For the past couple of weeks, a few pundits have been wondering what psychological malady is afflicting the 10% of Americans who think our nation is on the right track. They have publicly questioned the motives and sanity of this small majority who's optimism outweighs their reality. Sadly, it seems that everything really is bigger in Texas.

In a recent statewide poll, 34% of Texans approve of President Bush's job performance. Despite two wars, lying to the American public about WMD & Iraq, a collapsed economy, trillions of taxpayer dollars going to Wall Street firms, the an assault on our environment, the return of torture to American policy, the most vile political partisanship in recent history ("I'm a uniter, not a divider"), the politicization of the Supreme Court, our lost leadership on the world stage, failing to understand and support our military, and his general inability to read, spell, or put a coherent sentence together, one-third of Texas believes he's the right guy for the job.

I have lost a lot of faith in the American electorate and our system in general over the past eight years. The nation seems to choose its leaders based on their desire to share a beer rather than their ability to lead the free world. Voting is more about popularity than about the populace. Now one of the most economically vital states in the Union is still convinced that their former drunk-driving, cocaine-snorting, can't-find-oil-in-Texas-or-run-a-baseball-team Governor has done a great job with America.

It is my sincere hope that America soon realizes that blame can only be assigned to its citizens for its failures. We choose those who lead us and if they fail, it is only because we allowed them to. Caring more about Hollywood than Washington can be our undoing.

(And incidentally, this same survey found that 23% of Texans still believe Barack Obama is a Muslim.)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6084678.html

Were you one of the millions to watch the Barack Obama infomercial? If so, we'd like to know what you thought about it. Did it change your opinion? Reinforce your support or your dislike? Make you wish the World Series was more exciting?

It will be a topic in our episode this weekend (oops, did I spoil the surprise?!) so please send your comments to theonramp@gmail.com and contribute to our discussion.

--Nathan & Andrew
www.theonramppodcast.com

So, the Bridge to Nowhere actually went nowhere. But the bridge built by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) will lead directly to a prison cell. A jury found him guilty on all seven charges of concealing more than $250,000 in home renovations that he failed to declare as part of Senate records. He was also part of a shady car deal and other bargains that he never mentioned in his official filings.

It's always nice to see another power-abusing politician get caught...and punished.
Now we just need Sarah Palin to be punished for her power abusing ways. It's amazing how important Alaska has become in the recent news cycle.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/stevens.jurors/index.html

UPDATE (Oct. 29, 2008): Haider was drunk when he crashed his car. Haider more than three times over legal limit - CNN.com
Also, radical supporters are claiming that the Israeli Mossad assassinated Haider. I don't see why they would do that. Haider isn't important enough to pose a threat to Israel.

ORIGINAL POST: Yet another radical European leader has suffered the fate of so many who go around upsetting the wrong people. Just 24-48 hours ago, one of Austria's governors, Joerg Haider, was in the news for setting up remote prisons where he could keep and supervise immigrants to his country seeking asylum. These camps were in the middle of nowhere and not inspected by independent authorities. Moments ago, Joerg Haider was killed in a car accident while driving to his mother's 90th birthday celebration.

Do I have any proof he was assassinated? No.
Do I miss a crazy xenophobe who once praised Nazi employment tactics? No.
Was this guy assassinated for too much bad press? Yes.

Austria's Haider killed in car accident - CNN.com

Thirteen Cheers for the Opposition!

Somehow, in the last couple of decades, the Republicans have become the party of socialism. They seem to view government intervention as a good thing, increased unnecessary spending as a natural occurrence, and corporate America as their own personal pet project.

But tonight, I want to applaud the 13 United States Senators -Republican and Democrat alike- for opposing a piece of legislation that will dig an immensely large hole that America may never truly find its way out of. As taken from Politico, here are those Senators who deserve a "thank you" from the people of this nation:

Allard (R)
Barasso (R)
Brownback (R)
Bunning (R)
Cantwell (D)
Cochran (R)
Crapo (R)
DeMint (R)
Dole (R)
Dorgan (D)
Enzi (R)
Feingold (D)
Inhofe (R)
Johnson (D)
Landrieu (D)
Nelson (FL) (D)
Roberts (R)
Sanders (I)
Sessions (R)
Shelby (R)
Stabenow (D)
Tester (D)
Vitter (R)
Wicker (R)
Wyden (D)