willclarke.net

“So what in a sense you’re saying is that there are certain situations… where the president can decide that it’s in the best interests of the nation or something, and do something illegal.”
-David Frost
“Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.”
-Richard Nixon

“If the President, during war, decides to do something to protect the country, is it legal?”
-Chris Wallace
“I think as a general proposition, I’d say yes.”
-Dick Cheney

Sidenote, Frost/Nixon is a great movie, and I’d recommend it for any political junkies out there regardless of political persuasion. I actually felt it cast Nixon in a fairly sympathetic light.

Probably my favorite part of the entire rally was this one old man who barely paid attention through most of the rally but perked up when Sarah hit the stage. I watched on his camera’s LCD screen as he desperately battled the shakes to zoom and focus on her face and bosom. Unfortunately he zoomed in so close, his arthritic hands were unable to press the shutter button without moving her out of the frame. I watched him take 40 or more pictures before finally capturing her image that satisfied him.

Poor dirty old bastard.

Did anyone else learn basic addition and subtraction using the Touch Dot or TouchMath system? And if so do you still use it today, and does it drive you COMPLETELY INSANE?

For those that don’t know what I’m talking about - when I learned math in the Mandeville Public School System, we learned using a system called (I believe) Touch Dots, although it is now called TouchMath. Basically all numbers have dots on them, equal to their value, and you touch your pencil to them as you add and subtract numbers.

It seems great because it helps kids learn to do simple math quickly, but it NEVER GOES AWAY. I still, to this day, do simple math using touch dots. It’s terribly embarrassing, I try not to actually touch my pen to the paper anymore when I do it but I still jab the pen in the air or some equivalent.

I have heard the system was originally only intended to be used to teach mentally disabled children, and normal children find the system “crippling.” I was talking with my family this weekend and Katy said she learned this way as well and has also been unable to shake it. Does anyone else have any experiences with this teaching method?

Yesterday I successfully infiltrated a Saxby Chambliss rally at the Gwinnett Arena, starring everyone’s favorite Republican, Sarah Palin. Apparently she hasn’t blown elections for enough Republicans yet [Edit - turns out she's now batting .50]. Here are a few observations I made:

• The kind of people that attend a Sarah Palin rally are not your typical Republicans. They basically fall into a few groups: dudes that think she’s hot, repressed dykes that think she’s hot, moms whose lives suck and have disabled children, and (for some reason) Indian businessmen. Maybe they’re doing opposition research for when Jindal runs.
• Security was practically nonexistent. There were a few cops for the entire arena. I walked right in with no pat down, coat check or metal detector. I guess they assume the supporters are armed enough to not need additional security.
• There is no such thing as separation of church and state at a Republican rally. The only difference between the prayer portion and the speech portion is that people close their eyes during the prayer. There was even applause DURING the prayer, and loud shouts of “WOOOoOOOooo” after the “amen.” I wouldn’t be surprised if the 2012 platform involved renaming church and state “chate.”
• Sarah Palin is both a supernatural being and a best friend to these people. They call her “Sarah” almost exclusively. After is was over, supporters all pushed their disabled family members towards her in a crazy and awkward attempt to get her to touch them. Being Republicans, they did this in the most obtuse way possible: by yelling things like, “Sarah! We got a wheelchair person over here!” Come touch our wheelchair person. Heal the sick Sarah. Forget single payer healthcare, Sarah Palin is their single provider healthcare.