Found a cool site today: DubyaSpeak.Com. Lost of quotes from the guy that a few million people voted for. I especially like the Dubya Quiz, where you’re presented with several questions. Each question has two options, representing quotes from George W. Bush and Dan Quayle. You have to pick the one from Dubya. It’s tought than you may think — I only got 50% right my first try.
I found it linked to from a site that provides fortune files of Dubyaspeak for your enjoyment.
It appears that a lot of the “think tanks” that attack Linux and Free Software are, in fact, funded by Microsoft, oil, and tobacco interests. Tim Lambert has a fascinating article on the subject titled When Think Tanks Attack. It’s long but worth it.
Months ago, when this presidential race started, Howard Dean seemed the way the go. He truly was revolutionizing the way campaigns were run, money was raised, and volunteers were organized.
Dean’s poor showing in Iowa has done nothing to change my opinion. I think that the people in New Hampshire that are changing their votes because of how an election went in a different state are nuts. An election in a different state should have no bearing on your choice; you should choose based on issues and electability.
But there has been an increasing question in my mind about the electability of any of the Democratic contenders. Dean, for instance, appears to shoot himself in the foot with such regularity that it may soon be necessary for him to use crutches. I saw the speech Monday, was not offended by it, but it was clear that this was not a speech for television — or even one that recognized that TV cameras were present. Dean certainly did have a large audience there, as statement on Blog for America says. But he had a larger audience nationwide, and he erred in neglecting it.
Whie Dean erred, people need to take this in context, which is the point his campaign staff is making. I don’t see it as indicitive of an overall character problem, and moreover, I think it is better to have someone that is full of energy rather than someone that looks like he hasn’t had his morning cup of coffee yet. At 7PM.
The Boston Globe has an interesting story about an exhibit in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art about works of art that have been found illegal.
According to an article entitled Pentagod Retaliates against GIs who spoke on TV, it is apparently prohibited for people in the military to criticize their elected representatives — a basic right that everyone else enjoys. No wonder their morale is low.
An Associated Press article discusses a new state law in Kansas that automatically registers men 18-25 for the draft when they apply for or renew a drivers’ license. Some Mennonites in the state are arguing that choosing not to register for the draft for religious reasons is a right that this new law removes. Not registering is illegal, but is rarely prosecuted. Mennonites have strong beliefs in peace.
David Weinberger has an interesting article about the blog for Presidential candidate Howard Dean. Apparently, “Dean’s campaign shows the smart mobs, hive minds, have more benefits, power, energy, vitality and adapability than the single mind of any political advisor.” David goes on to say “they’re viewing the Internet not as a cheap way to reach the masses but as a way to let us talk together.”
In this article, Chisun Lee starts out with “An ugly theory popped up in the nation’s capital several weeks ago. The Bush administration would wait until war began, and worry gripped the homeland, to ram a staggering package of domestic security measures through a Congress silenced by fears of seeming unpatriotic. Such measures would radically expand the executive branch powers already inflated by the 2001 USA Patriot Act.” And this might just be happening…
The Democratic members of the House Appropriations committee have created a webpage cross-referencing Bush speech quotes with his legislative proposals, and it ain’t lookin’ good for W.
However, the wacky trenchcoat graphics and huge typeface, along with the page’s title — “The Photographic History of the Bush Administration Putting Its Mouth Where Its Money Isn’t” makes me wonder whether this should better be in the Humor category. Not just that, but we don’t know if the speech info is taken out of conext. So take it with a grain of salt. (Yes, that URL does reside on house.gov)
A scathing article at BuzzFlash points out that Bush’s recent press-conference was a heavily scripted event, where the reporters and possibly questions were known in advance. It proceeds to draw some more shaky conclusions from that premise, but the premise itself is interesting.