More Racially-Biased, More Likely To Vote Conservative Or Republican

Sooooooooo to follow up on my last post... from the Washington Post...

Study Ties Political Leanings to Hidden Biases

...

For their study, Nosek, Banaji and social psychologist Erik Thompson culled self-acknowledged views about blacks from nearly 130,000 whites, who volunteered online to participate in a widely used test of racial bias that measures the speed of people's associations between black or white faces and positive or negative words. The researchers examined correlations between explicit and implicit attitudes and voting behavior in all 435 congressional districts.

The analysis found that substantial majorities of Americans, liberals and conservatives, found it more difficult to associate black faces with positive concepts than white faces -- evidence of implicit bias. But districts that registered higher levels of bias systematically produced more votes for Bush. [emphasis added by moi, EconAtheist]

"Obviously, such research does not speak at all to the question of the prejudice level of the president," said Banaji, "but it does show that George W. Bush is appealing as a leader to those Americans who harbor greater anti-black prejudice."

...

"If anyone in Washington is skeptical about these findings, they are in denial," he said. "We have 50 years of evidence that racial prejudice predicts voting. Republicans are supported by whites with prejudice against blacks. If people say, 'This takes me aback,' they are ignoring a huge volume of research."

Jeepers - whoda thunk it? Shocking, I say... shocking.

Beating Ni**ers

Attention: People of color

The "Southern Strategy" is alive and well.

A Message From Your Host

We will have a Jesse Jackson piñata , a dunk tank where you'll get the chance to sink my wife who will be dressed as Hilary Clinton, and a special guest appearance by my uncle - Rep. Timothy V. Johnson who will be giving away "Proud to be G.O.P." American Flag windbreakers. Bring a side dish if you like. We will have burgers, hot dogs, chili, and pizza, but nothing vegetarian! This party is family friendly, so feel free to bring children. It's never too early to get them involved!

... this from a .PDF flyer for an RNC-sponsored GOP house party (link goes to Daily Kos member guither's diary).

Feel free to bring the children - it's never too early to get them involved?

Here's Me, In A Political Nutshell... According To This Test

I was hoping to be closer to Ghandi-like, but...

You are a Social Liberal (63% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (26% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

The President's Oath

Each and every President of the United States has been sworn into office, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the United States Constitution, by reciting the following affirmation:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

I think it's safe to say that defending the U.S. Constitution is the President's primary responsibility, given that it's the only thing that he/she MUST EXPRESSLY AFFIRM in the Oath. This responsibility trumps any and all others.

You listening, Bush?

Hi Again!

Ok, Desi forced me back into blogging.

=|

... I'm such a pushover.

Taking A Blogging Break For A While

Well, I've had enough blogging for the time being... at least on a regular basis. If something pisses me off enough to give me the inspiration to post, I'll post. Otherwise? I'll just keep reading other blogs and commenting at those places.

To the 2 or 3 people that've come by here in the past 3 weeks -- thanks! =) lol

You can always email me at mtuffli@hotmail.com if you miss my scatological prose.

Later peeps,

Mike

A Thought Provoking Editorial Recapping 2005 In Iraq

I saw this over at truthout.org; it was originally posted online at The London Review of Books. It's a rather long editorial, but it's definitely worth reading.

The title is "What I Heard about Iraq in 2005," and it's penned by Eliot Weinberger.

A small sampling:

...
I heard that Iraq was now ranked with Haiti and Senegal as one of the poorest nations on earth. I heard the United Nations Human Rights Commission report that acute malnutrition among Iraqi children had doubled since the war began. I heard that only 5 per cent of the money Congress had allocated for reconstruction had actually been spent. I heard that in Fallujah people were living in tents pitched on the ruins of their houses.
...
I heard that the President’s uncle, Bucky Bush, had made half a million dollars cashing in his stock options in Engineered Support Systems Inc, a defence contractor that had received $100 million for work in Iraq. Bucky Bush is on the board of directors. I heard Dan Kreher, vice-president of investor relations for ESSI, say: ‘The fact his nephew is in the White House has absolutely nothing to do with Mr Bush being on our board or with our stock having gone up 1000 per cent in the past five years.’
...
I heard Staff Sergeant Craig Patrick, who was training Iraqi troops, say: ‘It’s all about perception, to convince the American public that everything is going as planned and we’re right on schedule to be out of here. I mean, they can bullshit the American people, but they can’t bullshit us.’
...
I heard that in the month of April there were 67 suicide bombings. I heard Colonel Pat Lang, former chief of Mideast operations at the Defense Intelligence Agency, say: ‘It’s just political rhetoric to say we are not in a civil war. We’ve been in a civil war for a long time.’
...

Again, it's long... but it's a captivating read. It's easy to forget some of these happenings with all the bullshit we've had to endure over the past year.

I'm Sorry - Did I Abridge Your Freedom With An Asinine Bill That Was Signed Into Law? My Bad.

From cnet.com: "Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime."

Our retard-in-chief just signed off on H.R. 3402, the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, which contains the inane provision. Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't the chimp line-item veto some of this crap? Not that he would. And not to presume that he even knows WTF "line-item veto" means.

*sigh*

Again, from the cnet.com article:

A new federal law states that when you annoy someone on the Internet, you must disclose your identity. Here's the relevant language.

"Whoever...utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet... without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person...who receives the communications...shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

That's right. Now the concept of "annoying" someone is being legislated. Have fun proving "intent to annoy," federal prosecutors.

How does idiotic shit like this become law?

Wellllll. You can thank Sen. Arlen Spector, et al, for sneaking it "into an unrelated, must-pass bill to fund the Department of Justice. The plan: to make it politically infeasible for politicians to oppose the measure. The tactic worked. The bill cleared the House of Representatives by voice vote, and the Senate unanimously approved it Dec. 16."

Don't even get me started on multi-faceted (i.e. sneaky shit, just like this) congressional bills and political logrolling.

*shaking head*

Iraq; More Lousy Media Coverage

In an editorial at truthout.org titled US Propaganda vs. Iraqi Reality, writer Dahr Jamail notes that

"the Capital Hill Cabal, desperate to paint the Iraq disaster in a glorious hue, are working their pundits and spokespeople overtime to convince the ill-informed they have not failed dismally in every aspect of their illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.

...

January 4:

• Unidentified gunmen assassinated Rahim Ali al-Sudani, director-general of the Iraqi Oil Ministry, and his son early on the morning of 4 January in Al-Amiriyah area in northern Baghdad.
  
  
• Clashes broke out between civilians protesting against unemployment and Iraqi police in Al-Nasiriyah city in Dhi Qar Governorate, wounding scores of civilians and police officers. The TV added within the same news summary that two civilians were "martyred" and two others were injured when an explosive charge missed a US patrol unit in Kirkuk.
  
  
• Al Sharqiyah television reported that a US plane had crashed in Mosul. Quoting its correspondent in the city, the TV said that US forces had rushed to the area and sealed off the scene where the crash occurred.

January 5:

• At least 130 Iraqis and 11 US soldiers die (highest number of US soldiers killed in one day since August) in one of the bloodiest days in Iraq since the invasion.

January 6:

• A medical source at Al-Ramadi State Hospital [speaking on condition of anonymity] reports that 14 civilians, including three children, "were martyred at the hands of US snipers today." The source added that "the snipers stationed on roof tops of high buildings in Al-Ramadi, killed those victims in the Al-Ma'arid district in the city center this morning". Al Sharqiyah correspondent adds that "Al-Ramadi has witnessed massive protests against the presence of US snipers who have been deployed throughout the city, spreading fear among residents." Al-Sharqiyah says that the US armed forces have yet to comment on this incident.
  
  
• For security purposes, Iraq has suspended its daily pumping of 200,000 barrels of crude oil to major oil refineries in Bayji, north of Baghdad.
  
  
• A US convoy came under attack in Samarra when an explosive device planted near a petrol station was detonated. Four children were injured in the attack and were rushed to Samarra State Hospital.
  
  
• A doctor at Nasiriyah Hospital reported that two Iraqis were killed and 23 were injured today as clashes between demonstrators, who were protesting against unemployment, and Iraqi police continued in Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.

January 7:

• Fierce clashes broke out between resistance fighters and US forces in Fallujah when armed men battled with the US troops in al-Tharthar Street in the eastern part of the city as the latter tightened security measures, blocking all main entrances to the city. Local residents also reported fierce clashes between US soldiers and resistance fighters on Arba'ien Street in central Fallujah.
  
  
• Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb went off at about 7:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) in eastern Fallujah as a US military patrol was passing by, destroying a US Humvee, killing or wounding the soldiers aboard, the source said. An Iraqi doctor from Fallujah General Hospital was killed by a US sniper, according to residents.

..."

I don't recall if I've ever mentioned Independent World Television News before, but I hope that you'll visit their site and make a donation to help them get off the ground and, to paraphrase from their site, HELP THEM BREAK THE MEDIA MONOPOLY*!

A properly functioning democracy is impossible in the absence of information and/or presence of misinformation.

*okay -- so it's really an Oligopoly.

Great Video Of Howard Dean w/ Voolf Bleetzaah

Daily Kos member "bink" gives us links (either CanOFun or C&L) to a video clip of a nice little exchange where Dean completely debunks the "... but what about the Democrats" meme that's been going around re: this whole Abramhoff scandal.

Blitzie goes down hard.

A Couple Things...

Mobile blog entries don't seem to like HTML coding?

Pat Robertson is fucking insane, BTW. <- cut/pasted directly from the mobile post.. hmm

A couple of my favorite blogs have some good things:

• Check out Leftist Grandpa's "Quotes To Consider" in the righthand column
• Check out Hendrix live from Stockholm, Sweden in '67 at MiaCulpa
• Check out Tom DeLay's outgoing press conference at Crooks and Liars

Watching 'St Elmos Fire' while in bed... and blogging?

Wow - this is different. I supposethis is how my mobile blogging'll go down most of the time on Friday nites. * =/ * So. Well. Let's just take it easy on making fun of my choice of films, kay? Besides -- I only like the parts where Kirby tries to get Dale; it's so pathetic,but the ski lodge scene cracks me up every time... where Kirby gets that little bit of satisfaction. =)

.. <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200601050004">Pat Robertson</a> is fucking insane, BTW.

Testing testing testing.

Mobile blog posting tests are exciting.

Goddamn You, SprintPCS

--- DISCLOSURE: I HAVEN'T CALLED TECH SUPPORT YET, BUT A NEW DEVICE (ESPECIALLY A *$300 + 2-YEAR CONTRACT* PHONE) THAT COMES WITH SETUP "WIZARDS" AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF SHOULD BE A PIECE OF CAKE TO GET TO WORK ---

Ya know, if they'd just come to my house and kick me squarely in the nuts, at least we'd be getting right to the point.

JEE-sus.

I've tried to get this fucking Sprint Vision PCS email account (since my hotmail doesn't support POP email) to work; I did the entire fucking setup exactly in the order that all the documentation fucking told me to... and it's still fucking driving me insane with error messages and authentication failures...

So no mobile blogging yet.

Well. Unless I go log into my hotmail account, using the web browser (which, oddly enough, works... and is part of the PCS Vision package, which makes this email issue even more frustrating), and fart around with all the crap that comes with mokeying around with browser-based email on a 2.5" wide screen. But I bought this 650 'cuz for "ease of operation" and for its features, not for the shit that I can do on a phone that costs 1/10th as much.

*AARGH*

Plus I heard that Lou Rawls died.

What a pissy day.

Whoa - Treo's Already Here

UPS Next Day Air - how 'bout that?

Those goofy bastards at Sprint are the best thing I've got.

Ok. It's charging up, at the moment. Once the little lite turns green I'll start playing with it and I'll try to get a mobile blog entry in.... heehee

//loves techno-toys

One More Thing...

This from ReclaimDemocracy.org:

A whopping 90% of Americans surveyed by a new Harris Interactive poll believe big business has too much power and influence in Washington D.C. That percentage is the highest ever, up 4% from last year.

The telephone poll of 1,011 adults also found an overwhelming majority believes political action committees, lobbyists, and the media have excessive influence in the Capitol.

So who has too little power? Small businesses was cited most often (among thirteen options offered up on the poll menu) -- 92% of respondents thought small business had too little power.

...

(more)

One thing that people from across the political spectrum can almost always agree on is that the overall success of small businesses is very good for our economy. I wish a 3rd party would come in and whip the (R) and (D) asses over this, but 3rd parties aren't much more than a pipe dream at this time. So.

My take:

I sure as hell think that small biz is the shiz, because (1) the success of free market economics is based upon *COMPETITION* (among other things -- but competition is the lynchpin, IMHO) rather than this corporate dominance and the absorption (and elimination) of economic rivals, and (2) if more people actually had a clearcut *stake* in their work output, THAT would be a REAL "ownership society" where people would have the incentive to take care of, well, their own stuff... 'cuz it'd actually be theirs to own.

Oh.

... y'all should try to read Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything sometime soon... it's an interesting (and fairly easy) read that, among the searches for hidden information within mounds of data, confronts the logical fallacy of statistical correlation implying causation.

My Treo 650's In The Mail

... and I won't come in your mouth, right?

=P

No -- I really believe it's *on its way* this time. Not only did I find my money mysteriously refunded, but I talked to a live Sprint rep this time and she told me that my first one never arrived because my order wasn't fully completed... and since I was on vacation and didn't return their call until after the 10 day period, their policy is to automatically cancel the order.

So. I apologize for calling them "cockfaces." =) My bad.

I'm kinda stoked to be able to give mobile blogging a go; sometimes when I'm stuck doing nothing... like, say, on the toilet, stricken with a painfully-impacted stool, at work... it'd be nice to be able to type out a few random thoughts on the ol' PDA phone and send it up here.

Definitely a cool bit of technology. Poopin' and bloggin'.

... though the mobile posts may all be in lowercase, in the interests of expedience and thumb-saving maneuvering.

Letterman v. O'Reilly

This is a kinda funny exchange where Dave gets stuck listening to some of O'Reilly's "liberal erosion of Christmas traditions" goofy obsession; the video (~3.5 minutes long) and transcript are both posted at Mediamatters.org.

A couple blips:

LETTERMAN: I'm -- kind of think we should move on. I mean, but isn't this the kind of thing where, like, once or twice every 20 years somebody gets outraged and says, "Oh, my god, we've got to put diapers on horses"? Isn't it just about, is this like, "So what? Let it go. It'll take care of itself"?

...

LETTERMAN: I'm not smart enough to debate your point to point on this, but I have the feeling -- I have the feeling -- I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap.

*giggle*

... Bill O'Reilly. ::rolleyes::

whatta dipshit

When In Rome... Prove That Christ Exists?

LOL! This is too good to be true...

AN ITALIAN judge has ordered a priest to appear in court this month to prove that Jesus Christ existed.

The case against Father Enrico Righi has been brought in the town of Viterbo, north of Rome, by Luigi Cascioli, a retired agronomist who once studied for the priesthood but later became a militant atheist.

Signor Cascioli, author of a book called The Fable of Christ, began legal proceedings against Father Righi three years ago after the priest denounced Signor Cascioli in the parish newsletter for questioning Christ’s historical existence.

Yesterday Gaetano Mautone, a judge in Viterbo, set a preliminary hearing for the end of this month and ordered Father Righi to appear. The judge had earlier refused to take up the case, but was overruled last month by the Court of Appeal, which agreed that Signor Cascioli had a reasonable case for his accusation that Father Righi was “abusing popular credulity”.

...

Oh, if only United States judges had the balls to order this kind of shit. If only.

Which (R) Do You Want To Fall Into A Manhole, First?

If you were to pick any Republican member of:

*the House,
*the Senate,
*governor,
*state representative,
*or the administrative branch

to be the first to take a -- TELEVISED -- spill into an open manhole, which one would you pick? No physical harm would ensue; the only damage would come from any psychological harm associated with the embarrassment.

I'll pick Tom DeLay, just... because.

I'd enjoy that. =)

Huzzah For The Badgers!

Badgers win Capital One Bowl in Alvarez's final game

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- With a masterful offensive performance and a surprisingly stingy defense, the Wisconsin Badgers gave coach Barry Alvarez a proper send-off.

Brian Calhoun rushed for 213 yards, John Stocco passed for 301 and Brandon Williams had 173 yards receiving, lifting the No. 21 Badgers to a 24-10 victory over No. 7 Auburn in the Capital One Bowl on Monday.

It was the perfect tribute to a coach who restored pride to a down-and-out program.

...

Thanks for 16 entertaining years, Barry! Have a good time with your desk job. lol