November 2004

  • Disconnected Reality

    It seems that Tuesday's voting saw many bond issues across the nation receive approval from those voting on them. This isn't really a surprise – many people will vote for spending on roads or parks or schools. What I don't get is that people don't seem to make…

  • Why Take Hostages?

    It nearly always ends badly. And very rarely do you get what you want (the movie Airheads is a possible exception). Even if you manage to get some sort of escape vehicle out of the negotiations (boat, car, helicopter, plane), it's not that hard for you to be…

  • Internet Voting

    So the commander of the space station can vote via email. I realize that votes via email aren't necessarily the best method for transmitting data. But if this guy gets to vote via email just because he's in space, how come we all can't do it?…

  • Advertising Kerry

    Who are the people who couldn't figure out John Kerry's middle name (it is Forbes), giving him the initials JFK? For a race that seems so close, if you could come up with an advertising gimmick that even remotely associated him with the prior owner of those initials,…

  • Apportioning Example

    As previously mentioned, California has 55 electoral votes. That's a huge number, and while California certainly doesn't want to give up the massive power that such a voting bloc represents, there are a huge number of people in that state who are effectively without a voice, because the…

  • Changing the Electoral College

    All in all, our electoral college is not an inherently bad system, though Thomas Jefferson may have disagreed with that statement (calling the process a blot in our Constitution). But while the idea may have been a good one when written, it may not best serve our needs…

  • Our Electoral College

    Many people ask why we have the electoral college these days, what with the ability to quickly count the popular vote and all. Well, within our system of government, created by the Constitution of the United States, we elect the president through the electoral college rather than by…

  • The Place of Government

    "Government can do certain things very well, but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a sense of purpose in our lives." I like that one. Sums it up nicely. There are undoubtedly some things that the government – any government – can do well. Very well…

  • Voting is a Challenge

    This year sure seems to be having its problems with voting. There are those in the Carolinas who are finding out their email requests to receive absentee ballots weren't valid. Nevermind that the request was sent via a link on the board of elections page saying that it…

  • Exchange 2003 ActiveSync

    So I've been trying to get my new Audiovox SMT 5600 working with ActiveSync. Enabling a synchronization with the desktop was super easy. Really. Getting it to work with Exchange has been less so. Since he has the same phone, I asked Scoble for some insight. Despite an…