:: blame the extended gestation.... ::

:: Friday, October 29, 2004 ::

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Newsnight | New Florida vote scandal feared:

"A secret document obtained from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida suggests a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to disrupt voting in the state's African-American voting districts, a BBC Newsnight investigation reveals. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/29/2004 07:14:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Unlimited Individual Recount Donations OK:

"Presidential and congressional candidates can raise unlimited donations to finance recounts as President Bush and Al Gore did for their high-stakes Florida dispute in 2000.

Four of the Federal Election Commission's six members said Thursday that the FEC's long-standing rule on recount fund raising remains in effect, which means federal candidates can set up separate recount funds and finance them with unlimited donations from individual contributors. Candidates cannot accept corporate, union or foreign money. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/28/2004 09:35:00 AM [+] ::
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Daily Endorsement Tally: A Handful of Pickups for Each, but a Bigger Handful for Kerry:

"President Bush is running out of time if he wants to catch Sen. John Kerry -- in newspaper endorsements, at least. Kerry picked up seven new papers on our list today with Bush gaining just three, bringing the tally to 149 to 126 with just six days until Election Day. However, things could change when many procrastinating papers make their picks on Sunday. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/27/2004 04:23:00 PM [+] ::
...

I've been marveling all week at the use of blogs as funnels for processing and organizing information on the world wide web. And I just came upon this... The New York Review of Books: A Special Supplement: Chomsky's Revolution in Linguistics Which is an old New York Review of Books article on Chomskys Linguistics written by John Searle.

:: Jim Nichols 10/27/2004 06:54:00 AM [+] ::
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The Weakerthans are coming to Sacramento! They are playing Harlows on December 9th. I'm very happy now.

:: Jim Nichols 10/27/2004 04:46:00 AM [+] ::
...

on the chumbawamba web site:

"Punk is lodged somewhere between my head and my heart, between
nostalgia and self-delusion. Oh the good times I had growing up in an
atmosphere of kicking, cynical rebellion."

:: Jim Nichols 10/27/2004 04:45:00 AM [+] ::
...

Yahoo! News - BBC News Boss Slams 'Flag-Wrapped' U.S. Media:

"The head of the BBC's news operations accused U.S. media organizations on Tuesday night of being overly patriotic in their coverage of the lead-up to the Iraq war."

:: Jim Nichols 10/26/2004 09:17:00 PM [+] ::
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2blowhards.com: The Scottish Enlightenment:

"My hunch about why we feel the post-Enlightenment pinch as acutely as we do is that the Enlightenment most of us know is the French Enlightenment. And those French, forever pushing things to absurd extremes. A Frenchman is apparently incapable of saying, 'Hey, cool: Reason!' and then adding it to his repertory. No, he has to believe in it, make a substitute religion of it, live it out to its logical conclusions ... And what does Reason lead to when it's pushed fanatically out as far as it can go? Barrenness, cafe existentialism, suicide, bizarre buildings, Catherine Breillat movies."

:: Jim Nichols 10/25/2004 10:45:00 PM [+] ::
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100 Facts and 1 Opinion: The Non-Arguable Case Against the Bush Administration: by Judd Legum "

:: Jim Nichols 10/25/2004 05:42:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Kerry Leads Bush in Paper Endorsements:

"The polls may be too close to call, but there's one area in which Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry seems to be pulling well ahead of President Bush: newspaper endorsements.

According to an ongoing tally by Editor & Publisher, a newspaper industry magazine, so far 125 newspapers have endorsed Kerry — including at least 35 that had endorsed Bush in 2000 — versus 96 for Bush. Meanwhile, only two newspapers that went for Al Gore in 2000 have endorsed Bush.


What's more, several papers that had backed Bush four years ago are now declining to make any endorsement at all, including several in key states: The Detroit News in Michigan, The Tampa Tribune in Florida, and The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/25/2004 05:36:00 PM [+] ::
...

"No one gets the relationship they deserve. For some this is a cause of unending resentment, for some people it is the source of unending desire. And for some people the most important thing is that they have found something that doesn't end." -Adam Phillips

:: Jim Nichols 10/24/2004 06:38:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - British Paper Ends Bid to Sway U.S. Vote:

"A British newspaper that set off a trans-Atlantic political storm when it urged its readers to write to Ohio voters in an attempt to sway their ballot choice in the U.S. presidential race said Sunday that it had ended the campaign. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/24/2004 06:22:00 PM [+] ::
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The New Tom Waits Album: Real Gone

Tom Waits has mastered the surreal. And with his new album he tests his listeners with tastes of grit and steel. By removing piano from the background of each song the ragged pop sensibilities are thrown out the window and what we have left is shattered on the concrete below your open window. Pull your ears inside your head and let the little rhymes and storys lull you to sleep or maybe should I say its less like sleep and more like a dance on a razor but none the less listen to this album in bed with the covers over your head and booze on your breath.

:: Jim Nichols 10/23/2004 11:20:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Jon Stewart Talks TV News on '60 Minutes':

"After his outburst on CNN's 'Crossfire,' 'Daily Show' host Jon Stewart will have a few words for '60 Minutes.' The comedian will be profiled on this Sunday's broadcast of the CBS news program. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/23/2004 04:29:00 PM [+] ::
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Business catching up with sex -- at least on the Web - 2004-10-22 - Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal:

"In the last seven years, the percentage of Web searches on sex has declined, while that of business-related searches has gone up, according to a new book on Web searching coauthored by a University of Pittsburgh professor"

:: Jim Nichols 10/22/2004 07:45:00 PM [+] ::
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LRB | Andrew O'Hagan : The God Squad:

"America is now offering lessons in what little wisdom it takes to govern the world. Confounded in Iraq, isolated from its traditional allies, shamed over Abu Ghraib, soaked in corporate corruption and the backwash of environmental harm, sustaining an uninherited budget deficit while preparing more tax rewards for the rich, as dismissive of the unhealthy as the foreign, as terrified of the unfolding truth as of mailed anthrax, it is a society made menacing by a notion of God's great plan. America is tolerance-challenged, integrity-poor, frightened to death, and yet, beneath its patriotic hosannahs, a country in delirium before the recognition that it might have spent the last three years not only squandering the sympathy of the world but hot-housing hatreds more ferocious than those it had wished to banish for ever from the clear blue skies."

:: Jim Nichols 10/21/2004 09:39:00 PM [+] ::
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Democracy Now! | Noam Chomsky on the State of the Nation, Iraq and the Election:

"A conversation with linguist, author and leading dissident Noam Chomsky on the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the presidential election, and the current state of the country."

:: Jim Nichols 10/21/2004 07:09:00 PM [+] ::
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TheStar.com - Drug exports threaten supply, group warns:

"Cross-border Internet pharmacies threaten to drain precious supplies needed to treat sick Canadians and could lead to a 'full-scale disaster' for the health system, a coalition of groups representing seniors, pharmacies and patients warned today. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/21/2004 06:25:00 PM [+] ::
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Guardian Unlimited | Arts features | Arts: The Mona Lisa experience:

"It's the most famous painting in the world and a must-see for anyone visiting Paris. But most people fight through the crowds to spend a mere 15 seconds in front of it - just long enough to grab a snapshot. So why do they bother? To find out, Amelia Gentleman spent a day with the Mona Lisa"

:: Jim Nichols 10/19/2004 07:34:00 PM [+] ::
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Everyone must watch this.... IFILM - Short Films: Jon Stewart's Brutal Exchange with CNN Host:

"Daily Show anchor Jon Stewart browbeats CNN's Tucker Carlson over journalism ethics on Crossfire. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/18/2004 07:53:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Poll: Florida Senate Candidates Tied:

"The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate has erased the small gap between her and her Republican rival, and they were locked in a tie as they headed into their first debate Monday, a new poll showed. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/18/2004 07:06:00 PM [+] ::
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One more has seen the light...
Yahoo! News - Michigan's Milliken Endorses Kerry:

"Former Republican Gov. William Milliken of Michigan endorsed Democratic Sen. John Kerry for president on Monday, saying President Bush has pursued policies 'pandering to the extreme right wing.'

Milliken, governor from 1969-82, accused the Bush administration of rushing into the Iraq (news - web sites) war, pushing tax cuts that benefit the rich and blocking meaningful stem-cell research.

"I felt so strongly about the direction of this country that in the end, it wasn't a difficult decision to make," Milliken said in an interview Monday with Traverse City Record-Eagle reporters and editors. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/18/2004 07:04:00 PM [+] ::
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No spoiler in 2008!

Center for Voting and Democracy - CVD:

"Last week Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D -IL) introduced a pair of powerful bills aimed at election reform.

H.R.5293 would require states to conduct general elections for Federal office using an instant runoff voting system.
H.J.R. 109 would amend the Constitution to abolish the electoral college and provide for direct election of the president by majority vote.

FairVote also is working with Congressman Jackson in support of a right to vote in the U.S. Constitution."

:: Jim Nichols 10/18/2004 06:59:00 PM [+] ::
...

"If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed,
given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

:: Jim Nichols 10/18/2004 06:48:00 PM [+] ::
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"Nobody can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just
discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own."
-- Sydney J. Harris

:: Jim Nichols 10/18/2004 06:44:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Canada Urged to Halt Internet Drug Sales to U.S.:

"The Canadian government must stop the online sale of drugs to U.S. customers before it leads to a severe shortage north of the border, a coalition of health lobby groups said on Monday."

:: Jim Nichols 10/18/2004 06:37:00 PM [+] ::
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U.S. Said Set to Move on Pakistan's Long F-16 Quest:

"The Bush administration is planning to consult Congress on Pakistan's nearly 15-year quest for advanced F-16 fighter aircraft, a U.S. defense official said on Thursday, in a prelude to what may be a delicate balancing act with rival India. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/14/2004 10:50:00 PM [+] ::
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Marginal Revolution: Fastest Flip-Flop Ever?:

"Here from last night's debate, is President Bush making a good case against government-run health care:

I think government- run health will lead to poor-quality health, will lead to rationing, will lead to less choice.

Once a health-care program ends up in a line item in the federal government budget, it leads to more controls.

And just look at other countries that have tried to have federally controlled health care. They have poor-quality health care.

Our health-care system is the envy of the world because we believe in making sure that the decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in the nation's capital.

And what does he say less than two minutes later?

We've increased VA funding by $22 billion in the four years since I've been president. That's twice the amount that my predecessor increased VA funding.

Of course we're meeting our obligation to our veterans, and the veterans know that.
We're expanding veterans' health care throughout the country. We're aligning facilities where the veterans live now. Veterans are getting very good health care under my administration..."

:: Jim Nichols 10/14/2004 10:48:00 PM [+] ::
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U.S. Parties Hunt for Votes in American-Rich Canada:

" In a bid to help win an election in which even a few votes could be crucial, both Democrats and Republicans are making concerted efforts to woo the estimated 600,000 or more U.S. citizens who live in Canada"

:: Jim Nichols 10/14/2004 10:45:00 PM [+] ::
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BBC NEWS | Health | Women 'better at holding drink':

"Kentucky University researchers found men's loss of inhibition was three times greater than women's with the same blood alcohol levels.

Writing in the journal Addiction, they said the finding might explain why men are more likely to become aggressive.

It found men appeared to become more stimulated after drinking while women became more relaxed"

:: Jim Nichols 10/13/2004 09:46:00 PM [+] ::
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Land of the free
U.S.: Detained al-Qaeda Suspects "Disappeared" (Human Rights Watch, 12-10-2004):

"At least 11 al-Qaeda suspects have "disappeared" in U.S. custody, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. U.S. officials are holding the detainees in undisclosed locations, where some have reportedly been tortured."

:: Jim Nichols 10/13/2004 09:33:00 PM [+] ::
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STATEMENT BY SPECIALISTS IN HEALTH CARE FINANCE AND ORGANIZATION:

We are 74 people with more than a thousand years of combined professional and academic experience in health care finance and organization. As a group, we neither represent nor endorse a particular political party or viewpoint about health care reform.

We have reviewed the health care finance proposals put forward by Senator John Kerry. Their primary thrust is to make the federal government a reinsurer when a single insured individual incurs health care costs greater than $50,000 in the course of any one year.

Because high-cost individuals account for a large proportion of the total cost of health insurance, this reinsurance is intended to make private health insurance more affordable for both employers and individuals and thus reduce the number of uninsured individuals and families. This approach is fully consistent with maintaining a health care finance system largely run by private insurance, private employers, and private medical providers.

Although Senator Kerry's proposals should be subject to a full analysis of their cost and impact, any claim that they amount to 'government run health care' or a 'government takeover' of the health care system or of health care decision-making is simply inconsistent with the facts. We are not aware of any expert in health care or health care finance, whatever his or her political orientation, who believes otherwise."

:: Jim Nichols 10/13/2004 02:05:00 PM [+] ::
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Economist.com | The economy and the election:

"WOULD John Kerry or George Bush do a better job stewarding America's economy? Judging by the polls, voters are not sure. Within the past couple of months both candidates have had narrow leads on the issue. Ask economics professors, however, and you get a clearer answer.

In an informal poll of 100 academics, conducted by The Economist, Mr Bush's policies win low marks. More than 70% of the 56 professors who responded to our survey rate Mr Bush's first-term economic policies as bad or very bad. Fewer than 20% give positive marks to Mr Bush's second-term economic agenda, and almost six out of ten disapproved. Mr Kerry hardly got rave reviews either, but his economic plan still fared better than the president's did. In all, four out of ten professors rated Mr Kerry's economic plan as good or very good, but 27% gave it negative scores. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/13/2004 01:57:00 PM [+] ::
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FT.com / World / Europe - Germany in rethink on Iraq force deployment:

"Germany might deploy troops in Iraq if conditions there change, Peter Struck, the German defence minister, indicated on Tuesday in a gesture that appears to provide backing for John Kerry, the US Democratic presidential challenger.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Struck departed from his government's resolve not to send troops to Iraq under any circumstances, saying: "At present I rule out the deployment of German troops in Iraq. In general, however, there is no one who can predict developments in Iraq in such a way that he could make a such a binding statement [about the future]."

Could a Kerry victory bring the Germans to the table?

:: Jim Nichols 10/13/2004 01:54:00 PM [+] ::
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Salon.com News | Technical expert: Bush was wired:

"Speculation continues to run wild about President Bush's mystery bulge. Since Friday, when Salon first raised questions about the rectangular bulge that was visible under Bush's suit coat during the presidential debates, many observers in the press and on the Internet have wondered aloud whether the verbally and factually challenged president might be receiving coaching via a hidden electronic device.

Now a technical expert who designs and makes such devices for the U.S. military tells Salon that he believes the bulge is indeed a transceiver designed to receive electronic signals and transmit them to a hidden earpiece lodged in Bush's ear canal. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/13/2004 01:51:00 PM [+] ::
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I watched Sylvia with Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig tonight. I was a little disappointed but not too much. I was always a big Sylvia Plath fan, especially as a teenager. The Bell Jar was a pivotal book for me, it was my Catcher in the Rye. The movie tonight closed with a great line from The Arrival of the Bee Box

The box is locked, it is dangerous.
I have to live with it overnight
And I can't keep away from it.
There are no windows, so I can't see what is in there.
There is only a little grid, no exit.

:: Jim Nichols 10/10/2004 10:52:00 PM [+] ::
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the dying is an art
like they say in the movies
and I, I am a rock
a million new inventions
evolved particles and bad luck genes
those manic little dreams
and a depressed old man walking off to die

I am that
and this
and all of these
and when you listen
the silence is damning
and each crunch crunch, boots on snow
and you scared like a flower in frost

I once upon a time thought I'd live
but now the dying seems more like a line
in some poorly produced passion play
I once upon a time thought I'd live
but now the time quickly walks away
and this is where the dying starts
for you and you and you
for all of you in the cheap seats

:: Jim Nichols 10/10/2004 10:40:00 PM [+] ::
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French philosopher Derrida dies
: "French philosopher Jacques Derrida, whose work is credited with originating the school of deconstruction, has died of cancer at the age of 74, France Info radio has said."
and here is Brian Leiters take on Derrida

Alas, he is being referred to as a philosopher.

I am, needless to say, with the vast majority of philosophers in thinking Derrida's work of a philosophical nature was badly confused and pernicious in its influence, and in the substantial minority within that group who formed that opinion after actually reading his work. His preposterously stupid writings on Nietzsche were, of course, a particular source of annoyance. And even his more apparently scholarly work on, e.g., Husserl turns out to be rather poor, as J. Claude Evans showed more than a dozen years ago. Like the Straussians, Derrida and his followers tend to be willfully bad readers of texts. Fortunately, their influence has already faded from the scene in both North America and Europe.

:: Jim Nichols 10/09/2004 06:49:00 PM [+] ::
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United Press International: Outside View: Not the candidates you thought:

"John Kerry wants seniors to be able to buy Canadian drugs now. Bush says that they aren't safe. Huh? Talk about denigrating an ally -- which Bush said Kerry shouldn't do when speaking about our unilateral efforts in Iraq and not referencing our British, Polish, Italian and Spanish partners in Iraq. (Bush forgot the Japanese tonight. Don't forget the Japanese.) Bush probably set U.S.-Canada relations back a couple of years by questioning their medical-safety standards -- which are actually among the highest in the world."

:: Jim Nichols 10/09/2004 06:45:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Was Bush Wired? Ridiculous, Campaign Says:

"Campaign aides to President Bush on Saturday laughed off rampant Internet speculation about whether the president was wired to get help from advisers during his first debate with Sen. John Kerry"

:: Jim Nichols 10/09/2004 06:39:00 PM [+] ::
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Moms going to hate it
To try to extract the very reason of my being out of the pointless meandering of day to day life I got another tattoo today. Something to remind me every day of the futile and hopeless nature of human existence. It makes me smile while others frown

"I am just an atom in an ectoplasmic sea,
without direction or a reason to exist,
the anechoic nebula rotating in my brain
is persuading me, contritely, to persist." -Bad Religion

:: Jim Nichols 10/09/2004 05:58:00 PM [+] ::
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"The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior." --Henry David Thoreau

:: Jim Nichols 10/09/2004 03:50:00 PM [+] ::
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The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Last Job Count Before Election: Always a Political Number:

"It's official. President Bush will be the first president since Herbert Hoover to face re-election with fewer people working than when he started.

No president may have more than an indirect influence on unemployment, and Mr. Bush had the bad luck to take office in January 2001, just before the economy was about to slide into a recession.

Still, despite the stimulus from three rounds of tax cuts, a spectacular expansion of the federal budget deficit and enormous assistance from the Federal Reserve, which slashed interest rates 13 times, the nation has at least 585,000 fewer jobs now than when Mr. Bush took office."

:: Jim Nichols 10/09/2004 03:13:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Experts: Good Hygiene Can Ward Off Flu:

"Doctors and nutritionists say careful hygiene, a balanced diet and plenty of rest and fluids can go a long way toward keeping people healthy during the influenza season, especially considering this year's vaccine shortage. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/09/2004 02:01:00 PM [+] ::
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Got to give it up for marketing genius

So I was wondering why anyone would buy the Marilyn Manson greatest hits album if they already had all his other albums until I found out he was releasing it with a DVD of all his videos. The only video not on the disk is Tainted Love, probably due to copyright laws. So technically I bought a Marilyn Manson DVD and got a free cd of his music to go along with it

:: Jim Nichols 10/08/2004 10:09:00 PM [+] ::
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"Man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalizing animal. For explanations of a universe that confuses him, he seizes onto numerology, astrology, hysterical religions, and other fancy ways to go crazy. Having accepted such glorified nonsense, facts make no impression on him, even if at the cost of his own life."
-- Robert Heinlein

:: Jim Nichols 10/08/2004 09:57:00 PM [+] ::
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The best line of the debate

The militarys job is to win the war, the presidents job is to win the peace.

:: Jim Nichols 10/08/2004 09:10:00 PM [+] ::
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The Harvard Crimson Online :: News:

"More than 50 tenured and emeritus professors from Harvard Business School told President Bush to roll back his administration's massive tax cuts and stem the growth of the federal budget deficit in a harshly worded letter released late Monday night."

:: Jim Nichols 10/08/2004 08:47:00 PM [+] ::
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Oh my god. I just realized I have a paper due tomorrow on Max Weber. I totally forgot about it. This is going to be a long night.

:: Jim Nichols 10/06/2004 11:41:00 PM [+] ::
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Interesting.... Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis - The Region - Interview with Claudia Goldin (September 2004):

:: Jim Nichols 10/06/2004 11:23:00 PM [+] ::
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Misleading Assertions Cover Iraq War and Voting Records (washingtonpost.com):

"Sen. John Edwards and Vice President Cheney clashed repeatedly in their debate last night, making impressive-sounding but misleading statements on issues including the war in Iraq, tax cuts and each other's records, often omitting key facts along the way. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/06/2004 11:12:00 PM [+] ::
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Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004:

"Kerry has retaken the lead in all-important Ohio by 49% to 48%, New Mexico by 46% to 43%, and Iowa by 48% to 47%"

:: Jim Nichols 10/06/2004 11:11:00 PM [+] ::
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The Washington Note Archives:

"Edwards got a lot of good blows in, but not enough to win the debate, which in my view was not a memorable debate to begin with.

The biggest reason why I think that George Bush won tonight is that Cheney made him disappear."

Bush was mentioned only 9 times tonight -- 4 times by Cheney, twice by Edwards and 3 times by Gwen Ifill.

In contrast, Kerry was mentioned 64 times overall -- 34 times by Edwards, and an additional 30 times by Ifill and Cheney. Two of the times Edwards invoked Kerry's name he was breaking Gwen Ifill's rules in the debate.

This night became about what Kerry was for or against, but Bush as a target simply vanished.

:: Jim Nichols 10/06/2004 11:03:00 PM [+] ::
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Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/06/2004 | Partisan bias in newspapers? A study of headlines says yes:

"Economists have been puzzled this year by the persistence with which perceptions about the economy have lagged the economic data. For the most recent 12-month period for which we have data, for example, the economy grew almost exactly as fast as it did during the best 12-month period during President Clinton's two terms. But the economic mood of the country has been much different."

An interesting op-ed. I wonder how somebody like FAIR would respond.

:: Jim Nichols 10/06/2004 10:55:00 PM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Republicans Accuse Moore of Vote Bribery:

"Republicans say filmmaker Michael Moore should be prosecuted for offering underwear, potato chips and Ramen noodles to college students in exchange for their promise to vote. "

:: Jim Nichols 10/05/2004 09:50:00 PM [+] ::
...