Election Prediction

just wanna say this before we know anything.
Clinton will not get knocked out of the race tonight. Contrary to popular thought, she will win Texas and Ohio and shock everyone to stay in the race. Furthermore, she will win Pennsylvania in April, and will finish the race somewhere behind Barack Obama. Neither will have the delegate lead, and the race will go to the convention. In a somewhat controversial finish, the superdelegates will give the nomination to Obama.

The reasons for this comeback in Texas and Ohio are as follows:

1. Hillary's message resonates with people more than the mainstream media understands. Barack Obama wows everyone, but many will still vote for Hillary. Furthermore, the media's ganging up on Hillary will produce a backlash.

2. Obama and his campaign seem to get a little overconfident at times, and this happened in New Hampshire as well. The past few days, in particular, have seen some of this rhetoric, and this will bring a couple of points back to Hillary, especially in Ohio.

3. The media's slavish devotion to Barack Obama will produce a subtle backlash.

4. Ohio's dirty little secret is that it still has a nasty undercurrent of racist and ethnic division, especially among the white suburban population near the major population centers

5. Hispanics will turn out surprising numbers for Hillary in Texas, surprising the pollsters in the same way California did earlier in the primary.

I am posting all of this before I hear any information tonight. May it happen as it happens.
James

Couldn't agree more

Read this by Thomas Friedman. I think you'll enjoy it.
James

Auto blog

I really like this blog: autobloggreen. It's full of interesting news and articles about subjects related to green technology in the auto world. If you care about green tech, or you're an engineer, definitely check it out.
James

Republican Opinion

This is a great article by Sam Brownback. I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but if the evangelical right had this attitude en mass, then there would be a lot less vitriol toward them in the country right now.

James

Quotes from soldiers

From this article: Soldier's perspective

Sergeant in his 2nd tour in Iraq

I honestly thought we were making a difference in Tikrit. Then we come back to a hellhole," Marino said. "That was a playground compared to Baghdad.

Staff Sergeant on violence in Baghdad:

The American people don't fully realize what's going on, said Staff Sgt. Richard McClary, 27, a section leader from Buffalo.

"They just know back there what the higher-ups here tell them. But the higher-ups don't go anywhere, and actually they only go to the safe places, places with a little bit of gunfire," he said. "They don't ever [expletive] see what we see on the ground."

Sgt. on the war:

Next month, the U.S. soldiers will complete their tour in Iraq. Their experience in Sadiyah has left many of them deeply discouraged, by both the unabated hatred between rival sectarian fighters and the questionable will of the Iraqi government to work toward peaceful solutions.

Asked if the American endeavor here was worth their sacrifice -- 20 soldiers from the battalion have been killed in Baghdad -- Alarcon said no: "I don't think this place is worth another soldier's life."

Gay Christian

gaychristian.net
This website was started by a friend of mine from high school. I challenge everybody, especially christians, to read and think about it. I especially like how he allows a place for both sides: GLBT who believe they are called to be celibate by the bible, and those who believe they are allowed monogamous relationships. I think that civil dialogue and honest discussion combined with sincere belief in the bible are what are desperately needed in the church. You may disagree with Justin's position, but if you know him and you read the website, you cannot deny that he and his website place their faith in Jesus Christ first.

-James

Good news on the Green front

Good news on the technology front. Another hopeful wanna-be, maybe, but just imagine if it was true. An end to gas stations, revolution in energy, Exxon out of business. That would be a shift.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/07/electric.car.batteries.ap/index.html