Back during the primary season, Hillary Clinton claimed to have been under sniper fire during her visit to Bosnia ten years ago. A number of people quickly claimed forward and said that simply wasn't true. The former First Lady turned presidential hopeful quickly became the butt of jokes over her (apparently) false claim.
The point is now moot, but it turns out Hillary was telling the truth:
Friday, November 14, 2008
How True
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn.
The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it.
The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it.
----P. J. O'Rourke
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Siriusly XM
Even though the merger between Sirius and XM was finalized several months ago, the two have continued to operate as separate entities, with their own distinct channels. This has been more difficult than you might expect since the two companies operate off different satellites and use different radios.
Personally, I've had XM continuously since 2005. I've had Sirius off and on since roughly the same time period. Though I had favorite channels on both, overall I would have given Sirius the edge in its music offerings. Technically, however, XM has a superior broadcast system. Its signals have far fewer problems with overhead obstructions like trees and overpasses than Sirius does.
The separate programming has now come to an end, as both have finally begun offering the exact same music channels. For the most part, it seems that XM lost more of its original channels, replaced by the corresponding Sirius channels. Existing Sirius and XM radios, however, will continue to operate.
For example, XM classic rock channels (Top Tracks and Big Tracks) were replaced entirely by Sirius' classic rock channels (Classic Vinyl and Classic Rewind). The channel positions on XM stayed the same, however. In other words, Classic Vinyl remains as channel 14 on Sirius but channel 46 on XM.
The same thing happened with the 80s channel. You now have the same programming on both XM's and Sirius' channel 8. This is a good thing, since I've always found the 80s channel on Sirius to be more enjoyable--they play more of the decade's hits, plus they have several of the original MTV crew (Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, and Martha Quinn) doing the programming.
Also, my favorite Sirius channel--the Coffee House (ch. 30)--is now available on XM as ch. 51, as is the Springsteen channel (58 on XM and 10 on Sirius),
In some cases, existing channels changed position entirely. A case in point is XM's former classical channels (110, 112, & 113) are now channels 77,78, and 79. What's more, if you had any of those channels as a preset on your radio, XM automatically changed the preset for you.
I know XM thinks that was a good idea that would make things easier on their subscribers, but it's just downright creepy. I'm not sure I appreciate some XM employee picking the lock on my car in the middle of the night and resetting the buttons on my radio. That's just wrong. For all I know, he may have found the stash of dirty magazines I keep under the front seat.
I better not find any of the pages stuck together.... Well, at least not any that weren't already that way.
Personally, I've had XM continuously since 2005. I've had Sirius off and on since roughly the same time period. Though I had favorite channels on both, overall I would have given Sirius the edge in its music offerings. Technically, however, XM has a superior broadcast system. Its signals have far fewer problems with overhead obstructions like trees and overpasses than Sirius does.
The separate programming has now come to an end, as both have finally begun offering the exact same music channels. For the most part, it seems that XM lost more of its original channels, replaced by the corresponding Sirius channels. Existing Sirius and XM radios, however, will continue to operate.
For example, XM classic rock channels (Top Tracks and Big Tracks) were replaced entirely by Sirius' classic rock channels (Classic Vinyl and Classic Rewind). The channel positions on XM stayed the same, however. In other words, Classic Vinyl remains as channel 14 on Sirius but channel 46 on XM.
The same thing happened with the 80s channel. You now have the same programming on both XM's and Sirius' channel 8. This is a good thing, since I've always found the 80s channel on Sirius to be more enjoyable--they play more of the decade's hits, plus they have several of the original MTV crew (Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, and Martha Quinn) doing the programming.
Also, my favorite Sirius channel--the Coffee House (ch. 30)--is now available on XM as ch. 51, as is the Springsteen channel (58 on XM and 10 on Sirius),
In some cases, existing channels changed position entirely. A case in point is XM's former classical channels (110, 112, & 113) are now channels 77,78, and 79. What's more, if you had any of those channels as a preset on your radio, XM automatically changed the preset for you.
I know XM thinks that was a good idea that would make things easier on their subscribers, but it's just downright creepy. I'm not sure I appreciate some XM employee picking the lock on my car in the middle of the night and resetting the buttons on my radio. That's just wrong. For all I know, he may have found the stash of dirty magazines I keep under the front seat.
I better not find any of the pages stuck together.... Well, at least not any that weren't already that way.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Right to Choose: As American as Apple Pie
Ya gotta love the Catholic church.
Catholic bishops are vowing to fight Obama on abortion rights. Their logic is that by continuing to support freedom of choice for women, the incoming President will somehow be attacking the church and religious freedom. It remains unclear, however, exactly what their logic is in this matter. If the bishops don't want to have an abortion, well, then they shouldn't have one if by some divine miracle they get knocked up. But what right do they have to force their religious will on other people?
More to the point, why do they think they have ANY moral authority to tell others what is right and what is wrong? For decades they repeatedly went out of their way to cover for priests who were molesting children. These same self-righteous bishops remained silent and merely transferred the guilty priests from one parish to another. Now all of sudden they're going to start spouting moralistic dictates? Give me a freakin' break.
Poll after poll has repeatedly shown that the American people favor giving women the right to choose. That's what made the recent presidential election so important. It's also a big reason the Republicans went down in defeat last week. Abortion is has become the litmus test for GOP candidates. If you're pro-choice, the party simply doesn't want you.
In fact, the people of South Dakota--one of the most conservative states in the U.S.--last week defeated a measure that would seriously have restricted abortion rights. The state legislature put the measure on the ballot knowing that it went against the freedoms guaranteed by the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The hope was that the new law would set up a legal battle that would once again end up before the Supreme Court.
Abortion opponents in South Dakota were gambling that by that time President McCain would have had the opportunity to appoint at least one more conservative justice to the Supreme Court. That would have tipped the balance of power on the court to likely abortion opponents, and Roe v. Wade would have been overturned. That would have been bad for women but great for the clothes hanger industry.
But with Obama as President, any future court appointments are likely to be liberal judges. That insures that the rights of women to choose will be maintained. How is the maintenance of personal freedom an attack on the church? Indeed, by advocating such a hardline position, is it not the church itself which is launching an attack on everyone else's freedoms?
I'm sorry, but when a highly religious minority tries to force its will on an entire country, you end up with Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Catholic bishops are vowing to fight Obama on abortion rights. Their logic is that by continuing to support freedom of choice for women, the incoming President will somehow be attacking the church and religious freedom. It remains unclear, however, exactly what their logic is in this matter. If the bishops don't want to have an abortion, well, then they shouldn't have one if by some divine miracle they get knocked up. But what right do they have to force their religious will on other people?
More to the point, why do they think they have ANY moral authority to tell others what is right and what is wrong? For decades they repeatedly went out of their way to cover for priests who were molesting children. These same self-righteous bishops remained silent and merely transferred the guilty priests from one parish to another. Now all of sudden they're going to start spouting moralistic dictates? Give me a freakin' break.
Poll after poll has repeatedly shown that the American people favor giving women the right to choose. That's what made the recent presidential election so important. It's also a big reason the Republicans went down in defeat last week. Abortion is has become the litmus test for GOP candidates. If you're pro-choice, the party simply doesn't want you.
In fact, the people of South Dakota--one of the most conservative states in the U.S.--last week defeated a measure that would seriously have restricted abortion rights. The state legislature put the measure on the ballot knowing that it went against the freedoms guaranteed by the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The hope was that the new law would set up a legal battle that would once again end up before the Supreme Court.
Abortion opponents in South Dakota were gambling that by that time President McCain would have had the opportunity to appoint at least one more conservative justice to the Supreme Court. That would have tipped the balance of power on the court to likely abortion opponents, and Roe v. Wade would have been overturned. That would have been bad for women but great for the clothes hanger industry.
But with Obama as President, any future court appointments are likely to be liberal judges. That insures that the rights of women to choose will be maintained. How is the maintenance of personal freedom an attack on the church? Indeed, by advocating such a hardline position, is it not the church itself which is launching an attack on everyone else's freedoms?
I'm sorry, but when a highly religious minority tries to force its will on an entire country, you end up with Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Clothes Encounters
Poor Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor apparently "forgot" to separate that $150,000 worth of clothes from her own actual stuff before returning home. Now staffers from the Republican National Committee have flown to Alaska to help her with the task. Palin and the staffers have been sorting through the former VP candidate's stuff trying to determine what's legitimately hers and what was bought for during the campaign. The RNC had previously said that the clothes would either be returned for a refund or donated to charity.
Monday, November 10, 2008
A Toast to the Winner
Good grief. There's an actual listing on eBay for a piece of toast bearing Obama's likeness. Even more frightening: Some idiot has actually bid 20 bucks for the thing.
And I thought McCain was the one who was toast.
And I thought McCain was the one who was toast.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Introducing Paloma
The North Atlantic hurricane season doesn't officially end for another three weeks. As a reminder of that, Hurricane Paloma strengthened into a category 4 storm last night. Winds are currently 140 mph, with gusts up to 160 mph. Paloma is currently in the Caribbean and expected to hit the central southern coast of Cuba sometime tonight.
The storm is expected to weaken after crossing the island and continue northeastward. That will take it away from the U.S. coast, thereby giving Bush one less chance to royally f*ck something up in the waning days of his administration.
The storm is expected to weaken after crossing the island and continue northeastward. That will take it away from the U.S. coast, thereby giving Bush one less chance to royally f*ck something up in the waning days of his administration.
Putting Things in Perspective
I've previously posted a different version of this video (there are several others on youtube). This particular one is especially humbling.
(Found @ Too Many Tribbles)
(Found @ Too Many Tribbles)
Friday, November 07, 2008
Unofficial Vote Totals
It looks like the final electoral vote tally will be 364 for Obama and 174 for McCain. I'm including Missouri's 11 votes in that total. Officially the state is still listed as too close to call, but McCain has about a 5800 vote lead out of almost three million that were cast. State officials are still counting absentee ballots.
A couple of days ago I mentioned that Nebraska is the only state that splits its electoral votes based on the outcome in each congressional district. Well, turns out Maine does the same thing (I'll go back and correct the original post since it is likely to become an important reference tool for future scholars). Also, while all five of Nebraska's electoral votes are listed as being for McCain, there is now a strong possibility that one of them will go to Obama. Again, they are still counting some absentee ballots. The final totals should be out next week.
As the the popular vote stands now, Obama received 65,293,083 (53%) votes compared to 57,325,487 (46%) for McCain. The remaining 1% went to assorted minor party candidates.
A couple of days ago I mentioned that Nebraska is the only state that splits its electoral votes based on the outcome in each congressional district. Well, turns out Maine does the same thing (I'll go back and correct the original post since it is likely to become an important reference tool for future scholars). Also, while all five of Nebraska's electoral votes are listed as being for McCain, there is now a strong possibility that one of them will go to Obama. Again, they are still counting some absentee ballots. The final totals should be out next week.
As the the popular vote stands now, Obama received 65,293,083 (53%) votes compared to 57,325,487 (46%) for McCain. The remaining 1% went to assorted minor party candidates.
House of Horrors
Okay, so Halloween was last week. But unfortunately I'm running behind in my TV viewing and only just saw this.
Feeling Old
Barack Obama is 47 and his wife Michelle is 44. Based on that, here are some fun age-related facts that serve absolutely no useful purpose.
Barack is:
(Actually, the first item isn't entirely true. Obama would have been eight at the time of Woodstock. And if you believe the Republicans' assertions that he was a top adviser to the Weather Underground at that age, Obama would certainly have been able to go to Woodstock.)
And Michelle is:
The only thing I might add to that list is that he's the first President younger than me.
I can feel my prostate enlarging even as I type these words....
Barack is:
- The first president too young to have gone to Woodstock....
- The first president too young to have been drafted....
- The first president younger than Caroline Kennedy....
- The first president younger than almost all of the Brady Bunch (he's 10 days older than Cindy).
(Actually, the first item isn't entirely true. Obama would have been eight at the time of Woodstock. And if you believe the Republicans' assertions that he was a top adviser to the Weather Underground at that age, Obama would certainly have been able to go to Woodstock.)
And Michelle is:
- First first lady too young to have voted for Jimmy Carter....
- First first lady to graduate from high school in the 1980s....
- First first lady younger than 60 percent of the stars of The Breakfast Club....
- First first lady younger than Madonna.
The only thing I might add to that list is that he's the first President younger than me.
I can feel my prostate enlarging even as I type these words....
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