Yeah, Kerry tapped that ass again yesterday. So much for my turn as a political analyst.

Anyway, Kevin Chau first brought this to my attention: Cleveland Indians' prospect starred in gay porn. Man, if this guy ever makes the major leagues (and it looks like he will, barring injury), he's gonna catch hell. I feel really bad for this kid. No team in Japan would sign him, and then last season after this bit of news broke, he had to stand in front of his teammates and explain what happened. Evidently he was a poor college student who needed the money. Professional sports is one of the last areas of American society where it's completely acceptable to gay bash, and it's something that embarrasses me, as an avid sports fan.

But is it really the players' fault for perpetrating such bigotry? I don't really think so. It would be unacceptable for me to use a word like 'fag' in a demeaning way, but I am a liberal college student. Professional athletes depend upon their physical talents for a living, and they compete in contests of aggression and skill. Theirs is a world completely different from yours and mine. So no, it's not right for Garrison Hearst to say that he doesn't want fags in his locker room, and Shaq is still a moron for doing his racist Yao Ming impression, but it's also wrong for us to impose our standards of decorum on people who are basically our modern day gladiators.

A funny little side note: One of my favorite baseball players in the 80s was Pedro Guerrero. I remember that as a hitter, he could do the little things that mattered, like hitting a fly ball with a man on third and less than 2 outs, things that an announcer would praise as timely and a fine specimen of playing 'smart baseball.' Then a couple of years ago, I read that Pedro was arrested in a big cocaine bust, but his lawyer won his aquittal by literally arguing that he was too stupid to understand what he was getting into. The man has an IQ of 70 and cannot perform tasks as simple as writing a check or making his bed, and his wife actually provides him a weekly allowance. While this story was going on, I saw a story on TV about how Pedro Guerrero was so dumb, he couldn't understand the signs from the third base coach, so when his team wanted to put on a play when he was at bat, the third base coach would have to run down to him and whisper directions.

Ok, I'm going to give the New Hampshire primary a shot. I've spent the last hour or so reading about the race, and here's my prediction, and it's a shocker:


Dean-- 31
Kerry--29
Edwards-- 16
Clark-- 9
Lieberman--9
Kucinich--3
Sharpton--1

My reasoning: Kerry has all the momentum he could want after his strong showing in Iowa--but, and this is a big but (haha!), Dean has been closing the margin in the last couple of days, and he was ahead in New Hampshire before Iowa. New Hampshire is notoriously fickle and supportive of non-traditional candidates, and there may be a snow storm tomorrow. So the candidate who is likely to have a strong core of supporters will do better, NOT the one will the 'momentum,' if the snowstorm does in fact affect turnout. I just think Dean has a strong following of northeast liberals and they're gonna come out and throw their support behind him. And I get the feeling that the Kerry campaign is missing a little je ne sais pas--somehow I feel like they haven't quite capitalized on their momentum the way they could have...

Edwards shows stronger than he has been polling and heads into the Feb 3 primaries in fine form. Clark is done. Lieberman is boring but hey, maybe there are some Jews in New Hampshire and he's been focusing there for some time now. Kucinich will be hurt somewhat by Dean but still has a small but passionate core of supporters. Big Al's Big Bandwagon is gonna have to stay afloat until Cali, because I'm gonna vote for homeboy, suckas.

Here are a couple of articles in case you want to click around a little: Washington Post commentary, Real Clear Politics commentary, NY Times article, the Zogby Poll.

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a big dork. And I'm probably wrong and Kerry will win by 5-10 points, but hey, maybe my trend spotting will prove prophetic and Dean will come through tomorrow.

I think the closest thing we have in America are those militia men up in Michigan, but maybe there are people in the Alaskan wilderness or Montana who choose to live solitary lives in the woods and are rejecting the government in favor of the 'state of nature.' A very minute minority, undoubtedly.

I guess a more common occurance which to me would constitute a withdrawal of consent from the government would be when people are so into a religion that they would rather die than live under a conflicting government. Like a fanatical cult, except I get the impression that most cult followers are just smitten with the charismatic and dashing cult leader and aren't really ready to die for it. But even then (I always get the feeling cult followers must have been beat or touched as children; like if one would call Loveline, Adam would immediately say, alright, what happened to you as a child? What did Daddy do?), that's a vote for social relations and human companionship rather than quality alone time with the bears and the plants and shit.

Yeah, that's pretty nifty. I got pretty much the same results:
1. Kucinich (100%)
2. Sharpton (88%)
3. Kerry (88%)
4. Dean (81%)
5. Clark (79%)
6. Edwards (75%)
7. Lieberman (68%)
8. Bush (4%)

Here's a neat little questionnaire about political issues. After you're done they match you with the candidate that most closely shares your views. Here's how I came out (no surprise, I've liked Kucinich and Sharpton the best since I first saw them speak):



1 Kucinich Score: 100%

Party Democrat
Has Held Elected Office Yes
Served in the Military No

Compare with other candidates




2 Sharpton Score: 97%

Party Democrat
Has Held Elected Office No
Served in the Military No

Compare with other candidates




3 Dean Score: 88%

Party Democrat
Has Held Elected Office Yes
Served in the Military No

Compare with other candidates




4 Kerry Score: 84%

Party Democrat
Has Held Elected Office Yes
Served in the Military Yes

Compare with other candidates




5 Clark Score: 81%

Party Democrat
Has Held Elected Office No
Served in the Military Yes

Compare with other candidates




6 Edwards Score: 78%

Party Democrat
Has Held Elected Office Yes
Served in the Military No

Compare with other candidates




7 Lieberman Score: 65%

Party Democrat
Has Held Elected Office Yes
Served in the Military No

Compare with other candidates




8 Bush Score: 12%

Party Republican
Has Held Elected Office Yes
Served in the Military Yes

Compare with other candidates

Well, I'm back in school at the glorious university of Hawaii at Hilo. I've come to the conclusion that this school lacks any sense of public service and it's up to the people who care about social justice to make a commitment to this community on behalf of the university. There are a lot of kids here who grew up poor and are struggling through school, and there are a lot of older continuing students who probably don't have the time or energy to devote to service projects. So, I feel like I'm in a position of privilege, not economically, but in the sense that I can get good grades in my classes and have some time left over. I could watch a lot of NCAA basketball and play video games, or I could try to do something positive for Hilo, and God knows Hilo could use it.

My first project is to start a middle school mentoring program, kind of like the one I was involved in at Bard, except that here in Hilo there is a crystal methamphetamine epidemic, so I want to focus on that. All of the news and shit about ice (thats what it's called) is about how many addicts there are in the prisons, hospitals, and streets. And a lot what's being done about ice focuses on treatment instead of prevention. Twelve year olds are funny, to boot.

Then I also want to start a GED tutoring project for a minimum security or a women's prison. People who come from rough backgrounds are more likely to be caught up in the system, and what real opportunites does an uneducated ex-con have upon his/her release? So I think a project like this would be very rewarding, but also very difficult because the participants will be working closely with prisoners.

Anyway, I just wanted you all to know what I'm spending my time on this semester. As for the goings on in the political world, I'm interested to see how Wesley Clark does, now that Kerry has supplanted Dean as the front runner. I didn't get a chance to watch the State of the Union address so if someone could blog their thoughts on it, I'd be interested in reading them.

Uh yeah, space is for camps.

This is for Ed: She said she want some Ready for the World, some New Edition, some Minnie Ripperton, would definitely set this party off right...

Ok, I'm back in school so blogging will commence on the regular. How the fuck did John Kerry win the Iowa caucuses tonight? I'll ponder that after my high wears down. Holla back.

Hello all,

This is my first post though I was invited to join the blog months ago. I'm not usually inclined to discuss the news but I couldn't pass this up, and since it looks like things have been mostly mum here ever since school let out I'd like to get the ball rolling again.

The Renewed Spirit of Discovery: The president outlines a plan to return to the moon and eventually to Mars.

I'm sure everyone will soon be aware of this new plan. What's the verdict? Is this as crazy as it sounds?