[thirty] pundit

Alienating the general election voter

2007-02-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

L'Affaire Marcotte has now run its' course. As with Senator Biden's words in the previous post, there's a reason for Sen. Edwards to be disassociating himself from his blogging pair.

It's to be found in the exit poll data from 2004:

Vote by Religion (percentage of total vote) Bush Kerry
Protestant (54%) 59% 40%
Catholic (27%) 52% 47%
Jewish (3%) 25% 74%
Other (7%) 23% 74%
None (10%) 31% 67%

Clearly, to top Sen. Kerry's performance, the categories with the best 'room to grow' for Sen. Edwards are, well, to paraphrase Amanda, filled with 'Godbags' and 'Jeebus' freaks.

Alienating your base

2007-02-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Lots of folks have been discussing the comments of Joe Biden (D-DE) regarding Barack Obama (D-IL) in recent days. I'll give you the quote one more time:

Mr. Biden is equally skeptical—albeit in a slightly more backhanded way—about Mr. Obama. “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

In turn, everyone has been in a fluff over, essentially, Biden apparently saying that other previous African-American presidential candidates being, well, inarticulate and/or not exactly 'the boy next door'.

Now, Biden was quick to act on this, saying that the quote lacked a suitable pause, specifically a comma after African-American. He also said that 'bright and clean' had a specific meaning within his family. Just for the sake of arguement, I'll accept each of these points from the Senator at face value.

Even if I do so, Joe's closed this primary campaign even faster than quoting Neil Kinnock in 1988. Why?

Here, I share with you data from 1988, specifically the delegate totals at the Democratic Convention (source: Wikipedia):

Joe, who's looking to win his party's primary (and who netted a whopping 2 delegates in '88), has just told roughly 31% of those who voted in the party's primary in 1988 (those who voted for Jesse Jackson) that their primary vote wasn't for someone in the mainstream of American politics.

Talk about digging yourself a hole.

Hair Club Concerned About Civil Liberties Impact of Fox's '24'

2007-01-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

News Parody Releases
Thursday, January 30, 2007

Hair Club Concerned About Civil Liberties Impact of Fox's '24'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HAIR CLUB CONCERNED ABOUT CIVIL LIBERTIES IMPACT OF FOX'S '24'

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/30/07) - One of the world's most widely recognized hair loss treatment providers today expressed concern that the new story line on Fox's "24" terror drama may have a negative impact on the national debate over civil liberties.

The Hair Club for Men said the explosion of a nuclear device near Los Angeles at the end of the most recent episode of "24", and subsequent attacks on CTU agents, including Jack Bauer (portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland) by balding Americans, including Bauer's own brother, Graem (portrayed by Paul McCrane) may also serve to increase prejudice against men with balding and thinning hair in American society.

In a statement, the group said:

"The raw emotional impact of fictional scenes that include widespread death and destruction in America may adversely affect the public's attitude toward civil liberties and freedom of choice for one's scalp. The program's repeated association of acts of terrorism with balding men will only serve to increase prejudice against men with balding and thinning hair in our society.

"We have communicated the concerns of the American Balding Man's community about this season's story line to Fox officials and will work with the network to help viewers distinguish between televised fiction and actual world events."

In response to similar concerns about a "24" story line two years ago, Fox aired a public service announcement that featured Kiefer Sutherland urging viewers to avoid stereotyping Muslims.

---

Hair Club is one of the world's most widely recognized hair loss treatment providers. Our work has been highlighted through several news media, such as NBC and The New York Times. Hair Club is a wholly owned subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Regis Corp. (NYSE: RGS); the largest hair salon operator in the world. Making you look and feel good is at the heart of all our businesses. Some of our more famous brands include Supercuts, Mastercuts, Smartstyle, Cost Cutters, Jean-Louis David and Vidal Sassoon.

- END NEWS PARODY -

Name That Christianist!

2007-01-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here's the quote:

The President had exerted his most fervent efforts to persuade [the ambassador], newly restored to favor by the turn of events, to accept the phrase, 'religious freedom'. He was invited to luncheon with us in the President's room on purpose.

and yet more...

Later on the President had a long talk with him alone about his soul and the dangers of hell-fire.

Wow. Just...wow. An American President...proselytizing to a foreign minister.

Can you Name That Christianist?

Answer: It's Franklin Delano Roosevelt, spreading that good old Christian fervor to Soviet Ambassador Maxim Litvinov, as described in Winston Churchill's The Second World War, Vol. III, Chapter 36. Churchill went on to say that, had Roosevelt lost the election in 1944, this incident was enough to recomend Roosevelt to the King to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

Risky behavior

2007-01-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Woman held over skydive death

Police in Belgium have arrested a woman over the death of a skydiver who plunged 13,000 feet to her death last year.
Els Clootemans, 22, is accused of plotting to kill 37-year-old Els Van Doran during a joint sky-dive from an airfield in Zwarteberg, Belgium on November 18.

Ms Van Doren, was jumping with Clootemans, Clootemans's Dutch boyfriend Marcel and a fourth parachutist.
...
Police believe somebody had tampered with Ms Van Doren's parachute and they later discovered Ms Van Doran was having an affair with Clootemans's partner and arrested her following a two-month investigation.

So, let's count the risky behaviors, shall we?

First: skydiving, which by itself is a risky behavior.

Second: having an affair. always risk that someone could find out. and it could be the wrong person.

Third: skydiving with the wrong person from point (2).

Reminder to self: never have an affair, and never skydive with someone who is.

Boys, stop arguing or I'm turning the Peace Train around!

2007-01-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

who will Mother Sheehan side with?

what's a terrible message?

2007-01-10T23:54:00.000-07:00

Courtesy the AP, I provide you with cluelessness incarnate:

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- In a city where tourism and conventions are key to reviving a post-Katrina economy, the murder spree that has opened the year is adding financial anxiety to the heartache and fear.
With Mardi Gras just over a month away, nine killings in the first eight days of the new year had tourism officials scrambling to convince visitors not to skip the city's biggest party.
...
Discussion of a possible curfew for the city -- including the French Quarter where many bars are open 24 hours a day -- would only add to the woes of the business community.
"We're very much opposed to a curfew," said Earl Bernhardt, president of the Bourbon Street Alliance, a merchants organization. "For one thing, it would send a terrible message nationwide that would hurt us more than the murder rate. It would look like it was totally unsafe to be on the streets after dark."

(my bold in the quotation above).

Mr. Bernhardt, a simple thought on my part. Nine killings in eight days sends a terrible message nationwide. It says that the streets of New Orleans are unsafe after dark. The inability of New Orleans to take practical steps to curb such crime sends a message that you're really not serious about dealing with the crime. And that will do more to keep people away from Mardi Gras (and from resettling in New Orleans) than you can imagine.

Why? Because...

2007-01-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

...there are so many more Democrats in DC now, that getting on Olbermann is going to require that extra touch of vitriol.
UPDATE (1209 MT): Even more extry vitriol.

Writing Comprehension 1

2006-12-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

Let's compare the title of this AP article:

Hamas, Fatah groups announce truce

and the contents of the first paragraph:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gunmen fired on the Palestinian foreign minister's convoy on Sunday and militants launched mortar shells at President Mahmoud Abbas' office in a daylong wave of factional violence that killed three people.

The article eventually gets to the truce in the second paragraph. So tell me, would an article from Iraq get as rosy a headline in the midst of political upheaval, nay, civil war?

"There's still good in him..."

2006-12-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

Andrew upsets the liberal reader (and probably causes a couple of sarcastic head nods at NRO HQ) by reminding us of his conservative bona fides.

To me, I trust Andrew that this is more than the web equivalent of a Che poster in a dorm room. RWR was my introduction to the conservative movement, a tough thing for a kid growing up in a town with a 10-to-1 ratio favoring the left.

UPDATED: sigh. That was quick. Once again, shoving 'all', or in the best case scenario, 'most' conservatives into the homophobic box is inappropriate and inaccurate. Personally, Mary is likely to be far more fit of a mother than, say, a 14-year old, or the soon-to-be ex Mrs. Federline, to say the least. Andrew does his best to burn bridges among fellow conservatives - especially those who would agree with him - by assuming 'non-Andrew conservative = Theocrat'.

to quote James Bond Stockwell...

2006-12-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

"Who am I? Why am I here?"

In my case, "Who am I?" is answered with the following: I'm a father, husband, systems analyst, conservative, born back east, educated in the midwest, now living and working in the high country of New Mexico.

"Why am I here?" Well, for starters, I'm a long-time reader, first-time blogger. And rather than wait for the blogfather to add comments, or for Charles to open to new commenters at some time other than o'dark thirty, I figured it was time to open my own mouth (via the keypad, and all these wonderful tubes).

Why thirtypundit? Well, for starters, thirty wasn't available. Secondly, like many bloggers-in-training, Glenn is a good starting point for good blogging ettiquette. 'Heh' is pithy.

Moreover, per the subtitle of the blog, thirty represents the end of the story in journalistic parlance. In this space, I hope to be able to put the 'end of story' in place on my opinions, from news of the day to how the weather or family is here (I promise, in advance, no views from my window, unless it's really pretty outside).