Cheap Blogging Crutch 08.07

Republicans Propagating Falsehoods in Attacks on Health-Care Reform
Steve Pearlstein of the Washington Post on the lies hypocrisy and childishness of the debate over health care. He's fairly angry, dubbing those who are engaging in this type of action "political terrorists". But other than that it's a fairly clear and concise explanation of what the current plan under consideration is, disappointing as it is.

The Health Insurers Have Already Won
BusinessWeek on how no matter what ends up eventually getting passed, the health care industry will be relatively happy about, having been able to set the terms of the debate and the modes of reform almost from the drop. I know: what a shocker. I think that makes it the 137,897th time in a row that Congress decided to look out for business first instead of the actual people in a case that didn't involve overt poisoning or murder. Even the poisoning/murder ones are a 50/50 proposition in looking out for the public.

Pennsylvania Gunman Used Same Gun Store As Virginia Tech Shooter
I just want all you TB buckaroos out there to remember that if you're a mentally defective loner who is increasingly disturbed by his seeming disconnect from society and wishes to act out his militaristic revenge fantasies with a kill crazy rampage and subsequent suicide, go to TGSCOM Inc. of Green Bay for all your firearm needs.

Kepler Shows Exoplanet Is Unlike Anything in Our Solar System
The Kepler Space Telescope is finally starting up its mission to search for and analyze planetary bodies from solar systems in an attempt to find earth-like planets. The timeline for the project is to find a comparable planet by 2020. What have they found so far? A Jupiter sized planet with huge 1,300 degree temperature variances and a titanium oxide atmosphere. Oooh, so close.

New Radiohead - "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"
Perhaps in some bid to cleanse themselves of Thom Yorke's voluntary wallowing in the Twilight mudpit, Radiohead has recorded and released a new song in honor of the recently deceased Harry Patch, the UK's last remaining WWI veteran. It's fairly good and all proceeds from the one pound purchase of the song go to the British Legion. Man, Radiohead outdid us again. All we did was use Harry Patch's death to mock education standards.

Zona

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 10/28-30. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines)

McCain (R) 48
Obama (D) 47

Early voters (17 percent of sample)

McCain (R) 42
Obama (D) 54

If the 2010 election for U.S. Senate were held today for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Janet Napolitano the Democrat and John McCain the Republican?

McCain (R) 45
Napolitano (D) 53

Now this poll was done by the Daily Kos, so it's probably the most antisemitic hate poll in Christendom, but it jives with other polls of Arizona, showing McMaverick struggling in his home state. By which I mean the state he carpetbagged into 30 years ago and lives sometimes when he's not in his 12 other houses. But here we are, further chance of a gruesome suicide on the Straight Talk Exress capping Tuesday night or perhaps McCain just slowly toddles into the desert, pointy party hat slightly askew, weeping....never to be seen again.

McCain ditches his election night celebration

McCain Campaign Limits Press Access For Election Night

Republican John McCain is not going to make his election night remarks in the traditional style _ at a podium standing in front of a sea of campaign workers jammed into a hotel ballroom...the Republican presidential nominee plans to address another group of supporters and a small group of reporters on the hotel lawn; his remarks will be simultaneously piped electronically to the party inside and other reporters in a media filing center, aides said.

Aides said Thursday that the arrangement was the result of space limitations and that McCain might drop by the election watch party at some other point.

A candidate skipping his own 'celebration' bash, has that ever happened before? Space limitations? Space is so limited the candidate can't get in? Sure. Look, I wouldn't want to be there either. It'll have all the excitement of a funeral. Who would want to be around that dirge, your supporters wincing harder and harder as each new state is called for Obama. The mood turns black as Montana is called for Obama. By the time the California results comes in some junior staffer runs to the middle of the floor and commits ritual seppuku while yelling "the Islamic theocracy will never take me alive!" Do you really think McCain will want to walk out to that scene to point out that he called Obama to concede at 7:30?

Frankly with recent ASU and Mason-Dixon polls putting the Arizona race within 6 points and closing the night could have an even grimmer turn. Arizona gets called for Obama and the press rushed to McCain's bus to get a reaction. All they can hear is weeping, then a flash of light and the sound of a muffled gunshot from the back of the Straight Talk Express. Ah well, I hear he'll miss a hell of a bash. Cocktail franks, shrimp cocktails, and all the Bud you can drink.