A little slide here, a bust-up there, an information blitz elsewhere, with hope waiting in the wings.

Every soldier matters, every tiny bit of information can lead to the next victory. Every ear you whisper into can be another partner in patriotism.

There's this tremendous essay on zombietime that has been out there for a while, but I don't know how many of you have read it complete.

It is worth reading in it's entirety, as relates to the effects of media and poll results on likely voters.

....the pressure to conform drops precipitously if the subject is aware of even a single fellow dissenter. All it takes is one person to shatter the facade of unanimity, and suddenly the number of conformist answers drop from around 33% to around 8%. With more dissenters, it drops even further. This is crucial, because despite the overwhelming left-wing bias in the media, there isn't an impenetrable wall of pro-Obama propaganda.

The Left's blunder is thinking that they have a monopoly on the entire infosphere. Yes, liberal ideologues dominate the media, but they do not hold a monopoly. Dissenting voices can be heard. But more importantly, the mediasphere is not the entirety of the infosphere. There are many alternate sources of information and opinion -- most significant among them being the political blogosphere, which is about evenly divided between Left and Right, and which has grown to be nearly as important as the media itself. All it takes is five minutes online for anyone to discover that they have millions of cohorts who think exactly like they do.

While conservative-leaning media outlets are in the minority, they certainly exist, and if one is so inclined one has a wide variety of conservative blogs/radio programs/TV shows/newspapers/writers from which to chose. And even though such outlets have less access to the "mainstream" of public discourse -- ridiculous rumors that crop up on left-wing blogs are almost immediately picked up and disseminated by mainstream media sources, whereas conservative blogs have to publish a real scoop with solid factual evidence if they want to get any media attention -- there remains a continuously audible undercurrent of dissent.

So, while the Left might (unconsciously) imagine they have the ability to pull an Asch on the whole country, the deception fails to work, because there is always a Rush Limbaugh or a Little Green Footballs or a Fox News or a Michael Savage whispering in the subject's ear, "It's all a trick! Don't believe the lies!" And under those conditions, the level of informational conformity would almost certainly drop to near zero.

BOOOYAHHH.

I've pulled the kernel of the summary, but there's a lot of supporting science-queer material at the source.

Some good overnight reading for you insomniacs.

Enjoy with AOSHQ's compliments, and VOTE TOMORROW.

Much thanks to Brandon D.

Posted by: LauraW at 05:56 PM | Comments (96)
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What, they couldn't have waited for Wednesday?

They delayed this until it could not possibly get on the news at all.

The legislative committee sure got its report out in a timely manner, didn't they?

No link yet, it's just coming over cable news.

Link: Sorta. A stub on a CNN blog that says nothing more than I just told you.

Questions Answered: About the put-up job by Obama's supporters in the legislature, and about this finding by the body actually charged with determining the rightfulness of official conduct.

Posted by: Ace at 04:57 PM | Comments (44)
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The anger -- like the borderline personality disorder -- is palpable.

An email from Olbermann to Xwonkette:

SNL and my Football Night In America show share adjoining studios, so upon my arrival yesterday, awaiting me was one of the cue cards from the bit, with Ben writing of the sketch: "Keith - Remember, a) I didn't write this; b) it took years of study - fondly, Ben."

As to the giddiness: Honestly, everybody deserves a laugh but if on the weekend before the presidential election they spent more than seven seconds bothering with ME, the campaign staff has even less of a clue than I thought.

Also, what's this "about time" jazz? Since spring they've been trying to cajole, sweet-talk, bully, threaten, blackmail, and bribe everybody at NBC from the pages to the presidents to get the milquetoast coverage they want - especially to shut me down. Then McCain spoiled his otherwise impeccable performance at the Al Smith dinner with that angry-old-man bit about me. They have helped bury their own guy in the polls and helped me pass O'Reilly in the ratings. So, seriously, if they'd like to spend any part of the penultimate day talking about me I'll send them all fruit baskets of gratitude.

One last SNL thing: I'll be reporting the details on this tonight. ask them why Governor Palin didn't say her first line as scripted three shows ago. As they pulled back from the monitor shot of Tina doing the impression she was supposed to compliment Tina. Could've been a real rehab to her image - why'd she refuse?

Perhaps I was wrong: Maybe he won't even manage to run thirty seconds of the parody on his show tonight and fake a laugh.

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 04:44 PM | Comments (59)
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Beginning at just before the 8:00 mark. more...

Posted by: Ace at 04:40 PM | Comments (19)
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It's beginning to look like one of the most out-of-left-field theories about Obama and Ayers is true.

Via Ghost of a Flea.

Posted by: Ace at 04:35 PM | Comments (49)
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Obama's ever-evolving positions, assembled by Mary Katharine Ham.

Posted by: Ace at 04:15 PM | Comments (35)
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He bragged that, unlike Palin (?), he was capable of enjoying an SNL lampooning at his expense.

Really?

MSNBC played the McCain appearance 11 times today. The Olbermann spoof? Zero, despite the fact he's their biggest ratings getter (if you can believe that) and this is the first time he has been so honored by SNL.

I am sure he will play thirty seconds of it tonight, pretending to laugh, to show what a great sport he is. And then: Never again.

As he is effectively the boss at MSNBC, he was no doubt behind the decision to not play the clip from parent network NBC.

This is the finger I write angry memos to the MSNBC staff with.

Posted by: Ace at 03:47 PM | Comments (49)
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My Friend,

From the time I entered the Naval Academy at age seventeen I have been privileged and honored to serve my country.

Throughout my years of service, I've been faced with challenges where I could have taken the easy way out and given up. But I'm an American and I never give up. Instead, I choose to show courage and stand up and fight for the country I love. Today, I am asking you to stand with me and to fight for our country's future.

Our country faces enormous challenges and our next president must be ready to lead on day one. My lifetime of experience has prepared me to lead our great nation. I'm prepared to bring solutions to our economic challenges, bring our troops home in victory and improve our nation's healthcare system.

Time and time again, my country has saved my life and I owe her more than she has ever owed me. I have chosen to show my gratitude through a life of service to our country and tomorrow, you will have a choice before you.

I humbly ask you to make the choice that will allow me to serve my country a little while longer by casting your vote to elect me as your next President of the United States.

Finally, I ask that you never forget that much has been sacrificed to protect our right to vote. We must never forget those Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, have protected our freedom. It is my great hope that you will exercise your right to vote as an American tomorrow.

I thank you for your kind support, your dedication to our cause, and most importantly I thank you for your vote.

With sincere appreciation,

John McCain

Posted by: Ace at 03:21 PM | Comments (101)
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I'll start it out here with a post on Kerry's supposed huge exit poll leads. Follow to new posts by clicking on the arrows pointing to the right.

A couple of reminders from 2004:

A lot of big blogs went down in 2004. Even Drudge buckled and strained from the surge of traffic. I was immune, then, being a smaller blog, but there's a chance I get crushed tomorrow.

Virginia was supposedly in play in 2004, too: The networks all claimed Virginia was too close to call, suggested a possible Kerry win, and then... not so much.

The youth vote was supposed to be huge then, too, and... not so much. There will definitely be a spike in the youth vote this year, but how big? Democrats always overcount their young chickens before they've voted.

You can also brace yourself by noting all the erroneous early information (Colorado won by Kerry, Pennsylvania a dead heat, etc.) we saw last time.

Posted by: Ace at 03:08 PM | Comments (61)
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Vote for 'em, even if you don't like 'em.

Posted by: Ace at 02:46 PM | Comments (45)
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