elfs | Brains, Big Heaping Steam O' (Reply)

CA Proposition 8: Remote Control From Utah: The Mormon Church of Utah has apparently gone all-in on stopping Proposition 8. Contributions from Utah residents to the "Yes on 8" campaign, which has even started using the "queers recruit your innocent little children" line, now total $20 million. 20 freaking million dollars.
Barack Obama's father was really Malcom X!: Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates bring us a wonderful link to one of the nuttiest corners of the wingnut universe, a full-blown paranoid screed from a worshipful Randian, in which careful analysis, which only the conspiratorial can understand, reveals that Barack Obama is probably the love child of Malcolm X. Gotta love it. And the photoshop job of Obama as an X-Man is not to be missed.
Francis Fukuyama: I'm Voting For Barack. America Needs Adult Leadership.: I've always had mixed feelings about Fukuyama; on the one hand, his End of History thesis is interesting, but Fukuyama's a reactionary anti-transhumanist. Having him endorse Obama is nice, but makes me wonder what other considerations Fukuyama may have had in mind. Still, Fukuyama's fervent belief that a liberal democracy and a market system are the future makes me hope for the best.
Americans: More Socialist Than Their Government: Matt Yglesias brings us a fascinating Gallup chart showing that since 1985, a strong average of 60% of Americans have consistently believed that the distribution of wealth in this country is "unfair," and less that 40% have consistently believed it to be "fair."

I bet Jonah Goldberg finds this statistic "regrettable."
McCain: I met him last week. Now he's my role model.: McCain's really losing it. He called Joe The Plumber 'My role model' at a speech Wednesday afternoon. Does McCain really have any idea what it means to say such a thing? Or does he expect his audience to be stupid?

Don't miss where Joe The Plumber claims progressive taxation "is straight out of Karl Marx. That's a fact." Hey, Joe: McCain favors progressive taxation.
McCain: I'm confused, but I know Obama's not a 'socialist.': Larry King interviewed McCain Wednesday night, where McCain said Obama's not a "socialist," but he does want to "spread the wealth around." King then challenged McCain: Isn't any progressive taxation "spreading the wealth around?"

McCain claimed it wasn't, and that Obama's plans were different from progressive taxation because they were "redistributive." Hint for John McCain:progressive taxation is a redistributive system; people are taxed according to their means, but services are always going to be unevenly distributed.
Sarah: The Defense Department needs more money. John: No it doesn't!: Ouch. Sarah feeds her audience red meat, claiming that the Democrats want to "gut the Pentagon" with budget cuts. I guess it's awkward to point out that reducing defense spending is a specific policy point of the McCain campaign?
TV Ads can't hold your hand: The Washington Post has an article about how the McCain campaign is pouring all of their remaining cash into television advertising this weekend in a final, all-out attempt to derail the Obama train.

As Emptywheel points out, however, TV ads won't knock on doors, ring doorbells, and drive people to the polls. They won't get out the sporadic, leaning-right-but-uninspired voters that are McCain's only real chance to cinch the election. It doesn't matter how loud your ad is, it won't get people into the voting booth. Way to go, John.
Robin Hayes: Winning in Iraq depends on "spreading the message of Jesus Christ.": Robin Hayes, who recently gained notoriety by claiming that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God," only to deny that he said that, was confronted with a tape of the incident, and then denied that he denied it, has now given aid and comfort to Al-Qaeda by handing them more "proof" that Americans are just modern Crusaders:
The war in Iraq has got to be won; it's being won. Stability in Iraq ultimately depends on spreading the message of Jesus Christ, the message of peace on earth, good will towards men. Everything depends on everyone learning about the birth of the Savior.
Our soldiers thank you for your insight, Congressman.
What the candidate's reading lists say about them: The author of the Limony Snicket series says:
Obama's list says that he'd like to convey a willingness to face heartbreak and irony, that he's open to the new and to the experimental, but that he's serious of purpose and true of heart.

McCain's list says that sure, he reads books, but he's not a pansy boy.
Photoshop Horror Effects: A useful collection of how-tos for Halloween and Horror book covers!
Zen Habits: Laser Sharp Focus To Get Things Done.: Pick three big projects. Do everything that can be accomplished that will take less than ten minutes each. Turn off distractions. Click for more.
Just Stop Paying Your Mortgage: Karl Denninger posted an article last week at The Market Ticker arguing that if your mortgage is underwater, just stop paying it. Seriously. Default on it now. If you do, the government won't let the banks take your home away, as they're beholden to the electorate. If you don't, your tax dollars are going to go pay for your neighbor's mortgage when he does default, so you'll be paying off more than one mortgage.

I thought the article was tongue-in-cheek.

No, he was deadly serious. Denninger argues that the entire credit bubble was an intentionally engineered counterfeiting operation, in which money that did not exist "appeared on the books" out of leverage, and Bernanke is doing nothing to prevent this ongoing creation of inflated dollar amount ex nihilo. Until we force the feds to rationalize the economic system, your best defense is to default, now, to minimize the damage the coming bailouts will do to your economic well-being. (via Solarbird)
WorldNet: "To all those who name the name of Christ who plan to willfully disobey Him by voting for Obama, take warning. Not only is our nation in grave danger, according to the Word of God, so are you.": Then obey Him in the voting booth and out of it. If not, do us all a favor and quit calling yourself a Christian.