Thank You

This is obviously a bit late and comes after pretty much everyone else has had their say. But I have been on such an emotional high since Wednesday that I have been unable to write about my joy. I think the new Nike commercial captures exactly how I feel. For thirty-three years I have patiently waited for a World Series Championship and each year, like every other citizen of Red Sox Nation, I had my heart torn to pieces in October.

But this year was different. The Idiots broke the curse instead of our hearts. Eighty six years of longing and heartache have come to an end. And what a glorious one it was, marching right through Yankee Stadium.

This year's Championship was not only for the 2004 Red Sox and the Red Sox Nation, but for all of those players who have come before. Guys like Yaz, Jim Rice, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, Luis Tiant, Fred Lynn, Carlton Fisk, Bob Stanley, and even Bill Buckner. Guys who played hard and brought an awful lot of joy to the Nation, but for their lack of a Championship never quite got the respect they deserved.

So, to the 2004 Red Sox and to all of those players who wore a Boston uniform between 1918 and 2004, thank you. We always have, and always will, love you. But right now, maybe we love you a little bit more.

Morons for Bush?

According to Political Wire, Democracy Corps latest polling shows that the uneducated vote for Bush while those with college degrees vote for Kerry. Why is this not in the least bit surprising? I suppose you'd have to lack any ability for rational analysis given Miserable Failure's record of.. well... failure.

Sending a Message

Nader voters like to say they are sending a message. I am not sure if it is to the country in general or more particularly to the Democratic Party. But just what is the message they are sending? If one were to listen to Naderites, it would be that there is no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats.

Of course, this is beyond simplistic. It is foolishly naive and speaks to the lack of maturity and intelligence of the typical Nader voter. What their vote is really saying (especially in swing states)is that having a lefty hissy fit is more important than replacing the Village Idiot from Texas.

Gender Gap

For years there has been a gender gap in politics- men tend to break Republican, while women tend towards the Democratic candidate. This year that gap seems particularly acute with some polls showing men supporting Miserable Failure by about 15 percentage points. The conventional wisdom has been that men vote Republican because they are concerned about economic and military issues, whereas women's votes are based more on social issues like education and healthcare.

But I have an alternative hypothesis. Call it the porn hypothesis. On the whole, male porn actors are not particularly attractive and thus do not threaten their male audience. The same holds true for Bush in the intelligence department. Given that most men tend towards the competitive side, they are unlikely to vote for a candidate who seems to be more intelligent than they are because such a president might be emasculating to them and their sense of self. But since Miserable Failure is such a dimwit, the emasculation problem is obviated.

So.. just like straight porn needs Ron Jeremy, presidential politics needs Miserable Failures.

Make the Ringing Stop

Ok.. I know that I have been a wee bit lacking in content lately. Between my beloved Red Sox spanking those bastard Yankees (worst meltdown ever in MLB history), my trip to Boston for an interview/good times, and sundry other stuff going on I have not even made it to the gym in over a week. Luckily I will be there tomorrow evening, for if I were to wait any longer I will look more like the Goodyear blimp than a second year law student (oh the vanity, it hurts).

Oh, and tonight I went and saw The Libertines. Great show. Go see them if they come to your town. Long live rock n roll, baby.. Hell yeah.

We Don't Need No Stinking First Amendment

Apparently, I am incredibly naive about the reach of the Religious Right. A survey of Ohio voters shows support for banning gay marriage at about 2 to 1. The best line, though, comes from the Bumpkin from Botkins- "It's in the Bible. It should be in the Constitution." Maybe they don't teach the Constitution and Bill of Rights in Ohio? (article)

Jesus Trumps Cognitive Dissonance

On the heels of an awful week for Miserable Failure Bush, his apologists in the blogosphere remain undeterred. (see, Professor Simpleton) Despite their boy losing both debates (though to Miserable Failure supporters a near loss is a win, well.. because he didn't drool or fall down), Tricky Dick Halliburton lying (and being called on it) his way through a draw with John Edwards, Paul Bremer's comments about Iraq and how he asked for more troops, Charles Duelfer's report that Iraq had no weapons program, the New York Times expose on the aluminum tubes, and crappy job numbers (and being the first administration since Hoover to preside over a net loss of jobs), people like Professor Simpleton and his simple-minded kinfolk still think Miserable Failure is da man.

And why would any rational person feel this way, in light of the above referenced evidence of failure, lying to the American people and general malfeasance? Because Miserable Failure loves Jesus. It does not matter that Al Qaeda attacked us and Osama Bin Laden is still roaming the hills of Afghanistan, yet our President attacked Iraq. It does not matter that over a million jobs have been lost. It does not matter that despite his rhetoric on education, NCLB is criminally underfunded. It does not matter that the administration lied to Congress about the cost estimate of the prescription drug bill. None of this matters, because well.. you know.. Bush loves Jesus and talks about Him an awful lot. So he must be a good guy and a good President.

What amazes me even more, at times, is that there is not even a trace acknowledgement that Miserable Failure is an idiot, or even the lesser of two evils. There are many of us who support Kerry, eventhough he was not our first choice. We are willing to acknowledge that Kerry is not perfect, but that he is quite a bit better than the alternative. But maybe this is not so strange after all, that people who support Miserable Failure because he loves Jesus might think that Bush himself walks on water. When you rely on faith, you ignore fact.

More Parallels

Here's a shocker, Professor Simpleton would not vote for Kerry because he is not anti-choice. Again, the genius from UCLA cannot seem to understand nuance, which perhaps is because of his background in science and his lack of understanding of any ideas not sanctioned by the Papacy (and their buggering priests).

Professor Miserable Failure Apologist equates Kerry's support for public funding of abortion as "legislating what NARAL believes." Of course, it's not because reproductive rights and their exercise are something that ought to be exercisable by all Americans, regardless of their income. And it is defintiely not because making safe abortion accessible to poor women would serve the vital societal interest of protecting women's health, insofar that if funding were not available women would return to back alley abortions.

Nah.. those would be too fuzzy, too gray for Professor Simpleton who lives in a world of black and white. (snarky comment: should people without a chance in the world to get laid even pontificate about reproductive issues?)

GOP Troglodyte File (Is GOP Troglodyte Redundant?)

Not content to bar homosexuals from teaching, GoOPer Congressman/Senate candidate (SC) Jim DeMint now says that unmarried pregnant women with live in boyfriends ought not be allowed to teach in our public schools either.

This shit is too ridiculous to make up, I swear. Weeee.. watch as we all go back in the Freeper Time Machine to the Dark Ages where creationism ruled, fags stayed in the closet, and wenches were in the kitchen where they belonged.

Cheney is a Fucking Liar

Newsweek puts it a little bit nicer.

UPDATE Check out this new ad chronicling Cheney's lies.

Beware of Snark

So my favorite law prof is at it again. Of course, as always, the black and white world in which Bainbridge lives leaves no room for shades of gray or any sort of nuance. One would expect a purported leading light in legal academe to understand that the alleged inconsistency between Kerry's two votes on Iraq funding is nothing more than a red herring. He voted for the appropriation when it would be funded by scaling back tax cuts and against it when it would be funded by even more Miserable Failure Bush borrowing. (Aren't conservatives supposed to support pay as you go?)

But, as ridiculous as Bainbridge's continual harping on the two votes is, calling Tricky Dick Cheney a "grownup" is simply too much. Is it really all that grown up to lie to the American people (see Saddam-Al Qaeda links), or to sell out your family for your boss (see Mary Cheney, lesbian)? If lying and turning your back on your family are hallmarks of adulthood, I'd prefer to remain a child.

Snarky comment-- why is it that fat, ugly people tend to be conservatives (yes, I am including the aforementioned person in this comment)? There certainly seems to be an inverse relationship between attractiveness and conservatism. My own take is that these ugly fat bastards hate the rest of the world for not accepting them and it plays out in their politics.

Sound of Silence

There really is not much to say. I am again considering shuttering the site for a bit. The presidential campaign is about the only thing going on right now worth writing about, and to be honest I just feel that if you're dumb enough to want four more years of the Village Idiot, nothing I can say would change your mind. Plus, there is already far too much being written about the race; it's more like a cacophony.

On the personal side of things, still busy with the job search and getting underway with the ABA Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project. Coming to terms with the reality that what I actually want to do has very little to do with the Big Firm thing. Of course, that also requires an acknowledgement that the Big Firm $$ will not be coming my way either. (At least not until I leave government service and cash in.)

So, the bottom line is that posts will be sporadic for at least the time being. Once the election and the job search are over, I will probably have more to say and it will most likely be about public policy with some law thrown in for good measure.