Annoying Bush Calls

So for the past 3 or 4 weeks, we've been getting recorded phone calls from the Republicans supporting Bush.

A few weeks back it was a redneck sounding guy, and this week it was Ben Stein.

It doesn't really matter who it is, but it's really freaking annoying to pick up the phone at 10:45 when you're getting ready to go grocery shopping and have it be some recording.

I'm guessing they're timing it so that people get the message on their voice mail or recorder when they come back from church. Either way, it's pretty damn stupid.

It's the one thing that really, really, really sucks about being in a "battleground" state. The amount of campaigning and ads is obnoxious. I'm pretty much numb to it, which is something that folks outside of the area may not understand.

To give you an idea, about a month ago, 25-30% of the ads on TV during primetime and evening news were political, and they were all Presidential ads. That meant you got at least one ad from a candidate or a 527 on each "block" of ads.

Now that we've added senate and local issues into the mix, we're probably running around 60-70% of ads being political.

Yesterday, "Get Out of my Way Traffic" on 1460 The Fan was brought to you by George W. Bush. The traffic guy read the reports, and then followed up with a Bush ad.

It's getting surreal out here. Last night I saw an anti-Bush billboard on US-33 heading downtown from Grandview that was brought to you by Rednecks for a Better America! Props for creativity on that 527.

I can not wait until this is over.

Mary Jo Kilroy "Dean" Attack Ad

So David Goodman launched what had to be the funniest of the local ads over the past couple of weeks. The ad attacks Mary Jo Kilroy using her support of Howard Dean as the prominent reason for sucking.

It's unfortunate the ad is not online somewhere, as you need to see it for pure humor. It launches several claims against Kilroy, after which Howard Dean's scream is heard. The "claim/scream" chain goes about 4 or 5 times, after which you're bursting out laughing.

That's just how funny Dean's scream still is.

Now, I've learned nothing from this ad, which makes it a straight up attack ad. I mean who cares if she endorced Dean? It's just going for laughs and it works.

Now, Kilroy has struck back with a radio ad which I've only heard on 1230 Air America in Columbus. This ad stars Howard Dean where Dean in a calm voice questions why would you talk about him, when he's not even running? He then endorces Kilroy and Kilroy approves the message and endorcement. It's a brilliant ad, but is that lost on radio? Maybe it's running on other stations, but why bother on 1230? Your base is listening to 1230 isn't it? Or is putting Dean out to the undecideds a bad move?

I guess I'm just surprised in that Goodman will get a lot of run out of his TV ad in a race where people just tend to look at the party next to the name and vote that way. Where's the Dean TV responce from Kilroy?

Oh well, I was surprised not to see anything about this ad online. But then again, it is just the Franklin County Commissioner race.

The Guardian Gives Up, Flops Like a Fish out of Water

Nothing more really needs to be said about this. Except, HA!

Kerry Pool Reporter Hunting Report

Drudge has a post from one of the pool reporters for Kerry's hunting trip.

It is absolutely hysterical.

Hopefully we'll get some more reports before the campaign ends

Struts vs JSF

This article has a good summary of why JSF is a good solution vs. something like Struts.

The basic advantage to Struts is its maturity and support. JSF grew out of some of the "mistakes" in Struts. They weren't really mistakes, but were just less flexible.

Anyway, I can't add much to the article. Check it out for yourself, and give JSF a try, it's a fun framework.

Operation Clark County

http://guardian.assets.digivault.co.uk/clark_county/

This is just sheer brilliance.

Thanks for pushing Clark County even more towards Bush! British Socialists. Nothing like people who don't even research what Clark County is trying to sway votes in the metropolis of Springfield OH.

Just read some of these royally screwed up messages: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1326066,00.html

There's a reason there was a revolutionary war.

Crew Take League Points Title

Congratulations to the Columbus Crew for finding a way to make sure Greg Andrulis will stay around for at least another year.

By somehow having more draws than wins (12-5-13) the Crew wins the league point title and the Supporters Shield on the 3rd tie breaker. They now get down to business of the much more prestigious, MLS Cup when they take on New England in a home and home.

New England beat Chicago on the last match day to earn the right to play the Crew. As long as the Crew gets a draw out of choppy Gillette stadium, they should be well positioned for the match on Halloween evening in Columbus.

Unfortunately I probably will not be able to attend, since I have to go to Atlanta for training that week, and may need to leave on Sunday night. So, they must win so I can attend the semi-final match against the DC/MetroStars winner.

The Genius

Word has it that Senator Kerry is a big fan of "The Genius" as done by Lanny Poffo. I recently received this from an anonymous source.

Here's Lanny:



And here's the Senator:

Thieves!

I am normally not very outward with my politics. But this year, I have been. What has helped that is my neighbor who is part of the Bush campaign in the Columbus office.

So this year, I put up a yard sign.

So sometime between 6:15 am (when I came back home with Barkley), and 8:00 am when I left the house for work, someone replaced my yard sign with the opposition!

Thanks to this person of low class, I've now placed the "Don't Be a Girlie Man" Bumper Sticker on my rear window.

Because only girlie men stoop so low as to try to take away someone's free speech rights.

What's the Big Idear?

Was that odd last night?

What was up with John Kerry's pronounciation of the word idea? It came out of nowhere and sounded very out of place. It was almost as if he reverted back to his childhood or something, as idea pronounced "i dear" as opposed to "i dee a" is a common Northeastern US pronounciation.

It just sounded completely out of place, and very strange. It was almost as if he lost his concentration or got rattled for a second.

Very odd. It may be that he hasn't said idea in a debate and that's why we didn't see it before?

Are there any other ideas as to why this came out that way?

Maybe a Better Tale

This commentary is probably even better than the one offered prior.

Yeah...why isn't Blair a liar too?

The sheer brilliance of this article can not be stated in words.

It took what I already believed and expounded upon it. I mean, everyone loved Blair when Clinton was in office...and now, you don't hear a word about him. Why is that? Everyone afraid to say something because he agrees with the President...and he speaks well, which of course makes the President look like he never passed 8th grade English. That's good when they don't agree...bad when they do.

It is unfortunate that this is the main issue that makes me choose which side to be on. This issue is by far #1, followed by economy and jobs. And on those issues, I stand by the President.

There are several which I disagree with him. The biggest you can figure out by clicking on the link under Important Posts. It's just that the risk of losing our choice is so small compared to the issues raised by terrorism. The fact that we have a debate on that issue right now speaks to our culture.

It's just not that important.

Good To Be in DC

Just in case you haven't seen the latest JibJab movie yet.

The McGreevey stuff is just...well...over the top.

The Debate No One Saw

Drudge reported that the viewers for the debate were much lower for Friday's debate. NBC/ABC/CBS from 7.4-4.9 in terms of a rating.

Well duh! It was on a Friday. Now, in Texas, Ohio, most of PA, that's football night for high schools.

In Columbus, each big school game will draw about 4-5000 fans. With the number of schools in the area, it's a large percentage of the family populace out to the games.

In addition, if you're single...you're on a date, or drinking with friends after a hard week at work.

So of course the ratings were lower. That's why this debate wasn't that important. It was imperative for Bush to get a draw to gain momentum, and he did that. But no one saw it. Everyone's learning about it from the media.

The debate in Tempe is the last debate and will be the most important. People will be around for that one.

Virginia for Real?

We don't know just yet do we?

Virginia came out lackluster against Clemson, but pours it on the second half. As I write this they are up 30-10, in control after scoring 14 points in the 4th quarter.

But, does it mean anything? So far they've accumulated over 400 yards, split 50/50 between rush and the pass, and defensively have been adequate, giving up 200 yards.

It doesn't mean anything though. Not until they meet up with Florida State next week. Their schedule has been weak, playing Temple, North Carolina, Akron and Syracuse. Clemson was supposed to be better than they are...but...they aren't.

I've seen Virginia lose to Florida State twice. They didn't just lose. They got destroyed. It will be about defense vs. offense on both sides of the ball, as the clear strengths will be on the defensive side this time. The games I saw, there was no contest between the Florida State offense and the Virginia defense. What should make this one different is that Florida State is having trouble at the Quarterback position.

One might do some analysis with the three games that will have identical opponents. Both teams beat North Carolina by 20+ point margins. And both teams will beat Clemson by about 3 touchdowns as well. Florida State will play Syracuse this weekend which might tell us something...Virginia won its matchup by 21.

All in all, it's setting itself up to be a huge matchup next week on ESPN, and maybe a visit from College Gameday in Tallahassee.

Crew Sets Record, Clinches East TItle

Yesterday, the Crew beat Chicago on a swerving slider of a set piece from Edson Buddle to clinch the Eastern conference title.

The camera angle for the goal on the FSN broadcast was one of the best I have ever seen. The ball drove around the wall and hooked hard right at the end to tuck into the upper right hand corner of the goal, leaving Chicago's Ring helpless. You saw this from ground level, directly behind Buddle as he took the short pass from Simon Elliot and drove it in the net from about 25 yards.

The 1-0 win gives Columbus its first conference title, and was their 16th game without a loss, setting an MLS record in the process.

I haven't been to a Crew game in quite some time, mostly due to other priorities. I was a season ticket holder for 4 years, but just didn't have the time to continue. It is great to see the club succeed. And you have to give tons of credit to Andrulis, who despite a large number of hardcore fans against him, has found success in bringing in a mulititude of veterans to guide an excellent group of young players.

It is a good feeling to eat crow on Andrulis and the Crew this season. I hope to be there on Halloween for the playoff match.

Two definitions of War on Terror

It amazes me how there are apparently two definitions to the "War on Terror".

Kerry apparently believes that you only eliminate the terrorist organization that has struck at you. Take out bin Laden and that's pretty much it.

Bush believes that you eliminate all terrorists.

At least that's what I got out of the debate last night. It was pretty clear when Bush outlined his plans in 2001 that bin Laden and Al Queda was just the first target.

Now, if you have had the opinion that you only needed to take out bin Laden in 2001, then good for you, I'm glad that you know where you stand and haven't budged. I disagree with you, but it's good for debate.

What gets me is the way the media and some Americans have suddenly shifted their thinking pover the past 9 months What will it take to get them to realize that what we're doing is the right and just thing for our security?

It's not about getting rid of Al Queda. It's about going into a place that you have a chance of being successful. Edwards brought up Iran last night. Gee Johnny, do you think we're all morons? Of course Iran is a freaking problem, but it's a much more difficult place to have a chance of success in. We needed to go in where you not only had the legal right...Iraq shooting at our planes for 10 years, ignoring the UN, etc....but you had a chance of success.

If you think Iraq is the last place we will go, then you're wrong. If the two Johns win the election, we will revert back to being an easy target. This is no longer about punching back when you've been punched.

This is about getting kicked in the groin, and seeing a line of people waiting to kick you again when you get up. Only this time, you crack the kneecaps of the next guy in line before you get up.

Is it that hard to understand the Bush Doctrine? Or is everyone so scared of the reality of the world that they're trying to ignore it all?

Great Debate for Case

It was wonderful to see good ol' Emerson Gym turned into a well manicured debate stage. You could only see the refelection of windows from the "coaches" level of the gym once or twice.

Then you get the wonderful live coverage from Veale Convocation center, which was being built while I attended school. It was great coverage for the school, and a wonderful move by the administration to energize the top students in the country to consider Case.

When I was at Case, we often complained about the lack of social activities, or that nothing cool happened at Case since the Mickelson-Morely experiment. The best we could do was a Toad the Wet Sprocket show, an appearance by Carrot Top, seeing Major League 2 as a sneak preview.

Many students may not have been able to attend...which is very unfortunate. But some did. And those students won't be saying that nothing important or cool ever happened at Case.

As far as the debate goes, it's not going to change anyone's mind. But Cheney setup Bush very well for the Friday debate. It's too bad it's on Friday and no one will watch it...especially in Ohio with all of the high school football going on. Edwards hung in there, and attacked Cheney, except that he should have attacked Bush. Bush is running for President. Cheney did well not to answer questions that were dumb attacks. Edwards on the other hand, let Cheney get to him, which was not a strong stance.

Bush Sandbag?

I hope that this article is correct in terms of tactics. Otherwise, I'm very dissapointed in the President.

Bush did so horribly during the first debate. I know he stayed on topic, but that assuming that the public wants you to. These votes that are undecided (and I don't understand how you can be undecided at this point), are the target market. Not I, not Michael Moore. We've got our minds made up.

For the President not to take the bait shows a lot of smarts, but makes him seem very cautious. I did not listen to media reports before I thought that Kerry had a better showing at the debate. And if I have my mind made up, and I'm generally moderate/conservative in my politics, what do the true moderates think about what transpired last Thursday?

It will be interesting to see what happens in the 2nd debate and in the next few weeks as the Bush team trys to take advantage of the holes Kerry has left open.

Kerry running this country would be a horrible victory for those that oppose freedom and American ideals. American ideals have always been for America first, and that means positioning ourselves for the global marketplace. Moving into the middle east opens that ground to become part of the global economy. Some see it as being just about oil. It's not about oil. It's about creating markets for western (and hopefully American) goods and services so that those countries can begin to develop their own.

If we stay the course in Iraq and Afghanistan, we will allow those people to develop into the next Japan and Korea. That movement creates freedom, which nullifys fundamentalist movements. Even now the "liberals" in Iran are rising up attempting to overthrow their corrupt theocrasy.

This is why Bush must continue the work he's started. This is much more than bin Laden. This is about changing the world for the better so that bin Ladens do not manifest themselves, or are at least a small problem (like the psychos we get about every 10 years here). So as some on the left are doing, I'm doing what I have to do to convince you to vote for Bush. Kerry's plans will cripple the US economy and will isolate us from the world. We need to take a stance in the world, rather than let countries manipulate us.

Edwards & Cheney - smelling my sweat

Tomorrow, the Vice Presidental debate takes place at Case in Cleveland.

In the past, these have been the most entertaining debates, and I certainly hope that trend continues, since the first presidental debate was boring. About the only thing that was entertaining was watching the two morons sweat. Kerry sounds like a robot, and Bush sounded irritatted to be there.

Regardless, the best part about the VP debate is it takes place in Emerson gym. What's really great about that is what that facility was used for when I attended Case 10 years ago. It was an intramural gym. I've played basketball, volleyball and all other sorts of games on that floor, especially during my freshman year when we had to take gym classes.

I am happy for Case that it gets the honor of holding the event. I am very dissapointed to learn that classes had to be impacted as much as they were. Classes were cancelled for Tuesday. The Quad closes on Monday at 11 pm. There are no classes on North Campus. Sounds like someone should be throwing a party tonight. The new Veale convocation center has been closed since September 8, so they can build a huge media center. The workout rooms have been closed and students have had to uses 1 to 1 Fitness center instead (gotta be great for the football team).

But all in all this is great for the school. MTV comes and provides promotion for the school and gives them another place to consider. Parents get to see the school and think about it as a place for their children to attend.

But hey, just remember what they use that gym for, when debates aren't there.

And enjoy the smell of sweat.

NetBeans 4 Still Rocks

NetBeans released the Beta 2 of their 4.0 product, and it's still looking great.

I'm now using it exclusively as my IDE in place of 3.6 and Eclipse. Once you "get" the UI, you'll never go back to 3.6, and probably won't see any need for Eclipse...at least until the WebTools version of Eclipse comes out.