Solipsistic

Had a friend tell me this weekend that Alabama was a program on the way up, that they were building towards a great team and a return to a winning tradition.

Obviously, the Alabama athletic department disagrees with you.

First and foremost, I'm very happy that USC whipped Notre Dame and exposed their horrible defense. The Irish are an overrated team with a very weak SOS. If I had my druthers, they'd be about #20 in both polls and not be in any BCS bowls. (At the same time, I'm looking forward to watching a top ten team pick apart their defense once again.) No team with a secondary as poor as the Irish deserves to be anywhere near the BCS. To give them their props, Samardzija is a fantastic receiver who is fun to watch. Without him, Brady Quinn may have had a very poor season.

Now to USC. They have the best schedule of any Division I team. Let's look at their non-conference schedule. They opened the season against Arkansas and crushed them, 50-14. Yes, Arkansas has improved, but enough to swing the score 37 points? Anyone who watched the suspect QB play of Arkansas would see that a mythical rematch would likely yield another victory by the Trojans. The PAC-10 conference is also pretty competitive and features some of the nation's best programs.

Who else did did USC play out of conference? Nebraska and Notre Dame. Two programs not at their best, but still top twenty teams. Who did Ohio State play out of conference? Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, and Texas. Florida? Western Carolina, Southern Miss, University of Central Florida, and a very down Florida State. Michigan? Ball State, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, and Central Michigan.

The SEC out-of-conference scheduling is particularly egregious including the Auburn Tigers. Yes, yes, they beat up on each other every week and the conference is one of the nation's best. But I've watched many SEC games this year and the reason no one team has dominated is because each team has big problems. Sorry Florida, your loss to Auburn combined with your SOS should keep you out of the National Championship.

One loss? Sure. To Oregon State. But everyone else has one loss except for Boise State. Michigan is a great team, but they already got their chance.

Also USC is very fun to watch. They are an extremely talented team and the school has lost something like 3 to 4 games in the past 4 years. As a college football fan, I look forward to watching this young, but fantastic, team take on the stellar Ohio State Buckeyes. The national championship will feature the two best teams in the nation.

But first, USC must beat UCLA. If they lose, I hope the Gators get a chance. But from what I've seen, USC would give the Buckeyes a better game.

"A race against time."

That would have made a good, if pretty cheesy, tagline for this Tony Scott helmed Denzel Washington sci-fi actioner. This film is pure Scott--whiplash editing, a constantly moving camera, a grainy, color-saturated presentation. The film tells the story of ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) who stumbles onto an improbable murder in the wake of a terrorist bombing. (Denzel Washington turns in an accomplished performance.)

Carlin soon discovers that if he solves the murder, he'll also figure out who's behind the bombing. This discovery and his display of sleuthing acumen gains the attention of the FBI who enlist him in a top secret surveillance program. Through cutting and pasting satellite photography, the FBI is able to create a composite 360 degree at a location four days in the past.

Like Scott's "Enemy of the State," this film features an interesting cast of nerdy techies including Cousin Pam from "The Cosby Show" (Erika Alexander), Elden Henson ("Freak the Mighty"), the welcome return of Adam Goldberg ("Saving Private Ryan"), and a very healthy-looking Val Kilmer. This crew guides Agent Carlin, and us, through the ins and outs of retro surveillance and quantum physics.

The first two-thirds of the film is an interesting detective story which Scott lets us play along with. We get to spot the clues and take an active role in putting together all the pieces. This is some sure-handed direction which lets you participate in the story and expertly keeps your attention. The first two-thirds of the film also has some fun with the problem of interfering in the past. Are you dooming your own future? Is the present inevitable?

This all gets scrapped in the movie's final third when the film becomes a pretty straightforward action thriller. That's a shame, but the movie still manages to be pretty fun and gripping. Some critics have complained that the movie is implausible--well duh. Penguins don't sing either and there's no galaxy far, far away waging a magical civil war. This is a sci-fi story--fantasy propelled by some fantastical feats of science.

This is an entertaining film worth checking out.

Back from my holiday pilgrimage to L.A. (Lower Alabama). Very enjoyable and somewhat eventful. I belted out--much to my surprise-- "Everybody's Talkin," the Harry Nilsson tune complete with falsetto and plenty of "wah wahs," at a hotel bar called Bananas. Had a baby calf use my hand as a pacifier, watched lots of episodes of "The Office," and ate way too much of my mom's delicious food.

Welcome back.

From the New Yorker:

The Administration’s planning for a military attack on Iran was made far more complicated earlier this fall by a highly classified draft assessment by the C.I.A. challenging the White House’s assumptions about how close Iran might be to building a nuclear bomb. The C.I.A. found no conclusive evidence, as yet, of a secret Iranian nuclear-weapons program running parallel to the civilian operations that Iran has declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency. (The C.I.A. declined to comment on this story.)

The C.I.A.’s analysis, which has been circulated to other agencies for comment, was based on technical intelligence collected by overhead satellites, and on other empirical evidence, such as measurements of the radioactivity of water samples and smoke plumes from factories and power plants. Additional data have been gathered, intelligence sources told me, by high-tech (and highly classified) radioactivity-detection devices that clandestine American and Israeli agents placed near suspected nuclear-weapons facilities inside Iran in the past year or so. No significant amounts of radioactivity were found.

A current senior intelligence official confirmed the existence of the C.I.A. analysis, and told me that the White House had been hostile to it. The White House’s dismissal of the C.I.A. findings on Iran is widely known in the intelligence community. Cheney and his aides discounted the assessment, the former senior intelligence official said. “They’re not looking for a smoking gun,” the official added, referring to specific intelligence about Iranian nuclear planning. “They’re looking for the degree of comfort level they think they need to accomplish the mission.” The Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency also challenged the C.I.A.’s analysis. “The D.I.A. is fighting the agency’s conclusions, and disputing its approach,” the former senior intelligence official said. Bush and Cheney, he added, can try to prevent the C.I.A. assessment from being incorporated into a forthcoming National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian nuclear capabilities, “but they can’t stop the agency from putting it out for comment inside the intelligence community.” The C.I.A. assessment warned the White House that it would be a mistake to conclude that the failure to find a secret nuclear-weapons program in Iran merely meant that the Iranians had done a good job of hiding it. The former senior intelligence official noted that at the height of the Cold War the Soviets were equally skilled at deception and misdirection, yet the American intelligence community was readily able to unravel the details of their long-range-missile and nuclear-weapons programs. But some in the White House, including in Cheney’s office, had made just such an assumption—that “the lack of evidence means they must have it,” the former official said.

The prognosis isn't good.

This James Bond flick was a breath of fresh air and is one of the best of the series. (I'm also partial to "The Spy Who Loved Me" and the underloved Dalton entry "The Living Daylights.") The picture is a gritty reboot of the franchise and is more "24" than "Moonraker." Daniel Craig is not a suave, super gadgeted caricature, but instead is a rough edged nascent "00" getting his footing and requiring the assistance of both the staff of MI6 and the love interest.

(Some spoilers ahead)

This film is the first true post 9-11 Bond. This film isn't about super lasers that harness the power of the sun and Fort Knox to destroy the universe, but about terrorist plots to blow up airplanes. It features an excruciating torture scene that pushes the PG-13 envelope. James Bond falls down frequently, spends time in the hospital, and makes more than one costly error. M becomes a mentor and important ally rather than just a blustering nuisance.

While the film establishes a more gritty tone, in the big action moments, it veers more toward Bond films of the past. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone noted that these moments cheapen the film's more adult tone, but given how much fun they are--and who wants to see a James Bond film without big action--they lend the somewhat heavy movie much needed levity. (Look for a nod to creepy psychological thriller "Don't Look Now" in the movie's Venice climax.)

Daniel Craig is great--please take a look at his Brit crime film "Layer Cake"--and creates a Bond we believe. This is not caricature, but a performance with some depth to it. He has already signed on to do two more Bond films, but I believe that we may be back to the gadgets and quips by movie three. Eva Green, as love interest Vesper Lynd, is a Bond girl with some depth and she shares some crackling moments with her co-star.

"Casino Royale" is great entertainment, not for the kiddies, and is one of this year's best films.

(How spoiled are we to get three great action movies in one year: "District B13," "MI3," and the new James Bond? Like "B13," the new Bond also features some thrilling parkour moments. A great year for action fans.)

Someone threw water bottle at the face of Iron Bowl MVP Quentin Groves.

I'd never even heard of the New York Sun before a few minutes ago, but they make the very odd choice of labeling a photo of suspected dirty bomber--and example of executive power gone awry--Jose Padilla as Iraqi terrorist al-Muhajir.

Very odd. Probably a misprint, but if I woke up one morning and saw myself wrongly identified as a major Iraqi terrorist threat, I'd be pretty upset. I'd lawyer up and take the Sun for all they were worth.

This also should provide some fun for the conspiracy theorists who believe that terrorists like al-Zawahiri either don't exist or have their deeds inflated in order to provide the US with a false victory when they are detained or killed. Maybe the Pentagon's psy-ops department accidentally sent the wrong photo to the Sun. (I don't really believe this, but it's fun to gin up conspiracy.)

Don Pardo called the host "Loo-day-cris" twice in the opening, not "Loo-duh-cris."

Pretty funny episode. Show's looking up.

From the NY Times:

Auburn looked sloppy at times--when have they not this year--but they did enough on defense to beat Alabama 22-15.

Alabama's first series had to be scaring Auburn's fans. When Bama QB Wilson broke past the line of scrimmage and ran for a big gain, I feared a replay of Auburn's defensive performance last weekend. But Auburn made the Alabama O-line look bad--not as bad as last year's--and created some huge turnovers.

Auburn's season (10-2) was goofy. When they were given a chance to play the SEC's best in afternoon and primetime contests, the defense came up big and the Tigers had huge wins against LSU and Florida. Heck, they beat a good Washington State team by 26. Then we have the two 11:30 contests against Georgia and Arkansas where someone forgot to wake the Tigers up.

Given the way Auburn played this year, they could have just as easily had 4 losses, but I'm frustrated that they just looked lost against Arkansas and Georgia. I think you have to chalk these poor performances up to a coaching staff who did not have the players ready and then were not able to successfully alter the game plan in the second half.

An Ohio State/Michigan rematch? Are you kidding me? Michigan had its chance. Notre Dame has no place in the national championship conversation. Their secondary is horrid and will be eaten alive by Troy Smith. USC? Well, I can't argue against them if they keep winning. Rutgers? No, their SOS is just not good enough. If USC loses, make it the winner of the Arkansas/Florida game.

I'm pulling for the Razorbacks.

An American serviceman recounts the horror of being waterboarded.

McCain is talkin tough again. It sounds like he has some legitimate gripes, but I believe his bluster is four parts PR and one part anger. This man is clearly gearing up for '08.

I give this an "Oh Brother."

(Rating courtesy of My Aunt Linda.)

Those who tuned in for NBC's "super-sized" block of Thursday night comedies last night were treated to some odd programming. NBC, which has slashed its budget for original programming in the 8 pm hour, is very deliberately promoting products within its shows. "The Office" has become a platform--maybe it always was--for pushing office products. Last night, there was a three minute long scene where Kevin told us how much he enjoyed using the paper shredder--"It even shreds CDs."

At the commercial break, we got an ad for an Office Max paper shredder that, yes, even shreds CDs. One could choose to view this as clever meta-programming--television breaking down the fourth wall--but this is a stretch. Really what we are seeing is a network pushing synergy down our throats. This has been occurring all over the network's shows--Applebees is featured in most "Friday Night Lights," Hiro from "Heroes" loves his Nova, and the HP logo gets prominent placement in many scenes in "The Office," "Deal or No Deal" and briefcases full of cash.

The most deliberate, and off-putting example, occurred in the premiere episode of "30 Rock." Alec Baldwin, as GE exec Jack Donaghy, extolled the virtues of the new GE Trivection Oven. Soon after we had to view an actual GE commercial about the new Trivection Oven. Last night, one of "30 Rock's" subplots involved the staff's anger over "monetizing the network" and the requirement to push products within their TV shows. In the process, they made several ironic jokey references to products they loved--"We're not gonna use our show to sell products and have you tried the new Snapple Iced Tea." Maybe this was the show's ironic acknowledgement to viewers that they are aware of how lame "monetizing" is, but the show still continued to be, as it has from the beginning, an ongoing ad for GE.

This model of in show promotion is only slightly more sophisticated than the promotion model from the early days of radio when sponsors would directly work their products into their storylines. The serials and comedies would halt and eponymous characters like Popeye would extol the virtues of Wheatina--"Wheatina's his diet. He asks you to try it. He's Popeye the Sailor Man." At first I assumed NBC's new ad model was solely the result of Tivo allowing viewers to scan past ads. But this doesn't account for the network reinforcing the in-show ads with actual ads for the exact same products. (The other big networks have not been anywhere near as blatant this season in pushing products within their shows.)

NBC is trailblazing in this regard. Maybe it's an experiment in how far they can push viewers before we tune out. I suspect it also has to do with their widely publicized budget cuts and an attempt to have each show turning out as much revenue as possible. NBC has the advantage of having several quality programs that are not likely to lose viewers anytime soon. "The Office" is the funniest sitcom on television, "Heroes" is fresh and fun, and "Friday Night Lights" is the best executed drama on the air right now. But maybe this strategy will keep them from drawing in many new viewers. It's bound to increase the popularity of Tivo-ing or taping the shows and watching them later.

I find the whole venture kind of cynical. Who wants to be reminded of the day-to-day realities when watching super battles on "Heroes"? It eases a show's ability to be escapist entertainment by placing it in the mundane. These monetizing moments take you out of the moment like someone talking in the movie theater. They also constantly remind you that television is a clever way to trick you into watching commercials. Yet there has always been an unspoken agreement between viewers and broadcasters regarding advertising: we give you something fun to watch and you sit through a few ads. Maybe the wealth of entertainment options, Tivo, and the remote control have made such an agreement moot.

A Dem attempt, coming shortly, to roll back one of the more egregious efforts by the White House.

I largely supported the Dems this last election to create deadlock, but I hoped they might act as Dodd is.

Pretty late, but "Saturday Night Live" was very funny last weekend. Alec Baldwin always puts on a great show.

The show also featured my favorite song:

"I love things that are great
Good things are fantastic.
Guess what - I also paint as a hobby
Nothing drastic.
'Cause I dig everything except things that I don't
And I'll try anything except the things I say I won't.
But one thing's for sure
I like things that are great!"

Reads more like an RNC memo to me. See for yourself.

Once they drop the mantle of objectivity and rightly out themselves as a televised extension of the right wing talk radio juggernaut, this kind of memo won't raise an eyebrow.

From "The Onion":

The loss wasn't shocking, although I was surprised by the way Auburn lost. Brandon Cox seemingly threw more interceptions against Georgia then he had all season combined and Georgia's freshman QB, who isn't exactly Michael Vick, was the Bulldogs leading rusher. An ugly, ugly game.

The game ain't quite over, but I've been talking smack about the Bulldogs so feel free to strike back.

Auburn one tiny step closer to playing for national title.

I didn't start watching the game until the second half so I got to watch Rutgers dominate. We've been treated to two outstanding Thursday night games the last two weeks. Will Rutgers be able to defeat West Virginia in two weeks? Are they the elite of the Big East or one among many capable teams?

For anyone who cares, let's go through the weekend's games and look at who must win for Auburn to play for the national title. Also included are games that will help Auburn's cause but will not be necessary for a title run.

Weekend Wish List

Auburn defeats Georgia--Georgia's not so good this year, but this rivalry has a tendency to favor the underdog

Akansas loses to Tennessee--second most important game of the day

Ohio St falls asleep and loses to Northwestern--could happen, it's a long season and Northwestern will likely bring their best game

Michigan loses to Indiana--the Wolverines have had some close ones recently and may be caught looking forward to Ohio State

Florida beats South Carolina--the Gators must be #2 or 3 in the BCS when Auburn hopefully plays them in the SEC Championship. Auburn's SOS is keeping them out of the title picture, but two wins over Florida would hopefully remedy this.

Texas loses to Kansas State--not likely

Oregon beats USC--I still believe USC will lose two games this year, but the sooner the better

Arizona shocks Cal--will not happen, but I can dream

Air Force exploits poor Notre Dame secondary and wins

Stay tuned.

A slip or intentional? I believe the latter.

Atrios hits nail on head:

I know stupid people like me try in vain to point this out regularly, but since I just heard Don Rumsfeld give yet another version of "we're fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here" I feel forced to do it again.

Isn't there a wee contradiction between spreading freedom and democracy and turning a country into a terrrorist battlefield?

NBC decided to order a year's worth of "Studio 60".

Until this week, I was undecided about "Studio 60." The first episode was great, but the show has been uneven since then. Then I saw this week's episode about a Nevada judge (John Goodman) unhappy with Christian-bashing shows like "Studio 60" who, due to an unpaid speeding ticket, gets a chance to stick to it to one of the show's cast.

The show is emerging as a compelling commentary on heartland values and the entertainment world's frequent disdain for them. Producer and show Creatro Sorkin does a pretty good job of not taking an explicit side in the fight. Matt Albie (Matthew Perry), the show's head writer, loves sticking it to Christians in his skits, but he sometimes he does so in obvious, hackneyed ways. (At first, the show didn't seem willing to acknowledge that these skits were hackneyed, but this week's episode changed that.) The show also features a comic performer (Sarah Paulson) who is a Christian and adored by Albie.

The show is taking an interesting direction and appears to be an attempt to let "red versus blue" America duke it out every week. It's also pretty funny and the acting is superb. It may just be the show America needs right now. I only hope its quality continues to match this week's excellent episode. I think the show is beginning to find an identity and the show's writers are beginning to write to each actor's strengths.

I saw this movie about seven weeks ago at a special screening and never wrote a review due to some conflicted feelings. (And probably a desire to not appear unhip.)

"Borat" is hilarious. Cohen is inspired and has the ability, like Peter Sellers, to completely become and humanize wild comic creations.

"Borat" will make you howl. There is a horrifying/hilarious wrestling match in this film that will remain unmatched in chutzpah. This wrestling match, like much of the movie, will leave you in awe. "I can't believe I'm seeing this."

And yet, the movie made me slightly angry. Not because of its unabashed vulgarity or even its clueless, ironic antisemitism or homophobia. No, this movie is an attempt to turn a mirror on fly-over country--the land between the coasts--and show us how backward we are.

Peter Travers applauds this effort in his review:

As Borat Sagdiyev, a visitor from Kazakhstan, Sacha Baron Cohen is a balls-out comic revolutionary, right up there with Lenny Bruce, Andy Kaufman, Dr. Strangelove, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Cartman at exposing the ignorant, racist, misogynist, gay-bashing, Jew-hating, gun-loving, warmongering heart of America.

Labeling the "heart of America" as ignorant is both elitist and clueless. (I'm talking about real elitism here. Not the kind that Limbaugh, Hannity, et al. rail against and claim their party doesn't represent.) "Borat" is a pointed satire that believes that America's failures, ideological and otherwise, originate from the heartland and its populace.

Born in the South, living in a dem-voting city in the Midwest, knowing many folks from both the city and the suburbs, and attending a Evangelical church with both left-leaning and right-leaning folks, I daily straddle the fence between liberals and conservatives. I find a consistent attempt to label the other as wrong, backwards. An attempt to caricature the other. "Borat" is a very sophisticated, hilarious film, but it is pure caricature and its politics are superficial. Its message emerges from the pervasive, destructive "pick a side", are you red or blue?, spirit of the day.

Take a look.

Firing Rumsfeld. Lashing out at Rove. Does this remind anyone else of when Theoden fell out from under the spell of Grima Wormtongue?

A step in the right direction.

I voted pretty much straight Democrat yesterday, not out of any great hope of what the Dems might accomplish, but out of total disillusionment and disgust with the White House. The consolidation of power, the ongoing attempt to reimagine the Constitution, the myopic, destructive view of our ongoing war in Iraq, etc.

Maybe the Dems will surprise me and will do some good. Maybe they will finally serve as the opposition party and exercise the necessary power of oversight. There are plenty of dark corners that need some light shone upon them. Mostly though, I voted for gridlock in order to halt the White House. Bush is a blight on this Democracy and the sooner he is made a lame duck, the better.

According to The Onion:

Politicians Sweep Midterm Elections

Resounding Victories In All States, Counties, Cities, Towns

While analysts had been predicting a possible sweep for months, and early exit-poll numbers seemed favorable, politicians reportedly exceeded even their own expectations, gaining an impressive 100 percent of the overall national vote.

Nathan Fillion--Mal in "Firefly," Sheriff Pardy in "Slither," and the Rev. Caleb in "Buffy"--is on tonight's "Lost."

Fillion is like Han Solo and Bruce Campbell rolled into one. Hope to see him on many more episodes. Get this guy another series.

Here's the text of Ammendment 2, the stem cell initiative we voted on in Missouri yesterday. This is the one Michael J. Fox spoke in defense of and possibly helped put Claire McCaskill over the top in the Senate race. If you read the text quickly, particularly the opening line, you might think you were voting to restrict stem cell research. You would be wrong. I am not happy with the confusing wording of the ammendment and I believe it allowed the bill to gain supporters who thought they were voting against it.

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to allow and set limitations on stem cell research, therapies, and cures which will:

ensure Missouri patients have access to any therapies and cures, and allow Missouri researchers to conduct any research, permitted under federal law;

ban human cloning or attempted cloning;

require expert medical and public oversight and annual reports on the nature and
purpose of stem cell research;

impose criminal and civil penalties for any violations;

and prohibit state or local governments from preventing or discouraging lawful stem cell research, therapies and cures?

Via Josh Marshall:

For a cocky guy who I don't imagine has ever had to sit still for a serious rebuke in his life, I'm really wondering what the take-away is going to be from the press conference he has called for tomorrow at 1 PM. At some level, I think they just want to get him back in front of the cameras quickly, the way a boxer snaps back to his feet when he gets knocked down, just to show he's still in the fight, back in his opponent's face.

But what do you think he'll do?

My best guess is he comes in with a group of his father's cronies, announces that these gents have formed a business consortium and that he's selling them the country.

How about you?

Probably not, but she may be in some hot water for this. Ain't disenfranchisment hilarious?

From Maryland.

Very, very slim. I had some hope a few weeks ago when Auburn was ranked #4 even after their loss to Arkansas. Several weeks later, they have dropped back to #6 and keep losing ground to other one-loss teams like Texas. With USC, California, and Notre Dame waiting not far behind, Auburn will be lucky to finish high in the rankings without Arkansas losing its next two games. Auburn's strength-of-schedule, further hindered by the abysmal play of Alabama and Georgia, is lousy and this will prove too prohibitive to give them a shot at the national championship.

Yet two losses by Arkansas in the next three weeks, a loss by Louisville, and a loss by Texas in the Big 12 Championship might put Auburn in the driver's seat. (A loss this weekend by either Michigan or Ohio State wouldn't hurt. Maybe neither will be ready to play again this weekend.) Lots of ifs.

So says Fred Barnes.

Puzzling. This observation seems divorced from reality.

Via Atrios.

A pulse.

The pay is lousy and the hours are bad. The workers are mostly the unemployed and retirees. There are many excellent poll workers, as I witnessed when training as an election worker, but some do not inspire the least bit of confidence.

While playing "Scene It" music edition, I ran across this song which I had never, ever heard. I am the only one not familiar with this Cheap Trick hit?

I hope this isn't a trend.

I chose not to work the polls today due to a particularly bad experience last time around and the likelihood of chaos. I would have been in charge of the electronic voting machines for my polling place. Maybe I should have sucked it up and been there to protect against malfeasance.

"The Simpsons" says it all.

First, we have Nguyen in California trying to scare Latinos from voting. Then we have the story of the robo-calls. Now some stories out of Virginia about possible voter suppression tactics by Virginia GOP:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the possibility of voter intimidation in the U.S. Senate race between Sen. George Allen, a Republican, and Democratic challenger James Webb, officials told NBC News.

State officials alerted the Justice Department on Tuesday to several complaints of suspicious phone calls to voters who attempted to misdirect or confuse them about election day, Jean Jensen, Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, told NBC’s David Shuster.

Jensen told NBC that she had been contacted by FBI agents. The FBI in Richmond refused to comment.

State Democratic Party counsel Jay Myerson said in a written statement issued by the Webb campaign that he believed Republicans are behind an orchestrated effort to suppress votes for the Democratic challenger.

Republican officials, including the executive director of the Virginia Republican Party, have told NBC that the GOP and Allen campaign are focused on mobilizing voters and have not discouraged anyone from voting.

In the Washington, D.C., area, NBC affiliate News4 reported on its Web site that it had received e-mail from a viewer in Virginia who said he received a phone call from so-called volunteers threatening voters with arrest if they cast ballots.

News4 reported: “The viewer's e-mail stated after he had voted, he received a call from an unknown caller who said they knew the voter was registered out of state and would be arrested if they voted today. The viewer's e-mail stated he's been registered to vote in Virginia for the last three years and has the Virginia Voter Registration card to prove it.”

The Webb campaign also said other voters are getting calls telling them their polling location has changed.


There are also allegations that fliers that say, "Skip This Election," are blanketing African-American communities, News4 reported.

Other voting problems
Meanwhile, programming errors and inexperience with electronic voting machines frustrated poll workers in hundreds of precincts early Tuesday, delaying voters in Indiana and Ohio and leaving some in Florida with little choice but use paper ballots instead.

In Cleveland, voters rolled their eyes as election workers fumbled with new touchscreen machines that they couldn’t get to start properly.

In Indiana’s Marion County, about 175 of 914 precincts turned to paper because poll workers didn’t know how to run the machines, said Marion County Clerk Doris Ann Sadler. She said it could take most of the day to fix all of the machine-related issues.

Election officials in Delaware County, Ind., planned to seek a court order to extend voting after an apparent computer error prevented voters from casting ballots in 75 precincts there. Delaware County Clerk Karen Wenger said the cards that activate the machines were programmed incorrectly.

“We are working with precincts one-by-one over the telephone to get the problem fixed,” Wenger said.

One story of fraud? No reason to worry. Two? Suspicion grows. Three? A trend appears.

Oh, and don't forget this classic from the Granite State for which three men have already been convicted.

Somehow I missed this when it happened. And no, it's not doctored.

Just read it. Horrible.

Josh Marhall gives his take.

NPR talks to political ad voice-over artists who work hard to make the other guy sound evil.

The funniest thing you'll see today. Scroll down a little ways. Good non-partisan fun.

Thanks to Georgia losing to both Kentucky and Vanderbilt, the Auburn-Georgia game won't be televised nationally. Thanks Bulldogs. You've been relegated to the Lincoln Financial Sports Network along with Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Wasn't able to listen to or watch the game, but it sounds like Auburn showed up and managed to put in both a complete offensive and defensive performance.

The Tigers next two opponents both lost in upsets today:

Georgia 20 Kentucky 24

Alabama 16 Mississippi State 24

The Georgia loss, given their play this year, is not much of a suprise, but the Alabama loss boggles the mind.

Neither losses helps Auburn's strength of schedule, but we all know the most important game for the BCS hopes is tonight's Arkansas, South Carolina game. Go Gamecocks.

Finally read this critically lauded DeLillo novel. For a book as heady and chockful of ideas, it is remarkably accessible. The book follows Professor JAK Gladney, dean of the Department of Hitler Studies at the College on the Hill. It's an examination of knowledge glut and sensory overload in the information age. Profs become prophets trying to manufacture a unified theory out of a morass of info.

The dialogue, disjointed and expansive, recalls David Mamet and the darkly comic tone and situations owe much to Heller's "Catch-22."

The book is perplexing, fascinating, and hilarious at times. If you've read the book and want to offer your insight into it, drop me a line. Would love to hash out the book's ideas.

Fantastic game last night. There was not enough defense, but it was fun to watch. Steve Slaton and Pat White looked great at times, but Slaton showed his inexperience. Brohm just ate up that Mountaineer secondary. West Virginia showed they were overrated.

How good is Louisville? We'll see if they can match up with the Scarlet Knights next Thursday. As an Auburn fan, I of course, was pulling for Louisville last night and hoping they lose next week.

Also, an Arkansas loss at South Carolina tomorrow would be quite nice.

Via TPM:

Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.

Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing.”

Secretary of State Rice went on the Laura Ingraham show this morning pushing documents that proved Saddam was working on a nuclear weapons program. Before the first Gulf War.

This second inconvenient fact was, not surprisingly, avoided by Rice.

Just wanted my readers to get a jump on the talking point we are sure to hear repeated ad nauseam over the next few months.

Military briefing finds Iraq situation is rapidly worsening.

From Josh Marshall:

Manhattan security company Kroll has withdrawn its bodyguard teams from Iraq and Afghanistan after it lost four workers in Iraq, its parent company said Wednesday.

Michael Cherkasky, president and chief executive of Kroll owner Marsh & McLennan Cos., told The Associated Press that the business in the two countries wasn't worth risking the lives of their employees.

And:

Bechtel Corp. went to Iraq three years ago to help rebuild a nation torn by war. Since then, 52 of its people have been killed and much of its work sabotaged as Iraq dissolved into insurgency and sectarian violence.

Now Bechtel is leaving.

I can't believe they killed Adebisi/Eko. Unnecessary? Locke and Adebisi had many of the same character traits so maybe it was a necessity. Eko was a favorite of mine and will be missed.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, the actor who played the late Eko, was arrested for driving without a license. Cynthia Watros and Michele Rodriguez, also "Lost" actors, were both arrested last year for DUIs and were both killed off. Rumors are flying round the internets and the Google that Adewale asked to leave. One thing appears clear: if you want to stay on the Mysterious Island, don't break the law particularly behind the wheel.

Will Jack forsake the Hippocratic oath next week? Does Juliet want Ben gone, or is this all part of Ben's larger plan?

I will say I haven't loved "Lost" this year. It feels a bit domesticated. The first season gained all its dramatic momentum from the question of "where are they?" and "what the heck is going on?" I think these questions aren't as compelling because we feel that we have some grip on what is actually going on. Next week's finale really needs to be a total paradigm shift to give the show a shot of adrenaline. Pull the rug out from underneath us, but be consistent, and I'll be eagerly awaiting the show's return in February.

The writers may attempt to do this by killing off one of the regulars. My money's on Sayid or Sawyer, but Sawyer is the show's beefcake so this would be a pretty dramatic exit. I think Sun, particularly with her pregnancy, is a gutsy and possible choice. She's likely gonna be right in the thick of a rescue attempt next week. That would be an even bigger shock than Libby's death.

Here's an interesting account from NPR reporter Anne Garrels concerning the toppling of the Saddam statue, the fantastically staged moment seen round the world:

The toppling of statue — yes, there were people celebrating, but there were as many people standing in shock. It was not just one big party, as I think the cameras tried to make it out to be. In fact, Morning Edition called me after the first feed, and they were seeing the TV coverage, and said, “Do you want to redo it for the next feed, because it seems like the pictures are people celebrating.” And I said, “Well, there are so few people trying to pull down the statue that they can’t do it themselves; the Marines have had to intervene, rightly or wrongly, with a crane to pull it down.” Many people were just sort of standing, hoping for the best, but they weren’t joyous; there was a very mixed feeling about seeing American soldiers in their midst.

And there was a quote. A man was standing next to me, a university professor, by pure chance, and he said to me, “You understand, you will now have to be in complete control, and we will resent you every step of the way.” And he was so right. The only problem was that of course the U.S. was never in complete control and the resentment was probably even greater because of it.

And this:

People were shocked that the U.S. did nothing, and they will forever remember that virtually the only building — it wasn’t the only building but one of the few buildings — that was protected was the oil ministry; that just summed up to so many Iraqis why the U.S. was there, and confirmed their worst fears. And it also played to the utter naïveté of the Americans, because it wasn’t just Iraqis letting off steam, as Rumsfeld said. It was Baathists going around destroying documents — making Iraq ungovernable: destroying drivers’ license records, all of the things that make a city able to be governed. And it was the beginning of the insurgency.

Via Atrios.

Here's a fun piece of mail I got today. I'm withholding the email address to avoid giving these folks any free advertisement. And yes, I know this is a scam.

FROM THE DESK OF JOHN KEVIN
BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO

I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance
department of AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK BURKINA FASO. I got your contact address
through internet net work search when searching for a good and reliable
person that will assist me in this transaction.

In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of 22.85m US Dollars (
twenty two milllion eight hundred and Fifty thousand us dollars)in an
account thatbelongs to one of our foreign customer who died on 25th
JULY 2000 IN SUPER SONIC CONCORDE plane crash AT CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT
IN PARIS FRANCE along with his entire family.

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his
next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it
unlesssomebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as
indicated in our banking guidelines but unfortunately we learnt that all his
supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash
leaving nobody behind for the claim.

It is therefore upon this discovery that I decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and i don't want this money to go into the Bank treasury as unclaimed Bill.

The Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained unclamed after four year, the money will be transfered into the Bank treasury as unclaimed fund.

The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned
by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Burkinabe cannot stand
as next of kin to a foreigner. I agree that 30% of this money will be for
you as foreign partner, in respect to the provision of a foreign account
and 70% would be for ME;

Therefore to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as
arranged, you must apply first to the bank as relations or next of kin
of the deceased indicating your bank name, your bank account number, your
private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication
and location where in the money will be remitted.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text
of the application. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this
transaction is hitch free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all
required arrangements have been made for the transfer.

I like the part about finding me on a network list of good and reliable people. Nice to know I'm on the list. Interesting use of capitalization throughout.

I'm a bit hazy on the part about me having a claim on the money. Are they asking me to knowingly lie or telling me that they have discovered I am the next of kin? I think the scam is relying on people being knowingly dishonest due to greed. If you watch many con artist movies, this is a frequent tactic. Make the mark think he is conning you and then take him for all he's worth.

Time to send my bank info to Burkina Faso.

But can't we all admit that it was an accident. Does anyone honestly believe that Kerry would call the troops uneducated in the week leading up to an election?

Saying Bush is stupid--what I believe was his intent--was kind of a dumb thing to say. It's not very helpful, but it is typical red meat for the base. If we look at some Republicans' election year statements--voting for Democrats will make this country unsafe--we'll see statements both stupid and dangerous.

Here's a movie that's going to anger more than a few audiences. Some will find it boring, uneventful, vapid. (These were the same complaints leveled against director's "Lost in Translation.") Others will be angered at the anachronistic use of 80's new wave and modern garage rock. Still others, like the French at Cannes where the film premiered, will be angered that the film doesn't take an overtly critical view of Marie Antoinette's hedonism, funded by the taxpayers, and apparent callousness to the plight of her starving subjects.

I think these critics are missing the point. Director Sofia Coppola who is a master of mood and malaise presents us with a clueless Versailles court and defunct monarchy. Vapidity is their birthright. Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) is pretty clueless concerning the walls outside of Versailles. She is tended to, doted upon, constantly gossiped about, and given no higher charge than to produce a male heir with her disinterested, simple spouse Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzmann). She is insulated and given little to do. But she is young, vivacious, and needs an outlet for her energy. Coppola expertly captures Marie's boredom through long stretches of dreamy wandering--see "Lost in Translation"--and by depicting the grind of her courtly responsibilities.

When Marie lets loose in the film's second act she does so to the tune of Siouxsie and the Banshees. To those who bristle at the score, I should remind them that the Dion-influenced score of "Titanic" wasn't exactly authentic to the period, either. The music works well as an emotional cue. To a contemporary audience, "Hong Kong Garden" simply evokes a certain response not captured by chamber music.

The film benefits immensely from being filmed at Versailles. When the camera looks out across the grounds, Versailles appears completely isolated from the outside world. You have no sense of the angry, volatile nearby city. The costuming of the film is also fantastic. The clash of modern rock with 18th century custom and costume is bracing and inspired. (If you look closely during the shoe fitting montage, you'll see a Converse All-Star on the floor.) The opening sequence where Dunst shoots the audience a come hither look is immediately followed by the punk rock inspired credit sequence to the tune of Gang of Four's "Natural's Not in It." These moments get the movie off to a rousing start and will probably either fill you with dread or with anticipatory glee.

The cast is eclectic and accomplished. Danny Huston, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Asia Argento, and Steve Coogan all deliver fine performances. SNL fans will be happy to see Molly Shannon as a gossipy courtier. Schwartzmann continues to show a growing range as the ineffectual Louis. The film belongs to Dunst, though, who both elicits sympathy and anger as we observe the obtuseness that leads to her demise.

A fantastic film that will divide audiences. Go see it.