Monday's Political Cartoons

Just a little late on these this week...

Palin was the Wrong Choice

If you don't like Electoral College projections and Electorate math than just skip this post.

Historically, Presidential nominees pick a running mate that will help deliver a state that they might not get otherwise. I think McCain missed a big chance at winning this election by picking Sarah Palin. She is an interesting character and has certainly energized the GOP supporters, but she won't deliver a state to McCain. Alaska votes Republican. No Democratic candidate has gotten more than 35% of the vote in any of the past 4 elections. Alaska is Red, period.

So, who should McCain have picked?

Rudy Giuliani.

Rudy is certainly not going to energize the conservative base the way Palin has, but those supporters will vote Republican no matter who McCain picked. Rudy leans left on certain issues (abortion, immigration) much like McCain (on other issues...). That gives McCain/Rudy a big edge in gaining undecided voters over McCain/Palin.

Additionally, and most importantly, Rudy is a superstar in New York. I'm not positive he could convince NY state to vote red in November. But, he at least would make it interesting.

New York has 31 electoral votes. 3rd most in the country. When Obama gets those 31 electoral votes, it will put him over the top and he will be the 44th president.

Even if you give every other state that is currently considered a swing state (Ohio, Virginia, and Florida) to McCain, without NY he can't win.

If you want to play with electoral college outcomes, you can make your own map at this site: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=1

Top Grossing Movies by Rating

This post really is just the result of me being bored and finding some interesting information on the world wide interweb. Here are the top 3ish money-making movies for each rating.

G

1. Finding Nemo $339,714,978 (my wife's favorite)
2. The Lion King $328,541,776
3. Monster's Inc. $255,873,250
...
9. Gone With the Wind $198,676,459 (highest G-rated non-animated film)

PG

1. Star Wars $460,998,007 (the 1977 original)
2. Shrek 2 $441,226,247
3. E.T. $441,226,247 (really?! ET?)

PG-13

1. Titanic $600,788,188
2. The Dark Knight $521,890,027 (the only 2008 film on the list)
3. Pirate's of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest $423,315,812

R

1. The Passion of the Christ $370,782,930 (3 very different movies in the R category)
2. The Matrix Reloaded $281,576,461
3. Beverly Hills Cop $234,760,478

It appears obvious that PG-13 is the way to go for the big money makers. There are 7 PG-13 movies that made more than The Passion (R).

And if you are curious, making NC-17 movies is really not a good investment. Showgirls is the highest grossing ever, and it only made $20,350,754.

Monday's Political Cartoons

America's Budget

I really don't understand why the government can get away with spending so much more than they earn every year. It seems like a simple concept. If you don't have the money, you can't spend it. This seems like a logical break down of the country's budget:


For this little expirement we will use last year's revenue:

2007 Taxes:

$2,568,000,000,000 (2.5 trillion dollars)


The government's spending can be broken down into 3 categories:
Mandatory (53% in 2007)
Discretionary (38% in 2007)
Interest (9% in 2007)


Mandatory Spending includes items that, by law, must be paid to individuals who meet certain requirements. (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.)


Discretionary Spending includes all other items on which the federal government spends money. (Military, Congress, Highways, Education, etc.)


Interest is simply money paid on the national debt.
----
So what should it be in 2009?

Assuming the taxes stay the same and the government has about 2.5 trillion dollars to work with...


Mandatory Spending
Social Security 24% $600 billion
Medicare 16% $400 billion
Medicaid 8% $200 billion
Other Mandatory Programs (disability, veteran's, unemployment) 12% $300 billion


Discretionary Spending
Education 4% $100 billion
Transportation 1% $25 billion
Defense 10% $250 billion
Government Salaries .5% $12.5 billion


Interest Payments
National Debt 24.5% $612.5 billion



Maybe that is an oversimplification, but I think we generally overcomplicate things.

Mark Cuban's Response

Mark Cuban has a blog (blogmaverick.com) that he uses to address various issues. He has posted a long list of emails he has received in response to the Josh Howard/National Anthem issue. It really opens your eyes to see how ridiculous many people are and also serves as a reminder that e-mail and the Internet are not an excuse to act like an idiot. Someone might just post it on a blog for everyone to see.

http://blogmaverick.com/ (contains quite a bit of foul language in the emails)

"I don't celebrate that ****. I'm black."

“The Star-Spangled Banner's going on right now and I don't celebrate that s**t. I'm black.’’ – Josh Howard

If you would like, you can see the YouTube video of the Mavs forward, Josh Howard, at Allen Iverson's celebrity charity softball game this summer saying the above phrase to a camera during the pre-game playing of the National Anthem. Link here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1llOTCAyf0 (Warning - it's graphic - Josh is at about the 1:40 mark)

There are numerous ways that this statement is idiotic. Here are just a few:

• Josh needs to know that at his level of celebrity, you just can't act like an idiot. In the past 4 months Josh has repeatedly voiced his "right" to smoke pot; participated in street-racing on public streets during his youth basketball camp; disregarded his bosses orders to not throw a party during a playoff series; and now this comment during the National Anthem.


• If Josh was trying to be funny, he needs to know that comedians have a few unwritten rules they must live by. 1) They must be funny. 2) Some people can tell certain jokes that others can't i.e. Chris Rock can tell jokes that Jay Leno can't. Right or Wrong, that's just the way it is. 3) Some topics are just off-limits. i.e. 9/11, abortion, etc.


• Josh seems to be playing the dis-enfranchised black man card. I have no doubt in my mind that there are people in this country that have suffered because of their skin color. Racism does exist. I don't know if Josh has personally encountered this, but for him to not respect the one song that is meant to represent the freedoms that have allowed him to provide for his family seems a little misplaced. Josh Howard has used his gift of basketball skills and hard work to earn a 4 year college education from Wake Forest and a professional career that will pay him over $100 million dollars when it's all said and done. I'm not saying that rich people don't have problems, but it is obvious to me that the freedoms this country has, have given him the opportunity to provide for his children, grand children, their children and grandchildren, and their grandchildren. And also, allow him to street-race on publicly funded roads, avoid prosecution for smoking illegal drugs, and not be fired for disregarding a boss' direct orders.

I won't voice my opinion on what the Mavericks should do with Josh as far as a trade goes right now. But, they definitely need to sit him down and discuss a few simple steps he can take to not be an idiot. I'll do it if they want me to.

Monday's Political Cartoons

This is the first installment of Monday's Political Cartoons. I'll search the entire interweb and find what I think are the funniest/most relevant political cartoons and then post a few here. Enjoy!

That one's a little tricky to read, but it's a gift basket from Osama Bin Laden to W Bush, as opposed to the threatening video he normally sends around this time of the year...

A jab at Obama and his main campaign message that would like to make you think that McCain is politically aligned with W Bush.





More lipstick on a pig here, additionally this cartoonist wants to be sure that everyone is aware of the tactics McCain is using in his campaign.

Define Mandatory

The news coverage for a much of the last week to ten days has revolved around Hurricanes and the destruction they create. Both Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana and Hurricane Ike here in Texas have resulted in mandatory evacuations for citizens in the path of these storms. Most people listen to this order and get the heck out of dodge. But, of course, there are those that refuse to respect the authority of the government and the authority of the storm heading their way.

Then, emergency response crews have to head in to the area before it is safe and try to rescue these idiots that thought they were invincible. By refusing to evacuate they have put themselves in danger, the rescuers in danger, and force the government to waste resources that could be used getting the gulf coast back to normal quicker.

Just to be sure, I looked it up:

Mandatory = permitting no option; not to be disregarded or modified

When the next hurricane comes and it is a mandatory evacuation, don't be an idiot.

Working Clothes

Leah and I have a blog together at wideawakewilliams.blogspot.com but she won't let me get all political there, so here is my own blog. I try to approach things from a common sense perspective and consider all parties involved when I make decisions. I don't get everything right and am usually open to other's thoughts and advise.

"Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson