Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
It's a Good Thing We Brought Democracy to Iraq
It would be awful if we spent all that time, money and lives just to see some tinpot strongman punishing his political enemies.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tacos to Go
Gustavo Arellano has a story on some of America's hardest-working entrepreneurs.
HT: Jesse Walker at Hit & Run.
HT: Jesse Walker at Hit & Run.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Arlo Guthrie Is Now a Republican
Ok, a Ron Paul Republican seriously, but still a Republican.
I had to work last Thanksgiving, and I had about several different places to go to. It seemed that every time I got into the car, the radio was playing "Alice's Restaurant." I know the song is long, but this was over a period of three or four hours. I finally realized that I kept changing the stations, and each time I changed it the new station was just starting to play the song.
I had to work last Thanksgiving, and I had about several different places to go to. It seemed that every time I got into the car, the radio was playing "Alice's Restaurant." I know the song is long, but this was over a period of three or four hours. I finally realized that I kept changing the stations, and each time I changed it the new station was just starting to play the song.
Open Carry in California
What happens when s small group of people decides to spend a day at the beach openly, and legally, carrying firearms.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Everything that I could possibly say about this incident has already been said numerous times by now. I'll only add that Gates should have watched this video:
Instead, it appears he watched this one:
Instead, it appears he watched this one:
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The New York Post Is Outraged By the Erin Andrews Video
The Post says this is a disgusting violation of her privacy, and the are so upset they put a slideshow of screenaps from the video on their Web site just to show how outrageous her body the video is. Stay classy, Rupert Murdoch.
Vernon Forrest RIP
The former boxing champ as shot dead last night in Atlanta in an apparant carjacking.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Road House Is on CMT Again
I believe that everything a man needs to know about being a man can be found in just four Patrick Swayze films: Road House, Red Dawn, Next of Kin and Point Break. If I ever have a son, I might toss a football to him or teach him how to open a door for a lady, but I'd definitely make him watch all of those movies, maybe give him a quiz afterwards.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Slipperiness of Whiteness
Ta-Nehisi Coates asks if whites will become a minority in the United States any time soon. Patrick Appel has more.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Erin Andrews Video
No, you won't find it here. And according to MSNBC, you might well get a virus looking for it now.
We Have Always Been at War with Eastasia
The administration says the only way to save money is to spend more.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Ending the Oil Conundrum
What would happen if the United States ended its support of petroleum-producing tyrants?
Some Recovery
The only places where the economy isn't in freefall are Washington, D.C. and some state capitals.
Vatican Teaching Hezbollah How To Kill Jews, Says Pamphlet For IDF Troops
I blame it all on the Freemasons.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Erin Andrews Lawyer
Says she'll be taking action against the person who took the video. She should have just ignored it rather than confirm it's her.
Why I'm Not a Conservative, Part V
They have an odd tendency to quickly assign white hats and black hats in every conflict around the globe on the basis of very little information. Even worse, they demand the government do something on the basis of those snap judgments.
Friday, July 17, 2009
F-22 Supporters Endanger Troops
Defense Secretary Robert Gates blasts those who who want to preserve ultra-expensive, often useless weapons systems:
“If we can’t bring ourselves to make this tough but straightforward decision – reflecting the judgment of two very different presidents, two different secretaries of defense, two chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff, and the current Air Force Secretary and Chief of Staff, where do we draw the line? And if not now, when? If we can’t get this right – what on earth can we get right? It is time to draw the line on doing Defense business as usual. The President has drawn that line. And that red line with regard to a veto is real.”
“On a personal note,” Gates continued, “I joined CIA more than 40 years ago to help protect my country. For just about my entire professional career in government I have generally been known as a hawk on national security. One criticism of me when I was at CIA was that I overestimated threats to the security of the United States.
“Well, I haven’t changed. I did not molt from a hawk into a dove on January 20, 2009. I continue to believe, as I always have, that the world is, and always will be, a dangerous and hostile place for my country with many who would do America harm and who hate everything we are and stand for. But, the nature of the threats to us has changed. And so too should the way our military is organized and equipped to meet them.”
The Lesnar Double Standard
Brock Lesnar became the most talked about athlete in the world this week, and Dave Meltzer notes it was largely because pundits condemned him for post-match behavior that is, for better or worse, pretty common in sports these days.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Aristocracy of Pull, Part II
Congress says General Motors and Chrysler shouldn't close all those dealerships.
Why I'm Not a Conservative, Part IV
It amuses me that Barack Obama throws like a girl, but I have to say it really doesn't outrage me.
Bella Hooters
They are going to have to do some serious work to that building to keep it from looking like a Hooters.
Why Using Social Security Numbers for ID Is Stupid
They were never meant to be used for ID and not designed to be secure.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hispanic Population Rises. Hispanic Names Fall
Here's a story from the New York Times on the decline in Hispanic names in the United States.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Democracy and Terrorism
The King's College Department of War asks what we are fighting for in Afghanistan. I'm glad someone is asking that question.
Fedor vs. The UFC
Why the best heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter in the world isn't fighting with the biggest MMA organization in the world.
I Walk on Gilded Splinters
Saturday, July 11, 2009
A High-Tech Lynching
The Supreme Coirt found that the city of New Haven did discriminate against Frank Ricci and other white firefighters because of their race.
That ruling was a blow to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who not only ruled against the firefightes but did so in a perfunctory manner that implied they didn't even have a case.
So what do Sotomayor's supporters do? Attack Ricci. It seems he sued the city years earlier, and won, claiming they discriminated against him because he is dyslexic.
I thought her supporters were trying to emphazise how empathetic liberals are.
That ruling was a blow to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who not only ruled against the firefightes but did so in a perfunctory manner that implied they didn't even have a case.
So what do Sotomayor's supporters do? Attack Ricci. It seems he sued the city years earlier, and won, claiming they discriminated against him because he is dyslexic.
I thought her supporters were trying to emphazise how empathetic liberals are.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Secession Has a Downside
Daniel McCarthy writes
Maybe there’s something to the Madisonian notion that extensive, heterogeneous republics are less tyrannical than smaller but more consolidated ones. Of course, an extensive and consolidated republic is much worse, and that’s the direction in which we continue to move. The two environments in which decency can survive are the sub-national and, perhaps, the authentically federal. Does either of those possibilities have a chance? If not, our last hope might be a stalemate between nationalist and post-nationalist evils that prevents either from attaining uncontested power.
McDonald's Angus Burger
If you are going to charge $1 more than you charge for the Big Mac or the Quarter Pounder, it should be better than either of those burgers.
The Tyranny of Mark Levin
The Republican echo chamber has really been pushing the shock jock's new book. But Taki's magazine simply mauls it in its review.
Rupert Murdoch's Employees Unethical? Criminal?
Have reporters at his flagship British newspaper been using wiretaps and other illegal means to get information on celebrities and others?
Why I'm Not a Conservative
Some of Sacha Baron Cohen's stuff makes me laugh. Much of it strikes me as cruelly pushing (usually average) people until he provokes a reaction. But none of it outrages me terribly, and even if it did, I wouldn't want to ban it.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
What if the Associated Press Covered Sports the Way It Covers Politics
James Taranto fact checks the AP.
The Man Nobody Wanted to Hear
Economist William White warned the world years ago about the looming financial crisis it now faces.
The Left Side of the Empire Party
The American Conservative has a good article on Barack Obama's foreign/defense policy brain trust.
PASS ID and Privacy
The usual suspects are trying to revive REAL ID under a new name, but Jim Harper says that it will still cause a tremendous loss of privacy for all Americans.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Remember When Conservatives Used to Be Anti-Communist
Radley Balko writes:
It isn't just National Review. I've looked at several right-wing Web sites, and the "the Uyghurs have it coming" position seems to be the mainstream conservative stance. How do we know the Uyghurs are the bad guys? Well, China's state-run media says it's so.
There was once a time when, if an ethnic minority was rising up against an oppressive communist regime, you could count on National Review to side with the rabble-rousers fighting for political freedom, not the commies. But I guess that was pre-September 11. Now it’s apparently all about siding with whoever is killing Muslims.
It isn't just National Review. I've looked at several right-wing Web sites, and the "the Uyghurs have it coming" position seems to be the mainstream conservative stance. How do we know the Uyghurs are the bad guys? Well, China's state-run media says it's so.
Is the Pope Catholic?
Kathryn Jean Lopez's posts at National Review's blog ususally read like the diary scribblings of a 13-year-old girl, so I typically just glance over them. But this one caught my eye:
Really, Lord Acton wasn't Catholic?
Bill Buckley must be spinning in his grave.
UPDATE: Someone has corrected here, and she has posted it.
An e-mailer rightly corrects my description:This institute makes no claim to be "Catholic", as its website makes clear. In fact, very few of the articles it produces are written by Catholics. Lord Acton was, of course, not a Catholic and his ideology was typical mid-19th century liberalism.
That said, at the heart of what Acton does is clarify and promote subsidiarity, which is at the heart of much Catholic economic thought. But they do not claim to speak for any church.
Really, Lord Acton wasn't Catholic?
Bill Buckley must be spinning in his grave.
UPDATE: Someone has corrected here, and she has posted it.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Obama's Strategic Blind Spot
Another thoughtful piece by Col. Andrew Bacevich, who also has an outstanding appreciation of Graham Greene in the latest World Affairs Journal.
HT: Ibn Muqawama.
HT: Ibn Muqawama.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso
Radley Balko explains how immigration made El Paso one of the safest big cities in the United States.
Public Enemies, Government Subsidies
Sean Paige explains how taxpayers subsidized Michael Mann's latest movie.
Palin, the Right and Money
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Steve McNair's Death: I Wondered Who Would Be the First
to blame it on Islam. I would have predicted Debbie Schlussel, but the honors go to Patrick Cleburne at Vdare.com.
RIP Drake Levin
Little noticed among all the celebrity deaths of the last few days was Drake Levin, lead guiatarist for one of the more underrated bands of the 1960s.
Urban Chickens Are Booming in Dallas
Here's another story, from Texas this time, on urban and suburban folks starting to raise hens. I've seen dozens of these stories from around the country. I'm not sure yet if this is the start of a trend or just a fad.
The Best Laid Plans
I just finished Randal O'Toole's book of that title, subtitled "How Government Planning Harms Your Quality of Life, Your Pocketbook and Your Future."
He really delivers, showing how plans at every level - local, state and federal - have never worked and why they can never work. I wish every elected official and planning agency employee would read the thing. But if they did all those planners would lose, or leave, their jobs.
He really delivers, showing how plans at every level - local, state and federal - have never worked and why they can never work. I wish every elected official and planning agency employee would read the thing. But if they did all those planners would lose, or leave, their jobs.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
We Are Truly Living in the Golden Age of Competitive Eating
Joey Chestnut destroys Kobayashi, who himself turned in a record smashing performance in the Nathan's hot dog eating contest.
Should the Church Wave the Flag?
At LewRockwell.com, Jeff Tucker and Laurence Vance look at the relationship between Christianity and patriotism and nationalism.
Why I'm Not a Conservative Lesbian
I really don't think my life will be better if David Letterman is fired.
Seriously, why use the Tea Parties to draw attention to federal spending and borrowng and overreaching government when you can talk about a couple of jokes that fell flat?
HT: The Republican Echo Machine (Who else did you expect?)
Seriously, why use the Tea Parties to draw attention to federal spending and borrowng and overreaching government when you can talk about a couple of jokes that fell flat?
HT: The Republican Echo Machine (Who else did you expect?)
Friday, July 3, 2009
Bias Suit a Test of Resolve for Hispanic Firefighter
From the New York Times:
The two dozen firefighters who packed into Humphrey’s East Restaurant were celebrating a coming marriage, drinking and jawboning in the boisterous style of large men with risky jobs, but Lt. Ben Vargas spent the evening trying to escape the tension surrounding his presence.
During a trip to the bathroom, he found himself facing another man. Without warning, the first punch landed. When Lieutenant Vargas awoke, bloodied and splayed on the grimy floor, he was taken to the hospital.
Lieutenant Vargas believes the attack, five years ago, was orchestrated by a black firefighter in retaliation for his having joined a racial discrimination lawsuit against the city over its tossing out of an exam for promotion that few minority firefighters passed. (No arrests were made in the attack, and the black firefighter vigorously denies having been involved.)
When the Hispanic firefighters’ association and its members — including Lieutenant Vargas’s brother — refused to publicly stand behind him, he quit the organization.
Lieutenant Vargas, who posted the sixth-highest score on the exam, was ridiculed as a token, a turncoat and an Uncle Tom — all of which, he said, “made my resolve that much stronger.”
When the United States Supreme Court ruled this week in the firefighters’ favor, Lieutenant Vargas, 40, the son of Puerto Rican parents, found himself celebrating amid an awkward racial dynamic: As the lone Hispanic among the 18 plaintiffs who had challenged an affirmative action policy, he had also challenged an appeals court decision joined by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court.
“She’s from Puerto Rico, and I’m from Puerto Rico,” he said. “She obviously feels differently than I do.”
Thursday, July 2, 2009
How Much Inflation?
Howard Katz says the government is lying about how fast it's expanding the money supply.
Big City Police Chiefs Urge Immigration Overhaul
They say illegals need to be able to report crimes without fear of being deported.
So What Would You Call It?
No joke. The name of the new joint natural gas venture between Russia's Gazprom and the country of Nigeria is Nigaz.
Goldwater's Revenge
A resurgence of small government conservatism among Republicans? Of course, there is. They are out of power now.
Keeping a Wary Eye on Obama
Ibn Muqawama says Barack Obama is repeating the same mistakes George W. Bush made in Iraq in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Run to Mexico
The county's easy immigration process and low cost of living are attracting lots of world-class runners.
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