Common Sense

Katy Hubener loses in special election

Democrat Katy lost her special election bid in HD-106 Tuesday night. Republican Kirk England won with 53% of the vote, with Katy picking up 46% and Libertarian Gene Freeman got the remaining 1%.

Texas Democratic Party chair Charles Soechting had this to say:

“I want to commend Katy Hubener on running an excellent race in the special election for House District 106.  Katy ran as an independent voice, who could be trusted to stand up against a special interest agenda and fight for the best interests of Texas families. 

In a five-week sprint special election called by Governor Perry to benefit his hand-picked candidate in a Republican district, Katy Hubener held her opponent to a margin of only a few hundred votes, signaling a trend of voter dissatisfaction with one-party Republican rule in the State of Texas.

QR points out that the margin is roughly the same as the last election when retiring Rep. Ray Allen beat Hubener, though turnout for this special election was less to the tune of 30,000 votes.

Military men say pull out instead of staying in

Otherwise we could end up with a big problem a few months from now. From Zogby:

An overwhelming majority of 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and nearly one in four say the troops should leave immediately, a new Le Moyne College/Zogby International survey shows.

The poll, conducted in conjunction with Le Moyne College’s Center for Peace and Global Studies, showed that 29% of the respondents, serving in various branches of the armed forces, said the U.S. should leave Iraq “immediately,” while another 22% said they should leave in the next six months. Another 21% said troops should be out between six and 12 months, while 23% said they should stay “as long as they are needed.”

The wide-ranging poll also shows that 58% of those serving in country say the U.S. mission in Iraq is clear in their minds, while 42% said it is either somewhat or very unclear to them, that they have no understanding of it at all, or are unsure. While 85% said the U.S. mission is mainly “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks,” 77% said they also believe the main or a major reason for the war was “to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”

But wait, there's even more.

“Ninety-three percent said that removing weapons of mass destruction is not a reason for U.S. troops being there,” said Pollster John Zogby, President and CEO of Zogby International. “Instead, that initial rationale went by the wayside and, in the minds of 68% of the troops, the real mission became to remove Saddam Hussein.” Just 24% said that “establishing a democracy that can be a model for the Arab World" was the main or major reason for the war. Only small percentages see the mission there as securing oil supplies (11%) or to provide long-term bases for US troops in the region (6%).

Some of this info is startling, but shouldn't be. That 85% think we went to war in Iraq to retaliate for their role in 9/11 (which there wasn't one) is perfectly understandable when you realize they don't get to read the newspaper and talk with other people everyday. They pretty much get undiluted bullshit fed straight to them from the Sec. of Defense through the chain of command. The worst part will explaining to these guys when this over with what the hell really happened and how they ended up there.

The other interesting thing of note is that the first thing we did upon invasion was secure the oil fields and the Project for the New American Century (who came up with this brilliant boondoggle in the 1990s) has always planned on permanent military bases in Iraq. The point of starting in Iraq was so that we would have a centralized base of operations in Southwest Asia from which to exert our military influence.

That is so awesome!

Yes, that is Emma Watson, the young (very underage) actress who plays Hermione in the Hary Potter movie franchise, drinking a beer and smiling for the camera. My estimation of her has just gone up considerably.

I think the AP has some closet bloggers

The AP story from Gina Holland on Anna Nicole Smith's SCOTUS case is full of quotes that you would only use if you were cynical and on a caffeine binge. The only people I know like that are my fellow bloggers.

WASHINGTON — With an oil fortune on the line, former stripper Anna Nicole Smith encountered a sympathetic audience at the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Several justices said they were concerned that the one-time Playboy Playmate was kept from pursuing a piece of her late husband's fortune.

"It's quite a story," said Justice Stephen Breyer...

Breyer said there was evidence that the son hired private detectives to keep Smith away from her elderly husband's bedside.

Smith's claim is simple, said Justice David Souter, "just give me the money I would have had."

Justices repeatedly referred to the amount of money at stake, and criticized arguments that only a Texas court had jurisdiction to settle the nasty family feud.

"That's just not the way our system works," said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only woman justice...

Douglas Baird, a bankruptcy expert at the University of Chicago, said: "I'd suspect some justices haven't the slightest idea who Anna Nicole is."

Of course, we all know that Justices Thomas and Scalia have lifetime subscriptions to Playboy and are regular visitors to The Grotto.

Common Sense Public Service Announcement

I guess I'll have to start doing more of these since people are totally clueless without me (you can feel the egotism just oozing, can't you). From Pandagon we learn:

that her panty liners now come with free tips on the little paper strip, useful advice like, “Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day to keep you hydrated and feeling fresh.”

Now, it's not the panty liners that interest me (at the moment), but the sage advice being dispensed on them. You should not drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. That is an urban legend.

The article on Snopes says that the origin of this myth is elusive, but I've done a fair amount of research on this one and have discovered what may be the source, a misprint in a 1945 government health manual.

The annual guide to recommended daily allowances, as published by the Food and Nutrition Board, states that a person needs 83 ounces of water a day, but does not mention that a large portion of this is from the foods we eat. The following year, the pamphlet was amended to include this little bit of information. Many people are actually drinking way too much water because of this kind of advice. Too much water is actually a bad thing; the extra water in our system has low concentrations of salt and other minerals present in our cells. Through the process of diffusion, those minerals leave our cells and end up being excreted by the body. That's why if you drink a lot of water, you get dizzy and "drunk." I can't think of any cases off the top of my head, but death is possible if this routine were kept up over time.

Why you gotta be hatin'?

Is there any particular reason why people would be jumping all over Vince Young and his alleged 6 on the Wonderlic test? Oh, I know, because he kicked some ass during the Rose Bowl and everybody knows he is the top prospect in the NFL Draft this year.

Bitches always hatin' cuz they can't do anything about it on the field.

Soledad O'Brien's got beads

CNN American Morning is doing a live from remote in New Orleans today. Super hot anchor Soledad O'Brien is covered in beads. My mind just reels at all the possibilities as to how she got them.

Getting it off my chest

I should probably be talking about Katy Hubener's special election today, but there is a more pressing concern: I don't know what the hell I am.

TJ Shroat writes today about some of the differences in Gen X and Gen Y participants at a Biden fundraiser. When I was growing up, I never heard anything about a Generation Y. I always just assumed that I was part of Generation X. I self-identify that way; I'm cynical and I listen to Air Supply after a bad break up.

But not too long ago, someone sprung this Generation Y crap on me. Suddenly I'm part of a generation of upbeat people with a positive outlook on the future. WTF?

Look, I grew up watching John Hughes' movies, I own The Breakfast Club soundtrack on LP, I distrust anyone over 30 and I watched every movie starring the Coreys. I may have rejected 80s culture in favor of an Empire Records-inspired existence, but at least I suffered through all that and was able to make a choice. I say we move the boundary for Generation X to anyone born before 1985. I mean, my parents are Baby Boomers, I have to be a Gen Xer.

Happy Mardi Gras everybody!

Today's the last day to get all your sinning done before you repent!

Not quite what I meant

Earlier I mentioned that I would like to marry an asian porn star, but this girl isn't exactly what I was looking for. Like the other blogger, I'm somewhat surprised by the interest in this video.

For those of you in the dark and afraid to click the link, a 17 year-old Singapore girl videotaped herself having sex using her cell phone. She's now the No. 1 search on Technorati because people really want to see that video.

For shame!!!! It's okay for porn stars to look underage, but not when they actually are underage. Paragon of self-restraint that I am (hahaha, I'm funny), I have, and will not, watch the video. Frankly I am already ashamed of most of you, since you undoubtedly were doing Google searches and that's how you found your way here. Pervs!

No, no NYP Tammy video for me. I've got Chinatown to keep me company tonight.