It's hard to believe, but with hundreds of votes being cast, the difference between the two candidates (Al Franken, Democrat and Norm Coleman, Republican) is — well, maybe a couple dozen votes at best. It's that close on recount. And of course, given human error in counting and recounting, we may never know who truly won. Each time you count, you're … Read More
Challenge To Obama’s Presidency In The Supreme Court
This is wingnuttery at its wing-nuttiness. Even most right wing blogs think this is stupid. But it is out there. I'm talking about the claim that Obama isn't qualified to be President, because he is not a U.S. citizen. Some desparate people believe it, like Shiv Zieve, who writes a column entitled "Obama Too Important For The Supreme Court": President-elect Barack … Read More
White House Gets Punked
The White House Christmas tree is adorned with ornaments painted by invited local artists from all over the country. Laura Bush sought the assistance of various Congresspersons to select these artists. One artist who was invited to paint an ornament was Deborah Lawrence of Seattle. At first, being no fan of Bush, she was appalled and intended to decline the invitation. … Read More
Bush Was Warned
Remember when Bush was presented with an intelligence warning that "Bin Laden Determined to Strike U.S." and he pooh-poohed the whole thing, humoring the intelligence official by telling him, "You've covered your ass, now"? And then how, less than two months later, bin Laden struck? And remember when Bush proclaimed that he had no warning that the levies in New Orleans … Read More
BTW, It’s Unconstitutional For Hillary To Become Secretary Of State
Not that anyone cares. But, technically, she really can't become SoS. Not legally. It's because of a rather obscure clause in the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 6) called the Emoluments Clause, which reads: No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, … Read More
Preventative Peace
Supposedly, there is a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth from the "angry left" with regard to Obama's choices for his "international team" — i.e., Hillary as Secretary of State, Robert Gates staying on as Secretary of Defense, and Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander, as national security adviser. I think it's premature to complain. None of … Read More
Thank You, Sarah Palin. No, Really. Thank You.
Satire? Apparently not.
Obama Skips Church
That's the headline at Politco. Look, can you blame him? The president-elect had to leave his former church because some people didn't like that his pastor was an angry black man. I'm sure it was in the news. Besides, I'm sure he's busy with his Muslim socialist cabal.
On Recounts
Minnesota Public Radio has a great photoessay/poll giving particular actual examples of the kind of issues faced by election judges when it comes to determining ballot results on hand recount. Here's an example, called "The Arrow": Who gets the vote? Franken, Coleman, or nobody/indeterminable? Of course, in the real world, one's decision would be governed by this Minnesota state statute as a … Read More
George Bush As “Mr. Cellophane”
I actually feel sorry for him. Then again, he brought it on himself….
Okay, NOW The Presidential Election Is Over
Although not "official" yet, Missouri has finally finished counting its ballots, all 2.9 million of them, and McCain has 3,632 more votes than Obama. So make Missouri red. Final EV count: Obama 365, McCain 173. Obama still "smucked" him, as we used to say on the playground. Note: Missouri has picked the victor 25 times out of the past 26 … Read More
Giving Up On God
There's been a few of these around, but conservative columnist Kathleen Parker's WaPo column on why the GOP should turn its back on the religious right is good reading: As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit. Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D. I'm bathing in holy water as … Read More
Begich Beats Stevens
It's all but official now: Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens lost his job to Mark Begich on Tuesday, putting an end to the era of "Uncle Ted" as the dominant force in Alaska politics. Begich, the Democratic mayor of Anchorage, widened his lead to 3,724 votes in Tuesday's count of absentee and questioned ballots. The lead is insurmountable, as the only … Read More
The Cotton Belt
Fun with maps. The top map shows the 2008 Presidential results. Blue counties voted for Obama, red ones for McCain (darker hues representing larger majorities). The bottom map dates from 1860 (i.e. the eve of the Civil War), and indicates where cotton was produced at that time, each dot representing 2,000 bales of the stuff. Obviously, there's a strong relationship going … Read More