January 31, 2005
Book Ends
I think we all just ought to agree that this stuff cancels out Howard Zinn and move on from there.
Posted by stan at 10:24 AM
January 13, 2005
Teddy Kennedy
Boy, imagine the hoopla if someone like, say, Tom DeLay, had made this slip of the tongue?
"Kennedy also mangled the name of the Democrats' new star, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, calling him "Osama bin … Osama … Obama."
Posted by stan at 02:52 PM
January 07, 2005
Behind The Times
There is a point where an admirable persistence becomes a sad inability to accept reality. These folks passed that point a couple years ago I'd say.
Posted by stan at 10:52 AM
December 22, 2004
Supreme Court
John Paul Stevens, isn't he the one who said "I have not yet begun to fight"?
Posted by stan at 10:44 AM
December 12, 2004
Press Gaggle
Q. There is a report that nearly 6,000 people in the U.S. wind up in emergency rooms over the holidays because of decorating injuries. What specifically are you and the President doing to hang the holly and the mistletoe safely? (Laughter.) And have orders been issued that there is to be no dipping into the punch bowl while decorating? (Laughter.)
SCOTT McCLELLAN: I would just say that we have great appreciation for all the staff and the volunteers who help put up the Christmas decorations and the holiday decorations that adorn the White House, and we appreciate all that they have done in that.
Q. Follow-up, Scott. (Laughter.)
MR. McCLELLAN: Happy holidays. Go ahead, Les.
______________________________________________________________________
I've started reading Press Gaggle pretty regularly now, it pulls out two or three sort of funny comments from every White House press conference. If you like really dry humor, so dry that you miss some of the funny parts on the first reading, you should put down your Economist and take a look. My only complain is that there is no index that I can find, so if you want the look at stuff from the election or earlier you have to keep clicking the previous link over and over and over again.
Posted by stan at 05:29 PM
November 29, 2004
Shocked
What a surprise that this confidential Internation Red Cross report got released to the NY Times. I'm shocked, SHOCKED!
Posted by stan at 10:17 PM
November 19, 2004
Speaking of HW
It turns out that our new congressional district, the mighty Seventh of Texas, was once represented by the former President Bush. The current Rep. is John Culberson-R, whose congressional record I am now reviewing. His web site is very clear that he thinks "Texans Should Always Run Texas," which I imagine many might respond to by suggesting that no one deserves that. Some highlights of bills he's sponsored:
H.R.1305 : To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce the tax on beer to its pre-1991 level.
All good Americans supported this bill.
H.R.1740 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1502 East Kiest Boulevard in Dallas, Texas, as the "Dr. Caesar A.W. Clark, Sr. Post Office Building".
H.R.1715 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 8624 Ferguson Road in Dallas, Texas, as the "Cesar E. Chavez Post Office Building".
H.R.3775 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1502 East Kiest Boulevard in Dallas, Texas, as the "Dr. Caesar A.W. Clark, Sr. Post Office Building".
H.R.4717 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1199 Pasadena Boulevard in Pasadena, Texas, as the "Jim Fonteno Post Office Building".
H.R.4829 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 103 East Kleberg in Kingsville, Texas, as the "Irma Rangel Post Office Building".
H.R.3633 : To provide for dime coins to bear the likeness of President Ronald Reagan, the Freedom President, in honor of his work in restoring American greatness and bringing freedom to captive nations around the world.
The Freedom President? That's a new one, I didn't know you could legislate nicknames. I'll be proposing a bill to designate myself the Freedom Accountant next session, hopefully.
H.R.4528 : To require the Secretary of the Treasury to redesign the face of $10 Federal reserve notes so as to include a likeness of President Ronald Wilson Reagan, and for other purposes.
I guess the Freedom President trumps the Freedom Sec. of the Treasury.
H.RES.280 : Congratulating Roger Clemens of the New York Yankees for pitching 300 major league wins.
Somebody just lost my vote.
When the Representative from the fighting Texas Seventh wasn't renaming post offices, he co-sponsored a striking number of bills that contain the words "tax code" or "IRS" and "repeal" or "abolish". Also, from what I can tell Rep. Culberson would prefer gun laws to be somewhat more leinent. Like wear them on your hip leinent. But to be fair, there is one I liked:
H.J.RES.55 : Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that Federal district court judges be reconfirmed every ten years by the executive and legislative authorities of the State in which they serve.
Hey! That's reasonable!
Posted by stan at 11:30 AM
Ex-Presidents
What a nice speech. Gives hope that all the politicians that act like jerks when seeking office might be pretty good people deep down. Except for Al Gore, of course.
Transcript: Former President George H.W. Bush Comments at Clinton Library Dedication
FDCH E-media
Thursday, November 18, 2004; 2:18 PM
SPEAKER: GEORGE H.W. BUSH,
FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
BUSH: President Carter, thank you for those very kind words.
President Bush, President Clinton, Vice President Gore -- I'm just delighted to be here.
Senator Clinton, pleasure to be with you and the wonderful Chelsea.
Barbara and I are thrilled to be with all of you here as we celebrate this dedication of this art structure, this magnificent structure where starting today, future generations will come to study the 42nd president of the United States.
Barbara and I have been here a very short period of time. But the truth is even before we arrived, there were already a few things we knew visitors would find here.
First, we already knew that visitors would find a uniquely American story of how a young man seized hold of perhaps the most improbable dream that any boy or girl could conceive and through sheer tenacity and gifted intellect saw it realized.
Bill Clinton was born into trying circumstances, but today it can be said he forever remained the man from Hope.
Through his indefatigable determination, not only did he lift himself and his family up, he also went on to touch the lives of millions around the world as president of the United States, giving them hope.
BUSH: Of course, it always has to be said that Bill Clinton was one of the most gifted American political figures in modern times. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
(LAUGHTER)
Here in Arkansas you might say he grew to become the Sam Walton of national retail politics.
(LAUGHTER)
And seeing him out on the campaign trail, it was plain to see how he fed off the energy and the hopes and the aspirations of the American people. Simply put, he was a natural, and he made it look too easy.
And, oh, how I hated him for that.
(LAUGHTER)
Another gripe, Bill Clinton enjoyed debates too much for my taste.
(LAUGHTER)
You know, to be very frank with you now, I hated debates.
And when I checked my watch at the Richmond debate, it's true, I was wondering when the heck Ross Perot would be finished and how I could get out of there.
(LAUGHTER)
But it was also clear that soon to be President Clinton was in his element that night.
And upon further reflection, maybe it's because with Bill Clinton ideas mattered greatly -- ideas matter to all of us who enter public life, particularly at the national level. But whoever said that the American presidency is merely a weigh station en route to the blessed condition of being an ex-president did not count on William Jefferson Clinton.
Once in office, he was very much an activist president, in the best sense of the word. He devoured ideas with an insatiable curiosity and then pursued them with unbounded energy and infectious enthusiasm.
He was and we saw recently remains a tremendously effective advocate for his beliefs.
He was a little hard on the president during the recent campaign. But in the spirit of being kinder and gentler, I have long since forgiven him for that.
(LAUGHTER)
And here in this place you will find an inspired story and a record of accomplishment on behalf of our great people.
But in conclusion, let me simply say that after you leave the White House, a number of things happen to you.
BUSH: First of all, the crowds of protesters get smaller. It's disappointing, really.
(LAUGHTER)
And when you play golf, no one gives you short putts anymore.
But one of the great blessings is the way one-time political adversaries have the tendency to become friends, and I feel such is certainly the case between President Clinton and me.
There's an inescapable bond that binds together all who have lived in the White House. Though we hail from different backgrounds and ideologies, we are singularly unique, even eternally bound, by our common devotion and service to this wonderful country.
And that certainly goes for the 42nd president of the United States.
And if I might inject a somewhat proud personal opinion here too, that certainly goes for president number 43, too.
When President Clinton experienced his heart trouble recently, there was a tremendous outpouring of affection and support. But in hindsight, perhaps we need not have been too worried. After all, few presidents in recent memory have shown greater resilience and bigger heart.
Every time he got knocked down, which can happen in politics, he got right back up. In fact, he made the comeback his trademark.
And therein lies the greatest lesson ever offered to future generations: Never give up, never give in, keep on fighting.
So, Mr. President, congratulations to you and Hillary and Chelsea on this very special day.
(APPLAUSE)
END
Posted by stan at 11:05 AM
November 08, 2004
Hilary
A good take on Hilary '08 the of questionable sanity but exceedingly literate Josh Marshall.
I'd build on that and say the same goes for Obama. Leaving the whole experience bit aside, what would the well-spoken Senator that I don't really know anything about gain the Democratic Party? Not the 10% of blacks that voted Bush? A fresh shot blue-collar workers maybe?
Now, Bill Richardson is a whole different story. There are a lot of Hispanic votes to pick up in Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado etc. I'd be interested to see The Big Guy and Richardson square off in an all-southwest showdown. Think of all the old west-gun fightin'-bar brawlin'-high noonin' imagery the press could use.
Posted by stan at 11:49 AM
November 07, 2004
Mandate
Someone else backing me up, and he's got pundit in his URL, so that adds authority.
Posted by stan at 01:30 PM
November 04, 2004
Voting
I've only ever voted in one school or another.
Iowa
Lazy Doe Bar - Monarch, Montana Krystal Kinnunen/Great Fall Tribune via Associated Press
Family Pride Laundramat - Chicago Illinois John Gress/Reuters
King's Barber Shop - Philadelphia, PA Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
Posted by stan at 06:22 PM
November 03, 2004
2008
Uh-oh, Sara, who has not yet been put on suicide watch but did refuse to go within a block of Copley Square this morning, is already ordering her wish list for 2008.
Posted by stan at 06:24 PM
The Popular Vote
I've already heard more than enough times that it is somehow important in a historical sense that Bush recieved more votes in 2004 than any candidate ever (Gasp, even Reagan!). This overlooks the small fact that there were only about 300 people in this country up until about 1920.
Gross numbers don't mean anything, unless there was a ballot initiative to repeal the laws of mathmatics that I missed somehow.
Posted by stan at 06:21 PM
Quote of The Big Day III
"John Kerry is likely watching the returns as well."
---The irrepressible Wolf Blitzer, after showing video of Bush and family watching the returns in the White House, allowing us to benefit from his years of political experience.
Posted by stan at 06:20 PM
Quote of The Big Day II
"Lets get you up to date on the returns starting with the monitors on the right side of the studio and moving left. At CNN, we call that going wall to wall with our coverage."
----The irrepressible Wolf Blitzer adding value to the telecast
Posted by stan at 06:19 PM
Quote of The Big Day I
"The red states are for Bush, the blue states are for Kerry."
---The irrepressible Wolf Blitzer, getting the people who live in caves up to speed
Posted by stan at 06:18 PM
Quote of a Quote of The Big Day I
"11:29 - F**k you and your tennis analogies, Wolf. 'Neither candidate has broken serve yet. An analogy we can all understand.' Go shove a crumpet up your ass!"
---Paul, quoting the irrepressible Wolf Blitzer, man of the people
Posted by stan at 06:17 PM
Big Day
Well, looks like it's over and perhaps my calculations were a bit off, even though the NY Times et al are still hopefully listing Ohio as too close to call. I still can't believe Bush won Florida, apparently, according to Joe Scarbourgh who mentioned it about 10,000 times, those hurricanes had something to do with it.
Posted by stan at 06:13 PM
November 02, 2004
What Is This, Afganistan?
Went down to cast my ballot at good old Massachusetts Ward 5, Precinct 2 today and was shocked to find a line longer than the ones for the bathrooms at Fenway. Let it be known that I was voting back before it was cool, back when turnout was threatening to drop below 50%.
There were a lot of 73-year-old grandmas, not too many poll watchers for poor old Massachusetts though. Two suggestions for election officials:
1. Switch some voters from Ward 5 to Ward 21. Polling for both groups was held at the same place this morning, but the line for Ward 5 was 300 people and the line for Ward 21 was, well there was no line.
2. Speaking of that, how in the world are Wards 5 & 21 anywhere near each other? Shouldn't Ward 5 be located in the same general area as 4 & 6? Does this make any sense?
Posted by stan at 06:23 PM
Kerry in Boston
I was just out getting lunch and it looks like Kerry is going to make a stop at The Union Oyster House, because, you know, that's were all the locals hang out (though I guess he could be going to the Bell in Hand, which wouldn't be as bad). Rumor in the crowd was that he was going to have lunch with his favorite Red Sox player, Manny Ortiz.
On a side note, I'd like to give kudos to all those in the gathering crowd that decided to gawk from or cut through the Holocaust Memorial to see what was going on. Don't let those 7 million deaths get in the way of your photo ops, fellas.
Posted by stan at 06:14 PM
November 01, 2004
Voter Fraud
On another note, I'm all for everyone being able to vote without undo pressure and intimidation and all that, but read this from Wonkette this morning:
"8:46 FNC. Fox & Friends:
John Fund, author of "Stealing Elections": Absentee ballots are ridiculously easy to falsify. Election monitors will intimidate local volunteers: "73-year-old grandmothers going up against 40-year-old New York trial lawyers." Our election system sucks so bad that 8 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were registered to vote. The F&F crew takes the high road and doesn't claim the hijackers would've been heavily for Kerry."
First, I don't think we should underestimate 73-year-old grandmothers, that's just getting to the age were logic is no longer a principal concern of there arguements, which seems to perfect antidote to trial lawyers. Second, how exactly did asking for someone's drivers license become undo intimidation? It is absolutely astonishing to me that you can vote without showing identification when, as someone I forget was saying yesterday, you can't take a book out of the library without ID. Third, I'm betting those 8 hijackers would have gone third party.
Posted by stan at 06:21 PM
Not Baseball
In non-baseball matters, there is the small matter of a Presidental Election approaching. After reviewing the relevant facts, I feel confident in projecting John Forbes Kerry as the 44th President of the United States based on the following:
1. Millions and millions of new voters this year. You've got to figure they break towards Kerry, at least 60/40. Even if half of them don't vote, or 75% for that matter, this should be enough to give Kerry 2 of 3 in PA, OH & FL.
2. Cubans. They went big time for Bush in 2000, but they're not going to this time because of Bush's decision to limit travel back to Cuba. People can only go see family members once every three years. Kerry takes FL because of this.
3. Cell Phones. As everyone knows, the polls are pretty even but they don't ever call cell phones when conducting them. I don't have a land line. Sara doesn't have a land line. Of all the other people that are cell phone only, they are almost uniformly our age or younger, people that lean Kerry. That leads me to believe the polls are under estimating Kerry's support.
4. Undecideds. Even if they only represent 5%, it's enough to swing things. They historically break 70/30 for the challenger, especially when the incumbent has an approval rating below 50% like Bush (48 last I saw).
Kerry wins, with about 310ish EVs, though it might not be called on Tuesday night. The biggest upside of this that I can see is that we won't have to put Sara on suicide watch.
Posted by stan at 06:15 PM
October 11, 2004
Polling
Interesting post from Mark Blumenthal on the peculiarities of "likely voter" polling. One of the questions used by pollsters to determine this catogory is to ask who the respondent voted for in 2000. When you total up those responses, it comes out that about 60% of people asked claim to have voted, even though the actual turnout was closer to 51%. It begs the question, if pollsters can't get an accurate read on an election that happened 4 years ago, how in the world can you trust them to predict the future?
--------
Posted by stan at 11:23 AM
October 01, 2004
Hard Hitting Debate Commentary
1. I thought it was pretty even after I watched it.
2. Everyone seems to disagree. Even some respectable people, not just DNC flunkies and the like.
3. Then I read some opinions of some normal people in the heartland to see if they seemed to have the same opinion and it seems pretty clear this didn't change anyone's mind on anything. Anyone leaning remotely towards either candidate though their guy did better. I don't see Kerry picking up any votes because of last night, best case it excites his base.
4. Speaking of the DNC, am I the only one that thinks 75% of these "Faces of Frustration", are just the the President, you know, breathing?
--------
Posted by stan at 11:23 AM