Why I Won’t Be Shopping At WalMart

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & Deficit1 Comment

Because, according to this survey, 89% of you will be shopping at WalMart this season.

89 percent. Yikes.

Britt Beemer, head of America’s Research Group, said he was "a little flabbergasted" by the high number of people who said they planned to shop at Wal-Mart. He had expected a figure closer to 70 percent, which is about how many have said they shopped Wal-Mart for holiday gifts in prior years’ surveys.

Of those who planned to avoid Wal-Mart this year, most said it was because they disliked the crowds.

That’s me.

Srry, Bt Ths Is Nt Eng

Ken AshfordEducationLeave a Comment

Very strange:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s high school students will be able to use "text-speak" — the mobile phone text message language beloved of teenagers — in national exams this year, officials said.

Text-speak, a second language for thousands of teens, uses abbreviated words and phrases such as "txt" for "text", "lol" for "laughing out loud" or "lots of love," and "CU" for "see you."

You’ve got to be kidding me.

By the way, I like how the article is written both in English, and (in a box on the side) in "text-speak":

WELLINGTON, nu Zealand — nu Zealands hI skul students wiL b abL 2 uz "text-speak" d mob fone txt msg lngwij beloved of teenz n national exams DIS yr., officials sed.

Text-speak, a 2nd lngwij 4 thouz of teens, uzz abbreviated wrds & frAzez such az "txt" 4 "txt", "lol" 4 ":-d out lowd" o "lots of luv," & "CU" 4 "c U." d muv hz alredi divided students & educators hu fear it c%d damage d eng lngwij.

Newsweek Cover

Ken AshfordBush & Co.Leave a Comment

Oh, this picture isn’t going to help the father-son relationship one bit:

Newsweekbushes

Flashback to better times:

With his parents back in Washington, Bush went to stay with them for the holidays and was involved in one of the most notorious incidents of his "nomadic" years. He took his 16-year-old brother Marvin out drinking, ran over a neighbor’s garbage cans on the way home, and when his father confronted him, challenged him to go "mano a mano" outside.

There was no fight, and Bush was apparently able to mollify his father with the news that he had been accepted for the following fall at Harvard Business School.

By the way, Newsweek puts Bush at his lowest ratings of his presidency: 31%.

What Failure Looks Like

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

This says it all:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Baghdad’s morgues are full.

With no space to store bodies, some victims of the sectarian slaughter are not being kept for relatives to claim, but photographed, numbered and quickly interred in government cemeteries.

Men fearful of an anonymous burial are tattooing their thighs with names and phone numbers.

In October, a particularly bloody month for Iraqi civilians, about 1,600 bodies were turned in at the Baghdad central morgue, said its director, Dr. Abdul-Razaq al-Obaidi.

The city’s network of morgues, built to hold 130 bodies at most, now holds more than 500, he says

Doug Feith On His Homage To Rumsfeld

Ken AshfordBush & Co.Leave a Comment

WaPo editorial:

Rumsfeld’s drive to overhaul the Pentagon — to drop outdated practices and modes of thought — antagonized many senior military officers and civilian officials in the department. He pushed for doing more with less.

Less troops than needed, less body armor, less oversight…..

REMINDER:  It bears repeating that the author, Doug Feith, was in charge of the Office of Special Plans for Iraq in the Pentagon, and was so inept that Gen. Tommy Franks memorably called him "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth."

Rumsfeld — International War Criminal?

Ken AshfordBush & Co., War on Terrorism/Torture2 Comments

Bad way to start his retirement:

New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany’s top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

This isn’t anything to sneeze at.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs say that one of the witnesses who will testify on their behalf is former Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, the one-time commander of all U.S. military prisons in Iraq. Karpinski — who the lawyers say will be in Germany next week to publicly address her accusations in the case — has issued a written statement to accompany the legal filing, which says, in part: "It was clear the knowledge and responsibility [for what happened at Abu Ghraib] goes all the way to the top of the chain of command to the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld."

…Rumsfeld’s resignation, they say, means that the former Defense Secretary will lose the legal immunity usually accorded high government officials. Moreover, the plaintiffs argue that the German prosecutor’s reasoning for rejecting the previous case — that U.S. authorities were dealing with the issue — has been proven wrong.

To be continued, I’m sure…

Conservative Talk Show Hosts And Water Carrying

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

I’m glad that people like Andrew Sullivan are making the point I made a few days ago:

So if I have this straight, Limbaugh knowingly supported people he actually believed were indefensible, who were not conservatives. He is saying loud and clear that he deliberately misled his listeners – because he couldn’t bring himself to back "the left," whatever that means to him. Then there’s this from Hugh Hewitt:

"It is a wonderful day for new media, especially talk radio. For two years we have had to defend the Congressional gang that couldn’t shoot straight."

Say what? Says who? Is he on the GOP payroll? "We have had to defend …" Why, exactly? No one was forcing Hewitt to defend anything. He could have been honest with his readers and listeners. He could have called this Congress the "gang that couldn’t shoot straight" last week. Why didn’t he?

The one thing you learn from this: Hewitt and Limbaugh are party animals. They put loyalty to party above intellectual honesty. They have admitted that they knowingly misled their readers and listeners. They can and will do it again.

Emphasis mine. 

Another conservative blogger echoes the sentiment:

When one thinks about, Rush’s attitude mirrors key problems evident in the outgoing Congressional majority: the notion that the most important thing was holding on to power, not an honest assessment of the country’s situation.

Further, this underscores an ongoing problem in American political commentary: allowing partisanship to trump ideology/philosophy.

It is one thing to have a point of view, it is quite another to become a shill for a given political party no matter what it does. I briefly listened to Hannity’s radio show on Tuesday and he was nothing more than very loud booster for Republicans. Now, one would expect Hannity to be pro-GOP but there is a point where one ceases to be an ally of a given party and one becomes nothing more than a propaganda tool for them. Once one has crossed that line, it is impossible for me to take them seriously at all.

The Shift

Ken AshfordElection 2006Leave a Comment

Who voted Democratic this year?  Seems like everybody.  Below is a chart listing the shifts in all sorts of demographic groups (compared to how those groups voted in 2004):

Gender
Women: +15
Men: +11

Ethnicity
Whites: +14
African-Americans: +1
Latinos: +30
Asian: +13
Other: -1

Age
18-29: +13
30-44: +15
45-59: +10
60 and over: +10

Income
Under $15K: +10
$15K-$30K: +10
$30K-$50K: +12
$50K-$75K: +15
$75K-$100K: +10
$100K-$150K: +10
$150K-$200K: +12
$200K and over: +20

Union membership
Union members: +15
Non-union: +11

Education
No high school: +28
High school: +16
Some college: +12
College Graduate: +6
Post-graduate degree: +6

Religion
Protestant: +9
Catholic: +16
Jewish: +26
Other: -5
None: +16
White Evangelical / Born Again: +15

Religious attendance
More than weekly: +5
Weekly: +10
Monthly: +17
A few times a year: +13
Never: +11

Ideology
Liberal: +4
Moderate: +13
Conservative: +11

Party ID
Democrat: +8
Independent: +17
Republican: +4

Marital Status
Not Married: +12
Married: +12
Married with children: +16

Now, you have to ignore shifts of 10% or so, because it seems that almost every demographic group experienced a shift of that magnitude.

What stands out?

Well, Latinos for one.  Obviously, the whole immigration issue raised by Republicans — along with its not-so-subtle gringo-bashing turned off Latino voters in a big way.  Such a shame, especially since it was one of Karl Rove’s strategies to woo and keep Latino voters.

Then there’s the wealthy.  A bit perplexing that, since they were the ones who benefitted most from Bush’s tax cuts.  Apparently, there was a bit of guilt there, or perhaps complacency.  Perhaps, because they were so comfortable with their wallet, they could focus on Iraq or corruption or something other than economics.

The under-educated also shifted dramatically toward Democrats.  As did the Jewish vote.  I think both those were inevitable at some point.

I find it interesting that the religious vote, especially for part-time religious people, swung so heavily to the Democrats.  No doubt, this was due to the overreaching of the GOP’s bed-partners — people like Falwell and Dobson, as well as the purveyors of phony wars like the "War on Christmas".  People of faith said "enough already" to all that.

And finally, you have moderates and independents.  Well, no surprise there.  I suspect, for those people, it was less of a swing to Democrats and more of a swing away from Republicans.

Anyway, there’s the numbers.

Anagrams Of People I Know, Etc.

Ken AshfordRandom Musings3 Comments

DUAL JIM OUT

SPY: HIT ANY VICE

LOBSTER CHERRY

MYLAR MIKE

YEAH, HARM BETH

HARD HEN, SOFT KEN

OLE JAM, I SWAN

SWANK TEEN MYTH

CRACK EEL CRAB

Here’s a few shows I’ve been in:

BIBLE DAD DOES SEAL

ODD LEVIS, SIR

ONE OFF, SIS

HER THIN TIT, EDWIN

LONDON GOD PEN

BITCH US A LOT. MAYBE.

Yup.  I’ve been screwing around here.  David Joy, by the way, has no anagram.

Yeah, You Do That

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

You know, I’m a little burnt out by post-election fallout and analysis, but I have to admit, this blurb at The Corner set my toes a-tappin’:

It’s time for conservatives to seize the Republican Party back from the moderate/establishment Republicans.  It already appears Tuesday’s election results have been lost on the Bush White House.  This is our 1976 moment.

That’s right.  According to conservative pundit Mark Levin, the GOP lost because the Republicans weren’t far enough to the right.

I hope conservatives rally to his cry.  The more far afield the GOP goes, the more Democrats can occupy the sane maintstream center.

RELATED:  Senator Lincoln Chafee was the only Republican to vote against the Iraq War.  He lost, and now he’s considering becoming a Democrat.  C’mon in — the water’s fine.

Blogging Tool

Ken AshfordBlogging5 Comments

People who use Blogger, WordPress and other popular blogging websites might be interested in this.

BlogMailr is a free service that allows you to post to your blog by email.  Simply email your post, and it shows up on your blog.

I’m not sure how good it works — and if there’s functionality for pictures, etc.  It’s a new service, and they are working on getting the bugs out.  But it could be cool.

Friday iPod Random Ten

Ken AshfordPersonalLeave a Comment

  1. Time_to_changeIt’s Time To Change – The Brady Bunch
  2. Grace and Pride – Capercaillie
  3. Voices Carry – Aimee Mann
  4. A Blast – Natalie MacMaster
  5. I Can Do Better Than That – The Last 5 Years (Original Cast Recording)
  6. Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Tears For Fears
  7. Everyday Is A Winding Road – Sheryl Crow
  8. The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss) – Betty Everett
  9. Dizzy – Tommy Roe
  10. Those Were The Days – Mary Hopkins

The Movie Meme

Ken AshfordPersonalLeave a Comment

Rock_b101. Popcorn or candy?

Gotta say "candy".  Popcorn’s good, but then I get thirsty.  And so I have to drink.  And then I have to pee.

What?  TMI?

2. Name a movie you’ve been meaning to see forever.

Wow.  There are so many movie classics that I’ve never really seen: Lawrence of Arabia, All About Eve, North By Northwest, All Quiet On The Western Front, Giant, Greed…

Not to mention foreign films that I really should see: Battleship Potemkin, L’Avventura…

3. You are given the power to recall one Oscar: Who loses theirs and to whom?

Russell Crowe in Gladiator.

It should have been yanked out of his hands and given to either Tom Hanks (Castaway) or Ed Harris (Pollack).

4. Steal one costume from a movie for your wardrobe. Which will it be?

For my wardrobe?  What am I — a girl?

5. Your favorite film franchise is…

Not much of a film franchise person, myself, but I’d have to say the Indiana Jones trilogy.

6. Invite five movie people over for dinner. Who are they? Why’d you invite them? What do you feed them?

Patty Clarkson, because I haven’t seen her since back when I knew her as a "nobody".

Philip Seymour Hoffman, because I think he’s a smart actor but down-to-earth.

Halle Berry because she’s, well, Helle Barry.

Screenwrite Charlie Kaufman ("Adaptation") because he’s got an interesting mind, I suspect.

Woody Allen, because he’ll be a good storyteller.

Theyll eat whatever I put out — and bring their own.

7. What is the appropriate punishment for people who answer cell phones in the movie theater?

You remember the scene from Braveheart where Mel Gibson yells "Freedom"?

That.

8. Choose a female bodyguard: Ripley from Aliens. Mystique from X-Men. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2. The Bride from Kill Bill. Mace from Strange Days.

Ripley from "Aliens".  Duh.

9. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever seen in a movie?

That head coming out the bottom of the boat when Richard Dreyfuss in underwater in Jaws.

10. Your favorite genre (excluding comedy and drama) is?

Silent.

11. You are given the power to greenlight movies at a major studio for one year. How do you wield this power?

I look for anything that breaks a formula or plays with convention.  If the concept can be reduced to "Talladaga Nights meets The Graduate" — or something like that — I’m not interested.

12. Bonnie or Clyde?

Bonnie.

13: Who are you tagging to answer this survey

Cheryl, Emily and Heather.

“Jesus Camp” Closes Its Tent Flaps

Ken AshfordGodstuffLeave a Comment

A sign of the (new) times?

Organizers of an evangelical summer camp for children featured in the documentary "Jesus Camp" are discontinuing the camp because of negative reaction sparked by the film and recent vandalism at the camp site in Devils Lake, North Dakota.

"We have decided to hold different activities in future," Pentecostal pastor and camp organizer Becky Fischer told Reuters.

Fischer was the central figure in "Jesus Camp," a documentary about Pentecostal evangelical Christians, some of whom send their children to summer camp where they pray, "speak in tongues" and are urged to campaign against abortion.

In the months since the film was released the campground was vandalized and Fischer was inundated with negative e-mails and phone calls.

In one of the film’s scenes, a cardboard effigy of President George W. Bush is placed on stage before an assembly, so attendees can pray he make America "one nation under God."

The film has no voice-overs or narrative. Heidi Ewing, who directed the film with Rachel Grady, said the aim was to show a slice of American culture unfamiliar to many in America and abroad.

When it was released in May, a Variety magazine reviewer said, "Liberals might also be alarmed by images of 7-year-olds in camouflauge face-paint performing spiritual war dances."

Fischer was criticized by some for "brainwashing" the children.

The film also features scenes with disgraced evangelical leader the Rev. Ted Haggard, who resigned as pastor of the 14,000 member New Life Church in Colorado Springs last week after a gay sex and drug scandal.

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