So, apparently this is really old, but my brother just shared this with me tonight. I’m pretty much speechless.
Archive for the 'News' Category
My brother and I have had an ongoing conversation about how it sometimes appears that news organizations pick the worst possible photo of an individual to use for a story.
The photo of Eliot Spitzer utilized by many news outlets after he announced his resignation is a prime example. I borrowed this one from a Christian Science Monitor article:
If he sucks in his bottom lip much more he’ll swallow his chin.
I think that’s probably the best example in recent memory, save the Orange County Sheriff’s Department booking photo of Lisa Nowak after her little kerfuffle with her lover-boy’s other girlfriend:
That, my friends, is a priceless image if there ever was one.
So, I saw on CNN this morning that Bernanke is now “concerned” about inflation. Well, it’s about time! Gold started last year at about $600, and ended it at about $800/ounce. As of the last week, only two months into the year, it’s been hovering around $950. Gas prices are up. Food prices are up. And he’s just starting to be concerned? Please. This is like being concerned about a plane crash after the fourth engine on your Flying Fortress flames out and you just got your tail sheared off by anti-aircraft fire. Most people started worrying when the second engine dropped offline. And Bernanke, bless his little heart, now drops hints that he might lower interest rates again. I guess we might as well go ahead and jettison those wings too and make the inevitable happen a little faster there …
The Republican Party is sending subtle and not-so-subtle messages to Mike Huckabee to pack his bags and go back to Arkansas (”Huckabee ignoring GOP’s hints to quit presidential race“). In the last week, McCain has picked up endorsements from both Romney and George H.W. Bush (huh?).
Huckabee, to his credit, is refusing to withdraw. You won’t find me defending or praising Huckabee too often, but in this case, the man is right. This is the primary, for cryin’ out loud. As I’ve stated before, I believe that every candidate should stay in the race during the primary for as long as is possible.
The votes that each candidate gets (so long as voters aren’t brain-dead morons who vote for the person they think will win instead of who they like) are a valuable barometer for the party as to where the party’s voters’ sympathies lie. For instance … I’m a Ron Paul supporter. Ron Paul seems to average about 5% of the vote from state to state. As a result, we know that the majority of rank-and-file Republicans don’t like Paul’s ideas, except for the drooling idiots who voted for somebody else even though they like Paul … but I doubt there are too many in that category.
Mitt Romney should take his cue from Huckabee and un-suspend his campaign. Too bad he’s already decided to endorse McCain.
Look, if having the votes split up leads to a brokered convention, so be it. Seriously, though, the chances of that happening now are slim, even if Romney was still in the race. What are you guys afraid of? Obama-Clinton ‘08? I’ve got news for you … even if McCain gets 99% of the votes at the convention, it’s still going to be ugly. So, Republicans, get a clue and encourage your candidates to stay in the primaries until the last ballot is cast.
I know I’m several days late on this … I blame the loss of my dearly beloved Powerbook and the business that accompanied the approaching primary election and my trying to catch up on work.
I’m no fan of Bob Corker. I did not vote for him when he ran for Senate. But … the man deserves recognition for doing the right thing and speaking out against the “stimulus” plan that has swept the government by storm, even though his opposition is unpopular.
Though he said he was happy Americans would get checks, he said he found “something inappropriate about a deficit-ridden federal government borrowing money from our grandchildren and sprinkling it across the country for a short-term fix that will do little, if anything to jump-start our troubled economy.” Hear, hear!
(From “A flawed stimulus plan,” an editorial in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press)
Sen. Corker … thanks for standing up and being willing to calling this exactly what it is … a political ploy.
For the time being, us folks who’ve been campaigning for Ron Paul get a break, since things are over here. I’m proud to report that in my district (Stuart Heights 1) Ron Paul got 38 votes out of 360, which is 10.5%. I don’t know how much of that was related to my talking to folks in the area before the election and my appearance at the polling location yesterday, but it’s good to see that we got that much of the vote.
I’ve made up my mind to run for the position of chairman of the Hamilton County Libertarian Party. I know a good number of local Paul supporters are planning on working within the Republican party to elect Ron Paul Republicans, and while I support them and will likely vote for them in the future, my convictions require me to remain with the Libertarians. I am absolutely convinced that it is imperative that we build up viable third parties to challenge the hegemony of the Republicans and Democrats.
The next big thing around here politically will likely be a special election to replace our disgraced Sheriff Long. I’ve heard rumors that a Ron Paul supporter is planning on running for that position … and if he does, he’s got my support.
Despite that long title, there’s nothing much exciting to say. This is my first time ever doing campaigning on an election day. Of course, then again, this is the first election where I’ve donated to a political campaign, put a bumper sticker on my car, or been involved in the campaign at all … although I might have put a Badnarik ‘04 sticker on my car had I had access to one. I just wasn’t involved enough at that time to seek one out, nor did I have enough income to spare to donate to a campaign.
I’ve been our here since a little before 10 a.m. this morning. When I got here, another guy from my precinct was already here with a banner and some signs. He left about 12:30 or so, and I’ve been out here alone ever since.
I’m a bit surprised that none of the other campaigns are represented out here today. There aren’t even many signs out. I count five Ron Paul signs (not counting the one I’m holding), two Hillary Clinton signs, and one Mike Huckabee sign … and that one only appeared while I was at Subway grabbing lunch around 2pm. I expected there to be at least a Huckabee supporter, and maybe an Obama supporter out.
The response has been lackluster to say the least. I’ve had a few people blow there horns and wave and/or give me a thumbs up. A few people gave me a thumbs down, and one curmudgeon rolled down his window and yelled “f___ you!”
I had expected there to be an influx of people around lunch time, but didn’t really observe much of an increase. Perhaps more people will start showing up around 5pm or so … if the rain holds off long enough for me to last that long.
Update: 4:06 p.m. - Traffic is starting to pick up now. I’ve had a couple more people drop by and give me the thumbs up gesture. One guy pulled in and asked when the polls closed, and said he and his wife would be back to vote for Ron Paul. I also was able to direct a non-RP voter to his proper polling location.
Update: 6:41 p.m. - Seeing lots of folks coming out now. People are telling me the wait inside is 15 minutes or so right now. I’ve seen a number of Ron Paul supporters, but I’ve also talked to a few folks who support other candidates. I know I’ve made my fair share of digs at Rudy Giuliani, but I talked to one fellow who had been a supporter who was glad to see I was out working at the polls, and was glad to see so many people voting. A few hours ago, I talked to a doctor who told me he’d voted for Obama, but really liked Ron Paul, because after all, they were both doctors. He really liked Ron Paul’s stance on immigration, though he disagreed with him on other issues. Another fellow told me that there are far more people out voting tonight than were here at the last presidential election.
It’s been a long day, but I’m glad I took the time to come out. This has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in a long time. Even if the majority of the people in my district don’t vote for Dr. Paul, it’s exciting to see how many of them care about the direction of the country that they do get out and vote.
Update: 8:24 p.m. - The crowd started to die down not too long after my last update. By 7:15 or so, the place was pretty much dead. By 8:00, I was ready to go home.
I’m sore and I’ve got blisters on my feet, and I’m dead tired. But … it was fun. I’m glad I was able to take the time to do this today, even though I wish I had been able to give more time to efforts prior to today. Now to sit back and relax … well, maybe not. I do have to catch up on some of the work I missed today.
Overall, I’m really, really surprised to have not seen supporters of any other candidate out. Several people who arrived to vote said the same thing. I’m pleased that the Ron Paul campaign was the only campaign to be represented at all at my polling place … and except for a few breaks to grab food and run home, he was represented all day! Woohoo!
Since I’ve invoked Paul Volcker’s name twice in the last couple of weeks, I felt like I should note that he endorsed Obama today (”Paul Volcker, Former Fed Chairman, Endorses Obama“).
“It is only Barack Obama, in his person, in his ideas, in his ability to understand and to articulate both our needs and our hopes that provide the potential for strong and fresh leadership,” Volcker said in an e-mailed statement today.
Hmmmmm. I’d be interested in hearing what Obama thinks about Volcker’s actions during the late seventies/early eighties when he peeved pretty much everybody by hiking the interest rates up, but saved the economy in the process. Obama … do you think we should do the same thing today?
Hat Tip: Lew Rockwell
“GOP rivals debate who’s most conservative.” Yes. Seriously. It might as well say something like “Three athiests and Catholic debate who loves the Virgin Mary more.”
Paul Volcker, could you please come to the Customer Service Desk at the Federal Reserve, and slap Michael Bernanke a few times for us?
Geez … another interest rate cut, just over a week after the last one. Y’all up there in Washington ever heard of the phrase “like pouring gasoline on a fire”?
If you idiots keep this up, the economic reckoning coming our way is going to be (to use the words of another phrase from ’round where I grew up in the South) “uglier than homemade sin.”
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