The rankings are a bit later than usual this week because Louisiana Tech and Rice didn't play until Monday night. Since their game was originally scheduled for Saturday, it still counted as part of Week 14's schedule.

Southern California's win would ordinarily be enough to secure their #1 spot for another week, but lots of teams on Auburn's schedule won by big margins, improving the Tigers' strength of schedule numbers just enough to sneak back into the #1 spot! (Don't look at me; I'm as surprised as you are that Auburn got it back!) Also, despite not having a single team in the top 32 (West Virginia is #33), the Big East will be represented in a BCS bowl, probably by Pittsburg (#39).

(Last week's Top 25)

America is a fickle, emotionally unstable beast -- at least when it comes to the entertainment industry. Movies from Martin Scorcese's The Last Temptation of Christ to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, games from Conker's Bad Fur Day to Grand Theft Auto III (and sequels), and music from the gangsta rap of 15 years ago to Eminem's today repeatedly and effortlessly break through any hint of tolerance that the world's greatest melting pot supposedly exhibits.

And now there's Alexander, Oliver Stone's newest epic film about one of the greatest state leaders of all time, which posits that the conqueror was bisexual. Critics are panning, moviegoers are complaining, and the religious anti-gay groups have their guns ready, hoping to take on anything that attempts to take homosexuality seriously without scrutiny.

Well, gee, now I want to see the movie just to see what the fuss is all about... and to throw America's immaturity in its collective face. Too bad I alone can't force that effect.

In their first semifinal game since 1995, my alma mater Warner Robins beat Ware County 40-0! Statesboro beat Salem 17-0 in their semifinal match, so the two remaining teams will square off for the state championship next week. I graduated 4.5 years ago so I have no idea who any of the players are any more, but I'm sure I could recognize a couple of younger siblings of the guys and girls I knew when I was a Warner Robins Demon.

Funny: The AP story about the Statesboro/Salem game mistakenly called them Class AAA teams and said the winner will face Washington County next week. Wrong! They're Class AAAA, and Statesboro's Womack Field will host the Warner Robins Demons on December 3 for the AAAA state championship (PDF bracket)!

A quick excerpt:

She is adamantly Jewish and she was even born in Israel, so she doesn't disguise her opinions about Middle East politics, and yet she keeps an open mind about religion and the nature of our world's origin and purpose. I like this. Perhaps adherents to other religions and sects could learn something from this: live and let live, and maybe there will be no desire to eradicate your values and/or beliefs.

I'd ask why the press can't leave her alone, but maybe she actually wants us to know. The latest news reports on her lack of a sex life with Prince Charles, and other juicy details, like why it fizzled out (hint: blame Charles). You can catch the two parts of the "Dateline" special this Monday and next Monday, November 29 and December 6.

For months, this web site has carried the title "My Karma Ran Over My Dogma", despite the annoyingly obtrusive "paul mccord writes here" plain-text banner at the top. And since I can't recall ever explaining why that's there, I thought I'd take a moment to do so: I don't want there to be any confusion over the author or purpose of this web site. If you were expecting some deliciously verbose explanation, then let this meaningless moment teach you a crucial lesson: don't expect anything, especially from me. Even when you think I'm predictable, I pride myself that one of my most paradoxical traits is that I absolutely love violating predictions, expectations, or traditions that serve no valuable purpose.

The purpose of this announcement is not to lecture you on expectation or warn you of my tendency to antagonize the simplicities of life for fun, but to inform you that the unofficial title of this web site that no one really cares about has been appropriately modified to read "the maddening calm", as inspired by Amy:

The votes are in, and 126 days after the race to replace Frank Eldridge first appeared on general primary ballots, Debra Bernes has defeated Howard Mead in the final runoff to become a judge on Georgia's state Court of Appeals. Turnout was low, but it more than doubled the expectation that fewer than 100,000 would vote. Bernes and Mead respectively earned about 54% and 46% of the roughly 250,000 voters who turned out Tuesday.

The results of all three elections for this seat are linked below via the Secretary of State's election results web site:

General Primary (July 20):
29.5% Debra Bernes
19.8% Mike Sheffield
19.8% Howard Mead
11.8% Thomas Rawlings
11.5% Lee Wallace
  7.6% William Hawkins

General Election (November 2):
41.8% Debra Bernes
38.4% Howard Mead
19.8% Mike Sheffield

General Election Runoff (November 23):
54.1% Debra Bernes
45.9% Howard Mead

A complete list of winners in this year's elections, with links to county-by-county results on the Secretary of State's elections web site, is available from my election 2004 page, or by the links provided below. Both sets of results include links to every race, including runoffs when applicable.

July 20 (primary election) results
November 2 (general election) results

(A version of this article also appears at Polstate -- view/comment here.)

Rockstar's newest title, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, is not just a video game: it is the real west side story, or it at least represents in full the stereotypes of vulgar language, sex, drugs, and gang violence we've come to expect from the west coast thanks to gangsta rap and various related movies.

In fact, if not for the fact that it's a PlayStation 2 video game, San Andreas could easily be movie -- an enthralling story, brilliant acting, and nonstop action (plus a variety of perks and quirks) make this an instant classic, as well as the hottest PS2 title for the holiday season.

As the game begins, you assume the role of Carl "CJ" Johnson (voiced by Chris "Young Maylay" Bellard, an up-and-coming rapper), who had left town in 1987 following his brother's death. After spending five years in Liberty City, CJ takes a flight back to his home in Los Santos (based on Los Angeles) upon news of his mother's death. His cab from the airport is intercepted by a trio of crooked cops (one is Frank Tenpenny, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) who take CJ's money and dump him into an enemy gang's territory, initiating your first mission: get home without getting killed!

GTA San Andreas is a vast improvement over its two predecessors, GTA III and GTA Vice City (both incredible games, by the way). Two huge improvements unveiled early in the game are the abilities to swim and to take over rival gang territories, the latter of which will eventually allow you to cruise through town without enemies firing upon you, a luxury you just couldn't enjoy in the previous two games.

But perhaps the most important new feature in San Andreas is the way your skills and abilities progress (or regress) over time based on your performance. Depending on how much you run, drive, swim, eat, use weapons, or represent your hood, attributes in a variety of areas (such as respect, sex appeal, weapon skill, and lung capacity) will go up and down, and every attribute directly affects gameplay in some way. For instance, if your driving skill isn't up to par, you can't compete in a few necessary racing missions! And that's only the tip of that iceberg.

Upon successfully completing the last mission to conclude the San Andreas story, I sat back and reflected on the 60+ hours I had put into the game -- the most time I have put into any game in more than three years -- and my conclusion was simple: this has been the most complete, most satisfying, and most entertaining video game I have ever played.

The visual environment -- how it looks, how it plays, and the sheer amount of detail that went into it -- is nothing short of stunning, including cities based on Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas plus the desert and badlands between them. The soundtrack is equally impressive, featuring a full range of radio stations as fans of the series have come to expect, including a talk radio station on which the primary scriptwriter for the Grand Theft Auto video game series, Lazlow Jones, makes an appearance. And as I've already implied, the intricate and explosive plot could not be held together without brilliant voice acting by such notable talents as George Clinton, Peter Fonda, Samuel L. Jackson, Tracy "Ice-T" Marrow, Wil Wheaton, James Woods, and comedians David Cross and Andy Dick, among countless others.

But what secures San Andreas in video game history is not this short list of interesting facts and features about the game, but rather how much more there is that can't possibly fit into a short review. As I said upon first acquiring the game more than a month ago, when a friend of mine referred to the game as "ungodly huge": "You're right, this game is ungodly. No god could have created this game, but only a collective of gods we call Rockstar."

If a poll were held today, I would cast my vote for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the best video game of its time, and easily the best that will ever be played on a PS2.

(You may comment on this review and read others' comments via my livejournal. Post anonymously and sign your name if you do not have/want a livejournal account.)

Today is a good friend's birthday. You know who you are. What's your age again? ;-)

The Expos/Nationals official web site reports that the Montreal Expos have officially been renamed the Washington Nationals. I still say the "Filibusters" would have been a better mascot, especially since we could call them the "Busters" for short. But hey, we could always call their power hitters the "Beltway Busters" or the "Beltway Bashers" if we want. And in any case, I think this is better than calling them the "Senators", since that name has been used by two previous MLB teams.

The Washington Nationals' most notable off-season acquisitions thus far are 3B Vinny Castilla, SS Christian Guzman, and OF Jose Guillen. It looks like they might actually be a decent team in 2005.

Snow in Southern California? My brother was there for a few weeks and just came back to this side of the country before the weekend. Three more days and he could say he experienced snow in the California desert!

Auburn's victory over Alabama had boosted them to a slightly more comfortable lead over Southern California, but losses for Auburn's previous opponents in the Western Athletic Conference hurt Auburn just enough to put them into #2 for the first time all season by these rankings. Oklahoma also made up some ground with a 35-0 Baylor beating. Georgia also dropped a spot to #8 in its off-week, with Utah picking up two spots. Little else is notable this week, except that Florida State's, Michigan's, and Wisconsin's losses hurt them pretty badly.

(Last week's Top 25)

1. Keep the BCS rankings around for only two reasons: to decide the top four teams overall, and to decide the top four teams (no two from the same conference) that are not conference champions.

2. Take those top 16 teams -- 12 conference champions plus the next four best teams and play a simple tournament out of it. Match up the four at-large teams on one side of the bracket to make sure that they can only meet in the Quarterfinal round (playoffs week 2) if they both win their first matches.

3. There will be no problem finding sponsors for these games, especially in weeks 2, 3, and 4 of the playoffs, so call them "bowl" games or don't at your whim -- but I say let the four games in week 2 be the traditional top four bowl games. The semi-finals and finals will qualify themselves for money.

4. Throughout the 22-day period from week 1 (final 16) to week 4 (national championship), let the other traditional bowl games match up games like they always have.

5. Do you think we should play a "loser's bracket" round to make sure the eight teams that lose in week 1 of the tournament get a second game? After all, shouldn't there be that much of a perk to finishing so highly ranked at the end of the season?

The teams get the same bowl chances they usually get, the fans get more games to watch and a playoff system to enjoy, and the ones at the top get increased perks for doing so well for 11-12 games. But even better, the best of the "lesser" conferences have a much better chance of showing off in the postseason if they really deserve to be there; after all, it would be tough for an unqualified Sun Belt champion to get anywhere near the national championship if it required three weeks of tournament play just to get there.

So what he's saying is that at least one and up to three non-BCS conference teams could crash the BCS party. I love it, and I want to see it happen! I was already rooting for California and Texas both to lose (against Southern Miss and Texas A&M, respectively -- worthy opponents already), but now I have an ulterior motive. If the Bears and the Longhorns lose, then they presumably drop far enough to allow Louisville and Boise State to take the #5 and #6 spots in the BCS standings, which give them each automatic invitations to BCS bowls (presuming, of course, that Miami and/or Georgia isn't ranked #5 and/or #6 instead -- it doesn't seem likely).

As for the championship game, I have all but given up on seeing Auburn break into the top two. It looks like only an Oklahoma loss in the Big 12 championship will get Auburn to the #2 ranking, and that assumes that Auburn will beat Tennessee again in the SEC championship. (Speaking of the Big 12 championship: Colorado must win and Iowa State must lose for Colorado to get a shot at Oklahoma; Iowa State only needs a win or a Colorado loss. Either team should be crushed by the Sooners.) And regardless of which team gets the chance to take on Southern California, I'll be rooting for both of them that first week in January unless some unimaginable twist has them playing each other.

My rankings will be up sometime in the next 24 hours. I'm expecting that Auburn and USC will still be incredibly close, but a win should only have boosted Auburn's percentage slightly while USC's should barely have changed. We'll see!

I update the vote count every couple of days as information trickles in over on the Election 2004 page, also linked at the top where it says "Election Results: Click Here". Well, Tommy sent me a link to a University of Michigan web page where three political scientists have used election returns to draw various cartograms -- funky looking maps based on statistical distribution rather than actual size. The most useful cartogram is the one based on which candidate won by number of counties, because Bush won a great majority of them, but a cartogram based on how many people are in each county shows a map that's almost evenly split between red and blue.

Neat stuff. Thanks for the link, Tommy.

Bridgestone Corporation, the Japanese sister company of USA's Bridgestone-Firestone, has done its good deed for the year, helping Fuji, a 34-year-old dolphin, to swim and jump again by developing and donating an artificial dolphin fin to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. The fin weighs less than five pounds and cost about ¥10,000,000 ($95,000) to make. The most interesting part of the article:

The company has yet to receive any request for an artificial fin or leg for other animals but spokesman Kobori said Bridgestone is open to such requests. "We make tires; we specialize in foots of sort. If we see offers, we will consider them," he said.

So many prosthesis jokes. So many Firestone jokes. So little time.

Former President Clinton's secretary of state Madeline Albright, born in Czechoslovakia before it split into two nations, supports amending the US Constitution to allow people born outside the US to run for President. Speaking to a crowd in Little Rock while in town for the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library, Albright said, "We are a country of immigrants. I think that it would be not a bad thing to try to figure out how to allow foreign-born people to become president."

I agree, with one crucial requirement: not just any people, but US citizens. And for that matter, since it's already a requirement that any candidate for the office of President must have lived in the US continuously for the 14 years prior to his potential date of inauguration, I say tack on an addtional seven years for foreign-born American citizens -- and, for that matter, they must have been US citizens for at least 14 years.

There, it's settled.

So who would win: Albright or Arnold? Answer this and/or contribute other thoughts about the topic at my livejournal. Post anonymously and sign your name if you don't have or want a livejournal account.

Those guys at ESPN finally got it right: their Power 16 rankings put Auburn at #1 for the first time this week, and as with the AP and Coaches polls and the BCS standings, there is a huge gap between the #3 and #4 teams. Auburn also jumped to #2 over Oklahoma in CBS's SportsLine 117, which is an average of the AP and Coaches polls, a strength of schedule ranking, and votes from CBS writers, editors, and producers.

Kmart Holding Corp. bought Sears, Roebuck & Co., but apparently the Kmart name has been tarnished by its own diminishing in recent years, because the new company is to be called Sears Holding Corp. This will not affect current Sears and Kmart stores, which will continue to operate under their current brand names. The new company is expected to trail only Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (#2) and Target Corp (#1) among the biggest US discount retailers. It will be headquartered in the northwestern Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, where Sears has its headquarters, but will maintain a "significant presence" in Troy, Michigan, where Kmart is based.

Much more useless information (like impacts on the stock market) is available on the other side of that link.

Once again, the distance between the #3 and #4 rankings -- whether you're looking at the BCS standings which decide the bowl assignments or either the AP poll or Coaches poll -- proves that college football needs a tournament playoff system to determine which team should be declared the champion of NCAA Division I-A football. After all, if USC, Oklahoma, and Auburn all finish 12-0 this year (meaning Oklahoma and Auburn both survived conference championships), then Auburn will jump to #2 for facing tougher opponents (Alabama and Tennessee outrank Baylor and, er, will it be Iowa State?).

I've heard lots of talk about different tournament setups to settle this once and for all, but the biggest complaint about most of them is that no matter how good they are, they always suggest playing way too many games to be useful in college football. My suggestion is short, simple, and would be effective: have a four-team championship tournament.

Go ahead, tell me what's wrong with it, or comment on it on my livejournal.

The rankings are a day late this week because the convenient little ball of numbers that usually gives me all the data I use was full of errors this week (points were accounted for but wins/losses were not, or sometimes the other way around), so I had to check each team individually. That actually didn't take very long, but I didn't feel like typing this up when I was finished, and I figured only about three or four people are even passively interested in my weekly rankings, so I let it slide for a day. But for the record, the latest they'll ever be up (barring internet issues) will be any given Monday following a weekend of football.

Before I go on with my rankings, I have some words for the other rankings and polls (linked in the menu to the right). First, I'm confused about how Auburn isn't ranked higher than third in any of the BCS computer rankings (also linked on the right), but I'm guessing that means their crude strength of schedule components are weighted pretty heavily, and perhaps are weighted to favor the Big 12 (rightfully so) and PAC-10 (maybe) over the SEC. Still, I'm happy to see that Auburn has climbed its way into a battle for #2 rather than battling California for #4 in the BCS Standings. I'm also glad the AP and Coaches polls' voters have finally come to their senses; this week Auburn is tied with Oklahoma for #2 on the AP poll, and only two points behind the Sooners for #3 on the Coaches poll. If Auburn smokes Alabama, that could be enough to push them to #2 outright, because Alabama is a much tougher opponent than Baylor.

But as biased as I am in favor of Auburn, I expected USC to take over the #1 spot in my ranking, which only considers wins, losses, points scored, and points allowed -- because in the end, that's all that matters. Here are the rankings:

(Last week's Top 25)

Wow. I didn't actually input the final numbers to see how it would end up until just moments before I typed up the list here, and I was shocked to see that Auburn was still on top after my little formula fix. I thought for sure the corrected formula for the strength of schedule component (which made sure it was properly weighted a bit more heavily) would push USC to #1 since they have a much tougher schedule, according to the formula. But Auburn's strong defense saved them; holding Georgia to only six points last week improved their defense to #1 in the nation (if measured by opponents' average points scored per game).

The Associated Press is running wild this morning with news that Colin Powell has resigned from his position as Secretary of State, taking the total number of resigned Bush advisors to six (out of 15). The article mentions that Bush has already chosen a replacement for John Ashcroft's former position (Attorney General), and there's probably much more useful information that I didn't soak in the first time through.

The executives in charge of the Anaheim Angels want to change their name to the Los Angeles Angels. I'm no linguist, but doesn't "los angeles" mean "the angels"? And so wouldn't "Los Angeles Angels" be redundant? Okay, so the full title of the city is El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles, which means "The Town of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels", so the name change would make them the Angels of whom "our lady" is queen.

Well, that was fun.

I found an error in one of my formulas, and correcting it had a small effect on the rankings, most notably moving USC slightly ahead of Auburn for the #1 spot. Other changes were less noticeable and less important, and I didn't want to repost the corrected week 12 rankings since the rankings at this point don't mean a lot. But the math is right for week 13, and shall remain so through the end of season.

Oklahoma pounded Nebraska 30-3, so I expect them to get a little closer to the top two, but I don't think it will be enough considering Auburn's and USC's good games. Auburn's 24-6 win over a strong Georgia team (that was a gratuitous touchdown at the end; the game should have ended 24-0) could have legitimately pushed them up to #1, but I doubt it, since USC also had a killer night, beating Arizona 49-9. And since the strength of schedule component already includes every opponent on a team's schedule including those they haven't played yet, there's little chance that a smaller win over Georgia will move Auburn above USC.

The top 25 will be posted sometime tonight!

Kirk Herbstreit's latest column at ESPN.com takes a look at this week's games that probably have the most significant BCS implications. As a big Auburn and Georgia fan, I'm most interested in his comments on the Auburn/Georgia game, which I have shamelessly pasted below. (I almost copied only the second paragraph, but I decided to keep it all just for me.)

Georgia has the good fortune of having David Greene under center, the winningest quarterback in Division I-A history and a guy who has gone 15-1 away from home in his career. His maturity and calm give the Bulldogs a chance at the upset here, but the real keys will be Thomas Brown and Danny Ware running the ball well enough to set up Greene for play-action passes. All three must have success early to take the wind out of the Auburn crowd and the team, because the Dawgs could get blown out if they don't weather the early storm. Another big matchup will be Georgia receivers Reggie Brown and Fred Gibson against Auburn's standout corners Montavis Pitts and Carlos Rogers.

Auburn has been virtually untested to this point in the season, and quarterback Jason Campbell may not have even had to put his uniform in the washer yet. He has been as good as any quarterback in the country under the direction of offensive coordinator Al Borges, whose scaled-down version of the West Coast offense is hitting full stride and keeping Campbell out of third-and-long situations.

Georgia defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder has a dynamic zone blitz scheme and will utilize his athletes at safety and linebacker to pressure Campbell, but the real focus for the Bulldogs will have to be stopping the tremendous running back duo of Ronnie Brown and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. If they can get Auburn into third-and-long and bring the heat on Campbell they have a chance.

I have discussed prospects for the election of 2006 briefly with a few of my more politically-inclined friends and acquaintances at school, but I didn't realize Larry Sabato was so bent out of shape about the lack of online attention to it or I would have posted something sooner. He suggests that a 51% majority -- the support Bush received last Tuesday -- is the perfect majority because it leaves the door wide open for the presidentially uncharacteristic potential to gain even more popularity throughout his presidency. Particularly, Sabato suggested that Bush and the Republicans could gain even more seats in 2006, as if 2002 and 2004 weren't enough.

I won't argue the man about it; history proves that he's right. Presidents who don't poll consistently with a supermajority of 60% of greater tend to have their popularity hold steady or improve, while greatly loved presidents tend to have their popularity diminish -- because after all, once something goes up, it can only come down... or in politics, there's a much better chance of it going down over the course of two years than going further up. But at 51%, Bush stands just as much chance of holding a solid majority of the voters' approval as he does of losing it; either way, Republicans could easily be approaching 60 seats in the Senate after the 2006 elections, or they could be back down to something close to 50.

So there, Larry. I talked about it. But... I'm not the media.

I know, you're shocked at another Christmas list update. This time I added another PlayStation 2 game to the list, and I actually placed it in front of the one that was already on the list. I think both of them are scheduled to be released sometime in November, so I doubt anyone has actually already purchased either of them. I'm not certain I'll get either of them anyway, but just in case someone thinks it's a good idea, you can usually find a good deal at Circuit City or Best Buy in their first week as new releases!

Thanks for caring!

Vida asked me a question this afternoon. She asked if I believed a woman could rape a guy, and she then suggested even the slightest hint of sexual desire on the male's part nullified the rape charge. Never mind that I disagree with that completely, because unfortunately came across proof of another kind among today's big headlines. Here's how, Vida. :)

Let's have three (hundred million?) cheers (jeers?) for former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who retired today along with Don Evans, who had been Secretary of Commerce. Adios, fellas! (Rumor has it Secretary of State Colin Powell may be on his way out as well.)

I added a couple of CDs to the list, and I also moved the PS2 game to the bottom of the list, because while I will still want it, that's a $50 chunk that I'm not sure I'll have time for immediately. Notice that the music is listed only slightly above the PS2 game, though...

Andrew J. Veal, an employee at the University of Georgia's Survey Research Center for six years, drove to New York this weekend to visit the former site of the World Trade Center towers. Apparently upset about last week's election results (among many other things, hopefully), he then shot himself at Ground Zero. A bottle of bourbon whiskey was found by his side.

Oklahoma allowed two touchdowns early to the Texas A&M Aggies to fall into a 14-0 hole, and they were down 21-7 early in the second quarter and 28-21 at the half. Southern California started the day by allowing two field goals and a touchdown to the Oregon State Beavers before finally scoring a touchdown of their own; they were down 13-7 at the half. But neither team followed their losing strategies with equally poor results in the second half, and both pulled out close wins to keep them atop the AP and Coaches polls. Wisconsin and Auburn are both clearly capable teams, and either of them could probably take out either Oklahoma or USC, but the current BCS system will never allow that to happen. It's a sham, I say.

My rankings don't take my personal biases into account at all, but I love that the raw numbers (wins, points, points allowed, and strength of schedule) barely put Auburn above USC and Oklahoma. Nice showing for UGA, too!

(Last week's Top 25)

Welcome to the weekend! After a full day of playing Grand Theft Auto yesterday (for the first time since Sunday night), today is a day for celebrating the geek within by letting it out to play. I'll be up in Athens for a quiz bowl tournament, probably the second-to-last one I'll participate in as a Macon State College student. (Oh, that's right: I'm graduating in about five weeks!) I'll let you know how that goes.

More importantly, I'm really hoping last week's Florida upsets were the start of a good-luck trend for Auburn, and I want to see Oregon State upset Southern California and/or Texas A&M beat Oklahoma. I don't need both upsets; just one! I am convinced that Auburn could beat either of them, so only one of them needs to lose for Auburn to play in the national championship against the other.

I'll be back tonight or tomorrow.

It was always burning since the world's been turning... until now.

The BBC has posted an article featuring the foreign reaction to Bush's re-election, including viewpoints from China, Germany, France, Egypt, Iraq, Islamabad, Russia, and Great Britain. It's interesting to see how different foreign powers react, and their reasons for their reactions. The above article is a general overview. The BBC also has more specific articles featuring reactions in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia... and perhaps others, but I find no other links.

I am so unimpressed by the stupid little kids (and even worse, the adults) who refuse to associate with people who disagree with them politically. If you are unable to respond to dissenting opinion calmly and rationally, then you are not qualified to be labeled "intelligent". Adult, in age only. Mature, perhaps physically. But intelligent? No. Grow up and accept alternate points of view for what they are -- the potential for someone to learn something new.

See, I like to surround myself with people who disagree with me (intelligently), because then one or both of us stands a good chance of learning something here and there. I also like to surround myself with witty people who like friendly insults, because wordplay is always fun! I'd say I should be a writer some day, but the suggestion of "some day", meaning some time in the future time, would prompt the question: what have you been doing on this web site for the last five years?

Yikes, five years... and that doesn't even count the three years before I got this one.

With three House seats too close to call (and two in Louisiana being forced to a runoff), Republicans will lead the 109th Congress with a 232-201-1 split in the House and a 55-44-1 in the Senate. Bush won the popular vote with a slim but clear majority (51%-48%), and the electoral vote by a more decisive margin (286-252).

Voter turnout set a few records. About 120 million, or 60% of eligible voters, voted in this year's election. That's the highest percentage since 1968. At least six southern states -- AL, FL, GA, SC, TN, VA -- and DC set turnout records. Compare to 2000 (105.4 million, 54%), 1996 (96.3 million, 49%), and 1992 (104.4 million, 55%).

51% (59.0 million, 286 ev) BUSH

48% (55.4 million, 252 ev) KERRY

Florida (27)
  52%-47% Bush

Pennsylvania (21)
  51%-49% Kerry

Ohio (20)
  51%-49% Bush

Michigan (17)
  51%-48% Kerry

Minnesota (10)
  51%-48% Kerry

Wisconsin (10)
  50%-49% Kerry

Iowa (7)
  50%-49% Bush

West Virginia (5)
  56%-43% Bush

Nevada (5)
  51%-48% Bush

New Mexico (5)
  50%-49% Bush

Hawaii (4)
  54%-45% Kerry

New Hampshire (4)
  50%-49% Kerry

Arkansas
  Blanche Lincoln
California
  Barbara Boxer
Colorado
  Ken Salazar
Connecticut
  Christopher Dodd
Hawaii
  Daniel Inouye
Illinois
  Barack Obama
Indiana
  Evan Bayh
Maryland
  Barbara Mikulski
Nevada
  Harry Reid
New York
  Charles Schumer
North Dakota
  Byron Dorgan
Oregon
  Ron Wyden
Vermont
  Pat Leahy
Washington
  Patty Murray
Wisconsin
  Russ Feingold

Alabama
  Richard Shelby
Alaska
  Lisa Murkowski
Arizona
  John McCain
Florida
  Mel Martinez
Georgia
  Johnny Isakson
Iowa
  Charles Grassley
Idaho
  Mike Crapo
Kansas
  Sam Brownback
Kentucky
  Jim Bunning
Louisiana
  David Vitter
Missouri
  Christopher Bond
New Hampshire
  Judd Gregg
North Carolina
  Richard Burr
Ohio
  George Voinovich
Oklahoma
  Tom Coburn
Pennsylvania
  Arlen Specter
South Carolina
  Jim DeMint
South Dakota
  John Thune
Utah
  Robert Bennett

John Kerry has reportedly called George Bush and conceded the election to him, saying he will announce the concession at 1pm. The other major election news is that Senate Democrat leader Tom Daschle lost a nailbiter in South Dakota, losing 50.6% to 49.4% to Republican John Thune, who lost by a similar margin in his 2002 bid for Senator.

GEORGIA Results: Bush carried the state and Isakson won the Senate seat, both with about 58% of the state's vote. Democrat Jim Marshall also blew Republican Calder Clay away in the 3rd Congressional district, 63% to 37%! And while it isn't surprising to me nor will many of my friends be happy with it, I'm happy to see that Democrat John Barrow beat out Max Burns in the 12th district, 52% to 48%.

National results should still be visible in the very next post.

At 3:45am I am convinced that no haggling over absentee ballots and awkward electioneering stories will change that Bush has 286 electoral votes. Most likely, John Kerry has won Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Hawaii to make it a 286-252 tally, but the races in those four states are close enough that I won't make any assumptions about them before I sleep.

The map below is graciously provided by the Associated Press, whose election coverage has kept me entertained for several hours tonight. Hover your mouse over any state to view the number of votes for that state. Below the map are the results of twelve swing states with links to the AP's election results for that state.

Below that are the winners of this year's Senate elections, which also have links to the AP's election results pages for those states.

51% (58.5 million, 286 ev) BUSH

48% (55.0 million, 252 ev) KERRY

(99% reporting)

Florida (27)
  52% BUSH
  47% Kerry
  (99% reporting)

Michigan (17)
  48% Bush
  51% KERRY
  (99% reporting)

Iowa (7)
  50% BUSH
  49% Kerry
  (99% reporting)

West Virginia (5)
  56% BUSH
  43% Kerry
  (100% reporting)

Pennsylvania (21)
  49% Bush
  51% KERRY
  (99% reporting)

Minnesota (10)
  48% Bush
  51% KERRY
  (99% reporting)

Nevada (5)
  51% BUSH
  48% Kerry
  (99% reporting)

Hawaii (4)
  45% Bush
  54% KERRY
  (100% reporting)

Ohio (20)
  51% BUSH
  48% Kerry
  (99% reporting)

Wisconsin (10)
  49% Bush
  50% KERRY
  (99% reporting)

New Mexico (5)
  50% BUSH
  48% Kerry
  (98% reporting)

New Hampshire (4)
  49% Bush
  50% KERRY
  (100% reporting)

Colorado
  48% (R) Pete Coors
  50% (D) Ken Salazar
  (88% reporting)

Florida
  49% (R) Mel Martinez
  48% (D) Betty Castor
  (99% reporting)

Arkansas
  Blanche Lincoln
California
  Barbara Boxer
Connecticut
  Christopher Dodd
Hawaii
  Daniel Inouye
Illinois
  Barack Obama
Indiana
  Evan Bayh
Maryland
  Barbara Mikulski
Nevada
  Harry Reid
New York
  Charles Schumer
North Dakota
  Byron Dorgan
Oregon
  Ron Wyden
Vermont
  Pat Leahy
Washington
  Patty Murray
Wisconsin
  Russ Feingold

Alabama
  Richard Shelby
Alaska
  Lisa Murkowski
Arizona
  John McCain
Georgia
  Johnny Isakson
Iowa
  Charles Grassley
Idaho
  Mike Crapo
Kansas
  Sam Brownback
Kentucky
  Jim Bunning
Louisiana
  David Vitter
Missouri
  Christopher Bond
New Hampshire
  Judd Gregg
North Carolina
  Richard Burr
Ohio
  George Voinovich
Oklahoma
  Tom Coburn
Pennsylvania
  Arlen Specter
South Carolina
  Jim DeMint
South Dakota
  John Thune
Utah
  Robert Bennett

A full list of candidates for all districts in Bibb County is available at the Bibb County Board of Elections web site. I hope the information here is useful. Follow the links (in blue) for more information on the amendments! Here's how I voted, with my votes in bold:

President
George W. Bush / Dick Cheney (Republican)
John Kerry / John Edwards (Democrat)
Michael Badnarik / Richard Campagna (Libertarian)

Senate
Johnny Isakson (Republican)
Denise Majette (Democrat)
Allen Buckley (Libertarian)

US House (8th District)
Lynn Westmoreland (Republican)
Silvia Delamar (Democrat)

State Senate (26th district)
Dale Washburn (Republican)
Robert Brown (Democrat)

State House (137th district)
David Graves (Republican)

Georgia Constitution: Amendment 1
Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that this state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman?
NO (See full text here.)

Georgia Constitution: Amendment 2
Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that the Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction and authority to answer questions of law from any state appellate or federal district or appellate court?
NO (See full text here.)

Judge, Georgia Court of Appeals
Debra Bernes
Howard Mead
Mike Sheffield

Public Service Commissioner
Bobby Baker (Republican)
Mac Barber (Democrat)
Jalynn Hudnall (Libertarian)

Bibb County Tax Commissioner
Thomas Tedders (Republican)
Norman Maxson (Democrat)

Bibb County Sheriff
Jerry Modena (Democrat)

Bibb County Superior Court Clerk
Dianne Brannen (Democrat)

Bibb County Coroner
Leon Jones (Democrat)

Bibb County Solicitor General
Otis Scarbary (Democrat)

Bibb County Commission Chairman
Charles Bishop (Republican)
Lance Randall (Democrat)

Bibb County Commission (3rd District)
Elmo Richardson (Democrat)

Bibb County Board of Education (1st District)
Terry Tripp (Democrat)

Bibb County Referendum: Board of Education
Shall the Act be approved which changes the provisions of law relating to the certification and levy of the school tax by the Bibb County?
NO (See full text here.)

I voted no for the marriage amendment because I recognize individuals' rights to make their own personal decisions when those decisions do not harm others or hinder others' ability to enjoy the same freedom of choice.

I voted no for the court amendment because, as I understand it, Georgia's Supreme Court judges are appointed, whereas appellate court judges are elected. Next, we should pass a referendum calling for Georgia Supreme Court judges to be elected by the state's voters.

I voted no and Mom voted yes for the Bibb County Board of Education referendum because we were unaware of this referendum, and we like ticking every option without unintentionally voting for the wrong thing. So we cancel each other out when we're unsure or disagree.

In the 7 contested races, I voted for 3 Libertarians, 3 Republicans, and 1 Democrat. Considering the lack of quality Democrat candidates in Georgia (and the opinions of my peers), I think that's a reasonable exhibition of my independent nature.

For more information on why I vote the way I do, see my Election 2004 page.

Keeping in mind the 296-242 re-election of Bush that I predicted midday Monday, here's my take on how the election could go:

10% chance: 269-269 tie
30% chance: 270+ for Kerry
60% chance: 270+ for Bush
30% chance: 290+ for Bush
10% chance: 300+ for Bush

So you see, I don't blindly suggest that Bush will be re-elected, nor have I suggested that he is even the best candidate for the job. I am confident that the best person for any job is rarely the one doing the job, or even among those available for the job. But democratic elections have never been about that; rather, they're about choosing from the legitimate candidates who volunteer to take on the responsibilities of that office. That leaves us at a disadvantage, because those who would do the best job either don't want it or are effectively disqualified for stupid reasons.

Good luck to all the candidates, and remember to vote for third parties if you're not sure about something!

Travis has posted his presidential endorsement(s), and I've left him a comment on it. Now, don't get me wrong; that's a good pick. But it also sounds like someone gave a little too much attention to a good joke. I agree with Travis though: Bush will win Bibb County and Georgia with ease, so voting for either major party candidate seems a bit pointless to me. Anyone in Georgia who wants an alternative to Republicans and Democrats in the future should pick their favorite third party candidate -- or any third party candidate, since none of them will win -- and put their vote to good use by giving that party a better chance to secure ballot access in the future. For my part, I choose Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik.

Almost as important: Editor and Publisher has updated its list of daily newspaper endorsements for Kerry and Bush. As of press time for the November 1 article, Kerry led Bush 208-189. Not bad, considering the overwhelming support Kerry has among the broadcast media outlets.

Finally, my favorite endorsements of the day, appearing in the November issue of Liberty magazine; you can read the full article by clicking on its title, which follows this colon: The Intelligent Person's Guide to Presidential Politics. Subtitle: "Choosing among those who seek the presidency is not necessarily an easy task for the intelligent libertarian. Liberty's editors do their best to help."

The best part of the article is Stephen Cox's contribution, "Two Cheers for George Bush" -- anyone who dislikes Bush and Kerry would enjoy it. Here's a snip that should explain why:

One [vital difference between them] is character. In the early seventies, Kerry functioned as a Communist stooge. He enjoyed the experience, and he has never gotten over it. He is a meddler and a blowhard, a self-anointed apostle of uplift for the unwashed masses. Like all such people, he is ambitious and grasping, with a mile-wide mean streak.

Bush, by contrast, is simply a small-town Rotarian, a man of completely conventional ideas and motives, pleasant and friendly in a canine way. The most interesting thing about him is the fact that he is a reformed alcoholic who has managed not to become self-righteous about reform. Case closed on the question of character.

All four parts of the article were more enlightening than I thought, and I think they were fair to all candidates. Well, fair when you consider that no self-respecting libertarian should vote for John Kerry. (Please send hate mail via my contact form. I promise to enjoy it and I would like to reply. So have fun with it, be witty and funny, and supply your email address in the appropriate box!)

p.s.-- My endorsement(s) are here.

Several states could go either way, and I don't expect to have this nailed. But after four years of staring at otherwise useless political data, I figure I should take a stab at this a second time... because if I'm right two elections in a row, I'll be convinced that it's more than just blind luck.

296 for Bush
Alabama (9), Alaska (3), Arizona (10), Arkansas (6), Colorado (9), Florida (27), Georgia (15), Idaho (4), Indiana (11), Iowa (7), Kansas (6), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (9), Missouri (11), Mississippi (6), Montana (8), Nebraska (5), Nevada (5), New Mexico (5), North Carolina (15), North Dakota (3), Ohio (20), Oklahoma (7), South Carolina (8), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), Texas (34), Utah (5), Virginia (13), West Virginia (5), Wisconsin (10), Wyoming (3)

238 for Kerry
California (55), Connecticut (7), Deleware (3), Illinois (21), Maine (4), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (12), Michigan (17), Minnesota (10), New Hampshire (4), New Jersey (15), New York (31), Oregon (7), Pennsylvania (21), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), Washington (11), Washington DC (3)

4 Swing Votes
Hawaii (4)

Florida, Ohio, Wisconsion, Minnesota, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and a couple other states are close enough to go either way, but I'm most fascinated about the potential implications Hawaii's vote could have by the end of the night. If all my predictions are correct except Florida, it will leave a 269-265 advantage for Bush while the country waits on reports from Hawaii, where the polls close at something like 1am. If Kerry then wins Hawaii, we're going into election overtime! Break out the hard hats...

Update 5:45pm: I am suddenly much more confident with my prediction, because Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball has matched it, or at least the 269-269 tie. If you take my prediction above and shift Florida and Hawaii to Kerry, you have the Crystal Ball prediction. This is the first time my independent, amateur opinion has matched any major analyst's -- whatever that's worth.

Welcome to November! Enjoy tomorrow's election festivities. By early evening, my site will be covered with election results and tallies, mostly so I can keep myself informed but also so anyone roaming by the internet can see what's up. Expect most of the serious updates to come in after dinner time, because most of the votes won't be reported until then.