Hey Mydd,

I have flipped my Republican dad and am working on flipping my Republican mom into supporting Obama in the fall.  They live in central Ohio and are therefore very important electorally.

Unfortunately, the Republican offshore oil talking points have taken root in their house.  Below is the e-mail I want to send them to win them back on the oil issue.

I would love any advice on editing, more talking points, more sources (they love nonpartisan sources, i.e. MSM).  Do I have any factual errors because I don't want to get trapped in a partisan lie.  

Please help me win Ohio!!!

Hey MYDD turn Florida blue on the map.

Rasmussen has put out todays numbers for Florida.

Money quote:

Barack Obama has caught up to John McCain in Florida. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds Obama with a statistically insignificant one-point advantage over his rival, 46% to 45%. When "leaners" are included, the Democrat leads 49% to 47%.

While I am not a huge fan of the Mydd methodology (latest poll sets the map), we should be consistent.  So turn Florida blue.

Earlier there was a diary related to gender inequality in the sciences.  Unfortunately, active discussion in the diary was not really possible.  With that in mind, I thought I would take a moment to discuss my personal experiences with gender issues in the world of academic chemistry from my male perspective.

I am a graduate student at one of the top universities in the country.  I am not trying to get patted on the back (as I was accused earlier) but simply adding context to the story.  I think it is relevant that the men and women I work with are probably some of the smartest people and best chemists in the world.

The department I work in has a man to woman ratio of around 3/2.  My specific research group comprises 20 men and only 4 women.  We are very much a boys club, albeit unintentionally.  My boss actively courts women but we find it difficult to convince them to join a male heavy group and therefore we never seem to be able to break out of the mold.  There are also groups in our department with the opposite problem.  They are predominantly female and few men join because the persona of the group has been set.  This is the first problem that I saw in my academic career and it is something many people notice pretty quickly upon their arrival.  I have thought of no reasonable solution to this problem.

There are also problems related to internal gender perceptions.  I have noticed that one of my female co-workers is typically unwilling to ask general questions of us.  At times it is detrimental to her progress in her project.  When I pointed out her unwillingness to get help, she said that she didn't want us to think she was stupid or the dumb girl.  She then gave several examples from her undergraduate experience where there was some mysogeny at play.  She had stereotyped her new male coworkers and in the process slowed down her own progress.  We discussed the matter in depth and she came around to the idea that the older grad students are there to help her just as the other grad students helped us.  If we already knew everything, why would we be at grad school.

I am also friends with a Canadian post-doctoral scholar.  After deciding to become a professor and doing some research into staying in the states, she realized that the US academics do not have a system for accounting for female faculty that want a child and tenure.  In Canada, the pre-tenure position is extended for women who choose to conceive.  This is not true here.  Young women faculty here have to choose tenure or children but rarely both.  My friend decided to return to Canada so she could do both.

These are the problems of gender inequality in my own personal experiences.  There are fewer women than men.  The women who are here sometimes are not well integrated into the greater community.  At least one women assumes that we think less of her due to her prior experiences in undergrad.  Lastly, women in the US have difficulty accomplishing their career dreams and their desire for children at the same time.

Unfortunately, there are no magic bullets for these problems.  The first clear step is to give girls in primary school equal footing at the beginning.

That is about all I can think of.  Sorry it rambles.

I would be happy to stick around and discuss my anecdotes and yours.  Blogs are about dialogue not monologue.

This diary was inspired by a comment in another diary that was left unanswered.  

So here we go:

If you are both a democrat and anti-Obama, what do you hope to gain from his loss in the election?  
Do you think McCain will improve your life more than Obama?
Are simply just mad at him and want retribution?  If you agree with Obama politically but still want him to lose, how do you rationalize your support for the loss of your political interests?

I am asking an honest question so please try to answer honestly.  If it is emotional, say so.  If it is a specific policy position, say so.  But please in all cases, I am really looking for an explanation of your position because I just don't get it.

Lastly, please no flame wars.  If people are to express their opinions freely, they should feel safe in doing so.  On the other hand, if someone uses a rationale that is simply not factually accurate commentors should feel free to link to factual information.

The AP reported that 60 cars were vandalized in Orlando last night.  The cars were spray painted with Racist comments about Obama.  "Pro-Hillary" cards were left at the scene.

Here is the AP

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Vandals have spray-painted 60 city vehicles in Orlando, Fla., some with messages against Sen. Barack Obama.

The cars were parked across from city hall late Saturday night. Investigators say the culprits tagged notes such as "Obama smokes crack" and a racial epithet. They even left business cards on each vehicle.

Mike Lowe, a videographer working for The Associated Press, first told police about the damage. He saw three cars with anti-Obama messages, while the others were just heavily painted.

The business cards disparage both Obama and Sen. John McCain but have messages of support for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Police also found that many of the vehicles had open gas tanks.

Orlando police are investigating.

So Hillary ran a great race and is a great democrat.  Many think that we should help her get out of debt and I totally agree.

Lets make sure she can go back to the senate debt free!!!!  It would be a great show of unity if all democrats, yes even you Obama supporters, donated to her campaign.

Here are the options:

1. Donate to Hillary online at the Hillary Clinton For President campaign website.

2. Mail checks to HRC's presidential campaign finance office in New York:

Hillary Clinton For President

420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 3030

New York, New York 10170

3. Purchase merchandise from the Hillary Store. There are still some selections of shirts, stickers, hats, signs, buttons, lapel pins, and accessories.

I am young.  I am progressive.  I am not yet cynical and I think I can change the world.  Before I get cynical, I would like to make a difference.  

I have thought about it a great deal and would like to get into politics, but I have no idea where to start.  I know that this is a long-term goal so I am not asking how to become a senator now, but how do senators get started?  Do I volunteer for a campaign and work my way up?  Do I find a paying job with a political organization, PAC, DNC, etc?   Do I just run for a very small office and prove myself by being great at my job?

Just a little about me so you can see where I am coming from.  I am a 26 yr. old white male.  I am 8-9 months away from a Ph.D. in chemistry.   After grad school I can go in any direction I want.  I will have total freedom to shape my adult life, but where do I start?

Any and all help, ideas and suggestions would be great.  

I think people are a little too happy about Obama's national polling numbers.  I am afraid that if we forget the past we are doomed to repeat it.  

We must, MUST act as if we are losing.

I was searching for hard evidence to prove my general point that June polls are meaningless when I stumbled into this great WSJ article entitled Beyond The Bounce.  The article was written on September 8, 2004.