WOIFM

Turbo

I followed a link from SNoT over to Solosier.com, where I found the following useful tip:

Calling their [AT&T, Credit Card companies, etc, etc. ] Tech/Billing support SUCKS. So what you do, is call the New Accounts people. They answer real quick (duh), and just play dumb like "oh, i was trying to reach billing" and 9 times out of 10 they will give you an unpublished number that connects to who you want, really quickly. It's made my life easier.

There's nothing like a little social engineering.

Oh, Archie!

Oh, Archie! Carroll O'Connor, best known for his role as Archie Bunker, died yesterday of a heart attack at age 76. In his later years, O'Connor took an active role in fighting drug abuse, which claimed the life of his son Hugh in 1995.

The Bribe Has Spoken

Why not kick a man when he's down? Visit the TorricelliDeathWatch.com. No word yet on whether the Italian American Defense League plans to file suit against the Senator for reinforcing the stereotype of crooked Italians.

Lura takes on Lichtman

Lura takes on Lichtman in her latest entry. She argues that Lichtman doesn't care about the Democratic party - he cares about getting a little press:

Alan Lichtman is a publicity whore, and a popinjay. I cannot count on my fingers and toes how many times the history lounge was closed to students as a result of a television interview with Lichtman. If he got a haircut, we knew that he'd be appearing on CNN that day. But he'd talk to anyone with journalist credentials.... It could be a mid-term election for PTA Bake Sale Co-President and he'd discuss his opinion with the press.

His findings regarding Florida sure achieved that, didn't they? Now they've gotten him the front page of the Washington Times. Mission accomplished, professor.

Republicans Pad Their Lead

Republicans increased their majority in the House of Representatives Tuesday with Randy Forbes' victory in Virginia's Fourth District.

The district has been hard to win for Republicans. Former President Bill Clinton twice won the district, as did former Democratic Senator Charles S. Robb, who lost to Republican George F. Allen last fall. But in that same election, President Bush carried the district.

Forbes replaces recently-deceased Rep. Norman Sisisky.

Civil Rights Commission Report Flawed

The recent Civil Rights Commission Report on Florida voting rights was conducted by Alan Lichtman, a history professor at American University. Some fun facts about Lichtman:

• The commission selected him based on his testimony in January before the commission that there were "disparate" racial voting patters in Florida - the question he was hired to study later.
• The commission "did not know" when they hired him that he had served as a consultant for Al Gore.
• Lichtman's study was a statistical analysis which he says supported his conclusion - but he is a historian, not a statistician.
• The data which Lichtman analyzed came in large part from the Web.
• Lichtman is unable or unwilling to provide electronic copies of his data, to the point that Republican members on the commission have submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to get them. (He must have printed out the web sites he relied upon.)

Just a few things to consider, when reflecting on the common wisdom that Democrats play fair and Republicans don't.