There are a lot of dumb Democrats, and that is a good thing
I thought about the movie Game Change and part of me got angry that someone as ignorant as Sarah Palin was seen as acceptable to so many. But then I remembered something: while Barack Obama is much smarter than she is, that isn’t why he won.
Then I thought of the bell curve; yes, the vast majority of people are within a standard deviation of the mean. So, if there was a political party that only consisted of the brightest among us, it would never, ever come close to having political power. Remember: by definition, 50 percent of people are going to be below average and without a healthy number of them, you lose.
“Appealing to the dummies” is a necessary political skill; hopefully one possessed by a smart person.
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About Blueollie
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Welcome Message
(click to go to whitehouse.gov)
President Obama’s address to the National Academy of Science.
President Obama takes on Republican questions.
(Yes, that is part of President O too….grumble…)
How well is President Obama doing at keeping his campaign promises? Here is an even handed running assessment.
This is my online diary. My facebook stuff is here.
I use this blog for the following purposes:
- To keep track of my training. I train for ultramarathons (I usually walk these) and sometimes do running races, bicycle rides and open water swims for variety. My best ultra accomplishment was walking 101 miles in 24 hours in 2004. These days, I walk a marathon every once in a while (5:30 to 7 hours) There was a time when I could run a sub 40 minute 10K (did that once), but that was another lifetime ago; these a days
2427-2825 minutes for a 5K would be more like it. I also have an off and on interest in yoga and in weight training. My lifetime PB in the bench is 310; currently I do sets of 4 with 175. - From time to time, I post what I am thinking about mathematically
- I often post links to science articles, especially articles about cosmology and evolution.
- I am very sympathetic to the “new atheist” movement, though some might consider me to be an agnostic. I reject any notion of a deity that interferes with physical events, but remain agnostic to the idea that there might be something “grand and wonderful” (Dawkins’ phrase) outside of our current spacetime continuum.
- I am a liberal Democrat who thinks that the current social atmosphere is tilted way too far toward the interests of big business, and I reject the idea that a “free market” cures all ills, though pure socialism doesn’t work either. I am also a believer in the freedom of speech, including speech that I might not like. Also, I’ve been involved (to a moderate degree) with political campaigns, ranging from City Council races up to Presidential races.
- Since being targeted by neo-nazis, I’ve started to identify with the anti-racist and the anti-fa movements.
- I like to post photos of trips and vacations.
- I sometimes blog about boxing matches and football games.
- I like women in spandex.
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My Liberal Identity:
Ollie is a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.
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The above refers to me; the below refers to Barbara (my wife)
Barbara's Liberal Identity:
Barbara is a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or neo-hippie. She believes in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com
Note about my blogroll: there are many types of blogs here; they range from humor, science, religion, politcs and endurance sports.-
Created by OnePlusYou Blog Roll Notes
As of March 20, 2010, I went through my longer blogroll and deleted links that no longer work. Be advised that some blogs have not been updated and others have been moved, but you can get to the new address via the old one. I've read and visited all of these sites at one time or another. However, I've decided to post a separate list of those blogs which I read regularly (some daily, others periodically).
My list of my regular reads HumorNot Always Right Funny customer service stories.
Link Dump
3 Quarks Daily Links to Interesting Articles.
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538.com Politics Analysis via Statistcs
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Sagacity: personal blog (Democratic)
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Why Evolution is True science, rationalism
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Tammy Racewalker, up to 50K
Damon Ultrarunner
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Ray Racewalker, ultra walker
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Spandex
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I often wonder how much of Obama’s faith in a god is “appealing to the dummies.” I also thought that his anti-gay-marriage stance during his first presidential run was exactly that.
You might read “Dreams of my Father”. He describes a “conversion” of sorts; part of it was finding a “spiritual home” to do his community organizing work. Part of it is a non-theological mushy “spirituality” (whatever that means). And yes, there is some pandering: (starts at 1:44-2:05)