An endorsement of Barack Obama | It’s time

An endorsement of Barack Obama | It’s time | The Economist:

“For all the shortcomings of the campaign, both John McCain and Barack Obama offer hope of national redemption. Now America has to choose between them. The Economist does not have a vote, but if it did, it would cast it for Mr Obama. We do so wholeheartedly: the Democratic candidate has clearly shown that he offers the better chance of restoring America’s self-confidence. But we acknowledge it is a gamble. Given Mr Obama’s inexperience, the lack of clarity about some of his beliefs and the prospect of a stridently Democratic Congress, voting for him is a risk. Yet it is one America should take, given the steep road ahead.”

(Via The Economist.)

A clear eyed endorsement. Contrast that with their succinct criticism of McCain. Remember when McCain claimed how no one could list any issues that he’s flip flopped or relinquished his maverick street cred? Well, read on!

If only the real John McCain had been running

That, however, was Senator McCain; the Candidate McCain of the past six months has too often seemed the victim of political sorcery, his good features magically inverted, his bad ones exaggerated. The fiscal conservative who once tackled Mr Bush over his unaffordable tax cuts now proposes not just to keep the cuts, but to deepen them. The man who denounced the religious right as “agents of intolerance” now embraces theocratic culture warriors. The campaigner against ethanol subsidies (who had a better record on global warming than most Democrats) came out in favour of a petrol-tax holiday. It has not all disappeared: his support for free trade has never wavered. Yet rather than heading towards the centre after he won the nomination, Mr McCain moved to the right.

Cornel West on the Campaign

Video – Breaking News Videos from CNN.com:

(Via CNN.)

On Winning

Effete Liberals, Bomaye – Ta-Nehisi Coates:

“No one has conspired to deprive us of power over the past few decades. The American people aren’t stupid. We’ve sucked at articulating our message. If you have any interest in a more progressive country, we need to be honest. At the presidential level, at least, conservatives have hammered us. Give them their due. Don’t blame Rush. Don’t blame Kristol. Don’t denigrate states you’ve never visited. Give them their due. Give them their respect. Study them, and then get better.”

(Via Ta-Nehisi Coates – The Atlantic.)

Finally, to hear someone else speak some truth! Obama shows there is a difference between democracy and getting things done.

All That Hate


This is why all that hate mongering is dangerous. It is a double-edged sword.

YouTube – Attacked by a McCain Supporter!

YouTube – Attacked by a McCain Supporter!:

(Via YouTube.)

Man, YouTube cats are fast!

Why Apple Will Always Be a Hardware Company

Apple earnings, profits, and cash embarrass Microsoft — RoughlyDrafted Magazine:

“While Microsoft executives like to talk about Apple as an insignificant company with less than 5% of the worldwide market share of all PCs and servers sold, the company now has more cash than Microsoft and earns more than half of its profits and over three fourths Microsoft’s revenues.”

(Via RoughlyDrafted Magazine.)

Increasing the Minimum Wage Doesn’t Kill Jobs

Minimum Wage Impacts on Employment: A Look at Indiana, Illinois, and Surrounding Midwestern States:

“These patterns in job growth between 2003 and 2005 indicate that Illinois’ increasing minimum wage rates did not reduce overall employment growth for private employers and preliminary statistical analyses confirm this lack of an impact”

(Via Indiana University.)

Once again we see how ideology is soft-think. This is has been proven over and over, yet we see no public discussion on this at the pragmatic level. Just ideological back and forth. “Fairness” vs. “Jobs.” Whatever. Try “reality.”

AP INVESTIGATION: Palin pipeline terms curbed bids – Yahoo! News

AP INVESTIGATION: Palin pipeline terms curbed bids – Yahoo! News:

“Gov. Sarah Palin’s signature accomplishment — a contract to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48 — emerged from a flawed bidding process that narrowed the field to a company with ties to her administration”

(Via Yahoo! News.)

The closer you look, the less mavericky she gets. Palin is more politician than maverick.

Sick the Visiting


This guy is sick. I actually thought that Obama’s visit to his ailing, perhaps mortally, grandmother would be sacrosanct. Not so apparently. More damage control for the GOP.

Opie has a Happy Day

Ron Howard’s Call To Action from Ron Howard and Henry Winkler:

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

(Via Funny or Die.)

Happy Days.