August 31, 2004
Unbelievable . . . Predictable Old Media
Amazing. CNN and Larry King just broadcast the tepid beginning of Michael Steele's speech before the RNC. And (so predictable it shouldn't surprise me) when he got into the middle of his speech and started to hammer on Kerry's record, CNN cut to a floor reporter who had nothing to say.
Yet there's no media bias.
CNN is pulling their oar on the Kerry rowboat with such incredible enthusiasm, they don't even notice that the boat's sinking. And it's taking them with it as it goes down.
In this vein, please, please read Professor Reynold's latest Tech Central Station column, if you are at all interested in the impact of blogging and the new media. i think he hits the nail right on the head.
The rise of the blogosphere is revealing the old media as an emperor with no clothes, which must get its act together or be crushed. Professional journalists are lazy, uneducated hacks, as i've said so many times before. When they have to compete with superb "amateurs" like Reynolds, Volokh, Hinderaker et al., Hewitt, Ed Morrissey, Wretchard, etc.* they can only lose.
Professional journalists simply can't match the top bloggers' ability to research and articulate the news at the speed of light. In the world of the new media, amateurs produce like professionals and the professionals are exposed as amateurs.
Reynolds quotes Hinderaker:
A bunch of amateurs, no matter how smart and enthusiastic, could never outperform professional neurosurgeons, because they lack the specialized training and experience necessary for that field. But what qualifications, exactly, does it take to be a journalist? What can they do that we can't? Nothing. Generally speaking, they don't know any more about primary data and raw sources of information than we do-- often less. Their general knowledge is often inadequate. Their superior resources should allow them to carry out investigations far beyond what we amateurs can do. But the reality is that the mainstream media rarely use those resources. Too many journalists are bored, biased and lazy.
Hack reporters are helpless to fix their own deficiencies, they don't have the brainpower or common sense, nor do they seem to care. They will have to adapt to the new media or wither away, and i'm actually not sure which eventuality i prefer more.
Update: David Boxenhorn points out more strengths inherent in the new media.
Who would you trust more to give you the right answer? Four million randomly chosen people, or your buddies in the newsroom who were all chosen because the boss likes the way they think? The blogosphere has the characteristics of wise crowds, as set down by James Surowiecki:- Divesity of opinion – each person should have some private information, even if it’s just an eccentric interpretation of the facts.
- Independence – people’s opinions are not determined by the opinions of those around them.
- Decentralization – people are able to specialize and draw on local knowledge.
- Aggregation – some mechanism exists for turning private judgments into collective decision.
Even if the mainstream media weren’t ingrown and biased, you would find that the blogs win – always.
Link via
Instapundit.
* Yes, in spite of his few successes, i most intentionally omitted Andruw Sullivan, who is an intellectually dishonest, self-promoting shill.
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It would be interesting to know the SAT scores of those who major in journalism. My guess would be higher than education majors, but lower than most other subjects.
We can't declare victory yet, though. The proportion of the population that reads blogs is still probably only 5% or so...a very influential 5%, but still far fewer than the people who get their news and opinions from the MSM.
Posted by: David Foster at August 31, 2004 09:04 PM (XUtCY)
Posted by: jake at August 31, 2004 10:12 PM (h4tU8)
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Funny, I came to the same conclusion about Sullivan about a year ago. He is ultimately a one issue guy who won't admit it to himself. The intellectual contortions that result make him not worth my time.
Posted by: Mark at September 01, 2004 05:45 AM (oQofX)
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David, I happen to be good friends with a journalism major who was National Honor Society in HS and is quite intelligent & literate, so be careful about generalizations.
As it is, she works as a technical writer and jokes that her degree is really in grammar.
Posted by: Victor at September 01, 2004 06:11 AM (L3qPK)
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Excellent post! And Sullivan is a shill!
Posted by: Scof at September 01, 2004 07:44 AM (XCqS+)
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"...i most intentionally omitted Andruw Sullivan, who is an intellectually dishonest, self-promoting shill."
He became a one trick political pony a long time ago, and a hypocritical one at that. I actually don't mind single issue voters(okay, some of them are nuts). What does piss me off is when they claim NOT to be a single issue voter, just like Sullivan.
Posted by: physics geek at September 01, 2004 08:12 AM (Xvrs7)
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I think the decline of the Old Media can also be traced, at least in part, to the moment that journalism stopped being a trade and started being an academic discipline. A hundred years ago, most journalists openly wore their politics on their sleeves, but they also went out and worked hard getting stories: they had no sense of entitlement. By contrast, modern hacks, as the secular priestly class they aspire to be, have been spoon-fed for generations with a mix of largely useless jargon-filled "communications theory" and self-important "journalists will save the world" political propaganda.
Posted by: Dave J at September 01, 2004 08:36 AM (VThvo)
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Victor...of course there are exceptions. But is it coincidental that she works as a tech writer instead of a journalist...or is she just too smart to do journalism as it is now done?
Posted by: David Foster at September 01, 2004 09:12 AM (XUtCY)
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Gawd u r so fucking right on.
Posted by: Casca at September 01, 2004 04:34 PM (q+PSF)
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Should have seen the shithead editor of the NYT on Washington Journal this morning with Brian Lamb. What a fucking buffoon. He wasn't even capable of following the questions. His major at university... English Lit.
Posted by: Casca at September 01, 2004 04:43 PM (q+PSF)
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"Link via Instapundit."
Isn't that ironic when you could have gotten it from your own blogroll. Guess that's the strength of the Internet.
Posted by: NZB at September 02, 2004 05:29 AM (7Ucg1)
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Fair question, David: She works as a technical writer because the pay is better, and has never worked as a journalist. She's liberal but practical
Posted by: Victor at September 02, 2004 07:00 AM (L3qPK)
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As one who benefits from ongoing sharing of information, the blogoshere is just another example of evolution in action. There was a need for wide ranging, informed opinion and the dissemination of multiple sources of news. The current waddling excuse of "mainstream" news media will continue on for a time and will be slowly but inexorably replaced. By what? I don't know but that isn't important (at least not to me).
Posted by: Kelly at September 03, 2004 01:02 PM (kuGVj)
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August 30, 2004
Hitting Hard
The "old media" tomorrow will be saying that the Republicans went "negative" on the first night of the convention.
To that i say: "yesssssss!"
Politics is not a knitting club.
The Democrats are upset because a few delegates are wearing band-aids to mock Kerry's purple heart wounds. They want the RNC to crack down on this "inexcusable" behavior.
i say okay. Just as soon as the DNC cracks down on the "Bush=Hitler" signs outside. And the "Bush=Evil" signs inside MSG.
Until then, why not enjoy a nice cup of STFU, MacAuliffe.*
After Giuliani's rousing, albeit long-ass speech, Mara Liason* commented on the Michael More* moment in John McCain's equally good speech. She didn't like it. She said it was "a gift" to More and out of character for McCain.
i thought it was great, and i bet a lot of people agree with me.
So Mara, how about a nice cup of STFU for you, too.
Giuliani's speech was as if someone had translated Charles Krauthammer's address to the American Enterprise Institute into language that could resonate with the common man. And i was glad he did. It was the meat of his speech and he articulated the pro-war argument better than i've heard anyone in the administration explain it. Too bad the networks didn't cover it.
Terrorism did not start on September 11, 2001. It had been festering for many years.
And the world had created a response to it that allowed it to succeed. The attack on the Israeli team at the Munich Olympics was in 1972. And the pattern had already begun.
The three surviving terrorists were arrested and within two months released by the German government.
Action like this became the rule, not the exception. Terrorists came to learn they could attack and often not face consequences.
In 1985, terrorists attacked the Achille Lauro and murdered an American citizen who was in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer.
They marked him for murder solely because he was Jewish.
Some of those terrorists were released and some of the remaining terrorists allowed to escape by the Italian government because of fear of reprisals.
So terrorists learned they could intimidate the world community and too often the response, particularly in Europe, was 'accommodation, appeasement and compromise.'
And worse the terrorists also learned that their cause would be taken more seriously, almost in direct proportion to the barbarity of the attack.
Terrorist acts became a ticket to the international bargaining table.
How else to explain Yasser Arafat winning the Nobel Peace Prize when he was supporting a terrorist plague in the Middle East that undermined any chance of peace?
Before September 11, we were living with an unrealistic view of the world much like our observing Europe appease Hitler or trying to accommodate ourselves to peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union through mutually assured destruction.
President Bush decided that we could no longer be just on defense against global terrorism but we must also be on offense.
i liked that section. We need to be reminded of the contrast between the weak approach and the strong approach to the problem of terrorism. And i think, when given the choice, most people will opt for the strong approach, like Rudy.
i think it was a good night for us Republicans.
* Nota bene for those new visitors out there: intentionally misspelled.
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You picked my favorite part of Rudy's speech. Well done.
Posted by: jake at August 30, 2004 10:04 PM (h4tU8)
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I'm almost afraid to ask, but STFU?
Posted by: wobots at August 31, 2004 06:49 AM (djVNl)
Posted by: annika! at August 31, 2004 07:27 AM (4RhLb)
Posted by: Matt at August 31, 2004 07:55 AM (CF/QI)
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I thought it was some sort of anti-mammalian thing that meant "Stop The Ferret Underworld".
I did find it ironic that, after all his efforts (along with Feingold & others) to stifle speech McCain then gives one.
& Guiliani...he speaks of the neccesity for defenidng ourselves against terrorists but did nothing to help the people of his city defend themselves against common street thugs. (i.e. his support of civilian disarmament).
McCain, Guiliani, & Krauthammer are pro-war but anti-personal self defense. I would hope they are the exceptions but odds are they are typical of what's to come from the GOP unless it changes in a hurry.
At least there'll be one real conservative who has some respect for the Right to Arms (as opposed to republican) at the convention. Unfortunately he's a democrat.
Posted by: Publicola at August 31, 2004 02:33 PM (Aao25)
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I hope the GOP stays loyal to the NRA's cause, otherwise I'll have to vote Libertarian.
Anyway, I found a link at some other blog that you might find amusing:
http://blogmosis.com/pwguest/anarch_attack.mpeg
It's a video of the anti-RNC mutants in NYC getting into fisticuffs with some of the Protest Warriors.
Posted by: reagan80 at August 31, 2004 02:58 PM (hlMFQ)
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August 29, 2004
Get Your Freak On!
C-Span is showing the freakshow in New York right now, and i am
lovin' it.
There's so much anger and unfocused rage, it's funny. Whenever the C-Span dude asks anyone to explain themself, they invariably have nothing to say. It's like "err . . . agenda . . . um . . . Ashcroft . . . err . . . I just want Bush out . . . err . . ."
To be fair, there's a lot of normal touristy looking types in the crowd, but 80% or 90% of the signs and t-shirts contain some type of obscenity or insult, which negates any normalcy that a t-shirt and shorts might convey.
No suits and ties, though. The idiot who suggested that idea at DU must never have been to NYC in August.
And what's with all the drummers?
One guy was in complete hysterics, shouting at a group of Bush supporters: "YOU ARE THE THREAT TO THIS COUNTRY, NOT AL-QAEDA, YOU ARE THE AL-QAEDA!"
Oh yeah, that's the way to convert any swing voters watching on TV to your side. They're the people sitting at home, in Springfield or Dubuque or Orlando, shaking their heads and thinking: "That's not me . . . I don't want any part of that."
Keep it up freaks. Keep it up! Like i said, i am lovin' it.
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Organized incoherence. Gotta love it!
I'm with you, the freakier the better. I didn't have to think for very long about why the VWRC has not demonstrated against actions of left. It's that freak factor. If you look and act like a freak, guess what? Everyone thinks you are one.
It's kind of hard to take a freak seriously.
Posted by: Bonfire7 at August 29, 2004 03:13 PM (Ij50v)
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Well said about get your freak on, call it like you see it.
Posted by: Dex at August 30, 2004 01:26 PM (6XB81)
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Annika:
What is an intelligent person like you doing, wasting your time watching freaks on C-Span ? There are surely better ways of spending your precious grad student time, and much better means of knowing why Bush is a useless president, than talking to nutjobs.
Posted by: Aanand at August 30, 2004 02:29 PM (rtxgE)
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I was watching it too, shhhhhhhhhhhhh. I guess that the Kerry hoes got boooooo'd at the MTV awards, hahahahaha. I'll predict a landside. Did you hear ole sneaky John McCain yesterday? He thinks it's awful what those SBVT cads are doing to his friend's reputation, and that they are off base. "But what he did after he came home is fair game".
Posted by: Casca at August 30, 2004 05:06 PM (q+PSF)
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Annika,it is even more vivid being here and seeing them in living pink and purple.
Yesterday, I was standing on Fifth Avenue waiting for a ride to the tennis matches and a large group of freaks marched by where was trying to spot my car.
There were mostly guys dressed in garish dresses wearing bras, girdles, etc. on the outside of their dresses.
There was a group of workers in hardhats who were forced off the street onto some steps, and one of them said "I'll bet your mother is really proud of you".
The entire sidewalk of spectators erupted in spontaneous laughter.
How can anyone take these freaks seriously?
Posted by: shelly s. at August 31, 2004 01:31 AM (b/7hi)
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They take themselves way too seriously, Shelly. If only they could see themselves as most Americans do, they'd realize what damage they are doing to the Democratic party. That's why i say, keep it up.
Aanand, my friend, you are far too intelligent not to be converted to the Republican side. Keep reading my blog, dude. And stop listening to them
troglodytes in the Democratic party.
Posted by: annika! at August 31, 2004 07:21 AM (4RhLb)
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August 27, 2004
My New Best Friends
Well, i made it through the first week of school. i have three new best friends too.
Mr. Black,
Mr. Emanuel and
Mr. Gilbert. These three guys have been so nice and supportive throughout the whole week, and as i fought through each impulse to cry, simply lay down and cry, these three boys waited patiently until i was ready to return and continue working. i think i love them.
But for tonight, i'm going to catch up with some old friends i've been neglecting: Mr. Jack and Mr. Coke.
Tomorrow, i may hear from Mr. Puke.
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Wow, I didn't even crack a Black's until I was a second year. It appears you are ahead of the curve.
Posted by: Tiger at August 27, 2004 08:05 PM (G5PGV)
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GOUGE OUT MY EYES PLEASE!
About an hour ago I was walking up Fifth Ave in Midtown Manhattan. I noticed this strange looking creature looking into one of the store windows. As I got closer I saw he had on a huge "Fuck Bush" shirt. As I got even closer I noticed he was staring in at the mannequins, and
beating off!
Yes, the left brought in only the finest quality individuals to protest!
Now I'm off to scrub my eyes with steel wool!
(Annie, did you send him my way to get back for the Ted Rall mails?)
Posted by: Radical Redneck at August 27, 2004 10:47 PM (n2hZV)
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Annika:
So now you begin to see what it is like having to learn to think in a new language. Don't worry, after a while, it'll seem like you've known it all your life. But don't ever fall into the trap of talking like a lawyer,like John Kerry, who gives lawyers a bad name. And, stay away from lawyers at parties; they don't want to discuss law school cases, most of which they have forgotten, as will you.
By the way, about your friends; stay close to them, and in about three years, they'll introduce you to their good friend, Mr. Green. You are liable to really fall in love with him.
Posted by: shelly s. at August 28, 2004 02:58 AM (My8fB)
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Some people will tell you that study aids are a bad idea. I disagree. That said, I never used them regularly during the semester -- mostly around exam time, and to fill in blanks and help me with organizing my outlines.
My personal advice: Begin outlining early, and do it consistently. (This is much harder than it sounds, in my experience.) I never used study groups because it was a practical impossibility for me. But if you can commit the time, a lot of people strongly recommend it.
Posted by: Matt at August 28, 2004 09:03 AM (eWM9Y)
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I'm with Matt on this: study aids can become a crutch and a hindrance during the semester, but more useful during exams. That said, if you really don't know the meaning of a term, trying to glean it all from the cases rather than quickly looking it up in Black's is probably unnecessary masochism even for a law student. ;-)
But, of course, while it sounds a bit like touchy-feely PC bullshit, different people really do learn in different ways, so I'm sure you'll take all of our advice with a justified grain of salt.
Posted by: Dave J at August 28, 2004 09:20 AM (GEMsk)
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Study guides are great. I found the best to be the Examples and Explanations series...it's not just outlines -- it's summaries of the topics, and then questions. When I first started law school, I was given the advice to work through the entire E&E (written by Joseph Glannon) for Civ Pro, and I will get an A in that class. I did, and I did. Every law student loves Glannon!
Posted by: ginger at August 28, 2004 12:15 PM (Otp/6)
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I'm not sure if anyone has told her this yet, but I know a good lawyer nickname that should intimidate her opponents, "The Annikonda." She will put the squeeze on her opposition.
Posted by: reagan80 at August 28, 2004 12:45 PM (hlMFQ)
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It doesn't surprise me that, since your commentors have been mainly lawyers, this has been over looked. Perhaps it's seen as morally acceptable in the profession (which would explain a lot)...
But your first week of law school has you going out to get (ahem) jacked up on (double ahem) coke????
I can only assume this is a result of the kinds of people your assoiating with now & possibly a side effect of your pro-reptillian stance.
I miss the sweet, innocent miss Annika. Hopefully she's not gone forever.
Posted by: Publicola at August 28, 2004 12:53 PM (Aao25)
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I agree with Ginger - get all the Examples & Explanations books - they do a great job of getting you set with the concepts. The Civ. Pro. by Glannon is great (although weak on discovery). The Blum on Contracts is good. If you are using Dukemenier and Krier as the casbook on property, then Gilbert is the best, since it is written by Dukemenier.
Posted by: OS at August 29, 2004 03:46 AM (aPNMH)
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August 25, 2004
A Vaguely Olympics Related Poetry Day
It was so funny listening to Bob Costas talking about the Greek island of Lesbos tonight on the Olympics broadcast. He totally skipped over the one question that had half of America giggling. i can imagine all the Beavis and Butthead imitations going on in living rooms across the country: "huh-huh... he said lesbos... huh-huh."
Yes, strictly speaking, a lesbian is what you call someone from Lesbos. So how did that word become transformed into a gay moniker? And what does that have to do with poetry day? Read on:
The most famous lesbian of all was the classical Greek poetess Sappho, who lived in the seventh century B.C. She ran a school for girls on Lesbos that was sort of the artistic hippie commune of its day. She was such a revered poet that people called her "the tenth muse."
Sappho wrote a series of beautiful lyric poetry that survives only in fragments. It was written on stone tablets, which broke over the years and many of the pieces are missing. The only thing left of much of Sappho's work is a line here and a line there, leaving only glimpses of some romantic and evocative poetry, now lost forever.
Some of Sappho's poem fragments have been interpreted as evidence that she was indeed a lesbian, in both senses of the word. Thus the modern meaning of "lesbian." Although there is still some dispute about whether Sappho really liked girls or whether it was more of a sisterly thing she was writing about.
Sappho's poems have consistently resisted translation into English in a way that reveals their beauty to the non-Greek speaker. Or so i'm told. i took Latin, not Greek in high school, so i'll just have to take the poetry scholars' word for it.
Mary Barnard's recent translation is very nice, although i'm not sure how faithful it is to the original. Today's poem is an especially pretty translation by Barnard, which seems to be from a more intact fragment.
Yes, Atthis, you may be sure
Even in Sardis
Anactoria will think often of us
of the life we shared here,
when you seemed
the Goddess incarnate
to her and your singing
pleased her best
Now among Lydian women she in her
turn stands first as the red-
fingered moon rising at sunset takes
precedence over stars around her;
her light spreads equally
on the salt sea and fields thick with bloom
Delicious dew pours down to freshen
roses, delicate thyme,
and blossoming sweet clover; she wanders
aimlessly, thinking of gentle
Atthis, her heart hanging
heavy with longing in her little breast
She shouts aloud, Come! we know it;
thousand-eared night repeats that cry
across the sea shining between us
i think it's appropriate that this week's poem is a selection from Sappho, in honor of the Olympic Games in general and a couple of American gold medalists in particular who, perhaps unintentionally,
paid homage to the spirit of Sappho the other night.
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For a non-Lesbian, you sure seem to know a lot about Lesbos. :/
Posted by: Xrlq at August 26, 2004 11:19 AM (ARMDq)
Posted by: Rodger Schultz at August 27, 2004 03:04 AM (hp+Xq)
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That's because she IS truly fascinating. Intellectual, playful, overtly sexual, she's a guy's kinda gal.
Posted by: Casca at August 28, 2004 06:58 AM (q+PSF)
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I do like Mary Barnard's translations, and have used them in class.
I understand that banned Greek sprinter Costas Kenteris is from Lesbos, and thus can correctly be referred to as a Lesbian.
Posted by: Hugo at August 30, 2004 08:31 AM (0nnRQ)
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August 22, 2004
See You In A Few...
During my extended blog hiatus, it may seem like i'm gone, but i wont be, really. There may even be some mysterious annika sightings now and then.
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Wow! How did you do that? Do they have time machines in law schools now?
Or, are you just a month ahead of all the rest of us slugs?
Posted by: shelly s. at August 23, 2004 06:26 AM (AaBEz)
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Good luck starting your classes!!
Posted by: ginger at August 23, 2004 11:39 AM (Otp/6)
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It looks like everyone is voting in your poll based on wishful thinking.
Kind of like real voting.
Posted by: Smallholder at August 24, 2004 10:54 AM (EKkB8)
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Ill fuck a Con broad but Ill never be seen with her. the swiftboat (shortbus) liars can do what the shrub twins been doing for years, suck my long, lushus, leftwing cock!
Posted by: Um Yeah at August 24, 2004 11:33 AM (7XTy8)
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Thanks for stopping by Ted.
Posted by: Casca at August 24, 2004 05:15 PM (q+PSF)
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That is kewl...I looked at the date, did a double-take, and then a triple-take! Good luck!
Posted by: Brent at August 24, 2004 06:26 PM (w+y2e)
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Thanks for the plug, thank you very much!
Posted by: Nixon1971 at August 26, 2004 07:49 AM (4zgJR)
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August 18, 2004
Wednesday Is Poetry Day
Here is a lovely, alliterative, difficult, and very spiritual poem by one-time Golden Bear, Archibald Randolph Ammons.
The City Limits
When you consider the radiance, that it does not withhold
itself but pours its abundance without selection into every
nook and cranny not overhung or hidden; when you consider
that birds' bones make no awful noise against the light but
lie low in the light as in a high testimony; when you consider
the radiance, that it will look into the guiltiest
swervings of the weaving heart and bear itself upon them,
not flinching into disguise or darkening; when you consider
the abundance of such resource as illuminates the glow-blue
bodies and gold-skeined wings of flies swarming the dumped
guts of a natural slaughter or the coil of shit and in no
way winces from its storms of generosity; when you consider
that air or vacuum, snow or shale, squid or wolf, rose or lichen,
each is accepted into as much light as it will take, then
the heart moves roomier, the man stands and looks about, the
leaf does not increase itself above the grass, and the dark
work of the deepest cells is of a tune with May bushes
and fear lit by the breadth of such calmly turns to praise.
i had to read this one a bunch of times before i "got" it. Until i did, the beauty of the rhythm and alliteration kept me going back. Notice the scientific metaphors. Ammons had a chemistry degree from Wake Forest and his interest in science is obvious in this poem. He also studied English Literature at Cal Berkeley as a grad student, although i do not think he earned a degree.
This poem's message is definitely spiritual and contemplative. Whether it's also a religious metaphor is up to the reader. For me it is, but i can just as easily see how it wouldn't be for some.
Here's a short bio of the poet, who died in February, 2001.
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Hurrah! I had never heard of Ammons, but this is very fine.
Posted by: Hugo at August 18, 2004 08:35 AM (ntfdi)
Posted by: Scof at August 19, 2004 11:49 AM (XCqS+)
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August 17, 2004
Commitment To Excellence, annika Style
So you know, blogging might be light this week and almost non-existent starting next Monday. Yesterday was the first day of orientation week. Classes start on the 23rd.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
My plan is to post weekly if at all possible, in the style of Anne...straight from the hip (quantity-wise, of course. i could never hope to match her quality-wise).
i'll still try to check in on my regular blog reading, because it's a pleasure i just can't give up that easily.
Besides, i need to taunt Rocket Jones mercilessly some more.
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It just occurred to me that I never invited you to become a Hot Jets cheerleader for Rocket Jones. Please accept my apology for that, and consider joining the best sideline squad in blogdom.
Posted by: Ted at August 17, 2004 03:34 AM (blNMI)
Posted by: shelly s. at August 17, 2004 07:53 AM (b2OCv)
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As a fan, Annika dear, keep up the Wednesday poetry... please!
You'll be a big smashing Golden Bear success. I know it.
Posted by: Hugo at August 17, 2004 10:00 AM (ntfdi)
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Good luck! Keep your head up!
Posted by: Scof at August 17, 2004 11:23 AM (XCqS+)
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I just noticed you like Stephen Ambrose. I'm currently enrolled at his former stomping grounds......the University of New Orleans. Unfortunately, Douglas Brinkley has taken over Ambrose's former position at UNO. Anyway, my classes also start Monday, so good luck with your academic rigamaroo.
Posted by: reagan80 at August 18, 2004 07:58 PM (hlMFQ)
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August 16, 2004
i Hit The Big Time
i am officially big-time. Gennie of
Dizzy-girl notified me that i got quoted on the Democratic Underground cranksite.
Here's the post:
What a rightwing blog says about protests of Republican Convention
'We can expect a big freak show at the upcoming Republican Convention in New York. The far left nut jobs will ensure Bush's re-election, even though they will think they're doing the opposite. In fact, i hope they go on a total Bush-hatin' rampage in the streets of New York. Everyone knows who's side they're on, and the worse the protesters act, the more people will realize how low the Democratic Party has fallen.'
-The rightwing blog, Annika's Journal, July 26, 2004
-------------------------------------------------------
If you go, please wear business clothing (suit and tie for a man)
and please don't block traffic.
I'm expecting the police to taser and club peaceful protestors, and I hope things stay calm.
That's a freakin' joke. You usually gotta have a job to own a suit and tie, and none of those people have jobs. If they did, they sure as hell wouldn't have time to be protesting. Plus, asking these professional protesters not to block traffic is like asking shit not to stink. Their whole purpose for existence is to make themselves noticed in the most obnoxious way.
To paraphrase David Crosby: Let your freak flag fly baby!
Posted by: annika at
11:42 PM
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Post contains 233 words, total size 2 kb.
1
I'M LOOKING FOR SOCIALLY ENLIGHTENED RICH LIBERALS!
I want you to buy all the shares of GM and Halliburton your means allow: put them in my group's total control: and keep on until we have controlling interest of the entire corporations! Then I will place the benevolent and uber socially responsible Michael Moore as the CEO of GM, and the urbane, wise and uber evolved Ted Rall as Halliburton's CEO!
We can do it - we can make the difference! We can control corporate America and make it Progressive!
BUY! ACT NOW!
Posted by: Zizz at August 17, 2004 07:07 AM (7XTy8)
2
I see one of the nut jobs escaped the insane asylum and is ranting on your page.
Does this idiot even know how Moore tramples on the rights of indivduals and the truth and exploits them to get what he wants: 150M in the bank. Why doesn't she start by exhorting Moore to use his ill gotten booty for better causes....
oh, that's right, he doesn't have a conscience!
Posted by: michele at August 17, 2004 05:44 PM (beN4P)
3
Michele, call me either crazy or naive, but I'd assumed that Zizz's comment was a joke. Uh, right?
Posted by: Dave J at August 17, 2004 06:19 PM (GEMsk)
4
Bush and his minions at NASA created Hurricane Charlie! This gives him an excuse to write his brother a blank check instead of educating blacks. It'll also get his white Christian ass all over the media there in violation of McCain Feingold!
Posted by: Zizz at August 18, 2004 10:37 AM (FdISY)
5
Woo hoo!
*Right Winger*
Bring em on!
Posted by: Jennifer at August 18, 2004 05:13 PM (rPs0d)
6
Wow, that's hitting the big time. Noticed on the DU? You're my idol.
Posted by: Sarah at August 19, 2004 07:56 AM (g6j7w)
7
Congrats, Annie -- you've not only hit the bigtime, but you've caused dozens or hundreds of lefties to waste precious man-hours whining about you. (Take a look at the comments generated by the post you linked to.) "We're not freaks -- we're regular Americans! Practically everybody I know is a patchouli-wearing permanent student with relaxed standards of personal grooming!" Fantastic! The more time they spend arching their collective backs, hissing about you and reassuring one another that they're in the mainstream, the less time they spend fucking up my country.
Posted by: Matt at August 19, 2004 09:11 PM (eWM9Y)
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August 15, 2004
IM Dialogue
You ever get those crazy IMs from people you don't know who just want to chat? i do. Mostly i just ignore them, but sometimes it's fun to mess with them. Here's an example:
expletivedeleted: hi sexy
annikagyrl: hi
expletivedeleted: how's you
annikagyrl: fine
expletivedeleted: so you live in LA ?
annikagyrl: no, sacramento
expletivedeleted: ah, moved since updating your profile then
annikagyrl: yah
expletivedeleted: so how's sac town
annikagyrl: fixing it now
expletivedeleted: how so
expletivedeleted: oh, nevermind
expletivedeleted: what do you do for kicks up there?
annikagyrl: not much
annikagyrl: its pretty boring
expletivedeleted: so i hear
expletivedeleted: i have friends up there
annikagyrl: where do you live
expletivedeleted: san diego
expletivedeleted: i'm martin
expletivedeleted: and i am assuming that you are annika
annikagyrl: are you the martin from san diego?
expletivedeleted: well, i am one of probably many
annikagyrl: i know you
expletivedeleted: how do you know me
annikagyrl: kindergarten
annikagyrl: remember?
expletivedeleted: you teach kindergarten?
annikagyrl: no we went to kindergarten toghethe
expletivedeleted: really now?
annikagyrl: i cant believe you dont remember me
expletivedeleted: have we spoke online before and you were under a different name?
annikagyrl: no you sat in front of me
expletivedeleted: where?
annikagyrl: in front of you
expletivedeleted: so what was our teacher's name?
annikagyrl: oh god, i don't remember
annikagyrl: started with an l
expletivedeleted: no it was a B
annikagyrl: b started with a b
annikagyrl: baum somehting or other
expletivedeleted: it was Brown
annikagyrl: brown yah thats it
annikagyrl: remember i used to shoot spit wads at you
expletivedeleted: you didnt go to kindergarten with me
annikagyrl: no im just fuckin with ya dude
expletivedeleted: of course you are
annikagyrl: i do that to everybody
annikagyrl: some people believe it tho
expletivedeleted: not me
annikagyrl: yes, that is why i do not like you
expletivedeleted: ah
expletivedeleted: hostility
annikagyrl: yes
expletivedeleted: why's that
annikagyrl: i dont know
pause.
annikagyrl: say something funny
long pause
annikagyrl: lol
expletivedeleted: fear the lords who are secret among us
expletivedeleted: the lords are w/ in us
annikagyrl: that is funny
expletivedeleted: born of sloth and cowardice
annikagyrl: i cant believe how funny you are
expletivedeleted: see, perhaps i am good for something
annikagyrl: what is that, the bible, or jrr tolkien?
expletivedeleted: nah, just a thought
annikagyrl: thets fuckin hilarious dude
another pause
expletivedeleted: your name is annika then?
annikagyrl: yes
expletivedeleted: and have you always lived in california?
annikagyrl: yes
expletivedeleted: married? children?
annikagyrl:: nope
expletivedeleted: well, so what are your interests
expletivedeleted: ?
expletivedeleted: you there?
expletivedeleted: hello
expletivedeleted: cmon
But alas, i was gone. i don't think he'll be IMing me again, what do you think?
Posted by: annika at
09:54 AM
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1
That's hilarious. How on earth does someone just randomly IM you?
Posted by: Neil Uchitel at August 15, 2004 12:40 PM (Q+NnP)
2
Neil,
On certain messenger programs there's a list of people who are online. You usually have the option of logging on so as not to appear on these lists but most people just log on & ignore any unsolicited IM's.
On certain messenger services there are a fair number of people who send messages to anyone if they find that person's profile page interesting whether they appear to be online or not. Mainly it's young guys look for some kind of internet hook up, but I have received IM's from people who just thought some aspect of my profile was interesting enough to comment on (though this mainly happened back in the days I hung out in a Star Wars specific place)
Miss Annika,
I dunno. Personally I shy away from unsolicited IM's (sending & receiving) but there are a lot of people who don't. I'm afraid that your attempts to rebuff the guy might have intrigued him. There's probably some kid walking around the streets walking around Diego with baggy pants & a cap on sideways telling his pals about this hot chic & the totally dope rap he threw on her & how well it worked cause she was talking some mad inawindows.
But be forewarned - if you continue any sort of online relationship with this person I have a feeling it would quickly devolve into the following:
http://www.b0g.org/wsnm/news.php?artc=4599&s=e3e04398cf433b09abb0c1f249daac97
Posted by: Publicola at August 15, 2004 01:33 PM (Aao25)
3
I think the IMer was 8 years old and his mother told him he had to do his homework.
Posted by: Jake at August 15, 2004 05:45 PM (h4tU8)
4
I use to have ICQ, IM, all that stuff. But I got tired of the unsolicited chats. Total freaks dwell amongst us. But your conversation was funny!!
Posted by: Brent at August 16, 2004 05:57 AM (w+y2e)
5
Sorry Annika, but I just don't see the fun in spending that much time harassing an idiot. Worse yet, my spending the time reading the dialogue.
School must not have started yet, as if it had, you'd not be wasting time on stuff like this.
Posted by: shelly s. at August 16, 2004 05:42 PM (b/7hi)
Posted by: urthshu at August 16, 2004 06:16 PM (kL+PA)
7
Publicola, I have got to say, that stuff you linked was actually so funny it was physically painful.
Posted by: Dave J at August 16, 2004 09:15 PM (GEMsk)
8
Maybe that guy saw the Fash-ism photo album and has a foot fetish.
Phear teh pheetphiles.......
Posted by: reagan80 at August 18, 2004 09:48 AM (Wc43W)
Posted by: Casca at August 18, 2004 06:52 PM (q+PSF)
10
Chatting up an idiot like that would be like going out into the garage and sorting nuts, bolts and screws for me when I am stressed. It's mindless and easy to do and sometimes you just gotta do it to unwind.
It was pretty funny. Thanks for sharing.
btw - I am also in Sac. Hi neighbor!
Posted by: Bonfire7 at August 20, 2004 07:39 PM (Ij50v)
11
Haven't stopped by in a while, but I see you're in Sac-Town now. How interesting. You will soon know be begging to go back to LA for more reans than missing your family.
Your Sacto-brother in Arms,
-Black Glenn
Posted by: glenn at August 22, 2004 01:31 PM (EPZd0)
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Steyn Boils It Down
In this
Chicago Sun Times piece:
A handful of Kerry's 'band of brothers' are traveling around with his campaign. Most of the rest, including a majority of his fellow swift boat commanders and 254 swiftees from Kerry's Coastal Squadron One, are opposed to his candidacy. That is an amazing ratio and, if snot-nosed American media grandees don't think there's a story there, maybe they ought to consider another line of work. To put it in terms they can understand, imagine if Dick Cheney campaigned for the presidency on the basis of his time at Halliburton, and a majority of the Halliburton board and 80 percent of the stockholders declared he was unfit for office. More to the point, on the swift vets' first major allegation -- Christmas in Cambodia -- the Kerry campaign has caved.
i love that Halliburton analogy. And this too:
Thirty-five years on, having no appealing campaign themes, the senator decides to run for president on his biography. But for the last 20 years he's been a legislative non-entity. Before that, he was accusing his brave band of brothers of mutilation, rape and torture. He spent his early life at Swiss finishing school and his later life living off his wife's inheritance from her first husband. So, biography-wise, that leaves four months in Vietnam, which he talks about non-stop. That 1986 Senate speech is typical: It was supposed to be about Reagan policy in Central America, but like so many Kerry speeches and interviews somehow it winds up with yet another self-aggrandizing trip down memory lane.
Kerry's four brilliant months, so carefully crafted by him over the course of thirty-five years, are now disintegrating into his own "four more [months] of hell."
Re: Kerry as a "legislative non-entity," allow me to recycle an old post of mine, about Clinton's regard for that great senator from Massachussetts, John Kerry. Bill didn't have much to say, in fact.
Link via Mark at The Scrolldown.
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August 13, 2004
Olympic Play-By-Play - Opening Ceremonies
[an experiment in contemporaneous blogging]
. . . i despise Katie Kouric. i really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really despise her . . .
. . . i just turned the thing on. What's up with the glowing pregnant chick? That shit is straight up weirding me out . . .
. . . Kouric's tone of voice is soooo condescending. She talks down to the viewing audience like we're a bunch of fucking babies. God she's annoying. She almost makes me not mind the short guy. What's his name? . . .
. . . Costas . . .
. . . Interesting that Bulgaria sent an all male contingent of athletes this year . . .
. . . i'm sure the German team didn't mind following the French team in the parade of nations. Germans are very used to seeing the backs of Frenchmen . . .
. . . Cool, no boos for the Americans. But what's up with that music? Is that a techno version of Albinoni's Adagio? Couldn't they have picked a happier tune for the parade? . . .
. . . i've heard from Europeans that we Americans walk differently and we're easy to pick out from a crowd because of the way we carry ourselves. It doesn't matter what we wear, either. i can't put my finger on the difference, but i see it when i look at our team. It's almost like an optimism, if it's possible to exude optimism while walking . . .
. . . Best looking guys so far have been on the Bosnia-Herzegovinian and Irish teams . . .
. . . Italy too . . .
. . . i bet that blue haired Cameroonian chick was pissed when she saw the blue haired Italian chick steal her idea . . .
. . . Del Harris?! What the fuck are you doing on the Chinese team? He's the Manchurian coach! i hope no one shows him the queen of diamonds. Damn traitor . . .
. . . Time for another beer . . .
. . . The Iraqi team got a nice reception too. That's very cool . . .
. . . The Cook Island team wins the gold for having the most fun during the parade of nations. i wanna party with those guys . . .
. . . More blue hair. This time on a Mexican chick . . .
. . . That guy carrying the flag of Mauritania looks like the black dude from Gladiator . . .
. . . The Brits are all dressed like they just came from the Village. (not Shyamalan's village . . . McGoohan's) . . .
. . . The Olympic Stadium really was worth waiting for. It is spectacularly beautiful . . .
. . . But is there anything more boring than an Olympic opening ceremony? Maybe an Olympic closing ceremony . . .
. . . Still, it is amazing when you think that the Olympics were invented in that exact place, three thousand years ago . . .
. . . AθHNA . . .
. . . Now here come the runners, passing off what appears to be the largest fattie spliff ever rolled . . .
. . . Holy shit. At first i thought the dude was using that fattie to chain light the world's most gigantic joint. But then, as the torch slowly began to rise, it's true symbolism became obvious. Those perv Greeks built a huge working replica of an erect phallus! . . .
. . . i think i'm blushing . . .
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1
The Aussies have the same walk. I didn't notice it on anyone else, but I didn't stay to the end.
Posted by: Erik at August 13, 2004 10:46 PM (eKeht)
2
i don't doubt that at all.
Posted by: annika! at August 13, 2004 11:38 PM (XUQP4)
3
I was kind of wondering
I've heard that thing about how Americans walk before, and I've always thought that Americans walk just like everybody else... But the only "everybody else" I'm familiar with is Aussies.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 14, 2004 01:05 AM (+S1Ft)
4
I am not sure if its fortunate or unfortunate - but yes Americans are known throughout the world - immediately. Spot us from the way we dress - to the way we walk - to our fat. You can walk into a crowded club, restaurant - and you can pick us out immediately. Its not optimism. Its cockiness. The only people cockier than Americans are the British. And then there are the Aussies. All British colonies.
Sometimes it makes you proud. Sometimes its embarrassing. Especially Americans abroad for the first time.
"You know in America - McDonalds is HUGE..."
"You know in America - everything is NEWER..."
"Thats so stupid - why do Europeans do it that way... In America - we do it this way - and its BETTER..."
Shit, you are not in America. Sigh.
Posted by: gsj at August 14, 2004 08:07 AM (ftDX1)
5
my mom said stuff like that when she visited me in England.
And she's Danish!
Posted by: annika at August 14, 2004 09:01 AM (fxEID)
6
Here is a difference I have found between American and European women:
When you walk down the street and look an American woman in the eye and smile, most of the time (young or old), she will smile back.
If you do the same thing to an European woman, she will look at the ground and not change her expression.
European women must feel oppressed.
Posted by: Jake at August 14, 2004 11:54 AM (h4tU8)
7
Maybe if your fly wasn't open....
Posted by: Casca at August 15, 2004 05:51 AM (q+PSF)
Posted by: annika! at August 15, 2004 06:33 AM (iUHC/)
9
A friend of mine and his wife went on an overseas trip with a group of Brits, and the Brits were openly hostile to my friends, being Americans. They made the trip really miserable for them, and my friends couldn't figure out why. One of the guys actually had the guts to tell them why: "When we first met you, you guys were laughing and having a good time...you were happy. And that really, is annoying." Then he said "Another reason we don't like you is because we do everything first, but you do it better."
I can't believe the guy was so candid, but also, so petty in the first place? They didn't like the Americans because "they were happy"??
Posted by: Neil Uchitel at August 15, 2004 12:47 PM (Q+NnP)
10
Imagine being happy while at the Olympics. God knows how long and how much effort it took to actually qualify.
As of this writing, Americans lead in the medal count with 39. Not to be cocky, of course.
Posted by: Mark at August 19, 2004 08:17 PM (Vg0tt)
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Here's A Great Idea
i've added a new button to my sidebar. Please check it out; i think it's a great idea.
Books For Soldiers is a soldier support site that ships books, DVDs and supplies to deployed soliders and soldiers in VA hospitals, via our large volunteer network.
If you have old, but usuable paperback books sitting around, collecting dust, why not send them to a solider [sailor, airman or marine] for a big morale boost?
Thanks to
the other Annika, on whose site i discovered this.
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1
This is a good idea; I also like the one where American political texts and such are translated into Arabic. Not much else to say today. It's friday; I get to sit on my butt and these guys & gals are out there fighting in some hot ass weather. They deserve a moment of prayer from us.
Posted by: Scof at August 13, 2004 03:03 PM (XCqS+)
2
Because special services already sends them NEW books?
Posted by: Casca at August 14, 2004 05:35 AM (q+PSF)
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i Say Again, Don't Believe The Polls
Regular listeners to
Professor Hewitt's radio show are already aware of this story, but i thought i'd reiterate it with some links.
In the recent Colorado Senate primary, the pre-election buzz was that the GOP candidates, Pete Coors and Bob Schaffer, were in a statistical dead heat. In fact, AP repeated this assumption on the day of the election.
Then, Pete Coors won by a margin of 61% to 39%!
Twenty-two percentage points is a pretty decent margin of victory, and while the press avoided calling it a landslide (the Democratic candidate won his primary with 73% of the vote) i would not hesitate to call it just that.
How did the pre-election polls get it so wrong? Were the pollsters biased? Maybe not, the primary was between two Republicans, after all. Were the polling methods faulty? i don't know the details of that particular Colorado poll, but in my opinion, most polls are screwy and inaccurate by nature.
The only polls i put any stock in are Zogby's exit polls, because they've been shown to be the most accurate after the last two presidential elections.
Another problem with poll accuracy is that people who do vote are increasingly less likely to pick up the phone, thanks to telemarketing abuse. i don't think this problem necessarily favors one party over the other, but it does make the raw data suspect. And that requires the pollster to make assumptions about who is being underestimated when the pollster adjusts the numbers for "accuracy."
The point i want to make is this: i think there's a lot more support for the GOP, and specifically for Bush-Cheney, than the pollsters and the media are willing to recognize or admit. Most of the presidential polling is deliberately skewed in favor of the Democrats, in my opinion. (Dick Morris explains how the media accomplish and justify thier biased polling in his book, Off With Their Heads.) i'm not saying the pollsters are lying. i just think they overestimate the amount of Democratic support when they adjust the raw data.
The Coors election shows how wrong the polls can be. The lesson i'm hoping to extrapolate from Colorado is that in this post 9/11 era, polling and voting are two vastly different things. i think people are a lot more serious about their vote when they actually get in the booth. They may support any number of candidates during pre-election polls, but when it's time to pull the lever, i think there's a newfound tendency to lean towards the conservative side.
i'll be very interested to see if my theory holds true in November.
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Annie:
As usual, you are on point. An additional thought is the interpretation of polls.
By way of illustration, take the national polls. They reflect (or hold themselves out to reflect) the overall popular vote at any certain moment in time. But to properly interpret them, you'd need to see the state by state raw numbers, as several states are just so lopsided that the electoral vote is often times nowhere near the way the polls appear to read.
I suspect that right now, Bush is pretty far ahead in the electoral college vote, while even or a bit behind in the popular vote.
Posted by: shelly s. at August 13, 2004 11:14 AM (My8fB)
Posted by: Xrlq at August 13, 2004 11:57 AM (b/34x)
3
Allah willing. I would absolutely wet myself with happiness if Bush wound up winning by a decisive margin. (actually I'll probably still wet myself if he simply wins)
Posted by: Bill from INDC at August 13, 2004 08:27 PM (hsQf4)
4
So Bush makes us save when he goes to war so that we can defeat an enemy -terrorism- that he
now admits can not be defeated? Are you people for real? I guess the fact that most Republicans never graduated high school or at most attended but a single year in college is to blame for your
complete lack of logic and reason.
Posted by: Peter R. Green at September 09, 2004 03:38 PM (jHZDC)
5
Nice spelling and grammar, idiot.
Posted by: annika! at September 09, 2004 08:09 PM (AsB4V)
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She Does Have A Rodent-Like Quality About Her
Studies Find Rats Can Get Hooked on Drugs
Among the ways to know when a rat's hooked: It keeps trying to get cocaine even when each hit comes with an electric shock.
Or a date before the judge.
Intriguingly, 17 percent of the rats met all three measures and thus were considered addicted — while roughly 15 percent of human cocaine users become addicts . . .
Unless you count musicians and
child actors . . .
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1
annika, you apologize to rats RIGHT THIS FREAKIN' MINUTE!
How DARE you compare rats to Courtney Love? Every rat in the country is mad at you right now!
;~)
Posted by: Victor at August 14, 2004 05:19 AM (etHvD)
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August 12, 2004
Whether He Is Or Isn't Is Nobody's Business
MTV.com, a highly respected and perfectly objective news source, thinks that a certain personal lifestyle choice of New Jersey governor James McGreevey's is none of your damn business.
No, i'm not talking about his sexual preference. In fact, i'm sure they're overjoyed that McGreevey has come out of the closet.
But why won't they tell us that he's a Democrat?
Not that there's anything wrong with that . . .
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1
So McGreevey is a cocksucker? Name me a Democrat who isn't!
Posted by: Casca at August 12, 2004 06:04 PM (q+PSF)
2
I could not have cared less - until it came out that his squeeze was on the state payroll with a six figure plus salary, and is planning to sue.
Posted by: Mark at August 12, 2004 06:26 PM (yyjwG)
3
Very good post, Annika.
“But why won't they tell us that he's a Democrat?”
Obviously, you have not read the section in the Constitution dealing with freedom of the press.
The Constitution says that you must put Republican in the headline if the bad politician is a Republican. If the bad politician is a Democrat, you are not allowed to put the word Democrat any where in the story or headline.
Posted by: jake at August 12, 2004 06:58 PM (h4tU8)
4
Silly me. i must not have been paying attention during my two semesters of Con History.
Posted by: annika at August 12, 2004 07:11 PM (esUbQ)
5
bushs war against a nation that did not threaten America is costing us a billion dollars a day and you guys are hung up on gay love...
i am more worried about our guys who are dying in Iraq while the mullahs next door in Iran praise god for sending bush to destroy their greatest enemy. when they get done laughing at bush they go back to work on developing nukes.
Posted by: Anjin-San at August 12, 2004 08:19 PM (Ta+Sg)
6
Golan Cipel is a Mossad man, and New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey is just one more victim of a Mossad honeytrap when he first met Cipel in Israel.
The homosexual relationship that probably started very early on made McGreevey, a progressive, a staunch catholic and father of two, exceptionally vulnerable to blackmail.
Surprise, surprise - Cipel found himself Governor McGreevey's Homeland Security Czar in New Jersey, a very useful and powerful position for a Mossad operative to find himself in. This appointment was made despite Cipel having no qualifications for the job, no background check being carried out and amidst tremendous resistence to the appointment.
The demand for money (always behind the jewish plots) now being talked about is smoke and mirrors to distract attention from the underlying Mossad blackmail.
If progressive Americans ever become aware of the role of Mossad in this affair the shit will really hit the fan.
You know Golan Cipel will scurry back to his jew dominants in Israel as soon as the spotlight is turned on him.
Posted by: Zizz at August 14, 2004 02:15 AM (2CBJ0)
7
Hmmmm, now the Mossad angle is interesting. Perhaps they wanted to bring him down for appointing that stupid fuck Lautenberg.
Posted by: Casca at August 14, 2004 05:47 AM (q+PSF)
Posted by: annika! at August 14, 2004 09:05 AM (fxEID)
9
Cipel pronouned TSI PEL as in nipple is Mossad double agent. But no need for antisemitic comments here as above. Zizz is a motherfucker. Get lost, zozz, and use your real email next time.
Love it when the antisems come out of the closet. Sad puppies.
Posted by: d at August 16, 2004 07:54 PM (tPzhx)
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Observation
You haven't really enjoyed the song "Margaritaville" until you've heard it sung to the accompaniment of an ukulele.
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August 11, 2004
Wednesday Is Poetry Day
In keeping with today's football related theme, i want to share a pretty cool website i discovered. It's called
Football Poets, and it deals with that other football, which Americans call soccer, and which i call kickball.
i may sometimes deride soccer fan, but it's an uncomfortable truth that your average hooligan has a lot in common with your stereotypical Raider fan.
Read the following poem, by a poet named simply, Glenn. Tell me if it doesn't remind you of any beloved black hole dwellers you know.
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
He wakes up to the siren of the clock beside his bed,
He rubs his eyes and starts to feel the banging in his head,
It's 8 o'clock on Sunday morn, he's only had five hours,
But he mustn't let his mates down so he summons up his powers.
He drinks a litre of diet coke to ease the dehydration,
Then sets off down to meet his mates at the petrol station,
His lift turns up and they all pile in, squashed and jammed up tight,
The car is filled with smells of beer and curry from last night.
He shouts and swears with all his mates as they change in a cold, damp room,
The boisterousness holds no bounds, it's Sunday in the tomb,
He strides out through the mist that hugs the rutted council pitch,
Up to the centre circle, hand down shorts, attending to the itch.
He tentatively shakes the hand of his foe in black and red,
Then shouts 'tails' as the tarnished coin spins above his head,
He runs, he kicks, he hurts, he spits, his vitriol unchecked,
He courts displeasure of the man, who is in black bedecked.
He leaves the battered field of play, threatening retribution,
Knowing, deep down inside, his worthless contribution,
And afterwards in the bar he's pompous, rude and haughty,
'Cos this is Sunday football and tomorrow he is forty.
He knows his days of mud and blood are nearly at an end,
The paunch that sits upon his belt is now his new best friend,
He'll fill him up with pie and ale until he's fit to burst,
But he will go on drinking to satisfy his thirst.
He staggers off the bus and somehow opens the front door,
He slumps down in the armchair and sleeps three hours or more,
He wakes up to the siren of the ambulance outside
Then cries as he realises, that Sunday football had just died.
Posted by: annika at
04:19 PM
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1
Hey watch it! I resemble that remark about the Raiders, you must be a Denver Pony fan. ha
Posted by: Dex at August 12, 2004 10:06 AM (h3iWz)
2
No no, this blog is pro-Raiders all the way!
Posted by: annika! at August 12, 2004 01:49 PM (zAOEU)
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Go Cal Bears!
i was pleased to see that Cal's football team is ranked in the top 25 on at least six pre-season polls. The latest is
a number 22 ranking on Sports Illustrated's poll.
SI ranks USC at number one, which is no surprise, but guess which Pac-10 team handed the Trojans their only defeat last year?
That's right, it was the Cal Bears!
Some other rankings are:
We're not on the AP's radar yet, but i'm hoping we will be, as soon as the season gets going. Watch returning junior Aaron Rodgers at QB and senior Geoff McArthur at wide receiver. McArthur averaged 115 yards per game with ten touchdowns on his way to a conference leading 1504 total yards. As a passer, Rodgers was second in the PAC-10 in yards per attempt and second only to
Matt Leinart in QB rating.
Posted by: annika at
02:02 PM
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Post contains 174 words, total size 2 kb.
1
Bears Smears, the big news in the college football world has GOT to be the formation of the GREAT WEST FOOTBALL CONFERENCE. On Oct 2nd, the mighty Jackrabbits of South Dakota State University (SDSU) will smite the Mustangs of Cal Poly (SLO). ;-)
Posted by: wobots at August 12, 2004 06:44 AM (djVNl)
Posted by: Dex at August 12, 2004 10:08 AM (h3iWz)
3
Sadly my dear, preseason polls are horseshit. No way the Buckeyes aren't in the top five.
Posted by: Casca at August 12, 2004 06:32 PM (q+PSF)
4
Guess which team is going to get their lunch handed back to them in the Coliseum this year as a "thank you" for ruining USC's otherwise perfect season last year?
Fight on!!!!
Posted by: shelly s. at August 13, 2004 11:20 AM (My8fB)
5
Annika, I will be your Golden Bear ally all season long...
Oh, they had a little party down in Newport...
Posted by: Hugo at August 15, 2004 12:25 PM (ntfdi)
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