Fact Checking the GOP
Posted by Rey
Here’s a direct quote from FactCheck.org and you can read the full article over yonder. Is anyone else annoyed that all I’m posting is politics? Anyway:
Joe Lieberman and his former Senate colleague Fred Thompson both made misleading claims about Obama in their prime time GOP convention speeches on Tuesday. We’ve heard two of them before – many times.
- Lieberman said Obama hadn’t “reached across party lines” to accomplish “anything significant,” though Obama has teamed with GOP Sens. Tom Coburn and Richard Lugar to pass laws enhancing government transparency and curtailing the proliferation of nuclear and conventional weapons.
- Thompson repeated misleading claims about Obama’s tax program, saying it would bring “one of the largest tax increases in American history.” But as increases go, Obama’s package is hardly a history-maker. It would raise taxes for families with incomes above $250,000. Most people would see a cut.
- Lieberman also accused Obama of “voting to cut off funding for our American troops on the battlefield.” But Obama’s only vote against a war-funding bill came after Bush vetoed a version of the bill Obama had supported – and McCain urged the veto.
Prisonbreak Season Opener
Posted by Rey
Spoilers after the jump.
Article Tags>> premiere | prisonbreakJeremy Pierce, Barack Obama and Abortion
Posted by Rey
Take 15 minutes. Go read this. Also read the comments. Honestly, you don’t have to participate but Jeremy does an excellent job of thinking through the issues as do his commenters.Article Tags>> abortion | obama | politicsBarack Obama has basically declared himself incompetent to make any judgments on one of the key issues of our day, and I have to say that I agree with him. The statements he’s been making show that he’s either hopelessly ignorant on some very important policy matters or deliberately contradicting himself in order to pretend to two opposing groups that he’s on both their sides. That means he probably should have a job where these issues really are above his pay grade. There are a lot of such jobs. Unfortunately for him, the job of U.S. President (not to mention U.S. Senator, Illinois State Senator, or constitutional law professor) would not be in the list.
Fact Checking Obama
Posted by Rey
This is straight lifted off of FactCheck.org and there will likely be one for McCain soon enough. (HT: Daniel)- Obama said he could “pay for every dime” of his spending and tax cut proposals “by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens.” That’s wrong – his proposed tax increases on upper-income individuals are key components of paying for his program, as well. And his plan, like McCain’s, would leave the U.S. facing big budget deficits, according to independent experts.
- He twisted McCain’s words about Afghanistan, saying, “When John McCain said we could just ‘muddle through’ in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources.” Actually, McCain said in 2003 we “may” muddle through, and he recently also called for more troops there.
- He said McCain would fail to lower taxes for 100 million Americans while his own plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of “working” families. But an independent analysis puts the number who would see no benefit from McCain’s plan at 66 million and finds that Obama’s plan would benefit 81 percent of all households when retirees and those without children are figured in.
- Obama asked why McCain would “define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year”? Actually, McCain meant that comment as a joke, getting a laugh and following up by saying, “But seriously …”
- Obama noted that McCain’s health care plan would “tax people’s benefits” but didn’t say that it also would provide up to a $5,000 tax credit for families.
- He said McCain, far from being a maverick who’s “broken with his party,” has voted to support Bush policies 90 percent of the time. True enough, but by the same measure Obama has voted with fellow Democrats in the Senate 97 percent of the time.
- Obama said “average family income” went down $2,000 under Bush, which isn’t correct. An aide said he was really talking only about “working” families and not retired couples. And – math teachers, please note – he meant median (or midpoint) and not really the mean or average. Median family income actually has inched up slightly under Bush.
Sarah Palin (R-AK) Vice President
Posted by Rey
Here’s Sarah Palin. Who IS she? Can she Be President if she had to?
Sarah Palin: The Chosen One
This Data Cap is Fully Operational
Posted by Rey
I had posted this some days ago. Today the news came in that Comcast’s 250GB data cap is now in effect come October.
Begging Which Question?
Posted by Rey
Once upon a time, folk would stand in a circle, before an audience, and debate things. No, not Jerry Springer. I’m talking about the Old Days before TV. To establish the grounds for the debate the two folk arguing would first state what they’re arguing for (or against) and then proceed with given statements.
The point they were arguing for (or against) was called The Question. Each of the givens would be the premises which the debater would use as a starting point for his argument.
Article Tags>> fallacies | logicNew York Deli State of Mind
Posted by Rey
I’m a New York Deli guy. Know this about me. I love walking into a deli, ordering a hero by contents and allowing the Deli artisans shape my crude request into sheer lunch-hour artistry. I can only hope that I make the poetry that is a New York sub tangible to you.
Waiting on the line as they carefully, expertly slice up the Boar’s Head Virginia Ham, letting you sample a symmetric paper thin slice. Nodding as they knowingly apply only a smear of mayo and an equal dab of pure honey mustard on the opposite loaf. Eagerly anticipating the meal as they load up your sandwich with Provolone or Swiss, Genoa Salami, smoked cracked peppermill turkey and layers of lettuce and tomatoes. In awe, sheer delectable awe, as they pour olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a dash of pepper and a dash of salt over it all, before wrapping it and slicing it for your lunching convenience. In ecstasy as you bit into the cornucopia of flavor that is a New York Sub.
Have I made it tangible? Have I made it real? Because when I left New York, I yearn for her Deli’s.
Article Tags>> deli | food | hero | sandwich | subPimp My Firefox: 25 Must-Have Firefox Add-Ons
Posted by Rey
Firefox is fast, plays nicely with the web, and is decent with your computer resources. The new version ( Firefox 3) is even better, offering a ton of stuff like an address bar that knows what you’re thinking (or so it seems like it sometimes). But that’s not why Firefox is probably the best browser ever: the perks are in the add-ons. Article Tags>> add-ons | firefox | geek | techGoodbye Internet Golden Age…It Was Fun
Posted by Rey
Let me break down some numbers for you that I gathered from both the Barna Group and the US Census site. As of 2005 84% of all US adults own a DVD player. About 30% of Americans own a laptop. Two-thirds of US households have Internet access. 19% owned an ipod or an mp3 player.
This was Three years ago.
Over this period of three years we’ve seen Ppods get the ability to play movies, we’ve seen the iTunes store go to an online movie purchasing portal and we’ve seen the likes of Netflix influence every single TV network and start offering streaming video directly to your computer. More college students are catching up on their shows online instead of on TV and the amount of video traffic has increased exponentially with the likes of YouTube thrown into the picture.
All this free content…who is making the money? No one…yet…
Article Tags>> data caps | internet