Can Ted "The Tube Man" Stevens Even Get His Own Vote?

The jury came back in the Ted Stevens federal corruption trial with Stevens being found guilty on all seven counts of "making false statements on Senate financial documents". This makes Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican senator in the history of the United States, a convicted felon.

Now I usually get some weird voyeuristic pleasure watching any politician get caught doing something dumb. The greater the irony (I'm looking at you Rep. Mahoney) the more fun it is. However, Stevens holds a special place in the hearts of most geeks having single handedly renamed the Internet to "The Tubes".

For totally irony points though, I think the absolute pinnacle would be that with his conviction coming just eight days before his hotly contested senatorial seat is up for grabs Stevens may not even be able to cast a ballot for himself.

According to Human Rights Watch:

II. FELONY DISENFRANCHISEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

In the United States, conviction of a felony carries collateral “civil” consequences apart from penal sanctions such as fines or imprisonment. Offenders may lose the right to vote, to serve on a jury, or to hold public office, among other “civil disabilities” that may continue long after a criminal sentence has been served. While both state and federal law impose civil disabilities following criminal conviction, state law governs removal of the right to vote even if the conviction is for a federal rather than state offense.

I'm not sure what the laws are in Alaska pertaining to felony disenfranchisement, but if there is any karma in the universe, Stevens may very well lose by the single vote that he couldn't cast himself.

Best Quote of The Week

George Will is a conservative columnist for the Washington Post. He's not one of those loopy fire breathing nut jobs that FOX News hires, but he is a thoughtful, intelligent conservative who challenges the ideas people with whom he disagrees instead of throwing poo at them. He is the kind of conservative that the world needs so that the entire discussion doesn't fall into the hands of the the fire breathing nut jobs on both sides.

He has pretty much conceded the election these days, most poignantly in a quote of a Conservative (capital 'C') British politician:

In 1987, on the eve of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's third victory, the head of her Conservative Party told a visiting columnist: "Someday, Labour will win an election. Our job is to hold on until they are sane." Republicans, winners of seven of the past 10 presidential elections, had better hope they have held on long enough.

XDRTB.org

Not paying attention to the rest of the world, will eventually effect our lives in ways we can't possibly imagine.

Some of the pictures in the movie are pretty grisly.

The Debate Translated: VP Edition

Factcheck.org followed up their coverage of the presidential debate with their vidcast of the lies told at the VP debate which was posted in less than 24 hours. Don't these people sleep?

The Debate Translated

Factcheck.org is a fabulous non-partisan website that just checks facts. They wait for politicians to say stuff and then they tell you when they are lying. They did a special vidcast for the debate that clears up some of the arguments that the candidates had.




They do one vidcast every friday covering the week's spin and the website is updated constantly. Its well worth checking out.

My Daughter Discovered the Higgs Boson

Schmoopie Pumpkin: Daddy, what's on my toe?
Me: I don't know, sweety, is it a sticker?
Schmoopie Pumpkin: Nooooooooo
Me: Its not? It looks a lot like a sticker.
Schmoopie Pumpkin: Nooooooooo
Me: Hrm, is it an ostrich?
Schmoopie Pumpkin: Tee hee Nooooooooo
Me: Well, I guess that's good. Is it a German Panzer tank?
Schmoopie Pumpkin: Noooooooooooo
Me: Is it Estes Kefauver?
Schmoopie Pumpkin: Noooooooooooo
Me: Is it a sticker?
Schmoopie Pumpkin: Nooooooooooo
Me: Wait ... a... minute.... Is that a Higgs Boson!?!?
Schmoopie Pumpkin: YEEEEESSSSS!
Me: Wow, I was expecting more fanfare when we finally found it. As it is, I think you pooped.
Schmoopie Pumpkin: Nooooooooooooooooo