I was a chinese linguist in the USAF long ago. This was back in the 20th century. I don't remember much chinese, but I do know that most people pronounce Beijing wrong. They say a soft J sound like Zsa Zsa, gendarme and Jean Valjean. It should be a hard J, as in jingle and Jupiter. I don't know why people do this, since all the J's I can think of in English are hard J's. The examples of soft J's above are foreign words or names.
1. The Communist Party says Obama is their guy:
The communist newspaper said a broad coalition is backing “Obama’s ‘Hope, change and unity’ campaign because they see in it the thrilling opportunity to end 30 years of ultra-right rule and move our nation forward with a broadly progressive agenda.”
Frightening.
2. Michael Moore's advice to Barack Obama on how to win the election.
His three points:
a. Let Michelle speak.
b. Be as nasty to the Republicans as they are to you.
c. Do not distance yourself from Michael Moore.
And Republicans hope fervently that Obama follows every bit of Michael Moore's advice.
UPDATE: Today I see Moore has come out with another version that has six reasons.
3. Roseanne Barr really is as stupid as she looks. And that's no mean accomplishment. She criticizes Angelina Jolie for saying good things about McCain:
“Aren’t you supposed to be somewhat enlightened, or do you not know that the African daughter you hold in every picture had parents who suffered and died because of the Republican party’s worldwide economic assault on Africa over the last few decades since Reagan?”
This explains why the continent is mired in poverty. It has been economically assaulted by the Republicans! And it all has been done in secret for the last 28 years so that no one but Roseanne Barr noticed. Those evil bastards.
4. In his August 18, 2008 podcast, the philosopher Leonard Peikoff discusses why he disagrees with Aristotle's ethical doctrine of the mean; whether you should wish you were never born if you were the product of evil, such as Hitler starting WWII (confusing question); why should a person with a terminal illness respect other people's rights; "none of the above" on the ballot; and Ayn Rand's statement that her philosophy was not possible before the Industrial Revolution.
5. Let's see, liberals are tolerant and reasonable, whereas right-wingers are close-minded and mean, right? See what happened to this blogger who strayed from PC thought among "progressives."
After her web site was attacked and her character smeared by "progressives," one left this note (and get the name):
Well, Amy, You've spent an otherwise enjoyable Sunday bearing the consequences of running your mouth first and thinking second. It couldn't happpen to a more deserving person.
Immy Kant 128.151.4.147
(HT: Daily Pundit)
6. Obama and McCain are in a statistical tie in battleground states. At the beginning of this race I thought McCain would blow Obama out. The race looks to be closer than I had first thought, but I still think McCain will win. The fact that they are now tied is remarkable, considering that throughout the spring the media followed Obama around on a coronation tour and barely acknowledged that McCain exists.
Obama has too many weaknesses to overcome. He is farther left than any previous major party presidential candidate, his rhetoric is empty, he performs poorly away from a teleprompter and a script telling him what to say, Clinton's supporters dislike him and he flip-flops.
Russia could not have invaded Georgia at a worse time for the Democrats. Americans are reminded that we live in a dangerous world. National security favors the Republicans (though perhaps it should not).
Polls often underestimate Republican strength. Cowards fear speaking out against the PC crowd. It's just not "hip" to vote Republican, so this spineless faction tells pollsters they will vote Democrat. When they are in a voting booth, alone with their conscience, they get serious. Add the Bradley Effect, that more people say they will vote for a black man than those who actually vote for him, and John McCain is probably the front runner right now.
This is not an endorsement or a look at what I want to happen; it is merely my speculation on what will happen.
UPDATE: Steven Warshawsky looks at the numbers and argues persuasively that Obama cannot win.
1 comment:
Obama should have this election in the bag-- the GOP is not popular, he has bucketloads of money, and people want someone different than Bush.
The cult of personality the media created ironically is hurting Obama in two ways.
1) Bush-bashing is no longer front and center; the election is now about Obama, not Bush.
2) In 2000, expectations were raised for Gore and lowered for Bush. Gore was sold as the greatest debater of all time, while Bush was an ignorant redneck. All Bush had to do was speak in complete sentences to win the debates by that standard. Analogously, if this election is Grandpa versus the Messiah, McCain will only have to look alert to contrast well with all of Obama's uh's and um's.
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