Short post - cable night

I do a cable show one Monday a month on Suburban Community Cable. We talked about the election - starting with Greg Palast's 'the election has already been stolen' piece. If vote suppression stole about 4.5 million votes, which is Palast's estimate, then the anti-Republican pro-Democratic sweep was that much greater.

In your face, Ken Blackwell! Right back at ya, Katherine Harris!

Also talked about Rummy's 'resignation' as a failed attempt to steal the news cycle, Allen's concession as a way to keep the lid on whatever is going on in Virginia, and the 13,000 undervotes in Florida.

A brief mention of Oaxaca, too.

Hanging with the kids...

Not mine - we have a great set of 'op kids' (other people's) - my niece and nephew. Who are as demanding as the dawg of time! Went to the Children's Museum in St. Paul, watched some movies, one of them got my sweetie to snap, very sad, that.

So this is rather of a filler post. At least I still remember much of my 8th grade history.

You Passed 8th Grade US History

Congratulations, you got 7/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade History?

Still don't want to post...

I have in my head the theory that attending Drinking Liberally was the same as posting. This is definitely not the case - but it was still nice. Met a bunch of folks, although didn't talk to as many as I'd like. (And found some people uninterested in meeting me - which struck me as funny for a group that's supposed to be supportive and networking.)

I'm musing on the difference between liberal and progressive - what is it? Is there any, or is it all marketing?

Welcome your comments. And saying 'Drinking Progressively' isn't as clever as 'Drinking Liberally', while true, is not really what I'm looking for.

I don't wanna post...

but I'll bang on this drum all night!

Oaxaca is still in turmoil. The Federales couldn't shut down the last radio station (they've attacked it and it was defended; someone lobbed a rocket at it, the antenna was destroyed and then rebuilt lower, for some loss in range.) The streets are full of resistance. Hundreds of thousands came - from Mexico City, through police lines - to march in support of APPO.

And the US House and the US Senate. Ahhhh....

That's it for now!

Election resulties

It ain't all done, but this is a gooooood night for democrats. And it's a decent night for the people of Amurrika, since democrats are shitty to good (as opposed to depth-of-evil to crappy)

Although I'm pissed pissed pissed about Pawlenty.

Since I already did a bunch of this work three weeks ago, I'll just go to my prediction post and use that to talk about these races.

Since I am only limited in my omniscience, the following prediction is particularly full of hot air.

National Prediction: Democrats Take House +10, Republicans Control Senate +1

Go to a more inside-baseball site to read more on this. I just think that the local littler races will fall Dem, while the larger targets will be worked hard by the Reps.

As of this second, the corporate media tell us that the Dems have gained 26 in the House, and the Senate is down to Virginia, Montana, and Missouri. And Webb is claiming victory >>YES!!<< so the Senate could be Dem +1, or not. Although Joe Fucking Liebermann (lost 5 bucks on that) (and another 5 on Hatch, if he loses... fucker...) anyway, Liebermann could sell out the Democrats. He lied about respecting the primary, why not this?

My prayer was for 235-200. I'm shocked by how widespread the Dem House pickups are across the country. Holy shit.

Minnesota Predictions

US Senate: Amy Klobuchar 57%, Mark Kennedy 45%, IP-Guy 4%, Mike Cavlan 3%, Right of the Fetus to Buy a Gun with Gold Coins (Constitution Party) 1%

Start with the easy one. Mark Kennedy is a creep, and people know it. Amy's personable and seems tough. While my hope is that Cavlan breaks 5%, the media blackout on all Greens militates against it.

Since the results were Klobuchar 58%, Kennedy 38%, IP-Guy(Fitzgerald) 3%, Cavlan .5%, Gold Fetuses with Guns (Powers) .25%, and since my predictions add up to 110%, I've got to give myself credit for hitting the Klobe number pretty exactly, and the depth of the disgust with the smarmy prick Kennedy was hidden by my extra 10%. Decent on the IP total, but silly-wrong on the Green and the Gold.

The media blackout on the Greens did its job.

Governor: Mike Hatch by a hair

Not much to say about this. Pawlenty is telegenic, but also a fucktard. Hatch's campaign? I've not seen it. Don't know if it's in the grassroots, but with his top-down management style, I somewhat doubt it. Hutchinson, who is propped up by people who (so far as I can tell) were liberal when they were younger, but can't quite sell out ALL the way (but they sure don't like real populism), gets crap. And deserves it! (Ooooh! My greatest accomplishment was that I tried to privatize the Minneapolis School System! And I failed!) (wanker)

Fuck fuck fuckkity-fuck fuck fuck. Fuck. My roomie bitched at me for bitching about Hutchinson - how can you diss third parties? My answer - the IPer's suck. That party exists to give Democrats who dislike poor people and pro-choice Republicans a home, and since there are more of the former than the latter, Hutchinson effectively gives it to Pawlenty.

The smears on Hatch were bad, but could have been countered with something grassroots. In the face of incredible anti-Republican sentiment, Hatch loses it. I predict that the top-down structure of the DFL will get some shaking up.

Attorney General: Lori Swanson

Because the Democrats are going to do well in the state.

Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie

Because more people are ticked off about Mary Evil Fucking Kiffmeyer than there are Republicans who really want to make sure she can bias elections.

Ding, dong, Mary Evil Fucking Kiffmeyer's dead (the witch is dead) The witch is dead!!!
(apologies to all witches.) (and see the original post for a long rant about the banal evil of Mary Evil Fucking Kiffmeyer.)

State Auditor: Don't know, but the best chance for the Greens to get 5%.

So if you want to see the Greens returned to major-party status, so the corporate media (and their MPR affiliate) will need to come up with a new reason to exclude them from coverage, vote Dave Berger for Auditor.

It was the best race for the Greens at over 2%. Not good enough. Otto - decent, who cares.

Congressional races: Two DFL pickups

I think that Wetterling's going to beat Bachmann because of Foley. I think Rowley or Walz will win, but not both. I think Wendy Wilde will give Ramstad the best run for a long time. Ellison will win. And I will celebrate. The rest of the pack are going to stick with the incumbent, even though Colin Peterson's a Torture Democrat.

Foley not good enough. We now have someone in the US House who follows a faith that calls the Pope the AntiChrist. Great news on Walz!!! (as I'm a 1st CD boy.) Too bad on Rowley. And Wetterling's campaign sucked.

State House and Senate: Democratic wins

Even without Matt Entenza's wife's money, the national mood and the creepiness of Pawlenty and Kennedy will give the DFL what they need to take over. Jesse Mortenson, the only Green running for one of these seats (in Entenza's old district) will get in the high 30s.

Mortenson only got 15%. But the Republicans were CREAMED by the DFL.

Overall, I'm pleased by the predictions - although they were mostly conventional wisdom. Like almost-pegging the Klobe number. And Webb - fuck yeah!!!

Voting

If voting does so little, why do the forces of evil want to stop us from doing it?

People I think are worth voting for:

US Senate: Michael Cavlan. (5% or bust! And we get rid of Kennedy!)

US Congress: Walz (1), Rowley (2), Wilde (3), Ellison (5), Wetterling (6) (the rest are safe seats - whatever)

Governor: Mike Hatch. (Sorry, Ken - Hatch is good and Pawlenty is so, so bad.)

Attorney General: Swanson. Or Papa John Kolstad.

Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie. (Ritchie is good and Mary Evil Fucking Kiffmeyer must go)

State Auditor: Berger.

And Jesse Mortenson for State House.

As you were.

Olbermann and Canes and Sumner

I love looking at why people come to my page. Many recent hits have been looking for the latest Olbermann commentary, about Bush's attempts to use Kerry's comment about education to beat him about the head and neck.

So here's the video. Enjoy!

The Brits know - Bush is dangerous!

In a recent survey, 75% of the British surveyed find the Preznit to be a threat to world peace.

America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq.

Carried out as US voters prepare to go to the polls next week in an election dominated by the war, the research also shows that British voters see George Bush as a greater danger to world peace than either the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, or the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both countries were once cited by the US president as part of an "axis of evil", but it is Mr Bush who now alarms voters in countries with traditionally strong links to the US.

Picture and story from the Guardian UK

Oaxaca updates

The Fox government is intent on crushing the APPO - the people's movement in Oaxaca.

They have taken the city center, but the radio station at the autonomous university remains in the hands of the people.

Here in the Twin Cities, solidarity action is being planned.

Narco News, the Narcosphere, and La Luchita (Peace, Justice, and Liberty) are all good sources for news on this. The AP and the US corporate media are not.

The left wing political party, the PRD, is apparently doing little, while the Zapatistas are engaging in road blockades in solidarity.

Dawg care, laugh out loud

The dawg's healing is continuing, but she refuses to calm down (i.e., she's the same hyper bundle of muscle, bone, and skin she was before the surgery) and the cyst-removal on the leg is a constant lick-target. This is bad, since she still has staples in the leg, and too much pressure can make them bleed.

She's also requiring near-constant attention. If dogs are training for kids, I'm gonna be one tired daddy when junior finally shows up.

She's also training me to leave my computer.

So that's what's up nowadays.

In other news, this made me laugh out loud. It seems that the Bushies, who love blaming others for their own errors and faults, now think that Hugo Chavez is cheating with electronic voting machines.

If you ever thought that maybe they weren't cheating using electronic voting machines, this projection on their part should be proof certain.

U.S. digs for vote-machine links to Hugo Chávez

Federal officials are investigating whether Smartmatic, owner of Oakland, Calif.-based Sequoia Voting Systems, is secretly controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, according to two people familiar with the probe.

In July, a Treasury Department spokeswoman disclosed that a Treasury-led panel had contacted Smartmatic, and a company representative said his firm was ''in discussions'' with the panel. At the time, those discussions were informal. The government has now upgraded to a formal investigation, the two sources said.

Sequoia's electronic voting machines operate in 17 states. In Florida, the machines are used in four counties: Palm Beach, Indian River, Pinellas and Hillsborough.

Miami-Dade and Broward use other technology.

Concerns about Smartmatic are keen on the eve of the Nov. 7 election, given fears that someone with unauthorized access to the electronic system could create electoral chaos. Some critics believe that if the Venezuelan government is involved, Smartmatic could be a ''Trojan horse'' designed to advance Chavez's anti-American agenda.