Category: Global Issues

Puppet Politician

~ m ~ Leave a comment

Salon broke a conspiracy-theory story about Bush being wired during the first presidential debate. Ever since hearing Matthew Broderick talk about working with Marlon Brando, and how he constantly used a wire through which his lines were read, I’ve figured Bush did the same. You’ve probably heard the story about the actual feed being broadcast over the air during a D-Day ceremony in France last June, discussed here. Maybe it’s all false. Doesn’t really matter, he’s no less scary with or without the earpiece.

BTW, Kerry is kicking his butt right now in the polls, and is set to kick his butt AGAIN, tonight, in the second debate. Whoop!

Kerry “Won” the First Debate

~ m ~ Leave a comment

OK, so Kerry “won” the first debate, by most accounts. But I had really really high hopes for it, so perhaps that is why I feel a bit disappointed. I was surprised that Bush could even hold his ground – chalk it up to the watered-down format he insisted on, I guess.

What’s next:

  • Make sure your registration is up-to-date; you can check your NC status here.
  • There’s still time to vote by absentee ballot; call your county Board of Elections for details; in Wake county, NC, that’s (919) 856-6240.
  • VP debate, Oct. 5th, 2nd Presidential debate, Oct. 8th

    Update 10/5/04: Wake County has a great setup where you can go directly to cast your absentee ballot.

    • Boot Bush!

    ~ m ~ Leave a comment

    Why do I feel so strongly about this election? Aren’t all politicians the same anyway? Let me sum up my dire concern with this quote from Garrison Keillor:

    The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the history of humanity has survived this. The election of 2004 will say something about what happens to ours. The omens are not good.


    I love this country too much to idly watch it self-destruct. If you have watched us go from creation of a surplus under Clinton to projected record deficit in one short reckless term and don’t see the writing on the wall, well… enjoy your perks while you can…

    Things You Can Do Right Now

  • Get informed! A few things to consider are below…
  • Make sure you’re registered to vote.
  • Get everyone else you can to register. Here’s $200,000 worth of incentive.
  • I’m considering sending in an absentee ballot, for two reasons: 1) We have an overseas adoption pending and I don’t want ANY chance of missing my chance to vote; 2) Earlier votes have a better chance of being counted in race predictions (which may cause people to give up)
  • This link will take you to a page I set up where you can donate to the DNC:


    Boot Bush! Donate to the DNC today


    Points Of View To Consider

    The Conservative Case Against George W. Bush
    Garrison Keillor, the world’s most famous Lutheran, goes OFF
    johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway
    PBS covers the Budget Deficit Issue from both sides of the fence
    Kerry’s Official Stance On ISSUES
    “Our Plan For America” by John Kerry and John Edwards
    Some high-ranking military officials and others including members of his own staff condemning Bush’s mismanagement of Iraq
    A couple inside peeks into just how screwed up things are in Iraq
    Better ways to spend the $144 BILLION we’ve spent on the war already
    Damning statistics from Graydon Carter’s “What We’ve Lost”
    The National Council of Churches outlines true Christian principles in an election year
    including follow-up commentary
    (Does this make Bush the Anti-Christ, or just another Pharisee?)
    Michael Moore Attempts To Televise Farenheit 9/11 (with lively slashdot discussion)
    Unprecedented Corruption:
    A guide to conflict of interest
    in the U.S. government
    Bush in 30 seconds
    Kerry lays down the bass!

    UPDATE September 20th, 10pm: The Bush and Kerry campaigns reportedly agree to three presidential debates, on Sept. 30, Oct. 8 and Oct. 13. The Bush campaign denies a deal, but a source familiar with the negotiations says the agreement also calls for one vice presidential debate Oct. 5

    • Two Camps

    ~ m ~ Leave a comment

    Got an email from a friend today about Greenpeace dumping some “bycatch” on the doorsteps of some politicians…

    “Environmentalists, protesting over fishing, catch 11,000 fish, pile them near a major tourist attraction and put up signs saying, ‘Don’t waste
    life’… Brilliant!”

    In my experience there are two “camps” of environmentalist/eco-freak/animal-rights-activist/whatever. The first camp is the ducks unlimited hunter / catch-and-release fisherman / eco steward that likes to think they “keep it real”, usually by combining conservation with some form of consumption. They think they see the big picture and that’s what counts. A lot of park rangers, environmental agency officials, many biologists, etc. in that camp, perhaps even the more open-minded land developers or foresters. The second camp is Peta / lab-rescue commandos / vegans who see all sentient beings as individually having “rights” that no one else has the right to trample on. Members of the first camp would usually rather be damned to hell before being associated with the second camp. I’m a card-carrying member of the second :P but I’ve also been a member of the first, doing environmental surveys to set aside 20% of a gopher tortoise population’s land so the developer can bulldoze over the other 80%. Not by choice, but better than nothing. Working with governmental agencies and developers to find “common ground” and compromises.

    Seems like Greenpeace is trying to firmly throw their hat in the ring of the first camp… distance themselves from animal-rights activists, to whom Peta has really given a bad name with all their sensationalism. An example… isn’t it cute to bite the head off a fish…

    But it does sound like they’re opening themselves up to criticism, at least the way the yahoo story was spun… here’s more details, which clear it up a little bit anyway… sounds like they just took what the fishers had already pulled out of the water…

    Still, to a vegan, all the answers are easy. :) All this compromise stuff is nonsense. It’s just not that hard to “have it all”, eating low on the food chain, thereby helping the individual beings AND the big environmental picture, every day. Simple and pure.

    My Vegas Angle

    ~ m ~ Leave a comment

    I’ve been to Vegas once or twice. It’s fun to play, but I would never bet more than I expected to lose. You can see how people get addicted to it though – it’s easy to start fantasizing and lose track of reality. Case in point…

    I thought I had perfected my gambling angle to the point where it couldn’t fail. The idea is to shift the long odds to shorter by decreasing the payout. Here’s the details, it’s pretty simple.

    First, some basic Roulette. You can play red (or black) with a 2:1 payout. What this means is that if you bet $1 on red, and the little ball lands on a red number, you win $1. If it lands on black, you lose. All the numbers are either red or black, so it’s pretty good odds – the only down side is the 00 number – if that comes up, EVERYONE loses. OK, now for the angle.

    If you lose, double your bet and play again. Keep doing this until you win. Once you win, if you do the math, you will see that you have won $1 since beginning the round of betting. You ALWAYS WIN $1!

    OK, one bad assumption has ruined many a scheme, and the same is true here: you can’t double your bet indefinitely. Therefore, it’s just a matter of time until you lose several times in a row, doubling your bet each time, until you hit the betting limit and you’ve lost your shirt. Losing your shirt is typically seen as a BAD gambling strategy.

    It’s still not too bad though, if you look at the numbers… UPDATE: yes it is… move on, nothing to see here…

    War. Great.

    ~ m ~ Leave a comment

    News sources you can actually get to:

    — BBC RealOne video feed
    — Effnet IRC channel #cnn-live

    Some info from other than typical news sites…
    (from slashdot…)

    — Debka (Middle East News) [debka.com]
    — Official Iraqi News [uruklink.net]
    — Where is Read? – Iraqi Blog [blogspot.com]
    — Kuwait Blog [qhate.com]
    — Back to Iraq Blog [back-to-iraq.com]
    — Iraq today [einnews.com]
    — Warblogs.cc [warblogs.cc]
    — Kevin Sites [kevinsites.net]
    — Sky.com [sky.com]
    — BCC News Live Feed [bbc.co.uk]
    — Agonist [agonist.org]

    CBSnews also has a beautiful high detail webcam without all the crap on the bottom of the screen.

    Update: If ya are getting the feeling that you should maybe voice your protest, but you’re not sure where to start, try MoveOn‘s “virtual march”. Here’s the statement I submitted:

    I originally approached the subject of the threat of Iraq and its leader with an attitude of “the Bush administration has more information than me, and should know best.” But before beginning war and escalating the situation to its current state, the administration had a responsibility to PROVE its case with overwhelming evidence, e.g. providing concrete evidence of the existance of WMD’s, first. The arrogance of the administration, both in not disclosing more information (if it exists), and in its acts of aggression, is intolerable. You have sent the country into WAR, it should be justified, even if that means disclosing information you would rather keep secret. *You*, the administration, represent *us*, the American people. Now we have no choice left but to question your motivation. Hopefully it is not too late for some rectification, but it will be a matter of getting the genie back in the bottle, this late in the game.

    Republicans take over…

    ~ m ~ Leave a comment

    OK, y’all, git yer guns, we’re going to war with anybody that screws with our oil supply! No high school diploma required (y’all just leave that edumacation stuff to the rich, now)…

    Then hold on to them guns, you can use ’em to take one last potshot at the United Corporations of America just before they steamroll ya…

    Why are the American people so easily duped? < *sigh*>