A Fred Thompson Candidacy?

News has spread about Fred Thompson forming a presidential committe, the first step in exploring a bid to the white house. What chance does he have at winning the Republican Nomination? Well thats a very interesting question.

In the latest Gallup Poll (http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=17785), Thompson was polling at 12% without even formally entering the race. Thats above, but within the margin, of Mitt Romney. Romney spent nearly $12 million dollars. Thompson hasn't spent anything. Thats really very impressive.

Name Recognition is also a key part of Thompson's chances to win the nomination. Thompson is a character on Law and Order, as basically every single article has mentioned. Even before taking this first step at a presidential bid, Thompson was being written about by Political writers at the NY Times and the Washington Post as a possible conservative candidate. He was appointed by President Bush to guide the nomination of John Roberts. So hes stayed active in politics, and the media was covering his campagin before it even existed.

Finally, his idealogical stance would be key to him winning the Republican Nomination. These is a void this year in the Republican Presidental Candidates. Both Giuliani and McCain (even though hes really trying to hid it now) are moderate Republicans. Mitt Romney used to be a moderate republican, but he reversed his ideas sometime within the past five years. Plus, no matter how valid this point is, a lot of people will not vote for him because he is a Mormon. Kennedy was said to have solved the religious question among presidential candidates, but Mormonism is seen by many as a fringe religion.

There is a hole to fill here. If Thompson campaigns as basically a sucessor to Bush, as the standard bearer for the Right, he might have a very good chance of winning. He has all these things before he even started running his campaign. After declaring, make a few speechs, and getting a lot more coverage from everyone in the media, Thompson will really see where he is.

I know I'll be paying attention to this.

Microsoft's Touch Table--Actually an iPhone?

After looking at the video of Bill Gates intorducing the new touch table technology, I was struck by how similar this is to the Apple iPhone's interface. Sure one is on a phone and one is on a computer, but still the basic premise is the same. And how long do you think it would have taken for Apple to move this technology to computers.

Its nice to see the Microsoft is at least taking some time to advance techonology though. Its been a long time since they were anywhere near close to being on the cusp on new technology. The Zune was 6 years behind the iPod. It may have many other criticisms, but Microsoft was very late to the table. Vista, despite its problems, is still 2 years behind Mac OS X Tiger. It copies things like Dashboard, and quick window viewing.

Just in general, I will say that Apple is probably more expensive than windows stuff. But there is something extra that you pay for. Macs are the new technology. Features come first in Macs and then get copied by everyone else. Wireless technology being a first example. Built in cameras.

Anyway, good job Microsoft. And here are the links to the keynote of the iPhone introduction and then the touch table introduction.

Microsoft : http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/sticker-shock/video-of-bill-gates-showing-off-his-expensive-table-264453.php
Apple : http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/mwsf07/

The Future

‘A new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage’ John Fitzgerald Kennedy
‘Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the cold war assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but threatened still by ancient hatreds’
William Jefferson Clinton


In the quotes, the two greatest Democratic politicians in the last 40 years shed light on what they call their generation. But now we must ask, what is our generation—what will we be know for? We live in a world of unparalleled peace and prosperity, and yet there is still hatred and there is still genocide and there is still injustice. Will we be the ones who fix these problems, or will we sweep them under the rug? The events in the first decade of our century have been numerous enough to span lifetimes, and the progress we have made is significant. But what will the next five years be like, and for that matter, what about the next fifty?

Barack Obama's Health Plan

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/us/politics/28text-obama.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

That link above is the text of the speech in which Barack Obama outlines his new health care plan if he gets elected President. His plan includes "insurance competition, eliminating inefficiencies in the health system, having the federal government pick up part of the high costs of catastrophic coverage, driving down the costs of drugs and promoting preventive measures as well as better management of chronic illnesses."

All this is well and good, but he does not go nearly far enough. 47 million Americans do not have any form of health care. 8.3 million of these are children or about 11.6 percent of the numver of children in the US. That by far is the worst problem facing america today. 1 in 10 children can't get basic health coverage. What is Barack Obama going to do about that?

Oh and by the way, for all of you out there who think abortion is bad, think about how many children who are actually born that a lack of health coverage will kill.

Just a thought.