Archive for December, 2004
« Previous EntriesFight Another Day
Thursday, December 30th, 2004The battle appears to be over. Christine Gregoire has been declared the winner in the Washington state gubernatorial race. Secretary of State Sam Reed, a Republican, admits there were mistakes, but says there is nothing that appears fraudulent.
Sure, it is possible that there was no fraud behind the mysterious bounty of ballots that were discovered in King County. But it is definitely harder to accept selective re-canvassing of the Democrat-stronghold as kosher. You don’t have to convince me that there were questionable things happening in this race.
Left-wing bloggers have declared victory, and sneered at Rossi’s contesting of this lemon election. They’ve been doing their victory dance after the second recount conveniently gave Gregoire a 129 vote victory.
Of course, a majority of these left-wing bloggers—and a number of fringe lefties nationwide—refuse to wave the white flag and concede Ohio (even though Kerry already has) where the margin of victory was 920 times larger than Gregoire’s “victory” in Washington. Similarly, state officials have claimed on numerous occasions that no evidence of fraud, suppression, or tampering were found in Ohio.
Hell, even Wonkette concedes that Kerry lost Ohio…
I spoken about this race with Stephanie Sandlin, a radio talk show host in Spokane, Washington at KSBN Radio. We both believe that Gregoire’s victory is illegitimate. She told me that she thinks that Rossi should stop fighting for this election—but that he should not concede. At this point, I have to agree. It’s time to move on, and fight another day. Bigger and better things await Dino Rossi. Don’t believe me? Look at John Thune.
The guys over at Sound Politics have done an incredible job monitoring this particular election battle. Keep an eye on them.
Rossi should take back his call for a revote. He needs to quit while he still has the high ground. Yes, it sucks when Democrats don’t play by the rules, but the longer this drags out, Rossi is the one who risks coming out of this with mud stains. Don’t get me wrong, Gregoire does not come out of this clean. She’ll have a harder time governing effectively as a governor with a questionable victory than Rossi will have coming back in four years to challenge her again or to perhaps aim higher, perhaps putting his name in for a congressional race.
So, Dino Rossi, let’s move on, but don’t concede. Just fight another day.
MoveOn California: Liberals Need To F**k More
Thursday, December 30th, 2004Jeff Morrissette of MoveOn California writes that liberals need to start procreating more because conservatives are outspawning liberals:
In casual conversation over the last decade or so I have been putting forth the theory that domination by cultural and religious conservatives is going to increase in coming generations simply by the fact that they are breeding faster.
Conservative religious families have four to six children. Liberal families who are concerned about population control and the environment might have two, one or none.
David Heim, associate editor of the Christian Century (a mainline liberal publication) cited these figures in a study conducted in the 1980s: conservative women average 2.54 children, moderates 2.27 and liberals 1.97.
Of course, this moron fails to recognize the abortion factor into this equation at all. The further to the left you are, the more likely you are to support abortion and potentially have an abortion.
The rest of Morrissette’s article reveals that this guy is liberal bigot who clearly hates Christians and conservatives. He stereotypes, “For all their talk about abstinence these Christians are popping out babies left and right—mostly right, as in right-wing. They don’t practice birth control, don’t believe in abortion, and their children are going to be narrowly educated.”
His narrowmindedness is clear. But to liberals it is okay to stereotype conservatives and the religious right.
So what’s Morrissette’s answer to this dilemma for left-wing America?
What’s the answer? Liberals need to fuck more. Well, they probably already do fuck more, they just are more conscientious about using condoms, the patch, the pill or, when it is in the interest of the mother, considering abortion as an option.
I guess we have our proof that liberals see abortion as a form of birth-control.
Morrissette’s core arguments are based on his stereotype that all conservatives are reiligious Christians. As a secular Jew, I can confidently say that this stereotype is wrong. But that is the prevailing attitude of leftists. They think all conservatives are uneducated “religious wackos” who live in the Stone Age.
Well, guess what? Conservatives are all kinds of people. Black, white, male, female, rich, poor, Christian, Jewish, young, old, and even citizens of Massachusetts… I hear there are even some in Canada.
If conservatives’ numbers are growing and liberals’ numbers are shrinking, then I call that survival of the fittest.
You Really Think I Care?
Wednesday, December 29th, 2004Thanks to Hidden Nook, I learned that the folks over at Blogs For Hillary (BFH) have responded to “accusations” that their site is copying Blogs For Bush.
BFH is not an attempt to copy Blogs for Bush; we are so much more creative than that. The fella over there says we’re copying his “success.” Dude, You’re so vain, I bet you think this blog is about you. Don’t you? Don’t you? Well it’s not. The Blogs for Hillary effort is a counter to the nasty Blogs Against Hillary movement.
I am presuming I am “the fella” she refers to. What exactly did I say? You can see for yourself in my original post or see here:
Both [Blogs Against Hillary and Blogs For Hillary] mimic a variety of features used by Blogs For Bush. Each clearly notes the importance of building a blogroll, and adopts similar procedures Blogs For Bush used in order to build it.
Nothing there is incorrect. The primary example in both cases is that each site features a blogroll where membership is achieved by linking to the central site and e-mailing a request to the site’s owner(s). No big deal. I never said “copying my success” &mdsah but I’m flattered they were able to acknowledge that Blogs For Bush was (and is) a success.
Honestly I could care less about about Blogs For Hillary. The site has atleast two years to go before it will achieve relevence. The same goes for Blogs Against Hillary… But don’t get me wrong, whomever started these sites were wise to jump on the projects early. Hell, if I had thought I could have done it, I would have started Blogs For Bush in early 2003—when I first started bloggin—but at that point I knew very little about the blogosphere and could never have taken on such a project at that time.
But the BFH mistress ought to reread what I wrote before accusing me of being vain.
Chile Understands That “English Opens Doors”
Wednesday, December 29th, 2004The Chilean government is in the process of having its citizens learn English in order to open themselves up to more opportunities.
In many parts of Latin America, resistance to cultural domination by the United States is often synonymous with a reluctance to learn or speak English. But here, where Salvador Allende was once a beacon for the left, the current Socialist-led national government has begun a sweeping effort to make this country bilingual.
…
“We have some of the most advanced commercial accords in the world, but that is not enough,” Sergio Bitar, the minister of education, said in an interview here. “We know our lives are linked more than ever to an international presence, and if you can’t speak English, you can’t sell and you can’t learn.”The initial phase of the 18-month-old program, officially known as “English Opens Doors,” calls for all Chilean elementary and high school students to be able to pass a standardized listening and reading test a decade from now. But the more ambitious long-term goal is to make all 15 million of Chile’s people fluent in English within a generation.
This program does not lack critcism or controversy, but clearly, there are many who understand the necessity of learning English to open themselves up to bigger and better opportunities…
Now all we need to do here in the United States is get everyone to learn English. Too many here don’t learn the language, and that ends up being costly to taxpayers, and a burden for immigrants who don’t speak the language of commerce in America.
The Book That Won’t Be On Your Summer Reading Lists
Tuesday, December 28th, 2004Browsing Amazon.com last night brought to me to discover a book that was set for release on January 1, 2005 titled John Kerry: Our Forty-fourth President from the Our Presidents series by The Child’s World Publishers.
I thought this to be very odd. Was this a joke? According to Amazon the book was still set to be released on January 1, 2005. According to Barnes & Noble the book is set to be released in March of 2005. No signs of publication being cancelled.
A search on isbn.nu revealed that the ISBN is actually valid… but the book’s publication has in fact been cancelled.
That’s too bad… how funny would it have been if the book did get printed and released?
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin is amused by this discovery as well…
UPDATE: And if you’re easily amused…
“Baghdad Jim” McDermott Under Investigation
Tuesday, December 28th, 2004No, this isn’t for treasonous behavior, but it’s still not good news for the Seattle Democrat.
The House ethics committee will investigate Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., to determine whether he violated standards of conduct when an illegally recorded telephone conversation was leaked to reporters during a committee investigation.
Committee Chairman Joel Hefley, R-Colo., and ranking Democrat Alan Mollohan of West Virginia formed a four-member investigative subcommittee Tuesday to investigate the 1997 incident. McDermott was ranking Democrat on the ethics committee at the time, and the panel was investigating the conduct of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.
Click here for a press statement from the Ethics Committee.
Blackwell Calls Ohio Election Challenges Frivolous
Tuesday, December 28th, 2004And you know something? He’s right.
The secretary of state, who declared President Bush the official winner in Ohio, is seeking a court order to keep himself from being interviewed as part of a court challenge of the Nov. 2 vote.
Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell claims his deposition is not required, and accused 37 voters challenging the election of “frivolous conduct.”
The court challenge cites irregularities including long lines, a shortage of voting machines in minority precincts and problems with computer equipment.
Bush defeated Sen. John Kerry by 119,000 votes, according to Blackwell’s official count; Ohio’s 20 electoral votes gave Bush the 270 he needed for victory.
Attorney General Jim Petro, representing Blackwell, said the voters “are not trying to actually contest the presidential election but are merely using this litigation to cast public doubt on the voting system of the State of Ohio without a shred of evidence.”
Apparently the lawyers for the voters were planning to issue subpoenas to a number of high-ranking officials, including Blackwell, Karl Rove, and even President Bush.
It seems to me the only reason any fuss is being made about Ohio now is because Ohio is the state that ultimate gave the election to Bush. States won by margins similar to or small than Ohio have been left unchallenged despite numerous irregularities and potential fraud, such as Pennsylvania, where governor Rendell was behind a number of schemes which could have disenfranchised the military, and had given convicted felons the right to vote. And there were all those machines that had hundreds of ballots cast before voting had even begun. Blogs For Bush contributor Jason Smith was on the ground in Pennsylvania, and witnessed some of the shenanigans firsthand.
Perhaps should be looking at Pennsylvania, where the real funny business happened. Polls suggested a very close race in Pennsylvania. Would the Democrats like that?
John Kerry had plenty of lawyers on the ground in Ohio, that he was reported to have consulted before conceding the race. Had there been legitimate instances of fraud, suppression, or tampering Kerry would have been advised not to concede the race—and he probably wouldn’t have.
My honest opinion is that Blackwell is right, these efforts are meant solely to cast doubt on the voting system, and in effect cast doubt on the legitimacy of Bush’s presidency. Kerry will no doubt use this and his big e-mail list to his advantage in 2008.
Kerry, From Two Positions On Every Issue To None
Saturday, December 25th, 2004Some of you might remember my senator, John Kerry. He ran for President this year and lost. He was repeatedly caught taking as little as two different positions on vital issues of the campaign.
Well, now that he’s no longer running for President, he’s not taking any positions on issues:
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who championed renewable energy in his presidential bid, yesterday said he won’t take a stand on the proposed Cape Cod wind farm until the Army Corps of Engineers completes its environmental impact report next year.
“After this process is complete and the environmental impact statement is final, Sen. Kerry will make a decision based on the best interest of our state and our energy future,” said Kerry spokesman David Wade.
Kerry had been expected by some observers to weigh in on the controversial wind farm after the Army publicly released its voluminous draft environmental report last month. The failed Democratic presidential nominee, who has helped lead the fight against drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as many other environmental causes, has refused to take sides on the controversial Cape wind farm, even as he touted wind power and other forms of renewable energy during the 2004 race.
Perhaps he’s waiting for the results of the global test to come back?
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