Month: November 2008

Having complained that I am tired of the “endless cycles of presumptive illegitimacy,” which “means staying in the kitchen and complaining about the heat,” perhaps I should explain what I meant by “the kitchen.” What I mean is that assuming someone has a clear win tonight, beginning tomorrow, I am going to be treated to…

In one of the most cogent explanations I’ve seen of the phenomenon, Evan Coyne Maloney explains why he’s a small “L” libertarian: I consider myself a libertarian for two reasons. First and foremost: for the betterment of the human race. True, these aren’t easy days to proclaim oneself an unashamed capitalist. But whatever governmental market…

What a coincidence that I titled that last post “Never has arrived,” because I just expended nearly two hours voting. The actual time from arriving at my polling place to finally voting was one hour and ten minutes. Huge lines were compounded by incredible pollworker ineptitude, but the biggest problem was that each voter of…

Speaking of nostalgia, gas can now be found in the Detroit area for under $2.00 a gallon! Just a few months ago, most experts said Americans would never see gas prices anywhere close to $2 a gallon again. Never has arrived. According to DetroitGasPrices.com, prices at nine gas stations in metro Detroit were below $2…

Sean Malestrom is looking at one of the things the pollsters are missing. The anecdote factor. Why is it important? Because polling is an atr not a science. First how about leading indicators. Actual facts on the ground that can be checked. In my second post about the election, I told you to keep an…

I had twenty topics ready for blog posts today, but I’m just not into it: maybe later. No retreat – get out and vote. And bring a friend. Every vote counts – if even just a as show of support. If McCain wins this – and I’m optimistic – the popular vote totals will be…

I realize Halloween, the Day of the Dead, and All Saints Day have come and gone, but this time of year always makes me think of death and nostalgia. From 1989, here’s a song that most epitomizes the two (for me at least) — the Pet Shop Boys’ video version of “Always On My Mind.”…

While I don’t like to question the timing of every last thing that happens, I find it interesting that Sarah Palin’s exoneration in the so-called “Troopergate” affair didn’t become public until too late in the election for any voters to have time to process it. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A report has cleared Alaska Gov.…

Of all the woodblock prints Salvador Dal&iacute did to illustrate Dante’s Divine Comedy, my favorite is “Schicchi’s Bite.” I finally got one, which I scanned before matting and framing. As you can see, it’s not signed by Dal&iacute, but if it was, it would have cost thousands of dollars. Even then, the man’s signatures are…

The “lost” (and recently discovered) video that M. Simon linked earlier in which Barack Obama outlines his plan to bankrupt the coal industry has naturally raised many hackles. Glenn Reynolds has a roundup of links; Ed Driscoll has lots of details and Don Surber provides context. Here is what Barack Obama actually said: “I was…

At least, he’s causing Victor Davis Hanson to have hope: Obama himself at various times in his memoirs–never have presidential autobiographies sold so many copies, and yet have been so little read by the press–talked about people seeing in him what they wished. And now on the eve of the election, I confess I have…

Considering that dead people are voting in unprecedentedly high numbers, I’m wondering about something. Who polls the dead? How are we supposed to know how a dead person might vote. And since I’m on the subject of death, I’d like to predict something. If McCain somehow wins tomorrow, I predict the death of polling as…

I almost forgot about Halloween. I don’t know how many readers would care, but I went to a party dressed as Hannibal Lecter. In a last minute idea, I wore a tuxedo with a goalie mask — and while it wasn’t quite as accurate as this mask, I drove the point home by bringing a…

It is a little late in the election season for campaign material but I’d like to show you a very special set of window stickers for McCain/Palin made by Matthew Lopina from Prints Design. Here is what it looks like on the back of my mate’s van. Obviously it is perfect for tinted windows. Here…

Paul Marston takes a look at how the PUMA factor is affecting the polling. The results of the polls for President are all over the map. If the polls are supposed to be correct to a 95% degree of certainly give or take 2 or 3 percent, how can the polls be that much different…

H/T Ace of Spades Hq. which has the usual moronic discussion in copious quantities. Cross Posted at Power and Control

I was over visiting The Volokh Conspiracy’s discussion of the polls. And I Said something like: America is not a predominately socialist/communist country. As to why the polls are wrong: the pollsters are cooking the books. Operation Chaos screwed voter ID numbers. Republicans don’t like being polled. PUMAs are being seriously under counted. Commenter LM…

The pollsters at Gallup are predicting a 13 point win for Obama. Me? I’ve looked at their numbers (you should too) and I don’t believe them. History will show that the pollsters have been consistently wrong all through the primaries and they will be no better in the general. Cross Posted at Power and Control

Sean Kinsell looks at this Reason round-up of libertarian reactions to Barack Obama, then adds his own analysis. Here’s how Jonathan Rauch sees the upside and the downside: The upside: his subtle mind, silver tongue, moderate temperament, cool deftness, and magnetic charisma. The last time we saw those traits combined was in John F. Kennedy,…

He is talking about how he will bankrupt any investment in new coal power plants. I think that is just the start. BTW Obama’s State, Illinois, has a significant coal mining industry. Cross Posted at Power and Control