My favorite wrestler / Week 17

Growing up, my favorite wrestler was 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan, who I'm pleased to read is the oldest active wrestler in WWE. Wow.

In other news, NFL Week 17 is in the comments. Rich is taking Duggan's trademark 2X4 to my chances to win this year.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all. Hope that you are spending time with your family and friends.

Week 16 (cont.)

CIN @ CLE
PIT @ TEN
SF @ STL
SD @ TB
NO @ DET
MIA @ KC
ARI @ NE
BUF @ DEN
NYJ @ SEA
HOU @ OAK
ATL @ MIN
PHI @ WAS
CAR @ NYG

Mon, Dec 22
GB @ CHI

Week 16

IND @ JAC THU 8:15 pm
BAL @ DAL SAT 8:15 pm

Maybe I was wrong.

The incoming Obama administration has appointed Arne Duncan to be the Secretary of Education. He apparently is a data-driven reformer and a merit pay supporter, but not a complete enemy of the unions. We shall see -- ObamaEducationReformAbandonment Watch rolls on.

Who Throws a Shoe?

Honestly?

A (sad) prediction.

A prediction, for the record: Governor Blagojevich will not go to prison for his alleged crimes. He will either settle or be acquitted.

NFL Week 15 (cont.)

Sun, Dec 14
TEN @ HOU
SEA @ STL
DET @ IND
GB @ JAC
TB @ ATL
BUF @ NYJ
SF @ MIA
SD @ KC
WAS @ CIN
MIN @ ARI
PIT @ BAL
NE @ OAK
DEN @ CAR
NYG @ DAL

Mon, Dec 15
CLE @ PHI

Week 15

NO @ CHI, 8:15 pm.

Conan is a talented dude....

Conan O'Brien - Blue Moon (Live on Conan 01.04.2008)
Uploaded by nono_the_bean

"The Late Shift 2"

If no one gets my obscure HBO movie reference, "The Late Shift" is a movie about the tumultuous time after the retirement of Johnny Carson and who would take over the Tonight Show; Jay Leno or David Letterman? The movie goes on to show how NBC and Leno joined forces to oust Letterman from the Tonight Show post. It would appear that NBC and Leno are at it again with this recent NYT article. Leno was supposed to retire at the end of this year giving he post to Conan O'Brien while Jimmy Fallon would take over Conan's show. But it appears that Leno will still be doing his show on NBC, only one hour earlier. Maybe Conan should start looking at some offers from other networks.

Bad chemistry naming contest!

Enjoy the picture, which (I kid you not) is from an article highlighting Hollywood's newfound accuracy in TV science. Get this, from the pictured TV producer: "In some ways, it's much easier to make shit up. When you have to make it real, you're holding yourself to a much higher standard."

Well, that IS a much higher standard. Hoooooly crap that thing is a disaster. Personally, I like the seeming hypervalent iodine carbene.

So what should you name a structure like this? The term "Texas carbon" or "Nobel-prize winning structure" doesn't exactly cover it. I suggest "WTF structure", but I'm open to suggestions.

Only You Can Prevent Forest Fire (ing of hand guns)...

The Bush administration on Friday struck down federal regulations banning loaded guns in most national forests, a move that was widely seen as a parting shot on behalf of the National Rifle Association. The decision shoots down a 1981 wildlife refuge and a 1983 national park regulation signed by President Ronald Reagan requiring firearms to be unloaded and placed somewhere not easily accessible, such as in a car trunk, when visiting federal parks.

"We are pleased that the Interior Department recognizes the right of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families while enjoying America's national parks and wildlife refuges," said Chris Cox, the National Rifle Association's chief lobbyist.

Thank God. I haven't taken Hayden to any National Parks yet because I just haven't felt safe.

Week 14 (cont.)

JAC @ CHI
MIN @ DET
CIN @ IND
PHI @ NYG
CLE @ TEN
ATL @ NO
HOU @ GB
MIA @ BUF
NYJ @ SF
NE @ SEA
KC @ DEN
STL @ ARI
DAL @ PIT
WAS @ BAL

Mon, Dec 08

TB @ CAR

Hopes dashed.

My hopes that the Black Friday Walmart trampling case were untrue were dashed:

"Mulvey said yesterday that Damour's cause of death was "positional asphyxiation" consistent with having pressure applied to his chest.

"He was trampled to death," Mulvey said."

That's just frickin' terrible. Sigh.

Can't resist.

My daughter is an avid consumer of media. I think she likes the taste of C&E News.

NFL Week 13 (cont.)

SF @ BUF
BAL @ CIN
NO @ TB
NYG @ WAS
MIA @ STL
IND @ CLE
CAR @ GB
ATL @ SD
DEN @ NYJ
PIT @ NE
KC @ OAK
CHI @ MIN

Mon, Dec 01
JAC @ HOU

Black Friday

I sincerely hope that this is not true:

"A male worker at a New York Wal-Mart was killed Friday when anxious shoppers trampled him in their rush for Black Friday bargains, witnesses say."

There's a woman saying she miscarried because she was pushed down in the crowd. I'm guessing that this will be tops on the evening news, competing with the Mumbai attacks -- I'll reserve judgment until tonight.

UPDATE: This is why I really, really, really dislike the media. No sooner than I posted this, WABC has a report that the guy died of an apparent heart attack (no trampling, I guess) and the lady's baby is fine. Way to go, NY Daily News!

NFL Week 13

TEN @ DET
SEA @ DAL
ARI @ PHI

Engagement

Ok, so as most of you probably know, my girlfriend and I got engaged this past weekend. And while this is a rather transparent attempt to notify people, it is also a way for me to get a head count of Taylorites that may want to attend the wedding. It is likely going to be in South Bend in Spring of 2010.

Leave congratulations and "RSVP's" in the comments! Thanks!

NFL Week 12 (cont.)

PHI @ BAL
NE @ MIA
NYJ @ TEN
CHI @ STL
BUF @ KC
HOU @ CLE
SF @ DAL
MIN @ JAC
TB @ DET
OAK @ DEN
CAR @ ATL
NYG @ ARI
WAS @ SEA
IND @ SD

Mon, Nov 24
GB @ NO

Open Thread: Bailout Edition

Just want to hear everyone's thoughts on the proposed auto industry bailout.

One Nut Hitler

No wonder he had such issues. You have got to love the headline here.

I think I got this one right.

From my Obama analysis post of August 31:

"Prediction: his calls for teacher pay/education reform will be the first to get traded away."

From today's appointment of Obama's education policy chief: "The appointment of Darling-Hammond, a teacher quality expert who opposes merit pay and is more critical than supportive of NCLB, signals that Obama wishes to avoid a fight with the unions."

I love being a pessimist: you're either pleasantly surprised or being proven correct.

Sinbad for Sec. of State

"Hey Putin, did you know black people do this and white people do that?"

Week 12

CIN @ PIT 8:15 ET

Week 11 (cont.)

Sun, Nov 16

PHI @ CIN
BAL @ NYG
DEN @ ATL
OAK @ MIA
HOU @ IND
NO @ KC
CHI @ GB
MIN @ TB
DET @ CAR
STL @ SF
ARI @ SEA
TEN @ JAC
SD @ PIT
DAL @ WAS

Mon, Nov 17
CLE @ BUF

Resistant To Base

Jeff found this gem on youtube.

Week 11

NYJ @ NE, Thursday, 8:15 ET

Economists versus scientists

Scientists often get a bad rap for being socially inept. One economist (and former Secretary of the Treasury) is much, much more socially inept than any scientist than I've ever met. Enjoy the following on Larry Summers, former President of Harvard and possible future SecTreas:

Summers was doing a meeting with a friend of mine at a hedge fund where they both worked, and he was drinking a diet Coke as he talked. I mean that literally: as he talked. Coke was pouring out of his mouth and onto his shirt, and Summers showed no outward recognition that this was happening. Needless to say, to my friend this was fascinating to the point of seriously distracting from the substance of the meeting.

After the meeting, my friend emailed a colleague to say: I just finished a meeting with Larry, and he left with his shirt covered in diet Coke. The colleague emailed back: the last time I had a meeting with Larry, he left with cheese in his nose.

NFL Week 10 (cont.)

Sun, Nov 09
NO @ ATL
TEN @ CHI
JAC @ DET
BAL @ HOU
SEA @ MIA
GB @ MIN
BUF @ NE
STL @ NYJ
CAR @ OAK
IND @ PIT
KC @ SD
NYG @ PHI

Mon, Nov 10
SF @ ARI

Best. Drink. Ever.

This ones for you Bruce!

Brady Quinn Sez:

We should all tune in tonight to watch everyone's favorite gay bashing Notre Dame alumn.

Week 10.

DEN @ CLE 8:15 ET.

Historic.

Election night open thread.

I Didn't Vote For Obama Today

From TPMBlog November 4 2008...

I have a confession to make.

I did not vote for Barack Obama today.

I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.

I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods. He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL. He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole. He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem. He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.

But I didn't vote for Mr. Woods.

I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross. She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003. I was her first student. She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program. She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation. Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.

But I didn't vote for Ms. Cross.

I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr. Jackson Senior was a Latin professor. He has a gifted school named for him in my hometown. Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years. He has a heliport named for him at a hospital in my hometown. They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.

But I didn't vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.

I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer. She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members. She was a strong-willed woman who earned the grudging respect of the town's leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got. She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and has a community center named for her in Shreveport.

But I didn't vote for Mrs. Palmer.

I wanted to vote for these people, who did not live to see a day where a Black man would appear on their ballots on a crisp November morning.

In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself.

So who did I vote for?

No one.

I didn't vote. Not for President, anyway.

Oh, I went to the voting booth. I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine. I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements.

I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly. But I didn't vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.

When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.

And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it.

Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along.

It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter.

So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama. I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President.


Hayden joined me this morning, I didn't think of giving him the pen, but I showed him my vote, put it in the machine, and told him, "Today is a great day!"

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

I'm 40 pages into "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" and I'm impressed with his ability to write. The book is well written.

I've not got really into the meat of the book, but my first impressions are mixed.

On one hand I see his concern for the average American, and his disgust with the political machine. On the other, I see his philosphy of government intervention and where he wants to take the nation....

More to come.....

P.S. Thanks for the book, Rich.

Obligatory pre-election night post.

JCT: Obama: 374, McCain: 164. Obama: 55%, McCain: 43%.
RET: Obama: 337, McCain: 200.
MJS: Obama: 311, McCain: 227.
BJM: Obama: 353, McCain: 185, Obama winning IN, VA, NC

E-mail me your (UPDATED) electoral maps at jimtung -at- gmail dot com and I'll put them up.

Bill Maher

Say what you want about this guy, but his brash humor is great.

NFL Week 9

NYJ @ BUF
DET @ CHI
JAC @ CIN
BAL @ CLE
TB @ KC
HOU @ MIN
ARI @ STL
GB @ TEN
MIA @ DEN
DAL @ NYG
ATL @ OAK
PHI @ SEA
NE @ IND

Mon, Nov 03
PIT @ WAS

FAIL FAIL.

Doubtless, there will be many political posts in the next week or so. Topics include 1) how big the Obama win will be 2) what will Obama's executive team look like and 3) who is the early frontrunner for GOP 2012. But first...

Look, folks: failblog is hilarious. And yes, it says a lot in just four letters. However, I'm calling a fail bubble and predicting overconsumption in the fail market. It's going to go away and be a marker of the late oughts, just like Sarah Palin, cream-colored Cadillac Escalades and huge Bluetooth earpieces that make you look like an uncool Lt. Uhura. Get it out now while it lasts.

That is all.

Halloween

Celebrate Halloween with the greatest music video ever made!

They wouldn't let me embed it.

Favorite Horror Movies

Thought I would open a discussion about everyone's favorite horror films. Some of you might not be as big of a fan of the genre as I am, but I am curious to hear your favorites....

p.s. I watched "John Carpenter's The Thing" last night on hulu and forgot that it is a damn good movie.

Disappointing, I know.

Chris, Vince and Bruce will be disappointed to learn about someone's forgetfulness. Mike and myself, on the other hand, may not be so sad.

Contempt for Science

Here is a nice article by Slate's Christopher Hitchens on the growing contempt for science within extreme right/religious circles (i.e. Sarah Palin and her "witchdoctor" church folk).

Sarah, Tina, or an impostor

NFL Week 8

OAK @ BAL
ARI @ CAR
TB @ DAL
WAS @ DET
BUF @ MIA
STL @ NE
SD @ NO
KC @ NYJ
ATL @ PHI
CLE @ JAC
CIN @ HOU
NYG @ PIT
SEA @ SF

Mon, Oct 27
IND @ TEN

Bush's Endorsement

I almost forgot what SNL was like in the early 2000's.

Breakfast sandwiches.

I'm a little frustrated these days with politics, so let's talk about something that I like: fast-food breakfast sandwiches (hereafter abbreviated as FFBS).

In particular, I would like to praise the chefs at Jack-in-the-Box, who have developed the Sausage Croissant Combo. It consists of a croissant sandwich with sausage, egg and cheese (hold the cheese, please), hash brown sticks and a cup of coffee. All of this can be yours for the low, low price of $3.65. While this is not necessarily a great culinary experience, I have found the my local JinB consistently delivers a tasty (and what appears to be hand-fried) egg and the hash brown sticks range from acceptable to sublime.

I submit to you that this is the best deal in FFBS. McDonald's has the McGriddle, which is a fantastic sandwich, but far too pricey at > $5.90 for the combo meal. Burger King's Croissan'Wich is better priced, but still rather mundane. Starbucks' foray into FFBS were tasty, but far too high priced and the ingredients poorly selected.

I try not to buy these very often, but they're quite good when I can get them. It may be my favorite fast food discovery in southern California. In-and-Out Burger is quite good, but overrated, especially when compared to the fine burger that you can get at Culver's. There -- now I'm ready for a healthy ( believe it or not) dinner.

Dressing on a budget

As someone who never buys anything that isn't on clearance, the $150,000 Sarah Palin spending spree astonishes me. I know she is in the spotlight, but seriously.John Edwards got ripped on for his $400 hair cuts, but she gets to spend $15,000 a month on a make-up artist? I have embedded a video of the supposed "uppity" candidate and his family talking about dressing on a budget. But I guess he can't relate to the Joe ______s of the country.

Can Obama really help us with more Central Planning?

This is a good article on the problem I have with Central Planning. It basically recaps a 20/20 episode about the ability of the government to solve our problems.

I've said it all along, more Govt. is not the answer.

Obama's philosophy is BS!!

What do you think?

Blog housekeeping:

1. Added "recent comments" feature.
2. Changed template -- I think it is a better use of space.

If people object, I'll change it back without question. Comment away.

NFL Week 7

BAL @ MIA
PIT @ CIN
NO @ CAR
SF @ NYG
MIN @ CHI
TEN @ KC
SD @ BUF
DAL @ STL
DET @ HOU
IND @ GB
CLE @ WAS
NYJ @ OAK
SEA @ TB

Mon, Oct 20
DEN @ NE

I thought we (USA) were a republic, and for good reason.

All this tax policy talk has got me asking the age old question, "Do average people really know what is best for the country?"

“Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.” Aristotle

“Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.” Aritotle

I always thought it was quintessential for our success as a nation that we stick to our republic roots.

When I turn on the TV and find reports on the registration of new voters I shutter in fear. Are these the people that get to determine the rules of the game? The simple fact is that the uneducated outnumber the educated. The lazy outnumber the hardworking. The freeloaders outnumber the earners.

So do we really think it is wise to give the “under”class so much power?

Should the majority (since more that 50% of people pay little to none of Federal Income Tax) have the right to raise taxes on the minority?

Maybe we need to find a balance here, but the system we have…which every day is becoming a democracy (poll first, think second)…seems to be broken.

I think the Taylor Group could make better decisions than the system we currently have!!

Joe The Douchebag

Turns out Joe The Plumber isn't even a licensed plumber! Also, he is not even close to making $250,000 a year. Maybe he shouldn't discuss tax increases when he owes the state of Ohio $1,000 (edited for Jim) in back taxes.

Middleclassness, i.e. "Don't raise my taxes!"

Just picking nits here:

I think it's terribly funny, all this fuss about "Joe the Plumber". McCain was certainly right to jump on this, but it's this same damn debate about whether or not we should have taxes, who should pay them, race and class. Don't forget competence in government, wasteful spending, socialism, etc.

1) To Obama: You blew it from the beginning of your campaign. By accepting Hillary Clinton's definition of "middle class" (that is, $250,000), you've defined "middle class", "working families" and the like at 250K. That's the top 5% of income earning households! What the hell were you thinking?

2) To "Joe The Plumber": First, thanks for getting Obama to admit that he wants to "spread the wealth around." Redistribution is something Democrats don't really want to talk about. Second, guess what? If you're pulling down 250K in income (in Ohio!), you're definitely at the top 5% of income earners. Sorry, buddy, you're going to see your taxes go up.

Here's my point: I am not an economist, but I get the feeling that the US government's going to need a little cash in the next few years. I don't really know the area under the income distribution curve for the top 5%, but I get the feeling it's not enough. It's a crap sandwich, but better higher taxes on the "middle class" than government defaulting on its obligations, etc. I'd like to think it went to pay for debt service and tanks to scare 3rd world countries, but that's an argument for another time.

Palin as President

Have you ever wondered what an extreme mavericky president would look like?

Be sure to click on everything in the picture, and don't forget to visit Camel-stan!

Obama XBOX campaigning

You have to give the Obama campaign props on their innovative advertising. Not only has he blitzed the internet and text messages, but he has now began to advertise in XBOX 360 games. Courting younger voters is a brilliant idea (even if John Stossel seems to disagree), and may push Obama to a huge victory in November.

Incite or insight?

“We know that in the war, it’s terrorists, terrorists who hate America and her allies and would seek to destroy us, and the bad guys are those who would support and sympathize with the terrorists,” she said. “They do not like America because of what we stand for. Liberty. Freedom. Equal rights. Those who sympathize and support those terrorists who would seek to destroy all that it is that we value, those are the bad guys, OK?”— Sarah Palin warned the audience about the threat of terrorism, and explained that the Republican ticket should be elected because “we know who the bad guys are.”

I gave McCain credit for taking a hit on friday in Minnesota and trying to move his campaign away from the "Obama as Terrorist" path to the gutter. It didn't last long.

Football Questions?

Alright it is time for us to discuss two issues with the Cowboys-Cards game this afternoon. First, what about this tuck rule? How can you throw an incomplete pass in the endzone when sack is imminent? Shouldn't this have at least been intentional grounding and thus a safety?

Second, what is the deal with Romo? I called this Cardinals win. Late afternoon, national television, Warner vs Romo...I go with Warner. Prior to the start of the season I felt the Cowboys were probably the best team in the league. However, the Giants have proved me wrong. Their weakness is just not clear right now. However, is Romo to blame for the Cowboys being inconsistent or is it that he does not get enough credit when they win?

Week 6

Sun, Oct 12

CHI @ ATL
MIA @ HOU
BAL @ IND
DET @ MIN
OAK @ NO
CIN @ NYJ
CAR @ TB
STL @ WAS
JAC @ DEN
DAL @ ARI
PHI @ SF
GB @ SEA
NE @ SD

Mon, Oct 13
NYG @ CLE

Week 5 results: RET: 7, JCT: 5

"...we will be respectful."

I feel that negative campaigning, a part of every election, spiraled out of control over the past week. Likely, people's concerns about the economy are compounded by their ignorance, hateful emails (which unfortunately some believe), and some members of a campaign staff that believe it is the only way to win. Here McCain shows his true colors, which have occasionally appeared on the trail.

It's over

"Obama owned it. This election’s over unless he murders and eats the flesh of a child on live television." - Will Wilkinson.

Needless to say, I'm on record since Iowa on the Dems' big year. I hate it when I'm right.

Congratulations, Kristen and Pat!

A lovely wedding for a lovely couple. Congratulations, Pat and Kristen!

Open Political Thread (not that we need one)

So post your comments here.  Debates (pres, VP).  general thoughts 

Week 5

TEN @ BAL
ATL @ GB
KC @ CAR
SD @ MIA
WAS @ PHI
SEA @ NYG
IND @ HOU
CHI @ DET
TB @ DEN
BUF @ ARI
CIN @ DAL
NE @ SF
PIT @ JAC

Mon, Oct 06
MIN @ NO

Put your picks in the comments and pick 'em! I'll be coming back from the Fleming-Ryan nuptials, so I'll have to pick earlier than I like.

now that's a mugshot

here's a link to the full story: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0930082cow1.html

Week 4 results are up.

RET: 4, JCT: 4, VL: 2

Credit where credit is due.

The following is a nice piece of reasoning. If Obama can do so as President on a regular basis, he will have a lot of political power. At the same time, I find metaphors to be somewhat inadequate to describe the situation.

"There is plenty of blame to go around and many in Washington and on Wall Street who deserve it,” he said. “There will be time to punish those who set this fire, but now is the moment for us to come together and put the fire out.

“If your neighbor’s house is burning, you’re not gonna spend a whole lot of time saying ‘well, that guy was always irresponsible. He always left the stove on. He always was smoking in bed,’” Obama told the crowd of 12,000 at the University of Nevada - Reno. “All those things may be true, but his house could end up affecting your house.”

“We’ve got to make sure that we put the fire out and then go start making sure that these folks stop leaving the stove on.”

I especially admire the FDR callback.

NFL Week 4

Put your scores in the comments and Pick 'Em!

SF @ NO
GB @ TB
HOU @ JAC
CLE @ CIN
ATL @ CAR
ARI @ NYJ
MIN @ TEN
DEN @ KC
SD @ OAK
BUF @ STL
WAS @ DAL
PHI @ CHI

Mon, Sep 29
BAL @ PIT

King Crab Fishing Just got a little deadlier.

an obit to die for

Monday, September 15, 2008 2:05 AM MDT

DOUGLAS -- A celebration of life for James William "Jim" Adams, 53, will be held at a later date.

He died Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008 at Memorial Hospital of Converse County in Douglas.

Jim, who had tired of reading obituaries noting other's courageous battles with this or that disease, wanted it known that he lost his battle. It was primarily as a result of being stubborn and not following doctor's orders or maybe for just living life a little too hard for better than five decades.

He was born June 8, 1955 in Garrison, N.D. the son of James William and Ruby Helen (Clark) Adams.

He was sadly deprived of his final wish, which was to be run over by a beer truck on the way to the liquor store to buy booze for a date. True to his personal style, he spent his final hours joking with medical personnel, cussing and begging for narcotics and bargaining with God to look over his loving dog, Biscuit, and his family.

He would like to thank all "his ladies" for putting up with him the last 30 years.

During his life, he excelled at anything he put his mind to. He loved to hear and tell jokes and spin tales of grand adventures he may or may not have had.

He is survived by five sons, Jeremiah Adams and his wife, Nicole, Mica Olivas, Wade Olivas, Brice Simpson and Cole Adams; sister, Jerri Giegerich; two ex-wives, Vickie Harrison and Marilyn Williams; four grandchildren; two nieces; and two great-nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother-in-law.

In lieu of flowers, he asks that you make a sizeable purchase at your favorite watering hole, get rip roaring drunk and tell the stories he no longer can.

Gorman Funeral Homes - Converse Chapel of Douglas is in charge of the arrangements.

DEBATE THIS!

Not only does Johnny Mac want to suspend Fridays debate, but he wants to call off the VP debate next week? This sounds to me like someone got a whiff of the current polls and is trying to pander to voters. When this campaign gets down to the actual issues, and not bullshit like lipstick, McCain can't win. Not after 8 years of Bush. A debate on these issues Friday would, in my humble opinion, effectively end McCain's presidential run. Not only does McCain dodge this debate, but he is trying to get a pass for his VP. I for one was looking forward to "Sarah Barracuda" meeting "Joey the Shark". I guess she needs more time for her crash course on foreign policy, or maybe for more interviews....

Obama should stand firm on his position that a President should be someone who can multi-task. There is no reason to suspend the debate. I am curious to hear the opinions of the conservative voices on this blog.

Football roundup

So I've sent copies of the worksheets to the relevant people. I hope I've gotten the numbers right and I'm going to try to have Chris help me with some of the setup. Let me know if you think there's a discrepancy. These are the numbers I have so far:

Week 1: CPN: 2, JCT: 7, RET: 2, VL: 0
Week 2: CPN: 1, JCT: 8, RET: 2, VL: -
Week 3: CPN: -, JCT: 2, RET: 5.5, VL: 7.5
total: CPN: 3, JCT: 17, RET: 9.5, VL: 7.5

In other notes, I find it interesting that we're seeing 1) the resurgence of the NFC (or at least a local maxima) and 2) a half-decent Reggie Bush. I find it fascinating that of the marquee members of the 2005 USC Trojans (a.k.a. The Most Powerful College Offense of All Time), very few of them have made serious impacts in the NFL. Indicates, I suppose, the very, very treacherous leap from college to the NFL.

FREE LEVI!

BREAKING NEWS: Megan Tung acquires Goldman Sachs in spit-stock swap

NEW YORK, NY -- Infant Megan Tung has, in a surprise move, acquired the famed investment bank Goldman Sachs. Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein stated: "Ms. Tung clearly has a surplus of saliva, which is literally a liquid asset. Considering that she has a surplus of these assets for the foreseeable future, we are more than willing to accept these drool-based securities in exchange for our currently illiquid mortgage-backed securities." Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson hailed the deal as a glimmer of success in an increasingly dark economic picture: "We are quite thankful for the intervention of Ms. Tung to the benefit of Goldman -- we sincerely hope that more Wall Street firms will be willing to trade toxic debt for body fluids."

Ms. Tung had no comment, other than a soft "eh" and a quick hiding of her head in her mother's hair.

my setter

on a nonpolitical theme, here's a picture of my setter pup pointing a partridge.

and yes, that bird was tasty

Football, week 3

Sun, Sep 21
KC @ ATL 1:00 PM
OAK @ BUF 1:00 PM
TB @ CHI 1:00 PM
CAR @ MIN 1:00 PM
MIA @ NE 1:00 PM
CIN @ NYG 1:00 PM
HOU @ TEN 1:00 PM
ARI @ WAS 1:00 PM
NO @ DEN 4:05 PM
DET @ SF 4:05 PM
STL @ SEA 4:05 PM
CLE @ BAL 4:15 PM
JAC @ IND 4:15 PM
PIT @ PHI 4:15 PM
DAL @ GB 8:15 PM

Mon, Sep 22
NYJ @ SD 8:30 PM

As Chris would say, pick 'em! Why don't you do it in the comments -- I'll take care of the coding for now.

Abdicating

I'm giving it up...  I just have to many things going on right now to try to keep the pick'em thing going.  If anyone else is interested in running it, more power to you, i happily cede power.  You all have access to the spreadsheets I used, feel free to modify and run with them.  I'll try to get picks in, but quite honestly its about 8th priority to me these days, and not moving up the list at all.  Happy picking.

Fun Facts

Fun fact #1: In the past 4 days,  the US government has placed a $85 billion dollar tax burden on the American people.  The sum total of the bailouts so far is $900 billion This dollar amount is roughly twice the deficit increase every year of the 8 years of George W. Bush.

Fun fact #2: Ben Bernake -alone- controls $888 billion of that dollar amount.

Graduate Student Erin Daly wins an ACS Predoctoral Fellowship

Erin M. Daly, a fourth-year graduate student in our group has been awarded an American Chemical Society, Division of Organic Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship sponsored by Merck Research Laboratories for the 2008-09 academic year. This award is given to students in Ph.D. programs in their third or fourth year of study. Students applying for this award must prepare a short essay on a research area of their choice. Evidence of research accomplishment is an important factor in the selection of the fellowship holders. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident visa holders at the time of application. The American Chemical Society, Division of Organic Chemistry Fellowship Committee chooses the recipients of the award, for more information visit their website.

Daly’s current research project entails the synthesis of both diastereomers of 14-methyl epothilone D, which subsequently will be used in binding affinity studies with the protein beta-tubulin; the latter studies will provide comprehensive evidence towards the bioactive conformation of the epothilone class of natural products. The remainder of her graduate career will be directed toward biochemical research with polyketide synthases.

Congratulations...

BREAKING NEWS: Taylor Group taken over by Fed

NOTRE DAME, IN - In an unprecedented action by government regulators, the Taylor Group of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Notre Dame has been purchased by the Federal Reserve. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced the stunning results to a crowd of shocked graduate students and two or three tired, bewildered postdoctoral fellows in the Taylor group room. Federal Reserve regulators reviewed the balance sheet of the Taylor Group and determined that, along with large drums of hexanes and acetone, Taylor Group purchasing agents had also unwittingly acquired $26 billion dollars of complex collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps. It is believed that they were purchased through Aldrich, which is known for their inaccurate and bizarre shipping and accounting practices. The securities were found in the bottom drawer of the group room computer desk.

Professor Richard E. Taylor expressed surprise at his group's purchage of mortgage-backed securities: "All this time, I thought we were buying precursors for Evans auxiliary -- I knew that D-phenylalanine and sodium borohydride couldn't cost that much. Well, I hope we can recycle these securities like we're supposed to recycle the cleaved auxiliary..." Senior Treasury officials believe that after the acquisition of the Taylor Group, there will be no more need for the government to keep propping up large financial institutions, total synthesis groups and your local 7-11.

Practice as you play, play as you practice.

One of the many reasons for the quality of the US Army's desert warfare is the National Training Center, which is basically a gigantic simulator for (as far as I understand) brigade-sized units to train. Cameras and observers are everywhere and there is a resident Opposing Force that kicks the butt of units that come in to train. Units are graded on their performance at the NTC; doing well or poorly can make or break the careers of senior-level officers and enlisted. TOPGUN is a similar setup for Navy fighter pilots; Red Flag serves the same purpose for the Air Force.* You learn from failure, you learn from the best.

After Katrina, some people (myself included) thought that local, state and federal officials should undergo the same process. Once every two years, obvious and non-obvious scenarios, results to be disseminated to the public. Today's reports of problems with coordination between DHS, state and local officials is more evidence for the idea.

This stuff (coordination among agencies that don't talk to each other on a regular basis) is HARD** -- that why they need to practice. Yeah, they run exercises all the time, but those drills are drills. When you get to decide that your fake earthquake is going to be at 10 am on Tuesday morning, you're going to be all prepped up for it. A recorded, game-speed simulation would be a much better measurement and learning tool for government officials at all levels.

* Air Force pilots described flying in the 1st Gulf War as being "almost as hard as Red Flag."
** An amusing point from Afghanistan: there was a funny story from the initial invasion where it was discovered (during the course of a desperate battle) that the Air Force uses degrees, minutes, and thousandths of a minute, whereas the Army uses degrees, minutes, and seconds. Now picture an F-15 backseater doing conversions on his calculator watch during bombing runs. (Everything turned out all right, read more here.

Tina Fey is Amazing!

check this out

Posting/Comments question

Chris, 

is it possible for a particualr post/comment thread to be linked to the top of the page and a little notification or indication when a new comment or post is added (ie, our "teaching" thread)?

Not a request but rather a question.  If not, then we shall scroll down..

Bruce

Week 2's up....

Week 2 picks are up on the Google Docs spreadsheet, coming soon to an inbox near you. Pick 'em there or here in the comments!

Walt Disney Presents.....

I like Rich's comment on teaching. So what can we learn from eachother.

So let's think of a good way to solve a crucial problem. How does one (or in the Socialized case, the Govt) go about giving people an opportunity when they are born into poor circumstance?

Can one fix this problem?

What's your solution?

I'm really stumped on this. I have always thought this is a problem of the individual. I have always believed that in the US anyone could make it to the middle class (make $45k-$250k a year, no debt, and retire with a net worth of $500k-$3 million).

Assumption: poor cicumstance = no family wealth, no physical handicap, poorly educated parents.

Let's Play GOD!!

So Obama would like to take tax money and "create" new jobs. I of course think it is impossible for this to work for two main reasons.

One, how the hell does he know where/what is the best thing to "invest" our tax money in. I always say the free market is better, as most people are fallible (and so are our Presidents).

Two, the govt doesn't/can't create jobs. No one wants hurricanes to hit NO, even though it "creates" jobs. It may create jobs, but it sure doesn't create wealth, it just redistributes it.... and in the Govt's case takes a chunck for an administration fee.

Anyway, here's the question:

If you were Obama (our next Pres), what would you invest the money in? Let's look back on this post and see who actually was able to determine the next generations fuel.

I'm a free market guy, so I find this question completely absurd, but Obama thinks he can do it....

The FARM

Once upon a time, on a farm in Virginia , there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered quite a few grains of wheat. She called all of her Democrat neighbors together and said, 'If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?' 'Not I,' said the cow. 'Not I,' said the duck. 'Not I,' said the pig. 'Not I,' said the goose. 'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did. The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain. 'Who will help me reap my wheat?' asked the little red hen. 'Not I,' said the duck.. 'Out of my classification,' said the pig. 'I'd lose my seniority,' said the cow. 'I'd lose my unemployment compensation,' said the goose. 'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did. At last it came time to bake the bread. 'Who will help me bake the bread?' asked the little red hen. 'That would be overtime for me,' said the cow. 'I'd lose my welfare benefits,' said the duck. 'I'm a dropout and never learned how,' said the pig. 'If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination,' said the goose. 'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen. She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, 'No, I shall eat all five loaves.' 'Excess profits!' cried the cow. (Nancy Pelosi) 'Capitalist leech!' screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer) 'I demand equal rights!' yelled the goose. (Jesse Jackson) The pig just grunted in disdain. (Ted Kennedy) And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities. Then the farmer (Obama) came. He said to the little red hen, 'You must not be so greedy.' 'But I earned the bread,' said the little red hen. 'Exactly,' said Barack the farmer. 'That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle.' And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, 'I am grateful, for now I truly understand.' But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been established. Individual initiative had died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared...so long as there was free bread that 'the rich' were paying for. EPILOGUE Bill Clinton is getting $12 million for his memoirs. Hillary got $8 million for hers. That's $20 million for the memories from two people, who for eight years, repeatedly testified, under oath, that they couldn't remember anything. IS THIS A GREAT BARNYARD OR WHAT? DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN NOVEMBER

Hand to God answers wanted.

Let's play a game. No fair Googling. Just answer with your snap reaction.

1) Where in the income distribution do you (either you (unmarried) or you and your spouse) have fit in order to be called "rich"? I'm looking for a percentile here.

2) What annual income do you have to make in order to be called rich?

There's no trick to this question. Just reply with whatever your gut tells you.

Reagan, Bush, McCain...a lot in common.

In previous posts we have argued about economic policy of McCain and its similarity to Bush. He believes we (which needs to be defined) are taxed too much and has proposed extending the Bush tax cuts and additional tax cuts for the upper % income earners and big businesses. Now it is hard to have this argument even with economists because there are lots of ways to look at statistics. Last week, we heard comments like "the upper income earners are paying a higher % of the tax burden than ever before." Of course that was a comment on Fox News and it may be subjective.

Mike has previously defended Bush's influence on the deficit as minor if you consider % of GDP. Thus, the graphic above shows a clear difference between supply side economics (Reagan, Bush, and potentially McCain) and the Democratic Administrations. Notice how under the years of a Republican Administration the deficit as a percentage of GDP increase drastically. But under Clinton, a balanced budget agreement actually lowered the deficit over the eight years.

Now during the Reagan Administration there was a Democratically controlled congress which was blamed for over spending when Reagan only want to increase spending on defense. And the 6/8 years of Clinton had a Republican controlled Congress. The real test was the first 6 years of Bush where the Republicans also controlled both houses of congress and despite their platform of small government, the opposite occurred.

My main reason for this post is to learn from Mike and Jim, who understand these issues better than I, why should I support McCain who has offered a tax policy that is projected to increase the deficit by trillons of dollars.

The picks...

To those of you playing along with the pick'em league, thanks for getting things entered on your own.  makes life SO much simpler, and allows me to focus on really how badly my team played last night.  (That implies that my team showed up...)  Anyway, trying out an automatic scoring algorithm, the person in red for each game should have the winning score based on the system.  PLEASE look critically and let me know if you see errors.  its not foolproof, its just excel code.  Congrats to jim on a great start....

Country First Bank...We'll work with you.

Jims comment about "Country First" made me laugh and think of an old SNL commercial that is still funny despite the lack of rude sexual innuendo or "bleeped" curse words (Peyton Manning's "Catch the ball you little sh&t".

14 reasons why Barack Obama should be our next President

If you have considered yourself a serious scientist...

http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/www/index.php?id=40

and by the way, John McCain has said he will answer the questions, no word on when.

MASSIVE FAIL

USA, USA, USA!

10:23 PM ... I'm so glad President Bush is president. Now, let's win this election and get this country back on track.

Football

Before frothing at the mouth at the lady from Alaska, don't forget to submit your scores for tonight!

RNC and Palin...

Wow! Sarah Palin ROCKS!!!

Any doubts this Conservative had are gone.... McCain and Palin, what the country needs!

the onion nailed this one

http://www.theonion.com/content//node/68210?utm_source=embedded_video_2

Regretting not Vetting?

I know Obama has said that Palin's family is off limits, but this pregnancy story is just amazing. How does McCain pick a VP who is an advocate of "abstinence only" education, yet has a 17 year old preggo daughter? I am not condemning her daughter, but I do have to question the judgment of her mother and McCain. Her mother should not have accepted this job knowing that her family would be ridiculed and any skeletons in the closet would be revealed. In this case her daughters name is being dragged through the mud on a national level. In addition, you need to seriously question McCain's thought process on picking Palin. It almost appears that she wasn't vetted at all. With all of this being said, I still believe that Palin's family should be left out of this. However, her values and hypocrisy can be questioned.

(Jim, as always, was right on the money with this pick. It was a "hook and ladder" type play to try to score a touchdown at the end of the game. This play has a .0001% chance of working and usually ends with the team fumbling the ball. The "hook and ladder" Palin pick seems to be failing miserably.)

Obama

So a while back, I listed three things I liked about McCain, personally and politically. Here's my list of likes and dislikes for Obama:

Things I dislike, politically:

1. Pharma/Health Care: the cost savings in health care aren't to be found (as the Democrats say) in administration. It's going to be in procedures, labor costs and drug prices. Considering the latter two are how my family sucks America dry earns its bread, it's pretty easy to be against Obama.
2. His stance on the war. Let's face it: I disagree with America.

Things I dislike, stylistically/personally:

1. Obama has little executive experience. His campaign is the largest organization he's ever run; he's been very good at it. How much credit can we give him? Caveats: Palin, McCain, Palin.
2. Obama has very little political courage. He has not fought against the Establishment (whoever they are) -- he's consistently gone along. Prediction: his calls for teacher pay/education reform will be the first to get traded away.
3. His stance on free trade. Considering that's the path to future American competitiveness, that's a bad thing.

Things I like, issues-wise:

1. I like his noises on transparency in government.
2. I hope he'll take on the teacher's unions -- I just don't think it will happen.
3. I think he'll fund NIH even more ridiculously lavishly than it has been better; I simply hope that NSF (representing the physical sciences) gets similar increases.

Things I like, personally:

1. He appears to be a genuinely thoughtful person and a half-decent writer.
2. He seems 'cool' and a hell of a lot less awkward and a better speaker than Bush.
3. I like how his faith informs him.

There it is. In a couple of weeks, I'll hit my 2 page list of things I don't like about McCain.

Shark steak

Dunno if anyone else will find this funny (other than Rich), but in a recent EW interview, Obama revealed his favorite fiction president was from "The Contender".



It's a great movie, in that liberal crusading way.

Not to distract... but its that time of year again....

Week one is upon us, and with it the pickem league is back with a vengeance.  I'll start by saying the SIMPLEST way to do this is for you all to enter your scores into the spreadsheet yourselves, but I'll start the year with the old ways, i'll post the games, you comment your scores in.  If any of you want to access the spreadsheet and add your scores on your own, let me know and I'll share the document...  Get 'em in early, things kick off thursday! (By the way, any of you out there who don't usually play and want to start let me know, any of you who no longer care to play, let me know, thanks!)

Thursday, Sept. 4

Washington @ NY Giants

Sunday, Sept. 7

Seattle @ Buffalo

Houston @ Pittsburgh

Tampa Bay @ New Orleans

Detroit @ Atlanta

St. Louis @ Philadelphia

Jacksonville @ Tennessee

NY Jets @ Miami

Cincinnati @ Baltimore

Kansas City @ New Orleans

Arizona @ San Francisco

Carolina @ San Diego

Dallas @ Cleveland

Chicago @ Indianapolis

Monday, Sept. 8

Minnesota @ Green Bay

Denver @ Oakland

Obama's Speech Inspired by Kennedy, Clinton, and Shepard

VEEPILF!!!

I am not going to vote for him but I want to ____ his vice president! I am huge proponent of the "sexy librarian" look.

Sidekick

“John McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush 95% of the time. That’s not a maverick. That’s a sidekick.”

Thanks Sen. Casey! The original "maverick" is nothing more than Robin to Bush's Batman.

Daily Kos gets the props for the pic.

The most irritating thing I heard tonight.

Former Virginia governor Mark Warner:

"In a global economy, you should not have to leave your home town to find a world-class job. "

Sigh. Well, I'll guess I'll head back to Aloha, Oregon then.

Caveats: Convention, hyperbole, non-literalness, annoying conservative guy, etc., etc.

Pre-Season NFL

Topic: Should there be a pre-season in the NFL? Discuss....

You're Invited: RSVP

First, Dick Morris spanks ins-Hannity on the Biden-Cheney analogy and then a producer in his ear reminds him of the talking points or he won't return as a guest.

Morris then rips into Obama's position that we could have been in a better position in the Russian-Georgian conflict if we hadn't invaded Iraq. Obama: “We’ve got to send a clear message to Russia and unify our allies,” Obama told a crowd of supporters in Virginia. “They can’t charge into other countries. Of course it helps if we are leading by example on that point.”

(Neo)- conservatives slam Obama by reminding all us that we always have moral authority against the evil-doers.

Dick Morris: "We went into Iraq at the invitation of the government, not as an invasion."

3AM? What about 3PM?

I hate to admit it, but, based on this photo Obama IS too inexperienced for that 3AM phone call.

Excellent logic

check this out from Andrew Sullivan via Daily Kos

Andrew Sullivan makes an excellent point.

In all the discussion of John McCain's recently recovered memory of a religious epiphany in Vietnam, one thing has been missing. The torture that was deployed against McCain emerges in all the various accounts. It involved sleep deprivation, the withholding of medical treatment, stress positions, long-time standing, and beating. Sound familiar?

According to the Bush administration's definition of torture, McCain was therefore not tortured.

Cheney denies that McCain was tortured; as does Bush. So do John Yoo and David Addington and George Tenet. In the one indisputably authentic version of the story of a Vietnamese guard showing compassion, McCain talks of the agony of long-time standing. A quarter century later, Don Rumsfeld was putting his signature to memos lengthening the agony of "long-time standing" that victims of Bush's torture regime would have to endure. These torture techniques are, according to the president of the United States, merely "enhanced interrogation."

No war crimes were committed against McCain. And the techniques used are, according to the president, tools to extract accurate information. And so the false confessions that McCain was forced to make were, according to the logic of the Bush administration, as accurate as the "intelligence" we have procured from "interrogating" terror suspects. Feel safer?

Veepstakes

Simple post. Simple Question. Who would you choose as Obama's running mate? Leave your answer in the comments section.

Putting your money where your mouth is, legally

Dave's going to laugh at this, considering it's mostly used for commodities trading, but...

Last night (with the proceeds of a birthday gift from my better half), I bought 24 futures contracts for the Democratic candidate for the Presidency at 0.615 dollars per contract on the Iowa Electronic Markets. They will pay 1.00 dollar if the Democrat candidate wins. They will pay nothing if he/she loses.

While I don't find this (the prospect of an Obama presidency) to be a extraordinarily satisfactory outcome, I think there is somewhat of a win/win for my personal happiness.

McCain needs to reschedule his speeches...

ʇnoʇs s,ɹǝpunoɟ

ɥɔıɹ uıɐƃɐ noʎ ƃuıǝǝs ʇɐǝɹƃ 'ʎɐʍʎuɐ

ʇnoʇs s,ɹǝpunoɟ ɥɔnɯ ooʇ pɐɥ ı ǝqʎɐɯ

˙llǝʍ puɐ ǝʌılɐ sı ʎɹǝʍǝɹq ɐʞɐʍɐɥsıɯ ǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ punoɟ ı ʎɐpıɹɟ ʇsɐl pu ƃuıʇısıʌ ɹǝʇɟɐ llǝʍ

Colmes Grows a SACK!!

"in the 21st century nations don't invade other nations"

Remarkable.

Is there any hope for ND Football

Ever since he grew his long hair, I always thought Clausen kind of looked like an East German woman. Well this definitely proves he is the catcher of the team.

John Edwards

I have nothing to say. I'm simply stunned.

Well, okay, one thing. When you're a politician, you bet the reputation of yourself and your family. That's pretty big. You also ask for the support, time and money of your supporters. Edwards' affair is a huge betrayal (in my opinion) of those supporters.

Perhaps they don't care. In that case, coming full circle, I have nothing to say. I'm just stunned.

1,555,223 ways to please your man

'Cosmopolitan' Institute Completes Decades-Long Study On How To Please Your Man

The Straight Talk Express

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, often mentioned as a possible running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said Wednesday GOP candidates would do well to adopt a positive tone like that of McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama.

Wall Street is investing heavily in Barack Obama.

Barack Obama has collected nearly twice as much money as John McCain
BY DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
Updated Tuesday, July 1st 2008, 4:23 AM

Zurga/Bloomberg
Wall Street firms have chipped in more than $9 million to Barack Obama.

Wall Street is investing heavily in Barack Obama.
Although the Democratic presidential hopeful has vowed to raise capital gains and corporate taxes, financial industry bigs have contributed almost twice as much to Obama as to GOP rival John McCain, a Daily News analysis of campaign records shows.
"Wall Street wants change and wants a curtailment in spending. It wants someone who focuses on the domestic economy," said Jim Cramer, the boisterous host of CNBC's "Mad Money."
Cramer also does not discount nostalgia for the go-go 1990s, when Bill Clinton led the largest economic expansion in history.
"It wants a Clinton like in 1992, but not a Hillary Clinton," he said. "That's Barack Obama."

In contrast to Mike's post I am not going to state that McCain's economic policy will be the end of the world; actually it is pro-business. But...

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=mccains_delusional_tax_plan

He proposes cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, costing $100 billion a year, but fails to eliminate a single corporate tax break. A 25 percent rate would be below the average rate of other industrialized countries and the lowest among G-7 countries by a significant margin.

But McCain does not stop there. He would let companies immediately write off all investment in equipment and technology. Companies would get an immediate up-front deduction for their investments, rather than being forced to deduct their costs over time. The change is very valuable for companies because a $100 deduction today is worth a lot more than $10 a year for ten years. For the same reason, it is very expensive for the Treasury -- to the tune of about $75 billion a year.

McCain's top policy advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin claims that such a write-off has no long-term cost. In fact, when Holtz-Eakin headed the Congressional Budget Office, it concluded that a similar, smaller proposal cost $440 billion over a decade. Reagan tax official Ron Pearlman labeled Holtz-Eakin's claim "so intellectually dishonest it's outrageous."

Maverick McCain stated that payroll taxes might be necessary to fix social security until his campaign reminded him that he was the Republican nominee. Moreover, despite the fact that his website is still selling Obama Energy Plan Tire Gauges, he contradicted his campaign with “Obama said a couple of days ago says we all should inflate our tires. I don’t disagree with that. The American Automobile Association strongly recommends it." Unfortunately, he did not add that it would return more barrels of oil than new off-shore drilling he proposes. 

I need feedback

Because I'm not going to fuss with the weekly picks if people have out grown it.  If no one expresses an interest I'll let it die on the table, if you would rather do something else football related (fantasy or a weekly picks league on Yahoo or something) let me know.  Thats all, you may resume political ramblings...

States Red Ink: Does this correlate to the Federal level? I think so!

States Red Ink: Does this article extend / correlate to the Federal level? I think so! If you are more Anti-Business at the Federal level (read if Obama is elected) are we headed for more trouble in the economy?

http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2008/08/antibusiness_states_awash_in_r.html

Paris Hilton Responds to McCain

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Now this is Funny!

A little preseason housekeeping...

So I'd like to get this done now so I can have a working system set up in time for preseason warm-ups.  So I'd like your comments about the following ideas:

1) Who all is interested in participating?

2) Any issues with the Google spreadsheet we used last year?

3) Any issues with everyone putting their own scores into the spreadsheet, rather than me entering them all?

4) Do we want to modify the scoring?  Last year it was a sum of differences model, with a margain of victory tiebreaker.

5) Anything I missed?  Throw up some ideas in the comments section, its a flexible structure.

Welcome back football, my how we have missed you...

On a lighter note....

The future is FINALLY starting to arrive.  For all of you wondering when you could hop from Mishawaka to campus with your jetpack, its here, and better yet, it runs on premium unleaded gas.  

For those of you with a longer commute, or looking to get back for football games, now you can knock some of that out in the air with your flying car.  

Thats all for now, but the show goes on all week, stay tuned!

While we're throwing gas on the fire...

I think the Colts will go 9-7. My margin of error is no more than 2 games.

Details in the comments -- you're welcome to match my prediction.

Obama: To destroy the economy, lose a war, and basically do nothing but talk!

On the Economy:
About economics
http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_3_economics.html
Obama's Plan
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121728762442091427.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

On the War:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/obama-in-iraq-s-quicksand-11869

On his Resume/Accomplishments:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/07/what_has_obama_accomplished.html

Are you really going to vote for this guy?!!! You must be kidding!!! I guess eloquence is more important than actual substance and character.

McCain is a Maverick!! If you really want change he's your guy!! Plus he won't destroy the economy or lose a war.

Andrew Giuliani = Giant Douche

It took me a while to realize that this kid was immortalized in an SNL sketch by Chris Farley. No surprise he turned out to be a huge turd.

Downloading

Thought this was an interesting article. And I swear this isn't me Rich!

Greg Oden is funny

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

New Career Paths....

And credit to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me...   for this gem.  I must say, as a pilot there are 2 kinds of people telling you where to go.  Absolutely great folks who do an outstanding job (about 90% of ATC) and, well, people I'm convinced filled out this form...

Want to work for British ATC?

Because you can never have too many pee jokes....

From the NASA Watch.com website, just another way you can help NASA maintain our dominance in space...  by marking your territory.

Check it out...

Awesome!

Is this an insult to Homer Simpson?

Proof Jesus Rode Dinosaurs

View the first link and then read the second...

Raptor Jesus

Raptor Jesus does not approve of the previous post....

Jesus Horses

This picture will make you go blind from sheer awesomeness!

Med Chem Symposium anyone?

Is anyone going to the National Med Chem Symposium?

One of my postdocs and I will be there. If you're going and want to hook up with an one of the oldest Taylor Group members let me know.

Steve

New training camp drills?

I can just see Peyton out there for scrimage in water wings...   Brought to you by Mother Nature, Lost Creek, and Rose-Hulman, the training camp location for the Colts.  Gives new meaning to Dwight Freeny's swim move, doesnt it?