bohnsack.com

I have a lot of good stuff: health, a loving family, a few good friends, a job, a retirement account, a home, a car, a fancy camera with big lenses, some art, a stamp collection, an XM Radio, and many other wonderful things that are too numerous to mention in detail. It's amazing, but in today's climate of helplessness, I believe that all of this stuff has been earned through great personal effort, in spite of others - especially in spite of the President of the United States. More amazing still, I'm fully aware that everything I have could be taken from me in an instant. That's life, and I like it. If our existence was sure or easy, I'd find it an incredible bore.

The illiterate display on the van above shows that some Americans don't share my views on life. Some people actually believe that they fail or succeed because of the President. That's fine, everyone's entitled to their own views, but this particular world view, where everything you have is directly dependent on the Whitehouse's decorator, is especially pathetic and sickening to my mind. It's truly sad, but not even close to as pathetic as those who seek office by pandering to this mentality. I fear, above all else save the effects of terror, the damage that this cancerous entitlement mindset would have on America, if Senator Kerry were to be elected President.

Don't get me wrong, if Kerry's elected, we'll all carry on. If we're attacked again, I will go on industriously, with the rest of America. If Kerry wins the presidency, I'll continue to succeed, in spite of him. However, I won't vote for someone who will raise my taxes as a matter of principle, I won't vote for someone who will make it harder for me to succeed, and I absolutely will not vote for a pathetic Dukakis-like anti-military nuclear-freeze-during-the-cold-war liberal, while the United States in embroiled in war.

So who's that leave? I'd like to vote for Badnarik. I voted for Harry Browne in 2000, and when I heard a Badnarik advertisement on the radio recently, there was an undeniable stirring of my Ayn Rand inspired Libertarian conscience. But, Badnarik's a bit batty, he doesn't understand the urgency with which we must destroy the terrorist threat, and, as I see it, the damage that a John Kerry presidency could have on American culture must be avoided at almost all costs. So, because New Mexico's race is very close, because President Bush has a record of prevailing in Mideast wars where all others have failed (see Afghanistan), because I don't believe Michael Moore's seditious lies, and despite Eliezer Yudkowsky's Meaning of Life FAQ voting guidelines, I'm voting for George W. Bush on Tuesday. He's not perfect (gee I'd really rather that you wouldn't scar the untouched Alaska wilderness with roads and oil wells), but I'm confident he's the best person for the job, considering this year's constraints.

My polling place opens at 7:00AM, but I'll going to arrive at 6:30. See you there. Here's to Kerry going the way of Humphrey, McGovern, Carter, Mondale, and Dukakis.

Oh, and please let this be the next-to-last last political post for ~ 3.5 years! I've got work and a lot of other cool stuff to get done.

Still believe we should have left him in power?

I just got an XM Radio. In the last 10 minutes I've heard bits of Jazz, Jazz/Funk, Bluegrass, Fugazi, NeoCon goodness, Minneapolis weather, Discovery channel, Trey Anastasio, and MMW. It is truly elite.

Five new devastating video presentations from SwiftVets and POWs for Truth (via BeldarBlog)

Go here to map your neighbors that have contributed to presidential campaigns. Learn their names, how much they gave, and what they do for a living.

Scary. Very scary.

The ternary operator is one of humanity's greatest achievements:

foo
if ( some_test( some_var ) )
{
    foo = false_value
}
else
{
    foo = true_value
}

vs

foo = some_test( some_var ) ? false_value : true_value

Clearly, the ternary construct is superior.

In a new Washington Times story, we learn that United Nations Security Council members deny meeting with Senator Kerry, despite Kerry telling America that he met with each one of them in the second presidential debate:

"I went to meet with the members of the Security Council in the week before we voted. I went to New York. I talked to all of them to find out how serious they were about really holding Saddam Hussein accountable. I came away convinced that, if we worked at it, if we were ready to work and letting Hans Blix do his job and thoroughly go through the inspections, that if push came to shove, they'd be there with us. But the president just arbitrarily brought the hammer down and said, "Nope. Sorry, time for diplomacy is over. We're going.""

Senator John Kerry - 2nd Presidential Debate - 10/8/2004

This wasn't the only time we've heard this claim from the Senator:

"Secondly, I spent a lot of time before the vote looking at this issue. I went up to the United Nations at the request of some friends. And I met with the entire Security Council in a room just like this at a table like this. I spent two hours with them. (inaudible), just me and the Security Council, asking them questions."

Senator John Kerry - Interview in the Boston Globe - 12/10/2003

Yesterday, the Washington Times claimed that some of Security Council members say they never meet with Senator Kerry:

U.N. ambassadors from several nations are disputing assertions by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry that he met for hours with all members of the U.N. Security Council just a week before voting in October 2002 to authorize the use of force in Iraq.

An investigation by The Washington Times reveals that while the candidate did talk for an unspecified period to at least a few members of the panel, no such meeting, as described by Mr. Kerry on a number of occasions over the past year, ever occurred.

...

But of the five ambassadors on the Security Council in 2002 who were reached directly for comment, four said they had never met Mr. Kerry. The four also said that no one who worked for their countries' U.N. missions had met with Mr. Kerry either.

The former ambassadors who said on the record they had never met Mr. Kerry included the representatives of Mexico, Colombia and Bulgaria. The ambassador of a fourth country gave a similar account on the condition that his country
not be identified.

Security Council members deny meeting Kerry - Joel Mowbrays - Washington Times 10/25/2004

After hearing this news, a lot of people said things like "Whatever, a small distortion.. Maybe he meant only the permanent members of the council, etc.". These were close to my thoughts: yet another distortion, but nothing unbelievable coming from the Senator, given his track record. If he had in fact met with a majority of the council or almost all of the permanent members, it might have been an acceptable distortion in my eyes. However, recent news could show that Kerry's "entire" and "all of them" security council was made up of representatives of the following countries:

• France
• Cameroon
• Singapore

If this proves true (research is ongoing), the Senator's statements are well beyond hyperbole. If you're asking yourself what about Chile, China, Germany, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, the Russian Federation, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Algeria, Angola, Benin, and Brazil, you're not alone. If you're wondering if Cameroon and Singapore are even members of the security council, you're not alone.

In other news, the NYTimes missing explosives story is total BS, but that didn't stop CBS's 60 Minutes from planning to air the story on Election Eve.

I think that Senator Kerry, CBS, the New York Times, and maybe all of us should have listened to Kerry's mom, which is why shouldn't even mention this story, until a bit more vetting can take place.

Head on over to Americans for Peace Through Strength to see what Ronald Regan thinks about Kerry Mondale.

The Wolf Ad is also worth viewing.

It might have been inappropriate to show Stolen Honor on FCC-licensed air waves, but there's nothing wrong with watching it online for free.

Shape of Days' Jeff Harrell rips Markos Zuniga of the Daily Kos up and down (again).

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Man arrested in alleged voter registration-crack cocaine scheme. Wow.

As noted by Glenn Reynolds, Greg Djerejian has posted a very interesting Bush/Cheney endorsement. Criticisms of our President are not spared. I command you to read it. Don't forget the comments - they're also excellent.

My favorite futurist has a new book and a new interview. (slashdot discussion)

Few people may understand why I find the The Glenn Gould De-Vocalizer 2000 so incredibly funny (via MetaFilter). I'll buy one, when they make a Keith Jarret / Glenn Gould combo unit.

I'd like to thank those of you who have recently taken the time to leave comments here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and please-oh-please keep them coming. I live for the thrill you provide me, with each and every comment. I really do. You inspire me to make this weblog a better place.

Along with my commenting readers, I appreciate those of you who remain silent. However, I'd like to challenge you to leave a comment, despite your previous silence. There must be at least ten of you out there, and I'd really enjoy hearing from you. Tell me what you like about this place, what you hate, or what you'd like to see in the future. "Shut up and take pictures of New Mexico", "Stick to crap you know something about", or "Hi, you might not remember me, but I was a member of your high school track team" are all examples of perfectly acceptable comments.

Whatever you have to say, I'll be happy to hear from you.

Question:

Can you rename bohnsack.com as sackvsbeef.com?

Answer:

Please visit our brand new website:

...or check out the infamous BeefSack

From the National Review Online:

Leading economists have a message for America: “John Kerry favors economic policies that, if implemented, would lead to bigger and more intrusive government and a lower standard of living for the American people.” That was the conclusion released in a statement Wednesday by 368 economists, including six Nobel laureates: Gary Becker, James Buchanan, Milton Friedman, Robert Lucas, Robert Mundell, and — the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Economics — Edward C. Prescott. The economists warned that Sen. Kerry’s policies “would, over time, inhibit capital formation, depress productivity growth, and make the United States less competitive internationally. The end result would be lower U.S. employment and real wage growth.” - Link to story

The third presidential debate just ended. Overall, it was a boring rehash of the previous events. However and amazingly (considering Kerry's "domestic edge"), it was Bush's best performance yet. If the last debate was a tie, how'd this debate score? If the Electoral Vote Predictor had it Bush 291 / Kerry 228 before this evening's debate, what's it going to be by the end of the week?

Don't forget that the October surprises are only beginning.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy - The conservative Senator from Massachusetts

Jeff Goldstein cuts to the bone:

John Kerry: "Whatever you need, it's yours. Need a job? You got it. Need a higher living wage? Done. Need cheap, universal healthcare? I'm your man. Need a better education? Have at it, paid in full. Relying on social security for your retirement? I'll put it in a lock box. Tax relief? I can give you that, too. Want to lose your virginity to a teenage Mexicali hooker and a donkey? I'll print coupons. And the best part is, every single one of my plans comes with free cole slaw and a plate of homestyle biscuits!"

George Bush: "Anybody who believes this guy can deliver on even one percent of his promises deserves four years of John F'n Kerry. God bless, and good night."

Jeff Goldstein describes the debate he saw

Bush's debate notes (via Shape of Days)

Senator Edwards' genius keeps on a comin'. Yesterday, he politicized the recent passing of Christoper Reeve with a most amazing statement:

"If we do the work that we can do in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve will get up out of that wheelchair and walk again"

John Edwards - Tue 10/11/2004 in Newton, Iowa

That's right America, vote for Kerry/Edwards and all of our lame shall be healed.

Q: You mean all I gotta do is vote for Kerry and he'll restore sight to the blind?

A: Yep.

Q: What about the deaf?

A: They'll hear again.

Q: The dead?

A: Raised! He'll raise them all (dead pets too), sing the holy praises!

In other Edwards news, I found this expos� on his "plan" to deal with run-away malpractice costs very enlightening.

Jeff Harrell's The Shape of Days is one of the best political blogs out there. There are constantly new and original pieces, like today's dissection of a new Markos Zuniga column. There's a lot that Jeff says that I don't agree with, but his arguments are very well formed and all of his writing comes off as brutally honest. You know that he believes what he writes.

Highly recommended reading!