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Project Insomnia

Project Insomnia is many things, but in this context it is simply a "braindump" of whatever I happen to be thinking/reading/watching/doing at the moment. Parental guidance suggested.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Right, because that worked so well last time

Nader Announces New Bid for White House:
Ralph Nader said Sunday he will run for president as a third-party candidate, [...] Nader also ran as a third-party candidate in 2000 and 2004, and many Democrats still accuse him of costing Al Gore the 2000 election.

Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation says it nicely in her editorial today:
Look around: no one, including former strong supporters, called on you to run this year. Doesn't that deafening silence say something? In 2004, the last time you ran, in a year with the largest turnout of voters in recent history, you received only 0.3 percent of the nationwide vote --down from 2.7 percent in 2000. And this year, as a result of beyond-the-beltway progressives driving their issues to the forefront of the Democratic agenda, both candidates pledge to bring the troops home,to push for national health insurance, to reinvest in America, roll back tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations and use that money in the drive for new energy, affordable college, investment in education. The stakes in 2008 are clear.

Of course history can be twisted to whatever viewpoint you want, but it's pretty easy to see that if Nader didn't take 45,590 of Gore's votes in Florida then the last seven years would have been remarkably different.

I'm hoping that the remarkable populist appeal of Barack Obama will keep Nader off the radar. Then he could be appointed chairman of the CPSC or perhaps the FEC, where he might do some real good.
|| Andrew, 3:52 PM || || link ||

Friday, February 08, 2008

Undoing the Bush Legacy

Undoing the Bush Legacy:
Most people who cast ballots on Super Tuesday believed they were voting not just for a new face in the White House but also for sweeping new policies. Few believe a President McCain, Romney, Obama or Clinton would hew to all of the policies of Bush and Cheney--and even fewer believe they should.

Yet that certainty may be misplaced. When the next President is sworn in, the clammy fingers of the Bush Administration may still be wrapped around vital national policies. Even in the past few weeks, the Administration began entrenching strategic policies that are core to its ideological commitments in national security.

Acting largely in secret, the Administration is moving to tie down the next White House--Republican or Democratic--in ways that will prove hard to unravel. Whether or not it succeeds depends on the vigilance of Congress and the public.


I just sent this to both the Clinton and Obama campaigns through their respective Web sites:
Senator Obama|Clinton,

With reference to "Undoing the Bush Legacy" (The Nation, February 8, 2008, http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080225/huq), what are your plans regarding rolling back the most disastrous policies of the Bush administration? It's welcome, but not enough to state that you will do things differently; we need to know that you will take strong interest in reversing the treacherous course of the last seven years.

Thank you.


I don't expect a personal response but I would like to think that questions like this are actually read.
|| Andrew, 4:02 PM || || link ||

Thursday, February 07, 2008

I need^w got a new phone!

I looked around a bit more after this post but really, the HTC Mogul was the only Sprint phone that fulfilled my requirements. So I ordered it on Friday afternoon and received it Tuesday night. I got the "had the same phone for two+ years" discount, plus an extra $50 credit applied by Sprint's Retention department when I mentioned, slightly petulantly, that I'd been a Sprint customer for ten years and would appreciate some recognition. Plus they waived the $18 activation fee after I, somewhat incredulously, asked if they were really going to charge me a fee to change a database entry.

I've been fiddling with the Mogul for a few days now, trying to wrap my mind around the abomination that is Windows Mobile. So far I'm pretty pleased: WiFi works immediately; Windows Media Player handles streaming audio without a hitch; text messaging is close enough to the Treo's style that I can get used to it. Et cetera, et cetera. Bluetooth seems to work nicely, and I was able to immediately pair an old Jabra BT250v headset that I never could get working with the Treo. I'll try pairing to the car tonight.

I'm definitely not happy that it seems I have to install Outlook (spit!) on my laptop in order to sync contacts and calendar entries. I'll be looking for a third-party solution there, to be sure. And I'll need something to replace STRIP, the PalmOS password manager I've used lo these many years.

I guess I'll sell the Treo along with the rather impressive array of accessories I've accumulated over the years.
|| Andrew, 11:17 AM || || link ||

Farewell, Mittens

McCain Seals GOP Nod As Romney Suspends:
John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign. 'I must now stand aside, for our party and our country,' Romney told conservatives.


I'm totally looking forward to this afternoon, when Rachel Maddow (Air America Radio) and Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) will crow about Mittens dropping out after his miserable performance on Tuesday. And if that's wrong, I don't want to be right.
|| Andrew, 10:55 AM || || link ||

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Vote!

My selections on the San Mateo County, CA Ballot:
|| Andrew, 12:01 PM || || link ||

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