Primary Withdrawal….must stop…must get life….

Ok, the primaries are over. No more going to MSNBC with my laptop and breathlessly waiting for the returns or cursing Pat Buchanan.

Oh what will I do with my life…read books? Write research papers?

Oh, there is the general election too. I’ll do something with that.

But allow me a little bit of leeway here: I still remember this moment:

Seeing these two come out sent a shiver up my spine.

The Texas Debate

This video is of the full debate. I would have traded Super Bowl tickets to have been there.

Now to the current candidates:

Obama’s speech

and for contrast, John McCain’s.

(snicker)

Note: what is the saying: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? Check out McCain’s logo:

Versus Obama’s:

Note: Barbara watched Obama’s speech with me. I said “darn it, he is being way too gracious”. She replied: “that is why he is there and why you are here, on this couch.”

She is absolutely right. I support Obama because he isn’t like me. He has people skills, he is smarter, he sees things more clearly than I do and he is much more creative than I.

He also knows when toughness is called for.

Other stuff

The 4 Horsemen video:

Richard Dawkins (British Biologist), Christopher Hitchens (the smoker and author), Sam Harris (grad student; the young one) and Daniel Dennett (philosopher, with the bushy beard).
This group is sometimes referred to as the “4 horsemen” of atheism. I’ve read Hitchens, Harris and Dawkins book. Hitchens is the most well researched, Harris talks about experiences called “spiritual experiences” in a secular way, and Dawkins’ book is the most entertaining (makes you cheer).
Dennett’s book goes on my reading list.

Hour 1

Hour 2

Science: What good is sex?
The rough idea is that sex allows a new organism to inherit two sets of genes, thereby allowing for evolution via both mutation and genetic mixing (new combinations of genes).

Note that some organisms reproduce asexually and that some organisms can obtain genes from their environment.

A certain class of organisms called bdelloids hatch eggs that don’t need to be fertilized.

More stuff (dodging work)

I posted this to the Daily Kos:

Hi there. Yes, some of you are sad and maybe bitter; perhaps some of you can’t stomach looking at BHO right now and were in no mood to watch his victory speech.

Believe it or not, I understand disappointment.

But I have some suggestions, some of which helped me during those dark days of November, 2004.

More below the fold.

I come from a family of HRC supporters. Some are disappointed and bitter.

But I’d like to make some gentle reminders and suggestions

1. It is normal to be disappointed. My goodness, I’ve felt horrible after an election before!

2. The time, effort and money that you invested will not be in vain! Because of you, we’ve had more D’s participate than ever before!

3. Yes, some of those you helped bring to the fold might not vote for BHO in the general (though many, probably most) will. But your work made a huge difference in the following way: the downticket races.

No matter where you live, there are probably some Democrats who now have a better chance of winning than they would have otherwise. There are local state legislature races, US Congressional races, and in some cases, newly competitive US Senate races, such as this one:

http://www.ricknoriega.com/

Why not use your newfound expertise to help some of these Democrats win? After all, they share your goals!

4. Nothing takes the sting off of disappointment than winning. After that horrible 2004 election, I found a local city council candidate (who is a progressive D) to work for, and we ended up knocking of a conservative incumbent. That sure made me feel better!

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/1/95528/84078/227/135028

So get out there and help another Democrat win! You’ll feel great when you do.

5. Use your power to hold President Obama accountable! The best way to do this is to work to get those lower ticket Democrats elected.

I know, some (most?) HRC supporters “get it”.

She (Hillary Clinton) said she was stepping back to think about her options. She is waiting to figure out how she would “use” her 18 million voters.

But not my vote. I will enthusiastically support Barack Obama’s campaign. Because I am not a bargaining chip. I am a Democrat.

McCain: Obama is too liberal, but also too much like Bush.

Preempting Barack Obama’s remarks tonight, the McCain campaign sent out a statement highlighting the fact that the Illinois Democrat had, on many occasions, voted in line with President Bush.

“We noticed a reference in Obama’s prepared remarks for tonight to John McCain voting 95 percent of time supporting President Bush,” wrote spokesman Brian Rogers. “What Obama doesn’t say is that by that same rating, Obama voted to support President Bush between 40 and 50 percent of the time over the past two years,” according to a Congressional Quarterly study.

It’s a bizarre argument to make. In part because, throughout the campaign and, indeed, just hours earlier, McCain and his surrogates have been ringing Obama for being a doctrinaire liberal.

In reference to a National Journal study that rated Obama the Senate’s most liberal member, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said on Tuesday, “That is really tough to do when you consider the states in these countries.”

Humor: somone sent this to me, via my wife.

Dear Pastor,

I walked down the busy footpath, knowing I was late for an important meeting. My eye fell upon one of those unfortunate, homeless vagabonds that are found in every city these days.

Wearing what can only be described as rags, carrying every worldly possession in two plastic bags, my heart was touched by th is per son’s condition.

Some people turned to stare. Others quickly looked away as if the sight would somehow contaminate them.

Recalling some long ago Sunday school admonition to ‘care for the sick, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked.’ I was moved by some powerful inner urge to reach out to this unfortunate person.

Yes, where some people saw only rags, I saw a hidden beauty. A small voice inside my head called out, ‘Reach out, reach out and touch this person’!

I must have a terrible reputation.

Daily Kos: Terry McAuliffe on The Daily Show

Workout notes I might get in a couple of “just because” miles this morning, then maybe 3 with my group tonight. I say maybe because we’ve had huge thunderstorms around here.

Other stuff:

McCain’s speech: huge flop.

A sample (from a conservative source)

McCain’s Speech [Amy Holmes]

McCain’s speech was creaky, ungracious, and unnecessary. I never understand why politicians don’t take the opportunity, when so easily presented, to simply be gracious and hold their fire. Watching McCain, I couldn’t help but think of the astonishing contrast Barack’s triumphant speech to a massive and adoring crowd will be. It was not a comparison McCain should have invited.

It would have been more statesmanlike ‹ precisely the profile McCain is attempting to craft ‹ to acknowledge this historic moment in American politics. A major party is on the cusp of selecting an African American to be their nominee for President of the United States. It’s a tribute to America that we’ve come this far. It would have been magnanimous to leave it at that, and wait until tomorrow to declare with enthusiasm and relish, “It’s on!”

Comparison:

Humor

Froggy sometimes posts on the Daily Kos.

Someone posted a song in her honor.

The Today Show: ????

Is this guy kidding?

more about "Daily Kos: Terry McAuliffe on The Dai…", posted with vodpod

Three Speeches

John McCain’s Speech.

Let’s just say this:

Frighteningly Sad
But giving set piece speeches, let’s face it, he’s simply awful. He finds it impossible to pretend he’s actually thinking what he’s saying. But this whole speech is defensive in character (explaining why he’s not running for Bush’s third term), awkward and just feels old. The slogan seems to be: Am Not McSame!

The crowd of maybe like 200 people is also sort of an unfortunate contrast. [...]

Here’s how bad it is. All the Fox commentators are giving competing explanation for why McCain’s speech sucked.

Hillary Clinton: no concession, but she did much to make her supporters feel better.

You can read and see the speech here.

Here is the speech:

I admit that she sounded as if she still thinks that she is going to win? I wonder if she is trying to negotiate something.

But never mind:

He was super gracious to HRC and then just took it to McCain.

Read the speech here.