Category: Current Affairs

The 99 Reasons to Vote Bush Out page is now at 309 reasons and counting.

That’s just my opinion. But rightleaning Andrew Sullivan seems to agree. As does this blogger who is much angrier than her perky site template would suggest. Roundups across the yowling kennel known as the conversative blogosphere are mixed in their opinion.

MSNBC is reporting a 70% win for Kerry. CNN says 78%. But as ABC reports, debates usually reaffirm what voters think rather than changing their minds and normally don’t cause changes in how candidates poll.

Nonetheless, we had a helluva time of it over here. I’m exhausted. If I drank, I’d have a stiff one in the bathrub right now. Chew on that image for a minute.

On a related note, you’ll also be thrilled to know that there is a dating service for convservatives. I was. Should Suzan and I ever break up, I have a place to develop an online evil twin. Or I can just go to Act For Love and be more like me.

With the first of three presidential debates happening this evening, keep the following Top 10 Secrets You May Not Know About The Debates as provided by the always-perceptive, often-overlooked Tavis Smiley Show, at an NPR station near you (link via Matt Haughey).

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch them. Gather some friend, order chinese food and tune in. Or find a debate party in your town. Watch and make up your own mind.

My man Baratunde has the best joke I’ve heard yet about why the president shouldn’t be bragging about his half-assed service in the National Guard. To standing members of the National Guard.

“President Bush told Guard members he was proud of his service in the
Guard. Hey, i’m proud that I managed to graduate from college without
paying my phone bill, but I don’t call up Verizon and brag about it.”

Via his blog Good Crime Think..

President Match lets you vote on how much you care about different political issues and, based on your answers, matches you with the perfect candidate. It’s a bit like taking a Cosmo Quiz.

I learned I match Dennis Kucinich 77%, John Kerry 69% and George Bush 7%. Oh and that Dennis and I are “hot, heavy and houseboat shakin!” (*squeal*) (via Eastern Villager).

My brother pointed me to this Op-Ed in the New York Times where a Republican congressman in our home state of Michigan claimed that, in order for Bush to carry Michigan this November, the ‘Detroit Vote’ (80% black) will have to be “surpressed”.

That’s more than a little creepy. Pair it with other stories about black college students threatened with arrest for voting at the wrong polling place and elderly African-Americans made the subject of law enforcement intimidation for supposedly filing incorrect absentee ballots and small wonder there’s a need for a hotline like 1-866-OUR-VOTE, to report voter harassment and intimidation.

Anyone think we wouldn’t need such a thing in 2004? Anyone think its an odd coincidence that black folks overwhelmingly vote Democrat?

Welcome to Bush America.

If you missed it last week, Fresh Air had a rare triple shot of three nearly perfect segments: Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for the New Yorker on the rebuilding of Ground Zero, Donnie Darko writer/director Richard Kelly and linguist Geoff Nunberg on how branded words (like “Kleenex”) become part of the common language. Listen now. It’s beautiful

Did you hear that sound? It was Barak Obama knocking it out of the park at the Democratic National Convention.

Full text of his speech.

Video of the speech

Jessamyn West of Librarian.net was one of the 33 bloggers invited to the Democratic National Convention. A library blog! How cool is that? Her postings will show up here.

This is perhaps the scariest picture of President Clinton I’ve ever seen. He looks like he’s about to swallow the camer whole.