Daniel Cunningham thanks you for your support

Daniel Cunningham is this week's Freak of the Week. The former "Dr." Cunningham won with an impressive plurality; Spuds the Vicar and Peemaster Devaux tied for second place with 4 votes each.

What makes Daniel such a compelling character?

Our eldest said it's partially his resemblance to Heaven's Gate cult leader Marshall Applewhite:

Cunningham

Applewhite


I think he's clearly a charismatic figure. I mean, not anyone could convince people to pay rent to live under a scaffold with a tarp over it, while also persuading them to submit to mystery injections. I took time out from sitting and obsessing about how Cunningham managed to wield a hypo while wearing socks on his hands to look up more about this slumlord and medical trailblazer. A little searching found this link to the Honolulu Star Bulletin guide to 2008 mayoral candidates.

In his profile, Cunningham lists his job as "unlicensed doctor" and states that he had his "license revoked for the medical discovery to extend life indefinitely". How's that for straight talk?

I'm going to go ahead and post the profile questions and his answers. All I can say is, if President-elect Obama's staff has not yet gotten Dr. Cunningham on board, they'd better do so quickly.

The questions are in bold italics, and Cunningham's answers appear in dark red:

What qualifies you to be Honolulu’s mayor?

Good ideas and determination.

My doctor’s license was revoked for an inexpensive “in vivo” stem cell therapy in 1996. I got the Free Energy Party on the ballot in 2002 and I have repeatedly run for mayor and governor since.

I have also been on KITV television over a “house in Kalihi” for the homeless and ‘Olelo Channel 54 to put the U.S. Navy on the grid and a 21st-century “Noah’s Ark” built with steel and reinforced glass and plastic. The result is an accountable government that pays the citizen, cleans the planet of mercury poisoning, and is infinitely energy independent.

If elected, will you proceed with the city’s planned rail transit project?

No, rather, a rail in a floating capacity to industry and real estate at Keehi Lagoon via the confluence of the freeways, airport and city. Such a rail for transitioning large populations of people into a floating existence by building a mega-pool cleaner would have a joint mushroom effect upon the economy given access to nuclear. Electric vehicles that don’t break down would best be privately owned without insurance necessity.

Nuclear affords the capability to boil every drop of water on this planet an unlimited number of times and is 3 million times as efficient as coal.

Under what circumstances would you consider raising city taxes or fees?

Under no circumstance. The power to tax is the power to destroy. Why not a floating government that provides, protects and segregates. A $10/hour job on decommissioned nuclear aircraft carriers converted to steel mill/recycle centers for prisoners is a secure tax base until obsolescence. The best rehab is a good job with a future. So far government is a dismal failure. It does not recycle half what to speak of mercury-laidened light bulbs.

In a floating capacity government efficiency is improved 1,000 percent and truly becomes a tool of the people.

What can the mayor do to address the homeless problem on Oahu?

Provide an effective structure by which function will inevitably occur. Decommissioned Navy ships integrated with a diversified dock system built with recycled materials would serve as the scaffolding for the mega-pool cleaner and interim living facilities for the needy as well as a job market.

Our education is an inheritance. “Inherit the Kingdom at hand having been prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” Matt 25:34. If the Bible is relevant “heaven” somewhere else is a Babylonian myth. Why not create infinite wealth and change through progress? Change is the only universal constant.

What can the city do to help residents cope with rising prices and an ailing economy?

Edmund Rothchild stated that if he controls the currency man can make whatever laws he likes but Rothchild will determine their destiny. There is an alternative to a privately owned fiat money system.

A floating desalinisation plutonium economy provides a limitless source of power for a stable economy. Money is power only to the extent of confidence in the paper itself which has no intrinsic value. Electricity as power has intrinsic value in the performance of work. As the cost of electricity goes down into oblivion so does the necessity for money.

They must have been voting for the president, or something...

"It was better before, before they voted for what's his name..."
-John Doe/Exene Cervenka

"The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all"
-G.K. Chesterton

Tomorrow's your chance folks. Let's make it better again.

Please vote.



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Illinois Voters: Please vote NO on a constitutional convention!

There. Have I got your attention? Thanks.

For those of you reading this blog who live and vote in Illinois, I have a very important favor to ask you. When you go to vote next Tuesday, you'll see a referendum on the ballot that looks like this:

Constitutional Convention Explanation of Proposed Call

This proposal deals with a call for a state Constitutional Convention. The last such convention was held in 1969-70, and a new Constitution was adopted in 1970. The 1970 Illinois Constitution requires that the question of calling a convention be placed before the voters every 20 years. If you support the calling of a Constitutional Convention, vote “YES.” If you oppose the calling of a Constitutional Convention, vote “NO.”

For the calling of a Constitutional Convention.

Please, PLEASE vote "NO". Here's why.

A lot of us here in Illinois are beyond frustrated with our state government, and that frustration is fueling the drive to call a new constitutional convention. To me, the most important reason to oppose a new constitutional convention is that it would give politicians in Springfield a chance to completely re-write the existing laws governing public pensions, potentially allowing politicians access to the money in our pension funds. A lot of politicians cast a hungry eye toward the millions of currently protected dollars sitting in the pension funds of police officers, firefighters and teachers. I don't want them screwing around with my retirement fund. Simple as that.

You can click on this link to view a presentation from the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association for more information.

Maybe that's not persuasive enough. How about the fact that a constitutional convention will cost taxpayers somewhere around $80 million?!

Here's a list of organizations that oppose calling a new constitutional convention. (from the Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution website):

American Insurance Association
Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois
Center for Tax and Budget Accountability
Chicago Urban League
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Citizen Action/Illinois
The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Association of Convenience Stores
Illinois Association of Park Districts
Illinois Association of School Administrators
Illinois Business RoundTable
Illinois Civil Justice League
Illinois Education Association
Illinois Farm Bureau
Illinois Federation of Teachers
Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Hospital Association
Illinois Manufacturers Association
Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association
Illinois Retail Merchants Assoc.
Illinois Retired Teachers Association
Illinois State AFL-CIO
Illinois State Chamber of Commerce
Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
League of Women Voters of Illinois
Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce
McLean County Chamber of Commerce
National Federation of Independent Businesses/Illinois
Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce
Police Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois
SEIU Illinois
State University Annuitants Association
Taxpayers' Federation of Illinois
Tooling and Manufacturing Association
Union League Club of Chicago

If you'd like more information, click on this link to the Top Ten Reasons to Vote "No" on a Constitutional Convention.

Thank you!


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Bradley Effect? Or Elephant Effect?

Thank you FiveThirtyEight.com!

I'm pretty sure that everyone who visits this blog and the blogs I link to has heard of the "Bradley Effect" in the past few months. The Bradley Effect purports to be an explanation of the gap between polling figures for black candidates and their actual, lower, vote totals on election day. There's been plenty of discussion the role that race and racial attitudes might play in this election.

My eldest daughter, while looking at some recent poll numbers with me, repeated the phrase "cautious optimism, cautious optimism" several times while viewing. While we were flipping through some polling and politics websites, I found this piece by Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight:

Bradley Effect? Or Elephant Effect?

The piece responds to an article by Republican consultant Bill Greener in Salon.com. Silver pretty much takes apart Greener's hypothesis that a "Bradley Effect" occurred in several gubernatorial and senate elections in 2006, involving black candidates.

Silver's conclusion?

Three of the five profiled black candidates were Republicans, running in an election year that was, well, pretty bad for Republicans:

The year 2006, as you may recall, was a very one for Republicans. Democratic candidates overperformed their poll in a significant majority of competitive races around the country.

In fact, there were other races going on at the same time in Maryland and Ohio, both of which involved two white candidates. In Maryland, there was also a race for Governor; the Democrat, Martin O'Malley, was projected by the RCP average to defeat the Republican, Robert Ehrlich, by 1.3 points. In fact, O'Malley won by 6.5 points. In Ohio, meanwhile, the Democratic candidate for Senate, Sherrod Brown, was projected by RCP to defeat the Republican, Mike DeWine, by 10.0 points. In fact, Brown won by 12.3 points.

So, it wasn't just black Republicans who were undeperforming their polls; it was white Republicans too (likewise with Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania): not a 'Bradley Effect' so much as an 'Elephant Effect'.

But it wouldn't please a Republican consultant to talk about that, now would it?

McCain walks the plank

I know this is too late for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, but I just saw this picture for the first time tonight:



Looks like John McCain's "Straight Talk Express" goes straight to dockside parking at a con man's rented yacht.

That picture is from this story in The Nation. It seems that America's favorite maverick, John McCain, celebrated his 70th birthday in exotic Montenegro, on a yacht rented by convicted swindler and con man Rafaello Follieri.

Yarrr.

_____________________

Let me back up a minute.

I found that article in The Nation after reading this absolutely excellent, essential editorial by Frank Rich:

Truthiness Stages a Comeback

Go and read it, like, now.

Like I said in an earlier post, I don't talk too much about politics here. This year, though, is different, and I think that this election is important enough for me to sound off to anyone who'll listen.

The Frank Rich editorial is rich in linky particulars that are must reading for anyone trying to get family, friends or coworkers to focus on real issues and not the corporate media-driven distractions that McCain's campaign is attempting to feed us. For the sake of brevity, I'll throw out some bulleted points for a few of the items Mr. Rich mentions:

• The Keating 5 Scandal (seems like a good time to bring that up, doesn't it?)
• The big and little lies of the McCain campaign, including the whopper that Mother Theresa personally convinced Cindy McCain to bring home those two orphans from Bangladesh. (Bonus lie--Cindy also refers to herself as an "only child" even though she has two half-sisters.)
• Recent revelations about the extent of Cindy McCain's pain pill addiction and the resulting legal problems.
• More tales of the cronyism and vindictiveness that mark Sarah Palin's political style.
• The series of McCain flip-flops on economic issues, and the lack of a coherent written economic policy. Here's a great quote from that story: "His senior policy adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, told reporters earlier in the day that there was no need for McCain to be specific right now. "There's no magic solutions, and I don't think it's imperative at this moment to write down what the plan should be..."

Since you asked...

I first saw this questionnaire over at Katie Schwartz' place, and so far I've read excellent responses from Dr. Monkey and D-cup. I don't do a lot of politics on this blog, but I've grown increasingly upset at the direction our country is headed, and when I saw this I felt compelled to add my own response.

1) What is your name (nickname, whatever you're comfortable sharing), your age (range), gender, occupation, income bracket (range), how you identify (gay/straight/whatever)? Married/Single/Divorced? Kids (how many)?

Just call me Bubs. I'm a 46 year old cop living and working in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. I'm the proud father of two smart and beautiful teenage daughters and I've been married to my high school sweetheart for more than 22 years. I've been a police officer for nearly 20 years, and between my job and my bride's job at the library, we make more money than I ever imagined we'd make when we first got married. We feel blessed. We'll never be rich, but we don't want for anything. I won't have to worry about income when I retire, and we're paying for both our kids to go to college (as long as they start with community college and then go to a state university.)

I served in the Illinois Army National Guard (as did my bride) as a medic in the early to mid 80's, and we both finished our duty before the first Gulf War. I'm a gun owner and a member of the NRA. I am that middle aged white guy in the suburbs who is supposed to be a perfect Republican voter, although I don't go to church as much as I should.

2) What are the most important issues to you in this presidential election and why?

The most important issue for me is the economy; specifically restoring some sense of fair play for working people and the working poor. When I talk about the economy I'm including the issues of affordable health care and energy policy as well. I think it's obscene that the greatest nation in the world allows so many of its citizens to go bankrupt trying to pay for medical care. I'm alarmed at the growing disparity between the wealthiest and the rest of us.

I'm outraged by the fact that so many things my parents worked for and expected as part of being a middle class American--things like medical insurance, secure pensions, the ability to send your children to college without incurring crippling debt--are disappearing. Our energy policies have been focused on maximizing short-term profits for corporations instead of being geared to insuring the long-term strength and sustainability of our way of life.

And then, of course, there's Iraq. Putting aside the question of why we invaded in the first place, there can be no doubt that the invasion and occupation have sucked billions of dollars down a sinkhole; billions and billions of dollars that could have been far better spent here in the United States.

3) Why do you think voters should vote for Obama/Biden, what differentiates this ticket from McCain/Palin?

Simply put, I don't understand how anyone can look around at the current state of affairs--hemorrhaging money in Iraq, $4.00 a gallon gas, record bankruptcies, rising unemployment, record deficits, Wall Street and banking failures--and think that putting anyone from the party of George W. Bush in the White House could be anything but another disaster. McCain represents the party that has occupied the White House for the past 8 years, and has controlled Congress for 12 of the past 14 years.

It's like I told a coworker the other day: if you're more outraged by flag lapel pins and YouTube clips of angry black preachers than you are by the fact it costs you $3,000 a year to drive to work now, and you can't retire because you can't pay for health insurance, then I guess McCain is your man. Go home, pour yourself a stiff drink and listen to God Bless the USA a few more times until you numb the pain.

I don't think Obama and Biden will magically solve all these problems, but I'm confident that they won't make them worse. Obama and Biden are not ideologues, and they are not radical leftists. They didn't get where they are by being anti-business. I do believe that they share a concern for the little guy, a true concern for his well-being (as opposed to phony brush-cutting-at-the-ranch theatrics) and would work to do what they could to improve things. Obama and Biden have a far better plan than McCain to provide affordable health insurance to the most Americans.

I used to like McCain, and would have voted for him over Gore had he been the GOP nominee in 2000. It's been depressing to watch the diminishing of McCain as a public figure, as he works so hard to pander to the same "conservatives" and fundamentalists in his party who smeared him in 2000. And Palin? She's a ruthless autocrat and scares the hell out of me as a candidate. Who would you want one heartbeat away--her or Joe Biden? Can you imagine the howling of right wing talk hosts had the Democrats nominated a candidate like Palin? Good lord.

4) If McCain/Palin wins this election, where do you see our country going in the next four years?

I see every negative trend I talked about earlier continuing, and probably getting worse. I see more of the elevation of empty patriotic symbolism and posturing over the true love of neighbor and country. I think we'll see an increasing downward trend in the living standards and wages of average Americans.

5) Economically, where do you think this country is today and how do you think Obama/Biden can make a positive impact?

One of the things that appeals to me about Obama is his commitment to invigorate the economy and create jobs by investing in our infrastructure. He also says he'll invest in green and alternative energy sources. We have to start somewhere. Here's a link to Obama's position page on the economy. Go look around.

6) In the past 8-years, how do you think this country has changed under the Bush regime? Have you been affected by these changes? If so, in what ways?

I've seen an increasing polarization, and willingness to demonize one's opponents. All that red state/blue state bullshit. We saw more of it at the GOP convention with the implication in several speeches that they represent "real" Americans, as opposed to Democrats, who presumably represent all us degenerate urban perverts, elitists, dope fiends and sandal wearing secular humanists. Conservative Republicans have given us the phenomenon of the sore winner.

How have I been affected? Well, it's turned me into a self-identified Democratic voter for the first time in my life. I don't think I'd vote for a Republican for dog catcher at this point.

7) I have read that Palin is considered the new voice of feminism, which is offensive in my opinion. Of equal concern are her views on abortion and the removal of books from libraries. I'd like to know what you think about all of that and how you feel about McCain choosing Palin as a running mate. And what kind of message you think that sends to women?

Republicans have successfully harnessed working class fear to get working class people to vote against their own economic interest (read What's the Matter with Kansas by Thomas Frank). Now it looks like they're trying to do the same thing--trotting out a candidate who, at first glance, working women and moms can relate to, but who actually opposes policies that most of those women would be in favor of. I don't think it sends any message to women, really, since women aren't some monolithic block.

I think that McCain's choice of Palin as a running mate shows that his desire to win is strong enough to overcome his previous problems with evangelicals and Bush conservatives. It's no secret he would've preferred Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman, but ultimately he caved in to the right. And it's paid off for him, so far at least. By picking Palin he's put the GOP's favorite wedge issues like abortion and religion right back in the mix. If we try and win this election on issues like book banning and abortion, the Republicans will beat us like a rented mule.

First tag of spring

The first tag of spring honor goes to Barbara from Bad Tempered Zombie. She got me good, requesting that I list 5 of my favorite websites. See, the thing is, she's Canadian, and they're just so darn polite that you feel like an utter shitheel if you don't respond.

I visit a lot of websites, and my favorites change pretty often, depending on what I'm interested in at the moment, or what I'm working on. If I'm planning a trip I become totally obsessed and can spend hours researching a destination. Here are a few of my favorite places this week:

Officer.com I usually check on this one a few times a day. I get ideas for training, lots of law enforcement related news, and the occasional freak story for re-posting here.

Real Clear Politics I just discovered this one a few months ago, and since it's an election year I stop by pretty often. They have a nifty feature where they average out the results from multiple polls. They've also got a good selection of articles and editorials from different sources and points on the political spectrum.

United Country Real Estate This is my place to daydream. I like to browse through the listings and imagine places I'd like to live in a few years. They have offices in nearly every state, and they have a special section for unique and historic properties.

Google News This is what I have set up as my home page on my work and home computers. I love being able to log on and get a snapshot of what's going on in the world at any given time.

Top Secret Animal Attack Files The name of this site speaks for itself. I'm a devoted fan.

An announcement from Sprawling Ramshackle Compound

Effective immediately I am no longer going to refer to, or use the phrase "mainstream media" or "MSM".

Instead, I will refer to is as "Corporate Media" or, simply, "CM".

A friend of mine recently forwarded this editorial to me, and I'll quote a little bit of it here to give you a taste:

As we stumble toward another presidential election, it’s never been more clear that our political process is being warped by a corporate stranglehold on the free flow of information. Amidst a virtual blackout of coverage of a horrific war, a global ecological crisis and an advancing economic collapse, what passes for the mass media is itself in collapse. What’s left of our democracy teeters on the brink.

The culprit, in the parlance of the day, has been the “Mainstream Media,” or MSM.

But that’s wrong name for it. Today’s mass media is Corporate, not Mainstream, and the distinction is critical.

Calling the Corporate Media (CM) “mainstream” implies that it speaks for mid-road opinion, and it absolutely does not.

There is, in fact, a discernable, tangible mainstream of opinion in this country. As brilliant analysts such as Jeff Cohen, Norman Solomon and the Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) organization have shown, the “MSM” is very far to the right of it...

Never in our history has the control of the nation’s sources of information been more centralized, or more at odds with what the country as a whole believes.

This divergence is not limited to the attack pack fringe of far-right bloviators who dominate the Corporate opinion print columns and talk shows. Virtually all “personal” opinion expressed on the corporate airwaves and in the syndicated big newspaper columns is significantly to the pro-corporate right of moderate American opinion.

The “news” pushed by the major radio/TV networks and newspapers slants unerringly toward the interests of the five major corporations that own the bulk of them. They bury stories of vital importance while spewing endless hours and column inches at the mind-deadening likes of Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears...

Well, you get the idea.

_____________________

The other day I got an email from a coworker. This was the header:

FW: Fw: CAN MUSLIMS BE GOOD AMERICANS?

The answer, not surprisingly, was a resounding "no." I had gotten earlier versions of this email over a year ago, but this one had something different at the end:

And Barack Hussein Obama,
a Muslim,
wants to be our President?
You have GOT to be kidding!

I hit "reply all", and sent this link to the Snopes.com page on false claims regarding Barack Obama, politely stating that he was not a Muslim. This promptly endeared me to the 25 other people on the email list who just want their prejudices reinforced and to see lots of porn and funnies when they open their email every day.

Barack Obama is not going to win many police votes in Illinois anyway, based on his sponsorship of some racial profiling legislation years ago. But I've been amazed at the number of people, educated, decent, good people with whom I'd trust my life, who believe that:

• Barack Obama is Muslim (and probably a radical one at that)
• Barack Obama wants to be sworn in, or was sworn in, on a Koran and not a Bible
• Barack Obama refuses to say the pledge of allegiance
• Barack Obama refuses to place his hand over his heart during the national anthem (this one is the result of an unfortunate photo from the Iowa campaign, where he's the only one on stage without his hand over his heart)

What is up with this?

What's up is that they've all been soaked in a steady stream of Fox News, talk radio and forwarded emails.

Forwarded emails? Yes. The forwarded email is probably the most brilliant sleazy political tool ever invented. If someone's political frame of reference has already been skewed rightward by his intake of corporate media he becomes that much more open to forwarded angry emails, especially ones coming from people he trusts. The collected emails, absorbed against a steady background hum of corporate media, forms a body of common knowledge, stuff that "everyone knows" even if it is, ultimately, false.

Think about it. I'm sure you all have someone who persists in sending you chain emails and FOAF stories no matter how many times you whip out your dog-eared copy of The Vanishing Hitchhiker or send them links to Snopes.com.

I recently heard of this website, and you gots to go check it out immediately:

My Right-Wing Dad

It's a blog started by a fellow who was overwhelmed by the volume and intensity of the forwarded emails he got from the eponymous dad. Seriously, check it out. It's an excellent companion to the always useful Urban Legends Reference Pages (Snopes.com).

_____________________

My friend Bawb the Revelator taught me an interesting history lesson about a cheerful conman sleaze named Roger Stone. Roger Stone is a freelance political operative, the youngest of Nixon's dirty-tricksters. He's actually got a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back. He would love the frugal efficiency of these easy-to-produce forwarded emails. Most recently Roger Stone has set up an anti-Hilary Clinton 527 called "Citizens United, Not Timid." Basically the 527 exists to market and distribute merchandise that puts Clinton's name right next to the "C" word.

_____________________

So, where was I going with all this? Fuck if I know. I had a point when I started, and I was going to tie this all together somehow, but my poor attention span and editing skills caught up with me once again.

GOP Primary News

This news just in from the world of presidential politics:

It looks like having a great set of jowls

and a big-breasted trophy wife


just isn't enough to win the Republican nomination this season:

Fred Thompson Drops Out of the Presidential Race

This now leaves vegan gnome Dennis Kucinich alone in the low-polling candidate with an inexplicably hot wife category.

John Edwards? Is he running for president too?

A new video from the John Edwards campaign:



How does John Edwards, now running statistically even with Obama and Clinton in Nevada, get only a tiny fraction of the news coverage that those campaigns get? Why does Mike Huckabee, a third place finisher in New Hampshire (like Edwards) get so much more coverage than Edwards? Here's an interesting analysis of media coverage during the week January 6-11. It's from the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The mainstream media clearly decides on a narrative early on, and then crafts its coverage to fit that narrative. It is a disgusting spectacle.

OK, it just hit me

So I'm sitting there with MizBubs, watching the Republican debates, drinking a little bourbon to take the edge off. And something's bugging me.

I keep looking at Mitt Romney, and something is just...bothering me, I don't know, and I can't figure out what it is. I mean, beyond all the obvious things. Like his pandering, and all the positions he's changed since deciding to run for president, and the inability to look at him speaking without wondering if he's wearing his celestial underwear.

Then it hit me.

Mitt Romney bears a striking resemblance to Bad Ash:

Well, ok, so Ash looks a little more unhinged than the Republican candidate in this particular photo, but hopefully you get the idea.