One of these things is not like the others.

The NYTimes mentioned that if voter turnout were to hit 64% this election, it would be the highest voter turnout since the 65.7% we had in the election of 1908 (go Taft!). This got me curious about historical voter turnout levels and led me to this handy data repository, which I turned into an even handier bar graph:

click to big-ify

Apparently I’m very interested in voter turnout numbers, as this is not the first such chart that I have posted.

The Germans are closing Tempelhof Airport, home of the Berlin Airlift. Sad.

Maureen Dowd, in an Op-Ed piece, mentions a person who just HAS to have a fake name:

Republicans once more charged the media with sexism for reporting on Palin’s Imelda Marcos closet. “No one would blink if this was a male candidate buying Brooks Brothers suits,” said William F. B. O’Reilly, a G.O.P. consultant.

William F. B. O’Reilly, Republican consultant? That “B” stands for Buckley, doesn’t it? William F. B[uckley] O’Reilly?!? Someone made that name up! It’s got to be a placeholder, right? The guy’s name has both Bill (William) O’Reilly and William F. Buckley in it?!? Jeez, throw in a Limbaugh, Goldwater or a Reagan and you’ve got an unstoppable Republican superman!

And look, he’s a real guy with his own “strategic communications” company!

O’REILLY STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
William F. B. O’Reilly
The Chanin Building
380 Lexington Ave., Suite 2111
New York, NY 10168
212-681-0055

Weird.

The New York Times has always had a terrible, irritating “feature” which would open a dictionary definition in a new window if you double clicked on any word in a story. It bothered everybody, everybody. It meant that if you were trying to select a piece of text, or just aimlessly clicking while you read, the story would often vanish behind an unwanted dictionary definition, usually of a word you were pretty certain to already know.

Well, the tyranny of the dictionary is over! Behold:

See that little question mark? Now, in order to access the useless dictionary, you have to intentionally click on that question mark. This means I can once again highlight text on the NYTimes without fear. My life has been returned to me!

Thank you New York Times web editors, you must have gotten my letter!

NYTimes: “As the show concluded, Obama made an appearance onstage. He called the event ”a magical evening” and said he wouldn’t ruin it with a long speech. Then he delivered a speech…”

NYTimes has the most misleading headline of this political season: “Cast of 300 Advises Obama on Foreign Policy.”

At some point in my life, I want to make a proposal, and have this experience: “The proposal was initially greeted, in her words, with ‘near-universal horror.’”

NYTimes presents an interactive graphic detailing the best and worst foods at each of baseball’s 50 stadiums. Via Doobybrain.

Either the New York Times headline writers and photo editors have lost their minds, or the Catholic church is in much worse trouble than I thought:

Thanks jbg.

The comments on Kristin/Ashley Alexandra Dupré/Ashley R. Youmans/Ashley Rae Maika DiPietro/Spitzer Prostitute’s video channel are amusing. They comments tend to cut both ways, but she’s getting a lot more support than I would have expected (notice, though, that the supporters are mostly men). Here’s a few of the positive ones:

Gator149 - Good Luck…Keep your faith in God and you will make it through this fine. My prayers are with you

Jail Bait - Call me. I’m a good listener. Smooches.

John is a GrandDaddy - Time will prove that life is hills and valleys. just ride this out and you will be fine.

David - Ash, stay cool and don’t let someone else take advantage of you at this time. You’re smart, you’re attractive, you’re personable….. Don’t let the attention this will cause get to you. Go hide for a while until you are ready to talk, if ever.

Tom - Don’t let this get you down. 100 years from now what happened will be considered ordinary. Stand tall!

David - Your personality shines through in your words. You’ll be OK. Just don’t let anyone else exploit you. You’re smart and beautiful. Hit me back whenever you need a friend.

Synystyer - Leave her alone, man. Everyone makes mistakes. You guys are a bunch of insensitive pricks. Hopefully, you will make better decisions in the near future.God bless.

David - wwwwwoooohoooooo!!! listen to your heart! only trust the people in your life who really really love you! from now on trust NO one! good luck beautiful girl~ d

Vince - You may not realize now, but you have an incredible opportunity now to launch a music career, by using the free publicity. You need a good agent. Monica Lewinsky couldn’t do it, but you are prettier and have more talent! It is a great opportunity!

Smart - Losers, Leave her alone. God. You are in no place to judge her. Ashley, I wish you nothing but the best, hun. I pray that you get through this storm and into the sunshine. God Speed!

Thomas - Fuck Ken & his stupid, ignorant (and, hypocritical?) comment. You seem like a really cool, nice, person, so it’s too bad you got dragged into this. Good luck, be yourself, take advantage of the notoriety, & enjoy the ride & have the last laugh.

Adam - Good luck… I’m sorry to see the NYT dragging your name into it. Remember you have the right to remain silent.

arnaud - i wish her all the best. i dont care what she did with her ass it does not mean she is someone bad. but all those who only come to be mean wit her while not knowing one inch of her life are certainly worst. cheer miss Ashley, you ll go over it.

thebestvman - Hang in there. Everyone has done something they would prefer stayed private. You did the same thing MANY people have, either as a buyer or a seller. Especially in NYC. I live here to and it’s a tough town to afford.

Ironically, the one comment left BEFORE March 12th is this:

$L3$LY AND JO$3PH!!!$ - come on let those titts show

And, just so I don’t play favorites, here’s one mean one:

Ken - No, you didn’t take down a sitting governor. He did that himself. What you and people of your craft do is remove the beauty, love, and sacredness from a God-sanctioned act and inject death. NEVER forget the brokeness of his wife and daughters!!!

We’re going to continue today’s election theme with a lighthearted remembrance of hanging chads from a now 8 year-old NYTimes article. Remember chads? Ah, chads.

And the chads. Each Republican is armed with a small cellophane bag. If a chad falls to the ground, a Republican scrambles to get it, elbowing Democrats out of the way.

On Saturday night, a Republican woman dashed down one of the aisles and plucked a chad off the floor. She then carefully placed it in a plastic bag. ”Yes, it’s a chad,” she said. ”And we’re using it as evidence.”

One counting team finished precinct No. 004 today shortly before lunch. A single chad sat in the box of ballots. A Republican observer spotted it, reached for it and said, ”Mine.”

But a Democratic counter picked up the box and took a step away. ”You have to give it to me,” the Republican said.

With a surgeon’s precision, the Republican used the sticky side of a yellow Post-it note to lift the chad out of the box and carefully drop it into his evidence bag. The chad joined one other chad. ”You’ll get none and like it,” the Republican said.

”Go down to Broward,” the Democrat shot right back. ”There’s hundreds down there.”

Both the New York Times (on 11/18/07) and the Boston Globe (on 1/27/08) recently published pieces critiquing the graphic designs of various 2008 campaign logos. Considering that both papers are owned by the same parent company, one might expect them to have similar slants to the story. Here’s how the two compared:

NY Times on Hillary Clinton:

Boston Globe on Hillary Clinton:

The Hillary type palette is far from fresh and colorful; it is begging for legitimacy instead of demanding respect. It projects recycled establishment. The type has a tired feeling, as if the ink has been soaking into the page too long. The Hillary logo has the look of an ’80s newspaper layout or an investment company. The tall lower-case reminds me of someone with their pants pulled up too high. I wonder about the significance of the three stars and three stripes. A third term?

Comparison:

Both agree that the choices made were conservative. The Times however thinks the choices were interesting, the Globe finds them tired and recycled.

Read more »

The NY Times review of There Will Be Blood makes an interesting observation:

Like most of the finest American directors working now, Mr. Anderson makes little on-screen time for women.

P.T., not Wes.

This NY Times story on Iraq War Vets discusses how they haven’t all re-adjusted to life at home:

Matthew knew he shouldn’t be taking his AK-47 to the 7-Eleven.

Yikes.

In an article discussing whether the 2nd Amendment provides protection for individual, or collective gun ownership, the New York Times quotes an unlikely source to support the traditional liberal position that the Constitution only protects gun ownership in the form of regulated militias:

Professor Bogus, a supporter of the collective rights view, said the Parker decision represented a milestone in that strategy. “This is the story of an enormously successful and dogged campaign to change the conventional view of the right to bear arms,” he said.

Professor Bogus? Come on. Was that Bill & Ted’s Constitutional Law professor’s name? Was that really the best you could come up with, New York Times? I can’t believe Fox News doesn’t interview this guy all the time — “And here’s Professor Bogus with the liberal perspective…”

Here’s his picture and resume, for those curious what a Professor Bogus might look like and spend his time on.