Thursday, 08 May 2008
The AP covers the Indiana election, and finds the state’s voter ID law worked pretty well:
About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.Which they could have obtained for free. If you don’t want to follow the rules, yadda yadda... (And by the way, props to Sister Julie!)
Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.
Despite trying to write the story that wasn’t there...
...voting appeared to run smoothly, despite the fears of some elections experts that the Supreme Court's recent refusal to strike down Indiana's controversial photo identification law could cause confusion at the polls....and blame any problems on the usual (unreasonable, mean-spirited, paranoid) suspects...
The Republican-led effort was designed to combat ballot fraud, said supporters, who also have acknowledged that no case involving someone impersonating a voter at the polls has ever been prosecuted[1] in Indiana.even the AP didn’t find much to report.
...a group of voting rights advocates that established a separate hot line reported receiving several calls from would-be voters who were turned away at precincts because they lacked state or federal identification bearing a photograph.(Note: “severalâ€==“not very many.â€)
One newly married woman said she was told she couldn't vote because her driver's license name didn't match the one on her voter registration record...So let’s see, which one didn’t you update: your license or your voter’s registration? Sounds like a case of poor planning to me.
Another woman said she was turned away from casting her first-ever ballot because she had only a college-issued ID card and an out-of-state driver's license...And just which state is your official residence, dearie? Clue: Being a college student doesn’t mean you get to vote twice.
...about a dozen college students at Notre Dame, Butler University and Indiana University said they were told at the polls they didn't have the right form of identificationAnd “college students†should have been smart enough to obtain the documents required. I call shenanigans.
There were a few ID problems (one woman says she wasn’t told that she could vote provisionally), but most glitches involved shortages of ballots.
In southern Jackson County, at least one precinct ran short of ballots and an electronic backup system failed. Poll workers made copies of ballots and planned to hand-count them, which was expected to delay results there.With some precincts’ turnout close to that of general elections, ballot shortages should have been anticipated. But the fact they occurred isn’t surprising. A friend of mine who is a poll worker told me that- because of the different layout of congressional districts, state legislative districts, and municipalities- his precinct had four different ballots, depending on the voter’s address.
Several precincts in northwestern Porter County, where Barack Obama was expected to do well, also ran out of Democratic ballots, and a judge ordered polls to stay open an additional hour.
Still it seems that the fears about voter ID were unfounded. Is anybody really surprised?
Previously: Good news for election integrity
Via: Daily Pundit
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008
Somebody mooned a speedcam in Northumberland, and upset Jeremy goes for the Twit Of the Year[1] Award:
Jeremy Forsberg, of the Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative, said: “This behaviour is simply ridiculous - it’s clear what he was thinking with what he had on show.
“Not only is it disrespectful, but distasteful and offensive, particularly to children who may have been exposed to this nonsense...†- the BBC, who have a picture
More: Geoff compiles a collection of Jeremy quotes, terms him “...a serial abuser of hyperbole, and the penultimate sanctimonious nag.â€
Via: C.G. Hill, who advises:
Get a grip, Jer. The camera could have gotten shot at....or vandalised.[2]
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I guess the real reason Monty Python broke up is, how do you parody that!?
[2] Daily Star link via Michael Williams.
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Tuesday, 06 May 2008
...that man was not meant to wot of.
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Monday, 05 May 2008
Democrats say drilling in ANWR wouldn’t produce any oil for 10 years — the same point they’ve been making for more than 10 years now. - Jay Leno, May 1, 2008...and they’ll be making it for another 10 years, if we let them. (The Heritage Foundation’s Foundry weblog has the links.)
Also: Heard on the radio this morning: “The very people who have done the most to block energy independence are the ones screaming the loudest over high gasoline prices.†[or something like that - o.g.]
Could it be we’re finally achiving critical mass on this issue?
Via: IP
Previously:
Another adult heard from
Drawing attention to the real issues
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Couldn’t have picked a nicer day: Just slightly cool in the shade, but, considering the kind of weather Indiana can have in early May,[1] I’ll take it.
Arrived at the Broad Ripple Brewpub shortly past 3, and after spotting the group with two tall blondes (and after rearrangement of the tables), I got to sit next to Frank W. James. Frank has a new blog (started on April 2nd) that, in contrast to his conspicuous gun-writing creds, is turning into a fascinating narrative about what it’s like to be a farmer on the prairies of northern Indiana. Bi-costal wussies who think that corn comes in a can and that “farmerâ€==“ADM†will find much to learn. Two recent lessons: (1) All that fancy equipment doesn’t maintain itself, and (2) as a farmer you’re always rolling the dice with the weather. There’s a book here, or I miss my guess.
Across the table was Caleb, proprietor of Call me Ahab, who noted an increase in his traffic since he started posting about 7th District politics. Also in my corner, two readers newly arrived from Seattle. We had a little discussion about Indiana’s tornado season (Newcomers tend to panic if storms are reported anywhere within 100 miles. Longtime Hoosier: “Tornado in Greenwood? Tell me if it gets north of 38th Street.â€[2][3]) and more talk about arts in Indy.
To my left was the charming Roberta X. (Now when she writes about “the skunk works,†I’ll know which skunk works. (Bwah-ha-ha-ha!))
At the far end of the table, Tamara K., Og (and Mrs. Og), and Mark Alger.
Altogether, an excellent collection of interesting, right-thinking people. Which left me absolutely convinced that “if we were in charge, the world would be a better place.†Or at least more interesting.
Now I get to add a set of “Bloggers I’ve Met†links to my sidebar. Nifty!
Elsewhere:
BTB’s report (linked above)
Call Me Ahab: Meeting bloggers is cool / You might be a gunnie if...
Neanderpundit: Blogmeet!
(added 080506:) View From The Porch: My head feels vacuumed out
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[2] Greenwood = suburb just south of Indianapolis. 38th Street = 25 blocks south of Broad Ripple.
[3] Dan Beshear, commenting at Dustbury, notes a similar nonchalance among Okies:
You've got to be made of tougher stuff than those Connecticut Yankees or California Sensitives to cut here.
Last night, when the tornado sirens were blaring, most of my neighbors didn't take cover. They stepped out of their homes onto the road and looked to the sky to see where the funnel cloud was. Some of the younger crowd even went stormchasing up thru Choctaw to Jones and Luther.
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This particular bush got away from me. It is now about twelve feet tall, and will be getting a trim shortly.
Lilacs in the side yard, below...
more...
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Friday, 02 May 2008
... he should be fired.
The Department of Homeland Security is refusing to identify the “influential Muslim Americans†and “leading U.S.-based scholars and commentators on Islam†who met with Secretary Michael Chertoff in helping shape a softer approach to government lexicon about terrorists and their ideological motivations.Stick a fork in him. He’s done.
“Our policy is we don't comment on the Secretary's private schedule,†spokeswoman Amy Kudwa told the IPT. Nor would she identify any of the participants’ organizational affiliation.
DHS and the State Department’s Counterterrorism Communications Center each issued reports urging government employees to avoid words like “jihad,†“mujahedeen†or any reference to Islam or Muslims, especially in relation to Al Qaeda...
The memos say a change in language from the U.S. government is needed to win the hearts and minds of moderate Muslims and avoid glamorizing terrorists motivated by religious ideology...
Among the recommendations not reported previously:... The memo doesn’t offer examples to show where Islam and secular democracy have reinforced each other, or explain how Shariah law, the imposition of religion into state affairs, is “fully compatible†with secular democracy.
- "The experts we consulted debated the word “liberty,†but rejected it because many around the world would discount the term as “a buzzword for American hegemony.â€
- “The fact is that Islam and secular democracy are fully compatible [What?!? - o.g.] – in fact, they can make each other stronger. Senior officials should emphasize that fact.†...
IPT Links:
Jihad Watch:
• “Jihadists†or...
Previously: Transportation “security:†fire them all
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Pick which price the five items below will touch first – the high or the low. Some data (rounded) is provided just as a reference. “Closest†is defined as number of dollars, not in percentage terms.Ending point is July 1st. Go over and stick your neck out!
Here are my predictions (with reasons, FWIW):
- Dow: A. 14,000 (high)… reflecting inflation (thank you, Fed)
- Gold: B. $750 (low)… When you start hearing “It’s time to buy gold†spots on the radio, it’s time to sell
- Euro: B. $1.45 (low)… European central banks don’t like the weak dollar.
- Oil: A. $130 (high)… Oil will probably drop close to $100 (the low), but not get there due to OPEC intervention.
- Wheat B. $6.50 (low)… Too many speculators are long.
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So say the 34 members of the U.K.’s Weston Manor Group. Interestingly, they see it primarily as the educators’ problem...
“In expanded higher education, marking [grading] loads can be gigantic ... Teachers spend too little time on good feedback sessions, fostering good trust relationships with students, and enhancing their learning and teaching.â€although students share the blame...
“The need to get a ‘good degree’ makes assessment the main driver for students - there is too much focus on the narrow purpose of attaining a grade, the magical 2:1. The key purpose of assessment - learning - gets lost.â€But what do you do when 90% of the students are there for the credential, not the knowledge?
Elsewhere:
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...Cheap energy will cause a boom. The only cheap energy I know of is nuclear. Three Hundred Billion bucks in nuclear power will do wonders for the economy. We build 100 1000 MegaWatt nuclear power plants -- they will cost no more than 2 billion each and my guess is that the average cost will be closer to 1 billion each (that is the first one costs about 20 billion and the 100th costs about 800 million). The rest of the money goes to prizes and X projects to convert electricity into mobility.and remarks
Of course we won't do that. (Jerry Pournelle, in Chaos Manor mailbag)
I detect a lack of confidence in our political class.
Of course there’s a lack of confidence. Because the drive of the political class is not to solve problems, but to create problems which are then “solved†by increasing the power of the political class.
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