Burnt Orange Report

World AIDS Day

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Though I wrote this entry two years ago on my personal site, I think it is still appropriate for today, December 1.

I cannot say that I write this entry today in honor of World AIDS Day for I feel sad that such a day should be honored. It is sad that such a day should have to exist. It is sad that I know that this day will continue to exist. For years to come.

That said, I write.

I have not ever had to deal with AIDS. I do not know of anyone close that has died of AIDS. I do not know of anyone close that has AIDS.

But I am blind to the world. I know that even though I have not been affected by AIDS, I have been.

And that makes me sad.

I have not known the pain- the pain of those that suffer from the disease, the pain of those families who know a friend is dying, the pain of those who have gone to the funeral of a friend. Or lover.

I have not known the hate that has been directed toward HIV+ people. I have not known the discrimination they have undergone because of the simple change from a - to a + after HIV.

I do not know the boy who is wasting away on the streets of a big city, because they have no life left, because their family has outcast them because of their orientation. I do not know that boy who ended up dying of AIDS because his parents could not accept him for who he was in the first place. I do not know the girl who is alone and quite and dying from AIDS because she sells herself to make money, not to buy AIDS drugs to save her life, but to buy food so that she has a life to save.

But what I do know is that too many people are ignoring these people, ignoring these stories, ignoring the facts.

I do know that my generation is ignorant. How can we be so naive as to deem ourselves invincible? How can we be so unforgiving? How can we forget?

We can forget because we never knew.
But that is no excuse. Because excuses are what end up spreading this plague.

Let this be not just a day that is forgotten once it passes. Let this not just be a month in which we just casually think about it. Let this be a reminder, an everlasting reminder, of what has and is happening so that we may be able to stop it from continuing to happen tomorrow.

Home State Advantage

By Jim Dallas

Whereas, Michael Badnarik is a homeboy, basing his presidential campaign in Buda;

Whereas, Badnarik has shown personal bravery in the face of California's push towards insanity. In his own words, he "quickly fled that socialist wasteland to come to Texas, where 'gun control' means being able to hit your target."

Whereas, Badnarik might be nuts, but at least he won't take our guns away;

Be it Resolved that Jim feels that the Burnt Orange Report should endorse Michael Badnarik of Austin, Texas for the Libertarian Party's 2004 presidential nomination.

Fox News: Investigative Reporting or Partisan Propaganda?

By Jim Dallas

FOX News is re-showing their recently produced "documentary" on education, Breaking Point: The Education Crisis in America, which the network touts as "the first in a series of groundbreaking investigative documentaries by the most powerful name in news."

There are some decent parts of the series, but the real meat of it is a rehash of anti-labor and right-wing kvetching about education.

For example, whines about the NEA and the AFT. Among other things, insinuating that the teachers unions are violating campaign finance laws since their political activism often dovetails with the Democratic Party agenda. As well as a bunch of "bleeding-heart-conservative" moaning (or crocodile tears, depending on how you look at it) about how kids are "trapped" in the public education system.

(Of course, using that logic, FOX News ought to be brought down for "coordinating" with the Republican Party).

For example, woefully unfair and unbalanced views of charter schools and school privatization, portraying them as panaceas, when study after study shows that charters and vouchers do very little to actually improve educational quality.

And note, this is just the beginning (apparently) of a string of FOX "documentaries" about over-hyped "crises" full of right-wing schtick padded with touchy-feely bits about "the one good liberal teacher" or what ever.

Any case, you have to see it to believe it (oh, and yeah, I also couldn't find the transcript yet on Lexis-Nexis, so you really do have to see it to believe it). And besides, here at Burnt Orange Report, "We Report, You Decide."

Greens Divided over 2004

By Byron LaMasters

The Houston Chronicle has a good story today about the Green Party's debate over what they'll do for the 2004 Presidential Election. Greens would be smart to take the approach suggested by Presidential candidate David Cobb (well they'd be smartest to just bite the bullet and support the Democratic nominee, but I digress):

The first to declare his presidential bid is Green Party general counsel and former Houston attorney David Cobb, 41. Since September, Cobb has been traveling the Green Party circuit seeking support for his so-called "safe states" campaign strategy, targeting areas that are not expected to be major party battlegrounds next year.

It's a game plan Cobb and his supporters believe will help defeat Bush while drawing the 5 percent of votes needed to secure federal matching funds and future ballot access for the Greens.

"The way we do it is by focusing resources on those states where the vote is already pre-determined," Cobb said in a recent interview from a campaign stop in Delaware. "At most, 10 to 12 states are likely to be swing states next year."

That means Cobb will be targeting such states as Texas, Massachusetts, California and New York, while the Republican and Democratic contenders focus their sights on swing states like Florida, Michigan and Ohio.

I've made the arguement many times that there is no difference between the Greens and Republicans. They both have the same goal of defeating Democrats and electing Republicans. And while I'd never consider voting for a Green, even in Texas where the Democrat has little chance of victory, I'd be much more accepting of the Green Party if they shifted their efforts to non-swing states. Ralph Nader's impact in the 2000 election went beyond the two states (Florida and New Hampshire) where the Gore + Nader vote was greater than the Bush + Buchanan vote. Nader's success in states like Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin caused Gore to spend time and money on those states during the final weeks of the campaign, when that time could have been spent in Ohio, Florida, New Hampshire, West Virginia or Tennessee.

Possibly the best news, however, of the Chronicle article is evidence that the Green Party is having the same fate of the Constitutional Union, Greenback, People's, Prohibition, Populist, Progressive, Socialist, Union, States' Rights Democratic, American Independent and Reform Parties. These Parties, along with every other "third party" of the past 150 years have had an influence for an election or two, but eventually disputes and infighting led to their decsent into irrelevence:

But even among the notoriously independent Greens, Cobb's decision to run for president is proving unorthodox and divisive.

Ralph Nader, the party's 2000 presidential nominee, has yet to announce whether he'll run again next year. He has said he'll make a decision by the end of 2003.

As with many issues, Greens are divided on the Nader issue. Some say the high-profile consumer activist is crucial to keeping the party viable next year, while others want the party to back a candidate, such as Cobb or someone else, from within the party's own ranks.

Still others believe the Greens should sit this one out, and concentrate on grass-roots party building.

Among those favoring a presidential campaign in 2004, support is divided among those who like Cobb's plan for targeting the safe states, and others who want a no-holds barred, run-at-all-costs, full-blown national campaign.

Will we be able to write the Green Party's obituary in 2004? Let's hope so...

Cowboys stomped.

By Jim Dallas

With 20 seconds left, the Miami Dolphins just picked off a pass in the End Zone to seal a 40-21 win. The Dolphins and Cowboys are both now 8-4.

I'm still impressed b the Cowboys' record this year, even if I'm glad to see them lose (and especially today on this very Happy Thanksgiving).

A Thanksgiving Surprise, and a Thanksgiving "Surprise"

By Jim Dallas

(1) President Bush is in Iraq today handing out turkey and stuffing to the troops. One side of me is touched and grateful. The other side of me recognizes that dubbed footage of the visit will later be used in a Republican campaign ad.

(2) On the verge of going 4-8 for the Aggies' worst season in thirty years, The Houston Chronicle tells us that Coach Franchione thinks beating Texas tomorrow is important.

Consider, at least for a second, the one original observation in the Chronicle story:

The once-vaunted "Wrecking Crew" defense has been practically pointing the way to the end zone, allowing an average of 38.1 points over 11 games, which makes A&M last in the Big 12, behind even Baylor (11th at 37.9).

The Aggies, who are 113th out of 117 Division I-A teams in scoring defense, have allowed 35 points to Virginia Tech, 37 to Pittsburgh, 38 to Oklahoma State, 45 to Missouri, 48 to Nebraska, 59 to Texas Tech and a whopping 77 to Oklahoma.

In their seven losses, the Aggies dug themselves a hole fairly quickly, getting outscored 97-6 in the first quarter. And they now take on a Texas team that, with Vince Young, Cedric Benson and Roy Williams leading the way, is averaging 42.5 points per game.

It's always dangerous to get cocky before the A&M game, but suffice it to say I think Texas might be favored ("surprise!")

Haiku Thursdays (11/27/03)

By Jim Dallas

Don't be a turkey,
donate to the DNC.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey, Carl Whitmarsh is Famous!

By Jim Dallas

At least if that's a prerequisite to getting into BrainyQuotes's database of famous quotes. Link.

Of course, for those of you in Senate District 15 or receiving messages from one the many mailing lists (or his CEWDemMessenger list) that Mr. Whitmarsh is on (or for those of you who have had the honor of meeting him at one point or another, as I did in El Paso last year), then this ought to come as no surprise.

More Coolness from NASA

By Jim Dallas

Send your name to a comet, courtesy of NASA.

And get a spiffy participation certificate, too.

Participation Certificate

Presented to
James Evan Dallas

On November 26, 2003

Thank you for your participation in the Deep Impact Discovery Mission to Comet Tempel 1. A compact disc bearing your name will be mounted on the impactor spacecraft that will collide with Tempel 1 making this the first mission ever to look deep inside a comet.

You are now part of the future discovery of clues about the beginning of our solar system as your name makes a Deep Impact!

Dr. Edward J. Weiler
Associate Administrator
NASA Office of Space Science

Michael F. A'Hearn
Principal Investigator
Deep Impact Mission
University of Maryland

Certificate No. 418927

Free the hard drives!

By Jim Dallas

I see where they are coming from, but frankly I think this is "liberal guilt" run amok --

CNN: 'Master' and 'slave' computer labels unacceptable, officials say

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Los Angeles officials have asked that manufacturers, suppliers and contractors stop using the terms "master" and "slave" on computer equipment, saying such terms are unacceptable and offensive.

The request -- which has some suppliers furious and others busy re-labeling components -- came after an unidentified worker spotted a videotape machine carrying devices labeled "master" and "slave" and filed a discrimination complaint with the county's Office of Affirmative Action Compliance.

In the computer industry, "master" and "slave" are used to refer to primary and secondary hard disk drives. The terms are also used in other industries.

"Based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County, this is not an acceptable identification label," Joe Sandoval, division manager of purchasing and contract services, said in a memo sent to County vendors.

For the record, a "slave" in computer jargon is defined as "a device (as the printer of a computer) that is directly responsive to another." (Alternative definition). It is not a direct reference to slavery (as it existed in the Untied States) nor does it impugne the descendants of slaves.

It's things like this that undermines the credibility of institutions who have, in the past, had reasonably progressive positions on race. It's a juicy target for those backwards people who haven't gotten around to accepting that the South lost the Civil War (indeed, one is tempted to say "it's too good to be true" -- except this is true, according to Snopes.com).Being sensitive to others in the way that we talk and write is a noble enterprise, but, "discretion," as they say, "is the better part of valor."

Posts Today

By Byron LaMasters

I probably won't be posting today. I'm busy all day, then I'm driving to Dallas tonight for Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'll get caught up tomorrow between Turkey and Football.

As for the "." post. Glad to see it garnered so much debate. I posted it because I was having trouble getting BOR to load after I had done a post (I think it might have to do with clicking on view site while a post is rebuilding, and continuously hitting refresh - yeah, I'm impatient). Anyway, the period made the page load without a problem and I would have deleted it but seeing that it started discussion, I kept it up. I guess I'll have to try it again sometime. A few more comments and it will be right up there with abortion and gay rights as the most debated topics on BOR.

Laura Miller Recall Effort Fails

By Byron LaMasters

The Dallas Morning News reports:

The drive to recall Mayor Laura Miller sputtered to a temporary halt Monday, as organizers acknowledged that they had failed to collect the signatures needed to force an election.

But they vowed to immediately refocus their attention on a newly launched recall effort, promising perpetual petition drives as long as Ms. Miller remains in office.

Opponents of the mayor had collected thousands of signatures in a frantic effort to meet Monday's deadline for submitting their petitions. But less than an hour before the cutoff, organizers announced that they had fallen short of the 72,873 signatures required.

Organizers say they will try again, but there's no reason to believe that the result will be any different next time around. Personally, I just think that people aren't really up for recalls in the aftermath of the California recall. Just yesterday it was announced that the recall against Nevada governor Kenny Guinn had failed. Both failures are good news. While I was angry about the California recall for a few days afterwards and was ready to see an immediate recall of Arnold, after reflecting on the whole ordeal, I've come to reaffirm what I thought about recalls in the first place. They're bad for democracy and should only be used in the most extreme cases when an elected offical has severely abused his/her power.

.

By Byron LaMasters

Queens for Dean

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

No, I'm not talking about Byron or I, I'm talking about the Queens Democratic Party which looks set to endorse Howard Dean tomorrow...

via CRAIN'S

The Queens Democratic Party is preparing to endorse Howard Dean for president on Tuesday, insiders say.

With one of the strongest party organizations in the state, the Queens Democrats' endorsement will carry with it the support of 45 elected officials.

The move is a blow to supporters of Gen. Wesley Clark, who have been soliciting Queens district leaders, without success, to run as delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Mr. Clark visited party headquarters early this month, when party boss Thomas Manton hosted a breakfast for him.

This should not be underestimated, as this article gives a hint to how this group gets behind their endorsements and delivers the votes for them.

This news comes fresh off the other news that the Dean Campaign picked up the endorsements of yet two more Congressonial Representatives, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez, from the tri-boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, and Congressman Joseph Crowley, from New York's 7th district. That would bring up the total of Congressonial endorsements to 14, with a number of them in just the last two weeks.

One other note, Gwen Graham daughter of Sen. Bob Graham who dropped out of the 2004 race months ago, has now joined the Dean campaign as "National Surrogate and Southern Regional Advisor".

This type of action may be fortelling the possibility that others are seeing Dean as being more than just a frontrunner, and more or less the presumptive nominee. That's also why the other 8 running have been picking up in their attacks on every issue as shown in the Iowa debate tonight. Granted, there are many questions that remain and Iowa is still 2 months away, but one must not discount recent happenings.

Crazy People for Congress

By Byron LaMasters

From Lloyd Doggett to John Devine, Texas' own Roy Moore in the 10th district.

Check this out:

As judge, John Devine received national acclaim by refusing to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom and defeated a lawsuit brought by liberal activists.

Via Slightly Rough, Off the Kuff and Greg's Opinion.

Where do your Tech Support Calls Go?

By Byron LaMasters

I'm not much of a fan of Dell Computers, but this is some interesting news:

After an onslaught of complaints, direct sales computer king Dell Inc. has stopped routing corporate customers to a technical support call center in Bangalore, India.

Tech support for Optiplex desktop and Latitude notebook computers will be handled from call centers in Texas, Idaho and Tennessee, Dell spokesman Jon Weisblatt told The Associated Press Monday.

[...]

Dell is one of a number of high-tech companies that has in recent years moved jobs offshore to India and other developing nations for the cheaper labor, which in Dell's case helps keep down the cost of providing round-the-clock support.

Corporate customers account for about 85 percent of Dell's business, with only 15 percent coming from the consumer market. Consumer callers won't see a change in technical support, Weisblatt said, and Dell has no plans to scale back resources at the Bangalore call center.

Worldwide, Dell employs about 44,300 people. About 54 percent are located abroad.

Companies like Dell are one of the reasons why we've lost so many jobs over the past several years. I'm all for globalization (it's inevitable), but it's critical to understand that its no longer just the manufacturing jobs that are going overseas. What can the government do about this? I'm not sure. But I do know what consumers can do. We can demand that companies have their technical support services in the United States, and if they don't then don't buy their products. I've had very bad experiences with Dell (and note that I was a little bit angry when I made that page), and for a year or so, everytime I saw a Dell ad talking about their tech support awards, I wanted to throw something at the TV. I've mellowed a bit, but it's interesting to see that I'm not the only one with problems with Dell tech support:

Among Dell customers dissatisfied with the company's use of overseas labor is Ronald Kronk, a Presbyterian minister in Rochester, Pa., who has spent the last four months trying to resolve a miscommunication that has resulted in his being billed for two computers.

The problem, he says, is that the Dell call center is in India.

"They're extremely polite, but I call it sponge listening _ they just soak it in and say 'I can understand why you're angry' but nothing happens," Kronk said.

Kronk has been credited for the second computer, but still faces late charges on a balance he said he never owed.

"Every time I see a Dell commercial on TV, I just cringe. They make it sound so easy and it's been a nightmare," Kronk said. "I even said to them once that I'd like to speak to someone in the U.S. They gave me a number but it's a recording and I can't speak to a human being."

Contact Dell. Demand that all of their technical support, not just for their corporate clients be done in America.

Ninja-gate?

By Jim Dallas

A friend of mine brought to my attention the Internet Movie Database's listing for "Howard Dean", which include the governor's September appearance on Jay Leno as well as a minor role in a "B" grade ninja movie from the 1980s.

That was certainly news to us, as we were under the impression that Dean was a doctor in Vermont in 1984, not a B-movie star. It's possible it's another Howard Dean, after all -- there are at least 41 men named Howard Dean in California alone (according to Yahoo!), and at least 40 other listed Howard Deans throughout the entire country (per Switchboard).

Due to the awesome amount of data it collects, IMDB often makes mistakes, and perhaps its referring to another Howard Dean. I called the Dean for America national headquarters this morning, and while I was thanked for bringing it to their attention, I got no comment as to whether Dean was into ninjitsu.

(Movies.com also lists a Howard Dean as an actor in this movie).

Still, that didn't keep the usual band of rogues and misfits from having a little fun with this, including suggesting a new campaign slogan for the Dean campaign that might woo the crucial ninja vote:

• Howard Dean is a mammal.
  
• Howard Dean fights ALL the time.
  
• The purpose of the Howard Dean is to flip out and kill people [metaphorically].

Still, this isn't the first time that the "Dean as Ninja" meme has floated around. Consider for example the "Dean Karate School" comic that Internet Weekly Report put out a while back.

In any case, I am waiting patiently for the Dean staffers in Vermont to address the ninja issue, now that they are aware of it. Just imagine the other candidates responses to this --

Joe Lieberman: "Al Gore and I fought to get ninjas off of television."

Wesley Clark: "If he wanted to play with nun-chuks, he should have joined the Army."

John Edwards: "Not every Southerner likes ninjas. Did I mention I am the son of a mill worker?"

And so on. This could in fact be the defining issue of this election.

How We Got There (an opinion greatly aided by 20/20 hindsight)

By Jim Dallas

Over the last few weeks, through the use of 20-20 hindsight, I've made a few conclusions about US foreign policy towards Iraq. Arguably, you can't argue with somebody unless you undertand how it is that they interpret history and what lessons they draw from it. For the sake of public debate, here is how I understand the backstory to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

We need to flash back to December 1998, during Operation Desert Fox, which was launched by President Clinton in concert with our British allies. This marks the real beginning of US policy of "pre-emptive" war against Iraq, and showed the weakness of the policy of dual-containment which had been undertaken by the first Bush administration and continued by President Clinton.

The policy relied essentially on two pillars. The first was weapons inspections, the second was sanctions. (A strong case could be made that by 1998 regime change was already official US policy).

During the 1990s, Saddam systematically misled the United States and UN weapons inspectors (though arguably both the US and UN share some of the blame for the failure of inspections). The result was that our government and our allies simply did not know what was going on in Iraq in regards to weapons of mass destruction. And considering the fact that Saddam certainly had chemical and biological weapons before and possibly after 1992, there was a lot to worry about.

When President Clinton ordered air strikes in 1998, the situation was made worse, because inspectors were forced out (or withdrawn by the UN, depending on how you frame the events). Our limited knowledge about Iraqi NBC weapons became even more limited.

Moreover, the sanctions put in place after the first Gulf War were not accomplishing what they were intended to. Although Saddam never successfully rebuilt his army (which had been funded in no small part by the US, which after the first Gulf War was persona non grata, and by the USSR, which after 1992 simply did not exist anymore), the Iraqi people suffered by being cut off from the rest of the world. While Saddam deserves primary blame for that, the US and the UN were certainly complicit in letting the sanctions regime condemn the Iraqi people instead of the Iraqi dictator.

Moreover, in a separate-but-related arena, the Clinton administration tried (but failed) to exert pressure on Al-Qaeda and similar terrorist organizations in its last couple years. While the political will existed to use force to subdue Osama bin Laden, actual effort seems to have been sporadic and hard to explain to a GOP congress which was increasingly isolationist and averse to any serious foreign policy discussion in 1998 and 1999. Obviously, the country was already distracted by more serious issues like Monica Lewinsky, school vouchers, and "partial-birth abortion."

But in sum, the policy of Iraqi containnment was clearly failing by the end of the decade, and the inability of the Clinton administration to articulate an alternative framework for dealing with Saddam was extremely short-sighted, and created a policy vacuum (a lack of real ideas) that allowed a patently nutty idea like invading Iraq to advance unchecked two years later.

So by the time President Bush took office in 2001, something had to give. At first, it seemed that the Bush administration was considering what Secretary of State Powell called "smart sanctions", which to some suggested that US-Iraqi relations might be liberalized and perhaps eventually normalized. Provided, of course, that realists like Powell could suppress the protests of neoconservatives in the Pentagon (who by early 2001 were already planning for war).

The tragedy that occurred on September 11 of that year clearly forced the administration to re-evaluate the situation and finally get "serious" about terrorism, or at least try to continue the unfinished business of the Clinton administration in subduing Al Qaeda. The problem is that, aside from a stunningly successful war against terrorist-harboring Afghani Taliban, there were very few tangible things that the President could do to vanquish Osama bin Laden himself.

September 11 also forced Bush to revisit the attitude of the Clinton administration towards "rogue states." While there has never been any evidence to link the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to any rogue state whatsoever, many of the "what-ifs" that had been advanced during the 1990s involving rogue states, terrorists, and "weapons of mass destruction" suddenly became more palpable. Hence the "Axis of Evil" speech delivered in the months immediately after 9/11.

The desire to "do something, anything" after 9/11 manifested itself in truly awful policy-making. Hence the USA PATRIOT Act, which many lawmakers have since regretted. This attitude also influenced the Bush administration's rapidly shifting (and prior to 9/11, possibly non-existant) policy on Iraq.

In mid-2002, UN weapons inspectors had been absent from Iraq for nearly four years, and the lack of intelligence (evidenced by the failure by the US to find any "WMDs" in Iraq thusfar) was staggering. We simply did not know what was going on. After 9/11, this was unacceptable.

So the Bush administration began considering military action against Iraq - on the basis of what they did not know or could not know. And the US Congress approved a use-of-force resolution justified, essentially, by ignorance.

Eventually, Secretary of State Powell convinced the President to do the right thing and go to the UN. Eventually, the give-and-take of global politics led to the passage of UNSC Resolution 1441, which given the tensions and anxieties of the time, was a masterful compromise which might have laid the groundwork for a return to a "normal" state of affairs with Iraq. The United States, and the world, had a right to know what Saddam Hussein had been doing during the absence of UN weapons inspectors. The renewal of inspections uner Res. 1441 offered a chance for the US and the UN to figure out whether Iraq actually posed a threat to its neighbors (and the Coalition).

Had the drive to war ended in November 2002, when Iraq relented to UN pressure under the threat of war, the world might have had peace as well as piece-of-mind. And George W. Bush would have succeeded in making a broken process work again.

But it did not. The weapons inspectors came away with mixed evidence for and against the presence of illegal weapons, and despite the need for more time to come to a real conclusion, Bush's patience simply ran out. And the rest, as they say, is history.

In sum, there was a bi-partisan failure under both the Clinton and Bush administrations to develop a realistic, long-term strategy for dealing with Iraq that did not involve the use of force -- and when one seemed to emerge when the UNSC passed Resolution 1441 unanimously, the Bush administration simply rejected it out of hand.

There were some advantages to the eventual outcome -- US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. The most of important of which was the removal of Saddam Hussein from power. But the disadvantages cannot be overlooked either, and I remain convinced that on balance it will not be viewed kindly by history (and given the since-aborted framework for regime change tentatively developed under the Iraqi Democracy Act, it cannot be said that war was the only option for removing the dictator).

The President's political team has tried to paint the occupation of Iraq as not merely a success (which is dubious in-and-of-itself), but as a bold new approach to the Middle East. But quite frankly, I do not believe that what has unfolded in Iraq can be understood without considering the policies adopted by the Clinton administration (after all, weren't anti-war people reminded over and over again that the left was "hypocritical" because Clinton bombed Iraq because of alleged NBC weapons?) and, more importantly, the weaknesses of those policies. Moreover, eventually historians are going to need to grapple with why Clinton's adventures abroad (to wit, Bosnia and Kosovo) were so successful and relatively-bloodless, compared to the quicksand-quagmire that Iraq is rapidly becoming.

Dollars and Delegates

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Money doesn't win you a presidential nomination, having enough delegates does. Money helps you win those delegates, so an outsider to the political system might think that wherever the delegates are, that's where the money would go. But this is not the case. Because of the media and the traditions of holding certain primaries and caucuses for certain states early, this is skewed. Money is disproportionately spent on the order of state primaries, regardless of delegate votes.

I thought I might spend my Saturday night investigating this some.

Some candidates in the 2004 Democratic Primary do not have enough money to mount campaigns except in one or two early states. For the purpose of the type of analysis that I wanted to do, this would not work as I need a nation-wide campaign. This, of course, can be easily found in the Howard Dean campaign.

First I found a state spending distribution table from FEC filings. I then found a listing of the Total Pledged Delegate Votes for each state here, along with their election dates. I then divided dollars spent in each state, by the delegates that could be awarded based upon the election returns that night and created a "Dollars/Delegate" ratio. This excel table is posted here.

(Super delegates and unpledged persons that are not derived from the voting of each state's normal Democratic voters were not counted in my delegate totals as there is no direct relationship between state spending and congressional endorsements, for example)

The result is as follows...

Analysis in extended entry....

With Dark Green representing the most money per delegate and Dark Red representing the lowest spending per delegate one can see right off the bat (if they knew nothing about the election dates) that spending in states does not follow the logic of using money to get delegates to win the nomination.

But since we know that there exists the primary process and the media, there is an explanation for this otherwise odd behavior.

Some comments....

(note: Media State means a state is useful for generating buzz and headlines rather than any actual useful number of delegates towards the nomination and thus is the driving force. Delegate State means a state useful for gaining delegates towards the nomination and thus is the driving force for any spending.)

ANALYSIS OF TOP 15 TOTAL DOLLAR STATE SPENDING

In order, Iowa, South Carolina, Arizona, New Hampshire....all make sense due to being earliest primary states. Media States.

Next, Massachusetts and New York....large delegate states that also happen to have nearby media markets. Super Tuesday states.

Washington, Oklahoma, New Mexico....few delegates, but second wave February primaries. Media States (Washington, slightly less so)

California, Texas...huge delegate states, March primaries. Here is an example of the Dean Campaign spending money for delegates since it has the resources to do so. It is a smart move to create a delegate safety net in case 'media states' are being lost in February.

Wisconsin, Illinois...the latest primary states to date, moderate delegate size. Proximity to Iowa makes me think that some spending here is related more to nearby markets as these two are too far down the line to be used as safety nets.

D.C....totally for media concerns and Dean Campaign efforts to prove viability among Black voters.

Nebraska...spending here is Iowa related. It's May primary and small delegate share warrant no spending this early otherwise.

Rhode Island...Super Tuesday state, easy to cover with minimal spending. This is probably cheap window dressing.

SHORT ANALYSIS ON DOLLARS/DELGATE RATIOS

The top six Dollar/Delegate Ratios are New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Not a big surprise since these are the earliest that it gets. They also are Media States and combined have only 230 delegates, as much as New York has by itself.

Next are Massachusetts and Washington, early and more delegate rich.

Wisconsin is an oddball to me. It is late (April) and not a huge delegate state. Only explanation is that this is Iowa related being that it is next door. If not, this seems to be a waste of money here.

SHORT ANALYSIS ON PRIMARY ORDER

Unless the campaign isn't reporting all their numbers, there is virtually no spending in the early Feb. 3 states of Missouri, North Dakota, and Delaware. The latter two could be explained by their very low delegate totals, 14 and 15 respectively. Missouri would normally be a target, but as this will be a showdown with Gephardt, the money had to be spent first in Iowa. If he's knocked out there, no sense in worrying about Missouri then. If he survives, look to see money shift here quickly. In addition, of the Feb 3 states, Dean is spending in all the Southern ones and none of the northern ones. This could be related to proving that he is viable in the south as well as the fact they are worth more delegate wise.

Michigan, Feb. 7, is the same case as Missouri in my opinion. Same circumstances.

The rest of February has been given up upon. Likely money is being divided into the first half of the Media States pre-March, and then the big delegate states in March (which contains a boatload of the delegate share with California, New York, Texas, and Florida all residing there). Even though the campaign has money, it can't spend it everywhere, and later Media State are not important if you lose early Media States. And since they aren't delegate states, there is no other possible reason to be spending in them early.

Comments. Suggestions. Corrections.
Speak.

Dallas, America Remembers JFK

By Byron LaMasters

More than 5000 remembered John F. Kennedy in Dallas today on the 40th anniversary of his assassination.

What is it with JFK and Americans? Why is it that he's tied with Abraham Lincoln in the latest Gallup poll as America's greatest president ever? I'd never rank Kennedy as our best President. Personally, I'd rank the top five U.S. Presidents as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Harry Truman (probably in that order). I'd probably place JFK in the top ten (along with Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, maybe James Madison, maybe James Polk (yeah, I'm a multilateralist now, but if I were around in the 19th century, I probably would have been a believer in Manifest Destiny - it was the right policy for the 19th century, while multilateralism and international cooperation is the right policy for the 21st century), maybe Bill Clinton and maybe LBJ). For me, JFK doesn't climb much further up the ladder for me, because his term was cut short after three years. Had he served two terms, he probably would have had the opportunity to become one of our best president's ever. The same goes for RFK. But he didn't have the chance. And maybe that's why Americans hold him in such high regard. Heck, I never had the chance to see or hear Kennedy, but I've heard and watched his speeches. And they inspire me. I've got a poster of Kennedy in my room with his picture and his quote "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country". Why? I wasn't around when he said that, and I don't consider him one of our greatest presidents. So why the Kennedy picture / quote? It's inspiring. Every time I hear that speech I get goose bumps. The line from Primary Colors by Henry Burton probably sums it up just as good as any:

"It must have been very different when my grandfather was alive," Burtons tells Mrs. Stanton. "Hey, you were there. You had Kennedy. I didn't. I've never heard a president use words like 'destiny' and 'sacrifice' without it being bull. And, okay, maybe it was bull with Kennedy too, but ... but, people believed it. And, I guess, that's what I want. I want to believe it."

Kennedy will always be remembered, less for what he accomplished as President, but for his ability to inspire a generation by speaking about broad ideas and themes without sounding like bullshit. It may have been bullshit, but he made it seem real. It's real to me. When I need some inspiration, I just turn my head left and take a look at JFK on my wall.

There's a very thin line between "contributions" and bribes...

By Andrew Dobbs

Via the Washington Post:

More than three dozen of President Bush's major fundraisers are affiliated with companies that stand to benefit from the passage of two central pieces of the administration's legislative agenda: the energy and Medicare bills.

The energy bill provides billions of dollars in benefits to companies run by at least 22 executives and their spouses who have qualified as either "Pioneers" or "Rangers," as well as to the clients of at least 15 lobbyists and their spouses who have achieved similar status as fundraisers. At least 24 Rangers and Pioneers could benefit from the Medicare bill as executives of companies or lobbyists working for them, including eight who have clients affected by both bills....

The energy and Medicare bills were drafted with the cooperation of representatives from dozens of industries. Power and energy company officials; railroad CEOs; pharmaceutical, hospital association and insurance company executives; and the lobbyists who represent them are among those who have supported the bills and whose companies would benefit from their passage....

The energy bill provides industry tax breaks worth $23.5 billion over 10 years aimed at increasing domestic oil and gas production, and $5.4 billion in subsidies and loan guarantees. The bill also grants legal protections to gas producers using the additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), whose manufacturers face a wave of lawsuits, and it repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA), a mainstay of consumer protection that limits mergers of utilities....

Public Citizen, which has tracked the legislation and correlated patterns of contributions to members of Congress and to Bush, denounced the bill as "a national energy policy developed in secret by corporate executives and a few members of Congress who are showered in special interest money."

Perhaps the single biggest winner in the energy bill, according to lobbyists and critics, is the Southern Co. One of the nation's largest electricity producers, it serves 120,000 square miles through subsidiaries Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric, along with a natural gas and nuclear plant subsidiary.

The repeal of PUHCA, for example, would create new opportunities to buy or sell facilities; "participation" rules determining how utilities share the costs of new transmission lines that are particularly favorable to Southern; two changes in depreciation schedules for gas pipelines and electricity transmission lines with a 10-year revenue loss to the Treasury of $2.8 billion; and changes in the tax consequences of decommissioning nuclear plants, at a 10-year revenue loss of $1.5 billion, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

At least five Bush Pioneers serve as a Southern Co. executive or as its lobbyists: Southern Executive Vice President Dwight H. Evans; Roger Windham Wallace of the lobbying firm Public Strategies; Rob Leebern of the firm Troutman Sanders; Lanny Griffith of the firm Barbour Griffith and Rogers; and Ray Cole, of the firm Van Scoyoc Associates....

In addition to the prescription drugs provision, the Medicare bill is intended to encourage recipients to join preferred-provider organizations (PPOs) and other kinds of private health care, instead of receiving care through the traditional fee-for-service system in which they pick their doctors and generally get whatever care they request. The health industry has provided substantial support to the Bush campaign, and a number of officials whose companies and associations actively support the Medicare bill are Pioneers and Rangers .

So, let's say that I run a business and the local mayor can push through a new city ordinance that would stand to make me tens of thousands of dollars, and to ensure that it goes through, I give him a couple of grand. The mayor and I would probably both end up in jail. But if instead I'm a highpower lobbyist or CEO and the mayor is the president and I stand to make billions and instead of a couple of grand I donate a couple of hundred grand, its called campaign contributions!

These two pieces of legislation are despicable, idiotic pieces of slapdash crap. One seeks to end the system of regulation of fuel and energy companies that was established to end the system of robber barons that milked millions of consumers in the 19th and early 20th century and the other seeks to defund an entitlement that ensures that the elderly will have medical care. Too bad the average consumer or middle class elderly person doesn't have the cash to drop a couple of hundred G's on Bush's campaign, maybe then he wouldn't be so deadset on screwing them out of what little they have.

This man is dangerous and the sooner he's gone, the better.

Redistricting in Illinois?

By Byron LaMasters

What goes around comes around. I sincerely hope that the Republican re-redistricting gerrymanders in Colorado and Texas are struck down by the courts as unconstitutional, but if they are not, then I think Democrats have an obligation to retaliate. Sure, we'll be resorting to the lows that the GOP has gone to, but it's either that or be shut out of the House for a decade at best. Politics 1 reports:

IL DEMS THREATEN CONGRESSIONAL REMAPPING. State Senate President Emil Jones (D-IL) this week filed a bill to have Illinois redraw congressional districts in the state for the 2004 elections to create more Democratic seats. The bill has no specifics yet -- and Jones conceded to the Chicago Sun-Times that he filed it "in case we want to do something." He said the move would be in direct response to the recent Texas redistricting plan adopted at the request of US House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX). Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) joked to the newspaper that the bill should be entitled "The Tom DeLay Retribution Act." A mirror opposite of Texas, in Illinois the Democrats control the governorship and both houses of the state legislature. The current Illinois Congressional delegation is 10 Republicans and 9 Democrats. Experts believe a plan could be crafted that could possible shift the state to as much as 11 Democrats and 8 Republicans under redrawn lines. The new Texas map is designed to give the GOP 5-7 additional seats in that state. The new Illinois plan could be presented as early as January 2004.

I say go for it, but Illinois Democrats should wait for several weeks until the Texas redistricting trial. If the Texas lines are struck down, Illinois Democrats should drop the idea, otherwise, lets send Speaker Hastert into retirement. It would be nice to get Tom DeLay, but dethroning Hastert or someone like Henry Hyde would be a lot of fun.

More Bloggy Goodness

By Jim Dallas

The Austin American-Statesman has an opinion piece on the political use of blogs:

The big news for this year is the use of blogs in political campaigns. Howard Dean and Wesley Clark have both built their campaigns on the Internet, and the George W. Bush re-election campaign is gearing up one of the most sophisticated and expensive Internet campaigns we're likely to see...

...Christopher Lydon, a fellow at the Berkman Center for the Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, has recently mused (on his blog) that someone will have to write the "Blogging of a President 2004," a contemporary analog to Theodore White's classic book, "The Making of a President 1960."

Lydon writes, "what's happening out there is the start of a fundamental reordering of democratic energy and political influences, a drastic subversion of a discredited game, an inversion of the old pyramids of control, or perhaps a shape shift . . . from pyramid to sphere. The Internet represents a rewiring of the body politic, but it's not the technology that's interesting, it's the individual engagement and social model implied in it."

The article weighs the pros and cons of blogging, and even manages to get in a good swipe at the Bush "blog":

The president's re-election campaign is also offering some sophisticated tools, but the software tools available on www.georgewbush.com are tailored to centralize and control the messages coming from campaign headquarters, rather than promote online dialog. The Bush campaign blog, for example, doesn't solicit comments from visitors.

Another Half-Baked Bake Sale

By Byron LaMasters

Via the Houston Chronicle

Conservative Texas A&M University students, joining a rash of student groups around the country clamoring for attention to their stance against affirmative action, held a bake sale at which buyers were charged different prices depending on their race or gender. The students got the spotlight they craved, but the message they sent fell flat.

The A&M students, members of the Young Conservatives of Texas, sold cookies to "humans" for $2, to Asians for $1, to whites for 75 cents, to Hispanics for 25 cents and to blacks for 10 cents in protest of the new diversity office on the campus, where whites make up about 85 percent of the student population.

Actions like these reinforce the common misconception that affirmative action policies give academically unqualified minority students a get-into-college free card, and they ignore historical discrimination that denied nonwhites opportunities to be successful at any price, no matter their talents or intelligence. The Young Conservatives certainly managed to offend some of their fellow classmates, which is a good way to throw up barriers to inclusion and open exchange of ideas.

YCT could contradict charges that it is helping create a hostile campus environment by working with A&M's new diversity officer to attract and welcome nonwhite students in ways that don't offend their conservative sensibilities.

Thankfully, A&M officials did not shut down the bake sale. Administrators at some other schools overreacted to similar events. After all, the students have the right to free expression, even when the message offends.

Racial dialogue is good for Texas - we need it. But these bake sales by YCT are counterproductive. The Houston Chronicle correctly states that these bake sales held by YCT do nothing to further racial dialouge on campus. Instead they polarize the debate on affirmative action by implying that minorities are given special treatment so that unqualified people can attend college. Nothing could be further from the truth. Affirmative action is about using race as one of a large number of factors when considering applications.

Cross-posted on the Yellow Dog Blog

Yellow Dog Blog

By Byron LaMasters

I'll join Jim in the shameless plug. Jim, Andrew and I have been asked by Chairman Soechting, and the Texas Democratic Party to start a blog for them. The blog: Yellow Dog Blog is up and running as of today. There's still a few kinks to work out, but we have lots of exciting plans for the blog, so I hope to see BOR readers check it out and follow it regularly. We will continue to post on BOR. Some of our posts may be cross-posts or similar posts, and we'd like to add as a disclaimer that what we write on BOR should be considered solely the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of the Texas Democratic Party. Essentially, BOR will remain what it is, a blog where we write on national politics, state politics, local politics, UT stuff and whatever else interests us. The Yellow Dog Blog will focus on what is going on with the Texas Democratic Party and Texas political news. In addition to Jim, Andrew and I, the Yellow Dog Blog will see occasional posts by Chairman Soechting, others in the TDP office (press releases will be posted there) and we hope in the future to have guest posts by Texas Democratic elected officials and other leaders. We're very excited about this project, and we'll appreciate any suggestions that other bloggers might have on the project.

Thanks.

Well, now they know.

By Jim Dallas

In today's Victoria Advocate:

A short business meeting followed and Griffin again took the chair to introduce Soechting. He said that Soechting was a former DPS trooper who had gone to law school. Soechting beat out Garry Mauro to replace outgoing party chair Molly Beth Malcolm. Griffin said that after Soechting was elected he vowed to get out and meet the people of the party all around the state. Griffin said that he reads newspapers from all around the state and sees stories that indicate Soechting is doing as he said he would.

Soechting opened by patting his coat pocket and saying, "I've got a speech here, but I'm not going to read it since I know what it says." He said that he lived on land just six miles from where his great-great-grandfather settled when he arrived in Texas and mentioned a brother who teaches German in El Campo in the high school.

Soechting continued in the vein established by Chandler. He called for increased participation by youth as a key to future strength for Democrats and mentioned that Howard Dean had made a connection with young people through the Internet. When he asked who in the audience knew what a blog was, only a few hands went up, reflecting the middle-aged skew in the crowd.

Meanwhile, in the blogosphere,

The Yellow Dog Blog.

You know me. Always getting in shameless plugs. Tahee!

San Antonio Smackdown

By Jim Dallas

There's just no love for Henry Cuellar on Capitol Hill these days (from the San Antonio Express-News):

WASHINGTON — Hispanic Democrats in Congress pulled their support for Laredo lawyer Henry Cuellar today and endorsed Rep. Ciro Rodriguez in a race that is expected to explode into an ugly grudge match.

Rodriguez was instrumental in 2002 in helping Cuellar win endorsements and contributions from Democratic Hispanic lawmakers in Washington, who saw no harm in trying to unseat Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla of San Antonio.

That one-time support turned into harsh rejection today when congressional Hispanic Democrats voted unanimously to endorse Rodriguez, who faces a primary challenge from Cuellar after the Texas Legislature redrew congressional lines.

Some Hispanic lawmakers were angry with Cuellar for turning coat and running against Rodriguez, his former benefactor.

“I was offended,” said Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi. “Ciro worked hard for him. Where is the loyalty?”

Frankly, I'm surprised that a primary contest would even be close - Rodriguez is the incumbent, Cullar blew a race he should have won last year, and after kissing GOP butt for years, has made more than enough enemies among Democratic primary-goers. Still, there's a subtle logic to South Texas politics that always eludes me. But there does seem to be an ugly match-up ahead.

In other news, Bill Ratliff has announced his resignation (as expected).

Ratliff to Resign

By Byron LaMasters

State Sen. Bill Ratliff (R-Mount Pleasant) will resign on January 10:

State Sen. Bill Ratliff, the former acting lieutenant governor who said he was increasingly disillusioned over partisan acrimony in the Legislature, announced Thursday he is resigning from his post Jan. 10.

After 15 years in the Senate, Mr. Ratliff said it was is “time for going out.”

The 67-year-old Republican made the announcement in his district in Mount Pleasant. He scheduled another news conference later in the day in Austin.

Earlier this year, Mr. Ratliff raised the possibility of quitting, complaining about what he called the disintegration of civility and collegiality in the Senate and the decision by Gov. Rick Perry and GOP leaders to force a vote on congressional redistricting.

[...]

Repeatedly touted by Texas Monthly magazine as one of the 10 best members of the Legislature, the 67-year-old consulting engineer was chosen by fellow senators to replace Rick Perry as lieutenant governor in December 2000 after Mr. Perry became governor with the election of George W. Bush as president. He did not seek election as lieutenant governor on the 2002 ballot.

I'm not surprised that Ratliff is retiring. I am surprised that he's resigning. That will set up a special election, which I think could be very competetive:

If Mr. Ratliff resigns early, it would trigger a special election to replace him. The Legislature is not scheduled to return in regular session until January 2005, but Mr. Perry has indicated plans to summon lawmakers back for a special session on school finance as early as next spring.

Among those mentioned as possible replacements for the seat are Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, and former Rep. Paul Sadler, a Democrat from Henderson. Former Tyler Mayor Kevin Eltife has also been mentioned among Republicans in the district as a possible candidate.

Either Paul Sadler or Former State Rep. Tom Ramsay (I think he lives in that district) would be great candidates for that seat. It's a shame Ratliff is leaving but his resignation gives us an opportunity to pick up the seat and have a Democratic incumbent running without having to worry about Bush's coattails until next November.

The Diary of A Long-Suffering Astros Fan

By Jim Dallas

Charles Kuffner takes a look at how the Astros might have blown a chance to pick up free-agent Andy Pettite for next year.

Not only would the Astros benefit from having a star like Pettite, but it would also perhaps encourage some people (like a certain family member of mine) who are Yankess fans "because they've got all the hot guys" to come on home to Minute Maid Park.

Majority of Americans "Hate America"

By Jim Dallas

Picked up by Atrios:

Fifty-five percent of those polled disapproved of how the United States has handled post-war Iraq, marking the highest negative response to the question since US tanks entered Baghdad in April, USA Today reported.

I guess this means we're "against us" now, too.

Haiku Thursdays

By Jim Dallas

In order to promote the arts and literature, I will now be posting once weekly in the form of a haiku:

Haiku is one of the most important form of traditional japanese poetry. Haiku is, today, a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metrical units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Since early days, there has been confusion between the three related terms Haiku, Hokku and Haikai. The term hokku literally means "starting verse", and was the first starting link of a much longer chain of verses known as haika. Because the hokku set the tone for the rest of the poetic chain, it enjoyed a privileged position in haikai poetry, and it was not uncommon for a poet to compose a hokku by itself without following up with the rest of the chain.

Largely through the efforts of Masaoka Shiki, this independence was formally established in the 1890s through the creation of the term haiku. This new form of poetry was to be written, read and understood as an independent poem, complete in itself, rather than part of a longer chain.

This will also give me practice in case the Kicking Ass blog ever has another haiku contest.

To celebrate the inaugural week of Haiku Thursdays, here is part one of the HTh triple-shot:

Bush in a nutshell:
Major-league a-hole using
little league logic

Buzzflash on Blumenthal on Planned Parenthood

By Jim Dallas

Sidney Blumenthal
says Austin clinic fight is
part of "culture war"

Link -- In the Battle for Pro-Choice Rights, Bush's Texas is Ground Zero

What's happening here in Austin is not isolated, not in its efforts to close down Planned Parenthood services, or in its methods of intimidation. It is another incident in a long train of abuses. Its scope may not be widely understood, but that scope is, in fact, wide. A radical, extreme war is being waged, in my view, against the American tradition, against the separation of church and state, against long-settled law, against positive social policy whose benefits are proven, against science, against the Constitution, and even against religion, in the name of religion. This radicalism involves seemingly fringe groups and the Bush White House, eccentric billionaires with bizarre agendas and the leaders of the Republican Congress.

Craddick: Stop Pretending That We Care

By Jim Dallas

Attention Students
Republicans to blame for
higher tuition

Link -- House Speaker surprised at Lieutenant Governor's tuition concerns

Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick of Midland says today he's surprised at concerns voiced by Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst about public university tuition increases.

Dewhurst said he's concerned that proposed tuition increases are too high.

The lieutenant governor has asked for a legislative committee to study the issue.

At a luncheon in Dallas today, Craddick says he's not concerned at all about proposed increases.

Gay Marriage and Interracial Marriage

By Byron LaMasters

It's the same fight folks:

ONE ARGUMENT against gay marriage is that most Americans oppose it. It has never been condoned by common law. Many Americans view homosexuality as immoral and contrary to God's law. They believe, and sometimes cite allegedly scientific evidence to show, that children raised by gay or lesbian parents fare worse than those raised by a mother and a father.

One difficulty with such argumentation is that much the same was true, earlier in U.S. history, of interracial marriage. It was illegal in most states. Many or most Americans believed it to be wrong, unnatural and perhaps contrary to God's law. Volumes of scientific data were marshaled to prove that children resulting from such marriages were deficient.

Darwin Awards Nomination

By Byron LaMasters

I had a teacher in high school who would read our class once every other week the latest Darwin Awards awarded to "honor those who improve our gene pool... by removing themselves from it."

Here's a nomination.

A vodka-drinking competition in a southern Russian town ended in tragedy with the winner dead and several runners-up in intensive care.

"The competition lasted 30, perhaps 40 minutes and the winner downed three half-litre bottles. He was taken home by taxi but died within 20 minutes," said Roman Popov, a prosecutor pursuing the case in the town of Volgodonsk.

"Five contestants ended up in intensive care. Those not in hospital turned up the next day, ostensibly for another drink."

Mr Popov said the director of the shop organising this month's contest had been charged with manslaughter. He had offered 10 litres of vodka to the competitor drinking the most in the shortest time.

Damn. A vodka-drinking contest? Sounds like a college party, but much more hardcore. Stupid at that. Russians...

Tip of the Iceberg

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

It is only the beginning, via a headline on DrudgeReport this past day...

Gay Marriage Protestors follow Dean to Iowa JJ Dinner, hosted by Hillary. These people were getting geared up even before the Ruling was announced.

While we need to and certainly will have a debate on civil unions, civil marriage, civil rights...by no means will it all be "civil."

Of course, I also find it interesting that the Cable Networks have already lost interest in the gay marriage story and have found Michael Jackson to replace it. I don't know whether to laugh, or cry.