There is a controversy brewing between Russia and Lithuania over a pro-Chechen web site that offers a $20 million reward for the capture of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It started when someone in Russia noticed the web site and contacted the Russian government to complain. The Lithuanian Ambassador to Russia was summoned to the Russian Foreign Minister’s office on Monday and requested that the web site be taken down.
The Ambassador relayed the request to his government and got a response that Lithuania couldn’t do that without court authorization, saying that it would also be unconstitutional.
The web site article accused Putin, a Russian citizen who is “currently acting as President of the Russian Federation” of war crimes and genocide. That’s the same language found in the indictment of Slobodan Milosovitch, former President of Yugoslavia and accused war criminal who is currently on trial in the Hague. Very clever way of linking the two leaders.
There’s no way to tell what is fact and fiction. The Russians are furious over the accusations and are putting pressure on Lithuania to remove the web site. This is part of the Kremlin's new hard-line policy toward Chechnya.
Here’s the web site and the story.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Monday, September 13, 2004
North Korean Explosion Near Missile Base
North Korea is trying to pull a scam.
That explosion that I've been writing about happened near the underground missile base where North Korean nuclear weapons development is believed to be underway.
Some intelligence agencies believe that a rocket motor blew up and caused the entire missile launcher to explode as well. It may have been a Nodong missile test that went bad.
That's even more plausible that the North Koreans claiming they were demolishing a mountain and more plausible than a forest fire.
That explosion that I've been writing about happened near the underground missile base where North Korean nuclear weapons development is believed to be underway.
Some intelligence agencies believe that a rocket motor blew up and caused the entire missile launcher to explode as well. It may have been a Nodong missile test that went bad.
That's even more plausible that the North Koreans claiming they were demolishing a mountain and more plausible than a forest fire.
Teacher in Trouble for Tearing Up Bible In Class
An English teacher destroyed a Bible in class to make her students feel like people did in the book "Fahrenheit 451" when their society ordered them to destoy all literature.
Totally unacceptable behavior from a teacher!
No respect for the religious beliefs of others, no courtesy. The point she was trying to make was fine, but she shouldn't have destroyed the Bible to do it.
Here's the story.
Totally unacceptable behavior from a teacher!
No respect for the religious beliefs of others, no courtesy. The point she was trying to make was fine, but she shouldn't have destroyed the Bible to do it.
Here's the story.
Assault Weapons Ban Set to Expire
I’m all for protecting the Second Amendment from government and court interference.
But…
What do civilians need AK-47s for? Home defense? Let’s go with a home defense scenario: If someone were to cut loose with an AK-47 in their house to shoot a bad guy, it’s very likely that the rounds would go through two more houses next door before they stopped. It’s like using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito.
During the North Hollywood shootout a few years ago (1997), bank robbers armed with AKs opened up on the police and the bullets were hitting the police cruisers so hard that they were punching clean through the cars and hitting the crouching cops who were valiantly returning fire with everything they had in their arsenal. One squad car took 57 AK hits in a few seconds; it took over 350 police officers to stop the criminals.
1980 saw a bank robbery in Norco, California that was similar: five men robbed a bank with assault weapons and explosives and wounded eleven police officers, killing one. They then fled and shot down a police helicopter that was in hot pursuit. Eventually the police tracked down and captured/killed all of the criminals, but the damage was done.
And it might now be possible to freely acquire fully automatic assault weapons?
If the ban expires, the next time we have a Columbine-like situation, and two nutters acquire machine guns, there will be ten times as many dead students as in Littleton, Colorado.
I can’t imagine seeing a hunter firing at a deer with an AK-47. There might not be anything left to eat.
Another way to look at this: why should a civilian need to outgun their police department? Some police departments in the country still use older weapons and would be no match for a single AK-47 in the hands of a lunatic.
Keep the machine guns in the hands of the military and the SWAT teams. Assault weapons are too powerful for most civilian uses.
The last thing we need is someone blazing away at a bad guy in his house and then having to go to jail for killing his next door neighbor, who dies after the bullets start coming in through the walls or floor of his house or apartment.
That already happens, but we don’t need a bigger problem.
If I had a chance to buy an AK-47, I would decline it and go with something a little more contemporary like a nice shotgun or rifle, then buy a computer or something else. I wouldn’t want to accept the additional responsibility of an AK.
I am no gun control freak, but I see no need for AK-47s or similar weapons to be available for purchase. They’re much too powerful to be on the streets.
But…
What do civilians need AK-47s for? Home defense? Let’s go with a home defense scenario: If someone were to cut loose with an AK-47 in their house to shoot a bad guy, it’s very likely that the rounds would go through two more houses next door before they stopped. It’s like using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito.
During the North Hollywood shootout a few years ago (1997), bank robbers armed with AKs opened up on the police and the bullets were hitting the police cruisers so hard that they were punching clean through the cars and hitting the crouching cops who were valiantly returning fire with everything they had in their arsenal. One squad car took 57 AK hits in a few seconds; it took over 350 police officers to stop the criminals.
1980 saw a bank robbery in Norco, California that was similar: five men robbed a bank with assault weapons and explosives and wounded eleven police officers, killing one. They then fled and shot down a police helicopter that was in hot pursuit. Eventually the police tracked down and captured/killed all of the criminals, but the damage was done.
And it might now be possible to freely acquire fully automatic assault weapons?
If the ban expires, the next time we have a Columbine-like situation, and two nutters acquire machine guns, there will be ten times as many dead students as in Littleton, Colorado.
I can’t imagine seeing a hunter firing at a deer with an AK-47. There might not be anything left to eat.
Another way to look at this: why should a civilian need to outgun their police department? Some police departments in the country still use older weapons and would be no match for a single AK-47 in the hands of a lunatic.
Keep the machine guns in the hands of the military and the SWAT teams. Assault weapons are too powerful for most civilian uses.
The last thing we need is someone blazing away at a bad guy in his house and then having to go to jail for killing his next door neighbor, who dies after the bullets start coming in through the walls or floor of his house or apartment.
That already happens, but we don’t need a bigger problem.
If I had a chance to buy an AK-47, I would decline it and go with something a little more contemporary like a nice shotgun or rifle, then buy a computer or something else. I wouldn’t want to accept the additional responsibility of an AK.
I am no gun control freak, but I see no need for AK-47s or similar weapons to be available for purchase. They’re much too powerful to be on the streets.
North Korea Nuclear Update
North Korea is reporting that the two-mile wide mushroom cloud spotted on satellite photos and the resulting seismic activity that was registered hundreds of miles away was them demolishing a mountain to make room for a power plant.
That’s more plausible than a forest fire.
Still, I’ll believe it when a power plant is built at ground zero.
Does North Korea manufacture its own dynamite? It seems like it is a waste of money when thousands of North Koreans are facing starvation.
That’s more plausible than a forest fire.
Still, I’ll believe it when a power plant is built at ground zero.
Does North Korea manufacture its own dynamite? It seems like it is a waste of money when thousands of North Koreans are facing starvation.
Hurricanes and the NHC: Incomplete System
Has anyone noticed how inaccurate the National Hurricane Center is in predicting where a hurricane will hit?
When Charlie and Frances were on the way in, the NHC changed its prediction of where each one would hit. They were very wrong when Charlie hit further south than they thought, and many people who fled south to escape Charlie took the full brunt of Charlie’s fury.
Frances didn’t do what they thought either.
Now with Hurricane Ivan approaching, they’re doing it again, changing their predictions several times, with Ivan looking like it may hit Florida or the Gulf Coast.
One would think that they would be able to tell where a monster hurricane (the size of Texas) would be going, given the prevailing wind direction, water temperature, warm or cold fronts that collide with the storm, solar winds, barometric pressure, plus other variables that impact on the direction of a hurricane. Apparently it’s not that simple.
I’m not blaming the Hurricane Center, but it’s become glaringly obvious that much more research needs to be done. This morning they were predicting a hit on the Gulf Coast, but they apparently cannot establish that it will come ashore at Nowhere City, USA on Thursday morning. What are they going to do, evacuate everyone living near the Gulf of Mexico? What if it doesn’t go to the Florida panhandle? What if it hits Texas instead?
If we knew three days ahead of time exactly where it was going to hit, disaster relief agencies could marshal their resources ahead of time and be proactive, rather than reactive. People could also evacuate days ahead of time, instead of hours.
It costs money to board up your house and leave, driving hundreds of miles to escape a killer hurricane. Most lose wages when they leave, and most businesses lose money too.
The disruption to people’s lives should be minimized as much as possible and accurate hurricane forecasting would go a long ways toward achieving that.
When Charlie and Frances were on the way in, the NHC changed its prediction of where each one would hit. They were very wrong when Charlie hit further south than they thought, and many people who fled south to escape Charlie took the full brunt of Charlie’s fury.
Frances didn’t do what they thought either.
Now with Hurricane Ivan approaching, they’re doing it again, changing their predictions several times, with Ivan looking like it may hit Florida or the Gulf Coast.
One would think that they would be able to tell where a monster hurricane (the size of Texas) would be going, given the prevailing wind direction, water temperature, warm or cold fronts that collide with the storm, solar winds, barometric pressure, plus other variables that impact on the direction of a hurricane. Apparently it’s not that simple.
I’m not blaming the Hurricane Center, but it’s become glaringly obvious that much more research needs to be done. This morning they were predicting a hit on the Gulf Coast, but they apparently cannot establish that it will come ashore at Nowhere City, USA on Thursday morning. What are they going to do, evacuate everyone living near the Gulf of Mexico? What if it doesn’t go to the Florida panhandle? What if it hits Texas instead?
If we knew three days ahead of time exactly where it was going to hit, disaster relief agencies could marshal their resources ahead of time and be proactive, rather than reactive. People could also evacuate days ahead of time, instead of hours.
It costs money to board up your house and leave, driving hundreds of miles to escape a killer hurricane. Most lose wages when they leave, and most businesses lose money too.
The disruption to people’s lives should be minimized as much as possible and accurate hurricane forecasting would go a long ways toward achieving that.
North Korea: Nuclear Accident Last Week?
News broke this weekend that there was a major explosion in North Korea that caused a two mile wide mushroom cloud to form.
So how much dynamite would it take to produce a mushroom cloud two miles wide and cause seismic readings hundreds of miles away?
According to experts, about a thousand tons of dynamite would do it.
Question: why would the North Koreans have that much dynamite in one location?
Our government says the cause was a “forest fire.” I think that’s a boatload of hooey.
I think North Korea has been setting off nukes, whether accidentally or intentionally. This is the second time North Korea has had a “disaster” like this. If you recall, a train exploded, leveling everything within two miles of the train and causing two thousand casualties. That accident took place not far from China.
I think that North Korea had a nuclear accident which resulted in a partial-yield detonation on Thursday. Since it happened in open air, it stands to reason that something went wrong and the bomb detonated prematurely. Nuclear radiation may have been contained to ground zero.
We should know within a couple days what the real deal is. “Forest fire” indeed. Forest fires do not cause seismic activity. I can accept a lot of non-nuclear possibilities, but not a forest fire. If there is a forest fire, it happened after the explosion.
So how much dynamite would it take to produce a mushroom cloud two miles wide and cause seismic readings hundreds of miles away?
According to experts, about a thousand tons of dynamite would do it.
Question: why would the North Koreans have that much dynamite in one location?
Our government says the cause was a “forest fire.” I think that’s a boatload of hooey.
I think North Korea has been setting off nukes, whether accidentally or intentionally. This is the second time North Korea has had a “disaster” like this. If you recall, a train exploded, leveling everything within two miles of the train and causing two thousand casualties. That accident took place not far from China.
I think that North Korea had a nuclear accident which resulted in a partial-yield detonation on Thursday. Since it happened in open air, it stands to reason that something went wrong and the bomb detonated prematurely. Nuclear radiation may have been contained to ground zero.
We should know within a couple days what the real deal is. “Forest fire” indeed. Forest fires do not cause seismic activity. I can accept a lot of non-nuclear possibilities, but not a forest fire. If there is a forest fire, it happened after the explosion.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
9/11 Remembered
As we pause to remember those who lost their lives on September 11th, we should also pause to remember those who have given their lives to stop terrorism around the world.
Terrorism isn't going away. It's here to stay; the question then becomes: what are we going to do about it? Sit around and wait for it to happen again, or be proactive?
We owe it to all those who died three years ago today to do all we can to protect others from the plague of terrorism. Every government on earth should be tracking down terrorists so that their own citizens are safe from the plague of our time.
Hold the phone!
Enter politics. As we continue to debate our course of action until we're blue in the face, the terrorists have continued to attack countries that have upcoming elections: Australia and Indonesia were recently attacked by terrorists who tried to destroy the Australian embassy in Jakarta. The Madrid terror bombings showed the terrorists that they can cause governments to fall if they hit hard enough and fast enough before an election. They are on the move.
In the meantime, WE are arguing about Vietnam, thirty years after that war ended. We are arguing about whether Iraq posed a threat to us. We are arguing about the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission. We are arguing about this and that. We are arguing about what some jackass said about another jackass. Who cares!
Here's what we are NOT doing: we are not moving fast enough on the 9/11 Commission recommendations. We are not moving fast enough to secure our borders. We are not moving fast enough to catch bin-Laden. We are definitely not getting body armor to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan fast enough, nor are we retrofitting their transports with armor quickly enough. We are not dealing with al-Sadr's thugs in Iraq quickly enough or forcefully enough. All of this because of ELECTION YEAR POLITICS!
I don't give a hoot about election year brownie points anymore. I've already decided who I'm voting for. If Democrats and Republicans see that they have a job to do, then they should get on with it and quit wasting time! The terrorist vermin will not wait until we decide on a course of action.
He/she who does the job and gets results will get the undecided votes on Election Day. So there!
Friday, September 10, 2004
CBS Fraud Story Deepens
This story gets bigger as the hours tick away.
Congressional Democrats took to the airwaves and blasted President Bush for lying about his Vietnam record. Their feigned outrage was based on the (increasingly likely) erroneous 60 Minutes story.
Dan Rather has also gone out a limb, insisting that the story is accurate.
The evidence against the documents being authentic are getting stronger and stronger as the hours go by. The other news networks have picked up the story and have been asking type experts what the real deal is, and the leading experts have said that the documents were created in Microsoft Word and not on a typewriter in 1972.
Some Democrats were saying at noontime that the Republicans set them up; that’s unlikely as well. The Republicans wouldn’t want to damage their own candidate and sitting President; the Democrats are far more likely to do something like this to level the playing field between Bush and Kerry.
It looks like a Bush-hater tried to pull a fast one and got nailed, leaving Congressional Democrats, Dan Rather and CBS with egg in their faces.
I took a journalism class last spring and they were talking about stuff like this happening and what most credible news organizations do to protect themselves from this kind of screw-up. It looks like someone fell asleep at the wheel when the story was being checked out.
Congressional Democrats took to the airwaves and blasted President Bush for lying about his Vietnam record. Their feigned outrage was based on the (increasingly likely) erroneous 60 Minutes story.
Dan Rather has also gone out a limb, insisting that the story is accurate.
The evidence against the documents being authentic are getting stronger and stronger as the hours go by. The other news networks have picked up the story and have been asking type experts what the real deal is, and the leading experts have said that the documents were created in Microsoft Word and not on a typewriter in 1972.
Some Democrats were saying at noontime that the Republicans set them up; that’s unlikely as well. The Republicans wouldn’t want to damage their own candidate and sitting President; the Democrats are far more likely to do something like this to level the playing field between Bush and Kerry.
It looks like a Bush-hater tried to pull a fast one and got nailed, leaving Congressional Democrats, Dan Rather and CBS with egg in their faces.
I took a journalism class last spring and they were talking about stuff like this happening and what most credible news organizations do to protect themselves from this kind of screw-up. It looks like someone fell asleep at the wheel when the story was being checked out.
CBS May Have Royally Screwed Up
The much-talked about Bush/National Guard documents that aired on CBS’s 60 Minutes program appear to be forgeries.
Questions began to be asked after experts discovered that the supposed 30+ year-old documents that were part of an Air Force officer’s official records were in fact made on Microsoft Word recently.
CBS may have been the victim of a fraud intended to defame President Bush’s assertions that he did his duty during the Vietnam War. In the last few hours CBS launched an internal investigation to find out if they were hoodwinked or if someone at CBS decided to take Bush down a few pegs by lying.
The story began to unravel when experts noticed that the print on the paper was from Microsoft Word, and not from a 30 year-old typewriter. The font in question, Times New Roman, is the default font in Word. There was no Times New Roman back then. Typewriters were using a font that featured straight hash-marks for quotation marks, and not the comma-like ones used in Microsoft Word and other computer programs. The spacing was wider apart with typewriters, while fonts today are much closer. In the 60 Minutes story, the documents were in Times New Roman.
Dan Rather is said to be shocked and has promised to deliver an on-air apology if the accusations of fraud turn out to be correct. The question everyone is asking now is “whodunit.”
More to follow on this.
Questions began to be asked after experts discovered that the supposed 30+ year-old documents that were part of an Air Force officer’s official records were in fact made on Microsoft Word recently.
CBS may have been the victim of a fraud intended to defame President Bush’s assertions that he did his duty during the Vietnam War. In the last few hours CBS launched an internal investigation to find out if they were hoodwinked or if someone at CBS decided to take Bush down a few pegs by lying.
The story began to unravel when experts noticed that the print on the paper was from Microsoft Word, and not from a 30 year-old typewriter. The font in question, Times New Roman, is the default font in Word. There was no Times New Roman back then. Typewriters were using a font that featured straight hash-marks for quotation marks, and not the comma-like ones used in Microsoft Word and other computer programs. The spacing was wider apart with typewriters, while fonts today are much closer. In the 60 Minutes story, the documents were in Times New Roman.
Dan Rather is said to be shocked and has promised to deliver an on-air apology if the accusations of fraud turn out to be correct. The question everyone is asking now is “whodunit.”
More to follow on this.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Dog Shoots Man in Self-Defense
A man who was shooting his Shepard-mix puppies was himself shot by one of the puppies after it put its paw onto the trigger. Seems he was holding the puppies in his arms and as he was shifting his arms and puppies around, the puppy snagged the trigger.
This accident is so ridiculous that it defies belief.
This idiot was charged with animal cruelty and is being treated for a gunshot wound to his wrist. Serves him right for killing puppies.
Here’s the story. What a moron.
This accident is so ridiculous that it defies belief.
This idiot was charged with animal cruelty and is being treated for a gunshot wound to his wrist. Serves him right for killing puppies.
Here’s the story. What a moron.
International Interference in U.S. Elections
Here we go with polls again.
A group did a poll in thirty-five countries outside the United States on who they favored to win the U.S. election on November 2nd. Kerry carried thirty of thirty-five countries, some in very wide margins.
So?
That’s over there and I don’t care what the world thinks about our elections. Personally, I think Kerry would do a better job of running France than French President Chirac. That’s a debate for another day. I also think some of these other nations should be getting their own houses into order before they try telling us how to run ours.
If it came out that any country had tried to influence the U.S. elections, I would consider that an extremely unfriendly act, whether or not they support the candidates I favor. The principle of respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations says that one nation does not campaign for or fund specific candidates in the election process of another nation or nations. Some nations have interfered and it's caused some scandals in past elections.
This is why the U.S. is keeping a hands-off approach to the Afghan elections and the upcoming Iraqi general elections. Iraq is again a sovereign nation. So is Afghanistan.
International governments and agencies (like the International Monetary Fund) should stay out of the internal political affairs of the United States. The American people will deal with the U.S. elections without help from overseas, thank you very much.
A group did a poll in thirty-five countries outside the United States on who they favored to win the U.S. election on November 2nd. Kerry carried thirty of thirty-five countries, some in very wide margins.
So?
That’s over there and I don’t care what the world thinks about our elections. Personally, I think Kerry would do a better job of running France than French President Chirac. That’s a debate for another day. I also think some of these other nations should be getting their own houses into order before they try telling us how to run ours.
If it came out that any country had tried to influence the U.S. elections, I would consider that an extremely unfriendly act, whether or not they support the candidates I favor. The principle of respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations says that one nation does not campaign for or fund specific candidates in the election process of another nation or nations. Some nations have interfered and it's caused some scandals in past elections.
This is why the U.S. is keeping a hands-off approach to the Afghan elections and the upcoming Iraqi general elections. Iraq is again a sovereign nation. So is Afghanistan.
International governments and agencies (like the International Monetary Fund) should stay out of the internal political affairs of the United States. The American people will deal with the U.S. elections without help from overseas, thank you very much.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Russian 9/11 Rhetoric Threatens Terrorists
There are confusing signals coming from the Russian Federation on what their course of action will be following a major terrorist attack on a school in southern Russia, the bombing of the Moscow subway, and the terrorist strikes on two Russian airliners. Chechan separatists and international Islamic fighters are believed to be responsible.
One one hand, Russia has ruled out nuclear strikes. On the other, a top Russian general has said that Russia will strike terrorist bases around the region. This could be big trouble for the former Soviet republic of Georgia as it has been accused by Russia of harboring terrorists. It’s looking like Russia may attack parts of Georgia that terrorists may be hiding in.
The post-Russian 9/11 rhetoric is familiar: preemptive strikes on terrorist bases worldwide, security, fighting Islamic terrorism, etc. Israel was the first nation to come to Russia’s aid in the form of sharing its databases with Russia and Russia gladly agreed to work with Israel on fighting international terrorism. I’m surprised the U.S. hasn’t joined in too.
Russia wants two Chechan spokespeople turned over to them that are currently in Great Britain and the United States. The Chechan in Britain has been granted sanctuary by the British government and the U.S. government has been silent on the issue.
It’s starting to get interesting.
One one hand, Russia has ruled out nuclear strikes. On the other, a top Russian general has said that Russia will strike terrorist bases around the region. This could be big trouble for the former Soviet republic of Georgia as it has been accused by Russia of harboring terrorists. It’s looking like Russia may attack parts of Georgia that terrorists may be hiding in.
The post-Russian 9/11 rhetoric is familiar: preemptive strikes on terrorist bases worldwide, security, fighting Islamic terrorism, etc. Israel was the first nation to come to Russia’s aid in the form of sharing its databases with Russia and Russia gladly agreed to work with Israel on fighting international terrorism. I’m surprised the U.S. hasn’t joined in too.
Russia wants two Chechan spokespeople turned over to them that are currently in Great Britain and the United States. The Chechan in Britain has been granted sanctuary by the British government and the U.S. government has been silent on the issue.
It’s starting to get interesting.
Kerry & Guns
Tasteless!
Kerry co-sponsored S-1431 (“The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003”), yet here he is playing to a West Virginia audience on Labor Day with one of the the very guns he tried to ban! That is a Remington Model 11-87 that is favored by many hunters and outdoorsmen.
The Second Amendment needs to be preserved, not played around with by politicians like this!
I think it would be better if they tried to classify PEOPLE as “semi-automatic assault weapons” since people can kill people with ANYTHING they can find. A firearm is but a tool for the hand that wields it. People (gun control advocates especially) need to remember that always.
People have been killing people for many thousands of years before guns came on the scene. To insist on a total ban would take guns out of the hands of people who accept and exercise the responsibility of being a firearm owner and leave guns in the hands of criminals who have no such sense of responsibility and are the ones who are in the news today for staging disasters like the Columbine slaughter.
Who would gun-ban advocates have protecting the innocent from criminals? The police? We are already cutting police services across the country. Who does that leave? Unarmed Johnny and Jane? I think not.
Kerry needs to explain his position more clearly and stand by his record, not play to different groups of people.
Kerry co-sponsored S-1431 (“The Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003”), yet here he is playing to a West Virginia audience on Labor Day with one of the the very guns he tried to ban! That is a Remington Model 11-87 that is favored by many hunters and outdoorsmen.
The Second Amendment needs to be preserved, not played around with by politicians like this!
I think it would be better if they tried to classify PEOPLE as “semi-automatic assault weapons” since people can kill people with ANYTHING they can find. A firearm is but a tool for the hand that wields it. People (gun control advocates especially) need to remember that always.
People have been killing people for many thousands of years before guns came on the scene. To insist on a total ban would take guns out of the hands of people who accept and exercise the responsibility of being a firearm owner and leave guns in the hands of criminals who have no such sense of responsibility and are the ones who are in the news today for staging disasters like the Columbine slaughter.
Who would gun-ban advocates have protecting the innocent from criminals? The police? We are already cutting police services across the country. Who does that leave? Unarmed Johnny and Jane? I think not.
Kerry needs to explain his position more clearly and stand by his record, not play to different groups of people.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Polls & Elections: What a Bunch of Hooey
President Bush seems to have gotten the bounce that John Kerry didn’t get at his own convention. Bush appears to hold a double-digit lead over John Kerry, after weeks of being behind an average of six points in the polls.
But past experience has taught us not to place too much faith in the polls.
The difference between a poll and a vote is that the poll reflects how a person feels at that particular moment. A vote is the final decision of the person and may change at the last possible moment.
An 11% advantage for Bush or Kerry may be 2% five minutes later and a 3% advantage to the previous underdog ten minutes later.
Polls do not decide elections. Votes do. Everything else is secondary to that.
But past experience has taught us not to place too much faith in the polls.
The difference between a poll and a vote is that the poll reflects how a person feels at that particular moment. A vote is the final decision of the person and may change at the last possible moment.
An 11% advantage for Bush or Kerry may be 2% five minutes later and a 3% advantage to the previous underdog ten minutes later.
Polls do not decide elections. Votes do. Everything else is secondary to that.
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Election Day Nightmare: Tie in Electoral College
USA Today had a list of scenarios that could happen on November 2nd in the event of a close election. The first and only time there was a tie in the Electoral College was in 1800 and the House of Representatives elected the President and the Senate elected the Vice President. Here are some of the nightmare scenarios:
Both candidates end up with 269 votes, one vote shy of being elected President. In this case, the election goes to the House of Representatives and the President is chosen from the top three vote-getters. Each state is allowed one vote. In the Senate, they choose the Vice President; each Senator gets one vote.
However, if there is enough of a shift in the general election that both parties are of equal strength, this scenario could get very weird. We could end up with Bush as President, and John Edwards as his Vice President. Or Kerry as President and Cheney as Vice President. The Kerry-Cheney combo would be explosive as they are not being nice to one another right now.
How could something like this happen? Here’s what USA Today says:
•For a tie: Every state votes the way it did four years ago, except for two. New Hampshire and West Virginia, which voted for Bush last time, go Democratic this time. Kerry is competitive in both states.
•For a divided result that elects Bush: Every state votes the way it did four years ago, giving Bush an electoral-vote majority of 278. (That's a more comfortable edge than last time, a side effect of the redistribution of congressional seats and electoral votes after the 2000 Census. In 2000, Bush got 271 votes, one more than required.) But Kerry carries the popular vote, as Al Gore did, by rolling up big totals in such strongholds as California and New York.
•For a divided result that elects Kerry: Every state votes the way it did four years ago, except for one. Kerry wins Florida, for a majority of 287 electoral votes, or Ohio, for 280. They went Republican in 2000; state polls released Sunday show Kerry and Bush tied in both. But Bush carries the popular vote by scoring oversized margins in his home state of Texas and in the South and Mountain West.
So what does this mean? It means get out and vote so we have a clear winner and no confusion. Having a clear winner will clear the air about stolen elections and put the 2000 Presidential Election to bed forever.
The ideal result would be to have the candidate win the popular vote and the Electoral College in a landslide, but that is unlikely to happen.
Here is the story.
Both candidates end up with 269 votes, one vote shy of being elected President. In this case, the election goes to the House of Representatives and the President is chosen from the top three vote-getters. Each state is allowed one vote. In the Senate, they choose the Vice President; each Senator gets one vote.
However, if there is enough of a shift in the general election that both parties are of equal strength, this scenario could get very weird. We could end up with Bush as President, and John Edwards as his Vice President. Or Kerry as President and Cheney as Vice President. The Kerry-Cheney combo would be explosive as they are not being nice to one another right now.
How could something like this happen? Here’s what USA Today says:
•For a tie: Every state votes the way it did four years ago, except for two. New Hampshire and West Virginia, which voted for Bush last time, go Democratic this time. Kerry is competitive in both states.
•For a divided result that elects Bush: Every state votes the way it did four years ago, giving Bush an electoral-vote majority of 278. (That's a more comfortable edge than last time, a side effect of the redistribution of congressional seats and electoral votes after the 2000 Census. In 2000, Bush got 271 votes, one more than required.) But Kerry carries the popular vote, as Al Gore did, by rolling up big totals in such strongholds as California and New York.
•For a divided result that elects Kerry: Every state votes the way it did four years ago, except for one. Kerry wins Florida, for a majority of 287 electoral votes, or Ohio, for 280. They went Republican in 2000; state polls released Sunday show Kerry and Bush tied in both. But Bush carries the popular vote by scoring oversized margins in his home state of Texas and in the South and Mountain West.
So what does this mean? It means get out and vote so we have a clear winner and no confusion. Having a clear winner will clear the air about stolen elections and put the 2000 Presidential Election to bed forever.
The ideal result would be to have the candidate win the popular vote and the Electoral College in a landslide, but that is unlikely to happen.
Here is the story.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Russian Bear Awakened
Russia is going to level Chechnya.
After murdering 156 Russian children and 200 others, Islamic terrorists have shown their true colors.
There can be no peace with Islamic terrorists. If they can make war on children, they can make war on anyone, anywhere or at anytime. They are too dangerous to be allowed to continue to exist.
Russia won't stand for this slaughter of the innocents. Question: what is to stop terrorists like the ones who seized the school in Russia from doing the same thing here? At least ten of the terrorists were not even Chechan; they were from Arab countries.
I think it is time to give some of our reluctant allies a kick in the butt to get them moving on stopping terrorists in their territories. Kerry ought to forget about waiting around for the terrorist threat to materialize and start advocating going after them in their hiding places.
One thing is certain: Russia won't be asking for international permission to retaliate for this naked aggression. I think Russia's reaction will go beyond anything we have seen so far; I don't think the course of action they're talking about taking will solve the problem.
Blame can also be put on Russia for having troops in Chechnya in the first place. I do not think that Russian public opinion will favor pulling those troops out now; the Russians haven't been this enraged in decades. No good can come of this.
Attacking a school to get Russia to pull it's troops from Chechnya? What were they thinking?
After murdering 156 Russian children and 200 others, Islamic terrorists have shown their true colors.
There can be no peace with Islamic terrorists. If they can make war on children, they can make war on anyone, anywhere or at anytime. They are too dangerous to be allowed to continue to exist.
Russia won't stand for this slaughter of the innocents. Question: what is to stop terrorists like the ones who seized the school in Russia from doing the same thing here? At least ten of the terrorists were not even Chechan; they were from Arab countries.
I think it is time to give some of our reluctant allies a kick in the butt to get them moving on stopping terrorists in their territories. Kerry ought to forget about waiting around for the terrorist threat to materialize and start advocating going after them in their hiding places.
One thing is certain: Russia won't be asking for international permission to retaliate for this naked aggression. I think Russia's reaction will go beyond anything we have seen so far; I don't think the course of action they're talking about taking will solve the problem.
Blame can also be put on Russia for having troops in Chechnya in the first place. I do not think that Russian public opinion will favor pulling those troops out now; the Russians haven't been this enraged in decades. No good can come of this.
Attacking a school to get Russia to pull it's troops from Chechnya? What were they thinking?
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Alien vs. Predator: Gloom and Doom Debunked
For weeks, film critics have been predicting that the sci-fi movie “Alien vs. Predator” would leave Fox millions of dollars in the red.
Several critics predicted that the film might break even after it begins to play in foreign markets.
They were wrong. Again.
As of today, the 2nd of September, the film has made $73 million. It cost $60 million to make. That puts it firmly into the moneymaker category. The foreign ticket sales will pay for the domestic and worldwide advertising campaign that Fox put into it.
Granted, the plot had some major problems (the scientist joining the hunt, short fights between the Predators and the Aliens, and the Alien-Predator hybrid that defies all the rules of the previous movies.) But the public doesn’t seem to mind it. It was entertaining.
Perhaps some of these professional film critics should stick to chick flicks and drama stuff because they are clearly missing something when it comes to action and sci-fi movies.
Several critics predicted that the film might break even after it begins to play in foreign markets.
They were wrong. Again.
As of today, the 2nd of September, the film has made $73 million. It cost $60 million to make. That puts it firmly into the moneymaker category. The foreign ticket sales will pay for the domestic and worldwide advertising campaign that Fox put into it.
Granted, the plot had some major problems (the scientist joining the hunt, short fights between the Predators and the Aliens, and the Alien-Predator hybrid that defies all the rules of the previous movies.) But the public doesn’t seem to mind it. It was entertaining.
Perhaps some of these professional film critics should stick to chick flicks and drama stuff because they are clearly missing something when it comes to action and sci-fi movies.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Moore at GOP Convention as a Reporter
A curious story going on at the GOP convention is the presence of Michael Moore, director of the anti-Bush “Fahrenheit 9/11” film, as a USA Today reporter. Scores of reporters are following Moore around and not even paying attention to the event going on around them.
He got booed when his film was mentioned.
Maybe Moore will be converted into a Republican by all the energy around him. Yeah, right! If you believe that will happen, then I’ve got some land in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean that I’d like to show you.
He got booed when his film was mentioned.
Maybe Moore will be converted into a Republican by all the energy around him. Yeah, right! If you believe that will happen, then I’ve got some land in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean that I’d like to show you.
Bush's "Flip-Flop": The Real Flip-Flop and The Rest of the Story
The press and the Democrats are going on and on about President Bush’s “flip flop” on terror.
Bush said in a candid interview that the war on terror couldn’t be won. The Kerry campaign latched onto this statement and then went on the offensive when Bush clarified his statement yesterday.
The Democrats took this as blood in shark-infested water, but I took it thus: FINALLY, we have some truth about how the war on terror is really going. For the Democrats to attack such a truthful statement and then say the war on terror CAN be won to score election year points is irresponsible. Kerry/Edwards will not win the war on terror either.
Let’s face it: al-Qaeda will not be face to face with the United States at the bargaining table negotiating the unconditional surrender of all al-Qaeda forces around the world or on a battlefield. Bush was absolutely right on this point. They will fight to the death if they can or commit suicide. If we are fortunate, our people in the field may capture them.
I believe Bush compounded his mistake by saying the next day that “we will win the war on terror.” No, no, no. He should have clarified his mistake as he did, but not said we will win. That is the Bush flip-flop that the Democrats are attacking. He should have thought that one through a little more. He was hasty.
The war on terror is not about winning, or being sensitive. It’s about prevention and deterrence. It’s about making sure that our mortal enemies never hurt us again as they did on September 11th. It’s a long-term fight, not a conflict that will end after a hundred hours of ground combat or by fighting a war that lasts two months. Anyone who says otherwise is deluding themselves. Stopping terrorist activities will not involve only the military, but law enforcement and intelligence agencies as well. If any politician is naïve enough to declare victory against all future terrorism, then they deserve to lose their office.
Hopefully no politician is stupid enough to do something like that, but the rumblings coming from the campaigns is disturbing enough to make me think that they might do so if they thought it was the best political thing to do. That kind of politicking must STOP!
Bush said in a candid interview that the war on terror couldn’t be won. The Kerry campaign latched onto this statement and then went on the offensive when Bush clarified his statement yesterday.
The Democrats took this as blood in shark-infested water, but I took it thus: FINALLY, we have some truth about how the war on terror is really going. For the Democrats to attack such a truthful statement and then say the war on terror CAN be won to score election year points is irresponsible. Kerry/Edwards will not win the war on terror either.
Let’s face it: al-Qaeda will not be face to face with the United States at the bargaining table negotiating the unconditional surrender of all al-Qaeda forces around the world or on a battlefield. Bush was absolutely right on this point. They will fight to the death if they can or commit suicide. If we are fortunate, our people in the field may capture them.
I believe Bush compounded his mistake by saying the next day that “we will win the war on terror.” No, no, no. He should have clarified his mistake as he did, but not said we will win. That is the Bush flip-flop that the Democrats are attacking. He should have thought that one through a little more. He was hasty.
The war on terror is not about winning, or being sensitive. It’s about prevention and deterrence. It’s about making sure that our mortal enemies never hurt us again as they did on September 11th. It’s a long-term fight, not a conflict that will end after a hundred hours of ground combat or by fighting a war that lasts two months. Anyone who says otherwise is deluding themselves. Stopping terrorist activities will not involve only the military, but law enforcement and intelligence agencies as well. If any politician is naïve enough to declare victory against all future terrorism, then they deserve to lose their office.
Hopefully no politician is stupid enough to do something like that, but the rumblings coming from the campaigns is disturbing enough to make me think that they might do so if they thought it was the best political thing to do. That kind of politicking must STOP!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)