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Bad Ballot Design, Bush Being Bush, Mad Cow, Mad
India, Mad Iraq, GOP Depressed, Religious Right, Redneck Evolution and Wingnut Humor.

post from Redneck Liberal on 11 May 2008 11:31:00 PM. © Redneck Liberal

It's Monday!

You'd think that almost eight years after the fiasco in Florida that the problem of having your vote correctly counted would be a done deal.

Naw, it's still all screwed up.

Here in Oklahoma we just have to connect the arrow right next to who we want to vote for.

And then we feed it to the scanner. It seems to work. It's fast and simple. And it makes for an easy, accurate recount.

It also prevents mistakes.

Like this.

Fortunately, for the country, the Republicans tend to prove the old adage, "Give 'em enough rope and they'll hang themselves.", true. The head hangman is still tightening the noose. How out of it do you have to be, to be a proponent of mad cow disease?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration on Friday urged a federal appeals
court to stop meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease,
but a skeptical judge questioned whether the government has that authority.

Probably, out of it enough to combine Econ 101 with a complete lack of knowledge of anything else and ticking off a nuclear power with a feeble attempt to pretend that he has some idea of what's actually going on.

NEW DELHI, May 7 -- A brief comment by President Bush about the role of India in the world food crisis has set off a firestorm of
criticism in this country.

Or, maybe fighting a war five years after he'd declared that the war was won.

Little has changed in the 11-square-mile corner of northeast Baghdad, but the
stakes are higher now. An Iraqi military offensive launched against Shiite
militias in late March has drawn in U.S. troops and has led to near-constant
fighting in Sadr City. Sadr has threatened "open war" if the offensive does not
end. U.S. troop deaths have climbed to their highest level in seven months,
mainly because of the clashes in and around Sadr City, and the additional
American troops will be gone by July. On Saturday, the Iraqi government said it
had struck a deal with Sadr's aides to halt the fighting, but the two sides
disagreed on its terms and it was unclear what it would yield.

It looks like we've finally given them enough rope.

Also in April, as the President?s Approval Rating slipped, the number of Americans who consider themselves to be Democrats
remained near the highest levels ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports.

I doubt if even the Religious Right's all out effort to subvert the Constutition will be of much help this year.

Alliance Defense Fund, a Scottsdale, Ariz., nonprofit, is hoping at least
one sermon will prompt the Internal Revenue Service to investigate, sparking a
court battle that could get the tax provision declared unconstitutional.
Alliance lawyers represent churches in disputes with the IRS over alleged
partisan activity.

The action marks the latest attempt by a conservative organization to
help clergy harness their congregations to sway elections. The protest is
scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 28, a little more than a month before the general
election, in a year when religious concerns and preachers have been a regular
part of the political debate.

The Republicans have done such a horrible job of running things that, even in the South, the race card is taking a backseat to issues. It's way past time for the southern white working class to realize that they have a lot more in common with the black working class, than they do with the Republicans, who don't give a crap about them in the first place.

In response to Mr. Obama?s energizing of black Southern voters, enlightened
self-interest may well convince many of the region?s undecided superdelegates to
endorse him. Over the last two years, there have been little-noticed Democratic
gains in Congressional and state legislative elections across the South, as the
solid black Democratic base has been joined by whites disenchanted with the Bush
administration. New concern about the economy may be adding momentum.

It's Monday, so I'll leave you with a little right wing "humor". Free Tickets I have 4 extra tickets for the Robbie Knievel event at the State Fair Grounds next weekend if anybody wants them. He's going to attempt to jump 500 Democrats with a bull dozer. Later.

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http://lowdownsplace.blogspot.com/2008/05/bad-ballot-design-bush-being-bush-mad.h
tml

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Open Thread

post from Crooks and Liars on 11 May 2008 11:30:18 PM. © Crooks and Liars

meanest mommy song…My then three-year-old didn’t want me to sing “Meanest Mommy Song.” Now that she’s more than four she sings it with me, heh. Lyrics are here, full version here. Happy Mother’s Day everyone. Open Thread below….

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http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/11/open-thread-805/

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Enter the Inhofian Polar Bear Expert

post from Daily Kos on 11 May 2008 11:19:35 PM. © Daily Kos

What a coincidence.

Just as the Alaska State Legislature allocates $2 million for a conference promoting climate change deniers' "expert" analysis of why polar bears aren't really endangered, a poster boy for polar bear junk science emerges from the woodwork.

Enter J. Scott Armstrong, who is a marketing professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. His research emphasizes forecasting methods, which he has used as the cornerstone for - you guessed it - claims that the IPCC climate change projections are actually all wrong.

Now he's extended his "forecasts" to say that polar bears are doing just fine. He alluded to his research when Sen. James Inhofe called him as an "expert" to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee regarding the proposed endangered status of the polar bear; now, Armstrong has released an official statement advertising his paper.

Here's the link (warning, slow website):

Research done by the U.S. Department of the Interior to determine if global warming threatens the polar bear population is so flawed that it cannot be used to justify listing the polar bear as an endangered species, according to a study being published later this year in Interfaces, a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®).

[...]

Professor J. Scott Armstrong of the Wharton School says, "To list a species that is currently in good health as an endangered species requires valid forecasts that its population would decline to levels that threaten its viability. In fact, the polar bear populations have been increasing rapidly in recent decades due to hunting restrictions. Assuming these restrictions remain, the most appropriate forecast is to assume that the upward trend would continue for a few years, then level off.

[...]

Prof. Armstrong and colleagues originally undertook their audit at the request of the State of Alaska. The subsequent study, "Polar Bear Population Forecasts: A Public Policy Forecasting Audit," is by Prof. Armstrong, Kesten G. Green of Monash University in Australia, and Willie Soon of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. It is scheduled to appear in the September/October issue of the INFORMS journal Interfaces.

Armstrong's claims regarding the increasing polar bear population have been debunked again and again (which doesn't stop Inhofe and others from repeating the claims, of course).

Also, those who are familiar with climate change deniers will recognize Willie Soon's name. He's one of the true believers that solar activity causes global warming, which has also been repeatedly debunked (quite conclusively, in fact).

Click here (pdf) to read the paper.

My forecast is that it will be quoted over and over again throughout the deniersphere.

As the saying goes, "if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with..," well, you know the saying.

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Missing The Point On Losing Our Bearings

post from American Street on 11 May 2008 11:12:00 PM. © American Street

In an indication of things to come as shots are traded faster and faster between presidential campaigns, it’s easy to miss the point — or lack thereof — when Barack Obama, John McCain and their surrogates trade barbs.What we should all know and so many missed in the recent back and forth about Hamas preferring [...]

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http://www.reachm.com/amstreet/archives/2008/05/11/missing-the-point-on-losing-ou
r-bearings/

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Sunday Late Nite: Happy Mothers Day from Norman
Bates

post from Firedoglake on 11 May 2008 11:01:12 PM. © Firedoglake

The creepiest part of this video from the McCain campaign -- and there are many creepy parts -- is that they felt it necessary to identify the (Son) and (Mother). Just in case you thought these two old folks were sitting around the rest home chatting[...]

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http://firedoglake.com/2008/05/11/sunday-late-nite-happy-mothers-day-from-norman-
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McAuliffe: Clinton might accept 50% of the MI, FL
delegates

post from American Street on 11 May 2008 10:59:00 PM. © American Street

As he makes it clear that the real problem is knocking out 100% - which was a choice each campaign had representatives in on - he might wish to demur till the Rules and Bylaws committee meets, but he indicates that 50% would be fair, just as it was when he headed the DNC. Let [...]

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http://www.reachm.com/amstreet/archives/2008/05/11/mcauliffe-clinton-might-accept
-50-of-the-mi-fl-delegates/

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Late Night Music Club with BT and Tori Amos

post from Crooks and Liars on 11 May 2008 10:52:56 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Today is Irving Berlin’s birthday; he’d be 120 (except he passed away in 1989). With a repertoire like his, where do you even start? He wrote music and lyrics for thousands of songs, from “God Bless America” and “White Christmas” to “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” and “How [...]

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mos/

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TM Late Night

Chit chat. Wide open thread. [...]

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http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=27657

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Obama Supporting PA Rep Vows Concerted Opposition
To Unity Ticket

This is an amazing statement from Obama supporting Pennsylvania State Represenative Mark Cohen. After arguing the Presidential nominee should not be pressured to accept a Vice Presidential candidate not of his or her choosing, he vows to, get this, pressure the likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama to NOT choose Hillary Clinton:

I do not think the "Vote Both" gambit will work. But it certainly bears watching, analysis, and in the judgment of many including myself, concerted opposition.

Concerted opposition to what? Barack Obama will choose his nominee. Does Rep. Cohen plan to oppose such a decision by Obama? What is wrong with some Obama supporters? Are they intent on losing in November by keeping the Democratic Party divided? I know next to nothing about this PA State Rep, but what I see here indicates he is not very bright. I wonder what the Obama camp thinks of his actions and statements. Someone should ask them.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/288377702/100

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A High Dividend Utility Stock: TRP

In these uncertain times, it’s important to balance your portfolio with a good mix of high yielding stocks. I will avoid touching upon REITs and Financial stocks for the time being because I’m unsure as to whether the worst is over. I’m the kind of guy who’s not interested in pharmaceutical plays, such as Pfizer (PFE), since I highly doubt its 6.4% yield. Looks unsustainable to me, especially when you consider the fact that it has a payout ratio over 100%.

Then, I turned to the utility sector and found TransCanada (TRP). And let me tell you — it’s an…

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jutiagroup/~3/288390990/

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