WILLisms.com: December 2005 Archives

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Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 246 -- Title IX & Collegiate Athletics.

Women's Athletics-

Have you ever wondered how profitable or unprofitable college sports programs are? And how Title IX impacts the profitability of collegiate sports programs?

We already know that many schools have eliminated certain traditional male sports programs, such as wrestling, in order to comply with Title IX. Essentially, Title IX requires a school to offer equal opportunities for female and male athletes. Women's sports teams are almost unanimously revenue losers for a school. And we're talking millions of negatory dollars, here. Thus, a school without a huge male cash cow (a football or basketball team, usually) opts to cut both female and male teams. No sports teams, in other words. No soup for you.

Here are the numbers from a few major schools, chosen somewhat at random:

Just a little factoid:
The University of Texas women's basketball program cost the school $1,325,330 last year (that's revenues minus expenses). That's a cost of 63,110 dollars per win.

And that's pretty remarkable, considering that each year, the Texas women's basketball program is one of the more financially successful programs in the nation.

Source:
U.S. Department of Education.

-------------------------------------

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Media Bias On Iraq.

Posted by Will Franklin · 28 December 2005 09:12 PM · Comments (7)

Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 36.

IT'S BACK.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

Abdul Aziz Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), acknowledges the supporters after addressing the Kurdish parliament in Arbil, 350 km (220 miles) north of Baghdad December 28, 2005. Leaders of the Shi'ite and Kurdish blocs that emerged triumphant in this month's Iraqi election agreed on Tuesday to push ahead with efforts to bring Sunni and other parties into a grand coalition government. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Surely there's a better caption for this photograph.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, January 3. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email at WILLisms@gmail.com.

Last week's photo:

Winners from last week (actually, a couple of weeks ago):

Rodney Dill:

Even Harry's prayers were slanted to the left.

DaveD:

Harry Reid reacts to Howard Dean's plan to take back the Senate in 2006.

sbw:

Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open up the doors and look at all the peop... Oh? Nobody here. Congress is on break. Everyone is home posturing.

Honorable Mention #1

Hoodlumman:

Senator Harry Reid focuses his inner chi during a warm-up before his Death Match vs. Senator Frist.

Honorable Mention #2

charles austin:

"Excellent, Smithers."

Honorable Mention #3

McCain:

Always ready to please an audience, Harry Reid prepares for the Triple Lindy.

Captioning is the fastest growing sport in America.

Enter today!

UPDATE:

I almost forgot this hilarious Photoshop submission from Rob B.:

Now, that's funny.

Posted by Will Franklin · 28 December 2005 11:42 AM · Comments (29)

Pundit Roundtable Open Mic

Merry Christmas! Welcome to PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE. I am your holiday host, Ken McCracken.

First of all, as you know Will Franklin has been temporarily sucked out of the blogosphere and into that vortex known as real life, I'd like to wish him and his family holiday tidings and a happy new year!

That goes for you, too.

Since nearly everyone decided to respond to the topic questions in the comments rather than emailing me, I just decided to convert the Open Mic into the Roundtable itself - what follows below is the original post:

Are you a blogger who would like to vulture off a little traffic from WILLisms.com? Are you a commenter with attitude? Are you really bored this holiday weekend?

Every Sunday around noon or so we post an item here called Pundit Roundtable. Well, this week, we are inviting anyone who wants to participate to send me a response to these topic questions:

Topic 1: You are now EMPEROR OF THE WORLD, with unlimited dictatorial powers. What policies do you enact? Are you a benign, or malign ruler?

Topic 2: Make one bold prediction for 2006.

Respond to any or all topics and questions as you wish, be as short or verbose as you like, and being on-topic is not essential.

This is an experiment that might be cancelled this week if it is overcome by overweening apathy.

So go into the comments and see what folks had to say.

We do have one guest who emailed a response to me, from 'Dan, EOD Technician', an active serviceman who asked me to post his thoughts regarding Islam:

I am a member of the United States’ much maligned military. I spent seven years in the Army and the last five years in the Air Force Reserves. In the Army I was a Patriot missile man. Now in the Air Force I am an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician (Bomb Squad). All twelve years of my service I have been on active duty (thanks in part to 9-11). I have been I’ve spent most of my adult life, in one way or another, working in the Middle East (6 deployments). The reason I mention this is that I want my pedigree fully understood. I’m not some armchair quarterback, and my involvement with the Middle East is not shallow or purely academic. I have taken the time to study the Arab region and the Muslim culture. I even learned Arabic.
Now that I’ve established some background, let me say that which the PC crowd won’t say. Folks, the culture and religion in question is hostile. The individual’s are often sweet and well meaning people. Some would bring credit to any group or situation they could be placed in. The overall society however, is as poisonous as a pit viper and twice as touchy. I’ve sat back and watched as academics and media people have apologized over and over again for the Muslim culture. Saying repeatedly “Islam is peaceful” and constantly rehashing the “Jihad is spiritual struggle” meme. This is categorically false. The “Jihad of the spirit” many apologists refer to is a late Sufi tradition, extremely rare and often discredited among “mainstream” Islam. To put it in perspective, Sufis are as rare in Islam an 7th day Adventists are in Christianity. Probably more so.
Having stated all that, let me tell you about the Islam that I have witnessed. On my first deployment in 1994, while eating at a café in Riyadh, I saw a woman beaten and dragged away from her children on the street. What was her crime? After a very careful inquiry, my friends and I learned that she was selling souvenirs without her husband present. Her three small children were left to cower on the street in tears. We were nearby for almost an hour; we wanted to help, but were unable to. Both because we were advised against it, and for fear that the Mutawa (religious police) would take us in as well. The woman’s husband never showed. On another deployment in 1995, also in Riyadh, I saw a Saudi man beat a Pakistani nearly to death for the crime of being hit by the aforementioned Saudi’s Mercedes. I watched the accident and the subsequent beating. The Saudi was clearly at fault for the accident. When the aforementioned Mutawa showed, they hauled off the Pakistani to an unknown fate and sent the Saudi man on his way. In case you didn’t know, Pakistani’s and members of other poor Muslim countries are often recruited to work in Saudi Arabia as indentured servants / slaves. The conditions they live in and treatment they receive are appalling. I could go on, there were other incidents that I observed, both more and less disturbing. I have observed similarly jarring incidents in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. From conversations with other servicemen I can tell you such incidents were not unusual or even rare. Call them “cultural quirks” if you will, but I was raised to know right from wrong when I see it.
All of the “little” incidents I witnessed or heard about, pale into insignificance compared to what I observed and learned about during my time in Baghdad. On a visit to rid a small village of UXOs (Un-eXploded Ordnance), I had a conversation with a man who lost most of his family to one of Saddam’s Gas attacks. By most let me clarify by saying that only his sister and three cousins survived. By the time I met him, he’d already lost one of those cousins to a bomb set by Zarqawi’s group. Later, during one of my longest duty days (38 hours), I had to conduct a post blast analysis where an IED had gone off. The only victims were two Kindergarten aged girls. One of their little shoes (blood stained) was still at the scene when we arrived. I had to watch my friend’s stricken face when he realized that what he thought was a component of the device revealed itself to be a little girls’ tooth. Ansar Al Islam claimed responsibility for the bombing. It was not the only such incident. One of the other incidents I helped investigate was the grand opening of an elementary school. A device with approximately 10lbs of explosives was detonated during the opening ceremonies. The vast majority of the crowd consisted of children and Iraqi civilians. Thankfully the only injury was a scraped elbow received by a soldier knocked from his vehicle. I will not speak of the atrocities I heard about that were committed by the Taliban. They literally give me nightmares, and I do not wish to pass them on. As with the “minor” cultural incidents in the preceding paragraph, there is much more that I could mention. I hope my point is made. DO NOT fall under the spell of the apologists for Islam. The Islamic people need to be held accountable for their actions. Ideally, they should police themselves and purge the radical elements from their society. Personally, I believe that is unlikely to happen, except possibly in Iraq where they have suffered so much at the hands of the radicals. The long on the short of it is that there is a reason why most of the conflicts occurring around the world involve Islam in some fashion. I encourage anyone and everyone who has read my words to look into this for themselves. Read deep enough and you will see that I am at least partly correct. As I said, I am hardly neutral.
Right now, my colleagues throughout the military are fighting and dying to provide Iraqis with a chance to improve the Arab culture and bring democracy to a region that desperately needs it. I believe that democracy is the only thing that can “tame” the Islamic cultures of the world. What we’re doing now may be the only way to prevent all out war between Islam and EVERYONE else. I wish others could see the war in Iraq and Afghanistan in that context.
Anyway, now that my probably incoherent rant has come to a close, I can only say that I hope someone out there listens. With or without WMD’s, going into Iraq was the right thing to do. Facing down and destroying “Islamofascism” on our terms, is the only way to deal with it.

That's it! Thank you everyone for responding, and thank you Dan for your service to our country. Come back next week for the next installment of PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE!

Update: Oops! In my rush to get out the door and go watch the Bears thrash the hapless Packers, I forgot the Host's Last Word! I am now Emperor of the World - I hereby abolish my rule and replace it with Democracy! Purple fingers for everyone!

And Howard Dean will NOT make any outrageous or incendiary comments in 2006. Now that is one bold prediction!

Posted by Ken McCracken · 25 December 2005 04:05 PM · Comments (12)

Oh, The Insanity.

You know those movies where huge riots have broken out, people are killing each other, and the entire scene borders on unfathomable insanity? Nothing quite makes sense.

Then comes along a sane individual who is just stunned and bewildered at the madness? His mere entrance into the scene stops the fisticuffs and shenanigans, although he may have to yell, "snap out of it!" or "stop the madness!"

Think Lord of the Flies, when the soldier finds the children-- reduced to savages-- burning the jungle down and otherwise destroying civilization (and themselves). He then soberly asks the kids, who are snapping out of their frenzy, "What are you guys doing?"

Think West Side Story, when the adults, after trying their best to prevent the rival Sharks and Jets from literally killing each other, are reduced to throwing their hands in the air, shaking their heads, and muttering about society gone wrong.

There are countless examples from books and movies and other bits of pop culture where an outsider looks upon a chaotic, nonsensical, situation with fresh eyes and has that "what are you guys doing" moment.

Well, I feel a little like that archetypal outsider looking in at the ridiculous stream of news from the past week. Over the past few days, because of moving into a new home, with little or no internet access, no newspaper subscription, and no television, I have read, watched, and listened to marginal little bits of news, mostly while walking past newspaper stands. I am pretty sure that I am better off for it.

The little that I have followed has caused my jaw to drop in astonishment. What madness has taken over the news media in this country?

Basically, here's my outsider view of the past few days or so...

-Bush's poll numbers begin to rise again.

-Iraq has a huge, successful election.

-The New York Times runs a story (based on leaks from 3 Democrat Senators?) about domestic spying the following morning.

-Suddenly, this spying business captivates the nation's media (but not the nation), eclipsing any and all other stories.

-Everything is blown out of proportion. The media make it seem likely that the government is spying on you. Yes, you. Terrorists? What terrorists?

-Bush is put on the spot to "defend" wiretaps of suspected terrorists following 9/11? Really?

-Democrats declare that totalitarianism has overtaken our country and call for impeachment and Congressional investigations and so on?

What's going on here? What am I missing? I just don't get the furor and hubbub. I am guessing most Americans don't, either.

-Meanwhile, the New York transit workers are on strike. Smooth move, idiots. Way to win friends and influence people during the Christmas season. And they still have yet to be fired?

Regular blogging will resume sometime next week, but there will be spotty bursts in the meantime, if and when possible. In the meantime, if you feel caught up in the madness, just turn it off for a few days.

Posted by Will Franklin · 21 December 2005 03:54 PM · Comments (18)

US Army Finds Huge Weapons Stash In Iraq

Great news from Iraq, the Army found a large buried cache of the types of shells used to make improvised roadside bombs, and has begun destroying them.

Posted by Ken McCracken · 20 December 2005 08:23 PM · Comments (7)

"The Constitution Is Not A Suicide Pact"

A great line that originated with the Supreme Court, Rush Limbaugh used it during his show today. Limbaugh should have mentioned this phrase's pedigree, it has a bit of an interesting history behind it.

This phrase should be food for thought for Democrats such as Senator Barbara Boxer who now think that defending our national security in perfectly legal ways is an impeachable offense.

Update: the Democrats' tin-ear campaign against Iraq and President Bush is once again making them look like Charlie Brown and the football.

Posted by Ken McCracken · 20 December 2005 04:41 PM · Comments (16)

Pundit Roundtable

Hi! Welcome back to PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE, of which we have an abbreviated version this week. This is your host, Ken McCracken.

Next Sunday will be an Open Mic edition of PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE. On Friday evening I will post the topic questions, and anyone may email me a response. Unless it is way unclassy, you will have access to the mighty WILLisms.com soapbox to air your opinions. I hope you will join in!

Here is our sole topic for this week -

Iraqis this week turned out in droves to vote in their first parliamentary elections, without terrorist violence. How important was this vote, both for the Iraqis, and for President Bush?

And here is our sole guest, returning pundit Dan Morgan of NoSpeedBumps.com. Dan, what do you think?

The vote in Iraq was the most important milestone since the successful invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein. Now the Iraqis finally have the foundations for forming an entire government based on the democratic process. The fact that people turned out in such great numbers, and with the blessing of local religious leaders, points to a promising future. Indeed, this is a lesson in democracy for the entire Muslim Middle East. And if Iraqis can now refine their budding free market economy, leverage their oil wealth, and avoid the economic and political corruption typical in the Middle East - their future is very bright.
These elections prove that President Bush has been carefully following a plan in Iraq, although his Democratic doubters constantly complain that he has no plan. Democrats will continue to denounce Bush to score political points, but Bush will prevail in the end. As Iraqi security forces begin taking over patrols, American casualties will drop steadily. Once US troops are on bases and mostly out of harm's way, the entire controversy in Iraq will just fade away. And we will be left with a free, democratic, and prosperous Iraq that stands as a beacon of hope for reform and modernization to Muslims throughout the Middle East. Bush's Iraq undertaking, including nation building, will ultimately be judged a success by all except the most cynical observers.

The Host's Last Word: This is a big milestone, but not as critical as that first vote for an interim government taken last January. That was the big one, but this vote certainly builds upon that foundation. There is no turning back from democracy and eventual peace in Iraq now - the insurgency has been utterly defeated politically, thought not yet defeated militarily. The terrorists in Iraq have not one single victory of any kind to their credit, and now even the Sunni minority has rejected the terrorists en masse.

This is an important victory for Bush, but an even more important victory for Republicans running for office in '06. Just when the Democrats' retreat and defeat strategy becomes manifest, along comes an event that just destroys all the claims upon which that dubious strategy is based. President Bush can enjoy a slow slide up in the polls from here on in, not that he pays much attention to those sorts of things. But this will have coattails that will help a great many other Republicans up for office next year.

This latest vote in Iraq proves that our effort there is not a failure, is enjoying popularity with the Iraqi people, and that we are winning their hearts and minds (not difficult considering the actions of our adversaries). Woe unto those unwise Democrats who continue to see Iraq as nothing but another incarnation of Vietnam.

That's it! Thanks for coming by, and please do join in, or at least visit, next week's OPEN MIC PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE!

Posted by Ken McCracken · 18 December 2005 02:29 PM · Comments (4)

WILLisms.com '05: Last Chance.

The Weblog Awards end Thursday night (at midnight, maybe?).

Vote. It's your last chance. Click here and take a moment to make a Christmas blog miracle come true.

Because, really, it will take a miracle for anyone to catch the angry lefty blogger Roger Ailes, not to mention the other angry lefty blogger Needlenose.

In the meantime, a very "moving" haiku:

Kolache breakfast.
Double checking the checklist.

Packing and moving.

Be back soon, y'all. Stay classy. No, seriously. Recently, I've received a barrage of angry, profanity-laced left-wing hate comments and hate mail and had to ban several IP addresses. Lots of supremely unclassy stuff. Very lame. So, I mean it when I say "keep it classy."

Posted by Will Franklin · 15 December 2005 08:37 AM · Comments (4)

Holiday Blogging.

Well, Christmas is upon us. What's more, the Mrs. and I are moving, so blogging will be practically non-existent for the next few/several days. The archives are rife with gloriousness, though. So be sure to check them out.

Posted by Will Franklin · 14 December 2005 09:40 PM · Comments (3)

VOTE (FOR WILLisms.com) OR DIE!

Vote (here) or die. It takes moments. But the legacy you leave behind will last forever. Be "hot" like Paris Hilton and P. Diddy: vote today. Or else.

Tomorrow (thankfully) is the final day of the Weblog Awards 2005. It's a nice way to get to know other blogs, but 10 days of voting is a bit excessive, no?

Still, these campaign "ads" have been sort of fun to parody and produce.

Posted by Will Franklin · 14 December 2005 05:27 PM · Comments (9)

Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 35.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, pictured July 2005. Democratic lawmakers accused President George W. Bush of glossing over problems in Iraq ahead of the war-torn country's elections.(AFP/File/Jim Watson)

Surely there's a better caption for this photograph.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, December 20. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email at WILLisms@gmail.com.

Last week's photo:

Winners from last week:

Rodney Dill:

(Sign on Big Ernie's School of law.) Become a lawyer in your spare time. It's like Viagra for your whole body.

Buckley F. Williams:

Even though he went on to become arguably the most successful body builder of his era, Alfred E. Neumann was never able to completely distance himself from rampant allegations of steroid abuse.

Hoodlumman:

"I'm happier than you!"
"YOU ARE NOT HAPPIER THAN ME!!!"

Honorable Mention #1

Pat Patterson:

"I don't think this fiber diet is working at all".

Honorable Mention #2

Tom:

"...and for our silver medal winner is President Arroyo's deep-tissue massage and happy ending."

Honorable Mention #3

Rob B.:

It was the picture of sportsmanship at the 2005 Mrs. Butterworth's Asian Weightlifting and Spelling Bee Championships until Sahali realized that Michael's correct spelling of the word "daguerreotype" had ensured him victory and the coveted "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYmi" edition X-box 360.

Captioning is delicious and nutritious.

Enter today!

Posted by Will Franklin · 14 December 2005 09:51 AM · Comments (20)

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 245 -- Media Defeatism On Iraq.

Bad News Bears MAKING The News-

We all know the media are extraordinarily biased. Sometimes I wonder if the emergence of blogs and talk radio and other alternative forms of media have actually made the bias worse in some ways. The establishment types feel they are just balancing the "right wing propaganda" out there with increasingly ridiculous news coverage. Meanwhile, the big, lefty, establishment guys continue to lose market share.

Could it be that people are sick of the gloom and doom defeatism, the hand-wringing, and the second-guessing?

As we found earlier this year, few stories (just five in two months) featured stories of American soldiers’ heroism, while nearly four times as many (19) focused on allegations of U.S. wrongdoing, including the accidental killing of civilians and claims of prisoner mistreatment.

Interestingly, when the President's polls took a tumble, the media began covering the polls quite a bit more than before:

The networks devoted relatively heavy coverage (64 stories, or 20% of the total) to the debate over the war. That is a significant change in focus from the first nine months of 2005, when such stories only accounted for just seven percent of Iraq news.

Predictable.

And don't forget about the disconnect betweeen journalists and the American people:

Get with it, media. There is plenty of good news out there.

There is too much at stake for the media to consistently ignore any and all good news.

Source:
Media Research Center (.pdf).

-------------------------------------

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Affordable College.

Posted by Will Franklin · 14 December 2005 09:33 AM · Comments (1)

It's Up To You.

The Weblog Awards go on until Thursday. Thus, the campaign goes on until Thursday:

SONG: WILLisms, WILLisms, WILLisms, WILLisms, WILLisms, WILLisms can, etc. Do you want a man for president who's seasoned through and through, But not so doggoned seasoned that he won't try something new? A man who's old enough to know, and young enough to do? Well, it's up to you, it's up to you, it's strictly up to you. Do you like a man who answers straight, a man who's always there? Well, measure him against the others and when you compare, You'll cast your vote for WILLisms and the change that's overdue. So it's up to you, it's up to you, it's strictly up to you. Yes, WILLisms, WILLisms, WILLisms, WILLisms, WILLisms, WILLisms can.

TAKE THE 10 SECONDS TO VOTE NOW (by clicking here).

In our category, there are 2 liberal blogs, 1 optical illusion blog, and about 12 conservative/libertarian/Republican-leaning blogs. The two liberal blogs are destroying the rest of us.

WILLisms is still in third place. While some on both sides of the partisan/ideological spectrum might be inclined to complain about the lack of inclusion of liberal blogs, we're in what might be called a "medium-sized blog" category. There aren't a lot of medium-sized liberal blogs, while there are a lot of medium-sized conservative blogs. More on this phenomenon some other tme.

In the meantime, more on the classic 1960 Kennedy campaign ad can be found here.

Posted by Will Franklin · 13 December 2005 10:42 PM · Comments (4)

Some Call It A Bonfire (Or Carnival) Of Classiness...

We call it "Classiness, All Around Us."

Click to explore more WILLisms.com.

In no particular order, WILLisms.com presents (an expanded edition of) classiness from the blogosphere:

1.

Tyrants-

Rudy Rummel of Democratic Peace explains that tyrants are far more destructive and deadly than natural disasters:

Dictatorships are human made disasters many times more deadly than nature's. Dictatorships are not simply disasters, they are human catastrophes. Power kills, absolute power kills absolutely.

It should be a crime against humanity for any dictatorship to exist.

Spread the word and help freedom ring.

...Spreading.

Keep On Rocking In The Free World-

Gateway Pundit tells the story of some female rockers in the Middle East:

Rock On, My Sisters!

Rock on indeed.

The Big Three-

Detour Blog has some interesting observations about making cars:

Compounding matters, Japanese profits per vehicle were significantly higher than GM, with q per car profit of $1,433 at Toyota , $1,250 at Honda , and $1,603 for Nissan. Ford had the highest figure among the Big Three, at $620, while GM lost $2,311 per vehicle in 2004.
GM lost 2,311 per vehicle last year! I know I dropped out of my economics PhD program without earning a degree, but I am relatively sure that this is not a sustainable long-run strategy to increase shareholder wealth.

Lots of very interesting data there. Definitely worth a read.

Wally World-

Daniel Drezner explains how Wal-Mart helps the poor (with a nice comment thread):

...the expansion of Wal-Mart over the 1985 to 2004 period can be associated with a cumulative decline of 9.1% in food-at-home prices, a 4.2% decline in commodities (goods) prices, and a 3.1% decline in overall consumer prices...

Some nice reading on Wal-Mart, which, unlike many of the big American automobile companies, has been very successful. Many on the left want Wal-Mart to run itself more like "Detroit." Not a great idea.

Racial Politics-

Wunderkraut tells the story of a bit of dysfunction in our politics:

Tonight, our town saw on camera proof that the black leaders in the town care nothing about the people they are supposed to represent. It was disgusting to see. The incumbent had developed a bad name for himself. People saw him as a race baiter who caused dissention on the Commission and who needed to go. The black candidates in the general election said the same thing. But when the run off came about and it was down to a white guy with good ideas on the future of the Ward, both white and black, and a black incumbent who had more than worn out his welcome, the leaders knee jerk reaction was to vote against the white guy.

It's truly amazing.

Haaaahvaaahhhd-

Speaking of dysfunctional race-based politics, The Anchoress notes a bit of double standard in the media:

...it’s disheartening to see that the president who has - more than any president before him - surrounded himself with exceptional people of every race, gender and creed, is being regarded as “racially oppressive” by those who choose to live in a state of willful misunderstanding, while Harvard’s rather late-to-the-party (decades after Barbara Jordan, they STILL hadn’t named a black woman to the post?) hiring is touted as something…remarkable.
Who are the racists, again? I keep getting confused.

I would like to see us move into a post-racial political period in our country, where race isn't such a petty partisan issue.

Political Will-

Bill Rice offers a two part (Part 1, Part 2) look at political will:

The current statements by the majority of Democrats betray the ideals of John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Bush Administration is focused on timetables for success in building a democracy while promising that US forces will remain until the job is accomplished. This is political will and will be the defining memory of the Bush presidency.

Precisely. There is a cancer in the Democratic Party today. It roots for and cheers on and-- if need be-- makes up American failure, because American failure is Republican failure. And Republican failure is-- politically, speaking-- Democratic success.

But history doesn't work that way. Thankfully.

Propaganda-

The Officers' Club (via Michelle Malkin) offers a glimpse into the soul of the radical anti-war group "Code Pink":

I'm a troop and I don't need Code Pink telling me that patriotism "confuses me." Code Pink does not support the military or speak for the military. They are a reactionary anti-American organization, and should be treated as such.

The scary thing is that these groups comprise increasingly large proportions of the Democratic Party fundraising and electoral base. Moreover, these folks are not treated like the outcasts they are; they are part and parcel of the leadership of the party. Although they have fringe ideas, Code Pink is not a fringe group. Rather, they are the core-- the heart and soul-- of the DNC.

Holiday Shopping, Christmas Layoffs-

Ever notice that Christmas is being sanitized out of the media? Sure, it's a popular topic these days. Well, there's more. When layoffs are involved, "Christmas" is still included. BizzyBlog does a little research and finds some interesting results:

Shopping - “Holiday Shopping Season” (using quote marks)–8,730 hits. - “Christmas shopping season” (using quote marks)–1,170 hits.
Layoffs
- holidays layoffs (without quotes)–141 hits.
- holiday layoffs (without quotes)–687 hits.
- Christmas layoffs (without quotes)–417 hits.

Try it yourself. Why is this?

10.

Bogus Polls-

Ankle Biting Pundits rips open another poll with bad underlying demographics:

Yes, the poll shows the President's ratings going up. But the baseline was faulty. And neither this, nor the other polls from the NYT (and most other MSM organizations) should be used to analyze "what this might mean" for the 2006 elections, as the respondent base appears to bear little resemblance to who will actually show up and vote.

Clearly, the poll is faulty. Age, income, religion, party ID, and so on, the whole sham leads to artificially deflated poll numbers for Bush. But the good news is that even with the same bogus demographics, Bush's numbers are still up, especially on the economy (which the Bush administration has finally started talking up in a concerted and sustained way).

But the bogus poll demographics have such serious consequences for public policy and for our Republic, that it is amazing more people don't speak out against them.

11.

Driving Them Into The Sea-

Publius Pundit sets the record straight on wiping Israel off the face of the earth:

A week ago, the United Nations held a “Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People” at the UN headquarters in New York City, which was attended by a man of many fruitless condemnations, Kofi Annan himself. There’s a map behind Kofi Annan between the UN and PLO flags that depicts Israel and the Palestinian territories. Only problem? The words at the top of the map clearly refers to the land as Palestine, making no reference to the separation of territories, effectively wiping Israel off the map.

It certainly does put the recent series of comments from Iran's President about wiping Israel off the map and/or moving it to Europe in context.

12.

Using Terri-

"Generation Why?" blog notes that Howard Dean and friends are making good on their promise to "use" Terri Schiavo in 2006:

Michael Schiavo has launched TerriPAC to exploit his wife's memory for the benefit of raising cash for Democrats.
A closer look at the domain registration for TerriPAC.com shows the site is registered to NovemberGroup.net, a group that bills itself as a "full-service progressive campaign management, political consulting and project coordination company." Translation, Democrat fundraising organization. It's run by Democrat campaign veteran, Derek Newton.

Howard Dean: keeping his promises, since 2005.

13.

Weirdo Lefties-

Katrina survivor Kevin Boyd reports on a "Katrina rally" in downtown New Orleans:

I went to the rally and took some pictures that I doubt will be seen on CNN and the rest of the mainstream media. The photos are here and hopefully sometime next week I'll have some video of some the speeches given.

Crazy, crazy folks.
Grasping to be relevant.
Moonbats on parade.

[That was another haiku.]

14.

Muslim Gang Rape-

IRIS Blog points to sweeping evidence from several countries of a serious gang rape problem:

Harassment of females has therefore exploded throughout the West, most shockingly demonstrated in the recent phenomenon of gang rape for sport. Listed below is the evidence.

Lots of evidence there.

15.

Blurry Democrats-

Betsy's Page looks at the Democrats, who are planning to shake up their nomination process:

There is a political aphorism that states that candidates should run to the margins in the primaries and then move back to the center for the general campaign. In these days of mass and instant communication, every remark that a candidate makes to appeal to those caucus voters in 2008 will be recorded and filed away for the general campaign. And if the eventual nominee tries to shift to the middle in the Fall, the other party will be ready to launch a series of weather-vane type ads to show up the other person as someone who tacks with the wind. The ads will write themselves. And will such accusations be all that different from the 2004 campaign? Remember that GOP ad with John Kerry windsurfing and quotes used from his varying positions on issues? The Democratic Party is setting up the conditions for similar ads in 2008. Rearranging the nomination process isn't going to make any big difference in who ultimately wins the nomination.

Precisely. The Democrats need to shed their far-left base if they want to nominate folks who can win national elections.

------------------------------------------------------------

Also, don't forget to check out all the old Trivia Tidbits Of the Day, the Reform Thursday series, the Quotational Therapy sessions, the most recent Mainstream Melee, the latest Pundit Roundtable, and the Wednesday Caption Contest (entries are due each Tuesday at 11:59 PM Central Standard Time).

Last Week's Classiness Certification from WILLisms.com:

*December 6, 2005.

WILLisms.com offers a classiness roundup as a bi-weekly feature, every other Tuesday, with 10 blog posts deemed classy. The criteria for submissions: incisive original analysis, quirky topics nobody else (especially the mainstream media) is covering, fantastic graphics, or other posts that took a lot of work. We love to spread the word on upcoming blogs, being that WILLisms.com also fits that description. If you would like to nominate a post on your blog or another blog for inclusion, email us at WILLisms@gmail.com. Write "Classy Nomination" in the subject. You can also utilize this page to make your submissions. The deadline is every other Monday at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Classy.

Posted by Will Franklin · 13 December 2005 10:28 PM · Comments (3)

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 244 -- Affordable College Education, Red States & Blue.

Red State, Blue State-

In the past, WILLisms has noted that taxes are generally lower in red states (ones that Bush won in 2004) than blue states (ones that Kerry won in 2004). This is not so surprising. What might have been slightly more surprising to you was that GDP growth, job creation, and a variety of other economic indicators were substantially stronger in red states than blue.

But, wait, there's more. And this shouldn't come as that much of a surprise, either, but public colleges and universities in blue states are becoming ridiculously expensive, while public schools in red states are relatively affordable. The data, thanks to Viking Pundit:

Most Expensive
1. Penn State, University Park: $11,508
2. Rutgers, New Brunswick, New Jersey: $11,051
3. University of Vermont, Burlington: $10,748
4. University of New Hampshire, Durham: $9,778
5. University of Massachusetts, Amherst: $9,278

Go check out the rest of the list, and more comments here.

Now, there could be a little of the "you get what you pay for" in these numbers. Indeed, the money floating around the more expensive public schools might somewhat arbitrarily (or legitimately) boost the rankings in those magazines high school seniors (and their parents) pay so much attention to.

But what's the deal, here? Consistently, everything costs so much more in the blue states. Houses, cars, food, electricity, college, taxes... just about everything. So although blue state median incomes are certainly higher, and blue state taxes are higher, the cost of living just eats away at that income.

Don't liberals tell us that affordable education requires higher taxes? So shouldn't higher taxes produce affordable public education, for more individuals? I hear all the time that all Texas needs to do is implement an income tax (we don't have one) and it could fully fund its public elementary, middle, and high schools. Easy as pie. There wouldn't be any budget crises, if Texas just got with the program, joined the civilized world, and added an income tax.

But, again, as noted before, states with income taxes have far more budget crises than states without them.

So, let's review:

Despite higher taxes, blue state colleges charge more from students.
Despite lower taxes, red state colleges charge less from students.

What am I missing here?

-------------------------------------

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Katrina Killed Mostly Old People.

Posted by Will Franklin · 13 December 2005 10:25 AM · Comments (3)

I LIKE WILLisms.com.

The Weblog Awards continue (for a few more days).

Like any good campaign, it seems like this thing has gone on for... forever. But it goes on. And WILLisms.com is still in third place, behind the two left-wing blogs in our category.

Go vote. And in the meantime, enjoy this Eisenhower flashback campaign ad, modified ever-so-slightly:

GROUP [singing]: Will for Weblog Award, Will for Weblog Award,
Will for Weblog Award, Will for Weblog Award.
You like Will, I like Will, Everybody likes Will—- for Weblog Award.
Bring out the banners, beat the drums,
We'll take Will to the Weblog Award.

We don't want Needlenose or Roger or the others.
Let's do that big job right.
Let's get in step with the guy that's hep.
Get in step with Will.
You like Will, I like Will, Everybody likes Will— for Weblog Award.
Bring out the banners, beat the drums,
We'll take Will to the Weblog Award.

We've got to get where we are going,
Travel day and night (voiceover "for president").
But Adlai goes the other way.
We all go with Will. You like Will, I like Will,
Everybody likes Will (voiceover: "for Weblog Award").
Bring out the banner, beat the drums,
We'll take Will to the Weblog Award 2005.
We'll take Will to the Weblog Award 2005.

GROUP [in background singing]: "Will for Weblog Award, Will for Weblog Award, Will for Weblog Award, Will for Weblog Award ..."

VOICEOVER: Now is the time for all good Americans to come to the aid of their country.

Vote for WILLisms.com today (right here)!

More on the classic 1952 "I Like Ike" campaign commercial here. Previous WILLisms.com campaign ads can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here. Endorsements are here.

Posted by Will Franklin · 12 December 2005 08:26 PM · Comments (5)

Quotational Therapy: Part 66 -- President Bush, On Iraq.

Bush, On Iraq-

President Bush continues pounding back against his critics on the issue of Iraq, after letting the media and far-left Democrats dictate the agenda for at least a few months. Today's speech, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

Not far from here where we gather today is a symbol of freedom familiar to all Americans -- the Liberty Bell. When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public, the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, and a witness said: "It rang as if it meant something." Today, the call of liberty is being heard in Baghdad and Basra, and other Iraqi cities, and its sound is echoing across the broader Middle East. From Damascus to Tehran, people hear it, and they know it means something. It means that the days of tyranny and terror are ending, and a new day of hope and freedom is dawning.

Read the entire speech here.

Keep reloading, Mr. President. And keep firing the rhetoric. History is on your side.

-----------------------------

Previous Quotational Therapy Session:

Jimmy V..

The right quote can be therapeutic, so tune in to WILLisms.com for quotational therapy every Monday and Friday.

Posted by Will Franklin · 12 December 2005 06:40 PM · Comments (1)

Pop Culture Haiku #2.

Too much stuff to say.
Not enough time to say it.
Pop Culture Haiku.

The Mall

Careening about.
Throwing down cash and credit.
Christmas shopping time.

Less than two weeks 'til Christmas.

Murder Doesn't Pay

Hero of the left.
Author of a children's book.
Buddy of Snoop Dogg.

Says, "Don't join a gang."
Blames others, blames society.
"Free Tookie Williams!"

Convicted killer.
Death row, quarter century.
Appeals rejected.

The Terminator.
No pardon, no clemency.
Tookie dies tonight.

The anti-death penalty people really know how to pick their causes, don't they?

Posted by Will Franklin · 12 December 2005 06:03 PM · Comments (6)

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 243 -- Katrina Victims.

Disproportionate Numbers-

A myth-- one not backed by the numbers-- has become the common wisdom in America. There is a myth that the "lack of response" to Hurricane Katrina was somehow correlated with the ethnicity and socioeconomic status of the victims. Because it was primarily black people, the myth goes, the government neglected to respond. Thus, the victims who lost their lives were primarily black.

This is bunk on so many levels. But some fairly recent numbers drive the final dagger through the heart of that ridiculous race-baiting myth.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (via Gateway Pundit) breaks down the demographics of the Katrina victims:

The victims were disproportionately white, relative to their population in the New Orleans metro area. Those of us who have looked past the posturing and pandering already had a hunch, as the victims were more likely to be found in primarily white neighborhoods. But we didn't know for sure. Now we know.

Meanwhile, look at the 2004 age breakdown of New Orleans, from the U.S. Census:

Okay, now look at the age breakdown of the victims, from the Louisiana DHH (.pdf):

Mostly older folks. And if you look even closer, you'll note that many victims were not only above the age of 75, several were well above the age of 90.

Now, it also must be noted that some victims still have yet to be identified, and it is possible that those victims were younger. It's also possible that those victims were more likely to be African-American than caucasian. That there are still unidentified bodies is devastating, but those numbers would not alter the statistics above in a meaningful way. Furthermore, from the facts we do have, it is not accurate to claim that Hurricane Katrina, the response to it, or the chaotic aftermath, killed primarily poor African-Americans while sparing wealthier white people.

If we want to be outraged, focus that outrage on the negligent nursing homes and those who left their grandmothers and grandfathers to fend for themselves.

-------------------------------------

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Taxes On Dividends & Capital Gains.

Posted by Will Franklin · 12 December 2005 08:26 AM · Comments (11)

Decisions.

Think about it--when the decisions of one man can affect the future of your family for generations to come, what kind of a man do you want making those decisions?

Think about it--who is the one man who has the experience and the qualifications to lead America in these troubled, dangerous times?

WILLisms.com is the one.

This time, vote like your whole world depended on it.

WILLisms.com.

Also, more on this classic 1968 Nixon campaign advert can be found here.

Posted by Will Franklin · 11 December 2005 09:30 PM · Comments (0)

Pop Culture Haiku #1.

Haiku is useful.
It forces efficiency.
It makes you succinct.

With that, two haiku poems:

Tallowood

Portly choir gals chirp.
Tuxedoed gents sway and croon.
Christmas concerts rock.

Don't they, though?

The Ode Not To Reggie Bush

Best in the nation.
Deserved the Heisman Trophy.
Quarterback Vince Young.

Biggest landslide in the history of the Heisman ballot? Give me a break.

Posted by Will Franklin · 11 December 2005 09:06 PM · Comments (2)

Pundit Roundtable

Hello! First, let me remind everyone that WILLisms.com needs your vote for the Weblog Awards. Will deserves to win - vote early, vote often, and have your kids and your pets vote too!

Back to PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE. I am your host, Ken McCracken, and this week we have two critical topics to address:

Topic 1: The Indianapolis Colts (12-0) with four games left in the regular season. Today, they visit the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-3). Will the Colts have a undefeated season, and win the Super Bowl?

Topic 2: In honor of the weblog awards, what are your favorite blogs, and why? What makes a blog good (or bad?)

I welcome back Dean Esmay of Dean's World. Dean, what is your view?

Topic 1: No, yes.
Topic 2: I respect the guys at Wizbang and as such am reluctant to say it, but I don't much care for the Weblog Awards. I don't like how they conduct the voting, and I especially don't like the fact that people can vote daily. It too often becomes an exercise in cronyism and/or crass self-promotion. I wish I hadn't been nominated, and even as I say that I see how at first I wound up talking myself into asking for votes anyway. After a day or two of that I realized it was ludicrous, and I stopped.
What makes a weblog good is the unique voice of whoever writes the blog. If a blog consistently has new and interesting materials that challenge you, entertain you, and make you think, it's a good weblog. The weblog I miss most is A Small Victory. The weblog I still most enjoy reading is Daily Pundit.

Next is another return guest, Laurence Simon. Laurence, how do you see this?

Topic 1: I don't know, and to tell you the truth, I don't care. I really haven't followed football since Paul Tagliabue screwed over Walter Payton by awarding expansion franchises to everyone but his group. Rozelle has pretty much promised Payton he'd get one, Tagliabue and the other owners stabbed Walter in the back.
I've tried to get worked up over the Super Bowl, but the magic just isn't there. I really don't give a damn about anything in football besides watching David Carr suffer over and over and over.
Topic 2: Honor? Pfeh. The Wizbang Awards are garbage. Empty, shallow point-click contest. Punch the monkey! Punch the monkey! People really vote with their citations (citation is more meaningful than just blogrolling for the sake of reciprolls), and to a lesser extent feed subscriptions and reads.
I've posted my latest Ten And Only Ten, which forces me to choose which ten blogs I'd read if I could only read ten. I think that kind of exercise is more relevant that some corrupt anonymous clickathon crap.

Now we have on board a newcomer, Joust the Facts. What do you think?

Topic 1: Lots of people lose lots of money in Vegas trying to answer questions like this, so the first thing I'd say is, don't take this advice and bet on it.
The short answer is that while it's possible they'll go undefeated, I don't think it's likely. They have two very tough road games left on their schedule, today in Jacksonville (9-3), and two weeks from now at Seattle (10-2 currently). Both teams are very good, and will be bringing their best game for a matchup with an undefeated team at home.
I'm reminded of 1985, when everyone thought the Bears were finally going to go undefeated, equalling the Dolphins 'perfect season' of 1972. The game was played on the road, on a Monday night, and the Dan Marino was a young gun. The crowd was roaring and the Dolphins were fired up. Marino shot down the Bears that night, shredding the 46 defense of Buddy Ryan. Indy may just run into such an emotional buzzsaw in one of the two remaining road games, though the Dolphins did have one factor working for them that the Jags and Seahawks won't - they were protecting their own legacy.
I've worked closely with an NFL team in the past, while a Sports Medicine fellow in Philadelphia, and I can tell you that road games can be very difficult to win even when you're favored. The season I worked with the playoff-bound Eagles they lost two tough road games in a row, to Buffalo and Miami, and barely squeaked by in Phoenix on the final day of the season when the Cards had packed it in.
As for the Super Bowl I do think that Indy has a very good chance to win. They have a very balanced and strong offensive attack, with Peyton Manning throwing to Marvin Harrison among others. The running game has Edgerrin James second to Shaun Alexander in the league stats. That kind of balance is crucial. They haven't turned the ball over much. Defensively they're not the strongest, but they're very good, and they generate more turnovers than they give up. They're actually third in both overall offense and defense rankings.
And, most important, all their playoff games will be at home (until the Super Bowl).
Topic 2: WILLisms.com!!!
Seriously, though, I did a run through of some of my favorite blogs in looking at the candidates for Weblog Awards this year. WILLisms.com is a nominee, as is my abode, Joust The facts. (Insert shameless plug for votes here.)
I think that a blog is really good when the writer doesn't just spew opinion or invective. Anyone can do that. Instead the good writers do necessary research, draw together the facts that support their position, and usually consider the opposing arguments before drawing their conclusions. I try to take that approach particularly when I actually get the time to write a longer, more thoughtful, piece. People can disagree with your conclusions, but if you do your homework they can't argue the facts.
(Insert shameless boot-licking for host) Will Franklin does a great job of this, and his use of graphical representations makes it a lot easier on the eyes. Some of the others that I think are superbly written are James Taranto's Best of the Web on OpinionJournal.com, Stephen Green's Vodkapundit, Norm Geras' normblog, Rick Moran's Right Wing Nut House, Pat Santy's Dr. Sanity and Ed Morrissey's Captain's Quarters. Dean Barnett's Soxblog and Varifrank are also regular reads. And (insert shameless plug for host of Weblog Awards) Wizbang and (insert shameless plug for the other place I write) The Right Place.
Then there are some niche blogs that are very good, but check my post or the Weblog Award site to see those. Some other places are good just to pick up some interesting stories quickly. Ace of Spades does that very well. For my money Iowahawk David Burge writes the best satire on the net. It's not even close for second. For a combination of humor and thoughtful commentary Jeff Goldstein is a good read.
Like any industry the best survive, and over time the lousy or half-hearted weblogs disappear. You can't still buy a Yugo, can you?

Next, it is my pleasure to introduce Zsa Zsa the Superfan, to whom I am grateful to for being the best commenter at my former little blog. Zsa Zsa?

Topic 1: I have got to tell you I know little about either of these two teams. BUT what about those ASTROS? Is anyone else pleased that Roger is not going to drag the ASTROS through a little deja vu of the Beltran ordeal? Oh! one thing about the real subject. I really like the commercials during the Super Bowl. Topic 2: On to the next question!... Hmm...let me see! Who are my favorite blogs and why?
This is going to be a hard one. NOT!!!! Everyone who reads WILLisms.com has a slight clue that I am a super duper WILLisms fan! WILLisms.com is so well written and is so factual. I really like that Will gives us honest to goodness facts! The MSM is my least favorite place to get the news ! In the past I would tolerate it because there were no other choices. Today (Thank Goodness) we have the Blogsphere!!! YAY! ... One reason I am not fond of the MSM is that most every reporter feels the need to inject their own personal political beliefs! YIKES!!! AAAAAAaaaa! Sorry but personally I don't care what these individuals reporting the news think! AND I really don't want to hear how they feel about the news stories! In my opinion a great reporter is one who can report the news without revealing their political or personal feelings! On the other hand if we want their opinion I am sure someone will make them a Commentator! OR better yet maybe they should get their own blog so they can feel free to express whatever they are thinking and maybe give us some FACTS to back those feelings up! That is why I like WILLisms.com so much! He gives us the facts man...
Next I have another Blog that is very near and dear to my heart! ...It is FILE IT UNDER. . . If you haven't been there I would suggest visiting! Hoodlumman, Rob B, Darius, and Tom are all very interesting characters! Each of them are very different fom one another but somehow they blend to make one of the funniest, informative, most interesting (because you never know what you will find) blogs in Blogland!...I promise I am not just saying this because FILE IT UNDER had a Zsa Zsa Day in my honor!...Although that does sweeten the pot some! Really though! FILE IT UNDER has made me laugh so hard I have cried!...
Another blogger I am fond of is Bullwinkle!... I first saw his comments on WIZBANG and it was as if he took the words right out of my mouth! I didn't know that he was a regular at another blog until he commented at WILLisms.com! I was so happy to find him!! He is apart of the RANDOM NUMBERS blog... The only thing I am not real fond of is Bullwinkles weekly Friday scantily clad women posts! BUT nobody ever asks me! I am sure there are many who tune in on Friday just for this particular post! SO never mind me!... The rest of the week Bullwinkle is well worth visiting!...Thanks Bullwinkle! Sorry about that little critique! BUT finally someone asked me! YAY!...
When I grow up I really want to become BLOG COMMISH! Honest to goodness though! I like bullwinkle soooooooo much that I started painting moose! I even had one of the moose paintings sell at an auction to benefit Freddy Everett! A guitarist who was left paralyzed when he fell off the stage at one of his concerts! ...Very tragic situation!
Next I have another blogger who is very special! It is WUNDERKRAUT!... He is perhaps one of the sweetest most caring people around! He is going through an adoption that is very heartfelt and interesting!...WUNDERKRAUT is a good stop in blogland too! Of course we have MR. RIGHT!...at the RIGHT PLACE blog! another amazing blogger! Seriously funny is how I would sum MR. RIGHT up! He has a partner Anna who is very awesome too!... SHALL I GO ON?????
Blogland is a very interesting diverse group of individuals. There are so many important blogs out there!...WILLisms.com is one that I consider important! ...WILLisms.com has a weekly REFORM THURSDAY post that concentrates on Social Security Reform! ...I am not sure how many weeks it has been now BUT It is an issue that all of us need to consider IMPORTANT!!! Our future generations are going to be affected because of lazy politicians who consider Social Security Reform a pesky issue that is too much work and too harmful to their own personal political interests!... Social Security Reform is inevitable whether or not we want it or not! ...WILLisms.com had one of the best posts on it awhile back! I believe it was called DONKEYS ON PARADE... Michelle Malkin illustrated it! I absolutely love that illustration of that donkey!... MICHELLE MALKIN is another important blogger in Blogland!... If you haven't read her new book it is very interesting!...The name of her book is UNHINGED!... Believe me when I say go read it!...( AND I am not getting paid to say it ) I could go on BUT at the risk of being edited out !!! I had better sign off! Thanks for having me guys!... I have always been fond of the concept of the round table! It makes everyone even! No one person is more or less important while seated!
Conservative or Liberal... All of the blogs are important! Free speech is what it is about!...YAY BLOGLAND!...

Our final guest is blogger extraordinaire, Will Franklin. Will?

Topic 1: The Colts are not going to lose again until November of 2006.
Topic 2: I have a lot of favorites, but I love blogs that do a lot of original analysis and commentary rather than merely copying and pasting mainstream media stories. Blogs that offer unique and interesting content are obviously preferable to blogs that just link to countless other blogs and follow the herd. Basically, a blog needs a few things to be very good: 1. regular (usually daily, at the very least) updates; 2. some sort of expertise or skill; 3. a nice mix of big picture stuff, current affairs, history, politics, policy, opinion, and so on; 4. occasional humor and/or wit; 5. stuff that is not reported or underreported by the establishment media; and 6. credibility (meaning, do you trust their judgment, and is their information accurate?).

The Host's Last Word: Did I mention that WILLisms.com has been nominated for the Weblog Awards and needs your vote? Ahem.

The Colts are the strongest NFL team since my '85 Chicago Bears. They will go undefeated this year, a feat not achieved since the '73 Miami Dolphins swept the entire season, and the Colts will win the Super Bowl. But Will, their streak will end in October 2006, not November.

As for blogs, I am always attracted to really good writing, and so my two favorites are Captain's Quarters and VodkaPundit. Captain Ed builds a thorough case in every post like he was a prosecutor, and drives the point home. Stephen Green is a natural writer who also nails down a point very well. It is hard to argue with either of these guys once they have said their piece. Another daily stop for me is Dean's World - Dean covers just about any topic you can think of with attitude and insight, he has good contributors with him as well, and he has great commenters. Wizbang and Poliblog are two dailies for me as well.

That's it for this week, go forth and vote! Come back next Sunday for our next PUNDIT ROUNDTABLE!

Update: Dean Esmay, and myself, are in mourning for the passing of a great commenter at Dean's site, Steven Malcolm Anderson. The place just won't be the same without him.

Update: the Colts beat the Jaguars 26-18. Oh, the power of positive punditry!

Posted by Ken McCracken · 11 December 2005 01:12 PM · Comments (3)

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 242 -- Dividends, Capital Gains, & Age.

The Demographics Of Stocks & Taxes: Tax Cuts For The Rich?-

...more than 80 percent of taxpayers who claim dividend income earn less than $100,000 and 76.4 percent of those who claim capital gains earn less than $100,000.

Tax cuts for the rich? Or tax cuts for the elderly?

Source:
Tax Foundation.

-------------------------------------

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Electoral College.

Posted by Will Franklin · 11 December 2005 06:50 AM · Comments (7)

Roger Ailes: Not Fit To Serve.

Roger Ailes (the angry liberal blogger, not the Fox News guy) has opposed virtually every defense system we developed.

He opposed new aircraft carriers.

He opposed anti-satellite weapons.

He opposed four missile systems, including the Pershing II missile deployment.

Ailes opposed the stealth bomber, a ground emergency warning system against nuclear testing.

He even criticized our rescue mission to Grenada and our strike on Libya. And now he wants to be our Weblog Award winner. America can't afford that risk.

Vote today for WILLisms.com in the 2005 Weblog Awards (vote here). Endorsements are here. Previous WILLisms.com campaign spots can be found here, here, and here.

I have noticed some people are really taking this whole Weblog Awards thing very seriously. While it would obviously be nice to win, the main point is to find new blogs to read and to reward people for putting forth decent content on a regular basis.

Also, more on the classic 1988 Bush campaign spot featuring a goofy Michael Dukakis riding around in a tank can be found here.

Posted by Will Franklin · 10 December 2005 09:27 PM · Comments (4)

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 241 -- The Future Of The Electoral College.

Sun Belt & Snow Belt Population Changes-

Projecting anything 25 years into the future is difficult, but we can, with a reasonable level of confidence, examine population and demographic trends in the fifty states and forecast relative population levels for 2030. It is those relative population levels (who is up, who is down, and by how much) that matter most in politics, because they determine the apportionment of Congressional seats and Electoral College votes.

Indeed, over the past three decades or so, Republicans have benefited profoundly from growth in deeply Republican states (red states), gaining Electoral College votes in the process; meanwhile, blue states have lost people-- relative to the red states, at least-- losing Electoral College votes along the way.

If trend hold up, we'll continue to see rapid growth in the "Sun Belt," while growth in the "Snow Belt" will be truly anemic:

Some of this is foreign immigration. Some is domestic migration within the U.S. Some, meanwhile, is due to differences in birthrates.

Clearly, differences in population growth had economic and political consequences in the past. They will likely have consequences into the future:

After the 2030 Census, "Sun Belt" states are projected to gain a substantial number of Electoral College votes at the expense of the "Snow Belt."

But, wait, you might be thinking, there are red states in the Snow Belt and bluish (or at the least, purple) states in the "Sun Belt." So this doesn't necessarily benefit Republicans or hurt Democrats.

Well, yeah, but take note of these numbers:

"Snow Belt" red states will lose relative population and Electoral College votes, but "Snow Belt" blue states will take a much harder kick to the stomach. Meanwhile, "Sun Belt" red states will gain an enormous number of votes, while "Sun Belt" blue states will gain very little.

Some claim that these population changes could lead to a major realignment in American politics, favoring liberals and Democrats. The basis for this claim is that "blue state" people, with "blue state" values and political preferences, are moving to red states. Furthermore, Latino immigration may tip those marginally-Republican states to the Democrats.

These are valid concerns, but Latinos should not be taken for granted by either party. Republicans have made substantial gains with Latinos, especially in Texas and Florida, and especially among non-unionized Latinos. In short, Hispanic immigration is not a slam dunk for Democrats. Next, the "blue state voters moving into red states" theory doesn't hold water for a variety of reasons (many of which I've covered here in the past). Essentially, blue staters moving to red states typically do so for economic reasons. They often seek lower taxes, bigger houses, and a "red state" suburban family-friendly lifestyle. Increasingly, Americans are sequestering themselves into alcoves of politically like-minded people, away from those which which they disagree. Thus, the "Yankeefication" of, say, Texas is a remote possibility. Florida, on the other hand, may see an impact. Similarly, Arizona and states in the Mountain West may become a bit Californiacated.

What this means for America's political system remains to be seen, but it is (overall) bad news for Democrats.

Indeed, by 2030, look at the states projected to lose:

New York: -6
Ohio: -4
Pennsylvania: -4
Illinois: -3
Massachusetts: -2
Michigan: -2
Iowa: -1
Missouri: -1
Kentucky: -1
Louisiana: -1
Indiana: -1
Nebraska: -1
Alabama: -1
West Virginia: -1
Connecticut: -1
Rhode Island: -1
New Jersey: -1
Wisconsin: -1

Indeed, by 2030, look at the states projected to gain:

Florida: +9
Texas: +8
Arizona: +5
Nevada: +2
North Carolina: +2
California: +2
Georgia: +1
Utah: +1
Virginia: +1
Oregon: +1
Washington: +1

Source:
Brookings (.pdf).

-------------------------------------

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Eco-Idiots.

Posted by Will Franklin · 10 December 2005 05:22 PM · Comments (1)

The Third Mainstream Melee.

It's a non-blog adventure.

Los Angeles Times: "Bush Still Popular on Campaign Trail"

Super Succinct Synopsis-

Bush Country has not given up on Bush. Maybe those polls really are bunk (of course they are).

Super Succinct Snippet-

As Bush has demonstrated, his prowess as a fundraiser has not waned, even though his job-approval ratings hover around 40% in most polls.
[Minnesota Republican Mark] Kennedy clearly was pleased to have Bush speak in his behalf, and beamed as he stood beside the president while Bush lavished praise on him.

Bush flourishes in campaign-style stump speaking, especially on behalf of candidates. If Democrats think they are going to take back Congress in 2006, they are in for yet another devastating letdown.

---------------------------

II.

The Economist: "Europe's farm follies"

Super Succinct Synopsis-

Packed with statistics and insights, this article could have easily been the basis for a full-blown Trivia Tidbit. Basically, it examines European farm subsidies. The winners, the losers, the why, the where, and the who.

Super Succinct Snippet-

The Common Agricultural Policy costs European taxpayers over €40 billion ($47 billion) a year, or around 40% of the total EU budget. That is a huge sum, given that farming accounts for less than 2% of the EU's workforce.

Be sure to check the graphs showing which country is the primary beneficiary of these subsidies. If Europe wants to get serious about aiding poor countries, they may want to consider reforming its agricultural subsidies.

---------------------------

III.

Foreign Affairs: "Who Will Control the Internet?"

Super Succinct Synopsis-

Certain foreign elements, predictably, want control of the Internet transferred from the U.S. to an international institution. But we're not going to let that happen so easily, for good reason.

Super Succinct Snippet-

Brazil and South Africa have criticized the current arrangement, and China has called for the creation of a new international treaty organization. France wants an intergovernmental approach, but one fundamentally based on democratic values.{See Footnote 1} Cuba and Syria have taken advantage of the controversy to poke a finger in Washington's eye, and even Zimbabwe's tyrant, Robert Mugabe, has weighed in, calling the existing system of Internet governance a form of neocolonialism.

Ah, the usual suspects. Their complaints are all anyone really needs to know about what is the correct course of action here.

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IV.

Ocala Star-Banner: "Purple finger of freedom"

Super Succinct Synopsis-

An op-ed examining the magnitude of the emergence of democracy in the Middle East, this piece also offers a suggestion for showing solidarity.

Super Succinct Snippet-

I was having dinner with some people I didn't know well, and I happened to mention that a good deal of my time in recent years has been spent working with Arabs and Muslims on questions relating to democracy.
A Brit sitting across the table leaned in, arched an eyebrow and almost spat at me: "Do they ever tell you to just bugger off?"

I replied, as evenly as I could, that that had not happened. The Arabs and Muslims I have had the opportunity to work with have not needed to be convinced that it's preferable to choose your own leaders. I did not have to sell them on the idea that speaking your mind and not ending up in a mass grave as a result is a good thing. And they decided on their own that they should have the right to worship as they choose.

Show that you care about the march of freedom around the world. Purple your finger next week.

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The Wall Street Journal: "Kyoto's Dead Hand"

Super Succinct Synopsis-

A lot of countries are not living up to their spicy rhetoric, mostly aimed at the United States, on global warming.

Super Succinct Snippet-

Kyoto requires developed nations to bring their total greenhouse-gas emissions to 5% below their 1990 levels by 2012. Yet in 2003, emissions were above the 1990 baseline by more than 10% in Italy and Japan, more than 20% in Ireland and Canada, and more than 40% in Spain.

Do as I say, not as I do.

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The previous Mainstream Melee.

WILLisms.com and many other blogs sometimes focus too much on our fellow bloggers, while excluding well-done professional journalism from our posts.

The Mainstream Melee is a quick survey of five non-blog sources, coming atchya at completely random intervals. The stories are either underreported, particularly well-written, interesting, or otherwise important to the big picture. But generally there will be a theme of some kind in the choices.

Posted by Will Franklin · 10 December 2005 01:36 PM · Comments (1)

There's A Bear In The Woods.

There is a bear in the woods.

For some people the bear is easy to see.

Others don't see it at all.

Some people say the bear is tame. Others say it's vicious and dangerous.

Since no one can really be sure who's right, isn't it smart to be as strong as the bear? If there is a bear?

Vote for WILLisms.com today (click here). My endorsements are here, if you are interested. Right now, two lefty Kos-wannabes are walloping the rest of us to varying degrees. WILLisms is still in third place.

Also, more on the classic 1984 Reagan "Bear" campaign ad can be found here.

Posted by Will Franklin · 9 December 2005 09:44 PM · Comments (1)

Quotational Therapy: Part 65 -- Jimmy V.

Jim Valvano's ESPY Award Speech, Arthur Ashe Courage Award-

Earlier this week, ESPN broadcast the Jimmy V. Basketball Classic from Madison Square Garden. St. Joe's beat Kansas, and Michigan State beat Boston College. It reminded me of a great speech that has had an impact on a lot of people over the past dozen years.

On March 4, 1993, North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano, stricken with cancer, gave one of the truly great speeches of modern history. It was a truly compelling piece of rhetoric, and one can apply its flourishes and nuances and phrases to just about anything in life.

Here's a bit of it:

I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you're emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm," to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality....
I know, I gotta go, I gotta go, and I got one last thing and I said it before, and I want to say it again. Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.

Jim Valvano died the next month. Read (or watch/listen to) the entire speech here.

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Previous Quotational Therapy Session:

Milton Friedman.

The right quote can be therapeutic, so tune in to WILLisms.com for quotational t