Lightrail set for completion

I for one am excited about the completion of the light rail. I do not drive very much, but I really want to use it when I can. The Arizona Republic has this article about the schedule for completion. I have written about his before, but I don't really understand the opposition to the whole project. From what I can see, the light rail seems to be a good balance of size, scope and planning. It seems big enough to be useful, but not big to cost too much and become a major boondoggle.

I wish people would be a little more open minded about the whole thing. I don't think we can continue to grow through building highways. This is a good start, lets hope it works well for everyone's sake...

Request your ballot!

Today at 5:00PM is the deadline to request an early mail ballot. Do your civic duty and vote in the Arizona Presidential Preference Primary. While you are there sign-up for the permanent early voting list. Maricopa County makes requesting a ballot really easy.

http://recorder.maricopa.gov/web/elections.aspx

Government egregiously seizes private property

Once again the government is using its coercive power to steal from hard working individuals everywhere. Here is the article from the Arizona Republic. Clearly there are Socialists in our midst. After all taking 1 cent for every $10 spent to build parks is just theft. Why not privatize all of the parks and let the market take care of this? I was planning on using my .001 to buy a weeks worth of starbucks this year or pay my dues to the Minute Men.

If this Ahwatukee woman wants more little league fields then she needs to figure out how to make little league profitable. Look at professional baseball, they would never ask tax payers to pay for a stadium.

Ok, seriously. These ballot elections are important and no one votes in them except me. The thoughts above are from the brain of an anti-tax zealot (or at least what I imagine an anti-tax zealot might think) right before they vote to kill this park funding. They see tax on the ballot and they reflexively vote against it. The election will be on May 20th. Please mark it on your calendar and vote. Do not let this slip by and be defeated. After all, parks are nice and improve our quality of life.

Questions to ask before you vote

I can tell you how I made my decision to vote for Obama. I asked myself the following questions:
1. Who would I be most proud to have representing myself and my party?
2. Which candidate would be willing to take hard positions and do the right thing even when it is unpopular?
3. Which candidate can best heal the rift that exists in our country and calm the all out political war?
4. Which candidate can best withstand the coming Republican onslaught?
5. Who will build the best organization?
6. Which candidate will pursue a 50-state strategy and expand the presidential playing field?
7. X-factors: likability, etc

Here are my answers:
1. This was easy Barack Obama is easy to be inspired by. He represents a generational shift away from the baby-boomer culture war. He gives us chance to make a fresh start (thanks George Bush for destroying your party this cycle). WINNER: Obama
2. I worry about all of the candidates on this one. Obama has been very careful in the Senate. I have been disappointed that they all voted to fund Iraq. Edwards has disappointing votes, most of which he has apologized for. Hillary is pretty much the same. WINNER: Three way tie
3. This one is easy, Obama. I think Edwards has the potential to improve things, but Hillary will certainly unite the Republicans and make things worse. WINNER: Obama
4. This is a tough one. Edwards made some early blunders that gave me pause. I also saw him in person being grilled by Arizona press and found it uninspiring. Obama is being tested by the Clintons in a major way and so far I think he is holding up well. Hillary has a good operation and can mix it up with the Republicans. Winner: Hillary
5. This is a tough one. I think Hillary and Obama would both build good organizations, but I give this one to Obama. I think he will plug into the DNC organization more readily and Clinton will build her own. Obama has a proven ability to bring in small donors and I think this important. Winner: Obama
6. I don’t think that Hillary will work to expand the presidential field because she won’t be able to. Obama has the greatest potential in this area, especially in Southern states with large African-American populations. Edwards also has potential here, but it worries me that he did not win North Carolina in 2004. Winner: Obama.
7. The truth is I just like Obama better as a person. I like Edwards and would be happy with him(Voted for him in the 2004 primary). I don’t really like Hillary. Her voice annoys me and she yells a lot during debates (I know that is not a good reason, but it is what it is). At this point, I don't think Edwards can win the nomination. Winner: Obama

Dumb people should not be allowed to make tax plans

Why is it that only dumb and short-sighted people seem to float initiatives about taxes? The East Valley Tribune has this article about eliminating the income tax in Arizona. The myopia that pervades the right-wing anti-tax crowd is staggering.

I get it guys, you don't like taxes. I don't like taxes either. I also do not like going to the dentist or painting my house when the paint is peeling or fixing my roof when it is leaking. I would like all of those things to magically fix themselves for free.

Government has to do things. It needs to provide law enforcement, roads, parks, sewage, water, schools, courts etc. All of these things cost money. The government needs sufficient and stable funding to operate. I for one do not trust right-wing ideologues to determine whether a sales tax will provide enough funding to do what needs to be done.

The unintended consequences of these sorts of policies can be pretty harsh. I am being self-interested here (I pay property taxes, income taxes, car taxes, sales taxes etc). Anyone who has lived in a state without an income tax have seen how the state insures its funding. In California they passed Prop 13 for property taxes, now they have a very uneven system of property taxation. If you are a new home owner, you get stuck with much higher property taxes (and all manner of fees) to make up for the others with low taxes. It is similar to rent control. You also pay higher prices for car tags and almost everything else. In Florida, property taxes are sky-high because they don't have Prop 13 or income taxes. In fact, there are fees everywhere when you deal with the government.

What I almost never see is an analysis of the consequences of something like prop 13. What is the affect on the housing market when a new house pays double the taxes as the house next door? Does it affect the fungibility of property? Does it keep newer home owners out of the market? Does it drive higher foreclosure rates? Will a sales tax only system provide sufficient revenue? Will people seek loopholes out of self-interest with property and sales taxes?

The first problem that I think of with a sales tax only system besides its regressive nature for food and other necessities, are online sales. If you increase sales taxes you will incentivize buying online to avoid taxes. For instance when I bought my wife's engagement ring, I purchased it online. Not only were the prices lower and the quality better, but I got a 6% discount because of no sales tax being charged. If you significantly raise sales tax the incentive to buy online goes up significantly.

My only point here is that when it comes to taxes, I wish that the right could have an adult conversation about providing necessary services and the unintended consequences of changes. You anti-tax folks must realize that just because something sounds good does not mean that it is good.

The Clinton Campaign's shameful behavior (and why it is good)

If you like any other candidate besides HRC (or if you are an HRC supporter who is honest with yourself), you cannot help but be a little embarrassed and troubled by the Clintons' behavior. Bill Clinton in particular is increasingly embarrassing. His conduct is unbecoming a former president. I think the spectacle over the last few weeks shows President Clinton's problems with holding and acquiring power at any cost and with impulse control. I have grown weary of their excuses for losing (in Iowa), attempts to disenfranchise voters and efforts to constantly take on the roll of victim.

I grow weary at the thought of 4 or 8 years of impending "bimbo eruptions" and the subsequent lost opportunities that will accompany them. I would rather spend my time defending policies than a dirty old man's lack of impulse control. I find myself less able by the day to bear the thought of voting for Hillary Clinton. If McCain is the nominee, I doubt I would bother voting for president (I am not voting for McCain, lets not get crazy here). If Arizona was a true swing state, I would probably hold my nose, try to keep down my lunch and vote for her.


As you can tell, I am not happy with the Clintons these days. Here is why I think their behavior could ultimately be good. If Obama is the nominee, he will prepared for the Republicans. The Clinton tactics and Rovian tactics have converged.


For all of the fighting between the candidates and their surrogates, the simple fact is that the Clinton Campaign is running a better race on a mechanical level. They are finding their supporters and turning them out. If the Obama Campaign, cannot match this intensity, he does not deserve to win.

Thomas Watch: Recall him!

We found out today from the Arizona Republic how County Attorney Andrew Thomas paid for his tax-payer sponsored campaign materials. He used money from the general fund of his office (instead of you know, prosecuting people) and from RICO funds (you know, money to fight organized crime and gangs). Great job Andy! I am sure your brochure will help with our burgeoning gang problems.

We have to either recall or defeat this douche bag!

Nevada caucus

I am not sure I believe any of the polls I have seen for Nevada. I am pretty familiar with the politics in Nevada. The Culinary Union (UNITE HERE nationally) is pretty influential in Nevada (although, some would argue that their influence is on the wane). They are know for the strength of their membership. SEIU in Nevada is a pretty strong healthcare and public workers local.

I have talked about this before but endorsements don't mean much if they do not come with resources. If Culinary and SEIU come with a lot of resources, it could really help Obama. Given the transitory nature of Nevada, I think they could have more influence than normal.

I expect Obama to perform well, but there is also a lot of Edwards support among the unions. The real question will be the overall turnout. If turnout is low, I think Clinton is toast. I think Clinton does well if turnout is moderate. I think high turnout helps Obama. There is also the X factor of the lawsuit. It may anger and harden the support of the Culinary membership. Then again, who knows.

UPDATE:
I ran across this poll which shows Clinton with a sizable lead. I don't think it is outside of the realm of possibility that she could have a 9-point lead. Mason-Dixon is the polling outfit and they are some of the best pollsters in the country. Not only that, but the demographics seem to make sense. Hillary has a large lead among older women and Hispanics. The real question is how the hispanic vote is affected by the union endorsements. I suspect turnout will be low enough that strong union turnout could shift that demographic. This is especially true given the high Hispanic density in the unions. There is also a big problem in determining likely caucus goers.

Common sense, the rule of law and poker

There is this interesting article in the Arizona Republic about a retired former justice of the peace who is running poker room. I thought this was too interesting to not write about.

I am truly conflicted and trying to be consistent in my beliefs. On one hand, I love poker. I have friends over to play poker for money (gambling, gasp...). On the other hand, I am a believer in the rule of law. If the law is wrong it should be challenged in court or changed. We cannot pick and choose the laws that we want to recognize.

Here is the problem that I see, what do we do as a civil society when large groups of people ignore a law? Laws on gambling are largely ignored. The size of the operation is the only real factor here. I am tempted to say that gambling causes no harm, but I suspect with a small group of people is does cause harm. Gambling is not victimless, but it is pretty close. So, how is gambling different than something like speeding?

I guess the difference that I see is that almost no one is prosecuted for gambling in their home (poker, betting on sports etc.) While many people are prosecuted for speeding. I actually think that most people follow the speed limit (give or take a few mph). I also think that the government has a pretty compelling interest in regulating the speed limit because of traffic deaths (I don't want me or my family to be killed by some jackass driving too fast for his ability.)But maybe I am just trying to justify my own activity (my objectivity is thin here).

Here is what I would recommend: Why not make poker like home brewed beer? In most states, you can brew a certain amount of beer in your home legally. BTW, this was considered boot-legging before the laws were changed. The laws are simple enough. You can brew a certain volume of beer every year, but you cannot sell it. How about allowing small not for profit poker and card rooms that can only make so much money per year or limit the stakes? You can limit their size and just let them be...

The two most important people in Arizona's budget battle (it's not the Gov or a legislator)

The East Valley Tribune has this fascinating insight into how economic forecasts are created for the state. There are two economists, one at ASU and one at UofA, that provide econometric forecasts for the state and this year their forecasts differ greatly.

I actually find it heartening that there are two guys who worry about the specifics of the economy and seem relatively non-political. This is why having great education intuitions is so important and why we should give more respect to intellectualism. It also more than a little ironic that these guys could cause the funding of their respective universities to be cut. To me this illustrates the importance of tenure (an economist would see an incentive to fudge the forecasts).

The politicians can fight their political fights (and they will), but without Marshall Vest and Dennis Hoffman, to provide the information, they would not even be able to discuss the future. Thanks guys!

Thomas Watch: Petite Bush de Maricopa

I guess it just goes to show that just like kids emulate their parents behavior, local political officials mimic the behavior of national officials. Andrew "the douche" Thomas is being secretive about his use of tax-payer funds to pay for a pamphlet (aka - campaign flyer). The Arizona Republic is reporting that he is refusing to tell anyone how much it costs.

I find it amazing that a public official who is supposed to enforce the laws can be this dense. I understand he wants to be reelected, but does he really think these billboards and pamphlets will help? He probably could have cruised to victory if would stop being such a nut. When did the Republican Party become the party of absconding with tax-payers funds for campaigning and secrecy? I thought you guys learned your lesson after Nixon.

Frankly, I find the authoritarian impulse of the modern Republican Party a little scary.

Robert Rob: It's hard out there for a relic

Our good friend Robert Robb from the Arizona Republic once again has taken to criticizing our Governor. I don't have a problem with criticism per se. I think it is a good thing. I just feel sorry for poor Robb and his utter lack of understanding of how the government works (poor guy has to write a column about something he is struggling to understand. It must hard for him.).

Robb accuses our fine Governor of missing the point on education and of being an incrementalist(it is a big word for him. I bet used his thesaurus). He takes her to task for not fixing the various indicators that remain unchanged since she took office. The problem is that he forgot that all of the legislation passed in Arizona is passed the Legislature (I know it is hard to believe. I used to think the Governor could just make up legislation too, but surprisingly, no. ). Mr. Rob it makes me very happy to let you know that your own party controls the Legislature.

Mr. Robb now that you know the Legislature is controlled by your party you should open that Rolodex of yours and start calling all of your buddies at the capital. I bet you could use your influence to pass all of the educational reforms you want. Come on, help the Governor fix all of those indicators.

I don't mean to pick on Hillary (ok, maybe a little)

This is hilarious...

Janet Rocks!

I know I have had my problems with the Governor over the years, but it only because of her limitless potential (seriously). This article from the Arizona Daily Star covers her state of the state speech. While the Republicans in the Leg fight over which educational or health care program for the poor to cut first, she has recommended free tuition for good students (albeit in the future), freezing tuition for four years for the incoming freshman class and extending healtcare coverage for kids until 25.

This is exactly what our state needs, she gets it. Kudos to Janet...

Why I like Obama...

This is why I like Obama.

UPDATE:
And this brings my anger towards Hillary down a notch

This is exactly right...

I ran across this on Andrew Sullivan's blog. This is exactly the response that the Obama Campaign should give to the Clinton attacks. Playing Clinton's game does not help Obama, he must pivot and change the tone.

This has to stop... (Andrew Thomas can't help himself)

When will Andy "the douche" Thomas ever learn? This is just not right (From the East Valley Tribune). It was not right when Janet Napolitano did it and it is not right now (although Janet's billboards were pretty pedestrian in comparison). Stop using tax money for political purposes!

Ray Caroll bends space and does something Democrats don't hate

A Republican finally forces an end to a year’s worth of arguing among Democrats

Republican Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll forced three Democratic colleagues last week to do what their party and its lawyer couldn’t accomplish in a year of arguing and court challenges.

Supervisors Richard Elías, Sharon Bronson and Ramón Valadez voted to obey a court order to open county records to ensure ballots were counted accurately in 2006 and will be correct for this year’s primary and general elections.

Thanks to Carroll, we’ll either learn those elections were counted honestly, even if procedures were sloppy ... or that one or more rogue employees of the county’s Elections Division actually changed some vote results.

Clinton's friends are troubling

Hillary has a lot troubling advisors around her. Her chief strategist is anti-union, for instance. I find her judgement to be troubling.

Then there is this... (and this)

Here are my favorite snippets about her most recent attack dog:

Johnson served on President George Bush's commission on privatizing social security. In January 2005, he convened a summit whose stated purpose was to raise and answer questions about the African American community's political affiliations, but whose true design, critics claim, was to peal black voters away from the Democratic Party.He has repeatedly called for the repeal of the estate tax, saying that the policy is propagated by "a liberal, noblesse oblige attitude that they have probably had in their families for generations."

I think that speaks for itself...

A Democrat's Lament Arizona Straw Poll

Look to the right for the Arizona Straw Poll Democrat's Lament style. Please choose the candidate that you are most likely to vote for in the Arizona Presidential Preference Primary on Feb 5th.

I have eliminated undecided to push leaners and sorry no Kucinich.

Our Republican Legislature: Dare to be stupid

I have to say that I really don't understand the Republicans in the legislature. I know that they think government is the root of all evil and they want to eliminate it, but they also seem to want to bankrupt it along the way. These two articles 1 and 2 from the East Valley Tribune show how short-sighted they really are.

On one hand they want to cut education and health care spending for the poor during an economic slow down. As the governor rightly points out, people need more educational opportunities and health care spending during a down turn.

This goes back to my seemingly Sisyphean argument that education should be as constitutionally mandated as nearly free as possible. When education is cheap people can retool easier during an economic downturn. This makes for a more flexible and vibrant economy. I can imagine a person who works in construction (and is finding less work) wanting to go to school to become a computer programmer, a project manager or even get a construction management degree. It should be as painless as possible to do this because in the end it benefits everyone. People taking advantage of educational opportunities will consume less public resources over the long-term because of increased income. They will pay more in taxes to offset the increased educational spending and their increased buying power will stimulate the local economy. Not only that, but a highly educated work force draws new industry to Arizona.

The other article addresses the Republican insistence that we make a tax cut permanent when we are running a deficit. I know it is wishful thinking given recent batch of Conservatives, but they used to value fiscal responsibility as one the primary pillars their philosophy. What happened? First, the tax will not be reinstated until 2010, so what is the rush? When we are running a huge deficit that is likely to run into 2009 (and get bigger), why would you even be concerned with this now? How about this, lets deal with this next session before the tax is reinstated? Lets wait and see how things look next year...

I have to say that the Republicans almost seem determined to relegate themselves to minority status.

My theory on the Obama loss

As I have read the various news sources and analysis of the aftermath, I have formed a theory. I think Obama did not have a particularly good operation in New Hampshire and Clinton did... Iowa was different because Obama picked up the guy who won Iowa for Kerry (Steve Hildebrand)

My theory is based on this from Wactivist. Matt Rodriguez ran Jim Pederson campaign for US Senate from Arizona for a while. His time working for Pederson was an unmitigated disaster. While he was at the helm, it was one of the best funded and worst run operations I have ever seen. He was also running New Hampshire for Obama.

The other piece of the theory comes from Andrew Sullivan. The exit polling suggests that Clinton had things wrapped up for a while. Some of the events leading up to the election might have added a few people and/or it may have hardened the resolve of her people.

To me this adds up to a badly run operation against a well run operation with solid support. I can tell you from first hand experience that a well run field operation in a low turnout election (this was high turnout for a primary, but low-turnout overall) can turn results on their head. I have run field programs where polls showed my candidate losing by 15 points only to win by double digits.

The final piece is speculation on my part, but I also think that many Independents decided to vote for McCain over Obama because they though he had it wrapped up. You don't have to have big numbers for it to make a huge difference. A bad operation can cost you a percentage point or two, late breaking events cost a point or two and you lose a couple percentage points among Independents because their sense of urgency wanes, that could easily explain the loss. The converse of this along with second choice voting could easily explain the surprise win in Iowa.

Why I think John McCain will fade

New Hampshire was a big victory for the McCain Campaign. However, after Michigan I don't see a lot of possibilities for McCain. Here is why: McCain won based on Independent voters. I was looking through the exit polls. First McCain did not win among voters who approve of President Bush, i.e. base Republicans. Romney, although narrowly, won Republicans. Romney won among Conservatives. McCain's appeal among Independents makes him tougher in the general, but the Republicans still don't like him. Having said that, I cannot see who will win on the Republican side.

I worry about this with Obama as well...

Live Blogging New Hampshire

Just in case I forgot to say it, congratulations to the Clinton Campaign. Job well done!

Live Blogging New Hampshire

As much as I hate to admit it, Hillary's win is probably good for the race. I would have liked to see Obama walk away because I am so hungry for a different type of politics. Having said that, I don't think it will be bad if Obama gets more seasoning and Hillary becomes more humanized. As both campaigns become better in the primary, they will have a better team for the general. I am glad we are avoiding the bad model setup in 2004 where John Kerry flew out of Iowa and ran the table. He turned out to be a great man, but a bad candidate. It is important for us to pick the best and strongest candidate.

I am still 100% behind Obama and I think he is by far the best candidate. On to South Carolina...

Live Blogging New Hampshire

Interestingly, the Democratic Party primary took about 57% of the vote with 38% reporting. Once again this bodes well for us...

Live Blogging New Hampshire

Did a sizable group of independents decide to vote for McCain because Obama looked headed for victory? Maybe just painful and disappointed speculation...

The polls were way off...

Live Blogging New Hampshire

Boy does the press love John McCain. I am not sure his win does anything more than keep him alive. This opens the race wide open on the Republican side. My question is given the Republican base's distrust of the media does the media love in help him or hurt him?

They sure want to anoint Saint McCain the nominee...

Live blogging New Hampshire

Clinton is ahead by four and it not looking good for Obama. I don't know what part of the state is coming in. At this point, I think Obama could still win, but he is unlikely to win by the percentage I predicted.

If Clinton wins this, this race blows wide open...

Predictions for New Hampshire

This is a total guess because I have not been following the polling that closely, but I think Obama will win by 14 and McCain by 5.

Time will tell...

UPDATE:

I am crappy prognosticator when my heart is in it...

Polls make me go ARG, or, someone else did this work and I'm talking about it now.

So it turns out, yes, there is a problem when polling companies do not include cell phones, as I talked about in my last (and first) post on A Democrat's Lament.

As it's explained much better here, at least one polling company-American Research Group, or ARG- did not poll cell phones because, apparently, young people don't vote. Well, as Tony Cani said over on wactivist, young voters in Iowa turned out so much that they represented a higher proportion of votes than they represent amongst the electorate.

Not only that, but the head of that polling org actually turns out to be kind of a dick, and now it looks like the editors on Wikipedia have removed most references to American Research Group in articles dealing with political polls.

The article I linked to above will give you a much better idea of the whole thing.

Note to independent voters: Love ya but you cannot vote in my primary

There has been a lot of talk lately about allowing voters to cross party lines (or not even be a member of a party) and vote in a partisan primary. The latest is here from the Tucson Citizen. Just to give you a quick overview: Sentor Bill Harper wants to give Independents and Republicans the right to vote in any primary (but not Democrats). I am not worried so much about his inconsistance and favoritism towards Republicans because frankly it is a non-starter as long as Janet is governor.

Here is the question I pose: Why is it wrong for a political party to have a partisan primary to choose that party's representative? There is an easier and better solution to this problem. Allow voters to switch their party registration. Oh, wait they can already do that... Ok, how about letting voters register and change their party registration of Election Day? I know what you are thinking, but that would just solve the problem, allow for greater participation and not allow for the Republicans in the legislature to make a bone-headed decision. But wait wouldn't that open up our elections to fraud because all of those "illegals" waiting to vote in every election (at least according to the Prop 200/nativist crowd and they couldn't be wrong?) would register on Election Day and vote for the Aztlán Peoples Party candidate.

Seriously, if you want to vote in a partisan primary, just register as a member of that party and your problem is solved. If you don't like political parties, sorry you only get to vote in the general election.

Note the Prop 200/nativist crowd: Most immigrants are too busy cleaning up your yard, cooking your meals, cleaning your homes, building that extension on your house, taking care of your kids and generally working too hard for too little money to vote.

What word(s) best describes the Republicans in the Arizona Leg?

Dumb, thick-headed, tin-eared, short-sighted, politically inept, dim witted, impaired, intellectually challenged, dense, num-skulled and thick are just a few that quickly come to my mind. Seriously, what world do these guys come from?

There was this article from the East Valley Tribune about the recommended budget cuts by Republican controlled chairmen of the appropriations committees in the Arizona Legislature. Here is list:

The proposal also would make major -- and permanent -- cuts in funding for state universities, suspend funding for new land and buildings for community colleges and eliminate the state's general assistance program.

Other cuts suggested by the chairmen of the House and Senate appropriations committees include:

-- eliminating a new initiative to help teach math and science.

--rolling back an extra $15.3 million that lawmakers gave to public schools above
what a formula requires them to provide.

-- reducing eligibility for a program that provides health insurance for the children of the working poor.

If you get beyond how bad these cuts are for a growing state and how morally bankrupt it is to preserve tax-cuts while cutting health care for poor children, how politically dumb can one be?

If I could pick a group of items to run against in a political campaign the list above would be a dream. The only problem that I can see is that the list is so dumb that is almost hard believe.

Seriously, you cannot find better cuts than education and child health care? Wow...

Worldwide hops shortage: Where does your presidential candidate stand?

This article from the Arizona Republic sheds light on a dire problem facing both Arizona and the World... For those of you that don't know, hops is an essential ingredient to the mothers milk that makes our society turn, beer.


Sure there are crisises around the world, but is there anything bigger than this. In fact, if there is any connection between the draught, excessive rain affecting hop production and global warming, it (Global Warming) must be fixed immediately. What is more important beer or cars, obviously beer. In fact if the free market system is the cause of this shortage, it to must be abolished. Above all the availability of IPAs must be ensured... After all the only real reason to have cars or a free market is to transport beer and its ingredients and provide a monetary means of acquiring beer.

If a society cannot provide cheap and high quality beer can it really be considered civilized? Rise up beer drinkers of the world...

If any campaign wants to pick up the venerable endorsement of this site (we currently endorse Obama) you need a strong position on the looming hops crisis. (I am talking to you HRC you need a boost at the moment...)


PS -- This entry is intended to only partially be humorous. Seriously, I want my IPA.

OBAMA WINS!!!!

I have been supporting Obama for a while now and I am overjoyed to see him win in Iowa. I was a Dean supporter in 2004 it was a hard night. Winning feels better...

I have to say that we have really good candidates in Hillary, Obama and Edwards. On to New Hampshire... Now I guess I have to get off my butt and volunteer some time at the Obama headquarters in Arizona.