9/11: We've Forgotten

This is the first 9/11 I've spent in a state that was not one of the 9/11 states. It seems to me that people in other parts of the country just don't get it. Activities were scheduled at the kids' schools, a lot of people flew their flags at full mast, fundraisers at work for charities other than veterans/survivors, and no moment of silence observed at work. (This is in a company that lost employees on 9/11.)

Maybe I'm sensitive because I lived in an area and worked in an industry that was disproportionately affected by 9/11. Now I live in an area where a lot of people with "Never Forget" bumper stickers have evidently forgotten.

What's wrong with showing a bit of respect?

Palin's Shortcomings

Sarah Palin appears to be kicking off her 2012 presidential campaign early. I have several serious objections to Sarah Palin as a presidential candidate. Contrary to the early victim rhetoric from the Palin camp, none of them have anything to do with the fact that she is a conservative Christian woman.

• Sarah Palin is intellectually dishonest. She ignores opinions different from her own, and even mis-represents expert opinions when she thinks she can get away with it.


• She tries to dictate other peoples' opinions. Her attempts to ban books and to control the activities of her librarian were nothing short of despicable. Her desire to force the teaching of theology in the science classroom is frightening to anyone who cares about the separation of church and state.


• She is ignorant. I don't care where she went to school or for how long. For anyone to grow to adulthood believing that Africa is a country and not a continent requires a level of intellectual incuriosity only matched by W.

--SCC

The Palin Selection

Oil Price Decline

Republicans have been claiming that the drop in the price of oil was a result of increased production thanks to their enlightened drilling policies. This assertion is patently absurd, as demonstrated by figures from the EIA.

These figures show that production has leveled off, and that any price decline has been a result of demand destruction.

The accompanying EIA report is slightly out of date. I also think that it fails to take into account the amount of air that speculators were blowing into the oil futures market.

I also think that they may be over-optimistic in their projections of non-OPEC supply growth. But at the end of the day, they agree with my assessment.

--SCC

Florida 2000

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), produced a report in June 2001 titled "Voting Irregularities in Florida During the 2000 Presidential Election." The report concluded, "Despite the closeness of the election, it was widespread voter disenfranchisement, not the dead-heat contest, that was the extraordinary feature in the Florida election. The disenfranchisement was not isolated or episodic." The USCCR found that African-American voters were at least ten times more likely to have their ballots rejected than other voters and that 83 of the 100 precincts with the most disqualified ballots had black majorities.

There were several reports of black voters being obstructed when trying to vote:

Black politicians want the commission to press Governor Bush and other state officials about the unusually high presence of Florida highway patrolmen in black precincts in election day.

One state senator, Daryll Jones, said there had to have been an order for them to set up road-blocks.

Choicepoint was forced to pay compensation for their actions during the 2000 Florida election, when they created lists of voters to be excluded from voting.

--SCC