Tag Archives: vote

“Fair and Balanced” Fox blames “biased media”

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

What a surprise. Fox News has been imploding for the last 7 hours, since it was officially called for Obama.  First, you had Karl Rove completely embarrassing himself on live TV last night.  What a GREAT night to have Fox News on (I will NEVER say that again in my life!!).  It was when the networks called Ohio, that they officially called it for Obama, Fox included.  At that stage, it really was a formality.  Obama was also leading and likely to win Colorado, Virginia, and other states that would have put him over 270, so calling Ohio was, shockingly…just a formality.

A desperate Karl Rove, however, looking for ANY evidence to back his prediction of a Romney win, freaked out on live TV on Fox when raw numbers from Ohio were roughly tied, with 80% of the vote called.  He looked at the number and started excitedly saying that Ohio was called too soon, that Ohio could still end up in Romney’s column.  The people analyzing things behind the scene had obviously looked at the counties that had already been counted, and noted that with “blue” counties overwhelmingly making up most of the uncounted votes, that Romney was toast.  Little details like the evidence or facts didn’t matter to Rove, however, who continued to insist that Ohio was “in play”.  It even went so far where a Fox host went over to the “analysis” desk for Fox to ask if they really got the call right.

Within 10 minutes of the vote being called for Obama, Fox News already had up a “story” called “Five Ways the Mainstream Media Tipped the Scales for Obama”.  Wow…that’s some FAST writing by Fox News.  Kudos to them for the speedy fingers.  Obviously, the story was written in advance, and, unsurprisingly, given the wacko folks who actually read Fox News, that story has been the most read story on Fox ever since the first half hour after the Obama call. 

I have to laugh at one of Fox’s reasons that the mainstream media won the election for Obama.  Reason #2 in the story…the mainstream media “Pounded Romney with Fact Checking”.  GASP!!!  The media, actually checking the FACTS from the campaign??!?!?  HOW DARE THEY!!!  AN OUTRAGE!!!!  Fox being Fox, they accused the MSM of lying, when fact checking, with the MEDIA lying when they said Romney lied.

My head hurts.  It’s hard to follow Fox’s version of logic…

I’m watching Fox News right now, at 5:40 AM Wednesday, and their story they’re focusing on right now?  Voter intimidation…by Democrats!  Nothing on voter suppression efforts from Republican-led state legislatures and governors.  No, Fox has been hammering a story since yesterday afternoon, and are STILL talking about it this morning.  The “Story’ of voter intimidation?  A lone black man standing outside a polling place.  GASP!!!   That is NOT allowed, just chimes the dingbat Fox host!!!  The black man is just standing there, and occasionally walking back and forth.  But MAN is he menacing.  After all…he IS black!  Is that ALLOWED!?!!  For a black man to be anywhere HEAR a polling site!?!?!

GREAT entertainment seeing the Fox meltdown this morning…

EDIT:  Good lord.  The idiocy never ends.  Now, Fox is reporting about voter fraud, about unregistered voters supposedly voting in numbers in Ohio. They have no evidence, mind you.  But it certainly feeds all the crushed Fox viewers who are spittin’ mad and looking for conspiracies, looking for people to blame.

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FACT! STATISTICS!! TRUTH!!! OBBBBBAAAAAMMMMMAAAA!!!

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

It’s 8:45 here in South Dakota.  And IT…IS…OVER!!!

I AM CALLING IT!!!

Wisconsin!  Pennsylvania!!  New Hampshire!!  Michigan!  Iowa!!  Nevada! Colorado!!!  FLORIDA, FOR GOD’S SAKE!!!  All of these states are already called, or all of these states are ones where InTrade has Obama at 85%+ chance of winning!!

WELL over 300 Electoral votes headed Obama’s way!! 

FOUR…MORE….YEARS!!  With a GREAT looking night for Democrats in the Senate as well!!!!

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Environmental Protection Agency – South Dakota’s “Boogeyman”

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

I swear I live in a place where stupidity and greed are viewed as virtues…

In South Dakota, we haven’t been totally swamped by political ads.  Presidential candidates certainly aren’t going to waste any money here.  Hell will freeze over before a Democratic presidential candidate wins South Dakota.  However, South Dakota is getting to be known for corny, ridiculous political ads for in-state battles.  Jeff Barth, a Democrat who was running for South Dakota’s lone House seat, had an ad go viral on YouTube this spring.  In the ad, Barth walks along while a series of corny props show up in his path, including a gun that Barth picks up and fires.  Barth did end up losing.

The House race is between Kristi Noem, the Republican (of course) incumbent, and Matt Varilek, Democrat. Noem had her own ad go viral this week, a ridiculous ad that makes all of South Dakota look like a bunch of dumb hicks.  In the ad, Noem compares her experiences in South Dakota, winning awards from the state soybean council and working on a farm, to Varilek, who is apparently wasting his time traveling the world, getting graduate degrees, and working for the United Nations.  Her point?  To supposedly make Varilek look like he’s out of touch, I guess…for you see, here in South Dakota, if you travel the world, get a graduate degree, and work for the U.N., it evidently makes you uppity and out of touch with “real” South Dakotans.

Don’t ask what I think of the “real” South Dakotan.  I’m sitting here watching football tonight, and there have been a number of political ads, including more for Kristi Noem.  The talking point for Repub political candidates in the state?  Stopping “Obama and EPA regulations” that evidently are killing the state.  It’s not just Noem that has used the supposed evils of the EPA in attack ads against a Democratic opponent.  I just saw an ad for Kristi Fiegen, an incumbent with the Public Utilities Commission, that also used the evil EPA as a reason why South Dakotans should vote for her.  After all, EVERYONE knows that when you control the mighty South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, you control the EPA, and the world.  Vote for Fiegen!!  Otherwise the evil EPA and their regulations will ruin South Dakota!!

Everyone needs a boogeyman, I guess, and for Republicans of all flavors in South Dakota, it seems like the EPA is somehow the boogeyman de jour.  After all, it’s more important for farmers and industry in South Dakota to make an extra buck, than it is to protect the air, water, and land that our children will depend upon.  I’m young enough that I guess I don’t understand when the terms “environment” or “conservation” became dirty words to Republicans.  For god’s sake, it was Nixon who established the EPA. It was Nixon who established the Endangered Species Act.  It was Nixon who signed the Clean Air Act.  Yes, public pressures at the time were important in moving Nixon to establish a number of environmental programs, but Republicans as a whole USED to believe in environmental and conservation issues.

Why have Republicans become so averse to supporting environmental issues?  When did things start to turn?  The naive side of me can’t understand why environmental and conservation issues ARE political issues.  The naive side of me can’t understand how ANY party, how any human being, can be so unconcerned about the world our children will live in.

However, the naive side of me is dwarfed by my cynical side.  The cynical side knows the reason.  People are inherently selfish SOBs, so much so, that their short-term pursuit of the almighty dollar is more important to them than what kind of world they leave their children.  As with every other issue in America, it’s been branded as a black-or-white issue…it’s either economic growth, or environmental conservation.

I do find it rather pathetic to sit here tonight and watch commercials, where South Dakota politicians feel that opposing the EPA, an agency charged with PROTECTING the health of our citizens, is a winning play for getting votes.  Are South Dakotans really that gullible?  Are they really that stupid?  Given how South Dakotans typically vote, it’s pretty obvious what the answer is.

Posted in Environmental Awareness, Politics

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End of an Era – Republican Election Based on Winning Whites

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments

Tom Scocca at Slate.com has a scathing indictment of Republican campaign strategy over the last 40 years…a strategy based simply on winning the white vote. A strategy based on exploiting racism and fear. A strategy based on hate.  As the Scocca piece notes, Romney’s campaign strategy is based solely on one demographic…trying to win at least 60% of the white vote, with an emphasis on winning the vote of white men.  That part of his strategy certainly seems to be working, given that a recent poll shows Romney winning white men by a whopping 65% to 32%.

The story also notes that this may be the last election where Republicans can hope to use this strategy, at least at a national scale.  The changing demographics of America simply won’t allow for such a strategy to have a chance in hell as America becomes ever more diverse.  One more “old school” election, where the Hairy Old White Men in charge of the Republican Party try to eke out a win using old school tactics.

Great, brutally honest, and sadly, brutally true piece by Scocca.  Give it a read if you get a chance.  Makes me ashamed to be one of those Hairy (getting) Old White Men.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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“Don’t Worry (Michelle), Be Happy” (poll watching…)

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
Electoral College Histogram - Princeton Electionl Consortium

The most recent statistical distribution of likely electoral college vote scenarios for Obama, from the Princeton Election Consortium. The bars in blue represent the 95% confidence interval. Based on the current state polls, Romney's chances of reaching 270 electoral college votes lies on the very edge of the 95% confidence interval. Intrade...Princeton...Betfair...all show the odds moving even MORE towards Obama in the past week. With just 10 days left until the election, Romney should be very worried. (Please visit the Princeton Election Consortium site for more info)

I’m feeling better and better about Obama’s chances in 10 days, especially as I see more and more statistical analysis of the polls, and the likely results.  Intrade has been the site I’ve checked several times a day to look for any swings in the betting mood, but there are other sites that make even more sense, from a scientific standpoint.

With each day goes by, it’s one less day for any movement to Romney, and for the past week, movement towards Romney has stopped, and has moved toward Obama.  Intrade continues to move up, in Obama’s favor, with betting “odds” reaching up to 64% in his favor today.  But as this analysis from the Princeton Election Consortium notes, there are issues with the “capitalistic” appraoach of a betting site, where InTrade is usually TOO conservative in its odds.  In other words, if InTrade shows a 64% chance of an Obama victory, the actual statistical odds are likely quite a bit higher.  As the Princeton analysis notes, even if poll averages are +5 for a candidate on election day and outside of the sampling error range, betting on InTrade tends to be more conservative.  As they note too…InTrade bettors skew Republican, which affects the odds.

The Princeton analysis looks at all state polls, the statistical sampling error, and statistically calculates the possible statistical outcomes.  As they state, their “meta analysis” is less sexy, less prone to be dissected and analyzed than the polls themselves…but it’s also devastatingly accurate.  If you look at the statistical analysis of all state polls, and the resulting histogram of likely number of electoral college votes Obama will get, and you end up with a nearly 90% chance of an Obama victory. If you look at the 95% confidence interval from the potential scenarios…in blue on this electoral vote histogram…there are very few scenarios where Obama fails to get 270 electoral votes.  The current trend on Princeton…statistically, the median scenario is Obama getting 297 electoral votes.

Nate Silver on the FiveThirtyEight blog continues to show a slow trend moving towards Obama as well.  As his detailed state analysis notes, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to envision a Romney victory, outside of some outside event in the next 10 days that alters the tone of the election.  Without any debates or other predictable event that could change the tone of the election…Romney should be worried.

I, for one…am ELATED. So…MICHELLE!!  Don’t Worry!  Be Happy!  And sleep well tonight!!    ;-)

(Michelle being a friend who is equally as poll-stressed…)

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Koch brothers, more CEOs bullying employees to vote for Romney

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
Koch Letter

A letter from Koch Industries, accompanied by a "Voter Information Packet" of acceptable candidates to vote for...and the consequences of making the "wrong" choice. Unbelievable, but not an isolated incident, as many uber-rich CEOs are trying to bully their employees into defeating Obama.

Last week, I wrote of David Siegel, CEO of Westgate Resorts, and the man who has been featured in a show about his quest to build the largest house in the United States. Siegel had sent a letter to his employees, trying to bully them into voting for Romney by telling them their jobs may be in jeopardy if Obama is re-elected.

Today?  More of the the same from other uber-rich CEOs.  First, from the Koch brothers and Koch industries, a “voter information packet“, telling their 50,000 employees of dire consequences should Obama win.  The idiot that takes the cake to me though is Arthur Allen, CEO of ASG Software, telling his employees:

If we fail as a nation to make the right choice on November 6th…I don’t want to hear any complaints regarding the fallout that will most likely come.

NICE. Telling your employees VOTE FOR ROMNEY, but if you don’t, don’t whine about it if I have to fire you!! The story above also notes Siegel’s comments about the 2000 election, with him taking some credit for the Bush win over Gore, because in his company of many thousands of employees, he:

“…had my managers do a survey on every employee. If they liked Bush, we made them register to vote.  But not if they liked Gore.”

Unbelievable.  THESE ARE THE TYPE OF PEOPLE WHO WANT ROMNEY.  THESE ARE THE TYPE OF PEOPLE who do NOT want a more equitable system.  The richest of the rich…and in U.S., that evidently makes them able to bully their employees into voting for politicians they have in their pocket.

Absolutely…disgusting.

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Perusin’ & Musin’ – The Republican “Morality” Edition

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

Just some random thoughts from perusing the web.  Seems to be an extra dose of disgusting Repubs in the news lately.  Hasn’t been the first time I’ve scoffed at the supposed moral high ground Republicans seem to TRY to take on most issues.  Walk the walk…

“Legitimate Rape” – I’m not going to beat this one to death, since it’s obviously gotten a lot of coverage over the last 24 hours.  Suffice it to say I totally agree with this great article from Laura Helmuth that Todd Akin’s “misstatement” was nothing of the sort, that it was his underlying sexism and ignorance slipping out.

Republicans calling for Akin to quit - Pardon my cynicism, but the ONLY reason Republicans are calling for him to quit, is because his verbal gaffe has cost him any chance at beating McCaskill for that Missouri Senate seat.  If the press hadn’t jumped all over Akin, IF Akin weren’t affected politically by his comments?  The silence you would hear from Republicans would be deafening.

Skinny-dipping Republican Congressmen - Skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee while on “business”?  Way to go House Freshmen Repubs…classy stuff.

Repubs keep pushing voter restrictions – What does it say when an entire political party seems hell-bent on STOPPING people from voting?  Unless they happen to be rich, white “Christians”?  Suppressing the votes of minorities and the poor, reliable Democratic voting blocs, seems to be the primary strategy of Republicans for this next election.  Repubs cry “VOTER FRAUD!!” as their excuse, but it’s painfully obvious the real reason is to dissuade minorities from voting, ESPECIALLY when report after report says there IS no meaningful voter fraud in the U.S.   I think the only thing that could be more obvious is if Repubs wore KKK uniforms while they smiled and called for voting regulations.

Four people shot at a Walmart - Four people shot in the parking lot of a Walmart, and it barely makes the news.  And as usual in this election year, it draws not a peep from the cowards too worried about the next election to make any calls for meaningful gun control.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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The “Redneck Vote” – Exploiting Americans’ Own Bigotry and Hatred

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
Obama

A black president, showing mercy towards illegal immigrants. It's the worst nightmare for the "Redneck Vote". So, they'll vote Republican, and effectively vote to kill their own futures.

Republican politicians are outraged.  Oh, they’re not REALLY “outraged”, they’re “outraged” as only Republicans can be, a completely fake, manufactured form of “outrage.”  It’s the same kind of fake “outrage” they express every time Obama or any other Democrat opens their mouth.  So what has Republican politicians “outraged” this time?  Obama’s statements this week that the administration’s policy will be not to pursue deportation of young illegal immigrants.

The policy is basically an executive order with elements of the “Dream Act”.  Illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children, who haven’t run into any legal trouble, won’t actively be pursued and deported. Republicans of course are screaming “AMNESTY!!!” at the top of their lungs, as if it’s somehow EVIL to treat young people who have spent most of their lives in the U.S. as, well…people…as AMERICANS, with the same hopes, dreams, and ambitions as the rest of us.

Republicans don’t screw around.  They don’t worry about facts, figures, or trying to get Americans up to speed on policy issues.  No, they seemingly have one, and only one, strategy…to pander to the basic primeval emotions and instincts of people.  Bigotry…Fear…Hatred…THESE are the foundations of the Republican party platform.  The economy?  The environment?  Foreign policy?  Irrelevant!!  They hear Obama showing COMPASSION to a group of AMERICANS (for all intents and purposes, other than legal standing)…and immediately they see an opening.  They see a way to, once again, ignore all the issues that REALLY should matter to Americans, and instead capitalize on and exploit the bigotry and hatred that is present in far too many Americans.

I’m amazed at how clouded peoples’ vision is, with regard to what truly benefits them, and how they behave.  Republicans have mastered the art of convincing Americans to vote AGAINST their own best interests.  GREED, corruption, and inadequate oversight of Wall Street and corporate America have played a huge role in where our economy is today…yet just a few short years after Republicans and their Wall Street friends drove the economy off a cliff, they’ve managed to convince the ignorant electorate that Wall Street and Corporate America aren’t the problem, that it’s government that’s the problem.   For those people who AREN’T stupid enough to buy that…they fall back on their strategy of tapping into the internal bigotry and hatred of people.

So…the poor working class stiffs who CONTINUE to lose their opportunity to achieve the American dream, who CONTINUE to see their “share of the pie” go to an ever-increasingly rich 1%…ALSO are the same complete idiots who continue to vote Republican.  They hear Republican politicians bitch and moan about illegal immigrants, and they are manipulated into blaming illegal immigrants for the economy, for their own crappy lives, for…well…everything.  Republicans continue to tap into the inner BIGOTRY of Americans, and that same ignorant group of Americans continually give their vote away to Republicans, in return for…in return for what?

What the HELL do Republicans do to help the working class American?  Oh yes, that’s right…tax cuts for the rich and policies tilted completely towards benefiting those who need the least amount of help.  But yet they’ve completely locked down the “redneck vote”…those who vote based on their own bigotry and hatred, despite the implications for how their vote really affects their own lives.

I guess if it didn’t impact the rest of us, it would actually be some kind of sweet justice, where those who live their lives based on HATRED end up being punished in the end for their own ignorance and biases.  But it’s hard to laugh at how the redneck-voter ends up screwing themselves, when in the end, they end up screwing all of us.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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Hairy Old White Men Strike Again

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Terry| 4 Comments
Hairy Old White Men

Hairy old white men strike again, voting against a bill that would improve women's pay equality in comparison to men.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  In this picture, Senate Republicans are explaining why they refused to vote for a bill aimed to improve pay equality between men and women.

And what is it you note about this picture?  Ah yes, that’s right…THEY’RE ALL HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN!!! (Again…a phrase coined by my wife).  In another example of how COMPLETELY out of touch Republicans are, not only did every single Republican vote against this bill, but the cadre of Senators they chose to come out and speak to the press about it are all HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN. 

The not quite as “old” Hairy White Man in the back is our own beloved Senator John Thune from South Dakota.  Or, as I like to refer to him….”Worthless Piece of Shit Thune“.  This is the same bold, independent thinker who responded with “I can’t vote for that!  I’m a Republican!!” when my wife and I met with him to talk about a stem cell research bill up before the Senate (research that could help my son with Type 1 diabetes).   PERFECT photo of what Thune is ALL about…standing in the background, hanging on every word that his older HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN colleagues are saying, so he can repeat the same exact words later.  I laugh whenever I hear the man mentioned as a possible VP candidate.  My GOD, has America become SO pathetic that a man like him is even MENTIONED for something like that?

Thune may not be “old”, but he definitely qualifies as a HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN nonetheless.  To qualify, you must:

1) Lack any kind of independent thought, always blindly voting the Republican party line.

2) ALWAYS vote against ANY bill that attempts to improve rights or living standards for any one who is NOT 1) white 2) a man, or 3) in the richest 1% of all Americans.

3) Be a rather repugnant human being overall, someone you’d hope to god your daughters wouldn’t ever marry.

In other words…you just have to simply be like seemingly 99% of Republican men nowadays.  I HEAR there are supposedly a few Republican men who aren’t HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN, but I have yet to find one.  As a birder, I’m still hopeful that birds such as the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Bachmann’s Warbler, or Eskimo Curlew may be hanging on somewhere and aren’t extinct. 

I’m starting to feel the same way about Republicans.  Are there ANY of the supposed “Compassionate Conservatives” (HAH!!!) that Bush talked about? Or have ALL Republicans gone off the deep end?  Have they all gone the way of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker or Eskimo Curlew??

I take heart that given the Republican’s love of rich people and HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN, pretty soon those few Republicans who AREN’T HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN will realize they’re supporting the wrong party.  GET A CLUE, REPUBS!!  There are one HELL of a lot more of us out here than just HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN.  Continue to make the HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN political platform the platform of the Republican Party, and your party is doomed.

Posted in Culture Wars, Equality, Politics

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Brian Brown – Scum of the Week

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Terry| 4 Comments

Scum of the WeekCongrats North Carolinians.  Thanks to your perceived need to specifically alter your constitution just to discriminate against a certain class of human beings, whenever I think of your state, I will think of backwoods, rednecked bigots. 

Is North Carolina really SO full of homophobic, insecure, hate-mongoring losers that the “issue” of gay marriage became a hot-button topic for the state?  I will NEVER understand how people can be so incredibly insecure about their own beliefs and place in the world, that they feel the need to lash out and bash or discriminate against another class of human beings with a different lifestyle.

A special congratulations goes out to Brian Brown – president of the “National Organization for Marriage”, as I’m giving him the coveted “Scum of the Week” award.  How proud he must be to lead an organization whose sole purpose is to effectively preach intolerance towards gays.  But PLEASE, Mr. Brown, do us all a favor and give your organization a PROPER name. Your group isn’t about “defending” marriage, as you claim.   “Marriage” between a man and woman doesn’t need “defending”.  My marriage to my wife is affected in NO way by the legal or personal relationship of a pair of human beings somewhere else on the planet.  Gay marriage in NO way “threatens the institution of marriage” as your organization claims.

Hence the call for a name change for your organization.  How about “Organization of Homophobic Bigots”?   Or “Insecure Rednecks of America”?  Something along those lines, Mr. Brown?  If you’re going to preach intolerance and hatred, you might as well be honest with America, and with yourselves, about what your true motivations are.

Posted in Culture Wars

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