July 31, 2004

World's Shortest Movie Review

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture at 11:57 PM | Comments (3)

July 30, 2004

Vouching for Father

Vanessa and Alexandra Kerry both comported themselves well before the convention and the millions watching at home. Actually, they looked more comfortable speaking than their father did.

I'll give you my take on Kerry's speech late tonight.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in 2004 Democratic Convention at 01:56 PM | Comments (1)

Marching Orders

It looks like the kos-ians are trying to stuff the ballot. "Screw 'em" and make sure the hottest women win.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:15 AM | Comments (1)

Return of the Superfriends

I know nothing about Kerry's speech other than the convention gave the Dems a five-point lead in a Zogby poll. On the more interesting Iowa Electronic Markets Bush and Kerry are virtually dead even in the Presidential Vote Share Market, and Bush took back the lead in the Winner Takes All Market. There's no big convention bounce in the markets, but they might not react the same way to conventions as polls do. We'd need to look at how the markets reacted in previous elections.

What did catch my eye was this picture of the Kerry Edwards team.

Notice the smug grin on Edwards, the defensive stance by Teresa, and the weird frat-boy pointing by Kerry. They look like a team ready to take on the bad guys. They may think they're The Avengers--remember Florida--but they're really the Superfriends. Not those, these

"Zogby Poll Shows Democratic Ticket Up 5 Points"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in 2004 Democratic Convention at 12:10 AM | Comments (2)

July 29, 2004

Hornsby Over Kerry

Here's my theory of what will happen tonight: With Clinton, Obama, and Edwards setting the bar high, the expectations are that John Kerry will look lifeless compared to them. However, he will deliver a good speech. The man has been public speaking since he was a high school debater. However, the talk will be that he found a way to rise up to the level of Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. Thus, Kerry will get high praise for just a good performance.

I'm skipping out on watching John Kerry's speech live. I'll be savoring the sweet sound of Bruce Hornsby.

UPDATE: I didn't get to see Hornsby because the show sold out. Since I could still buy tickets last night I figured I was okay. Instead, I saw Napoleon Dynamite.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Music at 05:54 PM | Comments (2)

Something Nice About the Dems

While not having the quality of the Bush twins, the Kerry sisters and Cate Edwards make up for it in quantity. Will we be seeing any of these lovely political daughters inside the pages of Maxim? We know it won't be before Election Day.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 05:33 PM | Comments (2)

CNN-lanche

More powerful than a link from a sex weblog, even more powerful than an Instalanche is a link from CNN. TAM's "suffering" under one right now, and it's all about my juvenile (yet important) question: "Who's Hotter?"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 05:23 PM | Comments (4)

July 28, 2004

Two Can Play This Game

Being the married man with kids, I'm not surprised Kevin noticed Cate Edwards. (I see a little of Jackie O. in her. The delegates must have swooned over her.) I wish I could give you pictures of Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry, Karenna and Kristin Gore, as well as Cate. Instead, I'll give you this story on the "cover-girl Democratic daughters."

"The Party's Girls: Daughters Debut"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 11:52 PM | Comments (1)

Feet to the Fire

Here's more proof that what's happening outside the Fleet Center is more interesting than what's happening inside:

The next day, the pantomime Gongsters are gone from Copley Square. In their place are shoes--thousands and thousands of shoes. Multitudes of boots are arranged carefully on the lawn, with a sign explaining, "These 907 pairs of boots represent the U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq war." Then there's a sloppy pile of shoes with another sign: "These 1,000 pairs of shoes represent a small fraction of the estimated 16,000 Iraqis killed in the war."

There are no million shoes for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi, Iranian and Kuwaiti victims; only his American victims seem to matter, and only those Iraqis killed in connection with a U.S. military intervention. Come to think of it, there also are no 3,000 pairs of shoes for those who died at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon--even though the group sponsoring this display styles itself Sept. 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.

We approach a middle-aged man of ample girth, who seems to be in charge. "How many shoes do you have for Saddam Hussein's victims?" we ask.

He stands silent, facing us. He seems to be staring us down, but we have no way of knowing for sure, as he's wearing sunglasses, even though the day is overcast. Finally, after perhaps 15 seconds, he breaks the silence:

"Shame on you," he says.

He explains that his group has simply chosen--arbitrarily, if we understand him correctly--to highlight the U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the liberation. He offers an analogy: "There are books that are written about one thing, there are books that are written about other things."

We persist: Saddam's victims don't count unless they're American?

"Somebody else is dealing with that."

We point to the shoes representing the fallen soldiers: "Yeah, these guys are dealing with that."

Whereupon he says: "It saddens me deeply to see the anger in your face." And we suppose he has a point. We are ticked off at just that moment. There's something especially despicable about those who exploit the memories of American soldiers to further the false claim that they died for an unjust cause.

[via Hoystory]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in 2004 Democratic Convention at 11:17 PM | Comments (1)

Follow the Bouncing Poll Number

Well, well, well. Kerry Edwards is subdued about the effect of the convention on the polls.

Former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen told the group that her daughter graduated from USC Law School and that her son-in-law had been stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter. She thanked the delegation for the state’s hospitality to her kin.

Then she gave them a little downer and told them not to fret about it.

“We do not expect a huge bounce coming out of this convention,” she said, speaking of the lift in the polls parties typically enjoy after they hold these pre-election meetings.

Is KE defining success down? If they do get a "huge bounce" will they claim it was a massive public endorsement?

"Former S.C. Gov. Jim Hodges Addresses DNC in Boston" [via Jeff Quinton]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in 2004 Democratic Convention at 10:54 PM | Comments (1)

Edwards' Speech

I wonder what the strongly anti-war delegates thought when hearing these words from Sen. John Edwards:

John understands personally about fighting in a war. And he knows what our brave men and women are going through in another war -- the war in Iraq.

The human cost and extraordinary heroism of this war, it surrounds us. It surrounds us in our cities and towns. And we will win this war because of the strength and courage of our own people.

and how about these words:

We will double our Special Forces, and invest in the new equipment and technologies so that our military remains the best equipped and best trained in the world. This will make our military stronger so we're able to defeat every enemy in this new world.

The anti-war Deaniac pacifists must have been tearing their hair out. Their guys want more weapons programs. They must be hoping Kerry sticks to his voting record rather than what's stated in campaign speeches.

Kerry Edwards' foreign policy plan is whimsical. John-John assumes everything will be hunky-dory with France et al if Bush is booted. What makes them think the strong anti-war constituencies of those foreign lands will accept further involvement? What makes Kerry Edwards think the Iraqi insurgents will stop killing hostages that scare countries away? The U.N. has had plenty of opportunities to expand their Iraq presence. They've shyed away. Maybe those nations that were first opposed to Iraqi intervention would come around and help the U.S. But to assume it will happen is foolishness.

Suppose in the first term of a Kerry Edwards administration it was found Iran had a factory making nuclear weapons. Then suppose that even with all Kerry Edwards' diplomatic skills, France et al turned their heads and said, "Send in the inspectors"? Would a Kerry Edwards administration defy the will of the world and "unilaterally" (probably with Great Britain's help) attack? We have no idea, and because of that it shows the Democratic ticket isn't serious about defending America.

Chad Evans and James Joyner both comment on the speech. Steven Taylor writes, "I must say, I tire of this idea that most of us live on the brink of utter ruin." He then pops Edwards' "Two Americas" theme.

UPDATE: I have to link to Deacon's humorous take on the speech. "10:48 If you have stubbed your toe, help is on the way."

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in 2004 Democratic Convention at 10:40 PM | Comments (1)

Protest Coverage

What's happening outside the Fleet Center is much more interesting than what's going on inside. Andy Carvin's coverage (with audio and pictures) of an anti-war rally tops everything I've read from the credentialed webloggers so far.

"Speeches, Songs and Arguments at Copley Square"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in 2004 Democratic Convention at 09:19 PM | Comments (0)

Kerry's House of Ketchup #21

Kerry speaks.

This is another special edition of your favorite condiment connection, Kerry's House of Ketchup.

Is it just me or are the convention webloggers just offering mildly interesting pictures and "what I did today" stories? So far, not so good when David Weinberger considered covering the convention via C-SPAN instead of the Fleet Center.

John Kerry: kinda pro-war--it depends on what time of day it is. Democratic delegates: strongly anti-war 24/7. Here's even more proof.

Here's a scary quote from defense analyst Loren Thompson:

If you look at the people around Kerry. what you see is the Clinton national security team.

In Newsweek, Bill Weld ran a tough race against John Kerry in 1996. He thinks Kerry's strategy will be to straddle a host of issues. Time outdoes that with a good, intimate photo essay.

Kerry got another endorsement. Along with the Communists, the Socialists are backing him. Plus, the original "Two Americas" speech was delivered before the Socialist Workers Party Convention. [via PrestoPundit]

Speaking of "Two Americas," we can't forget John Edwards. He's speaking tonight. I wonder if he'll try to defend his record as a trial lawyer from the blistering critique of John Stossel?

We have a Dukakis sighting.

On a sad note to you pro-Bush Natalie Portman fans. She's backing Kerry.

Jonathan Last comments on Bill Richardson's introduction of Jimmy Carter:

By way of introduction, Bill Richardson says that President Carter gave us "a strong America." Hmmm. Now I'm just asking, but will John Kerry's "stronger America" be like Jimmy Carter's "strong America," only more so? Don't say you weren't warned.

Now, on to the links (and I don't mean you should pull out your driver):

There's lots of love for Barack Obama [here, here and here]. I have three words for them: Harold Ford, Jr.
Kyle Sing caught Obama in a lie.
Orrin Judd has more on Kerry's abortion problem.
Kerry's Vietnam movie: real or fake? Captain Ed ponders.
Daniel Drezner jabs Kerry's lack of management experience. He then offers some polling data on how the public perceives the leadership qualities of the two candidates.
A GOP-made Kerry video on his Iraq flip-flops might be helpful to him.
And Kerry's still clueless about terrorism.
Dispite Bill Clinton's claim that the Kerry would run a postive campaign, the California Yankee finds that Kerry ran a negative ad way back in September 2003.
Jeff Jarvis thinks Kerry's rushing to turn the Sept. 11 Commission's suggestions into a political plaything. And I thought Kerry was a member of the "world's greatest deliberative body."
Rita at Res Ipsa Loquitur looks the goings on at a Leftist women's gathering.
David Frum points out an example of Kerry's arrogance. John Edwards must just love playing second fiddle. Oh, the price that must be paid for power.
You can be sure Kerry Edwards made sure none of these Democrats spoke before the convention.
The Big Trunk makes a literary connection between John Kerry and Henry James. It's not flattering.
Mama T?
The Family Circle bake-off between the candidates' wives is a fraud. Teresa Heinz Kerry says her pumpkin spice cookie recipe isn't her's and she doesn't even like them.
Low Culture examines body language.
Robert at the Llama Butchers is quite sure Kerry shouldn't have a career as a sports analyst.
Like AlGore, the Washington Post wants to replay of 2000.
Here's too much fun with that weird Kerry photo. [via Allah]
Should Kerry lose in November, he will have a job entertaining kids. [Note the ketchup bottle.]
And have you seen these two in the same place at the same time?
There's a rumor that Kerry might show up early to the convention.

Join in the fun by linking to the House of Ketchup. If you have an MT-powered weblog, just trackback to this post, and it will appear below. If your weblog software is incapable of trackbacks use Kevin's Trackback Form.

[Thanks go to the John F. Kerry Media Relations Center for the Sen. Zoop's "voice." Cheap gimmick not endorsed by Glenn Reynolds.]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in John Kerry at 08:50 PM | Comments (1)

Celebrity Republican Spotted

Alright! If I wanted to only consume pro-Republican music I found an artist I can listen to: Sammy Hagar.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Music at 06:43 PM | Comments (1)

Hacking the Report

I downloaded the PDF version of the Sep. 11 report, but it sits on my computer untouched. I'm waiting for more copies of the bound version to get back into my store. An HTML version sounds much better for linking from this weblog.

"Techies Reshape 9/11 History" [via A Small Victory]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 06:17 AM | Comments (4)

July 27, 2004

Frozen Original Kreme

Sean, Had your Frozen Original Kreme yet?

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Miscellaneous at 05:18 PM | Comments (1)

Get a Grip

You can not like what stories Fox News covers or how their personalities comport themselves. That's one thing but to say Pravda "had more editorial integrity" is a Howard Dean-like moment. Pravda was the official voice of a brutal government that killed millions and kept even more in bondage. Fox News is an alternative to the liberal spin conservatives put up with for too long. Oliver, see the difference?

Is it any worse than CNN and MSNBC? If you want "pure" journalism switch to C-SPAN.

And there's all that silence from him about Daniel Okrent's admission that the NY Times, the "Paper of Record" is liberal. See, that liberal media!

"'News', Fox Style"

UPDATE: Paul at Wizbang pulls apart another Oliver Willis argument. It's not been a good day for my Redskin-loving friend.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 02:40 PM | Comments (2)

King's Reading Assignment

King needs some help figuring what to read (and post about) on his upcoming trip to Armenia. Stop by and give him some suggestions.

This summer, I've had some time to read. Here's what I've knocked off:
Memorial Day by Vince Flynn
The Narrows by Michael Connelly
Point of Impact, Black Light, Dirty White Boys, and Time To Hunt by Stephen Hunter
Hidden Prey by John Sandford
The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg

King's into the Super spy novels, as you can see that I am. The Sovereign Individual is what I am reading now. It's a little dated, what they are going through now is the Y2K computer issues, but it's interesting nonetheless, especially watching how to the forefront blogs and "point/click" shopping has become.

I have not yet read Hugh Hewitt's book If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat: Crushing the Democrats in Every Election and Why Your Life Depends on It" yet, even though I am asking you, TAM reader, to buy the book. You see, I don't have a job, but I do have a wife. So, sure, I could go out and buy the book, but then I'd have to face my wife. If I do end up facing Mr. Hewitt, it will likely be over a glass of beer and it's much easier to deal with a ~~whacky DJ~~ talk radio host in a situation like that.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Books at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)

Too Many Cars?

Those pesky documents. They really have a way of coming around to bite you in the ass.

Minnesota State Representative Phil Krinkie shows the taxpayers some documents today, from top Minnesota Department of Transportation officials.

Republican Rep. Phil Krinkie of Shoreview released a stack of e-mails and other correspondence from top Department of Transportation officials mentioning congestion that might result in the Hiawatha corridor. Krinkie accused the department of disregarding open-records laws to keep their concerns private as long as possible.
"There was a cover-up and conspiracy about the traffic congestion,'' he said at a Capitol news conference.

It should be no secret that there would be some traffic issues. But the DOT, The Metropolitan Council and others told the taxpayers and opponents of LRT that congestion would be eased.

Approaching trains trigger traffic signals, stopping cars on cross streets. This interrupts the normal cycle of traffic signals. Since the line opened in late June, the setup has caused delays at cross streets, for drivers trying to turn off the highway and even for north-south traffic on Highway 55, which runs parallel to the tracks.
Some correspondence, dating to 1999, raised concerns about the potential effect on vehicle flow on adjacent streets. In one e-mail, an official said due to the "political sensitivity'' of the project, the department should avoid bringing the matter to the Minneapolis City Council.

There you go. Let's just keep this to ourselves. We don't want someone to get upset, for Pete's sake. Let's just wait and see what happens? Deal with the anger later?

The Hiawatha Corridor was just opened after years of construction. As anyone who has driven along the new Highway 55 in Southeast Minneapolis knows, this project was long overdue. But now, if the road isn't driveable because of the train, was all that money spent for naught?

Kudos to Representative Krinkie for continuing to follow this issue.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Transportation at 01:53 PM | Comments (4)

Nominate TAM

The Washington Post is running a Best Weblogs contest. If you think TAM's good enough, please nominate it.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 03:59 AM | Comments (2)

Hey, Seattle Times

The American Mind is taken.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 03:45 AM | Comments (0)

Quick Hits

Will John Kerry make any smart-ass remarks about President Bush falling off his bike again?

"Bush Takes Another Tumble on Mountain Bike"

---

You can bring cannoli into the Fleet Center but not bananas. There's a Bill Clinton joke in there somewhere. Can you bring in Krispy Kremes? How about cigars?

"Leave The Banana. Take The Cannolis"

---

I put up with Bill Clinton's speech for about five minutes. He's not nicknamed "Slick Willy" for nothing. The smooth polish, the down home demeanor, and the self-deprecation put a shiny veneer upon a speech of revisionism, class warfare, and disingenuous.

And oh do I hate Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop."

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in John Kerry at 02:54 AM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2004

Kerry's House of Ketchup #20

Kerry speaks.

Welcome to a special edition of Kerry's House of Ketchup. Normally to maintain the sanity of my readers and myself KHoK is published once a week. But this week we have the Democratic National Convention. Democratic dignitaries will be honored, the base fired up, and John Kerry will be unveiled to the American public. With so much media scribbling and yapping focused on the election the blogosphere is filled with related chatter. Thus, I have to give these links to you before they overflow my bookmarks folder. Enjoy.

A few Democratic candidates will not be spending all their time in Boston. They want to avoid being associated too much with the liberal Massachusetts Senator.
Here's the picture of that pizza joint owner who closed up shop until the convention is over.
On the eve of the convention, Andrew Sullivan offers an de facto Kerry endorsement.
John Kerry certainly knows how to rake in the dough. Steven Taylor notes that the press weren't so lauditory when President Bush was raising record amounts of money.
Teresa Heinz Kerry blew her top. Oliver Willis think it's understandable.
The Evangelical Outpost theorizes Clintons and the timing of Sloppy Sandy's investigation discovery. Maybe Berger was covering up for his own inadequacies?
Kerry jokingly called for abolishing the New York Yankees.
Journalists and baseball historians are trying to find out who "Manny Ortez." John Kerry is a big fan of his. But is favorite Red Sox player of all time is Eddie Yost, a man who never played for the team and was really good at drawing walks.
Team Bush struck at a Kerry event in Ohio.
The Kerry Edwards website has turned into a memory hole. Someone contact Stephen Hawking!
I hope Snoop Dog is never seen on the Bush-Cheney weblog.
Allah made a poster for Kerry Edwards.

[Thanks go to the John F. Kerry Media Relations Center for the Sen. Zoop's "voice." Cheap gimmick not endorsed by Glenn Reynolds.]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in John Kerry at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)

July 25, 2004

Tracking the Webloggers

Feedster has set up a site to track the posts of the webloggers at the DNC.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)

Hurrah for Toast!

Steven Taylor's Toast-O-Meter is back.

[I shouldn't be this happy. Now, I have competition in the Kerry-related linkfest market. A buyout might be in order. I wonder if Steven accepts Krispy Kremes as payment? And do anti-trust laws cover weblogs?]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 09:31 PM | Comments (0)

A Tale of Two Men

One man surprised troops in a far off land and had Thanksgiving dinner with them.

Another surprised reporters because "The idea of missing a Yankees - Red Sox series right before a convention is unacceptable."

Take it however you'd like.

"Kerry Arrives in Boston Early"

"Kerry Makes Surprise Visit to Boston"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)

Not Music to My Ears

As an update to this post on Big Music donating oodles of CDs to libraries here are what some Wisconsin libraries are getting:

Among the 592 CDs shipped to the Marshfield Public Library, there are 22 copies of Ricky Martin's "Sound Loaded," 20 copies of Samantha Mumba's "Gotta Tell You," 16 copies of "The Three Tenors in Concert," 12 copies of Georg Philipp Telemann's "String Concertos/Musica Antiqua Koln-Goebel," and 12 copies of Mandy Moore's self-titled album.

"We ended up with quite a mix," said Marshfield Public Library director Lori Belongia. "They are not current top 40. There's a mix of country western, pop and rock, a fair amount of classical, a fair number of opera and a number of Spanish titles." Out of the 40 to 60 CDs Abbotsford Public Library received, 10 will be added to its collection, said librarian Jane Medenwaldt. The library will try to exchange the rest of the CDs with other libraries.

"CD Settlement Delivers Duds" [via Slashdot]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Music at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

To Jewish TAM Readers

Soccer Dad had discovered W Ketchup is Kosher. I'm still sticking with Heinz.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)

Victory!

"Armstrong Wins a Record Sixth Tour de France"

"Armstrong Takes Victory Lap"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 06:27 PM | Comments (0)

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For...

Guinness Ice Cream.

Courtesy Michelle.

Results posted in a day or two.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Miscellaneous at 05:29 PM | Comments (0)

July 24, 2004

More Fun Than A Human Being Should Be Allowed To Have

This afternoon, I had to mow the grass. This being America, I wanted to listen to the radio while I mowed. Instead of punishing my ears solely with the noise of the lawn tractor, I added in more noise, as loud as the radio would do pump it out.

Being where I live, it's very difficult to get a strong signal from am1280 The Patriot, host (Saturday's from 12p-3p) of The Northern Alliance Radio Network. This is a show done by Minnesota's, and some of the Country's finest bloggers: Mitch Berg of Shot In The Dark, The Elder, Saint Paul, Atomizer and JB Doubtless of Fraters Libertas, John "Rocket Man" Hinderaker and Scott "The Big Trunk" Johnson of PowerLine, Captain Ed Morrisey of Captain's Quarters, and (last but most certainly not least!) King Banaian of SCSU Scholars. Today, among other things, they interviewed James Taranto, he of Best Of The Web. Best of the Web is one of the best reasons to have email, arriving each afternoon in your inbox for your reading pleasure. Wish I could have heard it; instead I listened to 101.7, The Red House That Rocks, WHMH FM.

Tonight at Keegan's Pub in Minneapolis, The Northern Alliance hosted their first "get together" of bloggers in the Minnesota area, and your's truly attended. I had the pleasure and honor of meeting most of the above people, and putting a face to the website. Also in attendance was the Uber Scribe, James Lileks. The man with the most listenable radio show on the Twin Cities former talk radio powerhouse am1500 KSTP, Bob Davis also graced us with his presence. I had a most enjoyable conversation with Flash from Centrisity, who happens to be a member of the finest Senior Drum & Bugle Corps in the world, Minnesota Brass, Incorporated. While he is a little more left-of-center than I, he's in a drum corps, which is one of my favorite summer pasttimes: watching Drum & Bugle Corps as they take the field for competition. Jay Reding came up too, and it was great to meet him; his blog is another daily must read. And, of the local "big time" pundits (i.e., she gets paid for her opinions unlike the rest of us) Sarah Janecek of MN-Politics.com.

Those, and more, were there, and many likely still are. I have some commitments tomorrow, namely responsibilities at church in the morning, so I bailed out early. These people are all as genuinely nice (and smart) as they appear on the screen. Special Thanks to all of them for the great props that they gave this site and Sean. Next time He will have to make the trip to get the props himself. Me, I'm just lucky enough to get a guest slot here, and grateful for it.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Weblogging at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)

The Only Numbers that Count

Going into the Democratic Convention Bush leads Kerry in the all-important electoral vote count. There's still too much time until Election Day to pay much attention to polls, but one thing's for sure: because of the Electoral College any national poll is meaningless--ask AlGore. It all comes down to individual states.

"Bush Leads Kerry in Electoral Votes"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 09:07 PM | Comments (0)

Oops!

John Kerry may want to connect with the average American voter--he does need their votes. While not having anything against blue collar Joe Sixpack-types he and his campaign remain tone deaf towards them.

For example, this past week Kerry went to Detroit, the heart of America's auto industry, to speak before the Urban League. Workers are very loyal to their employer's cars and to American products in general. The press badge for the trip proudly displayed a product of German construction, a Rolls-Royce 100EX. It could have been any car in the world, but it had to be 1.) a German automobile (imagine if it had been a Pugeot?); 2.) something complete out of reach to most Americans. He could have gotten away with a Chrysler Crossfire, an American coupe that look and performs like it's Mercedes-Benz cousins.

It's not as big a deal as partisan yappers make it out to be (note auto worker Sam Burwell's over-the-top comments), but it is telling in how out of touch Kerry Edwards is.

"Kerry Camp Spins its Wheels"

UPDATE: From The Onion's farce-or-fact department, in February they published "Kerry Makes Whistle-Stop Tour From Deck of Yacht." [Kudos to Glenn Reynolds for the idea.]

UPDATE II: There's some confusion about where the pictured Rolls-Royce was made. The Times story says the 100EX was built in Munich. BMW bought Rolls-Royce in 2003 and has a plant in Great Britain. I'm guessing design work takes place in Germany while the production cars are made in Great Britain.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in John Kerry at 07:02 PM | Comments (13)

You Have Your Orders

I expect the TAM Nation to vote for the correct entry in Backcountry Conservative's Food & Clothing Contest. HINT: It's #10.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)

Congratulations Molly

Sunday morning, Dennis Eckersley and Paul Molitor will be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. They are the 99th and 100th inductees.

Aside: If you ever get a chance to go to Cooperstown, it's a wonderful little town, and the Hall of Fame and Baseball Museum are a delightful place to spend a day. I recall my visit fondly and will return some time.

Saint Paul, Minnesota's own Molitor had a spectacular career, starting with the Milwaukee Brewers, and also spending time with Toronto's Blue Jays and Minnesota's Twins.

Molly is going into the Hall of Fame with a Brew Crew cap on his head, and he should. All time with the Brewers:

Category -- Rank -- Total

Batting avg. -- tie 2nd -- .302

Games -- 2nd -- 1,856

At bats -- 2nd -- 7,520

Hits -- 2nd -- 2,281

Runs -- 2nd -- 1,275

Home runs -- 7th -- 160

RBI -- 3rd -- 790

Doubles -- 2nd -- 405

Triples -- 2nd -- 86

Stolen bases -- 1st -- 412

(stats courtesy of the Star Tribune)

Congratulations Molly.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Sports at 03:36 PM | Comments (0)

Hate Crime Laws

Yesterday, I commented on a story about some crosses that were destroyed in front of a church. I wondered aloud if the perp, if caught, would be charged with a "hate crime."

In the comment section, Matt commented that he is against hate crimes:

I'm kind of against hate crimes anyway, I think most violent crimes are crimes of hate of some sort or another, hate crimes set a precident of thought crime: If there is a seperate/more severe punishment for being racist or prejudiced while commiting a crime then it follows that racism or prejudice by itself is a crime. But being racist or prejudiced is protected by the first amendment.

He's right. And while many of my friends know that I feel the same way, I forget that I haven't written here long enough for the readers here to know how I feel, and that in my pithy comments you would all suddenly say "Oh, Shawn is against hate crimes."

I pretty much come down where Matt is. If someone kills me, they have killed me. Punishing them additionally for their bias against my faith/sexuality/race/etc. doesn't do anything to bring me back, or make my survivors feel any better about me being dead.

We're all human beings. All crimes against us are because of hate or greed or jealousy or some other thing. Why make any other crime less severe because the victim and perp are both of the same race/sexuality/religion?

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Miscellaneous at 03:09 PM | Comments (3)

Will There Be Justice?

Yesterday, I noted how Minnesota House Representative Phyllis Kahn (yeah, that's really her) was cited for stealing campaign literature, swapping it out for the candidate she supported.

Fraters Libertas and Mitch Berg did a much finer job of covering this story than I did. But, short of myself and King Banaian, I don't know what other Minnesotans read this blog.

Today it is reported that the Anoka County attorney will not bring any charges against her. Though she was cited and was acting in Hennepin County, the Hennepin County Attorney, Amy Klobuchar, opted to not get involved as she and Phyllis have worked together in the past.

The case was referred to the Hennepin County attorney's office, which declined the case on possible conflict-of-interest grounds and referred it to the Anoka County attorney. As a member of the Minneapolis legislative delegation, Kahn frequently works with Hennepin County officials. On Friday, Anoka County officials said the case was at most a misdemeanor theft, which the New Hope city attorney would have to review.

Hopefully the city of No New Hope will pursue some charges. However it pans out, Kahn's constituency will likely not care about this, which is rather sad.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Minnesota Politics at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)

No Regrets

Oh, am I so glad I won't be bothering with My Life. One sentence by Pejman only reinforce my good sense:

This is a lousy book . . . and I measure my words carefully in saying that.

The review is lengthy, but it just has to be better than the book.

"Book Review--My Life" [via PrestoPundit]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Books at 03:29 AM | Comments (0)

Too Anal

The only reason I wandered to Wonkette was to see if BoiFromTroy started guess posting yet (nope). That's how I happened upon this question from Ms. Cox (how fitting) herself:

Is it possible for you to be funny or interesting without talking about anal sex?

We'll see.

Since she isn't funny or interesting when talking about anal sex I don't think I need to answer her question.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:03 AM | Comments (1)

July 23, 2004

Michael Moore: Liar

Readers should know I don't toss around the label "liar" loosely, but that's what Michael Moore did with some creative Photoshopping.

"Moore F9/11 Lies"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 02:21 PM | Comments (2)

All Finished

Michele's been "patiently" waiting for me to finish my draft. Drumroll please...

While hunting for the last remaining Krispy Kreme doughnut to go with his waffles and ketchup, Sandy Berger, wandering the house without pants or socks (what a horrible mental picture) and dreaming about his next job (part of it involving asking customers if they would like fries with that), gave up, turned on the television, and consumed waffles of another sort: a John Kerry speech.

Good enough for you, Michele?

This has been added to Jeff's little collection.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 01:56 PM | Comments (3)

What Democrats Will Do

What if Phyllis Kahn was a Republican?

State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, a 32-year veteran from Minneapolis and a key figure in the DFL House caucus, was stopped by New Hope police earlier this week after a citizen complained that she was removing a Republican House member's campaign literature from doorsteps and replacing it with a DFL opponent's material.
The case has been referred to the Anoka County attorney's office for possible charges, officials said.

If this was a Republican removing DFL literature, the candidate would have their booking photo all over the news. Well, perhaps I am too cynical.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Politics at 12:34 PM | Comments (1)

Gate Crashers

As previously noted, there are going to be added costs and dangers for the Twin Cities Light Rail project along Hiawatha Avenue.

Today's highlight: Gate arms at crossings, used to keep people and cars off the tracks as a train approaches.

In the first 26 days since light-rail trains began carrying passengers in Minneapolis, cars and trucks have broken 15 gate-crossing arms designed to keep vehicles off the tracks.

The average cost to fix or replace the gate arms is $300. So, we're into repairs so far for about $4500. I doubt that the drivers are being billed, as they should be (the article doesn't mention as to whether or not they are).

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Transportation at 11:44 AM | Comments (2)

Hate Crime?

What do you think the chances are that if the police find who drove through a display of crosses at a church, that the person will be charged with a hate crime?

Broken crosses littered the tire track-covered lawn of Gethsemane Covenant Church, 4479 Ugstad Road, on Thursday morning as volunteers surveyed damage to the "Cemetery of Innocence," a display of 400 three-foot crosses each representing 10 abortions.

Since it's "politically correct" to be pro-choice and anti-Christian, my guess is that anyone charged would be only charged with vandalism.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Culture of Death at 11:33 AM | Comments (1)

I'm Working on It

Michele inspired me. The first draft is done.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 04:13 AM | Comments (2)

Break It Down Again

Do people think I'm losing it when writing an edition of House of Ketchup? What's with Power Line's Big Trunk calling the latest the "nineteenth nervous breakdown edition." In my frazzled state, I'll take it as a complement.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 04:03 AM | Comments (1)

Be Focused

I'd like to think the Sep. 11 Commission reads TAM, but I realize I'm just a keyboard jockey in Wisconsin. Nevertheless, they agree with me that a "war on terrorism" is too nebulous and open-ended a concept.

"War on Terror Criticized for Lack of Focus" [via Drudge]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 02:19 AM | Comments (0)

The Golf Tournament Formerly Known as the GMO

Wisconsin's annual PGA stop, the U.S. Bank Championship is the toughest it's ever been since coming to Brown Deer Park. Paul Azinger called it "a mini-U.S. Open." It used to be that the winner racked up an outrageous (20+ under par) score. The course is one of the shortest on the tour but the roughs are think. Wisconsin native, Jerry Kelly described one as "a bird's nest in a hawk's nest."

But wait until a few weeks when all the PGA stars go 40 miles north to challenge the monster Whistling Straights in the PGA Championship. Earlier this month after playing the course, 2002 PGA champion Rich Beam said, "Maybe it was just the setup that was throwing me off, but I think some of the long holes, with the narrow landing area . . . That's insane. It just doesn't seem fair."

"Scared Straight"

"Eight-Way Tie for First at Brown Deer"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports Wisconsin at 02:01 AM | Comments (2)

Godspeed

Mort Kondracke's wife, Milly died of Parkinson's Disease. His ode to her is contained in Saving Milly. Wish their family the best.

"Condolences"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 01:18 AM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2004

MT-Blacklist Love

In the last day TAM's been getting hit hard with comment spam attempts . I'm a little flattered with the attacks because it indicates this weblog's growing influence in the blogosphere. Thank goodness for the MT-Blacklist. How are Word Press users dealing with comment spam? Is the WP Blacklist as effective as MT-Blacklist? This issue will now become a major reason for TAM to ever move to another weblogging platform in the future.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 11:26 PM | Comments (0)

Campaigning

Below are some pictures as the Bush twins start helping their dad get reelected.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Bush Twins at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

Kerry's House of Ketchup #19

Kerry speaks.

Welcome to the 19th edition of the most stupendous John Kerry linkfest of the entire Internet. (If Sandy Berger can claim he was "sloppy" in handling classified documents, I can be sloppy with my hyperbole.) There will be lots of stuff here to help you with the breaking news about "Sloppy Sandy" as well as other good Kerry-related tidbits.

In non-Berger-related news, a San Francisco Chronicle editor has been suspended for donating to the John-John ticket.

On the Kerry Edwards weblog is this mocking rendition of the GOP platform. Who wants to do a (funnier) satire of the Dems document?

If you got tired of John Kerry's constant refrain that he served in Vietnam then don't watch the Democratic Convention. They'll be everywhere all talking about Kerry the war hero.

The whole Kerry/Heinz ketchup thing has gotten carried away with the two(!) pro-Bush ketchups waging a verbal war. I'm sticking with Heinz.

It's still too early to really care about polls. Most of them have Kerry leading. On the Iowa Electronic Markets we have a different prediction. In the Winner Takes All Market Bush has widened his lead since Kerry chose Edwards. In the Vote Share Market Bush continues to lead. In a related note, a pollster told GOP governors that Kerry is doing a better job talking about the economy.

Let's get to the good stuff. Here are your lycopene-filled links:

If you hit your head recently and have no idea what Sandy Berger has been accused of Kevin gets you started. For more links there's Steve Verdon.
The NY Times treats the Sloppy Sandy story like it's part of the political horserace instead of the criminal investigation that it is.
Kyle Sing thinks Kerry Edwards and the Dems are wasting their breath by insinuating that this is all a Republican plot (the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy strikes again!).
Citizen Smash knows the consequences of damaging national security.
Hindrocket recalls how seriously the State Department took classified documents. I guess such seriousness didn't occur in Berger's National Security Advisor's office.
And what's with the socks? If you were working for the National Archives would you really want those documents back after you knew where they've been?
To use Kerry's own words: He "didn't have a clue."
A bumper sticker read, "Kerry is bin Laden's Man." The California Yankee has "mixed feelings."
Kerry's pulling a Bush by going on vacation. It's another flip-flop.
That's understandable because he's worked so hard for Massachusetts in the Senate.
Then Sen. Kerry has the gall to complain about a "political" speech by Gov. Mitt Romney.
The prettier half of Kerry Edwards wasn't much of a worker in the Senate either.
John Hawkins has a few questions for Sen. Kerry.
We have an academic who says a Kerry victory is certain if the election were held today. Don't even bother with the out-of-touch nature of that claim. Remember that a Yale economist has already predicted a Bush victory.
Sloppy Sandy isn't the only Kerry advisor with a problem. Don't forget Joseph "Yellowcake" Wilson.
Charlie Sykes notes that there are "Two Americas."
Another division could be the Sam's Club versus Costco.
Stiffing Sen. Hillary Clinton a starring role at the Democratic Convention was bad enough, but Kerry's solution was even more degrading.
How liberal is John Kerry? Well, he was almost as liberal as the late Paul Wellstone, and no one's claims he was a centrist. But does the "liberal" label even matter anymore?
Bashing Sen. John Edwards as a "sleezy trial lawyer" doesn't look like a winning strategy for Team W.
Stephen Green gets into the "strategery" of Kerry Edwards pulling ads in Missouri and Arizona.
Bush may win the red states, but Kerry has the "red" vote. [via Knight of the Mind]
Kerry Edwards aren't ashamed of their "closeness." [via Right Thinking from the Left Coast]
Then Michele discovered the two were once a feature of Saturday Night Live.
Allah found out what was keeping Kerry too busy for a terrorism briefing.
Just in time for the convention there's Kerry bingo. [via Accidental Verbosity]
Jeff Goldstein gets behind the scenes and documents this "touching" moment between John and Teresa.
The "1st Edwards Lawyer Brigade" has already landed in Florida to prepare of any legal manuvers.
Then Glenn had to do it. He had to tempt me with a ketchup post. He conducted a ketchup taste test between Heinz and W. Two problems: 1.) it wasn't a blind taste test; 2.) where's a Kerry's House of Ketchup link? For a guy who's not fond of the whole Kerry/Heinz shtick he put some effort into this.

[Thanks go to the John F. Kerry Media Relations Center for the Sen. Zoop's "voice." Cheap gimmick not endorsed by Glenn Reynolds.]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in John Kerry at 01:20 AM | Comments (0)

The Encore

The Encore, an end-of-summer bash from the Summerfest crew, has already announced some of the acts for the three-day "little gig."

Confirmed artists include: Jimmy Eat World, The Temptations, Local H, Los Lonely Boys and Blue County.

That's a good start. I'll definitely try to get there to see JEW.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Summerfest at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)

July 21, 2004

Yippee for WSJ

The Wall Street Journal now has RSS feeds.

[via Scripting News]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)

Tech-freakin'-nology

I am an AT&T Wireless Services customer for my cellular phone. I used to have the digital one rate program, which was slick for all the traveling I did, and when I got laid off my priority was to keep the phone and number, not switch to some other plan. That time will come.

Well, as a customer, I get their emails. Yay. But here's the new feature they tell me about today in an email:

Think about all the times you've heard a cool new song and wanted to know its name or who the artist is. With MusicID™, a new service for AT&T Wireless customers, you can be the first to know.
Whenever you hear a song you want to identify on TV, the radio or pretty much anywhere, just dial #43, follow the voice prompts, then hold your AT&T Wireless phone up to the music. Within seconds, you'll find out the name of the artist and song title by text message. It's fast, easy and only 99¢ per use (airtime charges apply).

Now, that, to me, is just cool. Unbelievable.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Tech at 09:02 PM | Comments (1)

Russ, Make Up Your Mind

I'm not in favor of the flag burning amendment so I don't gripe Sen. Russ Feingold for voting against it. However, I'm opposed to his so-called "campaign finance reform" (AKA First Amendment restriction) legislation. The Wisconsin GOP calls Feingold on his double standard:

Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW) Chairman Rick Graber pointed out Feingold’s contradictory stances on free speech issues, considering Feingold has made a career out of banning issues-oriented political speech through his misnamed campaign finance ‘reform’ law.

“Absolutely unbelievable,” Graber commented. “In Russ Feingold’s warped worldview, you can set the U.S. Flag ablaze and it is an expression of American values -- but talk of important issues during election campaigns needs to be banned.”

Feingold’s signature legislation bans issue ads 30 days before primaries and 60 days before general elections.

"New! Feingold's Free Speech Flip-Flop"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 08:56 PM | Comments (0)

Swimming in CDs

Big Music settled a price-fixing suit with a bunch of states. Besides paying out a boatload of money to consumers they donated CDs to local libraries. Here are some of the "hits" Southeast Wisconsin libraries received:

188 copies of Michael Bolton's Timeless
375 of Entertainment Weekly: The Greatest Hits 1971
104 copies of Will Smith's Willennium
11 of Martha Stewart Living: Spooky Scary Sounds for Halloween
81 copies of Barry Whites' Staying Power
26 copies of Ricky Martin's Sound Loaded
1235 copies of Whitney Houston's The Star-Spangled Banner

What, no King's X? The selection was determined by "how much time artists spent on the Billboard charts" which means the public has some really bad musical tastes.

"Music to Whose Ears?"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Music at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)

"Liberal" Still a Bad Word

While not doing a great job holding down the expansion of government, conservatives have done a great job putting a negative connotation on the term "liberal." The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) has come out defending John Kerry as not being a liberal. They'd only do that if they knew voters cringe at them. This is a reversal of the 50s and 60s when liberals effectively bashed Right-wing candidates as "conservative."

Sean's First Rule of Argument is "He who controls the definitions wins." At least the Right is winning that battle.

"John Kerry Not Liberal, 'Centrist' Democrats Insist"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in John Kerry at 06:56 PM | Comments (0)

Happy Birthday!

The Viewmaster is 65.

From the
StarTribune:

The public got its first good look at View-Master at the 1940 World's Fair in New York, a year after its creator, amateur stereo photographer William Gruber, introduced it in Portland, Ore. By 1941, more than 100,000 stores were carrying it.
The military adopted it during World War II for training reels, and the 1950s saw an abundance of reels of national parks and other scenic attractions, intended as souvenirs for adults. For kids, View-Master obtained licensing to use Disney characters in 1951 and those and other movie and television favorites have been mainstays of the line ever since.

More than 1.5 billion reels have been issued since 1939.

Most appealing to collectors is that any one of those white paper reels, with their 14 thumbnail film images, will work in any View-Master viewer. The reels' size and shape have never changed.

It's amazing, the things you learn every day.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Culture at 06:51 PM | Comments (0)

Understatement of the Day

On Bush bashing by celebrities, there's this graph from USA Today (emphasis mine):

Fahrenheit 9/11 has further rallied celebs, many who ''aren't deep intellectual thinkers,'' Brinkley says.

"Celebrities Declare Own War -- on Bush" [via Drudge]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)

Palestinian Propaganda

And we wonder why Israel decided to build a wall.

"PA Textbooks: Israel is Palestine" [via Laurence Simon]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Foreign Affairs at 06:28 PM | Comments (0)

Michael Moore Is Dumb

"What a statement!" is what I am sure all you are saying.

From his open letter to the Aladdin Casino:

I understand from the news reports I've read that, after Linda Ronstadt, one of America's greatest singers, dedicated a song to me from your stage on Saturday night, you instructed your security guards to remove her from the Aladdin, which they did.
What country do you live in? Last time I checked, Las Vegas is still in the United States. And in the United States, we have something called "The First Amendment." This constitutional right gives everyone here the right to say whatever they want to say. All Americans hold this right as sacred.

Now, let's check that pesky First Amendment thing:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Hmmm, "Congress shall make no law..." Not "The Aladdin Casino shall make no law..." The Aladdin is a private establishment. They can make whatever rules they want. They can invite in anyone and ask anyone to leave, for whatever reason they want.

Get it right, there Big Mike.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in Music at 06:19 PM | Comments (2)

What's Dave Think?

Dave, as in Dave Mustaine, of Megadeth fame.

Steve Gigl points out what Dave had to say about our President, Michael Moore, Saddam, etc. Apologies to TAM readers for the Whoopi Goldberg language, but I'm just quoting Dave.

"People in the music business, in American, are talking bad about Bush…you know what? Shut the fuck up! You're a musician; you don't know a thing about running a country! If there would have been a better man to run the States right now, we would have picked him, it's a democratic process. There are a couple of guys who run for office, everybody picks him, he goes to the next level. Shut up, he's the fucking president! There's gonna be an election, if you don't like him go for the other guy. Don't sit back there and just piss and moan. I see all these guys like Michael Moore going off and I'm like, 'Dude, you don't have a fucking idea about what you're talking about. . .

Mustaine doesn't align himself with the right here, he's just saying "hey, shut up!"

It's great that some people are speaking up. OpinionJournal.com today had an Extra talking about Hollywood's Rebels, those actors who are aligned with the Republican party.

Along with not succumbing to the casting couch and not dating your co-stars, one of the unwritten rules in Hollywood has been not coming out of the GOP closet. Actress Emma Caulfield ("Darkness Falls") was slammed when she said she would campaign for Elizabeth Dole. "I would never fully admit to being a Republican in this town," she later told Premiere magazine. "I want to work."
So what's a Republican to do in Hollywood, where you want to create entertainment for the masses and not a political statement tailor-made for liberal elite, or just want to safely say "I like Bush" (not in the Whoopi sense) within 50 feet of a producer? Will you just end up Bambi to a studio Godzilla?

This goes again to my point earlier about professors, which students are counting on for a grade, pushing their ideology in the classroom.

I imagine this happens in most places; fortunately I have been employed places or involved with places where many of the people I am around align with my views.

UPDATE: Jay Reding has some thoughts on this as well.

Posted by Shawn Sarazin in War at 06:05 PM | Comments (0)

Speaking Of Multiple Choice...

When I got laid off at the end of April, I became a "Dislocated Worker" because my position at my company was "permanently eliminated." And, being a DW provides for the me to get some training to update my skills or change careers.

But, before the money is available, I have to take some tests and evaluation to see what jobs I value or that interest me.

Today I took the "Interest Inventory" to see what jobs would interest me. The test is the "fill in the bubble with a Number 2 pencil" test. My choices are:
(L)ike Very Much
(l)ike moderately
(d)islike moderately
(D)islike Very Much

Some of the job "choices" that I had to rate:

Study the long term effects of air pollution. "D".

Direct an international import-export company. "D". But, then I thought, hey, don't spies always work for "import-export companies"? Great front. But the answer is still "D" because I don't think they let me use my imagination on this test.

Operate a cookie factory. "d". I'm not into that day-to-day operate a factory, and do budgets and hire/fire and deal with all that. But, hey, it's cookies and so because I figured I'd get some free cookies it was only "d" instead of "D."

Pilot the course of a ship. "L". Especially the Starship Enterprise. It's five year mission...

Put into action plans to reduce government spending. "L". I'd answer "L" three times for that question if I could.

Design the living areas of a space or underwater experimental station. "L" I've seen "Aliens" about 30 times, I got some great ideas for improved security.

Check food products for freshness. "D". Well, maybe when I was a bachelor it would have been "D". We do better now. Esp