Dyre PortentsDyre PortentsThe Political Rantings and Raving of a Radical Moderate. Speaking truthiness to power since February. Articles
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
2008-03-11 06:11:00 Some nights babies and blogging don't mix. More About: Mice , Plans
Things I Have Learned
2008-03-09 07:37:00 The Irish whiskey thats available in America tastes like crap, even a week before St. Patty's day. More About: Things , Learned
This Blog is Now Rated ...
2008-03-07 05:36:00 E for Excellent. Thanks to Carrie at Carrie's Nation who was awarded it by Archcrone Awww shucks Carrie. Thank you.I'm now supposed to pick ten blogs to bestow this award to.1: The woefully unappreciated Divided We Stand2: Done With Mirrors 3: Sideways Mencken 4: Thought Theatre 5: Buck Naked Politics 6: Independent Liberal 7: The Glittering Eye 8: Foreign Policy Watch 9: Polimom Says 10: DonklephantDon't forget to pass it on. More About: Blog
I Was Wrong, Huckabee Bows Out, and Clinton Wins
2008-03-06 06:43:00 Ok, first I have to admit that I was wrong. I called Texas for Obama for a small margin and instead Clinton pulled it off by a small margin. But its not my fault. Rush Limbaugh conspired against me.Meanwhile Huckabee bowed out giving McCain the official green light.Clinton won in Rhode Island, Ohio, Texas, and placed second in Vermont. The problem with that? She only gained eighteen delegates and Obama is looking to cut into that when the Texas caucuses finally report the numbers.For those of you already suffering from primary fatigue there's good news! Only ten states left!Next up, Wyoming! (I probably won't be blogging that one.) More About: Bows , Wrong , Wins
Record Turnout in Texas Curtails Caucusing
2008-03-05 07:42:00 I went to go participate in the Texas Democratic caucuses today which in my precinct was being held at a middle school half a mile away from my home. I left work half an hour early to be sure I got there in a timely manner. Upon arrival at the school first thing I noticed was that the parking lot and surrounding streets were packed with cars. I noticed a few stray Huckabee supporters that strongly resembled some extras from the movie Deliverance holding signs at the correct mandated distance from the polling place. I parallel parked on a side street (took two tries to get it right) and entered the school.There were three precincts voting/caucusing there and I guesstimated that there was around 150 people there for the caucuses. I then checked the line for voters and it was then I realized we were going to hit a snafu. At 15 minutes before the caucus was to begin the number of primary voters exceeded the number of caucus goers. There were three people processing voters and four voti... More About: Record
Showdown at the OH Corral
2008-03-04 08:19:00 You might be wondering what The Buckeye state and the wild west have to do with each other. To anybody but Hillary Clinton the answer would be"Not much." Unfortunately for Senator Clinton her hopes of being the Democratic nominee for president are riding on both Texas and Ohio and the picture isn't exactly pretty. The Texas polls have her and Obama in statistical dead heat:Rasmussen:Clinton 47%Obama 48%Zogby:Clinton 44%Obama 47%Other polls report similarly close results. However in Ohio Clinton seems to have a lead that is above the margin of error in some polls.Rasmussen:Clinton 50%Obama 44%Zogby:Clinton 45%Obama 47%Additionally if you do a little light statistical analysis of the trends of all polls Obama is on an upward trend in Texas while Hillary's and Obama's support remains constant in Ohio with Clinton having the lead. The problem for Clinton is that, depending on who you listen to, she needs at least a ten to fifteen percent victory over Obama in each state in order to s...
Obama to Appoint a Bipartisan Cabinet?
2008-03-03 07:48:00 According to one source he seriously considering it. Much to the chagrin of some.From the Times Online:Obama is hoping to appoint cross-party figures to his cabinet such as Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator for Nebraska and an opponent of the Iraq war, and Richard Lugar, leader of the Republicans on the Senate foreign relations committee. Senior advisers confirmed that Hagel, a highly decorated Vietnam war veteran and one of McCain?s closest friends in the Senate, was considered an ideal candidate for defence secretary. Some regard the outspoken Republican as a possible vice-presidential nominee although that might be regarded as a ?stretch?. Asked about his choice of cabinet last week, Obama told The Sunday Times: ?Chuck Hagel is a great friend of mine and I respect him very much,? although he was wary of appearing as though he was already choosing the White House curtains. But after winning 11 primary contests in a row after Super Tuesday, he is ready to elbow Clinton off the ... More About: Barack Obama , Cabinet
Things I Have Learned
2008-03-02 05:32:00 Wii controllers and ceiling fans don't mix. More About: Things , Learned
How's Your Internet Security?
2008-02-29 08:00:00 If you know it could be better meaning you don't have a firewall, have let your anti-virus subscription lapse, or don't know if you have anti-spyware programs installed the good news is there are quality free programs out there to help protect your computer, your identity, and your piece of mind.Anti-VirusAVG Free Anti-virus is a free basic anti-virus program that does a great job if you aren't downloading stuff from strangers or sites you wouldn't want your kids to visit. I have it installed on my laptop which is normally just used for email and web surfing. Its one major plus is that there no subscription to renew. Well, that and its free. FirewallIf you have Windows XP or Vista just turn your firewall on.If you'd like something a little more secure there also ye olde Zone Alarm Free FirewallIt has a handy feature that totally locks your computer down when the screen saver engages and its pretty easy to configure. I've used it off and on for years.Anti-SpywareThere are more ... More About: Security , Internet , Internet Security
Bloomberg Won't Run for President
2008-02-28 08:01:00 Which he announced today in a NY Times Op Ed piece. In it he charges the candidates to tell America the truth about the issues facing the nation and to work towards common sense solutions to solve America's problems.from the NY Times:WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign, you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates ? smart, all of them ? must know better. They must know we can?t fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade. They must know that we can?t fix our immigration problems with border security alone. They must know that we can?t fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and parents accountable for results. They must know that fighting global warming is not a costless challenge. And they must know that we can?t keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market for them.The vast majority of Americans know that all of this is true, but ? politics being what it is ? the candidates seem afraid to... More About: President , Bloomberg
The Coming Robotic Apocalypse
2008-02-28 07:27:00 Gadzooks! My evil plan has been discovered!From the AFP:Automated killer robots 'threat to humanity': expertIncreasingly autonomous, gun-toting robots developed for warfare could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and may one day unleash a robot arms race, a top expert on artificial intelligence "They pose a threat to humanity," said University of Sheffield professor Noel Sharkey ahead of a keynote address Wednesday before Britain's Royal United Services Institute. But up to now, a human hand has always been required to push the button or pull the trigger. It we are not careful, he said, that could change. Military leaders "are quite clear that they want autonomous robots as soon as possible, because they are more cost-effective and give a risk-free war," he said. Several countries, led by the United States, have already invested heavily in robot warriors developed for use on the battlefield. South Korea and Israel both deploy armed... More About: Robotic , Apocalypse
Obamacans Looming Large in Texas?
2008-02-27 08:07:00 Obama and Clinton are currently virtually tied in Texas however the Texas polls may not be accurately reflecting the reality on the ground.From CNN: In the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday, 50 percent of likely Democratic primary voters said Obama is their choice for the party's nominee, while 46 percent backed Clinton. But taking into account the poll's sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for Democratic respondents, the race is a virtual tieThere is some evidence to suggest that since McCain basically has the nomination in the bag some Texas Republican's are opting to vote against Clinton in the Texas Democratic primary.From The San Antonio Express News: Republican and Republican-leaning insiders report that a number of their GOP friends ? their own presidential race all but sewn up ? are planning to vote in the Democratic primary March 4. They suspect that many independents and moderate Republicans intrigued with Obama's surge will cast Demo... More About: Large
Moving Over to the Dark Side
2008-02-26 08:00:00 Over at Captain's Quarters Captain Ed announced that he will be shutting down his blog to join the blogger whose name is not spoken here but whose initials are MM.From CQ:I will close out Captain’s Quarters sometime in March. This saddens me, as it has become my ever-ready home and because of the terrific community it has generated. I hope that the CapQ community comes with me to Hot Air, and Hot Air will have open registration today for 12 hours in order to allow CapQ commenters to join me at my new digs. Michelle and I have different voices, and sometimes different points of view. Rest assured that Michelle respects these differences and wants them as part of Hot Air. My writing and my viewpoints will continue, and find even more encouragement than before. In fact, we look forward to debating on some of these points between her personal blog and Hot Air, much as we have between her personal blog and CapQ – with respect, affection, and the absolute belief that we have it rig... More About: Moving , Dark , The Dark , Side , The Dark Side
Egads! I'm a Democrat.
2008-02-26 07:53:00 This weekend I voted in my first ever primary. I've never voted in a primary for three reasons the first being that I've never strongly identified with either political party secondly most of my life I've lived in states that had closed primaries, and finally for the past three or four elections I was mainly voting to keep someone out of office. But this weekend I trotted on down to the library and voted in the Democrat ic primary for Barack Obama. Which means for the next two years I'm a registered Democrat.I did so for several reasons almost none of which have anything at all to do with Obama's policies. At the top of my list is the anti-Hillary factor. I really just couldn't bear the thought of her getting the nomination. As I've stated several times before I don't believe that replacing another Bush with another Clinton is what America needs or what the founding fathers intended when they set this experiment into motion. Additionally I don't see how replacing the most po...
Of Note
2008-02-26 07:03:00 Over at The Poligazette my fellow coblogger Rick Moran (who also blogs at Rightwing Nuthouse and is a Pajamas Media blogger) calls on his conservative brethren to cut out "all this Obama is a Mooslim crap". Its well worth reading. More About: Note
The Last Run of Ralph Nader
2008-02-24 23:39:00 Consumer advocate and perennial presidential hopeful Ralph Nader has again decided to launch a presidential campaign. Apparently the phrase "snowball's chance" is not in his lexicon.From the WaPo: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, blamed by many Democrats for their loss of the White House in the 2000 election, said on Sunday he is launching another independent campaign for the White House. Nader, who will turn 74 this week, announced his longshot presidential bid on NBC's "Meet the Press" saying that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans were addressing problems facing Americans. Nader called Washington "corporate occupied territory" that turns the government against the interests of the people. "In that context, I have decided to run for president," he said. Democrats said they do not expect Nader, who also ran as an independent in 2004, to have much of an impact. Given the fact that Nader is considered a spoiler by many, has used money from GOP suppo...
Things I Have Learned
2008-02-24 07:41:00 The more interested you are in what you are doing the more likely a cat is inclined to be interested in you. More About: Things , Learned
Obama Has Double Digit Lead in Texas Poll
2008-02-23 18:40:00 Not that I'm putting much stock in a lone poll.From Decision Analyst:Barack Obama has a double digit lead over Hillary Clinton in Texas , according to a statewide survey of 678 registered voters planning to vote in the March 4 Democratic Primary. The survey was conducted February 20 and 21 by Decision Analyst, a major national survey research firm. Decision Analyst projections indicate that if the election were held today Obama would win 57% to 43% over Clinton. The surveys margin of error is 3 percentage points, plus or minus, at a 90% level of confidence.Previous polls had Obama and Clinton nearly tied. If we're to trust the validity of this poll them Obama has gained nine points in five days. Even factoring in the Texas debates Clinton's solid performance shouldn't have given Obama such a marked rise in support. Having said that I will however take this poll to mean that Obama's support in Texas continues to trend upward.I may spend a little time checking for other recent Tex... More About: Double , Poll , Lead
Iran To Go Nuclear In One Year?
2008-02-23 06:57:00 According to the European Commission Joint Research Center it is possible although not probable:From Der SpiegelAs part of a project to improve control of nuclear materials, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy set up a detailed simulation of the centrifuges currently used by Iran in the Natanz nuclear facility to enrich uranium. The results look nothing like those reached by the US intelligence community. For one scenario, the JRC scientists assumed the centrifuges in Natanz were operating at 100 percent efficiency. Were that the case, Iran could already have the 25 kilograms of highly enriched uranium necessary for an atomic device by the end of this year. Another scenario assumed a much lower efficiency -- just 25 percent. But even then, Iran would have produced enough uranium by the end of 2010. For the purposes of the simulation, the JRC modelled each of the centrifuges individually and then hooked them together to form the kind of cascade neces... More About: Nuclear , Year
Link Love-o-Rama
2008-02-22 07:42:00 Too tired to post anything intelligible so I'm just going to link to all the blogs that link to me and then back up my blog to double the impact. If you're up for trading links, let me know in the comments or via email at dyre42 AT gmail.comMaverick ViewsMidtopiaPagan VigilThe Moderate VoiceThe PoliGazetteBuck Naked PoliticsDone With MirrorsSideways MenckenDivided We Stand United We FallThought TheaterForeign Policy Watch2008 CentralAlternate BrainAntigrammarBasil's BlogBlog Around the ClockBrilliant at BreakfastCarrie's NationCenter FaceClark's PicksComments from Left FieldConnecting.the.DotsCrinch PindalMondoDizzy DayzEx-Lion TamerHell's HandmaidenInclusive DebatesInternet RoninJon SwiftKiko's HouseLast Left Before HootervilleLibertarian Blog PlaceMiscellaneous ReflexionsMy Thinking CornerNot Another Political BlogOn the BricksOrnery B@stardOutta the CornfieldPolimom SaysPoliticky B!tchPublius EnduresResident ReaderRightWingSnarkleROTUSShort WomanSkippy the Bush KangarooThe... More About: Love , Link
Clinton Whipped in Wisconsin
2008-02-20 08:16:00 Looks like the exit polls were on the money this time. Obama cleaned Clinton 's clock by 17% in the Wisconsin primaries. Meanwhile the results of the Hawaii caucuses are still ongoing. If Obama wins those as well he'll have won ten states in a row giving him a huge amount of momentum going into March 4th. Given the fact that Obama is currently unbeaten in caucus states I think that a highly likely scenario. I've already predicted that the winner of Wisconsin will also win Texas. Mind you I still think its going to be a close race. Meanwhile in Ohio Clinton is currently polling 14% higher than Obama. I expect that tonight's two wins will cut that lead by half. If I were placing a wager I'd bet on Clinton to win Ohio. I am of course basing that on absolutely nothing. However I've been right on every individual state I've called for Obama but VA (which I called for Clinton).There are some that believe that Clinton will be asked to withdraw from the race by the DNC if Obama wins T...
Clinton and Obama Tied in Texas Polls
2008-02-19 06:48:00 Looks like Obama and Clinton are in a dead heat in Texas ...From CNN: A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll suggests the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination between Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois is a statistical dead heat in Texas, which holds primaries March 4. In the survey, out Monday, 50 percent of likely Democratic primary voters support Clinton as their choice for the party's nominee, with 48 percent backing Obama. But taking into account the poll's sampling error of plus or minus 4½ percentage points for Democratic respondents, the race is a virtual tie. Two recent polls by other organizations also show the race statistically evenI'm going to stick my neck out and predict that the winner of the Texas primary will be....(drumroll)The winner of the Wisconsin primary! I say that because if Obama wins he'll have kicked Clinton's toucas so many times in a row that he'll have gained an almost unstoppable amount of momentum at t... More About: Polls
Pinups for Paul
2008-02-19 06:17:00 Its become obvious to everyone that the only way that Ron Paul is going to get nominated for the GOP candidate is for is either for McCain and Huckabee to meet some unlikely end or for him to beat both of them in a steel cage match to the death. However over the course of Ron Paul's campaign I came to appreciate his followers fervor to financially support their candidate and the many ingenious ways they came up with to support and promote him. The latest example of that is the calender Hotties for Ron Paul (which is nearly sold out). Below is Miss February:" I like liberty, long walks on the beach, kittens, the constitution, and elderly free market economic policy wonks that run for president."Additionally I appreciate the fact that Ron Paul and supporters generated a large scale discussion about many core libertarian ideals. I believe that the GOP has strayed from many of the principles it once held in common with The Libertarian party and Ron Paul's campaign did an excellent jo...
Tidying Up
2008-02-17 07:25:00 I spent a couple of hours today doing blog maintenance. Deleted some stuff on the sidebar, added others, fixed a few broken links, and fixed/added a few blog directory buttons. Most importantly I combed through technorati.com and blogrolling.com and added every blog I found that links here. Since I know that technorati has more than a few bugs in it I may have missed a few blogs. So, if you currently link here let me know in the comments and I'll add your blog.Also if you're open to trading links with me then drop me a line in the comments comments or email me at dyre42 at gmail.com and I'll add your blog to ye olde reciprolist.
National Flags Redefined
2008-02-17 01:20:00 as graphs. Its a clever way to make a statement about a nation if nothing else.America's for example:vs China's:h/t to The Daily Dish More About: National
Things I Have Learned
2008-02-16 18:38:00 Always make sure the AC is off prior to carrying a naked baby from one room to another. More About: Things , Learned
Six Word Autobiography
2008-02-15 05:56:00 I originally heard about this on NPR but forgot to blog one until Dave Schuler reminded me with his. So here goes:I still get toys for Christmas. More About: Word , Autobiography
Toys for Texans
2008-02-14 07:02:00 Another intrusive government attempt to legislate "decency" was shot down in Texas today.From the Austin American StatesmanCourt strikes down Texas ban on sex toysA federal appeals court has struck down a Texas law that makes it a crime to promote or sell sex toys. "Whatever one might think or believe about the use of these devices," said an opinion written by Justice Thomas M. Reavley of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, "government interference with their personal and private use violates the Constitution." Under Texas law it is illegal to sell, advertise, give or lend obscene devices, defined as a device used primarily for sexual stimulation. Anyone in possession of six or more sexual devices is considered to be promoting them. The Texas law dates back to the 1970s and is seldom enforced. Travis County prosecutors say that they haven't charged anyone with a sexual device-related crime in at least the past seven years, and ... More About: Toys , Texans
Obama Crushes Clinton in Potomac Primaries
More articles from this author:2008-02-13 07:34:00 He beat her by an average of thirty four percent. I figured that given the racial mixes involved in the races in question that he'd take MD and D.C. but that he'd eke out a tiny victory in VA or lose by five percent or less. Mainly I based that on the fact that he's done better in states that have caucuses, have a high percentage of Blacks, or a very low percentage of blacks. Simply put he does well in areas where racial tension is low or winners are more or less decided by debate. (Not my theory but I can't remember who to credit for that bit of pattern recognition.) In my experience (I'm from VA.) Virginia has just enough racial tension to have made it a hard state for me to predict. But what I had forgotten is my theory that the more Obama wins the more he will continue to win. I theorized that if Obama won an early primary and SC he'd prove that he was electable. Once that happened voters that were backing Clinton because she was the presumptive front runner would start si... More About: Texas , Primaries , Potomac 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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