Political Junkie Heaven

Workout notes: 4 miles on the Hike and Bike in 50:27 (25:57 at 2 miles). Barbara got lost and took forever.

Other stuff:
If you like general elections and playing with numbers until your spouse yells at you to get off the computer, here are a few “fun” sites:

FiveThirtyEight.com (polls, polls, polls)

270towin.com (if McCain wins X but Obama wins Y we end up with…)

Of course, the Electoral Vote.com site on the sidebar is a ton of fun as well.

Walking wise, I hope to get out there and sweat a bit today. I am embarrassed at my lack of upper body strength; after FANS I am going to do some sort of “general fitness” program for a few months.

Elections I find it amusing that McCain continues to try to attack Obama on Iraq and Middle East policy, especially since McCain doesn’t even know the basics, such as the fact that Al Qeada is a Sunni group and Iran is Shiite, or that Iran has a type of government that splits executive power between an unelected Supreme Leader (who controls the military) and an elected President (they guy who says the wacky stuff but doesn’t control the military).

No, this won’t make a difference with the wingnut voters as the situation is indeed nuanced and wingnuts lack the mental capacity to handle nuance. But maybe, just maybe some independents will want a President who can understand what is going on rather than some “kill ‘em all and let god sort ‘em out” type.

I can recommend the Salon article though:

The curious retraction of the senator’s correction occurred on Thursday, when Randy Scheunemann, McCain’s national security spokesman, made the following statement to the New York Sun: “There is ample documentation that Iran has provided many different forms of support to Sunni extremists, including Al Qaeda as well as Shi’ia extremists in Iraq. It would require a willing suspension of disbelief to deny Iran supports Al Qaeda in Iraq.”

To evaluate Scheunemann’s assertion, it is helpful to know that he was also a spokesman for the Committee to Liberate Iraq, the neoconservative outfit that promoted the overthrow of Saddam Hussein for years before it got its way in 2003 — and that the committee, like most of the war’s enthusiasts, insisted on the connection between al-Qaida and Baghdad. Before its claims about that relationship were debunked, along with the mythical weapons of mass destruction, the neoconservatives and the Bush administration convinced a majority of Americans that Saddam was actually responsible for 9/11.

[...]

As always, the reality is more complex and vexing than the simple schematic conceived by our right-wing ideologues. Dumbing things down got them (and us) into a lot of trouble in Iraq, but that hasn’t chastened them at all. And of course they forget every fact that doesn’t fit their precooked briefing.

Our intelligence on Iran is inadequate, but as far as our agencies have been able to determine, there is no operational relationship between Shiite Iran and the Sunni extremists of al-Qaida. Recall that in September 2001, the Iranian regime, then headed by a reformist president, denounced the 9/11 attacks and proceeded to assist in the U.S. overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Indeed, the Iranians had been fighting the Taliban through the proxy Northern Alliance army for years before the United States chose sides. [...]

It is difficult to believe that the Shiite leaders in Iran would arm and train the fanatical followers of the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, perpetrator of the bombing of one of their holiest places, the Golden Dome mosque in Samarra, not to mention countless murders of Shiite Iraqis. The Iranian leaders are devious and perhaps even demonic, but they are not likely to countenance the massacre of their own people and the defiling of their faith’s sacred sites. Our misguided policies have ensured that they have plenty of militia and political power in Iraq without providing arms or training to their most implacable Sunni enemies.

Mars, Austin, Whining and Idiotic Freepers

Workout notes 4 miles with Barbara and Olivia on the (torn up in some places) Hike and Bike trail. I still didn’t sweat enough.

Political Whining It is really sad that the Big Dog (aka Bill Clinton) has come down to this:

I’ll respectfully remind him of three things:

1. Obama does lead McCain in the national poll and in enough states to win the election.

2. Obama is heavily favored in the political futures market and

3. Though I’d like to take comfort in points 1 and 2, there was a certain presidential candidate who was polling very poorly in 1992:

Gallup June 1992 General Election
* Ross Perot 34%
* George Bush 32%
* Bill Clinton 24%

Idiotic Freepers. In blog jargon, a “Freeper” is someone who belongs to the right wing site “Free Republic”. In general, this is where the less intellectual conservatives (the Ann Coulter/Sean Hannity/Rush Limbaugh types) post; the more intellectual ones tend to hang out at sites like Redstate.com.

The “freepers” are a constant source of entertainment for us.

Let’s not say that the Freepers were idle on this holiday weekend. In fact, freeper kdun came up with a sure-win campaign ad for McCain. Here it is:

Ad Idea for the general election, but don’t really know how to pass on the idea.

Have a picture of Hussain Obama on one side wearing the turbine(the turbine picture) and to the right of that have a picture of John Mccain as a younger man in his uniform or after he was freed. Have the pictures side by side and on top either of the following

1. “What part of this don’t you understand” or

2. “The choice is clear”

A great ad idea that goes right to the core of peoples fears. How do I get this idea to the powers to be or can you just do it for me?

Yes, they said “turbine”. So Red Pen at the Daily Kos was happy to oblige:

So, there are two different kind of “turbines”; I wonder which kind that they meant?

Ok, I know this is the photo that they meant, which is, to me, a positive photo.

But it isn’t to idiots such as those who hang out at places like the Free Republic (knowing or even caring about another culture is seen as being a weakness with those morons).

Or these morons:

The Daily Show did a nice satire on this. Note that Obama may well survive this “problem”.

Science: On the other side of the intellectual scale, check out the Mars Photos:

This is the lander heading toward the Martian surface.

This is the surface; many more here.