It is a new day

Change has come:

When it comes to the situation here in Chicago with the workers who are asking for their benefits and payments they have earned, I think they are absolutely right. What's happening to them is reflective of what's happening across this economy.

Thanks to TPM.

Pie.

I like Pie. It has come.

One reason I voted for Obama

Very early in the campaign (I think the primary, but cannot be sure), I heard that some talking head asked Obama what he would do if he became president. His answer? The first thing he would do would be to reverse every Bush change he could by Executive Order. And as Hilzoy notes, that is the first thing that Obama will do.

Wow, Obama's victory was a landmark election.

Taxonomy of Philosophy

Here is an attempt at creating a taxonomy for academic philosophy (VERY analytic). David Chalmers explains some of the thought behind it. It has (obvious) areas that are stronger then others (Chalmers is heavy into philosophy of mind, so that area is much more detailed).

Fox goes to Deal before election ended?

I was in a bar with friends being appalled by the Rethuglican crowds booing over McCain who a day late, dollar short decides to be the man he once was...anyway, the channel jockey went to channel 30 here in STL (the Fox affiliate) around 10pm and lo and behold: it was Deal or No Deal! I about died laughing at the jackassery: did Fox "News" really just end for Deal or No Deal right about when the race was called for Obama?! Hah!

We need a better press corp.

Yes We Can!

Wow.

RSS This Site

If you really want to watch the polling landscape like I do, this is the place to fire up in the RSS reader every day. It shows Obama with 346.5 Electoral votes, well over the 270 mark needed for election. On the one hand, I really want that vote to come out that way. But on the other, no matter how the elections ends, I am fascinated to watch how the polls move compared to the final vote tally on 11/4. How good are we are polling?

Change is Coming

You can say what you want about who is the best candidate for president, but one thing, to me, is certain: Obama is the candidate of change. No one can reasonably hold, due to a plethora of empirical evidence, that McCain will not closely follow Bush's policies. This is, I think, central question: do you think that we need a change of leadership in the US from GW. I think the answer will come out as voters will want change and that this is the central reason Obama will win this election.

Here is some evidence that it is a slam dunk.

David Sedaris on The Undecideds

David Sedaris: the funniest long-form humorist alive (the funniest short-form humorist is the genius behind Fafblog). And here is his take on undecided voters:

I don’t know that it was always this way, but, for as long as I can remember, just as we move into the final weeks of the Presidential campaign the focus shifts to the undecided voters. “Who are they?” the news anchors ask. “And how might they determine the outcome of this election?”

Then you’ll see this man or woman— someone, I always think, who looks very happy to be on TV. “Well, Charlie,” they say, “I’ve gone back and forth on the issues and whatnot, but I just can’t seem to make up my mind!” Some insist that there’s very little difference between candidate A and candidate B. Others claim that they’re with A on defense and health care but are leaning toward B when it comes to the economy.

I look at these people and can’t quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention?

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

Thanks to Jender for the link.