A jump to the left

No, not politics. I'm not sure if I could jump further to the left politically :-) I mean this blog will be taking a slightly new direction. I took several months off from blogging after the election. I'm not sure if it was apathy or anger, but I just couldn't come up with anything I wanted to write about.

It has just occurred to me that I should use this space for two purposes:
1) to chronicle my trials and triumphs dealing with my new spinal cord injury (SCI)
2) to educate and advocate for a cure for SCI

That is not to say that some politics will not sneak in...

Stay tuned for my first post(s) with my new strategic initiatives.

Other Blog Pimping

Visit my roommate's political blog at Cogicophony, and my brother's "Onion" style blog HERE.

Nothing witty here

I just wanted to take a second to pimp a couple of Electoral College related web sites that I visit frequently. The first is electoral-vote.com. This site updates the electoral vote map every day with the most recent polling data available in all 50 states (plus DC). The only problem with the site is this: They use only the most recent poll, regardless of the bias of the poll, or the scientific accuracy. This creates a couple of issues. If the poll is considered an outlier (i.e. doesn't match up with other polls from the state) they use the data anyway, which can show a state in the wrong category. Also, they don't correct for polls that are unabashedly biased. For example, a polling service called Strategic Vision is cited quite a bit. This poll does not hide the fact that it is favorable to Bush. It is not uncommon for their results to show the incumbent 5% points above what other polls show. Even so, this site is a valuable resource, if taken with a grain of salt. Also, there is a very interesting "movie" that they made showing the evolution of the electoral map over the course of the election cycle (just below the main map, there is a link called Movie...). The data that is on this site today (Sunday, October 17) is very close to my current thoughts on how the election will play out. I only disagree with a few states:
1) Florida is shown as exactly tied - unfortunately, the hurricane state will go to Bush
2) New Mexico - a close race will go to Gore... uh, I mean Kerry
3) Iowa - Kerry, no question
4) New Hampshire - again, Kerry

For those of you that are counting, that makes the count 269 Bush and 269 Kerry. That would be a bad situation, since a tie would be broken by the House of Representatives. However, an electoral college delegate from (I think) West Virginia has already announced that they will vote for Kerry regardless of the popular vote in that state. That would make the tally 270 for Kerry and 268 for Bush. Giving Kerry the White House.

If you want to play around with the Electoral College map on your own, the LA Times has a great interactive map that allows you to change each state to your own prediction. Check it out HERE. You will need to create an account, but it is a quick process.

And finally, to get the inside scoop on the polls, including the specific wording of the questions asked, whether they included Nader, and what the margin of error was, visit HERE. The National Poll information is free, but the state by state info requires a paid subscription.

Best Television Program Ever

The Daily Show... Television genious. Hosted by a man on a mission. John Stewart is trying to change the face of politics and reporting in this country, seemingly singlehandedly. If you don't watch it, you have no idea what you are missing. Comedy Central - 11pm ET/ 10pm CT Monday through Thursday. It's comedy with a brain. Watch it, love it. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be afraid, very afraid.

John Stewart was on CNN's Crossfire yesterday. If you don't know, Crossfire is a supposed "debate" style program where 4 political pundits (2 liberal, 2 conservative) talk over each other for a while and still never make any points. It seems that they invited Stewart on the show to inject some humor, and maybe boost the ratings a bit (not hard to do, let me tell you). What actually happened was television gold. Stewart took one look at Tucker Carlson (the bow tie wearing concervative blowhard) and gave him the equivalent of a verbal deep colonic. Though they didn't show it on camera, I am convinced that after Stewart was done, that short pshycic lady from Poltergeist came out and pronouced "this man is clean". It's not that Stewart doesn't like Carlson's politics (Stewart claims to be an independent), he doesn't like him as a human, or specifically as a journalist. Watch the video HERE. Read the trascript HERE.

Blogs were made to be commented on...

Click the COMMENT link and let me know what you think. You do have to be registered - to prevent spam and other abuse, but it just takes a second to register and it's FREE!

Shakespeare for Dummies - Ummm, I mean Presidents.

OK, I know that I promised earlier that there would be no more iambic pentameter. I lied (see how easy it is to admit that?). But I decided that Shakespeare has some good lessons for our current president... if only he would learn them.

TOP TEN LESSONS FOR THE PRESIDENT FROM WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

1) "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players." - As You Like It
We are just players in this world Mr. President. Just like everyone else. We are not the directors of this little play called the world. Now kindly exit stage left, and let a more learned player onto the stage.

2) "I am constant as the northern star, Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament." – Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar spoke these words... right before he was stabbed to death because of his own stubbornness. Maybe "flip-flopping" isn't so bad, when it serves the common good. I don't think your stubbornness is going to get you killed (though it got lots of others killed), but it just might get you voted out of office.

3) Et tu, Brute? – Julius Caesar
Let's stay with Julius Caesar for a second. These three words are famous the world over as a sign of a leader betrayed by his own trusted advisors. Betrayed, not for hate of the man, but for love of the country. Sound familiar Mr. President? Collin Powell, Richard Clarke, Paul Bremer, even Donald Rummsfeld has been getting into the act. All blowing the whistle on bits and pieces of the lies your are trying to force-feed us. Risking their jobs in this economy? Sounds like love of the country to me.

4) "Something wicked this way comes." - Macbeth
Something Wicked, yes... but not Saddam Hussein. Something wicked through our ports, or from North Korea, or from Iran... or, there is that one guy... what was his name? Oh yeah, Osama bin Laden. Hmmmm - there is a blast from the past. The witches in Macbeth knew their evil, because they trusted and acted on the intelligence that they were given. They did not make that intelligence fit the story that they wanted to see.

5) Nothing can come of nothing: - King Lear
That's right, Mr. President. Nothing can come of your much hyped (but toothless) "No Child Left Behind" act, because you funded it with NOTHING. Maybe you meant for all of the uneducated children in this country to drop out of school and sign up for the armed services so they could go fight your daddy's unfinished war of oil.

6) "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?" – Merchant of Venice
Replace the word "jew" in every instance with the word Arab. Send the new quote over to your Justice Department and tell Mr. Ashcroft to stop equating the words Arab or Muslim with the word terrorist. They are not the same thing. Hooked on Phonics worked for me.

7) "This thing of darkness; I acknowledge mine." – The Tempest
In The Tempest, Prospero admits his mistakes, and is relieved of many of his burdens. Mr. President, you have been asked at least twice to admit JUST ONE of your mistakes over the last four years. You have yet to think of any. Do us all a favor and relieve yourself of some burdens.

8) How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? Thou know'st we work by wit, and not by witchcraft; And wit depends on dilatory time." – Othello
Patience, Mr. President is a virtue. 'Nuff said.

9) "My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!" – Romeo and Juliet
Pakistan is now our ally in the war on terror... who would'a thunk? Saddam Hussein was a bad man, but people (or more likely, regimes) can change. What if Iraq was the future key to peace and stability in the Middle East. The world may never know.

10) "Now is the winter of our discontent." – Richard III
Spring (ok, it will be winter, but go with me here) is just around the corner Mr. President, and I think you will be watching from the front porch.

So, ten lessons from Shakespeare. and with that I say:
Good-night, good-night! Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good-night till it be morrow. – Romeo and Juliet