tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56643492011-09-01T09:43:46.264-07:00Occasional Mumblings From Area Code 518peternoreply@blogger.comBlogger421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1114914788825719242005-04-30T19:30:00.000-07:002005-04-30T19:33:08.826-07:00

So, whatever happened to all those terror alerts that Homeland Security was issuing prior to the Presidential election? As I recall, we were going Code Orange about 3 times a week. I guess Karl Rove decided that the alerts have outlived their political utility....

peternoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1110487595712553272005-03-10T12:45:00.000-08:002005-03-10T12:46:35.716-08:00

Thinking about the nomination of the odious John Bolton to be our Ambassador to the UN, it occurs to me that there is a cost, in both national security terms and in real dollars, associated with the Bush policy of dismissiveness toward other nations. It might be an interesting project for a think tank to enumerate and analyze the various ways that we lose when we alienate foreign governments.

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1100028623077812292004-11-09T11:29:00.000-08:002004-11-09T11:30:23.076-08:00

I do not know if the Republicans stole the 2004 election, but I think that it was a huge mistake for Kerry to concede so quickly. His concession does not have legal weight, but it has the effect of legitimizing a Bush victory in the eyes of the public. The concession has allowed the GOP and the media whores to start spinning the narrative about a clear and strong mandate for Bush. Kerry could

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1099022862212532692004-10-28T21:06:00.000-07:002004-10-28T21:07:42.213-07:00

Apparently Karl Rove has not read "The Emerging Democratic Majority" by Ruy Teixeira and John Judis. The GOP's devious vote-suppression tactics are certain to further alienate minority citizens, whose numbers are rapidly increasing relative to the populus at large. The GOP is likely to both lose this election AND insure that they will lose that critical voting bloc forever. Dumb asses.

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1098251545234928102004-10-19T22:51:00.000-07:002004-10-19T22:52:25.236-07:00

Viusalize Winning - http://www.needlenose.com/win04/vote.htm This is really cool- Make sure to have your sound turned up.... !

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1098159978077482022004-10-18T21:21:00.000-07:002004-10-18T21:26:18.076-07:00

Sinclair Broadcasting has fired Jon Lieberman, its Washington Bureau Chief. He had spoken out against the company's decision to run "Stolen Honor", a rightwing hit piece on John Kerry's military service. A link to the story is provided below. Bravo, Jon Lieberman! I expect the job offers are already flooding in.... http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apelection_story.asp?category=1131&

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1098132378853317832004-10-18T13:39:00.000-07:002004-10-18T14:05:37.106-07:00

Sinclair Broadcasting (SBGI) has ordered all 62 of their TV stations to air a slime piece on John Kerry entitled "Stolen Honor." There is a powerhouse citizen's movement afoot to confront Sinclair by driving the company's stock down, and persuading their advertisers to pull out. There will also be legal challenges to Sinclair's FCC licenses. Sinclair stock took a nosedive today and ended at

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1098121330458552092004-10-18T10:41:00.000-07:002004-10-18T10:42:10.456-07:00

Q: Cheney, Bush, Ashcroft and Rumsfeld are in a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean. The boat springs a leak. Who gets saved? A: We do.

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1098066982086148152004-10-17T19:20:00.000-07:002004-10-17T19:36:22.086-07:00

I'd really like to see some polling data on a demographic that isn't getting enough attention; Republicans who plan to vote for Kerry, or are so disgusted with Bush that they will just stay home on Nov. 2. Perhaps Zogby and the other polling firms could design a survey that samples this segment of the electorate. My instinct tells me that this might be the Mother of All Internal Polling Numbers.

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1098062672926642312004-10-17T18:23:00.000-07:002004-10-17T18:29:46.343-07:00

I think it's time for the Democrats to start spending a lot of their energy on insuring that the votes are actually going to be counted properly. At this stage of the game, that may be a more effective expenditure of financial and human resources than continuing to market the Kerry/Edwards ticket. The Democrats have a stronger and more appealing ticket, a better GOTV operation, most of the

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1097987907755200602004-10-16T21:18:00.000-07:002004-10-16T21:49:12.986-07:00

Hardly a day passes without another news story about Republican electoral skullduggery. It's pretty clear that the GOP will try to steal the coming election by whatever means it takes, and I'm particularly worried about those states where the Republicans control the electoral machinery. I wonder if one of the tactics in FL, OH, and elsewhere might involve a refusal by GOP Secretaries of State

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1097463606593796482004-10-10T19:46:00.000-07:002004-10-10T20:00:06.593-07:00

Recently I saw the film "The Corporation" at Time and Space Ltd., our "cultural warehouse" and performance venue here in Hudson, NY. It's two and-a-half hours long, but seemed shorter. It's an examination of how corporations have come to dominate our economy, our culture, and to a large extent, our consciousness. There are some real standout characters in the film, in particular Ray Anderson,

peternoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1097389136598168202004-10-09T23:05:00.000-07:002004-10-10T19:45:34.710-07:00

The Presidential slugfest is getting so much media attention that the congressional races are running below the radar, and I'm wondering if we might be in for some pleasant surprises. Both the House and Senate are within reach for the Democrats, particularly if Kerry does well and draws an unusually high turnout to the polls. From all the news reports I've seen the D's are kicking ass in the

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1097304208933613932004-10-08T23:33:00.000-07:002004-10-08T23:43:28.933-07:00

Watched Round 2 of the Presidential debates tonite with a group of ideological soulmates. I was expecting Der Shrubber to have a crash + burn moment, some sort of meltdown that would represent the turning point in the campaign. That didn't happen-Bush did well enough to provide some hope to his wingnut base, and Kerry squandered some nice opportunities to slam the door. On balance, Kerry won

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1096429090469061702004-09-28T20:34:00.000-07:002004-09-28T20:39:12.776-07:00

Damn, this is good ! The Lone Star Iconoclast, Der Shrubber's hometown newspaper, gives a strong endorsement to Kerry-- Kerry Will Restore American Dignity 2004 Iconoclast Presidential Endorsement Few Americans would have voted for George W. Bush four years ago if he had promised that, as President, he would: • Empty the Social Security trust fund by $507 billion to help offset fiscal

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1094005007545914412004-08-31T19:12:00.000-07:002004-08-31T19:16:47.546-07:00

I've noticed a bit of consternation on the part of Kerry supporters in the past couple of days, as polls show Bush pulling even in the race. My gut feeling is that the situation on the ground is still looking pretty good for the D's. The mainstream media whores have been lying to us non-stop since the Clinton days, and there is no reason to believe that they are going to change their tune

peternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1093835253866546932004-08-29T20:06:00.000-07:002004-08-29T20:07:33.866-07:00

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." *Bertrand Russell

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1092072364403780482004-08-09T10:19:00.000-07:002004-08-09T10:26:04.403-07:00

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R, IL) on Alan Keyes' run for the Senate: "We're getting down to a point where we need a candidate," the Yorkville Republican said. "I've talked to a lot of people from Mike Ditka to (former Chicago Bear) Gary Fencik to (radio talk-show host) Orien Samuelson, and for different reasons, none of that happened. If we have somebody who's willing to come in and invest

peternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1089089386811778212004-07-05T21:48:00.000-07:002004-07-05T21:49:46.813-07:00

Yes, I'm still alive. It's been 6 months since my last post. When dispensing great wisdom, one needs to move with deliberate speed....

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1075577611859396952004-01-31T11:33:00.000-08:002004-01-31T11:35:08.733-08:00

Below is a NY Times editorial on the electronic voting machine issue. This topic keeps coming up, but only in center-left publications. The Right isn't worried about the security and integrity of our voting technology? Hmmm........ How to Hack an Election January 31, 2004 Concerned citizens have been warning that new electronic voting technology being rolled out nationwide can be used to

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1074208843661160372004-01-15T15:20:00.000-08:002004-01-15T15:22:04.983-08:00

A smart endorsement of Dean by Elaine Kamarck, of the Harvard School of Government-- This Guy Can Rock The White House January 15, 2004 Last July, I promised I would tell you my choice for Democratic Idol today - four days before this process begins for real when the Democrats in Iowa, the first of many judges, weigh in. I prepared for this auspicious moment by wading through newspapers,

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1074123746193071212004-01-14T15:42:00.000-08:002004-01-14T15:43:46.403-08:00

"If fascism ever comes to the United States, it will come wrapped in an American flag." Kurt Vonnegut

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1072762700590210702003-12-29T21:38:00.000-08:002003-12-29T21:39:25.233-08:00

Driving along the Massachusetts Turnpike today, I noticed 2 very large, professionally designed (and presumably expensive) billboards advocating that the state legalize and tax marijuana. The name of the group sponsoring the advertisements is Change the Climate, and they are claiming that the initiative would produce something like $138 million annually for the state treasury. I'd be curious to

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1071956201308528412003-12-20T13:36:00.000-08:002003-12-20T13:37:36.793-08:00

I grew up in Minnesota, where snowmobiling is a holy rite in the culture. My father was a small town photographer, and in 1966 he was engaged by the local newspaper to photograph the very first "Blessing of the Snowmobiles," which took place outdoors, on the steps of the nearby Catholic church. (I truly am not making this up.) Apparently the church decided that a blessing might help to prevent

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1069973236175679072003-11-27T14:47:00.000-08:002003-11-27T14:47:48.856-08:00

A cheerful thought for Thanksgiving Day- The GOP scratched and clawed its way to a position of political strength, but they are governing in an immature, desperate fashion, as if they know that their time in office is short, and the strongarm tactics on the Medicare vote are just the latest example. What I see is the bull-in-the-china-shop mentality of a political party that does not

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1069001679572265192003-11-16T08:54:00.000-08:002003-11-16T08:54:54.373-08:00

Enclosed is a fine piece by George Monbiot, writing in the Guardian on the deception that led us into the Iraq war. Dreamers and idiots Britain and the US did everything to avoid a peaceful solution in Iraq and Afghanistan George Monbiot Tuesday November 11, 2003 The Guardian Those who would take us to war must first shut down the public imagination. They must convince us that there is

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1064376861570118082003-09-23T21:14:00.000-07:002003-09-23T21:14:21.570-07:00

Shrub's approval rate just dipped below the 50% mark for the first time ever. It's going to take an event of 9/11 magnitude to pull his ass back up into popular territory.

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1062657865028319002003-09-03T23:44:00.000-07:002003-09-03T23:44:25.060-07:00

Political pundit Eric Alterman, referring to the policy fuckups in the Bush administration.... "Really, these people are making my job so easy, it’s unfair. The only work is trying to keep up."

peternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1062521235914337062003-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:002003-09-02T21:53:44.930-07:00

There's a lot of resentment brewing over the hardball tactics the GOP is employing to win elections in Florida, Texas, and California. Check out this great article in the San Fransisco Chronicle by Mark Sandalow- http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/09/02/CONSPIRACY.TMP

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1062520753881697522003-09-02T09:39:00.000-07:002003-09-02T22:01:29.640-07:00

The Bush administration has done a lot of foolish and irresponsible things, but perhaps none as arrogant and hubristic as assuming that the situation in Iraq would be under control well before it became a liability in the '04 political campaign. We are now faced with the possibility that the crucial decisions the White House makes on Iraq will be made under extreme political pressure. I'm not

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1062213855840561912003-08-29T20:24:00.000-07:002003-08-29T20:24:15.846-07:00

Spotted in the comments section of a political weblog- "How long will it be before the Rethuglican talking points turn to the topic that Bush should be entitled to a third term because he was not elected for the first one?"

peternoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1061786467865994332003-08-24T21:41:00.000-07:002003-08-24T21:41:07.800-07:00

From Scottish peace activist Alistair MacIntosh: "War is America's way of learning geography."

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1061593887020982212003-08-22T16:11:00.000-07:002003-08-22T16:11:27.083-07:00

A federal judge has just dismissed the FOX News lawsuit against humorist Al Franken. He had used the line "Fair and Balanced" in the subtitle of his new book, and FOX claimed that it had proprietary rights to the phrase. The blogosphere responded immediately with a flurry of bloggers adding 'Fair and Balanced' to the headers on their sites. Now I can remove that "fair and balanced" line from

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1061352114936399742003-08-19T21:01:00.000-07:002003-08-19T21:08:10.996-07:00

Here's my all-time favorite African email scam letter. This one features a humanitarian angle.... Dear Friend, Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried,but I am assuring you that everything will be well at the end of the day. I have decided to contact you due to the urgency of this transaction. Let me start by introducing myself properly

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1061037426280040172003-08-16T05:37:00.000-07:002003-08-16T05:37:06.213-07:00

Great headline on article by investigative writer Greg Palast: POWER OUTAGE TRACED TO DIM BULB IN WHITE HOUSE

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1060981559577068102003-08-15T14:05:00.000-07:002003-08-15T14:05:57.476-07:00

From BuzzFlash: "In June of 2001, Bush opposed and the congressional GOP voted down legislation to provide $350 million worth of loans to modernize the nation's power grid because of known weaknesses in reliability and capacity. Supporters of the amendment pointed to studies by the Energy Department showing that the grid was in desperate need of upgrades as proof that their legislation sponsored

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1060748275661805132003-08-12T21:17:00.000-07:002003-08-12T21:41:32.256-07:00

A very astute observation about conservative death penalty supporters from Tim Dunlop, Australian blogger: "One thing that always strikes me as weird is that it often seems to be the very people who purport to hate "government" the most, and would't trust it to do anything competently or honestly who are most willing to hand the power of life and death to the very organisation that is the usual

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1060657342328660872003-08-11T20:02:00.000-07:002003-08-11T20:02:22.220-07:00

Jay Leno, regarding the effort now underway to write a constitution for Iraq: "Hey, why don't we send them ours? It worked well for us for over two hundred years . . . and we're not using it anymore . . ."

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1060555248420676902003-08-10T15:40:00.000-07:002003-08-10T15:40:48.346-07:00

"Weblogs are the jungle drums of the Internet age." *Karen Tumulty / Time magazine writer

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1060555174649082732003-08-10T15:39:00.000-07:002003-08-10T15:55:17.823-07:00

Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan: "The checks and balances in the Constitution must have been designed with this administration in mind."

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1060492040208019882003-08-09T22:07:00.000-07:002003-08-09T22:53:40.026-07:00

The field seems to be narrowing in the race for Governor of California; there are only 136 entries at the moment. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be simpler, cheaper, and perhaps wiser to just hold a lottery- why not pick a random name out of the 33.9 million left coast residents and let the winner govern? I was following the campaign of filmaker Brian Jennings for awhile- he was running on

peternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5664349.post-1060487455956324542003-08-09T20:50:00.000-07:002003-08-12T14:17:46.620-07:00

I learned recently that my old blogsite 'E-Town' shared its name with a very cool radio program hosted by Nick and Helen Forster out in Boulder, CO. Their show aims to create a strong community that shares environmental and social values through music and conversation. So as to avoid confusion and spare those folks the embarassment of being identified with the author of the incoherent

peternoreply@blogger.com1