Bad Form
Actions speak louder than words.
FactChecking the Debate
(from FactCheck.org)
McCain and Obama debated for the second time, in Nashville. We noted some misleading statements and mangled facts:
- McCain proposed to write down the amount owed by over-mortgaged homeowners and claimed the idea as his own: “It’s my proposal, it’s not Sen. Obama’s proposal, it’s not President Bush’s proposal.” But the idea isn’t new. Obama had endorsed something similar two weeks earlier, and authority for the treasury secretary to grant such relief was included in the recently passed $700 billion financial rescue package.
- Both candidates oversimplified the causes of the financial crisis. McCain blamed it on Democrats who resisted tighter regulation of federal mortgage agencies. Obama blamed it on financial deregulation backed by Republicans. We find both are right, with plenty of blame left over for others, from home buyers to the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
- Obama said his health care plan would lower insurance premiums by up to $2,500 a year. Experts we’ve consulted see little evidence such savings would materialize.
- McCain misstated his own health care plan, saying he’d give a $5,000 tax credit to “every American” His plan actually would provide only $2,500 per individual, or $5,000 for couples and families. He also misstated Obama’s health care plan, claiming it would levy fines on “small businesses” that fail to provide health insurance. Actually, Obama’s plan exempts “small businesses.”
- McCain lamented that the U.S. was forced to “withdraw in humiliation” from Somalia in 1994, but he failed to note that he once proposed to cut off funding for troops to force a faster withdrawal.
- Obama said, “I favor nuclear power.” That’s a stronger statement than we’ve heard him make before. As recently as last December, he said, “I am not a nuclear energy proponent.”
- McCain claimed “1.3 million people in America make their living off eBay.” Actually, only 724,000 persons in the U.S. have income from eBay, and only some of them rely on it as their primary source.
For full details, and additional quibbles, please read our Analysis section.
Pay Attention
In my own estimation, being someone who has competed in debates on the collegiate level, McCain won that debate on points. He knew the format better, used the format better, was more aggressive, more assertive and directly answered more questions.
We’ll see how the media and public view it.
(found at wunderworks‘ journal)
The Grinning Man: A Jefferson Carter Novel
I’ve had a few ideas about the sequel and done some pre-writing, but I’ve been so consumed with Houses of the Blooded, I haven’t had any time to give it any serious thought.
Then, this morning, I woke up with the entire novel in my head. I wrote the outline down quickly and it made me laugh.
I could write the whole thing in a week, I think. I may just do that.
| My LiveJournal Trick-or-Treat Haul |
|---|
| wickedthought goes trick-or-treating, dressed up as Gomez Addams. |
| amanofhats tricks you! You get a block of wood. |
| crapdaddy gives you 12 light blue coffee-flavoured pieces of bubblegum. |
| fallentyrant gives you 16 tan banana-flavoured pieces of bubblegum. |
| gobi gives you 14 light orange chocolate-flavoured pieces of taffy. |
| judd_sonofbert gives you 15 red-orange coconut-flavoured pieces of chewing gum. |
| kittydwhiption gives you 11 orange lemon-flavoured gummy worms. |
| memento_mori gives you 7 teal coffee-flavoured nuggets. |
| mnight gives you 13 green tropical-flavoured gummy worms. |
| oshiah gives you 1 light yellow spearmint-flavoured gumdrops. |
| ptevis gives you 16 orange grape-flavoured jawbreakers. |
| wickedthought ends up with 105 pieces of candy, and a block of wood. |
| Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern. |
Pope Breaks Hypocrisy Across His Knee, Makes it Beg for Mercy
While holding a staff of solid gold, the Pope says,
"The global financial crisis is proof that the pursuit of money and success is pointless."
In other words, "Stop spending money to invest in your future and start tithing to the Mother Church."
Asshole.
Story from the BBC.
Halloween Cthulhu: The Yellow Sign, Part 1
The room is dark. No lights. I’ve lit candles. A soft, but disturbing, droning tone comes from my laptop in the corner. I begin by telling this story.
It was 1981 and I was living in Ames, Iowa. I walked into Spencer’s Gifts with ten dollars in my pocket. On the shelf, I saw a large, white box with a cover that said "Call of Cthulhu." I thought I knew what that meant. I’d read the story in the library. I took down the box and discovered Spencer’s was trying to get rid of it; they ordered it by mistake. I bought it for ten bucks.
I took it home and read all the way through it. I didn’t quite understand it all, but I brought some friends over and we figured it out together. Because I bought it, we decided that I should be the Keeper (the GM). And I ran my first roleplaying game. My first game of Call of Cthulhu.
In college, I was the guy who ran Cthulhu. Other guys ran D&D or Traveller or Twilight: 2000, but I was the guy who ran Cthulhu. I’d show up in a black suit and I’d do my best to scare the living begeezuz out of them.
Ever since then, I’ve tried to keep a tradition. Every Halloween, I dress up in a black suit, I get a group of friends together, and I run Cthulhu. I’ve neglected the tradition the last few years, but I’m starting again tonight. The first of four short stories. Tonight, we begin…
Then, I had all four of them stand together holding hands. They closed their eyes and bowed their heads. As they waited patiently, an unearthly voice (powered by Garage Band) echoed around them.
I AM THE KEEPER OF THE WAY.
THE DOOR IS OPEN.