Reason Morning Links: Obama Stumps for Chicago, Palin Memoir Coming, QWERTY Smart Phone Blues

- Obama off to Denmark to make unprecedented presidential pitch for Olympics in Chicago.

- U.S. leaders say Taliban coordinating Afghan strikes from Pakistan. 

- Sarah Palin's memoir Going Rogue to be released in spring of next year.

- New Supreme Court session begins Monday. The Wall Street Journal has a roundup of the top cases this term.

- QWERTY haters take on smart phones. Reason's seminal anti-anti-QWERTY piece here.

Comments

[Mr. Chartreuse]

Sarah Palin's memoir Going Rogue to be released in spring of next year.

I missed her getting a white skunk stripe in her hair, wearing green and yellow, and dating a guy from the Bayou? I'm more out of it than I thought.

[Atanarjuat]

I wonder how much Tony Rezko stands to gain from having the Olympics in Chicago...

[Attorney]

Why no link for the murdered census worker story?

Could it be that you libertarian rabble-rousers wish to hide from the ugly fruit of your rabble-rousing? [/sarcasm]

[John Tagliaferro]

Atty,

LOL. Would have been ROFL if you had linked to the reason story about that 🙂

[John Tagliaferro]

Obama off to Denmark to make unprecedented presidential pitch for Olympics in Chicago.

Ah knowed there wuz som'n rotten there! I jus knowed it!

[Xeones]

Wondering how much Tony Rezko has to gain from having the Olympics in Chicago is racist.

[Kevin]

Obama off to Denmark to make unprecedented presidential pitch for Olympics in Chicago.

At first glance I thought that said "bitch". Now THAT would be an interesting story.

[FrBunny]

Sarah Palin's memoir Going Rogue to be released in spring of next year.

That's an anagram for Gringo Go EU. LoneWacko is somehow involved here.

[sage]

Yes, send your Olympians to Chicago. We promise they won't get beaten to death.

This time.

[Attorney]

Atty,

LOL. Would have been ROFL if you had linked to the reason story about that 🙂

For some reason, NPR covered it this morning as if it had just happened. No editorializing that I noticed, but they probably figured the story spoke for itself.

[P Brooks]

unprecedented presidential pitch for Olympics

Is he taking Olbermann with him?

Seriously, this, in itself, should be grounds for impeachment. President Biden just doesn't sound as scary as it did a few short weeks ago.

[Attorney]

President Biden just doesn't sound as scary as it did a few short weeks ago.

At least he'd be entertaining.

[Fact Check dot Ogre]

Sarah Palin's memoir Going Rogue to be released in spring of next year.

From the linked article:

Publisher HarperCollins said Palin's memoir, titled "Going Rogue: An American Life", would be published on Nov. 17 after originally being scheduled for release in spring 2010.

[tired dog]

Aren't 'memoirs' typically end of life exercises?

[Bill Clinton]

Aren't 'memoirs' typically end of life exercises?

I wish.

[Pro Libertate]

Is that unprecedented or unpresidential? I thought he said he couldn't do it because of the health reform debate?

[P Brooks]

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said it was an appropriate use of presidential time. "Surely it's within the purview of the president to root for America," he said. Bringing home the Games would be a "wonderful opportunity to showcase the United States," he said, and provide "a big economic benefit."

*weeps, pounds head on desk*

[CAPITAL LETTERS]

the dvorak navy study sounds like the lost agw data story. academics fudging data for money? unpossible.

[P Brooks]

...provide "a big economic benefit."to the International Olympic Fascist Committee, perhaps.

The article says the Suit's house is close to the (a?) proposed new stadium. Maybe the Olympic Edifice Ministry will level it, to build a parking lot. That would make me happy.

[Tulpa]

Huh, I always thought the Olympics selection was like the Academy Awards -- the decision had already been made, they're just announcing it now.

I've figured all along that Rio is going to get the nod, since the IOC has ants in the pants to get an Olympics in South America or Africa and the Rio bid was decent. And considering that most Chicagoans don't want the Olympics there anyway, this adds another bullet point to the already-formidable list of things Obama pushes for that his subjects constituents don't want.

[John Tagliaferro]

Tulpa,

Her name is Rio.

[PC]

"Obama off to Denmark to make unprecedented presidential pitch for Olympics in Chicago."

This might be the first time a guy who comes from the Chicago political machine goes to lobby to another political group that is more corrupt than him.

[robc]

Attorney,

As your link pointed out, it isnt yet a murder. No ruling on it yet. However, the story did get one thing wrong, he wasnt hanging from the tree. He was on the ground (with a noose around his neck tied to a tree).

[mattcid]

The thinking here in Chicago is that Obama would not make the trip unless it were already a done deal. And that this sucks.

[Tulpa]

If BO has already made a backroom deal with the IOC, his supposedly great international reputation is going to take a serious plunge.

At least Bush trashed our international reputation for what he thought were important reasons. But for the Olympics?

[robc]

I hadnt been following the Census worker story closely, just realized it occurred in Clay County - which would have been my 1st guess.

[brotherben]

If Palin's book is written in her normal folksy english, I promise to attempt suicide by beating myself with a mooseknuckle.

[Tulpa]

mattcid,

All the other heads of state from candidate cities are going too. Unless we posit that everyone other world leader is a complete idiot or a pawn who appears and disappears by American whim, I'd say it's far from a done deal.

[Rich]

Why no link for the murdered census worker story?

As the search for alternative explanations continues, I'm waiting for the county to "suspend" substitute-teaching.

[SugarFree]

The man who found the body in Clay County told the Associated Press that Sparkman was nearly naked and had duct tape over his mouth.

Local authorities have not officially declared the case a homicide. Sparkman's neck had a rope around it, and his feet were touching the ground, according to the Kentucky State Police.

Auto-erotic asphyxiation.

[cangrejos fantasmas]

Activists protest Va. strip club's Obama banner

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Activists gathered outside a downtown strip club Monday to denounce as racist a banner depicting President Obama as the Joker from Batman.

"Not only is it an attack on the president, but also on all men and people of African descent," King Salim Khalfani, president of the Virginia NAACP, said of what he called "the abomination that's on the wall" outside Club Velvet.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090928/D9B0GN380.html

[brotherben]

The local paper, The Dothan Eagle, had the Obama Olympic bid story right above the story of the honor student being beat to death in Chicago.

[val]

QWERTY haters take on smart phones.

From the linked article:
When the iPhone first came out, Richard Kasperowski wanted one. But there was a problem. The keypad on the phone's touch screen uses the traditional keyboard configuration, called "qwerty."

So this so called 'technology director' is too damn stupid to google 'dvorak for iphone', the second link suggests that there is already such a thing. Or if you are a technology director maybe you could, you know, make your own, if it's as awesome as you say it is I'm sure you could make a few bucks off it. And lets not even talk about the fact that dvorak (and qwerty) is a layout for a full keyboard, definitely not optimized for thumb typing.

[robc]

Auto-erotic asphyxiation.

I figure about a 50% chance.

The other 50% is that some Clay Countian figured he needed killin'. With about a 50% chance that it was true.

[P Brooks]

"Not only is it an attack on the president, but also on all men and people of African descent," clowns

[robc]

val,

I figure qwerty (or dvorak) IS optimized for thumb typing, because I couldnt find the keys if they werent in qwerty order.

[P Brooks]

It's a TELEPHONE. You TALK INTO IT.

jeepers

[Rich]

"You're darned if you do, and you're darned if you don't," [Mrs. Obama] said. "I'd rather be on the side of doing it. And I think that's how the president feels."

Darn it.

[EJM]

I've figured all along that Rio is going to get the nod, since the IOC has ants in the pants to get an Olympics in South America or Africa and the Rio bid was decent.

Like decent bids have helped Pyeongchang at all.

[Meta4]

I think naming yourself King Salim Khalfani is it an attack on all men

[John Tagliaferro]

Auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Only if he was trained by Bruce Lee.

[John Tagliaferro]

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Activists gathered outside a downtown strip club Monday to denounce as racist a banner depicting President Obama as the Joker from Batman.

I know where my weekend drive is going now.

[val]

I figure qwerty (or dvorak) IS optimized for thumb typing, because I couldnt find the keys if they werent in qwerty order.

Well I suppose you can look at it like that, since you're already familiar with a qwerty layout, to you it IS optimized for thumb typing. It IS for me too.

But the whole point of this dvorak thing is that if you've never seen a computer before, dvorak will allow you to type faster, because qwerty is optimized so keys don't jam on a type writer, while dvorak is optimized for speed. But again dvorak is optimized for ten digits (8 fingers & 2 thumbs). And except for hobbits, elves and other enchanted woods creatures I doubt too many people use more than two thumbs or one finger at a time to text.

So who is to say that dvorak is superior for a phone? Execept for this 'technology director' who apparently hasn't figured out how to google yet.

[John Tagliaferro]

So who is to say that dvorak is superior for a phone? Execept for this 'technology director' who apparently hasn't figured out how to teh google yet.

ftfy

[Art-P.O.G.]

I, for one appreciate Mr. Chartreuse's Comiconesque reference as well as John T.'s Duran Duran reference. I also think suicide by mooseknuckle is way cooler than autoerotic asphyxiation.

[John Tagliaferro]

I also think suicide by mooseknuckle is way cooler than autoerotic asphyxiation.

We have an anti-strangulation freak in our camp.

[Dvorak Guy On iPhone]

C tbr, ,day irrin. cow ugjtuaj.!

[Ska]

I also think suicide by mooseknuckle is way cooler than autoerotic asphyxiation.

We have an anti-strangulation freak in our camp.

The anti-strangulation posture does not concern me nearly as much as the desire to have your face pounded in by a dude's junk in really tight pants.

[P Brooks]

Apparently, "mooseknuckle" does not mean what I think it means.

[Art-P.O.G.]

The anti-strangulation posture does not concern me nearly as much as the desire to have your face pounded in by a dude's junk in really tight pants.

'Cause you're not gonna wanna live after that, duh. 🙂

[Art-P.O.G.]

For the proper experience, you need a Bullwinkle, though.

[Mo]

val,

If you didn't notice, the dvorak for the iphone is only available if you unlock your phone. This voids the warranty and can theoretically open you up to other issues like lag and potentially stability issues. There is no official way to get a dvorak keyboard on an iPhone.

[J sub D]

Obama off to Denmark to make unprecedented presidential pitch for Olympics in Chicago.

Embarrassing. Some thing are beneath the U.S. president and lobbying the IOC is certainly one of them.

[Tulpa]

I thought mooseknuckle was cameltoe's big sister.

[Tulpa]

Please, let Rio get the Olympics. I was hoping for it already just to spite Daley but Obama is icing on the cake. Heck, he's like a whole nother layer.

[Meta4]

"Heck, he's like a whole nother layer."

RACIST!

[TrickyVic]

""It's a TELEPHONE. You TALK INTO IT."""

No kidding. When I see my friends texting, I comment about how we once called that tele-type and it's what we did before we invented the phone.

[SugarFree]

"Not only is it an attack on the president, but also on all men and people of African descent."

So men of African descent aren't people? That's racist.

[TrickyVic]

What's wrong with a President lobbying for the Olympics?

Personally I'd prefer he spends the rest of his time as President lobbying for such things instead of signing bills passed by Congress.

[Nick]

Aren't all people of African descent?

[Pro Libertate]

Nick,

You're right! At last, we can put aside our petty differences and unite under our common ancestry!

I'm so glad that this has been settled.

[brotherben]

Tulpa | September 29, 2009, 11:23am | #

I thought mooseknuckle was cameltoe's big sister.

That's what I was talkin about. I have no desire to be beat with a man's junk for pleasure or death.

NTTAWWT

[brotherben]

We are all of African Descent. God made man in His image. God is a deity of color. White people are therefore unGodly.

Suck it you pigment lacking bitches.

[P Brooks]

Personally, I'd prefer the Presidential Suit to spend the remainder of his term on a ratty sofa on the front porch of the White House, drinking Schlitz Malt Liquor

[Meta4]

"Aren't all people of African descent?"

Not us reptillian shape-shifters.

[R C Dean]

It would be such an embarrassment for the Prez to come home empty-handed that I, too, tend to believe that this trip was scheduled after the White House got some confirmation that Chicago was the "winner".

Although I do find it interesting that his die-hard supporters in Chicago subscribe to the theory that he is doing this just to hog credit, and won't actually make any difference at all in the IOC decision.

[sage]

Public plan debate could pit Democrat vs. Democrat

I say we tie their tails together and hang them over a tree branch.

[Shorter R C Dean]

Our photo-op president strikes again!

[John Tagliaferro]

For the proper experience, you need a Bullwinkle, though.

Sounds like a mission for Rule 34.

[TrickyVic]

RC, if Obama won't actually make any difference at all in the IOC decision, why would it be an embarrasment for him if Chicago isn't the winner?

[R C Dean]

TrickyVic, I'm merely pointing out the logical implications of the theory that this is a done deal and he is just going to take the credit, which seems to be popular among his supporters in Chicago.

And I do think he would be a fool to put his prestige on the line like this if its not a done deal.

So, basically, this trip shows that he is either (a) a fool or (b) trying to take credit for something he did nothing to accomplish.

[TrickyVic]

Point taken. But you thinking he's a fool for putting his prestige on the line isn't part of the logical implications. It's your opinion.

I disagree that his prestige is on the line. It's illogical to hold someone accountable for that which one believes they have no influence?

But he might be trying to take some credit where it might not be due, assuming Chicago wins. Of course, it's silly to take credit for that which you had no influence.

I think he would get hammered more if he takes undeserving credit than failing to influence the IOC.

[Meta4]

He's going because he knows first hand that his wife is a pushy self-important bitch* and he needs to be with her to act as a counterweight.

I base this on interviews of the roayl couple during the campaign. She frequently cut him off as he tried to answer questions and every time this happened, Obama looked down with a hostile "yes dear" beta male look.

[Meta4]

Make that more like frustrated as opposed to hostile.

[Tulpa]

Again, why are the heads of state of Brazil and Japan also going if it's known to be a "done deal" in favor of Chicago? Are they immune to embarrassment or something?

We Americans need to unburden ourselves of the delusion that the world revolves around us. In the old days it was merely arrogant and uncooth, now it's flat-out untrue.

[Pro Libertate]

Chicago, Chicago,
That hurdlin' town!