Busy week, and it’ll only get busier between now and Election Day. At the moment, however, I’m killing some time at home until the lines for in-person absentee voting (hopefully) shrink. Just popped over there during lunch, and the line was about two hours long. I did what every pollwatcher fears – I left (as they don’t think you’ll come back (and most don’t)). But I figure I’ll get some work done here and then head back in a bit, bringing some reading to catch up on (no phones allowed). Could be worse – I could be in those 5-8 hour lines down in Georgia.
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Despite my generally writing him off as someone whose judgment I respect over the Iraq war, I’ve been reading Andrew Sullivan on a regular basis, these days. His struggle with reconciling his conservative principles with the Republican party has been honest and public.  He says:
I face the dilemma every time I go to a college campus and speak about conservatism. When you use the c-word among the next generation, they no longer associate it with small government, individual freedom, humble faith, balanced budgets, respect for tradition or a strong but prudent foreign policy. They think of religious fanaticism, big spending, massive debt, and social intolerance. When I give my stump speech in defense of the conservatism I lay out in my book, there is considerable interest, but it sounds nothing like the current GOP. I come close to washing my hands of the word as Randolph is.
But remember: we had this word first. We can and must reclaim it.
I’ve got some sympathy for him, but something tells me he’s going to be about as successful in doing that as Jay Randal was in his mission to take back another word, in Clerks II (warning, that link leads to something that is almost certain to offend).
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Dallas Mavericks owner and gazillionaire Mark Cuban may be a dick, but he sure is an admirably public-minded one:
Transparency is key to the success of the Bailout and related loans and investments the government makes with our tax dollars. Without complete transparency, we will get from our government what we always get when it comes to finances, confusion. To do my part, I’ve worked with the folks at Sharesleuth.com to create Bailoutsleuth.com
Its job is simple, keep an eye on our taxpayer dollars and call Bullshit when necessary.
if you take a trip over to Bailoutsleuth you can see that its already time to call BS. In the first contract handed out, in this case to Bank of NY Mellon Corp, the compensation section is blacked out.
Sad. So very sad, that we couldnt make it a week without being afraid of the very taxpayers who are footing the tab for all of this.
Bailoutsleuth will try to publish every day in keeping up with how our taxdollars are spent and the people and companies that are impacted by this program. We are still a work in progress and look forward to your comments , feedback and tips.
He’s got a solid track record in this business, too (see Sharesleuth.com).
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The chance that any DC bike messengers read Blacknell.net is something close to nil, I think, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got a number of messenger-sympathizers (like terrorist-sympathizers, but different). So in case you’re interested, maybe come check out the Obamallycat tomorrow. Folks won’t only be racing for victory and beer, but also this sweet prize. I’ll be there.
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How do you talk about the word “Fuck” without saying “Fuck”?  Similarly, can one broadcast a Supreme Court case about broadcasting the word “Fuck” without broadcasting the word “Fuck”? Fuck if I know.
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Update: An excellent Halloween tip. And on that note, since my profanity has probably triggered the corporate firewalls and linking to terribly offensive movie clips has already filtered out the folks who would most object, here’s a Sarah Palin song for you:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evafgvrMci8[/youtube]
Mr. “Oh, I run a *family* blog” made me do it.
It was a great time last year (report