I tuned in to the live stream of the anti-health reform rally in Atlanta this afternoon. A couple of random observations:
Organizers of the event expected 25,000. As I watched, some guy announced from the stage a crowd of 12,000. So, less than half of what they expected, and that number is self reported (Edit: The ajc is reporting only 4,000 attended). To put that in perspective, I got more votes as a Democrat running for office in Forsyth County. Not exactly a huge gathering.
Holy Cow. What an infomercial. I hope people brought a pen and paper because in between the “Socialism!” attendees where showered with “please visit <insert your particular cause website here>” over and over again. They might as well have invited the ShamWow and SlapChop guy for all the self-interested peddling going on (we can’t sell this at this price all day!).
The expert panel was priceless. One of the guys, Robert Goldberg, is known as the guy who tried to draw analogies of the health care reform debate to the movie Bruno.
Some country singer named John Berry sang “Give Back My America”. I learned that I can’t “pray like my daddy did”. Did not know that. Berry did admit before starting that “I’m not a prolific songwriter”. I agree.
It was July 26th 2007, and I was in Richmond VA for business. Little did I know at the time, 2 blocks away Mike Vick was being arraigned for dog fighting. It had to be one of the most interesting spectacles I had ever stumbled upon. After spending the morning with lawyers of a different sort, we had to walk to a building on the other side of the federal courthouse. On the way through the circus, I stopped and had a co-worker snap a pic of me with one of the PETA protesters. Good times.
I’m glad Vick found a team willing to take a chance on him. I hope he takes this new opportunity to get himself together both physically and mentally. I think he deserved the second chance.
…adding. What Jeff Schultz said.
It’s still all about land use.
I’m all for efforts to extend rail and other alternative forms of transportation (in the right places!), but it will never be even close to enough. Until we do something about the incentives for developers to build single acre lot subdivisions that don’t connect (cul-de-sac paradises), we’ll just keep pushing more cars onto surface roads that will never support the traffic.
If the recent downturn has taught us anything, it should be that we have enough inventory of low density development to last us awhile. Instead of sitting back and waiting for developers to come save their counties, commissioners in the exurban/suburban metro area should be re-tooling land use policy that lends itself to higher densities along transit nodes. I get that folks like their one acre and a mule (hell, I do to), but the lack of diversity in our land use planning will kill growth over the long term more than anything else we do (or don’t do).
I’ve long been of the opinion that land use is the sole province of localities, but I’m more open than ever to state or regionally driven action that requires counties to have workable Master Plan and TOD centric development options in the local comprehensive plan. If we don’t do it now when demand is low it will never happen.
It doesn’t count for much but I’ll still be watching it.
I hope Hines Ward crackbacks McFadden so hard he knocks him out of his shoes.
It’s time the cops tase somebody at these healthcare townhalls so the media will cover them.
The race warrior strikes again!
Listen, I don’t know who painted what on Congressman Scott’s signage. Pretty sure with something like this it’s possible we will never know.
But I’m pretty sure this just reinforces my perception that Randall is race-baiting wanker. When last we counted:
“Rogue109″ and “Racist” turn up at PP:
- 153 time since he was front paged
- 37 times in 2009 alone.
And that was last April! There’s no telling what that number is now.
While we are dealing with the issue let’s just dispense with the strawman. The difference was Pamela Graff used race to defraud. The motive was money and self-enrichment. None of that is going on here. Instead, at just about every teabagger gangbang somebody shows up with a Hitler/Nazi placard. It’s standard operating procedure. It’s not shocking that the standard rally flair of the teabagger movement would end up painted at the location of one of its targets.
The folks at GM announced the initial MPG rating on the Chevy Volt today.
Wow:
The EPA has released a new methodology for determining a draft fuel economy standard for extended-range EVs like the Volt, and under this new procedure, the Volt will have a composite urban fuel economy rating of 230 mpg! On the electric side, the Volt will consume 25 kW/hours per 100 miles. That makes the Volt the first car ever to get a triple digit fuel economy rating.
I think I’m pretty representative of the typical exurban traveler, and I’d be right on the edge of the 40 mile range of the Volt’s electric power only mode for my daily commute. Recharging at night, when the electric grid is taxed the least, my gasoline consumption would be nearly non-existent in normal driving conditions. Now, that would require me to park the Magnum, and all of its Hemi goodness, but for a “daily driver” I’d sign up for that in a heartbeat.
I want one.
Sez Wingfield:
If you disagree with Democrats’ health care plans, they consider you stupid. Or a liar. Or maybe a stupid liar, pants on fire.
Looks like it’s time to get Kyle Wingfield in front of the Death Panel. Because, you know, those are totally going to be real and anybody who says different is a LIAR! Ask Palin.
File this headline under “Things I’ve read 5,238 times”:
Now is the right time: Cubs must show they mean business.
Sigh. Not off to a very encouraging start.
Growing up in Kansas, the only real baseball choices were the Royals (heh… sure), the Cubs, or the Braves. Count me as one of the kids who grew up rushing home from school to catch the 3:05pm broadcast with Harry Carey on WGN. Those days I wished I could throw as hard as Shawon Dunston, and one of these days I’ll sign up for shoulder surgey to correct the fact that I tried to prove it.
I don’t have the same kind of enthusiasm today, but I still follow my Cubbies (and loath the Cardinals). Not feeling good about our chances in the division this year. Maybe we can hang on for a wildcard.
The beat goes on.
