Does any of this really matter?
On April 18, 2006, Palin and I sat together in a hotel coffee shop comparing campaign trail notes. As we talked about the debates, Palin made a comment that highlights the phenomenon that Biden is up against.
“Andrew, I watch you at these debates with no notes, no papers, and yet when asked questions, you spout off facts, figures, and policies, and I’m amazed. But then I look out into the audience and I ask myself, ‘Does any of this really matter?’ ” Palin said.
Former Alaskan State Rep and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Halcro offers his take on the headache Joe Biden may be facing Thursday night. This is a war for the minds of stupid people, on both sides; don’t forget that.
Mr. Tocqueville goes to Washington
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”
- Alexis de Tocqueville
Instructions
Wormtown Taxi on boston.com
Looks like our pal Jeff has a new partner syndicating his blog, congratulations sir!
Google In Quotes
This may become the best new tool of the election cycle for the electorate. The new “In Quotes” project from Google labs lets you compare candidates talking points using the same sort of magic that makes their search algorithm work. The idea seems to be to remove any opinion that might find it’s way into election reporting and instead weigh quotes against one another. Good stuff.
The “In Quotes” feature allows you to find quotes from stories linked to from Google News. These quotations are a valuable resource for understanding where people in the news stand on various issues. Much of the published reporting about people is based on the interpretation of a journalist. Direct quotes, on the other hand, are concrete units of information that describe how newsmakers represent themselves. Google News compiles these quotations from online news stories and sorts them into browsable groups based on who is being quoted.
Similar to article selection and placement on Google News, quotes and their speakers are determined automatically by a computer program and we don’t guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information you may see. The dates you see represent when the article in which the quote appears was added to Google News. The views expressed in the quotes do not necessarily reflect the views of Google Inc. or its employees.
The default, naturally, is McCain vs Obama.
Worcester after dark
The final item in Daily Worcsterias coverage of last night’s city council meeting seems to be a reoccurring theme.
9:00: Police Chief Gary Gemme is advocating for his creation of a Fall Impact Unit - similar to the Summer Impact Unit - by once again discussing how there’s a significant uptick in crime after midnight.
At what point does a member of the council ask the Chief to qualify that ideology? How can we allow blanket statements like that from city officials with no follow up discussion of population density shifts, influx into the city from surrounding towns and even the possibility that there might not actually be ‘more’ crime, but just more people available to report crime that normally wouldn’t involve the WPD? Statements like that without supporting material and citations and statistics are just opinions. The second largest city in New England can’t afford to develop policy around opinion and conjecture no matter how well intentioned.
Notorious Trailer
I can’t wait for this. And yes, it’s OK if you think less of me for that.
start on the street ‘08
I would like to add a mostly unnecessary $0.02 to all the observations, comments and criticisms that will be tossed around about this weekends start on the street arts and music festival. This year felt like the festival finally found its groove. It seemed like the event was much less about the artists and musicians involved and much more focused on people who appreciate the things artists and musicians do, which ends up making it even more about the artists and musicians. It felt less forced than in previous years, people really seemed to want to be there, not just showing up out of curiosity. There were a few moments where I got to sit on the pavement in the bank parking lot eating with my son and watch as dozens of people rode by on bikes and skateboards while people of every conceivable demographic browsed the artist spaces in the background, everyone taking in and appreciating everything going on around them together. As an observer, all I could think was “that’s a city I want to live in”. Made me happy that I do.
One thing I missed due to a hell of a head cold was an unplanned performance by bonezone, in an alley. Here’s a little footage of the chaos courtesy of Jacob B.
BONE ZONE at stArt in the street, worcester 2008 from fujichia katsuda on Vimeo.
Blackstone Aleworks continues to make life delicious
Somehow I managed to miss the announcement of the medals Keith Antul and his Blackstone Aleworks took home recently from the Topsfield Fair and Blues n’ Brews.
My Scottish 80/- took its second gold medal of the year, and the Holy Hand Grenade (Belgian Strong Dark) did well with a gold and silver. I was also quite pleased by the gold medal for my recent concoction, the Stout de Miel: a black, roasty braggot (37% honey) fermented with a Belgian ale yeast.
Any opportunity to get ahold of Keith’s product is guaranteed to make your life better.
Bishop to continue exploitation of Audrey Santo
The T&G brings us news that Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus is willing to continue the exploitation of this woman’s tragic life by the charlatans who profited off her suffering and continue to do so after her death, through acceleration of the canonization process.
Members of the organization — the Little Audrey Santo Foundation Inc. — said they decided they will make a pitch to the Holy See’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints after Bishop Robert J. McManus on Thursday officially “recognized” the group as “a private association of the faithful.”
Diocesan officials said the designation gives the foundation canonical standing. That’s important because the canonization process is usually initiated by the bishop, who oversees the locale where the candidate for sainthood died or is buried; a religious order interested in nominating one of its own, or by a private association.
There’s not much about the shameful abuse of this child turned side show act that hasn’t already been discussed and I still have no idea how these people sleep at night. The whole charade was summed up best by Penn Jellett of Penn & Teller in their Showtime program “Bullshit” which covered Audrey Santo some years back.
link
Wikipedia entry Audrey Santo
