Just when I thought he was quietly fading away into Billary's shadow Barack Obama pulls out a big gun: "Barack Obama is vowing to detail all his earmark requests today and is challenging his Presidential rivals to do the same. " - TPM Cafe Not only has he made the challenge, he has followed through already here . Will Billary et al follow suit? If they do will it hurt them? &nb...
Paging Ben Stein... the President desperately needs someone to vet statements like this: "Mr. Bush said the $4.4 billion would “come from the fines and penalties that we collect from those who have come to our country illegally” and apply for legal status." - NYT Really? Thats truly amazing. I wonder how it is that Arnold Kling never stumbled across the branch of economics known as "Magi...
This priceless quote is from the Governor of Massachusetts : " “We want a vote that goes the right way, that keeps us off the ballot,” -Governor Deval Patrick via National Review The vote in question is a vote by the Massachusetts legislature to allow the People of Massachusetts a public vote on a marriage amendment. Specifically: "“When recognizing marriages entered into after the adoption of th...
Most people would find it unthinkable that a businessman would be willing to spend anywhere from $400,000-multiple millions of dollars to open a business but then be unwilling to spend a few hundred or few thousand more to help that same business succeed but it happens every day. Right here in town 2 of our favorite restaurants have gone out of business (much to EL’s dismay) because of just such a mentality. Spend huge quant...
For those who don't follow James Lilek's as a blogger or a columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune a bit of background: The Strib's circulation has been in freefall for a couple of years (like most papers) The Strib actually cancelled Lilek's column (despite it's popularity both at home and online) Then they actually considered firing the only columnist they had with any national expose (Lilek's blog "The Bleat is widely read...
Q: The FBI should be able to stop internal security leaks. True or False? A: False. The press (and even the general public occasionally) seems to have problems grasping this concept as seen here : “Officials also must be sure they can detect and prevent such internal threats. This is easier said than done, particularly in a law enforcement agency like the FBI that tends to retrea...
When I was in school there were always kids (myself included) who would bitch and while that we should be allowed to use calculators for even simple math. Would my school have done me a favor by allowing it? Probably not and here is why. There are two questions listed below. One of the questions should be able to be answered by any Joe or Jane off the street without hesitation and the other isn’t really esoteric kn...
General Casey has decided to issue an edict of very little brain. Ostensibly intended to stop OPSEC leaks (and of course anything negative about the military) from military members who blog or email their families he has decided that you can't write an email to your family or post to your blog unless you let an officer read it first. "The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first c...
*edited to include drmiler's dispute over the payout arrangement of Social Security. I will have to do more research on this aspect. There is a nice article over at National Review dealing with Social Security and it's impending collapse. I suggest you read it but in case you don't want to I will summarize the key points: 1. Social Security will not cover its yearly payouts with contributions starting in 2017. Then ...
O'Reilly has been predicting this for weeks now and despite being pooh-pooh'ed by any number of other pundits he seems to be right. TMZ has now confirmed the buzz that we exclusively reported last night: Rosie O'Donnell will announce on today's show that she is leaving "The View." And TMZ has confirmed that "View" honchos are already searching for her replacement. I guess my article on Rosie hanging with the counter-pr...
Sometimes I cruise the Net simply to accquaint myself with various strains of rhetoric. I find this useful as it helps me to spot when people who are presenting themselves as moderates are actually pushing much more extreme agendas than they let on. Second Seedline doctrine is a good example of this. Many conspiracy theorists appearing in connection with seemingly more mainstream things like the 9/11 "Truthers" movement (Rosie O'D...
Russell Simmons is a hip-hop producer and also the motive force behind Russell Simmon's Def Comedy Jam. If you have ever sat through a Def Jam product you know that it promotes the worst of the "hip-hop" culture. he is also a massive hypocrite. Vulgarity, debasment of women, promotion of racial stereotypes, and outright rascism against non-blacks are the common denominator of all of Simmon's products. I am all for that. Honestly. I like Hip-hop and the...
From Sheryl Crow's Biodiesel Bus Blog (via Wapo ) Crow (4/19, Springfield , Tenn. ): I have spent the better part of this tour trying to come up with easy ways for us all to become a part of the solution to global warming. Although my ideas are in the earliest stages of development, they are, in my mind, worth investigating. One of my favorites is in the area of forest conservation which we heavily rely on for oxygen. I propose a...
Isn’t that what we all want? Maybe not so much. I used to work at domino’s prior to getting my current job and I’ll let you in on a secret… (I sorta enjoyed the business end of the job). This shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me as I am fascinated by virtually anything from ant behavior to the economics of traffic meters (it’s a character flaw I think). &n...
You don’t have to beat your kids, but you do have to do something … Sierra Vista Safeway Register 3 21:30 08 April, 2007 “Mommy, buy this!” as a child of 8 or 9 years grabs a candy bar and puts it with Mom’s groceries. “No, put that back or you’ll get in trouble!” says Mom immediately returning to ...