McCain Speech Reaction

Yeah I know its a few days late. I watched (and Twittered) the McCain acceptance speech (then went to bed and dreamed that John McCain had moved his campaign's national HQ to my house while I was at work. Hilarity and strangeness ensued.) in full. Personally I thought the speech was mediocre. It seemed very disjointed. Considering that McCain is not the best at giving speeches I expected his speech writer to at least rev up the quality of the speech itself to help him out.

As for the actual message most of it was pretty much what I expected from any GOP presidential candidate drilling, lower taxes, victory in Iraq, etc etc etc. Having said that there were a few points in the speech in which McCain v2000 seemed to have worked in a few lines...

Like:

Finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters. We'll go at it over the next two months. That's the nature of these contests, and there are big differences between us. But you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We're dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. No country ever had a greater cause than that. And I wouldn't be an American worthy of the name if I didn't honor Senator Obama and his supporters for their achievement.

and:

You know, I've been called a maverick; someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it's meant as a compliment and sometimes it's not. What it really means is I understand who I work for. I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you.

and also:

I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust, when we valued our power over our principles.

and of course:

Instead of rejecting good ideas because we didn't think of them first, let's use the best ideas from both sides. Instead of fighting over who gets the credit, let's try sharing it. This amazing country can do anything we put our minds to. I will ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me. And my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.

Like I said all in all was a fairly boilerplate speech designed to assure GOP supporters that McCain is a safe candidate with a few gems tucked into it for independents. Unfortunately for McCain I don't think it caused anyone to gravitate towards him or away from him anywhere near as much as VP pick did. And how exactly that plays out remains to be seen.

On a side note he did appear before a big blue screen again which really makes me wonder if he's looking to get some more Stephen Colbert "Make McCain Interesting" action.

Unintended Consequences

Looks like Palin is a cash cow.

The only problem is that its Obama who is reaping the rewards...

Obama's coffers have been filling since Sarah Palin attacked him repeatedly in St. Paul last night.

An Obama aide confirms Drudge's report that Obama has raised about $8 million from more than 130,000 donors and is on pace to raise $10 million by the time McCain reaches the stage tonight.

Hypocrisy Watch

The Daily Show doing what it does best p@wning partisans...

Saving Superman

Or at least the house in which the idea of him was born.



More information is available at Neil Gaiman's Journal.

Also if you'd be so kind as to Digg that post I'd greatly appreciate it. Its also on Reddit.

*Update*
As always I put my money where my mouth is.

*Further Update*
According to a tweet from internet icon Jonathan Coulton Mr Rogers is in a bit of danger too. Looks like its a bad day to be a classic American icon.

Thanks to Papa Mikes Blog for linking to this post.

Palin Bikini Pictures

Looks like somebody whipped one up since none seem to exist online. The original is here and the photoshopped one is here.

Don't you just love what passes for political discourse during an election year?

H/T Polimom

Google Releases New Browser

Google beta released its new browser called Chrome today. I of course downloaded it and took it for a test drive.  While its decidedly minimalist browser I give it really high marks for speed. It opens fast and loads multimedia laden pages like CNN in the blink of an eye. I've yet to get it to crash which is impressive for a beta version of any program. 

Given the fact that Google can market the crap out of its browser for free and the fact that Google is known for high quality useful products Microsoft has some serious cause for concern.

The Palin Drone

In case you haven't noticed the coverage of McCain's veep pick has all but dominated the news cycle over the holiday weekend. And if the MSM's coverage has been excessive then the political blogosphere's coverage has been to the saturation point. One benefit of this flood of coverage has been that much was made known about Palin in a very short period of time. Unfortunately both the MSM and and many in blogtopia went beyond sifting Palin's past and also put her family under a microscope. That's a line that shouldn't be crossed. The result has been days of ad hominem attacks on both Palin and her family, rank condescension by the MSM, and a stream of vitriol on the left that is normally reserved only for W himself. In fact the treatment of her family became so bad that even Obama tried to reign it in.

A side effect of this has been that the base has circled the wagons around Palin and by extension McCain. Additionally I think the nonstop coverage of McCain's decision to make Palin his second forced many independents to reevaluate their position on a McCain presidency. How that pans out remains to be seen although early polling suggests Palin polls more positively received amongst men than women. I've seen many question the judgement of McCain in picking Palin. I myself said it was risky. Its obvious that he needed someone socially conservative enough to get that demographic behind him. I said earlier that she was a risky choice. But I can't help but wonder if McCain's campaign suspected that this would happen. By that I mean that by picking Palin they would bring out the worst that the left has to offer and therefore give them just enough rope to hang themselves.

We'll have to wait for the post convention polls to see if that proves to be true.

Thanks to The Big Stick for linking to this post.

At Least Its Not Romney

That was my original thought when I heard Palin was announced as VP. Having given it a little more thought though I have to say that McCain's decision is a calculated risk. McCain had to know that this would generate more buzz than Biden being tapped for veep would ever get. Additionally during an election that is about change it allows him to have a a running mate that doesn't promote the GOP old white guy stereotype. To some degree Palin's views will help assuage part of the GOP base. It could also greatly influence the outcome of the VP debates.

Because Biden repeatedly ripping Romney (or Jindal or Pawlenty) a new one would have the equivalent of political bloodsport if he does the same thing to Palin he'll just appear to be a bully. That means Biden will have to walk a fine line and that's not something he's particularly good at.

On the other hand he chose an inexperienced governor of a sparsely populated state. But if she's as personable and as smart as I hear, campaigns well, and can keep Biden off balance she might be given a pass. After all America seems to have a fascination with fresh faces this election season.

Plus she's not Romney.

Thanks to Shortwoman for linking to this post.

McCain's Message to Obama

Apparently scheduled to run tonight during the convention...


Speaking as someone who donated to both Obama and McCain during the primaries in the hopes that we'd see the cleanest election in years I can say that I don't believe that any other GOP candidate other than John McCain would have bothered to do this.

Obama is the Official Nominee

Now all the talking heads can stop saying "presumptive nominee" when talking about Obama...

From MSNBC:

DENVER - Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, became the first African-American ever nominated for president by a major political party after delegates to the Democratic National Convention chose him as their standard-bearer Wednesday.

The nomination process, a subject of debate and speculation right up until the voting began late in the afternoon, ended when Obama’s chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, asked her supporters to join in accepting Obama’s historic nomination by acclamation.

Regardless of how you feel about Obama you have to admit that his nomination represents a milestone in American history. In less than a generation we've gone from legalized discrimination to placing a minority member one step away from leading the nation.

Now the question is, in regards to the history books, can he pull a twofer?

Bob Barr Cements Texas

By being the only presidential candidate on the ballot. Apparently the other two parties forgot to file in time...

From Ballot Access News:

Section 192.031 of the Texas election code says that political parties must certify their presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the November ballot no later than 70 days before the general election. It says, “A political party is entitled to have the names of its nominees for president and vice-president placed on the ballot if before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential election day, the party’s state chair signs and delivers to the secretary of state a written certification of the name’s of the party’s nominees for president and vice-president.”

This year, that deadline is August 26. UPDATE: At 2:30 pm Texas time, August 27, Kim Kizer of the Texas Secretary of State’s elections division says neither major party’s certification has been received in the Elections Division. The Executive Office of the Secretary of State refers all questions back to the Elections Division.

This year, neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party obeyed this law. See this link to the Secretary of State’s web page showing a blank for the Republicans and Democrats for president.

Well that kind of puts McCain in a bit of a bind now doesn't? In all seriousness I'm sure both parties will find a way to get around the letter of the law. But still as a purely hypothetical situation this is funny as heck to ponder for a bit.

H/T Below the Beltway

Obama Losing the Middle?

Looks like he may be losing both conservative Democrats and some independents...

From Gallup polls:

...support for Obama among all Democratic registered voters fell from 81% in early August (Aug. 4-10) to 78% last week (Aug. 18-24). Obama's support from Republicans over this period also dipped from 9% to 7%, while 42% to 43% of independents have consistently supported him.

Now I realize that polls are little more than snapshot of current public opinion but this particular one happens to mirror some of the talk I'm hearing amongst moderates both online and off. I can't help but think that part of this loss of support from the middle has to do with the fact that many moderates were waiting for Obama to unveil innovative and thoughtful policies. However as the race has moved to the middle and the distinctions between Obama's economic and energy policies and McCain's become less clear the more that works in McCain's favor. He is after all a figure that the political center of this country knows pretty well. Obama? Not so much.

If Obama doesn't start defining exactly what change is going to look like many independents and moderates may decide to back the devil they know over the devil they don't.

Of Note

Over at Middle East Journal Michael J Totten has an enlightening post up regarding who actually fired the first shot in Georgia and the circumstances that led up to the conflict in the first place. Its long but well worth the read.

A Bit About Biden

Obama's choice for VP didn't surprise me out side of the fact that Biden denied being tapped for the job till the very end. To me Biden was the safe choice. He's got the credentials and experience that Obama lacks. While some think that the choice of Biden highlights Obama's faults I don't see it that way. Personally I can't fault a man that sees his weaknesses and then brings on someone who can help compensate for them. Of the primary candidates there were two people capable of doing that Biden and Richardson. Since America isn't ready for an all minority ticket Biden was the logical choice.

Yeah, Biden is prone to slips of the tongue and he's got a bit of a temper but in a weird way that's part of his appeal. He's one of the most human people in politics. I can also see where his faults can be turned to Obama's advantage. He can play bad cop to Obama's good cop. If they can get that act down pat it'll pay off for Obama in the long run. Additionally Biden has one major plus. If you look at McCain's short list of veep prospects not one of them can go toe to toe with Biden in a debate and win. He's experienced enough and a decent enough speaker that he'll keep McCain's Veep pick on the defensive the whole debate. All he has to do is not come off as mean in the process. After all its one thing to eat someone for breakfast, its another to come off as having relished it.

Finally there is a weird sub dynamic going on in this presidential election that makes the veep pick more important than many previous elections. Given McCain's age there is a possibility he might not make it four years. Additionally many people I know have voiced concerns that Obama might not see the end of his first term. Considering that the Denver PD today thwarted what what may have been an assassination plot against Obama today I'd say their concerns are indeed justified. As insurance against such a plot succeeding Biden is a safe choice. Personally if Biden had to finish out Obama's term I wouldn't be concerned (unlike oh say Dan Quayle taking over for Bush Sr.). I wouldn't be particularly excited either.

Obama's choice of Biden some credence to Andrew Sullivan's claims about Obama's pragmatism. Biden was the safe choice. Converesly when I look at McCain's short list of veep picks (including Lieberman) I don't have the same level of comfort. In my minds eye Mccain is in a sticky situation. If he picks a VP to appease the GOP base he risks losing independents and vice versa. With that in mind I'm left wondering how much will Obama's choice affect McCain's decision making? I can't help but think that the choise McCain makes will say alot about what his presidency will be like and I for one am very curious as to what is going to happen next.

TGIF

Issac Hayes' Theme from Shaft

Off the Deep End

Looks like scifi writer Orson Scott Card can now add a Malkin award to his Hugo and Nebula awards.

"Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down, so it can be replaced with a government that will respect and support marriage, and help me raise my children in a society where they will expect to marry in their turn. Biological imperatives trump laws. American government cannot fight against marriage and hope to endure. If the Constitution is defined in such a way as to destroy the privileged position of marriage, it is that insane Constitution, not marriage, that will die,"

I am now officially glad I never bought any of his books. It is disturbing though to find yet another American that shares the same mindset of members of Al Qaeda. It makes me wonder how long it will be before they start trying to use the same methods.

McCain Ahead of Obama?

According to recent polls McCain has actually gained ground Obama and pulled ahead. Zogby polls has McCain at a five percent lead which represents an eleven point gain from last months poll.

From Zogby:

McCain leads Obama by a 46% to 41% margin.

And McCain not only enjoys a five-point edge in a two-way race against Obama, but also in a four-way contest including liberal independent candidate Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr, the poll reveals. In the four-way contest, McCain wins 44% support, Obama 39%, Barr 3% and Nader 2%.

This latest Reuters/Zogby poll is a dramatic reversal from the identical survey taken last month – in the July 9-13 Reuters/Zogby survey, Obama led McCain, 47% to 40%. In the four-way race last month, Obama held a 10-point lead over McCain.

So what happened? There are several possibilities like Obama burnout, summer doldrums, a post Georgia bump, a post Saddleback bump, or all of the above. Additionally I think that Obama's run to the center has caused a wane in enthusiasm for some voters. What remains to be seen is how big of a post convention bump Obama and McCain receive. After that, barring any major screwups, the next chance for the candidates to get a jump in the numbers will be the first debate on Sept. 26th. However given that neither candidate is a particularly strong debater maintaining the the lead after after the conventions may prove to be of key importance.

Its still anybody's race at this point. But I'm still of the opinion that its Obama's race to lose.


h/t Memeorandum

The Veepstakes: No Clear Winner Yet

Earlier today the blogospheric buzz was all about Biden. That was until Biden himself threw a crowbar into the gears of the e-rumour machine.

From ABC's Political Radar:

As Delaware Sen. Joe Biden was leaving his house in Wilmington this afternoon, he slowed down and said to the gathered news reporters outside his home: "Hey guys, I'm not the guy. See ya."
Members of the news media camped outside his Wilmington home today as speculation swirled that Biden is on Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's short list of vice presidential candidates.

I've generally avoided covering the Veepstakes since up until now most coverage of the topic has been pure speculation largely based on disinformation campaigns run by both candidates' campaigns. The Biden buzz though made a certain amount of sense. He does have the experience and the foreign policy chops that Obama lacks. However he also represents a solidly blue state and has a hard time staying on message. I'm guessing that Obama plans on using the VP slot to cement the support of a swing state and of the candidates reportedly on the short list that points to VA or PA.

I've said before that I think McCain will choose former FL governor Charlie Crist for roughly the same reason. Crist has a compliments McCain fairly well. He has a good record as a fiscal conservative, anti-abortion, well spoken, and more telegenic than McCain. All of whuch Mccain needs to shore up the support of the base and help him compete against Obama. This is of course pure speculation on my part. But I'm at least willing to put my money where my mouth is. As to whether or not I'm right it looks like the answer to the first part of the question will become clear this week. As for the second part its expected that McCain will announce his choice the day after the DNC ends.

That'll will officially be the end of the preseason and from here on out the campaigns and their collected special interests will start playing hardball. Those will indeed be interesting times.

Saying Goodbye

I'm sorry to announce that over at Done With Mirrors Callimachus is hanging up his hat. Personally I considered Cal one of the finest thinkers and writers in the 'sphere. His insights will be missed.

The WaPo on Bob Barr

The Washington post did a two page article on Bob Barr today. I'd like to say it was well written, thoughtful, insightful but unfortunately I can't In fact over at TMV Jazz Shaw called it a "hit piece". Personally I can't agree. First of all its hard to call anything in the style section of the WaPo a political hit piece. What it was in fact was an attempt to marginalize Bob Barr. I mean any article that talks more about his dimples than his political positions isn't trying to take the man seriously.

I really have to wonder if there isn't some ulterior motive in both the content and the placement of the article. I mean after all Bob Barr is the most politically viable candidate the Libertarian party has run in a long time. Thats bound to ruffle a few feather. But the least the WaPo can do is tackle the man on his merits rather than try to portray him as a flaky Libertarian also-ran. NPR managed to at least do that much. I'll leave it to you to divine what what that means about the differences in journalistic integrity of the two. As for the WaPo, they could have at least given the man his due.

H/T Memeorandum

TGIF

Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane

although I would have preferred Cause Cheap is How I feel

Credibility Lost

Is almost impossible to regain.

For the second time in a week an author on the Huffington Post is claiming that the war in Georgia was a GOP plot. This time its Truthdig editor and former journalist Robert Scheer...

Scheunemann is at the center of the neoconservative cabal (emphasis added) that has come to dominate the Republican candidate's foreign policy stance in a replay of the run-up to the war against Iraq. These folks are always looking for a foreign enemy on which to base a new Cold War, and with the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime it was Putin's Russia that came increasingly to fit the bill.

Yes, it sounds diabolical, but that may be the most accurate way to assess the designs of the McCain campaign in matters of war and peace. There is every indication that the candidate's demonization of Russian leader Putin is an even grander plan than the previous use of Saddam to fuel American militarism with the fearsome enemy that it desperately needs.

McCain gets to look tough with a new Cold War to fight while Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, scrambling to make sense of a more measured foreign policy posture, will seem weak in comparison. Meanwhile, the dire consequences of the Bush legacy that McCain has inherited, from the disaster of Iraq to the economic meltdown, conveniently will be ignored. But the military-industrial complex, which has helped bankroll the neoconservatives, will be provided with an excuse for ramping up a military budget that is already bigger than that of the rest of the world combined.

This is starting to look like a trend on the Huff Po. The question is is it ideological or editorial in nature. Either someone involved in the hiring process is predisposed to the particular line of thought espoused by these writers or there is a severe lack of editorial oversight (or both). If this trend continues the Huff Po will lose its credibility to all but the far left and therefore will only be preaching to choir. At the rate the Huff Po is going however it'll be on my "do not read list" by next week.

H/T to PoliGazette

Corporate Welfare - Status: Confirmed

This one caught me off guard. I mean I figured corporations were taking advantage of every tax shelter and loophole they could but not to this degree....

From the AP:

Most companies in US avoid federal income taxes

Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress.

The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released Tuesday, said about 68 percent of foreign companies doing business in the U.S. avoided corporate taxes over the same period.

Collectively, the companies reported trillions of dollars in sales, according to GAO's estimate.

...

More than 38,000 foreign corporations had no tax liability in 2005 and 1.2 million U.S. companies paid no income tax, the GAO said. Combined, the companies had $2.5 trillion in sales. About 25 percent of the U.S. corporations not paying corporate taxes were considered large corporations, meaning they had at least $250 million in assets or $50 million in receipts.

The GAO said it analyzed data from the Internal Revenue Service, examining samples of corporate returns for the years 1998 through 2005. For 2005, for example, it reviewed 110,003 tax returns from among more than 1.2 million corporations doing business in the U.S.

This is obviously blatantly unfair. I've long thought that the tax system needs to be overhauled but to me this report shows that that the need for an overhaul needs to become a priority. The question is how to do it without sending shockwaves through the market. The last thing we need right now is for the price of every good and service to go up by a double digit percentage.

Personally I like the idea of scrapping the current code for a flat tax on profits. I'm liking 15% as its high enough to be significant but low enough to keep our corporate tax rates highly competitive with other countries (and much lower than many European countries). In order to reduce the impact on the marketplace it would have to be gradually phased in. Lets say 5% the first year with a 1% increase the second year and then a 3% increase over the next three years. Based on the untaxed profits the GAO reports that would equal an additional 375 billion dollars a year in tax revenues.

That amount could have a huge impact on this nation. It would go a long way to helping fund sicial security or reduce the deficit or lower the rate that individual citizens are required to pay in taxes. The problem is finding political leaders willing back such a tax code reform.After all it doesn't benefit any of them to increase taxes on two thirds of their corporate donors.

How do we get this problem under the scrutiny of the public eye? The best I can do is hope that there are presidential YouTube deabtes and pray that my question on this matter gets picked. Whats needed is a bipartisan grassroots effort to bring this issue into the limelight. The question is who is going to pick up that torch and run with it?

Where's Teddy Roosevelt when you need him?

cross posted at We Op-Ed

You Get What You Pay For

Earlier:

ZoneLabs has just released Zone Alarm forcefield and its free until 4pm tomorrow CST

From The Cheapskate:

"The software relies on a technique called "virtual browsing" to protect your PC against unauthorized downloads, malware installations, phishers, keyloggers, and the like. It also promises total privacy by erasing the (virtual) browser's cache, cookies, history, and passwords. According to Check Point, the program won't interfere with any existing security software you might already have."

Updated:

Having used their free firewall off and on for years I really expected a better product. It slowed surfing down to a crawl on all of my browsers. Additionally its security warnings took at least a minute to disappear and I couldn't browse until they did. Finally it caused Firefox 3.01 to crash.
A truly disappointing product .

Coming Clean

In the interest of making my biases known I have to date donated equal amounts to...

The Obama primary campaign (Who I voted for in the Texas primaries.)

The McCain primary campaign

The Ron Paul primary campaign (although that was actually a reward for engaging inactive voters)

Finally the Bob Barr presidential campaign. I donate to the Libertarian presidential candidate every presidential election year. Mainly because they are the most viable third party in existence.

For the record I backed McCain and Obama because I belived that they were the most moderate candidates their parties offered. Additionally I thought that should they go head to head that the race would be as smear free as could be. While (mainly on McCain's part) that has proven to be a bit of a bust I take heart in the fact that the race hasn't been anywhere near as ugly as a Romney vs Clinton race would have been. For better or for worse we are seeing the best race the two parties can manage. However at the rate the race is going I am seriously looking at the possibility of voting for Barr rather than either of the two mainstream candidates.

America's Other Crisis

The slow death of logic and critical thinking...

It looks like the tin foil hat brigade is starting to form a consensus about the war in Georgia...

Apparently its all a Republican plot orchestrated so that McCain can win the election.

From the Huffington Post

What a Convenient Little War for The Republicans

In classic "Wag The Dog" scenario there is a neat little war brewing between American and Russian proxies, and real Russian troops, in the Caucacus Mountains on the Russian border.
...

What is most interesting is that McCain's chief foreign policy aide, Randy Scheunemann,
has been advising/ lobbying for pro-western Georgia for the last four years.

Can't you just imagine what happened?

Randy lets it be known to the Georgian President that this would be a good time for Georgian troops to invade South Ossetia, which had been an autonomous territory for more than a decade. The Georgians didn't take much persuading, as they had been wanting to crack down with their troops for a long time.

And with American -- Republican -- support, what a better time to act?

Meanwhile Bush is conveniently meeting with Putin at the Olympics in Beijing and lets it be known that if Georgia attacks Ossetia, the US will not "mind" -- Wink Wink -- an aggressive response from Russia.

I recognize the Huff Po for the partisan tool that it is but when your writers start expousing pet conspiracy theories and you happen to be running one of the most heavily trafficked US political blogs on the web its doesn't do crap for your credibility.

I see this as part of a disturbing trend in American culture. Considering that 25% of all Americans believe they have been wiretapped and a double digit portion (lost the link to the poll courtesy of Firefox 2.1) of Americans believe that either the government could have prevented 9/11 and didn't or were behind it in the first place I'm inclined to think that the number of people that are using the basic tools of reasoning is on the decrease. And if Mr. Fleetwood, who used to be a journalist at several reputable publications, is any indicator those same irrational people are actually getting jobs of influence and import which is doubly disturbing.

As for the Huff Po they'd do well to realize that the longer they allow their writers to use their blog as a staging ground for pet conspiracy theories the more they damage their positions and their party.

TGIF

Smash Mouth's All Star

Obama's Energy Rebate Gets an F

Over at the WSJ Martin Feldstein takes a look at the effects of Obama's proposed energy rebate. He used the economic effects of the last tax rebates to come up with a likely scenario. The results ?

Cost? 65 billion dollars

Amount of Increased Spending? 10 billion dollars

Why? Because people either bank rebates or use them to pay off debt.

Finally the effect that I'm most concerned about..

His plan, to finance those rebates with an extra tax on oil companies, would reduce investment in refining and exploration, keeping oil prices higher than they would otherwise be.

I'd be lying if I said I couldn't use the money. But if the rebate drives up the price of gas in the long term we'll all be paying it back at the pumps.

John McCain's Energy Plan

In the interest of fairness. Plus I wanted to take Scribd for a test drive.

McCain's Energy Plan - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: McCain's Energy Plan

I note a severe lack of tire gauges in his plan. However it is worth noting that he's against continuing to subsidize agribuisness and ethanol production.

Had Enough of Obamania?

Looks like you may not be alone. A recent Pew poll shows that forty eight percent of Americans think that Obama is overexposed.

"As he has since January, this week, Barack Obama enjoyed much more visibility as far as the public was concerned than did John McCain. By a margin of 76% to 11% respondents in Pew's weekly News Interest Index survey named Obama over McCain as the candidate they have heard the most about in recent days. But the same poll also shows that the Democratic candidate's media dominance may not be working in his favor. Close to half (48%) of Pew's interviewees went on to say that they have been hearing too much about Obama lately. And by a slight, but statistically significant margin - 22% to 16% - people say that recently they have a less rather than more favorable view of the putative Democratic nominee."

Looks like he's ranking right up there with the GEICO lizard and that "Can you hear me now?" guy. Personally I'm not suffering from Obama fatigue yet. But I read news more than I watch it.
Odds are McCain will start getting more coverage after the conventions and particularly after the first debate. He is after all a more practiced debater than Obama. In the mean time it could be worse for Obama after all, according to Oscar Wilde, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

Obama's Energy Policy Available Here

Thanks to Scribd. Scribd does for documents what YouTube does for video. Apparently Obama's campaign has been using it to keep everyone in the know. So here is his complete energy plan. Believe it or not there's more than tire gauges involved....

Barack Obama's New Energy Plan For America - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Barack Obama's New Energy Plan For America

More policy and positions available here.

H/T to Donklephant

Obama Losing Ground in Polls

Odds are we'll see a different set of numbers after the conventions once the general public starts paying close attention.

From Zogby (via McClatchy)

Barack Obama has lost ground among some of his strongest bases of support, including young people, women, Democrats and independents, according to a new ATV/Zogby poll.

The Illinois Democrat has also lost some support among African-Americans and Hispanics, where his lead over Republican John McCain has shrunk, and among Catholics, where he's lost his lead.

The net result, pollster John Zogby found, is a race that's neck and neck, with McCain supported by 42 percent; Obama by 41 percent; Libertarian Bob Barr by 2 percent; and independent Ralph Nader by 2 percent. Another 13 percent supported other candidates or were undedcided.

Zogby called the results a "notable turnaround" from a July survey he did that showed Obama leading by 46-36.

Perhaps this drop is caused by the current blurring of the differences between McCain's policies and Obama's. If the public perceives that Obama is co-opting McCain's positions it makes McCain look like the stronger candidate. Obama would do well to show some ingenuity about now.

Texas GOP Pressing Libertarian Candidates to Bow Out

Looks like a former GOP State Rep called a few Libertarian candidates running in close races and asked them to drop out.

From the Austin American Statesman:

A former Republican state representative called three Libertarian Party candidates for the state House on Friday to request that they drop out of their races rather than take votes from their Republican opponents.

Suzanna Hupp, who represented District 54 in Central Texas for 10 years, said she made the calls Friday because of concerns that the Libertarian candidates would take Republican votes and ultimately give Democrats control over state and national seats.

"The fact is, we've got redistricting coming up in a few years," said Hupp, from Lampasas, who served in the House from 1997 to 2007, "and if the Republicans lose the (Texas) House of Representatives because there are a handful of people mad at them and vote for the Libertarians instead, then we could be in big trouble at the federal level."

...

Hupp said she called three Libertarian candidates in races where she knew the margin between the Republican and Democrat candidate figures to be close in November. However, one day after she made the calls, Hupp said she could remember only two of the three districts where she had intervened.

The two districts, candidates and calls that Hupp remembered were the same two that Texas Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict already knew about and had told reporters occurred.
...
Benedict said he told Libertarian candidates to "sit tight and stay in the race" after the calls were made. "I told them that Republicans need to earn those votes," he said.

It was wrong of Hupp to ask them to step down. However whats more disturbing is the level of hubris it took to make those calls in the first place. Given how long the GOP has been in power in Texas though its not surprising. Interestingly enough the Libertarian candidates may be inadvertently doing more to fix that problem than the state Dems. If that proves to be the case at least here in Texas we might see a few more candidates running that haven't forgotten conservatism's Burkean roots.

Obama's Energy Problem

His recent move to the center on offshore drilling is going to be painted as a flip flop. Additionally the fact that he continues to push for a windfall profits tax on oil companies is pure populism. As for tapping into the strategic reserve it is a bad idea in my opinion. While I, myself, was against offshore drilling a few years ago I believe at this point that moving closer to energy independence is extremely important. As long as the states can decide where drilling can occur off their shores I'll back that.

The windfall profits tax, however, is unfair and not at all business friendly. A more sensible approach would be to cut all subsidies to the oil companies and lease oil and gas rights on public lands (as well as mineral rights) and offshore at fair market value. That at least would be fair. I see no reason to give hand outs to companies that are breaking quarterly profit records repeatedly. As for the strategic reserve rename it the Emergency Military Petroleum Reserve and then leave it alone.

If Obama seriously wants to win he is going to have to differentiate his policies from McCain's and it is far better to have McCain co-opting Obama's policies on energy than it is to have Obama playing catch up to McCain. After all, this is ultimately a race about change vs experience. If Obama can prove that he has quality ideas that seem pragmatic he'll carry the day. Conversely if he appears to be mainly reciting Dem talking points then the election is his to lose.

Sitemeter Issues

Sitemeter.com's traffic counter has been causing blogs not to load for Internet Explorer users. I have removed the counter to fix this issue but you may need to clear your browser's cache to ensure that every blog using sitemeter will be viewable.

Things I Have Learned

Just because my car has keyless entry doesn't mean my house does.

Upgrading

I've bought the domain name Dyreportents.com through Google. I did so because Google offers seamless redirection to the new address which means nobody has to change their links or bookmarks. If you're a feed subscriber you probably won't notice that the URL of this blogs feed will change (Yay Feedburner.com!) Hopefully in the long run this will help me pick up more traffic. Additionally I also plan on buying Direportents.com so that you can just say the name and in theory people can find their way here with relative ease.

TGIF

Changing genres yet again.

Danzig's Mother

McCain Going Negative?

This is either a sign of things to come from the McCain campaign or a major screw up. His campaign released a new ad five days ago that proves to be less than truthful.

From Fact Check:

A new McCain ad says Obama "made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras."

McCain's facts are literally true, but his insinuation – that the visit was canceled because of the press ban or the desire for gym time – is false. In fact, Obama visited wounded troops earlier – without cameras or press – both in the U.S. and Iraq. And his gym workouts are a daily routine.

What really happened?

Obama planned to visit wounded troops at a medical center in Germany until the Pentagon said it would not allow him to bring a retired Air Force major general who is one of the campaign's foreign policy advisers. The Democrat may have been poised to blur the line between political events and official troop visits by members of Congress. But there is no evidence that he was snubbing soldiers because he could not appear with them on television.

Obama explained the cancellation...

I was going to be accompanied by one of my advisors, a former military officer."

Continued Obama, "And we got notice that he would be treated as a campaign person, and it would therefore be perceived as political because he had endorsed my candidacy but he wasn’t on the Senate staff. That triggered then a concern that maybe our visit was going to be perceived as political. And the last thing that I want to do is have injured soldiers and the staff at these wonderful institutions having to sort through whether this is political or not or get caught in the crossfire between campaigns."

Supposedly the McCain campaign created two versions of the ad. One for if Obama visited the troops and one if he didn't. Word has it the wrong ad was released. If thats truw then somebody needs to be fired otherwise it will appear that McCain is signed off on the smear attempt. If the latter is case and this trend continues he's likely to lose a ton of independent and moderate voters and consign his presidential run to the same grave as Clinton's campaign.

I'm Impressed

MIT has made a major breakthrough in Solar technology. More details here.

Clinton to Contest at the Convention?

Over at The Moderate Voice Tony Campbell thinks its highly likely that the Democratic National Convention could prove to be a Clinton vs Obama showdown.

I talked to a Clinton delegate here in Maryland and he told me that they have been instructed to vote for Hillary on the first ballot. To make things more interesting, there is a movement to swing 160 delegates from Obama to Clinton. If that occurs, Clinton could re-establish her campaign and face John McCain in the fall.

The group, P.U.M.A (Party Unity My A**) claims that 15 delegates have switched from Obama to Clinton in July. There is still the possibility of a floor convention vote to fully seat the delegates of Michigan and Florida which would benefit Senator Clinton. Finally, the Obama flip-flop on the FISA bill has not been well received by the more liberal segments of the Democratic faithful.

...

Where are the Clintons? They are patiently waiting for Denver. The only question is: will it be an easy nomination for Obama or one of the grandest political ambushes ever pulled off…on the voting floor of the Convention.

I just don't see it happening. Not because I don't believe that Clinton doesn't want it that badly. But because I believe that she knows that its not only a huge gamble but if she somehow won the nomination Obama's supporters would fail to show up at the polls come election day. She's too smart to risk her career and any future chance of being president by backstabbing Obama at the last moment. What she is however doing is letting PUMA keep her name in the news. Which I must add they've done a mighty good job of. Then once the election is wrapped she pulls a McCain and begins appearing on every TV and radio program she possibly can to ensure that she stays on the public's radar thus increasing her support for a run in 2012.

After all you never gamble what you can't afford to lose.

Sen. Ted Stevens Indicted

Bad news for him considering the fierce competition for his seat....

From McClatchy news:

WASHINGTON — Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, at 84 the longest-serving Republican in the Senate and one of its most powerful members, was indicted Tuesday on seven felony counts alleging that he lied to conceal his acceptance of $250,000 in gifts and services from a now-defunct Alaska oil services and construction company.
...
The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Washington, charges that Stevens made false statements on his annual Senate financial-disclosure statements for the years 2001 through 2006 to conceal gifts from VECO Corp. and its chief executive officer, Bill Allen. If he's convicted, Stevens could face an unspecified fine and as much as five years in prison.

If hope that if he is found guilty that he punished to the fullest extent of the law. Additionally I hope that he is the last of the corrupt Republicans still in office. I have little doubt that had the GOP not been in the majority he either would have kept his nose clean or been indicted sooner. That brings me to one of my chief concerns about an Obama presidency. I fear that should the Dems control the house, the senate, and the Oval Office that we'll see the same level of corruption and excess. To me this is one of the most important functions that divided government serves. By that I mean as long as one party feels that the other is is breathing down their neck waiting for them to screw up they tend to stick to the straight and narrow.

Not that that alone is enough to push me into the McCain camp mind you. He's not the McCain of 2000. However as both he and Obama are moving to the middle the differences in the views on major issues are starting to dissapear. If that continues and both of them prove to politicians rather than leaders in my case the divided government arguement may prove to be the tipping point in McCain's favor.

That is of course provided that I don't become totally disgusted with both candidates and throw my vote Bob Barr's way. After all in Texas that vote would be just as a significant as a vote for Obama.

H/T Memeorandum

Thanks to DWSUWF for linking to this post

Something is Missing

I normally don't post about tragedies like the shooting that took place at a Unitarian church today. That's largely because I don't feel that I will anything particularly insightful to add to the dialogue by the time I get around to posting. Additionally something seems wrong about using a tragedy to draw visitors to my site. However today, because I read the story on the BBC rather than the American news wires, I noticed something was missing from blogland's coverage of the story:

Police have named one of the two people killed as Greg McKendry, a 60-year-old usher at the church. The other, Linda Kreager, died of her injuries at a nearby hospital a few hours later.

Church member Barbara Kemper said that Mr McKendry had "stood in front of the gunman and took the blast to protect the rest of us".

Simply put when his fellow man needed him most he showed his quality and answered the call with both courage and selflessness. In doing so he not only saved the lives of those around him he also changed the narrative of this story. Because, if one leaves out Mr. McKendry's part this is just another senseless act of violence however, once one includes the details of his final selfless act, the story shows that there are heroes and villains on both sides of the aisle.

My sincerest condolences go out to Mr. McKendry's family. His final act speaks volumes about exactly how much you have lost.

Things I Have Learned

Liquid baby formula is not a good substitute for milk in your coffee.

TGIF

Changing genres again.


Old Crow Medicine Show covering Bob Dylan's Rock Me Mama aka Wagon Wheel

The Other Obamania

You know, the one that makes people believe and then try to prove irrational claims about him.
This time it was,"Obama is not an American citizen" which was dreamed up by a disgruntled Clinton supporter. Fortunately this one actually revealed credible evidence to the contrary.

An announcement in the Honolulu Adviser circa 1961:








While this finding may have dashed the hopes of Clinton's less logical supporters its not going to do a thing to stop the "truthers" from running with it. After all to real conspiracy theorist evidence to the contrary of one's supposition doesn't mean your wrong. It's proof of a cover up. Why? Because if they actually used Occam's Razor and faced the facts then they wouldn't be superior to the rest of the general populace. Think of it as a fundamentalist religion in which the darkest motives of man/alienkind and one's ego are the only deities and you'll have a pretty good grasp of the mindset of truthers.

The New Flu

Is an interesting experiment. Essentially its trying to see how information is spread on the web. Just click the spread it button and post it on your site. The widget then ads a link to your blog on the map which is posted on hundreds of blogs already. More details here

H/T to OTB

Jackson Vs Obama Redux

Over at the WSJ Shelby Steele tries to explain the motives behind Jesse Jackson's recent castration comment.

...he (Jackson) and the entire civil rights establishment pursued equality through the manipulation of white guilt.

Their faith was in the easy moral leverage over white America that the civil rights victories of the 1960s had suddenly bestowed on them. So Mr. Jackson and his generation of black leaders made keeping whites "on the hook" the most sacred article of the post-'60s black identity.

They ushered in an extortionist era of civil rights, in which they said to American institutions: Your shame must now become our advantage. To argue differently -- that black development, for example, might be a more enduring road to black equality -- took whites "off the hook" and was therefore an unpardonable heresy. For this generation, an Uncle Tom was not a black who betrayed his race; it was a black who betrayed the group's bounty of moral leverage over whites. And now comes Mr. Obama, who became the first viable black presidential candidate precisely by giving up his moral leverage over whites.

Mr. Obama's great political ingenuity was very simple: to trade moral leverage for gratitude. Give up moral leverage over whites, refuse to shame them with America's racist past, and the gratitude they show you will constitute a new form of black power. They will love you for the faith you show in them.

I think he's right about the root cause of the Jackson's enmity although I'd throw in a little jealousy as well. However I don't think he's entirely right about the gratitude part. That may play a small part but it occurred to me that a large portion of Obama's appeal is the fact that he is in all visible ways the opposite of George W Bush. I'd even argue that many of his supporters on some level see their choice of candidate as a refutation of the current administration. I'd even go so far as to argue that had someone seemingly more thoughtful and eloquent been president that eight years that Hillary would probably have gotten the nomination. It seems to me that W literally set the stage for Obamania.

Having said that I do however give points to Obama for eschewing Jackson's guilt strategy. That is indeed change I can believe in. Additionally it shows that Obama is smart enough to realize that that song just doesn't play as well with those born in the post Vietnam era. That may say more about him than anything else we know from his record. Because love him or hate him you have to appreciate the fact that he can figure out exactly which way the wind blows.

Finally, Some Clarification

First the Iraqi PM Nouri Al Maliki seemingly backs Obama's position on the timetable for withdrawl in Iraq. Then he claims it was a mistranslation by his own translator . Today we get a little clarification in English...



If this is true then McCain is going to have an extremely hard row to hoe this election season.

H/T to Donklephant for the video

Isn't It Ironic

That John McCain, who repeatedly opposed the creation of a holiday to commemorate Martin Luther King (although he did later change his mind), would be running against a man who is living proof of the fruit of Dr. King's labor?

On the Other Hand

Would this have been condemned to the same degree as The New Yorker's cover?

H/T to DWSUWF

Things I Have Learned

Never taser someone when you are both standing in the same puddle.

TGIF

Moving to another genre...

Wille Nelson's Whiskey River

McCain at the NAACP Convention

He gave a solid, but not inspiring, speech which was pretty well received considering the audience's strong pro-Obama leanings. What's more important to me though is the fact that he actually bothered to speak there considering how few votes he'll garner for his troubles. However I think he seemed more like the McCain of 2000 than anything we've seen of late. It was a good first step by McCain to make the GOP seem like a more inclusive party with a few good ideas.


You can watch the full speech here here here and here

Dreaming of Electric Sheep

Like this one...

Its actually a six legged robotic lawn mower. Now all we need is a robotic sheepdog to keep an eye on it while it does its job.

Yay, More Media Bias

Looks like the MSM is starting to mirror blogtopia more and more.

About the AP:

Ron Fournier says he regards Sandy Johnson, his predecessor as head of The Associated Press’s Washington bureau, as “a mentor.”

Johnson, though, regards Fournier, who replaced her in a hard-feelings shake-up in May, as a threat to one of the most influential institutions in American journalism.

“I loved the Washington bureau,” said Johnson, who left the AP after losing the prestigious position. “I just hope he doesn’t destroy it.”

There’s more to her vinegary remark than just the aftertaste of a sour parting. Fournier is a main engine in a high-stakes experiment at the 162-year old wire to move from its signature neutral and detached tone to an aggressive, plain-spoken style of writing that Fournier often describes as “cutting through the clutter.”

In the stories the new boss is encouraging, first-person writing and emotive language are okay.

So is scrapping the stonefaced approach to journalism that accepts politicians’ statements at face value and offers equal treatment to all sides of an argument. Instead, reporters are encouraged to throw away the weasel words and call it like they see it when they think public officials have revealed themselves as phonies or flip-floppers.

The new approach was on display in a Liz Sidoti news analysis written earlier this month with the lead, “John McCain calls himself an underdog. That may be an understatement.”
...
Fournier and other critics of the conventional press model, especially those on the left, have said that being released from the tired conventions of news writing is exactly what journalism needs.

By these lights, the mentality that presumes both sides of an argument are entitled to equal weight is what prevented the media from challenging the Bush administration more aggressively on the Iraq war and other issues.

Others warn that what Fournier and other proponents see as truth-telling can easily bleed into opinionizing — exactly the opposite of the AP’s mission of “delivering fast, unbiased news.”

“The problem,” says James Taranto, the Wall Street Journal’s Best of the Web columnist and a frequent critic of what he sees as the AP’s liberal bias, “is that while you can do opinion journalism and incorporate reporting into it, you can’t say you’re doing straight reporting, and then add opinion to that.”

And Mr. Taranto is right in my opinion. Once a news agency abandons objectivity they cease to be a credible news source. By allowing opinion to be presented amongst fact even a little they create a slippery slope and risk becoming nothing more than a well funded investigative blog. And while I wouldn't mind seeing a few more of those around the need for truly objective journalism is even greater. Does this mean I won't be quoting the AP anymore? Nope. But it does mean that I will be scanning the articles that I link to for obvious bias.

Related Posts:
This Liberal Media Bias

TGIF

A little lighter fare...

All We Want to do is Eat Your Brains
by Jonathan Coulton

Pure Idiocy

Trading your wife of ten years and your kids for internet porn and an eighteen year old. Especially when your wife is twenty years younger, a model, and also a millionaire.



Sorry, but my internet connection is intermittent right now so this is the best I can do in the time allotted.

Iran Answers Israel

Looks like Iran engaged in a little saber rattling of its own today...

From the WaPo:

Iran Test-Fires Long-Range Missile

Iran said today it had test-fired a long-range missile capable of reaching Israel and U.S. troops in the region, a step promptly condemned by the Bush administration as heightening tensions over the country's suspected nuclear weapons program.

The roughly 1,200 mile range of Iran's Shahab-3 rocket has been known for several years, but the test firing -- and pointed statements from Tehran about the country's "capability in hitting its enemies" -- added to a tense climate.

...

The Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the missile was test-fired as part of a larger military exercise by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. In Tehran, the Associated Press said that as many as nine missiles of different sizes were fired during the exercise, carried out partly near the Persian Gulf shipping lanes that Iran has threatened to close if it is attacked.

A top Iranian official said this week the country would also retaliate against Tel Aviv if any targets inside the country are struck.

"Our hands are always on the trigger and our missiles are ready for launch," Revolutionary Guard Gen. Hossein Salami said today, according to the wire service.

The missile tests and statements from Iranian officials are part of a recent sharp back-and-forth between Iran, Israel and the United States that have formed the backdrop to ongoing negotiations about Iran's nuclear program.

This is most definitely a response to the recent Israeli war games and was meant to send a message to Israel. Considering that Iran supposedly has stealth capable missiles I'm certain that its meaning was crystal clear. It's also a pretty good indicator of how well our current tactics in dealing with Iran are working. Those aren't going to change anytime soon so lets see what our presidential hopefuls had to say about this incident....

Senator John McCain issued the following statement:

“Iran’s most recent missile tests demonstrate again the dangers it poses to its neighbors and to the wider region, especially Israel. Ballistic missile testing coupled with Iran’s continued refusal to cease its nuclear activities should unite the international community in efforts to counter Iran’s dangerous ambitions.

Iran’s missile tests also demonstrate the need for effective missile defense now and in the future, and this includes missile defense in Europe as is planned with the Czech Republic and Poland. Working with our European and regional allies is the best way to meet the threat posed by Iran, not unilateral concessions that undermine multilateral diplomacy.”

And Senator Barack Obama, speaking on NBC’s “Today” show urged “aggressive diplomacy” when it comes to Iran:

“There’s no doubt we’re seeing rising tensions in the area, and it’s part of the reason why it’s so important for us to have a coherent policy with respect to Iran. It has to combine much tougher threats of economic sanctions with direct diplomacy, opening up channels of communication so that we avoid provocation but we give strong incentives for the Iranians to change their behavior. We’ve got to have the kind of aggressive diplomacy that unfortunately has been absent over the last several years.”

This is one area in which I agree with Obama however I'm not certain that he'd use some of the stronger diplomatic tools at his command were he to become president (example: blockading Iran's ports should concrete proof of Iran's nuclear weapon program become available and they fail to abandon pursuing nukes afterwards.)

McCain's insistence on continuing the current administrations policy towards Iran is more troubling. After all isn't performing the same actions repeatedly and expecting different results one of the definitions of insanity? Additionally McCain's "Bomb bomb bomb Iran" and his more recent kill Iranians comment don't score him any points with me at all.

There is a middle ground between the two stated positions and what I want is for one of the candidates to channel Teddy Roosevelt and be willing to go there. Is that too much to ask?

Pure Genius

Now all we need is egg flavored toothpaste...

Bacon Flavored Dental Floss

A Mental Vacation

Pretty much every place I didn't go on my vacation...


If the video doesn't appear click here.

Backstory and more videos at Where the Hell is Matt

McCain Draws Dogged Support

McCain may not be doing well with the base but at least he's kicking butt...

with pet owners?

From the AP:

Pet owners prefer McCain over Obama
If the presidential election goes to the dogs, John McCain is looking like best in show.
...
The apparent Democratic nominee Barack Obama, on the other hand, doesn't have a pet at home.
...
An AP-Yahoo! News poll found that pet owners favor McCain over Obama 42 percent to 37 percent, with dog owners particularly in McCain's corner.
...

He has a veritable menagerie, including Sam the English springer spaniel, Coco the mutt, turtles Cuff and Link, Oreo the black and white cat, a ferret, three parakeets and a bunch of saltwater fish.

On the other hand, the poll found that among people who don't have pets, Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 34 percent.

Does this have much to do with anything? Nope. I just like weird polls and happen to be a pet owner myself. On that note I'd like to see a poll showing the political affiliation of American pet owners.

A Minor Observation

I took a little time during my vacation to blog surf some smaller blogs that are representative of the GOP base and found that almost all of them had negative things to say about Obama however none of them had anything positive to say about McCain. Admittedly my sample was small but if it is indeed indicative of a larger trend then McCain is in trouble. It would also explain why McCain is still running to the right while Obama seems to be moving to the center.

McCain is in a tricky spot in that his courting of the right turns off the independents while his attempts to woo the center turns off the base. My feeling remains that unless Obama screws the pooch somehow McCain will lose. The only question to me is by what margin.

His only chance, in my opinion, is to master Obama's technique of not being specific without appearing to be vague.

Happy Birthday America!

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...

Please take some time today to read the whole thing.

On Vacation

My firstborn arrived for the summer this past Saturday so I'll be going on vacation for a week or so. I may post hither and yon but there are no guarantees.