I just finished watching my dad’s Transit of Venus video footage. He got some very good shots! The best part is, thanks to the thin clouds that at times covered the Sun during the morning of the transit in Connecticut, he was able to capture some excellent unfiltered images of the Sun that clearly show Venus:

Woohoo!

Again: more to come. (Eventually, I hope to post some video highlights. I’ll be working on that during the weekend on iMovie.)

My camcorder arrived via UPS today, and with it my dad’s videos of the Transit of Venus from earlier this month. I haven’t watched all the footage yet, but already I’ve seen some good shots, including this image where Venus is clearly visible near the Sun’s right limb, even as some wispy clouds pass overhead:

More to come.

My rescheduling hopes have come true: John Kerry is coming to Phoenix on Tuesday, to speak at the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference at the Phoenix Civic Plaza, which is 1.1 miles away from my office… at lunchtime!

Sweet!

UPDATE: Hmm… well, now I’m not sure about the “lunchtime” part. The e-mail I got from the local Kerry listserv said that the “doors open” at 11:00 AM, but it sounds like Kerry won’t be speaking till 3:00 PM or later. Well, I’ll just have to take a… very… late lunch break that day. :)

Thursday: Al Gore declares, “The Administration works closely with a network of ‘rapid response’ digital Brown Shirts who work to pressure reporters and their editors for ‘undermining support for our troops.’”

Friday: Conservative warbloggers create the Alliance of the Digital Brownshirts.

Methinks Andrew should join. :)

BoiFromTroy posts the obvious disclaimer: “Al Gore was the person who made the Nazi reference…this post is a satirical response to his over-the-top statements.”

In a related story, the Bush campaign has released a new Internet ad called “Kerry’s Coalition of the Wild-Eyed” which shows, among other things, two clips from a MoveOn.org ad comparing Bush to Hitler.

In response to all of this, a Fark commenter announces, “I declare Godwin on the November elections! The race is over.” Heh. (Explanation for the uninitiated.)

UPDATE: I just got an e-mail from the Kerry campaign stating:

Yesterday, the Bush-Cheney campaign, losing any last sense of decency, placed a disgusting ad called “The Faces of John Kerry’s Democratic Party” as the main feature on its website. Bizarrely, and without explanation, the ad places Adolf Hitler among those faces.

The Bush-Cheney campaign must pull this ad off of its website. The use of Adolf Hitler by any campaign, politician or party is simply wrong.

Hmm. The use of Adolf Hitler by any campaign, politician or party is simply wrong. Indeed. So I assume Kerry’s campaign will be condemning Al “Digital Brownshirt” Gore any second now…

(more…)

Vigorous efforts to defend marriage from Britney Spears have evidently failed.

Reading Al Gore’s Bush Gulag speech was bad enough, but then I realized something even worse: as the most recent Democratic nominee for president — indeed, as the guy who won the national popular vote in 2000, and who was, according to the standard liberal orthodoxy, “robbed” of the presidency — Gore will undoubtedly be given a plum spot to speak at the convention.

The more I thought about it, the worse it got. Because then I realized, not only will Gore undoubtedly speak, but so, just as certainly, will Howard Dean. The Dems need to woo the Deaniacs away from Nader, after all, so surely they will give Hollerin’ Howard a turn at the podium.

And then, of course, there is Ted Kennedy, who I suppose will practically be the master of ceremonies, considering the convention is in Boston, and the nominee is his good buddy and fellow senator from Massachusetts.

Al Gore, Howard Dean, and Ted Kennedy. I wouldn’t be surprised if they give Nancy Pelosi a turn, too. I can at least hold out some hope that Kucinich and Sharpton might be kept off-stage, but even if so, it’s going to be an unmitigated disaster. I can easily forsee the 2004 Democratic convention being the equivalent of the 1992 Republican fiasco. It may be Bush who gets a post-convention boost from Kerry’s coronation.

Then, a month later, the GOP will undoubtedly trot out Ahnold, Rudy, and a host of other likable moderates, leaving the right-wing undesirables who actually run the national party backstage — an art they perfected in 2000. (Make no mistake: John Ashcroft won’t even be in the building.) Then, of course, there will be the video tributes to Ronald Reagan, Todd Beamer and Pat Tillman. Say it with me, Dubya: “Let’s roll.”

Oh, the humanity.

Unless the media really does lay off its wall-to-wall convention coverage (as it has been threatening to for the last several election cycles), it’s not hard to imagine Bush up by solid double-digits by the time both conventions are done.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, and let’s not forget Zell Miller. Ahnold and Rudy and Zell, oh my!