Multi Medium

My Pipple!

They make me so proud:

Among the most high-profile Jews in Congress, Lieberman is viewed far more unfavorably than the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a new poll. Only 37 percent of Jews view the Connecticut Independent in a favorable light compared to 48 percent who have a negative perception. As for Obama, 60 percent of Jews view him favorably while 34 percent view him unfavorably.

The findings were released as part of a recent survey of American Jews by the new progressive pro-Israel group J Street. They seem to upturn some of this year’s conventional political wisdom.

Obama, who is set to travel to Israel this week, is often described in the press as facing significant obstacles to winning Jewish support, in part because of false claims that he is a Muslim. Lieberman, meanwhile, is regularly quoted disparaging Obama’s credentials on topics considered dear to the Jewish voter’s heart: toughness on Iran and support for the Jewish state. Asked recently whether he should be questioning Obama’s commitment to Israel, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee responded, “why wouldn’t I do that?”

Lieberman does score better among the 900 Jewish voters polled than other major political and religious figures. President Bush is viewed unfavorably by 74 percent of Jews, compared to 22 percent who see him in a positive light. McCain, meanwhile, is viewed favorably by just 34 percent of Jews, while 57 said they had a negative perception….

(…)

…As Spencer Ackerman of the Washington Independent noted in a review of the J Street poll, Jews are “liberal as hell.”

“Seventy-four percent of us view Bush unfavorably and 83 percent of us disapprove of his job performance,” Ackerman wrote. “While 76 percent of the country as a whole says the U.S. is on the wrong track, an astonishing 90 percent of American Jews say the same. Only 21 percent of us approve of the Iraq war and only 29 percent think Bush is good for Israel, and those are clearly the shmucks that kissed ass in Hebrew school and snitched when the rest of us used the synagogue phone booth and cloakroom to make out.”

Now I’m all verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. Here’s a topic: Joe Lieberman is neither moderate nor a Democrat. Discuss.

Joe Lieberman does not speak for me.

Add comment July 22nd, 2008 at 11:33am Posted by Eli

And I’m Off!

On my way to the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix to take more car photos. Now with 80% more fisheye!

Aaaand I’ve forgotten my sunscreen. Fab.

Add comment July 19th, 2008 at 01:19pm Posted by Eli

Vacation

Vacation.  I will be on it.  For the next two weeks.  So posting will be very light, probably just photoblogging and the regular Monday-Wednesday-Friday features, with the occasional quickie when mood and opportunity converge.

2 comments June 28th, 2008 at 09:44am Posted by Eli

Revealing Right-Wing Word Choice Of The Day

From the latest crazy right-wing “_______watch” blog, Think Progress Watch:

Scott McClellan who is a snitch is also a pawn of the Left.

A snitch, eh?  Not a liar?  Interesting.

Shorter right-wing loons: “We liked Scottie better when he was lying.  Lies good, truth bad.”

(h/t Oliver Willis & Matt O)

Add comment June 2nd, 2008 at 07:02am Posted by Eli

Libertarian Party Bellies Up To The Barr

Awesome:

Former US congressman Bob Barr was chosen Sunday to be the Libertarian Party’s candidate for November’s presidential election, a move that could hurt Republican presumptive nominee John McCain.

(…)

The 59-year-old told reporters earlier this month that he was running because no other presidential candidate understood the principles of fiscal conservatism and basic principles on which he said America was founded.

Barr appeared unconcerned about damaging McCain’s support among conservative voters.

“If Senator McCain … does not succeed in winning the presidency … it will be because Senator McCain did not present, and his party did not present, a vision, an agenda, a platform and a series of programs that actually resonated positively with the American people,” he said.

(…)

Barr said Sunday that he did not intend simply “to make a point” but to win, and party spokesman Andrew Davis said he was “one of the strongest candidates in the party’s 37-year history” and would make an “enormous impact.”

“Republicans and Democrats have good reason to fear a candidate like Barr, who refuses to accept the ‘business-as-usual’ attitude of the current political establishment,” Davis said.

“Americans want and need another choice, and that choice is Bob Barr.”

There’s a real good chance that Barr will be to McCain 2008 what Ralph Nader was to Gore 2000.  Hopefully even more so.

Add comment May 25th, 2008 at 07:15pm Posted by Eli

Hillary Saying All The Right Things

More like this, please:

“Anybody who has ever voted for me or voted for Barack has much more in common in terms of what we want to see happen in our country and in the world with the other than they do with John McCain,” Clinton said on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”

“I’m going to work my heart out for whoever our nominee is. Obviously, I’m still hoping to be that nominee, but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that anyone who supported me … understands what a grave error it would be not to vote for Sen. Obama.”

(…)

The racial gap has become a key issue in the media, but Clinton said she regrets “people exploding an issue like that.”

“It’s offensive. I think people vote for me because they think I’d be the better president. I think people vote for him because they think he’d be the better president. … That’s the way it’s supposed to be.“

If she lives up her promise to campaign aggressively for Obama, then I think he’ll have a real good shot in November.  Although I kinda wish she’d start now…

(h/t dakine)

1 comment May 14th, 2008 at 09:10pm Posted by Eli

Are You McSperienced?

Or have you ever been McSperienced?

Nothing Republicans like more than pretending to be victims:

Age-based attacks on John McCain have much the same potential for backlash as gender-based attacks on Hillary Clinton, and racially based attacks on Barack Obama. Now that McCain’s age has become a national punchline, many seniors might back McCain simply because they take offense at that narrative. This is particularly dangerous in a general election campaign when seniors will be the main swing group. Even though the electoral effectiveness of the conservative backlash narratives against liberal elites and the civil rights movement have been seriously diminished by changing demographics, these narratives are still somewhat salient among seniors. Combining these conservative backlash narratives with an additional, age-based backlash could prove problematic for Obama.

Now, this problem might be hard to see, since Obama currently leads McCain according to thirteen of sixteen public polling firms that have published national surveys in the last month. Overall, Obama leads McCain by 3.7% in Pollster and 4.8% in Real Clear Politics. However, as strong as Obama is currently performing, he could be doing much better if he were to solidify the Democratic base. Obama leads by about 4% right now, despite only receiving between 65% and 75% of self-identified support according to the latest Rasmussen, Quinnipiac, and LA Times / Bloomberg polls. If Obama were to push his Democratic support up to 85%, then he would gain another 4% against McCain, and deliver a virtual knockout blow.

However, an age-based identity backlash could prevent Obama from delivering this knockout blow. Today’s Q-poll showed an 11-point age gap between voters younger and older than 45, and the LA Times poll showed a 20-point gap, both of which successfully keep Obama’s numbers low among self-identified Democrats. As such, it isn’t surprising that the McCain camp is already angling to create further problems for Obama among seniors by playing the age card:

The McCain campaign said Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois who leads Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, was hinting at something when he used the words “losing his bearings.”
It was “a not particularly clever way of raising John McCain’s age as an issue,” said Mark Salter, a McCain adviser, in an e-mailed statement.

Expect more of this. The massive Democratic advantage in partisan self-identification, combined with Obama’s strength among independents, means that McCain needs to peel away a decent amount of Democrats in order to compete. Having learned lessons from the Democratic primary, it appears his campaign has decided it they can win over self-identified, Democratic seniors by playing the age card, and creating an identity backlash against a supposedly “ageist” Obama campaign. Current polling indicates that this strategy might just be working, since the only reason McCain is still within striking distance of Obama, instead of being blown out of the water, is because Obama has not locked down older, self-identified Democrats. McCain will continue to do whatever he can to open this wedge further, because as soon as it disappears, the general election could turn into a blowout.

Hey, if the McCain campaign wants to keep reminding everyone that their candidate is really old, I say let ‘em.  Obama himself should be as respectful as possible of McCain’s age, and talk up McCain’s energy every time the subject comes up.

In other words, just sit back and let McCain’s campaign do all the work of branding McCain as The Old Guy.

1 comment May 14th, 2008 at 08:10pm Posted by Eli

W00t!!!

This is awesome:

Short, simple, to the point from the AP: “Democrat Travis Childers wins special election for Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District.”

(…)

1. I don’t want to go so far as to say that this is the end of the Republican Party, because it’s not. But this is as bad news as the GOP could possibly get at this point. They lost a district that leans 6 points more Republican than the nation as a whole in Illinois in March. They lost a district that leans 7 points more Republican than the nation as a whole earlier this month in Louisiana. Now they lost a district that leans 10 points more Republican than the nation as a whole in Mississippi. If they can’t win in Mississippi’s first congressional district, where can they win?
2. The Republicans tried to make this election about two people: Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright. And despite running this type of campaign, they lost. While it is true that Childers distanced himself from his party (and implicitly from Obama), the fact is that the Obama/Wright smears simply DID NOT WORK. The Republicans are going to have to get a new game plan, and the establishment media are going to have to get a new meme. Sorry folks.

This is very, very bad for can only be good for Republicans.

50-State Strategy, bitches!!!

Add comment May 13th, 2008 at 11:11pm Posted by Eli

Pointless Distinction Of The Day

Ben Chandler:

As he introduced Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday night in Louisville, U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler of Versailles jabbed at likely GOP nominee John McCain, even giving him a nickname.

Chandler, addressing the crowd of about 8,000 Obama supporters, called McCain what at first sounded like “John insane.”

Chandler, however, said Tuesday that he was referring to McCain as “John McSame” to make his point that McCain would be a continuation of President Bush’s policies. He said he would never call someone “insane” in such a setting.

Dude, you just did.

(h/t dakine)

Add comment May 13th, 2008 at 07:18pm Posted by Eli

Monday Media Blogging

You just have to watch it.

(h/t shadowy & mysterious Codename V.)

Add comment May 12th, 2008 at 07:18am Posted by Eli

British Perspective On American Elections

It’s always good to step outside ourselves every once in a while, and contemplate what other countries see when they look at our electoral process.

Blimey!

Add comment May 2nd, 2008 at 06:10pm Posted by Eli

The Bush Surge

What momentum! He’s unstoppable!!!

(h/t Peterr)

Add comment April 29th, 2008 at 06:52pm Posted by Eli

On My Way To Pittsburgh Drinking Liberally

Just pretend that I’ve said something tremendously insightful and witty about tonight’s primary.

If I hear any good scoop at DL, I’ll try to post it here, but no promises…

Add comment April 22nd, 2008 at 06:58pm Posted by Eli

Political Cartoon

Who among us does not love political cartoons?

(From Married To The Sea)

1 comment April 15th, 2008 at 11:17am Posted by Eli

Any Day Now…

(from Married To The Sea)

Add comment March 20th, 2008 at 11:11am Posted by Eli

Hax0red

Just in case y’all were wondering what happened to Multi Medium, it got hacked and taken over last night, and everything in my main folder got wiped out (but not the database with my posts, thankfully).

As I understand it, there aren’t any super-current backups, so the look and feel might be a little off, and some images may be missing until I have time to re-upload them.

Fun times, fun times.

6 comments March 18th, 2008 at 03:14pm Posted by Eli

My White Person Score

As a followup to my earlier observation that I apparently suck at being a white person, I went through the full list of Stuff White People Like to see if maybe I was exaggerating. I wasn’t.

Of the 81 things that white people like, I liked… 8. So just a hair less than 10%.

I’m really, really pale, though.

2 comments March 5th, 2008 at 09:33pm Posted by Eli

This Just In

Apparently I suck at being a white person.

(h/t Captain Goto)

2 comments March 4th, 2008 at 07:34am Posted by Eli

Belated Blogiversary

I completely forgot; Monday was Multi Medium’s third anniversary, about 3300 posts ago. That’s 1100 posts a year, or about 3 per day, which is right around where I want to be.

So, um, hooray and stuff.

5 comments February 21st, 2008 at 11:09pm Posted by Eli

Good News/Bad News

The Good News: Dangerous Evil Satellite is probably shot down. (Also, that launch photo is pretty cool - click on it for a non-pixelated version)

The Bad News: I’m pretty sure there are sci-fi horror movies that start out this way.

Add comment February 21st, 2008 at 08:58pm Posted by Eli

Still Alive

No, I haven’t vanished off the face of the earth; my laptop got either virus-infested or massively corrupted, and I’ve spent the whole day (and some of last night) backing up my data and then re-installing Windows and all my programs. I’m probably about 90-95% back to normal at this point… so far as I know.

Add comment February 17th, 2008 at 03:57pm Posted by Eli

Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring…

Cellular, modular, interactiveodular…

What could possibly go wrong?

Valentines Day in South Korea means chocolates, romantic dinners and a high-tech mobile phone device that can secretly check the passion in the voice of a lover.

The “Love Detector” service from mobile operator KTF uses technology that is supposed to analyze voice patterns to see if a lover is speaking honestly and with affection.

“We created this service because we thought people would want to know what others were feeling about them,” said Ahn Hee-jung, a KTF official.

Users who speak by pointing their mobile phones at themselves for video conferences can see a “love meter” bar on the screen of their handset during a conversation.

They later receive an analysis of the conversation delivered through text message that breaks down the amount of affection, surprise, concentration and honesty of the other speaker.

Jeez, if anyone other than the shadowy and mysterious Codename V. called me on one of those things, I’d end up depressed for the rest of the day. I think I’ll just stick with my Treo, thanks.

1 comment February 15th, 2008 at 10:15pm Posted by Eli

Programming Note

I will be on vacation this week, so posting will probably be light.

3 comments February 4th, 2008 at 04:59pm Posted by Eli

Is It Too Late To Change My Endorsement?

I just realized who would be the perfect Democratic nominee:

32GB unlocked iPhones for everyone!!!

Also, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld & Rove in jail, the rule of law restored, publicly financed elections, electric cars, American troops out of Iraq, fair and impartial judges, fair and impartial media, religion out of politics, a sane and compassionate immigration policy, and tough, smart Democratic politicians who care about the environment and ordinary citizens at least as much as they care about the rich and powerful.

Did I miss anything? (I was promised flying cars…)

NOTE: “Religion out of politics” should be considered shorthand for gay marriage, abortion rights, and stem cell research.

Add comment January 28th, 2008 at 09:11pm Posted by Eli

Word Of The Day

Today’s made-up word: Snacuum.

Definition: The total absence of junk food.

Usage: “Football abhors a snacuum.”

Add comment January 21st, 2008 at 04:06pm Posted by Eli

My New Phrase

Those of you in the business world should appreciate this one: Coyote Meeting.

It refers to a meeting so endless, so soul-destroying and pointless and godawful, that you would gladly gnaw off your own arm to get away.

Not that I’ve ever been in one, of course, but I can certainly see how they might happen…

6 comments January 17th, 2008 at 11:21am Posted by Eli

Happy New Year!!!

Only 517 years to go!

3 comments January 1st, 2008 at 11:41am Posted by Eli

Who’s In Charge? Santa.

NYT’s City Room blog has the skinny on SantaCon, a rather anarchic-sounding event where people dress up as Santa Claus (or other seasonally-themed entities) and get very drunk. Check out the blog entry for inside info on what the SantaCon experience is like from a participant, and check out the SantaCon website for the SantaCon rules.

And check out the Flickr album for the complete SantaCon visual experience.

Add comment December 11th, 2007 at 10:46pm Posted by Eli

Woohoo.

My 100,000th visitor was someone from the Bronx, who was apparently looking for info on Iran.

Thanks, dude!

My 100,000th spam comment probably isn’t far behind.

Add comment December 6th, 2007 at 11:11am Posted by Eli

Woohoo!!!

I have just learned that my good friend and occasional commenter spear and magic has attained his PhD!

Congratulations, Dr. Spear! Or would that be Dr. Magic?

(Warning: Taking the name “Dr. Magic” would require you to periodically do battle with supernatural evildoers. Or do-gooders, depending on your proclivities.)

1 comment December 1st, 2007 at 10:32am Posted by Eli