Maybe Nader is a bit peeved that his 2000 running-mate, Winona LaDuke, recently endorsed Barack Obama.

So, when will Ralph Nader stop running away from *his* background? He grew up speaking Arabic, just like his Lebanese parents, but you never hear him spreaking in Arabic in public.

Maybe he's not Arabic enough, and is just trying to "pass" as Anglo-Saxon?!

Posted at June 25, 2008 3:21 PM in response to Nader To Obama: You Want To Talk White?

Of course, McCain can promise us energy independence by 2025.

I mean, if you bankrupt the nation, it can't *possibly* afford foriegn oil. It will, in fact, have all the foriegn oil it can possibly afford, under the circumstances.

Ergo, it achieves strategic independence... assuming that the strategy is to make the rich richer, while bankrupting the government and the middle class.

Posted at June 25, 2008 2:54 PM in response to McCain: We Can Achieve "Strategic Independence" From Foreign Oil By 2025

There are some maxxed-out donors for Obama out there, and these are the people to get to donate to Clinton, if only because they can usually afford to do so, and can do so without impacting Obama's own fundraising.

Many of these people will bite the bullet and give her money, because it serves the larger goal... that of getting Obama elected. But that doesn't make the demands on the part of the Clintons and their supporters any less unseemly.

They played demolition derby with us, and now they want a tow after running their car into the ditch. I don't know whether Hillary Clinton really has cajones, but she certainly has a lot of gall to be pulling that kind of crap.

There are words for women like that, but none of them are kind, so I'll leave that one be.

Posted at June 25, 2008 11:49 AM in response to Obama Making Private Calls Appealing To Hillary's Top Fundraisers -- And Sometimes Hearing Criticism In Return

Looks like Gordon Smith has finally reached stage three of the five stages of political death.

Bargaining it is! (Depression and Acceptance still to come...)

Posted at June 24, 2008 7:23 PM in response to GOP Senator Runs New Ad Touting His Work With Barack Obama

"I'm Gordon Smith and I surrender! I'll be good, and never vote for a neocon ever again! Please... please let me keep my job!"

Posted at June 24, 2008 7:21 PM in response to GOP Senator Runs New Ad Touting His Work With Barack Obama

Fortunately, all those Limbaugh voters who voted against Obama won't have Hillary's voters on the same side next time around. ;-)

Posted at June 24, 2008 7:16 PM in response to Poll: Obama And McCain Tied -- In Deep-Red Indiana!

Why are we accusing Norm Coleman of petty things like technical jiggery-pokery in a commercial?

Why not accuse him of aggressively targeting and falsely charging and slandering a prominent British politician, basically lying and factually distorting the reality of the situation.

Hey Norm... when are you going to extradite and have charges filed against George Galloway?! I mean, you wouldn't just make up that kind of crap against people, would you?!

Posted at June 21, 2008 3:55 PM in response to Did GOP Senator Fake An Ad Showing Him Cozy With Wife?

"Assuming status ranking produces stress (a fair assumption, I think), to what degree can we and should we try to engineer society to reduce that stress?"

Hi Clay. You might remember me from my early days overseeing the business of LiveJournal. Nice to see you here.

It seems to me that the idea of it being somehow important or vital to be at the top of some kind of "status ranking" overlooks the idea of specialization and cliques.

For instance, I know someone who is an excellent WoW player, who is a "restro druid"... one that specializes in healing. They are near the top of their server... but is that a huge accomplishment, or pretty manageable for them, considering that they're not competing against everyone.

Likewise, you can see similar specialization in other games which emphasize specific crafting skills or talents... on Lord of the Rings Online, for example, you could specialize in crafting dyes, scrolls, in making weapons, traps, rings, or even in playing instruments, and build up a reputation for it. Of course, you might find your efforts frustrated when it becomes an unprofitable venture to craft, or characters gradually become less interested crafting because of too much competition / lack of diversity / lack of competitiveness between crafted and non-crafted goods, etc. People invest a lot of time into these games, so when you change the rules on them, "nerf" their capabilities, or otherwise screw up the distinction of their identity, they take it very seriously.

But the point is, all these games offer numerous ways to specialize, and there are multiple servers, multiple guilds, etc. Being the best ___________ in a guild is plenty for most people to be quite happy, I suspect.

So, all these sub-categories and sub-communities help -- along with proper design -- to make it easier for people to find their unique niche. Indeed, one of the real problems I have seen with a few of these games is the lack of diversity and specialization that is possible. People *want* that... and I think games like Spore, for example, understand that. How do you be the best creature in a massively diverse environment?

So, which is better? Rock, paper, or scissors? The answer being.... "Which one do you identify with the most?"

All this reminds me of a scene from the old John Hughes '80s movie "Sixteen Candles"...

Anthony Michael Hall:
I know I came on kinda like a poozer on the bus tonight and everything. But that's just so my friends won't think, you know, I'm a jerk.

Molly Ringwald:
But they're all pretty much jerks, though, aren't they?

AMH:
Yeah, but the thing is, I'm kinda like the leader. Kinda like the king of the dipshits.

MR:
Well, that's pretty cool. Hey, but a lot can happen over a year. I mean, you could come back next fall as a completely normal person.

AMH:
Yeah?

MR:
Sure.

Posted at June 17, 2008 4:55 PM in response to Speculation on social status in an age of networked participation

Well, I suspect that Cindy *would've* tried to make him watch it, but you can only get verbally abused so often before you avoid those kind of confrontations...

Posted at June 9, 2008 10:45 AM in response to Obama And McCain Release Dueling TV Spots During Premiere Of "Army Wives"

This isn't the first time. McCain criticized Obama for never having served in the military in the past, basically saying that because he had served and Obama had not, he won't accept criticism on his opposition to increasing the amount of money available to veterans who pursue a college degree.

McCain thinks that all of us who haven't served have no right to criticize him if he chooses to keep those in the military with no realistic future in this world except reenlisting and being sent off to combat zones.

And he has plenty of new combat zones he'd like to send them to, too!

Posted at June 9, 2008 10:33 AM in response to Obama And McCain Release Dueling TV Spots During Premiere Of "Army Wives"