Ending "the dorm fights of the '60s"

Joe Klein is happy to see his generation's politics begin to die off and give rise to something new--and better.

Obama and Blogspot

Parenthetically, it's rather funny that "Obama" gets tagged for a spelling error by Blogger's software. One of a few things that will likely change over the next few months.

Obama and youtube

Twice I've linked to youtube for the acceptance speech in Iowa Obama gave and twice it has become unavailable. So I searched on Obama for videos uploaded today--nothing. Then uploaded this week--nothing. What the hell is going on? It's the number one story in the world right now...

Rudy's Spin Whores

As our president would say, "Denial ain't just a river in Pakistan."

American History

Wow. Just wow. Obama wins Iowa. Convincingly. This is so encouraging and exciting. Just this alone! But to imagine him in the White House...what a testament to America if it happens. Know hope.

[Update: original video unavailable. Trying this one below]
[Update number 2: Giving DailyMotion a try. Viva L'France, I guess]

Obama Winning Speech in Iowa
Uploaded by TECHNOLOGOS

$100 a barrel

The day is here. As in now.

Biden in Iowa

Now this would be news. The article isn't talking about Biden winning Iowa, but getting to that 15% number that could keep him alive. I would love to see it, personally. Sometimes he is a bit of a toolbelt, I'll admit. But (however many years ago it was), after getting past the "aren't I handsome" smiles and quips he likes to dish out on the Sunday morning talk shows, I learned to generally like him and appreciate his views. He seems quite moderate and grounded, with sincere convictions. Most attractively, he isn't embarrassed about being a Democrat nor is he embarrassed to call some Republicans friends and some...well...ignorant or unfit for office (see below).



Though I really have no idea, I think many on the left in the D party see him as a poser of some sort--not a "true" Democrat because he's chummy with some in the GOP and talks about foreign policy all the time. Doesn't want to fight...whatever. Like I said, I don't know. But can anyone see him losing bad to anyone on the GOP side? I can't see him losing at all. He has accomplished a lot, he's well respected, he's the only one with a plan for a middle-way in Iraq, has never been accused of being a flip-flopper or a liar (to my knowledge), and is very quick on his feet in a debate and in answering questions. I can't really see why he would be a bad choice and, in fact, a pretty damn good one.

The Onion Feels it

The unseen stories about the election are what the Onion brings to all of us--patriots that they are. Not sure if this helps Obama, but maybe it wins him a bit of the "aren't I as cute as my daughter?" vote. Thompson makes an unorthodox plea here. Hillary Clinton makes a brilliant move, and Duane Bickels speaks for the mulletards.

One More Day in Iowa III

Isn't all of it at least a bit exciting for you non-political junkies? This election has the potential of re-drawing party lines, changing national discourse, even redefining what America is in the ongoing self-identification process of this country. Can you imagine a debate between McCain and Obama for the Presidency? How much more elevated and decent would that be? Two American Gentleman--with sincere, honest differences--offering two decent paths to follow. It would be the first time in the 6 general elections I've been able to participate in where the choice would truly be "which is better?" vs. "which is the least odious?" Here's hoping.

One More Day in Iowa II

And let us not forget the GOP candidates either. Romney and Huckabee are running neck and neck in Iowa and McCain is surging in New Hampshire. Giuliani seems to be going into a tail-spin, Brownback endorsed McCain, and Thompson is expected to do the same when he gets out of the race. Michigan could be critical if McCain surges since Romney was born there...hell, they are all critical. I guess we'll have to sit back and watch.

One More Day in Iowa

The candidates and their staff have to be on pins and needles. It's a three way dead heat, though Obama appears to have a slight edge as of late. Still, where will the support of Kusinich, Biden, and Richardson go to if they can't get their 15%--which appears all but certain they won't do? And, of course, if Clinton and Edwards loose by slim margins, they can spin the loss as still being in the thick of things and keep going on to New Hampshire and South Carolina. Obama could do the same if he loses Iowa as well, of course. Whatever happens, this is the most interesting race, by far, I've seen in my adult life.

Coltrane's beloved nightmare

SRV is playing third stone from the sun. It sucks--and yet it's beautiful. It's music and noise. Coltrane needed electric music to get where he was trying to get and SRV and Hendrix had it in spades. Or maybe Coltrane needed to try to break in vs. try to break out. No matter--I can't begin to keep up with all the aforementioned. If you like:

Ah, Schadenfreude

Christian love on display again. Happy Holidays.

Huckabee's other message

Maybe this is why he's in the lead. I thought it was pretty funny but, withal, about right politically.

I miss these guys

No idea what this dude worked on, but this great--better than most shows on TV. Purportedly, late night TV (to include the Comedy Central shows) are coming back in January with or without writers, with Letterman and the Late Late Show possibly working out an agreement. We'll see, but with everything going on in the elections, we could use them.



Hat Tip: Mickey Kaus.

The Ron Paul Fascination

It's hard not to route for him reading stuff like this. As much as I disagree with him on so many things, mark my words, Ron Paul has hit a nerve that American politics will have to deal with for a long, long time. Americans are more and more becoming islands unto themselves and would love nothing more than to have government leave them the hell alone. It's cross-party, cross-lifestyle, cross-religious identity, cross-everything, and the party that can capture it will capture national politics for the next 20 years. And how does one capture it? Easy. Do what Dr. Paul does and read the Constitution--a very carefully and economically worded document that espouses the same principles. Then, have the conviction to follow it.

Ron Paul's historical assessment is actually quite right. Tyranny is old, and an easy choice. Liberty, i.e. self-reliance, individual rights, personal freedom--*that* is new in the world of political ideas. And it is the only idea that can unite prostitutes, academics, pot-heads, ranchers, rednecks, urbanites, and whatever other stripe of American is out there (read the article linked above for that to make any sense).

Go Ron Paul!

Stairway to Heaven

Never heard it quite like this, I'll bet you. An album was released about 10 years ago with covers of the famous Led Zeppelin tune and now, with the magic of youtube, we have accompanying videos to go with it, though the Beatles one is the best, I think:



The Doors version is here. The video kinda sux, but it's very musically true--a lot of fun.

And so it begins

Already wrote about it, but here it comes. China begins its aerospace industry and it may be the beginning of the end of the US and European aerospace industry. I anticipate the talk of "how could they have come so far so fast?" and "how ingenious they are" when none of it is true. We all but gave it to them.

For all those CIOs out there in the US aerospace industry that know exactly what I'm talking about, drink this in. You are fat, dumb, and happy multi-millionaires that seem to have no other quality than being both untouchable *and* incompetent at the same time--so congratulations. But you helped destroy a multi-billion dollar industry in your country through your stupidity, sloth, cowardice, and inaction. Sleep well.

Anger Issues

No graphic imagery, but still not for the squeamish. OJ and Manson were gentile compared to this cat. Can't imagine what that woman could have done to deserve that.

When Galaxies Collide

Holy shmokes! Check this out:















From the article:

"This composite image shows the jet from a black hole at the center of a galaxy striking the edge of another galaxy, the first time such an interaction has been found. In the image, data from several wavelengths have been combined. X-rays from Chandra (colored purple), optical and ultraviolet (UV) data from Hubble (red and orange), and radio emission from the Very Large Array (VLA) and MERLIN (blue) show how the jet from the main galaxy on the lower left is striking its companion galaxy to the upper right. The jet impacts the companion galaxy at its edge and is then disrupted and deflected, much like how a stream of water from a hose will splay out after hitting a wall at an angle."

One question though. If not even light can escape a black hole, how can a "jet" shoot out of it?