This place was created near the end of the twentieth century just for the heck of it..
Thursday, November 30, 2000
So anyway, this morning I got up and did the coffee, newspaper and C-SPAN routine and C-SPAN was having a debate between citizens, one for Gore and one for Bush and it quickly occured to me that this version of was so, was not; or regurgitated crap from Limbaugh versus fair sounding baloney from smarty pants liberals was going to the same place as the old tastes great versus less filling debates from the old days. So I switched to see what CNN and MSNBC had on. There on both great news networks I was greeted with a shot from a helicopter of a rented van carrying ballots from West Palm winding down the highway and stopping at a traffic jam while a voiceover described the scenes. It was the OJ chase scene revisited. So I quit the TV and came up here to find that my computer was having some sort of a nervous breakdown, probably because I installed a piece of hardware/software yesterday that will let me grab analog TV pics or scenes and convert them to poor quality jpegs or mpegs so that I can... oh, what does it matter.
Trying again; anyway, Ellen Goodman has a good column here. Read it. There is no answer to the dilemna there, but there is no answer to the dilemna anywhere except that we will have to suffer through a President (almost) Elect ( giggle, sigh, gasp) Bush for the next two months and then an actual Bush ( giggle, sigh, groan) four year term.
And what's with this Colin Powell stuff. This genius who designed the great Panama War and the Somalia mess, and who killed a kazillion Iraq folks but didn't win the stupid war is going to make us all believe that Shrub is really an OK guy who will have good advice on wars and stuff. Does anyone really remember the Panama War by the original Bush, or the Somalia fiasco.... designed by this Powell guy.
Wednesday, November 29. 2000
As if to remind us that the recent election had as issue number one The United States Supreme Court, this ruling came down yesterday. So we still have a fourth amendment. The extreme conservative (looney tunes) Scalia and Thomas, along with Rehnquist all dissented. Imagine what a court after President (nearly) Elect ( giggle, gasp,sigh) Bush got a chance to appoint one or two more loonies would have ruled. Thankfully, a fifty fifty Senate might keep some of the more extreme Bush crowd appointees away from confirmation.
And what's with all this musing about Democrats in a Bush cabinet all about. What on earth does that have to do with anything? So some lame democrat wants to be called Mr. Secretary for the rest of his life. That's supposed to make us feel that the Bush bunch are less stupid and extreme? They still want to take us back to the pre-Roosevelt days. That's been the goal of the wackos for the past sixty-five years. By the way, did I ever mention that the Social Security Act was signed on July 20th, 1935. Look it up here. ( for those of you who miss the point, it's also my actual birthday therefore giving me even more of a reason to be a champion of the glory days of the start of genuine socialism in the good old USA)
All the court cases may end as moot, by the way. I have said that this will happen and it seems to be on track.
And finally today, why not take advantage and pass something just to get their goats? Go for it Tom!
Tuesday, November 28, 2000
As silly and as sad as it is, George W. Bush will be the POTUS come next January. Al Gore will fight on for a week or so, but the fix has been in for a few days now. This so-called "strong woman", but really just another pushover for the frat boy has given what she had to give. She is Bush's Monica Lewinsky. We will soon get used to the very scary Dick Cheney droning on about what the Gov., soon to be what the Pres. Elect and eventually what the POTUS wants. More and more old George the first retreads will come out of the woodwork to try and guide President ( giggle, sigh , gasp) Bush II away from too many mistakes.
And we will deserve to suffer through this debacle, listening to the wackos on the right tell us how lucky we are and proceeding to try to move us back to the "good old days" with every action. We are getting what we asked for. Now, after just two days of the "offficial certification" by Florida, polls show us wanting to move on to the next story whatever it might be. We're bored already, forget about it. GIHSMFAT.
Meanwhile up in Canada---you know, that other American place where the wackos down here say that with universal health care, not enough handguns, that it's practcally a communist dictatorship--well, they had an election too.
And finally today, a couple of other items. This chad story that is a little different. And this one that seems to say what's the big deal?
Monday, November 27, 2000
Saturday, I called the shot.
Last night the little character called his own shot.
So. Where are we. Gore is contesting in at least three counties. Even if he prevails, and the chances are slim, the Florida Legislature would probably assign the electoral votes to the shrub. Then there is the US House and the hammer Tom DeLay and his cohort Armey screaming to get involved. So let's face it. It's over. We are stuck with this outcome in all likelyhood.
The only question is how did the country get to the place where such a stupid and unqualified person could get to be President of The United States? The answer is us. We are the fools.
Saturday, November 25, 2000
There is no doubt in my mind that more voters in Florida cast or tried to cast their vote for Al Gore to be POTUS. Any reasonable look at all the thousands of votes that were excluded from any of the counts will reveal that as a true fact. There is also no doubt in my mind that despite that true fact, and another true fact that Al Gore got more votes nationwide, George W. Bush will eventually be named to be POTUS elect. Either the State Legislators in Florida will name him as the winner of that infamous states electoral votes or The Supreme Court of The United States in an overt act of judicial activism will intefere with the Florida Supremes and overrule the hand recount of the undervote which is taking place right now except in Miami-Dade where thugs the likes of brown-shirts in the awful past, when right wing wackos led other putschs, actually managed to force the board of electors to stop counting.
So while it's still not officially over, she is singing. And I am calling the shot.
Thursday, November 23, 2000
Last Monday night, one of the good guys died. One way to measure the good guys, is to observe how much someone is excoriated by the likes of Limbaugh, Medved, North, and the dozens of other hate-talkers and zealots, of the extreme right wing. Lars-Eric Nelson was reviled by these truth fearing, awful people, and others like them. Lars-Eric Nelson was one gigantic good guy.
Tuesday, November 21, 2000
I have to admit---oh, by the way it's day 15 or so of a nation not quite in crisis, but still in a state of confusion--back to my point, I have to admit that I was going to skip the TV show of the century yesterday and I did miss a lot of it. But when I finally turned to it it was truly great. Without doubt, one of the nice things about being a geezer with not much to do is being able to see this kind of stuff without relying on the fools on the TV news and blather shows for information. Now having said that, one of the exchanges that I loved was also reported here in the NY Times. If you still haven't subscribed to the times on the net do it now and then go back and read this piece.
I don't know how this will end. I guess I will have to stay with my prediction of months ago. Bush will not win. Even though the statistics guys are now out in droves saying that Gore can't win the recounts. At this point I am enjoying the fight too much to worry about the outcome. Boy oh boy, I should have listened to all those aptitude test folks who were all over the place back in the forties. They started telling me that I should become a lawyer when I was in grammer school. Even elementary school. I went to this school for grades K thru 4 back in the days. Alas, my old grammer school doesn't exist any more. My home town does though.
Speaking of lawyers and compelling TV. When do you suppose that the wackos will decide that Clinton had him killed too.
Unless something moves me, or forces me to action, ThereYouHaveIt will be shut down until after Thanksgiving.
See you in a few days. Should have said a few minutes. Gotta add this.
Monday, November 20, 2000
It does say some thing about us that this story has been shoved off of the front pages and in fact all but lost these past few days. Yes, the election story is unique and even big. And it still grinds on, although it is becoming very repetitive and the pundits have all adopted sort of common thread to the tune of "..and the only acceptable conclusion that the American people will accept is that that the hand counts continue and that after the count Bush still carries Florida". I must have seen and heard a dozen variations on that theme over the weekend. I think that is a stupid conclusion and without any evidence. It is one of those things that someone said and the bunch picked it up because it sounds clever.
So here, read all about it if you feel like it . CNN's summary pages are here. Or read this hysteria from another point of view. I am starting to like this site.
I have no predictions or guesses. And at this point in time I don't care on way or another. But don't worry. It's only a case of temporary blah's.
Yeah, like kazillions of us were planning to go there for the holidays. Just thought I'd throw that in like a real blogger.
Friday, November 17, 2000 + the weekend
It's 11 days and now the "shrub" has a 927 vote lead, but just as the U S Supreme Court gave this poor soul a repreive the other day, The Florida Supreme Court seems to have breathed new life( for the nonce ) into the hopes of the Gore Campaign. Bush may have to wait a while before he kills the retarted murderer, and he has to wait a while before his Daddy's fixers can hand him the keys to the White House. more whenever...
...and now it's Sunday. Nothing much has happened except for some pretty scary rhetoric from the wacko crowd. They seem to be trying to whip up the military as though they would support some sort of military led coup... very bad talk. and then this. just plain crazy...
*************
Ten days after the vote and only 5 days before Thanksgiving. There are more suits than voters in Florida now. I am slowly coming back to my notion of the other day or week or whenever it was, and I am thinking that Al Gore ought to let it go, make a magnanimous speech conceding the election, take the hefty Tipper and go away for a long vacation, and leave George to play at POTUS elect. Then, well you know the rest of the story, and if you have forgotten see this
I am tired of the mess but not a defeatist. Just a tired pragmatist. I am convinced that the winner of this election will be the loser in the long run. Read that both ways.It works both ways.
Here is some other stuff. Bill Clinton was in Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday. Bill Clinton,of all presidents , and you have to dig around in the papers and the internet to even find a story. This stupid Florida election watch has dominated everything. Can you imagine the headlines otherwise and the reaction of the wackos? Guess they are preoccupied too.
And finally today, read this column., by Martin Peretz of The New Republic Magazine.Here is the last paragraph, for you lazy or busy guys:
"George W., in fact, may not know much of anything. The other night on television, the Texas governor introduced his dog to the American people, and--do you believe it?--his dog is named Spot. Young Bush is not an entitled man; he is an ordinary man. At the same photo-op, he crowned "First Lady Bush." He did this when panic was already evident in Jim Baker's creepy smile. But Bush is unfazed. He certainly presumes that he's the president-elect. After all, didn't the TV networks, in the dark hours of the morning, say so? And, if you can't trust the regulars on the tube, damn it, whom can you trust?"
And finally, finally, hasn't anyone told James Baker that the loose chad are supposed to fall out, then the machines could count the ballots. I guess now I am supposed to say, "...let the chad fall where they may", but that's so bad I won't.
Thursday, November 16, 2000
Day nine. Was there any doubt that the strange looking Harris lady( who by the way will be the next Ambassador to some obscure country if she can hand the election to the Bush crowd) that I talked about yesterday was going to find it in her discretion not to accept the hand counts from the counties that are doing them. Once I heard about Gore's offer to Bush last night, I was certain that the Bush Florida crowd would give this lady the words to use in her little TV show last night and, (even though I am writing this before Bush has his little TV show which is scheduled after my bedtime---OK I admit that it's still Wednesday nite and I am only pretending that it's Thursday, but it will be Thursday in a couple of hours so what the heck)....let's see where was I ...oh yes, and Bush will say that since the Florida Secretary of State has already ruled that the hand counted votes will not count and blah and blah blah and blahhhhh. It's getting to be a very unsettling mess.
So it's now morning, really I am up and at it, and the mess is just as I said. The boy, George, drove up to the capital of Texas, whereever that is, and read a prepared ( can you imagine four years of this sort of read baloney-fat) statement that he almost even understands, then drove back to his ranch to sulk and kick dirt because usually Daddy's boys get him fixed up a whole lot quicker.
So it is back to the courts. The Bush guys trying the Federal courts with a case that seems to address civil rights-equal protection-of all things. The Gore guys going back to the Florida courts to try to get the hand counts counted.
Todays fun. If you have already seen this, skip it! The music should have been "and the beat goes on".
Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Eight days and still don't know who will be POTUS elect. But we know who she is don't we? And as one NY paper(?) puts it, she is the man. So is it over? More and more it seems so. But...
Meanwhile the current POTUS, Clinton ( remember him?) is off assuring everyone that he is still the man. So just relax. And if you have time, and inclination give a listen to Radio Havana Cuba some night for their interesting perspective. I listen on 6000mghz at !0:00 EST
Along the same line, here is a link that I look at from time to time as a reminder that we are not alone on this planet.I don't know how authoratative these links are or even how representative they are but they are worth a look for another perspective on things.
And one last time before the election is over have a look here. Misunderestimated is an misunderstatement if ever there wasn't one. Right?
that's all today.
Tuesday, November 14, 2000
Day seven of a nation not in crisis. And the beat, the spin, the counting, the suits, the shouting, the speculating, the whole mess goes on and on. For the next several hours at least, there will not be much new news. Use this low key site if you want to keep up after real events have happened. This mainstream site for the latest news and other near news. And of course, this one.
I heard that one of the protestors down in Dade County was a pink haired woman dressed in pastels representing the Reform Party with a sign calling herself the Medical Marijuna Barbie. Sounds like some fun going on down there and here too.
And go Jesse. slide show, if it works.
As for me, today I am getting a haircut and, with the coming holiday season joining my man Zippy in a quest for inner peace.
Monday, November 13, 2000
It is day five, no six of the country being without a POTUS elect. And were still functioning, no Constitutional Crisis, no tanks rolling out..... yet. But this crazy guy and some others that I listen to on my little bedside shortwave figure that we are in day six of the plan by Clinton to bring out all those foreign troops hidden in our national parks who will become an army of occupation of the UN, declare martial law, and then declare himself President for Life, or something like that. Look over this guys site and links. Strange stuff. Be sure to have a look at his infolinks page.
Meanwhile Mr. "...restore honor and dignity to the Whitehouse" is whining all over the place that Daddy Bush and Mr. Baker and Mr. Cheney had told him that he could start playing President last week, and here it is almost a week into his play time and that nasty AlGore won't play fair. So Mr. "... I am for states rights and I trust the people and not the federal goverment" is suing in federal court to overrule Florida State Law and not allow the peoples votes to be counted.
So reviews of civics everywhere, new vocabulary with words like chad, ( whoops not that chad---or maybe....)with adjectives ranging from dimpled to pregnant to hanging to swinging are being thrown around and some folks are saying that it's only just begun. And then there are all the suggestions, from mine of the other day and this slightly more refined version of it all the way to just leaving out Florida.
I kind of got a kick from this on the street report. See still no real crisis just good old American fun.
Friday, November 10, 2000
OK, OK!!! I have some advice Al. Let the recounts keep going and all the rest of the counting until Florida finally certifies which will be no later than next Friday. Keep a low profile with the lawsuit talk. Then, if it looks like a Bush victory in the counting is inevitable, ( it probably is), ask for national air time and in a dramatic moment "concede" Florida. The time for ripping out his throat and going for broke was during the debates when you did not take my advice.
I guarantee that if you handle the concession right, the little Bush will have a sqirmy and unproductive four year term, the congress will return home to the Democratic party in 2002, and you, if you want it, or some other good Democrat will be elected POTUS in 2004 practically by decree.
I will concede that it may cost us a slightly more conservative Supreme Court, but only slightly. A POTUS who didn't win a majority of the popular vote and who has a virtually tied congress( with a watchdog who won the popular vote hovering around) will be pretty much just a figurehead and will not dare trying anythig too radical. He will not get his idiotic tax cut plan passed. His privatization of Social Security plan never gets to see the light of day.
Well, you get my drift Al. You can figure out the rest for yourself.
As for me, I will take the weekend off unless something comes up. You should too, Al.
Update, 11/10/00 3:49 PM I think we should accept this gracious offer from Cuba.
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Salon has a lot of interesting election stuff on it's site . Check it out
Thursday, November 9, 2000
I guess it's time to send for Jimmy Carter to go down and monitor things in Florida. So, it's what I assumed would have been day two of the beginning of the end, and it ain't over. Well it is over but we're still studying the photo's as they say ( i think) in horse race speak.
Meanwhile I have lost most of my bile. Mrs. scolded me yesterday for muttering that I was bored and shut off some blatherer or another who was going on and on about the electoral college or the man on the street or something. She said something about why didn't you get bored six months ago so I wouldn't have had to listen to your rants and raves for all this time.
The answer my friends is that I have been purged of all my emotions( and not just pity and fear), not by classic tragedy, but by what appears to be classic farce. Obla di obla da, life goes on.
Here is Maureen's wisdom. If you don't have a NY Times account find her column somewhere else.
Let's hear an Amen.
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
So, it's the day after and Bush still has not won. Does that make my prediction correct?
At least so far I have my consolation prize. Senator Hillary. Ain't revenge great. And I probably have my Senator "dead guy". That will make them crazy. I also have my smarmy McCollum defeated by smiling Senator Nelson (D. FL). Just a simple personal thing for me.
The "smarty pants" award from last night has to go to Mary Matalin a woman who rubs me the wrong way and who is a shrill right wing wacko.But credit where credit is due. Within a few minutes after CNN called Florida for Gore, she was on as a pundit and said, look guy's we blew this. There is no way we can call this so early and gave several reasons. The guys all said oh Mary, your just whistling into the wind. When we call it we are certain and all the big guys proceeded to patronize her. Well, a short time later the first big whoops of the night. CNN took back their projection, as did all the other networks...well you know the rest of the story. A few more network whoopses later and no one is sure what the heck actually is going on.
Anyway, as I like to say. It's about 7:45 EST. I went to sleep last night just about certain that Gore had lost. Florida's votes are being re-counted and who knows. There is still some hope that the almost election of George W. will never happen. Whatever does happen is all sort of anti-climax anyway. I am spent.
Tuesday, November 7, 2000
It's the day at last. I have been going on about this election for over a year and it's about to happen. Here is a summary of the pundits predictions of the outcome as published in The Washington Post the other day. It's worth a close look. You know what I predicted a couple of months back. Bush will not win. ( i am keeping my fingers and everything else crossed since that prediction mow sems to fly in the face of logic)
Take this to the bank. If the unthinkable happens, and if half of the less than 50% of the eligible voters who will in fact elect the next POTUS stay fooled, the buyers remorse will be monumental even before the guy is sworn in. The press, the pundits and the voters will be saying what have we done within a few weeks.
So, go vote if you want to. If it's after 10:00AM, I already did.I hope to keep busy the rest of the day cleaning and covering my little boat Folly for the winter. Never did get to take that one last cruise on the Connecticut River that I wanted to do.
And here is what I think every newspaper, magazine and and TV network ought to do. Disclose, with reasons. For the record I did vote for Gore. First and foremost...it's the Supreme Court stupid, and because the Democratic Party comes closer to my political thinking, and because Social Security shouldn't be a privatized defined payment plan, but continue to be a federally guaranteed defined benefit plan, same for Medicare, and...well the list goes on and on. Finally, because Bush is simply and dangerously stupid.
May that metaphorical god that I like to invoke save us from ourselves today.
Monday, November 6, 2000
Sorry that a technical glitch had this page up all day Sunday, but this kind of stuff happens, even to me.
One day to go until the big "hidden election". There are around 6000 state legislators who will be elected along with all the big ones like POTUS.These 6000 or so elections will decide the control of all the state houses and since this is the year that the new census gets published, these state houses will control the redistricting that is mandated to create new congressional districts that reflect "one man one vote" principles.
Some states like New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania will be losing representatives, while others like Texas, California, Arizona, and Florida will gain representatives. So these 6000 or so guys will be in a position to not only control what the next Congress ( the 2002 election) will look like, think about the power they will have when they are looking to the current congress ( the 2001 guys) for favors and other stuff.
So root for the he good guys ( read non -Republicans) to win these elections too. This could be as important for the next ten years as the Supreme Court appointments by the next POTUS will be.
Sorry, but I can't resist posting this ( I promise, this is the last one) article about silly little George.W, and the crowd that has thrust him upon us.
note........tomorrow I will put up a chart published by a newspaper that has the predictions of a bunch of pundits on the POTUS, the House, The Senate and Hillary vs Lazio. And one of my own "take it to the bank" true facts.
Saturday, November 4, 2000
Three days now. I am beginning to dread following the results next Tuesday night. I am going to put it out of my mind and shut down until Monday, the day before the big day. Here are the big four that I will be especially watching on the big day.. Two per l'ira scattere and one because I can't stand the guy. And the big one!
Third, Ashcroft vs the dead guy for the Missouri Senate seat. The dead guy. See number one above. Can you imagine, a dead guy!!
Yes, I will be looking at the big picture too, and all the races as well, but these are my biggies.
See you Monday. I will tell you about the "hidden election" that also takes place Tuesday
Friday, November 3, 2000
And now there are four days left to this madness called Election 2000. And I don't think that a press and an electorate will care much about this since they have already given a total pass to Bush on the "...life begins at forty * and anything before that is not only none of your business, it's unfair, and even if you find out anything it's just a simple youthful indescretion, besides I have found jesus, and I will restore honor and dignity and integrity to the white house and what else do you want, and by the way I am too smart, and I am a leader and so there." defense . In fact it might even help him. You know what I am saying; the real guy crap.
I wish it hadn't come up. I want this guy to lose because he is not genuine, he is stupid, and he is a stealth candidate of the far right. This just muddies the water.
Meanwhile, yesterday, Mrs. thereyouhaveit and I stood for two hours in a line at our local supermarket to get flu shots since our doctors didn't have any and told us to get them whereever we could. We got our shots. Many people behind us didn't since the group giving the shots ran out of them. My local paper says it's a free market problem.
Is this not a great time to be alive?
* no real connection and doesn't make sense, but what does about Barbara's cute little guy?
Thursday, November 2, 2000
Five days to go. I am tired of it already. But here are two from The Wall Street Journal, of all places, one by that absurdly syrupy Peggy Noonan and another by a guy that I don't know much about , hard nosed Martin Peretez. The Noonan piece is pure baloney-fat... for instance, she says George W simply is too nice to ever lie for goodness sake. The Peretz piece is, well pure wisdom...well. almost. Read them both, or at least a little of both.
Yesterday, I managed to find and download "After Hours" a great and easy blues piece that runs nearly 13 minutes and features, Gillespie, Getz, Rollins and others and is from an album I first bought sometime in the sixties. I got it of course from Napster, along with a bunch of other old timey stuff. Today I will find and get more stuff, already snagged "Lucky Old Sun"and "OldBlack Joe" and a so-so version of "As Time Goes By" by Peggy Lee.and one of my many versions of "Besame Mucho's "has been grabbed by someone. It is the beginning of my fairwell dance to the free Napster. Ah the easy and time filled life of a retired geezer.
Somewhere on a back page of the second section of the "A" section of my newspaper, the now discredited( see below)Hartford Courant, was an AP piece about our planes which are still flying combat missions over Iraq every day bombing an Iraq defensive missle site. Just wanted you to know that there is other stuff out there.
The Hartford Courant is discredited because for the first time in their long history, they have bowed to out of town corporate ownership, and endorsed Bush . The editorial was so obviously forced that it was clearly a message to it's readers. As I have told you here before, this is the oldest continously published paper in the country. Shame!
Wednesday, November 1, 2000
There are six days left until election day. Six more days for the minority of the eligible citizens who will actually vote to decide if a seemingly likeable cheerleader (who) with limited (has the reasoning ability) capacity (of damp sawdust), ought to be elected to the position of POTUS. And if the polls and pundits are to be believed the GOP may be on the verge of the reactionary purge that they have been planning for the past twenty years. They may have a President who is willing to sign whatever an extreme right wing led congress passes and sends him. And do whatever his nearly frothing at the mouth babysitters, Dick and Lynne Cheney "advise" him to do. But I still do not believe it will happen. I maintain that Bush will not win. That in the end, people will know that Bush is not what he seems to be and is really a willful, spoiled child , who has made a faustian deal with the extremists and is too stupid and greedy to fully grasp their plan.
If the unthinkable happens, Tom Daschle, Minority leader in the Senate, will emerge as the main man for us to depend on to slow and even stop the reactionary tide. This is one very smart and skillful politician. He and Dick Gephardt , over in the House of Representatives,--less smart and skillful but still pretty good--will have to be the defenders of the progressive ideas that shaped the United States for the past sixty five years.
The countdown begins. In seven days we will wake up with a new Chief Executive and a new Congress. Be afraid.
And if that's not bad enough it is November and as it was so well put by Sir Walter Scott, "November's sky is chill and drear" .
