Moved To Different Blog
Now Playing: Beatles - "Let It Be"
i have started a new and improved blog called thinking outside the box.

check it out!

I Met Howard Dean!
Now Playing: Interpol - "Turn On The Bright Lights" LP
i met howard dean on July 6, 2004:



that's me, spikey head, white shirt, silly grin, camera in my left hand.

it was amazing finally meeting the man (the best presidential candidate in decades), the myth (he's not really that angry), the legend (he will continue making his mark on american politics for years to come).

now, i'm proud to say that i'm a howard dean fan. i still have a dean for president sign on the dashboard of my car. it's faded from the hours in the sun, but it's a simple way to show my continued support.

he spoke a democratic fundraiser in los angeles and he only spoke for a few moments, but he was incredible. his words carried confidence and conviction.

his message was simple: voting isn't enough.

we need to vote, register others to vote, volunteer a few hours of time each week, donate money to campaigns, keep talking to people, stay active.

the message was simple. grassroots efforts aren't some populist pipe-dream. it can really work. and we can finally take back our country.

Commentary: 'Friends'
'Friends' is finally over.

Thank god.


I remember watching this show in high school and it was borderline dumb back then. I checked in on 'Friends' every once in a while during college and my fears were confirmed: 'Friends' is pretty lame.

The series finale was pretty lackluster. Everything was wrapped up nicely in a tight little bow. Ross got Rachel, Chandler got his kid(s), Joey gets his spin-off and Phoebe will hopefully disappear forever.

As I was watching, I realized I wished the 'Friends' series finale would've been a little more edgy, a little more exciting. Here's what I wish I had seen:

1. Death: What better way to end the series finale then with a little death? I think one of the twins should have died. That's just me. Chandler never wanted to second kid anyway. He's just going to resent it years from now. Y'know, when the Chandler-Monica variety show hits the air.

2. Foosball: They shouldn't have destroyed it. Why couldn't Joey just take it for his lame spin-off? That would bring back the old times. It would give the writers a chance to make thinly veiled references to 'Friends.' Let's be honest here, Joey is no Fraiser.

3. Rachel To Paris: Why are all these TV chicks running off to Paris? (That lady from that Sex And The City show ran off to Paris too, didn't she?). Rachel should have ran off to Paris. That would've been awesome. Leave Ross crying at the boarding gate. That would've taken some balls from the writers.


Oh well. Enough pop-culture obsession.

In Retrospect: A Shout And He's Out
I hate to say it, but the downfall of the campaign really was Howard Dean's exuberance after the Iowa Caucus.

There really wasn't anything wrong with Dean's yelp, but it cemented a lot of perceptions that the general population had with Dean.


The general population is filled with political morons. Honestly, people don't really pay attention to the campaign until the conventions or at least their own primaries.

Leading up to Dean's shout, the general population basically heard the following about Dean:

a. Wacky Vermont governor who likes gay people.
b. Has a blog with lots of technology savvy donors.
c. Is the frontrunner
d. Possibly has a temper.

The perception was that Dean was a tempermental guy. A loose cannon. On the edge of losing it.

Nevermind the fact that he is a cool and collected doctor who is just pissed off like the rest of us at the Bush Administration.

The perception was that Howard Dean was angry. And once that Iowa speech happened, everyone and their cousins media outlet picked it up.

The internet was abuzz with talks about the 'scream.' Late night comedians joked about the 'scream.' The media replayed the 'scream' over and over and over and over again. A dance remix of the 'scream' circulated all over the Internet.

For the general population watching a bit of local news or their favorite late night talk show host, the worst was confirmed in their mind: Dean was a crazy, angry man.

But really, was he any more crazy or angry than George W. Bush?

Nevermind that.

Dean is unelectable, not presidential.

Of course, what the fuck is presidential? Sending thousands of troops into a nation to find weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist? Endorsing the Patriot Act? Attempting to preserve the "sanctity" of marriage? Lying to the public? Ignoring domestic policy? Ruining our relations with our allies?


Nevertheless, with that shout, Howard Dean was out. He would not be able to recover in New Hampshire and in other states. He managed to win Vermont, which was a nice consolation.

But the general population made up their minds.

And so, the most honest and fresh-faced candidate that the people have seen in a long time was gone.

Liberal Bias? Conservative Bias?
The media is a funny thing.

The left-wing fucks will complain about a conservative bias in the media, the right-wing nuts will complain about a liberal bias in the media.

I happen to be a left-wing fuck and so I will tend to say that there is a conservative bias in the media. And with the way you see the media jump all over Clinton(s), Howard Dean, etc., etc. you might see my point.

But basically, there is really no bias. The media is just lazy.


Fact checking, journalistic integrity, ethics? That is out the window for a lot of media outlets.

Someone in some local newspaper will take a quote out of context, the local talk radio host will pick up that story and talk about it, then the national talk show hosts, then national TV picks up on the news, and next thing you know the story is so horribly misconstrued you don't know what the fuck really happened.

It's like playing telephone when you were a kid.


At the end, all the damage control won't help because of the general perception and any retractions or corrections won't help because they end up being buried by the paper or the network.

Nobody likes to admit being wrong.


Stupid media.

John Kerry Is A Robot
"On the blistering cold evening of December 11, 1943, high atop the mountains of Colorado, political magic was happening.

But it was not in a boardroom, nor a secret hideout of the Illuminati, but rather a factory. Inside that cavernous steel realm, John Kerry was created.

Some clever political spin doctors may attribute his cold, patrician demeanor to his Northeast aristocratic upbringing or his Yale education. But they fail in their assessments.

The reason John Kerry seems emotionless and stoic is because John Kerry is a robot."

http://www.deadbodiesinc.com/john_kerry_robot.php




John Kerry is definitely a robot. The same speeches, the same trite phrases, the coldness, the lack of passion in his voice. He is the salesman that doesn't believe in the product.

He has been fed so many lines by his staff, he really doesn't know what or who to believe any more. I don't see the passion in his eyes. Just cold steel. He is merely a robot.

Still Voting For Howard Dean
Yep.

That's right.

I'm still voting for Howard Dean.

Throwing away my vote? Why not just vote for Kerry/Edwards? Support the Democratic party? Get Bush out of office?

FUCK YOU.


I am not burying my beliefs and my principles under a pile of political bullshit.

I am NOT throwing away my vote. My vote is for me. And I will vote for whoever the fuck I want to vote for.

Just support Kerry and Edwards? Fuck no. If Edwards wins the nomination, I just might vote for him in the general election.

But no way I'm voting for John Kerry.

See: Patriot Act, voting record, lies, career politician, special interest money, will cave to big businesses just like Dubya, botox.

People who think that they're going to get something different from Kerry are sadly mistaken. They're getting a Bush-lite.

The Democratic party? They can piss off. I am a liberal, but I am no Democrat. Especially when the party is convinced that some fuck-face like John Kerry is the answer to our prayers against Dubya. Kerry will get creamed if he gets to the general election.

And honestly, i hope the Democrats do get creamed because tons of things need to change in the party.


I hate George W. Bush. I want to get him out of office. But not for some punk like John Kerry who is basically going to be a lighter version of Bush with an equally piss-poor foreign and domestic plan.


I am still fighting to get my nation back and I am going to do it by supporting Howard Dean. And if you think about it... you will too.


Too bad you have to think.

Frontrunner Kerry Denies Extramarital Affair
(02-15-2004) - U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry on Friday denied a report that he had had an extramarital affair with a young woman.

Asked about the report by Internet Web site operator Matt Drudge, Kerry told reporters on his campaign: "I just deny it categorically. It's rumor. It's untrue. Period."

After denying the report, Kerry added: "And that's the last time I intend to."

Drudge, who broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal involving former President Bill Clinton, on Thursday said Kerry had had a two-year relationship, beginning in early 2001, with a young woman who had since left the country.


http://www.kfmb.com/topstory22403.html


I love Bill Clinton as much as the next person, but does the Democratic party need another person beset with controversy and scandal?

For once, I want the BEST candidate to win. Not the one that is most electable, not the one with the most momentum at the time, not the one who acts "presidential" all the time...

No, I want the BEST candidate for the United States of America. A candidate that will truly challenge a nation and change the world. And I think the BEST candidate is Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.

Kerry = Electability? HA!
There are scattered reports about John Kerry's two year affair with another woman. Rumors have it that Time Magazine and ABC are going to break the story soon.

And you're telling me a scream isn't presidential?

Don't count out Howard Dean. To borrow a phrase from John Kerry: we have only begun to fight! ;)

Kerried Away - The myth and math of Kerry's electability.
By By William Saletan

http://slate.msn.com/id/2095311/

"By media consensus, the race for the Democratic presidential nomination is over.

Why? Because John Kerry has won 12 of the 14 primaries and caucuses held so far. And why has Kerry won these contests?

Not because voters agree with him on the issues. The reason, according to exit polls, is that voters think he's the candidate most likely to beat President Bush.

There's just one problem: The same polls suggest this may not be true."




If John Kerry is the Democratic nominee, he will get destroyed in November. Honestly, only Howard Dean really has a sporting chance against Dubya.

Anyone who decides to dig deeper past the alleged "temper" and the scream, will realize that Howard Dean is miles more electable than Kerry.