As The Solstice Arrives

If you're reading this, that most likely proves that another apocalypse has failed to occur. I've lost count of how many apocalypses, raptures, and ends of the world I've survived in my lifetime, but after this many I gave up on worrying about them long ago. Heck, climate change is the thing that's most likely to destroy civilization, but that is a slow process without a dramatic end date. So our society will continue to ignore it.
Any way, it's another Winter Solstice (6:12am, EST), which is always something to celebrate. Days will now start getting longer, and that's a good thing.

Happy "Three Dozen Day"

I do like when we have days with interesting numbers, and today is 12/12/12. Since many cool things come in dozens, today is a triple good day.

Happy Repeal Day!

Happy Repeal Day! On Dec. 5th, 1933 prohibition was repealed. So I suggest that we have a drink to celebrate.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

I hope you are all well fed, around those who matter most, and enjoying your holiday in the way you choose. I'm about to start cooking a feast, which makes me very happy. Best wishes to you all!

St. Sleazy McCain Out Does Himself

As I noted in my previous post, St. Sleazy McCain has been calling for a congressional investigation on the Benghazi attack. As all the political talk shows will tell you, Sen. McCain is a very serious person. In fact, he's so serious that when the Senate Homeland Security Committee (on which he sits) received a closed door briefing on Benghazi yesterday, he failed to show up.

If there's anyone in Washington who would benefit from a detailed briefing on what actually transpired in Benghazi in September, it's the senator who's throwing fits over what he thinks happened in Benghazi in September.
As luck would have it, the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which McCain is a member of, received a classified, closed-door briefing for nearly two hours yesterday, receiving up-to-date information. What did McCain learn from the briefing? Nothing -- according to the Republican ranking member on the committee, McCain failed to show up.
But what's unclear is why McCain didn't bother to attend the lengthy briefing on a subject he claims to care so deeply about. McCain had time yesterday to appear in front of cameras to talk about Benghazi, but didn't have time to get more information about Benghazi?
Update: According to a CNN report, McCain hosted his press conference demanding more information during the hearing in which he could have received more information.
Second Update: Josh Rogin also reported, "[A]lthough McCain had time to speak on the Senate floor and on television about the lack of information provided to Congress about the attack, he didn't attend the classified briefing."
"If you want answers, a good first step is to show up and ask a question," an administration official told Rogin. "That's what a senator does."
maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/15/15190778-mccain-doesnt-have-time-for-facts-information?lite

Instead, St. Sleazy was holding his own press conference demanding more information. He was too busy grandstanding to actually hear the information he was requesting. Unless he's actually completely senile, this is flat out rank hypocrisy at its worst.
Added: His staff now says it was a "scheduling error." Alrighty, then...

Second Term Scandal Search Starts

Now that Obama has won a second term, it's time for the rethugs to  try to find a scandal, even if they have to make one up. So far, Benghazi and Petraeus are the early entries.
Benghazi may have been a security miscalculation, but I can't see how this adds up to a "scandal". Yes, it was a tragedy. Yes, the consulate wasn't secure enough given how unstable Libya still is. But you cannot conduct diplomacy by insulating behind walls and marines. A risk was taken, and, sadly, we lost four people. But somehow St. Sleazy McCain and Ms. Lindsay Graham want to make this the new Watergate. They're starting by attacking Susan Rice, although I find it odd that they feel the UN Ambassador is somehow responsible. The investigation will be a carnival sideshow, with plenty of grandstanding, but in the end Benghazi is a tragedy, not a scandal.
(BTW: If you really want to find a diplomatic scandal with a woman named "Rice", I suggest you look into the previous administration.)
Then we have the Petraeus/Kelly/Broadwell/Allen soap opera...I'm not quite sure how they'll blame Obama for this, but I'm sure somehow the right wing will. There is sex involved, so the media loves this story. I'll admit, I'm not comfortable with the CIA director having affairs that become public, but that's because I prefer a chief spy who can keep a secret. I'm old fashioned that way. Expect long hearings in the House on this one, but no real scandal.
Remember the Clinton years? Investigate everything, regardless of the facts. What started with a bad real estate deal (the Clintons lost $30,000 on whitewater) led to the travel office, then the Christmas Card list, before they finally found a blow job. It took years, but they finally found a "scandal".
In reality, Obama, like Clinton, is guilty of being President while a member of the Democratic party. And the repubs are going to do their very best to convict him of it.

Winning elections is fun. We should do it more often.

Election Day

OK, it's finally election day. Obviously, you should get out and vote (if you haven't already), preferably for the good guys. If nothing else, your vote buys you the right to complain for the next four years.
I'm not much for predictions, but I'm guessing that Obama holds on to a win via the electoral college. Nothing profound there; I tend to trust Nate Silver's math (he was a baseball statistician before moving into politics, which makes me confident) more than the pundit class. Also, I can't believe that a majority of Americans are stupid enough to believe Willard's non-stop lies. At least, I hope not.
If nothing else, today will bring the end of the campaign ad season. Which should be a relief for us all. (1,463 days until election day 2016, BTW.)

Some Stuff

                                         (picture is unrelated*, but I like it)
As we close in on election day, I find myself again amazed at the only country I've lived in. In the wake of a major disaster, our current president has done a great job of marshaling a federal government response. His rival staged a photo op collecting canned goods (which aren't needed) that now has proven to be mostly faked. Yet the polls are still mostly tied.
New Jersey Governor Kris Krispy Chris Christie (I would usually mock him, but today he's doing the right thing), who gave an anti-Obama keynote speech at the republican convention, is now heaping quite effusive praise on Obama and the federal government response. I disagree with Gov. Christie on most things, but he has proven that he takes his job seriously and is trying to do right by his people.
I sometimes make fun of President Obama, calling him "Sober Panda Time", but the real fact is he's doing a decent job of running the country. Not my 'ideal', but my 'ideal' could never get elected in this country. And he is currently managing the response to this disaster perfectly. He's being "The President" quite well.
Willard, on the other hand, spent $5,000 on stuff to stage a campaign rally that he called a "relief" event. Last time I looked, Willard R-Money was really fornicating rich; maybe he could actually cut a check to the American Red Cross that might actually help. Not gonna happen.
(BTW: if you really want to help, AMERICAN RED CROSS The Red Cross is providing shelter, clothes, supplies, food and blood, as needed, for the victims of Sandy. You can donate blood, but in terms of items, you’ll be doing more for those in need by donating money instead of physical goods.Text message: Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. As in the case with other donations via mobile, the donation will show up on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your balance if you have a prepaid phone. You need to be 18 or older, or have parental permission, to donate this way. (If you change your mind, text the word STOP to 90999.)Phone: 800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); for Spanish speakers, 800-257-7575; for TDD,  800-220-4095.To donate blood: Visit this Red Cross Web page. Online: American Red Cross)
This election does truly matter. Instead of "the lesser of two evils" we have a choice between an honest, dedicated, competent, if mediocre, candidate or a corporate greedhead evil candidate. I'll be spending most of election day working a GOTV phone bank, myself.
(*bonus point to anyone who can identify the source of that photo in the comments)

Superstorm Disaster

That is one damn big storm. Reports on Sandy are currently listing at least 16 dead (update: now listed as 33 50 dead) and 7.5 million without power, and it's still very early in the damage assessment. Along with the human tragedy, the economic impact is going to be huge for quite a while.
Calls for disaster relief will be going up soon, and all our prayers and good wishes go out to those effected by the storm. From all that I've read, our current President is doing everything possible to get aid to those in need, and it's good to have a competent administration in charge at times like this. This is the kind of thing we need a Federal Government for, conservatives!
In the aftermath, can we begin to address global climate change, maybe? Might be a good idea.
Scenes from Sandy through Monday here, and more epic pics are here. Incredible scenes.
I'm sure I'll have more comments soon, but for now I'm just trying to wrap my head around the scope of this disaster. Be safe, people!

Champions Again!

For the second time in three years, the San Francisco Giants have won the World Series! I'm actually rather surprised; I didn't have a lot of faith in this years team. Considering that, until 2010, the Giants hadn't won it all during my lifetime, I'm used to being disappointed. I'll be smiling for at least a week!
Now, if my 49er's can keep winning football games and the "good guys" can win on election day...

Giants!

My beloved San Francisco Giants are going to the World Series for the second time in three years. I admit that I had pretty much given up hope during the playoffs, both against the Reds and the Cardinals. Facing elimination in both series, they managed to win three in a row each time for a total of six wins in elimination games, which is virtually impossible. Amazing.
Now they get to face the Detroit Tigers for the championship. On paper, the Tigers look like the better team by a wide margin. But the Giants seem to defy odds, so it should be an interesting series.
Go Giants!
Added: Some baseball history that I wasn't aware of:

Sean Kirst notes that this is the first time the Giants and Tigers have met in the World Series, despite their status as ancient teams. These two teams had plenty of success, the Tigers appearing in ten World Series prior to 2012, the Giants in sixteen (modern era). The teams tended to just miss each other. For example, the Giants were in the series in 1905, then from 1911-1913. The Tigers played in three straight from 1907-1909. The the Tigers went back-to-back in 1934 and 1935, while the Giants played in 1933, 1936, and 1937.

Another example of the beauty of the game; even with over 130 years of history, something totally new can happen.

McGovern Memory

Sadly, good old George Mcgovern passed away this morning, and we'll all miss him. He was the first presidential candidate that I actually cared about (not that I could vote for him; I was 13 in 1972,) I liked him; he always seemed like a "good, decent" guy (as opposed to Richard Nixon, who was a truly unlikable man.) While I was aware of some politics in previous elections, Nixon versus McGovern was when I truly felt it mattered.
And we lost, big time. Which set me on a life long path of cynicism. Nixon was evil, McGovern was decently good (read Doc, "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72" if you have any doubts), but evil won big. That's when I began to understand America.
I once thought that we would never elect someone worse than Nixon, but along came Shrub. Heck, Ol' Ronnie R was plenty bad enough.
I guess we get the government we deserve.
We have an election coming up. We have a choice. I hope you all know which way George McGovern would vote.

Yeah, about that war

So, yesterday there was a local protest against the war in Afghanistan, which I attended with my friend. Along with about eight other people (although one of them may have only joined to bum smokes). Not sure if there actually was a "march", as my friend and I decided that entering a pub for a cool beverage was a better use of a Sunday.
Afghanistan is certainly no Vietnam, as the lack of a real "anti-war" movement proves, but we've been fighting this stupid thing for eleven years now. Has anybody noticed?
It's a sad commentary when even an old hippie like me finds himself drinking beer and watching football instead of protesting...but at least my beloved 49ers won big.
And, later, we had a really good pizza.

Debate!

                                                 (If watching the debates, you need this)
            So I get out of class early tonight, told to watch the debate. Um, "yay!", maybe? We are assigned to write a paper on "what is said about health care?" instead.
Yeah, that sounds tough.
            And, since I'm posting, my beloved Giants eliminated the hated Dodgers from the playoffs last night. That feels good.
            I'm about to watch this debate between Willard and Sober Panda Time...
More beer, please.

Election Math

One of the fun things about an election year (if you're as warped a political junkie as I am) is watching which creative numbers get use to predict the outcome. I may have an odd sense of humor, but I used it to find this at Bad Attitudes , by Jay Bookman at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution :

After all the speeches and campaign ads and debates, politics comes down to cold hard numbers. It always has; it always will.
In my model, as in most such models, we start with the basics: The number of women to whom the GOP candidate’s grandfather was married at any one time, which in this case would be (4). You multiply that by the number of extramarital affairs conducted over a lifetime by the spouse of the current secretary of state (237). (CAUTION: This number could shift at any moment.)
You then add the number of emails sent in the past four years depicting the Democratic nominee with a bone through his nose, which would be 457,283. You divide that by the total number of beers and cigarettes tried by the GOP nominee in his lifetime (2), divided again by the total number of beers and cigarettes consumed by the Democrat (58,399).
You multiply that by the square root of the number of hair follicles transplanted into the Democratic VP (√6,798=83.53) divided by the best marathon time fraudulently claimed by the Republican VP nominee (2.55).
Subtract the percentage of Americans gratuitously insulted by the GOP nominee (47), add the number of times in a best-two-out-of-three match that the First Lady would beat you arm-wrestling (3), and then also add the number of dog-lover votes — in units of tens of thousands — lost by the Republican for transporting an aptly named Irish setter (Seamus) on the station-wagon roof (236.5).
Finally, you add the number of percentage points that all polls but Rasmussen are skewed in favor of Democrats (10). Voila!

You now have the mortal-lock number of electoral college votes that the Democratic nominee will win in any given year.

– Jay Bookman
heres-the-math

Now, the only factor he forgot to include in his calculation is: the number of mindless pundits with hair good enough to get them onto TV (623, but subject to change between now and the election) divided by the number of unstable leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (17, but variable), and add that number for the total electoral votes of whomever the eventual winner is. Simple, isn't it?
(If you understood and enjoyed this post...well...I guess that's why you're reading this blog. Get help.)

Willard's Latest Stupid Idea

When I first read this, I thought it was some kind of satire. I really didn't believe that Willard could really be stupid enough to actually suggest this (in the wake of his wife being on a flight on Friday that had a minor cabin fire):

When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no — and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem. So it’s very dangerous. And she was choking and rubbing her eyes. Fortunately, there was enough oxygen for the pilot and copilot to make a safe landing in Denver. But she’s safe and sound.

That's right, he really said that you should be able to open the windows on a commercial airplane. Which would allow you to breathe for, oh, maybe three seconds before explosive decompression sucked you and fellow passengers out of the plane.
Well, physics is just another science with a liberal bias, so Willard is against it. Just what we need running the country.

American Patriot

Couldn't help but notice another great moment in hypocrisy...this week, senate rethuglicans blocked the Veterans Jobs Act, a bill to help those who served gain decent employment. One of the "NO" votes was cast by former POW, St. Sleazy, John McCain. Seems like it was only four years ago that he was campaigning loudly about "support our troops" pro-war heroism. I guess St. Sleazy believes patriotic words should count for more than actual deeds.

"Not Elegantly Stated"

Yeah, Willard, you should have found a more 'elegant' phrase to explain that poor people are losers, unworthy of your attention. Really, the peasants must be made to understand that their role is to serve their betters without question. And Willard would really prefer if the elderly and disabled would have the decency to crawl off and die quietly so he can continue to avoid hearing about them. If they can't be decent servants,who needs them? Willard bravely stands for "Government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich", and if you're not one of the rich, well, that's your own damned fault.
Speaking of people who Willard can't be bothered with, Palestinians. Willard plans to kick their can down the road, and hope for some decent outcome in the future. Preferably one where they can either be used for slave factory labor in an outsourced manufacturing plant, or quietly dead so as to stop inconveniencing the Israelis.
Well, for possibly the first time in his campaign for Oligarch, Willard said something that was actually true: "not elegantly stated" is an honest motto for his platform.

I'll Propose A Deal

I would be willing to accept a ban on gay couples getting married if we can also ban ignorant people, stupid racist people, and anybody else "we" don't like from getting married.
Otherwise, equal rights for all.
(I guess that even means including republicans getting married. Uh...yuck.)