Category: Politics

From blackboxvoting comes this funny:

P.S. Not that this has anything to do with what we’re discussing (or maybe it does), but there were two separate “I voted” stickers that voters were given after they voted. If you voted electronic, you were given a big gorgeous flag-waving colorful sticker that said something akin to “I Voted Electronically!” If you voted paper, you were given a crappy little sticker that looked like it was made by a low bidder from China with faulty equipment that said “I voted”. I’ll be forever haunted by the interaction I witnessed between one lady and a poll worker. The lady said “I want to vote on a paper ballot. I’ve read that I should use a paper ballot.” The poll worker reached for a paper ballot and started to hand it to the lady, but that’s when the lady saw the two bowls of stickers. She said “Oh, you mean I can’t have one of those stickers unless I vote with the machine?” The poll worker said “Yes, that’s right. Those stickers are for the people who vote with the machines.” The lady looked wistfully downwards, pondering, and then grinned giddily and said “I want to vote electronically!”

For all political junkies this study of the 2004 presidential election by Michael Gastner, Cosma Shalizi, and Mark Newman is extremely interesting.
Update: It seems that the authors have gotten rid of the final histogram which claimed that 302 counties voted nearly fully for Kerry (IIRC >90% of the vote for Kerry.) This was the most interesting part of the article, unfortunately. Still an interesting article, but not nearly as shocking.

Let’s give a warm welcome to the world’s latest theocracy, the United Christian States of America! All hail our new Commander and Pope, George Bush. Shall we kiss his ring?
On November Second, we learned that over fifty percent of America is totally and completely irrational. Don’t believe me? Go ask that epitome of rationality, a scientist. I know only two scientists who voted for George Bush, out of a sample of a few hundred. This election wasn’t a referendum on George Bush’s first term, as many a pundit would claim, because there is no rational way to argue that his term has been anything but a disaster. Don’t believe me? Ask a scientist. So the reason over fifty percent of America voted for the George Bush must be something a scientist cannot comprehend, and indeed it was: that bastion of irrationaly, religion. Ever tried to argue about the theory of evolution with a member of the religious right? Feel strangely familiar to arguing with a Bush supporter? Indeed.
Hearing the election results on November 2nd, the first thought which crossed my mind was that I wished that those who have not educated themselves enough to be able to put a rational thought together were banned from enjoying the benefits of the brilliant scientists who have advanced society. But that thought is too harsh. Instead, we must think about how to turn that irrational fifty percent into rational coherent human beings. It’s surely one of the reasons I want to end up as a teaching professor. And you, my dear audience, you a bastion of rationality, you should not shrink in expressing your disdain for the irrational. Let us drive out the idiot out of America, not by physically revolting, but by teaching America how to think coherently.

Let it be known, to the legions of Catholic readers of this blog, that the Quantum Pontiff endorses John Kerry over George Bush in the United States presidential election. That’s right, you heard it here first, the (*ahem* Quantum) Pope endorses John Kerry!

Have I been asleep while the following argument has sprung up among Republicans: the war on Iraq is right because the death and destruction is occuring in Iraq and not in America. Bush used this argument at least two times and after the debate I saw Giuliani make exactly the same argument.
I must have been asleep.
On another note, I was able to mimic Bush almost word for word on a few questions before he answered the questions. It’s like he’s become a song. Or maybe just a broken record.

Among voters 18-29, Kerry leads Bush by a margin of 53% to 33% (Zogby, July 30th.) Thus if Bush wins I can claim either (a) it’s not my generation’s fault because a landslide of us voted for Kerry or I can claim that (b) it’s my generation’s fault because we supported Kerry by a landslide but if only my generation had higher turnout then Kerry would have won.

I will tell you once and only once that Fafblog is the best blog currently running. In fact it is so good that I think it may be written by someone with the last name of Wiggin.

If you want your vote to count, shouldn’t you move from a state where the election won’t be close, to one where it will be close?