Tuesday, October 21. 2008
 Would the last honest reporter please turn on the lights? Orson Scott Card (read his bio on that page!) h/t, Synthstuff. We like Orson Card, but do not know where he blogs these days.
Shulman on how social class plays into the election - and how it affects the "opinion-makers." I am afraid that the "opinion-makers" all fantasize that they could be polo players with Locust Valley Lockjaw, hobnobbing with the Groton and Andover and Choate and Hotchkiss and Deerfield grads instead of getting stuck with the socially-marginal hacks in Washington. Some of us at Maggie's may be "elite," but Sarah represents our view of the soul of America.  From Mark Salter:
I think much of the media has a thumb on the scale for Obama. I think the thumb has been there the entire time. There are many honorable exceptions, I don’t mean to tar everybody, but I think there’s one standard for us, and one standard for Obama. He has run more negative ads than McCain has run ads. They run from the quite misleading to the blatantly untrue.
America's biggest enemy is cynicism? I am not falling for that cliched BS. One of America's best hopes has always been her cynicism towards, distrust of, and mocking of politicians and their aspirations for easy jobs, power, and personal validation. John McCain excepted. Speaking of cynicism, "transformative"? You want transformative back to the 1930s and 1970s? Where would Obama get the $ to suckle his wards? Well put. Wards of The State is what it's about. Gimme. Palin's "absence of structured thinking." Fair enough, Ann. But name me one national pol with "structured thinking." Pols don't do that: they do political thinking. It's different. If they were rocket scientists, they'd be busy designing rockets. Generally speaking, they aren't too smart and not very wise - just clever and calculating about their personal goals. Images: We are still permitted to write-in Papoon for President when we vote. He has a chance! As I recall, he stood for "One Organism, One Vote," and hoped to win the previously disenfranchised and marginalised Bacterial Community.
 Obama cannot change the lives of black Americans
Somebody told me Iceland was a hedge fund, not a country. I guess so. Two faces of Socialism: RFK and Obama The most ancient dog What kind of diapers are the greenest? And who cares? Campaign finance reform is dead, and Obama killed it. He's up to $600 million now. 18 things you need for your computer. I do not understand this stuff. Anna Schwartz: The feds are fighting the last war America the Weak. Ralph Peters Lord Monckton's letter to John McCain Obama's taxes target small businesses, which is why Joe the Plumber made people pay attention Biden: The world will test Obama. You betcha it will, to find out whether there is any testosterone in that fancy suit.  Is it paranoid to be concerned about this?
The Obama Social Security plan. Mankiw Dems want to eliminate 401-Ks Ayers: An embarassment From a long non-rant by Villainous on The Politics of Fear: "It's incredible what the media can ignore when they want to." I like what she says about "pluralize." Toon on top from Theo. Photo from No Pasaran
Monday, October 20. 2008
This is the sharp edge of the wedge. And it's not about loving trees, believe me. Guys from Chicago politics don't give a damn about trees and wouldn't know a Blue Jay from a Flicker. It's about power and control. We love trees and the outdoors and the critters as much or more than anyone, and we hate this sort of insidious BS.
Why do I think the support of people like Powell and Warren Buffet is helpful to Obama? It's helpful because these sober establishment folks are saying that he's not a bomb-throwing radical. Me? I doubt that any Repub would have an easy time defeating any Dem this year, and I think Hillary would be doing even better than Obama in the polls. It's the economy combined with Bush fatigue, even without the Obama Cult of Personality. Still, I dread the effects of an Obama-Reid-Pelosi triumvirate on America (and on my personal plans and goals). But that's because 
Undecided? Then you're a racist, says Joe Biden. Or just a moron, says a Princeton prof. "Sticks and stones..." The San Diego Union-Trib's endorsement of McCain Taxing the uninsured. Mankiw The world's oldest operating bank. A Harvard trial lawyer for McCain. Am Thinker Sarah Palin has the highest National Security rating of all 4 candidates Gaping holes in Obama's record. But who cares? Phony Joe the Plumber robocalls. These people are playing for keeps.  Eric at Classical Values:
If Team Obama happened to drive down my street, I probably wouldn't want to get caught asking Barack Obama any tough questions because of the consequences. Well then, suppose I were to ask a question about my inability to ask a question? Something like this: Senator Obama, if I were to ask you a tough question, why would my personal lifestyle be considered more worthy of investigation than yours? Nah, I'd better not ask. Wouldn't want to be subject to an investigation.
Related: Who hired detectives to attack Cindy McCain? As far as I know, nobody tried to track down Obama's coke and pot dealers. Look at this Obama rally in St. Louis. Good grief. Even Sarah can't draw like that. This is rock star stuff. Reality will set in sooner or later. Obama's Brave New Deal Ayers and Obama: Destroyers of schools. Dr. Sanity The Dems' plan to bring back the Fairness Doctrine The takers in society will never be happy. By definition, they will always want more from their neighbor. Kling on the banking crisis. A quote: The claim that this crisis was caused by "deregulation" is a claim that government needs to exercise more power. Right now, that is the conventional wisdom of the establishment. There is no mainstream newspaper or politician raising any doubts about the wisdom of increasing government power. The free market is now a fringe phenomenon, and those of us who support it are irrelevant.
Capitalism is moral. Communism is not. Cafe Hayek
Sunday, October 19. 2008
He claims it's not about race, then proceeds to make a series of statements that make little sense outside a racial context: "I think he is a transformational figure," Powell said. "He is a new generation coming ... onto the world stage and on the American stage. And for that reason, I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama."
The linked story, which refers to Powell as "one of the country's most respected Republicans" -- an odd choice of an adjective in light of Powell's reputation having been knocked down and dragged through the mud by the left after his WMD testimony -- also features the following curious quote: As a key reason, Powell said: "I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration."
No, that's what we'd be looking at with a Republican administration. Assuming that Powell knows that the House and Senate will have substantial Democrat majorities as well, this "Republican" is voting for the Democrat on the basis that he would have "difficulty" with conservative justices? It's been well known for years that Powell leaned toward the left on most domestic issues, and this charade of continuing to call Powell a "respected Republican" is wearing more than a little thin. More from NE Republican. The Left is already rejoicing at the news, despite the fact that some of the the very same people spent endless hours cataloging Powell's alleged lies and deceptions to the UN in 2003, essentially destroying the man's public reputation.
 Hot Hardware has gone video
Wealthy teen nearly experiences consequences Obama betrayed his message on race. Krauthammer The Pelosi-Obama-Reid economy. The carbon offsetting biz is still doing fine. At first I thought this was a satire. Alaska glaciers are growing again Finally, drilling off the coast of Florida: maybe we'll be able to buy that oil from Cuba. McCain compares Obama to European Socialists Just some guy who lives in my neighborhood? Obama's lead slips Quoted from a piece at Dino: We’re not sure to what extent we agree with the analysis by Sam Schulman in the Weekly Standard. He asks: “Why is Bill Ayers a respectable member of the upper middle class and Sarah Palin contemptible?” His answer: social class. Maybe he is on to something. Those rather condescending interviews by Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson (as contrasted with certain earlier Couric and Gibson interviews) suggest that there is a ring of truth in Schulman’s argument.
Thanks for all of the interesting comments on our Influential Books post.
Saturday, October 18. 2008
We posted part of the McCain speech at the Al Smith dinner yesterday, but this is the entire thing. It's a kick - guaranteed, and it would make a heck of a campaign ad:
 Obama: "I will change the world." Good grief. If I said that, they'd send the guys in white coats to take me away.
Who knew that the US Supreme Court defined "vegetable" in 1893? Is a pumpkin a vegetable, then? More press lies perpetuated. We expect this from politicians but not from the press. Well, I guess we expect it from the press now. How would Obama do with this questionnaire for national security positions? Quoted at Marginal Rev: The Bush administration, having entered office as social conservatives, leaves office as conservative socialists, proprietors of the most sudden large expansion of the state's role in the US economy since mobilisation for the second world war.
Credit indicators show progress. Good. That's the fuel for the economy. Obama mocks plumbers. Is that smart? Everybody appreciates plumbers. NYT digging deep for dirt on Cindy McCain. That is infra dig. Why do it? Is there no infra to their dig? Mark Steyn on David Brooks' "elite cocoons" and "conservative cocoons." One quote: ...any PBS-watching inbred stump-toothed knuckle-dragging plaid-clad mountain man not yet face down in the moonshine or enjoying a bunk-up with his sister might think that Mr Brooks' bizarre metaphor gives the game away: the "conservative cocoon" is somewhere you drive through en route to the hiking trip.
 Why is the Left and the press going after Joe the Plumber so hard? Because the moment with Obama captured something important. As Cardinalpark at Tiger puts it:
Obama probably hurt himself with Joe the Plumber. If you think about it, Obama has done a brilliant job articulating exceedingly liberal political and economic philosophy in a fashion which sounds acceptable and fair and not altogether different from McCain. However, when he responded to Joe the Plumber about the inherent value of "spreading the wealth", it rang an alarm bell. Most Americans, especially aspirational Americans, like reading Robin Hood, but don't want his philosophy put into practice. This may be the moment that the distinction between Obama's political philosophy and McCain's is finally made clear in a fashion the press can't edit out. The media - even the in-the-tank leftist media - can't resist Joe the Plumber.
We must remember that Robin Hood was a thief. That's what Joe is reminding the voters.
Exactly. Joe doesn't want somebody else's wealth: he wants to make his own. Betsy says "Think of the film of Obama's photo op on Joe's street as Obama's macaca moment." Yes, somebody picked the wrong street. Interesting comments on Dr. Bliss' Influential Books post. I'd like to read more comments to that post from our readers.
Friday, October 17. 2008
 I have an early morning hunt in woodchuck country, so I will leave these:
"Festishism puts the kibosh on an upsurge"? Is that English? Or Eskimo? Speaking of Eskimo, how is a Palin t-shirt racist? Sheesh. She married an Eskimo, for heaven's sake. Beware of asking Obama a difficult question. They will rip your head off. More on the Army of Joes, at Jules. I am a Joe. Proof of fraudulent votes. Ace has a skull in flames. Selling soap, and creating fear. New, improved FEAR!!! Fear sells!!!! Where Caligula bought the farm. Call me when it's ready. Chicken-fried Chicken. I want mashed potatoes on the side, and biscuits. Nothing green, please. Do I look like a rabbit? David Brooks has an Obama wet dream. What is it with these straight guys and Obama? The Eve of Destruction. Not yet. Man, that was an idiotic song. I cannot keep up with MSM lies and keep my new job and pay my taxes at the same time. Thanks to Confed Yank, here and here. Why so many conservatives have to be from Wasilla It's the Iranian caviar that gets me
McCain roasts Obama at the Al Smith Dinner in NYC last night (h/t, Tiger). Amusing and good, as McCain tends to be (even if he cannot pronounce Zoroastrian. But who cares? Obama says "The Reverend Wright married Michelle and I..."):
The MSM has done more investigations into Joe the Plumber in 24 hours than they’ve done on Barack Obama in two years. . A Maggie's Farm commenter last night. Related: Anchoress discusses Going after Joe Plumber. The political message is that if you stand up, they will destroy you. It's funny though, because the issue wasn't Joe: the issue was Obama's arrogant mini-lecture to Joe.
That Ayers ghost-wrote Obama's memoir. But why would he?
 A short history of modern finance. Excellent.
An area of the economy which is booming Kofi Annan lends support to Obama. As did Castro, Chavez, Putin... Does military service matter any more in politics? The FBI is investigating ACORN The FBI is investigating Rep Mahoney Details on the Canadian election A Liberal supermajority? Rick Moran says forget about McCain and fight for the filibuster in the Senate. I think you have to fight to the finish. Related, click to biggify this. HT may be good for womens' brains More comic relief from Roger. A real quote from Ayers' defenders: It’s true that Professor Ayers participated passionately in the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, as did hundreds of thousands of Americans.
"Passionately"? How about "criminally and sociopathically, with no regard for human life or property"?
Thursday, October 16. 2008
As Obama tries on his Teflon suit and tries to run out the clock while McCain-Palin nips at his heels, it brought to mind the ZZ Top tune. Sheesh, are we really going to elect a GQ Ivy league twit who has never done anything in his life, much less anything masculine? Curtis said it on the radio this morning: "He's The Candy Man. The candy man can..."
 Contrapposto: How to stand like a studly fellow. (See image on right) h/t, Vanderleun
Jay Nordlinger has some great points re the debate. My view: John McCain doesn't think like a lawyer. He doesn't have that calculating thing going. Karl Rove has some grim news for Repubs Never, ever, have sex on the beach in Dubai. It's just not worth it. If that ship isn't a floating nuclear weapon, then what is it? The hottest sex scandal you never heard about The coldest Arctic you never heard about. h/t, Tiger Creepy, from Obama: "If voters are … polarized and if they’re seeing two different realities, a Sean Hannity reality and a Keith Olbermann reality, then we’re not going to be able to get done the work we need to get done.”
Best for the greater good to just shut down us voices of freedom. Palin rumors that won't go away. Rumors are scary things. Going-out-of-business art sales A little commentary on pop culture Kos: We don't want to win. We want to crush their spirits. Nice. Who are these juveniles? From a banker friend: "If we get more banking regs here we will drive the entire world banking industry from New York to London, Dubai, and Hong Kong."
Mark Halperin grades the final debate. Time Paul at Powerline watched it too.
Wednesday, October 15. 2008
Heard on 770 radio, post-debate, from a caller: If you want to vote for an American Idol, vote for Obama. If you want to vote for an American president, you'll vote for McCain.
Bruce Kesler emails this post: Many Republicans are outraged that the major media has not delved into Barack Obama’s track-record of ties to radicals and crooks and of baldly denying his own prior words and actions, or ignoring Joe Biden’s gaffes, especially while devoting major resources and space to – often exaggerating – any deemed peccadillo by John McCain and Sarah Palin. While this is entirely legitimate ire, it is also so that almost all who are concerned about the deceptive self-presentation by Obama and Biden are aware of it. What is lacking is the major media imprimatur on their duplicity that provides it with greater impact upon the choice for president. However, as the election nears, the possibility has risen of Barack Obama being elected which stimulates some in the major media to reflect more on his background and programs. This increased attention, while likely being far from what is needed, will still reduce his margin. But, what is far more pressing on most voters’ minds is naturally the economy. It will do McCain little additional good to harp on Obama’s associates. Surrogates can handle that. The economy should be stressed. It provides little reassurance to honestly say we’re in uncharted territory. Most of the public expects government action. More reflection or restraint is not accepted, because of expectations developed by decades of government promises and interventions, no matter how hollow or unproductive, and by validation from both political parties that government still has ready remedies that will avoid pain.
Continue reading "McCain's opportunity"
An email from our WS friend: BUY MUNIS. Tax-exempt bonds pricing at 6.25? You'd be insane not to in this market. Plus, with Dems likely to take over, Muni rates will drop significantly because everyone expects taxes to go up. The value of your 6.25 coupons (aka bond price) will increase when market yields drop. (Market yields for Munis have spiked to over 10-yr highs in the past week, by the way.) When rates fall, you can either keep you tax free 6 percent or cash out. If rates don't fall, 6.25 still isn't bad... Its a win-win. New York City is in the market today and we are all placing bids! Gotta run -
 Obama campaign hands press their talking points - before the debate. The press needs to know what to say. Coordination, ya know?
Obama looks like a president. I guess that's what counts. I think he looks like a GQ model. Tim Blair on Devil Children Good logic on private property. Wilkinson Sowell on negative campaigning. Regulation vs. deregulation. Tiger. Related: The Reregulation mantra. Time to go "John Galt"? Dr. Helen Carbon taxes and the Canadian election Messiahs, mortals, and great men. Jules Michelle on more Ohio vote fraud. JFK pulled these stunts too. It works, if the press is in your pocket.
Mrs. Bird Dog attended this event last night. She and her companions said hi to John and Sarah. She appreciates these two fine folks very much, but she came home feeling discouraged about the election. They raised $9 million, but how to spend it? All I got was an XL McCain-Palin t-shirt. Where can I wear that?
 National (single-payer) Lawn Care: An Immigration Solution
Is "non-partisan" ACORN working for Obama? They even say they are. That's our tax dollars. Here's the Mickey Mouse registration. These people are shameless. Why government health care won't reduce employers' costs Jesse ("Hymietown") Jackson: Obama will get the "Zionists" out of government. More: Time for the Jews to move aside. The Jews are the problem, aren't they? Surely not the dysfunctional, self-destructive and hate-filled Palestinians. Obama's already in an 8th Grade textbook. That's "audacity." Obama funneled money to Afrocentric anti-American extremists. Well I'll be doggoned. Related: How Obama sold out education to "the Revolution." Shelby Steele on minority groupthink Here's a guy I would vote for. Did Bill Ayers ghostwrite Obama's books? WaPo: McCain is a right-wing extremist. I wish. For McCain, it's the times, not the man. Same thing for Obama, I think.
Tuesday, October 14. 2008
A commenter, Tina Trent, offered this informed comment to the Pajamas Complete Guide to ACORN voter fraud: Some answers on how and why ACORN does what it does: First, false registrations serve several purposes. On the smallest scale, they provide opportunities to acquire one or more registration cards to be used for illegal votes. You can have them sent to a community center, a homeless shelter, or someplace else where the cards can be picked up and used. And remember, you can also vote without your card, so long as you present yourself as somebody on the rolls and have some other (fake) form of I.D., so you can register people you know aren’t going to vote (ie. dead people) or vote for those dead people you know are registered. At this level of fraud, of course, requiring photo I.D. would make everything harder. Guess who opposes requiring picture I.D. for voter registration and voting? You can also make up people, get them on the rolls, and then send in absentee ballots. You don’t need a body to do this, or a person to show up at the polls, so this is a major source of fraudulent voting. You can also register people too young to vote and have them vote, along with felons and illegal aliens. The key to all of these things is to keep the laws about identification, both for registration and for casting votes, as lax as possible. Voter registration drives also spread around money — donated by wealthy non-profits, or subsidized by taxpayers, and disseminated around to people (unsurprisingly, often welfare recipients and others with lots of time on their hands, while you have to work for a living) who will happily show up to “protest” various causes for a few bucks or bigger kickbacks, or register non-existent voters so the organization can go back to their donors (or the feds) and show that they’ve “met their goals.” So another important purpose served is as an income stream for activism infrastructure, a way to pay the people you need for heads at a demonstration or a press conference, or to disrupt City Hall (If you’ve ever been involved in city or state politics, you’ve probably noticed that the same usual suspects show up to protest wildly disparate causes. At the Capitol where I worked, the annual “Poor People’s Day” was a good day to get your purse stolen). Growing activism infrastructure doesn’t always translate directly into fraudulent votes cast (though it’s still fraud to file false registrations). But when you get enough money to stage large-scale efforts, then pay lots of people to get registrations, then swamp registration offices at the last possible moment with real and fake ballots, then start screaming about people being denied the right to vote, abetted by a complacent media that starts imagining itself back in “the day” — you’ve disrupted the system and laid the groundwork to whinge on endlessly about disenfranchisement, a complaint that many well-meaning Americans take at face value. And then the loop is complete: it’s “stop the presses: voters are being disenfranchised!” time. Elected officials grandstand and get tax dollars to pay for registration drives. The money gets divvied out by elected officials to organizations like ACORN. And that money and infrastructure get used to lobby against any laws that would “make it harder to vote” by requiring things like registration in person, photo I.D., and other things required in all other industrialized countries (you know, the ones that are gleefully pointing at us right now and j’accusing us of preventing poor minorities from getting to the polls). How does an Obama rise out of this? Easy. First you become the guy who gives out the grants (check). Then you make sure the block captains who support your election to lower-office are the ones who get in on the next grant gravy-train (check). Then you get into office and get more grants to give out to your guys on the ground (check), who re-elect you, sending your further and further up the electoral ladder. Check. Check. Check. (I am not suggesting that Republicans don’t have their own closed loops of corruption, but they don’t do this, and they don’t accuse the rest of us of being racists who suppress votes). The one thing that must NEVER happen is “solving the problem” of poverty, or “disenfranchisement, or any other social ill, because then the gravy train dries up. The argument that “ACORN helps poor people all year long” is risible, unless by “help” you mean getting the most corruptible people from public housing onto public boards in order to open up new avenues of kickbacks and expand political power. So it is all done at the price of keeping the poor actually poor. And that’s the cherry on top.
 The amazing holocaust love story
Somebody who won't be down for breakfast this morning. Top US tourist traps. They tend to be in desolate places, far from other public bathrooms. The fear and panic industry. Aka the news. Atlanta cops can't find honest recruits The criminalization of business judgement. Tiger The scandal of social work education Michelle Obama: "I want your pie." And speaking of the perennially-enraged Michelle Obama, the ugly, titillating, and salacious rumor mill grinds on with Obama's pedophile mentor and now Obama's special relationship. More here. From Gates: The capital explosion has created a large, distributable surplus. People who don’t want to work don’t have to. Equality-pushing, nonequal elites have found new ways to collect and redistribute this surplus in ways that satisfy their moral vanity while perpetuating their hold on power. When you rob Peter to pay Paul, Peter may successfully resist. But when you rob Peter to pay Paul, Pablo, Pavel, Panya, Bakhta and Boumedienne, the mobocratic features of democracy work decidedly for them and for the income redistributor, and against Peter.
Your Complete Guide to ACORN Fraud S&M still thinks government is smarter. When will they ever learn that politicians are whores in suits? How I lost my Obamamania. h/t, Theo
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