Dyre Portents The Rantings and Ravings of a Radical Moderate Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 71 6350

Articles from Dyre Portents

Kucinich Quits the Campaign 2008-01-24 23:52:57 Apparently the mothership told him it was time to bail.From the AP:Democrat Dennis Kucinich is abandoning his second, long-shot bid for the White House as he faces a tough fight to hold onto his other job — U.S. congressman. In an interview with Cleveland's Plain Dealer, the six-term House member said he was quitting the race and would make a formal announcement on Friday. "I will be announcing that I'm transitioning out of the presidential campaign," Kucinich said. "I'm making that announcement tomorrow about a new direction." Kucinich has received little support in his presidential bid; he got 1 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and was shut out in the Iowa caucuses. He did have a devoted following. Kucinich, 61, is facing four challengers in the Democratic congressional primary March 4, and earlier this week he made an urgent appeal on his Web site for funds for his re-election. Rival Joe Cimperman has been critical of Kucinich for focusing too much time outside ...

McCain Leading in Florida Polls 2008-01-24 08:40:20 But only within the margin of error. According to recent poll by the St. Petersburg Times Romney and McCain are now statistically tied after Thompson exited the race. Apparently two out of the seven percent of Thompson supporters went McCain's way. Why? I've given this a lot of thought and I am convinced that there is only one possible explanation for their defecting to McCain.They just really dig geezers.In truth I think it has to do with authenticity. Because whether or not you love or hate Thompson you have to admit that he is what he is. The same can be said for McCain. So while Romney picked up the three percent of Reagan loving conservatives that want to back a potential winner that isn't John McCain. McCain picked up the two percent of supporters that want a leader rather than a politician. End result? A tie. However with Giuliani and Huckabee tied for third place at fifteen percent all McCain has to do is siphon off enough Rudy supporters to eke out a win. And that's actua ...

Ron Paul Vs Giuliani? Paul Wins. 2008-01-24 01:20:49 File this one under "Whodathunkit?"From The Politico:Ron Paul continues to best GiulianiRon Paul, the Texas congressman frequently dismissed as a long shot candidate with no real chance at winning the Republican presidential nomination, has won nearly twice as many total votes to date as Rudy Giuliani, a candidate still widely viewed as a strong contender.With his second place finish in Saturday’s Nevada caucus, where Paul defeated Giuliani in every county in the state, the Texas congressman has now received 106,414 votes to 60,220 for Giuliani. Both candidates have collected zero actual delegates.Literally if you had bet me four months ago that Ron Paul would beat then pundit predicted front runner Rudy Giuliani in every one of the races prior to Florida I'd have taken that bet and then asked you what you were smoking. Looking at it now I think it goes to show exactly how much strength Paul's message has with people and that Rudy's strategy was a total gamble. Frankly I hope Paul ... Ron Paul

Quote of the Day 2008-01-23 00:59:11 Normally I don't do this type of thing but this one made me laugh. Byron York of the NRO took a Republican friend to see Obama speak in SC and his friend had the following to say afterwards:“Oh, s—t.We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”I don't agree with many of Obama's positions but I can't fault him on his speaking ability. Give him a big enough forum to be heard in and he could possibly sway enough hearts and minds to win. ...

Fred Thompson Tucks His Tail 2008-01-23 00:18:17 Pardon the inflammatory title. Sometimes in the quest for alliteration sacrifices must be made.Fred Thompson bowed out of the race for the GOP nomination today. From The AP: NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson quit the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states. "Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort," Thompson said in a statement. Thompson's fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win. In the statement, Thompson did not say whether he would endorse any of his former rivals. He was one of a handful of members of Congress who supported Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2000 in his unsuccessful race against George W. Bush for the party nomination. Additionally the unofficial word is that Tho ...

Sayonara Central Sanity 2008-01-22 01:16:15 One of the blogs I occassionally contribute Central Sanity is closing its doors. I had this to say by way of a farewell post.I was a reader here long before I ever started posting. I really came to appreciate how the authors on this blog were able to cut to the chase and say in a few paragraphs what it took other bloggers an essay to say. Hence when I was asked to contribute here I jumped at the chance. Central Sanity, I think, became a blogger's blog. So while it never had the readership of The Moderate Voice it became a place that many bloggers visited to test the metal of their opinions. So while some of the authors here have stopped contributing due to real life a number of authors here have moved on to bigger and more influential blogs in the centrosphere.So ultimately what made Central Sanity great also in part lead to the circumstances that are causing it close. Central Sanity has effectively acted as a springboard to many of its contributors....So while on one hand I'm sorry ...

Mike "Mitt-Killer" Huckabee? 2008-01-22 00:58:55 Over at The Politico Jonathan Martin posits that Huckabee is running for VP and is in fact running interference for McCain by intentionally locking up the Social Conservative vote.From The Politico:COLUMBIA, S.C. — For people reading between the lines, Mike Huckabee’s concession speech here Saturday night dropped some enticing hints that his presidential campaign now has an agenda other than getting elected president. Huckabee’s new role: Mitt killer.The former Arkansas governor threw air kisses on primary night to winner John McCain, praising him for “running a civil and a good and a decent campaign.”He also signaled clearly that he is staying in the race, despite losing three straight states. Exit polls in South Carolina indicated — as they had in the previous three contests — that Huckabee did virtually nil with voters beyond his base of conservative evangelicals, raising doubts that he has a plausible path to the GOP nomination.But as long as Huckabee is campaigning ...

TMV Donation Drive 2008-01-21 22:34:57 The Moderate Voice is currently running a donation drive to help stabilize and develop the site. Please drop and hit the tip jar and help support a great site. I've already put my money where my mouth is. Thanks. ...

Martin Luther King Jr Day 2008-01-21 21:36:17 For a little over half my life I've always marked this day by either listening to or reading King's "I Have a Dream" speech. It's always seemed like the very least I could do. ...

Things I Have Learned 2008-01-19 13:55:50 Tequila and full moons don't mix. Under any circumstances. Ever. ...

Now Ad Free 2008-01-19 00:50:22 I've scrapped all of the ads on this blog. I didn't start blogging with the hopes of making a money. This blog was originally created for the sole purpose of venting my political views and frustrations. However I had forty bucks accrued in ads from a site I used to run and I wanted to eventually cash out so I put ads on the site. Having achieved that end the ads are history. Simply put the fact that I have proven Paul Burka's theory that "In the blogosphere everyone is famous to fifteen people." wrong, that many of my readers are bloggers that I consider superior to myself, that bloggers whose opinions I respect link here unsolicited, and finally that I continue to be invited to post on blogs that I consider "must reads" is all the payment I need.To each and every one of those mentioned above and to all of my readers please consider this a token of my appreciation. Thanks to each and every one of you.Sincerely,Dyre42 ...

Monkeys Can't Sue? Who Knew? 2008-01-18 23:38:43 Everybody but PETA apparently.From the San Antonio Express News:Court: Monkeys, chimps can't sue The 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio has rebuffed efforts by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to gain legal standing for chimpanzees and monkeys that were brought to San Antonio's Primarily Primates sanctuary in 2006. The appeals court Wednesday affirmed a decision by District Judge Andy Mireles, who dismissed the case in September 2006, saying the nine animals and two human plaintiffs didn't have a legal right to sue. The animals came to Texas from Ohio State University with $324,000 that the university pledged for their care. PETA charged the sanctuary was substandard and wanted the animals and money moved to another sanctuary. A later legal action by the Texas attorney general put the sanctuary into receivership for six months, during which time most of the animals involved in the suit were taken to Chimp Haven sanctuary in Louisiana. Primarily Primates now ...

Please Sir Can I Have Some More? 2008-01-17 19:20:30 Imagine the President of the United States of America, with hat in hand, begging the leader of a third world country for anything. Today George W Bush did just that.From ABC News:Bush Asks Saudi King to Open Oil SpigotsMakes Personal Appeal After Public Rejection One hour after his plea for more Saudi oil was publicly rejected by the kingdom's oil minister, President Bush made a private visit to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to again ask him to open the spigots. The White House revealed Bush's private meeting with the Saudi monarch to reporters aboard Air Force One as the president flew to Egypt on the next leg of his Mideast trip....Earlier Tuesday, Bush made his case for having OPEC, and particularly American ally Saudi Arabia, increase oil production as the price of gas hovers around $3 a gallon.The Saudi oil minister, however, waited only a short time before announcing that oil prices would remain tied to market forces — a direct slap at Bush.The president went over the head o ...

Huckabee Shows His True Colors 2008-01-16 01:13:45 Looks like he's shed his populist image for a more comfortable Christianist one.From Raw Story:The United States Constitution never uses the word "God" or makes mention of any religion, drawing its sole authority from "We the People." However, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee thinks it's time to put an end to that. "I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."Of course the odds of him being elected POTUS and then getting such an agenda past a Democrat controlled House and Senate are infinitesimal.Meanwhile over at Donklephant Justin Gardner declares Huckabee done for. I beg to differ. Given the possibility ...

Mitt Mauls McCain in Michigan 2008-01-16 00:38:55 Romney pulls in 39% of the vote compared to McCain's 30%From the NY Times:ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who ran as a son of Michigan though he left the state nearly 40 years ago, won a commanding victory Tuesday in the Republican primary here with a message aimed at voters deeply anxious about the state’s ailing economy. Mr. Romney defeated his principal rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona, by winning a clear plurality of Republicans and conservatives, who turned out in greater numbers than they had in the 2000 primary, which Mr. McCain won....With 97 percent of the electoral precincts reporting, Mr. Romney had 39 percent of the vote, compared with 30 percent for Mr. McCain and 16 percent for Mr. Huckabee. Ron Paul, the antiwar congressman from Texas, came in fourth with 6 percent of the vote. Mr. Romney’s victory here means three different Republican candidates have won each of the first three major contests. The race moves to South Carolin ...