September 2008
105 posts
mikehudack:
I don’t know, because 55% of the American people believe it? One of the biggest problems we have as a society — as a global society — is that we don’t understand one another. Wouldn’t it be worthwhile for kids in Connecticut and New York to learn that there are millions of people elsewhere in America who understand the world differently than they do? For that matter, for kids in...
mikehudack:
Unlike a great many “liberals,” Im not opposed to teaching creationism in schools. I don’t see anything wrong with it. More than half of Americans (55%) believe that God created man in his current form. It would be a sad error for our education system to ignore this fact.
(via mikehudack)
You don’t see anything wrong with teaching not-science as science?
(via trainwrecks)
...
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Federal government involved in raids on protesters →
This is what scares me most about this administration: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the rule of law are ignored in any instance that serves their interests, not the interests of the country. Thomas Jefferson spoke of this fear often.
1 tag
“The overriding impression one has is that the only things really wrong during...”
– What’s missing from the Democratic convention? - Glenn Greenwald. The comparison to the attacks on John Kerry in 2004 are… not very comforting.
August 2008
81 posts
Marginal Revolution: Levee calculations →
An initial September 2010 target to complete the $14.8 billion in post-Katrina work has slipped to mid-2011. Then last September, an Army audit found 84 percent of work behind schedule because of engineering complexities, environmental provisos and real estate transactions. The report added that costs would likely soar. A more recent analysis shows the start of 84 of 156 projects was delayed...
“I think [Obama’s] going to make an intensely political choice, not a governing...”
– Karl Rove on selecting a Vice Presidential Candidate (via joshuatuscan & dalasverdugo & asprettyasasong)
Senator John McCain is not ruling out the... →
“Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of education. Healthy debate is so...”
– Sarah Palin, 2006. McCain’s VP Wants Creationism Taught in School
“It’s not political to say that John McCain turns 72 today. That he’s a cancer...”
– Dee Dee Myers
Calculate your Obama tax cut →
Barack Obama will cut taxes for over 95% of American families.
(even though more than half of Americans think he’ll raise their taxes)
via Juan Cole
“To test the birds’ recognition of faces separately from that of clothing, gait...”
– Crows can identify and remember individual human faces
Not for hire - Alaska's Sarah Palin (password... →
zachklein:
In Monocle’s first issue back in March 2007 they published an interview with Palin who was just a year into her governorship. Back then Rudy Giuliani was dropping hints that he’d like her to be his running mate. Of course, she deflected the rumor saying, “I think it is so far in outer space, the possibility that he would ever want a hockey mum from Wasilla to be his running mate, that...
Palin
Now that she’s actually on stage with him, I think it’s safe to say that this is not an April Fool’s joke. I’m in shock. Bring on the debates!
Watching the Obama bio video and I feel like we’re about to declare independence.
I think Joe Biden’s mom was the star of the night.
“I’m a forearm model.”
– Nick
“One of the things I’ve never tried to do is exploit my Vietnam service to...”
– John McCain in 1999, but it’s really about the name of the article: A noun, a verb, and POW
Who has more sex:
noraleah:
Political conventioneers (on a steady diet of open bars) or Olympic athletes (with the hottest bodies on earth)?
I just remembered New York had to import prostitutes for the 2004 RNC.
“It makes perfect sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next...”
– Hillary Clinton at the DNC. Well done.
“The convention floor erupts as the big TV screen shows … OHMIGOD …...”
– Dave Barry: Blazing a trail at the DNC
Recap of the Olympic Hiccups
dihard:
Well that went smoothly - no significant environmental problems, no catastrophic protests, and no terrorist attacks, as many had predicted. However, there were some hiccups at the Beijing Olympics. I kept a running account of them:
The Dedication of the Synchronized swimmers – While watching synchronized swimming, the announcers described team China’s training: the athletes are...
“I couldn’t think of anything good to cry about, so I decided not to cry.”
– Anon
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“I have no doubt that this is a very awkward thing for me. But as a private...”
– Jim Leach, former Republican congressman from Iowa who will speak tonight at the Democratic National Convention.
It’s really a shame that Churchill was so right. Democracy is the worst when “the best interest of public policy” comes in second to reelection concerns.
via A...
“At his core, Joe Biden has proven to be the guy I saw on the Amtrak to...”
– Alan Fein: On The Amtrak To Wilmington With Joe Biden
“Though many of the transitions from touchscreen to paper are slated to take...”
– Julian Sanchez, States rush to dump touch-screen voting systems. Still too many.
They couldn’t get Biden’s speech onto the teleprompters?
The suspense...
We have to get that text soon, right? We know it has to be by noon tomorrow and since I’ve read/heard that the campaign is, for some reason, obsessed with the idea of the announcement going out first by text message, it has to be today right? Tomorrow morning doesn’t make sense. Someone would have to find out who is there - set to speak - with Obama before the text went out. ...
I was recruited on the street to complete a minyan today and I’m glad I did it.
“Some people think gymnastics isn’t a sport because the result is determined by...”
– Jeff Neuman, Notes Of An Olympics Junkie
WatchI wonder if Usain Bolt would be this dominant if he didn’t have such a perfect name.
Definitely thought they gave it to him at first. That was insane.
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According to an analysis of campaign contributions... →
(via azspot)
“They don’t remember, ‘It’s a fake.’ They remember the picture. And...”
– Hany Farid, “Photography as a Weapon” - Errol Morris
My understanding of the war in South Ossetia,...
It’s all about independence. Imagine if in 1861, the Confederacy said, “Yo, Union: we’re out.” And the Union said, “Like hell you are. It’s on now.” Then, a couple weeks later, England says, “Union, you want to fight them, you’re fighting us also. The Confederacy is still our people.” So then the British military comes over, starts...
“I talked to my coach, and he said the ideal position for us was to finish second...”
– Frederick Bousquet of the French 4x100 freestyle relay team. Here is how Phelps responded:
The US won by eight one-hundredths of a second in a fantastic comeback over the “heavily favored French.”
Text 'VP' to 62262...
Welcome to Obama Mobile. You will now be one of the 1st notified when the VP candidate is selected. Text HELP for help. Std charges apply. Please forward.
Men's Basketball: The Scene Before United... →
A billion people are expected to watch this game, which starts in 45 minutes (10:15am EST). It’s the second most difficult ticket to get at the games after the opening ceremony.
“We are withdrawing from South Ossetia.”
– Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili. There is a “temporary” cease fire but it looks like South Ossetia has essentially won its independence from Georgia after four days of fighting. They are, of course, now under de facto Russian control. Abkhazia looks to be on the...
Postmodern John McCain: the presidential candidate... →
azspot:
Is this someone Americans really want to elect president?
If you want to read only one article to learn about who John McCain is, this is it.