Email Sauntering@gmail.com, Predicting Bush's 12/31/05 Approval Rating. Closest Guess Wins a Prize.

The new WSJ/NBC poll is out. Here's a synopsis:

Democracy in Action...

...in Texas

WHITE SETTLEMENT, TEXAS — Residents held on to their heritage Tuesday night and voted against changing their town name to West Settlement, despite proponents' arguments that the name has racial connotations.

In a record turnout, 2,388 residents voted against the name change and 219 voted for it in unofficial, complete returns.

The city got its name because it was the lone village of white pioneers amid several American Indian encampments in the Fort Worth area in the Texas Republic territory in the 1840s.

Mayor James Ouzts and other city leaders proposed the change, saying the current name is confusing, misleading and has hindered economic development in this 15,000-resident suburb of Fort Worth.

However, the ballot measure angered many residents who said the change was unnecessary and too costly. Signs across town urged folks to 'Be Proud! Don't Let Them Discard the Heritage of White Settlement. Vote No!'

Scientific American: Calling ID Like It Sees ID

Gotta love Scientific American.

I'm reminded why I subscribe to this magazine when I see them tout It's Over in Dover after all the Dover school board members who supported intelligent design fail to win reelection.

Their blog's reaction to the Kansas state Board of Education including ID in their state standards? Kansas, Where "Ignorant" is the New "Educated"

Dear Mr. President: Please Come Clean Regarding CIA Leak. Please Disguise Shock at Brazil Being Big. Thanks, Andy

Why? Why must this US President say the first thing that pops into his mind?

"At one point, da Silva even exhibited a map of his country, which is larger than the continental United States. 'Wow! Brazil is big,' Amorim quoted the U.S. president as responding."

Christianism

Today, in discussing the influence of organized Evangelicals on US politics, Andrew Sullivan refers to the movement as Christianism.

As of this writing, the word is sufficiently new that it doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry, but it's an apt coinage, especially since the West has been referring to political Islam as Islamism for some time.

Adolescent Fantasy Takes Uncomfortable "Reality" Form

Either we've all been transported to some Maxim Magazine-themed world, or a 14 year-old boy somewhere just totally wasted one of his three wishes.

Police: Two NFL cheerleaders arrested at Tampa bar

Kiva: Forget Teach a Man to Fish — Loan Him Money For a Fishing Net

If you don't know about microcredit, you should.

After the Bangladesh famine of 1974, a group called Grameen Bank developed the microcredit model. Microcredit is the practice of granting small, business-enabling loans to people so poor that they would not qualify for conventional credit.

The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations proclaimed the year 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit, and the good news is that you can help this incredible movement — personally.

A friend of mine, Matt Flannery, has started Kiva, where you can personally loan money to individuals in the developing world who are bootstrapping their way out of poverty.

Currently, Kiva allows an individual to loan to another individual in Uganda. The terms of the loan (which can be as small as $25) are such that you are paid back in a 6 or 12 month term. You also get monthly updates about payment info and blog like updates containing business info. To date, Kiva has started 7 businesses in Uganda, including a fish mongerer, some butcher shops, and a clothes reseller.

Signing up with Kiva is easy, so get started today.

Comedian Greg Giraldo's act has a bit that goes something like this:

People say you shouldn't give homeless people money because they're just going to spend it on drugs or booze.

Well, that's actually what I was planning on spending it on, so what's the difference?

Kiva presents an opportunity to break out of that dilemma in a way that promotes lasting, global change for a pretty small amount of money.

Laura's Rock & Roll Lifestyle Comes Shining Through

Not quite sure what ol' Laura had in her drink at the White House gala to honor Charles and Camilla, but I'm pretty sure I want some.

Source: Getty Images, AFP

Bush's Second Term Blows Out a Candle

For those of you keeping score at home, ThinkProgress has a rundown of the first year of Bush's second term.

According to Zogby International, the chart below reflects Bush's approval rating for roughly the same period. The question is, "Is President Bush's job performance excellent, good, fair, or poor? Excellent and good are positive. Fair and poor are negative." The answers are below:

All in Good Time, Mr. Frist. All in Good Time.

Those who live in glass houses ought not throw softballs.

Earlier today, Senate Democrats caught their Republican counterparts by surprise when they invoked Senate Rule 21, sending the Senate into a closed (to the public) session to investigate why Senator Pat Roberts, Republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee, had not begun Phase II of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on the Iraqi WMD intelligence failure.

In response, Majority Leader Bill Frist remarked that "the United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership. They have no convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas." (Emphasis quite obviously mine)

He is correct. Currently, they have no convictions.

Zing!