Mr. Obama might a slight verbal gaffe while talking to the Congressional Black Caucus over the weekend:
If asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a Jew, uh, as a janitor makes me a warrior for the working class, I wear that with a badge of honor. I have no problem with that.
I'm not sure how one confuses the two words (other than they both start with "J"). I suspect Mr. Obama was more rattled by the NY-9 election that he is letting on. But regardless, the optics of it don't look particularly good (especially given the long Anti-Semitic tirades regarding Jews and money).
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Car Talk Puzzler
A man drives to work one fall morning and sees a sign that displays the temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. While he's at work, a strong cold front moves through the city and the temperature drops like a stone. On the way home, curious to see how badly the temperature dropped, the man looks at the sign again. The temperature in Fahrenheit has dropped 36 degrees. But he notices that the temperature in Celsius is exactly the same as that morning. The man shakes his head and assumes that there was just a problem with the sign. There was in fact a small glitch with the sign.
What was the glitch with the sign and what were the temperatures from that morning and that afternoon?
Answers (highlight):
The minus sign on the Celsius temperature was burned out.
Morning: 50F/10C
Afternoon: 14F/-10C
What was the glitch with the sign and what were the temperatures from that morning and that afternoon?
Answers (highlight):
The minus sign on the Celsius temperature was burned out.
Morning: 50F/10C
Afternoon: 14F/-10C
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
More Earthquakes
Well, we didn't get the big earthquake in North America on Thursday, but things are going to hell around the rest of the world.
Within a span of 24 hours, the four points of the ring of fire were hit between Sept. 14 and 15:
Valparaiso, Chile - 7:00, 9/14 - 5.9
Aleutian Islands, Alaska - 18:00, 9/14 - 6.1
New Zealand - 8:00, 9/15 - 6.0
Honshu, Japan - 8:00, 9/15 - 6.2
Then, about an hour and a half after the 188.5 window, there was a 7.3 off Fiji.
What's more, there has been huge earthquake swarm near Sendai, Japan with four magnitude 5's and two magnitude 6's within a span of 3.5 hours today.
The 188.5 theory may not have fully panned out but something is definitely up. This level of energy being released in suggestive of something.
Within a span of 24 hours, the four points of the ring of fire were hit between Sept. 14 and 15:
Valparaiso, Chile - 7:00, 9/14 - 5.9
Aleutian Islands, Alaska - 18:00, 9/14 - 6.1
New Zealand - 8:00, 9/15 - 6.0
Honshu, Japan - 8:00, 9/15 - 6.2
Then, about an hour and a half after the 188.5 window, there was a 7.3 off Fiji.
What's more, there has been huge earthquake swarm near Sendai, Japan with four magnitude 5's and two magnitude 6's within a span of 3.5 hours today.
The 188.5 theory may not have fully panned out but something is definitely up. This level of energy being released in suggestive of something.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Ohio's New Districts
This is only preliminary but I don't think there will be too many changes. I don't like it.
The deal that was reached is obviously that one Republican and one Democrat will go away. In this case, Marcy Kaptur (D) loses her district to Dennis Kucinich (D). Ms. Kaptur would then have to go through Bob Latta (R) but with all the Democratic votes staying in 9, Ms. Kaptur is likely a dead woman walking.
On the Republican side, District 3 and District 7 are completely moved, pitting their two representatives, Mike Turner (R) and Steve Austria (R), against each other. As Austria is the newbie and Turner has the city of Dayton behind him, Turner will probably get the nod to take over.
Splitting the difference is the new District 16. Cutting up to the outskirts of Cleveland and Akron, it absorbs a lot of what was District 13. This will pit Democrat Betty Sutton against Republican Jim Renacci. District 16 was held by a Democrat following the 2008 election but taken back by the Republicans in 2010. I imagine this district is designed such that Wayne County will keep it Republican, but the proximity to two major metro areas will probably make this a swing district in some years.
The two most appalling things about the map are Districts 1 and 15. It is a simple given that Columbus would be given it's own unique district (that the Democrats will control easily) and the movement of District 3 to here is somewhat understandable. But the twisting and looping done to keep Steve Stivers (R) with a nice Republican district is painful to see.
District 1 is almost worse. District 1 has, and probably always will be, dominated by the city of Cincinnati. However, the district has become much more competitive over the past few years (being held by a Democrat from 2008-2010). The move to attach heavily Republican Warren County (where I live) to District 1 is a blatant move to swing the scales from even to strong Republican. Even worse, despite it's growing population, Warren County will be completely ignored as city issues dominate the plate of the representative (currently Steve Chabot).
The net takeaway is that out of sixteen districts, Democrats will dominate four of them (3, 9, 11, and 13). There will probably be close fights for Districts 6 and 16 and they will go as Ohio and the nation goes. But for the 2012 elections, I would expect that the Republicans will have 12 seats while the Democrats have 4.
The deal that was reached is obviously that one Republican and one Democrat will go away. In this case, Marcy Kaptur (D) loses her district to Dennis Kucinich (D). Ms. Kaptur would then have to go through Bob Latta (R) but with all the Democratic votes staying in 9, Ms. Kaptur is likely a dead woman walking.
On the Republican side, District 3 and District 7 are completely moved, pitting their two representatives, Mike Turner (R) and Steve Austria (R), against each other. As Austria is the newbie and Turner has the city of Dayton behind him, Turner will probably get the nod to take over.
Splitting the difference is the new District 16. Cutting up to the outskirts of Cleveland and Akron, it absorbs a lot of what was District 13. This will pit Democrat Betty Sutton against Republican Jim Renacci. District 16 was held by a Democrat following the 2008 election but taken back by the Republicans in 2010. I imagine this district is designed such that Wayne County will keep it Republican, but the proximity to two major metro areas will probably make this a swing district in some years.
The two most appalling things about the map are Districts 1 and 15. It is a simple given that Columbus would be given it's own unique district (that the Democrats will control easily) and the movement of District 3 to here is somewhat understandable. But the twisting and looping done to keep Steve Stivers (R) with a nice Republican district is painful to see.
District 1 is almost worse. District 1 has, and probably always will be, dominated by the city of Cincinnati. However, the district has become much more competitive over the past few years (being held by a Democrat from 2008-2010). The move to attach heavily Republican Warren County (where I live) to District 1 is a blatant move to swing the scales from even to strong Republican. Even worse, despite it's growing population, Warren County will be completely ignored as city issues dominate the plate of the representative (currently Steve Chabot).
The net takeaway is that out of sixteen districts, Democrats will dominate four of them (3, 9, 11, and 13). There will probably be close fights for Districts 6 and 16 and they will go as Ohio and the nation goes. But for the 2012 elections, I would expect that the Republicans will have 12 seats while the Democrats have 4.
Major Earthquake Today?
I first learned about this back in April, but since today is the target day, I thought I would mention it to see if anything actually happens. In the past year, there has been a significant earthquake at 3 of the 4 points of the "Ring of Fire" with each earthquake occurring 188.5 days after the last.
Things began with the 8.8 magnitude Chilean earthquake on Feb. 27, 2010, 06:34 UTC.
Then came the 7.1 magnitude Christchurch earthquake on Sept. 4, 2010. However, if you measure per UTC time, the earthquake occurred on Sept. 3, 2010, 16:35 UTC. This was the primary earthquake that caused a great deal of devastation, although all of the deaths there occurred in the large aftershock on Feb. 22, 2011.
After this came the 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, 05:46 UTC.
If you measure these out at universal time, each occurs 188.5 days apart (plus or minus a couple hours) going around the Ring of Fire in a clockwise pattern. Going forward from this, the fourth and last point to be hit would be the west coast of North America on Sept. 15, 2011, ~17:00-18:00 UTC (That would be between 9 and 10 AM PDT).
Of course, earthquakes don't behave in regular patterns so the viability of this is highly questionable. But it is certainly worth watching for. Once is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. If a major quake does happen today, it is suggestive of a pattern of some kind. What that pattern means though is beyond me.
Things began with the 8.8 magnitude Chilean earthquake on Feb. 27, 2010, 06:34 UTC.
Then came the 7.1 magnitude Christchurch earthquake on Sept. 4, 2010. However, if you measure per UTC time, the earthquake occurred on Sept. 3, 2010, 16:35 UTC. This was the primary earthquake that caused a great deal of devastation, although all of the deaths there occurred in the large aftershock on Feb. 22, 2011.
After this came the 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, 05:46 UTC.
If you measure these out at universal time, each occurs 188.5 days apart (plus or minus a couple hours) going around the Ring of Fire in a clockwise pattern. Going forward from this, the fourth and last point to be hit would be the west coast of North America on Sept. 15, 2011, ~17:00-18:00 UTC (That would be between 9 and 10 AM PDT).
Of course, earthquakes don't behave in regular patterns so the viability of this is highly questionable. But it is certainly worth watching for. Once is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. If a major quake does happen today, it is suggestive of a pattern of some kind. What that pattern means though is beyond me.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Jewish Anger Upsets Democrat
You may not have heard about it, but there were two special elections last night for vacant House seats. NV-2 was previously held by a Republican and it stayed Republican to no one's great surprise. The big news came out of the other race in NY-9.
NY-9 is out on Long Island and covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens. It was last held by Anthony Weiner who resigned due to some sexual indiscretions. Given that, it was naturally assumed that the Democrat (David Weprin) was expected to have a closer than usual race against Republican Bob Turner (Weiner defeated Turner by 9 points in 2010).
However, two things cropped up. President Obama's approval rating (down across the country) has heavily cratered in this district (31/56) and this is leading to Democratic anger and apathy, buoying the Republican hopes. The other is that like most New York City districts, NY-9 is heavily gerrymandered to favor a particular ethnic group. In this case, Orthodox Jews.
Jewish voters do tend to be stereotypically liberal, but the combination of Weiner's moral issues, the bad economic situation, and Mr. Obama's stance that favors the Arabs over Israel have pushed these voters into either apathy (leading to staying home) or a direct vote against the establishment.
Democrat National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz tried out some interesting contortions by trying to claim that NY-9 is a very difficult district for Democrats to win. Given that a Republican has not won the district since the administration of Warren G. Harding, and that it has produced such Democratic notables as Chuck Schumer and Geraldine Ferraro, this is a bit hard to swallow. Ms. Wasserman Schultz's claim that this due primarily to the large Orthodox Jewish voting bloc is also a bit unsettling (especially given her own Jewish faith).
Time will tell if this really means anything for 2012. If the economy improves, I foresee that the Democrats will take the district back without much trouble. But if it does not, more districts might fall and it could spell certain doom for Mr. Obama's reelection chances.
NY-9 is out on Long Island and covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens. It was last held by Anthony Weiner who resigned due to some sexual indiscretions. Given that, it was naturally assumed that the Democrat (David Weprin) was expected to have a closer than usual race against Republican Bob Turner (Weiner defeated Turner by 9 points in 2010).
However, two things cropped up. President Obama's approval rating (down across the country) has heavily cratered in this district (31/56) and this is leading to Democratic anger and apathy, buoying the Republican hopes. The other is that like most New York City districts, NY-9 is heavily gerrymandered to favor a particular ethnic group. In this case, Orthodox Jews.
Jewish voters do tend to be stereotypically liberal, but the combination of Weiner's moral issues, the bad economic situation, and Mr. Obama's stance that favors the Arabs over Israel have pushed these voters into either apathy (leading to staying home) or a direct vote against the establishment.
Democrat National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz tried out some interesting contortions by trying to claim that NY-9 is a very difficult district for Democrats to win. Given that a Republican has not won the district since the administration of Warren G. Harding, and that it has produced such Democratic notables as Chuck Schumer and Geraldine Ferraro, this is a bit hard to swallow. Ms. Wasserman Schultz's claim that this due primarily to the large Orthodox Jewish voting bloc is also a bit unsettling (especially given her own Jewish faith).
Time will tell if this really means anything for 2012. If the economy improves, I foresee that the Democrats will take the district back without much trouble. But if it does not, more districts might fall and it could spell certain doom for Mr. Obama's reelection chances.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Goodbye Michele
Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was always something of a long shot in the Presidential race. No President has been elected from the House save James Garfield in 1880.
However what little chance she had (and the better shot at the VP slot) got flushed down the drain in her post-debate comments regarding the link between vaccines and mental retardation. Mrs. X has kept me up to date on these things over the years and this stuff falls into the realm of chemtrails, HAARP, and the lizard-people government.
Mrs. Bachmann will probably try to walk this back and do damage control but when you speak words that people would normally associate with Ron Paul, I think your goose is officially cooked.
However what little chance she had (and the better shot at the VP slot) got flushed down the drain in her post-debate comments regarding the link between vaccines and mental retardation. Mrs. X has kept me up to date on these things over the years and this stuff falls into the realm of chemtrails, HAARP, and the lizard-people government.
Mrs. Bachmann will probably try to walk this back and do damage control but when you speak words that people would normally associate with Ron Paul, I think your goose is officially cooked.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Friday, September 02, 2011
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Nominee Nicknames
With the Republican primary starting to get settled, things are heating up between the various groups of followers. One of the most amusing things to come out of this is the nicknames that get applied to the various followers.
In many ways, this started with the Ron Paul followers. Their obsessive nature in promoting Mr. Paul gave an opening for giving them a cult-like following name. The settled name seems to be Ronulans (although I've also seen Paulbots). I rather liked that one.
The followers of Sarah Palin (sticking with her for a 2012 run since 2008) have been affectionately named "Palinistas".
Mitt Romney's followers haven't fully settled on a name yet. Mittbots seems to be the most common although I've also seen Romneyites and plays on gloves (playing off Romney's derisive nickname of "Mittens")
As Rick Perry has only recently gotten it, his followers aren't really settled in either. I did see one that I thought was quite funny: Perrykrishnas. I've also seen Perrykins.
I've not seen enough support for Bachmann in the blogs I visit to see any particular nicknames for her followers. I would suggest that portents a great deal for the length of her candidacy.
If I see any other good names, I'll add them to the list.
In many ways, this started with the Ron Paul followers. Their obsessive nature in promoting Mr. Paul gave an opening for giving them a cult-like following name. The settled name seems to be Ronulans (although I've also seen Paulbots). I rather liked that one.
The followers of Sarah Palin (sticking with her for a 2012 run since 2008) have been affectionately named "Palinistas".
Mitt Romney's followers haven't fully settled on a name yet. Mittbots seems to be the most common although I've also seen Romneyites and plays on gloves (playing off Romney's derisive nickname of "Mittens")
As Rick Perry has only recently gotten it, his followers aren't really settled in either. I did see one that I thought was quite funny: Perrykrishnas. I've also seen Perrykins.
I've not seen enough support for Bachmann in the blogs I visit to see any particular nicknames for her followers. I would suggest that portents a great deal for the length of her candidacy.
If I see any other good names, I'll add them to the list.
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