Noted atheist and contrarian, Christopher Hitchens, recently subjected himself to waterboarding.  He wanted to experience first-hand this controversial form of torture. For anyone who wishes to be informed on this issue I would recommend this interesting piece. 

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/hitchens200808

Found at migop.org…about half way down the page.

It reads: “Does Barack Obama have the judgment and experience to be our next Commander-in-Chief?”

Thanks to Travis for pointing this out! Results as of 12:08pm.

UPDATE: Looks like the GOP is screwing with the poll. I think they’ve caught on to the mischief. I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes like Jimmy Hoffa soon. ~Dan

UPDATE: I think the landslide support of Obama in their poll backfired and they couldn’t take the embarrassment. I just went to the website and they have a new topic for their poll, and in order to submit, you have to give your name and email address. Reds got pwned. ~ Karen (8:00pm)

Today, I read this article in the Wall Street Journal discussing the question of whether or not Democrats should let Hillary Clinton’s delegates vote at the convention. My first response to seeing the title was to keep scrolling down the page (I read it online, not in paper format). When I went back up to the top of the page, I read the one sentence summary (the proper term may be leader, but you know what I mean either way) of the article, “As [Hillary Clinton's] campaign closes, Democrats must decide whether to put her name into nomination at the convention.”

Now, When I read this summary, I believe my exact words were, “Who cares!”

Apparently, many Hillary supporters are going to be pissed off if Hillary’s delegates don’t get to vote at the convention. However, if they do vote, it will give angry Hillary supporters an opening to make a scene protesting, show a lack of party unity, and the apocalyptic election outcome of John McCain becoming president of the United States will occur. Oh boy! Decisions, decisions. What should we do?

Perhaps my advice is a little jaded by how annoyed all of this kerfuffle makes me. It’s very simple. Whatever happens, DEAL WITH IT! If Hillary’s delegates vote, don’t act surprised when she gets the amount of delegates that she won in the primaries. Everyone knows the primary was close. It shouldn’t be news when that fact is officially demonstrated. If her delegates don’t vote, then no whining Hillary supporters. She gave a hard fought campaign and bowed out. Barack Obama has been accepted as the party nominee. She doesn’t need confirmation that this primary was close, nor do any of her supporters. Everyone already knows that. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with showing some party untiy and making sure that the convention is the rah-rah event that it is supposed to be.

I feel it’s important to note here that Hillary Clinton surely will at least issue a press release discussing what will happen at the convention. Either way, she will repeat that party unity is important and will make it clear that she does not want anything unpleasant to occur at the convention. This will be sufficient to keep people in line.

I feel that I contained myself pretty well during the primary season of not letting myself get overly annoyed when the media would spend a day talking about how Barack Obama got a B- on his sixth grade english test or how Hillary Clinton misspelled a word at 2:03 pm on a Tuesday 20 years ago. There was some rather inane coverage during the primary season, and many inane controversies were constructed, but for inane controversies, this takes the cake. Either way, the Democratic party has no reason to worry. There is no reasonable cause for concern with the situation. The Wall Street Journal had no reason to print a story about this. Hopefully nobody repeats the mistake.

July 4th

“Well, it’s an unimaginable honor to be the president during the Fourth of July of this country.  It means what these words say, for starters.  The great inalienable rights of our country.  We’re blessed with such values in America.  And I - it’s - I’m a proud man to be the nation based upon such wonderful values.”

200 DAYS LEFT!!!

July 5/ July 6

“We want to restore honor and integrity to the White House.” - 2000 Campaign Refrain.

199/198 DAYS LEFT!!!

July 7

“I mean, if you’ve ever been a governor of a state, you understand the vast potential of broadband technology, you understand how hard it is to make sure that physics, for example, is taught in every classroom in the state.  It’s difficult to do.  It’s, like, cost-prohibitive.  - Washington, D.C., 2004.

197 DAYS LEFT!!!

… to be edited.

There is something comforting in knowing  that even Thomas Jefferson had to edit his work.

“Unfairly but truthfully, our party has been tagged as being against things.  Anti-immigrant for example.  And we’re not a party of anti-immigrants.  Quite the opposite.  We’re a party that welcomes people.” - Cleveland, Ohio - July, 2000.

201 DAYS LEFT!!!

Read the rest of this entry »

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee - I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once…shame on…shame on you.  You fool me, you can’t get fooled again.” - Nashville, TN, Sept. 2002.

202 DAYS LEFT!!!

First, to caption the picture, that’s John Dingell speaking in support of the Clean Water Restoration Act (I’ve written about it here, and yes, I just linked to myself) at a press conference in Gallup Park, on the banks of the Huron River. I’m standing right next to the guy on the far left of the picture, out of the shot.

John Dingell was one of the original sponsors of the Clean Water Act, which was passed in 1977. He is also a co-sponsor of the Clean Water Restoration Act, a notable fact that adds weight to Congressman Dingell’s support of the act. Additionally, the Clean Water Restoration Act has over 170 co-sponsors in the U.S. House and over 20 in the Senate. This means that there is more work to do in the Senate than in the House, but there is clearly strong support for the legislation. Soon enough, we will have enough votes to get this to a vote and passed, returning some of the environmental protections that have been stripped away by the current administration and the Supreme Court.

“You’ve also got to measure in order to begin to effect change that’s just more - when there’s more than talk, there’s just actual - a paradigm shift.” - July 1, 2003.

203 DAYS LEFT!

Guess what? In a landmark ruling this past week, the Supreme Court guaranteed my constitutional right to keep and bear this column (or something like that).

Aaaaaaaaand… poll time!!

If the election were held today:

States with a margin of 5 points or less:

States with a margin of 10 points or less:

Overall, this past week was good for parties that are Democrats and bad for parties that aren’t Democrats.

Now, I know your parents are telling you it’s not “hip” to check out my poll data, analysis, and comments, but all the cool kids are doing it! Take the plunge and Read the rest of this entry »

This article in the Washington Post must be read to be believed. And, lo and behold, the bottom of the barrel scum, the zebra-mussels of the American electorate, are found in… Ohio!

Check out the wisdom of the stewards of our democracy:

““I think Obama would be a disaster, and there’s a lot of reasons [actually there ARE a lot of reasons, douchebag, -ed.] ,” said Pollard, explaining the rumors he had heard about the candidate from friends he goes camping with. “I understand he’s from Africa, and that the first thing he’s going to do if he gets into office is bring his family over here, illegally. He’s got that racist [pastor] who practically raised him, and then there’s the Muslim thing. He’s just not presidential material, if you ask me.” Read More>

Of course, people like this really exist and vote in every state in the Union. If you can’t get through the article try the refrain I repeated to comfort myself while reading: “Ann Arbor is less than an hour from Canada, Ann Arbor is less than an hour from Canada…”

As non-idiots we have a responsibility to fight to keep these people from controlling our country. Reading this article convinced me that the money I earn today is going to Obama for America, and that I’m finding the next weekend volunteer opportunity and participating in whatever way possible. This election is no longer about Obama to me, it’s about proving that Americans are better than racism and fear.

“I’m looking for a good night’s sleep on the soil of a friend.” - About his upcoming trip to Denmark, June 2005.

204 DAYS LEFT!!!

Washington, DC is rolling out the red carpet for the perennial July 4th invasion.

This morning began like any other. After hitting the snooze button for 45 minutes I raced to get dressed and out the door in time to catch the Red Line metro down to Union Station and then walk a few blocks to my office. Like most days I joined a steady stream of pedestrians heading for the Metro descalators like ants marching into an ant hole. As usual I managed to find myself stuck behind some slow walker, but a quick sidestep before the main descalator allowed me to walk at a pace faster than standing. As I approached the final short descalator to the platform I noticed an unusual number of people milling about waiting for the train downtown. It’s not unusual for a lot of people to ride the Metro, especially considering gas prices, but this number of people at that hour meant something was amiss. I sallied up to my usual waiting spot: the rail near the tunnel (out of which a train usually sends a rush of cooling air).

During peak commuting hours you can depend on trains (going into the city) arriving every couple of minutes. I’m talking about a two or three minute wait, tops. Today I must have waited about five minutes, and I bet it was another three or four for the people who were waiting before me. Now whenever you have to wait for a train that long you know a couple of things: 1) Everybody up the line had to wait for that train 2) That train is packed 3) The next four trains will be just as packed. I resign myself to wait, and let the assholes try and sardine themselves into this huge aluminum tube.

As I’m watching this poor saps try and cram themselves in, and the clueless people already on the train trying to make space where none exists I notice a few things have changed. Firstly, the train is polished to a sheen. At first I figure that it must have been left out in the rain, that’s how I clean my car. Then I realize that in anticipation of the thousands of additional riders, including many out-of-city tourists, they must have cleaned up the trains. That’s understandable, why should the trains be clean for the people who ride the Metro everyday?

Read the rest of this entry »

Hey all,

In preparation for this year’s fourth of july, my brothers and I have decided to throw our “Patriotic Marathon.” This includes (over the course of this week–building up to friday) watching what we consider to be movies and tv shows appropriate for the holiday. Here is the list of movies/shows we plan on watching. 

1) The West Wing-seasons 1 through 3 (after which the series really started to take a dive)

2) HBO’s John Adams mini-series

3) 1776–the musical based on the signing of the Declaration of Independence featuring a singing Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams (played by William Daniels–a.k.a. Mr Feenie from Boy Meets World)

4) Independence Day–the movie where Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum save the world. In the end the President (a former fighter pilot) personally shoots down the aliens’ space ship. It also has Harvey Fierstein which is a definite plus. 

5) And maybe Gone with the Wind (I know I know–its about the Confederates, but it is still one of the greatest movies ever)

If anyone has any suggestions or holiday plans of their own please feel free to add.