Doing a little blogkeeping...
... yup.
-rl
September 23, 2006
September 22, 2006
For my 100th post: The Fire in Tim Ryan's belly
Keith Olbermann asks the right question.
Can the Dems (apart from Congressman Ryan) give America the right answer?
Survey USA poll puts Strickland up 21, Brown up 10.
Crosstabs
Important things to note:
Democrat Take-Away in Ohio Governor: In an election for Governor of Ohio today, 9/21/2006, Democrat Ted Strickland defeats Republican Ken Blackwell, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WCPO-TV Cincinnati, WKYC-TV Cleveland, and WYTV-TV Youngstown. Strickland, currently representing Ohio's 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, gets 56%. Blackwell, currently Ohio Secretary of State, gets 35%. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA tracking poll released 8/8/06, Strickland is down a statistically insignificant 1 point, Blackwell is unchanged. In sum: no movement. 24% of Republicans cross-over to vote for the Democrat Strickland; only 5% of Democrats cross-over and vote for the Republican Blackwell. Independents break 5:2 for Strickland. Conservatives vote for Blackwell by 36 points, but Strickland leads among moderates by 37 points. Strickland leads by 14 points among men, by 28 points among women. Incumbent Republican Governor Bob Taft is term-limited. The seat is open. The election is in 47 days, on 11/7/2006.
What I'm reading: Blackwell won't hold the broad Republican base, but will easily hold his solidly conservative end of the ring. Strickland's lead among moderates and independents is insurmountable. Lesson: Don't be Ken Blackwell on 11/7/06. Surprises? More women would vote from Libertarian candidate Fitrakis than men (3% vs 2%).
Democrat Take-Away in Ohio U.S. Senate: In an election for United States Senator from Ohio today, 9/21/2006, Democrat Sherrod Brown defeats incumbent Republican Mike DeWine, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WCPO-TV Cincinnati, WKYC-TV Cleveland, and WYTV-TV Youngstown. Brown, who represents Ohio's 13th District in Congress, unseats DeWine, 52% to 42% in a vote today. There has been no significant movement in this race. In June Brown led DeWine by 9 points; in August by 8 points; today by 10 points. The two candidates are tied among male voters. Brown leads by 19 points among female voters. DeWine holds 80% of his Republican base. Brown holds 86% of his Democrat base. Brown leads by 27 points among Independents, up from a 15-point lead on 8/8/06. Republican DeWine leads by 60 points among Conservatives. Democrat Brown leads by 81 points among Liberals. Among Moderates, Democrat Brown leads 2:1. DeWine wins in Western OH. Brown wins in Central and Eastern OH. The election is on 11/7/2006. DeWine was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994. Brown was first elected to Congress in 1992.
What I'm reading: Since the start of the race, Representative Brown has made significant inroads among independents and moderates, as both candidates easily hold much of their party base. Brown has made gradual improvement since the start of the year and with the election now less than two months away, it appears very difficult for DeWine to hold the seat.
Graphs provided by SurveyUSA
-rl
Important things to note:
Democrat Take-Away in Ohio Governor: In an election for Governor of Ohio today, 9/21/2006, Democrat Ted Strickland defeats Republican Ken Blackwell, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WCPO-TV Cincinnati, WKYC-TV Cleveland, and WYTV-TV Youngstown. Strickland, currently representing Ohio's 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, gets 56%. Blackwell, currently Ohio Secretary of State, gets 35%. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA tracking poll released 8/8/06, Strickland is down a statistically insignificant 1 point, Blackwell is unchanged. In sum: no movement. 24% of Republicans cross-over to vote for the Democrat Strickland; only 5% of Democrats cross-over and vote for the Republican Blackwell. Independents break 5:2 for Strickland. Conservatives vote for Blackwell by 36 points, but Strickland leads among moderates by 37 points. Strickland leads by 14 points among men, by 28 points among women. Incumbent Republican Governor Bob Taft is term-limited. The seat is open. The election is in 47 days, on 11/7/2006.
What I'm reading: Blackwell won't hold the broad Republican base, but will easily hold his solidly conservative end of the ring. Strickland's lead among moderates and independents is insurmountable. Lesson: Don't be Ken Blackwell on 11/7/06. Surprises? More women would vote from Libertarian candidate Fitrakis than men (3% vs 2%).
Democrat Take-Away in Ohio U.S. Senate: In an election for United States Senator from Ohio today, 9/21/2006, Democrat Sherrod Brown defeats incumbent Republican Mike DeWine, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for WCPO-TV Cincinnati, WKYC-TV Cleveland, and WYTV-TV Youngstown. Brown, who represents Ohio's 13th District in Congress, unseats DeWine, 52% to 42% in a vote today. There has been no significant movement in this race. In June Brown led DeWine by 9 points; in August by 8 points; today by 10 points. The two candidates are tied among male voters. Brown leads by 19 points among female voters. DeWine holds 80% of his Republican base. Brown holds 86% of his Democrat base. Brown leads by 27 points among Independents, up from a 15-point lead on 8/8/06. Republican DeWine leads by 60 points among Conservatives. Democrat Brown leads by 81 points among Liberals. Among Moderates, Democrat Brown leads 2:1. DeWine wins in Western OH. Brown wins in Central and Eastern OH. The election is on 11/7/2006. DeWine was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994. Brown was first elected to Congress in 1992.
What I'm reading: Since the start of the race, Representative Brown has made significant inroads among independents and moderates, as both candidates easily hold much of their party base. Brown has made gradual improvement since the start of the year and with the election now less than two months away, it appears very difficult for DeWine to hold the seat.
Graphs provided by SurveyUSA
-rl
Children Crusaders of Christ
Let's get ready to humble!!!!!
In all seriousness, though... this is kinda scary. These kids are getting brainwashed. Big time. It actually... reminds of the stories I had heard about the young Republicans at CPAC conferences.
(Hat-tip to As Ohio Goes)
In all seriousness, though... this is kinda scary. These kids are getting brainwashed. Big time. It actually... reminds of the stories I had heard about the young Republicans at CPAC conferences.
(Hat-tip to As Ohio Goes)
September 20, 2006
Random musing...
Until today, I never considered toilet stall writings to be much more than graffiti. But as I sat in a bathroom this morning, reading the writing on the wall, I began to reconsider my opinions on poo talk.
Often the expressions made on the stall doors and walls are nothing but simple rants, declarations of hate, statements of love or lust, or some other voicing of opinion. And nearly always these are done anonymously.
Anonymity lends people the freedom to speak more liberally, and not in the left/right sense, but rather in the sense that one may speak without barrier. That the only thing that cares about what you have to say is that wall that the thought is being written upon. Fuck the SigEps.
Indeed, fuck them.
GDI are gay.
Possibly.
These are things that most people would not normally have the audacity to say to an open audience, yet they write them for an open audience. Poo talk lends itself to being an expression of free opinion. It is difficult to figure out who wrote what, unless there is a distinct style of handwriting, thus the opinion may remain faceless. Yet the opinion is still there, sometimes like the largest trophy in a case, sometimes like a festering wound. And that opinion may be considered by other people, people who may opt to take the message seriously, with good humor, or consider it irrelevant.
Consider the strength of a pen unknown communicating a powerful message that could be subversive, heterodox or otherwise unacceptable. The idea may resonate with the next occupant of the stall.
Poo talk propagates itself.
Who knows who else may be impacted by the writing, whether or not it will or will not drive them into some type of action. Have there been studies on the effect of poo talk?
Poo talk could propagate itself.
Some might call it the new grassroots, but to me... it'll always be number two.
-rl
Often the expressions made on the stall doors and walls are nothing but simple rants, declarations of hate, statements of love or lust, or some other voicing of opinion. And nearly always these are done anonymously.
Anonymity lends people the freedom to speak more liberally, and not in the left/right sense, but rather in the sense that one may speak without barrier. That the only thing that cares about what you have to say is that wall that the thought is being written upon. Fuck the SigEps.
Indeed, fuck them.
GDI are gay.
Possibly.
These are things that most people would not normally have the audacity to say to an open audience, yet they write them for an open audience. Poo talk lends itself to being an expression of free opinion. It is difficult to figure out who wrote what, unless there is a distinct style of handwriting, thus the opinion may remain faceless. Yet the opinion is still there, sometimes like the largest trophy in a case, sometimes like a festering wound. And that opinion may be considered by other people, people who may opt to take the message seriously, with good humor, or consider it irrelevant.
Consider the strength of a pen unknown communicating a powerful message that could be subversive, heterodox or otherwise unacceptable. The idea may resonate with the next occupant of the stall.
Poo talk propagates itself.
Who knows who else may be impacted by the writing, whether or not it will or will not drive them into some type of action. Have there been studies on the effect of poo talk?
Poo talk could propagate itself.
Some might call it the new grassroots, but to me... it'll always be number two.
-rl
September 19, 2006
Just a friendly reminder:
When it comes around for voting in November, BlogginRyan wishes to remind you to vote NO on Ohio Issue 3.
What has been fronted as the "Ohio Learn and Earn" program is a farsical attempt to siphon money into funding college scholarships while legalizing slot machine gambling at horse tracks and two Cleveland locations. As the issue is written, the funding of the scholarship programs is by no means guaranteed and there are no safeguards to ensure the equitable distribution of scholarship monies to students who have been deemed "worthy" of receiving the monies. It's a disaster waiting to happen and another disaster is the last thing Ohio needs.
-rl
What has been fronted as the "Ohio Learn and Earn" program is a farsical attempt to siphon money into funding college scholarships while legalizing slot machine gambling at horse tracks and two Cleveland locations. As the issue is written, the funding of the scholarship programs is by no means guaranteed and there are no safeguards to ensure the equitable distribution of scholarship monies to students who have been deemed "worthy" of receiving the monies. It's a disaster waiting to happen and another disaster is the last thing Ohio needs.
-rl
Ah-mad-in-the-are you fucking nuts, George?
Junior Ohio Senator George Voinovich has this to say about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
"Ahmadinejad -- I call him Ahmad-in-a-head -- I think he's a Hitler type of person..."
(from Reuters )
Now, I am certainly no one to be called "allied" in any fashion with the regime in Tehran, however...
... when did our politicians stop being diplomats? Voinovich was one of the few Republicans I had any degree of respect for... but now. Ehh... not so much.
I like to call Ted Kennedy "Crashy McCrasherson" myself.
Bob Ney? Yeah, he's "Ohmagod Mapantzare Onfyre".
See? Is that diplomatic of me? Of course not.
Stupid politicians...
-rl.
"Ahmadinejad -- I call him Ahmad-in-a-head -- I think he's a Hitler type of person..."
(from Reuters )
Now, I am certainly no one to be called "allied" in any fashion with the regime in Tehran, however...
... when did our politicians stop being diplomats? Voinovich was one of the few Republicans I had any degree of respect for... but now. Ehh... not so much.
I like to call Ted Kennedy "Crashy McCrasherson" myself.
Bob Ney? Yeah, he's "Ohmagod Mapantzare Onfyre".
See? Is that diplomatic of me? Of course not.
Stupid politicians...
-rl.
Thai Coup
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been ousted in a military coup while away in New York City to attend the session of the United Nations' General Assembly. Originally slated to speak tomorrow, Wednesday, September 20, he is now expected to address the GA at some point today.
Thai Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, was the leader of the coup. Both houses of Parliament were dissolved and the Thai Constitution was suspended. Military leaders have claimed to act in support of the king of the monarchy, Bhumibol Adulyadej, and have also announced the intention to return the government to civilian control once the crisis that precipitated the coup had been resolved.
More once info on Shinawatra's address to the GA has occurred...
Thai Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, was the leader of the coup. Both houses of Parliament were dissolved and the Thai Constitution was suspended. Military leaders have claimed to act in support of the king of the monarchy, Bhumibol Adulyadej, and have also announced the intention to return the government to civilian control once the crisis that precipitated the coup had been resolved.
More once info on Shinawatra's address to the GA has occurred...
Olbermann delivers a hard(ly noticed) punch
Keith Olbermann, whose sin is being on MSNBC, delivered a biting commentary last night on President Bush's Friday Rose Garden press conference. Watching it last night I was held in quiet awe of the force with which Olbermann delivered his comments.
I love Keith Olbermann. Now if only he were on the network and not its shoddy cable companion.
From Crooks and Liars: Bush Owes Nation An Apology
Best part: quoting this from Jefferson...
"Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government…"
I love Keith Olbermann. Now if only he were on the network and not its shoddy cable companion.
From Crooks and Liars: Bush Owes Nation An Apology
Best part: quoting this from Jefferson...
"Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government…"
September 12, 2006
Breaking News... (?)
On this morning's Lanigan and Malone show, talk show host Montel Williams (pictured below) announced his intention to run for governor of Maryland.
Stay tuned for edits...
September 11, 2006
11 September 2001 - 11 September 2006
There have been very few good things to result from the events of 11 September. We've gone from being a society with little cares to one being obsessed with security. Political polarization has increased; politicians suck more than ever. Ideology stands in the face of practicality and pragmatism. For those of you who don't remember what it is, pragmatism used to be this little thing called the middle ground. Republicans have moved to the right and used security as justification. Democrats have been lame with their thumbs up their asses, not providing any reasonable alternative to the awful, awful ideas that the wingnuts have spewn.
And why am I a Democrat?
Who knows, but I digress...
One good thing is that we discovered, if only for a brief moment, something within ourselves that made us take pause. We re-evaluated our lives... and then most allowed themselves to be taken up in the mindless flag-waving jingoism that followed. Suddenly it became a competition to see who was most patriotic. And it was because I didn't wear my country on my sleeve that I was deemed to be unpatriotic. Forget that every day I pledged allegiance to my country. Forget that my heart was always in the spirit of the country every single moment leading up to 11 September. Forget that I didn't threaten to move to Canada following that bumbling election of 2000. Forget that when I was in 3rd and 4th grade, singing the national anthem moved me to tears.
Forget all that.
No, just call me unpatriotic because I was mad that our flag, our country, being (ab)used. Call me unpatriotic because W's response to the tragedy was to tell us to keep the economy moving: go out and buy stuff. Call me unpatriotic, hell unAmerican, for being angry that companies then used the flag to appeal to people and make it seem patriotic to buy their goods! GOD BLESS AMERICA! BUY GOODS FROM ME! (Made in China.)
It was disgusting and it still is.
So here we are: the Republicans in power took the opportunity to make some good and punted it. Schenked the punt pretty badly, too. In the name of fighting terrorism, we've since gone on a rampaging war of errors. Afghanistan wasn't secured; Iraq... oy. Wonderful that Saddam is out... but what does that do when he was the glue that held that country together? It seems a mess.
But I don't know... it was a very sad day. It took that stone cold hard sobering to knock us out of our complacent "everything is fine with the status quo" mindset. A lot of maturation occurred on that day. As a nation, we all saw evil in its most base form... but something we never did was bother to understand the evil. Our government and myriad people chose to ignore it... decided to blame everything and everyone who stood in their way of opening up a crate of whomp-ass.
Maybe now, five years removed, we can learn something. My hope is there.
My doubts are stronger.
-rsl
And why am I a Democrat?
Who knows, but I digress...
One good thing is that we discovered, if only for a brief moment, something within ourselves that made us take pause. We re-evaluated our lives... and then most allowed themselves to be taken up in the mindless flag-waving jingoism that followed. Suddenly it became a competition to see who was most patriotic. And it was because I didn't wear my country on my sleeve that I was deemed to be unpatriotic. Forget that every day I pledged allegiance to my country. Forget that my heart was always in the spirit of the country every single moment leading up to 11 September. Forget that I didn't threaten to move to Canada following that bumbling election of 2000. Forget that when I was in 3rd and 4th grade, singing the national anthem moved me to tears.
Forget all that.
No, just call me unpatriotic because I was mad that our flag, our country, being (ab)used. Call me unpatriotic because W's response to the tragedy was to tell us to keep the economy moving: go out and buy stuff. Call me unpatriotic, hell unAmerican, for being angry that companies then used the flag to appeal to people and make it seem patriotic to buy their goods! GOD BLESS AMERICA! BUY GOODS FROM ME! (Made in China.)
It was disgusting and it still is.
So here we are: the Republicans in power took the opportunity to make some good and punted it. Schenked the punt pretty badly, too. In the name of fighting terrorism, we've since gone on a rampaging war of errors. Afghanistan wasn't secured; Iraq... oy. Wonderful that Saddam is out... but what does that do when he was the glue that held that country together? It seems a mess.
But I don't know... it was a very sad day. It took that stone cold hard sobering to knock us out of our complacent "everything is fine with the status quo" mindset. A lot of maturation occurred on that day. As a nation, we all saw evil in its most base form... but something we never did was bother to understand the evil. Our government and myriad people chose to ignore it... decided to blame everything and everyone who stood in their way of opening up a crate of whomp-ass.
Maybe now, five years removed, we can learn something. My hope is there.
My doubts are stronger.
-rsl
September 6, 2006
Facebook = teh suck (redux)
NOTE: If you've been living under a stone, in a cave or at the site of a nuclear holocaust, your ignorance in the following matter is excusable... otherwise, well, um... no.
This might be the 2nd post I've done on Facebook on the blog, but I don't recall. Facebook is a networking site, not too much unlike MySpace, that is/was mainly geared towards college students. (I tossed the is/was in there for a specific reason: Facebook opened membership to high school students earlier this year.) On Facebook one can do a variety of "social" activities: list friends (not unlike the MySpace concept), join groups, send out invites to parties, "poke" friends, et cetera.
Yesterday morning, Facebook reached a totally new level of creepy (yes, perhaps beyond MySpace): introduced were quasi-RSS feeds from "friends" to appear on a user's main page. Obviously in this case RSS stands for "Really Stalkerish Syndication" as one can now keep tabs on anything a Facebook friend does, has done or plans to do.
These purported improvements have already generated a massive backlash, with Facebook groups against the new design appearing quickly. Time will tell (probably by the end of the week) whether or not Facebook developers will listen. Internet gods willing, they just might.
-rl
This might be the 2nd post I've done on Facebook on the blog, but I don't recall. Facebook is a networking site, not too much unlike MySpace, that is/was mainly geared towards college students. (I tossed the is/was in there for a specific reason: Facebook opened membership to high school students earlier this year.) On Facebook one can do a variety of "social" activities: list friends (not unlike the MySpace concept), join groups, send out invites to parties, "poke" friends, et cetera.
Yesterday morning, Facebook reached a totally new level of creepy (yes, perhaps beyond MySpace): introduced were quasi-RSS feeds from "friends" to appear on a user's main page. Obviously in this case RSS stands for "Really Stalkerish Syndication" as one can now keep tabs on anything a Facebook friend does, has done or plans to do.
These purported improvements have already generated a massive backlash, with Facebook groups against the new design appearing quickly. Time will tell (probably by the end of the week) whether or not Facebook developers will listen. Internet gods willing, they just might.
-rl
September 1, 2006
Polls: Ohio Senate - Brown (D) up 6% on DeWine (R)
A poll released by USAToday/Gallup shows Democratic US Senate candidate Sherrod Brown up 6% on incumbent Mike DeWine among likely voters. That lead is only two percent when the question is limited to registered voters.
Among likely voters:
BROWN: 46%
DEWINE: 40%
Undecided: 14%
Unfortunately, the crosstabs are not up on the site.
Ted Strickland (D) currently continues to thump Ken Blackwell (R) - leading in the poll among likely voters by 16%. No word on registered voters.
And a question: which is the larger sample: registered voters or likely voters? I pose the question because simply being registered to vote does not necessarily make you any more likely to vote. I'm not sure which numbers should be taken with more credence because of my relative greenness to this entire poll-parsing thing.
So... with that said...
Is anybody looking to hire a fresh, young progressive who wants to make Ohio turn blue (but not in the face)? Contact me at ryanneedsajob@i'monlykidding(kinda).com.
Er, yeah.
-rl
Among likely voters:
BROWN: 46%
DEWINE: 40%
Undecided: 14%
Unfortunately, the crosstabs are not up on the site.
Ted Strickland (D) currently continues to thump Ken Blackwell (R) - leading in the poll among likely voters by 16%. No word on registered voters.
And a question: which is the larger sample: registered voters or likely voters? I pose the question because simply being registered to vote does not necessarily make you any more likely to vote. I'm not sure which numbers should be taken with more credence because of my relative greenness to this entire poll-parsing thing.
So... with that said...
Is anybody looking to hire a fresh, young progressive who wants to make Ohio turn blue (but not in the face)? Contact me at ryanneedsajob@i'monlykidding(kinda).com.
Er, yeah.
-rl
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