Blues State

This is for Mike...

2006-07-25T11:12:00.000-04:00

Connecticut's for Fucking... my new MySpace profile song.

I know, I know - but it's to keep up with our local poker activities...

If you still read this and want to peek there I will give you the url... this is a test.

Vindication

2006-02-08T16:40:00.000-05:00

George Deutsch, schmuck of the highest order, never graduated from Texas A&M.

He has been forced to resign and his 14 minutes of infamy looks to be up.

First the Seahawks, now Deutsch-bag. Don't Mess with Texas A&M.

Tough to be an Aggie

2006-02-06T14:43:00.000-05:00

Tough times to hold up the head as a proud Aggie.

There's this of course.

Then the 12th Man is being used by Seattle, and A&M is getting crap for trying to uphold the tradition. (Yea Pittsburgh! I may overlook the fact they now have 5 Super Bowls just for shutting Seattle fans up. And really - how can you even try to use the 12th Man tradition when you are so outgunned by Steelers fans at the game. Conservative estimates pegged it at 80-20 Steeler fans.) So there Seahawks - I coulda pulled for ya, but you got what was coming.

And now this.

The latest in the cavalcade of horrendous Bush administration appointments is George Deutsch.

So who is Deutsch? A 24 year old journalism graduate from Texas A&M whose resume says he was an intern in the "war room" of the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. I'm guessing he - like most journalism majors - took very few science classes while in college.

Thank god I didn't major in Journalism then. But here's the kicker - A&M's journalism program isn't just poor - it doesn't exist anymore.

This schmuck has what amounts to a worthless degree. He's a PR flack, like so many journalism grads with no-talent are, and he's injecting creationist garbage (not to mention "We Love Dear Leader" neo-fascist bullshit) into NASA.

To all Ags of the liberal bent (and I know you are out there) GIG 'EM!!

Calling It In

2006-01-24T11:01:00.000-05:00

The President of the United States, for the second year in a row that I know of, called in a message of support for anti-abortion rights activists. Don't look for this news on any front pages, CNN has it buried under "In Other News". A couple of questions here.

1. Why call it in. You support these groups. You are going so far as to call. Why not sack up and actually show up. Bush treats these people like the popular jock treated the embarrassing-for-whatever-reason girl that he secretly dated in high school. Breathless late night phone calls, but don't act like you know me when we're in the halls at school.

2. Why isn't this on the front pages. If a Democratic president were to call in support to Pro-Choice activists in this manner it would be all over.

3. Bush said "And history tells us that with such a cause we will prevail.". One way the Anti-Choice activist look to prevail is by forging a Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, Samuel Alito is up for confirmation as Supreme Court justice. but I am sure the two items have NOTHING to do with each other.

Alito Moving Forward

2006-01-24T10:38:00.000-05:00

What better argument is there than the contrasting news of the Canadian vote and the Alito confirmation. The confirmation of a Supreme Court justice comes down to a math equation between the party in power and the party out.
10 - 8 out of committee, the rollback of years of progress on civil rights and liberties comes down to simple addition.

Democrats - the filibuster is the only tool the minority party has in cases like this. If this isn't the time to use then when is? If you are going to lose go out fighting, raise a ruckus, bring forth questions and be heard.

In Canada the simplistic news is that the Conservative Party has the new PM. But the Conservative Party only won 36% of the vote. The Green Party and the more left New Democratic Party together garnered 52% of the vote. A conservative PM (which means something very different north of the border) must work with differing views and opinions to form true coalitions to get anything done. How, what's the word, democratic.

Blue Collar Blues

2006-01-15T00:46:00.000-05:00

Am I qualified to comment on the state of the worker?

As much as I have ever been, i suppose.

Don't have anything to post at this point - just want to establish my cred, such as it is.

Really Fakin' It

2006-01-12T13:21:00.000-05:00

So Oprah is in a stink because her first big foray into non-fiction, non-classics also turned out to be non-true.

The horror.

Ummm, folks - this is the woman that foisted Dr. Phil on our collective conscious.

Her favorite celebrity is Tom Cruise.

Really, how is recommending a partially-to-very-fabricated memoir at all the worst of her sins.

Told You So

2006-01-11T15:34:00.000-05:00

No news is good news.

Any news is bad news.

Washer is dead. Transmission is dead and leaking all over. Yea. More to repair than to replace the washer. Ok. Except we don't want to replace said washer. We must improve.

Nothing. Ooohhhmmm...

The Little Things

2006-01-09T12:50:00.000-05:00

In accepting nothing, the little pleasures become so much more important.

Like finding a long lost friend...

Going back and re-discovering things you missed the first time around...

2006 The Year of Living Bored

2006-01-09T12:28:00.000-05:00

Another year. Christmas came and went, faster than ever and still somehow not fast enough. Thank you Bill O'Reilly for completely ruining the words "Merry Christmas", you bastard.

The good news I think is that I am finally ready, I think, to get out of the general funk I have been in since 2000. For 5 years I have been sailing adrift, searching for I don't know what. Really. That's the problem. I have been searching without even knowing what I was looking for. Other than 2003, I have felt lonely and desparate knowing full well that I had no good reason (save one).

But now, for 2006, I know what it is I am searching for. Nothing.

Or rather, comfort with the idea of nothing.

This is what the mid-30's are. Nothing.

If you've taken something of a fast-track (as I have, and not saying this is the way it should be done, it is just the way I have done it) then at this point (mid-30's) you have the house, the wife, the kids, the career underway. There's nothing big and new coming your way for a while.

Between now and say, maybe 40 or so, my success can be measured by how quiet things are. The only major news would likely be bad news.

So nothing is good.

The acceptance of nothing is the goal.

Hugo Chavez

2005-11-10T10:16:00.000-05:00

The wife worries that I seem to be such a "fan" of Hugo. I will clarify for the record but in the meantime this analysis explained well.

But Chavez vs. Bush was never the contest, except perhaps in the fantasies of the two men.
...
Chavez, Mardona and Morales are not the face of the Latin American Left, however.
...
For the governing left in Latin America, Chavez’s antics are a guilty pleasure — the sort of provocative posturing to irritate the Yanquis that only one of their major oil suppliers could get away with .

POWER RANKINGS

2005-11-03T19:15:00.000-05:00

PEOPLE WHO NEED TO DIE - TOP 5

1. The cast of "Laguna Beach"

WSOP on TV

2005-11-03T14:04:00.000-05:00

Watching WSOP on ESPN, they are ready to move to Binion's and the final 27 in next week's episode.

The in-laws made 4 TV appearances, though none in playing capacity. Still, good times watching them.

It's November and the weather has turned and FLA is becoming enjoyable. Officially there's still a month left in Hurricane Season but we've already gotten to Beta as a named storm and it's gotta slow down. Next year looks to be absolutely insane. Between increasingly nutty hurricane season's and the possible gutting of the American Dream with tax reforms on the deductability of mortgage interest, it may be time to make the next move. Home ownership may soon no longer be all it's cracked up to be.

So the weather's nice. Some actual vacation time coming up - almost enough to let Sisyphus take a rest.

I am omniscient

2005-11-01T15:53:00.000-05:00

I had not realized that my last post was 23 August. I ribbed GDub as fiddling whilst Iraq burned because of his insistence that riding bikes with Lance Armstrong was important work, too important to leave time to meet with Cindy Sheehan.

5 days later Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans while George W Bush, the President of the United States, remained on VACATION for 4 MORE DAYS!!

And the Nero fiddles comparisons became sadly, much more apt.

Spiders and Trolls, oh my

2005-11-01T15:44:00.000-05:00

Once again- it counts as procrastination...

Getting lots of "anonymous" comments... looks like the blog has hit the rolls of random search engines.

El Diablo may have wiped enough of Cancun off the map to stop impending Dec nuptials - though, THE WEDDING WILL GO ON DAMMITT!!

es todo por hoy

Fiddler of Crawford

2005-08-23T11:31:00.000-04:00

"I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say. But I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life ... I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy. And part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live and will do so." - George W. Bush, on why he could find time for a bike ride on Saturday but not to meet with Cindy Sheehan.

"Pretending to be disgusted by the drab old buildings and narrow, winding streets of Rome, [Nero] brazenly set fire to the City [in 64 A.D.]; and though a group of ex-consuls caught his attendants, armed with oakum and blazing torches, trespassing on their property, they dared not interfere.

"He also coveted the sites of several granaries, solidly built in stone, near the Golden House [Nero's palace]; having knocked down their walls with siege-engines, he set the interiors ablaze.

"This terror lasted for six days and seven nights, causing many people to take shelter in the tombs.... Nero watched the conflagration from the Tower of Maecenas, enraptured by what he called 'the beauty of the flames'; then put on his tragedian's costume and sang 'The Fall of Ilium' from beginning to end."

J.K. Rowling is rich as hell

2005-07-16T04:50:00.000-04:00

Coming to you from my new toy, Powerbook G4 17". Big sucker - i considered the 12" for the great portability but am pleased with the 17". Toys are a great perk of the IT biz. Actually - my Mac skills have eroded greatly much to the detriment of my support for one of our users, plus if IT in the educational sector is your cup of tea you have to have your Mac cred.

Spent 3 hours at the local Borders to pick up daughter's copy of the latest HP tome. "The Half-Blood Prince". I can't wait for the book report. I suppose having people lined up for hours for a book is better than a movie and maybe even a CD. Quite a crowd. It's almost funny how one can predict pretty much what one will see at any sort of gathering like this. Mostly a pretty good crowd though.

And speaking of crowds, i read that Binion's is SRO for the final Final table ever. Matusow was first of the 9 out thus ensuring that an "unknown" will win again. Of the 5 remaining as of this writing I think they all consider themselves "pros" (in so far as they really don't have any sort of other day job). The present chip leader is "Tex" Barch from McKinney, Texas (one of those places near enough to Dallas that when asked where they are from most will say "Dallas" and then answer the "Oh, yeah - what part?" with "McKinney" - I freakin' hate that!)

Anyway - even allowing that he may be some sort of schmuck i have to pull for the Texan.

Back to the bookstore, the funniest thing i have seen in a long time had to be this.

"Silent Witness:The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo's Death". Wow. I guess the first response is - "Gee, what took you so long". But then i noticed the author. Mark Furman.

Yes, that Mark Furman.

So the investigative truth about Terri Schiavo is revealed to us by either (depending on your POV) a. the racist bigot cop that planted evidence to frame OJ or b. the racist bigot cop that was too freakin' stupid to properly investigate the open and shut case that was OJ. Take your pick.

Lovely.

PS - the East Coast suck if paying attention to West Coast sports of any kind!! 5AM - still 5 at the final table.

WSOP

2005-07-14T02:19:00.000-04:00

Day 5 is over and i'm tired just reading the blogs.

Matusow, Ivey and Raymer are setting up one possible helluva final table. How about Matusow and Raymer heads up for the title after last years histrionics.

Myself, i am pulling for Ivey and/or Tiffani Williamson - though she'll have some work to do tomorrow.

The familia is set to return this weekend. The Vegas trip started well, but after some 8 to 10 days, Vegas will get the best of you. That's just the way it is.

Thw weather is sucking here. Friggin' monsoon season in south FLA. But i do have a wedding in Cancun in December to look forward to in December. Except, oh wait- FLORIDA IS BEAUTIFUL IN DECEMBER. WINTER IS WHEN FLORIDA DOESN'T COMPLETELY SUCK!! So i am going to get on a plane in a city on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and travel to another country to go to a city, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

And I will be happy about it.

Hurricane Dennis

2005-07-10T04:40:00.000-04:00

Living in self-imposed exile these past eight years in Florida (Motto:"We're more cracker than you thought"), I've learned a little bit about them there hurricanes.

With that "picture-perfect" nautilus shape and well-defined eye, Dennis is poised to... what's the technical term here - oh yes, fuck some shit up.

Thoughts and all prayers of one's choosing going to all those that have been and will be affected - stay smart and stay safe.

A NOTE TO SI

2005-07-10T03:55:00.000-04:00

If you are going to have someone write on poker, please try to have someone that has some iota what the frig they are talking about.

Stillman, the aforementioned behemoth, was clad in a Magic Johnson Michigan State retro jersey. Early in the day, it was he who had a chance to take Ferguson out. "I had a King-9," says Stillman, in his early 20s, who lists his profession as poker player, "and I raised. Jesus was in the big blind and he re-raised me. I re-raised him. So he went all in."

Ferguson had a smaller chip stack, so Stillman was not risking his entire stack to stay in the hand. He stayed. "So we turn over the cards," Stillman continues, "and he's got pocket aces."

Jesus was looking more than just alright until the flop came. King-9-4. Now Stillman had two pair to Ferguson's one. The turn card, a queen, changed nothing. "I'm looking at knocking out a world champ," Stillman, who won a $225 satellite to avoid paying the $10,000 entry fee, says. "But the river comes a 4." Ferguson, aces and fours. Stillman, kings and 9. Jesus wins.

"It was the hand of the tournament so far," Stillman says.

Now, perhaps this would be against journalism ethics, but in my article I would have to add the following:

"Hand of the tournament? Hardly - Stillman is a moron. That was a horrible call that had no right being anywhere near to knocking Jesus out. That river 4 was the poker gods making all things right in the world for at least a moment. Don't go quitting your day job - oh wait, apparently you don't have one! Profession - Poker Pro. Right - and I'm a porn star cuz of that one time I... well, you get the point."

Now perhaps Mr. Walters wrote exactly that and it didn't pass editorial muster - but I am thinking not.

WSOP

2005-07-10T03:34:00.000-04:00

The WSOP is going to kill the WSOP.

Poker, particularly tournament poker, has gained immense popularity precisely because of the "anyone can win it" appeal. The WSOP is the Super Bowl, the Wimbeldon, The NBA Finals, the Masters, the World Series (if you will) of poker. Except here any schmuck can walk off the street and take down a pro. No weekend duffer, no matter how great, is going to challenge a Tiger Woods for a Majors title. No tennis resort pro is going to Wimbeldon with any shot whatsoever. And that's what makes the WSOP so great - right?

Wrong.

It's a minefield. Bad play, bad calls, bad beats.

John Hennigan out
John 'World' Hennigan was all-in for 22k with [A♣][4♣] and was called by [J♦][4♦]. The flop came up [2][5][4] putting Hennigan ahead. The turn brought another [4] giving his opponent only Jacks for an out. A [J] hit the river, and Hennigan was sent home.

Chau Giang eliminated
Giang raised with [Q][Q] and was called by a player with [6][7]. The flop gave his opponent a set and sent Giang home.

The luck portion of poker - though lessened when played well (when EVERYONE is playing well) becomes exponentially more apparent when the play is poor.

And it seems that the pros are getting sick of it.

9:44pm... Mike Matusow Quote of the Day: "Tounament poker is a joke. Whoever gets most lucky is the next superstar."

Ok - so that's Matusow, but still...

At the start of "Day 2" of the Main Event tomorrow it's likley that the list of major pros that are left in the running will be dwarfed by the list of those that have been knocked out. The final table could be 9 on-line qualifiers riding the best luck of their lives. Not to say they aren't good players (Quiet Storm certainly is), not to say they couldn't walk into my home game and wipe up (Quiet Storm certainly does) but from the reports, there are lots of lucky SOBs doing serious damage.

What cachet does a Poker World Championship hold when the pros begin to bow out and leave the field to the homers?

PokerBlogs A Plenty

2005-06-21T15:03:00.000-04:00

There are poker blogs popping up everywhere from some accomplished players in my poker universe, and some not yet so accomplished.

It looks like July might be a busy, and loud, month around the homestead for some time to come.

Unless we all get bored...

Jim Lampley is a Commie Bastard!!

2005-05-11T11:54:00.000-04:00

Right On Jim!

Oh, and how are you doing? Kids ok? All's well here - thanks.

Catching up...

2005-04-02T02:00:00.000-05:00

One quarter of '05 is in the books, how are we doing?

The US Congress passes a horrendous bankruptcy bill. A big fat gift to the credit card companies and big FU to all of us living the New American Dream. The bill was hated by conservative and liberal blogizens alike, and Democrats were every bit to blame as Repubs on this one.

Terri Schiavo has passed away, garnering a front-page life retrospective in the Tampa Trib. What the frig people. For anyone still doubting the parents motives in this - in a 2000 court hearing on the case, Bob Schindler (Terri's dad) admitted that even if Terri had told them outright that she did not want to be kept alive in such a manner they would not have honored her wishes. That's the story in a nutshell. May she finally find peace.

An an influential Hillsborough County Democrat (yea, right) Representative Jim Davis has started spamming me as he gears up for his '06 run at the Governer's mansion. Jim, I loved you as my rep, i miss you after moving across Dale Mabry and being stuck with Bilirakis (had i known the move would have stuck me in a congressional district with Brandon..., i repped your district in Boston and I met you and liked you. And I almost gave up on you based on a 2 second blurb on The Daily Show. You got lumped in with the Repubs invoking Terri's name. Luckily i took a moment to read your own words - well said.

Mitch Hedberg died.

Bush is still the president.

There is some good music out there, Interpol, Smoosh, Dresden Dolls, Killers, The Bravery.

Poker. 1st 6 weeks of the year - 6 placements including 5 wins. Next 4 weeks - 0 wins, 0 placements. Horrible play, horrible luck - not good times. Last 2 weeks - 7 placements - 3 wins, 3 2nds, 1 3rd. I'm BACK BABY!!

Mostly Good News

2005-03-23T04:58:00.000-05:00

I am back to semi-winning ways at the poker tables. A lot of groung to make up in the POY points, but the horrible luck and discombobulated play seem to have abated.

I am grinding out money at Absolute Poker at the sit-n-gos. No worse than 3rd as yet (of course now i have jinxed myself).

On the politics front - the GOP grandstanding on Terri Schiavo seems to be blowing up in their face. But i take no glee in that and I have to say i am a bit put off by some Dem partisan sites that do seem to. I am happy to see that the public at large see through the political shenanigans, but mostly I am happy and hopeful that Mrs. Schiavo may soon be able to rest in peace.

To all those hard-core prayers camped out on the hospice lawn, in praying for God's will did you ever stop to consider that maybe that's what's happening here and you've just got it wrong? Probably not.

Pro-Lifers

2005-03-21T11:53:00.000-05:00

The late, great Bill Hicks once had a bit on Pro-Lifers. Actually he had a lot of bits, but in this particular one he said he wanted to see Pro-Lifers not block abortion clinics, rather he wanted to see them "lock arms and block cemeteries, let's see how committed you are to this premise."

Well, in the Terry Schaivo case, pretty damn committed - so it would seem.

So - how many sad, sad turns has this case taken.

Well, a. Randall Terry - rabid pro-life attack dog - has been retained by Mrs. Schaivo's parents to push their case.

b. Tom DeLay comes out of his self-imposed media exile to stomp on Michael Schiavo. Cheap political points to save his own ass.

c. Congress injects itself into the judicial process setting up a possibly very bad precedent - but says that this action only applies to this one specific case, so don't worry.

d. And if anyone should ever doubt that this is a one-shot deal to score points with the pro-life crowd, consider this and this...

Nose to Spite Face

2005-03-18T13:45:00.000-05:00

Congress issues subpoenas for Terry Schiavo. Congress asks a woman in a vegetative state to appear and testify. TO WHAT!?

She can't speak, she can't communicate - what EXACTLY is the point of this?

Well, today would be when she'd due to have her feeding tube removed - but if she has a date with Congress next week... sneaky sneaky.

Look - I don't know Terry Schiavo or her husband. 99.99999% of the pundits and politicians don't know them either, including Jeb Bush, the Florida Legislature and the US House members pulling this end-around. Her parents don't want to let her go - very understandable. Her husband says she never wished to live in this state - maybe he's right, he probably knows better than any of us. Or maybe he's a heartless, lying bastard.

It has been said that the unexamined life is no life at all. So what kind of life can a persistive vegetative state be? I don't think i would want to live that way - but that's my choice. What was/is Terry's choice?

Maybe she never wanted to live in this state or maybe she does want to continue to exist and be left alone. But I'm willing to bet she never wanted to be a pawn.

And that's what the pro-lifers have made her. She's no longer a person but a symbol. She's now an object that the pro-ife crowd is using as their instrument. They don't care about Terry Schiavo the person, the human. They care about "Terry Schiavo" the symbol. In fighting for their symbol they have successfully stripped away all dignity and humanity Terry Schiavo did have. If it were me and I didn't want to die before, I would now.

GW Blogs

2005-03-15T09:48:00.000-05:00

God, i wish i had thought of this...

And Iam now 0-fer a month at the tables, more on that later.

MORONS!

2005-03-08T02:09:00.000-05:00

I told you I was feeling surly...

Ok - so I happened upon this...

Don't remember how I got here but I did. Nice name, it seems to be a Floridian blogging and they have a right-wing bent but the writing seems ok and the tone seems measured (as opposed to mine right now). The writer alludes to an original post on Social Security that seemed to generate some thoughts from seemingly former opponents.

So i read it.

Again, decently written, measured tone. The basic argument is - it's your money, you paid it in - why not be able to keep some of it if you so choose. Who can argue with that?

Except...

IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY!!!

That is like Social Security 101. It's pay as you go. The checks that are being cut RIGHT NOW come from the revenues being generated by those working RIGHT NOW. In the future, the benefits one will receive will come from those that are working and paying into the system AT THAT TIME. The government is not hoarding all your money, just waiting to yank it from you when you are ready to retire.

It is actually a pretty efficient system. And that's why conservatives/Republicans hate it. They've always hated it. It is prrof that government can do things to provide for the general welfare. During the Depression people lost everything. Rock Bottom. The New Deal was the government giving it's citizens help back up. It was us, collectively, picking ourselves back up. And the cornerstone was and is Social Security.

Social Security isn't going to make you rich. You can't retire off the coast in a yacht. If you want to do that you have to supplement, and you can do that right now - voluntarily at your leisure. But Social Security can keep you out of a cardboard box, eating cat food. That's what it's supposed to do and it does that well.

A tweak to the system, namely raising or removing the cap on the income amounts that are tapped, can improve and strengthen the system. But make no mistake - private accounts, personal accounts - any system that pulls money from the revenue stream is meant to kill Social Security in the end. If you, as plain Joe Republican, parrot the joys and wonders of this plan you either have to admit that you are down with this idea or admit you are too stupid to see that this is the real plan.

I Suck

2005-03-08T01:43:00.000-05:00

They say it happens to everyone. A string of bad luck, bad beats and bad play. Now I haven't been playing that long but this is hurting all the same.

We started the family POY points with the start of the new year. I started off horribly by losing my mind in the big New Year's tourney but in the first 6 weeks of the year I held my own with 5 wins and a 2nd place. I was a close 3rd in the standings and if I just picked up a win a week I was ok. That was 13 February.

I haven't sniffed the money since.

It started with some horrendous play that I attributed to bad habits picked up in online sit and gos. So I laid off the online tourneys and seemed to right the ship in terms of my play. I even moved over to cash online and did well - but still no placements in the home tourneys.

And now bad beats are coming for me like moths to a flame. A-K vs A-10, 10 on the river. Flop 2 pair get hit by a backdoor straight. Even when I get a decent pair or a short-stack all-in hand (after waiting it out patiently) I run into a bigger pair or the rockets. I can't win a race from either position.

I suppose it all evens out and it's a long year but this has been a hell of a month. I'm sliding down the leader board and at this rate POY may be out of reach.

So I'm in a bad mood and feeling surly which leaves no room to suffer the Republicans wrapped in Libertarian clothing.

But I did get a grin from Captain America...

What the Fuck?

2005-02-24T00:43:00.000-05:00

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism

Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

Supremacy of the Military

Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

Religion and Government are Intertwined

Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

3 of Britt's 14 Elements of Fascism rolled up in one tidy package.

I HATE POKERSTARS

2005-02-22T03:52:00.000-05:00

Good god!!

Everytime- in the money. Top 4 - like falling off a log. Can't get over the hump and the beats are absolutely horrendous!!

Arrrggghhh

Life imitates Art imitates Life

2005-02-21T12:23:00.000-05:00

I work on a college campus so the free exchange of ideas is somehwat more lively than you would get in your typical corporate office.

I work on a college campus in Florida (Florida:We're More Cracker Than You Thought) so the right wing has plenty of apologists to get their hackles raised by the aforementioned free exchange of ideas.

Last week, the listserv brouhaha was over the merits of an episode of Law and Order (the Criminal Intent flavor I believe). The original poster brought up that the most recent episode had a story line of authorities abusing domestic criminal "suspects" in the name of fighting terror. The poster was surprised and perhaps pleased that L&O would use its "ripped from the headlines" format to take on this subject. Now, the original poster was speaking more along the lines of the Abu Ghraib, Alberto Gonzales torture memos situations - not attempting to say that L&O was breaking news that these things were happening on non-Guatanamo US soil to your run-of-the-mill US citizen.

The conservative response? That the original poster was an idiot if they couldn't tell the difference b/w the "fantasy" of a television show and reality and that no way would a story like this ever be true.

Which brings us to...

Defense attorneys call it Brooklyn's Abu Ghraib. On the ninth floor of the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, terrorism suspects swept off the streets after the Sept. 11 attacks were repeatedly stripped naked and frequently were physically abused, the Justice Department's inspector general has found.

The detainees - none of whom were ultimately charged with anything related to terrorism - alleged in sworn affidavits and in interviews with Justice Department officials that correction officers . . . shackled their hands and feet before smashing them repeatedly face-first into concrete walls -- within sight of the Statue of Liberty . . .

The Justice Department's inspector general has substantiated some of the prisoners' allegations -- and some incidents were captured on videotape. But the Justice Department has declined to prosecute any federal correction officer at MDC . . .

Wael Kishk, an Egyptian student who was unable to walk, alleges he was beaten by guards on Feb. 15, 2002 - the same day he complained to a judge in open court about earlier mistreatment at MDC . . . Back at MDC, said Kishk, the guards piled him into a wheelchair and took him to a room where they stripped him and "started stomping on me" . . .

Ehab ElMaghraby, a restaurant worker from Egypt, alleges . . . that [a] MDC guard inserted a flashlight into his rectum during a strip search while other guards looked on. ElMaghraby said he saw blood on the withdrawn flashlight . .

Oded Ellner -- one of five Israeli Jewish terrorist suspects ---said he sought medical help after MDC's allegedly meager, often spoiled meals left him with severe dysentery symptoms. The doctor . . . ordered him to strip and shift his backside into a small space in the cell door so she could conduct a rectal exam from outside the cell. "I'm a human being, not an animal!" Ellner said he shouted. "I have a right to an exam." The guards, he said, "just laughed," and all walked away.

The realities keep outstripping our worst fears. You can't even be cynical anymore. During the whole listserv pissing match no one ever said they were claiming that such acts were taking place here. That was just the grandstanding-in-place-of-rational-argument of the conservatives. But here it is.

F'ing PokerStars

2005-02-19T01:08:00.000-05:00

Poker is good because you can focus your anger. Your mood is always based on your last hand.

This is in contrast to being a common-sense American in these times...

How about a torture-enabler for Attorney General...

How about the "Family Values" Party using a male prostitute as a fake journalist to shill in the press briefings...

No, then maybe a human rights abuser and employer of death squads as the chief of the new all-encompassing intelligence agency...

AND THAT'S JUST THIS MONTH FOR CRIPES SAKE!!! WE STILL HAVE 4 MORE FREAKIN' YEARS!!!

Anyway - last 3 nights I'm 6 for 6 making the money in play money tourneys after getting back into the online saddle (that has nothing to do with Gannon/Guckert, ya sick bastards).

The play money tourneys do run well. You'll have a few morons every tourney with their "All In, All In", but once their gone it settles into decent play. So in that regard, I'd have to say I am doing pretty well - but I think you need real cash to take it up a notch and really see where you are standing.

The pisser is, I can't get over the hump and win the damn thing. And my outgoing hands are of a most unlucky variety. Tonights beats all though. I am 4th stack out of 5; I pull Q-Q. I push all in aginst the chip leader for abouta 3rd of his stack. He's got A-K off. Ok, we're in a race - I can accept that. But the flop is K-K-K. I mean c'mon. The turn is a Q for that extra little fuck you from PokerStars.

That's online poker.

NEW US Intelligence Chief

2005-02-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

John Negroponte is tapped by Bush to be the newly-created Director of US Intelligence. A worse choice would be difficult to imagine.

This guy as the new Chief of Intelligence, combined with Gonzales as AG, I mean c'mon.

I don't want to run around screaming "Fascist! Fascist! Fascist!" but jeebus, they're not even trying...

Poker and Procrastination - maybe

2005-02-15T00:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, the subtitle is Politics, Poker and Procrastination. I think we've discussed Politics. How about some Poker and Procrastination.

(Although - all this post is keeping me from is going to bed. Is that really procrastination? If I go to sleep I'm not really doing anything. Often times sleep itself is a form of procrastination, so how can you procrastinate from sleep? But enougth procrastinating... heeeeeyyyyy...)

Poker. The little woman and I play a good deal. She is of an ethnicity that seems to love to gamble. I like competition and winning. So poker satisfies each of these joneses (jones?, joneseses?).

However, we have jobs and children so we cannot play as much poker as some others in her family who shall remain nameless on the very off-chance any of their friends ever read this.

Now, these nameless individuals are both very good and playing some 8 hours a day live and online and reading every book on poker written and watching every tournament on tv certainly helps - but I will and have given them their due. They are both excellent players.

Somehow, in our home game, my wife and I have had bestowed us the roles of the bad beat king and queen. Mainly by the female nameless but the male, as the male of the species must so often do (btw - Happy Valentine's all) , has followed suit.

My wife can be prone to the giving of bad beats by her gambling nature. The fun for her isn't in winning necesarily - it's the thrill of the gamble. So maybe 8 out of 10 times you're gonna lose if you call an all-in bet with 5-6 suited, but that's 2 times you might win. Shooting for those 2 times is fun for her. And no one can say they don't know this about her - seems to me you take that into account in your play.

Me - I want to win. So I generally play tighter and will play as the odds dictate. But bad beats happen. They happen to everyone. Everyone gets and everyone gives - that's poker. But lately the Mrs. and I can't win a hand without it being trumpeted for the next 10 minutes as the bad beat to end all bad beats. But when we play a good hand - nary a peep.

So I am going to toot my own horn and relate for posterity my, I think, awesome play this past weekend.

Heads up after a 9 player No-Limit Hold 'em home tourney. Iit's me and Mr. Nameless. Now, let me repeat, he's good. Aggressive, can read a board like nobody's business, hardly ever makes a dumb mistake. It's gonna take all I have and some luck for me to pull this out.

First 5 hands we fold our blinds to each other. He says that every time I folded he had a hand - do i believe him or is he setting me up?

6th hand I get K-X suited clubs, a hand I can play. So we see a flop for the first time. It's A-8-3, all clubs (actually I forget the other 2 cards - but see, I know Mr. Nameless remembers - he always remembers). With the King I've flopped the nut flush.
We check.
Turn is K. Now my own personal rule is always bet the turn but I figure I need to make some money this hand so I go for the check raise. No good, I give a free card on the river.
River is a K.
Now I have a set of kings but that leaves one more out there. And that king with any of the other cards on the board has me beat.
I check again, half for the check raise but also half to keep from walking into the boat. He bets 1200 (300-600 blinds) . Big - but not so big that he's trying to scare me out. I figure he's got a hand but I've got any flush, I've got his set of kings, the boat is my only worry.
I think about going all in. Either I'll scare away any possible bluff or I'll end it right here. Or, I could just walk into that boat. Instead I go for 2400. That eats into his stack pretty good, leaves me in ok shape should I lose and if he calls and I win I make good money on my hand.

He hems and haws a bit and ends up pushing it all in. The whole time I'm thinking, What does the hesitation mean? Is he suckering me in? But at some point before he pushes it in I decide I'm calling, there's no laying it down. I call immediately and indeed I have him. We both flopped the flush - my king takes it.

Now maybe I'm wrong, but there was a lot of room for missteps there. A lot of chances for me to get over-excited, tip my hand and leave him to fight on. But i didn't. Apparently nothing in my betting pattern or poker face let him know he was beat. Or maybe his hand was just too good to lay down no matter what and I was the beneficiary of pure dumb-ass luck. But I didn't hear the words "bad-beat" and that may be as loud as the praise gets.

Big Game Hunting

2005-02-15T00:07:00.000-05:00

Pasty, nepotism beneficiary Jonah Goldberg seems to think the point of blogging is to bring down members of "Old Media" that exhibit a partisan bias. He then goes on to state that the right wing bloggers are better at this little game. Using a favorite rhetorical technique, the back-handed compliment to set up straw man, he finally gets to the point which is - as it so often is - that the media establishment is sooooo liberal.

He attempts this by juxtaposing Eason Jordan against "Jeff Gannon" aka Jim Guckert.

Jordan was an executive VP and chief news exec at CNN who may/may not have stated that journalists were being targeted in Iraq by US forces. This suggestion of course is tantamount to treason to the righty blogs and they launched into full attack dog mode.

Gannon was a fake journalist from a pseudo-news organization, Talon News, that appeared to be little more than an arm of GOPUSA.

Both men quit their respective jobs, such as they were. Since Jordan worked for an actual journalistic establishment and Gannon did not, the right wingers brought down big game while the left has a "chipmunk".

Once again we have a fellow taking a hard right at the point and missing it completely.

The point of the Gannon story isn't that he was a GOP friendly "journalist".

The point isn't that he wasn't a journalist at all but a GOP partisan that lobbed softball questions to Scotty McLellan and the President.

The point is; how did the most tightly controlled, press-unfriendly White House EVER; allow a person to enter the briefing room on a daily basis using an assumed name. How, in this post-9/11 climate, does a fake journalist; using a FAKE NAME; get such access.

In an afternoon of googling, bloggers were able to ascertain that Gannon was not his real name, that his journalistic credentials were sorely lacking, that his "news" agency was little more a front for GOP partisan to parrot the party line and dress it up as news. Yet this White House, this party that is entrusted to keep us all safe, can't figure this out with a simple background check?

Of course they can. So what was Gannon doing there? That is the point. And this story isn't over.

The Doctor is IN

2005-02-12T22:47:00.000-05:00

Dean is officially DNC chair. In the end it was as unexciting as January 2004 was disappointing.

The real work starts now.

Below is a blogosphere wide link to contribute to the DNC. IOf you have found your way here and you already know of Dr. Dean, then you know why this is important.

If you have found your way here adn have no idea, i'll try t oexplain it next post.

DEAN for AMERICA

2005-02-07T19:51:00.000-05:00

Howard Dean is the only candidate left for the DNC chair.

Ummm {sheepish grin}, yea. We did it.

I mean, I guess that once he is voted in officially, then Howard Dean will be the head of the Democratic Party. Which, was sort of what all those meetings, all that work, all that time, all that money in 2003 was meant to accomplish.

We had a little loftier goals in mind though.

Ok - actually we didn't. Hell, in May of 2003 while I sat at a table at Viva La Frida with 18 other fed-up Americans that wanted their country back, I had no clue how big it would get. All along I figured Kerry would be the nominee. He had the name ID, the money, the years of experience, the gravitas it seemed would be necessary. Who the hell was Howard Dean?

I was just happy to find others in Tampa that seemed as frustrated as I was. It was nice not to feel so alone. And to have a centrist, balanced-budget hawk, pro-gun Democrat actually standing up and essentially asking "What the F***?", well that appealed to me. And it was a time to say "What the F***?"

So here we go. We can't wait for anyone else to turn this thing around, we have to do it ourselves.

The Dispensable Nation Part 2

2005-02-07T18:49:00.000-05:00

What leftist rag said the following...

And yet the very fact that the f-word (fascism) can be seriously raised in an American context is evidence enough that we have moved into a new period. The invasion of Iraq has put the possibility of the end to American democracy on the table and has empowered groups on the Right that would acquiesce to and in some cases welcome the suppression of core American freedoms. That would be the titanic irony of course, the mother of them all—that a war initiated under the pretense of spreading democracy would lead to its destruction in one of its very birthplaces. But as historians know, history is full of ironies.

A. The NATION
B. The PROGRESSIVE
C. Sports Illustrated
D. The American Conservative

If you guessed C., well you were one off.

Yes, spouting "FASCISM!" isn't just for Leftists anymore.

The scary conclusion that can be drawn in part from this article is the same scary thing that one sees in this study.

It's not that W and the Repubs turned us into a fascist nation, they didn't cause this slide all on their own. Rathe, there seems to be an openness to what fascism has to offer. There seems to be, as the American Conservative states, a "constituency for fascism". It is the fear that Michael Moore spoke of in Bowling for Columbine. To allude to Blink, after 9/11 our collective national heart rate was at a dangerously accelerated level. We needed a leader that could slow us down, get us thinking again and make the right moves. Instead we had a President and a Party more than willing to stoke the fear and use it to accomplish their own ends.

This is yet another reason the Democratic party has to stand up now. Becoming more Republican-lite will not only NOT win elections, it will push us further in this rightward slide.

Is it too late? I don't know. As I said before, either we are going to wake up as a nation and the Bush presidency will go down in history as one of the worst ever or simply another step on the way down.

Ummm...

2005-02-07T18:40:00.000-05:00

This was too funny...

"If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, his reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver," said David Strayer, a University of Utah psychology professor and principal author of the study. "It's like instant aging."

and...

In fact, motorists who talk on cell phones are more impaired than drunk drivers with blood-alcohol levels exceeding .08, Strayer and colleague Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology, found during research conducted in 2003.

So... a 20 year old on a cell phone drives like a 70 year old, both of which drive worse than a drunk driver at .08.

.08 is legally drunk in most states, and it is illegal to drive at that point.

Driving while on a cell phone is becoming illegal in many areas.

Now, it's not that I disagree with these 2 things, my only question is - what the hell are we doing then allowing 70 year olds to drive!?! How is that not the obvious question.

Just wondering, whilst driving in Florida.

Damn You Jimmy Johnson!

2005-02-07T18:24:00.000-05:00

Bad weekend for this Cowboys fan.

1. The Patriots pull off the win vs. the Iggles in the Super Bowl, thus completing the "3 in 4" sequence that previously only the '92, '93 and '95 Cowboys had done. What's worse is the sports punditocracy claims the Patriots feat to be tougher due to free agency. (Ok - so the NFL is designed to make teams mediocre so that everyone has a shot. The Patriots take advantage of this mediocrity to win 3 Super Bowls and somehow that's tougher than winning 3 against stronger competition in the '90's?) Even Troy Aikman spouts this ridiculous notion.

2. Steve Young is voted to the Hall of Fame. Maybe he would have made it anyway but that '94 Super Bowl put him over the top.

And if Jimmy Hohnson and Jerry Jones could've kept their damn mouths shut and egos in check...

STEVE YOUNG WOULD NEVER HAVE WON THAT SUPER BOWL!!

No freakin' way Jimmy Johnson loses to the 49ers in the '94 NFC Championship. The Cowboys win that, beat a crappy San Diego team. They're the first team to 5 Super Bowls. The first team to win 3 in a row. They win again the next year and it's 6 total and 4 in a row. They are the best team in the history of the league.

4 in a row. San Francisco can have their 4, Pittsburgh has their 4 but not 4 IN A ROW.

That record would never be touched.

Arrrrggggghhhhh...

On the plus side, I was so pissed in '94 I refused to watch that Super Bowl in January of 1995 and went to work that night instead. I would normally not have worked that night and I met my future wife for the first time.

But still, 4 IN A ROW!!!

Hatred is not funny

2005-02-02T17:55:00.000-05:00

And when I say that, I don't mean "ahhh, c'mon guys, it's not fun to hate."

I mean really, hatred makes for lousy humor.

What brought this up is the Hot97 Tsunami song. I was forwarded this site which brings one up to date on this. Basically, some NY morning show did a parody song. It was racist as all get out, protests went up and the crew was fired.

But here's the thing. Follow the link and listen to the clip of the song.

a. It's not even funny. Not even mildly amusing. Is Howard Stern offensive, yes. But can he make you at least crack a smile in spite of yourself every now and again - yes. But at no point was this song even remotely amusing.

but the biggie is b. listen to the first 3 minutes of the clip. It's the star of the show "Ms. Jones" berating another member of the show for having the good sense to have opted out of the making of the parody and for publically stating so. During the spat it comes out that the other speaker is Asain and Ms. Jones seems to have issues with this person above and beyond this one instance.

From just this short listen it's hard not to say that at least Ms. Jones has a real problem with Asians. And that problem comes through loud and clear in the song.

Thus, hatred is not funny. Maybe this is why most of your great comics seem to be left-leaning. Right-wing humor just does not seem to do it. Jokes on how the poor are getting fucked are not so funny when you are celebrating the fact that you are doing the fucking.

Mea Culpas All Around

2005-02-02T10:14:00.000-05:00

The elections in Iraq are receiving glowing press coverage. Tepid anti-war columnists are questioning their rationales for being against the war. John Stewart wonders if his world-view is askew.

Jeebus H Criminy, people - are we all losing our minds?

I argued this war with people. Not once, not ONCE! was their reason for war "Iraqi elections".

Saddam was armed to the teeth with WMDs, he and Osama (who?) were plotting to destroy America. We had to go in and we had to go in NOW!

2+ years of occupation.
1300+ dead US Soldiers
100,000+ dead Iraqi civilians
$200+ billion dollars
America's standing in the world trashed by Abu Ghraib (NO ON GONZALES)

... and this one day makes all that go away? All is well now that a good number of Shiite Iraqis followed the religious order of Ali al-Sistani and voted (huh?).

Oh.

Perhaps we forgot that too. We have forgotten that George W Bush did not want to have elections yet. His plan was to appoint a council that would draw up a constitution. Once that was in place - then the Iraqis could vote. They could pick the pipe player - but he'd be playing off our sheet music.

Al-Sistani was having none of this. He declared a fatwa and the Shiite majority took to the streets. So Bush relented (as he did on the 9/11 commission, as he did on the Department of Homeland Security) and allowed the Iraqi people to vote for the council. And now they have - and we wait to see what the council will look like and how pleased they are with troops in their streets.

Yes, democracy is a wonderful thing. But it is not our chosen God's gift, to be bestowed through us at the barrel of a gun.

The elections were a victory for the Iraqi people and we can all take joy in that. But they were also a major victory for Ali al-Sistani, and we don't yet know what to make of that.

What they are most definitely not though, is a reason to excuse all that has come before.

The Dispensable Nation

2005-01-26T14:44:00.000-05:00

There are really only 2 outcomes of the Bush era.

1. We come out ok, GW Bush goes down in history as the worst president ever (by far) and we all enjoy a hearty laugh.

2. That's it, kaput. The time of America as great power is over.

Increasingly it looks like #2.

In 1998 Madeleine Albright, then US secretary of state, said of the U.S.: "We are the indispensable nation." By backfiring, the unilateralism of Mr Bush has proven her wrong. The US, it turns out, is a dispensable nation.

Europe, China, Russia, Latin America and other regions and nations are quietly taking measures whose effect if not sole purpose will be to cut America down to size.

Ironically, the US, having won the cold war, is adopting the strategy that led the Soviet Union to lose it: hoping that raw military power will be sufficient to intimidate other great powers alienated by its belligerence. To compound the irony, these other great powers are drafting the blueprints for new international institutions and alliances. That is what the US did during and after the second world war.

More

Nothing lasts forever. All great powers and empires come to an end. They usually do so due to their own hubris. So in that respect we'd really be no different.

I can't lay all blame at W's feet. This may have been a long time coming. From Nixon to Reagan to Clinton. Our right-ward tilt, the militaristic build-up at the expense of our education and healthcare systems, the widening gap b/w the wealthy and the rest of us.

Still, 9/11 was a watershed moment. We could have taken the good will and support we had around the world and the unity and strength we had here at home and set a course that truly could have had America be the shining beacon of the 21st century.

Unfortunately, we had the absolute worst person as president for that moment.

"Personal Accounts" my arse

2005-01-25T22:49:00.000-05:00

From the incomparable Josh Marshall:

I was just on Al Franken's show a couple hours ago with Frank Luntz of all people. And in the course of the conversation I got to ask Luntz whether it was fair or appropriate for Democrats and/or journalists to refer to the president's policy as 'privatization' or the private accounts he wants to create as 'private accounts.' (As you the TPM reader know, these were the words that Republicans and other phase-out supporters themselves came up with.)

Luntz said that it is okay for Democrats to use these terms but not the press since that would mean they were taking sides in the debate. When I asked why this was so since these were words the president was using only a few weeks ago, what emerged in the course of the conversation is that it is apparently inappropriate for reporters to use a given term after the date on which the president stops using it.

People, privatization is what it is, but that word did not poll well. "Private Accounts" does not poll well - BECAUSE THAT LETS PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!! So they use the term "personal accounts" instead.

If I cheat on my wife, I am guessing the phrase "I screwed another woman" won't "poll" too well with her. The phrase "I've never met that woman" might do better, but here's the rub - I WOULD BE LYING. And anyone that used my phrasing would be lying for me.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a friggin' duck. The job of our free press is to tell us it's a friggin' duck no matter now much the administration wants to call it a swan.

Bet Against the CW

2005-01-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

An incredible outpouring of non-support in the left leaning blog community against the Gonzales nomination. Kos has rounded up dozens of bloggers ready to stand and be counted.

The Democrats seem to be standing up to the nomination, acting as a true opposittion party to shed light on the excesses and illicit activities of the Administration.

So why do I now fear easy sailing for Gonzales and all this to fall down the memory hole?

No on Alberto Gonzales

2005-01-25T16:41:00.000-05:00

My wife always gave me a hard time for my reluctance to simply state "Yes, I am Mexican."
Whenever the subject of my etnicity was brought up I didn't know what to say. My ancestry included elements of French, Spanish and Native American. As far back as I knew, my relatives were on what is now U.S. soil. I wasn't Mexican in the "my family crossed the border back in '32" sense. I was Mexican in the "my family was on this piece of land when it used to be Mexico, and Spain, and France, and the Republic of Texas" sense.

In school most of my friends were white, and the Latino ones were much like me - coconuts.

But there was a sense of pride when I was with other Mexicans and we could joke around as such.

So in that instance I was a hypocrite.

And then this year - on official documentation, I declared my ethnicity as Mexican-American. And I do take pride and pleasure in being Mexican-American.

So how do I feel about Albert Gonzales, the first Latino to be nominated for Attorney General of the United States.

Amazingly disappointed. This guy has to be the first?

My question to him would be, "Do you honestly believe that lowering our standards such that torture is an acceptable practice makes us safer as a nation and in the long run upholds American ideals and values? Or, is your head so far up W's arse that you can't see straight?"

I honestly don't know which is worse. That Gonzales could have come up with this thinking on his own or that in a head-long rush to please his boss all morals and ethics are out the window as he writes the memos to attempt to cover the administrations ass.

Given the coverage that Gonzales also provided for Bush's DUI and myriad other items, sadly it appears to be the latter.

I can't wait to hear the first schmuck to pull the anti-Hispanic card against Democrats that speak out against Gonzales nomination.

All Americans should oppose this nomination. Mexican-Americans should be particularly disappointed.

Texas Quarter

2005-01-24T11:30:00.000-05:00

I like it. Have not seen one in person yet but I like the design. Minimalist, iconic. The outline of the state and the Lone Star - it's all you need.
I long for the day my state shall return to Sanity. Hell, at this point I'd settle for the purplish status of FLA.

The Myth of the Undecided Voter

2004-08-04T12:20:00.000-04:00

Ok - yeah I know Iam getting ahead of myself. I know that a whole day of the convention happened and I said nothing. Ok.

But dammit - let me just vent on this "undecided" voter BS.

When a person says, with all seriousness, that they find the Vietnam service records of George Bush and John Kerry to be a "wash", that is NOT an undecided voter.

When confronted with the Terror Alert shenanigans of the past weekend, a person then asks "But I still have not been told how John Kerry would handle such warnings", that is NOT an undecided voter.

If you want to vote for Bush, if you like Bush - say so and maybe we can have an honest conversation. This "above the fray, I remain undecided" is BS.

If you want the next Supreme Court Justice (and possibly the next 2) to be chosen solely because they will be anti-abortion and would overturn Roe v Wade - vote Bush.

If you want more tax cuts for the wealthiest citizens while local services get more expensive or cut all together - vote Bush.

Morning After

2004-07-30T11:21:00.000-04:00

Last night was not a convention or a political rally, it was a rock concert. It had the same passion of performance as the very best concerts I have been to.

Heading to the airport and I'll wrap it all up on my return.

Let me just say that last night this campaign went from "Anybody But Bush" to "John Kerry for President". The entire spirit has turned from running against George W Bush to running for John Kerry.

Day 3

2004-07-29T00:28:00.000-04:00

Long one today.

Boston was overcast and dreary today. A good day to catch up on sleep.

AM Meeting

Michael Moore was the big star of the breakfast meeting. Once again he was a convention unto himself. There's always a crush of cameras to him. He spoke of coming to Florida during the election to put some heat on the Republicans. Florida shenahigans have already begun but people seem ready for it - I have trouble seeing how they could pull off anything stunning. Of course who would have thought 2000 was gonna happen.

Greg Palast accompanied Moore - he did not speak nor was introduced.

It was going to be a long night at the convention hall (we were due by 5pm) so I spent the day in resting up. Caught some WSOP on ESPN. Women's Limit Hold 'em tournament. The final 4 are all asian (Vietnamese) women. Color me unsurprised.

Night 3

We do some actual stuff. We cast our votes for the nomination. Basically it's an Excel spreadsheet, delegate names on the left - candidate names on the top. You find your name, check off your choice and sign. Now I could have chosen anyone I wanted to. I could abstain if I wanted to. And during the roll call of states later in the evening my choice would have been announced for the entire hall to hear. But I'm pledged to Kerry, have signed a loyalty oath for Kerry but moreover those that voted for me did so expecting me to vote for Kerry. They chose me as their rep to voice their desire to nominate John Kerry. So while the whole thing seems pretty mundane, there are some actual possibilities to the whole process. And this explains why it' s really no small thing when the convention is described as the most united the Democrats have ever been.

The Republican and right-leaning pundits, specifically Tucker Carlson, are lamenting the lack of debate on the Iraq war during this convention. The argument is that Bush and Kerry have the same policy on Iraq (internationalize and turn more security over to the Iraqis so that we can bring troops home) but "95%" (Tucker's figure) of the delegates were against the war and are not getting a hearing here. Carlson claims to have spoken to 2 specific Florida delegates that told him they were "furious" with Kerry over the Iraq war. Personally I think Carlson was lying about that and I am in some position to find out if he was lying.

But here's the point. 1. Even if Kerry and Bush have the same position - you can't trust Bush on this position as he has only come to it as polls get worse for him on the Iraq war 2. Even if he is serious and means what he say about internationalizing the force - he can't do it. He had the shot. After Sept 11 the entire world was ready to help us. France, Germany everyone was ready to back us in the war on terror. No one raised major objections to Afghanistan because everyone knew - really knew - that Osama had free rein in the Taliban controlled Afganistan - they told us as much. The US then asked to have him turned over and the Taliban refused. Step 1 was going in and taking the Taliban out. Ok. Step 2 - get Bin Laden. Instead step 2 for this administration was invade Iraq. Which of course, had nothing to do with al Quaeda or Sept 11th or the overall war on terror.

So, was I against the Iraq war. Yes. Would I rather Kerry had voted against the resolution to authorize force. Yes. Would I be right in wanting that - i'm not sure. But what I do know now of Kerry is that he is a statesman. And it's going to take a statesman to begin to get this situation under control.

Your Star report:

Kim Cattrall
Some guy with her that looked familiar.

On stage:

Brian McKnight
John Mellencamp
Blacke Eyed Peas

Night 2

2004-07-28T00:47:00.000-04:00

Almost didn't make it to the 2nd night. Wound up walking more of Boston than is recommended. Had Dim Sum in Chinatown (2 days in Boston and I've eaten in a Mexican/Cajun joint and a Chinese joint - where's the chowdah). Tomorrow on the recommendation of Rich I'll head to the North End for a cannoli. I've never had a cannoli so it could suck and i wouldn't know the difference.

Anyway - your star countdown (those I actually came in extremely close proximity to.

Michael Moore (more on him in a bit)
Lead singer of Everclear:Art Alexikas (an actual delegate from Oregon, and a very nice guy)
Brian Williams
Tom Brokaw
Peter Jennings
Wolf Blitzer
Alan Cummings
Stephen Baldwin (I think Stephen, the long haired one, I wasn't that close to him anyway)

Michael Moore is a Fire Hazard

Ok, the aisles on the floor of the convention center get reeeaaaalllll crowded. You got approx 5000 delegates and 15,000 press (with obnoxiously large lensed cameras) trying to share space. So when a star/celebrity comes near things can get kinda nutty. Michael Moore however was a whole 'nother deal all together. He came down to sit with the Michigan delegation for a while and shifted the gravity in the room. The guy was a superstar on the floor. And as I watch long-time Democratic delegates falling over themselves I laughed as I thought back to 2002 when I was in the USF Sundome watching Ralph Nader and Michael Moore while the Florida Democrats met in Orlando.

Howard Dean

Huge reception for Dean as he speaks. Loads of "I'm a Dean Democrat for Kerry" stickers. Dean shirts, Dean buttons. I have spoken to a number of delegates that got involved first with the Dean campaign. There is no doubt the impact he has already had on the campaign.

Barack Obama

The bar was set high and he cleared it no problem. He knocked it out of the park. A great speech. They say this guy is a future star for the Democratic party and he exceeded all expectations.

Teresa Heinz Kerry

... is 65 years old?! Holy cow. Should I be embarrased for what I was gonna write here? Wow.

Bloggers

I've been keeping up with my regular blog reading and I have to say I am somewhat disappointed. Tom Tommorrow seemed to write more from LA in 2000 when he was just a guy busting into the party. I don't know if there's just nothing interesting going on or they're too busy partying now that they are official. Just somewhat odd.

Things start getting to brass tacks tomorrow as John Edwards steps to bat. I'm taking my mixed metaphors to bed now.

Tuesday AM Meetings

2004-07-27T12:20:00.000-04:00

In the house:

Jesse Jackson
Joe Biden
Alec Baldwin
Richard Dreyfuss

Lively session - Dreyfuss gives a little more red meat than the morning before but his passion and sincerity is unmistakable.

Joe Biden really hits the heart of the matter when he says it's not that Bush has made mistakes as President ("any of us would make mistakes, it's a tough job") but it is the opportunities that were squandered. After Sept. 11 the entire country was united and the entire world was behind us, Bush had a moment in history to lead like no president had ever seen before. Instead we were told to go shopping, massive tax cuts were pushed through, and war was waged under misleading, at-best, circumstances.

Biden made no apologies for the US military spending being the largest in the world, but pointed out that the world's best military is not enough. It was the force of ideas that brought down the Berlin wall, not just military might. The force of the ideals of America are our strongest weapon in the war on terror - and that is the weapon that Bush had at his disposal after Sept. 11 and he fumbled it.

Afterwards interviewed by public radio. Sat in on People for the American Way panel moderated by Alec Baldwin but featuring Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas. Pretty good stuff overall.

Catching up on the blogs I see I had no shot catching up with Daan Perkins, Markos and Duncan (nee Atrios) as they were partying with former Presidents of the USA. It's kinda weird reading the blogs as I know exactly the places and happenings that they are referencing and are seeing the same things from a different angle.

Actual Convention Analysis

2004-07-27T01:34:00.000-04:00

Such as it is from me...

Gotta say the whole day was a home run. Gonna be tough to see how they are gonna top this over the next 3 days.

From the morning with Dean and Ben Affleck to Gore, Carter and the Big Dog on the floor, the old timers were commenting that things were off to a hot start.

Now let's get this out of the way. This is a scripted, packaged, made for TV event. There's not going to be any major surprises here.

That said - I think there are 2 major reasons to pay close attention to these things. 1. This is where the Democratic nominee gets introduced to the voters of America, by that I mean the vast group that has just now started paying attention to the election. 2. The party also puts foward it's plan for America. Is it scripted to put the best face on the Democratic party? Yes. But then you look at the Republican convention and it will be exactly the same sort of thing (if not more so - or does anyone believe that Guiliani and Schwarzenegger have more power in the GOP than a DeLay).

So it can be an apples to apples comparison in that respect.

Watching CNN's coverage in rerun. They show the major speeches (Gore, Carter, Clinton) but some of the "filler" was pretty good as well. Particularly the 9 Democratic women senators.

The energy and volume on the floor of the convention doesn't even begin to come through on TV. The size of the stage, the enormous video screen, it's all pretty overwhelming at first.

If you watch(ed) any of the speech coverage, here's my scorecard.

Gore - B, threw some humor in there, acknowledged some of the obvious things but got things off to an optimistic, foward-looking start.

Carter - B+, good speech - he seemed to be unable to put the energy with his body into the speech that his mind was. But hell, the guy's 80. Here's hoping I'm 1/10th that sharp at 80.

Clinton - wow. This guy is good. A brilliant bit was the emphasis on "his taxcut". Say you're on the fence about Bush but gosh darnit you just can't stand that damn Clinton. Now he's linked the Bush tax cuts to himself. Well, hell - I don't wanna be footing the bill for a tax cut for Bill Clinton - I need to vote for Kerry... wait a minute... Political ju jitsu.

The line of the night seems to be "Strength and wisdom are not opposing values." Indeed they are not and should not be.

We'll see how things ramp up tomorrow.

Convention Floor Fun

2004-07-27T01:22:00.000-04:00

Star Sightings (in close proximity)

Former California Gov. Gray Davis
Florida Senator Bob Graham
Florida Representative Jim Davis
CNN's John King
Tom Brokaw

Apparently the convention is a hot date for some. And when all doesn't go well it can get ugly as it was for one young man whose date apparently thought he had better credentials than he did.

And the damn fashions these kids are wearing today. You see a number of youngish women (early 20's) at the convention, often accompanying older men. Now I would assume they are the daughters of the men but in the fashions they wear today - TO THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, for cripe's sake - there's enough doubt to bother the heck out of you. And you can't very well ask a possible Senator's possible daughter if she is instead a pro. Damn you MTV and your fashion trend setting.

Stalking Tom Tomorrow

2004-07-27T00:56:00.000-04:00

... and Kos and Atrios (as much as an anonymous figure can be stalked).

I spent an hour of the convention walking around the 7th floor area of the Fleet Center trying to find the blogger's row. When I did find where it was located I could only see feet under a makshift table. Not knowing the footwear preferences of the aforementioned stalking targets I have to count the venture as a failure...

but not a total loss. I learned that the FLOOR Delegate credentials will get you just about anywhere - and with a smile.

There's about 7 levels of credential. The highest will allow you onstage and backstage. The lowest are for the nosebleed seats at the top of the Fleet Center. Even then - when things fill up you get hassled a bit when trying to enter the higher areas. Not with a FLOOR Delegate credential though - it's go right ahead sir. Have the run of the place sir. The only thing I can figure is that elected officials (Senators, Congressmen, Governors etc.) with FLOOR Delegate credentials have the same badges as nobody delegates. Nothing specifies a delegate as an elected official or not - so as afar as anyone know I might be somebody important.

So Atrios, Kos and Tom - I'm a big fan and would love to meet you guys. Maybe get an autograph or have a beer in the hall. So if you wanna run around the floor for a while I might could make it happen. Drop me a note - i'll be here all week.

Walking Boston

2004-07-27T00:39:00.000-04:00

Boston is America's walking city so i walked it. Took the T out to Harvard and walked my way back via Beacon Hill. Some highlights.

Average SAT score of a Harvard student (in an informal survey of 12 students): 1360

Most popular remark: "I don't feel the SAT is all that important"

Number of dreadlocked students/people in Cambridge/Harvard: 6, 5 males and 1 female. (btw, at the convention, it was 2 - 1 male, 1 female).

Impressions of the city: I had heard Boston described as the eastern city most like San Francisco, and I think I can see that. I'd have to give Beacon Hill the nod as "coolest neighborhood in America", at least the growing larger but still little bit of America I have seen. I have a friend that groused on driving in Boston and I can see what he was speaking of (try it now when the convention shuts down half the roads) but I say - why drive. The T and walking was incredibly effective for me.

Overall a nice city - older than NYC but still much, much cleaner - explain that. I think Cambridge would be the place to live though.

CNN and Bloggers

2004-07-26T11:46:00.000-04:00

CNN is (are?) idiots.

A story on blogging the convention is completely ridiculous. Given as an possible example of a post is this quote from the bubbly blonde reporter: "Hey, dude, I got in."

She also warns on the possibility that bloggers will report things that aren't true. That would never happen on a major news network.

Morons.

Stars and Stripes

2004-07-26T09:38:00.000-04:00

Monday 7:30AM

A whole different vibe today. Early AM breakfast meeting and you can tell the convention starts TODAY. Media out in force, interviewed by Gannett news service and AP. The "I was a Nader voter in 2000, now a Kerry delegate" storyline gets ears to perk up.

8:30 AM

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean speaks. Well, look at that. A crush at the front as media/fans push forward for pictures. He makes a jab at himself with the "We're gonna win in Florida, we're gonna win in New Hampshire..." bit. Dade County firefighter seated next to me tells me Dean also brought him into the overall campaign, now he is an alternate delegate.

Dean is still a star and definitely gets the crowd fired up. No doubt that he has made a large impact on the Florida Democratic Party.

9:00 AM

A slew of Florida elected officials speak, as does Janet Reno and Cam Kerry (John's brother). All do a pretty good job. Speeches are kept short, lively but little Bush bashing. More on the positive role that Florida will play in the election. Phalanx of reporters in the back, at least 30 by my count. Overall the vibe is very energized and ready to work.

9:15 AM

Ben Affleck speaks.

A crush at the front double the size of Dean's. Flashbulbs pop and the ladies in the crowd are visibly aflutter. Affleck's a good sized guy - over 6'1", wearing a nice suit. He's got more of a "Bahstahn" thing going in person than he does on screen, even when he plays a Southie. He's chomping on some gum and is very active in the speech. A "Go Red Sox" cry from the back gets him going for a minute on Boston's win the night before.

A good speaker. The guy is sincere and really into this. He wants to be here. He mentions that he got over $1,000,000 tax cut last year and says "I can tell you honestly, I don't need the money." He is animated in the speech but it's not a rant or a tirade, more an earnest "Go get 'em" to the Florida crowd.

If you polled right now - Affleck would be the Dem nominee. But behind the cult of personality I have to give the guy a thumbs up for the speech. Good stuff.

Convention floor tonight - night 1.

Sunday 25 July

2004-07-26T03:34:00.000-04:00

6:01am

Boarding SONG airlines flight 2020 for Boston. Apparently they are going for "funky" as their calling card. Multi-colored leather seats, hipster music - a very Austin Powers vibe. They had some other good times planned for the flight, I missed it all as the next recollection I have is landing. The perky flight attendant came out to do the boarding announcement and then I followed her onto the flight and enjoyed this conversation:

"Going home?"

No - to the convention.

"What convention?"

The Democratic National Convention

"Oh - do you go every year?"

Uhhh, no - first time.

The flight is fairly empty but does have at least 4 other convention goers. 2 delegates and 2 "party-crashers". And they are perky and happy and ready to party and chearlead. And I'm just not feeling it. I'm still in skeptical mode. I'll do what I signed on to do but I still need to be impressed myself - I'm not ready to sis boom bah on cue.

6:00 PM

2004-07-26T01:22:00.000-04:00

FENWAY PARK.

C'mon, it's Bahstahn - ya gotta see Fenway. And then it turns out the 2PM game has been postponed to an 8PM game, ESPN's game of the week.

"Who neeeeeds tickeeetttsss"

Why, I think I do.

In a last second schedule change, John Kerry throws out the first pitch. So in that way it would be a convention event.

Good game- Sox beat the Yankees 9-6. Johnny "Looks like Jesus" Damon has a big game. There's a WWJDD shirt floating around - i gotta find that.

BTW - no matter how nasty Bush v Kerry might get, it's got nothing on Red Sox/Yankees.

2:53 PM

2004-07-26T00:48:00.000-04:00

Elevator down to the first meeting. Janet Reno enters the elevator.

So there you go.

4:00Pm

First meeting of Florida delegates. Everyone is very pleasant, very nice. The room has a happy-to-here optimistic vibe. Of some 30 people I meet I am the only first-timer. The elected officials are dressed a little better than everyone else (sportcoats) and they come around to press the flesh and say hello. They seem for the most part to be sincere and likeable.

A lot of print press in the room, as well as local news video crews and I see CNN and MSNBC pop in for a quick video take. A lot of eyes are going to be on Florida for this election cycle - our spot on the convention floor are as prominent as it can get.

Meeting lasts 7 minutes once it begins. Rumor is Ben Affleck will speak at the next mornings breakfast.

Buses are set to take us to delegation welcom meet and Boston Pops concert - I have other plans.

7.21.2004

2004-07-21T10:26:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to me.

Preparing to leave for Boston this Sunday AM. Have not begun to pack or get anything ready.