I’m off. For the next two weeks I shall be either playing on vacation or playing on a business trip to Kolkata. If you’re lucky, someone like Jerry will post here occasionally but, at least for the next week, I won’t have access to my computer or to my email.

I’ve voted and I’m pleased to say that I will be attending a show in India the night of the election--I will be watching with interest from afar, but glad to be spared the last minute political ads and calls that would otherwise have been bashing my brain about. In case you wondered what I had to say on the subject of voting, this post from way back in 2004 (the comments don’t work anymore, so, yeah...) is something that I still stand behind (except for typos, grammatical errors, and a slight change in the priorities).

I’ll miss you.

But whilst I’m gone, feel free to enjoy the silence.

Remember: 

NRO is pointing out that some Hillary supporters believe that Biden’s recent speech was actually a hidden reference to the draft. That simply won’t happen; whether Obama supports the idea or not, there is simply no support in Congress or in the voting public for a draft--and while I think Obama is the wrong choice for America’s continued welfare, I don’t think we need to conjure up the boogeyman of a draft to argue our case, especially with such slender evidence.

Just sayin’.

Quick aside: Apparently Biden thinks that America can bypass a crisis by voting McCain for president. I happen to agree, but it seems surprising that he would admit it.

...to prove my point.

I’m going through the old blogroll and I’ve decided that it needs updating. Aside from blogrolling’s recent outage, I have a number of dead blogs on the roll and a desperate need to see read some new voices. So, over the next few days I’ll be deciding which links to keep, I’ll be adding a few new names to the list, and then I’ll see if I can find some service that will make me forget all about the failures of Blogrolling (which seems to be, mostly, a dead product anyway).

Point being: if you have any suggestions either for a service for the blogroll or for new reads that I don’t currently have linked, please leave me your thoughts.

First up, I need to remember to link up the acerbic LibertyGirl2008. Happy fun anger!

Ugly is the only way to describe the Broncos’ loss to New England. Well, perhaps not the only way. You could also say it was inept, hideous, disappointing, and plain old bad. And there are no excuses for the Broncos who lost an ugly, but winnable game last week--a game that showed up every shortcoming that the Patriots exploited tonight.

Like turnovers. The team saw two early, promising drives end on Dante Hall fumbles, saw Jay Cutler throw a couple picks, and saw Patrick Ramsey add one of his own. For a time, the offense looked like it could work its way back into the game, but the turnovers and bad penalties stole hope away every time.

But, Zomby, what about the injuries? That’s no excuse for such poor play and the Patriots could match the Broncos injury for injury if it came down to comparisons. Certainly, it didn’t help that Cutler injured his hand on the very first offensive play of the game--that that had nothing to do with Hall putting the ball on the ground twice early. Certainly, it hurt that both Baileys (Boss and Champ) left with injuries, but the game was out of hand well before that point. Champ Bailey’s absence only proved two things to me: that without him no one on the Broncos’ defense can be relied on to cover a good wide receiver and the Broncos defense really is as bad as advertised.

Because as much as the Broncos offense may have dropped the ball (sorry), the defense played a listless and fruitless game. Big plays, bad tackling, dumb penalties--you name it, they did it.

The Broncos used up their good luck early in the year and haven’t made their case for having earned the top spot in the AFC West. Only the weakness of the conference sees them still looking better than the uneven Chargers and woefully bad Chiefs and Raiders.

Not much in the way of happy thoughts could possibly be attached to a game this phenomenally bad.

None of which changes the fact that Obama supporters are using the accusation of racism against McCain-Palin supporters with sickening regularity and little in the way of evidence. I had thought that race problems in the US were decreasing, but the hysterics and the baseless claims of racism for the pedestrian crime of disagreeing over which candidate would better serve as the United States’ next president.

I’m not stupid. I know that there really is racism in the United States. I know a woman who won’t vote for either candidate--Obama because he is black and a liberal and McCain because he picked a woman as his running mate. Not because he picked Palin, but because he picked a woman. I know other people that aren’t convinced that Obama isn’t a secret Muslim and won’t vote for him based on that worry.

I’m not stupid. But that doesn’t mean that every slight or misunderstood word (cakewalk?) is a sign of racist intent. The repetition of the accusation without evidence speaks volumes about the bad faith of the accusers--these aren’t folks debating or having a reasonable conversation, these are folks hitting out with one of the bluntest of instruments.

False accusations of racism (similar to rape) just cheapen and deaden people to real acts of racism in our country.

I liked the GEICO cavemen. The first series of ads was creative, funny, and memorable.

Then came the TV show, which, if jumping the shark hadn’t jumped the shark, we might imagine that the entire concept had leapt well over the circling cartilaginous fish. But that isn’t the case: GEICO decided to soldier on past the disappointment, flooding us with another series of ads which have reduced the cavemen to whiny little children who make me want to push GEICO down and kick it in the butt a few times.

Cavemen roll up on their motorcycles. Hot girls waiting for them. They look up and see a GEICO billboard. Cavemen turn around and cry their way home.

Caveman goes to beach with uber-hot girlfriend who proceeds to take off her shirt. Which I enjoy. Caveman looks up and sees a plane pulling a GEICO banner. Caveman petulantly walks back to the car.

And, most confusingly, caveman is playing a tennis match with Billie Jean King. According to BJ and the scoreboard, the caveman is losing--our only indication that we might be wrong is the caveman’s confusion. Suddenly the caveman realizes that GEICO is sponsoring the event--a sudden realization that only makes us believe that cavemen really are stupid or how else did he miss the GEICO signs and sponsorship? Whatever, because the result is the same: caveman takes his ball and goes home.

Damn, cavemen aren’t only stupid, they are some whiny little babies.

Please take them off of our TVs. We’re done with the cavemen.

From Steve Green:

If (when?) Obama is elected, by my estimation there’s an at least even chance that the newly-reconstructed FCC will reverse course and attempt to apply the New Fairness Doctrine to blogs.

If (when?) it happens, I’ll break that law.

Yep, I’ll join in this little Internet insurgency should the need arise. I will willfully break a law in order to protect my constitutionally protected right to free speech--and the rights of everyone else who would otherwise be silenced. Every post will be a protest, every word will be a declaration of freedom in the face of an unreasonable government dictate.

Of course, I’m not convinced that there will be a new Fairness Doctrine or that it will be applied to us--I can’t imagine how it would pass a test of constitutionality when tested in court. And it would be tested in court. I’ve been wrong occasionally, though, by overestimating our courts and our elected officials.

Perhaps I’m not cynical enough?

Update: RS McCain, one of the more interesting guys that I met (briefly) during the DNC here in Denver, responds to Steve.

I really don’t like Obama’s answer to this question (watch the video to see what I’m talking about), although I suppose I should applaud him for being honest about his desire to help successful Americans do their patriotic duty by giving the country more money.

I don’t know about y’all, but I neither need to see any more of my wealth redistributed nor am I asking for handouts. I mean, I don’t have so much that higher taxes won’t hurt me, but my success in life isn’t hinging on the Obama-Biden plan of patriotically taxing the hell out of people who are doing better than me, either.

Taxing the wealthy isn’t the best way to help me be successful.

I could write a lot about the Broncos’ loss to the Jags today--about ball control, about ball protection, about strange play calls--but I think this is the best thing that I can say right now: today’s game was an extension of the last game, with all it’s positives and negatives, but without the happy ending.

Everything goes better with a happy ending.

Just click click click on through for something mighty funny.

No, that’s not the amount of my own, personal bailout check from Uncle Sugar (pity); it’s the newly revised Zimbabwean inflation rate.

imbabwe’s annual inflation rate - already the world’s highest - has soared to 231,000,000%, newly released official figures for July show.

The rise - from 11,200,000% last month - was largely due to increases in the prices of bread and cereals.

A landmark power-sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has failed to ease the country’s economic crisis.

Ouch.

I’ve been so involved in watching our own nation’s political scrum that I’ve neglected to write about the situation in Zimbabwe. I’ll try to rectify that in the near future with a piece that I’ve had in my head for a number of weeks about why we can’t expect Zimbabwe’s power-sharing deal to work--and why if it does work, we should worry for the MDC.

There ain’t no justice for Zimbabwe, is there?

For now, though, read the story.

"McCain 2 Old” Billboard in Cleveland

Apparently, this is what the left considers relevant political discourse:

I saw this billboard on my drive to work this morning. It is located on I-77 North just south of Cleveland (immediatley before the I-490/I-71 split). It is located so that everyone driving in to Cleveland from the South will see it. The picture isn’t great because I took the picture with my camera phone as I drove by in the far left lane. Here is the full picture:

I’ll let this picture speak for itself.

Click here for the full resolution version.

Pelosi wants another government handout--this time it will go directly into the pockets of regular citizens instead of into the bad paper collected by big financial organizations. To which I say, “Thanks! Keep that free money comin’.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday during a trip to Denver that an economic stimulus plan of $150 billion is needed now because of the faltering economy and she may call the House into session after the election to pass it.

Pelosi told reporters that the stock market meltdown, which has caused an estimated $2 trillion loss from pension funds, was a factor in her recommendation for a second stimulus bill. The first relief plan sent out $600-$1,200 tax rebate checks to most individuals and couples this year.

Dig this: why am I making out so good in this equation (and in that earlier $600 handout)? Easy. Not only is that money not likely to come out of my taxes--my tax money will be busy paying for other bits of the deficit until the day I die. Those handouts are coming out of our children’s pockets. Or, to be more specific, your children’s pockets.

Every time the government sends me a handout in a year where we’re running a deficit, that’s money stolen from your kids.

Cool, huh?

All I can say is, “Thanks faceless, nameless masses for your contribution to my continued XBox and good booze addictions.”

Read the Rest...

Ash of course. In fact, I don’t think you can even make a good case for the Headless Horseman.

I mean, compared to, say, a whole army of darkness, the HH would be easier than dealing with a single rogue witch in the hallowed halls of S-Mart. While Ash may not be the smartest guy of all time, he certainly seems to have luck on his side. No matter how much he bumbled along, luck would swoop in and guide him to victory.

If this were back in the glory days of Grudge Match, I would have to build an entire scenario to illustrate my point. Sadly, those days are gone so what you get is this: duh.

PS- If you don’t know Grudge Match, allow me to introduce you via John McClane v/ the Death Star. If you knew where to look, you’d even be able to find a little surprise…

Just when you though the city of Akron couldn’t get more crazy, we now have Devo coming to save the day:

In the final month of this historic presidential race, the band DEVO is making an urgent trip to their native Akron, Ohio to rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

God save us all…
(Or Sarah Palin, if he’s busy.)

(Hat tip to the Weekly Standard Blog)

Don’t forget to check out Steve Green’s drunkblogging of the fun. Always brilliant. And the Gay Patriot’s puppy blogging is funny, too.

Question: The economy sucks. Help me Obamy wan Barracky, you’re my only hope.

Obama: Well, it’s all Bush’s fault. Except for where it’s McCain’s fault. And except for where it’s Wall Street’s fault. Vote me.

McCain: Read my lips: “No new taxes.” And keep our money here instead of giving it to the bad guys. I love your house and I’ll do everything I can to make sure you keep it. I’m not Bush.

Question: Who will replace Paulson ("The Evil One")?

McCain: I’m not good with jokes. Laugh anyway, please. Not sure, but I have some good ideas.

Obama: Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I don’t know either, but eat the rich. And, seriously, I’m going to give you a tax cut. I mean it. Seriously.

Question: What the hell is with the bailout package? What the hell did you people do to us and our freakin’ money?

McCain: Bailout? No way, man, rescue. Think some happy thoughts and it will be okay. By the way, did you know that the sub-prime crisis was the Democrats’ fault and I tried to stop it? Fannie and Freddie aren’t your friends, but I am--and Obama is buddies with those bastards.

Obama: Totally, yeah, rescue. Money for everyone, which is nice. And, it was not my fault and Senator McCain is a big poopy head. Deregulation was the problem, not bad loans to people who couldn’t pay back all that bad paper. If we kept everything properly regulated all of those bad loans would have...umm, never mind. I don’t like Fannie and Freddie, either. Look, after all my pointing of fingers, I know you aren’t interested in pointing fingers, so…

Question: Obama, are you saying things are going to get worse before they get better?

Obama: No way, everything is fine. Except that things are worse now than at any time since the Great Depression and you should all be scared.

Question: McCain?

McCain: Things could get worse if we don’t make the right choices. Workers are strong--and, it was too the sub-prime stuff--and if we give them a good environment to fix the problem they will.

Obama: I don’t trust you with our money. Not sure I have a real question, I’m just pissed.

Obama: There’s a lot of blame to go around. Especially for the Republicans. I mean, no one is innocent, but the Republicans are bad. Really bad. But trust me to spend your money on big new entitlement programs, which will be fine because I’ll find something or other to cut in the budget, too. Promise.

McCain: There’s a lot of blame to go around. Especially for people who aren’t me. Including Obama. I point fingers at both parties.And since Obama hasn’t, you know, done anything yet, I want you to focus on records rather than rhetoric. Obama wants 860 billion in new spending--which is way more than the abomination of a bailout and pork rescue package. And Obama spends money stupidly. Offshore drilling. So there.

Questions: Health, energy, entitlement reform: priorities?

McCain: All three at once. All are important. Entitlement reform is vital because our economy can’t take the bruising if we keep going this way. Nuclear power plants and alternative fuels are cool, too. And remember that I’m the bipartisan one. Very very bipartisan. Which is good because these are all national security concerns, too.

Obama: No way, man, we have to have priorities. Energy is really important. So I’m going to spend some money on that. Health is important, too. And I don’t actually like earmarks. That are coming from others. Because it’s always vital when I do it. And McCain is going to raise your taxes and give money to rich people. Eat the rich.

Question: What sacrifices will you ask us to make to fix America’s problems?

McCain: We’re going to have to eliminate some programs. We’re going to have to prune those programs--including bad defense deals--that aren’t working. Obama asked for a really expensive overhead projector, remember, and that’s just dumb. Let’s cut spending and stop being dumb: spending freeze outside of vital programs, transparency, consulting with folks like you, and, read my lips, “No new earmarks!” We can so tackle all these problems right now.

Obama: Remember 9/11 and all of that coming together stuff? Yeah, Bush screwed up that particular kumbaya moment by not asking Americans to do more for the country. So I’m going to ask Americans to do more for the country. And, by the way, I love oil. And clean coal. And, maybe, nuclear stuff, too. Always have, always will. Buy American! Shout out to the young people!

Question: Not really. This is actually a personal potty break.

Returned: In case you were wondering.

Question: How the hell serious are you about dealing with entitlement programs?

Obama: Pretty serious. Maybe not as serious as you. Pretty serious, though. Straight talk express lost a wheel a few moments ago, though, so eat the rich. If I tell everyone that I won’t raise taxes often enough, maybe they’ll believe me. Did I just say that out loud? And I love small businesses more than McCain does. McCain loves big companies and it isn’t fair. Don’t forget that all of the problems facing the United States are President Bush’s fault. Except for where they are McCain’s fault.

McCain: I’ll actually answer the question. Yes, I’m as serious as you. Gipper! Obama doesn’t reach across the aisle. I do. No problem on Social Security. Medicare could be a bigger one, though. But if we get creative and hold congress to the wheel, we’ll get some results. And don’t forget that Obama votes for tax increases and votes against tax decreases and that’s the truth from the straight talk express. So there.

Question: McCain, how do you keep congress moving with a purpose? I mean, like they did when they saw $700 billion floating around like a free freakin’ drugs?

McCain: Climate change. Nuclear power. It’s safe, it’s clean, it creates jobs, we can re-process, let’s move forward. I’m the real green candidate. What was the question?

Obama: This is another one of the biggest challenges of our time: finding a way to say what McCain said without saying what McCain said. Oh, yeah, that’s right: money. I’ll spend more money than him. I do too like nuclear power. McCain hates the environment secretly and votes against alternative energy all the time. Seriously. Drilling is okay, but we can’t just drill our way out of the problem. Have I said that before? At least I’m not calling myself the freakin’ maverick all the time.

Commentary: Move it along, guys.

Question: Manhattan project or silicon valley to solve the problem?

McCain: Mixed, you know. A little bit of both. And just so you know, when I vote against stuff it’s because there’s a ton of other crap loaded onto the bill. So there. Drilling will help us get from here (dependence) to there (independence). God bless nuclear power.

Question: Tell me about Ayers and Wright.

Heheheh. Just kidding.

Question: Is health care a commodity? Should it be?

Obama: I feel your pain. You’re being crushed under the weight of the lack of my intrusion in your health care plans. So, here’s how I’m going to solve that problem for you: I’m going to spend you into health and happiness. McCain is going to raise your taxes. Don’t forget that.

McCain: Yeah, some of his ideas are okay, but I don’t think that government and mandates are the solution to this particular problem. My plan gives every American a tax break and portability--and that’s way better than mandates. 95% of you will pay the same or less. I’m still not good with jokes, though. Please laugh.

Question: Privilege, right, or responsibility?

McCain: Responsibility on lots of levels. Like

Obama: It’s a right. Everyone should get health care. We’re the wealthiest nation on the planet, so why can’t we afford health care for all. Senator McCain lies. Don’t trust him. I won’t mandate anything and I won’t be mean to anyone who doesn’t need it. Honest. Portability sucks. Government works. Trust the government to solve this problem for you.

Question: With the economy tanking, how can the US be the peacemaker that it needs to be.

McCain: Good question. Without a strong economy, you can’t have a strong military, and we can’t be that force. But I believe in the wise use of our military to answer this question--which is good because what was that question? I love my country, the military, and my own damned mavericky self.

Obama: McCain thinks I don’t understand. Which is true since I don’t understand why someone hasn’t whacked Osama and why we invaded Iraq. His judgement sucks. Don’t trust him with the military. Trust me. I mean, I didn’t actually mean that thing about our military bombing villages and killing babies or whatever the hell it is that I said--I love the military and all of those honorable bastards who are bombing villages and killing babies or whatever the hell it is that I said. And, anyway, why aren’t we bombing villages and killing babies in Darfur instead of Iraq?

Question: Obama or McCain doctrine for use of force outside of national security issues at stake?

Obama: Moral issues are as big as national security issues, so we should commit troops wherever and whenever possible when bad things are happening except for those times when I’m not so sure about what the hell I’m talking about because I don’t actually have an “Obama Doctrine” do I? And that’s what I intend to do when I’m president.

McCain: Obama wanted to wave the white flag and I didn’t. No defeat for me, buddy. We must do whatever we can to prevent genocide and bad stuff as long as we understand the limits of our own capabilities. The first question: can we have some beneficial effect on the situation? Gipper! I’m better at this part than Obama. Big time.

Question: Should the US respect Pakistani sovereignty or should we violate the borders when going after bad guys?

Obama: That’s a tough question and it’s Bush’s fault. In case you were wondering. And the Taliban is stronger than they were in 2001--you know, before we kicked them out of power and knocked them around a bit. And, yes, I will violate that border if I get the chance to kill Obama--I totally don’t respect their sovereignty.

McCain: So, Obama is announcing that he’s going to invade Pakistan even while he’s trying to get them to play nice with us. That sounds like a good idea to you? Please. Anyway, walk softly, carry a big stick, and let’s put things in place that will help us beat the Taliban without having to threaten Pakistan. K?

Obama: I am totally butting in. Look, I want to be very clear: I don’t want to invade Pakistan regardless of what I’ve said in the past. I like mixed messages. The mixier the better. Senator McCain thinks I’m green behind the ears for some reason--remember: bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran. And, anyway, this is all Bush’s fault except for where it is McCain’s fault. And, no, I’m not losing my temper. Why do you ask?

McCain: Dude, you said you’d attack Pakistan. Dude. I’ll do what I need to do, I’ll act responsible, and I’ll get Osama, but I’m not going to telegraph my punches. And that Iran thing was a joke. Get a life.

Question: Afghanistan? What’s up with that?

Obama: Iraq. It’s all because Iraq, damnit. I’ll leave Iraq, put the troops in Afghanistan, and then tell the Afghani government to do a better job.

McCain: Help me Petraeus wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope. And, anyway, Obama isn’t wrong about all of it. Just some of it. The important bits.

Question: Cold War? What’s up with that?

McCain: There is no new war coming, so don’t worry too much about that. Putin...eyes...K...G...B--you fill in the missing bits. Russia isn’t behaving and we have to support Georgia and the Ukraine, we have to hold Russia accountable, and we have to think about NATO membership for some of our friends over there. But a small spanking doesn’t a Cold War make.

Obama: Well, ehhhhhhhhh, Russia is a country. It’s a big country. Yeah, moral support to people is good, Money is better. Let’s give them money and that should solve a lot of the problems. Not sure how much money, but money. That’s the answer. In fact, if I were to think about it, money seems to be my answer to most things. And the next Commander in Chief should be far more psychic than the current administration. I’m psychic. You can tell by the halo.

Question: Gipper! Evil empire?

Obama: No, but they sure do a lot of evil stuff.

McCain: Maybe. I don’t think we need to get into that war of words stuff, but we need to hold the Russkis accountable.

Question: Israel: if Iran attacks, would you immediately defend them or would you wait for the UN to green light it?

McCain: UN? Oh, hell no. Not that Russia would let us do anything in the UN Security Council anyway.  And, yeah, we better pay attention to that, folks.

Obama: I won’t let the UN veto us in acting in our own interests. But we shouldn’t really let ourselves get drawn into a situation like that--which is why I think we should invade Pakistan. If I ramble enough maybe I’ll sound like I have a serious answer and I won’t have to directly answer that whole thing about meeting with bad guys without precondition. And it’s all Bush’s fault. Don’t forget that.

Question: What don’t you know and how will you learn it?

Obama: I’m totally funnier than McCain. I’m going to ramble and not actually answer the question, but I’m going to avoid answering it in a really thoughtful and inspirational way. Because let’s be honest, joking aside, I know it all so why should I pass up on an opportunity to bash the current administration. Hope. Hope with me, my people.

McCain: I don’t know what all of us don’t know: what comes next. I’m totally not psychic. We’re facing a difficult future and I don’t know what to expect next. But I’ve spent my life serving the country, I’ve served through hard times, and I believe in this country’s future and greatness. I am honored to serve and I would like to continue to serve. Vote me.

1. Broncos Find a Defense. The same crew that made KC look like offensive powerhouses last week somehow held Tampa to two field goals over the course of 58 minutes of game play. And they did it by getting pressure on the quarterback, sacking the quarterback, and playing strong against the run. Tampa’s per rush average was good (6.3 yards per carry), but that doesn’t count the times that the Bucs came up empty on third and short through much of the game.
2. Did They Even Pass on Champ? I know that through much of the first half, the Bucs failed to attempt a pass in Champ Bailey’s direction. Does anyone know if that held throughout the game? I can’t remember. Bailey is having an interesting season. With so few passes against him, he hasn’t made the splashy interceptions or big hits (except when he cheats up for run support--in which case he’s been nothing short of spectacular); but he’s shut down a good chunk of the field every games. He changes the game just by showing up. I wonder if that’s enough to get him into the Pro Bowl this year?
3. They Picked a Good Time to Show Up. Speaking of the Broncos’ D, it’s a damned good thing they showed up today. The offense was something close to pedestrian. It was nice to see Brandon Stokley have such a solid day, though (six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown). He’s far more talented than some people realize and when Royal went down with an ankle injury the passing game didn’t much suffer.
4. Jane Smiley is, Indeed, an Idiot. And Steve Green has the proof.
5. A Musical Abomination. During today’s game, Toyota ran an ad (over and over again, damnit) using the Fixx’s song “Saved by Zero"--a remade, re-imagined, totally screwed up version of the song. In fact, the first time I heard it, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was listening to; it was the second time that the ad came on that I fully realized the horror of what had been done. Presented here is a short playlist of songs from the Fixx that you might remember if you are of a certain age. It doesn’t change Toyota’s screw up, but at least you might enjoy the trip down 80’s Pop Lane.
   
6. Sometimes Turnovers Kill, Sometimes They Don’t. One of the Broncos’ big problems last week was the turnovers. Between the two ugly fumbles, Cutler’s pair of bad passes, and the Chiefs the Chief’s aggressive defense, the turnovers hurt bad. Not only did the Broncos take better care of the ball today, but their one turnover didn’t much hurt.
7. That is Some Serious Free-Range Stupidity. Some days it seems that common sense is dead in the U.S. Know what I mean?
8. More Stupidity. No, I don’t care if Biden is sporting a little Botox. I do care about fundraising irregularities in the Obama camp, but a little potential vanity on Biden’s part doesn’t quite reach me as a serious voting issue.
9. What’s With Passing on Third and Short? Last week and this week the Broncos attempted passes on third and short (one or two yards to go) in important situations where grinding out a few first downs could mean a lot in the game. I like the confidence in the passing game, I like the bold play calling through much of the rest of the game, but with a guy like Pittman in the backfield it wouldn’t hurt to use the ground game to control the clock and the pace of the game. And, yeah, I’d probably be saying something very different if they hadn’t failed to convert.
10. In Case You Missed it... I do care about fundraising irregularities. It’s not a make or break issue (generally), but it matters.
11. Yeah, Olbermann is an Ass. See what I mean? To be fair, though, I did think that Lowry’s commentary was a bit over the top and the idea of O’Reilly as a debate moderator is laughable. Just sayin’.
12. A Win is a Win. It wasn’t the most exciting and it wasn’t the prettiest, but it was actually a pretty strong win today for the Broncos. Especially since San Diego and the Chiefs both lost today. The Raiders didn’t fall any further behind, but I have to wonder how they’ll respond to their mid-season coaching change. My guess is that it won’t be pretty.

Fannie Mae plays nice with suicidal, old woman. Which is nice for her.

I wonder if we’ll see a rash of copycat near-suicides from folks wanting mortgage relief?

I enjoyed seeing JaMarcus Russell reacted remarkably well to the (not entirely unexpected) firing of Raiders former head coach, Lane Kiffin, and the controversy that Al Davis tried to stir up by trying to drive a wedge between Kiffin and Russell. It helped confirm my belief that the biggest thing wrong with the Raiders is the hag of an owner that has driven the team into the dirt.

Russell did not watch the televised news conference announcing Kiffin’s firing and acknowledged he was disappointed by the move. He also defended Kiffin’s decision to bring him along slowly as a quarterback, a move that has been criticized as the Raiders got off to a slow start this year.

“Hey, with the mistakes I made in the Jacksonville game [last season], if I had gotten out there early, at the beginning of the season, things would have been flying a little faster for me and who’s to say, I might have did a lot worse,” Russell said. “I appreciate his time sitting me down. I learned a lot from it, and once I got out there, everything kind of slowed down for me.

“I appreciate the opportunity he gave me to play in the National Football League. I wish for him to go out and get him a job, because he’s a good guy, a good coach. I don’t look for him to sit around long; he should be able to get a job somewhere.”

It speaks well for the man that he refused to allow himself to be drawn into the controversy and he had only good things to say about his former coach. I can’t yet say whether he’ll be a great quarterback for the team, but it would seem that he has the right attitude for them to build a team around.

Read the rest.

Palin looks uncomfortable and a little nervous. And I hate it when either Palin or McCain refer to themselves as mavericks. That’s pushing a little uncomfortably to try to set a tone, but it’s doing it through repetitionUnfo not through action.

Palin, taking the second question, looks a little more comfortable talking about the sub-prime meltdown. She puts the banks in her sites, but then she tells us that we, as citizens need to be more responsible. Which, yeah.

When Biden talks about the problem with the sub-prime crisis being one of too much deregulation, I get cranky. The problem is rarely deregulation, it’s poor regulation and bad legislation that is, for some reason, called deregulation. Need to talk about that later. Palin, in her response, is starting to sound better and hitting Obama and Biden on tax policy is always fun to me.

I like it when she gets more aggressive.

Biden still thinks that rich people should be taxed out of proportion with the rest of the citizenry. Unfortunately, that might be a strong selling point for a lot of people.

Being a conservative, I like hearing Palin talk about economy and monetary philosophy. McCain and Palin may not be the most fiscally conservative, but when either Biden or Obama talks about how they are going to build a ton of new programs for me while delivering a tax break to 95% of Americans, I want to scream. Every word seems like a lie.

Now Biden seems a little flustered--especially when Palin points out that Obama voted tax breaks for oil companies, too, and that Palin is the one with the history of taking on those oil companies. Biden can keep talking about how patriotic it is for people to give more money to the government, but Palin can talk about what she has actually done in this specific arena.

Aside: abandoning Michigan? I wouldn’t do it and I’m not sure why McCain would concede there. The money is there and so is an audience that might turn right under the right conditions.

It’s fun watching them obliquely blame each other for the sub-prime crisis.

Wait, wait...why should a bankruptcy court be allowed to adjust the principle owed by people on their mortgage. No. No. No. And again I say, no.

Now, to energy independence. Drill. Mine. Plan for the future. Biden opposes coal (even cleaner technologies) and both of them have been pretty consistently strong against things like off-shore drilling. Another area where I tend to agree with the McCain-Palin side of things--and the irrational hatred of coal is tremendously self-destructive. Another topic I think I’ll hit on in the next few days.

Biden is now talking in positive terms about clean coal. Really? When he says that he has “always supported clean coal” he’s simply lying. His words from just over a week ago: “"We’re not supporting clean coal.” China is building coal plants to support its growing economy but, Mr. Biden said, “No coal plants here in America. Build them, if they are going to build them, over there.”

And you know what? I don’t want big government money going toward clean energy sources--the market is starting to take care of those things all on its lonesome and it doesn’t need my tax money to make sure that a positive future happens.

Gay rights is one area where I would probably agree more with Obama and Biden than with Palin. But it’s a pretty thin line between the two, I think, and it’s not even close to being one of my most important issues. And when it comes to gay marriage, I end up to the left of all these folks. So, yeah…

Kumbaya.

Biden keeps telling us about fundamental differences. Which is a little irritating after a bit.

Palin brings out the gut-shot quotes from Biden pre-VP pick and I love it. I’m easy that way.

Fundamental.

Biden’s idea that the central front in the war on terror is in the hills between Afghanistan and Pakistan doesn’t fit in well with what I believe the war needs to achieve, but that’s very possibly a fundamentally different view on exactly what we are trying to achieve in Iraq. That would require a few hours of conversation all by itself, though, wouldn’t it?

Palin is picking up steam as she goes along. Biden is advocating for his side well, though, too. Palin, though, is speaking to me and many of my beliefs about war, about radical Islam, about diplomacy, about the economy, and more.

I think that almost everyone agrees--with the exception of fringe groups--that a two state solution is the only path to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Of course, finding a way to make that happen will be far more difficult than the accusations that are made and the sound bites thrown out during a debate.

Aside: The original--and still the best--drunkblogger.

Palin is definitely holding her own, but I don’t know that she’s winning this debate. From a contextual standpoint of the last two weeks of underwhelming performances, she’s certainly doing better. But that doesn’t mean winning, does it?

Aside: For more Palin fun, check out Macomber’s links. One is a good little article and one is a fun little toy.

A funny little thing that girl just brought up: Biden talks with big crankiness about the Bush pre-emptive war stuff--but he wants to go into countries that haven’t attacked us, probably aren’t going to attack us, and commit military resources to political goals. Same goal, different targets.

From Steve’s drunk stuff (see link above), two things that caught my eye, too:

8:10PM “I agree in essence with every major proposal he’s suggested …” That’s Biden on Obama. Palin on McCain? “He’s never asked me to check my opinions at the door.”

8:09PM Biden says if Obama died it would be “a national catastrophe of historic proportions.” We’ve never had a president die in office before?

Gipper!

I love the Gipper moments, you know.

Out of curiosity, how can you put Obama’s record as an agent of change against anyone else’s? He doesn’t have a record in a political sense.

The mavericky war!

Anyway, I think they both did a good job--in fact, I think they both did better than McCain and Obama managed. I don’t know if either of them is going to change anyone’s minds, though: is there anything between them that really surprised anyone or broke out of the typical left-right talking points? Not sure. Neither of them succumbed to the potential negatives of their own personalities or capabilities, so no one seemed to come out too terribly bloodied.

And one last thought: I know and understand why the right was upset about Ifill (and I hated it when she played the race card), but she did a fine job. The questions were solid, she seemed to treat them both fairly and impartially. There is no doubt where her sympathies lie, but if you weren’t aware of that previous to the debate would you know it at the end? I don’t think so.