Dyre PortentsDyre PortentsThe Political Rantings and Raving of a Radical Moderate. Speaking truthiness to power since February. 
Articles
The Other Obamania
2008-07-25 08:09:00 You know, the one that makes people believe and then try to prove irrational claims about him.This time it was,"Obama is not an American citizen" which was dreamed up by a disgruntled Clinton supporter. Fortunately this one actually revealed credible evidence to the contrary.An announcement in the Honolulu Adviser circa 1961:While this finding may have dashed the hopes of Clinton's less logical supporters its not going to do a thing to stop the "truthers" from running with it. After all to real conspiracy theorist evidence to the contrary of one's supposition doesn't mean your wrong. It's proof of a cover up. Why? Because if they actually used Occam's Razor and faced the facts then they wouldn't be superior to the rest of the general populace. Think of it as a fundamentalist religion in which the darkest motives of man/alienkind and one's ego are the only deities and you'll have a pretty good grasp of the mindset of truthers. More About: Barack Obama
The Other Obamania
2008-07-25 08:09:00 You know, the one that makes people believe and then try to prove irrational claims about him.This time it was,"Obama is not an American citizen" which was dreamed up by a disgruntled Clinton supporter. Fortunately this one actually revealed credible evidence to the contrary.An announcement in the Honolulu Adviser circa 1961:While this finding may have dashed the hopes of Clinton's less logical supporters its not going to do a thing to stop the "truthers" from running with it. After all to real conspiracy theorist evidence to the contrary of one's supposition doesn't mean your wrong. It's proof of a cover up. Why? Because if they actually used Occam's Razor and faced the facts then they wouldn't be superior to the rest of the general populace. Think of it as a fundamentalist religion in which the darkest motives of man/alienkind and one's ego are the only deities and you'll have a pretty good grasp of the mindset of truthers. More About: Barack Obama
The New Flu
2008-07-25 03:31:00 Is an interesting experiment. Essentially its trying to see how information is spread on the web. Just click the spread it button and post it on your site. The widget then ads a link to your blog on the map which is posted on hundreds of blogs already. More details here(function(){var callback=function(e){e=e?e:window.event;i f(e.stopPropagation)e.stopPropagation();i f(e.preventDefault)e.preventDefault();e.c ancelBubble=true;e.cancel=true;e.returnVa lue=false;return false;};var e=document.getElementById('flashviz');if( e.addEventListener)e.addEventListener('DO MMouseScroll',callback,false);else if(e.attachEvent)e.attachEvent('onmousewh eel',callback);})();H/T to OTB
The New Flu
2008-07-24 06:48:00 Is an interesting experiment. Essentially its trying to see how information is spread on the web. Just click the spread it button and post it on your site. More details here(function(){var callback=function(e){e=e?e:window.event;i f(e.stopPropagation)e.stopPropagation();i f(e.preventDefault)e.preventDefault();e.c ancelBubble=true;e.cancel=true;e.returnVa lue=false;return false;};var e=document.getElementById('flashviz');if( e.addEventListener)e.addEventListener('DO MMouseScroll',callback,false);else if(e.attachEvent)e.attachEvent('onmousewh eel',callback);})();H/T to OTB
Jackson Vs Obama Redux
2008-07-23 07:39:00 Over at the WSJ Shelby Steele tries to explain the motives behind Jesse Jackson 's recent castration comment....he (Jackson) and the entire civil rights establishment pursued equality through the manipulation of white guilt. Their faith was in the easy moral leverage over white America that the civil rights victories of the 1960s had suddenly bestowed on them. So Mr. Jackson and his generation of black leaders made keeping whites "on the hook" the most sacred article of the post-'60s black identity. They ushered in an extortionist era of civil rights, in which they said to American institutions: Your shame must now become our advantage. To argue differently -- that black development, for example, might be a more enduring road to black equality -- took whites "off the hook" and was therefore an unpardonable heresy. For this generation, an Uncle Tom was not a black who betrayed his race; it was a black who betrayed the group's bounty of moral leverage over whites. And now comes Mr. ... More About: Obama
Jackson Vs Obama Redux
2008-07-23 07:39:00 Over at the WSJ Shelby Steele tries to explain the motives behind Jesse Jackson 's recent castration comment....he (Jackson) and the entire civil rights establishment pursued equality through the manipulation of white guilt. Their faith was in the easy moral leverage over white America that the civil rights victories of the 1960s had suddenly bestowed on them. So Mr. Jackson and his generation of black leaders made keeping whites "on the hook" the most sacred article of the post-'60s black identity. They ushered in an extortionist era of civil rights, in which they said to American institutions: Your shame must now become our advantage. To argue differently -- that black development, for example, might be a more enduring road to black equality -- took whites "off the hook" and was therefore an unpardonable heresy. For this generation, an Uncle Tom was not a black who betrayed his race; it was a black who betrayed the group's bounty of moral leverage over whites. And now comes Mr. ... More About: Obama
Isn't It Ironic
2008-07-22 07:49:00 That John McCain, who repeatedly opposed the creation of a holiday to commemorate Martin Luther King (although he did later change his mind), would be running against a man who is living proof of the fruit of Dr. King's labor? More About: Ironic
Isn't It Ironic
2008-07-22 07:49:00 That John McCain, who repeatedly opposed the creation of a holiday to commemorate Martin Luther King (although he did later change his mind), would be running against a man who is living proof of the fruit of Dr. King's labor? More About: Ironic
Finally, Some Clarification
2008-07-22 07:48:00 First the Iraqi PM Nouri Al Maliki seemingly backs Obama's position on the timetable for withdrawl in Iraq. Then he claims it was a mistranslation by his own translator . Today we get a little clarification in English...If this is true then McCain is going to have an extremely hard row to hoe this election season.H/T to Donklephant for the video More About: Barack Obama , War in Iraq , Finally
Finally, Some Clarification
2008-07-22 07:48:00 First the Iraqi PM Nouri Al Maliki seemingly backs Obama's position on the timetable for withdrawl in Iraq. Then he claims it was a mistranslation by his own translator . Today we get a little clarification in English...If this is true then McCain is going to have an extremely hard row to hoe this election season.H/T to Donklephant for the video More About: Barack Obama , War in Iraq , Finally
On the Other Hand
2008-07-20 06:54:00 Would this have been condemned to the same degree as The New Yorker's cover?H/T to DWSUWF More About: Hand
Things I Have Learned
2008-07-20 03:44:00 Never taser someone when you are both standing in the same puddle. More About: Things , Learned
On the Other Hand
2008-07-19 23:54:00 Would this have been condemned to the same degree as The New Yorker's cover?H/T to DWSUWF More About: Hand
Things I Have Learned
2008-07-19 11:07:00 Never taser someone when you are both standing in the same puddle. More About: Things , Learned
McCain at the NAACP Convention
2008-07-17 19:25:00 He gave a solid, but not inspiring, speech which was pretty well received considering the audience's strong pro-Obama leanings. What's more important to me though is the fact that he actually bothered to speak there considering how few votes he'll garner for his troubles. However I think he seemed more like the McCain of 2000 than anything we've seen of late. It was a good first step by McCain to make the GOP seem like a more inclusive party with a few good ideas.You can watch the full speech here here here and here More About: Convention , NAACP
Dreaming of Electric Sheep
2008-07-17 17:37:00 Like this one...Its actually a six legged robotic lawn mower. Now all we need is a robotic sheepdog to keep an eye on it while it does its job. More About: Dreaming , Electric , Sheep , Electric Sheep
McCain at the NAACP Convention
2008-07-17 12:25:00 He gave a solid, but not inspiring, speech which was pretty well received considering the audience's strong pro-Obama leanings. What's more important to me though is the fact that he actually bothered to speak there considering how few votes he'll garner for his troubles. However I think he seemed more like the McCain of 2000 than anything we've seen of late. It was a good first step by McCain to make the GOP seem like a more inclusive party with a few good ideas.You can watch the full speech here here here and here More About: Convention , NAACP
Dreaming of Electric Sheep
2008-07-17 10:37:00 Like this one...Its actually a six legged robotic lawn mower. Now all we need is a robotic sheepdog to keep an eye on it while it does its job. More About: Dreaming , Electric , Sheep , Electric Sheep
Yay, More Media Bias
2008-07-15 01:05:00 Looks like the MSM is starting to mirror blogtopia more and more.About the AP:Ron Fournier says he regards Sandy Johnson, his predecessor as head of The Associated Press?s Washington bureau, as ?a mentor.?Johnson, though, regards Fournier, who replaced her in a hard-feelings shake-up in May, as a threat to one of the most influential institutions in American journalism.?I loved the Washington bureau,? said Johnson, who left the AP after losing the prestigious position. ?I just hope he doesn?t destroy it.?There?s more to her vinegary remark than just the aftertaste of a sour parting. Fournier is a main engine in a high-stakes experiment at the 162-year old wire to move from its signature neutral and detached tone to an aggressive, plain-spoken style of writing that Fournier often describes as ?cutting through the clutter.?In the stories the new boss is encouraging, first-person writing and emotive language are okay.So is scrapping the stonefaced approach to journalism that accepts po... More About: Media , Media Bias , Bias
TGIF
2008-07-11 14:40:00 A little lighter fare...All We Want to do is Eat Your Brainsby Jonathan Coulton
Pure Idiocy
2008-07-11 01:35:00 Trading your wife of ten years and your kids for internet porn and an eighteen year old. Especially when your wife is twenty years younger, a model, and also a millionaire.Sorry, but my internet connection is intermittent right now so this is the best I can do in the time allotted. More About: Pure , Idiocy
Pure Genius
2008-07-10 00:38:00 Now all we need is egg flavored toothpaste...Bacon Flavored Dental Floss More About: Pure , Genius
Iran Answers Israel
2008-07-10 00:23:00 Looks like Iran engaged in a little saber rattling of its own today...From the WaPo:Iran Test-Fires Long-Range MissileIran said today it had test-fired a long-range missile capable of reaching Israel and U.S. troops in the region, a step promptly condemned by the Bush administration as heightening tensions over the country's suspected nuclear weapons program.The roughly 1,200 mile range of Iran's Shahab-3 rocket has been known for several years, but the test firing -- and pointed statements from Tehran about the country's "capability in hitting its enemies" -- added to a tense climate....The Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the missile was test-fired as part of a larger military exercise by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. In Tehran, the Associated Press said that as many as nine missiles of different sizes were fired during the exercise, carried out partly near the Persian Gulf shipping lanes that Iran has threatened to close if it is attacked.A top Iranian official said ... More About: Answers
A Mental Vacation
2008-07-09 00:29:00 Pretty much every place I didn't go on my vacation...If the video doesn't appear click here.Backstory and more videos at Where the Hell is Matt More About: Mental , Vacation
McCain Draws Dogged Support
2008-07-08 20:11:00 McCain may not be doing well with the base but at least he's kicking butt...with pet owners?From the AP:Pet owners prefer McCain over ObamaIf the presidential election goes to the dogs, John McCain is looking like best in show....The apparent Democratic nominee Barack Obama, on the other hand, doesn't have a pet at home....An AP-Yahoo! News poll found that pet owners favor McCain over Obama 42 percent to 37 percent, with dog owners particularly in McCain's corner....He has a veritable menagerie, including Sam the English springer spaniel, Coco the mutt, turtles Cuff and Link, Oreo the black and white cat, a ferret, three parakeets and a bunch of saltwater fish. On the other hand, the poll found that among people who don't have pets, Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 34 percent.Does this have much to do with anything? Nope. I just like weird polls and happen to be a pet owner myself. On that note I'd like to see a poll showing the political affiliation of American pet owners. More About: Support
A Minor Observation
2008-07-08 05:41:00 I took a little time during my vacation to blog surf some smaller blogs that are representative of the GOP base and found that almost all of them had negative things to say about Obama however none of them had anything positive to say about McCain. Admittedly my sample was small but if it is indeed indicative of a larger trend then McCain is in trouble. It would also explain why McCain is still running to the right while Obama seems to be moving to the center. McCain is in a tricky spot in that his courting of the right turns off the independents while his attempts to woo the center turns off the base. My feeling remains that unless Obama screws the pooch somehow McCain will lose. The only question to me is by what margin.His only chance, in my opinion, is to master Obama's technique of not being specific without appearing to be vague. More About: Minor
Life Is Good
2008-07-01 05:18:00 Ok I didn't brag when we got a Wii for free (wedding present), And I didn't say a thing when I bought a new 32" LCD HDTV for 300$ (open box deal). But today I can't help it. I just got a 50" rear projection HDTV for free. My in laws upgraded to a 50" Sony LCD HDTV and gave us their old set. This happened to occur one day after The Misses bought Rock Band for the Wii which means we get to play it Texas style.So far this year I've gotten a wife, a step son, inlaws that I like who upgrade a lot, a free Wii, a new daughter, a new car, and a free giant HDTV. And I have beer. Life is good. More About: Good
On Vacation
More articles from this author:2008-07-01 05:09:00 My firstborn arrived for the summer this past Saturday so I'll be going on vacation for a week or so. I may post hither and yon but there are no guarantees. More About: Vacation 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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