k wrote:
] Of course, the electoral college effectively cancels out your
] vote too, since you decided to live in a place which is
] heavily oriented to one side. I've been depressed about the
] low voter turnout numbers in the past (in the vicinity of 50%)
] but i've come to realize that a huge portion of that number
] isn't based purely on laziness. I still think everyone should
] vote, but i completely understand how a democrat in NY or CA
] could say, "eh, fuck it." Again, i don't encourage that, but
] i do understand it.

I think its critically stupid to avoid voting because of the electoral college. I will vote, and my vote will be counted! Let them select a president who lost the popular vote! They will know who is right and who is wrong, and you can rest assured that Bush is aware of the degree of his mandate even in this close situation in 2000. A president who lost the popular vote will be very weak indeed.

RE: LawGeek: Sample Right-wing Voter Suppression Letter

] For any of you who doubted the reports of Right Wing
] voter suppression campaigns, here's a sample letter that
] was sent to a largely-Democratic, largely-people of color
] community in Ohio.

Can I please have one story about left wing voter suppression?

LawGeek: Sample Right-wing Voter Suppression Letter

] This flyer is being distributed around Milwaukee's
] African American communities.

I saw pictures of these in 2000, but at the time it was considered an anomaly... Trouble is these reports are hard to authenticate.

Daily Kos :: Voter suppression flyering starts?

This is so wrong yet funny. Who let their kids be part of this?

2004's Scariest Halloween Costumes

] A survey of deaths in Iraqi households estimates that as
] many as 100,000 more people may have died throughout the
] country in the 18 months after the U.S. invasion than
] would be expected based on the death rate before the war.

!!!!!

Yahoo! News - Household Survey Sees 100,000 Iraqi Deaths

] "The streets will run with blood," and "America will
] mourn in silence" because they will be unable to count
] the number of the dead, a man claims on the video.
]
] The terrorist's face is concealed by a headdress, and he
] speaks in an American accent, making it difficult to
] identify the individual.
]
] Individual is college educated, either American born or
] raised in the U.S.
]
] The U.S. is actively seeking to identify the individual.
] Adam Gadhan - aka Adam Pearlman of Southern California -
] remains the chief candidate but another still unknown
] individual may be possible.
]
] Pearlman was highlighted by the FBI in May as an
] individual most likely to be involved in or have
] knowledge of the next al Qaeda attacks.

Search Memestreams for more information on Gadahn, a former metal head from California who turned to Islam. I don't know how the hell they determine if someone is "College Educated" from a few minutes of video. I got a better then average verbal on the SAT in the 7th grade. In any event, I'll have to reinterate Rattle's take on this:

"Hear that America? Heavy Metal music leads to terrorism. Really. This is the proof we have been looking for."

DRUDGE REPORT: Metal Head Islamist prepared to strike America

] Height, while determined largely by genetics, also is
] influenced by childhood nutrition. Adults in the early
] 1960s grew up during tougher times when they may not have
] had enough to eat, Klein said.

Is this really the cause? I find it hard to beleive that baby boomers had slim pickings at the dinner table in the 50's.

Yahoo! News - Americans Getting Taller, Much Heavier

I tend to really like eminem. This is good. I think he would have had another secret service visit though if he'd not put the little twist at the end.

Yeah... this rocks. I've never been moved by eminem before... it's infact really really good.

If you can't get it at guerrilla news try this one: http://www.ifilm.com/viralvideo?ifilmid=2654122

Eminem's Mosh

] Unfortunately, our leaders do not understand the Fourth
] Generation, so it appears we are about to throw this
] opportunity away. We continue to bomb and shell Fallujah,
] which pushes our enemies toward each other. We seem to be
] readying an all-out assault on the city, which will have
] the usual result when Goliath defeats David: a moral
] defeat for Goliath. Many Iraqis will die, the city will
] be wrecked (as always, we will promise to rebuild it but
] not do so), and any losses the insurgents suffer will be
] made up many times over by a flood of new recruits. Never
] was it more truly said that, "We have met the enemy,
] and he is us."

The man who wrote the Marines combat manuals drops the knowledge bomb. Linked from Gibson's blog...

William S. Lind On War Archive

Scientists have discovered a new and tiny species of human that lived in Indonesia at the same time our own ancestors were colonising the world.

The new species - dubbed "the Hobbit" due to its small size - lived on Flores island until at least 12,000 years ago.

'Hobbit' joins human family tree