Archive for January, 2008

Adsense Optimization

Posted in Announcements on January 24th, 2008

dark.jpgHello All,

I’ve modified my Google Adsense ads to clean up Reflections From A Murky Pond’s sidebars and to optimize the ad placements and numbers a bit better.

Please let me know if you think the new format is better or worse than the old one.

Thanks!

Fred Thompson Resigns

Posted in 2008 Election on January 22nd, 2008

Fred ThompsonOn Tuesday, January 22, 2008, Former Senator Fred Thomson signaled the end his run for the US presidency. Mr. Thompson resigned from the race after his disappointing third-place finish in South Carolina’s GOP primary. He finished with 16 percent of the vote, whereas McCain and Huckabee finished with 33% and 30% of the vote respectively.

Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people.

— Fred Thompson

Thompson was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and represented Tennessee for eight years. Thompson had hoped that South Carolina, the first Southern state contested in this election cycle would provide him with a strong showing that could have revitalized his stagnating campaign.

Fred Thompson is reported to be a long time friend of Sen. John McCain. It is completely conceivable to me that we’ll see Mr. Thompson becoming McCain’s running mate in the near future.

Diversity Training Fails

Posted in Society on January 21st, 2008

Most diversity training efforts at US companies are at best ineffective and often even counterproductive in increasing the number of women and minorities in managerial positions. Decades of conventional wisdom have been shown to be horribly flawed and erroneous by a recent study of the long-term effects of diversity training in the American workplace.

An in-depth recent American Sociological Review study performed by by Alexandra Kalev of UC Berkeley, Frank Dobbin of Harvard, and Erin Kelly of the University of Minnesota reviewed 31 years of data from 830 mid-size to large U.S. and found that the kind of diversity training exercises offered at most firms were followed by:

  • A 7.5% drop in the overall number of women in management.
  • A 10% drop in the number of Black, female managers
  • A 12% drop in the number of Black men in top positions.
  • Similar drops in management were seen for Latinos and Asians.

The sociologists’ study shows that organizational responsibility and accountability make a difference; diversity training and evaluation don’t. It begs the question – why didn’t the EEOC examine these issues years ago?

Read the rest of this entry »

Who Won NV?

Posted in 2008 Election on January 20th, 2008

The Nevada Primary is over and the press is proclaiming the results to the world at large. According to the media Clinton and Romney won their respective races. But is this actually the case? As with the previous NH primary, that depends on how you look at the primaries and caucuses.

The Democratic results from NV were: Clinton 5,355 (50.7%); Obama 4,773 (45.2%); Edwards 396 (03.8%). This shows that Sen. Clinton edged out Sen. Obama by at 5.5% margin, but did win the popular vote in the NV Primary. This is what the media is reporting about – though, unlike the earlier NH Primary, they’re also reporting on delegate counts as well this time.

Let us though once again look at the practical matter of the allotment of delegates, since it’s these delegates who will actually nominate the Democratic Party’s Presidential Candidate. It’s these men and women, plus 852 “superdelegates”, who will determine which candidate is nominated. Democratic primaries and caucuses award delegates on a proportional basis. Below is the break down of delegates for the 2008 NV Primary:

  • Hillary Clinton won 12 Nevada delegates
  • Barack Obama won 13 Nevada delegates

From the perspective of delegates the 2008 NV Democratic Primary Sen. Barack Obama achieved victory by a margin of 1 NV delegate. This is because many delegates are decided at the district level and Obama won the more heavily populated southern districts in Nevada.

On the Republican side of the 2008 Election race the results were more conclusive: Romney 22,649 (51.1%); Paul 6,087 (13.7%); McCain 5,651 (12.7%); Huckabee 3,616 (8.2%): Thompson 3,521 (7.9%); Giuliani 1,910 (4.3%). This shows Romney as a solid winner of the popular vote in the Republican primary.

As with the Democrats, let us once again look at the practical matter of the allotment of delegates, since it’s these delegates who will actually nominate the Republican Party’s Presidential Candidate.

  • Mitt Romney won 17 Nevada delegates
  • Ron Paul won 4 Nevada delegates
  • John McCain won 4 Nevada delegates
  • Mike Huckabee won 3 Nevada delegates
  • Fred D. Thompson won 2 Nevada delegates
  • Rudolph Giuliani won 1 Nevada delegates

Mitt Romney actually did score a very decisive win the 2008 NV Republican Primary in all practical ways, both by popular support and by delegate allotment.

VA Castrates Truckers

Posted in Humor, Politics on January 18th, 2008

VA. State Delegate tries to cut truckers’ nuts off!

Lionel Spruill - VA. State DelegateVirginia State Delegate Lionel Spruill introduced a bill Tuesday, January 15, 2008, to ban displaying replicas of human genitalia on vehicles, calling it a safety issue because it could distract other drivers.

Under Mr. Spruill’s proposed measure, displaying the ornamentation on a motor vehicle would be an offense punishable by a maximum fine of $250.

They’re offensive to some folks. It’s OK to express yourself, but citizens have the right not to be subjected to something vulgar.

— VA State Delegate Lionel Spruill

The 61 year old Spruill, a Democrat from Portsmouth, claims that the idea came from a constituent whose young daughter had spotted the facsimile sex organs dangling from the back of a truck and asked her father to explain them.

Hey! That big truck is just a facimile penis, why shouldn’t it have testicles too?

The man apparently complained that he had been left speechless when his six-year-old daughter spotted a pair and asked him what they were.

Spruill said he became concerned when he learned that the truck accessories had got larger as their popularity had increased. “How big are they going to go?” he said. “When will it stop?”

This completely cracked me up, especially since Spruill is quoted as opposing Virginia’s “Drooping Drawers” legislation with the line, “Let these kids express themselves. It will pass on.” I guess Spruill is either more offended by plastic testicles than he is by living butt cheeks, or he has some sort of inferiority complex.

Mr. Spruill, I heartily suggest that you contact BullsBalls and get yourself a pair so you don’t feel so left out. They have them in an assortment of sizes and colors, so I’m sure you can find a suitable pair without castrating American trucks to get them. LOL!