According to some reports, an unruly 8-year-old was arrested and put in big-boy jail in New Mexico after hitting a classmate with a basketball and refusing to go back to class. Is this what it's come to? Are adults so afraid to deal with children these days that they call even higher authorities? I think it's time we got back to corporal punishment and real education in our public schools. If these kids don't want to follow the rules while they're there, make them. Any approach that's fine by Donald Rumsfeld is fine with me!

I just upgraded to Windows XP SP2 via Windows Update. The new Windows Security Center and Internet Explorer Popup Blocker are great! But, fair warning: it is hard drive intensive! If you're updating a laptop or old PC with a hard drive spinning at 4200 or 5400 RPM, expect the installation to take about an hour of your time. It took my 4200 RPM drive with 512 MB DDR and a 2.4 GHz Pentium IV almost 80 minutes from start to finish.

Luckily, I had a rerun of the MTV Video Music Awards to keep me company while I waited. Congrats to Maroon5 (Best New Artist in a Video) and Linkin Park (Viewer's Choice!) and all the other winners that aren't as good. Plus, the Kerry sisters were booed when they tried to tell America to vote for their father! What could be better? (The show at the end with Outkast advocating everyone to vote for whoever they support was great! But anyone telling me specifically who to vote for is not welcome!)

Between my silence and her sighs the truth is bound to come out in some carelessly inexpressive way, if it hasn't already. It seems neither of us want outside attention to it, which probably explains our crypticness.

So Keesha and I broke up. Maybe temporarily. Maybe not. Unexpected, but we both knew it was it coming. Saddening, and yet we're both optimistic. Illogical, but always a rhyme to the reason.

A loving relationship between twentysomethings is always something of a paradox, because even when everything seems normal, when your mind or your heart is convinced it's on the right path to happiness, if only one of them disagrees, it's going to break down.

This is where the age-old epistemelogical mind-body problem is most fascinating: what comes first, the heart or the mind? thoughts or emotions? Where does the soul truly lie, in what you think or what you feel? And, really, what is the difference? Is there a difference?

I would say the difference is only what you make it. Your thoughts are only your rationalizations of your feelings. The better you understand how you feel, the better you can rationalize it, the better you can feel it.

I'm not sure how I'll feel tomorrow or the next day or next week or next month, but right now I feel... a bittersweet contentment: understanding and optimistic: yet skeptical, cautious, and contemplative.

p.s. -- Since I posted this to my LiveJournal first, you can wish your well wishes here. If you don't have any well wishes, don't throw your penny in the well.

p.p.s. -- If reading this on my web site is the first you've heard about it, don't be offended. I haven't talked to anyone about it. You weren't specially excluded or anything; it's just not something I feel like talking about.

I like baseball. I like politics. But just as I like ketchup and I like peaches, some things should never mix. And after reading the beginning of this article, Frederic Frommer is no longer on my good list!

Democrats more nearly mirror the Boston Red Sox and Republicans the dark blue-pinstriped New York Yankees... New York is an overwhelmingly Democratic city, but the Yankees have historically reflected New York's richer, Republican residents. This dates back to an era when three baseball franchises played in the city, and the Brooklyn Dodgers were the workingman's team.

I'd like to see Frommer's explanation of how the Red Sox fans, who are so entrenched with the Democratic Party, found the compunction to boo John Kerry when he throughout the first pitch at Fenway Park a few months ago.

At times like these, I find it necessary to point out that our founding fathers never intended this country to be simply a "democracy", but specifically a "republic".

For the first time in several weeks, Bush is clearly favored over Kerry according to the RealClearPolitics poll averages. Of the five major polls currently affecting the average, only the Fox News poll favors Kerry -- so much for right-wing bias! Time, CNN/USA Today/Gallup, NBCNews/Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times polls all favor Bush by at least two percentage points. And the Republican National Convention hasn't even started yet! It's beginning to look like the beginning of the end for the Democratic Party's hopes for assuming the presidency in 2005.

Last week, I saw Garden State and Exorcist: The Beginning. Last night, I saw Collateral and Hero.

I've never enjoyed the horror flicks that gush blood, kill, and scare just for the fun of it; there has to be a solid idea behind the movie that makes it more than juts a cheap thrill. Since I had never seen any of the Exorcist movies, I think The Beginning accomplished that: a solid religious basis for the chills and thrills made the movie much better than, say, Jason Goes to Hell.

Meanwhile, Garden State may be the best sleeper movie of the summer. I would place this movie in the film genre that corresponds to "indie rock" music; it reaches out to the intellectual 20-somethings with more than just the story on the surface (and Natalie Portman is great in anything). Zach Braff stars and directs and, in my opinion, has delivered the best film of the summer. (I may have been more entertained by action flicks like Spider-Man 2 and The Bourne Supremacy, but Garden State is clearly a better film.)

Collateral and Hero are very different movies, but both very good in their own ways. I guess Collateral qualifies as a standard American summer action movie, although it would probably rank more highly than most on a scale for action movies, and Jamie Foxx and Jada Pinkett Smith helped to prevent the Tom Cruise effect from controlling the movie.

Hero, however, was strictly a better film, very similar in style to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with a Rashomon-like series of flashbacks unfolding the plot. Visually, emotionally, and physically intense, Hero was so well done that I didn't even feel like I was reading subtitles.

Next on my list: Suspect Zero, Napoleon Dynamite, and Paparazzi!

Other than a teasing 20 minutes of judo coverage, I haven't really watched much of the Olympics. I never do. If they had been just two weeks earlier, I wouldn't have been in school and I probably would have sat around watching and cheering on athletes from around the world. But the only events I really care about anyway are the ones I consider to be the traditional, individual events -- anything where the competition is between/among individuals (not teams) and the event isn't a creation of the last couple of decades.

My brother pole vaults, or at least he did in high school. From what I understand, he's quite good at it. I've never actually witnessed it. Someone (maybe him?) once told me it's 95% mental, because placing the pole and timing your movements for the greatest leverage is the actual hard part. Holding on for the ride is easy once you've got the technique.

Jim was also the first one in the family to try a back flip on a trampoline and join the Marine Corps.

Glenn Reynolds writes:

Kerry said he was in Cambodia on Christmas, 1968. It has turned out, as even his campaign has admitted, not to be true.

This tells us something that we already kind of knew, that Kerry was way too willing to exaggerate his military experience for political ends. That's not a cardinal sin, perhaps, but as Mickey Kaus pointed out yesterday, it's a bigger deal when the guy gives you so little else to work with.

Alice Cooper! No, really! But he's pissed at other musicians and artists for joining the bandwagon against Bush for the same reason that he opposes taking the president's side:

(Thanks for the link, Ricky.)

This is absolutely sickening, and it's why I refuse to vote for most Democrats.

For weeks on end, and especially the last week before the end of July, there was a noticeably fervent buzz around the news media about the prospect of John Kerry's and John Edwards' big moments at the DNC. Everyone seemed so excited about who's going to be talking in Boston, what it means for Kerry, and what it means for America. But, maybe I'm reading the wrong news or watching the wrong television, but I haven't heard a thing on the RNC or the great things to expect in New York this next week.

What's the matter, Beltway? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe it's little things like the quiet before the presidential election storm that point the our bias detectors in whichever director they need to be pointing. If this lulled coverage continues through next week, there will be no question about which way the mass media holds its bias... yet there will still be millions who refuse to accept it.

UPDATE 10:23 -- Apparently, I've just been reading the wrong headlines or watching the wrong channels, because as soon as I turned on the TV to add a little background noise to my breakfast, I saw a commercial about the upcoming RNC in New York. Still, the attention is drastically less fervent than it was for the DNC one month ago. But I suppose it could be because we already know mostly what to expect from Bush. (...Or do we?)

70-53 (1st place, 7.5 games ahead of Florida -- Magic Number: 33!)

It's been a while since I posted my usual "Hits and Misses" updates. With the server problems at MVN over the last two weeks it has been difficult to post. Updates should be more regular now that everything is up on a new server! Some critical happenings:

1. The Braves peaked at #3 and are currently ranked #4 at ESPN's Power Alley, with the fifth-best record in baseball at 70-53 (pace: 92 wins). Did anyone else think the Braves were going to win 92 games at the beginning of this year, or was that just me

2. Chipper Jones hit his 300th career home run for his 999th RBI on August 16, and picking up his 1000th RBI the following night. Through August 22, he is batting 347/407/708 in August with 8 home runs and 20 RBI -- one more hit will raise his average above .249 for the season! If he stays this hot through the end of September, he still has an outside shot at keeping his string of 100+ RBI seasons intact.

3. JD Drew hit his 28th home run of the season to set a new career high Saturday afternoon, August 21. After a brief west-coast slump, he pulled his average back above .300 the following night.

Much more has happened in the last few weeks, but much more will also happen in the next six weeks as the season winds down and the Braves come closer to their 13th consecutive division title! Also, if the Braves maintain their second-half pace, they should finish with 94 wins -- which would give Bobby Cox 2000 for his managerial career!

(This article also appears at Tomahawk. Comment here!)

I describe myself politically as fiercely independent -- nonpartisan and nonneutral. Some people have a problem with this, insisting that nonpartisanship by definition is a neutral position. Well, um, no... it isn't.

Nonpartisanship, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "based on, influenced by, affiliated with, or supporting the interests or policies of no single political party". That is, if you are nonpartisan, then your opinions or values are not affiliated or aligned with a party. Note that the root of the word partisan is party and has nothing to do with being neutral. Also note that opinions and values, by their very nature, are not neutral.

Neutrality, on the other hand, is hinged more specifically on nonparticipation in a conflict, whether the conflict be so subtle as the decision of where to eat or whether to go to war (and on which side). To be nonpartisan simply means not falling in line with any group that reduces the fine art of politicking to the lowest common denominator of groupthink. This in no way suppresses or destroys one's opinion; rather, to be nonpartisan often makes one's opinion stronger, as it is more likely your own rather than simply an echo of some party's talking points.

I figure there have been "Bushism" web sites and books written since 2000, but John Kerry has only had the spotlight for almost a year now. Let's help him catch up! Here are a few things -- four, actually -- that he's said in the last three years (feel free to suggest the inclusion of others):

The Art of Trolling includes a definition of what constitutes "trolling". Specifically, trolling requires ignorant or derisive speech that generates a significant negative response from the group. You're not a troll if you do it by accident once or twice, but you are if you make a habit of it (whether intentionally or not). You're not a troll if only one member of the group is annoyed by your posts and you continue to have amicable conversations with others within the group.

I only bring this up because it seems to be a popular technique of many experienced users to toy with newcomers by accusing them of being ignorant or derisive, when the original intent of the accused obviously had nothing to do with it. So if you who find yourself exploring internet communities and you encounter someone like this, don't dignify them with a response, or they may trap you into looking like what you never were in the first place. (This is unfortunate, because then even when someone like me, a long-time and well-respected member of the group, tries to point out that it was all a miscommunication triggered by the baiting of someone else, it no longer matters, because your reputation is already damaged.)

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: The official web site launches now, "featuring the debut of the very first San Andreas trailer" (only 107 megabytes for the super-hi-quality one)!

Staff writers Matthew C. Quinn and Moni Basu of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution (free registration required) report on the latest Strategic Vision poll in Georgia, which concludes that George W. Bush and Johnny Isakson are likely to win the races for President and Senator, respectively, within Georgia's borders this November. The most recent poll (results released August 18) was conducted by telephone interview of 801 registered Georgia voters over four days (95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3%).

In that poll, the first poll conducted by Strategic Vision in Georgia since the state's general primary election was completely settled, 51% said they would vote for Isakson, while only 37% said they would vote for his Democrat rival Denise Majette. Only 1% declared votes for Libertarian Allen Buckley, and another 11% were undecided.

On the presidential side, 54% declared support for Bush/Cheney, while only 40% supported Kerry/Edwards, and 6% undecided -- or 54% to Bush, 38% to Kerry, and 1% to Nader/Cornejo in a three-way race with 7% undecided. Bush's numbers in the Strategic Vision poll in Georgia have steadily improved of late, rising from 51% on July 13 and 52% on August 4.

The numbers have remained virtually the same for who would make a better president among the vice presidential candidates; 48% believe Dick Cheney would be the better president while 39% believe Edwards would be the better president, and 13% remain undecided. The results are statistically the same as they were two weeks ago.

Other results of this poll:
56% approve, 26% disapprove of the job Bush is doing.
52% approve, 36% disapprove of his handling of the economy.
54% approve, 37% disapprove of his handling the war in Iraq.
53% approve, 37% approve of the country's direction.

36% favorable, 30% unfavorable opinion of John Kerry.
42% favorable, 30% unfavorable opinion of John Edwards.
48% favorable, 31% unfavorable opinion of Dick Cheney.

For those interested in other states, Strategic Vision breaks down results of polls in other states by battleground states and by individual states. Currently only 11 of 50 states are featured.

(This article also appears at the Political State Report. Comment Here!)

Oops! Matt accidentally let his domain registration expire, so neotope.com was down for a couple of days. (He wondered why his emailbox seemed so empty.) I let him know about it about 36 hours after I noticed the problem, to which he replied, "always let me know when the site as down ASAP!", or something to that effect. I certainly would have notified him sooner, but I was busy recustomizing the settings on my laptop after a reformat.

Why did I reformat by laptop? Read about it at my LiveJournal (in the "I've never been so mad" story).

FYI, neotope.com is only a pointer. The web server is actually controlled by PHP Web Hosting, so the actual web address for this web site is http://sprout.phpwebhosting.com/~neotope/crash. When/if this site goes down again, you should be able to reach it at that address. In fact, setting your favorites/bookmarks directly to that site instead of crash.neotope.com won't hurt anything for the one, two, or three of you obsessed enough to consider this site a must-read. (This would have been more useful if you knew about it before the domain went down, but it's still useful.)

I'm Sleepy, and look at me go!

After Tony left last night I settled in and finished burning backup CDs and settled in with the format and super-reinstallation process. I was reminded once again that getting Windows XP up and running is a snap (well, a 30-minute-long snap), it's just installing other applications and updating Windows with the various updates in the correct order to prevent silly conflicts that's tedious. A rule of thumb about that: when starting over with a fresh OS install, grab the updates at the bottom of the Windows Update catalog first!

Conveniently, sort of, I finished with what I consider all the vital operations around 8:00 this morning, so after some breakfast I made the requisite phone calls to have myself put into that introductory computer science class I was talking about. Mrs. Eanes agreed with me -- Calculus II is indeed superior to College Algebra, and the registration system is stupid for assuming otherwise.

Shortly thereafter my body realized that everything had lost any sense of urgency, the adrenaline stopped flowing, and I crashed hard just before 10. I was awakened by the doorbell (followed by Rascal's go-crazy-when-the-doorbell-rings bark fest), and I had to get up and sign something. I then slept until about 1:30, which is what I've been doing lately anyway. With so little sleep last night, I'm hoping that I might actually get my sleep schedule back on track tonight.

Upon my awakening, I decided I wasn't finished reorganizing my computer stuff. So I pulled out the hundreds of CDs I had burned through the years and organized them into "current", "old but worth keeping", and "trash" stacks. I now have a 100-CD spindle full of trash discs and about 30 fresh slim jewel cases. I also have another 100-CD spindle about 2/3 full of keeper discs. I'm trying to figure out how I ended up with so few jewel cases, but that's still 30 cases I don't have to buy!

This long and unusually factual update has been brought to you by new Skittles Bubble Gum!

It's been a rough week, and while taking matters into my own hands solves some of the problems, it doesn't reduce the stress any.

Needless to say, I'm pissed at MSC. As student government vice president and opinion editor of the school newspaper, the students will know about it.

That is all, for now.

Wired magazine is ahead of the Times, as the Times still capitalizes the "I" in "internet", whereas -- beginning yesterday -- Wired doesn't. In case you haven't noticed, I stopped capitalizing the "I" in internet months ago, if I ever capitalized it at all. I think I did it because I never saw the word "internet" as a proper noun, but merely a label for something people use. Tony Long, Wired's copy chief, explains it much better than I could:

[T]he decision wasn't made lightly. Style changes are rarely capricious, since change plays havoc with the editor's sacred cow, consistency.

But in the case of internet, web and net, a change in our house style was necessary to put into perspective what the internet is: another medium for delivering and receiving information. That it transformed human communication is beyond dispute. But no more so than moveable type did in its day. Or the radio. Or television.

This should not be interpreted as some kind of symbolic demotion. Think of it more as a stylistic reality check.

Before you ask yourself why I care about such a story, recall that I am the "copy chief" of my school's newspaper, which if you think about it should indicate a deep-rooted concern for American English usage and style.

25-year-old Omar Garcia Escobedo had left Mexico for the United States a few weeks ago hoping to secure working rights in America. Upon reaching the border, he was robbed. A few days later, a man carrying his identification was found drowned in the Rio Grande, and after identifying him, Escobedo's mother and family were stuck paying the $2500 tab for his funeral. Two days later, Omar called home to let his mother know he was alive and well, and that he had been robbed and could not afford a phone call until then. After some confusion, the Escobedos are hoping the government will grant him a work visa and not deport him, not to mention picking up the tab for the funeral of whoever was carrying Escobedo's identification.

UGA political science professor Charles Bullock says retaking the state senate is a quest unlikely to be fulfilled by Georgia Democrats this November. According to Andy Peters of the Macon Telegraph (link via Erick Erickson, another Polstate contributor):

[Democrats will] have to sweep all nine Senate races that appear to be toss-ups, plus upset three more Republicans where the GOP appears to have an edge, as well as win two more close races where Democrats appear strongest, according to a Telegraph analysis.

If the Democrats sweep all 14 of those races, that would give them a 29-27 majority in the Senate. A slip in one of these close races would result in a 28-28 tie.

Bullock adds, "If I were a Democratic strategist, I'd concentrate on trying to hold on to the majority in the House," suggesting that attempts to secure the Senate for the Democratic Party are likely to be futile.

Peters writes that Democrats hope to rely on rural conservatives in Georgia who in the past have voted Republican in national elections but Democrat in local elections, which is how Georgia gave Bush its 13 electoral votes in 2000 but still elected a majority of Democrats to both houses of the state legislature in 2002. But while Democrats still carried a majority of state legislative elections, Georgia voters have been voting more and more for Republicans for years, and Republicans are hoping this is the year they score their first electoral victory in the General Assembly since Reconstruction.

Peters' article goes on to examine the Telegraph's analysis of the Senate races, including closer looks at some close races and an explanation of the Telegraph's methodology.

The polls are nearly unanimous: either Bush and Kerry are roughly tied at about 45-48% on any given day, so one of them will be elected president November 2. But something the polls don't tell you is who everyone's second choice would be? (It doesn't really matter since we can't prioritize our choices to ensure that the most people are pleased with the result, but what if we could?) According to a July poll by Scott Rasmussen, Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik is the second choice for 43% of Americans; Kerry for only 9%; Bush for 7% (3% margin of error).

Badnarik is not surprised. "The American electorate is extremely polarized this year," he says. "And the Libertarian Party arguably constitutes the new center of the debate. The Democrats and Republicans stand at two extremes, characterized by which parts of our lives they emphasize their desire to control. Libertarians reject both extremes in favor of the government leaving control of your life to you."

Of course the race is for second place would have to be among third party candidates, because the Democrat-Republican polarization in America means that the nearly 50% voting for either party is likely to put the other party far behind all other options. My guess is that Ralph Nader was second in the second-place vote with close to 30%, with David Cobb (Green) a distant third, but ahead of Kerry and Bush. Too bad I can't verify this by taking a look at the Rasumussen Report.

Governor Jim McGreevey (D-NJ) admitted an extramarital, homosexual affair last week and accordingly tendered his resignation ... effective November 15, 2004. Courageous? Maybe. But not according to Larry Sabato, who says the move is much more clever than courageous. By delaying his resignation until after the presidential election, New Jersey Democrats avoid mixing a gubernatorial special election with the nine states who will be voting in unison to ban gay marriage within their borders.

Could Republicans take New Jersey's governorship if it were on the ballot this November 2? I'd say probably not, but McGreevey's clever move means that whoever is picked as his replacement isn't subject to being replaced until November 2005. If nothing else, it only ensures that New Jersey voters will most likely continue to support the same type of shenanigans the McGreevey administration has exhibited since its inauguration.

Brenda Brathwaite is the lead designer for Playboy: The Mansion, an upcoming game for the PC and PlayStation 2 and Xbox game consoles. Gameplay will be similar to The Sims with more of a business tycoon twist. Just so the boys know, the game will feature boobies, but no full frontal nudity. Below is the conclusion of IGN's interview with Brenda, in which she clarifies what Hugh Hefner means to her.

James Salzer writes for the AJC that Republicans could very well complete their takeover of politics in Georgia. In November, Georgia voters may elect a Republican majority to the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction, Georgia may have two Republican Senators for the first time in its history, and a conservative Christian definition of marriage may be written into the state's constitution.

"Or," Salzer writes, "the state could elect its first African-American and first woman to the US Senate, and Democrats could retain the House and complete a legislative comeback by retaking the state Senate."

[rant]

Pundits and commentators can (and will) speculate, interpret, and opine at their collective whim about the various candidates and how their service, if elected, will affect their constituents. But regardless of what the voters think of any candidates, each one is a person with the ability to make decisions when new situations arise, and voters will have the opportunity to express their approval or disapproval of a politician's decisions at the next election.

But a constitutional amendment is virtually final and non-negotiable, and one that challenges individuals' rights to make a single decision about their own lives that does not affect the lives of others is -- to say the least -- controversial.

Consider all the unpopular things you like to do, especially those that may involve lifestyle choices and do not affect others. For instance, imagine your favorite beverage or music artist or movie being outlawed. Imagine anything you like to do that someone else might not like, and imagine the voters of Georgia declaring it unlawful to do it. How would you feel? Like your rights are being trampled?

Consider also that the purpose of the Constitution on which all others in America are based is to list the essential rights of citizens and functions of government. State constitutions, however, have become notoriously statutorial, expanding to novel-length in some states and constricting rather than protecting the freedoms of their residents. It is not as bad in Georgia as in some other states, but that doesn't mean we need to play catch-up.

Besides, state law already prohibits same-sex marriages in Georgia, so what's the point? This amendment is an insult to those who celebrate civil liberty, and at its foundation it violates the American principle of disestablishment (separation of church and state). Opponents of the amendment have even filed lawsuits to challenge the amendment's language.

[/rant]

The language is very similar to the current state law, passed in 1996, which may be read on Georgia's page on the Heritage Foundation web site. That is, the proposed constitutional amendment will simply reinforce what is already state law, therefore it is not necessary.

The amendment originated under Senate Resolution 595 and looks like this:

Recognition of marriage.

(a) This state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman. Marriages between persons of the same sex are prohibited in this state.

(b) No union between persons of the same sex shall be recognized by this state as entitled to the benefits of marriage. This state shall not give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state or jurisdiction respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other state or jurisdiction. The courts of this state shall have no jurisdiction to grant a divorce or separate maintenance with respect to any such relationship or otherwise to consider or rule on any of the parties' respective rights arising as a result of or in connection with such relationship.

On the ballots, the amendment proposal will appear as the following question, for which voters will either abstain or vote yes or no:

Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that this state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman?

Well, Georgia, it's up to you. But remember to ask yourself whether constricting Georgia residents' rights by simply copying the effects of an already-enacted state law into the state constitution is worth the potential ramifications on our rights in the future. If it's an acceptable tradeoff for you, vote yes!

(This article also appears at the Political State Report.)

A report in the journal Public Health blames the huge rise in brain diseases in the last 20 years on rises in the levels of various pollutants. My thoughts: Sure, there may be a strong statistical correlation between the rising number of deaths related to those brain diseases and the rising levels of those pollutants in the areas studied, but I suspect a lurking variable. In other words, without doing any research on my own and without any shred of viable evidence, I am challenging this report's conclusion. Actually, I am suggesting that the two rising statistics are almost entirely unrelated and just happen to be rising at correlating rates (I wonder if the rising number of people on the planet have anything to do with it).

But let me think for a moment. Brain diseases? Hmm. Radiation? Hmm. Wireless technology? Hmm. Cordless and cellular phones? Microwave ovens? Television and radio broadcasts? Hmm.

It seems to me that our thin skulls can't block photons like lead plates can, and the 21st century human tendency to hold so many electromagnetic devices so close to our heads might have just a small impact on the rise in brain conditions that may or may not be a result of this. Just a thought.

Braves 9 Cardinals 7 (66-49, 8 game lead -- magic number: 39!)

Since I last posted about the Braves, they have gone 8-2 (including today's win over the Cardinals), improving their lead in the NL East from 4.5 games to 8 games over the Phillies! It's too early to be satisfied with 47 games left to play, but it's beginning to look like the Braves are a shoo-in to win their 13th consecutive division title, their 10th straight in the NL East.

What I Did in Wisconsin/Minnesota

During my week in Hudson, Wisconsin, which sits on eastern side of the St. Croix River (on the western side of which is Minnesota), I did very little of anything productive, but I did make my first trip to the Metrodome to see the Athletics play the Twins on August 8. I had no idea I'd get two games for the price of one that day, but the Twins and A's forced 18 innings, eventually settling it in the 18th inning when the A's outscored the Twins 3-2, ending the game 6-5. (I also missed two batting practice home runs by less than a foot each... one more step was all I needed!)

Keesha's family and I also visited the Mall of America, the Como Park Zoo, Stillwater, the Bass Lake Cheese Factory, and a couple other spots near the Wisconsin/Minnesota border. I think I earned a good vacation over the past couple of years, and that's what we made it. It was exactly what I needed, and now I'm back in action and ready to roll!

What the Braves Did While I Was Gone

In 10 games, the Braves scored 58 runs and batted .299 (106-for-354) with a .365 on-base percentage (34 walks) and a .497 slugging percentage (16 doubles and 18 homers) while holding the opposition to a .249 batting average and only 36 runs. The pitching staff improved its league-leading ERA to 3.64, led by Jaret Wright, Russ Ortiz, Mike Hampton (respectively riding nine, seven, and six-game winning streaks), and John Smoltz.

On the hitting side of things, Rafael Furcal has raised his average to .283 and Chipper Jones is up to .241, and Andruw Jones continues to enjoy hitting the ball hard to right field. After today's game, nine of the Braves 13 position players are batting better than .290 since the All-Star break, with Eddie Perez over .280 in just over 30 at-bats, Marcus Giles around .270, Nick Green at .260, and Adam LaRoche around .250 -- very solid!

The Braves have also played solid defense in my absence, with only six errors in the last ten games (and I saw two today, so they weren't really in my absence). Pitching always looks better on paper with good defense behind it on the field, so if the Braves can keep making the most of their turns in the field as well as at the plate, we'll be seeing them in October for the 13th time in 14 years!

Maybe number 13 will be unlucky for the rest of the league and the Braves can squeeze in their second World Series championship...

A few unexpected things have occurred as a result of my week's vacation, and in no particular order (despite the numbering), they are listed below:

1. It took less than 15 minutes to get from the street to the departure gate at each airport.
2. It took less than 15 minutes to get from the plane to the car at each airport.
3. The return flight to Atlanta arrived 20 minutes early.
4. Despite tropical storms dominating the South, we encountered no rain in Atlanta upon our arrival.
5. I have consumed more coffee in one week in Wisconsin than I had in an entire year in Georgia.
6. Spending seven days away from my computer -- not counting 15 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday nights -- has severely crippled my typing skillz. Okay, really I'm just used to someone else's keyboard and now I'm having fits with mine.
7. The Minnesota Twins game I went to was an 18-inning game, the longest I've ever been to.
8. The Twins scored two runs in the bottom of the 18th and had more runners on base when the game ended. Too bad the A's had scored three in the top of the inning. They almost tied it and forced the game to go further!
9. I didn't so a bit of school- or job-related work while on vacation. I'm so happy!
10. I couldn't think of a tenth item. How unexpected.

Okay, so some expected things happened too. I updated my web site while on vacation, but I knew I would because of the election, so I barely count that. But the weird story that followed isn't covered by that excuse. Also, I bought books at different bookstores in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and I purchased Kill Bill 2 and the new Alter Bridge album as soon as I got back to Macon. No surprises there.

I hope no one missed me. Judging by the lack of phone calls and emails, either no one did, or I did a really good job of letting everyone know not to bother this week. (I'm guessing more the former than the latter.)

I meant to include a link to the local results in Bibb County last night, but I didn't get to it. It's only important for the Fountain-versus-Randall race, since the results for the two federal primary runoffs were not confined by the borders of Bibb County. Click here to see Bibb County's runoff results.

(FYI, these links are mostly here for my convenience when I get back home. I hope you can make use of them too!)

Okay, so it doesn't open until August 17, but it's running in New York during the days of the Republican National Convention, and the words "kill the president" are in the title. Better still: no one knows who wrote it, who's performing, or where it will be. But the price is $15 and the instructions are clear, in an ambiguous sort of way.

Vacation recommencing now. Bye.

I may be on vacation, but since it's a good idea to confirm that your flight home is still scheduled for the same time you're working with, it's also not a bad idea to check any concurrent election results as well. And with roughly half of the state's ballots turned in and counted, it looks like a dead heat in most of the races that matter.

Click here for results on the official election web site.

Keesha and I will be flying home Thursday afternoon. We should be leaving Atlanta by about 5pm (if our baggage is delivered promptly) and back in Macon well before 7pm if all goes well. Till then...

Q: "Were they sent to Hell?"

A: "Worse. Wisconsin. For the entire span of human history."

That's where I'll be for the next week. Loki and Bartleby were banished to the worse-than-Hell on Earth for all of eternity for their insolence, and Keesha and I are visiting for our vacation. Should be interesting. Her family actually lives in Hudson, Wisconsin, and we'll probably spend a good bit of time a few miles across the border in Minneapolis and St. [Me].

So, um, this is a vacation, so don't expect any posts until next Thursday night. I might post something anyway, but don't expect it. Expectations are the origin of disappointment.

10-Day Weather Planner: Hudson, Wisconsin versus Macon, Georgia. Sweet.

That headline could be misleading, so don't take it to be an absolute. Reuters is reporting that several Finnish conscripts have been excused from serving their full military terms due to addiction to the internet -- which, by the way, I no longer spell with a capital "I" (most people don't consider it a title; it's a common word). I suppose this can be expected, though, since about 82% of all Finnish men "manage their whole military service", according to the article. I imagine we'd see much stranger excuses if military service were mandatory in America.

Astros 3 Braves 2 (58-47, 1st place, 4.5 games ahead of the Phillies)

Hits: Andruw Jones smacked two hits of the Rocket to raise his average to .265, and the Braves were 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts on the night, including Chipper Jones' first steal in his first attempt of the year. Giles also stole his 11th in only his 50th game of the year; he'd be on a pace for about 35 if he had not been injured. Ortiz pitched very well, allowing seven hits, four walks, and two runs in seven innings to lower his ERA to 3.16, but the Rocket matched him by allowing only two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks to lower his ERA to 2.70, second in MLB. Giles and Johnny Estrada got the other two hits. There is good news, though: the Braves extended their errorless streak to four games!

Misses: There were lots of 0-for's on the night, as I expected against Roger Clemens -- the Braves offense has never performed well against serious power pitchers in my memory. Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson, Ben Sheets, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior? They all shut the Braves down with authority! The super-combo of Charles Thomas (in left field) and Eli Marrero (in right, giving Drew the night off, though he would later pinch run for Julio Franco and steal a base) were a combined 0-for-8 to lower their combined batting average to .338. The Braves were leading 1-0 from the second inning, but gave up one run in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to lose 3-2. After the Braves tied the game in the eighth, Chris Reitsma allowed three consecutive baserunners before a fielder's choice scored the winning run. To be fair, Mike Lamb's hard slide took out Marcus Giles or the Braves may have had a double play that would have at least forced the Astros to bat in the ninth.

Line of the Day: Braves offense: 36 PA, 30 AB, 4 H, 5 BB, 10 Km 2 R -- With offense like that, the Braves deserved to lose a lot worse than 3-2, so let's all be happy that Russ Ortiz kept his good-pitching streak alive! Next time he should allow only one run or less.

NL East: The Mets pounded the Brewers to come back to within eight games. As September approaches, the Mets need to gain ground fast or start making plans for next year. The Expos won the 9th of their last 11 games over the NL's best, the St. Louis Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Marlins lost to the NL's worst, the Arizona Diamondbacks, to remain six games back. The Phillies beat the current wild card leader, the Padres, to pick up a game on Atlanta and come back to within 4.5 games.

So I looked it up. There are several runoffs across the state (as I reported earlier), but since I voted in the Democratic primary and I'm in Bibb County, I can only vote in a maximum of three runoffs, the first three listed below. If you're voting in the Republican runoff in Bibb County, you only get two, the top and bottom listed below. I'll be voting tomorrow morning. Here's the list:

State Court of Appeals Judge (non-partisan, on both ballots)
Debra Bernes
Mike Sheffield
(see Atlanta Journal-Constitution article)

Democratic candidate for US Senate
Denise Majette
Cliff Oxford

Democratic candidate for Bibb County Commission chair
Bob Fountain
Lance Randall
(see Macon Telegraph article)

Republican candidate for US House, District 8
Dylan Glenn
Lynn Westmoreland

As far as I can tell, Bernes and Sheffield are nearly the same candidate, and I haven't heard much about who leans what way. The two candidates will be debating for nearly half an hour at the Atlanta Press Club this Friday, but the last time they debated (with four others in the primary race) they all seemed to agree. Similarly, I don't quite know what to think of Fountain and Randall. But in both cases, the linked newspaper articles highlight some key differences between the candidates in each race, and the other two races can easily be decided by comparing the information provided on the candidates' campaign web sites. So, um, I'll vote my way and let Georgia decide the rest.

I set a to-do list for myself Monday morning for things that need to be done by Wednesday evening because of this little trip Keesha and I are taking to Minnesota/Wisconsin for a week. Thus, the tasks are non-negotiable. The tasks, in no particular order except the last which must be last and the first whose time was scheduled, included:

Take final exam
Secure fall classes
Renew driver's license
Secure health insurance
Vote (early) in primary runoff
Confirm flight
Deliver car for a/c repair

If only I had remembered to vote while I was downtown today, I would have knocked out each of the middle five items a full thirty hours ahead of expectation. As it stands, I'm not all that concerned about voting in the runoff, because voting in the Democratic primary means I must vote in the Democratic runoff if I vote at all, and since neither Denise Majette nor Cliff Oxford can beat Johnny Isakson in November, which one wins this runoff does not concern me.

That said, I could be mildly interested in the runoff between Lance Randall and Bob Fountain for Bibb County Commission chair, since that person may affect whether my household pays city taxes next year. I believe consolidating Macon and Bibb County would be good for Macon, but since I don't live in Macon, I'm more concerned about the potential tax increase! The only other vote I could make would be for Debra Bernes or Mike Sheffield in the nonpartisan race to replace Frank Eldridge as a judge on Georgia's Court of Appeals. I'm not sure I know or care enough to vote, but considering there are only three races to consider, I'll probably look them over and pick reasonable candidates tomorrow. Maybe.

I just carefully analyzed the options for each question of the On the Issues Quiz, answered them appropriately, and (after logging in to save my results) compared my views to various political bigwigs. Not surprisingly, FYI, my closest matches are George W. Bush on economics and Hillary Clinton on personal issues. According to the web site, my scores mean:

[I believe in] tolerance for different people and lifestyles, personal responsibility for financial matters, and that free-market competition is better for people than central planning by the government.

I keep trying to tell people that I'm a libertarian-leaning centrist, and every online quiz I take continues to support it. In this one, I am in 40% agreement with both parties on both economic and personal issues, meaning I disagree with both and neither is better or worse than the other. And... that's what I've been saying all along.

Maybe sometime this season, they say. I'll want the special edition DVD that also includes the Al Gore, Al Sharpton, and John McCain episodes. Kthxbye.

Mom asked the other day what Ted Turner is up to. A quick Google News query didn't turn up much, so I told her he wasn't doing much except owning World Championship Wrestling and being nice to India, or something. But lo and behold, he has been busy: Ted has written a lengthy article for the July/August issue Washington Monthly in which he explains "how government protects big media -- and shuts out upstarts like [him]." The gist is that it took some soul-searching for the Ted to come to this conclusion:

The role of the government ought to be like the role of a referee in boxing, keeping the big guys from killing the little guys. If the little guy gets knocked down, the referee should send the big guy to his corner, count the little guy out, and then help him back up. But today the government has cast down its duty, and media competition is less like boxing and more like professional wrestling: The wrestler and the referee are both kicking the guy on the canvas.

At this late stage, media companies have grown so large and powerful, and their dominance has become so detrimental to the survival of small, emerging companies, that there remains only one alternative: bust up the big conglomerates.

The article is about half autobiography and half pseudo-shakedown, and worth reading if you're a political junkie like me.

First Herman Cain (a feature article about him appears today at Town Hall) and now Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert are pushing for the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service. Cain's full statement can be read here; Hastert's can be read in his book, Speaker: Lessons from Forty Years of Coaching and Politics. It doesn't matter where you can read it, because according to the news today, the Republican Party is actually planning on doing it! They've been promoting the idea of a Fair Tax to replace the current tax system for years, and finally they seem to have polished the idea well enough that it's ready to be unleashed to the public.

Why now? You'd be stupid to ask that question. This obviously has everything to do with Election 2004, especially given this line: "Republicans plan to push for the elimination of the Internal Revenue Service during a Bush second term." Those who support the Fair Tax insist that it will solve many of the current economic problems that appear to be hanging over our heads, most notably the futures of Social Security and Medicare.

My opinion on tax reform is this: Do not tax productivity; tax consumption. Taxing productivity (including income) only inhibits the fluidity of the economy because it reduces the amount of liquid assets we hold. Taxing consumption instead allows us more freedom to decide how to spend a greater amount of money. Since taxes on luxury items would increase while taxes on necessary goods would remain consistent, everyone would be guaranteed a better living due to an improved ability to sustain healthy living.

Further, I believe taxes are meant to pay for government service, and since our right to seek work for income is not a government-protected right but a government-guaranteed right, the government has no right to tax our income, and we should have the authority to determine not only how we are taxed, but how are tax revenues are appropriated. Of course, Americans are so vastly under-educated on how their own government operates, that handing such awesome power over to them would be disastrous. I think the under-education is intentional.

Voter turnout in Georgia is incredibly low, and has been for over forty years: "in every presidential election but one since 1960, Georgia ranked 49th or 50th in turnout of eligible voters among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The exception was in 1964, when Georgia ... ranked 46th." Several initiatives and other changes are being implemented that many hope will alleviate the problem.

One that I reported in a story last night is early voting, which allows registered voters to cast their ballots during the week (Monday through Friday) prior to the election. Over 76,000 early ballots were cast for the July 20 primary, and a significantly lower number is expected this week for the August 10 primary runoff, but it's a good idea nonetheless. (I will be casting an early ballot tomorrow since I will be out of state next week!)

Another problem is voter education, or the considerable lackthereof in recent years. Sam Griffin Jr of The Post-Searchlight of Bainbridge, Ga., writes:

Because of [Georgia's] history of one-party rule, Georgians have relatively little experience with the full primary election process where both parties choose their champions to oppose the other party's champions.

The article is a specific complaint about voters' misunderstanding of the purpose of the party primary -- every two years people complain about not being allowed to vote for both Democrats and Republicans -- but that isn't my issue right now, it's just a good example of the inadequate electoral education of the average Georgia voter.

Helen Butler, state director of Voices for Working Families, partially blames Georgia schools: "Our schools are not putting an emphasis on the political process," she says. She also cites a "disillusionment with the political process," which I believe should be blamed not only on the media circus surrounding every electoral campaign, but also on the lack of competitive races that lull even avid political junkies to sleep.

In first article linked above, Secretary of State Cathy Cox says "you have to have competitive races" to lure voters to the ballots, and in Georgia (and elsewhere, for that matter), there simply aren't that many competitive races.

Consider this: of Georgia's 13 seats in Congress, only three (23%) are considered competitive for the November 2004 election, and six of them will not even feature a major-party challenge for the incumbent party.

Even better: of the 435 House seats up for re-election this fall, at least 405 of them are considered "safe" for either Democrats or Republicans, leaving less than 7% of our nation's legislative seats open for competition. How can this be a government for the people if 90% of our legislature's seats are already virtually guaranteed due to partisan gerrymandering? (I say 90% instead of 93% because there are certainly some districts that would remain consistently partisan regardless of efforts to curb it, such as the one district that covers all of Wyoming. It is an arbitrary number based on the fact that only 7% of the races will be competitive. Only 7%!)

The blame for this lack of electoral competition -- which happens everywhere, not only in Georgia -- can be forthrightly blamed on partisan redistricting efforts to guarantee partisan victory in specific districts and limit competition to only a select few districts, such that partisan interests may focus their efforts there. This allows political money to have an even greater impact on electoral outcomes than typically perceived, as the results of a few competitive races are much easier to influence than a significantly larger amount of contests.

A little more than a month ago, the US Supreme Court upheld state legislative districts drawn by federal judges this spring by an 8-1 vote. While the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Rhonda Cook calls it a partisan victory for Republicans since the decision throws out the districts drawn by Georgia's Democratic state legislature after the 2000 Census, the Macon Telegraph calls it a non-partisan victory for voters because the panel of federal judges worked to ensure that neither party's voters were spread across many districts while the other party's were crammed into fewer districts.

"This is a great day for Democracy in the state of Georgia. It is my hope that Georgia never returns to the partisan days in which politicians choose their constituents rather than the people choosing their representatives," said Governor Sonny Perdue upon delivering news of the Court's decision.

Me too, Sonny. And I also hope this is a step toward less legislative and more judicial district-drawing in the future, and a step toward drawing more and more competitive districts rather than the partisan safe-havens we are currently forced to endure.

(This article also appears at the Political State Report. View it and comment on it here.)

Howard Mead refuses to concede to Michael Sheffield for a spot in the August 10 runoff against Debra Bernes that will decide who replaces Frank Eldridge on the Georgia Court of Appeals. The election was so close -- only 348 votes separated Sheffield and Mead for the second-place spot -- that the Secretary of State's office immediately called for a recount, which widened Sheffield's lead over Mead to 365 votes.

But Mead filed suit for a statewide re-vote after his name was misprinted as "Thomas Mead" on at least 481 ballots in Cobb County, explaining that state law orders the statewide revote since the number of misprinted ballots exceeds the margin of Sheffield's margin of victory. Mead says the ideal time for the re-vote would be during the November 2 general election, which would set up a November 23 runoff if necessary.

Four other recounts around the state were more conclusive, reaffirming the election's original results in which Phyllis Miller won over Melvin Everson (GA House 106), Jerry Wyatt defeated Suzanne Lancaster (GA Senate 55), Scott Ballard defeated William McBroom (District Attorney of the Griffin circuit), and Robert Chasteen won over Chris Hughes (a superior court judgeship of the Cordele circuit).

Cast your ballot early! Georgia voters may cast early runoff ballots at county registration offices this Monday through Friday only (August 2-6), and unlike for absentee ballots, no reason needs to be provided.

Below are the anticipated runoffs to be settled on August 10:

Non-Partisan:
Appeals Court: Debra Bernes vs Mike Sheffield (or Nov. 2 re-vote?)

Democratic:
US Senate: Denise Majette vs Cliff Oxford
GA Senate 05: Curt Thompson vs Margie Bush
GA Senate 10: George Maddox vs Emanuel Jones
GA Senate 43: Steen Miles vs Mary Lee Davis
GA House 044: John Noel vs Sheila Jones
GA House 074: Roberta Abdul-Salaam vs George Jeburk
GA House 087: Michele Henson vs Gloria Gaines
GA House 151: Lawrence Roberts vs Freddie Sims

Republican:
US House 06: Tom Price vs Robert Lamutt
US House 08: Lynn Westmoreland vs Dylan Glenn
GA Senate 03: Jeff Chapman vs Shaw McVeigh
GA Senate 16: Bill Bonner vs Ronnie Chance
GA Senate 17: John Douglas vs Michael Waters
GA Senate 31: Mason Rountree vs Bill Heath
GA Senate 32: Mitchell Kaye vs Judson Hill
GA Senate 37: Lance Cooper vs John Wiles
GA Senate 40: Bart Ladd vs Dan Weber
GA Senate 50: Nancy Schaefer vs Chan Caudell
GA House 020: Gina Carr vs Charlice Byrd
GA House 022: Chuck Scheid vs Mary Elizabeth Wilhite
GA House 035: Ed Setzler vs Daryl Kidd
GA House 054: Edward Lindsey vs Jim King
GA House 068: Timothy Bearden vs George Pope
GA House 072: Dan Lakly vs Alison Chambers
GA House 095: Robert Mumford vs Terry Milton
GA House 098: Bobby Reese vs Michael Muntean

If you know of candidates' web sites that I have missed, please let me know!

(This article also appears at the Political State Report. View it and comment on it here.)

Libertarians think liberty is non-negotiable.
Socialists think equality is non-negotiable.
Communists think authority is non-negotiable.
Republicans think morality and security are non-negotiable.
Democrats think nothing is non-negotiable.

Braves 6 Mets 5 (58-46, 1st place, 5 games ahead of Phillies)

The Braves completed the sweep of the New York Mets and extended their winning streak to five games, the longest of the year for Atlanta. Neither team committed an error during the three-game series, despite being among MLB's most error-prone teams (and despite a couple of plays in this game that should have been called errors on the Mets).

Hits: Andruw Jones hit a two-run homer to right in the fifth that would would prove to be the game-winning shot later in the game; Andruw was 2-for-4 with four RBI and raised his average to .263. Chipper Jones was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, raising his average to .229. Eli Marrero also had three hits and an RBI to raise his average to .350, and Julio Franco was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI to raise his average to .281. Marcus Giles stole his tenth base of the season on a 1-for-4 day. Paul Byrd carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but quickly allowed four runs on four hits before being taken out with two outs in the sixth. John Smoltz struck out the side and allowed one hit to earn his 25th save.

Misses: Tom Glavine earned a tough loss after a couple of bad plays in the first and another later in the game resulted in Braves hits that led to all six of Glavine's six earned runs, raising his ERA to 2.88. Rafael Furcal was 0-for-5, including a botched sacrifice bunt attempt in which he wasted an out by trying to bunt for a hit, to lower his average to .268. Antonio Alfonseca allowed the Mets to get within one run in the seventh on a solo home run by Mike Cameron, followed by a walk and a wild pitch, but Tom Martin came in to quash the threat, and Chris Reitsma and John Smoltz shut down the Mets the rest of the way to seal the 6-5 win.

Line of the Day: Greg Maddux: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 R against Philadelphia -- Maddux earns a no-decision in his first attempt to earn his 300th win. His next start will be either Friday night or Saturday afternoon in San Francisco.

Quoted Line of the Day: Braves Journal: "I shouldn't say this, but... The Braves' magic number is 54. Hee."

NL East: If only Maddux had stayed in the game through the seventh inning, the Cubs' 6-3 lead might have been enough to secure his 300th win. Maybe next week! As it stands, the Phillies have fallen to 5.5 games behind the Braves in that game, the Marlins will probably fall to 6.5 games back if they don't come back and beat the Expos, and the Mets have already fallen to nine games back.

On the morning of July 1, the Braves were 37-40 and 3.5 games behind the Phillies. On the morning of August 1, the Braves were 57-46 and 4.5 games ahead of the Phillies. The Braves were 20-6 in July, posting incredible numbers from the plate and from the mound. To demonstrate how hot the Braves were in July 2004, here are selected pitching and hitting stats, split by month:

After turning up both the offense and the pitching, it's no wonder the Braves had such a great July. I'll let the numbers speak for themselves.