He Makes a Good Point

Ramsin Canon at the Gaper's Block blog Mechanics aruges that we really don't have a good idea of what constitutes a 'good' Democrat, and this lack is a major problem when it comes to defining what the party is for and how we are to judge it.

There is a flaw in the motto "Elect More, and Better, Democrats." This motto of the liberal netroots--as a handy shorthand for the current generation of liberal activists--was laid out originally by Markos Moulitsas and adopted to various degrees by the other major netroots networks and organizations.

The flaw is the word "better". With no real left ideology (and therefore, no attendant analysis of the current political and economic situation) there is no real way to gauge what makes a "better" Democrat. With no definition of "better" in this context, we are left with "Elect more Democrats;" not only this, but without an ideology--an analysis--we can't gauge legislative progress--meaning we will never know when we have "enough" Democrats. Electing more Democrats is not a worthwhile goal until we know what makes a politician a "good" or "better" Democrat.

That is to say, without a party-independent movement capable of providing analysis of current political and social crises, we'll end up with a constant tension between those who think espousal of particular issues, versus partisan loyalty, define "progress", "the left" or "progressivism".

It's worth a full read, which you should go give it.

Another Reason to Dislike Disney

Via Aaron Williams of Nodwick fame is a video showing how many "classic" Disney movies (ya know, the ones that seemed to make the least coherent sense) really just reused scenes from each other.

An Observed Phenomenon

Previous screeds of my past blog aside, I do have a number of current and former sorority women as friends on Facebook, and this only increased as I began my current program of study. Over the past few months I have noticed something: a disturbing (and annoying) percentage of them have their presumed middle names listed instead of their last names. Admittedly, this does not affect the sorting algorithm for Facebook, as the site alphabetizes by first name, but for the first month or so that this was going on it was somewhat confusing when, instead of seeing stuff about Jane Doe on my news feed, I get stories about a Jane Sue when I am certain I have never friended anyone with a last name of Sue.

No one has told my why this is going on, as I try to stay on the periphery of such social groups and have not asked directly. However, my best guess is that it's some cutesy attempt to keep people, like job recruiters or admissions officers, from finding their profiles and seeing everything that can be seen there. Using the friend list and other privacy features, not to mention de-tagging all those underage drinking photos, would be a better means of doing this, though, so I am not sure my guess is correct. Anyone know what's really going on?

Number 6 is Dead

(Via the Tribune) Patrick McGoohan died today at the age of 80. While not as well-known to more mainline sci-fi geeks as the passing of Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, it's significant to those of us who are familiar with The Prisoner, a rather surreal ITV show produced and starring McGoohan. For those who haven't watched the show, AMC (which is remaking the series) has put all 17 episodes online. If you've not seen it before, you should go watch it, and be surprised at the little references to the show that you'll recognize in later TV and movies.

I'm Not Sure What to Say

Other than that this webcomic is both profound and disturbing.

If I Were a Fangirl, I'd Squee

The new Star Trek movie trailer is up here. (You'll want to click on Trailer 2.)

UPDATE: Here's an official-looking YouTube video of the trailer.

Viral Election Funness

Via Aaron Williams, the guy who draws Nodwick (if you have to ask, you're not a gamer), comes a link to this YouTube video synchronizing the three 2008 Presidential Debates.

Of course, these guys were helped immensely by the fact that the second debate was a complete retread of the first. Can we do away with the "Town Hall" format, please? We never get anything new out of it.

Because Everyone Needs a Laugh

Your daily dose of humor, courtesy of a CNN.com story on Windows 7:

Addressing another complaint about Vista, Microsoft said Windows 7 will be faster and need less memory to run.

You may now resume your regularly scheduled web browsing.

Attention Forum Posters

Punctuation is a good thing. Ellipses do not properly end a sentence. Paragraphs are also good, especially ones that have logical internal structures.

I mean, for a message board that's geared towards people obtaining or possessing college educations, I have to wonder how so many of you passed high school English.

The Sillier Side of the Election

Weebl, of Weebl and Bob, was initially swayed by Oldy McDodderington's choice of running mate, but Bob, with the help of one of Hopey McChange-Pants's rallies, was able to bring Weebl around. Go watch and be amused.

Using and Abusing Advertising Tropes

Via SusanG at DailyKos comes this video from MoveOn. It's both effective and hilarious.

I Dunno Who Made This...

But it sure does a lot to link John McCain to the economy after a week when he wanted no part of it.

***WARNING: Those who are prohibited from listening to PG-13 language should not watch this clip.***

Keating Economics

Here's the documentary the Obama campaign put out on the web to counter the Bill Ayers BS.



There's sitting on a charity board with a reformed extreme leftist, and then there's this... which do you think the American people will actually care about?

One of the Sad Things About My Surgery

Is that talking like a pirate requires making lots of noise in the back of the throat, which is rather painful for me right now.

Anonymous Headroom

A message from Anonymous to the leaders of the Scientology organization.


Note: if the above video has been taken down by YouTube, please see it here instead.

Taking Stock of the Situation

Under the headline "Kids and Stocks", cnn.com has a video on teaching your kids about the stock market.

So, what does it say about me that the thought which popped into my head after reading that headline was of a Pythonesque "man on the street" segment about the general public's support for putting children and teenagers into stockades?

(And yes, the "Who has the money nowadays (ever?) to let their kids play on the stock market?" comments are entirely appropriate for this post.)

It's Amazing What You Find

Apparently Tom Skilling is looking for a new minion.

Because I've Neglected This Blog Way Too Much

Here's a map of the states of the Union which I have set foot in.

My Visited US States

Get your own Visited US States Map from Travel Blog

Now isn't that spiffy?

More Biology Viral Videos Ads

Not to be outdone by Bio-Rad, Eppendorf now has a viral advert for their automated pipetting system. While funny, it doesn't have any lines that top "PCR: when you need to know who the daddy is."

Missed One

Sports Illustrated online has a photo-essay up on the most difficult things to do in sports. They left out scoring a riposte in competition Sabre fencing, which is so rare that it when it occurs, it is announced to all present at the event.