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For all of you GOP "true believers"
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Nov 3, 2010 6:53 pm
831
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In the interest of fairness I will extend an offer to any and all "true believers" of the GOP promises that I have already made to a couple of other people commenting on my last post.
Here is the offer. I believe strongly enough that the Republicans will not deliver on all of their campaign promises...that means each and every Tea Party candidate and Republican candidate and each of their promises that they have expressed. In concert with my beliefs I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. Are any of you convinced otherwise?...and if so how strong are your convictions? If so we can wager $5,000 US dollars or multiples thereof on the outcome of the next two years. If any of the GOP and Tea Party promises, individually or collectively, are not upheld at any time in the next two years then you lose and I collect your $5,000 US dollars or multiples thereof . If all of these promises, individually and collectively are upheld at the end of two years you collect my 5,000 US dollars or multiples thereof.
The money would be held by a third party escrow agent and dispensed in accordance with the agreement.
The time for talk is over, let's see how firmly convinced you really are. O.K. are you up for that? It is time to man-up and quit the BS and get real for a change. I am looking forward to hearing from Sleekbeauty, 60minuteman, Rich1937, Theshirtlessguy or whatever name he uses at any given time, Alpha, Pinkpaws, Bigblock and any others that are firmly convinced of their party promises.
Speak up now...the lines are open.
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Many Americans say GOP will Disappoint
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Nov 3, 2010 12:14 pm
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I think that the next two years will be quite interesting. Obama may have gotten the best gift he could have hoped for last night.
The polling firm Rasmussen is out with a relatively shocking poll given the results of yesterday's election. Here's the gist:
Hold the celebration. Most voters expected Republicans to win control of the House of Representatives on Election Day, but nearly as many expect to be disappointed with how they perform by the time the 2012 elections roll around.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds, in fact, that 59% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is at least somewhat likely that most voters will be disappointed with Republicans in Congress before the next national elections. That includes 38% who say it is Very Likely.
And before you question whether Rasmussen has a Democratic bias, note Nate Silver's observation about their election polls: "While waiting for the remaining results to trickle in from states like Colorado and Alaska, I did a quick check on the accuracy of polls from the firm Rasmussen Reports, which came under heavy criticism this year — including from FiveThirtyEight — because its polls showed a strong lean toward Republican candidates.
Indeed, Rasmussen polls quite consistently turned out to overstate the standing of Republicans tonight. Of the roughly 100 polls released by Rasmussen or its subsidiary Pulse Opinion Research in the final 21 days of the campaign, roughly 70 to 75 percent overestimated the performance of Republican candidates, and on average they were biased against Democrats by 3 to 4 points.
Congressional Republicans in late September issued a Pledge to America that promised to cut taxes, reduce government spending and end the $787 billion economic stimulus plan. But voters by a 50% to 32% margin view the Pledge as a campaign gimmick rather than a serious policy document.
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How sweet it is
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Nov 3, 2010 12:03 am
1093
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I am heartened by this evenings election results. While Boehner offered a combative tone to the President, Boehner would be well served to recognize the jeopardy of his party's position. This was not a victory based upon acceptance of Republican philosophy so much as a referendum based in the disgust of the American people with the present economic situation. And that my friends was started by Geo W Bush.
As I had predicted months ago the Hispanic voters are a force to be reckoned. They have been largely alienated by the Republicans and we intend to not let them forget the manner in which Republicans view them. In this election they produced victories for Boxer and Reid. Their votes led to the defeat of Whitman. It is nice to see our efforts in directing our message to the Hispanic communities bearing fruit. We plan to amplify our efforts in the Hispanic and Black communities the next two years.
The Tea Party cost the Republicans several races. Among those are Nevada, Delaware, and California.
Most importantly, while looking forward, the Republicans made many promises in the run-up to this election. Promises that they are going to be hard put to accomplish. Among those is repeal of the Health Care Reform. That is highly unlikely to happen. Next the rubber finally meets the road on what they propose to do to cut spending and reduce the national debt. No longer will they be able to speak in vague generalities. No longer will the Republicans be able to sit back and play obstructionist politics. They are going to have to co-govern and thus bring their own programs and initiatives to public awareness...they can no longer run from the American people and the press.
They are going to face the matter of the national debt ceiling in the next year. Do they stay with their word and allow the United States to go into default for the first time in history...or do they admit to the American people that they were only joking when they made the promises about reducing the national debt and raise the national debt ceiling? Will Rand Paul filibuster raising the debt ceiling as he has promised to do?
They are going to find it extremely difficult to maintain current federal revenues while reducing expenditures and try to grow the economy and reduce unemployment at the same time. That contortion will be most interesting to watch.
All in all this is the best of seasons. I promise this, and I encourage the conservatives to make note of this, we are going to hang everyone of their failed promises on their doorstep and this could very well be the best chance for a President Obama second term.
In the final analysis the rhetoric and the reality are going to take widely divergent paths for our Republican friends. I look forward to January and the next two years.
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Remember President Dewey?
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Nov 2, 2010 6:24 am
1050
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"The famous erroneous 1948 “Dewey defeats Truman” banner headline in the first edition of the Chicago Tribune was the result of polls and conventional wisdom that turned out to be dramatically off base. After Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s unanticipated loss in the 1982 California governors’ race, many blamed racial bias undetected in public opinion polls. After Barack Obama’s dramatic win in the Iowa caucuses in 2008, the media’s overwhelming assumption that he would continue his march to victory days later in New Hampshire was due to polling. Those assumptions were shattered when Hillary Clinton wound up winning -- prompting weeks of media navel-gazing and questions of "how did we get it so wrong?"
To my progressive friends. Do not let polls influence you. The regressive party wants that you will give up and not vote...head to the polls today, fulfill your obligation as a citizen and vote to not return to the failed Bush policies of just two short years ago.
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By Their Fruits
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Nov 1, 2010 12:31 pm
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I encourage everyone to make a notation of the promises and direct quotes of both the Tea Party and Republican candidates during this mid-term campaign. Additionally we would be prudent to make records of the actual factual conditions as they exist in January of 2009. If these new people hold true to their word they will cut spending on Social Security and Medicare to effect some attempt at federal deficit reduction.
The next two years are going to be a period of increased contention within our government. We want to hold the new members of congress feet to the fire. This is a time to judge them by the fruits of their actual performance.
For the future of our country we must remain active. Any losses in this election will become exacerbated if we fall asleep during the next two years.
The consortium to which I belong will continue to educate voters during the next two years...you can count on that.
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Fox News Estimates Jon Stewart’s Crowd at Seven People
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Oct 30, 2010 8:29 pm
1114
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Disappointing Turnout, News Channel Says
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – The Fox News Channel reported today that the turnout for Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” was underwhelming at best, with Fox sources estimating the total turnout at seven people.
“Our total count includes Stewart, [Stephen] Colbert, and what appear to be a few of their friends and relatives,” said Fox anchor Shepard Smith. “This has to be a smaller crowd than they were expecting.”
But immediately after Fox broadcast what it described as “live coverage” of the rally showing a nearly-deserted National Mall, viewers began to point out irregularities in the images being shown.
First of all, one viewer noticed that the live coverage of the rally was actually being broadcast a full twelve hours before the rally began.
Second, an expert identified the supposedly “live footage” of today’s rally as file footage from a Sunday in 1997 when the Mall was completely shut down for reseeding.
Even in the face of such evidence, Fox stood by its story, with Fox host Glenn Beck pointing out that the seven people in attendance were “largely elitists.”
“I was struck by how many correctly spelled signs there were,” Mr. Beck said. “That’s not my America.” 
Actual Photograph of Today's Crowd
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Remember when? Had enough? c/p
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Oct 30, 2010 1:17 pm
1160
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Since we are providing statistics on job creation and loss let's look at some other statistics. This from the WSJ staff. Please recognize that the WSJ is owned by Rupert Murdoch the primary owner of Fix News.
By WSJ Staff
"President George W. Bush entered office in 2001 just as a recession was starting, and is preparing to leave in the middle of a long one. That’s almost 22 months of recession during his 96 months in office.
His job-creation record won’t look much better. The Bush administration created about 1.1 million jobs (net) over its eight years, a fraction of the 23 million jobs created under President Bill Clinton’s administration and only slightly better than President George H.W. Bush did in his four years in office.
Here’s a look at job creation under each president since the Labor Department started keeping payroll records in 1939. The counts are based on total payrolls between the start of the month the president took office (using the final payroll count for the end of the prior December) and his final December in office.
Because the size of the economy and labor force varies, we also calculate in percentage terms how much the total payroll count expanded under each president. The current President Bush, once taking account how long he’s been in office, shows the worst track record for job creation since the government began keeping records."
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics a significant error exists in the G.W. Bush figures. His net job (job addition minus job losses) creation figure should read 1.1 million jobs over eight years.
In addition to the worst performance on record we should remember that Bush failed abysmally in the attack of 9-11 and the unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.
From January 2001 until May of 2008 the price of crude oil (Under Bush light) went from $28.66. per bbl. to $126.33 per bbl. Under continual rhetoric of shortages we never saw any materialize. There is no crook like a Republican in bed with the oil industry.
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Remember when?
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Oct 29, 2010 11:01 pm
1041
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It is easy for us to forget what has gone on before. Do you remember the time when fuel prices were at this level? This was on May 25, 2008 here in Phoenix, Arizona...and yes, Barrack Obama was not President then. FYI gasoline prices increased from $1.52 per gallon in January, 2001 (end of the Clinton presidency) to the prices shown on this photograph. Do you want more of the same?...or have you had enough?
Remember When?
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Photographic tip - Wee Planets
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Oct 27, 2010 9:23 pm
964
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I recently discovered a new process for photographs. This process involves mapping a spherically projected photograph onto a two dimensional plane.
To begin, this involves using a pano tripod head that rotates the camera on the nodal point of the taking lens. I use a Nodal Ninja head for this but there are several other heads that will do the trick. This head is used to eliminate parallax effects. Once the camera is mounted on the pano-head one begins taking a series of photographs to complete a 360 degree circular by 180 degree vertical image. The camera is mounted on the head in a portrait orientation. The individual images overlap each other by approximately 20%.
Once one has completed taking the individual images the next step is to blend them in a stitching program. There are several ways to do this. Photoshop does a fair job on single row of images. Autopano Pro does a good job on spherical projections. The next step is to map the spherical projection onto a planar surface. Hugin (a free open source software) along with Enblend (another free open source software) can do the mapping.
The reason for mapping the image is two fold. The first is to gain a planar (stereographic) projection. The second is to take the viewpoint from the internal center of the sphere to a point on the circumference of the sphere. If one retained the central viewpoint only a portion of the sphere is visible...whereas with stereographic projection the entire sphere is visible.
Additional reference images can be found on Flickr and by googling "Stereographic Projection".
The image that accompanies this is one of the images that I recently processed in this manner.
Wee Planet
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