A sneaky way to take back the Senate

Ah my first foray into politics...

I was reading Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball (http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/) today. It's a good site, actually runs down House and Senate races and handicaps them; my #1 gripe is that it isn't updated enough (3 stories in 3 weeks is a rarity). In his article on the Dems chance to retake the Senate, he rated it as a relative long-shot due to their need to pick up 6 out of 7 vulnerable GOP seats as well as hold all of their own. This was a good point, but it made me think of another possible strategy.

What is the greatest recent political victory for the Dems other than the 2000 Presidential election? I'd have to say when Jim Jeffords bolted the GOP, handing the Senate back to it's rightful owner (I refuse to condone the election of Norm Coleman). If I were running things, my #2 priority behind elections in PA, OH and Montana would be having a chat with some of the northeast/liberal House and Senate Republicans, who have to be angry that their agenda (which is by and large a good one) is being completely ignored. Some BBG/LATimes poll data came out today showing that Bush only has support of about 63 percent of self-described "moderate Republicans"; isn't it possible that some of the 37 is represented in Congress? Take a look at how the American Conservative Union http://www.acuratings.org/ rates these Senators (for reference, Sam Brownback (R/KS) is a 94 lifetime and Ted Kennedy is a 3.

• Lincoln Chafee - R/RI - 41
• Olympia Snowe - R/ME - 51
• Susan Collins - R/ME - 57
• Arlen Specter - R/PA - 44 (although he "improved" to a 75 in 2004, the last year they publish)
• Ben Campbell - R/CO - 55
• Judd Gregg - R/NH pulled a 79, but I think they let Katherine Harris do the tally...

In any case, my message to the 6 of you I just mentioned is this: You are no longer a Republican. Maybe you used to be. But you're not anymore - it's about time you accepted it. Lincoln, you didn't even vote for your party's presidential candidate! Olympia and Arlen, you guys are spearheading an investigation into wiretap-gate and given it bipartisanship.! Judd, your #1 issue is the environment! Susan, you're rated 83% by NARAL pro-choice America. Ben, I don't really know anything about you, but if you buck your party on 45% of the ACU votes you must be a good guy! Isn't it time for to start voting your conscience.

Anand's going away party, coincidences and likely irreversible liver damage

Anand finally decided to stop holding everyone hostage - turns out his threat to locate himself away from the Least Coast wasn't just a bluff. I don't think it's too tough for anybody who knows the tall indian to picture him rolling down the PCH in a convertible, skipping work to sit on the beach, or becoming a vegetarian, so I'm sure this move will suit him well.

Funny story...and hopefully it doesn't fall into the "you had to be there category"...

So I order a vodka/soda and hand my card to the waitress; she walks away, but then comes right back and says "You're kidding, right?" I'm already in fine form at this point, so I have no idea how to formulate a response to this, but long story short, the guy who owns the bar we were at, Stitch (http://www.stitchnyc.com) is named Nicholas Cohen...same spelling and all. The other Nick Cohen is an Irish Jew; I guess you just need a semi-unusual background to end up with such a mixed race name. This is the first time either of us has ever met somebody with the same name, so next thing I know I'm drinking like a half dozen [unneeded] shots on the house, and we took some pictures. Cool guy, good bar, worked great for an unorganized group of 50, and a coincidence that would have left me confused even if that first vodka/soda had been my last.

Just like most celebratory nights with this group, we ended up at a sketchy karaoke place. This was a different one than we usually go to; it served alcohol (many are BYOB) which usually would be a good thing, but in this case was the bargoing equivalent of running up the score. I didn't wake up until 2.

I gotta admit...

I don't really know what i'm doing here. I mean, aren't these things intended for the computer literate? Not someone who is having trouble installing an external hard drive. Not someone who has to call over tech support three times a day.

But I guess it's just time for me to stake out my own personal acre of the intsi-web. I figure now's a good time, because pretty soon there won't be any homesteading space left and then the market gets in a bubble and then rental rates go up and the next thing you know you're dropping a fortune each month on a 700-sq footer that has a view of a big black wall.

Do people usually set up some kind of guideline type thing for one of these? Well, whether they do or not, I'm going to...because I'm just that kind of person and I wouldn't want Poff to show up one day and take over.

I like the idea that you can say whatever you want, but you have to sign for it. No anonomous posting. And while we're on the subject, a nice tear into your moderator is a good time for all...but let's try not to base the whole board on it. Some preferred topics, baseball, politics, and general keep in touch type stuff. You can expect me to wax delicious for a while about my work and I apologize in advance...tough to shut it off after 12 hours sometimes. If you're not interested in a discussion of the effect of rho decay on an options position, feel free to skip these parts. No being a front-running troll for your preferring sporting team, unless it's the Pistons.

And if you could help with the hard drive, I'd really appreciate it.