I live in a state with a late primary, so it is rather hard for me to be very interested in the current election cycle because the election will basically be over before it ever gets to me.

It's like waiting in the back of the line at a cafeteria. The people in the front of the line get a large meal with unlimited seconds, but long before I can even touch a plate all the food will be gone. And it's like that every time.

So to the good people of Iowa, New Hampshire, and the other early states, thanks for picking the nominee for me (and tens of millions of others), and frack you all and the non-democratic system you rode in on that we call the "primary system."

Bebop,

We've been over this a 1000 times.

1. You should never have left over antibiotics. Always finish the entire therapy (prescription) as per your physician's orders.

2. If you ignoreed your doctor's orders in #1 and have left over antibiotics, throw them away even if they are not past the expiration date. Never self-medicate with antibiotics.

If analyzing that database is the undisputed most accurate way to determine whether or not election irregularities took place, and the outcome of the election may hinge on whether or not it is analyzed? Yup, you bet.

Sorry O, but in a free society there is no obligation for that kind of coercive arrangement. Freedom of speech is just that, the freedom to say what you want, when you want. (Aside from the usual restrictions like "fire" and libel.) That IS a Constitutionally protected right.

An email I received earlier today from a reader -- far from the only one I've received of this type:

I enjoy your blogging about the MSM. Keep at it. They deserve every bit of analysis and vitriol and satire, etc that you can throw at them.

I lurk and enjoy the comments from your regulars who are quite literate except for the trolls.

Today I was struck by how much Bebop contributes to the tone of the entire blog. Whoever he is, he elevates the discourse to some level I have not seen before.

I don't have time to read your posting and then 400 comments every day, but bebop is a treasure. I hope he sticks around.

Thanks for doing this work. And keep at it regardless of any election. Beltway bullshit will continue regardless.

Its nicer here when people actually have discussions, and don't find ways of tearing each other down instead.

I did do the research--Rasmussen, CBS, NYT, all these polls are conducted by phone. The obvious weakness here, as I've noted, is that people who pick up their phone and spend ten minutes speaking to a recording or a stranger, may not actually be representative of the population at large. There is a wealth of study by sociologists and pollsters in this regard already, considering the rapid change of communication technology in just the past decade. Google "cell phones" and "polling" and you'll find a lot of analysis by the polling community. John Zogby himself noted in 2004, "The reality is that polling on the telephone is becoming more difficult; caller id and the widespread use of cell phones are affecting response rates." (though he does stand by telephone polling). This was a serious issue in the last presidential election but seems to have dropped off from the left, now that polls show that people dislike Bush

(see this article, http://www.mysterypollster.com/main/2004/10/arianna_huffing.html

I also noted that exit polling was based on a different strategy and was relatively reliable, and that the Des Moine register had conducted its own polls outside the rubric of the national polls and come up with very different numbers, and representative numbers. In places where there are no phones, sociologists and pollsters get out and knock on doors, which takes longer but is a much more accurate way of assessing public opinion. The Jerusalem Media and Communication Center uses this method to results that are respected through out the international community.

Lastly, the Bush thing was a rhetorical question. And we will never know for the same reason that physicists don't know what electrons are doing unless they monkey with them first. Polling is all we got, but its far from accurate, and definitely not accurate enough to be used in the way it currently is in political discourse.

Lastly, and this is to everyone: Debate is healthy and text can be read in a number of ways, why not try to encourage discussion, instead of stifling it by indicating that people that don't hold your opinion are stupid.

As long as you are not lactating...

CLAVULANATE POTASSIUM

Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation.

Name: CLAVULANATE POTASSIUM

Class: Anti-infective

Risk Factor: BM

Fetal Risk Summary

Clavulanic acid is a b-lactamase inhibitor produced by Streptomyces clavuligerus that is combined, as the potassium salt, with the penicillin antibiotics, amoxicillin or ticarcillin, to broaden their antibacterial spectrum of activity. No adverse fetal effects were observed in mice, rats, and pigs administered potassium clavulanate in combination with amoxicillin or ticarcillin during gestation (1,2,3,4 and 5).,,,

http://drugsafetysite.com/clavulanate-potassium

You could take the CLAVULANATE but you would be better off if you just throw them out too, stay away from Shooter because he is always infectious, and just go see the doc again.

I hope not. Bebop-o is a joy to read.

Back to boring serious-man speak: early results show Clinton in the frackin' lead in NH. Crazy, but then only 20 percent of the precincts are in. Still, this gives me hope Edwards, my candidate, can pull ahead while Clinton & Obama duke it out. Time will tell.

...... Obama hurry up and win... I need a victory now and then even people like be-bop are prevailing over me....

Glennn are you to be trusted??....I thought gays were beyond the ---card..

Shucks!!! I hate losing....

If Hillary wins tonight just for the yucks of knowing that reports of her "implosion" were premature.

I call bullshit because if this were so, Edwards would be winning New Hampshire, since we were told he was the "angry" candidate right?