A blog by Nicholas Solter about politics and everything else
Posted in Sarah Palin on Sep 30th, 2008
Apparently so, according to vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. She’s seen photos of human footprints inside dinosaur tracks. Never mind that this “evidence” has been repeatedly debunked. Following in the footsteps, so to speak, of our current president, why should Palin let mere facts interfere with her beliefs?
Posted in Voting on Sep 29th, 2008
I wrote last week about problems with Diebold’s electronic voting machines, and about the shenanigans of El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink. These seemingly unrelated stories came together for me last weekend when I read about John Gardner in the Colorado Springs Independent. Evidently Gardner, who is in charge of our electronic voting […]
Posted in Uncategorized on Sep 26th, 2008
Diebold Election Systems (which has evidently changed its name to Premier Election Systems) has finally admitted that its electronic voting machines suffered from a bug that caused them to drop votes. This problem illustrates the need for a Voter-Verified Paper Record (VVPR) when voting electronically. Without a paper trail for audits and recounts, there’s just […]
Posted in Civil Rights, Election 2008, Politics on Sep 25th, 2008
My local El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, Bob Balink, evidently told Colorado College in March that students could not register to vote in Colorado if their parents claimed them as dependents in another state. The Clerk and Recorder’s office has admitted now that the information was wrong. Anyone who’s lived in Colorado for 30 […]
Posted in Economy, John McCain on Sep 24th, 2008
I find economics confusing in the best of times, so the current situation in the United States is bewildering at best. However, I’ve found two articles that explain fairly clearly how the deregulation favored by John McCain and Phil Gramm has led directly to the mess in which we find ourselves. If you’re confused by […]
Posted in Music on Sep 19th, 2008
Music can be used to make powerful political statements. Contrary to popular belief, however, political protest songs didn’t begin and end in the 1960’s. Here’s a chronological list of my favorite songs with a political bent from the 1930s to the present.
1. Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit. 1937. This haunting song about racism and lynching was […]
Posted in Barack Obama, Election 2008, John McCain, Politics on Sep 18th, 2008
Sarah (full disclosure: my sister) is participating in an interesting discussion over at An Angry American. The conversation there is I think quite representative of the political conversation as a whole in this country. Sarah wrote several specific, concrete, points about why she’s voting for Obama: the economy, the war in Iraq, abortion, etc. Her […]
Posted in Uncategorized on Sep 17th, 2008
This article on the photo ID rules at airports by security expert Bruce Schneier is well worth a read. The loophole he describes is amazing in its simplicity:
How to fly, even if you are on the no-fly list: Buy a ticket in some innocent person’s name. At home, before your flight, check in online and […]
Posted in Barack Obama, Election 2008, Politics on Sep 16th, 2008
For the first time in my voting life, I am living in a state where my vote for president will actually matter. I’m encouraged by the recent trends in Colorado: We have a Democratic governor, Democratically-controlled state legislature, and one Democratic senator. Additionally, Mark Udall, Democratic candidate for the other senate seat, is polling well. […]
Posted in Barack Obama, Election 2008, Hillary Clinton, Politics on Sep 15th, 2008
Today’s article from the LA times about dishonest campaigning is a good example of the mainstream news media attempting to put balance on a story that really isn’t balanced. The article’s generic title and general discussion of dishonesty in campaigns imply that both the Obama and McCain campaigns are stretching the truth. But when you […]