Not a lot of people have noticed yet but it appears that Puerto Rico has voted to do two things: one, seek a change in the status quo of their relationship with the United States (54% said yes) and two, of the options they were given if they wanted a change, 61% favored statehood. Early news projecting this last night had them still counting results- but the Boston Herald projects 96% of the precincts are in for the Governor's race and the BBC is picking up on these results too- so I'm going to go out on a limb and say these results hold. (BBC also is saying turnout was 80% down there- which could be significant.)
So what does this all mean?
Well this is where it gets interesting, kids. Puerto Rico is represented in Washington by a non-voting Resident Commissioner and elects its own Governor. It looks like the pro-statehood Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi got re-elected. (Emphasis on 'looks like' all the article I'm reading say that they've still got to wrap up some counting down there.) But the pro-statehood Governor Luis Fortuno appears to have been ousted by Alejandro Garcia Padilla of the Popular Democratic Party by about 14,000 votes. (Again, emphasis on 'appears to have been ousted' that result might change with a recount/more votes coming in.)
It's possible that Padilla, if the results hold might obfuscate, delay or just not recognize the results of the referendum. (Despite what I commented out loud of Facebook last night, the two part nature of the question doesn't make this a binding referendum.) Opponents of the referendum have been grumbling that the two part nature of the question is confusing but I'm not sure that I buy that. To me, it seems clearer: do you want to change what we've got, yes or no? If you do, then do you want statehood, independence, sovereign free association or something else? Basically, depending on the final outcome of the races for Resident Commissioner (which looks pretty final) and Governor (which could also be pretty final depending on how much they've got left to count) we can put further action on the matter into the category of: stay tuned.
But one thing is for sure: Statehood has never put up numbers this big before. Looking as past political status questions (and yes, I used Wikipedia for this. It was just faster and I'm not writing a research paper here) it seems like there's always been some arguments about the definition and wording of the questions (which could be contested here) but 2012 seems to have been a breakthrough for statehood.
Let's say Padilla (I'm assuming Fortuno, if he wins will push forward this) pushes forward with statehood and respects the result. What happens then? Well, the Resident Commissioner would have to petition Congress to pass an Enabling Act, which sets up the new state to write it's own Constitution and lays down any requirements that have to be met before admittance to the Union. (I can't imagine there would be many.) But the whole question is going to depend on Congress and what it wants to do and as Alaska and Hawaii can report, gaining statehood isn't necessarily a short process.
If, IF this gets sent to Congress, I'm anticipating that they'd let Puerto Rico in. Both Democratic and Republican platforms support whatever the people of Puerto Rico want and President Obama has pledged to respect the result. From a purely political standpoint this is a no-brainer for both parties. While I anticipate a certain amount of 'white panic' on the Right if this gets seriously rolling, Republicans took a drubbing last night with the most important voting demographic in the country, the Latino vote. Now while you can't pigeonhole all Latinos, they can't afford to painted as being against this (I don't think) and Democrats will probably be all too eager to roll out the red carpet for Puerto Rico and solidify inroads they've been making in the Latino community.
If after all this, Puerto Rico is admitted to the Union, it's population ranks right behind Oklahoma which would put it's electoral votes in the range of 6-7, depending on how they apportion things in the new state- and 6-7 votes ain't nothing in the electoral landscape.
The bottom line is that the result is hugely significant- a clear majority wanted to change the status quo and a clear majority of that wanted statehood, but there's a long road ahead before we celebrate the admittance of a 51st state to the Union. As I said earlier: stay tuned.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Election 2012 Live Blog
1201 AM: It's finally HERE!!!! Waaaaaaaaaaahoooooooooooooooooooooo!
Yes, the first votes have been officially tallied in Election 2012, with the tiny town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire casting their ten ballots at midnight tonight, splitting down the middle to give both President Obama and Mittens five votes apiece. The other New Hampshire tiny town to have results in at this hour is Hart's Location, which went 23 votes for President Obama, 9 for Mittens and 2 for Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party.
So what does this mean? Probably not a lot- there doesn't seem to be any of the Presidential ephemera hanging over either of these two towns- unlike the Washington Redskins who lost to Carolina on Sunday- a bad omen for President Obama. (It's eerie but every time the Redskins win a home game before an election, the Incumbent wins. When they lose, the incumbent loses. The only time that hasn't happened is 2004 when Bush The Younger beat John Kerry- so it's uncannily accurate. At least so far.)
It's seven hours until the polls open here in Iowa and while I'm not going to be so bold as to make a prediction two things wouldn't surprise me: a 2004 re-run (incumbent with horrible ratings, a total mess on his hands winning against a decent challenger with a hairdo from New England) or something more akin to 2008 or even 1980 (laaaaaaaaaaaaaaandsllllllllide...!) Undoubtedly, it'll be neither of those two things but we've got a ways to go until we find out.
In the meantime, I need sleep. So see you on the flip side for more updates, kids. And stay tuned!
8:25 AM: I'm AWAKE! And ready to roll...
It's a rainy election day so far but the polls are open and will be open until 9PM tonight. I've seen a lot of lefty friends posting it on Facebook but it's a good reminder for people of all political stripes: DON'T LEAVE THE LINE. As long as you're in line by 9PM, they have to let you vote.
Couple of final polls worth pondering: Rasmussen has Mittens up 49%-48% and the last Battleground Poll has them tied at 47%. Mittens' internals also show him up in IA, NH and OH and tied in WI, PA. There's been a lot of talk about statistics and the accuracy of polls in this election- I'd just remind everyone of Disraeli's old saw: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." At this point, I'm inclined to believe none of them but I will say that an incumbent sitting below 50% and within the margin of error on the day itself is vulnerable in my book. All these easy predictions of President Obama cruising into victory? It ain't necessarily so, kids. (All the more reason to get out and VOTE. If you don't vote, you can't complain.)
Oh... Iowa 2nd District friends, if you wondering just who the heck Alan Aversa is when you're looking at your Congressional candidates, The Quiet Man has you covered there and I'd echo him by adding that next cycle, I'm going to be a lot more curious about just who is showing up on my ballot. (Basically: Aversa is some dude from Arizona that got nominated by petition to run for our Congressional seat. He doesn't live here which is a problem because you've got to establish residency in the District prior to Election Day. This would only be an issue if Aversa wins but I doubt Crazy Pants McGee is going to do that. But since nobody challenged his candidacy, they let him on the ballot... vigilance is the eternal price of keeping Arizonans off your electoral ballot kids. Remember that.)
Now, I think I'm going to go wake up the Missus, find some pants and go vote.
9:43 AM: THE DEED IS DONE!
The Missus and I were 126th and 127th to vote at our Precinct and the lines weren't too bad. I'd say it was a steady stream of people more than an actual line. The poll workers are going to be busy today.
One of these cycles I'm actually going to learn about what Soil and Water Conservation Officers do and make an informed decision on them. Ditto with the Agricultural Council people. I've never had a clue on how to vote for them and still don't so I just make up my mind as I go.
For Supervisors, I went with Neuzil, Harney and one of the write-in people. If you're a Judge anywhere near me, fear not, I voted to let you keep your jobs...
I also wrote in a couple of people. I'm OK with write-in votes. If you genuinely don't know who you want to vote for or you just irritated (like I was) at the choices or the fact that someone is running unopposed for the umpteenth time, I say write in whomever you like. At minimum, it's a way of protesting what annoys you. At maximum it's a nice gesture for your peeps/homies or loved ones.
Onwards!
3:15 PM: Election Power Nap taken, wife delivered safely to work!
2 hours until the first polls close per CNN... I'll be getting my command station set up here at Cigar Central ready for the long haul to start with results. Long lines reported in a lot of places, shenanigans, if there have been any have been dealt with quickly from what I've seen.
In the meantime, enjoy this video:
(I know this is kind of stupid... but it always makes me laugh.)
Some interesting numbers from NRO Online... not sure how accurate these are but if this is what Mittens is looking at, he's got plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Though I take issue with their assessment of Johnson County. Turn out this morning per the PC was around 5% but it was also rainy and miserable as s--t this morning. Think numbers will rebound after people start to get off work.
3:44 PM: Raygun FTW!
The President wrapped things up with a rally in Des Moines last night and East Village merchants were advised they might have to shutdown early because of security. Raygun declined. Then they were told they could stay open if the Secret Service could search their store. They declined that too and then posted this awesome sign... remind me to buy another t-shirt from them soon. (Punchline to all of this: they stayed open.)
4:00 PM: So, New Jersey?
New Jersey has extended email voting to all residents displaced by Hurricane Sandy and they're having major issues with it. The hitch is this: the original law allowed overseas residents and people serving with the military to submit ballots to their county clerks electronically but the each county has to respond to each ballot submission individually.
Needless to say, they're a bit overwhelmed trying to respond to all the submissions. I'm betting voting gets extended here and keep an eye on the Garden State. With 14 electoral votes and the potential for turnout to be seriously depressed by the Hurricane, it could get interesting. Last number I saw had President Obama up by ten. Not sure if the Hurricane could depress turnout enough to flip it to Mittens but it's at least within the realm of possibilities.
4:48 PM: Ready and waiting...
First polls closing in Indiana and Kentucky in less than ten minutes!
First EXITS are out: not sure what to make of these. They tend not to have the best track records (see 2000 for example) but at the same time you can get signals from them that prove to be decisive. For instance, in 2004 when NPR was reporting at like 2 in the afternoon that people were voting on social issues it proved to be a strong indicator that it would go to Bush the Younger and lo and behold it did.
The initial burst doesn't tell us much I don't think. Drudge has Mittens up in NC, FL and President Obama up in OH, MI, PA, NH and NV. VA and CO are toss-ups. If that's right, then it's bad news for Mittens because he needs both VA and CO to have a shot. But baseline is that this is going to be close- Drudge reckons the President has 190 and Mittens has 191 electoral votes locked.
John King just mentioned that CNN's exit polls out of VA has 21% of the electorate identifying as born again Christians... not sure if that's good news or bad news for Mittens but there are reports of long lines in VA and FL. And then there's this pic of the crowd waiting for Mittens to arrive in Pittsburgh.
We've got aways to go. Don't get excited yet.
5:04 PM: Some polls in Indiana and Kentucky are officially closed.
John King is analyzing their exit polls- good news for the President- youth vote held steady at 18% per CNN. If that holds up- and if it's breaking the same way it did in 2008 for the President that's a piece of good news.
Random thought: what if we've just sat through the longest, most painful and most expensive election in our history- and absolutely nothing changes! It's likely that the GOP holds the house and they might chip in to the Democratic majority in the Senate but I doubt they'll take it (Akin in Mizzou, Murdock in Indiana, I'm looking at you, you turds) and like I said, I've been tasting a hint of 2004 today. Wouldn't surprise me if the President scrapes through tonight.
5:52 PM: Coming up on the first big wave of poll closings...
First of all: check this out... nice collection of election tracking links. They're all still pontificating about what the Exit Polls might mean but it's very, very early yet and we don't have a lot of numbers to work with.
Vermont for Obama, Kentucky for Mittens. Virgina, Georgia, South Carolina and Indiana still not officially called. Indiana trending Mittens per exits, Virgina tied.
Virginia is going to be fascinating to watch CNN Exit polls have:
President up in the DC Suburbs (no surprise)
But Mittens has a narrow lead in the DC Exurbs/N Virginia
Richmond area is tight but a narrow lead for President Obama...
Tighter than expected on the economic issue-- and everyone is preaching caution. If early exit polls in 2004 were to be believed, we'd have had a President Kerry.
6:10 PM: Numbers, numbers, numbers...
WOW: early numbers out of Florida have the President up ten. If that holds up baaaaaaaaaaad news for Mittens. (Oh: not much in yet. Orlando is throwing the early numbers off.)
Indiana still trending for Mittens. No official calls yet. (Watch Vigo County, Indiana... another example of Presidential ephemera. They've voted for the winners since 1890 and only been wrong twice. Last time was 1952.)
Super long lines in New Hampshire- including lots of first-time voters.
Indiana officially called for Mittens.
6:30 PM: North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio poll closings...
West Virginia officially called for Mittens.
Early Exit Polls have North Carolina tied, the President up 51-48 in Ohio. Again: very EARLY exit polls. Don't get excited.
Florida has tightened up again- President up 52-48 but the Panhandle has yet to come in. Virginia has Mittens up 58-40- very very very early.
South Carolina officially called for Mittens.
Some Senate news:
Bernie Sanders of VT and Joe Manchin of WV projected to win re-election. Indiana and VA too close to call...
7:00 PM: Big wave of poll closings about to hit...
Illinois, Maryland, DC, Delaware, MA, CT, RI, 3 out of 4 in ME officially called for the President.
Oklahoma officially called for Mittens.
ANGUS KING WINS IN MAINE!!!! This is kick-ass... he'll probably caucus with the Democrats but the more Independents the better.
7:30 PM: Another wave of poll closings...
Arkansas and Tennessee officially called for Mittens.
73-64 Mittens in the Electoral College...
Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia are too early to call. Waiting on the panhandle in Florida and I don't know why we're sitting on Alabama or Mississippi right now. But I guess they're super early numbers wise as well.
Watch New Jersey!!! It's early, but Mittens is up.
**KEEP IN MIND: Virginia, New Hampshire reported LOOOOOOOOOONG lines... if people were still in line when the polls close, they get to vote. So voting still might be going on.
Alabama FINALLY officially called for Mittens...
CT Senate: Linda MacMahon loses... Vince MacMahon could not be reached for comment.
8:00 PM: BIG WAVE OF CLOSINGS! Waaaahooooooooo!
Wolf, why haven't we called Mississippi yet?
Now we have! ND, SD, WY, 3 out of 5 in NB, KS, TX, LA, MS officially called for Mittens.
And... New York, New Jersey and Michigan for the President. Think the Mittens camp might be disappointed by Michigan but while Michigan was tightening up it wasn't as nearly as open as Ohio and Pennsylvania...
Sigh... Republicans keep the House. Galloping shock.
Fox and the other networks are calling WI and PA for Obama... CNN is being a little more conservative about things.
9:00 PM: IOWA POLLS CLOSED!
If Florida goes to the President, this is all over. Mittens needs Virginia and North Carolina too. New Hampshire would be nice and I'm waiting on ME-2nd District. Still nothing...
OMG: MITT ROMNEY WON UTAH!!!!!!! Least SURPRISING PROJECTION EVER!
New Hampshire to President Obama...
9:00 GUT CHECK: I'm thinking it's getting very very thin for Mittens. I think my 2004 feeling earlier today is going to be correct. My second prediction- that we're going to have sat through the most expensive, painfully long election in American history only to have nothing at all change also looks like it's going to be correct. Word out of both campaigns is that they're expecting Mittens to take Florida by less than 100K but per CNN there's not a lot left to count and without Florida, Mittens is done.
Claire McCaskill projected to win in Mizzou. Thank God.
CNN is showing Mittens up in Wisconsin. Not sure it'll last.
IOWA Results...
DM Register has a good site up.
Been following Johnson County Auditor as well...
Early trends: Justice Center is running below the 60% it needs in Johnson County- but it's still early.
Vilsack, Braley and Boswell are all up early too. Still a long way to go.
Minnesota for the President, Arizona for Mittens.
10:00 PM: All over but the crying...
It's very very thin now for Mittens.
CA, HI, WA to the President.
ID, MT to Mittens.
Democrats keep the Senate... see my 9:00 Gut Check: most expensive election in history and nothing changes. Bank on it!
NM for the President!
OR for the President!
MO for Mittens!
IOWA UPDATE:
Braley and Loebsack are safe, I'd call them good.
Vilsack is down against King but still within striking distance...
Justice Center not looking good for Johnson County.
IA for the President! (Though to be fair, the guy practically lived here.)
MINNESOTA UPDATE:
MPR has live results... 55% against the Marriage Amendment so far. Keep it up MN!
10:18 PM: ALL OVER!
OH for President Obama... he's over the top and re-elected!
Still some votes out there but I'm wrapping this sucker up for the night. Marriage Amendment in Minnesota is looking decent- like it's going down so I hope that holds. There's Marriage Equality on the ballot in MD and ME and WA... marijuana legalization on the ballot in CO, OR and WA so keep an eye out. Will probably publish some final thoughts on the aftermath tomorrow...
Yes, the first votes have been officially tallied in Election 2012, with the tiny town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire casting their ten ballots at midnight tonight, splitting down the middle to give both President Obama and Mittens five votes apiece. The other New Hampshire tiny town to have results in at this hour is Hart's Location, which went 23 votes for President Obama, 9 for Mittens and 2 for Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party.
So what does this mean? Probably not a lot- there doesn't seem to be any of the Presidential ephemera hanging over either of these two towns- unlike the Washington Redskins who lost to Carolina on Sunday- a bad omen for President Obama. (It's eerie but every time the Redskins win a home game before an election, the Incumbent wins. When they lose, the incumbent loses. The only time that hasn't happened is 2004 when Bush The Younger beat John Kerry- so it's uncannily accurate. At least so far.)
It's seven hours until the polls open here in Iowa and while I'm not going to be so bold as to make a prediction two things wouldn't surprise me: a 2004 re-run (incumbent with horrible ratings, a total mess on his hands winning against a decent challenger with a hairdo from New England) or something more akin to 2008 or even 1980 (laaaaaaaaaaaaaaandsllllllllide...!) Undoubtedly, it'll be neither of those two things but we've got a ways to go until we find out.
In the meantime, I need sleep. So see you on the flip side for more updates, kids. And stay tuned!
8:25 AM: I'm AWAKE! And ready to roll...
It's a rainy election day so far but the polls are open and will be open until 9PM tonight. I've seen a lot of lefty friends posting it on Facebook but it's a good reminder for people of all political stripes: DON'T LEAVE THE LINE. As long as you're in line by 9PM, they have to let you vote.
Couple of final polls worth pondering: Rasmussen has Mittens up 49%-48% and the last Battleground Poll has them tied at 47%. Mittens' internals also show him up in IA, NH and OH and tied in WI, PA. There's been a lot of talk about statistics and the accuracy of polls in this election- I'd just remind everyone of Disraeli's old saw: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." At this point, I'm inclined to believe none of them but I will say that an incumbent sitting below 50% and within the margin of error on the day itself is vulnerable in my book. All these easy predictions of President Obama cruising into victory? It ain't necessarily so, kids. (All the more reason to get out and VOTE. If you don't vote, you can't complain.)
Oh... Iowa 2nd District friends, if you wondering just who the heck Alan Aversa is when you're looking at your Congressional candidates, The Quiet Man has you covered there and I'd echo him by adding that next cycle, I'm going to be a lot more curious about just who is showing up on my ballot. (Basically: Aversa is some dude from Arizona that got nominated by petition to run for our Congressional seat. He doesn't live here which is a problem because you've got to establish residency in the District prior to Election Day. This would only be an issue if Aversa wins but I doubt Crazy Pants McGee is going to do that. But since nobody challenged his candidacy, they let him on the ballot... vigilance is the eternal price of keeping Arizonans off your electoral ballot kids. Remember that.)
Now, I think I'm going to go wake up the Missus, find some pants and go vote.
9:43 AM: THE DEED IS DONE!
The Missus and I were 126th and 127th to vote at our Precinct and the lines weren't too bad. I'd say it was a steady stream of people more than an actual line. The poll workers are going to be busy today.
One of these cycles I'm actually going to learn about what Soil and Water Conservation Officers do and make an informed decision on them. Ditto with the Agricultural Council people. I've never had a clue on how to vote for them and still don't so I just make up my mind as I go.
For Supervisors, I went with Neuzil, Harney and one of the write-in people. If you're a Judge anywhere near me, fear not, I voted to let you keep your jobs...
I also wrote in a couple of people. I'm OK with write-in votes. If you genuinely don't know who you want to vote for or you just irritated (like I was) at the choices or the fact that someone is running unopposed for the umpteenth time, I say write in whomever you like. At minimum, it's a way of protesting what annoys you. At maximum it's a nice gesture for your peeps/homies or loved ones.
Onwards!
3:15 PM: Election Power Nap taken, wife delivered safely to work!
2 hours until the first polls close per CNN... I'll be getting my command station set up here at Cigar Central ready for the long haul to start with results. Long lines reported in a lot of places, shenanigans, if there have been any have been dealt with quickly from what I've seen.
In the meantime, enjoy this video:
(I know this is kind of stupid... but it always makes me laugh.)
Some interesting numbers from NRO Online... not sure how accurate these are but if this is what Mittens is looking at, he's got plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Though I take issue with their assessment of Johnson County. Turn out this morning per the PC was around 5% but it was also rainy and miserable as s--t this morning. Think numbers will rebound after people start to get off work.
3:44 PM: Raygun FTW!
The President wrapped things up with a rally in Des Moines last night and East Village merchants were advised they might have to shutdown early because of security. Raygun declined. Then they were told they could stay open if the Secret Service could search their store. They declined that too and then posted this awesome sign... remind me to buy another t-shirt from them soon. (Punchline to all of this: they stayed open.)
4:00 PM: So, New Jersey?
New Jersey has extended email voting to all residents displaced by Hurricane Sandy and they're having major issues with it. The hitch is this: the original law allowed overseas residents and people serving with the military to submit ballots to their county clerks electronically but the each county has to respond to each ballot submission individually.
Needless to say, they're a bit overwhelmed trying to respond to all the submissions. I'm betting voting gets extended here and keep an eye on the Garden State. With 14 electoral votes and the potential for turnout to be seriously depressed by the Hurricane, it could get interesting. Last number I saw had President Obama up by ten. Not sure if the Hurricane could depress turnout enough to flip it to Mittens but it's at least within the realm of possibilities.
4:48 PM: Ready and waiting...
First polls closing in Indiana and Kentucky in less than ten minutes!
First EXITS are out: not sure what to make of these. They tend not to have the best track records (see 2000 for example) but at the same time you can get signals from them that prove to be decisive. For instance, in 2004 when NPR was reporting at like 2 in the afternoon that people were voting on social issues it proved to be a strong indicator that it would go to Bush the Younger and lo and behold it did.
The initial burst doesn't tell us much I don't think. Drudge has Mittens up in NC, FL and President Obama up in OH, MI, PA, NH and NV. VA and CO are toss-ups. If that's right, then it's bad news for Mittens because he needs both VA and CO to have a shot. But baseline is that this is going to be close- Drudge reckons the President has 190 and Mittens has 191 electoral votes locked.
John King just mentioned that CNN's exit polls out of VA has 21% of the electorate identifying as born again Christians... not sure if that's good news or bad news for Mittens but there are reports of long lines in VA and FL. And then there's this pic of the crowd waiting for Mittens to arrive in Pittsburgh.
We've got aways to go. Don't get excited yet.
5:04 PM: Some polls in Indiana and Kentucky are officially closed.
John King is analyzing their exit polls- good news for the President- youth vote held steady at 18% per CNN. If that holds up- and if it's breaking the same way it did in 2008 for the President that's a piece of good news.
Random thought: what if we've just sat through the longest, most painful and most expensive election in our history- and absolutely nothing changes! It's likely that the GOP holds the house and they might chip in to the Democratic majority in the Senate but I doubt they'll take it (Akin in Mizzou, Murdock in Indiana, I'm looking at you, you turds) and like I said, I've been tasting a hint of 2004 today. Wouldn't surprise me if the President scrapes through tonight.
5:52 PM: Coming up on the first big wave of poll closings...
First of all: check this out... nice collection of election tracking links. They're all still pontificating about what the Exit Polls might mean but it's very, very early yet and we don't have a lot of numbers to work with.
Vermont for Obama, Kentucky for Mittens. Virgina, Georgia, South Carolina and Indiana still not officially called. Indiana trending Mittens per exits, Virgina tied.
Virginia is going to be fascinating to watch CNN Exit polls have:
President up in the DC Suburbs (no surprise)
But Mittens has a narrow lead in the DC Exurbs/N Virginia
Richmond area is tight but a narrow lead for President Obama...
Tighter than expected on the economic issue-- and everyone is preaching caution. If early exit polls in 2004 were to be believed, we'd have had a President Kerry.
6:10 PM: Numbers, numbers, numbers...
WOW: early numbers out of Florida have the President up ten. If that holds up baaaaaaaaaaad news for Mittens. (Oh: not much in yet. Orlando is throwing the early numbers off.)
Indiana still trending for Mittens. No official calls yet. (Watch Vigo County, Indiana... another example of Presidential ephemera. They've voted for the winners since 1890 and only been wrong twice. Last time was 1952.)
Super long lines in New Hampshire- including lots of first-time voters.
Indiana officially called for Mittens.
6:30 PM: North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio poll closings...
West Virginia officially called for Mittens.
Early Exit Polls have North Carolina tied, the President up 51-48 in Ohio. Again: very EARLY exit polls. Don't get excited.
Florida has tightened up again- President up 52-48 but the Panhandle has yet to come in. Virginia has Mittens up 58-40- very very very early.
South Carolina officially called for Mittens.
Some Senate news:
Bernie Sanders of VT and Joe Manchin of WV projected to win re-election. Indiana and VA too close to call...
7:00 PM: Big wave of poll closings about to hit...
Illinois, Maryland, DC, Delaware, MA, CT, RI, 3 out of 4 in ME officially called for the President.
Oklahoma officially called for Mittens.
ANGUS KING WINS IN MAINE!!!! This is kick-ass... he'll probably caucus with the Democrats but the more Independents the better.
7:30 PM: Another wave of poll closings...
Arkansas and Tennessee officially called for Mittens.
73-64 Mittens in the Electoral College...
Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia are too early to call. Waiting on the panhandle in Florida and I don't know why we're sitting on Alabama or Mississippi right now. But I guess they're super early numbers wise as well.
Watch New Jersey!!! It's early, but Mittens is up.
**KEEP IN MIND: Virginia, New Hampshire reported LOOOOOOOOOONG lines... if people were still in line when the polls close, they get to vote. So voting still might be going on.
Alabama FINALLY officially called for Mittens...
CT Senate: Linda MacMahon loses... Vince MacMahon could not be reached for comment.
8:00 PM: BIG WAVE OF CLOSINGS! Waaaahooooooooo!
Wolf, why haven't we called Mississippi yet?
Now we have! ND, SD, WY, 3 out of 5 in NB, KS, TX, LA, MS officially called for Mittens.
And... New York, New Jersey and Michigan for the President. Think the Mittens camp might be disappointed by Michigan but while Michigan was tightening up it wasn't as nearly as open as Ohio and Pennsylvania...
Sigh... Republicans keep the House. Galloping shock.
Fox and the other networks are calling WI and PA for Obama... CNN is being a little more conservative about things.
9:00 PM: IOWA POLLS CLOSED!
If Florida goes to the President, this is all over. Mittens needs Virginia and North Carolina too. New Hampshire would be nice and I'm waiting on ME-2nd District. Still nothing...
OMG: MITT ROMNEY WON UTAH!!!!!!! Least SURPRISING PROJECTION EVER!
New Hampshire to President Obama...
9:00 GUT CHECK: I'm thinking it's getting very very thin for Mittens. I think my 2004 feeling earlier today is going to be correct. My second prediction- that we're going to have sat through the most expensive, painfully long election in American history only to have nothing at all change also looks like it's going to be correct. Word out of both campaigns is that they're expecting Mittens to take Florida by less than 100K but per CNN there's not a lot left to count and without Florida, Mittens is done.
Claire McCaskill projected to win in Mizzou. Thank God.
CNN is showing Mittens up in Wisconsin. Not sure it'll last.
IOWA Results...
DM Register has a good site up.
Been following Johnson County Auditor as well...
Early trends: Justice Center is running below the 60% it needs in Johnson County- but it's still early.
Vilsack, Braley and Boswell are all up early too. Still a long way to go.
Minnesota for the President, Arizona for Mittens.
10:00 PM: All over but the crying...
It's very very thin now for Mittens.
CA, HI, WA to the President.
ID, MT to Mittens.
Democrats keep the Senate... see my 9:00 Gut Check: most expensive election in history and nothing changes. Bank on it!
NM for the President!
OR for the President!
MO for Mittens!
IOWA UPDATE:
Braley and Loebsack are safe, I'd call them good.
Vilsack is down against King but still within striking distance...
Justice Center not looking good for Johnson County.
IA for the President! (Though to be fair, the guy practically lived here.)
MINNESOTA UPDATE:
MPR has live results... 55% against the Marriage Amendment so far. Keep it up MN!
10:18 PM: ALL OVER!
OH for President Obama... he's over the top and re-elected!
Still some votes out there but I'm wrapping this sucker up for the night. Marriage Amendment in Minnesota is looking decent- like it's going down so I hope that holds. There's Marriage Equality on the ballot in MD and ME and WA... marijuana legalization on the ballot in CO, OR and WA so keep an eye out. Will probably publish some final thoughts on the aftermath tomorrow...
Endorsements Round 3: President
I've never liked the two party system. From when I was in 4th Grade and proudly cast my fake ballot for Ross Perot in the KidsVote thing up until today it seems ridiculous that in a country where choice reigns supreme, we're expected to choose between two parties and only two parties. My high school econ teacher compared it to choosing between herpes and gonhorrea every four years and he was more or less correct. (Personally, I'd pass on either choice and settle for a mild case of crotch itch.)
As I got older and started studying political science, I realized that a lot of it has to do with the voting system we've got. Winner take all, single member districts (translated: one Representative per district, whoever gets the most votes wins) tend to produce lower number of parties (i.e. 2.) In the Western Democracies, it hasn't always worked out that way. Canada has four parties (2 big ones, 2 smaller-medium sized ones) and the UK manages 2.5 (the next election will be interesting for the Liberal Democrats over there) so more choices are possible. We just don't seem to produce them.
Despite what Republicans tell you, being the 'Greatest Nation On Earth' isn't some zen-like thing. It's not a state of Nirvana. You don't just get there and put your feet up and have a beer. It's hard work so I look for candidates and parties that take an interest in the health of our democracy. (Which given the anti-democratic nature of the Commission on Presidential Debates, the Citizens United decision and many other aspects of our current mess of a system, isn't good.)
It's with that in mind that I'm officially endorsing (and voting for) Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party for President.
Of all the candidates that I've researched (and I do visit every website I can dig up, I've got two degrees in PoliSci after all) surprisingly it was Stein and the Green Party that had the most comprehensive and complete platform for political reform out there. While I tend to be more centrist than much of the Green Party platform, their brand of leftism focuses on direct democracy and empowering people over corporations as a posed to the insidious statism that mainstream Progressives espouse today.
I want to ensure the health and stability of our democracy for my children and their children. We can and we must do better for this great nation of ours and neither of the two parties seems interested in reforming a sclerotic and corrupt system. Free and Equal hosted a Third Party debate and it was revealing in that all four candidates talked about issues that neither President Obama nor Mittens had spoken about. (And Dr. Stein and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson will be debating again on the 5th. Watch this before you vote. And then think about just how much of a waste a vote for four more years of business as usual is going to be.)
It was with a great deal of pride and hope for this country that I voted for President Obama in 2008. I believed he would bring real change to 'business as usual' politics in Washington and he was a politician that spoke to my generation. What I got was four years of business as usual. While I acknowledge that getting Bin Laden, overthrowing Qadaffi and ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell are all good things, (As is the income-based repayment program for Federal Student Loans. Kudos for that.) Our economic recovery is anemic, Gitmo is still open, Drone attacks and assassinations have become the new face of neo-conservative foreign policy carried out by this administration and I wanted a President to have the courage the stand up on the right side of marriage equality on Day 1, not year 4.
"But he needs four more years to finish the job," is a common refrain I've heard. He doesn't have four years though. He has, if he's lucky, a year and a half before midterm elections tie up Congress and after that, everybody's looking ahead to 2016. The opportunity for major change is behind him.
And Mittens is no better. I believe he's a good man but his recent embrace of 'real change in Washington' is laughable. If President Obama has come up short, I expect a President Mittens will do the same. The two party system has paralyzed our political discourse and the current Republican Party is completely beyond the pale on social issues especially. You cannot demand the government get out of people's lives and then want to codify bigotry into Constitutions across the country. You can't demand Free Market Capitalism and fight tooth and nail for corporate welfare and defense contracts. The hypocrisy of the modern Republican Party is nauseating and if a hypothetical President Mittens can buck that trend then more power to him. But I doubt he can.
Most people like to back winners in this country and most people will think this is an irresponsible waste of a vote. I couldn't disagree more. I know what I believe and I look for candidates that believe what I believe and the only wasted vote is one you don't cast. Nothing is ever going to change in this country unless we start voting for candidates that talk about the issues no one else will talk about and thinking every day about how we can make this country better. That's what I believe and that's what I'm voting for this year.
As I got older and started studying political science, I realized that a lot of it has to do with the voting system we've got. Winner take all, single member districts (translated: one Representative per district, whoever gets the most votes wins) tend to produce lower number of parties (i.e. 2.) In the Western Democracies, it hasn't always worked out that way. Canada has four parties (2 big ones, 2 smaller-medium sized ones) and the UK manages 2.5 (the next election will be interesting for the Liberal Democrats over there) so more choices are possible. We just don't seem to produce them.
Despite what Republicans tell you, being the 'Greatest Nation On Earth' isn't some zen-like thing. It's not a state of Nirvana. You don't just get there and put your feet up and have a beer. It's hard work so I look for candidates and parties that take an interest in the health of our democracy. (Which given the anti-democratic nature of the Commission on Presidential Debates, the Citizens United decision and many other aspects of our current mess of a system, isn't good.)
It's with that in mind that I'm officially endorsing (and voting for) Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party for President.
Of all the candidates that I've researched (and I do visit every website I can dig up, I've got two degrees in PoliSci after all) surprisingly it was Stein and the Green Party that had the most comprehensive and complete platform for political reform out there. While I tend to be more centrist than much of the Green Party platform, their brand of leftism focuses on direct democracy and empowering people over corporations as a posed to the insidious statism that mainstream Progressives espouse today.
I want to ensure the health and stability of our democracy for my children and their children. We can and we must do better for this great nation of ours and neither of the two parties seems interested in reforming a sclerotic and corrupt system. Free and Equal hosted a Third Party debate and it was revealing in that all four candidates talked about issues that neither President Obama nor Mittens had spoken about. (And Dr. Stein and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson will be debating again on the 5th. Watch this before you vote. And then think about just how much of a waste a vote for four more years of business as usual is going to be.)
It was with a great deal of pride and hope for this country that I voted for President Obama in 2008. I believed he would bring real change to 'business as usual' politics in Washington and he was a politician that spoke to my generation. What I got was four years of business as usual. While I acknowledge that getting Bin Laden, overthrowing Qadaffi and ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell are all good things, (As is the income-based repayment program for Federal Student Loans. Kudos for that.) Our economic recovery is anemic, Gitmo is still open, Drone attacks and assassinations have become the new face of neo-conservative foreign policy carried out by this administration and I wanted a President to have the courage the stand up on the right side of marriage equality on Day 1, not year 4.
"But he needs four more years to finish the job," is a common refrain I've heard. He doesn't have four years though. He has, if he's lucky, a year and a half before midterm elections tie up Congress and after that, everybody's looking ahead to 2016. The opportunity for major change is behind him.
And Mittens is no better. I believe he's a good man but his recent embrace of 'real change in Washington' is laughable. If President Obama has come up short, I expect a President Mittens will do the same. The two party system has paralyzed our political discourse and the current Republican Party is completely beyond the pale on social issues especially. You cannot demand the government get out of people's lives and then want to codify bigotry into Constitutions across the country. You can't demand Free Market Capitalism and fight tooth and nail for corporate welfare and defense contracts. The hypocrisy of the modern Republican Party is nauseating and if a hypothetical President Mittens can buck that trend then more power to him. But I doubt he can.
Most people like to back winners in this country and most people will think this is an irresponsible waste of a vote. I couldn't disagree more. I know what I believe and I look for candidates that believe what I believe and the only wasted vote is one you don't cast. Nothing is ever going to change in this country unless we start voting for candidates that talk about the issues no one else will talk about and thinking every day about how we can make this country better. That's what I believe and that's what I'm voting for this year.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
2,906 Miles Update #1
Man, I am failing at this fitness thing. I had a fairly miserable September had some momentum going into October and lost it all going into November. A month and a half into this, the number is grim:
19.
Yes, I've racked up 19 miles on the treadmill/walking/working out. Which means my map looks like this:
I go back to the Doctor in a few days so we'll see how my blood pressure is doing then. I've done a relatively good job staying away from extra salt, soda and potato chips but I need to crack down again- especially if I want to kick this into high gear and lose at least 30-40 pounds by the time I turn 30.
So new goals for the rest of the year:
1. Phase out soda again. I've developed a mild appreciation for Squirt which is caffeine free. Think I'll start there and work downwards in my consumption adding in more coffee, tea and iced tea as I go. (I still have a sh-tload of tea from Teavana in my cupboards and as a new one just opened up in Coralville, I think it'd be nice to get some more at some point.)
2. Match my total for the past month and a half THIS month and then double it NEXT month... an ambitious goal but it'd put me at 76 miles at year's end. I also want to start running more (if I can be running at least a mile on the treadmill with these workouts by year's end, I'd be cool with that.)
3. I see people out there trying things like gluten free or vegetarianism or veganism but I like bread, meat and cheese way too much to be successful at any of those options. However, we've got a shitload of quinoa hanging around so it'd be nice to replace pasta/rice with that and try and limit the amount of crap I eat and see what that gets me.
19.
Yes, I've racked up 19 miles on the treadmill/walking/working out. Which means my map looks like this:
I go back to the Doctor in a few days so we'll see how my blood pressure is doing then. I've done a relatively good job staying away from extra salt, soda and potato chips but I need to crack down again- especially if I want to kick this into high gear and lose at least 30-40 pounds by the time I turn 30.
So new goals for the rest of the year:
1. Phase out soda again. I've developed a mild appreciation for Squirt which is caffeine free. Think I'll start there and work downwards in my consumption adding in more coffee, tea and iced tea as I go. (I still have a sh-tload of tea from Teavana in my cupboards and as a new one just opened up in Coralville, I think it'd be nice to get some more at some point.)
2. Match my total for the past month and a half THIS month and then double it NEXT month... an ambitious goal but it'd put me at 76 miles at year's end. I also want to start running more (if I can be running at least a mile on the treadmill with these workouts by year's end, I'd be cool with that.)
3. I see people out there trying things like gluten free or vegetarianism or veganism but I like bread, meat and cheese way too much to be successful at any of those options. However, we've got a shitload of quinoa hanging around so it'd be nice to replace pasta/rice with that and try and limit the amount of crap I eat and see what that gets me.
Friday, November 2, 2012
The Strange Longevity of 'La Femme Nikita'
I remember this show being one of those shows that was decidedly PG-13 growing up- you weren't entirely sure you were supposed to watch it or not which made its allure all the more sexy. The titular blonde femme fatale Nikita was played with icy cool by Peta Wilson, her grizzled love interest Michael by Roy Dupuis and it was a mainstay of the USA Network (at least that's where I remember watching it) back when Silk Stalkings was in his hey day (a show that everybody wanted to watch but nobody wanted to stay up that late to do so.)
It was a good show. I didn't realize it had quite the cult following that it did so it was something of a head scratcher when I heard that the CW was resurrecting the show (or rebooting? It's not entirely clear) as plain old Nikita. I mean of all the shows you could reboot/remake, they picked this one? As I've been working my way through the first two seasons on Netflix, I'm beginning to see why.
The original show wasn't your typical shoot-em-up, spy thriller... a quick glance at Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge) revealed that the Canadian produced show wasn't the most big budget show around so the writers had to get cerebral, had to develop their characters and you know, work on things like plot as a posed to explosions and special effects. That tactic (spearheaded by future 24 creator and La Femme Nikita creator Joel Surnow) served the show in good stead as it ran for five seasons from 1997-2001.
But I also think it's more than just budget. Some further digging revealed that before it was ever a television show it was a French movie, Nikita, directed by Luc Besson (who also directed one of my favorite movies, The Fifth Element) and the original movie (which I dug up in my early Netflix days) is sprinkled with French actors like Jean Reno and Tchéky Karyo (you'd recognize both of 'em if you saw 'em) and carries that Gallic sense of je ne sais quoi throughout the whole movie. But I guess you need that kind of cigarette smoking sense of 'don't give a f--k' if your Intelligence Agency is going to do things like blow up a Greenpeace Boat in real life.
But give the French some credit, they can really do the femme fatale thing, despite the fact they executed Mata Hari back in the day.
So, to summate the weirdness: a 1990 French spy thriller gets remade three years later by Hollywood (the bonus weirdness I found was that Point of No Return, starring Bridget Fonda was a remake of Nikita) turned into a Canadian television show four years after that and that show aired on basic cable for five seasons before nearly a decade later being revived/rebooted on of all networks, the CW.
How does that even work? By all accounts the new show with Maggie Q and Shane West is doing pretty well on the CW. I think the 2nd Season fell off a bit but I'm not through it yet. But apparently shows about deadly female assassins are popular enough to warrant a reincarnation or two or three- which both makes sense and is kind of strange as well. Who knows how long Nikita could continue in its present form?
It was a good show. I didn't realize it had quite the cult following that it did so it was something of a head scratcher when I heard that the CW was resurrecting the show (or rebooting? It's not entirely clear) as plain old Nikita. I mean of all the shows you could reboot/remake, they picked this one? As I've been working my way through the first two seasons on Netflix, I'm beginning to see why.
The original show wasn't your typical shoot-em-up, spy thriller... a quick glance at Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge) revealed that the Canadian produced show wasn't the most big budget show around so the writers had to get cerebral, had to develop their characters and you know, work on things like plot as a posed to explosions and special effects. That tactic (spearheaded by future 24 creator and La Femme Nikita creator Joel Surnow) served the show in good stead as it ran for five seasons from 1997-2001.
But I also think it's more than just budget. Some further digging revealed that before it was ever a television show it was a French movie, Nikita, directed by Luc Besson (who also directed one of my favorite movies, The Fifth Element) and the original movie (which I dug up in my early Netflix days) is sprinkled with French actors like Jean Reno and Tchéky Karyo (you'd recognize both of 'em if you saw 'em) and carries that Gallic sense of je ne sais quoi throughout the whole movie. But I guess you need that kind of cigarette smoking sense of 'don't give a f--k' if your Intelligence Agency is going to do things like blow up a Greenpeace Boat in real life.
But give the French some credit, they can really do the femme fatale thing, despite the fact they executed Mata Hari back in the day.
So, to summate the weirdness: a 1990 French spy thriller gets remade three years later by Hollywood (the bonus weirdness I found was that Point of No Return, starring Bridget Fonda was a remake of Nikita) turned into a Canadian television show four years after that and that show aired on basic cable for five seasons before nearly a decade later being revived/rebooted on of all networks, the CW.
How does that even work? By all accounts the new show with Maggie Q and Shane West is doing pretty well on the CW. I think the 2nd Season fell off a bit but I'm not through it yet. But apparently shows about deadly female assassins are popular enough to warrant a reincarnation or two or three- which both makes sense and is kind of strange as well. Who knows how long Nikita could continue in its present form?
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Another Slice of the 1990s
Oh, Legends of the Hidden Temple... probably one of the best game shows of the Golden Age of Nickelodeon. (Ah, the days of Double Dare and Gutz... those were good days.) What I always found funny was that for a generation raised on heavy doses of 'stranger danger' you would have thought that when the Temple Guards jumped out at these kids to grab them, there would be a lot more kicking and shots to the groinal region, but apparently not.
(I also imagine Olmec being a filthy hard drinking talking idol after hours. If I could set him up in a corner somewhere for parties, I totally would.)
This particular temple run is pretty woeful. The kids kept getting trapped in... the pit of DESPAIR.
Enjoy!
NaNoWriMo 2012
I'll be honest, kids: I'm not starting anything new this year but I do plan on spending the month giving my current project some serious love. It doesn't have a title yet (so getting one of those would be nice) and it seems to be evolving into what could turn out to be three shortish-medium sized novels as a posed to one ginormous one and I'm OK with that.
This latest revision feels better. I've stumbled into a couple of plot points I didn't know I had that will have to be fleshed out so they're fully integrated into my plot but polish continues and if by the end of the month I can have this latest revision wrapped up, it'll be a good month.
Goal #2 for the month: collating the other pile of fragments and half written chapters I've got laying around the place and turning them into an outline for my second novel.
In the meantime, Happy Writing Everyone! Good Luck!
This latest revision feels better. I've stumbled into a couple of plot points I didn't know I had that will have to be fleshed out so they're fully integrated into my plot but polish continues and if by the end of the month I can have this latest revision wrapped up, it'll be a good month.
Goal #2 for the month: collating the other pile of fragments and half written chapters I've got laying around the place and turning them into an outline for my second novel.
In the meantime, Happy Writing Everyone! Good Luck!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Less Than A Week...
...until our long, national nightmare is finally over. And the damn political junk mail and television ads will come to an END.
So what's going to happen? I haven't a clue. I find it suspect that Conservatives spend all summer bellowing about how inaccurate the polls are because they're basing their statistical models of 2008 voter turnout are now crowing and popping champagne over good news in the numbers for Mittens.
The Obama Campaign is also big on their early voting ground game. I trust that about as much as I trust polls at this point.
Some food for thought though:
-Undecideds if there are any left to break late historically have broken for the challenger.
-Incumbents polling under 50% are in deep shit.
Conservatives are swooning over new numbers that have Romney within single digits in Oregon and within the margin of error in Minnesota. I doubt either flips to Romney but the Obama Campaign is worried enough to spend money in Minnesota (ostensibly to reach voters in NW Wisconsin- but that's not where the votes are in WI) and recent Romney ad buys in Pennsylvania have the Democrats moving money to respond. And money they have to spend in Pennsylvania and Minnesota is money they're not spending in Ohio- which given how small the margin of error is in this election could make the difference. So Mittens is playing it smart at the very least.
Some things to ponder for Election Night: if Mittens peels away an electoral vote from Maine or takes New Hampshire that doesn't bode well for the President and we can start thinking about Preference Cascade scenarios dreamed about by the Great Guru Instapundit and Father Cigar amongst other people. If the President holds both then it's anybody's guess what happens.
We'll see in less than a week.
So what's going to happen? I haven't a clue. I find it suspect that Conservatives spend all summer bellowing about how inaccurate the polls are because they're basing their statistical models of 2008 voter turnout are now crowing and popping champagne over good news in the numbers for Mittens.
The Obama Campaign is also big on their early voting ground game. I trust that about as much as I trust polls at this point.
Some food for thought though:
-Undecideds if there are any left to break late historically have broken for the challenger.
-Incumbents polling under 50% are in deep shit.
Conservatives are swooning over new numbers that have Romney within single digits in Oregon and within the margin of error in Minnesota. I doubt either flips to Romney but the Obama Campaign is worried enough to spend money in Minnesota (ostensibly to reach voters in NW Wisconsin- but that's not where the votes are in WI) and recent Romney ad buys in Pennsylvania have the Democrats moving money to respond. And money they have to spend in Pennsylvania and Minnesota is money they're not spending in Ohio- which given how small the margin of error is in this election could make the difference. So Mittens is playing it smart at the very least.
Some things to ponder for Election Night: if Mittens peels away an electoral vote from Maine or takes New Hampshire that doesn't bode well for the President and we can start thinking about Preference Cascade scenarios dreamed about by the Great Guru Instapundit and Father Cigar amongst other people. If the President holds both then it's anybody's guess what happens.
We'll see in less than a week.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Hurricane Sandy Aftermath
First of all, if you're looking to help out, here's a link to the Red Cross and I know Catholic Charities has an excellent reputation as well with disaster relief at the like. If there are any more good suggestions of places to help out, please leave them in the comments. (I know I occupy like a tiny corner of the wide, crazy world of the Internet but on the off chance people read this, I'm all for paying some good Karma forward for folks out East. They could use it today.)
Second of all: I followed a lot of the reports from New York City last night and this was bad- as this morning is only proving as people start to take stock of the destruction. Weather Nerd has been getting amazing info out there as the storm and its aftermath progresses, Atlantic Wire has some pictures of the devastation and a Live Wire worth following for updates.
Third of all: The big ugly thing that people are dancing around- the Election. As Governor Christie so eloquently put it today:
Personally, I think it's too soon to tell how this is going to shake out. It's an opportunity for President Obama to look Presidential and demonstrate competence in dealing with this (so far, so good- disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey are already signed, I believe) and Mittens has to be careful with his sudden influx of 'Disaster Relief' stops otherwise he'll get tagged for politicizing the tragedy which is not something you want a week out from Election Day.
Had Sandy hit Delaware and Eastern PA more than New York and New Jersey, there might be some real electoral implications to consider as anything that effects turnout in PA (with either heavy damage in Philly or lots of snow/flooding in Western PA) could swing it one way or the other- but Virginia bears some watching. I doubt either New York or New Jersey were in any danger of becoming swing states (New Jersey numbers I found on RealClearPolitics last night had Obama up 10) but anything that depresses turnout could throw New Jersey wide open. It's just too soon to tell.
We'll have to see what develops over the next couple of days but my gut feeling is that this is going to act as a pause button for the race more than anything else. Barring some as yet undemonstrated act of gross incompetence on the part of the Obama Administration or Mittens being unbelievably callous and going back into full-tilt campaign mode before he should, I doubt there's much advantage to be gained for either side messing with this- and attempts to do so will undoubtedly backfire, very badly. Everybody should try and resist the temptation to win votes, roll up their sleeves and get to work. This Hurricane cold-cocked the East Coast last night- now is not the time for politics.
And finally: Ice T's wife Coco has weighed in. Just thought everybody should know that. :-)
Second of all: I followed a lot of the reports from New York City last night and this was bad- as this morning is only proving as people start to take stock of the destruction. Weather Nerd has been getting amazing info out there as the storm and its aftermath progresses, Atlantic Wire has some pictures of the devastation and a Live Wire worth following for updates.
Third of all: The big ugly thing that people are dancing around- the Election. As Governor Christie so eloquently put it today:
“I don’t give a damn about Election Day. It doesn’t matter a lick to me at the moment. I’ve got bigger fish to fry,” a solemn Christie told reporters during a morning briefing in which he outlined the damage from Sandy.I'm sure that's the attitude of everyone dealing with the aftermath of this horrible storm today which is 100% understandable. Nobody wants to talk politics after something like this- but people are wondering. Slate has some potential answers. (Seems to be something up to the state/local level more than anything else. Keep an eye on things as we get closer to Election Day.)
Personally, I think it's too soon to tell how this is going to shake out. It's an opportunity for President Obama to look Presidential and demonstrate competence in dealing with this (so far, so good- disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey are already signed, I believe) and Mittens has to be careful with his sudden influx of 'Disaster Relief' stops otherwise he'll get tagged for politicizing the tragedy which is not something you want a week out from Election Day.
Had Sandy hit Delaware and Eastern PA more than New York and New Jersey, there might be some real electoral implications to consider as anything that effects turnout in PA (with either heavy damage in Philly or lots of snow/flooding in Western PA) could swing it one way or the other- but Virginia bears some watching. I doubt either New York or New Jersey were in any danger of becoming swing states (New Jersey numbers I found on RealClearPolitics last night had Obama up 10) but anything that depresses turnout could throw New Jersey wide open. It's just too soon to tell.
We'll have to see what develops over the next couple of days but my gut feeling is that this is going to act as a pause button for the race more than anything else. Barring some as yet undemonstrated act of gross incompetence on the part of the Obama Administration or Mittens being unbelievably callous and going back into full-tilt campaign mode before he should, I doubt there's much advantage to be gained for either side messing with this- and attempts to do so will undoubtedly backfire, very badly. Everybody should try and resist the temptation to win votes, roll up their sleeves and get to work. This Hurricane cold-cocked the East Coast last night- now is not the time for politics.
And finally: Ice T's wife Coco has weighed in. Just thought everybody should know that. :-)
Monday, October 29, 2012
Rock of Ages-- A Review
Finally sat down with the Missus and the, well now ex-Roomie last night and watched Rock of Ages. And after two hours and three minutes it still felt curiously incomplete for some reason. Don't get me wrong: I knew all the music and while I was probably too young to be a true devotee of 80s Hair Metal, it's a hard rockin' good time and I can appreciate that. But as a movie, I'm not entirely sure this worked.
Random tangent time: when I was in college a bunch of us got snuck into the Dukes of Hazzard armed with Pepsis that were more vodka than Pepsi and got pretty wasted in the theater. That movie, which I have yet to see sober was awesome. The Missus noted (and I agreed) that Rock of Ages would work a lot better if you were drunk and could sing along to all the songs.
Rock of Ages tells the story of Sherrie 'Sister' Christian (Julianne Hough) who's at the start of the moving is 'Motoring' her way to LA because she's a small town girl, living in a lonely world. Naturally, when she gets there she's immediately mugged (because that was Los Angeles in 1987, apparently.) And meets a city boy, Drew (Diego Boneta) who may or may not have been born and raised in South Detroit- who conveniently enough gets her a job, like you know, right away (it was 1987, man. The economy was slightly better... and because everyone who goes to LA looking for fame finds jobs RIGHT AWAY) at the legendary Bourbon Room, a rock n'roll club owned by Dennis (Alec Baldwin) and his right hand man Lonny (Russell Brand.)
The Bourbon Room is under threat from the uptight, Conservative, rock n'roll hating Mayor (Bryan Cranston) and his crusading wife Patricia (Catherine Zeta Jones going heavy on the craaaaaaazy eyes) and so Dennis turns to aging, washed up rocker Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) to play one final gig to save the club. Jaxx just doesn't care anymore, having broken up his band, Arsenal to go solo at the urging of his shady manager, Paul (Paul Giamatti) and when he meets a rock journalist Constance (Malin Ackerman) the two eventually fall in love.
There's some other random stuff too. Sherrie and Drew break up and Drew ends up in a boy band while Sherrie ends up working at a strip club run by Mary J. Blige (randomly) and Dennis and Lonny end up admitting their feelings for each other to the tune of REO Speedwagon's 'I Can't Fight This Feeling' (I wasn't sure whether to laugh hysterically or cry at this. Seriously bad.) In the end, it all works for the best. Rock n'roll doesn't die, blah, blah, blah.
I had some suspicions about this movie, namely that I thought the musical probably had more substance to it- and lo and behold, after a check of Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge) it turns out my suspicions were CORRECT! And if that's the case, then this movie does a piss-poor job with it's source material. At times, it feels like the writers just sat in a room and strung together every rock n'roll cliche they could think of until at the end they were struck by a weird case of liberal white panic and realized they had no African-Americans in the cast and made Mary J. Blige (a singer who rocks by the way- nothing against her at all) like the only African American in the cast and had her manage a strip club with all white dancers. WTF. That was almost, almost offensive to me... it's a gross misuse of Mary J. Blige's talents at the very least.
The best part about this movie: Tom Cruise. Seriously- its worth getting this from RedBox just to watch Tom Cruise. This might be his best role in years (which probably says something about the trajectory of his career) and if they had made a better movie he would have probably won some more kudos for it than he did. (Plus he sings. And he can actually sing, surprisingly enough.)
Overall: ** and a 1/2 out of **** Don't get me wrong- if you're having a karaoke party and want to get boozy and sing along, this is a fantastic movie. If you're looking for a good adaptation of the musical this isn't the movie for you and I think if celebrating the excesses of 80s Hair Metal was the goal, they could have done more than stringing two hours of clichés together. It's worth a RedBox rental and my apologies if you spent money to see this in the movie theater.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Curiosity Satisfied
You know that inspirational music that pops up attached to movie trailers, random sports related commercials and those super old public service announcements for the President's Council on Physical Fitness that Ah-nold starred in about fifteen years ago now? You know the one I'm talking about- it's currently being used by Dick's Sporting Goods in their latest commercial: 'UNTOUCHABLE.'*
Well, that got me to thinking: where the heck did this music come from?
Rudy. I should have guessed. (For the record, it's called 'Tryouts' by Jerry Goldsmith.)
*First comment under the YouTube of the Dick's Sporting Goods Commercial (at the link) states: "they could play this music showing me take a shit and it would still give you goosebumps" Truer words were never spoken.
Well, that got me to thinking: where the heck did this music come from?
Rudy. I should have guessed. (For the record, it's called 'Tryouts' by Jerry Goldsmith.)
*First comment under the YouTube of the Dick's Sporting Goods Commercial (at the link) states: "they could play this music showing me take a shit and it would still give you goosebumps" Truer words were never spoken.
Late Night Chronicles 89: An Open Letter To Hawkeye Nation
Dear Hawkeye Nation,
We need to talk. As a long time member I've been growing increasingly concerned about the state of your overall mental health and after last week's stomping at the hands of Penn State, things seems to be reaching a boiling point.
I'm not going to pretend that there aren't problems. Our offense needs help. Our quarterback is either a bust or in an epic slump. But our defense, while young has shown promise and despite two key injuries against Penn State the offensive line hasn't been woeful either. There's hope for the future. But as many of you have rightly pointed out, there's plenty of cause for concern as well.
We're at an interesting point in Coach Ferentz's tenure. He's been here long enough to reboot a couple of times leading the Hawkeyes to some truly magical seasons (2002, 2009) but it's also getting harder. The game is changing. The competition is adjusting. Coordinators have moved on. What's needed here isn't just your average reboot, it's reinvention. The truly great coaches (K-State's Bill Snyder would be the all-time example, I think we can all agree) can adjust, reboot and reinvent themselves all over again. And I think Coach Ferentz has the ability to do the same. I'm willing to give him a season or two to get his ducks in a row before turning the seat warmer up and so should everybody else. (There's also the tiny matter of his contract. If we join the mob with pitchforks, tar and feathers that seem to scream for his head after every loss, we'd be paying through the nose to get out of it. We're in a tough spot- but not a desperate one.)
So can we all calm the f--k down, please? We lost a lot of people last season and although Vandenburg's troubles seem to be deeper than just not having experienced receivers to throw too (we lost McNutt. That hurt.) This was always going to be a rebuilding/rebooting year. Success seems to have spoiled you, Hawkeye Nation. A taste of the big time with a couple of trips to the Orange Bowl and suddenly if we're not in contention to play for the big, crystal football and the response seems to be: 'FIRE THEM ALL!'
I grew up here. The first Iowa game I have a memory of watching was Iowa in the Rose Bowl in 1991. I remember when going to the Sun Bowl wasn't just a big deal, it was almost exciting. You think Vandenburg is a bad quarterback? I remember watching Matt Sherman play. And if you think Vandy is getting hate from fandom, Matt Sherman could probably tell him a thing or two. (I have a vivid memory of sitting in the south stands watching a game with my Dad while a drunken older fan- because they're always drunk and older bellowed obscenities as Sherman failed to be Joe Montana or Chuck Long for the umpteenth time.)
There's been a lot of great seasons and there's been a lot of not so great seasons but there's always been fans that come out, have a good time, enjoy some football and wear the Black and Gold with pride. We need to get back to more of that. It's probably the nature of sports to breed Monday morning quarterbacks but when pictures like this surface and when The Quiet Man (who went to the game last Saturday) tells me of an old, drunk fan (as per usual) booing and bellowing: "JOE PA IS ENJOYING THIS IN HELL! HOW DARE YOU HAWKEYES LET JOE PA ENJOY THIS IN HELL!" We've collectively lost our damn minds.
So for the rest of the season, I'm just going to take it one game at a time. We got Floyd of Rosedale back and if that's all I've got to hang my hat on at the end of the season then that's OK. (It'd be very nice to beat Northwestern too. Just sayin.*)
We're not entitled to success because we're not the ones actually doing the work. Our team works hard and sometimes it takes awhile to get back to your best. Sometimes it takes longer than a season. So when you drive around town and every once in awhile see those old school bumper stickers with a Tiger Hawk, a Rose and in big block letters: 'WE SHALL RETURN.' Remember that and calm the f--k down already.
This might not be our year. But we'll be back.
Black and Gold Forever!
Tom
*Correction: it WOULD have been nice to beat Northwestern. Alas, that didn't happen. Though it occurred to me: Northwestern, even when its having off years still manages to be that team that sneaks up on someone and bludgeons them in the back of the head when they're least expecting it. It'd be nice if Iowa could achieve that. Just sayin'
We need to talk. As a long time member I've been growing increasingly concerned about the state of your overall mental health and after last week's stomping at the hands of Penn State, things seems to be reaching a boiling point.
I'm not going to pretend that there aren't problems. Our offense needs help. Our quarterback is either a bust or in an epic slump. But our defense, while young has shown promise and despite two key injuries against Penn State the offensive line hasn't been woeful either. There's hope for the future. But as many of you have rightly pointed out, there's plenty of cause for concern as well.
We're at an interesting point in Coach Ferentz's tenure. He's been here long enough to reboot a couple of times leading the Hawkeyes to some truly magical seasons (2002, 2009) but it's also getting harder. The game is changing. The competition is adjusting. Coordinators have moved on. What's needed here isn't just your average reboot, it's reinvention. The truly great coaches (K-State's Bill Snyder would be the all-time example, I think we can all agree) can adjust, reboot and reinvent themselves all over again. And I think Coach Ferentz has the ability to do the same. I'm willing to give him a season or two to get his ducks in a row before turning the seat warmer up and so should everybody else. (There's also the tiny matter of his contract. If we join the mob with pitchforks, tar and feathers that seem to scream for his head after every loss, we'd be paying through the nose to get out of it. We're in a tough spot- but not a desperate one.)
So can we all calm the f--k down, please? We lost a lot of people last season and although Vandenburg's troubles seem to be deeper than just not having experienced receivers to throw too (we lost McNutt. That hurt.) This was always going to be a rebuilding/rebooting year. Success seems to have spoiled you, Hawkeye Nation. A taste of the big time with a couple of trips to the Orange Bowl and suddenly if we're not in contention to play for the big, crystal football and the response seems to be: 'FIRE THEM ALL!'
I grew up here. The first Iowa game I have a memory of watching was Iowa in the Rose Bowl in 1991. I remember when going to the Sun Bowl wasn't just a big deal, it was almost exciting. You think Vandenburg is a bad quarterback? I remember watching Matt Sherman play. And if you think Vandy is getting hate from fandom, Matt Sherman could probably tell him a thing or two. (I have a vivid memory of sitting in the south stands watching a game with my Dad while a drunken older fan- because they're always drunk and older bellowed obscenities as Sherman failed to be Joe Montana or Chuck Long for the umpteenth time.)
There's been a lot of great seasons and there's been a lot of not so great seasons but there's always been fans that come out, have a good time, enjoy some football and wear the Black and Gold with pride. We need to get back to more of that. It's probably the nature of sports to breed Monday morning quarterbacks but when pictures like this surface and when The Quiet Man (who went to the game last Saturday) tells me of an old, drunk fan (as per usual) booing and bellowing: "JOE PA IS ENJOYING THIS IN HELL! HOW DARE YOU HAWKEYES LET JOE PA ENJOY THIS IN HELL!" We've collectively lost our damn minds.
So for the rest of the season, I'm just going to take it one game at a time. We got Floyd of Rosedale back and if that's all I've got to hang my hat on at the end of the season then that's OK. (It'd be very nice to beat Northwestern too. Just sayin.*)
We're not entitled to success because we're not the ones actually doing the work. Our team works hard and sometimes it takes awhile to get back to your best. Sometimes it takes longer than a season. So when you drive around town and every once in awhile see those old school bumper stickers with a Tiger Hawk, a Rose and in big block letters: 'WE SHALL RETURN.' Remember that and calm the f--k down already.
This might not be our year. But we'll be back.
Black and Gold Forever!
Tom
*Correction: it WOULD have been nice to beat Northwestern. Alas, that didn't happen. Though it occurred to me: Northwestern, even when its having off years still manages to be that team that sneaks up on someone and bludgeons them in the back of the head when they're least expecting it. It'd be nice if Iowa could achieve that. Just sayin'
Friday, October 26, 2012
This Week In Vexillology #2
I'm digging into my own collection this week.
I'm still looking for a way to display them all but reaching into my random grab bag of vexillological fun, we come up with this weeks flag, appropriately enough starting with the letter A- for Angola! (Shout-out to the 1992 Dream Team. Angola was their first victim on their Road to Gold in Barcelona.)
The overall design of the flag is based on the party flag of the MPLA (Movimento Para O Libertação de Angola), which eventually came out on top of the long, bloody Angolan Civil War. The cog wheel and the machete are emblems of agriculture and of industry. The emblems are similar to the Soviet-style hammer and sickle. The flag was adopted on November 11th, 1975 for National and Civil usage.
For an interesting slide into 'what if,' here's the flag of UNITA (União Nacional Para A Independência Total De Angola) the other half of the Angolan Civil War:
Dug this description up from over here:
Angola, take a bow. And until next time, kids- keep your flags flying: freak or otherwise!
I'm still looking for a way to display them all but reaching into my random grab bag of vexillological fun, we come up with this weeks flag, appropriately enough starting with the letter A- for Angola! (Shout-out to the 1992 Dream Team. Angola was their first victim on their Road to Gold in Barcelona.)
The overall design of the flag is based on the party flag of the MPLA (Movimento Para O Libertação de Angola), which eventually came out on top of the long, bloody Angolan Civil War. The cog wheel and the machete are emblems of agriculture and of industry. The emblems are similar to the Soviet-style hammer and sickle. The flag was adopted on November 11th, 1975 for National and Civil usage.
For an interesting slide into 'what if,' here's the flag of UNITA (União Nacional Para A Independência Total De Angola) the other half of the Angolan Civil War:
Dug this description up from over here:
The flag of UNITA is a red over green over red tri-bar. On the green stripe is a 16-pointed rising sun (Angola had 16 provinces at independence; the subsequent creation of two more has not been recognized in the UNITA flag). Crowning the dawn is a black cockerel, placed to the left of the sun. The top red stripe stands for the revolution against Portugal, the bottom one for the 'second liberation struggle' - against the Cubans who back the ruling MPLA militarily. (Since the UNITA flag was used before 1975, this symbolism must have been added later). The green stands for hope, victory, and agriculture. The flag is popular amongst Angolan emigrés and was frequently seen in Lisbon during the 1992 Angolan election period.If you're into learning about massive, bloody messes of the Cold War, Angola's Civil War was a doozy. South Africa, China, The Soviet Union and the United States all had fingers in the pie at various points along the way and Cuba staged a massive military intervention to support the MPLA in November of 1975 and maintained a military presence there until 2002.
Angola, take a bow. And until next time, kids- keep your flags flying: freak or otherwise!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
St. Crispin's Day
To celebrate, taste the writer-y goodness:
For the record, they're about to fight the Battle of Agincourt, where the English gave the French a very pointed demonstration of just how effective their longbows could actually be- but leaving that aside, I'd always been curious just who the heck Saint Crispin was... well, apparently, he was a twin- who had a Saint (Crispinian) for a brother as well. They were martyred in the year 260 and are the patron Saints of cobblers, tanners and leather workers.
If you're looking for a more contemporary take on it, try this:
One of these days I'm going to have to dig up Renaissance Man and watch it again. I remember it being a pretty damn good movie. (For some reason I associate this movie with Operation Dumbo Drop. I couldn't begin to tell you why- except that Renaissance Man came out in 1994 and Operation Dumbo Drop came out in 1995. Maybe that's it.)
Not sure how best to celebrate the Feast Day though. Perhaps a crispy chicken sandwich?
For the record, they're about to fight the Battle of Agincourt, where the English gave the French a very pointed demonstration of just how effective their longbows could actually be- but leaving that aside, I'd always been curious just who the heck Saint Crispin was... well, apparently, he was a twin- who had a Saint (Crispinian) for a brother as well. They were martyred in the year 260 and are the patron Saints of cobblers, tanners and leather workers.
If you're looking for a more contemporary take on it, try this:
One of these days I'm going to have to dig up Renaissance Man and watch it again. I remember it being a pretty damn good movie. (For some reason I associate this movie with Operation Dumbo Drop. I couldn't begin to tell you why- except that Renaissance Man came out in 1994 and Operation Dumbo Drop came out in 1995. Maybe that's it.)
Not sure how best to celebrate the Feast Day though. Perhaps a crispy chicken sandwich?
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Endorsements Round 2: National Races and Issues
Kids, I've decided to break up my endorsements into three rounds this year because I want to take my time on the BIG ONE (President) and I probably won't decide that until the very last minute (November) and go from there. This election seems big enough and given the commentary I read on Facebook after each and every debate, mind-blowingly, life-alteringly, apocalyptically important to people so I'll keep you waiting on the BIG ONE for a little longer.
Endorsements:
ME-Senate Angus King: An independent candidate? Running for Senate? In the great state of Maine where he was an independent Governor back in the 90s? Kids, this is a no brainer: YES PLEASE.
MN-01 Tim Walz: I was an intern for Congressman Walz in 2008 the same semester I was prepping for comps for my Master's and getting married. I was the worst intern ever. So the least I can do is give him a thumbs up. (Bonus: He helped push legislation banning members of Congress from insider trading.) (Double Bonus: He taught Social Studies at Mankato West High School before he ran for Congress- where I worked and where Gopher Freshman QB Phillip Nelson played his high school ball. I couldn't pick Nelson out of a lineup if I tried- which given the fact I was a Security Guard/Hall Monitor meant that he was way off my radar.)
MN-06 Jim Graves: Can this be the year we retire Michelle Bachmann? Pretty please? If we can retire Steve King AND Michelle Bachmann that'd be one hell of a sweet spot.
MN-Senate Amy Klobuchar: I knew a guy once who made a deal with one of his friends that if Bruce Springsteen and Rick Springfield ever toured together they'd quit school and go be roadies for them. If Senator Klobuchar ever runs for President (and needs a roadie) I'm totally there. Sane, sensible and generally awesome, if she ever wants to run for Governor for a term or two and does a good job (which I assume she would) it'd help her chances but a public servant as dedicated and competent as she is would stand a good chance with some name recognition and the right buzz.
MO-Senate Claire McCaskill: The 'legitimate rape' douchebag she's running against made me seriously consider giving money to her campaign. And if doing so wouldn't have increased my junk mail exponentially, I might have. Missouri, please don't send a man who believes that uteri have magical rape fighting abilities to the US Senate. Please prove to the other 49 states that you're not a horrible caricature of a Red State and don't bring national disgrace down upon this country by voting for such repellant views.
Senate: A little known fact of the campaign is that the Democrat-controlled Senate hasn't passed a budget in three years. So needless to say I'm not crazy about maintaining the status quo- I mean, are we paying 100 Senators to sit on their asses and gather dust? I don't think so. But if Mittens wins the election, I'm not crazy about the idea of handing the Republicans all the keys to the car either. To be honest I can't support the idea of one party being in control of Congress until Congress actually fulfills its Constitutional obligation to be a check on the Executive Branch. I don't see that happening anytime soon. So: either full divided Government or status quo- depends on which candidate wins the White House.
House: I think the status quo is even more likely to stay here unless there's something very wrong with the polls or the bottom falls out of the Republican Party in the next two weeks. The larger problem of extremists at either end of the political spectrum making it impossible to get things done is a task for another day. So: same thing as above... either full divided Government or the status quo.
Things to Keep An Eye On:
Marijuana Legalization: Washington, Oregon and Colorado are taking a run at this issue this time around. One of those times it's going to break through and open up a whole new can of worms but keep in mind that these things tend to go big in the polls and fall very flat in the voting booth. I'd be surprised if this is the year, though given the disaster that the Drug War has been success of one of these initiatives would change the conversation which could only be good.
Same Sex Marriage: Busy year for the forces of marriage equality as well! Minnesota, Maine and Maryland have ballot initiatives while Washington State has an initiative affirming their legislature's action legalizing same sex marriage. (Another initiative to overturn the decision and limit it to one man, one woman didn't make it to the ballot. Of this fearsome foursome, Minnesota will be the interesting one to watch. If the last weekend of the Minnesota State Fair is anything to judge by, the pro-marriage equality people looked well organized and enthusiastic. I think it'll be close in Minnesota but it could sneak through.
California: Proposition 30 is the big one to watch here- Governor Jerry Brown is asking for tax increases and if he doesn't get them, things could get a wee bit ugly in the Golden State, especially where education in concerned.
It's exactly two weeks until our long national nightmare comes to an end- one way or the other. I don't know about you, kids, but I'm ready for it. This one hasn't been nearly as enjoyable as it was the last time around.
Endorsements:
ME-Senate Angus King: An independent candidate? Running for Senate? In the great state of Maine where he was an independent Governor back in the 90s? Kids, this is a no brainer: YES PLEASE.
MN-01 Tim Walz: I was an intern for Congressman Walz in 2008 the same semester I was prepping for comps for my Master's and getting married. I was the worst intern ever. So the least I can do is give him a thumbs up. (Bonus: He helped push legislation banning members of Congress from insider trading.) (Double Bonus: He taught Social Studies at Mankato West High School before he ran for Congress- where I worked and where Gopher Freshman QB Phillip Nelson played his high school ball. I couldn't pick Nelson out of a lineup if I tried- which given the fact I was a Security Guard/Hall Monitor meant that he was way off my radar.)
MN-06 Jim Graves: Can this be the year we retire Michelle Bachmann? Pretty please? If we can retire Steve King AND Michelle Bachmann that'd be one hell of a sweet spot.
MN-Senate Amy Klobuchar: I knew a guy once who made a deal with one of his friends that if Bruce Springsteen and Rick Springfield ever toured together they'd quit school and go be roadies for them. If Senator Klobuchar ever runs for President (and needs a roadie) I'm totally there. Sane, sensible and generally awesome, if she ever wants to run for Governor for a term or two and does a good job (which I assume she would) it'd help her chances but a public servant as dedicated and competent as she is would stand a good chance with some name recognition and the right buzz.
MO-Senate Claire McCaskill: The 'legitimate rape' douchebag she's running against made me seriously consider giving money to her campaign. And if doing so wouldn't have increased my junk mail exponentially, I might have. Missouri, please don't send a man who believes that uteri have magical rape fighting abilities to the US Senate. Please prove to the other 49 states that you're not a horrible caricature of a Red State and don't bring national disgrace down upon this country by voting for such repellant views.
Senate: A little known fact of the campaign is that the Democrat-controlled Senate hasn't passed a budget in three years. So needless to say I'm not crazy about maintaining the status quo- I mean, are we paying 100 Senators to sit on their asses and gather dust? I don't think so. But if Mittens wins the election, I'm not crazy about the idea of handing the Republicans all the keys to the car either. To be honest I can't support the idea of one party being in control of Congress until Congress actually fulfills its Constitutional obligation to be a check on the Executive Branch. I don't see that happening anytime soon. So: either full divided Government or status quo- depends on which candidate wins the White House.
House: I think the status quo is even more likely to stay here unless there's something very wrong with the polls or the bottom falls out of the Republican Party in the next two weeks. The larger problem of extremists at either end of the political spectrum making it impossible to get things done is a task for another day. So: same thing as above... either full divided Government or the status quo.
Things to Keep An Eye On:
Marijuana Legalization: Washington, Oregon and Colorado are taking a run at this issue this time around. One of those times it's going to break through and open up a whole new can of worms but keep in mind that these things tend to go big in the polls and fall very flat in the voting booth. I'd be surprised if this is the year, though given the disaster that the Drug War has been success of one of these initiatives would change the conversation which could only be good.
Same Sex Marriage: Busy year for the forces of marriage equality as well! Minnesota, Maine and Maryland have ballot initiatives while Washington State has an initiative affirming their legislature's action legalizing same sex marriage. (Another initiative to overturn the decision and limit it to one man, one woman didn't make it to the ballot. Of this fearsome foursome, Minnesota will be the interesting one to watch. If the last weekend of the Minnesota State Fair is anything to judge by, the pro-marriage equality people looked well organized and enthusiastic. I think it'll be close in Minnesota but it could sneak through.
California: Proposition 30 is the big one to watch here- Governor Jerry Brown is asking for tax increases and if he doesn't get them, things could get a wee bit ugly in the Golden State, especially where education in concerned.
It's exactly two weeks until our long national nightmare comes to an end- one way or the other. I don't know about you, kids, but I'm ready for it. This one hasn't been nearly as enjoyable as it was the last time around.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Bookshot #54: Halting State
Charles Stross is climbing my personal rankings of authors I should read more of. Even as Rule 34 was entertaining and thought provoking, Halting State proves to be an equally fun and wild ride- and one that I almost preferred to it's sequel, Rule 34.
Halting State is once again set in Edinburgh in the not-to-distant future (this time it's 2018) and Sergeant Sue Smith of the Edinburgh Constabulary is called to the offices of Hayek and Associates, a new dot-com start up company where a robbery has just taken place. Only this robbery is unlike any robbery that Sergeant Smith has ever dealt with. The prime suspects in this robbery are orcs and instead of big guns, they brought a dragon along for fire power, for you see, the bank in question is in the virtual world of Avalon Four- and robbing a bank in Avalon Four was supposed to be impossible.
Hayek and Associates are scared: if word gets out, their company is going to crash and crash hard and as the case gets bigger and bigger and the boundaries between the virtual and real blur more and more, Sergeant Sue Smith finds out that there's much more to this case than just a simple bank robbery in a computer game and powerful people are watching, waiting to make their moves.
And yes, that's all the plot I'm going to give you kids because for the rest- you'll have to read the book!
Stross is on point with this novel and digs a little deeper into concepts surrounding LARPing and Multi-Player Online games/worlds (like 2nd Life or World of Warcraft) and how suspectiable they would be to manipulation. (In a minor spoiler, it turns out that various intelligence agencies are running some to build a human intelligence network on the cheap- a concept that I found fascinating because it makes perfect sense. If you're into LARPing, who wouldn't jump at a chance to play James Bond in real life?) And then there's the concept of virtual versus real and how those boundaries are starting to blur... (when news of disasters/weirdness in World of Warcraft makes it to the BBC News front page, you know this trend is going to continue...)
All of it makes for mind-bending, thought provoking science fiction, set in a world of the future that might prove eeriely prophetic if the EU can claw it's way back to fiscal sanity and Scotland decides it wants to be independent. Even from a law enforcement point of view, I don't think Stross is all that out of whack- though people in British law enforcement might disagree, the trend of integrating more and more technology into law enforcement is one that's accelerating industry wide. VR-type goggles that record everything to a central server (what the characters call COPSPACE) might seem a little 'Demolition Man' when read in the world of today, but when things like e-citations are starting to get popular here and there, it's not completely out of whack to imagine such technology emerging in the future- especially in the heavily CCTV'd and surveilled British Isles.
Overall: A wild and entertaining ride through early 21st Century Scotland. Stross seems to blend cyber-punkish concepts with old school cop-noir-mystery type of concepts with near perfection and plays with the raw edge of the possibilities of future technology with wild abandon. I say **** out of ****.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Carol Danvers Is My Home Girl
Every so often, when I have to go pick up the Missus from work, I drive along with Dick Gordon and The Story from American Public Media. And over the summer, I listed to a fascinating interview with Kelly Sue DeConnick who was rebooting and refreshing Captain Marvel in a new series for Marvel Comics and I got hooked- because she was finally bringing Ms. Marvel, the old feminist icon super hero of the 1970s into the 21st Century and making her the new Captain Marvel.
Kids, I'll be honest: I'm not really a comic book guy. I got hooked on the movies because X-Men started this whole superhero wave we're living in and I grew up in the early 90s, where the excellent animated series was a staple of my Saturday morning cartoons. Marvel's recent efforts have transcended paint by numbers love letters to fandom and actually been genuinely good movies so that helped as well- despite all that, I've always had a peripheral, vague knowledge of comics, thanks mainly to my brother who seemed to know every story line and would analyze every movie and know in great detail just exactly what it had gotten wrong and how it differed from the comics. So Ms. Marvel and her alter ego Carol Danvers, I had a passing familiarity with both of them.
And there's something incredibly refreshing about this character getting a shot at the big time again. Conceived, as I mentioned as a feminist superhero (hence the Ms. in Ms. Marvel) in the late 60s, early 70s it was all hunky dory for Ms. Marvel until she hit the 80s, where a controversial storyline where she is kidnapped and forcibly impregnated against her will, leading to angry backlash over what was called 'The Rape of Ms. Marvel.' She harbored some resentment towards The Avengers for not getting her out of that jam before she ended up being attacked by the (then evil) Rogue and being absorbed into her for awhile. (Which is where I first became aware of the character, as Rogue dealt with the guilt over what she had done.)
Soon separated out, she meandered through the Marvel Universe as a new hero, Binary before re-emerging as Ms. Marvel in the early 2000s and finally becoming Captain Marvel today. In short, Carol Danvers has had some shitty luck over the years, so it was nice to hear that she'd be taking the mantle of Captain Marvel- and DeConnick was so enthusiastic in her interview with Gordon that I decided I'd check out this new series and see what's what:
Two months later and I'm already five issues in. (Yes, it's my secret brown bag of shame...) I'm going to do my best not to get sucked in to the crazy, sprawling world of comics but I have this feeling I might be fighting a losing battle. Either way, it's fascinating to get past graphic novels and see what the original medium of comics is actually like for myself. I sense I might be acquiring a new vice- but at least it's cheaper than single malt.
Kids, I'll be honest: I'm not really a comic book guy. I got hooked on the movies because X-Men started this whole superhero wave we're living in and I grew up in the early 90s, where the excellent animated series was a staple of my Saturday morning cartoons. Marvel's recent efforts have transcended paint by numbers love letters to fandom and actually been genuinely good movies so that helped as well- despite all that, I've always had a peripheral, vague knowledge of comics, thanks mainly to my brother who seemed to know every story line and would analyze every movie and know in great detail just exactly what it had gotten wrong and how it differed from the comics. So Ms. Marvel and her alter ego Carol Danvers, I had a passing familiarity with both of them.
And there's something incredibly refreshing about this character getting a shot at the big time again. Conceived, as I mentioned as a feminist superhero (hence the Ms. in Ms. Marvel) in the late 60s, early 70s it was all hunky dory for Ms. Marvel until she hit the 80s, where a controversial storyline where she is kidnapped and forcibly impregnated against her will, leading to angry backlash over what was called 'The Rape of Ms. Marvel.' She harbored some resentment towards The Avengers for not getting her out of that jam before she ended up being attacked by the (then evil) Rogue and being absorbed into her for awhile. (Which is where I first became aware of the character, as Rogue dealt with the guilt over what she had done.)
Soon separated out, she meandered through the Marvel Universe as a new hero, Binary before re-emerging as Ms. Marvel in the early 2000s and finally becoming Captain Marvel today. In short, Carol Danvers has had some shitty luck over the years, so it was nice to hear that she'd be taking the mantle of Captain Marvel- and DeConnick was so enthusiastic in her interview with Gordon that I decided I'd check out this new series and see what's what:
Two months later and I'm already five issues in. (Yes, it's my secret brown bag of shame...) I'm going to do my best not to get sucked in to the crazy, sprawling world of comics but I have this feeling I might be fighting a losing battle. Either way, it's fascinating to get past graphic novels and see what the original medium of comics is actually like for myself. I sense I might be acquiring a new vice- but at least it's cheaper than single malt.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Whisky of the Month #1: The Glen Livet, 12 Years Old
Hey, it mentions something about whiskey at the top of this blog, doesn't it? Well, whiskey was promised and whiskey I shall deliver, kids. I found 1,001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die at Barnes and Noble today- while I think conquering that particular challenge is an expensive and timely proposition, I do plan on meandering through Scotch, Irish, Canadian, Rye, Bourbon to try and fully explore the wild and wonderful world of whiskey.
To assist me in this endeavor, I've armed myself with this (at least for the Single Malts, anyway):
Yes, you read that right, it's Michael Jackson's Malt Whiskey Companion- but it's this Michael Jackson...
...not the other one.
This month's offering is The Glenlivet, 12 years old. It's what I consider to be an 'old reliable' of single malt. I've had it plenty of times before and it's decently priced- a good starter malt. (For the record: this is a Single Malt. Sip this beauty, don't mix it.)
Color: Pale Gold
Nose: Whiskey Master Michael Jackson (the dead white Whiskey Expert, not the King of Pop, an odd coincidence, I know.) says the nose is 'remarkably flowery, clean and soft.' I'm not getting the flowery part but it's certainly clean and soft- a whiff of this isn't going to burn your nose hairs off.
Body: Smooth drinkin'
Palate: Vanilla is there and I'm going to agree with Mr. Jackson that there's a hint of peach lurking in there as well.
Finish: Warms you up nicely without burning on the way down.
Overall: I'd rate this *** out of ****. A nice, solid single malt that's enjoyable and goes down smooth.
To assist me in this endeavor, I've armed myself with this (at least for the Single Malts, anyway):
Yes, you read that right, it's Michael Jackson's Malt Whiskey Companion- but it's this Michael Jackson...
...not the other one.
This month's offering is The Glenlivet, 12 years old. It's what I consider to be an 'old reliable' of single malt. I've had it plenty of times before and it's decently priced- a good starter malt. (For the record: this is a Single Malt. Sip this beauty, don't mix it.)
Color: Pale Gold
Nose: Whiskey Master Michael Jackson (the dead white Whiskey Expert, not the King of Pop, an odd coincidence, I know.) says the nose is 'remarkably flowery, clean and soft.' I'm not getting the flowery part but it's certainly clean and soft- a whiff of this isn't going to burn your nose hairs off.
Body: Smooth drinkin'
Palate: Vanilla is there and I'm going to agree with Mr. Jackson that there's a hint of peach lurking in there as well.
Finish: Warms you up nicely without burning on the way down.
Overall: I'd rate this *** out of ****. A nice, solid single malt that's enjoyable and goes down smooth.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
So Long, Newsweek...
News broke today that after 80 years in print, Newsweek will be moving to an all digital format in early 2013. This seemed to be the inevitable denouement of what once was an excellent news magazine whose decline into irrelevancy only seemed to accelerate when it was acquired by The Daily Beast a couple of years ago. I can't say I'm surprised by this, though it is a little sad.
Newsweek was the news magazine of choice of Father Cigar when I was growing up. I would irritate him greatly by stealing new issues before he had a chance to read them and always looked forward to their year end double issue that contained the greatest political cartoons of the past year. Their 'Conventional Wisdom' section at the front of every issue was a particular favorite of mine and over the years, watching the magazine get thinner and thinner and more and more irrelevant was sad to watch. Father Cigar eventually switched to US News and World Report which I considered to be a sad, pale, version of Newsweek (and probably a touch more Conservative to boot, which suited Father Cigar's changing politics) and until I fell in love with The Economist as an undergraduate, Newsweek was my go-to magazine.
Sic transit gloria mundi. I expect Time magazine will probably follow suit in the next couple of years and news also came today that the Guardian was considering ending its print edition which might lead to much rending of garments and wringing of hands on Fleet Street. (The British Press is much more fun than it's American counterpart and, refreshingly, nobody tries to pretend like they're fair and balanced. If you're a lefty the Guardian is your paper of choice. Righties tend to like The Telegraph and my personal favorite, The Independent seems to meander in between sometimes (though staying fairly left of center.) This also sums up the British Press quite nicely- and humorously as well.)
We seem to living in a rapidly decaying age of print- no doubt this trend will continue though I think The Economist proves that it's possible to have a robust digital and print presence packed to the gills with information.
Newsweek was the news magazine of choice of Father Cigar when I was growing up. I would irritate him greatly by stealing new issues before he had a chance to read them and always looked forward to their year end double issue that contained the greatest political cartoons of the past year. Their 'Conventional Wisdom' section at the front of every issue was a particular favorite of mine and over the years, watching the magazine get thinner and thinner and more and more irrelevant was sad to watch. Father Cigar eventually switched to US News and World Report which I considered to be a sad, pale, version of Newsweek (and probably a touch more Conservative to boot, which suited Father Cigar's changing politics) and until I fell in love with The Economist as an undergraduate, Newsweek was my go-to magazine.
Sic transit gloria mundi. I expect Time magazine will probably follow suit in the next couple of years and news also came today that the Guardian was considering ending its print edition which might lead to much rending of garments and wringing of hands on Fleet Street. (The British Press is much more fun than it's American counterpart and, refreshingly, nobody tries to pretend like they're fair and balanced. If you're a lefty the Guardian is your paper of choice. Righties tend to like The Telegraph and my personal favorite, The Independent seems to meander in between sometimes (though staying fairly left of center.) This also sums up the British Press quite nicely- and humorously as well.)
We seem to living in a rapidly decaying age of print- no doubt this trend will continue though I think The Economist proves that it's possible to have a robust digital and print presence packed to the gills with information.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
An Old (Literary) Friend: Terry Pratchett's Discworld
I've got a large and growing pile of books that need to be read but if you keep coming back looking for the next Bookshot, you'll be waiting awhile. I've taken a mild detour to visit an old literary friend- I'd call these books guilty pleasures but the writing is too good for that.
Yes, I've taken a detour back to Discworld and if you haven't dipped your toes in the satirical fantasy world of Terry Pratchett, you, kids, are missing out in a major, major way. The British Press ladles out praise for this man by the spoonful and it's entirely likely he's going to carve himself out a place in the Mount Rushmore of fantasy authors before he's done. But here's the rub: Pratchett isn't just good fantasy, he's good literature- he's quality writing and every so often I get the itch to plunge back into his books and just can't resist.
So, I'm back.
Since 1983, Pratchett has churned out 39 Discworld Novels. I haven't read them all and the neat part about this is you don't have too either. I know what you were all thinking- you were all thinking: 'Holy Shit, 39 books? No waaaaaaaaaay!' Yeah, not so much- this is actually several loosely connected series' woven into one overarching world/universe that just keeps getting bigger and bigger all the time. My two favorite storylines are The Witches and The City Watch books which break down thusly:
The Witches: Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, Carpe Jugulum
The City Watch: Guards! Guards!, Men At Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud!, Snuff
There are several other storylines clustered in Discworld that I haven't quite gotten into quite as much as these two. I'm not entirely sure why- but these two storylines clicked the most for me whereas the others didn't. One of these days, since Father Cigar has pretty much every Discworld book ever written (the bottom two books in the picture are actually on loan from the library of mis padres... 'on loan' meaning of course, I just purloined them for a bit.) I'm going to have to sit down and take a run at a few of them just to see if I can get back into them.
The Witches I find to be a fun storyline because of the sheer brilliance of Wyrd Sisters (take the three witches from Macbeth and build a story around them? Pretty ballsy to mess with Shakespeare but Pratchett pulls it off in hilarious fashion- Lords and Ladies drops the witches into a plot line bears a passing resemblance to A Midsummer Night's Dream, while The Phantom of the Opera floats by in Maskerade.)
The City Watch seems to resonate even more with me, especially now that I work in Law Enforcement. When Sam Vimes remarks in one of the books that the the trouble with policing is that you just can't turn it off, I know exactly what he means.
I know some of you might be rolling your eyes at witches, wizards and trolls and dwarves but this isn't your average fantasy. What makes Pratchett's Discworld so accessible is that it's a reflection of our own world- and what makes science fiction and fantasy work so damn well to me is when they tell a story that sparks the imagination and says something about the world we live in today.
Pratchett's Discworld does just that-- if you haven't checked him out, you should.
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