Vote early, vote often. Might as well get the entire team in the All-Star game. Righteous.

As an addendum to the previous post, that I erased, regarding the upgrade to MT 4.1, the blog spanned six years and had a DB text file that was nearly 5Mbs. That caused the latest crash of our dated installation of Berkley DB. Which leads us to MT 4.1. One of the new features is the ability to MultiBlog, or cross-reference content across multiple blogs, within the same installation of MT. I took that as an opportunity to divide the Mint into more manageable pieces. With that I brought back the old templates that have been used here over the years. Remember what we used to look like in 2006? How about 2004-2005? And then there is still my favorite, 2002-2003. For better or worse, I've kept them in their original format, only modifying a few things to make them sync with the more recent content. Things will continue to be posted here as it was. The old content will reside in its original format, as it was originally created. Looking back at it, I enjoy seeing where we've been and how much time we've wasted here. A few Tech Notes:

1. The search function accesses all the mint's content: Mint Search for "clinton"
2. The home page will still access all the content through the archives pulldown. Though, you will notice that the order of the archives is off. That's a product of the MT software. Long story short, each blog gets an ID# that seems to be only determined by the order in which the blogs were created. I created 2002-2003 after the current content. So, it comes in the order. I don't think I can fix that, as I cannot locate where the blog IDs are determined.
3. I'm not sure we used the categories much prior to 2007, so that pulldown will just result in the recent content.
4. Commenting is still open on old posts.

BTW: who ever on the MovableType development team that though it was a great idea to put all that extra code into, say an image upload, should go fuck themselves four times. Your extra inline styles are stooopid.

So, in case you're not keeping tabs, I no longer live in the US Capital. I've moved north to Steel City Robot City USA. It's a decent town, though like any other not without its faults. The Girlie and I have been settling in, buying property, the usual. Rains more than I'd like, the fact that power lines aren't buried makes it look like the whole town is rigged with bailing wire and duct tape, and the airport is too effing far away. But there are some great things. Two more of which I found just yesterday.

1. My favorite pub is offering cask ales (I hate the word "firkin", but what are you gonna do...). Ate dinner there last night, and tried the Big Hop. It was served a bit warmer than the US usually likes beer, but it brings out a lot of of taste (cold things deaden your tastebuds; this is one reason people like custard and soft-serve ice cream -- it's kept at a warmer temp so you taste more when you eat it).
2. There is a fantastic microbrewery --East End Brewing Company -- just stumbling distance from my new house. Literally walked there, bought two growlers (the Fat Gary and the Session Ale), and walked home in under 15 minutes last night. Yes, I anticipate there being problems. Sweet, oaty, barley-laden, hoppy problems. Turns out they sell kegs of the stuff. When we do our kitchen remodel, I've already gotten the a-OK to put in a tap to a keg in the basement. We'll rotate between this and Guinness (the missus' personal choice).

CNN: Doctors: Ted Kennedy has malignant brain tumor

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg said, “Ted Kennedy makes the Senate the place that it is, and has for so many years.”

You bet. I could not have said it better myself. While you are here, buy a shirt.

I'm positive that this little gem made Savage's skin crawl earlier this week:

"But when the world was on the brink of nuclear holocaust, Kennedy talked to Khrushchev and he got those missiles out of Cuba." (here)

Come again? Honestly, I'm not sure what is more disgusting about the Man from Fantasy Island: the malicously deceptive reinterpretation of history; or the manner in which the MSM, for the most part, oogles over it.

Try this: Obama needs a history lesson.

Maybe I am missing the nuance in Obama's rhetoric. For starters, when JFK and Khrushchev met it was a year prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis. We were not on the brink of nuclear war. But, in the spirit previously only attributed to a Clinton, maybe Obama didn't actually mean met.

Since we're all about facts here. That meeting, where you know Kennedy and Krushchev actually fucking met was after the Bay of Pigs. Which gets us to the cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Crisis was the result of Khrushchev's interpretation of Kennedy's weakness, through their meetings and, say it with me: the Bay of Pigs; where Kennedy pulled the plug on an attempted over throw of Castro by not authorizing the use of air support. As the Real Clear Politics article linked above states, it isn't that Kennedy wasn't willing to confront Castro, it's that Kennedy didn't have the stomach to commit and finish the job. That's the weakness that Khrushchev perceived and lead him to think that Kennedy might be able to be strong-armed into allowing the missile installations in Cuba, and if not, at least giving up something in return.

Kennedy's mishandling of the Bay of Pigs lead directly to the near disaster of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was only through a naval blockade, a near nuclear stand-off and concessions by the US, eg: giving up missile installations in Turkey and agreeing to a non-invasion of Cuba that an understanding was reached. And, if you look at it from a Soviet perspective, that's not a bad deal.

I find it interesting that Barrack Obama failed to mention that in his statements. It's also worth pointing out that Kennedy's resume was considerably longer than Obama's at that point in his career, with military service and over a decade in Congress.

So there you go, now you can vote for hope. While you do, try not to be divided by, or label things with fact or understanding.

If you are looking for me, I will be under the gazeebo-type thing on creek, with a twelve-pack, a stack of semi-used porno mags and my M60. Stop by when you get a minute.

In the spirit of LBJ's ...I don't care whether it's true. Just make the bastard deny it... This is the most cogent analysis I've read of the Bush-Appeasement speech this week in Israel.

No one in the US who runs for public office has suggested that the US break with Israel to appease terrorists. Obama certainly hasn't suggested that, and perhaps apart from the really lunatic fringes of both Left and Right, that notion doesn't get any oxygen at all here. Obviously, Bush wasn't referring to American politicians in this passage, but instead politicians in Europe and elsewhere who have either an animus towards Israel or appreciation for dhimmitude. Nothing -- and I mean nothing -- in this speech points to any candidate or the Democratic Party, unless they identify themselves as the reference.

Up until now, for the most part, W has kept himself out of the presidential race. With his low approval rating he has little to add to the race. There is no reason to think that this behavior would change any time soon. There is little incentive for him to take a swing at any of the candidates. Add that thinking to the text of the speech and you have a president defending his policies to an audience that is a direct beneficiary. It's nothing more until Obama, Biden and the rest draw attention to themselves by declaring their disbelief at the assumed accusation.

I'm not sure if this is brilliance on W's part, in that I mean his baiting of the parties to name themselves. Or, is it a gaffe by a junior campaigner and then a pile-on by the other hacks in the party. Even in combination, W is rider of the week.

CNN: Beer, free stuff lead to 'man cave'

"The whole point of it, it's just guy time," he said. "There's no rules, there's no bathroom. It's just getting away. ... Most of it is just relaxation and having a good time. Nothing ever happens out there that can create any extra stress."

That's right. What's getting in the way of guy-time? Rules and bathrooms. Awesome. Next time I am having a great time with men, I will only think that it could be so much better without a bathroom or rules; rules like "when you have to take a crap, go into the tiny room with a porcelain fixture and make it go bye-bye."

That's not to say that a man cave wouldn't be a great thing to have access to, especially if you got to beat the living shit out of each other... for fun.

After getting destroyed by Hillary's greater than 8% win in PA, and losing about $20k of fake cash, things are picking up. Here's an update in the markets I'm participating in: Mint Inklings

Cubs make it official with Edmonds

I remember mentioning to Easy that I always thought highly of Edmonds. It's a shame that he's had some physical problems as of late. I always thought he was a total gamer. With San Diego and, I think, St. Louis picking up the tab Edmonds cannot be turned down. For the record, I bet he does just fine with the Cubs this year.

Minus a hole in the pitching line-up that needs to be filled, is this not the best Cubs team we've seen since '84? Sure, it is early and injuries can always play havoc with a season. Hands down, I think this is the most well-rounded club we've had in quite some time. Skipping past the obvious Lee, Soriano and Zambrano, guys like Mark DeRosa and Reed Johnson take up the slack quite nicely. And, it is also nice to have the 2008 rookie of the year, Geovani Soto.

I like the Cubs chances with the entire NL this year.

Ok, there's been a lot of COD4 played among the riders. But this is...

...well, it's actually kind of catchy.

Red Wing boy takes first place in Minn. mullet contest

I am now considering the mullet as family tradition.