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Manbearpig must be stopped!

Looks like the UN global warming conference underway in Poland is about to get ugly with 650 dissenting scientists bringing on a full frontal assault against the UN IPCC in general and former Vice President Al Gore in particular regarding global warming claims.
POZNAN, Poland - The UN global warming conference currently underway in Poland is about to face a serious challenge from over 650 dissenting scientists from around the globe who are criticizing the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore. Set for release this week, a newly updated U.S. Senate Minority Report features the dissenting voices of over 650 international scientists, many current and former UN IPCC scientists, who have now turned against the UN. The report has added about 250 scientists (and growing) in 2008 to the over 400 scientists who spoke out in 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists are [...]

Original post by Brendan



Official Presidential beverage containers

Why is Barack Obama pimping coffee mugs via his election mailing list? If this is any indication of how change will be defined in 2009 these mugs may come in handy for collecting your daily shoelace soup from the bread/work line.

I for one am eagerly awaiting the 2010 presidential flatware collection.
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Original post by Brendan



Worcester: A place for hate

Slogans suck. I think we’ve come to a consensus on that. While this renewed cry to declare Worcester “No place for hate” is a nice sentiment, simply declaring something does not make it so. Neither does a half-assed and half-done mural, for the record.
More interesting than the meaningless declaration of a non-existent reality is this gem from Gemme (do I win something for that pun?) regarding the rather disgusting incident that prompted the re-declaration.
“Inexplicably, at the time of this offense, the prime suspect (Mr. Polydores) was out on bail awaiting trial in Superior Court for gun and drug offenses. His bail in those cases has now been revoked, and he is currently awaiting trial,” Chief Gemme said.

Really? That’s inexplicable? Seems to me an idiot out on bail for multiple drug/firearms violations is perfectly explicable. Not only is that explicable, it’s expected. To [...]

Original post by Brendan



Local Press remains silent on Glodis firings

Two days ago Zoback over at WoMag wrote up preliminary details of a mass firing in the sherrifs department where a full 25 employes lost their jobs. The interesting part was the ultra douchey thank you note from the New England Police Benevolent Association, to Glodis for not including any union members in the cut. Apparently part of a deal reached with the dept earlier this month. Now a full two news days have gone by with not a word from the T&G.
Obviously, they’re busy with important stuff like Turkey News and Christmas Tree News. But you would think with all the attention given to local politicians personal lives as of late, maybe a few lines could be donated to Sheriff Glodis’ professional life. I can’t be the only one waiting to hear this story.
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Original post by Brendan



Sometimes it’s the little things

One of Worcesters City Councilors just contacted me via direct message on Twitter. While that may not sound very impressive to people who live online, it’s a giant leap forward for constituent relations on a local level.
Councilor, video of you kicking puppies could show up on youtube between now and next November and you will still have my vote.

Original post by Brendan



Dont forget the cell phones

Political polls that include cell phone users show Obama leading McCain by an average of 10 points, versus just over five points in land-line-only surveys, notes a Sunday survey put together by Nate Silver, founder of the electoral projections site FiveThirtyEight.
The survey shows a snapshot of 15 polls conducted on behalf of media companies and by polling companies such as Gallup and Zogby. Six of those, including one released late Sunday by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, include cell phone users. The rest don’t.

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It’s easy to forget how out of touch pollsters may be when it comes to reaching important demographics. I know I’m not the only person who doesn’t have a land line in the house. The number was around 14% last year.

Original post by Brendan



2008 Election: Going All-In Edition

It always seems like a good idea to make some predictions surrounding a big election day if for no other reason than to piss people off one last time before the big day. I’m sticking with state issues this year as national politics couldn’t get any less interesting. The presidential race in particular has proven itself more sitcom than future of the free world.
So lets start at the bottom with the Massachusetts ballot questions.
Question One: State Personal Income Tax
This proposed law would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.65% for all categories of taxable income for the tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2009, and would eliminate the tax for all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010. The personal income tax applies to income received or gain realized by individuals and married couples, by estates of deceased persons, by certain trustees [...]

Original post by Brendan



Worcester City Councilor Joe Petty on knives

I submited the following question to WCCA’s SoapBox to be asked of City Councilor Joe Petty yesterday:
I, like many law abiding citizens carry a knife in some form everywhere I go as a force of habit.  What empirical evidence do you use as a foundation for your belief that an individual who has decided to commit manslaughter with a knife, or any weapon for that matter, would have a change of heart in the face of a monetary fine?

If you skip to the 3:50 mark you can see the question is essentially skipped and instead Councilor Petty is given an opportunity to explain his position. Please allow me be the first to say we as citizens of Worcester should be frightend that this man plays a role in deciding what is best for us all. Councilor Petty may be one of the least articulate and poorly reasoned men [...]

Original post by Brendan