauce, Spinach, Teriyaki sauce, Tofu, Tomato juice, Vegemite, Yeast, Yogurt
Aw man - fuck me in the eye! NO BEETS? Kids, for that reason alone, remember: don't do (legal) drugs.
Road Map to God
While I've the focus to write this (and the enthusiasm helps): please read my (I say possessively) Shannon's fantastic bit of thought here:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=33789163&blogID=439596233
Ages ago, in "the best years of my life" (an unhappy thing to say, when such years are no longer anywhere near the present, but, hey, and, meh!), I was lucky to have Shannon as a girlfriend... it was in San Francisco, 1993. I lost touch with her for too long, but in one of my more functional moments, recently, I sought her out in this virtual world, and am very happy for having done so. So, read what she has written that I done linked. All of my readers (0-3?) might become hers!
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=33789163&blogID=439596233
Ages ago, in "the best years of my life" (an unhappy thing to say, when such years are no longer anywhere near the present, but, hey, and, meh!), I was lucky to have Shannon as a girlfriend... it was in San Francisco, 1993. I lost touch with her for too long, but in one of my more functional moments, recently, I sought her out in this virtual world, and am very happy for having done so. So, read what she has written that I done linked. All of my readers (0-3?) might become hers!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
A-ha!
Ok, as a big fan of A-ha, I can't resist linking this revisionist video:
"IS THIS YOUR HOUSE?!"
"IS THIS YOUR HOUSE?!"
Thursday, October 2, 2008
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