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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Whoa
Olympia Snowe will not seek reelection this year.
There's already
one guy looking to replace her.
Labels: Politics
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |
Monday, February 27, 2012
Didn't Watch The Oscars
Did I miss anything?
Haven't paid attention to who was even nominated until just now via
Wikipedia. There's just so little to get excited about. The "Best Animated Feature" category is especially lacking.
Labels: Movies
Posted by Alan at
4:00 PM |
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Why I Read Volokh Conspiracy
Posted by Alan at
9:10 AM |
The Devil, You Say
Santorum talked about Satan at a Catholic conference at a time when he was no longer an elected official, and people think this is a news story.
Grow up, people. Catholics talk shop with each other now and then, just like members of all religions.
Over at the Althouse link above, I offered up some snark and some serious stuff:
So, Santorum says the Devil is out to [get] the US of A. Tell me, what country isn't on Old Nick's hit list? Vanuatu?
But seriously folks...Santorum is on the same page with conservative/libertarian atheists more than most people realize. Conservatives and libertarians of all stripes share a lot of common ground regarding policy, and thus share a lot of common ground as to what constitutes evil. All those factions agree that the United States has the largest aggregate of freedom among all the world's nations, and is thus opposed by evil more than any other nation is. Santorum and atheists simply disagree on who evil's Commander-in-Chief happens to be.
Labels: Culture, Religion
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Rush Limbaugh On Obama's War On The American Dream
An inspired rant.
I listened to the whole thing Tuesday afternoon. The transcript doesn't convey the emotion in this segment.
Here's the quote that set off Rush:
OBAMA: If you're willing to put in the work, the idea is that you should be able to raise a family and own a home, not go bankrupt because you got sick, 'cause you've got some health insurance that helps you deal with those difficult times; that you can send your kids to college; that you can put some money away for retirement. That's all most people want. Folks don't have unrealistic ambitions. They do believe that, if they work hard, they should be able to achieve that small measure of an American dream.
That gets me to thinking about some recent musings on It's A Wonderful Life. Some people - including the President, apparently - think the moral of the film is that George Bailey had all that he needed. Piffle. George Bailey triumphs in having learned something he should have known all along, the difference he made to the community.
He also suffered real losses - dreams deferred, to borrow from Langston Hughes. (That poem may have had one particular community in mind, but despair is universal.) George Bailey the individual scarcely emerges in the film. All his major decisions (except his marriage) are in response to others' emergencies. That is not the end-all of life. There has to be a balance between the community and the individual.
George Bailey's lost dreams matter. He gave up interests he wanted to pursue. While he discovered some talents he didn't know he had (specifically, the business acumen behind the Bailey Park housing project, which was obviously profitable), he failed to discover what other talents that pursuing his dreams would have revealed.
We don't get to see what happens to George after the end of the film, but I like to think that those old dreams have a new lease on life. The business is solvent, the only complication being the inevitable revocation of Uncle Billy's surety bond - his role at the Building and Loan will have to involve something other than cash handling. George is still young, he has plenty of time to groom people who can run the business while he goes off on travels. (Travel tip: don't do that Jerusalem trip in 1948.)
Obama speaks of an American Dream where George Bailey's life doesn't change after Clarence gets his wings. What does this reveal about Obama? That he is either blind or indifferent toward much of human potential. Which means his policies will not take full human potential into account.
Just-enough-to-get-by politics is the way of Communism, European social democracy, and medieval feudalism. We can do better than that.
Labels: Politics
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Illinois Legislator Drafts Bill Criminalizing Necrophilia
Clayton Cramer has the story
here.
A lot of people (including Dan Beiser, the bill's sponsor) were surprised that necrophilia isn't already illegal. I'm not. It's Illinois. The state whose largest city is Chicago, where half the skeletons are in politicians' closets and the other half vote. If the voting dead objected to getting it on with the living every once in a while, they'd have lobbied for an anti-necrophilia law ages ago.
I say the Illinois legislature should vote against the bill and put it up for referendum, so the voting dead will have a voice in the matter. Unfortunately, there's always the risk that the voters woudl be overturned by the Ninth Circuit. Not that state legislatures are immune to that sort of thing...
Labels: Politics
Posted by Alan at
10:55 PM |
Friday, February 17, 2012
Mayan Doomsday Prophecy Watch, Part Deux
If anyone you know tells you that Obama created jobs, show them
this chart. The number of employed Americans has been decreasing steadily since Obama was inaugurated.
Labels: Politics
Posted by Alan at
9:10 AM |
Mayan Doomsday Prophecy Watch
Megadeth lead singer Dave Mustaine mulls over the possibility
he may endorse Rick Santorum.
I can't argue with Mustaine's take on Ron Paul:
“Ron Paul… you know, I heard somebody say he was like insecticide – 98 percent of it’s inert gases, but it’s the two percent that’s left that will kill you. What that means is that he’ll make total sense for a while, and then he’ll say something so way out that it negates everything else. I like the guy because he knows how to excite the youth of America and fill them in on some things. But when he says that we’re like the Taliban… I’m sorry, Congressman Paul, but I’m nothing like the Taliban.
Via Hot Air, which has YouTube of the Megadeth song "Holy Wars."
If Santorum somehow wins the GOP nomination, maybe the Left will conclude that they were right about the noxious effects of heavy metal all along.
Labels: Music, Politics
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I'm Kinda Tired Of Vampires By Now
But I gotta see
this film.
Labels: Movies
Posted by Alan at
9:10 AM |
I'm Looking Forward To The Inevitable PETA Protests
New TV Show:
Full Metal Jousting.
Hey, it's not as bad as hurricane-alley windmill farms.
Labels: Sports, Television
Posted by Alan at
9:05 AM |
Idiots
The hurricane-prone Gulf Coast (where I lived the first 27 years of my life - I should know something about this) and windmills
do not mix.
Labels: Curiosities
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day
Because nothing says "romance" like an obsessive stalker.
Labels: Holidays, Music
Posted by Alan at
12:01 PM |
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Ann Coulter At CPAC
Posted by Alan at
5:45 PM |
The Envelope, Please III
CPAC gives out its
blog awards.
Labels: Blogs, Politics
Posted by Alan at
5:25 PM |
Steny Hoyer vs. Graph
The graph (pictured at bottom of post)
wins.
Labels: Politics
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Clint Eastwood Chrysler Ad Spoof
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
The Other White Meat
Puerto Rico is inundated with iguanas, so lawmakers there are proposing to
export them for their meat.
Hey, maybe there's a market for iguana leather, too.
Labels: Curiosities
Posted by Alan at
9:10 AM |
Erick Erickson's Campaign Endorsement
Background
here.
Labels: Humor, Politics
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Good News For Newt
Trump decided to
endorse Mitt Romney instead.
Labels: Politics
Posted by Alan at
10:55 PM |
Why I Hate This Election Cycle, Part 327
From Politico:
Donald Trump endorses Newt Gingrich.
In comments I ask the burning question: "Did Mitt pay Trump for the Newt endorsement?"
So who am I endorsing? I haven't flipped a coin yet.
Labels: Politics
Posted by Alan at
9:00 AM |