Google Trends

This is the google trends data on how much Obama, Palin, and McCain (blue is Obama, red is Palin, orange is McCain) have been searched in the last year. Apparently, the data pretty closely following polling data, right down to the quirks and the preferences during various periods. You can see the convention "bounces" for both candidates, for example. It's incredible to see that Palin's line only picks up in the last few months, around when she was announced as the veep nominee, and I'm surprised that Obama still outdoes her in searches.

The data only gets more fascinating if you go back several years. You can see spikes when Obama gave the 2004 convention speech, and when Palin won her gubernatorial race.

I am a marilyn

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz ...

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be direct and clear
• * Listen to me carefully
• * Don't judge me for my anxiety
• * Work things through with me
• * Reassure me that everything is OK between us
• * Laugh and make jokes with me
• * Gently push me toward new experiences
• * Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

• * being committed and faithful to family and friends
• * being responsible and hardworking
• * being compassionate toward others
• * having intellect and wit
• * being a nonconformist
• * confronting danger bravely
• * being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn

• * the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
• * procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
• * fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
• * exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
• * wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
• * being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

• * are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
• * are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
• * form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
• * look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
• * are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

• * are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
• * are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
• * worry more than most that their children will get hurt
• * sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

This makes a lot of sense

From the huffington post live blog of the last debate

10:20 - Jason Linkins: Let me ask you: Can you remember a debate in which some moderator did not bring up poor math/science scores? Schieffer says the problem is an "obvious" one. Seems to me that it's not, considering that it keeps coming up, again and again. Here's the truth: America is best in the world at education the students that America WANTS to educate. When you exclude the children that no one cares about educating, U.S. scores exceed the world by every measure. Now, who are the kids that no one wants to educate? Well, I'll put it this way: there's a reason that hearing John McCain call education a "civil rights issue" sets my hypocrisy alarm off.

Golly gee whiz

they don't MEAN anything when they use his middle name, honest!

liveblogging the veep debate

by request from dotty, my thoughts on the VP debate. Fair warning,
Palin makes my blood boil.

1. Palin did NOT lower taxes as mayor. She raised sales tax to pay
for the 32 MILLION in debt her town took on (up from NONE) Mind you,
they took on that debt in spite of RECORD earmarks that she got for
wasilla (about 3k per resident)

2. Palin/McCain's healthcare bill WILL cause FEWER people to be
insured, not more. If you have employer paid healthcare, you very
well might lose it if it becomes taxed. Right now it's a good deal
for your employer to ensure you; it seems like more compensation for
you at less cost to them; that will end if it is taxed, it will be
better for them to make you insure yourself; to the tune of TEN
THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR. I have never been so grateful to be a state
employee

3. Regulation. McCain is against it. I am mostly against it.
However, when Palin says she wants to regulate Wall Street more, she
is presenting a misleading view of her running mate's position, as
well as an unrealistic view. How would you simultaneously regulate
Wall Street and make government smaller?

4. Did you hear her say she wanted to "eliminate the false state
boundaries for healthcare" (not a direct quote) again, how do you
overrule the authority of states AND have smaller state government.

5. She is not an energy expert. She was the chair of the energy
commission in Alaska, as a consolation prize for losing the lt.
governor race her first time out. She quit because it was too hard
and she didn't like it, and spun it as she was upset with a fellow
republican for running campaign business out of his state office.
This was a smokescreen. We know it was a smokescreen because she
ALSO ran campaign business out of her mayoral office. She may have
run campaign business out of her governor's office, but she kept her
email's "private" by using her yahoo address for state business, so
we can't be sure.

6. Climate change "blah blah blah" you think it's man made or you
don't, either way gas is too expensive and we need alternatives.
Please give us some, thanks.

7. Clean Coal: Biden is right (and I'm not a huge Biden fan, really)
this means american jobs, NOW, and less emissions. I have been to NE
Penn, and if you haven't, you may not understand the importance of
this, but it really matters.

8. Domestic energy solutions: both candidates are basically the same
on this issue; I am surprised that Palin is acting as if this is a
major difference between them. Another deception. (side note: did
you hear her call him "o'biden?" stay of the net, woman.) Either
way "drill baby drill" is not a solution for energy independence.
That is simple math; we have a fraction of the worlds supplies and
preponderance of the worlds demand.

9. Same sex benefits: yes, they should have them, get over it. I do
not think the counter argument that we should deprive part of our
population of civil rights to be even worth equal time. Nobody said
anything about marriage, gidget, dump the catchphrases (oh, wait is
it sexist to call her gidget?)

10. "foreign policy" I do not consider a position based purely on Iraq to be a position on "foreign policy," there is a great big wide world out there, folks, and most parts of it dont' have oil! The surge is working, I agree, I love Petraeus, too, but McCain is NOT responsible for that success, Petraeus is. Obama's saying he still would vote against the surge given the same information is NOT the same as saying he thinks it's not working, he has admitted its working (side note: did you hear her say talibani?)

11. Iran and Pakistan: I like Petraeus, again, but the war on terror is NOT in Iraq.

12. Israel: when people like Sarah Palin defend Israel it is for one reason: MONEY. I think Israel deserves to be defended, but if you want to know if politicians listen to lobbyists, pay attention to how much they defend Israel

13. "meeting without preconditions" has been so overdone. Kissinger has endorsed meeting with Iran. The presentation of Barack and Kissinger's position is deception.

Israel israel israel, yeah, we get it.

14. McCain is just like Bush: yeah, sorry, he is.

15. Executive experience? Business owner? what business did she own?

Ok, goodnight.