Plunging Towards Gomorrah
Archive for February, 2009
terry turner is a closet democrat
Feb 28th
I’ve been getting quite a bit of mail for the upcoming Sarasota commissioners election. Today’s best hit piece is on Terry Turner. I haven’t written about Turner because there isn’t much on his website other than he’s endorsed by the Sierra Club. Citizens for a Better Sarasota have sent out a mail advertisement that questions why Terry Turner is a registered Republican. They make a compelling case. Since 2003 Turner has donated $36,600 to Democrat candidates and causes. In that same period he donated $250 Republicans. It kind of makes you wonder why he’s registered as a Republican? He’s given money to John Kerry, Christine Jennings, and Hillary Clinton. I’m surprised he didn’t change his party affiliation before running for commissioner. Turner has also got in trouble for donating to an anti-development group in 2007. It’s not clear this will have any effect on the race. Despite the fact Sarasota is mainly Republican, the city limits favor Democrats.
In 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain won just three of the city’s 27 voting precincts. And Democrat Christine Jennings may have lost her bid for Congress against Rep. Vern Buchanan, but she carried the city of Sarasota. And in 2006, Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, easily carried Sarasota over Katherine Harris, though it is her home city.
That sums up the same problem facing most cities in the United States. Democrat city planners run all these towns. Is it any wonder urban areas are in such sad shape? Is it really that surprising then that Sarasota is run by clowns?
re: movie time: in the lives of others
Feb 28th
A small follow up to my post from Tuesday about the movie In the Lives of Others. The movie is over two hours long so me and the soon to be mrs. nemov watched it over two nights. I don’t want to go into much detail so I won’t spoil it for anyone else, but it’s a fantastic movie. While I’m not sure about the whole “conservative” angle of the movie it’s a terrific insight into the totalitarian world of the Iron Curtain. The movie serves as stark reminder of the dangers of a state that has too much control. While it seems like it could never happen in the United States it doesn’t take much for a ruling elite class to impose its will on the population.
Given the amount of communist sympathy that exists among movie makers (see: Che) it’s a good to see a movie that sheds some light on the horrors of socialism.
quake live
Feb 28th
Despite the fact I don’t play computer games anymore I’ve always kept an eye on id Software. Their games are legendary. I can still remember the first time I played Wolfenstein 3D in 1994. Doom followed soon after and then Quake. I have to admit I played a lot of Quake III in college. The game was a blast and I had two roommates who could play at the same time. Nothing is better than fragging your roommate and hearing him scream right down the hall.
id Software has now developed an online version of the same game called Quake Live. Quake Live is free to play and It looks better than it did eight years ago. It can be played through Firefox or Internet Explorer. It’s an amazing testament of how far technology has come that this is possible today. Quake Live is still in beta but I signed up and went through the walk through. I imagine Quake Live is going to be reducing productivity around the world, but it’s great for office deathmatch parties. Now if I can only find a railgun only level to play.
biden is an embarrassment
Feb 26th
It’s surprising to me that the White House hasn’t locked vice president Biden away from microphones. Every day he opens his mouth he says something stupid. The list of lies, misstatements, and odd comments has already become too long to maintain. I’m not exactly sure what the windbag brings to the table. He supposedly has foreign policy experience although no one can point to one good idea the man has ever had. The idea that he’s a heartbeat away from the presidency is scary. I’m reminded by this every time I hear someone say they didn’t vote for McCain because of Palin. Anyone who uses this lame excuse to vote against McCain clearly paid no attention to Joe Biden. Biden’s only good at making up facts on the spot.
The president needs to do the nation a favor and ship Biden to an undisclosed location for the next four years and then pick someone competent for 2012. It’s obvious Biden has no clue how stupid he looks.
let them eat pork
Feb 25th
The Godfather of pork is at it again. Senator Tom Harkin has shaken the money tree for a few hundred thousand dollars for trails in Iowa. That’s right, American taxpayers are funding natural trails in a state known for corn, pork, caucus, and Tom Harkin. This pet project isn’t even in the stimulus package.
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin says he’s secured $380,000 for Whiterock Conservancy to build trails. The funding, among $56 million destined for projects in central Iowa, is part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 to be voted on in the House today and the Senate next week.
The Omnibus Appropriations Act? Is Omnibus a character from Transformers? No worries, it’s just another 410 billions dollars to fund the nation through September. It’s the largest jump in spending since the Carter administration and this follows the Stimulus bill. This is change all right, there are 9,000 earmarks in the bill. The bill pays for Obama’s inauguration, the UN, international family planning, and migrant housing. The best thing about passing an 700 billion dollar pork monstrosity is that no one will pay attention to the 400 billion dollar pork bill that follows.
jindal not quite ready for prime time
Feb 25th
As advertised I missed the Obama speech last night. From what I’ve read I didn’t miss much; however, it did catch half of Jindal’s response. There seems to be two extreme reactions to his statement and neither of them really matter. I don’t think he bombed but I didn’t think he sounded very good, especially compared to his appearance on Meet the Press. I don’t think he’s quite ready for the national stage. Plus, following Obama speaking before a joint session of Congress is always going to be a letdown. I’m not sure what people were expecting. Keep in mind he’s only 37 years old. I think that’s the bulk of his problem, he just doesn’t look very presidential. Almost all 37 year old people don’t look presidential; however, I do agree with most of what he had to say.
For twenty years the Republicans positioned themselves as the party of smaller government and fiscal conservatism. Unfortunately they governed as Democrat Lite. The problem the nation faces now is that the alternative is more of the same on a larger level. Make no mistake, this is a dangerous time for the Republic. Until proven otherwise the president isn’t stopping the will of the Congress. As hard as it is to believe the most unpopular Congress in history is now running the country.
msnbc at its best
Feb 25th
MSNBC has become an unwatchable source for news. It’s hard to believe but they’re now much more bias than FOX could have dreamed. Here’s Keith Olbermann doing what he does best, come off like classless jerk.
Link: 
Update: It turns out it was Chris Matthews who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
