Texas Republicans vote for Clinton

One of my former colleagues (a self-described evangelical) says the Texas GOP is doing all it can to ensure a beatable Democrat (Clinton) in the fall election. Since I noticed a long Democratic line during early voting, I wasn't surprised to hear this admission:

Just to tell you how widespread it is, today's Republican line was totally empty, the Dem line had about a dozen folks ahead of me. I recognized about half of them from the County Republican fundraiser. We all winked at each other.

I wonder if the same shenanigans are taking place in Ohio - do they also have an open primary?

It'll be interesting to see how many Republicans I spot at tonight's caucus, in the Hillary camp.

Ref: terrorist voting

what are the odds - will there be a new sheriff in town?

Personally, I'm hoping today marks the end of the Clintons in American politics. While I think Bill was (mostly) effective, I've never been able to warm up to any of Hillary's various personalities.

On the other hand, I'm 100% in agreement with Mark Andreessen, who penned An hour and a half with Barack Obama yesterday. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to vote for someone who can truly inspire real change. For the first time in many years, I found myself voting FOR someone, versus against the more repulsive candidate. I'm so tired of all The Haters out there.

issues? schmissues!

spotted in today's Managed News, quoting a campaign staffer out canvassing:

"People say they cast their votes based on the issues, but 95 percent of the time, they don't."

Why am I not surprised? I still think most voters -- lacking even basic knowledge -- should never be allowed into the voting booths.

Texas Democrats: please close your eyes

If you're voting as a Democrat in the 2008 Texas Primary Election, there are three questions at the end of the other party's ballot that you'll never see:

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Immigration

Federal, state, and local officials should be required to enforce U.S. immigration laws in order to secure our borders. (Yes/No)

Photo ID

The Texas Legislature should make it a priority to protect the integrity of our election process by enacting legislation that requires voters to provide valid photo identification in order to cast a ballot in any and all elections conducted in the State of Texas. (Yes/No)

Controlling Government Growth

Every governmental body in Texas should be required to limit any annual increase in its budget and spending to the combined increase of population and inflation unless it first gets voter approval to exceed the allowed annual growth or in the case of an official state of emergency. (Yes/No)

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When I asked the Texas Secretary of State, I was told (quote):

"These issues are referenda that was ordered by the state Republican party and will appear only on the republican ballot."

Since I've already voted (on the anniversary of the 22nd Amendment), I can confirm this to be true.

A man, a plan, a canal - Panama!

There are still a LOT of people on the Texas Republic Party's ballot for POTUS, even though John Sidney McCain III has already clinched the nomination (unless that little Panama Canal Zone birthplace issue turns out to be a problem - ha!). I guess he didn't pay attention to that checkbox on his application that said:

(x) I am a natural born Citizen.

Didn't anyone from the RNC bother comparing his Wikipedia page to Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution? This is just part of a disturbing trend I've seen with McCain in the primary: first, deny. Later, admit you "may have" done whatever you denied. Next, hem and haw.

Anyhoo, on the Texas Republic Party's ballot, there are 11 remaining on the menu:

Hugh Cort
John McCain
Duncan Hunter
Fred Thompson
Rudy Giuliani
Hoa Tran
Mitt Romney
Alan Keyes
Mike Huckabee
Ron Paul
Uncommitted

Only two (Huckabee and McCain) have a prayer of winning. After this Panama Canal Zone revelation - not to mention last week's alleged romantic interest with a lobbyist, you may be able to "stick a fork" in McCain's chances. We'll know on Tuesday night.

attention TiVo programmers ...

I programmed TiVo to record the Academy Awards on Sunday night ... even told it to grab an extra 15 minutes at the end. As it turned out, that wasn't enough .. it ran at least 16 minutes long (at least it captured the Best Picture award). Since I'd seen several of those nominated in the category (No Country for Old Men; There Will Be Blood; Juno) I can't say I was too disappointed .. although I did like Blood a wee bit better.

Note to future awards show hosts: unless TiVo finds a way to automagically adjust for delays (starting and ending) please find a way to end on time. More and more of us depend on TiVo and you're going to alienate more of us as the trend away from live TV viewing continues.

During (American) football season, I've learned to program [60 Minutes] to record one hour additional, due to the overtime of so many games. Sometimes, even an hour delay isn't sufficient.

A few days ago, my (tube) television started power cycling all by itself. At first, I assumed it was some practical joker standing outside with a remote on the same frequency. Then I realised that this television was bought in January 1999! I've been holding off on a (plasma HDTV) replacement until it finally kicks the bucket. Last night, it performed normally so I will (temporarily) blame an overheated component, and restrict its duty cycle for awhile. If it weren't such a pain to remove the back and blow out the accumulated dust, I'd do that too. As such, this 27-inch CRT (a Sony KV27V65) is simply too heavy for one person to move without risking serious injury, so .. I wait.

Worth noting: there's no sign of a KV27V65 on Sony's website (I was hoping for a PDF of the user's manual). So much for customer service.

political humor du juor

Pity these neocon clowns still have me on their list. I think I'd rather drink pig vomit than vote for their candidate, but .. here's what they said to my answering machine:

Hello, this is Governor Rick Perry calling for my friend John McCain with a special message for all Texas Republicans. Early voting has started and you have until Friday to cast your vote early. I hope you'll join me in voting for John McCain.

Like me, I know that you want a president who is a solid Ronald Reagan conservative, one who will cut taxes and eliminate wasteful spending, a president who supports our values, a visionary with the military and national security experience needed to lead our country in the war on terror. John McCain is that man.

He'll never waver in his commitment to conservative principles. His character, honor and integrity are unmatched. I hope you'll join me - Governor Rick Perry, both of our senators (Cornyn and Hutchison), and conservative leaders across Texas in uniting our party behind John McCain.

Paid for by John McCain 2008, 703-650-5646

It's quite funny that they persist in repeating the lies: that McCain is a conservative, that he'll cut taxes, that his values are anywhere near my own, and that he's honorable. Now that I've heard that humor, I don't have to watch cartoons this week.

I'm considering voting early this year, on Wednesday the 27th .. since that's the anniversary of the enactment of the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution. It seems only fitting, else we'd surely be looking at a third term for Karl Christian Rove's Regime.

Related: Christine Allison: Why this Republican is voting for Obama

Amusing spot of the day: Fake Steve Jobs: Cornered Clintstones attack: This Obama guy is black! Who knew?