Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Ronald Reagan endorses Obama?!

Waaassuuup: 2008

Palin is not McCain's Running Mate, but his Trophy Wife

A trophy wife, by definition, is an attractive, younger wife married to an older, affluent man, and she is regarded as a status symbol.

So, let's think... Sarah Palin is a younger woman paired to an older, affluent man as his vice-presidential running mate.

But is she, like a trophy wife, regarded as a status symbol by the McCain campaign?

Well, to answer that let's look at first, their reason to pick Palin. Was she selected for the GOPVP slot because of her experience and capabilities, or because she is a status symbol - an attractive conservative woman?

Well, if she was selected because of her experience and capabilities, then the McCain campaign would have no second thoughts proving her ability to be 2nd in command. She would be able to step into the political arena, answer the tough questions, defend her credentials, and survive the vetting process just as Hillary Clinton rode out the slings and arrows directed at her throughout her 2008 campaign.

If she were selected simply because she is regarded as a status symbol by the McCain campaign, then they would be very hesitant to allow any situation where she could be properly vetted or forced to answer tough questions. They would know she wasn't up to task and would go to great lengths to keep that from happening. Instead, they would parade her around to show off their status symbol and not let anyone hear what she really thought lest it embarrass the campaign.

So, let's reconsider the past month. How has the McCain campaign treated Sarah Palin. So far the McCain campaign has paraded Palin around for campaign stop appearances and had her recite stump speeches written for her by campaign staffers. Most notably, though, is that Palin has not yet held a single press conference. She has had an interview with Charlie Gibson where she did horribly, an interview with Sean Hannity where Hannity basically did all the work for her, supplying all the answers for her within his own question, and recently she was interviewed with Katie Couric, where she 'had to get back to ya' on McCain's experience in regulating. There was almost a press conference, but only the photographers and cameramen were allowed in, but then the McCain recanted and let the press in - for 40 seconds, then once again changed their mind and had the press escorted out of the building.

I just saw footage of her, as governor of Alaska, walking to work on some local hiking show. Surely she does not fear media exposure. So I can't imagine that it is Palin's own choice that she be shielded from the vetting process. And considering how badly she performed in these 3 interviews, I can only imagine her lack of media exposure is because the McCain campaign is trying to avoid being embarrassed by her lack of qualifications for the job.

So, will we get to see Palin debate? If my theory holds true, then the McCain campaign, seeing her not as a qualified running mate but as a 'trophy wife' status symbol, will work to derail her debate with Joe Biden.

Already the McCain campaign has called for changes to the format of the vice-presidential debate. My guess is that this is to help Palin out since she will be unevenly matched up against Joe Biden.

And today, sure enough, McCain is playing politics to withdraw himself and Sarah Palin from the presidential debates. I cannot imagine that he's doing it because he's too busy (Bush did the debate with Kerry in 2004 while serving as president).

Considering the manner in which McCain's campaign treats Sarah Palin, I conclude that she is not considered as a running mate, but as a trophy wife by the campaign.

Not as a partner, but as a token to score political points.

A woman objectified by a sexist campaign into nothing more than a status symbol.

Jon Stewart is awesome!

Freakin' Hilarious

Palin - pinhead, inexperienced, and playing the gender card. So say the right-wing pundits.

Moving Away

Kelly & I are moving away from Toledo to Washington DC. The movers have come and boxed up all of our things yesterday. Today the truck gets loaded, and by this time tomorrow Kelly & I will be on the road to DC looking for a new home. We have some leads in Kensington and Silver Spring so far, and by the end of the day we should have a lease hammered out.

Toledo has been my home for the past 18 years. Half of my life. I first arrived as a college student fresh out of high school from Canton Ohio at the age of 18. Over the years I made many friends, all of which are now scattered across the US (and Japan), while I stayed behind in Toledo to "hold the fort".

Well, I'm finally leaving Toledo. I'll make sure to get the lights on my way out...

Obama announces his VP...

Gerrymandering Upstate New York

Holy Shit!

How can people over at Fox get away with this?

My Response to Sarah Churchwell

This is in response to an Independent UK Article:

Sarah Churchwell: Hang on in there, Hillary. It's too soon to quit

If you bother to read the article, it is obviously biased as pro-Clinton. The telling mark is this line:

"Meanwhile, that much-vaunted primary "popular vote" that Clinton has lost doesn't take account of the Democrats or independents in Michigan or Florida, both of which will be swing states in November; or that only 60,000 popular votes separate Clinton and Obama"

First of all the popular vote has been the Clinton campaign rallying cry since she realized she won't win on delegates. Secondly, many of the states held caucuses, not primaries, so popular vote numbers in these states are estimates. Third, in Obama was not even on the ballot. Obama supporters in Michigan voted for "uncomittedwhich won 35% of the vote. These numbers are not added to Obama's tally when this author computed the popular vote. And lastly, even using the author's slanted metrics, Obama is ahead by almost 90,000 votes, not 60,000.
Giving Obama the votes tallied as "uncommited" would extend this lead by another 210,000. to 300,000.

But the race is about the delegates, not the popular vote. At this point, if Clinton could somehow get 60% of all the remaining delegates in WV, KY, OR, MT, SD, and Puerto Rico, she would still need to have the support of 70% of the remaining superdelegates. The odds keep getting slimmer and slimmer, and reality has to sink in before we get into summer.

It is interesting how the author also glosses over the fact that whenever a party (Democrat or Republican) waits until the summer or up to the convention to name their frontrunner, they almost always lose. No one contests that Clinton has a right to keep going. But yes, history shows that if she drags this out the odds are it will mean a President McCain in 2009.

Anyway, that is my retort to this article. I find it insulting that the author saw the need to raise the ghost of the 2000 election as a rallying cry for Clinton. The 2000 election crisis is in no way comparable to this.

Spring on Campus

This blossoming dogwood is part of my morning walk into work.
Apart from the allergies, this is my favorite time of year!

Yay Water!!

No more Well Water!

As of last Thursday we were finally hooked up to the local water supply. Also, we recently discovered that the cable company has ran lines out by our house so we can get cable too if we desire. Slowly but surely, all the conveniences of suburbia are creeping in to our rural slice of farm country.

Today we had the water softener removed. Our well sits on top of a huge pyrite deposit (sulfur & iron), so without the water softener we get smelly orange water. The softener took care of that, but made rinsing off in the shower take forever. Also, when the water evaporated, it left white salt deposits behind. The salt also made the water undrinkable - I couldn't stand the taste, and noticed my nails became rather brittle when I was still drinking it. So for the past year I have been filling up gallon jugs of water over at the nearby water utility for a quarter a pop.

And now we have that very same water coming out of our tap!

Yay water!!

Ditzy Cam!

New camera - New Ditzy pictures

New Camera

Just picked up a new Kodak digital camera a few weeks ago. It even has a panoramic setting.

Here is a panoramic picture of my home on the farm...

Me + Mondays = Bleh!

Fun BSG Quiz...

Which Battlestar Galactica Character Are You?

More on Battlestar Galactica. Created by BuddyTV

My Two minutes of fame

I made it onto the local news station this week as part of WTOL 11's EcoTrack segment.

I can't say I was given any warning. My boss let me know about an hour before the camera crews came. Luckily I shaved that morning!

Watch the video

EcoTrack 11 Report: A GIS to help farmers and growers

Posted: Mar 24, 2008 6:07 PM EST

The University of Toledo's Geography department is rolling out a new mapping tool that all farmers and growers should see. It's called the Maumee Basin GIS, reports News 11's James Canterbury.

"It's an information management service web site where you can interactively look at some maps of the Maumee River Basin and its watershed," explains Timothy Ault, senior researcher in University of Toledo's geography department. "You go through and basically see where streams, roads are and other info like what kind of soil is found in what area."

Not only will the Maumee Basin GIS help gardeners select the right plants for their soil type, but Ault hopes it will make environmental differences by tracking erosion in the watershed.

"Many of these fields have an entire drainage system and ditches, which means anything draining into the ditches is going to immediately get to Lake Erie through these ditches," Ault explains.

Ault says area farmers may be able to prevent harsh chemicals from getting into the water supply by using a conservation practice called no-tilling. It prevents erosion but also means more money in growers' pockets.

"The nutrients that are in the farmer's land and soil are very important," Ault says. "They are what help the crop. So if that is getting washed away, that means the farmer is going to spend more money to have to treat the field again in the Spring."

To see if the Maumee Basin GIS would help you get ready for the growing season, visit www.maumee.utoledo.edu.

Clinton forgets 2008; plans for 2012 presidential bid

As Hillary Clinton's probability of gaining the Democratic nomination becomes more and more remote, I wonder why it is she stays in the race, slinging mud against the Obama campaign.

I think I have just figured out the the Clintons' strategy.

Her goal is not a 2008 victory, but a 2012 one.

The game plan is this:

1) Clinton can't win the Democratic nomination. The math is against her. She will not have a chance in Nov. 2008. Even with Pennsylvania. Not possible

2) If Obama wins, then it may well be another 8 years before she gets a chance again to run for president. And, by then, she would be considered a has-been.

3) If McCain wins, then Obama just couldn't close the deal in Nov. 2008. The Dems picked the wrong candidate. With McCain, we will have a 72yr. old president. Most likely a one-termer.

4) A McCain presidency means she could run again in 2012 as the Democratic nominee that should have been nominated in 2008.

Thus, to win the White House, she needs to make sure that Obama loses in Novemeber.

Now, with that in mind, consider this Hillary Clinton soundbyte:

"Now, I think you'll be able to imagine many things Senator McCain will be able to say. He's never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth an [anti-war] speech he made in 2002."

She'll endorse McCain before she'll endorse Obama.

Anything to win.

Clinton's University of Toledo Rally Draws Few

One day to go before Ohio goes to the polls to choose between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In the past month, Clinton has gone from a certain double-digit lead over Obama to uncertainty. Two recent polls are in conflict: the Columbus Dispatch pegs Clinton with a 16 point lead while the Cleveland Plain Dealer indicates a statistical tie.

Last Sunday (2/24) Barack Obama visited The University of Toledo's Savage Hall (the largest auditorium facility on campus). The line stretched across campus and over the Ottawa River. In the end, a few thousand were turned away because the hall was packed.

Today marks the first day of Spring Break, one of the earliest Spring Breaks I have ever heard of. I cannot help but recall that age old college tradition of taking the trip to a lower latitudes,spending a lazy week on the Gulf coast. But back in my day we were not on a semester system, and spring break fell on the last week of March. Nowadays, these students get to celebrate spring weeks before it truly arrives to this region. And on the gulf coast? Well, for those going this year, it looks like Mother Nature will be kind, at least during the day. I doubt there will be many nights walking along the beach in a bathing suit with temperatures in the 40s.

But I digress. The point is, this week there isn't much happening on campus. The cafeterias are closed, Starbucks is cutting its hours short. Students, normally making this a rather lively campus, are nowhere to be seen.

Or so I thought. On my way into campus this morning I noticed a considerable police presence, and a sign pointing to my normal lot indicating "Clinton Parking -->". Odd, I thought, campus seems pretty much dead. So I pulled into my lot, and easily found a space to park, a rare feat during the normal school year.

On the walk to my office I noticed the Clinton campaign bus parked behind the Student Union building and how this contrasted against a campus where the only activity was coming from the construction workers restoring the Field House.

An hour later my office mate joined me. He and another coworker decided on a whim to attend the event. They had no difficulty getting in at the last minute. Their estimate of the crowd there to see Clinton was between 300-400 total; 150-200 if you don't include the press and security staffed.

Not a good showing for Toledo, Ohio - a typical Ohio blue-collar town.

I also can't help but wonder: How out of touch is her advance team to schedule a campus event right on the beginning of Spring Break? Granted, other Ohio Universities have their spring breaks later in the month, but didn't anyone on her staff bother to check? Even despite all that, why such a low turnout?! Toledo is not a college town. You would think, with such a Democratic presence and so many blue-collar, union workers, Clinton could have drummed up a larger crowd.

My analysis: this does not bode well for Ms. Clinton's chances of taking Ohio, no matter what the polls say.

Ralph Nader: End Game for Clinton

While I was sitting at the Stewart-Newburgh terminal last Monday morning, I saw on the television that Ralph Nader has once again thrown his hat into the presidential ring. At first I thought of it as another Quixotic campaign by this consumer advocate the 70s forgot, but then I got to thinking about the 2000 election, and how some accused Nader of siphoning enough votes off of Gore to sway the election (even though the statistics never backed up this claim). In 2004, Nader's presidential campaign had lost a lot of tractions because of this perception.But today, would anyone support Nader for president. I mean, isn't the guy a modern day Pat Paulsen?

Not if Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Party nomination for president.

Even if Clinton carries both Ohio and Texas this Tuesday and then later gets Pennsylvania, she will not gain enough of a margin of victory to make a difference between hers and Barack Obama's delegate count. Since the Democratic party splits their delegates proportionally, in Ohio the most Clinton can hope for, considering recent polls is a +5 delegate advantage. Consider the fact that Obama and Clinton are in a dead heat in Texas, and that Texas uses a combination primary-caucus system (Obama does well in caucuses), and expect, at best, a wash or an advantage of less than +5 delegates. So, realistically, the best Clinton can hope for is to close the delegate gap of around 100 behind Obama down to 90. Expecting a slim margin of victory, can Clinton make two slim wins justify hanging on until the Pennsylvania primary next month?

And then there are Rhode Island, Vermont, Wyoming, Mississippi, Indiana, North Carolina, Nebraska, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota to consider. Smaller states where Obama has been picking up by 15-20% margins. Any gains she makes in Texas, Ohio, or PA will be erased by these smaller primaries.

By the time of the convention, if Clinton is still in the race behind Obama by about the same (or more) amount of delegates, her only hope to victory will be to appeal to the superdelegates and Edwards (who has yet to determine which candidate to support with his 26 delegates). If the Democratic Convention ends up cancelling out the will of the people and instead lets the party 'elders' decide Clinton is the better nominee, it will demoralize and injure the Democratic Party.

And here's where Nader steps in, just in time to remind the disenchanted Obamaniacs and leftists that Clinton is 'Republican-Lite', just as he did to Gore back in 2000. The hurt Nader could put on Clinton's popular support will not cause her to lose states like California or New York, but it could mean losing Ohio, Missouri, and Florida, and catapult McCain into the White House.

Before the Nader equation, party elders might have been considering supporting Clinton despite her poor showing in the primary. With Nader, their need to win in 2009 will overweigh their support for the Clinton family.

Maybe Nader isn't just another Don Quiote this time around. Maybe his campaign is a shrewd play to ensure Obama wins the Democratic Nomination....

Who will lose the 2008 election? Boomers.

From Bill Clinton's sexual indiscretions to George W. Bush's gross incompetence, Baby Boomers may have ran their course in presidential politics.

Barring a miracle in Texas & Ohio, or a Democratic Convention that will make the one from 1968 look civilized, Clinton will not receive the Democratic nomination for president. This leaves Barack Obama as the likely nominee for the Democrats. On the Republican side, the contest was settled weeks ago when Mitt Romney, another Baby Boomer, suspended his campaign and later endorsed John McCain as Republican nominee for president.

Come November, it is most likely that the voters will be faced with a choice between Barack Obama, a member of Generation X, or John McCain, a member of the Silent Generation, and, most likely, the last of his generation with a shot at the presidency.

Gen Xers, or 13ers, as the generation is named by Neil Howe and William Strauss, were born between 1961-1982. Their childhood featured a time in history when having children was discouraged, efforts to protect children were at their weakest, and funding to support their upbringing and general welfare was its thinnest. Many in this generation were exposed early in life to the realities of the world such as divorce, sexuality, drugs, and violence.


Recently Michelle Obama, wife of the presidential candidate, was quoted as saying, "For the first time in my adult life, I can say I'm proud to be an American." This quote has led to many Right-Wing talking points these past days. But let's consider the Xer's viewpoint of a history of politics in the USA since 1961. From a political perspective, Xers are too young to remember Kennedy, which means they became aware of, first, the Johnson admin. ending with the 1968 Democratic Convention disaster. Next Nixon and Watergate. Then Ford and Carter. Next Reagan and Bush. Say what you might (depending on which side of the political fence you site), but this is the time when Xers came of age and went out into the workforce only to find out that all the well-paying jobs the Boomers enjoyed had dried up while our gov't took on massive debt. And then came Clinton and Bush, the Boomer presidents, and the culture wars.

Is it a small wonder that Xers don't trust the gov't or any institution like the Boomers, Greatest Generation, or the Silents do/did? Xers, liberal or conservative, believe that institutions in their current state cannot solve problems. Liberal Xers hate waste and seek to streamline the government efficiently (some even leaning technocrat - see Bloomberg's popularity in NYC), while conservative Xers lean to a libertarian perspective that the governtment that governs least governs best. For these Xers, Ron Paul is the epitome of their ideas on governing. Ultimately, the libertarian position is bound to lose, just as Ron Paul, with a wide internet presence and support, couldn't make waves in the Republican primaries. So, come November, I am not sure where these conservative Xers will cast their votes, but I suspect that many of them will stay home.

For the Democratic Party, the primaries have been a rebuke of George W. Bush. That is why Clinton has done so poorly.

Yes, I think that Hillary's lack of the support she suspected to have is because of GWB. The reason, I believe is generational.

Boomers have held the White House since 1993. Their reign has been an us vs. them culture war based on ideology with no room for middle ground. That shouldn't be surprising. They have been fighting a culture war since their campus days in the 60s. And it isn't based on things like abortion, same-sex marriage, or evolution. It is based on ideological grounds with no room for compromise. the only way things can get done in this political climate is to ramrod them through congress with slim majorities and signed by presidents half the country cannot stand. Clinton, from 1993 to 2001, was constantly at odds with conservative (neocon) Boomers like Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich. The feuding became so petty between Gingrich and Clinton that the federal government was shut down over what some insiders determined was a fit over having to enter Air Force One through the rear entrance. Clinton Crotch Watch '98 and the resulting impeachment trial were the defining moments of the Clinton presidency, and, unfortunately, will go down in history as his legacy. But even this was nothing compared to what the next president, a Baby Boomer Republican, has wrought upon the USA.

Bush sold himself in the 2000 campaign as the uniter, not divider. He promised to restore integrity to the oval office. In truth he was neither. true to his Boomer generation, he was an idealogue, a culture warrior unwilling to take into account dissent or, for that matter, reality when it countered his ideals. Instead, through his own gross incompetence he let down America's guard on 9-11, then invaded a country that had nothing to do with it with no plan. Even today, with 20/20 hindsight, his ideology will not let him concede that he really mussed this one up. Rahter, he has changed the line from removeing weapons of mass destruction to overthrowing a brutal dictator to bringing democracy to the Middle East. With a majority so slim in the Senate that Cheney had to cast the tie-breaking vote, he ramrodded massive tax cuts, played my-way-or-the-hiway politics with his opposition, and even some of his republican cohorts in congress back in 2006 talked about using the "Nuclear Option", effectively ended the process of filibuster. Things have gotten so partisan and nasty, us vs. them, that Bush has pushed the country prematurely to exhaustion with the Boomers' politics of division.

So exhausted, that we, even Democrats 100% opposed to Bush's policies, cannot even stomach the idea of Hillary, a fellow Boomer, continuing the nation down this road, even when we believe in her goals. Fellow Xers, Millenials, and Silents will agree with my analysis. Boomers, being inherently ideological and divisive, will think this is a load of hooey. And let us not forget that there are still many Boomers in power in the House, Senate, and Supreme Court, and they aren't going anywhere soon. They will try to cast Obama or McCain as divisive since this is their world view, still go on fighting the revenge strategies they hatched back in their college days. After all, they changed the world back in the 60s through activism and protests. Yet, in the prime of their political power, come 2009 one of their own won't be president of the US.

I'm not too worried - whether we have President McCain or President Obama, because neither will have this divisive world view. It will still suck to have a Republican president, because it will mean at least another 4 years before the mistakes of Bush 43 can be corrected.

With Obama, Xers and some of the Millenials can maybe for once see a gov't that doesn't disgust them, but inspires them. Just maybe...