Quips: Quick commentary on politics, technology and life, I think.
Tuesday, August 31
Victory is ours!
Kerry has just clinched the state of Ohio, and with it, the presidency!
How can this be after all the time and money the Bush campaign has invested in Ohio? Easy. The first big event of the Republican National Convention was a tribute to Gerald Ford. And what music did they play to accompany the tribute and photo montage? None other than "The Victors," the University of Michigan fight song and anathema to Ohioans, regardless of political persuasion.
Posted by Jen, 11:44 AM :: :: #
Breaking News
Transcript of "Ask the President" forum held in West Chester, OH on August 31, 2004:
Audience member: "Mr. President, you've accomplished a lot in four years in office. Have you really done everything you can to subvert the Constitution, or is there more work to be done?"
President Bush: "Well, of course there's always more to be done, but we're workin' hard to... Wait, what was that again?"
(Scattered horrified gasps, nervous laughter, light applause, and loud derision directed toward audience member.)
Audience member: "Thank you very much."
*This post brought to you by Jen's Fantasy Land*
Posted by Jen, 11:21 AM :: :: #
Tuesday, August 24
How we got where we seem to be
For those of you interested in the history of that region we Westerners call the Middle East, I must suggest NPR's recent series, which is benevolently called: "A troubled history." They finished the series today with a segment on 1979 through the present.
While I'm on a history kick, closer to home I might as well point you toward their feature on the slave pen at the new National Underground Railroad Museum right down here at the riverfront.
Posted by jb, 6:29 PM :: :: #
Wednesday, August 18
A truly random headline collection
These stories are not tied together in any way:
- Something you don't see every day: The Detroit News reprinted a story from the San Francisco Chronicle about a report (PDF) that concluded: "President Bush has gone 'under the radar' and around the Congress to spread his faith-based initiative throughout the federal government."
- The Chicago Tribune's arts writer takes a dig at NBC's gymnastics coverage and some other unfortunate utterances.
- And there's a three-way contributing to an underwater glow: Scientists have found a bacteria, that, in combination with algae and coral, produces an orange fluorescence, not the green glow they usually get.
Posted by jb, 6:42 PM :: :: #
Monday, August 16
Headlines around the world
With the wonders of tabbed browsing, I have a number of shortcuts set up to get groups of websites for news, sports, blogs, etc. Here's what I ran across today in one such check:
- Suppress the Vote? by Bob Hebert of the New York Times.
- 'Data Quality' Law Is Nemesis Of Regulation: "The Data Quality Act -- written by an industry lobbyist and slipped into a giant appropriations bill in 2000 without congressional discussion or debate -- is just two sentences directing the OMB to ensure that all information disseminated by the federal government is reliable. But the Bush administration's interpretation of those two sentences could tip the balance in regulatory disputes that weigh the interests of consumers and businesses. ... But many consumers, conservationists and worker advocates say the act is inherently biased in favor of industry. By demanding that government use only data that have achieved a rare level of certainty, these critics maintain, the act dismisses scientific information that in the past would have triggered tighter regulation." And in the same vein, the Times had a story Saturday — Out of Spotlight, Bush Overhauls U.S. Regulations
- Parade heralds a hearty rivalry: Illinois Senate candidates politely spar in their 1st meeting before the Indian Independence Day festival
- Iran's sportswomen adapt to religious custom
- Apple's strategy a familiar tune: Firm's grip on iPod draws comparisons to how it handled the Macintosh
Posted by jb, 8:28 PM :: :: #
Sunday, August 15
Which to tax: Work or Wealth? How about both.
Paul Krug of the Times takes on Bush's new ad touting the ownership society, where the president says, "I understand if you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of America."
"Call me naive, but I thought all Americans have a vital stake in the nation's future, regardless of how much property they own. ...
Even if Mr. Bush is talking only about the economic future, don't workers have as much stake as property owners in the economy's success? ...
Mr. Bush hasn't yet gotten all he wants, but he has taken a large step toward a system in which only labor income is taxed."
Some time ago, I was reading books by James Carville who was merely arguing that, if we truly value work in this country, we should tax $60,000 of wages at the same rate we tax $60,000 of dividend income. Seems reasonable. But that's not the direction we're headed.
Posted by jb, 4:38 PM :: :: #
Saturday, August 14
Sales vs. values
E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post has an interesting column about a beer mogul winning the GOP nomination for the Senate race in Colorado.
Conservatism is a noble tradition and an intellectual mess. Conservatives say they revere both traditional and market values. But those two sets of values so often contradict each other that conservatives have to cover their eyes -- from the twins ads, for example -- if they are to pretend to be consistent.
What is the most powerful force for permissiveness in the United States? It is not liberalism. It is the free market's use of sexuality to sell products. ...
What do conservatives really care about -- their values or their incomes? The Colorado Senate race gives them an excellent opportunity to show what matters most.
Posted by jb, 4:35 PM :: :: #
The numbers behind the headlines
Our friends at the Congressional Budget Office have come out with a report (available in PDF) that analyzes the results of the recent federal tax cuts. The NY Times comes up with this report: Report Finds Tax Cuts Heavily Favor the Wealthy. The Bush Team's focus, based on the headline of their press release? Let's focus on how we care about poor people — The Economy Line: CBO Says Lower Earners Pay Less Taxes (via Trail Mix) Let's look at some numbers, according to the report:
- Top 1 percent of households, by income — average income: $1.2 million; average tax cut: $78,460. (Someone might want to consider why, with a stroke of a pen, these people should get more than 70-plus percent of us make in a year.)
- Middle 20 percent — average income: $57,000; average tax cut: $1,090
- Bottom 20 percent — average income: $16,620; average tax cut: $250
The Republican take on this?
"It doesn't matter who you are, the report shows that you are better off now than you were before the tax cuts. It's showing that everybody's tax burden has gone down as a result of the tax cuts."
Well, yeah. But there's a few people who are 78 times better off than the "middle class" and for those at the low end you might cover back-to-school shopping. Just for fun, divided the average tax cut by the average income and here are the numbers you get: 1.5, 1.9, and 6.5. I'll let you guess which goes with which income bracket.
Posted by jb, 3:16 PM :: :: #
Monday, August 2
Winning over votes
It has long been my contention that, as close as the 2000 election was, Mr. Bush has not reached out to those who disagree with him. A new Zogby poll says as much:
- [Bush] is generally well liked among the undecideds, having a strong favorability (56%), but his job performance is another story. Only 32% approve of Bush's job in office and only 31% believe the country is headed in the right direction.
- ... among young voters -- 18-29 year olds -- a group Al Gore only won by 2 points in 2000, Kerry is winning in a landslide, 53% to 33%.
- There are three factors contributing to Senator Kerry's lead in the electorate; first is President Bush's eroding base, second is his failure in outreach to swing groups and base Democratic constituencies, and third is Mr. Kerry's strengthening of his base.
- Mr. Kerry is showing a 2-to-1 lead (50% to 25%) amongst voters who didn't vote in 2000, while winning three-quarters (75%) of Ralph Nader's voters and stealing twice as many (8% to 4%) of Mr. Bush voters in 2000 than Bush is stealing of Gore voters in 2000.
Posted by jb, 2:00 PM :: :: #
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