False dichotomy: Pick Obama or McCain. You always have the choice of picking a third party, writing in another name, or not voting for the office.
Specious argument: There’s no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. There are very real differences and consequences, and they should inform your decision.
NaBloPoMo 3
If you’ve never been, check out Open Secrets from the Center for Responsive Politics. They’ve got a donor lookup that lets you find out who’s made political contributions to which candidate or party. Pretty interesting stuff.
For instance, people who have MySpace or Fox Interactive Media listed as their company have given $12,450 in this election cycle to the Democratic Party and their candidates. The Republicans have received $10,051.
NewsCorp’s President and COO Peter Chernin gave over $31,000 to different Democratic candidates and committees.
NewsCorp’s Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch gave over $33,000 to Republican candidates and committees, but also handed Hillary Clinton a $2300 check.
They put the balance into “Fair and Balanced.”
There’s some sort of reporting threshold (I think it’s $250), so it’s not comprehensive, but I guess that would allow those of you who value your privacy to slip under the radar by making a bunch of $200 contributions on a monthly basis.
This is the girlie drink you ought to make:
Cosmopolitan
- 2 parts cranberry juice cocktail
- 2 parts triple sec
- 1 part vodka
- 1 part lime juice
Shake with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Some notes:
Always use fresh lime juice.
If you skip or skimp on the fresh-squeezed lime juice, ice, or shaking, you are not following directions and you will screw it up.
The vodka and triple sec proportions were inverted from the original recipe. The different tastes are better balanced this way, especially if you use Cointreau. Using more vodka makes it smell like your drunk Auntie.
Lesson 1. If you eat chicken or fish, you are not a vegetarian. There are at least half a billion people who would also consider dairy and eggs non-vegetarian.
Lesson 2. If your cocktail doesn’t consist of gin and vermouth, it’s not a martini. At best, it’s a cocktail with a proper name that you’ve misnamed. At worst, it’s an alcoholic jolly rancher that probably ought to be served in a plastic novelty cup or a large, hollowed-out tropical fruit, not a cocktail glass.
There’s nothing wrong with not eating beef or pork and there’s nothing wrong with drinking a girlie drink. Just don’t butcher the language because I would really really like to know what you’re talking about when you say vegetarian and martini.
There’s a petition out at Do Not Mail: The Petition that’s intended to convince Congressional leaders of the need for a Do Not Mail Registry that provides a single place from which you can basically unsubscribe from all the crap that ends up in your mailbox. Sounds good to me.
But if you want to take immediate action on the junk mail, try the tips listed here:
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: Reducing Junk Mail
It’s pretty comprehensive, and includes all the following sources of junk mail:
1. Mailing lists of major national marketers
2. Flyers and advertising supplements
3. Catalog, mail order lists and magazines
4. Pre-approved offers of credit
5. Phone books and reverse directories
6. U.S. Postal Service and change of address data file
7. Charities and nonprofits
8. Sweepstakes and prizes
9. Product registration cards and consumer surveys
10. Supermarket loyalty cards
11. Public records
12. Data compilers and mailing list companies
Even if you’re not particularly keen on going through the hassle of saving paper, fuel, and energy, you should definitely deal with the credit bureaus and your own financial institutions. Those pre-approved offers and balance transfer checks are easy targets for identity theft and can screw up your credit faster than you can fix it. For the credit bureaus, go to https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ to opt out. For your credit card and checking accounts, call the number on the back of your credit/ATM card and tell them to remove you from all mailing and phone lists and not share any information with anyone else permanently.