Time-lapse video of the day: world airline traffic

All the plane flights that happen in the world within 24 hours in a 1 minute and 18 seconds:


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Barack Obama's Election: Presidential Winners, 1900-2008

Barack Obama's Election:
Most Popular President-elects?




Not Really:
Obama Ranks in Bottom Half of Last 28 Election Winners
In Both Popular Vote Percentage, Electoral College

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The CNN story "Belief that country heading in right direction is at all-time low", prompted a response by Amanda Terkel, who said that the "Least popular president meets one of the most popular president-elect."

Terkel refers to a Gallup poll taken after the November 4 election showing that Barack Obama has a 70% favorability rating.

Of course, the most reliable poll is the one voters participated in two days before the Gallup Poll--which was one of the most unreliable prior to Election Day--when they cast votes for their choice. By that most reliable of polls, Obama's favorability is nothing special, history-wise.

In the 28 U.S. elections held since 1900, Obama finishes in the bottom half in both popular vote percentage and electoral vote totals.

Obama's 65+ million votes is the most in terms of absolute votes cast. But, by that standard of popularity, George Washington is the least popular president ever. It's likely that the number of votes the winning candidate receives will continue to go up with each election, as the U.S. population increases.

Several presidential winners who ranked below Obama were involved in three-way races, which lowered their totals. Among the winners of these multi-candidate races were: Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996; Ronald Reagan in 1980; and Richard Nixon in 1968.

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Popular Vote Percentage
U.S. Presidential Elections, 1900-2008

1. 61.1% - Lyndon Johnson 1964
   
2. 60.8% - Franklin D. Roosevelt 1936
   
3. 60.7% - Richard M. Nixon 1972
   
4. 58.8% - Ronald Reagan 1984
   
5. 60.3% - Warren G. Harding 1920
   
6. 58.2% - Herbert Hoover 1928
   
7. 57.4% - Dwight D. Eisenhower 1956
   
8. 57.4% - Franklin D. Roosevelt 1932
   
9. 56.4% - Theodore Roosevelt 1904
   
10. 55.2% - Dwight D. Eisenhower 1952
    
11. 54.7% - Franklin D. Roosevelt 1940
    
12. 54.0% - Calvin Coolidge 1924
    
13. 53.4% - George H. Bush 1988
    
14. 53.4% - Franklin D. Roosevelt 1944
    
15. 52.6% - Barack Obama 2008
    
16. 51.6% - William H. Taft 1908
    
17. 51.6% - William B. McKinley 1900
    
18. 50.7% - Ronald Reagan 1980
    
19. 50.7% - George H.W. Bush 2004
    
20. 50.1% - Jimmy Carter 1976
    
21. 49.7% - John F. Kennedy 1960
    
22. 49.6% - Harry Truman 1948
    
23. 49.24%- Bill Clinton 1996
    
24. 49.2% - Woodrow Wilson 1916
    
25. 47.9% - George H.W. Bush 2000
    
26. 43.4% - Richard M. Nixon 1968
    
27. 43.0% - Bill Clinton 1992
    
28. 41.8% - Woodrow Wilson 1912
    

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Electoral Vote Total,
U.S. Presidential Elections 1900-2008

1. 525 - Ronald Reagan 1984
   
2. 523 - Franklin D. Roosevelt 1936
   
3. 520 - Richard Nixon 1972
   
4. 489 - Ronald Reagan 1980
   
5. 486 - Lyndon Johnson 1964
   
6. 472 - Franklin D. Roosevelt 1932
   
7. 457 - Dwight D. Eisenhower 1956
   
8. 449 - Franklin D. Roosevelt 1940
   
9. 444 - Herbert Hoover 1928
   
10. 442 - Dwight D. Eisenhower 1952
    
11. 435 - Woodrow Wilson 1912
    
12. 432 - Franklin D. Roosevelt 1944
    
13. 426 - George H. Bush 1988
    
14. 404 - Warren G. Harding 1920
    
15. 382 - Calvin Coolidge 1924
    
16. 379 - Bill Clinton 1992
    
17. 370 - Bill Clinton 1992
    
18. 364 - Barack Obama 2008
    
19. 336 - Theodore Roosevelt 1904
    
20. 321 - William H. Taft 1908
    
21. 303 - Harry Truman 1948
    
22. 303 - John F. Kennedy 1960
    
23. 301 - Richard Nixon 1968
    
24. 297 - Jimmy Carter 1976
    
25. 292 - William McKinley 1900
    
26. 286 - George H.W. Bush 2004
    
27. 277 - Woodrow Wilson 1916
    
28. 271 - George H.W. Bush 2000
    

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There was one yardstick by which Barack Obama could be called "the most popular president-elect"--number of times he's appeared on the cover of TIME before he was elected. [Obama’s Constant Time Cover Status: TIME Hearts Obama] Obama appeared on 10 TIME covers in the 42 weeks before the 2008 election.

Obama still has quite a way to go to pass the man with the most TIME covers, Richard Nixon. Nixon appeared on TIME's cover 55 times over 4 decades.

Obama has passed the women featured on TIME's cover: Princess Diana and The Virgin Mary, each with eight.

We'll leave the Messiah jokes for the comments.

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file
Sources:
* Presidential Elections, 1789–2008
* Wikipedia
* Guiness World Records

TIME and Obama: Time's Tiger Beat Treatment

Time's Obama Cover Stories
Time's TigerBeat Treatment




"He's Dreamy!"

Time's Obamamania:
Obama Averages a Cover Story Roughly Every 4 Weeks
Twice in 3 days in October

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Times Explains their Coverage as "Unquenchable thirst"



Barack Obama has appeared on the cover of Time roughly every 4 weeks during the last ten months.

Is Time biased?

No way!

Just ask them.

Much of the coverage has a simple explanation: the press is biased — toward the most commercial narrative. Barack Obama is a political newcomer, the first African-American nominee of a major party, and he defeated the first serious female candidate, who happened to be married to the previous sitting President. The popular demand for information and analysis about Obama's rise has been, for most of the campaign, unquenchable.
--Time: McCain's Bias Claim: Truth or Tactic?

Obama's constant presence as a TIME cover story subject?

He's more commercial.

TIME would know all about what sells. In the last ten years, TIME has lost nearly three-quarters of a million subscribers.

Time's Obama covers in the last forty-two weeks.





















Not once in all of these cover stories, has TIME addressed the Obama campaign's refusal to release medical, college, university and other records to the public.

Apparently, that's not "commercial". TIME not only gives Barack Obama the "TigerBeat Treatment", he's also the recipient of TIME's John Edwards policy of not covering news that's not beneficial to the campaign's interests.

Readers will not find anything about Barack Obama's records, but maybe TIME will reveal the candidate's favorite color.




To underscore their even-handed treatment of national news, TIME ran this cover last week of the Republicans, titled, "What a mess".




John McCain?

He's gotten three covers--if you include the one he shared with Obama.


TIME`appears to be banking that their "We Heart Obama" strategy will stop their sliding circulation, their marginal credibility on political issues and their layoffs.

But, if it doesn't--which is unlikely--they can always write about Britney, Paris and Clay Aiken.

TigerBeat, beware.


by Mondo Frazier
images: TIME archives; dbkp file

Ahmadinejad in NYC, Dan Rather Lawsuit, TimeCop Hugo Chavez

One Year Ago
September 19-20, 2007




September 19, 2007

* CHAVEZ ORDERS TIME TO STAND STILL-VENEZUELA TO COMPLY “Call Me Kooky, But I Know What I Want”


* DAN RATHER SUES CBS NEWS: $70m Will Help Ease The Pain
"I Coulda Been a Contender"


Cox & Forkum


* WHORES OF THE CALIPHATE MAY ESCORT AHMADINEJAD TO GROUND ZERO Bloomberg: “I Wanna Be Your Dog”


* HILLARYCARE 2.0-More Government - More of the Time More Stealthy than Ever!

* ISRAEL DECLARES GAZA AN ENEMY ENTITY-It’s About Time


September 20, 2007


GOOD THING AHMADINEJAD DOESN'T BELIEVE IN THE GOLDEN RULE
He'd Never Set Foot Near Ground Zero
Mark Steyn's Take on the Iranian Nutbag



by Mondoreb

Mark Steyn got it exactly right about Ahmadinejad's NYC visit during his weekly interview on the Huge Hewitt show on Townhall.com.

MS: I think the correct attitude to these things is a very simple one. Under the agreement by which the United Nations sits in New York City, the United States cannot deny entry to any foreign head of state. That being so, he should land at the airport, he should go directly to the United Nations, and no state or municipal or other officials should offer him these courtesies in any way. This would be a disgusting photo op that he would use to his advantage back home. And the City of New York should not be cooperating with him.

Steyn gives Mitt Romney a plug concerning Romney's stand against a previous Iranian President.

MS: That’s right. If he wants to see the results of Islamist terrorism, there are a lot of places he can visit much nearer to home. In fact, Mitt Romney, one of the best things he ever did was to deny the state troopers protection facility to Ahmadinejad’s predecessor when he was invited to speak at Harvard. And Mitt Romney had the right line on this. If Harvard wanted to issue these idiotic invitations, that’s up to them. But the taxpayers of Massachusetts are not going to fund the visit by providing protection for these guys. And in the end, the event was cancelled. And that’s exactly the line that the state of New York should be taking, too.

Ordinary Americans will be shocked to discover there are officials in NYC who see nothing wrong with giving Ahmadinejad a key to the city. It's up to those same ordinary Americans to let New York City know exactly how they feel.

In a world of perfect karma, Ahmadinejad would be captured by American "students" and held hostage for over a year, paraded before TV cameras and threatened almost daily with death.

Quoted in:
Mark Steyn on the Corner at NROnline
Conservative Grapevine
Power Line
Small Dead Animals
Snarky Bastards
SarcastiPundit
Politically Uncensored
Kesher Talk


TO AHMADINEJAD: YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT - But Don't Piss Off Homer!




* SUE CBS: DAN WOULD RATHER-One of His Better Decisions
--Strange Dan Rather quotes


* IRANIAN OFFICER SEIZED IN IRAQ

Iranian Denials to Follow: ”He Was a Tourist With Explosive Inclinations”

by Mondoreb

By now, everyone knows their parts: Iranian is captured by U.S. forces in Iraq, Iran issues denials, the Europeans and the UN will issue calls "to remain calm" and more Americans fighting in Iraq will die.

US-led forces in Iraq say they have arrested an Iranian officer operating in the north of the country.
They say the man was a member of the Quds Force - an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards - and was detained in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya.

"This individual has been involved in transporting improvised explosive devices," the American military said.
More on this BBC story.

It's perfectly OK for Iran to be operating in Iraq trying to kill American soldiers--if they had the balls to declare war. Since they don't, it's only fitting that the 'cowboys from the U.S.' do it for them. And do it before they become nuclear-armed.
originally posted at:
DBKP@Blogger.


One year ago at DBKP.

by Mondo

Homeowning 101: One Sign it May Be Time to Clean the Gutters

Might be time to clean the gutters?


by Mondoreb
images: dbkp

Sarah Palin: Fear and Loathing in the Mainstream Media

"McCain and Palin are currently close in the polls, but they face an even tougher job of selling this combination than does the history-shattering ticket of Obama-Biden."
--John Mashek, US News & World Report



USN&WR's John Mashek is a MSM Meme Poster Child


What time is it again?

It's Beat-on-the-Girl Time!--at least in the Mainstream Media.


The MSM spent much of the Democrat primary season shilling for Barack Obama, their 'Chosen One' candidate. In the process, the MSM, in an about-face from their 1990s' coverage, published a stream of unflattering attacks on the Clintons in general, and Hillary Clinton, in particular.

The MSM "coverage" of the Democrat primary tussle at times resembled a journalistic "Whack-a-Mole" game--with Hillary the target of hundreds of MSM mallets. Big Media is substituting Palin for Clinton and the beat goes on.

NOW, the MSM thinks that Hillary Clinton supporters won't notice they're using much the same tactics against Sarah Palin, John McCain's VP pick. Either that, or Big Media figures that Hillary supporters will get in line and shut up, since Palin carries the "Scarlet 'R'" behind her name.

US News & World Report's John Mashek, [Sarah Palin and John McCain's Cynical Game] sums up much of the MSM's loathing/fear of Sarah Palin by stating, "It's a cheap political ploy—and any voters who fall for it deserve what they get."

As a bonus, Mashek gets in a dig at the intelligence of women who supported Hillary Clinton ("If Democratic women upset about Clinton's absence from the ticket fall for this transparent appeal to their angry instincts, McCain is entitled to them.")

Taking this another step, Palin is certainly an attractive maverick who has fought scandal—Republican scandal, by the way—from the statehouse in Juneau. But is she prepared to step in and lead the country in case the 72-year-old McCain is stricken? Her record as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (population of under 7,000), and her two years as governor stand as a stark contrast with Sen. Joe Biden's six terms in the U.S. Senate, much of that time focusing on foreign policy.

Note to Mashek: Americans might put considerably less emphasis on Joe Biden's Senate experience than you and the rest of the MSM do; it's been 48 years since Americans considered Senate experience a plus in a presidential race. John F. Kennedy's 1960 election being the last time Americans voted an inclumbent senator in the White House. Warren G. Harding, in 1920, was the only other incumbent senator elected president in the last 100 years.

While Obama (less than 4 years in the Senate) represents "Change!", Palin (less than 2 years as Governor) does not.

While MSM's meme has been that McCain's selection of Palin somehow undermines his "experience" advantage over Obama--which the MSM considers a non-argument, anyway--Obama's selection of Joe Biden doesn't undermine his "Change" theme.

Now, a MSM who relentlessly attacked Hillary Clinton in the primaries is urging her supporters to "get into line, shut up and support who we tell you".

Our opinion: Politics do indeed make strange bedfellows. Hillary supporters may disagree with Palin on the issues, but they will recognize the MSM attacks on her for what they are: thinly-disguised Obama cheerleading masquerading as probing analysis and "concern".

We think, if comments and emails are any indication, that at least some Hillary supporters see the similarity in the two MSM attack campaigns.

Once again, it's Open Season in the Mainstream Media.

Once again, it's Beat-on-the-Girl Time.


by Mondoreb
image: Heidi from Pittsburgh for DBKP