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happy"Some critics have alleged that Florida's majority vote for President Bush was flawed. The Herald counted the votes in three North Florida counties and found little discrepancy."The main trouble is that most liberals don't understand southern Democrats. Zell Miller is not an aberration.
energetic
bright
bright"A state official in Illinois is proposing a 6% tax on face lifts and other cosmetic procedures to finance $1 billion in stem cell research over 10 years.A nip-tuck tax ....
"Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes wants the so-called 'nip-tuck tax' proposal put on the ballot as a referendum in 2006. If approved by voters, it could undermine Wisconsin's position in the Midwest and nation in a potentially promising new scientific field. (emphasis mine)"
special"[Pollster John] Zogby was concerned about the difference between some of the exit polls (surveys of individuals who have just cast ballots) and the official vote counts. 'We're talking about the Free World here,' he pointedly noted."Apparently we still think that polls are more accurate than the actual vote. I understand that exit polls are used in other countries to test whether an election might have fradulent results (compare the recent Ukrainian elections), but observe that there were also reports of widespread irregularies, something not yet thought by many in the US.
"His comments came shortly after Ukraine's Central Election Commission announced that Yanukovych, whose candidacy was backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, won the runoff with 49.46 percent of the vote, defeating pro-Western opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko, who was said to have received 46.61 percent. Exit polls on election day had put Yushchenko well ahead, and U.S. and European observers said there were widespread irregularities (emphasis mine)."There were no widespread irregularities in the vote three weeks ago, some isolated problems, yes, but nothing widespread. Even though 80% of Americans believe the election was legitimate, though the anti-Bush forces are lobbying hard.
"John Zogby, meanwhile, was more concerned about the short end of another poll this week -- one that indicated that about four in five Americans thought President Bush had been legitimately elected three weeks ago. 'But, Keith, 20 percent don't think the president is legitimate. And worse yet, if you take the other half, those that didn't vote for him, about half of the other side doesn't think the president is legitimate. That just hasn't existed for a long, long time in our system. We need to restore, I think, some semblance of legitimacy and honor to the system.(emphasis again mine)' "Bush will never be considered a legitimate president by those on the left. The only way this election (as well as the 2000 election) would be considered legitimate is if Kerry (or Gore) would have won. Of course these same people who think the exit polls are sooo accurate forget that most of the final polls before election day had Bush leading. They really need to make up their minds.
happy"Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday, and two of his Indiana Pacers teammates must miss a total of 55 games for fighting with fans during a melee that broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons.Ouch. We haven't heard the last however.
"Overall, the NBA issued some of the harshest penalties in its history by banning nine players for more than 140 games. Artest's suspension is the strongest ever levied for a fight during a game.
"...All of the suspensions are without pay. Artest will lose approximately $5 million in salary, while O'Neal's suspension will cost him nearly 25 percent of his $14.8 million salary for the current season."
"Players union director Billy Hunter, calling the penalties excessive, said an appeal would be filed with Stern on Monday."The agents of the players involved, other players andthe Pacers' owner also said the suspensions were excessive.
"Pacers co-owner Herb Simon said he did not condone the fight, but 'we do consider the action taken Sunday by the National Basketball Association to be unprecedented and inappropriate based on the circumstances.' "I don't think the suspensions are excessive, but hopefully some of the Detroit fans don't escape punishment of some sort. Security was increased at the Piston game today with Charlotte.
chillin'
caffeinated"While Sylvester's comments have raised objections, the reaction has not yet reached the level of response to Milwaukee radio personality Mark Belling's use of the term 'wetbacks' in a reference to undocumented Mexican immigrants. Under pressure, several businesses pulled their advertising from Belling's show, and he was taken off the air for a week.It's Belling's too. People ask how you can stop the vitriol. You can't. Not until the polarizing voices on both sides become unpopular.
"Sylvester said he disagreed with Belling's statement but supported his right to say what he thought.
" 'I don't like censorship, and I don't like boycotts,' Sylvester said. 'The fact that I'm getting a lot of attention on this . . . that's my job.' "(emphasis mine)
bright"The NBA suspended Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson of Indiana and Ben Wallace of Detroit on Saturday for taking part in one of the ugliest brawls in U.S. sports history. The suspensions were indefinite, and the league was still investigating Friday night's melee, which commissioner David Stern called 'shocking, repulsive and inexcusable - a humiliation for everyone associated with the NBA.'"Then Saturday afternoon, a fight broke out in the South Carolina-Clemson football game.
" Players from South Carolina and Clemson brawled late in the game Saturday, with 67-year-old coach Lou Holtz diving into the pile as peacemaker in his regular-season finale with the Gamecocks.Whew!
'That's the first time that ever happened to me during a game,' Holtz said."
celebratory
chillin'"...Freedom of Speech is a long and cherished right by everyone in America. A recent holiday commemorated the many men and women who spilled blood and gave their lives so that this and other freedoms would not be stamped out.
"Mark Belling was wrong to use the word he used. Many have stated that. People who are in the public eye and expect to have their opinions taken seriously need to be careful in their speech. And, no doubt, he exacerbated the situation with his initial apologies.
"But the quote from Voltaire that began the recent Freeman editorial has summed up American feelings for over 200 years. Those who disagree with Belling have a simple recourse. Don't read his column, listen to his radio show, or watch his TV program.
"But censorship of speech is just a bad idea. One that I am glad the Freeman is not a part of. One that I hope the TV and radio stations involved will cease being part of."
bright"CBS News has fired the producer responsible for breaking into 'CSI: NY' last week for a special report on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death, a CBS executive said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity."
celebratory"Fact: A whole lot of people voted to re-elect President Bush.That's a relief!! Not!!
Evaluation: Those people were wrong.
Inference: These people are stupid.
Now, I don't have any problem with the evaluation of wrongness here. If you can look at that first presidential term and come up with re-election as the right thing to do, then perhaps you also thought the Vietnam years really were the wonder years.
But I'm hearing that inference of stupidity a lot these days in various permutations. We shouldn't go there, if for no other reason than what goes around comes around. No, not stupid. But counterintuitive? You bet."
energetic
energetic
energetic"Even as Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign is steadfastly refusing to challenge the results of the presidential election, the bloggers and the mortally wounded party loyalists and the spreadsheet-wielding conspiracy theorists are filling the Internet with head-turning allegations. There is the one about more ballots cast than registered voters in the big Ohio county anchored by Cleveland. There are claims that a suspicious number of Florida counties ended up with Bush vote totals that were far larger than the number of registered Republican voters. And then there is the one that might be the most popular of all: the exit polls that showed Kerry winning big weren't wrong -- they were right.Of course polls are more accurate than the actual vote!! Sheesh. And they say Bush supporters are ignorant and deluded.
"Ultimately, none of the most popular theories holds up to close scrutiny. And the people who most stand to benefit from the conspiracy theories -- the Kerry campaign and the Democratic National Committee -- are not biting."
energetic"If Karl Rove, President Bush's political brain, worked in Wisconsin, here's what might happen:Well, maybe. But this assumes that opposition to gay marriage is a Republican/ Democrat thing. Not so fast. Let's look at some numbers.
"Right-wing Republicans would push to get a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the ballot in late 2006 when first-term Gov. Jim Doyle is up for re-election. The move would bring out conservative types in droves who - as long as they're in the voting booth - would then cast a vote for the Republican running against Doyle, a liberal Dem from Madison.
"A similar strategy worked just fine for Bush last week. The president benefited from increased turnout sparked by similar proposals being on 11 state ballots.
"Hey, wait a minute, maybe Rove does work here - or, at least, devotees of his shrewd style. It turns out just such a prohibition is on track to make it on the general election ballot in Wisconsin sometime in the next two years." (italics mine)
| State | Yes Vote | Bush Vote | ||
| Arkansas | 746,382 | 75% | 566,678 | 54% |
| Georgia | 2,317,981 | 76% | 1,889,331 | 58% |
| Kentucky | 1,222,240 | 75% | 1,066,736 | 60% |
| Michigan | 2,686,139 | 59% | 2,306,292 | 48% |
| Mississippi | 924,540 | 86% | 666,396 | 60% |
| Montana | 294,056 | 67% | 261,939 | 59% |
| North Dakota | 222,899 | 73% | 195,998 | 63% |
| Ohio | 3,249,157 | 62% | 2,796,147 | 51% |
| Oklahoma | 1,075,079 | 76% | 959,655 | 66% |
| Oregon | 979,049 | 57% | 818,792 | 47% |
| Utah | 562,619 | 66% | 608,851 | 71% |
"More to the point, the morality gap didn't decide the election. Voters who cited moral issues as most important did give their votes overwhelmingly to Bush (80 percent to 18 percent), and states where voters saw moral issues as important were more likely to be red ones. But these differences were no greater in 2004 than in 2000. If you're trying to explain why the president's vote share in 2004 is bigger than his vote share in 2000, values don't help.
"If the morality gap doesn't explain Bush's re-election, what does? A good part of the answer lies in the terrorism gap. Nationally, 49 percent of voters said they trusted Bush but not Kerry to handle terrorism; only 31 percent trusted Kerry but not Bush. This 18-point gap is particularly significant in that terrorism is strongly tied to vote choice: 99 percent of those who trusted only Kerry on the issue voted for him, and 97 percent of those who trusted only Bush voted for him. Terrorism was cited by 19 percent of voters as the most important issue, and these citizens gave their votes to the president by an even larger margin than morality voters: 86 percent for Bush, 14 percent for Kerry."
caffeinated"After campaigning out West for several days, Senator Kerry spends Sunday in Florida. The Senator attends church services at Mount Herman AME Church in Fort Lauderdale at 11:00 am ET, delivers a speech on values and beliefs at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale at 2:15 pm ET, and speaks at a rally at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton at 5:15 pm ET.Well, conservatives did it first, right? Um, no. Check this quote:
Vice President Cheney is in Washington, DC with no public events.
Senator Edwards speaks at church services at Allen Temple A.M.E. Church in Cincinnati at 11:00 am ET and attends rallies at in Dayton and Lima at 2:20 pm ET and 5:45 pm ET.
Elizabeth Edwards attends church services at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church in Pittsburgh at 11:30 am ET and hosts a town hall discussion at Downey Middle School in Harrisburg, PA at 3:30 pm ET.
Former Vice President Al Gore speaks at a church service in Jacksonville on behalf of the Kerry/Edwards ticket and attends an early vote rally at the Leon County Courthouse Lawn in Tallahassee, FL at 2:00 pm ET.
Senator Ted Kennedy speaks at Zion Church and Mt. Airy Church in Philadelphia on behalf of Kerry/Edwards."
" 'God wants me to run for president..American people want faith in their government.'Seems like Ms. Brazile needs to check her history a little more thoroughly
"This may sound like President Bush talking, but it is not. These were the words of Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election campaign, according to author Steven Hayward in his book, The Age of Reagan, 1964-1980: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order. Because of this kind of rhetoric, evangelicals voted in large numbers for Carter in 1976."
energetic
chillin'
