Archive for Politics

November 3, 2004

Help is on the way… out the door!

2:32 pm | News | Politics | Comments: 0

John Kerry just gave his concession speech, and it was probably the best speech he’s ever given. It probably was his last one of any consequence, as well. As everybody anticipated, Bush’s re-election hinged on Florida and Ohio. He won them as I expected he would (which reminds me that Steve now owes me money). Bush’s victory is an answer to many many prayers on the part of my familiy, friends, church, and myself. I thank God for the outcome, and I am fully satisfied that it is his will for this nation.

The party at Steve’s was totally crazy-go-nuts, man! We were completely rocking it out with FOX News, Pepsi, and strange pieces of shrimp wrapped in Italian ham. I think FOX did a great job, and during commercials we’d make forays over to CNN and PMSNBC (a.k.a. MizNBC). Steve was glued to his laptop all night long, checking out county-by-county results and chatting with his lawyer buddies. An hour or so after Ohio was called for Bush, he started doing dramatic readings from liberal web logs - absolutely hilarious!

October 24, 2004

Goofballs

11:49 pm | Culture | Politics | Random | Comments: 0

Lately I’ve been noticing how many goofballs there are. Take, for instance, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm. Everybody knows she was elected for two reasons: she’s a cute blonde, and Wayne County. And she’s been making of lot of Michiganders mad, both dems and GOPers alike. Next up, we have Rob Schneider. I shouldn’t have to say anything about that slimeball. Now that I mention that, most of Hollywood is worth adding to the Hall of Goofballitude.

I don’t want to be depressing, though. There’s good news out there. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. My spaceheater is working. I also found the book I was looking for all week long. Huzzah!

October 19, 2004

It’s Polltastic

1:13 am | Politics | Comments: 0

Yes folks, we’ve gone poll-crazy here at SIO. Can you count on them? No! Should you put any stock in them at all? No! Will the Red Sox win the Series? No! But I frankly don’t care. Polls are fun to look at, much like those cool electric zappy-balls that make lightning when you touch them.

You’ve seen our link to electoral-vote.com. Well, there is more out there than that, my friends. The format he’s got is great, but I don’t want anybody to think that endorsing that site is an endorsement of John Kerry (if you happen to read what he writes from day to day it’s pretty pathetic - but at least he’s got good polling “standards”). Another Kerrycentric poll site is 2.004k.com. Maybe you don’t like the idea of John Kerry winning the election. If that describes you, check out realclearpolitics.com and electionprojection.com. So what can you do with all this data? That’s anybody’s guess. At least you’ll have a good picture of what a U.S. map looks like when some states are colored red and others are colored blue, with some light and dark shades in the mix. Beyond that, you’re taking your chances. Life on the edge - SIO style.

October 18, 2004

Party!

1:16 am | My Life | Politics | Comments: 0

No plans for Election Night? Come on down to Steve Birn’s apartment in beautiful downtown Grand Rapids! Everyone is welcome. That is most definitely where the craziest, wackiest, most grammatical party is going down on November 2. Regardless of Steve’s plans to take over our church and turn it into a Jewish synagogue, he’s nothing more than a loveable little fuzzball.

Are the presidential elections really as tremendously important as they seem to be? Or are they ridiculously overhyped and blown out of proportion? Sure, it’s important, but I really don’t think it’s going to shatter my world completely if John Kerry is elected. I also don’t think that all my problems will be instantly solved when George W. Bush is re-elected. If you’re voting third party, you’ve already come to terms with losing, so what’s all this fuss about? One really important issue that I can see is the appointment of U.S. Supreme Court justices. I’d much rather have Bush doing that than Kerry. But aside from that, I think that too many people are pinning all their electoral hopes on the President and not enough on where the vast majority of the government is: the House and Senate. Can you tell me who your senators are? Mine are Levin and Stabenow. Ew.

October 15, 2004

Extremes

9:01 pm | My Life | Politics | Comments: 0

Rarely is it ever a comfortable temperature in my room. It’s on a corner of the house with two big outside walls that are uninsulated. Thusly, in the summer it’s buttcrack hot in here, and in the winter it’s buttcrack cold. That reminds of how useful the word “buttcrack” is as an adjective. So I’ve got my trusty spaceheater going. The thing with the spaceheater is that it’s quite extreme as well - get too close and you’ll burn your toes. Regardless, it’s all that stands between me and frozen-footdom.

I was thinking today about the minimum wage issue. John Kerry wants to raise it to seven bucks an hour during his presidency. Seems to me that’s a really bad idea; what if employers can’t afford that kind of cash, and have to lay off their unskilled labor as a result? I think that mimumum wage should be lower, actually. People should get paid what their work is worth. I realize that we need to keep people from being abused, but I really don’t think that scrubbing toilets in a McDonald’s is worth seven bones an hour.

October 6, 2004

Take it Easy

2:05 am | Politics | Comments: 0

Debate season is now fully engaged, and people’s political veins have really begun to approach popping level. Tonite was the VP debate, with most people agreeing that VP Cheney held his own and got in a few good shots against Edwards. It was also agreed that Edwards’ most potent weapon was the smile that was pasted on his grill the entire time.

Are you anxious about the elections? Do you feel like you’re in the dark about what’s going to happen on November the Second, 2004? You want to be informed about the elections. You want to see some data and some facts or something. Look no further than the Electoral Vote Predictor, featured for a limited time only in our OwnageLinks™ section. This is easily the most comprehensive compilation of election data, arranged in the now-infamous red state-blue state view. Here you can find past election history for each state, the latest polling data from across the country, and even political humor.

Disclaimer: Third-party candidate (read “little guys”) enthusiasts may be disappointed by this website.

September 24, 2004

Deep Thoughts in the Early Morning

1:46 am | Politics | Random | Thoughts | Comments: 0

Remember back when the zipper on every piece of clothing used to say “YKK” on it? That was weird, man. Like some kind of secret society or something.

I am now officially a registered voter. I’m not officially a member of a party though; they changed the process. Unfortunately it is now even more shady, since you are not allowed to split your vote between parties. Some long-time readers of SIO will recall my thoughs on our nation’s electoral system. The fact is I’ve come to a new conclusion regarding it all. I really can’t stick bull-headed to a position when it really isn’t supported by anything but my own conjecture. So, I’ve decided that the morality/impact of me voting or not voting is essentially the same.

Additionally, I have decided that I can support George W. Bush for President. In consideration of his flaws and shortcomings, it is obvious to me that most men could not have done a better job in the office he’s held for the last 4 years. No man is perfect, and I believe that Almighty God has prepared President Bush for the office of president and brought him to it for a reason. He is a man I can trust, and who has a saving faith in Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, I have no shame in going to the polls for him. So there you have it.

September 14, 2004

You Can’t Trust the Polls

7:14 pm | Politics | Comments: 0

It’s true, ladies and gentlemen; polls have been proven often to be nothing more than fluff and twaddle, yet people today give them an inordinate amount of time and attention. Many people claim that polls are bent in whatever direction the news media decide to bend them, which ends up being mostly to the left. I agree with this, because it’s obvious that the news media is dominated by liberals, and I also believe that nothing can be reported without some kind of bias (FOX News junkies, feel free to be deflated at this point).

So we should really just disregard polls entirely, right? Possibly. I do think that polls can serve a purpose in their own right. While they are terribly poor indicators of the true national situation and also what will be the national situation on election day, they do give something of a glimpse at possible trends. They also make lots and lots of political noise, something which is apparently a highly valued thing in the business.

The reason I bring all this up is that today a tiny little survey was taken of my U.S. Diversity class on the presidential candiates. About 65% to 75% of my class of 30 kids supported George Dubya Bush! This completely shocked me, to be honest. I would have expected more around 25% to 35% in favor of W, especially at my school, and especially in that class. I then came home to find that Gallup and USA Today polls confirmed this trend towards supporting the President. Personally, I think that after the debates this election will turn into a complete rout. There aren’t enough completely stupid morons out there to elect John Kerry… or are there?

August 5, 2004

Music Music Everywhere

12:35 am | My Life | Politics | Comments: 0

Another step in my music ubiquity project, obtaining an mp3 player, is complete. I now have digital access to all my music when I drive (CD), when I am in my room (mp3 library), and when I go anywhere else (mp3 player). While this may seem pretty much ubiquitous to some, my technology people tell me there is still much work to be done.

So it appears that I might end up voting in the presidential election after all. Not that I’ve had any changes of heart. Lately, my family and I have been talking politics (something we never ever do), so I’ve gotten a chance to bounce my ideas about voting and democracy off them. Needless to say, the reaction has been less than exuberant. My dad had a good line. “Well I’m happy you feel that way. Now get yourself registered to vote.”. Since I believe in the fifth commandment, more than likely I’ll be putting my proverbial drop into the ocean on election day. In addition, I’ll get to wear one of those cool “I voted.” stickers on my shirt.

July 8, 2004

Leave Israel Alone

11:22 pm | Politics | War | Comments: 1

I’ve followed the tensions between Israel and Palestine for a long time. What I can’t stand about the whole deal is all the third-party meddling that’s been going on. Israel has been under almost constant terrorist attacks for years now, and any time they show aggression everybody condemns them and tells them to pull back, blah blah blah. I believe that Israel has every right to steamroll the Palestinians off the map. In fact, I think they have a duty to do something at least similar to that. Intense border security and small surgical strikes have done nothing to stem the tide of suicide bombers murdering innocent Israeli citizens, whom the government of Israel is sworn to protect. Palestine needs to get its bottom handed to it, and I hope is happens sooner than later. The death toll is getting higher and higher either way.