LGF

 RetweetZombie: The Left's Big Blunder

Opinion | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 2:05:04 pm PDT

Zombie has a very interesting pre-debate read, an extended essay titled: The Left’s Big Blunder. Too deep to easily pull out a quote; just go ye and read of it.

Advertisement

460 comments

  • Comments are open and unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Little Green Footballs.
  • Obscene, abusive, silly, or annoying remarks may be deleted, but the fact that particular comments remain on the site in no way constitutes an endorsement of their views by Little Green Footballs.
  • Posts that contain phone numbers, street addresses, email addresses or other personal information will also be deleted, as will posts that consist only of a variation on the word, "First!"
  • Comments that advocate violence will be cause for immediate banning with no appeal.
  • Disagreement and debate are welcome, but insults and abuse are not, and may cause your account to be blocked.
  • REMEMBER: posting comments at LGF is a privilege, not a right. Abuse that privilege, and your account will be blocked.

Hide comments | Jump to bottom

1 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:07:57pm

I'm working on improving the formatting right now!

2 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:08:41pm

I just finished it for the second time, non-formatted.

Zombie, I'm not worthy!

3 DeafDog  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:09:06pm

"Clever Hans" would be a good LGF handle.

4 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:09:22pm

If you are correct and McCain pulls this off, I will put a picture of your icon on the mantle next to that of my sainted father.

5 Jetpilot1101  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:09:29pm

re: #3 DeafDog

"Clever Hans" would be a good LGF handle.

I'm still a fan of "Jurassic Slapass"

6 Who Watches the Watchmen?  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:09:33pm

Bad link!

7 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:10:01pm

Give me half an hour to spiff it up a little!

I realize it's a bit dense and hard to read.

8 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:10:36pm

re: #6 Who Watches the Watchmen?

Bad link!

I just fixed it. A momentary glitch. All OK now.

9 stevieray  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:11:05pm

I love it when Zombie gets all wonky... ooh baby, talk meta to me!

10 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:11:10pm

Link ok now... I caught it just before it was refreshed... what was that link anyway?

11 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:11:37pm

While we're waiting: Veteran of the Psychic Wars

I'm in that kind of mood.

12 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:11:40pm

I will disappear from this thread for several minutes as I work on the formatting. Will be back soon!

13 TheMatrix31  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:11:42pm
14 Scion9  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:11:57pm

Good essay, but the title is built off of a false premise. The Left's big blunders are very nearly innumerable, and to present an essay with a title that presumes that there is just one blunder, or one in preeminence over all of the other massive fuck-ups is extremely misleading.

15 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:12:44pm

It was, like, long n'stuff, with lots of big words, and no pictures of Brazilian bikini models, so I skipped to the end:

Yet it may very well be that an army of glum, dispirited and pessimistic conservatives will reluctantly trudge to the polls on November 4, each one imagining they are only remaining person in the entire country voting for McCain, and lo and behold -- they'll turn out to be a silent majority after all.

Inshallah, habibi.

Of course, what might come right after that, among all the Angry Left types who were SURE they were going to win this one... well, that's why I've topped up my ammo supply as of late.

I still *think* a Very Bad Scenario is unlikely. But I'm less sure of that then I used to be.

16 WindHorse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:13:25pm

Zombie, it looks like you have two of paragraph number two...

17 mattm  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:13:35pm

Wow. That's some essay. Amazing work.

18 Desert Dog  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:14:02pm

Great job, Zombie!

19 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:14:16pm

re: #15 Occasional Reader

But I'm less sure of that then than I used to be.

(Sweet jebus, are they pumping paint fumes into my office this afternoon or something?)

20 Palandine  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:14:17pm

After smearing the military, Murtha starts in on his racist, redneck, knuckle-dragging constituents

PITTSBURGH (AP) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha says his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce Barack Obama's victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points.
The 17-term Democratic congressman tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site that, as he put it: "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area."

He says it's taken time for many Pennsylvania voters to come around to liking Obama, but he should still win the state, though not in a runaway.

In a separate interview posted Wednesday on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Web site, Murtha says Obama has a problem with the race issue in western Pennsylvania that could shave 4 points off his lead in the state.

21 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:14:38pm

re: #15 Occasional Reader

I still *think* a Very Bad Scenario is unlikely. But I'm less sure of that then I used to be.

OR! How could you?

Than, not then!

22 wright1  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:15:55pm

Excellent piece. That is what I am banking on. The polls are wrong. The Obama camp is playing the propoganda game right out of the Alinsky playbook. "There is nothing wrong with what you are seeing - do not adjust the sound on your T.V." But this is not the Outer Limits - we are not mind-numbed robots - we know that the crap being doled out by the Left is not in fact reality. I keep saying to anyone who will listen: keep the faith. This will be closer than you think.

23 mitthrawnurdo  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:16:06pm

re: #16 WindHorse

Yeah, I saw that too.

/you beat me to it...

24 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:16:52pm

It's excellent, Zombie. Must read it all, later.

25 twincitiesgirl  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:17:48pm

This Zombie person is one talented dude..er..dudette...You rock Zombie!

26 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:18:22pm

OK, I've made it fixed-width at 900 pixels. Does it look better? Refresh page.

I also increased point size on chapter headings.

27 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:18:30pm

re: #21 Dianna

OR! How could you?

Than, not then!

For all intensive purposes, I've already made that correction, irregardless of your post.

28 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:18:55pm

re: #20 Palandine

After smearing the military, Murtha starts in on his racist, redneck, knuckle-dragging constituents

PITTSBURGH (AP) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha says his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce Barack Obama's victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points.
The 17-term Democratic congressman tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site that, as he put it: "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area."

He says it's taken time for many Pennsylvania voters to come around to liking Obama, but he should still win the state, though not in a runaway.

In a separate interview posted Wednesday on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Web site, Murtha says Obama has a problem with the race issue in western Pennsylvania that could shave 4 points off his lead in the state.

His opponent should run that in his TV ads:

"Do you want to elect someone who thinks, and says, you're all racists?"

29 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:19:40pm

Oops, during experimentation I put paragraph 2 in there twice. Now removed! SORRY!

30 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:19:52pm

re: #16 WindHorse

Zombie, it looks like you have two of paragraph number two...

No, there's only one.

Don't we all agree there's only one?

(Testing out the Asch Effect here)

31 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:20:11pm

re: #29 zombie

Dang! You ruined my experiment!

32 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:20:25pm

re: #16 WindHorse

Zombie, it looks like you have two of paragraph number two...

Fixed.

33 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:20:27pm

re: #27 Occasional Reader

For all intensive purposes, I've already made that correction, irregardless of your post.

*Weeping, gnashing teeth, rending clothes, pouring ashes on head*

That was cruel!

34 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:20:30pm

re: #26 zombie

OK, I've made it fixed-width at 900 pixels. Does it look better? Refresh page.

I also increased point size on chapter headings.

Add another blank line (or two) before each new section heading.

35 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:21:40pm

zombie, one small suggestion:

Over 90% of journalists classify themselves politically as "liberal"

Can you source that via hyperlink?

36 Conservative in Liberal Hands  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:21:46pm

Scholarly work, indeed! great work, Zombie!

37 Charles  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:21:51pm

You can center it by adding align="center" to the table. Fixed width usually looks better centered.

38 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:22:16pm

re: #30 Occasional Reader

No, there's only one.

Don't we all agree there's only one?

(Testing out the Asch Effect here)

And one is nothing
/Firesign Theatre

39 neocon hippie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:23:20pm

Looks better. Of course, for me it doesn't matter, because I always paste anything that's much over a page into Wordpad and print it out.

40 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:23:36pm
41 bosforus  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:24:01pm

The internet has made public opinion available so quickly that politics is starting to look like a blog. With the speed of an article being buried at Digg so too will opposing political voices be buried in DC. Political decisions are becoming a matter of split-second emotional responses with little to no thought given to logic or historical evidence. The "activist" party will be at the advantage while those who ask for moderation, sensibility, and reason will be figuratively and literally tossed to the side.

42 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:24:01pm

re: #39 neocon hippie

Looks better. Of course, for me it doesn't matter, because I always paste anything that's much over a page into Wordpad and print it out.

Tree-killer!

For your penance, you must say 100 "Hail Gores".

43 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:24:05pm
44 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:24:46pm
45 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:24:47pm

re: #4 rawmuse

If you are correct and McCain pulls this off, I will put a picture of your icon on the mantle next to that of my sainted father.

I agree and you're work is restoring my faith. Thanks!

46 GeeWiz  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:25:38pm

Great job Zombie!

47 mattm  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:25:51pm

re: #42 Occasional Reader

Tree-killer!

For your penance, you must say 100 "Hail Gores".

Count me in as tree killer too.

48 the_flying_pig  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:26:02pm

Wow, zombie, you're an one-trick pony wonder! I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!

49 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:26:06pm

900 pix is fine, but the paragraph width is still a bit too wide for my taste; you could add more left margin. or cowbell.

50 doppelganglander  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:26:19pm

re: #20 Palandine

After smearing the military, Murtha starts in on his racist, redneck, knuckle-dragging constituents

PITTSBURGH (AP) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha says his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce Barack Obama's victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points.
The 17-term Democratic congressman tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site that, as he put it: "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area."

He says it's taken time for many Pennsylvania voters to come around to liking Obama, but he should still win the state, though not in a runaway.

In a separate interview posted Wednesday on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Web site, Murtha says Obama has a problem with the race issue in western Pennsylvania that could shave 4 points off his lead in the state.

I'm sure Murtha will have plenty of time in retirement to ponder his own stupidity.

51 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:26:23pm
52 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:27:22pm

your. PIMF.

But thanks Zombie. I'll be emailing the link to many demoralized people

53 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:27:33pm
54 Conservative in Liberal Hands  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:27:51pm

uh, Zombie... I don't see your magnificent article linked to the home page of Zombietime... is that an oversight or are you letting your lizard siblings have the premier crack at it?

55 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:27:56pm

From goo to you by way of the zoo

56 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:28:49pm

OK, starting to enlarge the font and make it sans serif.

Refresh the page. The top part -- is it easier to read now?

57 DeafDog  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:28:59pm

It's tough to discuss this artical on LGF - it's a very heavy essay - and comments will get bookish. By I'll make two observations...

1. The Obama comment that "If not for FOX, I'd be 4 points higher" fits perfectly into the validity of Zombie's observation.

2. I really like the picture of 3 guys at the table in the "Normative and Informational Conformity" section. The guy in the middle kind of looks like a disbelieving lizard. "You guys are really going to vote for Obama? Are you stupid?"

58 RaiderDan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:28:59pm

Superb analysis.

The same thing was in effect in 2004. Nobody in the media expected George W. Bush to win. Sarah Palin is energizing Republicans to vote for HER, not necessarily McCain. That is a factor the MSM is missing. T

Our base is bigger than your base. 2004 showed that.

Thus the liberal media effort to dispirit Republicans voters. But they are an echo chamber.

As astonished critic Pauline Kael said in 1972 after Nixon's landslide. "Nobody I know voted for him..."

59 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:29:07pm

re: #37 Charles

You can center it by adding align="center" to the table. Fixed width usually looks better centered.

I'll try that.

60 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:30:14pm

re: #37 Charles

You can center it by adding align="center" to the table. Fixed width usually looks better centered.

Done. How's it look now?

61 bosforus  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:30:15pm

The only poll that will matter will be the one on Nov. 4. The only that will matter is yours.

62 Bobblehead  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:30:32pm
63 StudSupreme  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:30:46pm

WOW.

I do hope you are right, Oh Mighty Lord of the Undead.

64 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:30:53pm
65 runrabbitrun  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:31:07pm

Additional advice for Mac: Obama is prepared for every line of attack under the sun. Be ready to play rhetorical chess, not checkers - you must have your responses ready to go for any debating trick: changing the argument, straw men, tu quoque (aka "you did it too").

Advice for nervous lizards: don't get your stomach in pre-emptive knots, feeling helpless in the audience, where you have no control. One twist in the news cycle, and every exchange in this debate will go down the voter's memory tubes, just like the Invesco Field Obamapalooza after Governor Palin's introduction. An election doesn't rest on debate alone - turnout is much more significant, and THAT we have an ability to affect!

(and thanks lizards, for mentioning the lengthy unblocked solid texts - I cannot say how many posts in how many forums I have been unable to follow from line to line after the twentieth line of script! And like zombie's Most Valuable Essay, these always seem to be the articles I most want to read =( )

66 Conservative in Liberal Hands  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:31:17pm

Zombie - for my 2 cents, I'd like to see a sans-serif font like Georgia or even New Times Roman over the serif font that's up there as of the last refresh.

67 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:31:26pm

re: #35 Occasional Reader

zombie, one small suggestion:

Can you source that via hyperlink?

Haven't had time yet. The actual number is 93%. Post link here to save me effort, fellow researchers!

68 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:31:35pm

Stinky is needed on the thread below. Someone is throwing Onions.

69 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:31:41pm

re: #56 zombie

OK, starting to enlarge the font and make it sans serif.

Refresh the page. The top part -- is it easier to read now?

Yes, but did you see my idea in #34?

70 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:32:14pm

re: #49 hillbilly geek

900 pix is fine, but the paragraph width is still a bit too wide for my taste; you could add more left margin. or cowbell.

I centered it instead.

71 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:32:37pm

re: #54 Conservative in Liberal Hands

uh, Zombie... I don't see your magnificent article linked to the home page of Zombietime... is that an oversight or are you letting your lizard siblings have the premier crack at it?

Haven't had time yet!

72 seekeroftruth  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:32:38pm

re: #20 Palandine

Wow. Those Democrats sure know how to ask for Pennsylvanians to vote for them... You racists! Hey you over there, bitter and clinging to your guns and bibles! Vote for me!
///

73 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:32:41pm
74 doppelganglander  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:33:26pm
So, when the phone rings and the pollster calls -- and your Clever Hans social antennae tell you the pollster is young and liberal and likely an Obama supporter -- would you have the nerve to tell the pollster the truth that you wouldn't vote for Obama in a million years? I mean, they called you; they know your number. They know who you are. Can you be absolutely sure they aren't putting a check mark in the "Racist" box next to your name in some mysterious database?

I agree this is what's going on in a lot of cases, but I can't imagine why. It's one thing in social situations or at work to lay low and let others think you're a Kool-Aid drinker. You probably like these people for other reasons, or at least you have to put up with them beyond Election Day. But why would you lie to a pollster -- a total stranger who has no personal investment in your response? Are most people that pathetically afraid of not being liked? After a lifetime of being unpopular, I don't care what people think. I guess not everyone has moved past high school.

75 DeafDog  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:33:27pm

re: #58 RaiderDan

Superb analysis.

The same thing was in effect in 2004. Nobody in the media expected George W. Bush to win.


I still remember laughing at Andrea Mitchell's stunned expression on MSNBC on election night. Greedily, I hope for 1 more time.

76 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:33:37pm

re: #62 Bobblehead

Well this. doesn't look very promising. Gulp.

He's just trying to energize the base.

Rove, you magnificent bastard!

77 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:34:16pm

re: #66 Conservative in Liberal Hands

Zombie - for my 2 cents, I'd like to see a sans-serif font like Georgia or even New Times Roman over the serif font that's up there as of the last refresh.

Wh-a-a-aT? I'm confused by that. isn't New Times Roman serif?

78 faraway  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:34:21pm

You could just delete the whole page and put up a pic with the letters "VP" over Hillary.

79 Zippy_Slug  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:34:32pm

Zombie:
after reading the first part of your essay.. all I can say is, I sure hope you're right..

80 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:34:59pm

re: #75 DeafDog

I still remember laughing at Andrea Mitchell's stunned expression on MSNBC on election night. Greedily, I hope for 1 more time.

Probably the same look she had when she first saw Alan naked.

/ouch!

81 Conservative in Liberal Hands  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:35:11pm

re: #77 zombie

Wh-a-a-aT? I'm confused by that. isn't New Times Roman serif?

face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif"

82 faraway  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:35:31pm

zombie, if you are not correct, you must be banished to the far corners of the Lizard kingdom.

/

83 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:35:49pm

re: #77 zombie

Wh-a-a-aT? I'm confused by that. isn't New Times Roman serif?

Times New Roman is serif.

84 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:36:29pm

The body text changes from san-serif to serif near the top, two paras below "The illusory quest for conformist decision-making in the 2008 presidential election "
It's a little confusing... or am I confused? I'm looking at this in broad strokes

85 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:36:38pm

The Romans didn't have serfs, they had slaves.

86 maddogg  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:37:12pm

Interesting essay. Thoughtful and insightful. Impressive.

87 faraway  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:37:25pm

I'm sure you're not using antique things like "align=" and "face=".

You must be using style="text-align:center;font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" and the like.

:)

88 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:37:35pm

(But I guess maybe the New Romans had serfs... I'll have to check Gibbon.)

89 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:37:55pm

re: #84 hillbilly geek

The body text changes from san-serif to serif near the top, two paras below "The illusory quest for conformist decision-making in the 2008 presidential election "
It's a little confusing... or am I confused? I'm looking at this in broad strokes

It changes to serif after this paragraph:


The Obama campaign itself also takes advantage of the sympathetic media to construct a facade of inevitability. The campaign will stage-manage crowds and dictate camera angles so that Obama is seen to not only have overwhelming numbers of fans but the correct demographic proportion of fans; the campaign will coordinate Obama appearances to coincide with rock concerts or other festivals so they can point to the huge crowds who showed up to watch Obama; and the media plays right along.
90 FightingBack  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:37:55pm

re: #58 RaiderDan

" Superb analysis.
...Our base is bigger than your base. 2004 showed that."

All your base are belong to us.

91 Conservative in Liberal Hands  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:38:16pm

re: #83 Ward Cleaver

My bad, guys and gals. I get serif and sans serif confused...

IMO, For long or complex documents a serif font is preferable. Trouble is that there are so few fonts that translate to all browsers and operating systems.

92 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:38:35pm

Bet this is the last time Zombie asks us for suggestions.

93 gibsonz  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:39:14pm

This is the same tactic the left tried in 2000' and 2004'...hopefully they have the same results!

94 JimmyTheClaw  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:39:15pm

good one Z i'm hoping for a 50 state sweep by mccain followed by frog marching all the ballot stuffers and vote frauders of the left

95 faraway  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:39:16pm

re: #91 Conservative in Liberal Hands

My bad, guys and gals. I get serif and sans serif confused...

Look,
McCain: Honor
Obama: Sans Honor

96 bosforus  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:39:49pm

the Asch Conformity Experiment seems to be the take home message here

97 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:40:24pm

Serif font is sometimes easier to read in large blocks of text, actually; is why headlines are often san

98 mattm  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:40:25pm

re: #94 JimmyTheClaw

good one Z i'm hoping for a 50 state sweep by mccain followed by frog marching all the ballot stuffers and vote frauders of the left

I say let them have pwecious Ohio, we take the rest.

99 Rexatosis  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:40:32pm

Excellent analysis by Zombie. I would extend the Poker analogy further. The Dems and MSM are skewing the polls to make an Obama victory seem inevitiable. Yet the portion of the population that is probably most influenced by this "meta-campaign" is the youngest and least educated voters who in turn make up key demographics of Obama's support. Thus the segment of the voting population most readily influenced by Obama's "meta-campaign" are his own supporters who may actually believe they hold a stronger hand than they do and may not have as strong of an urge to turn out for the actual vote (especially since these demographics, especially the young, tend to have lower turn out ratios). Or in Poker terms the Dems may stand pat on a weak hand when they should have taken a new card or two to strengthen it.

100 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:41:09pm

re: #85 Occasional Reader

The Romans didn't have serfs, they had slaves.

Claudius don't serf!

/Pectus Obscurum

101 DeafDog  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:41:15pm

re: #80 Ward Cleaver

Probably the same look she had when she first saw Alan naked.

/ouch!

It was a look of horror, so you are on to something.

102 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:41:28pm

re: #92 Ward Cleaver

Bet this is the last time Zombie asks us for suggestions.

And Adriana Lima pics! Those should be added, somewhere.

And funny Blazing Saddles outtakes!

103 Tenacious  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:41:38pm

I'll read anything that keeps me optimistic about this election!

Some of my best friends--very intelligent all--have this blind allegiance to Obama that is rooted in denial of FACTS.

Interesting analysis, indeed. If I might be a cynic, however, I would say that there are a few leaps of faith before the conclusion. I would like to see Zombie address Occam's Razor in the analysis.

Fascinating, though!

104 Conservative in Liberal Hands  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:41:45pm

Going off on another tack, if sibling Zombie is correct, and there is an "illogical" result in the election - that is McCain wins, when the perception is that BHO should have won, what will the response be? More "The Republicans stole the election" crap? Armed uprising?

105 JimmyTheClaw  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:42:19pm

re: #20 Palandine

After smearing the military, Murtha starts in on his racist, redneck, knuckle-dragging constituents

PITTSBURGH (AP) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha says his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce Barack Obama's victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points.
The 17-term Democratic congressman tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site that, as he put it: "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area."

He says it's taken time for many Pennsylvania voters to come around to liking Obama, but he should still win the state, though not in a runaway.

In a separate interview posted Wednesday on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Web site, Murtha says Obama has a problem with the race issue in western Pennsylvania that could shave 4 points off his lead in the state.

i dont live in johnstown but a few of us donated to his opponents campain and added a note that said even if you dont win run again till you unseat him oh and i like to call hum murthafucker

106 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:42:24pm

re: #85 Occasional Reader

The Romans didn't have serfs, they had slaves.

RACIST

107 Stormy  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:42:34pm

I though the last sentence was a good quote to pull:

Yet it may very well be that an army of glum, dispirited and pessimistic conservatives will reluctantly trudge to the polls on November 4, each one imagining they are only remaining person in the entire country voting for McCain, and lo and behold -- they'll turn out to be a silent majority after all.

108 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:43:18pm

re: #104 Conservative in Liberal Hands

Going off on another tack, if sibling Zombie is correct, and there is an "illogical" result in the election - that is McCain wins, when the perception is that BHO should have won, what will the response be? More "The Republicans stole the election" crap? Armed uprising?

It's already "chosen". Obama didn't win because America is a racist country

109 Quentin  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:43:46pm

I wish I was that optimistic. Of course, you could be right about the polling but wrong about the strategy. They just be exaggerating his support so that it doesn't look so funny when ACORN stuffs the box.

110 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:43:58pm

re: #104 Conservative in Liberal Hands

Going off on another tack, if sibling Zombie is correct, and there is an "illogical" result in the election - that is McCain wins, when the perception is that BHO should have won, what will the response be? More "The Republicans stole the election" crap? Armed uprising?

From Carville to someone named Ali in philly,there have been hints of riots for months. I suspect this is tamping down vocal support for McCain. Nobody wants the rioteers at their house on Nov 5th

111 faraway  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:45:12pm

You could remove:


<font style="font-size:15" face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif"><b>Who Does the Polling?</b></font>

and replace with


<style>
h2 {font-size:15pt;font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;}
</style>

<h2>Who Does the Polling</h2>

112 maddogg  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:45:19pm

re: #110 SpartanWoman

From Carville to someone named Ali in philly,there have been hints of riots for months. I suspect this is tamping down vocal support for McCain. Nobody wants the rioteers at their house on Nov 5th


They can come to mine! I have a surprise for them.

113 Quentin  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:45:24pm

Heh. Meant to say they could just be..., but the ebonics works out fine.

114 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:45:33pm

Looks good, big Z. San serif all the way down.

115 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:45:53pm

re: #110 SpartanWoman

From Carville to someone named Ali in philly,there have been hints of riots for months. I suspect this is tamping down vocal support for McCain. Nobody wants the rioteers at their house on Nov 5th

ATTENTION RIOTERS ,,, I HAVE 2 WORDS FOR YOU

BUCK
SHOT

(not being a redneck, that actually may only be one word)

116 ruswmrun  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:46:39pm

Very good piece, I just hope it's not wishful thinking.

117 sloggin420[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:46:46pm
118 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:46:49pm

OK:

Increased point size throughout

Made sans-serif

Increased size of chapter headings

Added space before chapter headings.

Underlined chapter headings.

Made fixed-width.

Centered text block.

...Getting there!

119 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:47:26pm

re: #108 sattv4u2

It's already "chosen". Obama didn't win because America is a racist country

Yes, the Great Basement Uprising of Nov. 5, 2008 will occur from 12:15 to 12:25 pm local time, because Gilligan's Island comes on at 12:30.

The orange Cheetos-dust handprints and the scent of unwashed pits will take time and effort to wash away. Eventually, statues will be erected commemorating Bob Denver for his part in quelling the uprising. These statues will persist through the ages, causing future historians to dispute the legends that John McCain was old, given the apparent youth of the heroic sailor portrayed in the sculptures.

120 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:47:29pm

re: #110 SpartanWoman

Nobody wants the rioteers at their house

Ricky Rioter and the Rioteers?

121 Conservative in Liberal Hands  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:47:45pm

re: #108 sattv4u2

Agreed! But there was such a hue-and-cry from liberal quarters over the last election. And this time we're having the race card played as well...

One thing that bothers me is that BHO's campaign is spending a lot of money running television - Cable and broadcast - on ads. Wht is he spending when Illinois is a "Done Deal".

Got to go and make some money. TTFN!

122 Zippy_Slug  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:47:59pm

*refreshed*

ah.. much better on the eyes..

123 Intrepid  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:48:08pm

Zombie, here's a page from Media Research Center with several surveys/articles on Media Liberal Bias...

[Link: www.mediaresearch.org...]

124 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:48:27pm

re: #110 SpartanWoman

From Carville to someone named Ali in philly,there have been hints of riots for months. I suspect this is tamping down vocal support for McCain. Nobody wants the rioteers at their house on Nov 5th

Eh, I got nothing else to do, and the roof isn't that uncomfortable.

125 Jewels (AKA Julian)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:48:46pm

Bring on the Riots, actually. I'd like to see just how far these idiots push things. Reminds me of the ROP actually

126 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:48:54pm

re: #119 OldLineTexan

Yes, the Great Basement Uprising of Nov. 5, 2008 will occur from 12:15 to 12:25 pm local time, because Gilligan's Island comes on at 12:30.

The orange Cheetos-dust handprints and the scent of unwashed pits will take time and effort to wash away. Eventually, statues will be erected commemorating Bob Denver for his part in quelling the uprising. These statues will persist through the ages, causing future historians to dispute the legends that John McCain was old, given the apparent youth of the heroic sailor portrayed in the sculptures.


I have a cure for that

FIRE
HOSE

127 taxfreekiller[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:48:59pm
128 HelloDare  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:49:01pm

Zombie,

The wider margins are a big improvement. It could even be a little wider in my opinion.

129 DisturbedEma  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:49:02pm

I considered it, but I thought Milgram was off-topic for this particular essay.

No, really? I got a real "because we are telling you this it must be true" vibe from your piece.

Milgrim studied the effects of groups on individual behavior- in the aftermath of Nurenberg he thought that the defense of "I was only following orders" would not hold up to his trials.

3/4 of those in the trials hit the 450 "volts" even after the "learner" complained of pain, illness and then grew silent. . .

Milgrim was a student of Ashe and felt groups were very much the wildcard on humans behaving badly. . .like if enough people TELL you it is ok to wear a shirt that says Sarah Palin is a . . ., then you will feel it is ok to do so, even if cultural norms still find it offensive. . .and so on. . .

130 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:49:26pm

re: #115 sattv4u2

ATTENTION RIOTERS ,,, I HAVE 2 WORDS FOR YOU

BUCK
SHOT

(not being a redneck, that actually may only be one word)

A real redneck don't give a tinker's dam about how to spell that. It's wrote on the durned box, ya idjit!

/

131 Timbre  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:49:40pm

To me, it doesn't really matter much if Obama wins, or not. We all know he is no centrist candidate. He will appoint Marxists or "socially-concerned" liberals to Cabinet positions. He will propose --and a Democrat Congress will legislate--laws which curtail freedom and capitalism. He will force his will on as many as possible. And his one-term Presidency will come to a grinding halt. Americans will reject his socialism in overwhelming numbers in 2012.

Don't get me wrong--I hope McCain wins and I will vote for him. A four-year Obama disease will be painful and wretched. But the immunity which will build in voters' minds will last for much longer.

132 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:49:41pm

re: #125 Jewels (AKA Julian)

Bring on the Riots, actually.

Better yet, don't.

133 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:50:15pm

re: #130 OldLineTexan

A real redneck don't give a tinker's dam about how to spell that. It's wrote on the durned box, ya idjit!

/

I never pay attention to the OUTSIDE of boxes. I'm interested on whats INSIDE!

134 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:50:19pm

re: #110 SpartanWoman

From Carville to someone named Ali in philly,there have been hints of riots for months. I suspect this is tamping down vocal support for McCain. Nobody wants the rioteers at their house on Nov 5th

Let them come!

135 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:51:04pm

re: #133 sattv4u2

I never pay attention to the OUTSIDE of boxes. I'm interested on whats INSIDE!

Yew maight be a redneck...

136 the_flying_pig  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:51:05pm

How about a picture of you, zombie?

Heh. :P

137 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:51:15pm

re: #125 Jewels (AKA Julian)

Bring on the Riots, actually. I'd like to see just how far these idiots push things. Reminds me of the ROP actually

A lot like them. Threatening violence while claiming victim status and calling every critic a racist or islamophobe.

138 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:51:26pm

re: #134 Dianna

Let them come!

Not Ali in Philly...

Ali in-Filli

139 sloggin420[deleted]  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:51:48pm
140 Scion9  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:51:58pm

re: #131 Timbre

If the media keeps felating him for the next four years and telling everyone that his screw ups are good for us, who the hell knows what will happen. I mean, this economic meltdown is the Republicans fault. What the hell isn't Bush's fault?

I'm not terribly confident that if American's don't reject Obama in '08 or if they at least don't come damn close to doing so, that things won't just get worse come '12.

141 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:52:11pm

re: #136 the_flying_pig

How about a picture of you, zombie?

Heh. :P

Your punishment is to apply the pixelization to all the inflated scrotum crotch shots. By hand, using MacPaint.

142 West Coast Freedom  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:52:32pm

Damn Zombie, I'll drink to that!

143 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:52:54pm

re: #133 sattv4u2

I never pay attention to the OUTSIDE of boxes. I'm interested on whats INSIDE!

#1, plated, buffered. Best bet.

144 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:53:08pm

I looked at the pictures. Pictures purty!

Loved the last paragraph. People will be voting for McCain thinking they will be the only people on Earth voting for McCain.

Zombie the Prophet.

145 jrdidner  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:53:15pm

This also explains why Obama want to do away with the secret ballot of union elections (and who knows what other elections if he gets the chance). This will remove the differential between normative and informational conformity, Of course, this also opens up the process for less subtle coercion. He is actually to the left of Mcgovern on this issue!

146 DisturbedEma  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:54:43pm

re: #140 Scion9

If the media keeps felating him for the next four years and telling everyone that his screw ups are good for us, who the hell knows what will happen. I mean, this economic meltdown is the Republicans fault. What the hell isn't Bush's fault?

I'm not terribly confident that if American's don't reject Obama in '08 or if they at least don't come damn close to doing so, that things won't just get worse come '12.

But what will they do once they realize that they are also under the bus they helped fuel?

Imagine a MSM devoid of ANY critical comments about the POUS. . .when the truth squads get up and running. . .remember V foir vendetta

We report the news, we don't invent it. That's the government's job.

147 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:54:55pm

The is a restaurant about 25 miles from my house that is called "Sans Food".

Bet everyone there is really hungry.

I make that joke to the poor soul in my car with me, or to myself every time I pass it.

148 wolfie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:55:57pm

I can't believe Rove has Obama winning Virginia easily.
Okay, okay. I know about ACORN and northern VA/DC area. And downtown Richmond is a mess. But most of the state is bitter and clingy.
I hope the Undead One's very interesting thesis is correct.

149 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:56:01pm

re: #144 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I looked at the pictures. Pictures purty!

Loved the last paragraph. People will be voting for McCain thinking they will be the only people on Earth voting for McCain.

Zombie the Prophet.

The Omega Voter

150 GeeWiz  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:56:01pm

re: #104 Conservative in Liberal Hands

Going off on another tack, if sibling Zombie is correct, and there is an "illogical" result in the election - that is McCain wins, when the perception is that BHO should have won, what will the response be? More "The Republicans stole the election" crap? Armed uprising?

I couldn't agree more. I believe the polls are skewed in BHO's favor and will contribute to un-rest through-out the nation should McCain win. If we thought the 2000 mantra of "Bush stole the election" was big, the results of a McCain win will make that look like nothing in comparison. There is a part of me that thinks this may be a strategy by the MSM to cover their bets so to speak.

151 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:57:05pm

re: #146 DisturbedEma

V for Vendetta should be watched with the closed captions ON! A whole lot escapes passive listening.

That said, love movies about revolution/hate movies about terrorism. Talk about cognitive dissonance.

152 Cap'n DOC  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:57:30pm

re: #20 Palandine

Oh yah, Baby. I'm talkin' to you, The Mutha Who Will Remain Unnamed. May your empty rhetoric be forgotten faster than you have been.

Oh yahy, and thanks for the votes, you Dolt.

153 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:57:33pm

re: #149 OldLineTexan

The Omega Voter

I believe you just named it.

154 jdubya  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:57:36pm

Excellent article, but one end note:

When a person is in the voting booth, private and secret ballot, they will vote their true desires, regardless of what they publicly. Even though they may conform in front of an audience of their peers, each human still shares their own independence of thought with themselves.

Unless of course, the Obamatons have been sharing the Wealth Spread...

155 dwb  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:57:37pm

Nice job Zombie. I enjoyed reading that.

156 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:58:08pm

re: #148 wolfie

I can't believe Rove has Obama winning Virginia easily.
Okay, okay. I know about ACORN and northern VA/DC area. And downtown Richmond is a mess. But most of the state is bitter and clingy.
I hope the Undead One's very interesting thesis is correct.

Weirdly, my consolation on looking at the Rove site is that he was proven quite wrong in 2006. Let's hope he's wrong again, but, you know, our side wins this time.

157 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:58:23pm

re: #144 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Zombie the Prophet.

I'm getting a bit fey.

Queen's Prophet's Song - don't watch the video. It's just a Freddie slide-show.

158 wolfie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:58:50pm

re: #110 SpartanWoman

An acquaintance of mine actually said she was torn re the issues but was voting for Obama because she was afraid "it would tear the country apart" if he were to lose.

159 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:58:57pm

re: #149 OldLineTexan

The Omega Voter

You know, sometimes you Texans aren't half as dumb as Obama thinks you are.

Well done.

160 twons  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:59:06pm

Zombie, well analyzed and written. I agree with Wright1, for the most part:

re: #22 wright1

Where I disagree is in the statement that it will be closer than we think. I personally don't think it will be close at all. I think we have a chance for McCain to take an overwhelming victory home. That may be unduly optimistic, but for all the reasons that you state, Z, there is a chance of it coming true.

My personal anecdote - I am 40-something, and haven't missed a presidential vote since I have been eligible. Until now, I have never donated to any campaign. I am planning to send some last minute cash to at least one pro-McCain PAC this year, I am so certain that Obama is the wrong answer for this nation. I firmly believe that I am a majority kind of guy. There are a lot of us "silent majority" types out there.

161 J.S.  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:59:09pm

re: #74 doppelganglander

"why would you lie to a pollster -- a total stranger who has no personal investment in your response? Are most people that pathetically afraid of not being liked? "

O contraire...i suspect that people lie to pollsters (in part) because they're telling the pollsters -- FOAD...And it's a way to give a pollster the finger, so to speak...It's like a joke -- the pollster (Mr. Bureaucrat is rabidly scribbling away, assuming the person is being "totally honest"), while the person is giving totally bogus answers...It's like a gag.

162 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:59:19pm

re: #136 the_flying_pig

How about a picture of you, zombie?

Heh. :P

Close your eyes,think of a dead person, picture it walking

ZOMBIE !

163 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:59:40pm

re: #158 wolfie

Your friend deserves her fate, then.

164 Crusader Rabbit  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 2:59:49pm

It is refreshing to read someone who understands that opinion polls are unreliable and subject to many biases, not all of them intentional.

Polling agencies get paid by customers to deliver results. If you disappoint the customer often enough they will take their business elsewhere. For the same reason the Pinkerton Agency told McClellan that the confederates numbered in the hundreds of thousands, polling agencies are bound to bias their samples to please their customers.

165 shug  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:00:04pm

re: #127 taxfreekiller

simply put

cheaters never win

Except for the New England Patriots

166 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:00:13pm

re: #158 wolfie

An acquaintance of mine actually said she was torn re the issues but was voting for Obama because she was afraid "it would tear the country apart" if he were to lose.

buy her a WHITE GUILT T-Shirt

167 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:00:23pm

re: #157 Dianna

Always loved that song

Now I know...
Now I know...

168 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:00:51pm

re: #151 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

V for Vendetta should be watched with the closed captions ON! A whole lot escapes passive listening.

Please don't tell me you thought highly of that flick.

A theofascistic Church of England police state... riiight.
I can see that happening real soon.

169 Davida  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:02pm

Wow. That was a fascinating bit of reading.

Right in the middle of it, I got a phone call.

Guess what? A pollster!

I had to laugh.

Never give up hope!

170 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:13pm

re: #157 Dianna

I'm getting a bit fey.

Queen's Prophet's Song - don't watch the video. It's just a Freddie slide-show.

CRAPPY LAPTOP SPEAKERS! AAARRRGGGHHH!

171 hermeneutics  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:16pm

Rasmussen trends:

October 11 51.90 - 44.56 + 7.34 O
October 12 51.09 - 45.02 + 6.07 O
October 13 50.43 - 44.69 + 5.74 O
October 14 50.23 - 44.60 + 5.63 O
October 15 49.98 - 44.60 + 5.38 O

172 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:16pm

re: #145 jrdidner

re: #154 jdubya

Excellent article, but one end note:

When a person is in the voting booth, private and secret ballot, they will vote their true desires, regardless of what they publicly. Even though they may conform in front of an audience of their peers, each human still shares their own independence of thought with themselves.

Unless of course, the Obamatons have been sharing the Wealth Spread...

I recall my late mother in law lying to a pollster after she voted in the Dinking v Giuliani race in NYC. I asked why she said she voted for DInkins when she voted Rudy, her reply was "do you think I'm stupid, they might find out where I live"

173 Rkrocket  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:39pm

Very interesting article - a great writer too. Thanks for that.

174 DisturbedEma  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:41pm

re: #151 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

V for Vendetta should be watched with the closed captions ON! A whole lot escapes passive listening.

That said, love movies about revolution/hate movies about terrorism. Talk about cognitive dissonance.

They are all based on perspective, V for Vendetta is a really great example of the complex nature of things like the situations leading up to social upheaval. . .and perversion of justice and such is an equal opportunity event. . .no matter what LLL say. . .in fact, LLL are worse, because they take a slogan like

we want to spread the wealth around and call anyone who complains selfish

They say change is needed and call anyone who questions that change a racist

Up is the new down. . .

175 hermeneutics  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:42pm

re: #169 Davida

Wow. That was a fascinating bit of reading.

Right in the middle of it, I got a phone call.

Guess what? A pollster!

I had to laugh.

Never give up hope!

Did you lie?

176 Cap'n DOC  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:48pm

re: #169 Davida

Didgya lie?

177 DistantThunder  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:48pm

My political Platform would be:

1. Slash the political salaries of Congress to reflect the income of the "average" American adult.

2. Double the penalties for political crimes.

178 Winslow  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:01:55pm

zombie,
corrections in Bradley Effect section:
1st main paragraph, 1st sentence: Despite... black candidate but who will lie...
Next paragraph, 3rd sentence: Until until ...

179 Cicero05  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:02:28pm

For the first time in weeks I'm feeling a little...optimistic.

Zombie, I'm scared!

180 Cap'n DOC  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:02:32pm

re: #175 hermeneutics

Damn, you're fast!

181 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:02:34pm

re: #168 Occasional Reader

Nope. Thought was a bit preachy! But, for what they were doing it was okay. Church of Obama scares me more.

182 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:02:36pm

re: #167 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I know. I'm wandering YouTube in search of stuff that reinforces my fey mood. I'm trying to remember that Alan Parson's Project song about the prophet. And the one about the pyramids that isn't pyramidiots.

183 kynna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:02:37pm

Excellent work, Zombie! I'd say it was mind-blowing but it was too coherent for that. I shall upding your 1st post to reward you for your blog excellence. :D

184 Eowyn2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:02:43pm

ot
more bad news for the anti-war effort

[Link: news.yahoo.com...]

185 Charles  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:03:01pm

zombie: you're going to have to start using CSS. Dealing with all those font tags is completely unnecessary. Just mark each paragraph as a paragraph, and style the paragraph element with CSS. For example, in the HEAD section of the page:

<style type="text/css">
p {
font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: small;
line-height: 140%;
}
</style>

There are lots of ways to size the font; I used the 'small' keyword. Try 'x-small', 'medium' and 'large' as well, and you can also use percentage sizes and pixel sizes if you must.

Then in the BODY section, each paragraph is marked up like this:

<p>Two campaigns are being waged right now for the presidency of the United States. No, I'm not talking about the Obama campaign and the McCain campaign. I'm talking about the <strong>real-world campaign</strong> and the <strong>meta-campaign</strong>. </p>

Subheadings can be marked up as H1 (through H5) elements, and given sizes and styles the same way the paragraphs are styled.

This isn't difficult to learn, and it's much easier to maintain than a big mess of FONT tags.

186 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:03:02pm

re: #158 wolfie

An acquaintance of mine actually said she was torn re the issues but was voting for Obama because she was afraid "it would tear the country apart" if he were to lose.

I see you said acquaintance, smart move. Friends don't let friends vote Bama

187 mitthrawnurdo  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:03:07pm

re: #168 Occasional Reader

Didn't the hero in "V" say that the Koran is filled with "wonderful poetry" or something like that?

/Natalie Portman was in it - that's enough for me to avoid it! I don't care much that some consider her "beautiful", her "beauty" doesn't nullify the emptiness I sense in her head.

188 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:03:21pm

re: #174 DisturbedEma

V for Vendetta is a really great example of the complex nature of things

I thought it was about as complex and incisive as a dorm room sophomore bong-fueled bull session. Please.

189 JimmyTheClaw  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:03:40pm

re: #130 OldLineTexan

A real redneck don't give a tinker's dam about how to spell that. It's wrote on the durned box, ya idjit!

/

better yet flame thrower rounds for your mossberg

[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

[Link: www.pafoa.org...]

good to turn the tide of any mob attacks

190 DisturbedEma  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:04:02pm

re: #168 Occasional Reader

Please don't tell me you thought highly of that flick.

A theofascistic Church of England police state... riiight.
I can see that happening real soon.

That is one way of looking at it. . .but it is more than that. . .and if you look now at GB you see a different kind of theocracy growing. . .read Melanie Phillips. . .

191 wolfie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:04:19pm

re: #163 Dianna

Your friend deserves her fate, then.

True.
Alas, we will have to share it.

192 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:04:34pm

re: #159 Occasional Reader

You know, sometimes you Texans aren't half as dumb as Obama thinks you are.

Well done.

He has been pasting us with that tax ad...it's inhuman. Like glowing-eyed, undead*, bloodsuckingly inhumna.

/*no offense to zombie

193 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:04:37pm

re: #187 mitthrawnurdo

Didn't the hero in "V" say that the Koran is filled with "wonderful poetry" or something like that?

Bingo!

It was the most abjectly pro-terrorism, anti-Western mainstream flick I can think of.

194 DistantThunder  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:04:40pm

I lied to a pollster because I didn't want the Secret Service showing up at my door like what happened to that poor McCain supporter who told the Obama pollster that she'd never vote for Obama and he'd leave babies to die on the floor. The pollster made up the lie that the woman has threaten Obama.

195 reine.de.tout  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:04:48pm

ZOMBIE - that was great, just a great essay. I am e-mailing it to bunches of people.

196 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:04:59pm

re: #190 DisturbedEma

Huh?

197 abolitionist  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:05:25pm

re: #177 DistantThunder

2. Double the penalties for political crimes.

Uh, zero times two...

But seriously, what are you thinking?

198 DisturbedEma  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:06:03pm

re: #187 mitthrawnurdo

Didn't the hero in "V" say that the Koran is filled with "wonderful poetry" or something like that?

/Natalie Portman was in it - that's enough for me to avoid it! I don't care much that some consider her "beautiful", her "beauty" doesn't nullify the emptiness I sense in her head.

Oh, no not the hero, a marytr to freedom, Korans are banned in the movie, bibles are now suspect in many British circles. . .read Phillips!

199 chris_l  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:06:05pm

Not to be the wet blanket here - especially since I agree with all Zombie has to say about polls and polling techniques - but the one poll I do trust is the Vegas betting line.

The last time I checked (less than a week ago) - Obama was a large betting favorite.

John McCain +$350
Barack Obama -$500

Of course these lines are designed to get equal action on both sides of the equation. So maybe it just means that Obama bettors THINK this is a sure thing while McCain people would need a premium to put their money on the line.

The betting odds are similar to what you would have seen for last year's Super Bowl. That's the good news. The bad news is a favorite this big (according to the betting line) usually wins.

200 Haole  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:06:12pm

Thanks Zombie,

I've been trying to explain this to my son and wife over the last few days. I'll just have them read it instead.

O.K. Mac, Man up for the debate.

201 Sketti  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:06:23pm

Great job Mr. Zombie! I just emailed your article (link) to some of my friends as a pick-me-up.

202 wolfie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:06:30pm

re: #166 sattv4u2

buy her a WHITE GUILT T-Shirt

Heh.
Hmmm,...didn't a black conservative...I THINK it was Walter Williams...used to sell Absolution of Guilt Certificates for whites?
Hmmm...

203 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:06:43pm

re: #177 DistantThunder

2. Double the penalties for political crimes.

Pardon me... we don't have a category of "political crimes" in this country, nor should we.

204 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:06:53pm

OK, I've now added it to the front page of zombietime, and to zomblog, where readers can leave comments.

205 DistantThunder  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:06:57pm

re: #197 abolitionist

Uh, zero times two...

But seriously, what are you thinking?

Crimes committed while in office or running for office. We had 12 Democrats frog-marched away from a meeting last year here in NJ where they were taking bribes.

206 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:07:09pm

re: #191 wolfie

At least we will know when to begin resisting.

207 DisturbedEma  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:07:23pm

re: #193 Occasional Reader

Bingo!

It was the most abjectly pro-terrorism, anti-Western mainstream flick I can think of.

Did you not see Body of lies?

208 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:07:41pm

re: #194 DistantThunder

I lied to a pollster because I didn't want the Secret Service showing up at my door like what happened to that poor McCain supporter who told the Obama pollster that she'd never vote for Obama and he'd leave babies to die on the floor. The pollster made up the lie that the woman has threaten Obama.

That will certainly slant the polls but not the election toward Obama. I myself was polled but the question did not ask who I'd vote for but if I had a favorable opinion of the candidates. I said "highly favorable" for both. I don't need vandalism

209 bosforus  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:07:50pm

re: #185 Charles

zombie - I recently learned some basic css and before I did felt as you might feel now, a bit intimidated, but once I got into it I realized it's an infinitely more convenient way to do things and after you learn to use it you'll wonder why you ever thought it was intimidating. :)

210 Viking6  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:07:52pm

re: #110 SpartanWoman

Nobody wants the rioteers at their house on Nov 5th

I don't know about anyone else but it would be pretty hard to get into my house on Nov 5th, too many bodies in the way

/

211 eon  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:08:46pm

re: #118 zombie

Zombie, I don't care what font or page size you use. That is one of the best essays, both on politics and group-dynamic psychology, I have ever read. (And I've read quite a few in my checkered career, although strictly speaking, I'm like Professor Quatermass*). Well Done.

And speaking of "reading", Joe Biden's heavily-armed convoy motorcade went right by my house this afternoon, sirens howling, lights flashing, motorcycle engines thundering, enroute to a campaign appearance at Ohio U- Lancaster campus. I was out front, having heard the sirens and assuming that I was going to see a local PD officer with an unsafe driver sitting in front of my house, saying "What part of pull over don't you understand?" I was struck by the thought that Biden may be in this not just for the power, but for the ego-boo of being squired around like an OPEC bigwig everywhere he goes.

As I said, I was standing out front, watching it go by.

Right next to my McCain/Palin sign.

And hoping Joe the Mouth looked out the window and saw it.

(* Colonel Breen; "Do you ever find your previous career catching up with you?"
Professor Quatermass; "I never had a 'career'. Only work."

-Julian Glover/Andrew Keir, Quatermass and the Pit)

cheers

eon

212 Occasional Reader  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:08:51pm

Later.

213 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:09:29pm

re: #202 wolfie

Heh.
Hmmm,...didn't a black conservative...I THINK it was Walter Williams...used to sell Absolution of Guilt Certificates for whites?
Hmmm...

A), seeing that I have never felt guilty about anything but my own trespasses,
and
B) seeing that I never owned a slave nor treated anyone different due to race (ignorance, yes, but race, no)
EQUALS
C) Don't Need To Buy No Certificate!

214 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:09:40pm

re: #74 doppelganglander

I agree this is what's going on in a lot of cases, but I can't imagine why. It's one thing in social situations or at work to lay low and let others think you're a Kool-Aid drinker. You probably like these people for other reasons, or at least you have to put up with them beyond Election Day. But why would you lie to a pollster -- a total stranger who has no personal investment in your response? Are most people that pathetically afraid of not being liked? After a lifetime of being unpopular, I don't care what people think. I guess not everyone has moved past high school.

That's the whole point of the Solomon Asch section. People will lie and give the "wrong" answer, even to people they don't know.

215 phoenixgirl  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:09:43pm

zombie, i love you but i'll have to print your report and read it over several days.

216 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:09:54pm

In keeping with my increasingly fey mood: children of the moon

Too late to save us, but try to understand...

We let the blind man lead the way too long,
Easy to see where we went wrong.

217 Cap'n DOC  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:10:00pm

re: #199 chris_l

That's all well and good, but I know there's a bunch of obamaBackers that got money to literally throw away - which may have some effect on that betting line. Of course, I'm only using Zombie as a source for this stuff, since it's following the same equation - trying to effect the outcome by throwing money at it.

218 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:11:10pm

re: #214 zombie

That's the whole point of the Solomon Asch section. People will lie and give the "wrong" answer, even to people they don't know.

If they have my number, they might be able to get my address. I will lie evertime. I'd rather look pathetically undecided than have uninvited guests

219 WF Bach  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:11:16pm

re: #163 Dianna

Your friend deserves her fate, then.

Unfortunately, it becomes everyone's fate :(

220 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:11:24pm

re: #215 phoenixgirl

zombie, i love you but i'll have to print your report and read it over several days.

tree killer

221 myx0mop  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:11:42pm

I conduct my own polling. Being a consultant who travels most of the time, I get to discuss this election with many different people in many different places.

I maintain that Obama is UNELECTABLE, and all those polls are meaningless. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool most of the people. I don't believe that more than half of America is idiotic to a degree that they will vote this fraudulent character into power. He doesn't represent the Mainstream, and repulses more people than he and his supporters can imagine.

222 thedude  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:11:45pm

speaking of Biden...
[Link: www.washingtontimes.com...]

223 doppelganglander  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:11:59pm

re: #161 J.S.

"why would you lie to a pollster -- a total stranger who has no personal investment in your response? Are most people that pathetically afraid of not being liked? "

O contraire...i suspect that people lie to pollsters (in part) because they're telling the pollsters -- FOAD...And it's a way to give a pollster the finger, so to speak...It's like a joke -- the pollster (Mr. Bureaucrat is rabidly scribbling away, assuming the person is being "totally honest"), while the person is giving totally bogus answers...It's like a gag.

There could be some of that going on. Americans area contrarian lot.

224 WindHorse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:12:14pm

Great article Zombie. Thanks. (I hope you are correct too...)

What time is the debate scheduled to start? 9pm Eastern?

225 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:12:15pm

re: #219 WF Bach

Unfortunately, it becomes everyone's fate :(

Too bad we can't isolate the increased taxes and just fleece the obots

226 Dianna  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:12:19pm

re: #219 WF Bach

It need not.

We can, perhaps, say, "She is equal to her fate, then" and be in some kind of agreement?

227 Son of the Black Dog  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:12:51pm

re: #203 Occasional Reader

Pardon me... we don't have a category of "political crimes" in this country, nor should we.

Tell that to Scooter Libby.

229 Timbre  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:13:12pm

re: #139 sloggin420

re: #140 Scion9

Then people like you two and me will have to do something about that. And keep telling our associates to not buy anything from any person or group who does homage to Obama.

230 snowcrash  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:13:14pm

re: #148 wolfie
Have no immediate link but I think Obamas TV ad campaign budget in VA spent about 2 mil. He is loaded with cash for last minute advertising saturation.

231 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:14:05pm

re: #221 myx0mop

I conduct my own polling. Being a consultant who travels most of the time, I get to discuss this election with many different people in many different places.

I maintain that Obama is UNELECTABLE, and all those polls are meaningless. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool most of the people. I don't believe that more than half of America is idiotic to a degree that they will vote this fraudulent character into power. He doesn't represent the Mainstream, and repulses more people than he and his supporters can imagine.

The Titanic was also described as unsinkable.

232 shug  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:14:22pm

Trickle Up Poverty

Obama's Economic Plan per Michael Weiner, PhD

233 chris_l  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:14:27pm

217 - Cap't Doc - I don't disagree. It's just that when it comes to putting money on the line KosKids and the like are less willing to put their money where their mouth is. Off course betting lines are also subject to off-shore money too. $1 million spread over several casinos or off-shore betting sites would certainly influence the lines and what better way to reap a bit of profit from this sort of manipulation?

234 arethusa  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:14:38pm

re: #202 wolfie

Heh.
Hmmm,...didn't a black conservative...I THINK it was Walter Williams...used to sell Absolution of Guilt Certificates for whites?
Hmmm...

Not only did none of my ancestors own slaves or participate in the slave trade in any way, my paternal ancestors didn't hit these shores till World War I. The maternal ones fought for the North in the Civil War. So, I'm gonna print out my own Absolution of Guilt Certificate.

235 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:14:43pm

re: #220 sattv4u2

tree killer

specieist

236 WrathofG-d  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:15:07pm

OT:

...and In Daily Media Bias News...Check The Headline...then read the article.

237 Viking6  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:15:19pm

re: #228 WrathofG-d

OT:

Al-Qaeda In Iraq's #2 Top Guy Is Killed By U.S. Troops!

But,But, Ah... Ah.. But Al-Qaeda is getting stronger - Barry the O

/

238 Soona'  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:15:27pm

re: #150 GeeWiz

I couldn't agree more. I believe the polls are skewed in BHO's favor and will contribute to un-rest through-out the nation should McCain win. If we thought the 2000 mantra of "Bush stole the election" was big, the results of a McCain win will make that look like nothing in comparison. There is a part of me that thinks this may be a strategy by the MSM to cover their bets so to speak.

But isn't that the purpose of all this? To create enough chaos and doubt in our system that "someone has to do something about this, damn the Constitution". Whether McCain wins or loses the left/Marxists will try to milk the confusion, hatred, bitterness until this "grand experiment" falls.

239 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:15:47pm

re: #234 arethusa

Not only did none of my ancestors own slaves or participate in the slave trade in any way, my paternal ancestors didn't hit these shores till World War I. The maternal ones fought for the North in the Civil War. So, I'm gonna print out my own Absolution of Guilt Certificate.

Yes, but you enjoy the benefits of a culture built by slaves, therefore, pay up, sucka.

240 wolfie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:15:50pm

re: #206 Dianna

At least we will know when to begin resisting.

Amen.

241 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:16:11pm

re: #231 rawmuse

The Titanic was also described as unsinkable.

I agree with you but my husband agrees with myx, but then he is the son of a lady who lies to exit pollsters

242 arethusa  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:16:21pm

re: #233 chris_l

Slightly tangential: Wasn't there also some study a few years back that suggested liberals do not give as much to charity as conservatives? (Just from among my acquaintances and the V-P tax returns, I would believe that.)

243 Kenneth  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:16:38pm

re: #228 WrathofG-d

Oh no! That means he'll be breeding more real quick! The war is lost! Ahhh...

244 WF Bach  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:16:54pm

re: #231 rawmuse

The Titanic was also described as unsinkable.

It was. In fact, it never sank. It was all a plot involving the Jewish tycoon, John Jacob Astor, who supposedly drowned ...

245 Killgore Trout  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:16:55pm

Interesting and well researched theory. However, I'll still be very surprised if Obama wins. The LLL's heads will explode.

246 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:17:04pm

re: #240 wolfie

Amen.

I'm resisting already. Bitter, clingy, etc. Plus, I have eight years experience as The Hated Class under Bill Clinton, so I already have my boot camp done.

247 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:17:16pm

re: #241 SpartanWoman

I guess that's why we have Elections. ;)

248 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:17:34pm

re: #237 Viking6

But,But, Ah... Ah.. But Al-Qaeda is getting stronger - Barry the O

/

not to mention NOT in Iraq

249 Kenneth  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:17:52pm

re: #239 rawmuse

Yes, but you enjoy the benefits of a culture built by slaves, therefore, pay up, sucka.

Do the Egyptians & the Persians have to pay Israel reperations for enslaving the Israelites many centuries ago?

250 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:18:34pm

re: #245 Killgore Trout

Interesting and well researched theory. However, I'll still be very surprised if Obama wins. The LLL's heads will explode.

I don't follow you, here.

251 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:19:17pm

re: #249 Kenneth

Do the Egyptians & the Persians have to pay Israel reperations for enslaving the Israelites many centuries ago?

Should have put the sarc taggy. The Slavery Reparations Issue is one of my pet ones, and I have been following it for more than a decade. So, I know all the counter-arguments by now.

252 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:19:30pm

re: #247 rawmuse

I guess that's why we have Elections. ;)

With lovely secret ballots..for now anyway. I like the purple finger idea though but make it last a month so that absentees can't revote again and again

253 Eowyn2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:19:39pm

re: #74 doppelganglander

I agree this is what's going on in a lot of cases, but I can't imagine why. It's one thing in social situations or at work to lay low and let others think you're a Kool-Aid drinker. You probably like these people for other reasons, or at least you have to put up with them beyond Election Day. But why would you lie to a pollster -- a total stranger who has no personal investment in your response? Are most people that pathetically afraid of not being liked? After a lifetime of being unpopular, I don't care what people think. I guess not everyone has moved past high school.

Except for the one who said "not over my dead body" and the secret service showed up at her door. Good thing she didnt live where the truth squads are meandering through town.

254 Killgore Trout  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:19:41pm

re: #250 OldLineTexan

Sorry- that should have been "If Obama loses"

255 J.S.  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:19:53pm

re: #214 zombie

another problem for the pollsters (i believe this issue has also come up here on Lgf), is the issue of "confidentiality" and "anonymity" (these two terms are not synonymous), but people who are polled suspect that their names are "known" (violating "confidentiality"), and that their "anonymity" won't be preserved...( i see this as the continued dissolution of, heretofore, expected integrity/honesty, etc., of mainstream institutions...)

256 WrathofG-d  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:20:13pm

re: #237 Viking6

Exactly. But the truth is that the success in Iraq might contribute to why McCain is hurting in the polls etc. The same thing happened to Churchill after defeating the Nazis in WW2.

This is WONDERFUL news however! Way to go U.S.A.!

257 OldLineTexan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:20:22pm

re: #254 Killgore Trout

Sorry- that should have been "If Obama loses"

Check, and double-check!

Here's to "Scanners" for a generation of rich political imagery!

258 Dr. Shalit  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:20:41pm

re: #40 taxfreekiller

Zombie Zooms Zap Zero

"tfk" -

Reminds me of visiting a friend, summer of '04. Lived across from the local Yeshiva. It was the last day before summer vacation and the kids were horsing around, it got a bit loud and the Police showed up - looked at my friend and said, can see the headline in tomorrow's Asbury Park Press -
BELMAR BULLS BUST BODACIOUS BUCHER BOYS!

-S-

259 arethusa  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:20:55pm

re: #239 rawmuse

Yes, but you enjoy the benefits of a culture built by slaves, therefore, pay up, sucka.

Meh. I'm fairly certain that a good economist (true or not) might be able to make the argument that it was always the industrialized North that drove the American economy, not the agricultural slave society South.

By the way, those same ancestors remember signs like "No Irish Need Apply" or "No Catholics Need Apply."

260 eon  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:20:57pm

re: #188 Occasional Reader

I was working part-time in a collector's comic shop when VfV came out, and got an employee's discount on everything. Plus, I have, and enjoyed, Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (although I like the movie version better). And I even mildly liked both the GN and film versions of From Hell, even recognizing that it's based on one of the most preposterous "conspiracy theories" about the Whitechapel Serial Killer of 1888 (commonly though inaccurately known as "Jack the Ripper"), and was in fact merely a warmed-over version of the far superior 1979 Christopher Plummer/James Mason film, Murder By Decree.

With all that, I skimmed the first two issues of VfV and forgot about it.

I later picked up the DVD of VfV, on sale for $4, more from curiosity as to how the story ended than anything else. Even on sale, I consider it overpriced.

That tells you all you need to know about my take on it.

cheers

eon

261 Kenneth  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:20:58pm

re: #251 rawmuse

No worries, I took your sarcasm. I hope you notice mine. Lately, I'm feeling very sarcastic.

262 Viking6  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:21:09pm

re: #256 WrathofG-d

tru dat!

263 mitthrawnurdo  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:21:22pm

re: #249 Kenneth

No, infidel. In fact, the Israelis should pay all them reparations for existing. Jews should only be in Islamic lands as dhimmis.

/Until the Madhi arrives, who will abolish the jiza tax and dhimmi status.

//What both countries probably believe right now.

264 myx0mop  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:21:25pm

re: #231 rawmuse

Yes, and in this case Obama is the Titanic, and all his cult members are the passengers. They are convinced they are invincible. We shall see..

265 Walk Not So Softly  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:21:34pm

Zombie, It's so weird you should write this essay, Me and my buddy were discussing this exact same thing last week. But instead of writing an essay about it, we made it into a drinking game. :(

Good job and a great read.

266 arethusa  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:21:46pm

re: #261 Kenneth

No worries, I took your sarcasm. I hope you notice mine. Lately, I'm feeling very sarcastic.

Aren't we all?

267 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:21:54pm

re: #84 hillbilly geek

The body text changes from san-serif to serif near the top, two paras below "The illusory quest for conformist decision-making in the 2008 presidential election "
It's a little confusing... or am I confused? I'm looking at this in broad strokes

Refresh.

268 doppelganglander  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:22:40pm

re: #214 zombie

That's the whole point of the Solomon Asch section. People will lie and give the "wrong" answer, even to people they don't know.

So basically, a lot of people are sheep and are terrified of being thought "different," even by total strangers. Pathetic. Thank goodness for the secret ballot, as long as we have it.

269 Dr. Shalit  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:22:42pm

re: #228 WrathofG-d

OT:

Al-Qaeda In Iraq's #2 Top Guy Is Killed By U.S. Troops!

Wrath -

Seems like being AQ's #2 or 3 anywhere is not a job with much of a future these days.

-S-

270 Cap'n DOC  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:23:04pm

I ask you, what does Sen. Obama read in his spare time?

Why, it's The Post American World!

And you needn't concern yourself, it's already been Snoped.

A mohammedan book! Gee, I wonder why?

271 Palandine  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:23:10pm

re: #62 Bobblehead

Well this. doesn't look very promising. Gulp.

I know I sound like a broken record, but The Magnificent Bastard is wrong about Missouri being a toss-up. McCain will win Missouri.

Take it to the bank Put it in a lockbox under your mattress.

272 Eowyn2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:23:16pm

re: #169 Davida

Wow. That was a fascinating bit of reading.

Right in the middle of it, I got a phone call.

Guess what? A pollster!

I had to laugh.

Never give up hope!

Did you tell them "Ron Paul"

273 wolfie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:23:41pm

re: #213 sattv4u2

My personal observation is that those of us who recognize our own personal frailties, acknowledge our own wrong-doing, and accept responsibility are the last ones to feel false guilt for things done by others. I don't care about great-grampa's sins. I got enough of my own!

274 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:23:43pm

re: #87 faraway

I'm sure you're not using antique things like "align=" and "face=".

You must be using style="text-align:center;font-family:Ve rdana, Geneva, sans-serif" and the like.

:)

My Web skills are antediluvian. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. The mere fact I can get anything onlineat all in any sort of presentable format is a miracle.

275 Bubblehead II  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:23:59pm

re: #189 JimmyTheClaw

These look interesting as well. You can also make your own.

276 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:24:00pm

re: #264 myx0mop

Yes, and in this case Obama is the Titanic, and all his cult members are the passengers. They are convinced they are invincible. We shall see..

By now, my ballot is in the mail, I have sent all the money I can give to the campaign (BTW, sorry Charles for my lack of support lately, after the Election, big lunch at Sardi's) so now I pray. And kvetch (love that word).

277 Kiernan  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:24:23pm

Zombie, thanks for writing such a powerful article. I enjoyed it very much, and I am sure that many people here have had similar thoughts. You did a great job filling these out, especially with the counting horse (Hans) and the sadistic research Psychologist (Asch).

Living in Massachusetts, it seems my vote won't count very much, since presumably almost everyone else will be voting for Obama. Well, not everyone,
but it's a pretty blue state. I am afraid that it might be as hard for McCain to win as it will be for the Red Sox to come back from this hole they are in.
But, hey, the Red Sox did it against Cleveland and the Yankees, so, anythings possible.

I think the wildest thing about this lefty-liberal bias in the media and their polls, is that when one gets to talk to another non-lefty, it is so refreshing.
The left just assumes that everyone thinks exactly like them, and they live in an echo chamber, with no dissenting voices.

If you don't agree, they feel you are delusional. Talk about groupthink!
I really wish McCain would just stare at Obama, and say, "This man is a fraud!" He ran to the left of Hillary to win the primary, and now he pretends that all his views are centrist, when you can clearly see that from Ayers, to Rev. Wright from working for Acorn to employing Acorn, from wanting to retreat from Iraq, etc. that he is far from what the majority of American's
want in a president. A-and, he really has no experience.

Ok, thanks again for a well thought out piece!

278 Viking6  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:24:25pm

Currently warming up for the debate by watching Magnum Force on AMC, one does pine for the good old days.

279 bosforus  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:24:40pm

Bad news, folks - Excel's random number generator just put the electorate vote at 299-239 in favor of Obama. Guess that settles it.

280 JustMyView  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:24:54pm

re: #221 myx0mop

I conduct my own polling. Being a consultant who travels most of the time, I get to discuss this election with many different people in many different places.

I maintain that Obama is UNELECTABLE, and all those polls are meaningless. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool most of the people. I don't believe that more than half of America is idiotic to a degree that they will vote this fraudulent character into power. He doesn't represent the Mainstream, and repulses more people than he and his supporters can imagine.

You may be talking to a diverse set of people, but they are not a random sample of the population.

281 wolfie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:25:02pm

re: #230 snowcrash

Gag. :(

282 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:25:08pm

Also: Please, do not be afraid to bash me with a clue-bat over some aspect of this, or at least a constructive-criticism-bat. Regarding any aspect: Content, format, style, etc.

There is still time to fix/improve it.

I'm relying on you to be my editors!

283 Dave the.....  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:25:54pm
In 2008 there is no silent majority: there is the silenced majority. The unpolled majority. The media is so pro-Obama that the views and the concerns of McCain supporters are for the most part ignored or, at best, mocked. The goal is to foster disillusionment among them, a sense of isolation. To trick the Republicans into all staying home on election day because "there's no hope of winning." Maybe the Democrats can't avoid a showdown on November 4, but if they can convince enough McCain supporters to individually "fold" and not vote at all, then Obama can carry the day.

Correct. And more important, the media is trying to silence any anti-Obama statements by immediately jumping all over anyone who condemns The Messiah. You are "angry", a "mob", a "racist".

Today, very liberal Mpls Star-Tribune featured on their web site something about a blog run by a Sacramento Republican (who is poking fun of Obama). It's a scandal (according to the paper). Yet this same paper has yet to report the Democrats coming to Palin rallies wearing shirts that say "Palin is a c*nt".

284 GeeWiz  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:26:12pm

re: #238 Soona'

But isn't that the purpose of all this? To create enough chaos and doubt in our system that "someone has to do something about this, damn the Constitution". Whether McCain wins or loses the left/Marxists will try to milk the confusion, hatred, bitterness until this "grand experiment" fallsfails.

You are most correct in your assessment. Failure of our "grand experiment" is the ultimate desired outcome of the "America haters" and their new leader, BHO.

285 Eowyn2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:26:17pm

re: #236 WrathofG-d

OT:

...and In Daily Media Bias News...Check The Headline...then read the article.


Green Helmet has returned.

286 amphibian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:26:58pm

re: #104 Conservative in Liberal Hands

Going off on another tack, if sibling Zombie is correct, and there is an "illogical" result in the election - that is McCain wins, when the perception is that BHO should have won, what will the response be? More "The Republicans stole the election" crap? Armed uprising?

In that case, the lefties will wish they'd done a bit of gun-clinging themselves, won't they?

My business is to go out and vote. If there is a victory celebration to deal with afterward, well, that's the kind of problem we should all have more often.

287 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:27:07pm

re: #97 hillbilly geek

Serif font is sometimes easier to read in large blocks of text, actually; is why headlines are often san

Back and forth, back and forth! I only changed it to sans-serif because people complained about the serif! Oy gevalt.

288 Palandine  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:27:19pm

re: #110 SpartanWoman

From Carville to someone named Ali in philly,there have been hints of riots for months. I suspect this is tamping down vocal support for McCain. Nobody wants the rioteers at their house on Nov 5th

I know that here in the People's Republic of St. Louis, I'm removing my Palin-McCain bumper sticker as soon as it's clear that McCain won...

289 SixDegrees  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:27:51pm

An interesting article.

We've seen this in the past. In the last couple of elections, polls called for Republican defeats in many districts and states, and these predictions failed to pan out, often by large margins.

We've also seen the Left's response - accusations of vote rigging, ballot stuffing, voter intimidation and so on. They seem incapable of understanding that when you direct your minions to pile onto, say, the CNN polls, the results become meaningless. Failure of reality to match poll tampering is NOT evidence of some sinister GOP plot, as hard as that may be to believe.

And we've also seen what the future holds: outright suppression of speech through legal intimidation, incitement of the violent fringe to act out against any perceived opposition, shutting down of outlets of contrary opinion through the resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine. In the future we will see monitoring of newspaper articles, threats of lawsuits against those who don't toe the line, private, closed-door meetings with editors and reporters telling them what news to cover and what to ignore.

We're already seeing the marginalization of opposition through dehumanizing stereotypes - anyone on the right is a hate-filled racist, and who would ever listen to anything a hate-filled racist has to say?

It makes one wonder how far away from loyalty oaths we will find ourselves.

290 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:27:55pm

re: #99 Rexatosis

Excellent analysis by Zombie. I would extend the Poker analogy further. The Dems and MSM are skewing the polls to make an Obama victory seem inevitiable. Yet the portion of the population that is probably most influenced by this "meta-campaign" is the youngest and least educated voters who in turn make up key demographics of Obama's support. Thus the segment of the voting population most readily influenced by Obama's "meta-campaign" are his own supporters who may actually believe they hold a stronger hand than they do and may not have as strong of an urge to turn out for the actual vote (especially since these demographics, especially the young, tend to have lower turn out ratios). Or in Poker terms the Dems may stand pat on a weak hand when they should have taken a new card or two to strengthen it.

Nice insight!

291 Dr. Shalit  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:28:30pm

re: #249 Kenneth

Do the Egyptians & the Persians have to pay Israel reperations for enslaving the Israelites many centuries ago?

Kenneth -

NO - and - just think how much they pay in royalties for products whose patents are held by Israeli and Diaspora Jews, and Infidel Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.

-S-

292 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:28:41pm

re: #287 zombie

Don't worry about it, z
Looks great.

293 arethusa  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:28:43pm

re: #283 Dave the...

Yet this same paper has yet to report the Democrats coming to Palin rallies wearing shirts that say "Palin is a c*nt".

I've written three or so letters to them so far pointing this out. Must not be trying hard enough. Shall I go write a fourth?

/ (not directed at you, but at the Strib)

294 Walter L. Newton  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:28:48pm

Really good article. I have seen research on Clever Hans and the Asch experiments, both being used to explain certain ways people react to situations, but I think this is the first time I have seen it applied to politics.

Good job Zombie.

295 eon  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:29:01pm

re: #270 Cap'n DOC

Zakaria states that we will be "buoyed by a stellar education system"?

/Is he sure he wasn't in Japan and didn't realize it?

Zakaria has, in the past, said even more ridiculously "don't worry, be happy" things in his Townhall columns. And several regular posters have spent a great deal of time pointing out the fallacies in his "arguments".

/including me

cheers

eon

296 Soona'  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:29:33pm

re: #273 wolfie

My personal observation is that those of us who recognize our own personal frailties, acknowledge our own wrong-doing, and accept responsibility are the last ones to feel false guilt for things done by others. I don't care about great-grampa's sins. I got enough of my own!

Amen!

297 doppelganglander  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:30:30pm

re: #253 Eowyn2

Except for the one who said "not over my dead body" and the secret service showed up at her door. Good thing she didnt live where the truth squads are meandering through town.

That story infuriated me, especially when the Secret Service tried to convince her to keep her trap shut and avoid trouble in the future. The fact that we saw the story proves she ignored them. She's on my list of ordinary heroes of this election, along with Joe the Plumber and James T. Harris (the black man at the McCain appearance in Wisconsin).

298 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:30:38pm

re: #103 Tenacious


Interesting analysis, indeed. If I might be a cynic, however, I would say that there are a few leaps of faith before the conclusion. I would like to see Zombie address Occam's Razor in the analysis.

I know there are gaps in the analysis: I simply had to stop working on this and get it out there ASAP! Yes, I know it's not perfect, but the best I could do with limited time and resources. Give me six more months, and I'll formulate a masterpiece! And then be marched off to Gulag Obama #19, since my essay will have arrived too late.

299 Oldasdirt  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:30:46pm

Good read Zombie,Thanks for the time and effort,good job m8.

300 Odinga  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:30:59pm

Palin gets more impressive every day

1 one 1 interview in New Hampshire.

301 Dave the.....  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:31:02pm

When the Democrats are registering voters inside inner city liquor stores, you know they have a large get-out-the-vote effort. (I declined there offer)

302 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:31:12pm

re: #104 Conservative in Liberal Hands

Going off on another tack, if sibling Zombie is correct, and there is an "illogical" result in the election - that is McCain wins, when the perception is that BHO should have won, what will the response be? More "The Republicans stole the election" crap? Armed uprising?

Yes, and yes.

303 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:31:57pm

re: #276 rawmuse

By now, my ballot is in the mail, I have sent all the money I can give to the campaign (BTW, sorry Charles for my lack of support lately, after the Election, big lunch at Sardi's) so now I pray. And kvetch (love that word).

I've contributed more than I should have but got caught up in the idea. Now if McCain slams Obama tonight I will probably donate again, but right now I'm wondering if I could have spent my money better on a 527

304 Ringo the Gringo  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:32:05pm

zombie, you remind me of Eric Hoffer.

305 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:32:32pm

re: #109 Quentin

I wish I was that optimistic. Of course, you could be right about the polling but wrong about the strategy. They just be exaggerating his support so that it doesn't look so funny when ACORN stuffs the box.

VERY insightful and VERY depressing!

306 Davida  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:32:44pm

re: #175 hermeneutics

Nope.

Already voted for McCain.
Mail in ballot.
;-)

307 Walter L. Newton  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:32:48pm

I don't give two shits if someone wants to call me a racist because I voted for McCain (already dropped my mail vote off).

They don't know me, they don't know the kinds of people I hang out with, have dated, have married.

Hell, my whole family over the years looked more like the united nations that the UN looks.

I have already told a few people I know to go fuck themselves when they hit me with this. That's because these people know how damn multi-cultured my family and my own life has been.

But they are like well, Zombies, squaking the party line in total deferance to the facts that they themselves know.

308 amphibian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:33:14pm

re: #131 Timbre

To me, it doesn't really matter much if Obama wins, or not. We all know he is no centrist candidate. He will appoint Marxists or "socially-concerned" liberals to Cabinet positions. He will propose --and a Democrat Congress will legislate--laws which curtail freedom and capitalism. He will force his will on as many as possible. And his one-term Presidency will come to a grinding halt. Americans will reject his socialism in overwhelming numbers in 2012.

Don't get me wrong--I hope McCain wins and I will vote for him. A four-year Obama disease will be painful and wretched. But the immunity which will build in voters' minds will last for much longer.

About 30 years, apparently. That's how long it's been since the peanut farmer had his mitts on our country. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the CRA, Peanut's legacy, are still with us.

309 SixDegrees  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:33:19pm
Did you tell them "Ron Paul"

I've been thinking this may not be a bad strategy for the Right to adopt. If the Left wants to believe that everyone in the Universe agrees with them, why not let them have their fantasy, at least for a little while? Voting for the Democrat/Leftist side of online polls, and adopting the Left's position when asked, serves to make such polls even more meaningless than they already are. After a couple of major embarrassments, maybe we can get back to actual issues instead of responding to such juvenile tactics.

310 JustMyView  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:33:21pm

re: #270 Cap'n DOC

I ask you, what does Sen. Obama read in his spare time?

Why, it's The Post American World!

And you needn't concern yourself, it's already been Snoped.

A mohammedan book! Gee, I wonder why?

Other than the Koran, I'm not sure what a "mohammedan book" is, but Fareed Zakaria, the author of The Post-American World, is an American citizen. His aim is to discuss ideas as to how American can remain a rich and strong nation as other nations rise. Here's the Amazon.com blurb for the book:

"This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else." So begins Fareed Zakaria's important new work on the era we are now entering. Following on the success of his best-selling The Future of Freedom, Zakaria describes with equal prescience a world in which the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures. He sees the "rise of the rest"—the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others—as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States. This economic growth is producing political confidence, national pride, and potentially international problems. How should the United States understand and thrive in this rapidly changing international climate? What does it mean to live in a truly global era? Zakaria answers these questions with his customary lucidity, insight, and imagination.

311 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:34:12pm
111 faraway

You could remove:


< font>Who Does the Polling?< /font >
and replace with



h2 {font-size:15pt;font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;}

Who Does the Polling

Yeah, I probably could, but that would entail me knowing what the hell I'm doing.

312 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:35:06pm

Zombie: this is nothing you have to do right now, but Charles is right: CSS does make things simpler, and the code less complicated to change. There are some good online tutorials out there. I've been doing this since Pagemill 1.0 and just when I'm about to make ends meet, they move the middle on me!

313 myx0mop  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:35:08pm

re: #280 JustMyViewYou may be talking to a diverse set of people, but they are not a random sample of the population

You'd be surprised. Here's a random sample taken at one particular place.

1. Religious Pakistani Muslim
2. Harvard grad in Journalism
3. US citizen born in Mexico

All three - Republican

None of the polls are scientific, and my only point is that I don't believe the polls we're constantly barraged with as something important, mean anything, which was the whole point of zombie's essay (very well expressed, I might add)

314 Dave the.....  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:35:39pm

Here's a related theory. MSM bias can cause Democrats to lose elections. One theory is that the reason Al Gore lost Tennessee in 2000 was over 2nd amendment rights. And the reason Al saw no issues with being hostile to gun ownership, was because MSM portrayed pro-gun people as a small group of wackos. He had no clue how big, diverse, and mainstream the gun ownership crowd is.

315 amphibian  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:36:41pm

re: #140 Scion9

If the media keeps felating him for the next four years and telling everyone that his screw ups are good for us, who the hell knows what will happen. I mean, this economic meltdown is the Republicans fault. What the hell isn't Bush's fault?

I'm not terribly confident that if American's don't reject Obama in '08 or if they at least don't come damn close to doing so, that things won't just get worse come '12.

Dinosaur media continue giving Husseinovich hand jobs, people are going to catch on. "The current five-year plan was accomplished in three years" juxtaposed with nothing but dust on the grocery store shelves, leads to a certain cynicism.

316 WrathofG-d  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:36:55pm

re: #269 Dr. Shalit

B'H they will all learn that there is no paradise for what they have done!

317 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:37:33pm

re: #123 Intrepid

Zombie, here's a page from Media Research Center with several surveys/articles on Media Liberal Bias...

[Link: www.mediaresearch.org...]

Excellent! I added that link to the "biased media" paragraph. THANKS!

318 right_on_target  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:38:02pm

OT
Once in a while a parent will complain about a book that a teacher assigns to read. Here is one book in my neck of the woods [bayou] that got yanked because of "foul" language.
Blackhawk Down!

319 Soona'  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:38:10pm

re: #298 zombie

I know there are gaps in the analysis: I simply had to stop working on this and get it out there ASAP! Yes, I know it's not perfect, but the best I could do with limited time and resources. Give me six more months, and I'll formulate a masterpiece! And then be marched off to Gulag Obama #19, since my essay will have arrived too late.

It's fine Zombie. Relax. I know your a perfectionist, but it's fine. Enjoy the compliments.

320 HelloDare  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:38:14pm

"...pressure to conform drops precipitously if the subject is aware of even a single fellow dissenter. All it takes is one person to shatter the facade of unanimity, and suddenly the number of conformist answers drop from around 33% to around 8%."

That may be the case in a controlled psychological experiment involving the perceived length of a line. Nobody is going to question the motivation of a fellow participant -- why would they be biased about the length of a line?

It's a whole different matter when it comes to politics. We discount what people say all the time -- even when we're not aware of it.

321 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:38:16pm

re: #312 hillbilly geek

What do you like for a CSS program? I am a newbie, I know some HTML, but my site needs a revamp.

322 eon  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:38:26pm

re: #273 wolfie

My personal observation is that those of us who recognize our own personal frailties, acknowledge our own wrong-doing, and accept responsibility are the last ones to feel false guilt for things done by others. I don't care about great-grampa's sins. I got enough of my own!

Well, as to my "inheritable sins" re slavery;

Ancestors-all from either Ohio (free territory/state) or West Virginia (separated from Virginia in 1861 over slavery and secession, stayed in the Union). Both families abolitionist when being an abolitionist "wasn't cool". Never slave owners (not only objected on principle, but also too poor to afford them even if they hadn't).

Service- 17 members of family fought in the Civil War, all for the Union.

Number wounded- 14, in various engagements.

Number killed- 3 (Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Cold Harbor).

If anyone sends me a bill for "reparations", it will be returned marked, "Paid In Full- in Blood."

cheers

eon

323 Infidel_One  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:39:14pm

As a disabled Canadian citizen I had to make a choice in our recent election.

One party spoke to me..I would have been far better off had they got into power. But I didn't vote for them.
I could not, in all conscience vote simply for what I would get out of the deal.
Yes I would have more money, better treatment..etc etc.
But the costs were to high
There were to many problems with that party's stance on important issues such as increased immigration, global warming , etc, etc...
In the end I made the decision on what was best for my country.

And that is why I believe Obama is leading in the polls...to many people thinking what's in in for me, rather than what will happen to my country.
Obama is doing well with the seemingly large "ME FIRST" crowd.

Thump
That's me jumping off my soapbox.

324 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:39:31pm

re: #128 HelloDare

Zombie,

The wider margins are a big improvement. It could even be a little wider in my opinion.

Done. Now the text is only 850 pixels wide = bigger margins on either side.

325 wiffersnapper  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:40:24pm

Great stuff, Zombie! Emailing to all my friends now!

326 arethusa  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:41:15pm

re: #323 Infidel_One

I think that's absolutely right. Ideally, voters should vote for the collective, long-term good, but instead they vote for the short-term individual good.

It is the danger of living in a democracy.

327 Kenneth  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:41:35pm

re: #313 myx0mop

Here's my observation of the political opinions of the various people I meet:

Pro-Obama people cannot conceive of how anybody could possible support McCain & Palin. They are so certain of Obama's obvious perfection, they are impervious to any criticism of him. It's all lies & smears.

Pro-McCain people recognize the fact many people support Obama, but beleive they are duped by the media white-wash. They are well aware of McCain && Palin's limitaions, but believe in their fitness for the jobs.

328 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:41:56pm

re: #322 eon

I've got about 22 ancestors on my Dad's side filling graves at Fredericksburg, where they died like flies following highly questionable orders from idiot Union generals. The ironic part is that they were probably being shot by other distant relations in the Confederate lines.

329 Dave the.....  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:42:13pm

eon, my family doesn't quite have that history, but I have one who served with a Wisconsin regiment and spent a horrible summer in a disease infested swamp along the Mississippi by Helena Arkansas. Another marched with Sherman across the south and up into South Carolina, to finally end the war.

The rest came over in the 1890's. Everyone has worked hard and paid taxes since (including a death tax of $2M from an uncle's estate). I think I'll pass on paying reparations.

330 JustMyView  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:42:17pm

re: #313 myx0mop

You may be talking to a diverse set of people, but they are not a random sample of the population

You'd be surprised. Here's a random sample taken at one particular place.

1. Religious Pakistani Muslim
2. Harvard grad in Journalism
3. US citizen born in Mexico

All three - Republican

None of the polls are scientific, and my only point is that I don't believe the polls we're constantly barraged with as something important, mean anything, which was the whole point of zombie's essay (very well expressed, I might add)

Like I said, diverse, but not random. Random has a specific meaning in sample selection. It's not just "people you happened to encounter".

331 Old Tanker  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:42:44pm

Okay...looks like I'm back to working on my poker face...if I could just fool the horse.

Very nice read Zombie!

332 drogheda  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:42:44pm

From Zombie's article:

Nowadays, everyone wants to be a nonconformist. And even though there remains an innate human urge to conform, and even though despite our illusions of individuality we sometimes end up conforming anyway, in the 21st century people at least think that nonconformity is hip.

In my opinion being a nonconformist these days is just another kind of conformity.

One person marching to the beat of a different drummer is a nonconformist.

One hundred thousand people marching to the beat of a different drummer are not nonconformists. They stopped being nonconformists when they started marching together.

If one of them decides to be a nonconformist he's got to break step and step out the parade. He's got to go against the group. He's got to dissent.

I think we know how today's "nonconformists" react when they encounter someone who goes against group-think and dares to dissent.

333 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:42:50pm

re: #154 jdubya

Excellent article, but one end note:

When a person is in the voting booth, private and secret ballot, they will vote their true desires, regardless of what they publicly. Even though they may conform in front of an audience of their peers, each human still shares their own independence of thought with themselves.

That, actually, is the exact point I was trying to make!

334 Viking6  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:42:52pm

Just a thought on the comments made by Barry regarding the Fox News impeding his poll numbers by 2 or 3.. For all of you poker players I would suggest that you could look at that statement as a "tell" reflective of his campaign's true internal polling numbers. Logic would dictate that if he was truly up by 5 to 14 points, based on internal numbers, he probably wouldn't make this type of statement.

I realize that Barry is extremely narcissistic and thinks he should be 100% up but the human subconscious has a way of surfacing just when you don't want it to. IMHO

335 Oldasdirt  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:42:53pm

re: #123 Intrepid

Zombie, here's a page from Media Research Center with several surveys/articles on Media Liberal Bias...

[Link: www.mediaresearch.org...]

I have been looking for something like this for weeks,,thanks for the link.

336 mas  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:43:38pm

As they would say on the Captain's Bridge -

"make it so"

337 JustMyView  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:44:16pm

re: #329 Dave the...

eon, my family doesn't quite have that history, but I have one who served with a Wisconsin regiment and spent a horrible summer in a disease infested swamp along the Mississippi by Helena Arkansas. Another marched with Sherman across the south and up into South Carolina, to finally end the war.

The rest came over in the 1890's. Everyone has worked hard and paid taxes since (including a death tax of $2M from an uncle's estate). I think I'll pass on paying reparations.

It may be worth noting that Sen. Obama has never said that he supports the payment of reparations. Worrying about this idea is just paranoia. It's not going to happen.

338 Old Tanker  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:44:20pm

re: #322 eon

Here here, have one side of the family in the same tradition...

339 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:44:25pm

Party started without me.

Well, I'm here... and will be into the night. Ass powdered and clean for my ceremonial ass kicking if Mac does not live up to my two weeks worth of insistence that he will unveil the mother of all OODA attacks tonight.

But he will. I still believe that.

BTW, David Axelrod sucks.

340 rawmuse  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:44:33pm

re: #329 Dave the...

I am telling you here and now that a President Obama WILL sign a reparations bill of some sort. Put me on record. The only thing that has spared us thus far is a GOP majority and White House veto. The bill comes up every year, like dandelions.

341 thedude  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:44:44pm

a little pre-debate music for le lizards to channel our collective energies into a positive focus for McCain this evening..: )

342 Soona'  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:44:56pm

re: #328 rawmuse

I've got about 22 ancestors on my Dad's side filling graves at Fredericksburg, where they died like flies following highly questionable orders from idiot Union generals. The ironic part is that they were probably being shot by other distant relations in the Confederate lines.

That's true with my Civil War ancestry too. Except I probably had more on the rebel side.

343 Oldasdirt  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:46:04pm

re: #339 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)

BTW, David Axelrod sucks.MOONROCKS

344 itellu3times  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:46:30pm

Nice stuff, z.

Wish I had time here at work to look at it all without making an Asch of myself.

One comment is, that discussing meta, is meta, or even meta-meta.

345 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:46:44pm

re: #343 Oldasdirt

BTW, David Axelrod sucks.MOONROCKS

Moonrocks are too valuable to waste on him...

How's about whale sh*t? That we got.

346 hillbilly geek  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:46:52pm

re: #321 rawmuse

Boy, good question: a lot of the html editors have CSS capability. There are some wizard-type programs that will write the stylesheets for you, but I just use Dreamweaver and then tweak in BBEdit (a high-powered text editor, with CSS goodness built in.

347 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:47:15pm

re: #178 Winslow

zombie,
corrections in Bradley Effect section:
1st main paragraph, 1st sentence: Despite... black candidate but who will lie...
Next paragraph, 3rd sentence: Until until ...

Good catches! Thank you!*!*!*!

Both implemented.

348 eon  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:47:17pm

re: #328 rawmuse

I've got about 22 ancestors on my Dad's side filling graves at Fredericksburg, where they died like flies following highly questionable orders from idiot Union generals. The ironic part is that they were probably being shot by other distant relations in the Confederate lines.

"It seems to me sometimes that we won the war in spite of our generals rather than because of them."- William T. Sherman, 1875

cheers

eon

349 sandspur  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:47:33pm

Zobie, you are amazing. Thank you. I'm telling my kids to read this. It will be a real eye-opener for them.

350 Dave the.....  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:47:41pm
In my opinion being a nonconformist these days is just another kind of conformity.

Read something a while back written by a Vietnam vet. He was in Chicago during an anti-war march, circa 1970. The "hippies"...you know, the counter-culture, all looked identical. All had the exact same thoughts and opinions. Zero diversity in the hippy-freak crowd.

He said that those he served with in Vietnam were the most diverse group he had ever been associated with. Different financial backgrounds, different opinions on the war, different tastes, etc. They wore the same uniform, but were totally different inside.

351 Random63  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:47:56pm

Well written and thought out! I sent it out to everyone on my mailing list including some old former college instructors of mine. Well done!

P.S. You really should publish it as a official paper.

352 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:48:58pm

re: #179 Cicero05

For the first time in weeks I'm feeling a little...optimistic.

Zombie, I'm scared!

Here. Hold my hand. It's a little scary for all of us!

353 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:49:22pm

re: #351 Random63

Well written and thought out! I sent it out to everyone on my mailing list including some old former college instructors of mine. Well done!

P.S. You really should publish it as a official paper.

Especially after being proven right in the largest mass psych experiment in history.

354 Dave the.....  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:49:58pm
That's true with my Civil War ancestry too. Except I probably had more on the rebel side.

I've heard statistics (not handy now) about what life was like in the South after 1865. The death rate of young males was very high during the war. Much higher pecentage of population then the North suffered.

355 michaelasher  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:51:20pm
356 Jimash  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:51:25pm

Really great essay Zombie !
You should publish it. At least spread it around.
Post it and see how long it lasts.
The best description of what is going on that I have seen.

357 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:51:25pm

re: #352 zombie

Here. Hold my hand. It's a little scary for all of us!

last time I took a Zombies hand it fell off in mine!

358 mitthrawnurdo  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:51:27pm

re: #352 zombie

May I hold your hand too?

/Sorry that I didn't mention it before, but I really enjoyed that article!

359 right_on_target  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:51:47pm

re: #354 Dave the...

I've heard statistics (not handy now) about what life was like in the South after 1865. The death rate of young males was very high during the war. Much higher pecentage of population then the North suffered.


___
Veterans died from wounds months later, no VA hospitals to take care of them after mustering out.

360 Kenneth  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:52:27pm

"Without FOX News I'd Be 2-3 Points Higher in the Polls" -Obama

Yes, Obama and just think, without any opposition at all you could be President for Life!

361 Walter L. Newton  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:52:33pm

I think McCain should stick to the economy. That's the only thing getting play in the MSM. The Ayers stuff is not out there enough. We know it, but we are the choir.

A hell of a lot of Americans don't care about Ayers, Odinga, Rekzo, Acorn, Kenya, socialism (most don't know what the fuck it is) or care if Michelle is a baytch.

But they care if they are going to be able to afford thier next cup of Starbucks. Period. End of Debate.

362 eon  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:54:17pm

re: #329 Dave the...

eon, my family doesn't quite have that history, but I have one who served with a Wisconsin regiment and spent a horrible summer in a disease infested swamp along the Mississippi by Helena Arkansas. Another marched with Sherman across the south and up into South Carolina, to finally end the war.

The rest came over in the 1890's. Everyone has worked hard and paid taxes since (including a death tax of $2M from an uncle's estate). I think I'll pass on paying reparations.

Sounds to me like they paid the bill. I personally consider the entire "reparations" thing foolish, and a distraction from real issues. But I won't go into that here, except to say that I suspect some day Jesse Jackson is going to deeply regret that all of his "nonprofits" are incorporated in Ohio, as he thought it would protect them from the "more professional" AG's offices of states like NY and MD.

/ he came very close to being in Federal court on at least three occasions under Ohio State AG's Montgomery and Petro.

cheers

eon

363 mitthrawnurdo  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:54:40pm

re: #360 Kenneth

Yeah, only those racists at Fox News are keeping the Messiah down.

364 kansas  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:54:49pm

Just brilliant! Hope this is indeed what is happening.

365 snowcrash  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:54:50pm

re: #352 zombie
That's what all the zombies say before they suck your brains out!

366 RainDog  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:55:05pm

Hey, guys.

I haven't had time to read any of the comments, so don't know what the consensus here is, but I just wanted to say that I found zombie's article to be fascinating. One of those few articles that I've read that will stick with me over the long run.

Thanks, zombie!

367 Cap'n DOC  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:55:08pm

re: #310 JustMyView

Okay. I read that as well. I have not read the book, so I have no idea what ideas the author espouses. I know if I was going to write a book and entitle it The Post American World, it would have to involve a world post-American. Or am I somehow missing the point? For that matter, what was the world pre-America?

368 sandspur  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:55:25pm

re: #20 Palandine

After smearing the military, Murtha starts in on his racist, redneck, knuckle-dragging constituents

PITTSBURGH (AP) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha says his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce Barack Obama's victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points.
The 17-term Democratic congressman tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site that, as he put it: "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area."

He says it's taken time for many Pennsylvania voters to come around to liking Obama, but he should still win the state, though not in a runaway.

In a separate interview posted Wednesday on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Web site, Murtha says Obama has a problem with the race issue in western Pennsylvania that could shave 4 points off his lead in the state.

Go give Col. Bill Russell, Murtha's worthy opponent, some campaign cash. Even if it's not your district, it's your patriotic duty to help boot Murtha's traitorous old ass out of Congress!

369 right_on_target  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:55:54pm

re: #355 michaelasher

Doopesbury

___
THAT, I'd like to see in the Sunday funnies.

370 wolfie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:57:15pm

re: #340 rawmuse

It will be called something else.

371 Chris in Toronto  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:57:16pm

A few days ago I wrote a similar analytical piece, looking, instead, at John McCain. It focuses in part on the idea of "meme warfare" zombie raises. My thesis: John McCain is flawlessly executing the first "21st Century" presidential campaign. And everybody should not despair.

It's here:
[Link: web.me.com...]


And speaking of memes, the "John Galt" meme is going around. I had it at the same time, it seems, as a number of columnists. A zen moment. My thesis: This election is the end-game in a century-long battle to depose capitalism and is can be seen as the culmination of a great battle, “Marx-Lenin-Gramsci-Alinsy-Ayers-"Cloward-P iven"-ACORN-Obama vs Aristotle-Smith-Locke-Jefferson-Madison-Rand-Reaga n-McCain”, a battle between ideological, nay, philosophical, mortal enemies in a fight for the future.

It's here:
[Link: web.me.com...]

I'd be honoured (proudly Canadian spelling, go canada!, hey, we re-elected conservatives!) to have your readership.

Thanks.

372 Soona'  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:57:49pm

re: #350 Dave the...

Read something a while back written by a Vietnam vet. He was in Chicago during an anti-war march, circa 1970. The "hippies"...you know, the counter-culture, all looked identical. All had the exact same thoughts and opinions. Zero diversity in the hippy-freak crowd.

He said that those he served with in Vietnam were the most diverse group he had ever been associated with. Different financial backgrounds, different opinions on the war, different tastes, etc. They wore the same uniform, but were totally different inside.

One of the things I tell old hippies that are still enamored with those times is if one really looks at what really went on with the Vietnam war, US politics, ideas on social behaviour, etc., it could very well be said that it was not the culture of love as the LLL would have us think, but the beginning of the culture of hate that we see today.

373 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:58:05pm

200,000 unmatched registrations in reserve.

Just in case the One needs 'em.

374 Kenneth  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:58:33pm

Obama's electoral coup

If by hook or crook Obama emerges victorious next month, he will not just be the US President. He will likely be the almost uncontested leader of a powerful monolith of leftist oriented government, media, popular culture, and revolutionary-minded powerful interests--aligned nationally and internationally as never seen before. The momentum toward permanent revolutionary change will be virtually irresistable.

It will not be a situation like 1992, where Clinton excesses led to the election of an opposition Congress. If the Entitlist, "Hollow-Man" Obama is enthroned in the Oval Office, he will assume a type of power only dreamed of by Bill Clinton or Al Gore. You can be sure that even if B.O. is unsure how to govern, he will be accompanied by a revolutionary cadre whose plans have been made for years--if not decades.

The overrunning of the university by leftist ideologues over the past 4 + decades is finally bearing fruit--in the electorate, in the media, in K-12 education, in popular entertainment, in the very mythology of the west. That is the type of undermining foundational change that was necessary in order for overt change of open revolution to occur in a formerly free country.

Gramscian whore of the caliphate, indeed.

375 sandspur  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:58:39pm

re: #349 sandspur

Zobie, you are amazing. Thank you. I'm telling my kids to read this. It will be a real eye-opener for them.

PIMF! Zombie

376 Viking6  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:59:34pm

re: #373 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)

As we old timer coppers would say, "Throw Down"

377 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:59:50pm

re: #185 Charles

zombie: you're going to have to start using CSS. Dealing with all those font tags is completely unnecessary. Just mark each paragraph as a paragraph, and style the paragraph element with CSS. For example, in the HEAD section of the page:

<style type="text/css">
p {
font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: small;
line-height: 140%;
}
</style>

There are lots of ways to size the font; I used the 'small' keyword. Try 'x-small', 'medium' and 'large' as well, and you can also use percentage sizes and pixel sizes if you must.

Then in the BODY section, each paragraph is marked up like this:

<p>Two campaigns are being waged right now for the presidency of the United States. No, I'm not talking about the Obama campaign and the McCain campaign. I'm talking about the <strong>real-world campaign</strong> and the <strong>meta-campaign</strong>. </p>

Subheadings can be marked up as H1 (through H5) elements, and given sizes and styles the same way the paragraphs are styled.

This isn't difficult to learn, and it's much easier to maintain than a big mess of FONT tags.

I totally realize all that, but I literally do not have one spare second to learn new tricks right now. Maybe after the election, I can sit down and learn how to update my web-page skills from ca. 1993-era html (which is where I'm currently stuck) to something at least in the last decade.

I know full well that the codes I use to fashion pages are straight out the Internet Stone Age. And I know that i should face that learning curve and buckle down. But I use them so infrequently, that I can never give myself the gumption to do it.

All I know at the moment is: what I use makes the pages appear. And that's enough for me.

Soon. Soon. I'll learn.

After the election, at least.

378 Soona'  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 3:59:50pm

re: #361 Walter L. Newton

I think McCain should stick to the economy. That's the only thing getting play in the MSM. The Ayers stuff is not out there enough. We know it, but we are the choir.

A hell of a lot of Americans don't care about Ayers, Odinga, Rekzo, Acorn, Kenya, socialism (most don't know what the fuck it is) or care if Michelle is a baytch.

But they care if they are going to be able to afford thier next cup of Starbucks. Period. End of Debate.

NO TAX ON STARBUCKS!

379 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:00:44pm

re: #376 Viking6

As we old timer coppers would say, "Throw Down"

Time to get ugly... before ugly happens to us.

We are watching a slow motion coup d'etat. Seriously.

380 myfathersdaughter  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:00:45pm

I hope and pray that Zombie's analysis is correct. I am 48 years old and have never come so close to thinking/fearing that I might someday live in a socialist society.

381 Kenneth  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:01:30pm

re: #371 Chris in Toronto

Nice writing Chris, but for the love of G-d, please lose the white text on black style. Black text on white is sooo much easier on the eyes.

382 Viking6  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:01:36pm

re: #379 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)

concur..

383 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:01:49pm

re: #195 reine.de.tout

ZOMBIE - that was great, just a great essay. I am e-mailing it to bunches of people.

Thank you!

384 Sir Lurksalot  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:01:51pm

Zombie. You have articulated what I have felt for awhile.

At the end of the day, the DUmmies of the world don't care if their poll stuffing is counterproductive. It makes them feel good to see a poll today with Obambi up. If in the end it plays a part in helping him lose? Well, we all know children can't put off gratification?

385 Cap'n DOC  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:02:52pm

re: #373 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)

Good find! Only 200,000? Does she have any idea how many eligible registered voters she has in her state? Unbelievable...

386 BeerDrinking_VictoryMonkey  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:03:20pm

re: #380 myfathersdaughter

I hope and pray that Zombie's analysis is correct. I am 48 years old
and have never come so close to thinking/fearing that I might someday
live in a socialist society.

If I wanted to live in a socialist country, I'd move to Venezuela - The weather's nicer & the women are better looking.

387 SpartanWoman  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:03:34pm

re: #373 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)

200,000 unmatched registrations in reserve.

Just in case the One needs 'em.

Bitch was trying to steal Ohio, send her ass to jail

388 Jimash  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:04:07pm

Can I pimp ?
I think my personal experience might be tangentially connected.

My Sierra Club experience

And the postscript is : Yes the Sierra club MAgazine is addressed to the same name but with a typo. And he is BIGTIME left Lawyer, and Sierra Club backer.

389 Tamron  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:04:08pm

According to Michelle Obama: THE 'CITIZENSHIP' FIX IS ALREADY IN.

“My husband and I know that there is no law that will stop him from becoming the president, just because some American white racists are bringing up the issue of my husband’s adoption by his stepfather.”


In other words, according to the overzealous, you’re-all-racists wife of candidate for presidency Barack Hussein Obama, even though she DOES admit that Obama's stepfather adopted him (thus removing his US citizenship before he was a teenager) the fix is already in. It's taken care of.

What raw arrogance! William Ayers or his wife couldn't have made a more plain statement. Rephrasing her quote:

(Michelle, standing on the Stars and Stripes in the dirt): "STICK YOUR PHONY RASCIST CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS UP YOUR ASS, AMERICA. READY OR NOT, BARACK AND I ARE GOING TO BE PRESIDENT AND YOUR SLAVE MASTER, NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY!"

Heh...
.

390 eon  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:04:48pm

re: #371 Chris in Toronto

Excellent essay. Consider yourself bookmarked.

cheers

eon

391 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:04:53pm

re: #385 Cap'n DOC

Good find! Only 200,000? Does she have any idea how many eligible registered voters she has in her state? Unbelievable...

Worse... she thought she could just play the clock until it was too late to do anything.

Come on state election boards... you are paid to defend the law, not cheat it.

I see handcuffs in her future.

392 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:06:11pm

re: #389 Tamron

According to Michelle Obama: THE 'CITIZENSHIP' FIX IS ALREADY IN.


In other words, according to the overzealous, you’re-all-racists wife of candidate for presidency Barack Hussein Obama, even though she DOES admit that Obama's stepfather adopted him (thus removing his US citizenship before he was a teenager) the fix is already in. It's taken care of.

What raw arrogance! William Ayers or his wife couldn't have made a more plain statement. Rephrasing her quote:

(Michelle, standing on the Stars and Stripes in the dirt): "STICK YOUR PHONY RASCIST CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS UP YOUR ASS, AMERICA. READY OR NOT, BARACK AND I ARE GOING TO BE PRESIDENT AND YOUR SLAVE MASTER, NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY!"

Heh...
.

Pre-emptive whining. I wonder why?

393 calcajun  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:08:19pm

re: #380 myfathersdaughter

I hope and pray that Zombie's analysis is correct. I am 48 years old and have never come so close to thinking/fearing that I might someday live in a socialist society.

I have tried to tell my boss, who has gone over to the dark side, what his life would be like in a BHO run USA; instead of working for the government 3.5 days out of 5, he'll be working 5 out of 7--just to spread the wealth around.

I tried to tell him what it was like for my grandfather in the depression--a store owner who had to close down at 3 each day because of Federal wage and price controls. Those days may be coming back.

394 nyc redneck  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:08:53pm

i like how zombie talked abt. the alternative media.
conservative publishers, talk radio, blogs. so many other venues to get the truth out and expose the msm propagandists and the libs.
this goes to the awareness of the individual. this is key to taking the pressure off of people who feel isolated and like they have no voice.
what a great article. all those pseudo scientific experiments won't hold up so well when the human specimen is given additional vital information beyond a lab setting. and they are getting it today.
wow, mccain may win by a land slide.

395 Dave the.....  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:08:56pm
The overrunning of the university by leftist ideologues over the past 4 + decades is finally bearing fruit--in the electorate, in the media, in K-12 education, in popular entertainment, in the very mythology of the west. That is the type of undermining foundational change that was necessary in order for overt change of open revolution to occur in a formerly free country.

And don't forget corporations. For example, my company bans use of the word "Christmas", internal and externally. Instead we are instructed to "celebrate the diversity of the season". I posted a simple comment, about this on our internal discussion site. Nothing threatening, over the top, just mentioned that a lot of us don't like the ban on the world "Christmas". Nothing else. The next day I received an email from the "director of diversity". She invited me to sit down and discuss my post with her.

I declined and said more or less said I will conform (said it more professional then that). You'd be surprised how much the liberal atheist culture permeates corporations.

396 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:09:32pm

re: #209 bosforus

zombie - I recently learned some basic css and before I did felt as you might feel now, a bit intimidated, but once I got into it I realized it's an infinitely more convenient way to do things and after you learn to use it you'll wonder why you ever thought it was intimidating. :)

I'm still in the "intimidating" phase. Hopefully, I'll grow out of it.

I actually have used CSS on other pages. I just didn't have time to fiddle with it this time around.

397 LynnfromNZ  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:09:52pm

Of course if mccain win the Dems will scream "vote fraud! how can someone so ahead in the polls lose except from nefarious vote-rigging" and we'll get allthe Jesse jackson lawers back.

398 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:10:39pm

re: #397 LynnfromNZ

Of course if mccain win the Dems will scream "vote fraud! how can someone so ahead in the polls lose except from nefarious vote-rigging" and we'll get allthe Jesse jackson lawers back.

And they have generated the fake registrations to "prove" it...

399 Bloodnok  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:11:16pm

This could not have come out at a better time. Thanks, Zombie. Loved it.

400 Vet_Missing_Parts (1LT, Ret)  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:11:33pm

Back in while... gotta eat before the big game.

401 Dave the.....  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:12:35pm

McCain does need to hammer on the economy. Right now, people see a bad economy (and going to get worse). They see a Republican in the White House, so assume a Democrat is better.

McCain has to say what his plan is, but also has to say what Obama's is...higher taxes (including capital gains tax), more regulation, a tool of trial lawyers (pledged to remove statute of limitations of certain types of lawsuits), etc.

You really have to educate people on what the increase in capital gains tax will do.

402 HelloDare  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:12:36pm

The type widow at the end of this caption looks a little horsey.


Faced with unanimous agreement by the group on the wrong answer, the test subject (#6) peers at the cards, deciding whether to trust his own eyes and his own confidence, or whether to instead change his mind and trust the group's opinion, or to simply pretend to agree with the group in order to avoid conflict
or rejection.

It would look better if you got rid of the "widow" or rejection under the photo. There are a couple words that could be deleted from the caption. Then you could make the photo bigger or something.

Also, a smidge more space between the copy and the visuals might help air things out. It's not consistent. Take a look at the space to the left of the Youtube screen compared to the other visuals. The space around Youtube works best for me.

403 Thanos  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:13:02pm

Brilliant analysis Zombie. The only suggestion I have for you is a very slightly larger font.

404 HelloDare  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:13:29pm

Zombie,

Forgot to address this to you.

re: #402 HelloDare

The type widow at the end of this caption looks a little horsey.

It would look better if you got rid of the "widow" or rejection under the photo. There are a couple words that could be deleted from the caption. Then you could make the photo bigger or something.

Also, a smidge more space between the copy and the visuals might help air things out. It's not consistent. Take a look at the space to the left of the Youtube screen compared to the other visuals. The space around Youtube works best for me.

405 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:17:27pm

re: #401 Dave the...

He has to give Obama (and the viewers) a math lesson. Look Obama right in the eye and say
According to OBAMA,, 95% of Americans will get a TAX CUT

FACT ,,, 50% of Americans pay NO income tax

Senator Obama, do the math please !

406 Throbert McGee  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:19:35pm

I want to give zombie a thousand updings just for mentioning Clever Hans, who's been an "old friend" since childhood. (Seriously, I'm sure that I first read about him in Consumer Reports for Kidz -- obviously, the Hans story is relevant in explaining why "double-blind protocols" are important if you're trying to do a meaningful taste taste of Coke, Pepsi, and Kmart-Kola.)

I'd never heard of Solomon Asch and his line-length "conformity" tests, but as soon as I read the description, an interesting variant on the test protocol occurred to me:

How would the results have been affected if Asch had instructed one of his assistants/shills to say, during the test, "Oh, I get it, this must be one o' them, whatchamacallit, obstacle delusions -- you know, like when the blue triangle looks bigger than the red one, even though they're really the same size?"

Never mind that there's no fool-the-eye trickery of any kind in the images presented by Asch -- the mere mention of "optical illusions" by the shill would give the unwitting test subject a strong (albeit erroneous) rationale for going with the group against the evidence of his own eyes.

407 ErislDysnomia  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:20:01pm

This is fascinating.

Does anyone know if there is a running account (such as by date) of the polls in the 2004 presidential race?

408 reine.de.tout  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:21:00pm

re: #394 nyc redneck

i like how zombie talked abt. the alternative media.
conservative publishers, talk radio, blogs. so many other venues to get the truth out and expose the msm propagandists and the libs.
this goes to the awareness of the individual. this is key to taking the pressure off of people who feel isolated and like they have no voice.
what a great article. all those pseudo scientific experiments won't hold up so well when the human specimen is given additional vital information beyond a lab setting. and they are getting it today.
wow, mccain may win by a land slide.

That essay did indeed lift my spirits considerably. It ain't over.

And the "alternative" media - particularly the blogs - just how fortunate are we that these things exist, and people can find information, not just the editorials disguised as news that we often get from the MSM.

409 Sir Lurksalot  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:25:27pm

re: #407 ErislDysnomia

This is fascinating.

Does anyone know if there is a running account (such as by date) of the polls in the 2004 presidential race?

[Link: www.realclearpolitics.com...]

Try this. Has some graphs over time.

410 Catttt  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:26:54pm

Not hyperbole, Zombie - you are AWESOME. I have been flitting all over the place trying to figure this very damn issue out in my head. You went well beyond the various points I had collected to back up my feelings on this issue.

Now I have your AWESOME piece.

You have outdone yourself.

411 ErislDysnomia  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:28:26pm

re: #409 Sir Lurksalot

[Link: www.realclearpolitics.com...]

Try this. Has some graphs over time.

Thanks.

That's 2008. I seek 2004 for comparison. Did the polls then show similar repub-dem "gaps" as now, inconsistent with the actual results?

412 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:28:27pm

re: #407 ErislDysnomia

This is fascinating.

Does anyone know if there is a running account (such as by date) of the polls in the 2004 presidential race?

why just the polls ,?, why not the serbs, croatians, the turks,,,

413 mama winger  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:31:21pm

re: #329 Dave the...

eon, my family doesn't quite have that history, but I have one who served with a Wisconsin regiment and spent a horrible summer in a disease infested swamp along the Mississippi by Helena Arkansas.

Dave - do you happen to know the regiment your ancestor was in? WAs it by any chance the Red Arrow Brigade, 32nd Infantry?

414 Dr. Shalit  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:33:58pm

re: #300 Odinga

Palin gets more impressive every day

1 one 1 interview in New Hampshire.

" 'Ding " -

Only would that she would quote a former Democratic President -
"I tell the truth, and they think it's Hell" - Give 'em Hell Sarry!

-S-

415 ErislDysnomia  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:35:18pm

re: #412 sattv4u2

why just the polls ,?, why not the serbs, croatians, the turks,,,

Is this like the fallen dinner joke?

"Why was it an international incident when the waiter dropped the platter? Because it represented the fall of turkey, the ruin of grease, and the breaking up of China."

416 JHW  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:36:04pm

re: #359 right_on_target

Kind of interesting statistic I found, it was probably to some extent similar in several states after the Civil War, gives a bit of insight on the tremendous loss to the country as a whole besides the deaths in the war.

A year after the war, Mississippi devoted one-fifth of its budget to purchase artificial limbs for veterans.

article...Mississippi ,at answers dot com

417 sattv4u2  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:38:33pm

re: #415 ErislDysnomia

I dunno. I only have paper plates

418 erevu  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:39:29pm

That was an excellent essay!

419 Malatrope  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:42:32pm

Wow, Zombie! Excellent work! Your writing style reminds me of the ever-incredible Bill Whittle, who I notice is now being featured regularly on NRO. You might email K-Lo over there and find out if a shortened version of this might be accepted by them.

420 Reno911  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:43:48pm

Our "Tokyo Rose" media is complicit in a garden variety Psy-op campaign against the same citizens it purports to serve.

As Zombie stated, the goal of this Psy-op campaign is the same as any other; convince the targeted population that they can't win.

When this election is over and McCain has won, "Tokyo Rose" should be hung by the neck, until dead.

421 ErislDysnomia  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:49:42pm

re: #420 Reno911

Our "Tokyo Rose" media is complicit in a garden variety Psy-op campaign against the same citizens it purports to serve.

As Zombie stated, the goal of this Psy-op campaign is the same as any other; convince the targeted population that they can't win.

When this election is over and McCain has won, "Tokyo Rose" should be hung by the neck, until dead.

I understand that to be a metaphorical suggestion.

On the other hand, one of the major ways totalitarians control their society is through control of information. They recognize doing so as not optional, but essential.

While we don't have a media that is subject to a dictator, we do have a media that is not a free media. It is a biased media that, in effect, is ruled by a dictator: the dictator of ideology.

A free society cannot survive under such conditions.

That's why I say, a major root cause of our current problems is a sick media, and that corrective actions in that sphere would go a long way to stopping profoundly anti-American ideologies from making further inroads.

422 ClosetConservative  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:54:49pm

That's one hell of an essay.

423 jorline  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:55:14pm

McCain fucked up...after reading this he should have hired zombie as his campaign strategist.

Excellent zom!

424 Salem  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:56:04pm

I'm sure that this has been mentioned, but the exit-polls will be important, too. In their last ditch to thwart Republican turnout, they may want to use exit poll numbers to dishearten late-voting Republicans into thinking their vote isn't going to matter. Alternatively, I suppose a lot of Obama voters might see them and decide their guy has it in the bag, thus staying home themselves. But the exit polls, we can assume, will be affected by some of the factors mentioned in the essay (e.g.: the "Bradley Effect"). So it's important the McCain voters are encouraged to ignore exit-polls, which will be hard to do if they haven't been encouraged to ignore all the prior skewed polling which would seem to reinforce them.

425 loflyer  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 4:56:16pm

Arrr, mates to late to be effective, but I still get to lay in 'me two cents worth. Zombie, 'me beauty that was a great analysis till the last paragraph. I also feel that the polls are skewed and the vote will be entirely different than the polls and media suggest. Stand fast mates! Stand and deliver!

426 Chris in Toronto  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:00:23pm

Thanks, Kenneth. I was never intending to write long stuff so the white on black was okay. Next time, I'll go black type. Thanks for the reminder.

427 Pigtown Water Dog  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:05:36pm

I sleep a little better at night because of Zombie!

Thanks, brothersister Zombie.

428 Price_of_Peace  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:06:00pm

Excellent essay Zombie! I read through the whole thing instead of speed reading to follow all the points. Your analysis very detailed and reasoned.

Bravo!

429 hermeneutics  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:08:00pm

re: #273 wolfie

My personal observation is that those of us who recognize our own personal frailties, acknowledge our own wrong-doing, and accept responsibility are the last ones to feel false guilt for things done by others. I don't care about great-grampa's sins. I got enough of my own!

The wisdom of Wolfie, once again.

Agreed.

430 melinwy  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:09:40pm

re: #300 Odinga

Palin gets more impressive every day

1 one 1 interview in New Hampshire.

great interview, thanks for the link.

431 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:12:07pm

re: #211 eon

Zombie, I don't care what font or page size you use. That is one of the best essays, both on politics and group-dynamic psychology, I have ever read. (And I've read quite a few in my checkered career, although strictly speaking, I'm like Professor Quatermass*). Well Done.

Thanks!

432 hermeneutics  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:13:09pm

In the past few months, I've noticed a change in tone when conservative bloggers and commenters discuss the MSM. It is much more adversarial.

In 2004 I don't recall this level of anger toward the media. And, frankly, I don't recall this level of media bias.

This is the last gasp of the dying media beast, Lizards. In 2010/2012 right and left sources of information will be clearly labeled as partisan. No one will be able to claim objectivity. We're all post-modern now.

It helps us but hurts those who have lost power, the old MSM. We'll be in a much stronger position in the next election. If this election was held two years later, in 2010, many major papers will have folded -- the LAT, for one.

Sigh.

433 Rugby the Rat  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:14:20pm

Hi zombie! nice page BUT as to the fromatting Questions, what is wrong with:

style="font-family:courier, monospace;color:red"

the resluting text is pretty, readable, and distnictive, yet at teh same time tasteful & doesnt scream OH LOOK EVRY1 @ HOW AVANT-GARDE MY PAGE IS!!! in a "lime Comic Sans on black w/ auto-play .midi files" kind of way, which is why i would reco mmend it to all my Web-design clients, if i had any.

*kiss*

P.S. time up here in Rat Heaven just flies by. did i mention that i have gotten to Round 3 of the inerview proces s for reincarnation?! (yes, there is such a thign as reincranation, but it's very selective) However i do not plan to come back as a rat this time... & needless to say not as one of you overhyped primates... i am SO SO hoping for Cloverfeld momster, how fuckin sweet would that be?! i'd be all like, RUN, puny manhattanites, i am coming to get you and DONT bother hiding in the Empire State Bldg., or the Chrylser bldg., or the Citicorp tower, the gugenheim, grand centarl station, the faltiron bldg., ... um... the Dakota, or whatever. BECAUSE!!! no matter what highly photogenic landmrak u choose to hide in, i shall selectively destroy them & EAT YOU UP old-skool Colverfield style!

pps: clever hans (yes THAT clever hans!) says güten Tag!

434 pre-Boomer Marine brat  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:15:53pm

ZOMBIE!
WOW!

435 pre-Boomer Marine brat  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:16:52pm

re: #431 zombie

Thanks!

Ah HA!
You're down here at the end.
Great work, kid!
Thanks!

436 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:17:07pm

re: #265 Walk Not So Softly

Zombie, It's so weird you should write this essay, Me and my buddy were discussing this exact same thing last week. But instead of writing an essay about it, we made it into a drinking game.

That's why it was so easy for me to write -- I just transcribed the tapes of your drunken conversation!

437 CapeCoddah  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:20:37pm

Damned fine essay Zombie, Thank you!

438 talon_262  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:24:42pm

re: #99 Rexatosis

Excellent analysis by Zombie. I would extend the Poker analogy further. The Dems and MSM are skewing the polls to make an Obama victory seem inevitiable. Yet the portion of the population that is probably most influenced by this "meta-campaign" is the youngest and least educated voters who in turn make up key demographics of Obama's support. Thus the segment of the voting population most readily influenced by Obama's "meta-campaign" are his own supporters who may actually believe they hold a stronger hand than they do and may not have as strong of an urge to turn out for the actual vote (especially since these demographics, especially the young, tend to have lower turn out ratios). Or in Poker terms the Dems may stand pat on a weak hand when they should have taken a new card or two to strengthen it.

I hope to G-d that this scenario comes to pass...NObama!

439 yesandno  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:30:33pm

Always believed in the power of suggestion...particularly among those who tend to drift towards how something feels rather then how things actually are.

Zombie...you have hit many nails right on the head. Great piece.

The only objection to any of it, is that what you describe is but more fodder for the "Right stealing the election" one more time. These people fail to analyze anything so when Axelrod or Beckle or Chris Matthews say it couldn't happen, the only reason it did was cheating and another election is termed "stolen" and someone will have to pay.

I think all this fraud will result in people going absolutely crazy if the Big 0 looses. Kerry loosing won't be the equal. Kerry was flawed and running against Bush so he should have won...but even the Dem's didn't like his pompous attitude.

But the Messiah...that's different. WHEN he looses...I believe he will...many of his supporters will have a much more violent reaction.

Me, I am waiting for his concession speech. And I will be keeping my eye on Michelle, my Bell at the time. It could be a golden moment!

Once again, great job Zombie! People like you and Charles make a difference.

440 ya1akov  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:46:08pm

Excellent exposition of social psychology.
We need to avoid being so naive as to believe that the Democrat enablers fight fair. All they are trying to accomplish is to make it as close as possible so that they can win it by voter fraud. If McCain doesn't win by a landslide, he loses.
The Democrats have shown their cynical disregard for law and order throughout the many years that I've tuned in to their political activities. They've consistently gotten away with it under the cover of the MSM et al. 'Bush "stole" the Florida elections' is merely reverse psychology to obfuscate their obvious attempts to do the very same. We are constantly being put on the defensive when we give credence to their accusations since we believe that honesty is not dead and that they honestly believe in their fraudulent claims

441 Archimedes  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:47:00pm

Great essay, Zombie, but ...


"So, when the phone rings and the pollster calls -- and your Clever Hans social antennae tell you the pollster is young and liberal and likely an Obama supporter -- would you have the nerve to tell the pollster the truth that you wouldn't vote for Obama in a million years? I mean, they called you; they know your number. They know who you are. Can you be absolutely sure they aren't putting a check mark in the "Racist" box next to your name in some mysterious database? "

Yup, I'd not only have the nerve, I'd enjoy the confrontation if one ensued. Love it. :)

442 EmeraldLakeEyes  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:48:15pm

re: #306 Davida

I also received a ballot in the mail. Heck with that! I am going to the polls to vote so it has a chance to be counted! I dont want a Dem. in the town office throwing it out. I am such a trusting person..lol

443 Max Darkside  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:51:40pm

re: #1 zombie

I'm working on improving the formatting right now!

Excellent piece. Really well done, Zombie.

444 seagreenroom  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:54:22pm

Can somebody please summarize?

445 hermeneutics  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:54:22pm

Zombie,

A few comments as I read your essay.

1. I like the distinction between real-world- and meta-campaign. Your distinction is a bit harsh, however -- in past elections, the meta-campaign was quite viable as well. I think what you're trying to say is that the meta campaign seems/feels more potent and omnipresent than it did, say, in 2000. Perhaps so. But you start your essay out with this assumption. Quantify it, Zombie. Somehow, defend your thesis by asserting 2008 is different, quantitatively, than 2004. Your essay explains but does not defend your primary assertion -- that the meta campaign has, in 2008, overpowered the real-world campaign.

2. Keep your voice consistent. First person plural ... second person ... ? You've got a strong, opinion and you want to share it. Why not first person singular? Or, stick with first-person plural. Good writing, btw.

3. Under "Who does the polling," why is it that robopolls and other computerized telephone poling produces similar results to those that use left-leaning, low-paid students. Rasmussen, for example, uses automated polling done by computers which play pre-recorded voices. This obviously eliminates any human operator bias.

4. The images within the text are effective and fun.

5. Yes, the Bradley Effect is a measure of political correctness, not racism.

6. The analogy of political poker playing with a show-down is excellent! Love it. And I love the distinction between silent and silenced majority. Kudos, Zombie.

Great essay, Zombie. Thanks so much for writing it. This was obviously a labor of love.

And, a bit "Thank You," to Charles for printing it on your blog.

446 Jimash  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:54:22pm

re: #441 Archimedes

I do that. I ask them questions.

Who contracted for this poll?
Where are you calling from ?
How did you get my number ?
What is your physical location?
What does the sign on the building say when you come to work ?
What kind of question is that ?
I'm not going to answer that !
The question is wrong .
etc.

447 kelevera  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:54:25pm

That paper kicks ass, zombie...always loved your stuff...

448 hermeneutics  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:56:18pm

One more thing, Zombie. I think that the left is fixated on words ... yes, hermeneutics.

Witness Lakoff. He "frames" everything. His goal is deception, not a clear, simple explanation of political ideology.

449 Jimash  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:58:15pm

re: #444 seagreenroom

Can somebody please summarize?

The Obamabots scream that they are winning.
The intention is that you should hear that message all the time.
The media are complicit, in delivering this message.
The hope is that either you will be convinced that it is right and that you should think that too.
Or.
That you will at least go along so that you look like one of the crowd.
Because they are being such jerks about it.
And there's some interesting thoughts about groupthink, psycolology, counting horses, and funny lines.

450 Archimedes  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 5:59:41pm

re: #446 Jimash

I do that. I ask them questions.

Who contracted for this poll?
Where are you calling from ?
How did you get my number ?
What is your physical location?
What does the sign on the building say when you come to work ?
What kind of question is that ?
I'm not going to answer that !
The question is wrong .
etc.

Are all Obama supporters paranoid?

lol

451 pepper  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 6:01:50pm

Summary: Vote once, vote your mind.

Excellent analysis of the fact and fiction behind the numbers.

452 zturlte  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 6:05:45pm

Great Essay!
Boy you are right and I feel it everyday, man that just want to get you depressed. Though the one thing we have control of is our vote. Yet it seems they may be covering all angles Zombie...Acorn and voter fraud of course, just in case the head games don't work. Well I still believe McCain will win for all it's worth. Obama is getting most the Kerry voters but he is not getting blue dog democrats and I know a bunch of them. I'm Hispanic so I find it quite strange that Obama seems to polling great with them, sorry don't believe that either old stereotypes don't die and I don't know any Hispanics voting for him. Tomorrow I will do a McCain phone
bank and it's in a Hispanic area so we will see what I can gather.

453 The Archivist  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 6:52:36pm

Has anyone taken the time to share Zombie's article with the PUMA troops?
It would be a good supporting response to their Eeyore post the other day.

454 Mauser  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 9:03:10pm

You know, I think this also explains the behavior of leftist talking heads, who say things that leave you scratching your head saying "Did they just see the same thing I did?"

455 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 10:57:12pm

re: #410 Cattt

Not hyperbole, Zombie - you are AWESOME. I have been flitting all over the place trying to figure this very damn issue out in my head. You went well beyond the various points I had collected to back up my feelings on this issue.

Now I have your AWESOME piece.

You have outdone yourself.

You're making me blush!

456 zombie  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 11:14:34pm

re: #445 hermeneutics

1. I like the distinction between real-world- and meta-campaign. Your distinction is a bit harsh, however -- in past elections, the meta-campaign was quite viable as well. I think what you're trying to say is that the meta campaign seems/feels more potent and omnipresent than it did, say, in 2000. Perhaps so. But you start your essay out with this assumption. Quantify it, Zombie. Somehow, defend your thesis by asserting 2008 is different, quantitatively, than 2004. Your essay explains but does not defend your primary assertion -- that the meta campaign has, in 2008, overpowered the real-world campaign.

2. Keep your voice consistent. First person plural ... second person ... ? You've got a strong, opinion and you want to share it. Why not first person singular? Or, stick with first-person plural. Good writing, btw.

3. Under "Who does the polling," why is it that robopolls and other computerized telephone poling produces similar results to those that use left-leaning, low-paid students. Rasmussen, for example, uses automated polling done by computers which play pre-recorded voices. This obviously eliminates any human operator bias.

All good points. If I find a spare moment, I will try to rectify them.

However, my free time is already in the negatives -- Just skimming through this thread means my family will starve! Well, it's not that bad, but you get the idea -- I have 37 hours worth of things to do every day, and that doesn't even include blogging. Every second I spent tweaking this essay is a second I don't spend doing something I NEED to do in the real world. It's quite a dilemma. I practically killed myself not sleeping just to get this essay out in the form that it is currently in. I now full well that it has a variety of flaws (some of which have not even been mentioned here), but to fix them would take hours and hours of research and rewriting that at the moment I can't justify, time-wise.

But if I ever do squeeze a moment in for this task, your ideas will be near the top of the list! Thanks.

457 SixDegrees  Wed, Oct 15, 2008 11:50:35pm
I am telling you here and now that a President Obama WILL sign a reparations bill of some sort. Put me on record. The only thing that has spared us thus far is a GOP majority and White House veto. The bill comes up every year, like dandelions.

Unlikely, at least in the current economic climate. And I don't think the popular vote, anyway, is going to give Obama much of a mandate. Presidents are always forced to the middle, and have to listen to their constituents - even those in the opposition, particularly if there are a lot of them.

The important thing is to deny him at every opportunity, and this means getting out and voting despite feelings of discouragement. There's a vast difference between an Obama win by 51% to 49%, and an Obama win by 60% to 40%.

458 LynnfromNZ  Thu, Oct 16, 2008 2:19:50am

just read on Anne Coulter that the MSM pollaganda has overestimated democrat support from 6 to 15 points on EVERY presidential election since 1976, and never once overestimated republican support. Great column, her latest, check it out.

459 pinky  Thu, Oct 16, 2008 8:06:38am

Wow. That was a really good read!

460 Walk Not So Softly  Thu, Oct 16, 2008 7:34:00pm

re: #436 zombie
If that were the case, there would be way more exclamation points. I'm a loud drunk. Your essay needs more exclamation points!


This entry has been archived.
Comments are closed.

^ back to top ^

log in
Name:
Pass:

Register Forgot Your Password? My Account Re-send Confirmation (To log in, cookies must be enabled in your browser!)

► LGF Headlines

  • Loading...

► Top 10 Comments

  • Loading...

► Bottom Comments

  • Loading...

► Recent Comments

  • Loading...

► Tools/Info

► LGF Hits

► Slideshows

► Resources

► Never Forget

► Statistics

► Tag Cloud

► Contact

You must have Javascript enabled to use the contact form.
Your email:

Subject:

Message:


Messages may be published in our weblog, unless you request otherwise.
Tech Note:
Using the Contact Form

► News/Opinion

  • Loading...

More Partners

Compare Electricity Prices in your area. Texas Electricity is deregulated; you have the right to choose Texas Electric Rates from among many Texas Electric Companies.

Disrespectful displayers of no upbringing.

Follow Lizardoid on Twitter
Follow Charles on True/Slant

 Frank says:

Stupidity has a certain charm -- ignorance does not.