Dollar vs Euro

Back on April 22, 2008, 1 Euro was worth $1.60, a new high. As recently as July 22, 2008, 1 Euro was worth $1.59. And then began a quick decline in the Euro's value compared to the dollar. As the US financial crisis has worsened, the dollar has climbed against the Euro. As of October 28, 2008, 1 Euro is now worth only $1.26. Wow. That is a 21% decrease in value from July to October, a three month period. Currencies just completely baffle me. See more at the Google Finance page.

Elections - maybe not on Tuesday

Why do we vote on Tuesday? It made sense back in 1845. But since then, it has become a hassle (at least in states that don't have early voting). According to the article, 25% of Americans who don't vote report that it is because they were too busy or had a conflicting schedule. There is now legislation to move election day to the weekend to make it more convenient.

Endorsements

I've been thinking about what the most devastating endorsements would be. My dad told me about a recent Will Ferrell skit where he is dressed as George Bush endorsing John McCain, and the McCain character is trying as hard as he can to escape. If Republicans really want to win the election, they should have had George W. Bush endorse Obama.

Nicholas Kristof points out a recent "endorsement" of John McCain by an Al Qaeda-affiliated website.

A look at "political analysts"

Jon Stewart takes a look-see:

"Liberals hate real Americans"

Here are the most interesting paragraphs from a Gail Collins piece in the NY Times:

Opening for a McCain rally in North Carolina last weekend, Representative Robin Hayes said he wanted “to keep the crowd as respectful as possible.”

In order to pursue that goal as efficiently as possible, Hayes then announced that “liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God.” This was an especially unfortunate turn of phrase given the fact that he had begun his remarks by saying he wanted to “make sure we don’t say something stupid.”

All this was a direct outgrowth of Sarah Palin’s own comments in North Carolina, in which she praised the “pro-America” areas of the country. But Hayes had clearly been absent for the day in scurrilous campaign school when they explain that you aren’t supposed to specifically name the anti-American parts.

Meanwhile, over on MSNBC, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota was launching into the Obama/terrorist spin when she suggested that the news media should investigate “the views of the people in Congress and find out: Are they pro-America or anti-America.” So far, the only person who’s felt the impact of her call to reinvent McCarthyism for a post-Communist planet has been her opponent, a hitherto totally ignored Democrat named Elwyn Tinklenberg, who was stunned to discover in the following days that he had received close to $1 million in donations.

Making Babies in NC

Here are some interesting stats from the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics on births in NC in 2007.

Youngest Mother	10
Oldest Mother	53
Youngest Father	14
Oldest Father	76
Sets of Twins	2,135
Sets of Triplets	63
Sets of Quadruplets	5
Sets of Quintuplets	0
Most Births Occurred on	Sept 14	487
Fewest Births Occurred on	Dec 25	208
Day of Week Most Births Occurred	Friday	21,207
Largest Live Birth	14 lbs. 0 ozs.
Total Births	130,886

Curious that the fewest number of births occured on Christmas Day.

McCain Rallies:

Some quotes from a NY Times article:

When a man told him he was “scared” of an Obama presidency, Mr. McCain replied, “I want to be president of the United States and obviously I do not want Senator Obama to be, but I have to tell you — I have to tell you — he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States.” The crowd booed loudly at Mr. McCain’s response.

Later, a woman stood up at the meeting, held at Lakeville South High School in a far suburb of Minneapolis, and told Mr. McCain that she could not trust Mr. Obama because he was an “Arab.”

Mr. McCain replied: “No, ma’am, he’s a decent family man, a citizen, who I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And that’s what this campaign is all about.” (He did not correct her false depiction of Mr. Obama.) At that, the crowd applauded.

...

Crowds in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have repeatedly booed Mr. Obama and yelled “off with his head,” and at a rally in Florida where Ms. Palin appeared without Mr. McCain, The Washington Post reported that a man yelled out “kill him.” At the same rally, a racial insult was hurled at an African-American television cameraman.

...

At one point, after a voter told him he wanted to see a “real fight” at the debate and the crowd responded with a roar, Mr. McCain replied, “We want to fight, and I will fight, but we will be respectful.”

Then he added, “I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments, I will respect him.” The crowd interrupted Mr. McCain to boo, but he kept talking. “I want everyone to be respectful and let’s make sure we are, because that’s the way politics — —”

At that point, Mr. McCain was drowned out by applause.

It appears that McCain is putting some effort into explaining to his supporters that Obama is a respectable person, which I appreciate. His television ads don't seem to do that though. Frank Rich writes that things have gotten way out of hand.

Heart Risks

A little post from the Wall Street Journal comparing McCain's and Obama's risk of a cardiac event in the next 10 years. This particular post says it is the risk of "death or heart attack":

McCain: 

17% - if he is taking blood pressure medications for kidney stones and not blood pressure, as his doctors claim.

22% - if he is taking blood pressure medications for blood pressure problems.

Obama:

1% - if he is not smoking, as he claims.

3% - if he is sneaking cigarettes.

So, as you can see, there is a big difference in health risk. Age is largely the reason for the huge difference. I have seen a couple other numbers thrown around, which don't appear on a well-known journal, but I'll note one anyway.

According to a Dr. McDougall, McCain's heart risk is 27% (apparently assumes diuretics are for blood pressure), and Obamas remains 1% and 3%. McDougall also says that "Over the next 4 years a man of 72 years has a probability of dying of 16% and over 8 years, 38%.  At age 47 a man has a 2% probability of dying of within 4 years, and 5% within 8 years." I haven't verified these calculations, nor can I vouch for the veracity of the website, but common sense says that a 72 year old with various health problems is at much greater risk of dying or further health problems than a healthy 47 year old.

All that said, for what it's worth, McCain's doctor says that he is in "excellent health." From what I can tell (which is admitedly limited), he is holding up well during the brutal campaign season, which I imagine would be difficult for anybody.