Comments welcome

There were more than 1,100 visits to NewMexiKen Thursday, but only nine ten commments (from six individuals, four of whom are related to me).

Best line of the day, so far

“I think a large part of the public likes the conservatives’ theme music. Now they will be tested on whether they like the lyrics.”

— Representative Barney Frank quoted at Talking Points Memo

Barney, I fear many already are singing along. Hell, they’re doing Karaoke.

New Mexico in blue and red

Kerry won big in northern New Mexico; more than 70% of the vote in San Miguel, Santa Fe and Taos counties; more than 60% in McKinley, Mora and Rio Arriba.

Bernalillo (Albuquerque) voted for Kerry 51-48.

The southeast and northwest corners (oil and gas lands) were decidedly for Bush.

The count is still not final, but Bush has a 7,425 vote lead (1%).

What’s intriguing to NewMexiKen is that Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron reported on Tuesday that 46 percent of the state’s registered voters had voted early or by absentee ballot. That would be 506,000 voters (out of 1.1 million).

As of tonight, the total vote count (for president) is 737,410.

That means that only 231,410 voted Tuesday (21%).

Halloween

NewMexiKen doesn’t usually put photos of the Sweeties in the text, but screw it, I’m depressed. We need some smiles around here!

Oklahoma’s favorite son

Will Rogers was born on this date in 1879.

A little of Rogers’ “cowboy philosophy” —

“There is no credit to being a comedian, when you have the whole government working for you. All you have to do is report the facts. I don’t even have to exaggerate.”

“I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.”

“This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.”

“The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.”

“Everything is changing. People are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.”

“Oh Ruby, don’t take your love to town.”

No, wait, that last one is a Kenny Rogers quote.

It’s the birthday of …

a bunch of characters. Character-actors, that is.

Doris Roberts is 75. She’s Raymond’s mom.

Loretta Swit is 67. She’s Major Houlihan.

Not known for TV but rather for the movies is Ralph Macchio. The Karate Kid is 43 today.

Art Carney was born on this date in 1918. He’s most famous for playing Ed Norton opposite Jackie Gleason’s Ralph Kramden but he won the Oscar for Best Actor for Harry and Tonto. Carney died last year.

Martin Balsam was born on this date in 1914. Balsam was also a character actor. NewMexiKen’s favorite Balsam roles: Juror #1 in 12 Angry Men, Henry Mendez in Hombre, Mr. Green in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and his Oscar-winning Arnold Burns (Best Supporting Actor) in A Thousand Clowns. Balsam died in 1996.

Factoid

President Bush scored 1206 on the SAT (566 verbal, 640 math)

John Kerry scored 1190; Al Gore 1355.

Bill Gates scored 1590, but Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen aced it – 1600.

Source: Various places on the internets; several grains of salt required.

State IQs

IQ averages in US States — “best estimate available from actual SAT and ACT scores adjusted for the fact that the IQ’s of these test takers are about 10 points above average” —

• 104 IQ New Hampshire
• 103 IQ Oregon, Massachusetts, Wisconsin
• 102 IQ Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Vermont, Washington
• 101 IQ Alaska, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming
• 100 IQ Arizona, California, Idaho, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia
• 99 IQ Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana
• 98 IQ Florida, Arkansas
• 97 IQ Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
• 96 IQ New Mexico
• 95 IQ District of Columbia
• 94 IQ Mississippi, South Carolina

Source: IQ averages in U.S. states

He who laughs last

“If you want to have gay sex or visit a library, it’s probably your last night to do those things … Personally I’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”
- “Daily Show” correspondent Ed Helms, on the Bush mandate

“You have to feel bad for John Kerry because now he’ll have to go back to his life of being a senator, windsurfing and being a billionaire.”
- David Letterman

“President Bush was really sweating this, because he knew if Kerry won, he’s probably make Bush go to Iraq and finish his National Guard service.”
- Jay Leno

“In his concession speech, John Kerry said he is so grateful he wishes he could hug everyone of his supporters. After hearing this, Ralph Nader said, actually I was able to hug all of my supporters.”
- Conan O’Brien

“No word yet on what Daschle will do in private life, but insiders agree, whatever it is, it’s safe to assume he’ll be ineffective.”
- Jon Stewart

From America’s Finest News Source

SCHAUMBURG, IL—The Museum of the Middle Class, featuring historical and anthropological exhibits addressing the socioeconomic category that once existed between the upper and lower classes, opened to the public Monday.

“The splendid and intriguing middle class may be gone, but it will never be forgotten,” said Harold Greeley, curator of the exhibit titled “Where The Streets Had Trees’ Names.” “From their weekend barbecues at homes with backyards to their outdated belief in social mobility, the middle class will forever be remembered as an important part of American history.”

The Onion

Creativity is as creativity does

It seems this desktop has contacted a virus.

Link via Dave Barry.

20 reasons why you shouldn’t post your picture on the internets

Need a laugh?

You can run, but you can’t hide

The most serious barrier to renouncing your citizenship is that the State Department, which oversees expatriation, is reluctant to allow citizens to go “stateless.” Before allowing expatriation, the department will want you to have obtained citizenship or legal asylum in another country—usually a complicated and expensive process, if it can be done at all. Would-be renunciants must also prove that they do not intend to live in the United States afterward. Furthermore, you cannot renounce inside U.S. borders; the declaration must be made at a consul’s office abroad.

From Harper’s, which has much more, including this:

A more pleasant solution might be found in the Caribbean. Take, for example, the twin-island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, which Frommer’s guide praises for its “average year-round temperature of 79°F (26°C), low humidity, white-sand beaches, and unspoiled natural beauty.” Citizenship in this paradise can be purchased outright. Prices start at around $125,000, which includes a $25,000 application fee and a minimum purchase of $100,000 in bonds. Processing time, which includes checks for criminal records and HIV, can take up to three months, but with luck you could be renouncing by Inauguration Day.

Hmmm!

NewMexiKen is intrigued that there has been a boom today in the search item “average IQ by state.” Wonder what provoked that?

Here’s the post from six months ago that’s bringing them to NewMexiKen. (A post that, as I remember it, helped educate me to the fact that irony is lost on many most blog readers.)

Best line of the day, so far

“[M]any more Americans believe in the Virgin Birth than in Darwin’s theory of evolution.”

Garry Wills in The New York Times.

Thanks to commenter Jennifer for the pointer.

“Nothing” is, I guess, the answer to my question

What’s going to happen when all the polls going into the election show the Democrat leading, and all the exit polls show the Democrat winning, and then the voting computers whirr, the software does its magic, and out comes Bush?

NewMexiKen, February 25, 2004

We all share the blame

Half the country is not stupid. We’re all stupid. We’re convinced several times a day to do things that aren’t in our best interests. We work too hard. We’re drinking, eating, medicating, and smoking ourselves into early graves. We overextend ourselves on credit. We knowingly stay in emotionally or physically abusive relationships. We let television raise our children. We’re deliberately mean and nasty to people we don’t like or agree with. We learn science from the Bible. We stay silent when speaking out would help someone. We fear the future. We fear death. And we’re lazy about our beliefs and convictions and we let the Democratic and Republican Parties dictate the political agenda in America by pushing our emotional buttons. Red, blue, black, white, brown, yellow, purple, and retina-burning yellow-green…we all share the blame.

Jason Kottke

Election maps

A graphic depiction of the election, county-by-county. We’re a lot more purple than red and blue. (You can click the map to enlarge it.)

Another purple map.

Both links via Kottke.

Best line of the day, so far

“I’d bet anything that if the election ballots hadn’t had the names Bush and Kerry on them but simply asked instead, ‘Do you watch Fox TV or read The New York Times?’ the Electoral College would have broken the exact same way.”

Tom Friedman, who also wrote, “I felt as if I registered to vote, but when I showed up the Constitutional Convention broke out.”

Ouch!

dangerousmeta! – a terrific site – sums up the election results in one photo.

The hell with political science. Let’s try geography.

Can you position the 50 states (their outline) inside a blank map of the U.S.?

NewMexiKen scored 96%, misplacing Wyoming and Arkansas by a few miles (having none of the states that border them in place to help).

Thanks to Hugh at Three Bed Two Bath.

Walter Cronkite …

is 88 today.