Month: October 2014

So, I early-voted today.

Largely because I’d rather do it now than do it next week with two kids in tow (thank you, Maryland state government, for giving the kids two days off for Election Day).  Straight GOP ticket, of course; where there wasn’t a Republican listed I wrote in my own name.  I’ll go down swinging, thank you kindly.

However… interestingly, when I asked the election judges how the early voting was going they said it was actually pretty busy: on par, in fact, with a Presidential year.  This being Maryland, where the only ostensibly competitive race on my ballot was the county executive one*… that’s kind of surprising, really.  And, try as I might: I can’t figure out how that could be bad for the GOP, either.  I mean, again: it’s Maryland.

Moe Lane

*Which, freakishly, we might actually win.

The hopefully soon-to-be-infamous “Elbert Guillory: Send Hagan Home” ad.

Come, I will conceal nothing from you: even if this doesn’t actually work there’s still something deeply satisfying about hearing it being said. Partially because it’s all true – African-American voters are getting screwed over by the Democratic party – and partially because the liberal, mostly white, Democratic hyper-partisans are right now discovering that there’s only so much that you can do to a minority Republican politician when he or she is reasonably certain of getting the Republican vote generally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyVM1SVLh2k

And make no mistake: Elbert Guillory has ambitions higher than smacking white Democratic politicians right in their bloated senses of condescension and entitlement. Which is fine by me. I do so enjoy seeing a man go about the business of doing well by doing good.

Moe Lane

PS: As to the effectiveness of the ad? Beats me: but here’s a cheery thought. The basic message of that ad is not Republicans are swell! or Let me spend the next twenty minutes telling you about the arcane details of regulatory reform or even Here, have some free stuff.  It is, instead, one of the most classic of American principles:

Don’t get mad.  Get even.

The advantage of a message like that is that the aforementioned principle is very, very easy to implement in this case.  Want to send the Democrats a message?  Easy: just don’t vote for Kay Hagan.  …And that’s it.  It’s elegant.  I like elegant, particularly when it’s this… stripped of non-essentials.

Via Hot Air.

Moe Lane

Hey, look: the International Space Station.

On my phone.

iss

I understand that it’s not that big a deal – it’s certainly not that great a picture – by 2014 standards; but… wow. I still have a teenager inside of me that simply cannot believe that I’m playing with all of these wonderful toys. I kind of don’t want to lose that feeling, honestly.

White House sending mixed signals about a likely 2015 Republican Congressional landscape.

Like they do.

I hadn’t realized that the Democrats had realized that things were that bad: “Nervous that Democrats could lose control of the Senate, the White House is already discussing how to cut deals with a Republican majority.”  Sure, the article’s trying to argue that in 2016 Senators in Obama states would be desperate to make deals… because Barack Obama’s people are still retaining the almost-charming delusion that 2008/2012 Presidential results will be all that relevant in a 2016 election.  Tell that to Bob Schaffer, Jim Gilmore, Elizabeth Dole, and arguably Steve Pearce.

Then again, perhaps the Democrats in the White House haven’t worked out their potential new place in the world, yet: Continue reading White House sending mixed signals about a likely 2015 Republican Congressional landscape.

Tweet of the Day, This Is Why We Don’t Sweat Cross-Party Political Ad Placement edition.

Because sometimes they’re hysterical.

Seriously, that’s one heck of an ad placement fail.

The Mark of the Udall Curse now damaging all other Udall candidacies THROUGHOUT SPACE AND TIME.

…OK, maybe that’s me being silly.  But Tom Udall’s (D, NM) most recent Albuquerque Journal poll is the worst we’ve seen yet for him.  Admittedly, 50-43 over Allen Weh is still a very good place for Udall to be, a week out – but keep an eye on this one, maybe.  Mark Udall’s campaign taints all Democratic things that it touches with its mediocrity: it’s entirely possible that the very name itself might be serving as a warning to New Mexico voters. Continue reading The Mark of the Udall Curse now damaging all other Udall candidacies THROUGHOUT SPACE AND TIME.

Went to go see John Wick.

Short version: if, like myself, you are the sort of person who can see a review from the Atlantic with the title “John Wick: An Idiot Killed His Puppy and Now Everyone Must Die” and say to yourself This sounds intriguing: I should maybe go see it then you will enjoy this movie.  It’s not the best movie in the world, or the best action movie, or even the best Keanu Reeves movie* – but it’s a solidly entertaining flick.  If you want to watch a movie where a retired hitman kills everybody bad who was even remotely associated with murdering his dog.

Continue reading Went to go see John Wick.

So, I have a bunch of pumpkin seeds now. Roast ’em?

Feel free to either agree, agree with suggestions about how to roast ’em, or disagree with an alternative suggestion.  I separated ’em out from the gloop and tossed the gloop, which maybe I shouldn’t have done; but my wife has another* pumpkin to carve, so if there’s something that can be done with the gloop, or the seeds-and-gloop, that can still happen.

Moe Lane

*Halloween is firmly part of my wife’s domain.  This was her family’s favorite holiday, she’s good at all the things associated with it, and my job is to (happily) fetch things, stand back, and watch.  And maybe roast pumpkin seeds.