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Opinari - Latin term for Opinion. Opinari.net is just what it seems: a cornucopia of rants, raves and poignant soliloquy.

Monday, December 27, 2004

The Minister of Defense:

Reggie White, dead at the young age of 43... I am still today having trouble comprehending them. I met Reggie White briefly twice (and then only to shake his hand), both times in association with church events in Knoxville. I will never forget seeing him preach at Southside Baptist Church. He spoke directly to the young people in the room, imploring them to trust God, and not to sell themselves out to the temptations of the world. Three of my friends from school that day went to the altar to become Christians, tears in their eyes all. This was the effect the words of Reggie White had on people, and when he spoke, you knew he meant it.

Losing a man like Reggie White is a tragedy. He leaves behind a legacy of football success in both the collegiate ranks and professionally that may never again be approached. But this is not what I will remember most. I will remember anecdotes, such as one from a friend of mine named Mike, who played football at UT. Mike said that Reggie used to come into the locker room on all fours wearing nothing but a towel, barking like a dog and howling. Reggie would be the life of the party in those days, Mike would tell me, but not in the ways that many prima donna athletes are today. I will remember seeing him in the orange and white during my childhood, and the green and gold during my adult life. But most of all, I will remember him holding aloft his Bible, coaching young people to embrace God, and trust in their Saviour. Yes... Reggie White went too soon, and even after writing this, I still can't digest it.

More stories about Reggie White:

Tom Silverstein - "He loved God, green and gold."

Alan Borsuk - "Outside quests sometimes took wrong path."

Greg Garber - "The world just lost a great football player, but I think he should be remembered for being a greater man."

UPDATE: ABC News is reporting that Reggie White probably died of sarcoidosis exacerbated by sleep apnea.

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.: posted by Dave 2:08 PM


Thursday, December 16, 2004

MetroPulse, Knoxville's weekly newspaper, congratulates Knox Metro area schools Maryville, Alcoa, and Fulton for winning state football championships. I concur with the sentiment, but one statement struck me as odd:

The whole Knoxville area should revel in the victories; they are so unusual when they come to a single community. The schools are barely 20 miles apart, and they are strong academic as well as athletic institutions.

Now, I've been away from Knoxville for a few years, and I know things change, but... since when is Fulton considered a strong academic institution?

Disclaimer: I have several good friends who graduated from Fulton, so I take some license in disparaging them... in jest, of course.

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.: posted by Dave 7:18 PM


Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Amazon.com Customer Support Phone Number:

Tonight, my wife mistakenly ordered me a Christmas gift that someone else had already bought. This gift came from none other than the Internet monolith, Amazon.com. Have you ever tried to cancel an order from Amazon.com? Have you ever searched their website for a phone number? Well, if it's there, it's very well hidden.

Well, I found the number (luckily) and she and her mother managed to cancel the order. I'm sure though that many other people have become frustrated trying to find a contact number for Amazon. A company that size should have more support personnel (especially during the holidays), and should PUBLICIZE THEIR NUMBER!

So, as a public service, I am posting the number so that anyone out there who needs to cancel an order, or simply desires to speak to a live representative, can do so. The number is:

(800) 201-7575

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.: posted by Dave 8:47 PM


Tuesday, December 14, 2004

"Technology is neutral."

I believe this axiom came from the 1984 Sony Betamax case. I believe that it applies now, as with P2P clients such as Blubster, Limewire, and KaZaA. How they are used is another story to be written at another time. But the fact remains - producers of music, movies and television are trying their best to portray the developers of P2P technology as purveyors of piracy who should be held accountable for their activities (even though they have done nothing wrong).

If this contention is true, then shouldn't also the developer of PGP be held accountable for complicity to terrorism (since terrorists are known to transmit communiques using the popular encryption software)? Certainly no one could blame PGP for facilitating violence against the Western world, could they? Hopefully, common sense prevails in these cases against P2P developers.

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.: posted by Dave 1:03 PM


Saith my wife: "Money doesn't buy the most important things in life. It can often make things bad." Certainly, this story illustrates that point.

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.: posted by Dave 12:58 PM


Monday, December 13, 2004

Lottery Hijinks:

If anyone has seen a number seven ping pong ball just laying around, please contact the Connecticut Lottery Corporation. It seems someone stole the 7 ball from their mixing chamber. Oh, and if you won the lottery this past Wednesday, the CLC would like to say "Sorry!"

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.: posted by Dave 12:20 AM


Here's the scenario... a candidate for President in Romania is accused by a local newspaper of being gay. He grows tired of the journalist's claims, and offers to "prove" his heterosexual virility:

The Romanian Prime Minister is offering to sleep with the wives and girlfriends of journalists on a Romanian newspaper to stop them claiming he is gay.

Adrian Nastase, who is also a candidate in this weekend's presidential run off elections, made the offer after being asked by reporters about rumours a local newspaper was to out him as gay.

Nastase said: "I am not afraid of the threat of any sexual scandal created by a certain newspaper that criticises me every day anyway.

"If people from Evenimentul Zilei newspaper want me to prove to them that I have no homosexual inclinations, I will test all their wives and girlfriends to show them where my preferences really are."

Ah, the beauty of issue-oriented political campaigns.

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.: posted by Dave 12:11 AM


The Brits, as we gun-totin' Americans know, are obsessed with gun control. Can the next step be knife control? Well... yeah.

Under-18s are to be banned from buying knives under new plans announced by the Government.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, wants to raise the age at which youngsters can buy knives from 16 to 18, the same age at which they can buy alcohol and fireworks.

Mr Blunkett said he would do everything in his power to get knives off Britain's streets and will unveil his plans at talks with police chiefs on Wednesday.

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.: posted by Dave 12:02 AM


Sunday, December 12, 2004

My son is obsessed with the household vacuum cleaner... to the point that he won't eat his lunch because he wants to look at it. Just now, my wife decided she had seen enough. She moved it from the dining room to the kitchen, and closed the door. My son, ever the dramatic one, began to wail in agony. Much laughter ensued. (It was hilarious... sue me. :-) ) Ahhh, the idiosyncracies of the infant. Ain't fatherhood a blast?

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.: posted by Dave 9:55 AM


There hasn't been much blogging activity in the Opinari compound lately, mainly because of preparing first for a work stoppage, then, after finding out there wouldn't be one, changing plans for the holidays to accommodate travel to see our families. (Note: It really sucks to not be able to start your holiday planning until 6 DEC. I don't recommend it.)

In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of nighttime reading, first the Romanov Prophecy (ironic given the attention that the region there has been getting lately), and now State of Fear, by Michael Crichton. (Here's an interview with ABC's John Stossel with Crichton that explains the premise of the book.) If I can keep my 13 month old son from walking off with my Palm handheld (which contains my e-books), I plan to finish it this week.

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.: posted by Dave 9:47 AM


Saturday, November 27, 2004

Phil Fulmer isn't one of the best coaches in the SEC for nothing... I have to hand it to him after leading to the Vols to two very close games that should have been blowouts. The natives are questioning everything... Vandy by 5? Kentucky by 6? Talk about backing into a 9-2 finish... but wait. Hold everything...

I think this is a brilliant ploy on the part of Fulmer. How so? Tennessee has played its best football in one specific situation - as a double digit underdog away from Neyland Stadium. What better way to assure that you will be a 10+ point 'dog than to keep the two worst teams in the SEC as close to you as possible? Can a battered Vols' team go into the Georgia Dome and beat the juggernaut Auburn Tigers and their vaunted running attack? Under normal circumstances, probably not.

But this isn't a normal circumstance. Perhaps Fulmer's plan all along was to take the Vols into Atlanta with no one, and I mean NO one, giving them a chance at winning the game. It's right out of the George W. Bush playbook... lower expectations, and then pounce. Can it happen? Probably not, but who knows? I will certainly be watching at 6 pm next Saturday. And no matter the outcome, a 9 win season, and an SEC East title was WAY more than I expected from this year's team.

Go Vols!

UPDATE: A note to Spencer Tillman of CBS - STFU, OK? Georgia isn't playing Auburn next week for ONE reason. They didn't win against the Vols. There is NOTHING more fair that that. OK? So quit whining, and prepare your crib notes for the game next weekend.

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.: posted by Dave 4:19 PM


Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Here's wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving. What am I thankful for this year?

These things are the most important:

  • My beautiful wife, without whom I would be lost, and life would be insignificant.
  • My wonderful son, who brightens each and every day with his laughter and unconditional love.
  • The Lord Jesus Christ, who gives me strength each day, and has blessed me infinitely.
  • My family, and my in-laws... may God bless them more each day.
  • My friends, both far and near, who are in my prayers daily.
  • My house in the Connecticut suburbs.
  • My job, which challenges me, gratifies me, and helps me provide for my family.
  • Good Health. Especially these days.
  • The US of A, the best country in the world.


    • And these things are just icing on the cake:

    Satellite radio, NFL football, the Tennessee Vols, WiFi, blogs, shoe inserts, Russo's Pastry Shop (tiramisu!), downloadable music, the Sunday paper and its plethora of coupons, Southern cuisine, the Wall Street Journal, spanakopita from Fanueil Hall, beef jerky, spicy chili, antacid(!), e-books, discount retailers who sell online, eBay, Escher, Heinlein, lower taxes, freedom, liberty, a good cigar, and an even better glass of whiskey!

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    .: posted by Dave 8:37 PM


    Tuesday, November 23, 2004

    It seems that the "guy in the white hat" who started the Pistons-Pacers riot by tossing a beer at Ron Artest has an... er, extensive criminal past.

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    .: posted by Dave 1:57 PM


    Dan Rather: lame-duck anchorman.

    I'm sure Memogate had a lot to do with his departure, although one has to wonder how much pressure was put on ol' Dan to step down. Alas, we will have to do without such zingers as "Bush has run through Dixie like a big wheel through a cotton field" and "This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex." And what will become of Ratherbiased.com? Maybe CBS can keep Rather on in a Rooneyesque capacity, ending the evening news with some honest opinion, where he doesn't have to pretend to be non-partisan. Remember John Chancellor and NBC News in the 70s? That would be a good podium for ol' Dan. At least then, he would stay in the public eye, and we could keep laughing at his antics.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:34 PM


    Monday, November 22, 2004

    News-Sentinel sports reporter Gary Lundy passes away of a heart attack at the young age of 49. I have been reading Lundy's columns in the KNS for years, especially those pertaining to the Vols. Sadly, Lundy's final article was about the riotous behavior that sporting events can sometimes spawn, as was evident so much this past weekend.

    I never knew Lundy, other than through his work. His writing was his own, never caring about political correctness regarding the Vol Nation. Lundy wasn't reviled like, for example, Alabama's Paul Finebaum, but he had his detractors. I, for one, am going to miss Lundy's writing. I am in shock that someone so young, in the prime of his career, is gone now. God bless the Lundy family, and may He bring them comfort in this time of tragedy.

    UPDATE: Michael Silence blogs about his colleague.

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    .: posted by Dave 3:55 PM




    I received my copy of Madden 2005 last week, and I spent some time this weekend playing it on my Tungsten T. For those who like handheld gaming, I thought I would offer this assessment.

    First, some criticisms:

  • Playbook. I have only played with 3 different teams, but I noticed that they shared the same playbook. I am glad that at least plays can be flipped, but it would be nice to see plays specific to each team (i.e. the stretch play for the Colts).
  • Awkward passing mechanism. When I try to throw to the #3 receiver, many times I end up throwing the ball out of bounds (which is tied to button #3). The feel for the passing game is not as good as it is with the PS/XBox game. Given the fact that a PDA is not designed for gaming, I expected some limitations, but I think the selection of pass receivers is an issue that can be fixed.
  • Running plays. Running is very difficult between the tackles, but sometimes too easy on the edge. In a 10 minute game, I rushed for 330 yards with Priest Holmes by running nothing more than toss sweeps.
  • In the console version, you can control the lead blocker, and let the RB follow you. If this is possible on the handheld version, I haven't figured out how to accomplish it.
  • Multiplayer via Bluetooth would have been a nice addition. Rumors are that this functionality will be available as a patch later in the year.
  • Repetitive commentary becomes annoying. So does the constant bleat of airhorns. There is no mechanism for turning off commentary and background sounds separate from turning off all game noise. In other words, I would like to keep the crowd and game noise, without having the annoyances of Michaels/Madden, and airhorns.
  • The AI engine needs some major work - I traded a fourth string RB on the Colts for Priest Holmes (an absurdity that even salary cap issues wouldn’t allow). There should be some AI mechanism for refusing such trades, or at least the option for it. Also, I got an offensive pass interference call on a run play. When playing KC, and leading 14-7, I faced a fake punt by the Chiefs... TWICE, on the same drive. And, I noticed a definite repetition of play calls. In fact, KC only called four different plays the ENTIRE game.

    • Despite the negatives, I recommend this game for the Palm, as it is a quality first-pass product, especially for a handheld. Graphics are amazingly decent in comparison to the console versions of Madden 2005. I am hopeful that some of the issues above will be addressed in the second version.

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    .: posted by Dave 9:57 AM


    Sunday, November 14, 2004

    Not all Frenchmen are anti-American. Some, like Fred Gion, even want to shed the haughtiness that is "being French":

    In the end, I want to move to Red America because I know I'll belong. I don't know what happened to the French joie de vivre, and I'm tired of looking for it. But I cast my gaze across the Atlantic, and the values I see in the American character are a beacon calling me ... home.

    So, if I'm lucky enough to win a visa in the lottery, I have everything planned. I won't fly to America – too fast, too modern. I'll take the boat, like my great-great uncles did at the beginning of the 20th century. I want to see the Statue of Liberty from the deck, my beautiful French cousin welcoming me at the threshold of my new life. Then, I'll drive all the way from New York City to Texas, to slowly shake off the alien in me.

    Yes, this is only a dream, but it's my American dream, and I hope it comes true. To Americans dreaming about leaving your country, good luck and bon voyage. Don't forget to leave the light on. I wasn't born in Texas, but I'm getting there as fast as I can.

    We need more immigrants like Mr. Gion.

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    .: posted by Dave 4:03 PM


    Saturday, November 13, 2004

    Cheney Hospitalized:

    Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart trouble, was being taken to a hospital on Saturday for tests after experiencing some shortness of breath, a White House spokesman said.

    "On the recommendation of his doctors, the vice president is going to George Washington University Hospital for some tests," spokesman Ken Lisaius said. "He experienced some shortness of breath Saturday morning and has had a bad cold, which could be the cause for the shortness of breath."

    Hopefully, this is nothing serious. Others disagree.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:49 AM


    No Wonder They Haven't Caught Him:

    U.S. and Iraqi forces launched their mass ground assault against Fallujah late Monday after the city's hard-line clerical leadership refused to hand over extremists, including Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has a $25 bounty on his head from the Americans.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:47 AM


    Friday, November 12, 2004

    Peterson Guilty:

    Scott Peterson was convicted of double murder Friday in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. The verdict could bring the death penalty.

    Death penalty, in California? Come on. If Manson is still alive, I doubt this guy will be fried either.

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    .: posted by Dave 3:13 PM


    Thursday, November 11, 2004

    Dear Veterans,

    Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


    From the Revolution to the war in Iraq, and everything in between, without your sacrifices, only God knows where this country would be.

    Sincerely,
    Me

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    .: posted by Dave 8:52 AM


    Wednesday, November 10, 2004

    Several weeks ago, I ordered Madden 2005 for the Palm OS. After several notes saying that it was still stuck in pre-production, apparently, it is being shipped within the next few days. Once it arrives, I will post a review here on the website.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:00 PM


    Dave Winer:

    Ever wonder if MS's priorities are somewhat misplaced? Last night I booted up a new server running their 2003 server platform. Up till now I was totally happy with the 2000 version, but this time there was no choice offered. Anyway, their answer to security is to make you click in a dialog on every different website you access in the browser. Hmmm. That ain't gonna work. If they were paying attention there would be a war on spyware to equal the war on terror. With Microsoft's cash reserves, one can't help but think they could do a lot better than they are doing.

    I'm a fan of many things Microsoft, but browsers ain't one of 'em. I, too, have to winder when Microsoft will finally put themselves totally behind eradicating spyware instead of addressing the matter with piecemeal solutions, such as the dialog box Winer mentions. My guess... when and if their bottom line is affected, and that's probably not happening anytime soon.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:52 AM


    Monday, November 08, 2004

    Grace Marzioli posts some interesting numbers from Gallup:

    -Voters with high school or less
    Percentage of vote-32%
    Voted for Bush-46%
    Voted for Kerry-54%

    But I thought the unwashed, less-educated masses were the Bush voters. No? How about the more educated voters?

    -Voters with post-graduate education
    Percentage of vote-20%
    Voted for Bush-47%
    Voted for Kerry-53%

    -Voters with college education (no post-grad)
    Percentage of vote-15%
    Voted for Bush-58%
    Voted for Kerry-42%

    -Voters with some college
    Percentage of vote-33%
    Voted for Bush-56%
    Voted for Kerry-44%

    So Kerry wins the extremes of the educational spectrum. I think that sounds about right.

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    .: posted by Dave 9:43 PM


    I'm just sayin'...

    A lot of people have made statements similar to this one:

    More people voted against Bush and the GOP agenda than have ever voted against any other presidential candidate in history.

    But a closer look shows that this isn't actually the case. Recall the 1992 election, where Ross Perot garnered 19% of the popular vote.

    Clinton 44,909,326
    Bush 39,103,882
    Perot 19,741,657

    Now the total vote against the winner, Bill Clinton, in the '92 election was 58,845,539.

    For the 2004 election, the vote went this way:

    Bush 59,459,765
    Kerry 55,949,407

    So, it can be argued that in a two man race, Kerry did in fact get more votes than any defeated candidate in U.S. history, but the prevailing wisdom that "more people voted against Bush..." is simply not correct.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:57 AM


    Sunday, November 07, 2004

    Now that the Senate has 55 Republican seats, the Northeastern Republicans Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Lincoln Chafee, who always seemed to stand in the way of the GOP agenda, have been rendered much less useful to the majority. Even if liberal-in-conservative's clothing Arlen Specter, and maverick John McCain have a fit of party disloyalty, that will leave 50 votes, with Vice President Dick Cheney present to break any ties. This could mean wonders for the advancement of Republican initiatives.

    Of course, there is still a requirement of 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, the favorite tactic of the minority party... or, perhaps that option will not be around much longer. If S. Res 138 is ever agreed upon, that will pretty much eliminate any obstructionism the Democratic Party can muster. I'll be interested to see where this resolution goes.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:47 AM


    A friend of mine is high on Google (GOOG) stock. I have wondered just how valuable a stock can be for a company that essentially is a search engine which delivers ads based on search terms. Then I checked the P/E ratio - 203.3. Are you joking? This is NOT a stock I would touch in the near term, especially given the fluctuation in price.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:35 AM


    There has been lots of speculation about the role of "black box voting" in the 2004 election, albeit mostly on the more liberal blogs. Josh Levin tries to put some of that angst to rest:

    Joseph Cannon, who runs the blog CANNONFIRE, makes a similar argument: The states that "offered the best, safest opportunity for manipulation of the final count" were Ohio, Florida, and New Mexico. "In other states, the exit polling matched the final results rather well. In Nevada, Illinois, and New Hampshire, computer votes do have paper trails—and in those instances, the exit polls tracked the final totals. To recap: In three states with no paper trails, we have exit poll/final tally disagreement. In three states with paper trails, we have exit poll/final tally congruence."

    Cannon's analysis doesn't jibe with Slate's exit-poll numbers. A comparison to the latest vote tallies shows Slate's final exit numbers in the paper-trail states of New Hampshire (undervalued Bush by 5 percent) and Nevada (undervalued Bush by 3 percent) were less accurate than those in Ohio (2 percent off), Florida (3 percent), and New Mexico (2 percent). The other state Cannon lists, Illinois, won't require a paper trail until 2006.

    Like most people, I am not one to subscribe to the various Diebold conspiracy theories. However, I do agree with the left that there should be enormous concern about the integrity of a system that allows electronic logging of a vote without providing a paper trail for each individual ballot. The repercussions of such a system could be very dangerous, regardless of the party with which one associates.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:26 AM


    Slate's Paul Freedman agrees with me:

    Why did states with gay-marriage ballot measures vote so heavily for Bush? Because such measures don't appear on state ballots randomly. Opponents of gay marriage concentrate their efforts in states that are most hospitable to a ban and are most likely to vote for Bush even without such a ballot measure. A state's history of voting for Bush is more likely to lead to an anti-gay-marriage measure on that state's ballot than the other way around.

    {...}

    More to the point, the morality gap didn't decide the election. Voters who cited moral issues as most important did give their votes overwhelmingly to Bush (80 percent to 18 percent), and states where voters saw moral issues as important were more likely to be red ones. But these differences were no greater in 2004 than in 2000. If you're trying to explain why the president's vote share in 2004 is bigger than his vote share in 2000, values don't help.

    This election, more than anything, was about terrorism, and who is better equipped, and who will better defend the interests of America. President Bush demonstrated that he was more willing to do so than Senator Kerry. Indeed, this is why President Bush was re-elected.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:19 AM


    Note to those who are still having trouble coming to grips with the 2004 election: Don't kill yourself over it. It's really not worth it.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:03 AM


    Saturday, November 06, 2004

    The Star Wars: Episode III trailer is out. It's not exactly being distributed to everyone in the universe... well, unless you use BitTorrent. Heh.

    Download the trailer here    .

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    .: posted by Dave 9:58 PM


    No Refactoring Support in VB 2005:

    I am very disappointed to find out that the VB 2005 design group has decided to leave refactoring out of their product, with the exception of the "rename symbol" functionality. C#, on the other hand, supports refactoring, which leads me to believe that the design groups at Microsoft are no longer taking VB seriously as an enterprise-level design language. The group claims that they could not meet the rollout deadline if they incorporated refactoring into the product. Being a VB developer since version 5, I am sorry to see them make this decision.

    One positive note - at least there will be third party tools available, but, of course, that will be an additional cost.

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    .: posted by Dave 8:18 PM


    I find it very insulting that the Democrats keep trying to figure out why they didn't convey their message better, when the fact is that people like you and me UNDERSTAND their message, and refute it wholeheartedly.

    Nothing will ever convince me that I need to rely on the nanny-state to sustain me. Nothing will ever convince me that the federal government was intended to do nothing more than provide infrastructure, defense, and a guarantee for the rights of the individual. Nothing will ever convince me that the intervention of government into markets will ever increase their efficiency or their productivity.

    These are the mantras of the left, and I, along with almost 57 million other people in the US, reject them. The sooner the liberal wing of the liberal party comes to terms with this, the sooner they will demarginalize themselves.

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    .: posted by Dave 7:30 PM


    Bill Clinton consoles those who voted for John Kerry:

    This election presents a great opportunity for President Bush and a great opportunity for Democrats, and the two are not necessarily in conflict.

    I can think of a few who would disagree.

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    .: posted by Dave 7:28 PM


    There is growing speculation that Yassir Arafat is dying of AIDS:

    Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath Monday said that all types of cancer had been ruled out, and the latest news is that French doctors have ruled out poisoning.

    Medical observers note that a low blood platelet count is a sign of a weakened immune system, and indeed last week there were reports of a complete collapse of Arafat's immune system. Other than the ruled-out cancer, the low count could be attributed to bleeding ulcers, colitis, liver disease, lupus, or HIV. It is believed that ulcers and colitis have already been ruled out.

    Arafat has lost a considerable amount of body weight. Hopital d'Instruction des Armees de Percy, southwest of Paris, is known to have some of France's best HIV/AIDS doctors. Other medical experts note that Arafat's activities in recent weeks and months suggest the dementia that accompanies late-stage AIDS.

    Knowing how rabidly anti-homosexual the Islamic community is, this would explain why the condition of Arafat has been kept under wraps. It would also explain the PLO's desire to blame someone else, namely the Israelis for secretly poisoning Arafat, which incidentally has now been ruled out.

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    .: posted by Dave 7:05 PM


    Thursday, November 04, 2004

    In more important, non-political news, the "ol' ball coach" will not be coaching at Florida. Pity. I was looking forward to watching him throw that visor a few more times.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:02 PM


    I'm watching the president's press conference (via a terrible online connection, I might add), and a reporter just asked the president if he was aware that PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat had just passed away. I'm not seeing anything about this on the newswires yet though.

    UPDATE: Israeli television is reporting that Arafat is "brain dead"... but we knew that already, didn't we?

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    .: posted by Dave 10:55 AM


    Wednesday, November 03, 2004

    Quoth Zogby:

    “We feel strongly that our pre-election polls were accurate on virtually every state. Our predictions on many of the key battleground states like Ohio and Florida were within the margin of error. I thought we captured a trend, but apparently that result didn’t materialize.

    “We always saw a close race, and a close race is what we’ve got. I’ve called this the Armageddon Election for some time—a closely-divided electorate with high partisan intensity on each side."

    Accurate? Have you seen the disparity in the poll numbers vs. the actual numbers? It's hard to be that inaccurate even if you are doing so intentionally.

    May we from this day forward discount any and all exit polls, especially those endorsed by Zogby.

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    .: posted by Dave 9:12 PM


    For my fellow Sabbatarians out there comes this:

    How do modern (Sabbathkeepers) survive after sun-down on Friday given they can’t use electricity? They buy Star-K-approved devices. These devices include a “sabbath mode” in which they won’t turn on as a direct result of human intervention. Flip a switch, the light doesn’t turn on. However, it may turn on randomly 10 second later, not as a direct result of the switch flipping. Open the fridge, the light doesn’t come on and the compressor doesn’t immediately compensate.

    Thanks to Engadget for this one.

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    .: posted by Dave 3:10 PM


    Cliff May:

    Democrats face a choice: Pray for a new Republican scandal (or try again to engineer one), or become credible on national security; follow the lead of Sen. Joe Lieberman and Rep. Jim Marshall rather than Howard Dean, Michael Moore and George Soros.

    I sincerely hope Democrats pursue the second alternative.

    So do I, as I would like to see the Democrats take defense issues seriously. If they continue to be seduced by the far left, they will be relegated to the status of minority party for a long time to come.

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    .: posted by Dave 3:02 PM


    More election reaction:

    Kos invokes Goldwater.

    Pandagon: "Mocking those we disagree with is a losing strategy, both in the hearts and minds category and from an electoral standpoint."

    Sullivan laments the "Christian revival" in this country.

    Lean Left: "After yet another election, it's abundantly clear that the nation remains as divided as ever. And I think I have the answer: secession. "

    Eric Alterman: "The problem is just this: Slightly more than half of the citizens of this country simply do not care about what those of us in the “reality-based community” say or believe about anything."

    John Kerry: "Earlier today, I spoke to President Bush, and I offered him and Laura our congratulations on their victory. We had a good conversation and we talked about the danger of division in our country and the need – the desperate need – for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together. Today, I hope that we can begin the healing. In America it is vital that every vote count, and that every vote be counted. But the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process."

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    .: posted by Dave 2:06 PM


    MSNBC has some world reaction to the Bush victory.

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    .: posted by Dave 2:04 PM


    I Am Not Making This Up:

    A man leaped into a lion’s den at the Taipei Zoo on Wednesday to try to convert the king of beasts to Christianity, but was bitten in the leg for his efforts.

    “Jesus will save you!” shouted the 46-year-old man at two African lions lounging under a tree a few meters away.

    “Come bite me!” he said with both hands raised, television footage showed.

    One of the lions, a large male with a shaggy mane, bit the man in his right leg before zoo workers drove it off with water hoses and tranquilizer guns.

    Newspapers said that the lions had been fed earlier in the day, otherwise the man might have been more seriously hurt ... or worse.

    I don't really have anything to add to that.

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    .: posted by Dave 1:39 PM


    Election Day Wrapup:

    Well, the Kerry operation conceded to Bush via telephone this morning, which, given the hangover of 2000, initially surprised me. However, I have also been surprised during the election by Kerry in that he quite possibly isn't as pretentious as he seemed to be before. So, maybe... just maybe Kerry himself decided that it wasn't worth a protracted fight over "every last vote" in Ohio, New Mexico, etc. I am far from an inside observer, but something tells me Kerry knew the consequences, and did what was best for the country. For that, he should be commended.

    President Bush got more votes than any candidate in history, which tells me that the Republican GOTV efforts were far more productive than anyone gave them credit for. When there is a 59% voter turnout, that normally means a Democratic success story. Not this time.

    One has to seriously question the methodology being employed by the various polling agencies, especially Gallup (a 49-49 tie? Come on). Perhaps the networks will learn that polls are, in fact, not news. Then again, we are talking about the networks.

    Sticking to your base has its advantages. Bush polls well with evangelicals, and it is obvious they came out in droves. Why? Perhaps the plethora of same-sex marriage ban initiatives had something to do with that.

    Kerry's obvious weakness was that, by taking a position, he effectively fragmented his constituency. Bush's strength, conversely, was that by taking a position, he effectively unified his constituency.

    From this election, I would hope that the Democratic Party takes this. Stop using demagogery to try to draw votes. Scaring young voters with the "threat" of a draft, and seniors by crying foul over partial Social Security privatization does not work. Also, to Democratic candidates, it would be nice if you had a coherent plan of action where the day's major issues are concerned, instead of saying "I have a plan" without being specific. One more thing. Do NOT cater to your fringe element (i.e., the Democratic Underground). It doesn't help your cause.

    The happiest person on Earth today: Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will inevitably be the candidate for "change" in 2008.

    The saddest person on Earth today: Jacque Chirac, who will inevitably fade into obscurity along with his insignificant fief, France.

    To the elitists on the left: It is bothersome and trite to watch you continually label someone who votes for Bush with the following epithets: simpleton, idiot, ignoramus, dolt. And those are the ones that are clean in nature. Please understand that there are perfectly reasonable arguments for voting for President Bush. I can cite several blogs who posted items of that nature. Realize too that it is not the Bush administration that is dividing this country. It is your insistence in labeling people with such characterizations, and assaulting them verbally that turns off a great many potential voters. Your persistence in doing so divides. Fifty-one percent of America agreed with me yesterday, and your insults lend nothing to your cause. And, speaking as a libertarian-leaning voter, if you produce a better candidate than John Kerry, you might get a few more votes from voters like me.

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    .: posted by Dave 1:07 PM


    Tuesday, November 02, 2004

    At 7:30 pm, Bush has taken Georgia, Kentucky, and Indiana, and Vermont has garnered a win in Vermont. No surprises yet. The key really will be the margin of victory, as that will tell a lot about how energized each party is.

    So far, we have:

    Indiana 61-38 Bush
    Kentucky 56-43 Bush

    Georgia and Vermont are not showing margins as of yet.

    UPDATE: West Virginia is also being called for Bush.

    Electoral Tally: Bush 39 - Kerry 3.

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    .: posted by Dave 6:32 PM


    How is voting going in your town? For a view of the rather docile scene in Enfield, CT, see my post over on the Command Post.

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    .: posted by Dave 5:16 PM


    Monday, November 01, 2004

    Adventures in Election Day Web Design:

    Well, since I am new in Enfield, I thought I would peruse the town website to see where my local voting precinct was located. Here's the link. Not surprisingly, the site renders fine in Internet Explorer, but not in the much more stable Firefox browser. Apparently, the XML stylesheet has a parsing issue, which says to me that the web designer isn't using standard XML... probably auto-generated by some Microsoft WYSIWYG editor.

    After checking the source, I found this...

    {meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0"}
    {meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document"}
    {meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"}

    It figures.

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    .: posted by Dave 7:56 PM


    Baseball Playoffs and the Electoral College:

    The American League Championship Series and the outcome has an interesting parallel to the 2000 Presidential election. Then-Governor Bush, of course, became President after a slew of lawsuits contesting the voting in Florida. Bush, after being declared the winner in Florida by 537 votes, won the Electoral College tally, and thus, the Presidency. Bitter Democrats like to cry that President Bush did not win the popular vote, therefore he should not be President.

    After watching the ALCS, I thought I would compare the series to the election so that people perhaps could learn to understand the electoral process in America. Let's look at the 2000 popular vote and the 2004 ALCS run totals in comparison:

    BUSH 50,456,002
    GORE 50,999,897

    YANKEES 45
    SOX 41

    Taken this way, the Yankees would have gone to the World Series, because... well, let's face it, they scored more runs. Right? Not so fast. A series is won when a team wins a number of games. Similarly, the Presidential election is won when a candidate wins a certain number of electoral votes. As such, the outcome changes a bit:

    BUSH 271
    GORE 266
    *Note: One DC elector abstained.

    YANKEES 3
    SOX 4

    As the rules of baseball dictate that a winner is determined by the games won in a series, the rules of electoral politics state that the winner is determined by the number of electoral votes given to that candidate. Best of 7. Best of 538.

    Simple, huh? Well, you would certainly think so, but 2000 proved this concept to be very difficult for some to understand. Let's hope tomorrow is different.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:43 PM


    Another Good Reason to Avoid the iPod:

    We interrupt the worldwide iPod love-fest to complain a bit. Hey Apple, WTF, the very useful app “iPod Download” made our iPod 10 times better, we were finally able to easily get music off our iPod, but since we’ve updated iTunes to version 4.7, now (of course) it doesn’t work at all. C’mon guys, this is our music, on our iPod.

    Now, I know there is shareware that allows this functionality anyway, so maybe it's not that big a deal. But, I have to agree with the sentiment... why shouldn't I be able to access music that I legitimately placed on the device? Copy protection? Of course, but don't throw out the baby with the bath water here. There are far more legal users of digital music devices than illegal ones. Quit treating them all like they are "pirates".

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    .: posted by Dave 12:03 PM


    Another interesting endorsement by the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

    n a year of deep political divisions, this newspaper's opinion section is experienc ing deep divisions of its own.

    After nearly four years spent watching George W. Bush as president, and after a year of watching Sen. John Kerry campaign to oust him, we have decided not to add one more potentially polarizing voice to a poisoned debate. We make no endorsement for president this year.

    Ah, to live in a world of apolitical news media.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:01 PM


    AT&T... er, Cingular Wireless announced the availability of the Treo 650 and its compatibility with the high speed EDGE network. My next handheld device? Perhaps.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:59 AM


    Announcement:

    Opinari will be covering the election in northern Connecticut tomorrow night for the Command Post.

    UPDATE: My first post, regarding the Hartford Courant's endorsement of Dubya, appears here.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:56 AM


    For Whom To Vote:

    I would like to preface this post by saying that I have never voted Republican in four previous elections for President. In the past, I found the Republican Party to be too intrusive into the personal lives of ordinary Americans. While I endorse most of the moral ideas of the party faithful, I do NOT endorse the government legislating them. Certainly, these are not ideas upon which to base ones re-election, especially in my household. However, the election of 2004 is not based on social policy. The election tomorrow rests on two main pillars: the economy, and foreign policy.

    President Bush has trumpeted policies that have been very influential in averting a protracted recession. After the dot-com busts, and issues with corporate governance, investors lost confidence in the capital markets. Consumer confidence was similarly eroded, and got no better after the events of September 11th. Here, Bush stepped in and did what good executives do. He led. He did not wait on a poll to tell him which way to lean. He consulted his advisors, and he went with policies that best fit his view of how the country should proceed. His tax cuts on dividends, and personal income, proved to be a boon to the economy. Consumer spending, housing purchases, and confidence in the economy were lifted. Today, leading indicators are about where they were in 1996, when President Clinton was re-elected. Yet the same people who smiled about how great things were in 1996 will tell you otherwise regarding 2004.

    Detractors claim that the president has not done enough to keep jobs from exiting to overseas firms, but this is not something a president can control, not should he. Instead, the president has encouraged capital formation through his fiscal policies to allow domestic companies to maintain profitability in a global economy. Manufacturing jobs have been lost to locations where similar jobs can be done more cheaply. But this is a dynamic of the American economy that has been around for decades. As a historical example, manufacturing techniques and machinery enabled companies to produce goods in a fraction of the time with a fraction of the labor cost. Had American government listened to those who said the economy was doomed back then, imagine where we would be today. Quite simply, this president is pro-business, and it is business that employs workers. Punish business, and you limit the workers they can sustain. In this light, President Bush is the best choice for the economy.

    Even so, the President cannot be considered for re-election unless he has a coherent foreign policy. I recall in 2000, then Governor Bush endorsed a foreign policy that was more akin to James Monroe than anyone else. However, 9/11 changed that. No longer can we continue to appease terrorists. No longer can we ignore the threat. Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush pere, and Clinton responded in different ways during their respective tenures, but none were effective. The Bush strategy of taking the fight to the terrorists, and of keeping the fight there instead of on American soil, is perhaps the single most action of this presidency with which I agree.

    Bush's policies are well defined, and on the record for all to see. His opponent, Senator Kerry, speaks of his many intentions in many "nuanced" ways, depending upon the audience. Earlier this week, VP Cheney joked that Kerry had to look at poll data before responding to the bin Laden tape. Unfortunately, the joke was not really a joke. This is the type of governance we have to look forward to in a Kerry administration, in stark contrast to President Bush.

    The Bush administration is not without its weaknesses. As I mentioned before, there have been many policies with which the President and I have had a differing point of view. These include the Federal Marriage Amendment, "No Child Left Behind", the farm bill, McCain-Feingold, steel tariffs, the tacit endorsement of the assault weapons ban, and Medicare prescription drugs. A major improvement would be a return to the conservative tradition of fiscal restraint. Additionally, I would like to see him learn to use the veto, which he has yet to do. Furthermore, I would like to see the President articulate his ideas better to the public (partial Social Security privatization comes immediately to mind). However, in aggregate, these things pale in comparison to the two main items on the American agenda. It is for this reason that President Bush is the best choice on Tuesday.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:47 AM


    Monday, October 25, 2004

    Say Uncle gives a "compelling" endorsement of the Libertarian candidate, Michael Badnarik.

    For the record, I voted Libertarian during both Clinton elections, and I did so because I thought the party was principled, and dedicated to cutting taxes, spending, and interference in the lives of American citizens. But, as SU says, Badnarik is the lunatic fringe version of Libertarian. He will probably do much worse than Browne or Marrou ever did.

    Will there ever be a day when we will see a candidate with the above ideals who will make a serious run at the presidency? I doubt it. Not as long as the citizenry writ large keeps going to the public trough and taking something, and not as long as the political elites keep accommodating them. It's all about who can give the voter something. "What's in it for us?", they ask. To ask, "What will you pledge to NOT do?" or "How many programs will you pledge to cut or eliminate entirely?" just won't get you elected. Sad, but true.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:58 PM


    Prime commentary from MSNBC:

    It's one of the many lies that the book advances. To me the most interesting lie, John O'Neill, that I would submit to you that you should answer, is, you make a lying claim that John Kerry's antiwar activity prolonged the amount of time that prisoners of war were held in Vietnam. . . . That's a lie, John O'Neill! Keep lying, it's all you do! . . . Lies! . . . Which is not in John O'Neill's book, 'cause it's a lie! . . . That's a lie! It's another lie! That's a lie! Absolute lie! You lie in that book endlessly! . . . You lie about documents endlessly! . . . You're just lying about it! And you lied about Thurlow's Bronze Star! You lied about it as long as you could until the New York Times found the wording of what was on the citation that you as a lying writer refused to put in your pack of lies! . . . Disgusting, lying book! . . . You have no standards, John O'Neill, as an author, and you know it! It's a pack of lies! You are unfit to publish! . . . He just lied to you! He spews out this filth! Point to his name on the report, you liar! Point to his name, you liar! . . . You just spew lies! . . .I just hate the lies of John O'Neill. I hate lies. It's not an argument; they're proven lies. . . . O'Neill's a liar, he's been a liar for 35 years about this, and he's found other liars [unintelligible]. . . . They lied! . . . They're lying somewhere! . . . Lies! Just tell me the initials, you liar! Creepy liar! . . . You are a liar who makes things up! . . . You want the lies! That's how you make your living, on lies!


    So what is Lawrence O'Donnell trying to say? And Kerry supporters are supposed to be taken seriously? Sheesh.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:44 PM


    For some nighttime entertainment, go over to Gatorsports.com and read the forums. In case you don't follow SEC football, here's what you missed this weekend.

    Gators lose to worst team this side of the Mississippi. Mayhem ensues. Coach Ron Zook is fired. Partying in Gainesville begins.

    So... is the "ol' ball coach" coming back to resurrect the dead Gator football program? Well, apparently, he's interested. For the sake of the Vols - Gators' rivalry, I think it would be a real treat.

    Stay tuned.

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    .: posted by Dave 9:29 PM


    Eight days before the election, I finally found a sensible tax policy espoused by John Kerry:

    Sen. Kerry is the only Democratic candidate to move past glib talk and address a concrete topic: "John Kerry has been a strong supporter of legislation allowing artists, writers and composers to take a fair-market value deduction for their works donated to a museum, library or archive."

    This refers to the bills in the House and Senate aimed at righting a glaring inequity in the tax code. If a collector donates a work of art to a museum, he or she can take a deduction based on its current market value. If a living artist wants to donate one of their own works to a museum, their deduction is limited to the cost of the materials used to make it. The bills are languishing in committee. If there is a real arts issue on the table today, it's this one.

    Now if someone could convince Kerry that marginal tax cuts encourage job growth, we might have something.

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    .: posted by Dave 9:15 PM


    Just when I was this close to cancelling my Netflix subscription, they lowered their monthly fees to $17.99. With low margins and heightened competition in the market, Netflix had to do something in response to their fledgling stock price. The future is bright for online/mail order video rentals, although I'm not sure Netflix has the resources to stay competitive. Best guess - Amazon will buy Netflix to acquire an established presence in the market, or TiVo will merge with Netflix to create a digital content delivery juggernaut.

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    .: posted by Dave 9:05 PM


    Over on the Blogfather's daily, guest blogger Ann Althouse had this to say:

    My 21-year-old son, Chris stopped by City Hall in Madison, WI to vote, and he had this to say:

    "No one ever asked for my ID, and in fact, I asked two different people if they wanted to see my ID, and they said no. So, anyone who wanted to could go in and write down somebody else's name if they knew their address, and vote for them."

    I don't care at this point who wins the election, as long as they win it fairly, and within the bounds of the law. God help us if this is how voting is being handled nationwide.

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    .: posted by Dave 7:28 PM


    Not only is the Red Sox ace Curt Schilling a great pitcher, but he might be an even better businessman:

    Schilling, a bright, articulate man who negotiated his own terms, added another clause (to his contract). If the Red Sox were to succeed in their desperate quest for a first World Series win since 1918, his salary would rise by $2 million the next year and his contract would be extended for a fourth year at $13 million. So a championship for the Red Sox will bring Schilling an extra $15 million. Not bad for a man who, at 38 ,is reaching the end of his career.

    Schilling obviously 1) knows how passionately the Sox want a World Series title, and 2) is more prescient than anyone gave him credit for. I hope the Red Sox win the series just to see them give a fine pitcher like Schilling an extra year.

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    .: posted by Dave 7:06 PM


    Sunday, October 24, 2004

    As in many past elections, Americans are closely divided over who should be the next president. It's not a clear-cut case of one candidate being far superior to the other. Yet history is not made by those who stand on the sidelines and wring their hands. The people must choose on Nov. 2, and (fill in the newspaper here) recommends George W. Bush over John F. Kerry.

    Any guesses whose endorsement starts with this paragraph? Washington Times? New York Post? Wall Street Journal? If you guessed those, you were wrong. Try the venerable Hartford Courant. That's Hartford, as in Connecticut. Yes, my home state newspaper, a state committed to the "ideals" of confiscatory policy, and overt liberalism, today endorsed the Republican President.

    Now, since I have not lived here for long, I wouldn't know if this is a historical trend, but I doubt highly that it is. In any case, it took me by surprise.

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    .: posted by Dave 4:38 PM


    No blogging here lately, as we have been too busy in the Opinari household to sit down and opine about things. Sometimes, there's just not much worth saying that warrants taking a few hours out of my day and typing them here. Last week was one of those weeks.

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    .: posted by Dave 4:35 PM


    Thursday, October 14, 2004

    Engadget:

    This doesn't come as a huge surprise, but a new report suggests that interest in buying downloadable music online from places like iTunes seems to be fading. The main reason? All of those thousands of promotions seem to have ended. Apparently, those "buy a Big Mac and get a free download" and "buy a Pepsi and get a free download" type promotions are starting to close up shop. While there was a lot of hype about these music download stores, everyone involved still seems to simply have their head in the sand about what's really going on, and what the real competition is. If they ever do take a step back and see the market for what it is, we should expect to see some serious price drops, along with additional benefits and features for buyers, along with a real effort to use the music as a constant promotion for selling other, more profitable, things. In the meantime, though, most of these companies will stick with the fiction that a buck a song is the right price.

    When Real ran their $4.99/album introductory sale on digital downloads, I purchased several. I considered buying 2-3 per week at that price, mainly for the convenience. However, when the $9.99 price structure went into effect, I cancelled my account. I won't pay that price for a digital download, especially with the lack of selections available. Until the price drops, as the above review mentions, I won't be buying, and I suspect many others will not either.

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    .: posted by Dave 9:44 PM


    "Female Viagra" will possibly to go to market in 2005 pending FDA priority review.

    "We hope to have the (Intrinsa) patch available some time in 2005, if approved by the FDA," said Elaine Plummer, a spokeswoman for Cincinnati-based Proctor & Gamble.

    P&G's female testosterone patch, dubbed Intrinsa, is designed to treat women whose lack of sexual desire causes them distress. The patch is for women with menopause that's triggered by surgery, such as a total hysterectomy, which tends to reduce sexual desire, P&G said.

    Girl takes Intrinsa. Boy takes Viagra. Porno flick ensues.

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    .: posted by Dave 9:07 PM


    A homeschooled child begs her mom to watch the debate...

    Rhia: "Mom, I need to watch the debate."

    Mom: No you need to go to bed.

    Rhia: But mom it is the last debate, I need to hear some of it.

    Mom: No you already hear the other two and saw the president speak.

    Rhia: But this is the last time they debate. I will do a blog.

    Mom: You were restless last time - it may not interest you.

    Rhia: I will sit right here and be quiet and listen. Who is speaking now?

    Mom: _exasperated sigh_ sure come lay down President Bush is talking - but you are not eating anything and are going right to bed afterwards!

    This from a child, aged five years. I can only hope my son is this motivated to watch the debates in 2008, and he will be just about the same age.

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    .: posted by Dave 8:39 PM


    If you have trouble finding crap on your computer (things like Word Docs, PDFs, and especially emails), you are just the type of person that needs the Google Desktop Search tool. I just installed this handy little free utility on my laptop, and I have been able to find lots of previously lost files, like installation codes for purchased software, pictures of old living quarters, and even a Powerpoint file I forgot to submit for a software engineering class. (Oops!) One thing though... once you install it, go somewhere and let it index your system. Then come back 10-20 minutes later, and search away!

    More GMail Goodies: This one isn't from Google, but from a programmer that thought it might be a good idea to use the GMail file system as a repository for your personal files. Try the GMail drive shell extension.

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    .: posted by Dave 8:26 PM


    A Plea from a Southern Expatriate living in Connecticut:

    If anyone in the Northeast knows where I can go to buy a palate, a case, a 12-pack, or heck, even a sip of Caffeine Free Diet Mountain Dew up this way, please post and tell me where. I am having withdrawals!

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    .: posted by Dave 8:24 PM


    Wednesday, October 13, 2004

    Debate Reaction:

    The Blogfather: "Again, not bad for Kerry, but Bush is at the top of his game. He's still no Ronald Reagan, but he's good -- much better than at the beginning or in the earlier debates. If he'd been like this in the first debate he'd be up by 10."

    Stephen Green: "The Fox News guys look happy. That's my own version of an exit poll."

    Jeff Jarvis    : "The only real conclusion from this debate is that we should have more debates -- for they are the only opportunities we have had to dwell on issues rather than mud and they have had big impact on the election -- and they should all be run by the citizens, not the journalists."

    Dean Esmay: "I'm not watching the debate tonight. I suddenly realized it was a huge waste of time. How about you?"

    Right Wing News: "I give a slight edge to Kerry for this debate.

    Kerry relentlessly criticized Bush with some success and while Bush fired back, but trying to hammer Kerry is like trying to nail jello to the wall because he's all things to all people.

    On the other hand, I don't think this should hurt Bush since Kerry has the edge on domestic issues anyway and since the it was a small win."

    Hugh Hewitt: "Bush wins because of the faith question, the gay marriage question and the emphasis on education and Kerry's Global test. Kerry strong on jobs and health care, but weak on connecting with people. Shieffer probably doesn't even know how in the tank he was, a product of the deep, deep bias at CBS and MSM generally. Kerry on the defensive on many issues tthat matter to voters, and especially Catholic voters and voters with children. The worst fumble by Kerry: Not answering the cost question on health care."

    Dan Drezner: "My quick take -- and bear in mind that I'm not nearly as drenched in health care minutae as I am on foreign policy, so I can't comment on the factual errors committed by both of them -- is that Bush won a debate where both of them committed a lot of errors. The key difference between this debate and the last two was that Bush physically seemed more comfortable this time around, seemed to remember his talking points, and was better able to project passion on the answers he really cared about (education, immigration, faith). Kerry didn't quite marry style to substance in the same way."

    Captain Ed: "Bush stomped Kerry, without a doubt. Not only did he project a more interested demeanor, but he also showed a more pleasant speaking style and a superior grasp of detail. He projected an optimism that completely escapes Kerry, especially tonight. Kerry was the one stumbling through answers this time, including inexplicably on the question about his experience with strong women. Kerry could not stay on topic, and like John Edwards, wound up simply regurgitating his stump speeches. Bush offered more thoughtful answers, more extemporaneous, and seemed much more genuine as a result.

    This debate will wind up being recognized as a disaster for the Kerry campaign within the next 48 hours, and within 96 hours the polls will demonstrate it."

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    .: posted by Dave 9:34 PM


    On the debate:

    This sure feels like the same debate we already saw. Wasn't this supposed to be something different? It makes me wish the fringe party candidates were allowed to participate.

    Health care, jobs, taxes, Iraq.... blah blah blah. All things I care about, but seriously, they should have divided these debates into three distinct categories. Or maybe two, and left this third debate off.

    In the liberal enclave of New England, I can guarantee you that very few "undecided" voters are watching this on a Wednesday night when the Red Sox are playing the Yankees.

    Anyway, I don't see much new coming out of this. In fact, I think both candidates are doing worse than last time. Maybe they are bored with this whole process too? Maybe they should both get plastered before debating. Now THAT would be fun.

    UPDATE: I actually like the self-deprecating lines from both candidates.

    Bush - "Laura speaks English better than I do."
    Kerry - "The three of us certainly married up. Some would say I did better than others."

    However, the canned closing statements have got to go. Ugh.

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    .: posted by Dave 8:39 PM


    Monday, October 11, 2004

    Roger Pilon writes an astute column about how free-market policies can be applied to drug reimportation.

    The (reimportation) ban should be lifted, therefore, not to encourage reimportation, which isn't likely to happen, but simply to allow market practices to surface. Today, with their high-profit American market protected, companies don't have to bargain hard abroad. The ban shields them, allowing them to claim they have to accept foreign price controls. Practically, Americans are subsidizing socialized medical systems abroad.

    But with the ban lifted, and the threat of underpriced drugs flooding the American market, companies would be "forced" to adjust. They could still try to maximize profits by segmenting markets. But they'd have to guard against parallel markets the right way, through no-resale contracts or supply limits. They could offer a country lower prices, but the country would have to police its exports, since America would no longer be policing imports. That places the incentive where it belongs, on the country benefiting from the bargain. And if that failed, companies could limit supplies, as they're doing now with Canada.

    [...]

    With the ban lifted, no one knows whether prices will rise abroad and fall here, or just rise abroad. That's for markets to decide. The last thing we want, however, is the bipartisan Dorgan-Snowe Senate bill, which would lift the ban and then prohibit companies from "gaming the system" -- limiting supplies or raising prices abroad. In effect, the sponsors want to freeze the current situation, then import below-cost drugs from abroad -- at those prices. The sponsors seem not to appreciate that the only reason a company can sell a drug for $20 in Germany is because it's sold for $100 in America. The bill would actually import foreign price controls, and that would be the end of future R&D and the miracle drugs it produces.

    One can only hope a solution such as that proposes by Pilon is given a chance, instead of the foolish intervention of Dorgan-Snowe.

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    .: posted by Dave 2:04 PM


    Paying Their Fair Share:

    According to the Kerrys' own tax records, and they have not released all of them, the couple had a combined income of $6.8 million in income last year and paid $725,000 in income taxes. That means their effective tax rate was a whopping 12.8%. And it was all (presumably) done legally.

    [...]

    Under the current tax system the middle class pays far more than the Kerry tax rate. In fact, the average federal tax rate -- combined payroll and income tax -- for a middle-class family is closer to 20% or more. George W. and Laura Bush, who had an income one-tenth of the Kerrys', paid a tax rate of 30%.

    Of course, there is delicious irony in the Kerry family tax-return data. Here is the man who finds clever ways to reduce his own tax liability while voting for higher taxes on the middle class dozens of times in his Senate career. He even voted against the Bush tax cut that saves each middle-class family about $1,000.

    John Kerry... man of the middle class. Heh.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 1:41 PM


    Saturday, October 09, 2004

    Australia != Spain:

    PRIME Minister John Howard has claimed victory in the federal election that returned him to office for a fourth term in a vote that saw surprise gains for the Coalition across the country.

    Labor failed to make any significant gains and senior party figures were conceding defeat just hours into the counting tonight.

    Labor leader Mark Latham conceded defeat in a phone call to Mr Howard around three hours after polling finished in the eastern states.

    Soon afterwards Mr Howard addressed supporters in Sydney and said he was "truly humbled" by the result and promised to "rededicate myself and all of my colleagues to the service of the Australian people".

    He acknowledged Mr Latham's concession and thanked him for "the gracious things that he said."

    "There can only be one winner when an election is held," Mr Howard said.

    "We are joyful that the verdict has been given by the Australian people but never forget the fact that governments are elected to govern not only for the people who voted for them, but also for the people who voted against them."

    The strength of support for the Coalition surpassed all expectations as Labor's vote collapsed in Tasmania and nationally the Coalition looked set to increase its majority in Parliament.

    Early Senate results show the Coalition may also command a majority in the Upper House, which would allow Mr Howard to proceed with the sale of Telstra and other controversial Government plans held up by the opposition over the past three years.

    The last paragraph there is just as significant as the first. Imagine a Bush administration with a super-majority in the Senate, with the ability to avoid threats of filibustering.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:24 AM


    Friday, October 08, 2004

    Here's a thought.

    Perhaps Bush's performance in the first debate was poor by design. Why, you ask? By doing so poorly, he lowered the bar that much more for himself, while instilling a feeling of superiority and overconfidence in Kerry's camp. Thus, Bush is enabled to be the "comeback kid", just like Reagan was in his candidacies. Kerry is turned from the offensive to the defensive, is caught off guard by the unexpected improvement in Bush as a debater. As such, Bush impresses the proletariat. Bush looks much better than he would have with higher expectations. As a result, Bush wins the second (and ostensibly the third) debate, swaying the "swing" voters to his favor, and winning the election.

    Farfetched? No more than any of the hundreds of other liberal conspiracy theories. Blame Karl Rove, I say.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:55 PM


    Impressions: All I want to know is where was this version of Dubya last week? I still wish that Kerry would tell us some of his plan specifics, although I think that is by design. ABC says that this debate was infinitely more important than the previous one. If that's the case, I think the advantage goes to Bush so far in the debate season.

    I was curious about why Kerry didn't mention the jobs report today, and why Dubya didn't point out that Kerry voted AGAINST the Kyoto Treaty in the Senate. The candidates need better researchers (maybe they should read the blogs.)

    Also, it would be nice if Bush, instead of a "nuanced" answer about stem cell research, would point out that there is a difference between ADULT and EMBRYONIC stem cells, and the differences between the two. People need to understand the difference.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:58 PM


    Gibson: Neither of you has addressed how you will reduce the deficit by 50%. How will you do so?

    Bush: I will ask the Senate to quit spending so much.

    Kerry: [crickets chirping]

    Heh.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:11 PM


    Yawn... I was going to blog the second debate, but why?

    Same shoo-shoo. Different day.

    NOTE: Guess I changed my mind. Heh.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:05 PM


    Nope. No news media bias going on here. Nothing to see here. Move along.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 7:45 PM


    Hugh Hewitt on the General Shinseki claim made by John Kerry:

    This is a test of MSM: lf Kerry goes unchallenged on an obvious and significant lie, how can the MSM claim to be anything except the Democratic nominee's cheerleading section?

    Inquiring minds want to know, and all that.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 7:41 PM


    I have this nagging question that keeps coming to me at odd hours. It involves the constant pessimism, the insistence of the left, specifically the boosters of John Kerry, that says that the Bush administration will be the first presidency to lose jobs in a single term (585,000 or 913,000 net jobs lost, depending on which report you consider). Today's jobs report showed an increase of 96,000 jobs, but this was apparently not good enough for the mainstream media. Since the aftermath of September 11th, there have been subsequent job increases. In fact, in 2004, the economy has added 1.69 million jobs (according to the household survey). Even so, this is a figure that just doesn't make the grade for the Bush detractors.

    Consider this. President Bush inherited a recession, a tech bubble burst, corporate accounting scandals, and the events of September 11, 2001. Recall how paralyzed the national psyche, and, by extension, the economy was in the wake of those events. The Democrats have made a big issue of the aforementioned job losses, as they are so entitled. Given the climate of uncertainty in the United States during the first half of the Bush presidency, how exactly would a Kerry administration have handled the economy differently? Would his monetary policies have differed from the Feds? Would he have raised taxes in a recession? Would he have adopted more Keynesian policies?

    I'm weary of hearing that Bush is bad and Kerry is good. I want to know specifically what Kerry would have done differently. That's not too much to ask during an election season.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 3:18 PM


    There has been an e-coli scare not too far from my house. Fortunately, our water supplier is not the same as in Ellington. Still, it makes me question the wisdom in consuming public water.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 3:13 PM


    Florida Voting Blues:

    The state Democratic Party filed a federal lawsuit accusing Florida's secretary of state of violating federal law when she told elections supervisors to reject incomplete voter-registration forms. The party asked a judge to order Glenda Hood to reverse her instructions to the state's 67 counties.

    Hood's office told counties they should disqualify voters who failed to check a box confirming they are U.S. citizens, even if they signed an oath on the same form swearing they are. She and other state officials maintain that state and federal laws require the box to be checked.

    "The Secretary of State's Office says they want to err on the side of the voter, yet they want to disenfranchise people," party Chairman Scott Maddox said.

    It's not disenfranchising people to require them to follow the instructions as laid out by the law. Let me go on record by saying that I don't care if it's a Democratic voter, or a Republican voter registering to vote. If the person does not follow the procedure as delineated by law, they are not, and should not be, a qualified voter. Period.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 3:04 PM


    Marc Anderssen:

    ""One of the most amazing things over the last six or seven years is watching Microsoft basically get a monopoly over the browser and then not use it."

    They had better get going on fixing the myriad problems with their IE product, or they will have a monopoly no more.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 2:59 PM


    The Dell Digital DJ is a little cheaper today:

    Dell has taken an aggressive pricing strategy in its competition with Apple in the music player space. Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox reported in his blog Friday that Dell has dropped pricing on the 15GB Dell DJ to US$149, which is $100 less than the 4GB iPod mini, and half the price of a 20 GB iPod. Dell's 20GB Dell DJ is currently being offered at $195, $100 less than the 20GB iPod.

    The 15GB Dell DJ normally lists for $199, and the special pricing is a promotion being made available through a coupon in conjunction with Apple's erstwhile Windows jukebox partner, MusicMatch. The 20GB unit normally lists for $279, and the $195 discounted pricing is available directly from Dell's Web site as of this writing.

    This is a clear attempt to compete with the iPod craze, and knowing how the iPod is priced, along with compatibility issues with other formats, I can see several thousand of these units going off the shelves during the promotion. It makes me wish I hadn't bought mine yet. Heh.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 2:52 PM


    Do you own a Dell PC? You might want to know about a product recall.

    Dell Inc. is recalling 990,000 AC adapters made for their notebook computers, warning that the adapters may overheat to pose fire risk and electrocution hazard to users.

    Dell's recalled adapters were manufactured in China and sold between Sept. 1998 through Feb. 2002. Dell's Web site and customer service center sold the computers with adapters from September 1998 through February 2002 for $1,500 to $3,200.

    {...}

    Customers can identify the adapters with the word "DELL" and "P/N 9364U," "P/N 7832D" or "P/N 4983D" printed on the back of the unit.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 2:31 PM


    U.S. School Floor Plans Found in Iraq:

    Federal law enforcement authorities notified school districts in six states last month that a computer disk found in Iraq contained photos, floor plans and other information about their schools, two U.S. officials said Thursday.

    The downloaded data found by the U.S. military in July -- all available on the Internet -- included an Education Department report guiding schools on how to prepare and respond to a crisis, said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    Think Russia and Chechnyan separatists, and then ask yourself why anyone in Iraq would want, or need school floor plans from the U.S.

    Iraq and terrorism not connected? Hogwash.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 2:27 PM


    Sunday, October 03, 2004

    I have some items on eBay this weekend... included are C.J. Date's Introduction to Database Systems (7th and 8th editions), a PalmPak Road Atlas, the Led Zeppelin box set, and Visual Basic .NET 2002 and 2003. Bid away!

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:00 PM


    Saturday, October 02, 2004

    Senator Tom Daschle may lose South Dakota, and this could explain why:

    In 1991 Daschle told the Washington Post that the "first thing that comes to my mind in a vote is: Can it [the issue] pass the 30-second test, how successful will it be in applying it to a 30-second ad?" The cynicism and being on both sides of every issue is catching up to him.

    I really hate this kind of politician. I want leadership that takes a stand on the side they believe is the right side, and I want them to tell me why. President Bush is great at the first, not so good at the second. But at least I can follow his actions, and know from them what his positions are. Kerry, Daschle, and many of the Clintonian Democrats, just don't know how to govern that way.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:09 PM


    October Reading:

    This month, I'm working on four books simultaneously. Will I finish them by Election Day? I doubt it. But I'm going to try.

  • From the political genre comes Intellectual Morons, which interests me because I often wonder why people go off the ideological deep end.

  • From the suspense category, we have the Romanov Prophecy, detailing the adventures of Miles Lord in Russia and ties to the Bolshevik Revolution and a cryptic message from Rasputin. (I have a thing for historical thrillers).

  • Since I liked the DaVinci Code, I thought I would like more background into the Knights Templar, the Priory of Sion, etc. The Templar Revelation looks like just the thing to satisfy my curiosity into the conspiracy theories that abound regarding Mary Magdalene, Christ, and John the Baptist.

  • And finally, there's this little novel. Call it an intellectual exercise studying the not-so-intellectual world of college football fanaticism. Warren St. John's Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer follows the cult of the Alabama Crimson Tide for a season in a $5500 beat up RV. So far, this has been a very interesting tome.

    All four of these are available on e-book, so I can get lots of reading done in places like... the bathroom stall at work, the grocery store line, and in bed when sleep is elusive. On second thought, maybe I will finish them by Election Day.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:34 PM


    Funny, this sounds just like what happened when Nixon was being so paranoid back in the 70s.

    Three laptop computers containing campaign plans were stolen overnight from the Bush-Cheney state headquarters office, Republican officials said Friday.

    [...]

    The computers contained much of the Bush-Cheney campaign strategy for the state and advertising schedules, (state GOP chairman Chris) Vance said.

    "This looks like it was politically motivated," Vance said in an interview from the Republican party offices in Tukwila.

    There's no way to know whether it was politically motivated, but it sure smells funny to me. Oh, I know, Karl Rove engineered the theft, and is going to plant them somewhere in John Kerry's campaign headquarters. Maybe that's the October surprise Teh-REH-suh was talking about.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:29 PM


    Here We Go Again in the Sunshine State:

    Florida officials say thousands of Floridians who think they're registered to vote could be turned away at the polls November second because their voter registration forms weren't completely filled out.

    Secretary of State Glenda Hood says some groups registering voters are turning in application forms with information missing, such as unchecked boxes asking whether applicants are citizens, mentally incompetent or felons.

    I don't care if the applicants in question are Democrats or Republicans. If you are too stupid to fill out a voter registration card, and too proud to ask someone for help with it, you shouldn't be voting anyway.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:26 PM


    At the half - Auburn 31, Tennessee 3. Well, tonight, they DEFINITELY look like kids out there. I said at the beginning of the week that if we could take 1 out of the 2 games with Auburn and Georgia, I would be thrilled. I'm not sure we can do that, but here's hoping that it happens.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:24 PM


    Friday, October 01, 2004



    TiVo for the Internet? I think I will try out this little piece of software.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 2:51 PM


    BREAKING NEWS: A friend of mine just informed me that Mt. St. Helens erupted. She lives within clear view of the volcano. I don't see anything yet on the news. I'm working on getting some pictures as well.

    UPDATE: FoxNews reports "Steam Eruption Visible at Mount St. Helens ".

    UPDATE AGAIN: Most of what is coming from the volcano is steam, but it was enough of an eruption to stir her chickens. This is what my friend in Washington reports. No pictures available, but you can monitor the volcanic activity here.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 2:24 PM


    Read this excellent article by Pat Forde on Vol head coach Phil Fulmer:

    (J)ust in case Tide backers require a cherry atop their bile sundae, consider this sacrilegious scenario: Sometime in 2016, Fulmer surpasses Mr. Paul Bryant's SEC record of 159 conference victories -- a mark many have labeled unassailable in today's coaching climate.

    At the still-spry age of 54, Fulmer owns 75 SEC wins going into the 3-0 Volunteers' Saturday showdown in Knoxville with 4-0 Auburn. He says he'd like to coach 10 more years, and the Big Orange lifer (player, assistant, head coach) wouldn't do it anywhere other than Tennessee. If he maintains his current winning pace for another decade and stays a few extra years beyond his 10-year goal, he'll demote Bear from Ursa Major to Ursa Minor in Dixie's coaching constellation before he's through.

    Heh.


    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:50 PM


    Erik Ainge will be starting for the Vols this weekend. He has definitely earned it, but I am a superstitious sort where sports are concerned. So, for this reason, I am picking the Vols to lose to Auburn (although I hope I am wrong!)

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:47 PM


    Rex Hammock:

    Personally, I have decided that the best way to watch a presidential debate is to open an IM conversation with someone who is against the candidate you support. You realize that debates are merely a rorschach inkblot test. Over the past 90 minutes, I've discovered in the real-time, stream-of-consciousness flow of IMing comments how our preconceptions totally dictate how one reacts to the "performance" of each candidate. Now as I watch the pundits, it's so obvious that they have no idea how this debate is playing on the other end of the camera.

    This explains why some people think Bush did well, and others think Kerry did.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:41 PM


    Thursday, September 30, 2004

    RTB Roundup:

    Say Uncle:

    Bush: Kerry is inconsistent.
    Kerry: Bush guarded oil wells and I have a plan (one I can’t talk about, apparently).

    I would say that sums it up.

    Alphapatriot:

    Number of answers in which Kerry made a gratuitous reference to Vietnam: 1 2 3 4 5

    Yep.

    Up For Anything:

    I think JFK has taken a dangerous position in regards to NK. He says he'd start bilateral talks. Does that mean he'll "go it alone." What about the "alliances?" It also would appear we'd give in to NK's demands. I think it's a bad position for JFK.

    I wondered about that myself.

    The Blogfather    :

    Both did a pretty good job of sticking to issues and there weren't too many cheap rhetorical tricks. I don't think it'll change a lot of minds. But I have a very consistent track record of getting this stuff wrong (I thought Carter beat Reagan. . . .) so take my opinions with a large grain of salt.

    Lean Left    :

    Bush failed to provide any kind of defense. He essentially just repeated the same talking points over and over again, regardless of the situation. His argument boiled down to "Lets keep doing the same stuff, even if its not working."

    And Kerry says "Let's do something different, even though I don't know what that will be exactly." Which is exactly what I expected from both candidates.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:44 PM


    Liveblogging the Debate:

    Kerry "has a better plan"for preventing 9/11. So far, I hear lots of platitudes, lots of "I can do betters", but I don't hear what anything that resembles a proposal. Bush is telling us what is GOOD about his administration's foreign policy. I happen to agree. I also think that 2 minutes is not much time for either candidate to give an answer.

    Would a Kerry administration lead to another 9/11? No, because he's not going to win. Heh. So saith President Bush. Arrogance? Perhaps... but liberals always complain about Dubya's swagger, so he might as well show it on stage. Bush tells us what we should already know... that this is a tough task to defeat terrorists. Kerry assaults that policy (Iraq was the wrong choice, no WMDs, blah blah blah). Same Kerry as always. Kerry claims that OBL got away in Tora Bora.

    Kerry is asked what did Bush do wrong? Kerry: "Where do you want me to begin?" Whoop! There was the first mention of Vietnam, albeit implicitly (at 9:12 pm). Bottom line, says Kerry, the money in Iraq should have gone to government domestic programs. Yep, that will attack the war on terror. Bush: Kerry declared that Saddam was a grave threat, which he did. A collosal waffle? Those on the right would say yes. Bush basically reiterates the fact that there were 16 UN resolutions outstanding against Saddam Hussein.

    Bush ties Saddam Hussein to the war on terror, and emphasizes the scope of the war is not just in Iraq. al-Zarqawi in Iraq? You bet. Bush wants everyone to understand this. Kerry: "Iraq was not even close to being the center of the war on terror." Did JFK forget that he voted to authorize the use of force? "We don't send the kids into battle without proper funding." Then why the hell did he vote AGAINST the funding of the war? Sheesh. If anything shows how inept a leader Kerry will be, this is it.

    Homeland Security: Kerry assails the tax cuts. I was waiting for that. "Invest". Read: raise taxes, fund programs. Russian nuclear material? Best way to secure the homeland is to stay on the offensive. I couldn't agree more. Kerry has to question things, as it only benefits him for things to be wrong. The issue will be, on foreign policy, if things are as bad as the Democrats say.

    Bring home the troops: Bush - best way is if the Iraqi people are equipped to defend themselves. Bush will bring home troops once we have achieved our objectives (which presumably has nothing to do with an oil pipeline spanning Asia, Michael Moore!) Kerry - "help is on the way". This is odd, since he wouldn't fund the help!

    Kerry accepted Iraqi intelligence, but he would have done it differently. Naturally. So Bush hasn't held enough summits. Halliburton meme has surfaced! (9:32 pm).

    Line of the night: President Bush - That's totally absurd. Of course the UN was invited in. What's he say to Tony Blair? You can't expect to build an alliance when you denigrate the contributions of those who are serving side-by-side with us in Iraq. What's the message? Join us for a grand diversion? Join us for the wrong war at the wrong time? They're not gonna follow somebody whose core convictions keep changing because of politics in America.

    If you denigrate the contributons of our allies, how can you think they will go along in the future? You can't. Bush has a very good point. Can Kerry bring people together by calling them the "coalition of the coerced and the bribed"? No.

    (Kerry probably should have kept his mouth shut on this one. He really looked bad questioning the motives of our allies.)

    NOTE: Just because Kerry tries to make a meme fly doesn't make it true.

    Bush makes the point that this whole endeavor is a work in progress. I can only hope the voters agree.

    How will Kerry get rid of nukes in North Korea? How the hell does he know? But he will change that... he will just do it. Who cares how?

    Nuclear materials didn't exist... I believe this was BRITISH intelligence, and I believe that the Brits are still standing by their findings. Is Kerry accusing Bush of lying? He is, without actually saying so. Kerry has to know better than this. He also knows the only way he wins is to make Bush look as if he deliberately misled America. Most people, I think, know better.

    Bush chose the wrong way to disarm Iraq... if so, then what was the right way? Specifically? Don't tell me that you will form better coalitions, and kowtow to the UN. HOW? Mr. Kerry... HOW would you have achieved this differently?

    Was it worth 10,052... er, 1052 lives to go into Iraq? Bush acknowledges that one life is as precious as many, but that it was a worthy endeavor, because the stakes are just too high.

    Someone tell Kerry that WE ALL KNOW HE WAS IN VIETNAM! Ugh.

    I must say that I would like Bush to stop mentioning the "wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time" line. If we could remove that line, and all allusions to Vietnam, the world would be a happier place.

    Timeline for ending US involvement in Iraq: Kerry - if we do the things I want to do, we can bring the troops back home in 6 months. Well, then. By all means, elect the man. How will this be achieved? Change the dynamic. Close the borders. (Without funding them being there? How is this going to work?)

    Bush: "You can change the dynamic on the ground if you question the brave leader of Iraq." Very true.

    On preemption: Bush - "I never dreamt I would have to do anything like this, but 9/11 made it necessary. A president always has to be willing to use troops."

    Bush - "Maybe the 18th resolution would have affected Iraq." Heh.

    Bush - "Look at Libya... The world is better for it." True.

    Kerry - ENOUGH WITH THE OUTSOURCE ALLUSION

    Bush - "Saddam Hussein had the capabilities and the will to make weapons of mass destruction."

    It is disingenuous of Kerry to insinuate that he would have been able to prevent Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons, unless he is saying that he would have attacked THEM preemptively, which I highly doubt.

    Kerry on preemption - "I don't know." Well, that's no surprise. Kyoto alert! (10:00 pm).

    Bush - "I would not join the International Criminal Court." No doubt Kerry is on record saying that he would, AND he wouldn't.

    Bush - "Trying to be popular in the global sense doesn't make sense if it isn't in the best interest of America." Only John Kerry could disagree with that.

    Bush on North Korea - "multilateral negotiations" Kerry wants bilateral talks. At least we know how Kerry feels on this subject (today).

    Kerry on Darfur - "we're overextended." "We cannot have another Rwanda." I agree with him on this.

    Bush on Darfur - "I agree with my opponent that we should work with the African Union on this." Good. Let's kiss and make up, boys.

    Bush on character issues - " I admire Senator Kerry's service to our country." Guess that closes the door on the SBVT issue. "I admire his service in the Senate, but not his record." "There must be certainty from a US President."

    Kerry on character issues - "Respect, admiration, yada yada." Wow, what is this, a lovefest? "You can be certain, and be wrong." Global warming alert! (10:14 pm)

    Kerry - "My policy has been consistent." LMAO Saying so doesn't make it so.

    Singlemost threat to the US - Kerry "Nuclear proliferation." "I'm going to shut (the bunker buster) program down." Well then. Let's weaken our defenses.

    Singlemost threat to the US - Bush "WMDs in the hands of terrorists". There should be a distinction here. Bush calls out terrorists, while Kerry wants to eliminate them altogether. The concept of "peace through strength" has eluded the senator.

    From this exchange, I gather that Kerry thinks that Bush hasn't done enough to get rid of nukes. If this is true, why does Gadhafi say unequivocally that the invasion of Iraq is what led him to disband his country's nuclear arms programs? I wish the President had asked this.

    Last question (thank God!)

    Bush on Vladimir Putin - "What he is doing is not OK. There need to be checks and balances in a democratic government." Bush calls him a strong ally in the war on terror. Bush emphasizes his relationship with Putin... (Good ol' Vlad!)

    Kerry on Vladimir Putin - "I would rather talk about North Korea." I'm guessing Kerry doesn't hold ol' Vlad in high regard.

    Kerry - "(Iraq) was a threat. That isn't the issue." But you've been saying that it wasn't an issue, Senator? Make up your mind!!!

    Here comes the closing thoughts... yawn!

    Kerry - "I have a plan. I just don't want to tell you about them. Let's have summits, where I, being a better politician than my opponent, will convince them to lick my boots. Did I mention I served in Vietnam."

    Bush - " I have a plan, and you know where I stand, unlike my opponent who shifts with the wind. We'll fight those bastards on the other side of the world so they don't try to blow themselves up here."

    Summary: I don't think this debate changed anyone's mind.

    Afterword: "This president doesn't need Botox to win a debate." Much laughter in the Opinari household ensued.

    UPDATE: An undecided voter was interviewed on WTIC, asked how she felt about the candidates after the debate. Not surprising, she was disappointed that there were few specifics offered. She is leaning now though toward one candidate - President Bush. That's saying something for the People's Republic of Connecticut.

    ANOTHER UPDATE: Quinnipiac poll today says that Bush trails in Connecticut by only SIX points. That's within the margin of error. If anything tonight has surprised me, this news does. When even Connecticut is in play for Bush, Kerry's campaign has some problems.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:05 PM


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