] the geekiest protest sign

[ Nice. -k]

PHOTO: When Nerds Protest The RNC.

1. Bush is right. You cannot win the war on terror any better then you can win the war on drugs.
2. People do not understand that and do not want to hear it.
3. Edwards is intentionally taking his statement out of context. Nothing about saying you can't "win" the war on terror admits defeat in the war on terror. Its not binary.
4. People will believe Edwards.

[ What Bush said *is* correct, but Edwards didn't take it out of context :

] "We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror
] and bring peace to the world."
]
] -- George W. Bush
] July 30th 2004.

I think Edwards is being silly. Your comparison to the war on drugs is appropo. Still, I don't think Bush knows what the fuck he's talking about either. -k]

Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | President admits war on terror cannot be won

These guys are of the "I'm so far left I think the Taliban were in the right and should still be in power" side of the fence. I usually hate those guys. Then again, those guys usually think disabling a bus is an act of speech.

In this case I found them entertaining. These signs are cool. I guess its because I have respect for real acts of speech. Particularly when they are subversive, without being coercive.

FREEWAYBLOGGER.com - Free Speech: Use It or Lose It

] But on CNN,
] Senator Saxby Chambliss, a Georgia Republican who
] previously served on the House panel with Mr. Bereuter,
] said, "Doug has the right to his opinion, and that is
] what makes our country so great."

Dude, you sound like your trying to convince yourself. Like you want to have him arrested, but you can't, and you're reminding yourself why...

The New York Times - Republican Now Opposes War in Iraq

] During the demonstration of the Sequoia machine last
] week, the machine worked fine when the company tested
] votes using an English-language ballot. But when the
] testers switched to a Spanish-language ballot, the paper
] trail showed no votes cast for two propositions.

] "It was our fault for not proofing the Spanish language
] ballot before demonstrating it," Charles said. "We had
] a demo ballot that we designed in a hurry that didn't
] include all of the files that we needed to have the
] machine present all of the voter's selections on the
] screen and the printed ballots. That would never
] happen in an election environment because of all the
] proofing that election officials do."

A lack of QA might pick our next president.

Wired News: Wrong Time for an E-Vote Glitch

noteworthy wrote:

] How much does he think the addition of French and German
] soldiers would have improved things?

That, btw, is a very stupid question. Countries like France, Germany, and Canada are not terribly useful in terms of the amount of actual soldiers and military hardware that they provide. The equipment and troops they do provide are not useless, and the sacrifices made by those men and women should be respected as one would respect any soldier's sacrifice. But ultimately, its about money.

Those countries provide significant amounts of financing to cover the operational costs of large U.S. troop deployments that they support. Lack of solid international support for Iraq ][ has significatly increased our national deficit. And an unlikely future scenario (which Al Q certainly hopes for) would be a rift between Europe and the US which was so deep that anti-terror efforts would loose international financial support. The U.S. would have significant difficulty paying for operations without causing major impacts on livelyhood back home. The economy would suffer. Flexibility would be limited.

[ Agreed, but it's not Iraq v2.0 in isolation that boosted the defecit... all those tax cuts we made, concurrent with a vastly expensive war (and much more than projections) that really turned it to 11.

Also, on top of what decius said, I think the involvment of other nations was as important for the issue of credibility as any tangible aid. If the was had been executed under the auspices of NATO, the UN, all of Europe, etc. it'd deflect some of the rampant anti-americanism, even within the region. Just an opinion I have, though, and we'll never know at this stage. -k]

RE: About That Iraq Vote

] If the presidential race were a financial market and
] George W. Bush were a stock, would you buy or sell? Would
] you be a bull or bear when trading shares in candidate
] John Kerry?
]
] ...
]
] It so happens this year's presidential race is the basis
] of a real electronic futures market. Run by the
] University of Iowa's Henry B. Tippie business school, the
] futures market really lets investors put their money
] where their vote is.

[ Wow. UIowa also has a market right now which is based on predicting the final (real) market cap of Google, post-IPO, among others. Kind of an interesting concept. Apparently a very accurate predictor. -k]

Columns: In this presidential poll, it pays to be ahead

] Intel Executive Vice President Leslie Vadasz told the
] committee that Hollings' idea was a brain-dead approach
] that ignored Silicon Valley's concerns in favor of those
] raised by Hollywood lobbyists.
]
] Kerry's advice? "We might need to legislate," he said,
] ignoring Vadasz's objections.

I think I've mentioned before that Kerry's website sort of flirted with the copyright maximalists. Well, turns out he supported the Fritz Chip. He also seems to like Key Escrow. Now I do think tech issues are a side item in this election. I'm not voting on them. Nor do I think Bush's stances are any better. But if Kerry wins, don't expect any changes in this regard.

[ I definitely think that while removing Bush serves the greater good, we're still gonna have to keep a close eye on what kerry is up to, and be willing to address concerns with our reps on lots of things. I guess i'm sort of in baby-steps mode... one hurdle at a time, but it probably makes sense to start keeping a list of potential concerns with a K/E administration. -k]

John Kerry's real tech agenda | Perspectives | CNET News.com

] "Bush has created more harm to this country's standing
] and security than any president in history," Trudeau
] said. "What a shame the world has to suffer the
] consequences of Dubya not getting enough approval from
] Dad."

Ouch!

[ Trudeau certainly has no love for W. The Doonesbury representation of GWB is freaking perfect, like so many of the characters. An asterisk with a cowboy hat... it's just right on. -k]

Yahoo! News - 'Doonesbury' Artist Trudeau Skewers Bush

] ... he castigated the group's officers, who include
] President Kweisi Mfume and Chairman Julian Bond. "I would
] describe my relationship with the current leadership as
] basically nonexistent," Bush said, as reported by Knight
] Ridder Newspapers. "You've heard the rhetoric and the
] names they've called me."

[ Awwwwwwwww... those meanies!

Seriously, how childish can you be? Will his next trick be to refer to the pope as a doodoo-head and refuse to play on the same side of the schoolyard? Or did that already happen... i can hardly keep track. -k]

Bush Criticizes NAACP's Leadership (washingtonpost.com)