The fog of war in Galactic Civilizations II is going to be quite different than in the first one. Much of that is due to the 3D engine. But you would be surprised how many details go into the fog of war.  What color should it be. It's in space so unexplored can't be black.  It had a slightly violet hue to it in the first Galactic Civilizations.  We decided to go with that again. But then there's the matter of how to treat zones of influence.  In the first GalCiv zones o...

I was watching the June 4 "Bullseye" that I appeared on and in the interview I predicted that Ohio would be the key state and that it could end up being the "Florida of 2000". I also said that unlike the 18 states at the time, we really saw only 5 states (which I don't mention but they were Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, and New Mexico). Obviously, we would like to take that and put it on-line so people can see -- since this was on June 4. But how do you get it off there? VCR really doesn...

Here is a fantastic essay that every left of center person should read (and right of center for that matter). It really crystalizes why millions of people, who might have voted for Kerry (or sat out the election) decided to come out and vote. I have seen many many comments along these lines but few that put it so artfully.

Bush 2000/Bush 2004 African-Americans: 8%/11% Whites: 54%/58% Hispanic: 41%/44% Married: 53%/56% Not Married: 38%/40% Union Members: 37%/40% Gays: 25%/23% Gun Owners: 61%/67% Protestants: 63%/59% Jewish: 19%/25% Catholics: 45%/52% Republicans: 91%/93% Democrats: 10%/11% Men: 51%/55% Women: 43%/48% 18-29 year olds: 46%/45% 30-44 year olds: 49%/53% 45-59 year olds: 49%/51% 60+ 47%/54%

Interesting discussion from Roger Simon's site. - I voted against a blatantly biased media that applied a double standard in their reporting that surpassed belief. I voted against a media that believed they could get more credible witnesses to Kerry's Vietnam experience by traveling to Vietnam than they could get from 254 Americans, including retired Admirals and a Congressional Medal of Honor winner. I voted against a media that attempted to smear a sitting president using patently bogus...

In a poll on DemocraticUnderground.org, over 70% of its users responded that 11/3 was a worse day for them than 9/11. Kind of puts things in perspective..well not really.

Wallstreet Journal read Rob Steele writes some advice for the Demorats on how they can win the next election: Dear Democrats, While you think about how to do better next time, please stay true to your core values and feelings. Don't restrain your anger; part of your problem in this election was that you didn't put it out there enough. If other Americans understood how truly mad you are it would make more of an impression. You need to try harder to make them see that you're smarter a...

The mainstream media still hasn't figured out why Kerry lost the election. Instead, they react in shock and surprise at the exit poll result that "moral values" was the #1 issue. And what do they conclude? That the anti-gay marriage issue and evangelical Christian vote is what caused that.  Let's ignore the fact that moral values was the #1 reason for Bush voters in states where gay marriage wasn't an issue. Why then are they latching on to that? Because Kerry supporters don't want to a...

Over at Right Wing News they lifted some of the more lively posts from Democratic Underground. Awhile back someone suggested that I didn't know what I was talking about when I said that there are anti-American people out there. They are out there and they are legion. Here are some samples: DuaneBidoux : "America to World: F*ck Yourself. Let's get the meme out: Boycott American. Corporations. Pass on the Fords, GMs, Coca Cola. When businesses hurt abroad they will begin telling Bush h...

Here's the money quote: The Guardian, the fever chart of the British Left, decided to arrange a controlled experiment in the effectiveness of the Bush-hating strategy. They targeted the voters of Clark County, Ohio, one of the swingiest counties in a critical swing state, by getting Guardian readers to send them letters explaining why they shouldn't vote for Bush. Antonia Fraser, John Le Carre and other celebrated Guardianistas put pen to paper and marshalled their arguments. Richard D...

Like many, I had predicted that Kerry would win the election. But he didn't. And now the question is, why? We may never be able to offer a definitive answer to this but I will offer a theory that I think is pretty plausible. Backlash People get fed up. And they respond. In politics, that means they come out and vote. For the past year, Kerry's supporters had made it pretty clear that anyone who supported Bush must be some kind of "moron", "idiot", "racist", "fascist", "red neck", whateve...

I'm not the only one who thinks people like Michael Moore cost the Democrats dearly...

Controlling land is meaningless but it is still telling the way non city voters tend to vote. Courtesy of USA Today

So what we can learn from the exit polls? Well we can learn that there is a big difference between the typical Kerry supporter and the typical Bush supporter. It is the stark difference between the two that makes the nation so polarized. Consider these exit poll results: VOTE BY INCOME BUSH KERRY TOTAL 2004 2004 Less Than $50,000 (45%) 44% 55% $50,000 or More (55%) 56% 43% No surprise there.  Middle class ...

During the early hours yesterday things were looking pretty grim for the Republicans. In fact, early on last night, I told my wife "Don't bother watching TV, it's over. Kerry's got it wrapped up decisively." The other news networks, while not publicly saying it, gave plenty of hints that Kerry had won the election.  Why? Because the exit polls gave Kerry a large margin - 51% to 48%.  Which turned out to be completely the opposite and more importantly, outside the margin of e...