What Ruy Teixeira doesn’t understand is that Gallup is like an empire in the polling industry. When they act, they create their own realities, something Ruy and the others in the “reality-based” community don’t grasp. So if Gallup says that party id shifted in the past week from +9 Republican to +1 Democrat, by its very nature it must be true.
The victory was sweet. I couldn’t be there, but I watched on TV as Rutgers solidly beat UConn Sunday at the RAC.
Stringer has had a great year, and without a doubt the team had a string of huge victories. But knocking off perenial pain-in-the-ass UConn eclipses even the great string of wins over top 10 teams.
A week from today, I’ll be taking to the skies again on a well-deserved sojourn to Southeast Asia. The past two months have been packed with non-stop work and activities, and a few days of pleasant, warm Asian energy will provide some respite from my otherwise dull grey Northeastern lifestyle.
While the Rutgers men’s basketball team has fallen horribly in Big East play, my time with the alumni association has been eventful. With seven “dorm storms” scheduled over the next three months, a slew of committee meetings, and any other activities occurring, my evenings have been uneventful. All the while, my committments to the project I’m co-leading at work have consumed most of my time.
The good news is all these endeavours are progressing well. The flipside? The reward for good work is more work. Still, the alterternatives are no work. So, I’ll take it.
Dear President Bush:
I recently wrote to you considering your social security phase-out plans. In doing some additional research, I came across a paradox that I wanted to share with you in hopes you might change your mind.
Your plan to create “personal” private accounts within Social Security is heralded as a way to “save” the program from projected funding shortfalls. But in reading about the program, those projections are based on pessimistic ideas about what growth in the U.S. would look like. Likewise, your accounts would generate a 7 – 10% return annually, based on optimistic projecctions of US returns over time. But some economists, who are clearly smarter than either of us on this topic, have said that if the rosy scenario turns out to be true, there won’t be a shortfall in Social Security at all. But then that would mean that if the pessimists are right on the Social Security projections, the stock market wouldn’t make your 7 – 10% annual return, either.
So, really, private accounts won’t make any difference at all in fixing the projected funding shortfalls in Social Security. Which makes me think this isn’t all that good of an idea, and that it won’t really help the average person at all.
Therefore, I have to ask you once again to stop pushing an agenda that clearly won’t help the citizens of this country, and, in fact, will do far more harm than doing nothing.
Thank you for your time.
Chris
Dear President Bush:
Recently, there has been discussion of creating “personal”/”private” accounts within Social Security in order to ensure I can fund a respectable environment. However, I already have two personal accounts that I manage for retirement. One is my Roth IRA; the other is my 401K.
Just so you know, I turn twenty-six this year. In your media appearances, you have repeatedly implored the creation of these accounts on my behalf, indicating how this will “save” Social Security for my genreation. I would request that you cease and desist from this, as my generation’s fortunes are already significantly tied to the movements of the stock market. From finding jobs to our existing private retirement accounts, so much of how we do financially depends on Wall Street.
We view Social Security as what is likely to be the only guaranteed money that is not subject to these whims. So, please, stop pressing for yet another private account that will only further complicate our lives while making us less secure.
Respectfully Yours,
Christopher M. Dymek
Your night has been confirmed with Janice.
Time: Evening
Location: Her Home within 1 mile of you
Attire: Dress casual, bring swimwear
Expectation(s): Pizza/movie, then the “real” fun…or whatever comes first. Quote from Janice: “My husband is out of town for the whole week. If the first affair goes over well, let’s just say it will be a wild week. Bring your trunks for the hot-tub too. I have all my lingerie ready for this. Can’t wait to meet you.”Confirmation: It is up to you to hold your time with Janice. Please confirm within the site to validate your visit. You can get a better look at her body and chat before you head over.
Meet Janice Now – http://chilltonight.com/d/3.php
If you are not spending a romantic evening with Janice or have received this by accident then continue here so this doesn’t happen again.
http://chilltonight.com/out/
I’m not really in to the whole hot tub thing while it’s 13 degrees outside, personally.
This clip disturbs me in a very fundamental way. The inherent implication here is that what Our President Bush (OPB) is inherently above reproach (and certainly above politics). The media are simply expected to fall in line with whatever term of the week the OPB decides to use to describe something, without question. Otherwise, they’re being pejorative.
Watch out, I hear OPB will next be announcing that the sky is red.
So, why the rash of postings this evening?
Simple. I only have four more episodes of season 3 of 24 to watch. I finished a fair amount of work before 10 pm, and I was neither sick nor had to go out. This hasn’t been true all of January, but at some point pressures have to ease, at least temporarily.
Seriously, this nonsense must stop. If anyone has any examples of backbone among the media, please drop me a line.
Stories such as this one captured by Josh Marshall demonstrate clearly how Democratic Party leaders don’t “get it”. By waiting to take a stand, you cede control of the debate, and likewise the outcome, to the other side. If you have a viewpoint, stand tall and speak it! And if you don’t, find one before the debate begins. There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind, and at the same time, you gain leverage.
Really, this reminds me of a tidbit my boss told me in regards to a few personnel changes on a project I’m helping manage. His words of advice were to define the roles BEFORE the others became involved, as this would guarantee me more control over the process. I see control of the political discourse as no different.
After all, it’s not as though the Republicans have been ceding control while awaiting a specific plan. They’ve been prepping the waters for years on this topic.