Sunday, February 08, 2004

the president as buffoon

We forgot to watch the prez on Meet the Press. I guess that's okay because just reading the transcript upset me so much I expect my psoriasis to flare up any minute now. One of the parts that really bugged me was his talk about cutting taxes for small businesses. Well, how come we paid more taxes last year and will be paying even more this year for our small business? Supposedly he's trying to benefit entrepreneurs. Well, we'd sure like to find out how ... just read it yourself if you missed the show: Meet the Press - Transcript for Feb. 8th

Bushie: ... And I look forward to debate on the economy because I think one of those things that's very important is that the entrepreneurial spirit of this country be strong and the small business sector be strong. And the policies I have laid out enhance entrepreneurship, they encourage small business creation, and I think this economy is coming around just right, frankly.

Russert: The General Accounting Office, which are the nation's auditors

President Bush: Yeah.

Russert: have done a study of our finances.

President Bush: Um hmm.

Russert: And this is what your legacy will be to the next generation. It says that our "current fiscal policy is unsustainable." They did a computer simulation that shows that balancing the budget in 2040 could require either cutting total Federal spending in half or doubling Federal taxes.

President Bush: Um hmm.

Russert: How why, as a fiscal conservative as you like to call yourself, would you allow a $500 billion deficit and this kind of deficit disaster?

President Bush: Sure. The budget I just proposed to the Congress cuts the deficit in half in five years. Now, I don't know what the assumptions are in the GAO report, but I do know that if Congress is wise with the people's money, we can cut the deficit in half. ... [more unbelievable bullshit]


Stanley said that when Clinton evaded answering questions, at least he had finesse. I was never a Clinton fan -- I didn't vote for him either time, I confess (I voted for Perot) -- but god how I long for him to be the one in the Oval Office. It's going to take years to undo the damage the Pretender has wrought. How can anyone with at least two brain cells to rub together even think about supporting this moron? Particularly if they have children. Especially if they have children -- unless they secretly hate their kids and want them to live in a nightmare world.

The other part that really bothered me was his attempt to explain to the parents of the 530 soldiers who've died in Iraq why this was necessary. He said, in essence, nothing. There is nothing he can say to atone for his murder of 530 Americans.
posted by lee on 02/08/04 at 07:42 PM

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Friday, February 06, 2004

A Handy Dandy President Picker

Can't decide which candidate to vote for? Searching for more information on a candidate? Try Presidential Match. Guess what ... my top match was Kucinich. Somebody tell me again why he's not electable, other than The Media says he's not?

This little test thingie is from AOL News/Time. I read about it in Electablog (by Dave Pell). Nice logo design, colors.
posted by lee on 02/06/04 at 07:01 PM

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Tuesday, February 03, 2004

stumbled-upon websites

I found this link a while ago when I was looking for aerial maps (I don't remember why): HomeTownLocator Gazetteer: Census Info, Physical and Cultural Features, Aerial Photos, Maps, Zip Code Data. It's a great collection of sources for information about places in the USA, including census data. It's through this site I found the aerial map, from TerraServer to be precise. Here is what I found (though they're really old):

aerial41491.jpg

This is a view of our house on April 12, 1991. That big blob in the middle, next to the red dot, is Stanley's acre. It is now Stanley's half acre, and there are two built-fast-to-sell-fast houses on the south half acre. It looks like an image taken after a neutron bomb was dropped or something as even back in 1991, there was too much traffic on Strawberry Hill Avenue. This shows NO cars. And this date was a Friday, so it show cars bumper-to-bumper. Funny how this view shows how much land a couple of tennis courts take up.

topomap.jpg

This is a topological map done in 1986. The arrow is pointing to the dot that is our house. See, I'm not kidding when I say we live right next door to a school! Stanley says our house is on one of the highest points in Norwalk (though we can't see the Sound unless, I'm told, we go on the roof). When Norwalk flooded in 1955 (the year of horrific flooding in Connecticut) and destroyed quite a bit of downtown Norwalk, Stanley said the water only came up to near the top of the cellar steps. He said he remembers sitting on the top step looking at it. (We live very, very close to the Norwalk River, which is where downtown Norwalk is located -- if there IS a downtown Norwalk anymore.)

Interesting stuff. Well, look up your own house ... that should be interesting to you ...

NEXT UP
dreamanatomy.jpgFrom those whimsical people at the National Library of Medicine, we have Dream Anatomy says: "Drawn mainly from the collections of the National Library of Medicine, Dream Anatomy shows off the anatomical imagination in some of its most astonishing incarnations, from 1500 to the present." An interesting look through one of those "who woulda thunk" collections. If this is not enough, check out Smallpox: A Great and Terrible Scourge.

SSSHHH ...
Find out what Nurse Jones has to say.

COMMERCIAL REMUDDLINGS?
What can you do with a Taco Bell that's gone bust? How about an IHOP? Find out here, at Not Fooling Anybody. Dontcha wonder why people devote so much time and effort to sites like this? Whatever. I'm glad they do, because they're fun.

REVISIT
steinerplastics_gottschoschleinsner1953.gifOne of my favorite stumbled-upon sites is the Library of Congress. I just found this exhibit (again?): American Memory. Check out this movie of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. If you spend even a little time going through these archives, you will realize what an amazing amount of dedication and work assembling these collections online has taken. And the two collections mentioned in this entry (the National Library of Medicine Exhibits from above) are just snippets of what's out there just on government sites alone. I am in awe.

Time to go grocery shopping ...
posted by lee on 02/03/04 at 12:46 AM

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