The end is near!

[tugmoose]

This is getting way too deep.

 

Can't we go back to: "My side rules!!! Your side drools!!!"?

[jenbobblehead]

I has voted.

[Spawn's dad]

I support a breakdown of the two-party system, so I'm always rooting for third party candidates to make a dent. This year, though, none of the alternative candidates better represent my values than one of the major party candidates, so there's no compelling reason for me to cast a symbolic vote.

 

 

I'd go gay for you.

 

 

 

(how's that tugmoose?)

[sweetheart-mine]

But look at what kind of society the federal government has to manage now. There are logistic elements that are much more complex. There are many theoretical forms of government that can work effectively over a population of a certain size. Anarchism, or more simply a total egalitarian system can work pretty well in a band of a couple dozen people living together. It breaks down once the population increases, and they are exchanging money and so on. I don't mean to say that Libertarianism is as extreme as anarchism, it is just an example.

 

i agree with this. the basic premises of libertarianism are very appealing in many ways, but it could truly work only if most or all people exercising their freedom from laws and so on are honest, trustworthy, and dependable, and treat others as they themselves would want to be treated. most or all people cannot cooperate on that level forever (see, anywhere you look, "human nature"). i think their ability to do it even in small bands of a couple dozen people is rare, never mind in a country of 300 million. (my husband saw his ideals about this smashed to bits firsthand over the course of several years in the '70s, while living in a commune and starting two businesses with no hierarchy in place. disaster, all of it.) besides, i have always worried about what would happen to art in such a set-up!

 

third parties can grow, as several have posted, only from the ground up. they have been dismal failures so far; we're a very long way from seeing any third party produce a viable presidential candidate. i'd like some kind of mix of libertarianism and democracy (maybe amounting to an effective socialist democracy?) but don't see it in the near future.

[Analogman]

my husband saw his ideals about this smashed to bits firsthand over the course of several years in the '70s, while living in a commune and starting two businesses with no hierarchy in place. disaster, all of it.) besides, i have always worried about what would h

 

?

[Dude]

I has voted.

 

me too. wassup crazy cat lady?

[sweetheart-mine]

?

 

guess i'm stupid today, a-man! i need a word or two . . .

 

 

edit: p.s. oh my, was that jon-benet ramsey?

[Analogman]

guess i'm stupid today, a-man! i need a word or two . . .

 

 

edit: p.s. oh my, was that jon-benet ramsey?

 

That is Dan Haggerty and a child - from the commune scene in Easy Rider.

[sweetheart-mine]

That is Dan Haggerty and a child - from the commune scene in Easy Rider.

 

ahhhhhh, thanks. it's been a while . . . i'll wake up soon.

[Analogman]

Tonight on Hannity's America - Obama & Friends: History of Radicalism Part II.

[Good Old Neon]

Further evidence of the decline of western civilization?

 

Joe the Plumber open to 2010 run

 

Joe Wurzelbacher said he may run for Congress in 2010.(CNN)

[Good Old Neon]

......

 

Palin's 'going rogue,' McCain aide says

 

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (CNN) -- With 10 days until Election Day, long-brewing tensions between GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and key aides to Sen. John McCain have become so intense, they are spilling out in public, sources say.

 

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday.

 

Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."

 

A Palin associate, however, said the candidate is simply trying to "bust free" of what she believes was a damaging and mismanaged roll-out.

 

McCain sources say Palin has gone off-message several times, and they privately wonder whether the incidents were deliberate. They cited an instance in which she labeled robocalls -- recorded messages often used to attack a candidate's opponent -- "irritating" even as the campaign defended their use. Also, they pointed to her telling reporters she disagreed with the campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan. Watch why the campaign is fighting

[Sir Stewart]

That is Dan Haggerty and a child - from the commune scene in Easy Rider.

 

"Hey man - we're eating their food."

[mountain bed]

That is Dan Haggerty and a child - from the commune scene in Easy Rider.

(Not surprisingly) my favorite movie of all times.

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

 

Paul Wellstone died 6 years ago yesterday.

[Edie]

 

Talk about hubris....

 

McCain guarantees victory

Lisa Lerer, Mike Allen Sun Oct 26, 10:34 am ET

 

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday on NBC

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

Zogby is a terrible tracking poll. It's all over the map.

 

(See also that they had Obama leading by 12 points a few days ago, which is also unrealistic).

[explodo]

 

Talk about hubris....

Either that or he knows something we don't. I see three scenarios:

 

1 - He cheats.

2 - October surprise.

3 - Obama wins.

[Edie]

Either that or he knows something we don't. I see three scenarios:

 

1 - He cheats.

2 - October surprise.

3 - Obama wins.

 

Bingo. I am still thinking (3).

 

Does anyone know if these polls (in general) are tracking likely future voters or those that have already voted? I can't seem to find the answer -- and would seem to have an impact on who is winning.

[Gobias Industries]

 

Paul Wellstone died 6 years ago yesterday.

 

What a fiery orator, bless his soul.

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

Bingo. I am still thinking (3).

 

Does anyone know if these polls (in general) are tracking likely future voters or those that have already voted? I can't seem to find the answer -- and would seem to have an impact on who is winning.

Both. Mostly the former, because most people haven't voted yet. One of the kinda stupid things about Zogby is that their likely voter model is always based on the last election in terms of party self-identification. So Zogby's likely voters are made up of an even amount of self-identified Republicans and Democrats (which is what was found in exit surveys in 2004), even though Democrats have a +10% edge in party ID today.

 

Here is some older data on early voters:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/10/oba...-voters-in.html

[lost highway]

[Edie]

Thanks for that Graham. The Zogby poll gets a lot of attention though.

 

Anyway, here's something else that points to a big win for Obama. Why would people bother to show up to see him if they aren't going to vote for him? Certainly, its a metro area and McCain drew 2000 in a smaller city (Mesilla, NM) later that night, but still, the contrast is striking.

 

The crowd disparity on display

 

Via Playbook, a brutal side-by-side yesterday in New Mexico:

 

Crowd for Senator Obama in Albuquerque, N.M., last night: 35,000 inside the venue and another 10,000-15,000 outside.

 

Crowd for Senator McCain in Albuquerque, N.M., yesterday: 1,400 according to the McCain campaign, 1,000 or less according to reporters.

 

What's interesting here is how, as Election Day nears, enthusiasm for McCain as judged by crowd size is seeming to wane. He had more than five times this number in the same city the weekend after the GOP convention. Yes, that was with Palin in tow and yes that was immediately after a convention that energized the base of the party and sparked interest among independents. But, 10 days out from Election Day, McCain should be able to at least approach the crowd he had in September.

[Analogman]

McCain told Brokaw in Waterloo, Iowa, that he feels "like Knute Rockne ... go out there and get one for the Gipper."

 

Reagan was given the nickname Gipper, which lasted throughout his life. Reagan later used the quotation when seeking election as US president.

[mountain bed]

Just to recap, Senator McCain: The Gipper was the progenitor of 'trickle down economics' (aka "voodoo economics"), and we have seen all too clearly how well THAT has worked out over the years. It just fucking KILLS me how that man gets mentioned as one of the great ones.

 

McCain is so obviously delusional. Jeesh.