Conventions That Matter?

What if no candidate has 50% of the delegates by the end of primary/caucus season?

It's entirely possible that the top 3 in both the Democrats and the Republicans will split most of the delegates, with a few delegates going to the 2nd-tier candidates.

Instead of a head-to-head Presidential candidate starting March 2008, we may have to wait until the fall. The convention may actually matter, as the candidates and delegates negotiate.

Would this be such a bad thing?

"My purpose is this ... "

"... that should these United States endure for a thousand years, no man of good will and common sense shall trust the word of the President ever again."

-- George W Bush
(Actions Speak Louder Than Words!)

"And Iran" by Flock of Chickenhawks

"And Iran" by Flock of Chickenhawks


I walked Pennsylvania avenue.
I never thought I'd meet a man like you;
Meet a man like you.
With auburn beard and tawny eyes;
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through;
Lots of oil too!

And I ran, I ran to invade.
I just ran, I ran a war charade.
An Oil War crusade.

A crowd is speaking in my head;
I hear the voices tell me what to do,
Wolfowitz and Cheney too.
A barrel's price is higher still.
A Saudi Royal comes in view;
Saudi comes in view.

And I ran, I ran an oil crusade.
Next is Iran, Iran all night and day.
Our troops will pay and pay.


Reached for a war on Iran too;
It's slowly disappearing from my view;
The NIE says, "Foo!"
Still got a year to try again;
I'm floating in a dream of oil with you;
A scheme to oil with you.

And I ran, I ran my oil crusade.
And my fans, fell for my mad charade.
Sure I've got it made!

===========

With apologies to "A Flock Of Seagulls"

The Golden Compass: There's Gold in That There Dust!

I just got out of a sneak preview for "The Golden Compass" and am happy to report it is not just a solid adaptation, but a fine movie in its own right.

The soul of the book is in the movie: its sense of fun seriousness, on a scale that ranges effortlessly from a gob of mud in a child's hand to the entire multiverse.

Visually, it is delightful, as if Maxfield Parrish had discovered steampunk.The quick and efficient script omits what it must (as is usual in adapting a book to the big screen) yet adds much by the fact of acting (who could be a better Mrs. Coulter than Nicole Kidman? Her first smile tells us all we think we need to know.)

I find it very respectful of the audience for the film not to explain too much. For example, book has to have Iorek explain to Lyra how his duel with Ragnar ends, since there are no images except that created in the mind. The movie just has it happen; viewers must figure it out by comparing his state just before the climactic blow and to that immediately afterwards.

The daemons, by literally exposing a person's soul, take the place of soliloquies or comic sidekicks. The story also goes faster because it keeps its secrets. It is a tale of discovery, and not all the discoveries have been made by its end. Besides, the protagonist is a young teen from whom The Adults Are Keeping Secrets; it's delightful that the audience shares the protagonist's mystification. Who should Lyra be trusting anyway?

I see that some critics complain that it's anti-Christian. I suspect that if the movie had dressed its Authority in desert robes and had it issue fatwas, they would be applauding it, or at least feeling smug. Surely institutional churches should have by now realized the error of assuming unto themselves the supremacy of God; history shows that never goes well, and that is basically the theology of the work.

But, anyway, it's only a movie (and the book is only a book). Surely "The True God" cannot be harmed by such, and in fact would be amused to have so serious a discussion of the nature of the soul, of Good and Evil, of Authority and Free Will.

I hope the trilogy is completed. But should it fail through an irrational Boxoffice or by the intercession of a justly enraged Authority, the sheer coolness of the film should turn viewers to the books, which further exposes them to the perils of Dust.

P.S. You could view this as the start of a triology about the ultimate dysfunctional family.

* The Golden Compass (movie)
* The Golden Compass (book) Random House site
* Critics say ‘The Golden Compass’ is an atheist agenda disguised in fantasy Kansas City Star
* My Golden Compass Sets a True Course

Super W Blow!

[ fade in on a nation, eating White House propaganda ]

Announcer: Hold it! Is that what you're having for propaganda?

Man: Sure, haven't you heard? Propaganda is really good for you.

Announcer: Well, there's Propaganda, and then there's George W. Try this.

[ offstage hands replace cereal box with "W Blow" box ]

Man: Hmm.. "W Blow". Sounds delicious. But is it really higher in Propaganda than my old GOP?

Announcer: Take a guess: How many speechs of your old GOP would it take to equal the propaganda content of one speech by "W Blow"?

Man: Two?

Announcer: Guess again.

Man: Three?

Announcer: A little higher.

Man: Four?

Announcer: Keep trying.

Man: Five?

Announcer: No, you'll have to do better than that.

Man: Seven?

Announcer: Guess again.

Man: Eight?

Announcer: We'll give you one more guess.

Man: Nine.

Announcer: Not even close. [ table starts shaking ] It would take over 30,000 speeches.
[ a giant pyramid of W shoots up from under the man, who yells in terror as it rises ]
To get that much propaganda, you'd have to eat ten lies a day, every day for seven or more years.

Man: Wow! I think I get the picture! "W Blow" must be the biggest GOP liar on the market!

Announcer: Not any more, now that there's new "Super W Blow".

Man: "Super W Blow"?

[ pyramid rises even higher with the man screaming ]

Announcer: It would take over two and a half million speechs of your old GOP to equal the propaganda content of one bowl of "Super W Blow".

[ pyramid settles ]

Man: I'm convinced! [ looks down the pyramid in panic ]

[ cut to close-up of bowl with "W Blow" and "Super W Blow" boxes ]

Jingle: "W Blow and you-u-u-u in the morning"

Announcer: W Blow and new Super W Blow.

Voiceover: Warning: may cause death. Consult a mental health professional.

[ fade to black ]

------------

(with affection memories of the great Phil Hartman : http://snltranscripts.jt.org/89/89ecolonblow.phtml )

Going Green is FUN!

Sure, it’s a challenge, but challenges are fun. Yes, it take thought and ingenuity, but so does winning levels at any game.

World of Warcraft and Age of Empires are great, but Greening Earth is a game we play for real money and real treasure!

Portuguese As A 21st Century Language

When George W Bush mocked the Portuguese Language (calling a program to encourage its study "wasteful" and "pork"), was he just showing his ignorance of its strategic significance?

Portuguese is the dominant language of the fifth-largest nation in the world: Brazil. It is the largest and most powerful democracy in South America, and a leader in energy independence.

Bush's wars in the Middle East have suffered because of America's ignorance on Arabic and other languages, e.g. Parsee. Is he really too stupid to see that, in the 21st century, America needs to study the languages of ALL major countries?


LINKS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y-hkmfSkew
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071113-7.html

Rudy vs. Hillary on family values

Hillary: "My husband cheated on me, but I kept my family together."

Rudy: "I cheated on my wife, so I broke my family up. Then I cheated on my next wife, so I broke my family up again. I'll probably cheat on my next next wife ... ."

Who represents "family values"?

Lying About Deficits (A Parable)

Some fools say that deficits aren't bad if the deficit is less than "average".
To explain how stupid that is, let's use some rough numbers (not necessarily accurate, but they show the concept).

Once upon a time, USA.com wanted to borrow some money to cover operating expenses (not investments).

Its CEO, Reagan, wanted to borrow 2% of its income. The Banks said "You're up to 10% of your income, fine."
Then Reagan wanted3% more of its income. The Banks said "You're up to 13% of your income."
Then its CEO, Reagan, borrowed 4% more of its income. The Banks said "You're up to 17% of your income."
Then Reagan wanted 4% more. The Banks said "You're up to 21% of your income."
Then Reagan wanted 4% more. Banks said "You're up to 25% of your income."
Then Reagan wanted 4% more. Banks said "You're up to 29% of your income."
Then Reagan wanted 3% more. Banks said "You're up to 32% of your income."
Then Reagan wanted 3% more. Banks said "You're up to 35% of your income."

Then USC.com got a new CEO, Bush.

Bush wanted 3% more. Banks said "You're up to 38%."
Bush wanted 4% more. Banks said "You're up to 42%."
Bush wanted 4% more. Banks said "You're up to 46%."
Bush wanted 5% more. Banks said "You're up to 51%."

Then USC.com got a new CEO, Clinton.
Clinton continued to borrow, but less and less until finally he started paying off the debt.

Then USC.com got a new CEO, W.

W wanted 1% more. Banks said "You're up to 52%."
W wanted 3% more. Banks said "You're up to 55%."
W wanted 4% more. Banks said "You're up to 59%."
W wanted 4% more. Banks said "You're up to 63%."
W wanted 4% more. Banks said "You're up to 67%."

Then W wanted to borrow another 3%. Why not? 3% more is less than the AVERAGE of the past decades.

The banks said, "WHAT???? ARE YOU CRAZY??? You're DEEP in DEBT. The AVERAGE of what you borrow per year means NOTHING; in assessing your credit worthiness, how much you owe is more important."