Base10Blog
Sunday, October 31, 2004
 
Two Days (Special Halloween Edition)


Nothing could be spookier on Halloween than this!

Roger L. Simon has some good stuff today. First, his hysterical dialogue with anti-Bush people. Base10 has just stopped talking to others. (Other interesting reading: click here for an interesting discussion of what will happen if Yasser Arafat dies). He also features a link to this story from the New York Post. It seems al-Jazeera edited out parts of the bin Laden tape where he complained about being hunted by Bush and bemoaned the lack of violence in Afghan elections. What's going on here? Has al-Jazeera become a CBS affiliate?

Short day today. Base10 has election fatigue and a spotty internet connection.


 
No Joy in Mudville (Special Florida Edition)

Readers will recall Base10's visit to the DC area was premised on a road trip to watch the NCAA football collision between Florida St. and Maryland. The Base10 cousin is an FSU alum while her husband is a graduate of U of M. In a strange twist of fate--having never before beaten the mightly 'Noles--the Terapins stunned Florida State beating them 20-17. Base10's cousin was crushed, but the conclusion is obvious. Fear the Turtle! (Base10 particularly likes the in-your-face turtle logo on the Terapin's web site).

The college football gods certainly did not smile upon Florida teams this week. Georgia beat Florida by 31-24, while unranked Chapel Hill humiliated Miami of Fl. 31-28.

Base10 is unfortunately live blogging on Amtrak as he writes this and so will miss some of the early games. However, he should be back in time for the four o'clock match-ups. In any event, Base10's beloved Jets do not play until Monday night against Miami. Click here for a preview. Let's hope the professional Florida teams fair no better than their collegiate cousins.

In other football news, Base10 will be heavily rooting for Washington. Click here for the reason why. Also at the intersection of politics and football, check out this quote by Teresa Heinz Kerry about Green Bay fans. This is especially disturbing since she needs Green Bay to win against Washington today.
 
Yasser Arafat Death Watch

I'm getting better!
Saturday, October 30, 2004
 
Shameless Media Watch

Base10 cannot believe this article in the AP. Check out the headline:

"Bush, Kerry Seek Edge From bin Laden Tape" - Associated Press, APPLETON, Wis.

Bush and Kerry. Both of them, eh?

Here's what Kerry said:

"It was wrong to divert our forces from Afghanistan so that we could rush to war in Iraq (news - web sites) without a plan to win the peace. It was wrong to outsource the job of capturing bin Laden to local warlords."

(Which, by the way, was the strategy John Kerry endorsed at the time).

Here's what Bush said:

"The terrorists who killed thousands of innocent people are still dangerous and they are determined."

Oh, and the AP also complained, "In response to the videotape, the Bush administration warned state and local officials that the tape may be intended to promote or signal an attack on the United States."

Yeah, that's partisan.

Paritsan would be calling Kerry a Frenchified surrender monkey. No wait that wouldn't be partisan. That would be true. I can't get over how the AP needs to put Kerry and Bush on equivalent moral ground after Kerry's crass remark.

UPDATE: There's an interesting though unrelated paragraph in the above item.


Throughout the battlegrounds, Kerry's mostly paid-army of organizers were pitted against Bush's largely volunteer-driven team to get supporters to the polls Tuesday. It's too late for some: Early voting mushroomed this year and, in Florida alone, nearly 2 million voters have already cast ballots.


Interesting, Kerry supporters need compensation. It sure helps to be a billionaire if you're running for President.
 
The Obligatory Lawn Sign

The Obligatory Lawn Sign<br>

Base10 is so glad he's staying with a Republican.


 
A Little More

A Little More<br>

The view from the front porch.


 
And of Course Some Spooky Stuff

And of Course Some Spooky Stuff<br>

For Halloween, for course.


 
Even Some Horsies

Even Some Horsies<br>

Boy, some homeowners have all the luck!


 
More Foliage

More Foliage<br>

A very pretty neighborhood with beautiful homes.


 
You Know You're in Virginia When

You Know You're in Virginia When<br>

You see the lovely fall foliage. Base10 was walking around the area where
he was staying and decided to try and photoblog a little.


 
Yasser Arafat Death Watch

Still alive but not at all well. And with a sexually ambiguous French flight officer, no less.
 
Three Days

In what can only be described as the biggest October surprise to date, Osama bin Laden released a video tape. The headline, of course, says it all.

"Bin Laden Warns U.S. Voters. 'Your Security Is in Your Own Hands,' He Says on Videotape." - Washington Post.

You can read a transcript of the message on Drudge.

John Podhroetz has an interesting take on the new OBL tape and concludes that he's a big Michael Moore fan!

The Belmont Club has a pretty good take on it. They argue that this is OBL's attempt to take a time out. They write,

It is important to notice what he has stopped saying in this speech. He has stopped talking about the restoration of the Global Caliphate. There is no more mention of the return of Andalusia. There is no more anticipation that Islam will sweep the world. He is no longer boasting that Americans run at the slightest wounds; that they are more cowardly than the Russians. He is not talking about future operations to swathe the world in fire but dwelling on past glories. He is basically saying if you leave us alone we will leave you alone. Though it is couched in his customary orbicular phraseology he is basically asking for time out.

The American answer to Osama's proposal will be given on Election Day. One response is to agree that the United States of America will henceforth act like Sweden, which is on track to become majority Islamic sometime after the middle of this century. The electorate best knows which candidate will serve this end; which candidate most promises to be European-like in attitude and they can choose that path with both eyes open. The electorate can strike that bargain and Osama may keep his word. The other course is to reject Osama's terms utterly; to recognize the pleading in his outwardly belligerent manner and reply that his fugitive existence; the loss of his sanctuaries; the annihilation of his men are but the merest foretaste of what is yet to come: to say that to enemies such as he, the initials 'US' will always mean Unconditional Surrender.

Osama has stated his terms. He awaits America's answer.


Coincidentally, in case you forgot, Victor Davis Hanson yesterday reminded us why it's so important that we win and not settle for some European truce.

In other news, Charles Krauthammer writes in WAPO about Kerry's abject failure toward the people of Afghanistan.

Michael Barone has an interesting article in UN&WP about what happens if the Electoral College is tied 269-269. Short answer: Bush still wins (probably).

Eleanor Clift's opinion is a Kerry Landslide, of course. Here are the polls--Bush up or tied in all but Zogby. More importantly, here are the tradeable futures markets it's 52%-48% (as of this writing).

Base10 is in the great state of Virginia right now preparing for some college football fun. Stay tuned.
Friday, October 29, 2004
 
Yasser Arafat Death Watch

Still alive but not at all well.
 
Four Days

The "understatement of the year in a newswire headline" award goes to:

"Bad News Dogs Bush As Election Nears" - AP

It's a little reminiscent of Casablanca. The AP is "shocked, shocked" to discover to President being attacked by the media on the eve of the election.

What's worse is the examples. Why is this even a story? It's called editing.

In the vein of biased media, today's must read column is Thomas Sowell's bit about journalistic integrity in Townhall. Check it out,

The question is not whether the media should express opinions or give editorial endorsements favoring one candidate or another. The issue is whether their main function -- supplying information to the public -- is corrupted by double standards in how they report or withhold news that could help or hurt their favorite causes and candidates.

Indeed.

There's an interesting piece at the New Republic about voter access by Peter Beinart. His position is that access to voting should be easy and argues that conservatives view easy access to voting as a bad thing since it leads to decision making by uninformed masses. It's not by any means a hatchet piece on conservatives. He states,

As a liberal, I think conservatives are wrong: Voting should be easy. If easier access to the polls produces a little fraud and a lot more participation, it's worth it. It's worth it not because new voters will make thoughtful decisions at the voting booth but because, by bringing them into the political process, we have a chance of transforming them into the kind of voters who will.

Except that Beinart is wrong. Base10 recalls some studies of compulsory voting systems in Switzerland indicated a sharp rise in "noise" in the results due to an increase in random voting. It's like selecting a President by coin-flip.

Another great piece by Charles Krauthammer. Apparently, Afghanistan is becoming the other "forgotten war." As he puts it,

Within days of Sept. 11, the clueless airhead president that inhabits Michael Moore's films and Tina Brown's dinner parties had done this: forced Pakistan into alliance with us, isolated the Taliban, secured military cooperation from Afghanistan's northern neighbors, and authorized a radical war plan involving just a handful of Americans on the ground, using high technology and local militias to utterly rout the Taliban. President Bush put in place a military campaign that did in two months what everyone had said was impossible: defeat an entrenched, fanatical, ruthless regime in a territory that had forced the great British and Soviet empires into ignominious retreat. Bush followed that by creating in less than three years a fledgling pro-American democracy in a land that had no history of democratic culture and was just emerging from 25 years of civil war.

This is all barely remembered and barely noted.


Enough for now. But check this out from Lileks yesterday.

NEXT. Live blogging from Baltimore!
Thursday, October 28, 2004
 
Base10's Travels

Base10 will be travelling to the nation's capitol this weekend to visit the Base10 cousin. Tomorrow will be pretty busy with an early day at work, a midterm (don't ask) and then a train ride to D.C. Since Base10 will be staying in a house while in Washington, he will therefore be inside. So, technically speaking, this weekend Base10 will be a Washington insider. Maybe he can get a cable news deal. (C'mon, it's not a far stretch. Look who they put on MSNBC).

Anyway, the primary purpose of the visit will be to watch the Florida St.--Maryland collision on the gridiron. Click here for a preview.

Base10 suspects his cousins' children will flee from the living room screaming having been spooked by the sounds of a major spanking being given to Maryland.

In any event, posting may be limited tomorrow, but we'll see.


 
Science

Can't focus everything on the elections. There are a few really intersting items in the science world recently.

The Cassini probe made its closest approach yet to Saturn's moon Titan. As was known, the probe discovered a carbon rich environment and got some stiking images. Check here, here, and here.

Anthropologists have discovered a new human species. In Indonesia researchers discovered the remains of a dwark species that lived as late as 18,000 years ago, the dawn of recorded history. It's a major dicovery. Of course Tolkien fans knews this would happen eventually.

There's also some disturbing news out of Russia. A Russian virologist is predicting a major flu pandemic that could kill up to a billion people worldwide. This guy is apparently a reputable scientist, not a crazy dude. Let's hope this prediction is faulty.
 
Five Days

Base10 witnessed history last night when the Boston Red Sox beat the Cardinals 3-0 sweeping them and winning the World Series for the first time since World War I. Congratulations Bosox fans! The curse of the Bambino is now relegated to the dust bin of history. Revel in the moment New England sports fans and count yourselves lucky to have champions in two sports this year. What's next, the Celtics?

Obviously not caring about the Yankee fan demographic, Senator Kerry declared the Sox to be America's Team. Perhaps he is right, because some of the team members are certainly from red states. Boy if you can't depend on your home team to endorse you, what else is left?

In other news, the world is currently on a Yasser Arafat death watch. In spite of knowing that he is a truly evil man, it is still exceedingly morbid how the world is standing still waiting for him to die. Arafat is supposedly flying to Paris for medical treatment. There are some interesting comments by Roger L. Simon who notes that Arafat's death comes right after the greatest triumph of the Sharon government.

Of course France once again shows itself to be on the side of terrorists.

Iraq explosive watch. It seems that this story just gets worse and worse for the NY Times. The Washington Times reports that Russian troops moved the explosives in the weeks before the start of the war. See Roger L. Simon again for some more details about a major discrepancy in the amount of explosives in question--we're talking 380 tons to 3.

ABC is now reporting that the explosives were there after the American's arrived at the facility. Supposedly, they have experts that can identify barrels with the UN Seal. Base10 is not going to hold his breath. The destruction wreaked upon CBS's typewriter experts by the blogoshere makes Base10 not take statements like this at face value.

CBS was allegedly holding on to this story to air it on 60 Minutes on Sunday, a scant 36 hours before the polls open.

It's pretty shocking to think that the mainstream media would manipulate the news to influence the election.

Terrorist Video Watch. In similar story that Base10 has been following on Drudge all day, ABC came into possession of a video tape from an al Qaeda member threatening new terrorist attacks and mass casualties according to Drudge. Apparently, ABC turned over the tape to the FBI for authentication. Drudge claims it was authenticated--others are voicing doubts. Also, there are reports that ABC withheld a portion of the tape that threatened violence if Bush and Cheney are reelected.

Supposedly, ABC news was not originally going to air the tape. According to Drudge, the network was struggling to find a correct journalistic "balance," The source stated, "This is not something you just throw out there while people are voting." Apparently that's only a concern if it helps Bush.

In any event, it seems that after major pressure from the public, ABC caved and aired portions of the tape. I can't wait to see the pundits take on this on Sunday.

It's pretty shocking to think that the mainstream media would manipulate the news to influence the election.

In the multimedia department, see this funny clip comparing Bush and Edwards in a way you might not expect. (Via Vodkapundit).
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
 
This Has Got to End!

"A man was arrested Wednesday after he was accused of trying to run down Rep. Katherine Harris and a group of supporters with his car." - SARASOTA, Fla, AP.

Ms. Harris you may recall was the Florida Secretary of State during the 2000 recount affair.

The driver reportedly told police, "I intimidated them with my car. I was exercising my political expression."

Perhaps this is considered political expression in the Tin Foil Hat Party, but certainly not what one should expect in this country.
 
Six Days

You know what? That last bit from Slate is just too good to write-off with a throw away line. Here's what Slate editor Jacob Weisberg has to say about disclosure.

Journalists, like people, have opinions that influence their behavior. Reporters and editors at most large news organizations in the United States are instructed to keep their opinions to themselves to avoid creating an impression of partisanship.... Slate, which is a journal of opinion, takes precisely the opposite approach. Rather than bury our views, we cultivate and exhibit them. A basic premise of our kind of journalism is that we can openly express what we think and still be fair.

Sounds good! Nobody is saying that reporters can't have opinions. But why are these particular opinions all the same? Why aren't these opinions at least somewhat representative of America at large? Doesn't that say something? Weisberg continues:

Fairness, in the kind of journalism Slate practices, does not mean equal time for both sides. It does not mean withholding judgment past a reasonable point. It means having basic intellectual honesty. When you advance a hypothesis, you must test it against reality. When you make a political argument, you must take seriously the significant arguments on the other side.... By disclosing our opinions about who should be president, we're giving readers a chance to judge how well we are living up to these ideals.

So far so good. No one said that news organizations had to be objective to the point of dopiness. But do news organizations withhold judgment unreasonably for the enemy? Recall how does CNN describe members of al Qaeda. Is Base10 to conclude that if the New York Times disclosed that all its reporters (except Safire, of course) were voting for Kerry or Nader it would excuse such blatantly biased reporting involved in the stolen Iraq explosive story?

But this is the heart of it:

What's more, greater transparency of opinion, if it became a trend, would make it harder for conservatives to use surreptitious liberal bias as a license for their own malignant imitation of what they understand to be that practice. CBS journalists, whatever their politics, are professionals who aspire to be fair and resist bias. Many of those at Fox News Channel, on the other hand, aspire only to advance the fortunes of the conservative movement, even as they parrot the laughable slogan, "fair and balanced." Fox is not biased because it is a conservative network. It is biased because of the intellectually dishonest way it proclaims its neutrality while loading the dice for the GOP and for George W. Bush.

There you have it. CBS isn't biased. If only its reporters had disclosed their opinions beforehand, the conservatives couldn't use this as a license for their own malignant imitation of journalism. It all goes back to Fox News! Priceless.

Can't Weisbergs argument be turned on its head? He claims that Fox is conservative but claims to be fair while other media have members that are liberal but are after all professional and fair. What if it's opposite? What if Fox has conservative reporters but they strive to be fair, while mainstream media is really left-leaning but always claims to be "fair."

Seems like a silly thought experiment. How could you test this hypothesis after all? Well they did at Yale. Conclusion:

Although we expected to find that most media lean left, we were astounded by the degree. A norm among journalists is to present “both sides of the issue.” ... This was not always the case. Most of the mainstream media outlets that we examined (ie all those besides Drudge Report and Fox News’ Special Report) were closer to the average Democrat in Congress than they were to the median member of the House.


Base10's conclusion. Read the above link. It's very interesting.

Base10 is an avid James Lileks reader, but today's piece is just a cut above the rest. In what can only be described as a journalistic mutilation of Andrew Sullivan. Sullivan writes this in his support of Kerry:

The greatest weakness of the war effort so far has been the way it has become a partisan affair. This is the fault of both sides: the Rove-like opportunists on the right and the Moore-like haters on the left

Lileks responds thusly,

Laff? Cry? Coin-toss. Yes, it’s somehow become a partisan affair, thanks to a strange, unknowable alchemic reaction between the Rove-like and the Moore-like, some odd love-child with Eloi and Moorlock DNA. Because we all remember those vast demos in Europe, arranged by the Rovian right, to whip up anti-Taliban sentiment before the Afghan campaign. We all recall the Rove-like movies made by the Rove-like directors and the Rove-like newspaper editorials demanding that the dusky scum kneel before the bright Christian banners we bear aloft. Everyone’s equally guilty here. Six of one, four-hundred-thousand dozen of the other.

And let us shed a tear for those who believed it was necessary after 9/11 to knock off Saddam and establish a beachhead in the region ‘twixt Iran and Syria, but later ran away shrieking like freshly skinned rabbits because it had somehow, by some odd turn of events, turned into a partisan affair. What scared them off? Who knows? Just happened, I guess. Somewhere between the brutal Afghan winter, the interminable quagmire of the operational pause en route to Baghdad – all 72 hours of it - and the devastating supposition that the turkey Bush presented on Thanksgiving may not have been the actual fowl consumed by the troops, we realized that the war was all failure and lies and failed lies about lying failures, and we can’t do anything and the Plan was wrong and Mission Accomplished, yeah right. Oh, and We Support the Troops.

Who gets more media traction in this heated media-saturated climate? Rove-like Opportunists, or Moore-like Haters?

One blockquote just can't do this justice. Read the whole thing here. I hope we get more of this as the election gets closer.

On the lighter side, Football Fans for Truth are noting some discrepancies in the photos of Kerry's goose hunt. Note: no mud on the pants and a curiously missing goose.

Last but not least, check out this new ad critical of Kerry's Senate record from Americans for Peace Through Strength. (Via LGF).

Base10 will post a bit later if possible.

UPDATE: The above Yale study link is down. Click here for a reprint on FreeRepublic.
 
"We are all individuals!"

"At this magazine, it's Kerry by a landslide!" -Slate, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004.

So this should be no surprise as well.

(Both links via Drudge).
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
 
Seven Days

In what seems to be developing into a Rather moment, the New York Times reported that a huge cache of explosives was missing form a nuclear facility. The spin is that the administration somehow failed to secure this material after the invasion. Disregarding the fact that the entire country is one big ammo dump, many are now pointing out that an embedded reporter with NBC was at the facility the day after the war started and the explosives were already gone. In addition, this was not simply an oversight about the matter. This pundit suggests that the Times deliberately misrepresented this fact. Base10 tends to agree.

A little late to add yesterday, but James Lileks was particularly spleeney yesterday in the Bleat. Here's one quote, but it just doesn't do it justice.

Hope is on the way! As I pass each sign I wonder what sort of Democrats my neighbors are. Normal ordinary Democrats who want the best for everyone, and have come to the conclusion that higher taxes, more education spending, increased environmental regulation, more government involvement in health care, and greater integration into the European-led global order is the way to move us forward? Probably.
Read the whole thing!

Base10 also perused the polls this morning. RealClearPolitics has a good collection of poll results with links. A significant majority have Bush ahead by anywhere from one to eight points. The LA Times has it as a tie and ABC/WAPO and the AP have Kerry ahead. Interestingly, the Rasmussen trackiing poll has Kerry ahead for the first time since August. Base10 tends to have some doubts about this. The Rasmussen tracking poll is a rolling average and would tend to not be smoother than a one-shot poll. It is a little unlikely that a tracking poll would show such a dramatic change in one day. RCP also has Bush ahead slightly in the Electoral vote count.

In what should be disturbing to the Kerry camp, the tradeable futures markets Tradesports has Bush in the lead by 56% to 44% (averageing the Bid ask price).
 
You Know You're in New York When...
You know you're in New York When...

you pass a giant inflatable rat on the way to work.


Monday, October 25, 2004
 
Eight Days

A disturbing piece appeared in the Boston Globe over the weekend. This article describes the shocking ignorance of the American electorate about even basic political issues. Interesting reading. Base10 tends to agree with the conclusion that political campaigns are reduced to soundbites largely because that's the most the electorate can handle. The corollory to the story is why the parties don't try to better educate the electorate?

There's some thoughtful comment on Sinclair Broadcasting's decision not to air the anti-Kerry documentary "Stolen Honor." The Opinion Journal argues that Democrat action to stifle the film is tantamount to censorship. Base10 disagrees. Boycotting a speaker with whom you disagree is the ultimate form of free speech. Just remember that Republicans can do this too. Remember the Reagan biography? We should be happy to remind the Democrats in the future that they approve of this tactic.

Elsewhere in the Opinion Jounal is this item by Harvard professor Ruth Wisse, who writes about the complete lack of political diversity at Harvard. As a Kenedy School alum, Base10 completely agrees. Of course the best part of the article is seeing a Harvard professor use the phrase "regnant culture of pusillanimity" in a Wall Street Journal article.

Also over the weekend, a new Bush-Cheney commercial came out called "Wolves." It is very powerful and underlies the threat facing America. Kerry responded with a commercial comparing a souring eagle to an ostrich with its head in the ground. Some Sunday morning commentators noted that this ad actually helps Bush!

Charles Krauthammer had a thought provoking item in the WAPO over the weekend. He suggests that in return for European support for America under Kerry, the only logical thing that Kerry can offer up to Europe is Israel. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Finally, there's an excellent article from the always excellent Victor Davis Hanson on six reasons that Kerry will not win the election. Well worth a read.
 
Celebrity Political Watch.

Drudge has a couple of hysterical items. First, Cher appeared in a Miami disco for a Kerry rally but only a few hundred people showed up. Pointing here remarks toward gays and arguing that a new Bush administration would be repressive, Cher remarked, "I think that as Bush will, if Bush gets elected, he will put in new Superior Court judges, and these guys are not going to want to see gay pride week."

Cher. It's the Supreme Court, honey. Don't bother yourself with things like Congless or the Senort. Stick with singing cloying tunes and making bad movies.

But that's not all, Rosie O'Donnell had a very similar experience in Ft. Lauderdale. Appearing at a Kerry rally in a nightclub, the space was nearly vacant.

We were built on the foundation of freedom and truth and equality for all people. And the rich, corporate, horrible, horrible people who have been destructing and ruining everything this country was made on has been really unbelievably damaging to all of us spiritually, emotionally, monetarily."

Destructing? To think that they say Bush is stupid. But she did say this too,

Just remember this, don't believe the media in these last nine days....Because America knows the difference between genuine and junk.

At last, something Base10 can agree with. The main stream media is not to be believed. (Never mind that Rosie was refereing to Fox, it's universal).

As Base10 has said before, while celebrities have a right to an opinion their performance skills do not give them any sort of expertise in the political arena. In the long run this hurts them. If the electorate is so polarized then half of Ms. O'donnell's fans hold conservative views. These fans want to watch comedy and music (or whatever it is that divas do), not a political diatribe. John Stewart's plumeting ratings should come as a warning.
 
No Joy in Mudville

There is little joy in MUdville today. Yesterday the Jets took a loss from the New England Patriots. The boys in green did not get embarrassed, losing onlly 13-7, but the loss is all the more difficult since they had victory in their sights. But for a few key mistakes, the Jets would have broken NE's winning streak.

Jets fans should not get too down on the team just yet. If in the off season I would have told you that the Jets would be 5-1 going into week eight, you would have liekly scoffed. Heading into their next two games against Miami and Buffalo, respectively, the Jets may indeed improve their record to 7-1 by the midpoint of the season. Take the NE loss for what it was: Base10 had himself crossed this one off before the season began. Let the Jets worry about going to the playoffs first, and then we'll worry about playing New England in the AFC Championship. (The Jets and NE do face off again in the second-to-last game of the season--let's hope that game is meaningless by then).

OUr crosstown cousing, the New York Giants also did not fair well, losing to Detroit 28-13. In other odd outcomes, Kansas City pasted Indy 56-10 while Green Bay flattened Dallas 41-10. Base10 caught a little bit of the Dallas-Green Bay collision and thought how remarkable it was that a few short years ago, fans would have been drooling to watch this matchup. How the mighty have fallen!

In the World Series (which is curiously limited to North America), Boston extended its winning streak to two games by defeating St. Louis 6-2. Base10 thinks they will need these wins since the Cardinals will probably have their big guns ready at home on Tuesday.

Tonight's Monday Night matchup features Denver vs. Cincy.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
 
He Must Be Planning to Surrender

"John Kerry tried to burnish his national security credentials on Saturday by vowing to hunt down terrorists with the same energy he used to pursue the Viet Cong." - Reuters.
Friday, October 22, 2004
 
President Carter Suffers Breakdown of Mental Faculties!

There's nothing else that can possibly explain this. Former President Jimmy Carter engaged in a bizarre sort of speculative time travel thought experiment by suggesting that the American Revolution was unnecessary. (Via LGF). Apparently, these folks over at the Guardian think that the Revolution shouldn't have happened either and have reacted by creating the Clark County Project. Read this link for Catherine Seipp's take over at NRO. Not to worry, there are some choice responses here at Tim Blair's blog.

While you're there check out this poll about Kerry's next insensitive statement.
 
Ah, Friday!

Base10 had a hard week, but also a good week. A major project is now on the finishing cycle and today is an early day.

How about them Yankees? First of all, Base10 is glad that this ALCS thing is over. So tired! Second, the Red Sox deserve to have won. They played good ball and didn't give up when the chips were down. So good in fact that they staged the greatest comeback in the history of post season play in perhaps any sport. Of course the corrolory to this is that the Yankees therefore suffered the greatest collapse of all time. As Mrs. Base10 noted it was all because Jesus hit a grand slam! How can the Yankees compete with that?

Having spent a year in Boston (and watched a year's worth of Sox games), Base10 knows that Boston is a great sports town. A little obnoxious, yes, but still very loyal. They deserve this win and Base10 will be rooting for them in the World Series. They'll need all the help they can get since they will be playing the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Yankees shouldn't be down. One has to marvel at their organization. Not just the palyers and the coaches but scouts and front office finance guys. To consistently get to the post season (and often deep into it) is a tribute to the talent of the entire organization. Don't tell this to Steinbrener, of course.

Base10 is frankly quite tired of the political news and commentary. At this stage of the game there is no substance left. Baring an October surprise, everything now hinges on getting out the vote and staying on message. In Base10's mind this is the most boring part of the campaign.

There is an occasional gem though. Check out the Great White Hunter. Notice he can't carry his own goose. Mysteriously, no one saw him actually bag the bird either.

There is a very good article in the American Spectator about the methodology of the polls. Well worth a read. This is particularly interesting to Base10 since he does statistical analysis. The final point by the author, John Tabin, is interesting. He suggests that Kerry has a distinct chance of winning the elcetoral college without winning the popular vote. As he puts it: "The same commentators who wrung their hands about the barbarous and anachronistic electoral college in 2000 will suddenly sing the praise of that venerable old, uniquely American institution."

Before leaving the Spectator, check out this piece about an awful murder perpetrated by a 17 year-old in Missouri. Just the thing to get your blood pressure up on a Friday morning! Although a jury gave him the "chair," some judges thought it was too cruel. This is a case to follow in the Supreme Court.

Back to polling methods, another comment comes from Steven den Beste. He suggests that the Kerry numbers were deliberately rigged to produce an October "comeback." I don't think I agree with his analysis, but it is interesting. Michael Barone has an interesting take on it himself.

Then there's this in the Village Voice (via Roger L. Simon). Is there anything left to say?

That's it for now. Not much in the sporting world tonight, except what is likely to be a snoozer NCAAF game pitting Louisville and South Florida. Perhaps some more posting later.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
 
When You're Out-Rathered by ABC

Thomas Sowell has an interesting piece about a "news" story on ABC. Sowell's description of the Vietnamese "witnesses" is pretty funny. Maybe the Vietnamese communists think they owe this to Kerry for all of his years of faithful service. I'm not kidding! Read the bit about the museum.

Here's the print version at ABC News in the interest of equal time.
 
The Advantage to Being a Billionaire and Running for President

"Man Accused Of Trying To Sell Vote," October 20, 2004, ODESSA, Mo.
 
I Guess that Settles It

"There's a reason that they're saying Kerry is the No. 1 liberal in the Senate. It's because he is the No. 1 liberal in the Senate." - Michael Moore.
 
Quote of the Week

"I'm a little concerned about this notion everybody wants us to be objective," Peter Jennings.
 
The Yankees are Killing Me!
And Other Stories

Base10 simply cannot stay up late any more. Last night's Sox victory was quite exciting, but this is simply too much. After tonight's Game 7, Base10 thinks he will quit following post season play so closely. Great stuff last night though. Of particular note was the interference call against A-Rod that led to a called back run. Good call by the officials.

As Base10 sits here, the Houston-St. Louis game is tied at 4-4 at the top of the 12th. The Yankees-Sox game starts shortly. Here we go again!

In political news, Teresa Kerry appologized for a disparaging remark she made about First Lady Laura Bush. Although not really insulting in context, Mrs. Kerry asserted, "I don't know that she's ever had a real job — I mean, since she's been grown up. So her experience and her validation comes from important things, but different things."

While certainly not that insulting, the remark clearly shows a bit of ignorance about Laura Bush's tenure as a school teacher. Apparently after speaking to some campaign handlers who must have explained that insulting stay-at-home mothers is no way to reach the White House, Theresa issued this statement:

I had forgotten that Mrs. Bush had worked as a school teacher and librarian, and there couldn't be a more important job than teaching our children. As someone who has been both a full-time mom and full-time in work force, I know we all have valuable experiences that shape who we are. I appreciate and honor Mrs. Bush's service to the country as first lady and am sincerely sorry I had not remembered her important work in the past.


Not too much political news today other than Bush/Kerry attacks Kerry/Bush.

Base10 finds this mildly amusing. Jon Stewart of Daily Show fame made a guest appearance on CNN's Crossfire and got into a major confrontation with bow-tied host Tucker Carlson. Although both sides contributed to the confrontation, Stewart was the one who eventually used the expletive. You know it's funny, but this reminds Base10 about his comments on the NYT's indorsement of John Kerry. By relentlessly boosting for Kerry, Stewart is ignoring half his audience. This should concern him considering that his young-adult demographic is growing increasingly conservative. Recent reports of plumetting ratings should come as no surprise. While Jon Stewart is certainly entitled to his opinion, it's very hard to take a comedian seriously about politics. Hmm, nuclear fuel in Iran. Jon, what do you say? Crack a few one-liners and maybe they'll stop processing fuel.

Well, game's on.
 
"Tragedy"

(Courtesy of the Base10 Cousin)

John Kerry visits a school classroom. They are in the middle of a discussion
related to words and their meanings. The teacher asks Mr. Kerry if he would
like to lead the discussion on the word "tragedy."

So the illustrious Senator asks the class for an example of a tragedy. One little boy stands up and offers: "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs him over and kills him, that would be a 'tragedy'."

"No," says Kerry, "that would be an accident."

A little girl raises her hand: "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove
over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy."

"I'm afraid not," explains Mr. Kerry. "That's what we would call a 'great loss'."

The room goes silent. No other children volunteered. Kerry searches the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a 'tragedy'?"

Finally, at the back of the room a small boy raises his hand. In a quiet
voice, he says: "If your campaign plane, carrying you, Mr. Kerry, were struck by a 'friendly fire' missile and blown to smithereens, that would be a 'tragedy'."

"Fantastic!" exclaims Kerry. "That's right. And can you tell me why that
would it be a 'tragedy'?"

"Well," says the boy "because it certainly wouldn't be a 'great loss' and it
probably wouldn't be an 'accident' either.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
 
He's Not Hiding in This Stove.

"Osama Probably Not in Pakistan Region - Commander" - Reuters.

 
Hiding in the Stove, Eh!

"We don't know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001. Some intelligence sources said he was; others indicated he was in Pakistan at the time." - General Tommy Franks (Ret).
 
That Elusive Crackhead Demographic!

"Voter fraud case traced to Defiance County registrations volunteer. 124 registrations falsified, allegedly for crack cocaine," By JOE MAHR, TOLEDO BLADE

The Kerry campaign has obviously taken a new tack in an attempt to woo drug addicted voters. The evidence is more convincing than you think.

Not only drug users, but now Disney characters. Have you no shame John Kerry?
 
Baseball and Politics.

Base10 is simply tired tonight. After staying up to the wee hours watching the Yankees-Sox collision, Base10 has decided that he likes baseball much better when they can actually complete the game in nine innings. It has already entered the history books as the longest (in time) playoff game. Of course, there was also the Rams-Bucs game--one that Base10 had a keen interest in from a fantasy perspective. All in all a great day for sports, particularly for a Monday. Tonight, in twenty minutes or so weather permitting, ACS game six will start. Let's hope for an exciting, but quick ending.

As a consequence of burning the sports candle at both ends, Base10 is a little beat. But here's a few tidbits to chew on:

Tuesday Morning Quarterback is up on the NFL site. TMQ--aka Gregg Easterbrook--is one of Base10's favorite football commentators. Check out today's screed here.

But let's not forget Football Fans for Truth. After listening to all this nonsense about tracking polls, approval ratings and the like, it's obvious that only one measurement that really matters. Polls don't lie.

In a serious poll that might actually be frightening members of the Kerry camp, Rasmussen Reports conducted a survey about whether votes expected their taxes to increase under each candidate. 45% said they expected their taxes to go up under Kerry while 68% said they expected them to remain the same or go down under Bush.

In keeping with the audiovisual theme of yesterday, there is a great video of John Edwards prepping (or should we say preening) for a television appearance. If you thought that Kerry exhibited some girlish qualities when throwing a football, he has nothing on his running mate. (Via Best of the Web).

Well, games's on. More tomorrow.

 
Captain, We're Picking Up a Distress Signal...

"TV Emits Distress Signal, Triggers Search," - Reuters.

In truly strange story, an Oregon man was confronted by authorities after it was discovered that his Toshiba TV set was emiting a distress signal similar to that used by aircraft and boats. Mr. Sulu, set course for Portland, warp six!

 
We Need to Get More Bullets...

"Armies of Lawyers Gear Up for Election Battles," - Reuters.

 
We Need to Get More Kryptonite...

"Peru develops edible super guinea pig," ANANOVA.
Monday, October 18, 2004
 
Anti-Kerry Multimedia Extravaganza

There is great joy in Mudville today. The New York Football Jets now stand at 5-0 for the first time in their history. Although nearly succumbing to the trap awaiting them against the 'Niners on Sunday, the Jets ultimately prevailed in a 22-14 victory. The Patriots also beat the Seahawks 30-20. As Base10 mentioned last week, this now sets the stage for a Pats-Jets battle between undefeated teams next week.

The Jets did not play well. Down by two scores at half-time, the situation looked grim. But they managed to pull themselves together in the second half. Perhaps this tenuous win will motivate the boys in green to play a full sixty minutes against their division rival--and 20 time winner--next week.

The NY Giants, our cross town cousins, were on a bye this week.

On to the fray...

Lileks has a link to a great photo today. Check it out.

If Lileks expressed some righteous indignation today it's nothing of course compared to the righteous indignation of the Secretary General. Kofi Annan believes that the United States has made the world more dangerous because of the war.

I cannot not say the world is safer when you consider the violence around us, when you look around you and see the terrorist attacks around the world and you see what is going on in Iraq.

Ah Kofi, perhaps you are--as they say--an idiot. Does the Secretary General think these people were safer with Saddam in power? Maybe the Iranians would be better off too. It's certainly safer for the Israelis, but since the official UN policy on Israel seems to be something along the lines of "kill the Jews by driving them into the sea," I guess Kofi's right not to consider this.

And this makes it better. When asked if the Oil for Food scandal influenced UN members to lift sanctions against Iraq, Annan asserted,

I don't think the Russian or the French or the Chinese government would allow itself to be bought because some of his companies are getting relative contracts of the Iraqi authorities. I don't believe that at all. It's inconceivable. These are very serious and important governments. You are not dealing with banana republics.

Base10 disagrees. First, comparing France to a Banana republic is an insult to Banana republics everywhere. Second, the fact that Kofi Annan, himself linked to the Oil for Food racketeeing, makes this statement of indignation is priceless. Corrupt apparachiks in France? How dare you suggest that!

Kofi added,

The United States should have relied on the integrity of the United Nations to solve the Iraq situation. Given the UN's proven track record at solving complex international problems like the genocides in Bosnia, Rawanda and Darfur, the United States should have relied on the UN to contain Saddam.

Well okay, maybe Base10 made up that last bit, but it would be funny eh?

And if you thought Kofi was indignant, check out the New York Times. On Sunday, the Times endorsed John Kerry for president. No surprise here. Who didn't expect it, after all? But after reading the editorial, Base10 was close to becoming physically ill. It seems that the Times changed from being an apologist for the angry let to its shrillest voice. Just a few examples from the piece (which reads as if it had been written by the Kerry campaign):

There is no denying that this race is mainly about Mr. Bush's disastrous tenure. Nearly four years ago, after the Supreme Court awarded him the presidency, Mr. Bush came into office amid popular expectation that he would acknowledge his lack of a mandate by sticking close to the center. Instead, he turned the government over to the radical right.

Jeez, for an anti-gun publication, the Times is sure willing to take a shotgun approach. Bush's tenure was disasterous. Forget about the Afghan elections. Forget about the Libyan surrender. Forget about the fact that two-thirds of Iraq is in relative peace and the rest is on the way. Forget about al Qaeda members on the run in the rest of the world.

And the Supreme Court awarded Bush the presidency? Better get that "stole the election" theme in there! Nothing like working up the base!

Don't forget that Bush also turned the government over to the radical right, whatever that means. Forget about the Medicare drug bill. Forget about No Child Let Behind. Forget about the proposed guest worker law. Bush's administration is not too far to the right, it's too far to the left for conservative tastes.

When the nation fell into recession, the president remained fixated not on generating jobs but rather on fighting the right wing's war against taxing the wealthy. As a result, money that could have been used to strengthen Social Security evaporated, as did the chance to provide adequate funding for programs the president himself had backed. No Child Left Behind, his signature domestic program, imposed higher standards on local school systems without providing enough money to meet them.

This one is just ripe for rebuttal. It angers Base10 that the Times seems to assume its readers are idiots. The nation was begining a recession when Bush took office. It was exacerbated by the 9/11 attacks. What did Bush do? Lowered taxes. Hmm...seems like basic Keynesian economics here. Lower taxes to boost GDP. Absolutely non-controversial strategy from an undergraduate Macroeconomics course. The Times assumes you've neve taken that course or you were too stupid to understand its basic concepts. Oh and don't forget the jobs theme! Forget that the unempooyment rate today is almost identical to the rate when Bill Clinton was runniing for his second term. If Bush is too be judged on jobs, he has apparently done at least as well as his predecessor.

There's to much here to argue every point. But here's one more:

If Mr. Bush had wanted to make a mark on an issue on which Republicans and Democrats have long made common cause, he could have picked the environment. Christie Whitman, the former New Jersey governor chosen to run the Environmental Protection Agency, came from that bipartisan tradition. Yet she left after three years of futile struggle against the ideologues and industry lobbyists Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney had installed in every other important environmental post. The result has been a systematic weakening of regulatory safeguards across the entire spectrum of environmental issues, from clean air to wilderness protection.

There are many things you can criticise about Bush. His environmental policies are not one of them. He has been largely bipartisan and effective. The environment is not on the verge of destruction.

One last point. The Times fixation on the hate Bush agenda is telling in another way. Pundits are seemingly unanimous that the race will be tight. That means half the country disagrees with the Times. That also means half the country may stop reading it if they haven't done so already.

On to the multimedia:

Check out this song about Kerry.

The Swift Boat Veterans have two new commercials. The first one here is pretty tame. The second is absolutely scathing.

For a chuckle, check out this ad from the Club for Growth.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
 
Debates? What Debates?

Base10 did as anticipated and watched the Yanks beat Boston in the ALCS last night. He did catch maybe thirty minutes of the debate repeat on Fox. Bush looked good but it wasn't enough of a performance for Base10 to judge. Today at work Base10 saw this headline and knew that Bush had won:

Bush, Kerry Spar Over Jobs, Health Care in Debate, - Reuters

Bush must have won. If Kerry had clearly won, the headline would have been "Kerry Scores Knockout Blow" or some such nonsense. Since the media can't admit that Bush took the debate, the headline must be neutral, hence the "sparring" metaphor.

If you read one thing today read Zell Miller's op-ed piece in he Washington Times. (Linked to here by LGF). Base10 especially likes the reference to New York Times writer "Myscream Loud."

Also on LGF, this piece about Kerry's reckless cycling habits. (This may seem trivial to some, but speaking as a cyclist, the example you should set for children is to wear your helmet).

Last but not least, there's this about and impossibly stupid ad that was put out by the Democrats in Tennessee.

LGF has particularly good stuff today!
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
 
What to do?
Base10 is in a quandry. The final debate between Bush and Kerry or the Yanks and the Red Sox in the ALCS? Hmm. Maybe not such a hard choice after all. Base10 finds the debates tedious. It's the same talking points over and over. How many times do the candidates have to announce they are against drugs in schools or favor a strong national defense? Surely both Bush and Kerry support the police and think the nation's economy needs to be strong. It seems like it's the same platitudes over and over again. Base10 votes for the game on Fox and the debate repeat to follow.


 
Welcome to the 'Net

Via Roger L. Simon and this interesting link about Kerry's discharge from military service, Base10 has learned that the NY Sun, a right-leaning NYC daily has finally opened their internet site to non-subscribers. Bravo! And no soul sucking registration required! Well, at least their front page stories are available. NY Sun, do yourself a favor and release all your content online. It will make your print version more popular. The only news daily that can make money out of subscriber content is the WSJ which--not to put too fine a pooint on it--has the largest circulation of any news publication in the US.
 
Contrast and Compare...

"The world is better off without Saddam. But the world is not any safer. If this was meant to be a signal to terrorists to stop their activities, it has failed miserably, it has stimulated terrorism."

- Hans Blix, ineffective arms inspector.

"This is something in the time Ive been doing mass graves Ive never seen done before. These bodies were just pushed in. It was all women and children. No men. All these people were executed with small arms fire... [It] includes pregnant woman. One woman when she was executed was carrying her two-year old child, shot in the back of the head. She was shot in the face. [There] is a young boy with a ball, still holding onto the ball when we uncovered him... This is the little ball he was holding onto, you see his little arm right here, this little ball, this little arm, this little boy. Everybody said 'never again' after the Holocaust. The world wasn't listening. That's how it happened again and again and again. Sometimes, you go in there, you see soldiers, and it's not to justify it, but my God, little babies, women, with their children shot in the back of the head...Why?"

- Greg Kehoe, US Representative investigation Iraq mass graves.

Maybe a bad news day to open your trap, eh Hans?
 
Then Again, Maybe Not...

Iraq's Allawi Issues Ultimatum to Falluja, Reuters.
 
I Guess We Need to Make More Bullets...

Blix Says Iraq War Stimulated World Terrorism, Reuters.

Monday, October 11, 2004
 
Another Stupid Attempt at Mobile Blogging

Base10 is trying to make this entry from his cell phone. Cool, but impractical for anything longer than one line.


 
Content, What Content?

Why would Base10 actually write an opinion if there was a perfectly good one over at Lileks today? Absolutely best answer to the Kerry terrorism-as-nuisance theme:

A nuisance? I don’t want the definition of success of terrorism to be “it isn’t on the rise.” I want the definition of success to be “free democratic states in the Middle East and the cessation of support of those governments and fascist states we haven’t gotten around to kicking in the ass yet.” I want the definition of success to mean a free Lebanon and free Iran and a Saudi Arabia that realizes there’s no point in funding the fundies. An Egypt that stops pouring out the Jew-hatred as a form of political novacaine to keep the citizens from turning their ire on their own government. I want the definition of success to mean that Europe takes a stand against the Islamicist radicals in their midst before the Wahabbi poison is the only acceptable strain on the continent. Mosquito bites are a nuisance. Cable outages are a nuisance. Someone shooting up a school in Montana or California or Maine on behalf of the brave martyrs of Fallujah isn't a nuisance. It's war.

You know, Base10 appreciates it when somebody makes perfect sense. Read the whole thing.

How about this from WSJ's Best of the Web. Taranto notes that the Times reported on the Bush "bulge" but not the Kerry "crib."

Meanwhile, how's this for political bias? Saturday's New York Times carried the following "report":

What was that bulge in the back of President Bush's suit jacket at the presidential debate in Miami last week? According to rumors racing across the Internet this week, the rectangular bulge visible between Mr. Bush's shoulder blades was a radio receiver, getting answers from an offstage counselor into a hidden presidential earpiece. The prime suspect was Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's powerful political adviser.

Earlier, "rumors racing across the Internet" had it that John Kerry brought cheat sheets to the first debate, but the Times, quite properly, did not see fit to report this. (Apparently Kerry was actually removing a pen from his jacket pocket--technically a violation of the debate rules, but a pretty picayune one.) It seems "rumors racing across the Internet" are sufficient basis for a "news" story in the Times--just so long as the rumors are anti-Bush.

Taranto seems surprised.

Finally, let's talk about the newest Nobel Peace Prize winner. Pictured here, her name is Wangari Maathai, Kenya's Assisant Minister for the Environment. She got the award for her activities as a conservationist. Laudable no doubt, but she also believes that AIDS was created as a means of biological warfare. "AIDS (is) not a curse from God to Africans or the black people," she said. "It is a tool to control them designed by some evil-minded scientists, but we may not know who particularly did [it]." Hmm, it's hard to believe the traditional headscarve that she's wearing in the photo is actually made of tin foil.


 
Another Test

Here we go again. Base10 is trying this from his PDA via email. Pretty good feature but it's not so easy to do editing.


 
A Test.
Base10 is trying to blog by email, a new feature
implemented by Blogger. While here, Base10 would like
to comment on yesterday's football results. First, to
get it out of the way, GO JETS! There. I feel better
now.

Anyway, the Jets won a nailbiter in the last few
seconds yesterday and remain undefeated. The Pats
also are now 19-0 stretching back to last season. If
the Jets prevail against San Francisco and the Pats
beat Seatle next week, there is the tantalizing
posibility of a matchup between undefeated teams in
week seven. But let's not get ahead of ourselves,
they are the Jets after all. Besides, next Sunday's
matchup with SF has all the makings of a classic
"trap" game. Of course hope springs eternal in
Jetland.

In any event, I also want to try a link.

UPDATE: Interesting. It seems to work well but inserts line breaks. I wonder why?
Sunday, October 10, 2004
 
Live Blogging the Jets

Before we start, congratulations to the Afghan people! There may be something to this democracy thing after all. It is heartwarming to see a long suffering people so optimistic about their future. Allah has a nice piece here. But there's also this.

There's also other election news on the other side of the world. The Australians--God bless their conservative hearts--have reelected John Howard as Prime Minister. To one of America's staunchest allies, Base10 says thank you.

Drudge has an interesting item here. It suggests that Sean Penn sent a scathing letter to Trey Parker and Matt Stone about their upcoming "Team America" film. Apparently Penn is not content only with burdening us with his own stupid political positions but now seems to believe that his should be the only celebrity opinion to which we are exposed. God bless you Scan Penn! Without your intervention, I might have become confused and voted for Bush.

The game begins shortly...

UPDATE

First Quarter:
Kickoff to Lamont Jordan followed by a couple of Curtis Martin runs. 1st and 10 at the 50 -- another Martin run by Martin for 3rd and 3. Trick play fake to Martin and end around to Santana Moss for The first. Sack--wait Ican't do a play by play.

Fine drive by Pennington only to be stuffed in the red zone and have an FG attempt go wide. Bwaaaa!

Fine drive by Bledsoe as well but he gets sacked and then the Bills get called for a Trip block. Bledsoe runs and gets slammed short and Bills punt.

Jets go three and out and woof a punt out to only their own 45.

Second Quarter:

Great play for a loss and Bills set stopped in 3. All John Abraham.

Jets stalled a little and needed 3rd and 15. Chrebet completes for 1st down and draws a late hit and an extra 15 yards. Long to Moss who was interfered with and the Jets are first and goal. TD pass to Baker, it's now 6-0.

Fast Bills possession but it ends with a punt to the Jets 15. Great Jets drive culminating in a long completion and a fumble. Doh! Baker again I think.

Jets drive in the closing seconds of the half leads to figgie. Score now 10-0. Unfortunately Base10 is out of juice. More insightful comment tomorrow. Who am I kidding? It'll be more of the usual blather.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
 
Another Try

You would think that after that failure at his attempt at mobile blogging last night would slow Base10 down. But no! Base10 decided to go out, have another beer and try to do it again. Several geekish coments. Base10 is used to carrying his laptop eveywhere. This does have drawbacks. Pocket PC tools for blogging are pretty limited. PocketBlog is what I'm using. for an internet connection, I use a T-Mobile GPRS connection via bluetooth. (Are your eyes glazing over yet?) A few hardware and software comments are in order:

Well, Base10 is currently watching the USC- Cal game. USC is leading 16-10 going into the second half. Pretty good game. Base10 also enjoyed the earlier Texas Oklahoma game, but was rooting for the Longhorns who were ultimately shut out after a long defensive struggle. Texas had not been shut out in 282 games.

In addition to football, the fourth game in the ALDS is going on right now pitting the Yankees with the Twins. The teams are currently tied as of this writing.

UPDATE USC just scored making it 23-10. Let the spanking begin!

Note on Formatting. Base10 is experimenting with different templates as all astute readers have probably noticed. It's about time Base10 did some maintenance on the page. First, Base10 has installed send by email links and switched from Haloscan to Blogger for comments. Second, the blog rolls
are in sore need of updating. This is unfortunately for some unpleasant reasons. Donald Sensing and Steven den Beste have quit blogging, at least for now. Base10 will retire those links shortly.

UPDATE. The Twins just scored putting them up 2-1 at the top of the fourth.

Finally, in the "one last thing" department, those whacky guys over at Jib-Jab have done another video on the Bush-Kerry campaigns. It's pretty funny but not as good as the first one.

Well, that's it for now.

UPDATE. Okay, that's just weird. First, great difficulty in actually posting with Pocket Blog and for some reason it posts two copies of the entry.
 
Mobile Blogging

Base10 is blogging from one of his local haunts via cellphone, PDA and Targus keyboard. Technology is amazing!

So how about those Jets! Base10 is in fan heaven lately. But not to worry, Jet's fans know that doom is only one game away. By the same token, Jet fans must take what we can get. And we will certainly take first place even if it is shared. Now don't all you Jet fans get over confident, we have only beaten Cincinnati, San Diego and a battered Miami squad. Hardly a group of playoff bound teams, but when you look at the Jet's schedule, the only game you really feel you have to concede are the two against the Pats. And even the Pats have shown that they can be beaten--just not yet. Since we face the collision with Buffalo this weekend, the Jet's must start to gel on defending the run.

Don't forget our crosstown cousins, either. The Giants are playing really good football. It helps that the competition is not as good as they originally anticipated. Although a legend, Base10 doesn't think Joe Gibbs will fare too well in today's NFL. Gibb's triumphant return is marred by the fact that the 'Skins just aren't that good. While you can't really blame this on Gibbs (the onus is clearly on Snyder), his team needs more than legendary coaching. Add into the mix another relic in Dallas with Parcells and a Cowboy QB situation that is one knockdown away from disaster, and the Giants have a pretty good chance to do well in their division. Except for Philly. Whatver else happns in the season, not even the staunchest Giant fan would have thought that they would be 3-1 with a quarter of the season over.

As Base10 pens this screed, he is watching the Yankees play the Twins. The Twins have anounced that they will pitch their ace tomorrow on short rest. Considering that the Yanks got spanked the first game and barely won game 2 in the 12th inning, it's not easy being a Yankee fan right now. Base10 would like to see the Yanks win for two reason. First, a Yankee advance would pit them against Boston, always a good matchup. Second, if the Yanks do go to the World Series, there is the distinct possibility of an Astros-Yankees championship. It would almost be worth it to see the Yanks go to the big game and lose to Roger Clemens. It just might be the thing that puts Steinbrenner over the edge.

Not to forget about our hapless boys in Flushing, the Mets deserve a mention. Who is to blame? Base10 personally doesn't think it was Howe. He has a track record as a manager and didn't suddenly forget eveything he knew about baseball. The team was beset by injuries as well. Recall that Base10 predicted that if the Mets made it to the All-Star break playing .500 ball anything could happen. Base10 proved to be correct. Unfortunately, the "anything" happended to be ending the season in the sewer. Remember you read it here first.

Who would have thought that the most significant game in the Met's season was the last appearance of the Montreal Expos at Shea? Well, there's always next year!

UPDATE: Well maybe it's not so easy mobile blogging. Base10 couldn't post last night and had to settle for an afternoon update. The program--Pocket Blogger for the PPC wouldn't work without a Microsoft runtime. Thanks again, Bill Gates! Base10 is embroiled in college football right now, and will perhaps post more later.
Friday, October 08, 2004
 
A Quickie

Base10 has been pretty busy at work this week. (Or as he described it to one of his captains, "I'm workin' like a gerbil in a Habitrail!") Alas, Base10's posting volume has suffered. Today is an early day however, and Base10 hopes to get some stuff out tonight before the debate.

Base10 also wants to get some sports comment on the blog, since he's been neglecting that lately. There's a lot of good stuff this weekend. For example, tomorrow is probably the best NCAA football gameday of the year. As for the NFL, Base10's favorites, the undefeated New York Jets, are set for a collision with Buffalo on Sunday and the Giants continue to surprise. Indeed, Base10 has yet to write this season's epitath for the Mets! In other news, Base10 may travel to the great state of Virginia to join the Base10 Cousin on Halloween for the Florida State--Maryland matchup. Revelry and hijinks to follow the game, no doubt. Hmm...It seems Base10 is in need of a moniker for the Base10 Cousin. Suggestions left in a comment will be condsidered!

In the mean time, check this link about the Duelfer Report and how the headlines that you've been reading are highly misleading. Like this one in the Times. Or this one. Or this. Hey Base10 may not be a brain surgeon, but he thinks he sees a pattern here! Aside from the first link which basically highlights the report's findings about the extensive Oil-for-Food corruption, there are some other sections that describe not only the ability to produce WMD quickly, but an intent to produce nuclear weapons as soon as sanctions ended. The Duelfer report proves once again that the opinion of the NY Times is often so very wrong. If anything, it also belies the Kerry doctrine that would trust corrupt UN officials with managing world security. A close reading reaffirms that the US decision to go to Iraq was the right one.

More later.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
 
Let the Appeasement Begin!
And Other Politics as Usual

Iran has reportedly deployed a missile capable of striking Israel and southeastern Europe. Considering that Iran has already scoffed at Kerry's proposal to appease--er, negotiate--a settlement to the Iran nuke crisis by supplying the Mullahs with nuclear fuel, maybe the Europeans should be concerned. (I guess the mullahs expected more for their money). In any event, France is probably already planning surrender. (But maybe Israel is not not quite ready yet).

In other news, check out this item from the AP wire. Note the first two paragraphs describing the situation in Afghanistan as spiraling out of control.

The killing in Afghanistan spirals onward, undermining US contentions of success in pacifying the country with less than a week to go before a historic experiment with democracy: direct presidential elections. The deaths of three Afghan soldiers and two militants over the weekend, barely noted in news reports, brought to at least 957 the number of people reported killed in political violence this year, according to an Associated Press review. The toll includes about 30 American soldiers.

How many fatalities was that? 957, you say. Bear in mind that the city of New York had more homicides than that annually in the 1990's. But that's not really the point. Given the initial figure we have to wait until the end of the article for this:

Based on AP reports, nearly half of those killed in just over nine months have been militants.


So let's see. Most of the fatalities were guys we're trying to kill anyway. What's worse is that this line didn't make it into the Boston Globe version of the story. But c'mon, everybody knows Afghanistan's a quagmire! I read in the Globe! Tell that to the millions of Afghanis that are registered to vote on Saturday and the 40% of them who are women.

Oh, and then there's that other quagmire. Iraqi and US forces have secured Samarra and apparently captured several non-Iraqi insurgents. Of particular note is that the Iraqi troops performed very well. Fallujah can't be far behind.

And finally, Base10 is not the only one offended by stupid celebrity political comments. See here and here.

Base10 is certainly in a quagmire. He must chose between post-season baseball and the vice-presidential debate. Well, we'll see.
Friday, October 01, 2004
 
Yes, But Did He Cover?

"Kerry Seen As Debate Winner Around World"
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer


 
Debates?
Base10 watched the debates last night of course, and like every other pajama-wearing blogger has to throw in his two cents. There's lots of good comments by political analysists far more knowledgeable and articulate than Base10 so please check out RealClearPolitics.com for a good survey of (mostly conservative) opinion.

All in all, I thought that Kerry showed himself to be very articulate, which is way more than I expected out of him. Bush was on point, but his delivery seemed slow and sometimes disjointed. I have noticed this about Bush--he doesn't do as well when he is overly scripted. During the 2000 campaign, I thought Bush was at his best when he was more or less unscripted in town hall style rallies taking questions. You could tell his answers were sincere and from the heart. I'd like to see more of that.

The other side of the "Kerry talks real good" issue is how much that really helps him. The fact that Kerry seems articulate to Base10--an attorney from New York--doesn't detract from the fact that a midwesterner would perceive Bush as "talkin' like plain folk."

The pundits pretty much are calling it a tie. Some are calling it a snoozer. You be the judge.

In other news yesterday, Islamic terrrorists detonated a suicide bomb in Bahgdad killing forty-six people including 35 children. An American troop convoy had been in the area to attend the opening of an Iraq sewage treatment plant when a car bomb exploded. The troops were being mobbed by young children asking for sweets. In Pakistan, another Islamic terrorist suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in a Shiite mosque killing sixteen worshipers. Although no group has claimed responsibility. al Qaeda is likely behind it. And they call us barbarians?

At least there's this: an American offensive in Samarra has killed 96 of the bastards. Now if we could only stop France and Italy from paying for their weapons.

Fans of James Lileks must catch his bit today. The debate apparently got him very worked up. Best bit:
So, I get it. We are wrong and bad and stupid and stupidly wrong-bad. We failed to make France act as though it wasn’t, you know, France, a militarily insignificant nation that is understandably motivated by self-interest, and we haven’t convened a summit so we could be castigated for ignoring the extralegal use of Israeli helicopters to turn Hamas kingpins into indistinct red smears. You’d think we nuked Paris and converted everyone to Lutheranism.
Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Finally, if you've got a little time on your hands, there's this and the links at the end of this AP piece.

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