Friday, June 3. 2005
Kerry and the Bible Maybe it's because Gwynnie is under 24 inches tall, but she seems to notice things others don't, like how do you flush a Koran down a toilet into a septic system that you have to use daily? As a Corgi, septic systems only amuse her, but she knows they are really, really important to people. She also knows that paper clogs them mercilessly. She also knows that no person smart enough to be in the Army would foul his or her own septic system! The latest item about which she is astounded is that no bloggers have commented upon is Mr. Kerry's famous recent quote: "I went back and reread the whole New Testament the other day. Nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ did I find a suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover, that you ought to take the money from the poor, the opportunities from the poor and give them to the rich people." Gwynnie suggests a new game of fill-in-the-blanks: Nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ did I find a suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover, that: ___________________! The only rule is that what you use to fill in the blank must appear nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ, no suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover! Suggestions to get you started: Nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ did I find a suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover, that children shound be allowed to eat pizza after noon! Nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ did I find a suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover, that you ought to take the money from the rich, the opportunities from the rich and give them to the poor people. Nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ did I find a suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover, that John Kerry has ever picked up a Bible! Nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ did I find a suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover, that John Kerry was fit to be president!
McCain permanently in the doghouse: kiss the ass of the NYT and you are GONE, pal. AI is as gone as McCain: story here. What jerks. Grow up or go away. Deep Thought: No, not Deep Throat - that was a tempest in a teapot, all to get Tricky Dick who the lib media hated. Not that he was a nice guy, but who in politics is? They do far worse right here in West Bumfuk, MA. than Tricky Dick ever dreamed of. No, this is Henrie's piece on what Traditionalist Conservatism is all about. It deserves your time. Satanic EU: Auster thinks so.
Thursday, June 2. 2005
 Guns and Tort Law
Naturally the WaPo calls this a handout to the gun business but I wonder whether it might be a model for tort reform in general. If you kill someone with a Stanley hammer, can your victim's family sue Stanley, and Home Depot, where you bought the hammer? There are plentiful laws regulating the sale of firearms already, and none concerning the very lethal hammer. What is insane in this country is tort litigation, which has become a gold mine, and not "evil" products. This isn't about justice, it's about $.
Excellent summary of insurgency tactics in Iraq, and their evolution, and the counter-measures, in Conferderate Yankee. Feeling good? Read this one in Democratic Underground and feel like your normal grumpy self again. Or laugh. Bloggers and the FEC: Let the FEC know what you think - RedState has the links and the info, and I quote RedState here: My apologies for missing this, but I've seen this quote from yesterday's Tribune article tossed about on some blogs and in some cases used as a justification for people remaining on their backsides. Web loggers, who pride themselves on freewheeling political activism, might face new federal rules on candidate endorsements, online fundraising and political ads, though bloggers who don't take money from political groups would not be affected. In short: um, no. People that support campaign finance reform often repeat the mantra: "we don't regulate speech, we regulate money." Over and over we hear it. But if it's not true, it's certainly not complete. The FEC can regulate anything of value - even perceived value. Don't believe me, see for yourself. (2 USC 431) (A) The term “contribution” includes— (i) any gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office Getting worried yet? Good. If you sell advertising on the open market and then give an ad away to a regulated political entity - you're stuck. Worse would be the FEC determining that favorable blog posts were the equivalent to advertising. |  | | Jun 1st, 2005: 08:43:15, Not Rated This is a free speech issue, as is all campaign finance regulation. They are only taking input for two more days, so send your opinion, as I already did, in a friendly, informative, respectful manner to: Internet@FEC.gov |
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Wednesday, June 1. 2005
Bird People "A loosely-knit community of birdwatchers in New York’s Central Park; ornithologists with their specimen collections at a dozen different natural history museums; bird banders gingerly extracting birds from mist nets and collecting data in upstate New York; six people searching for a nearly extinct bird in a Louisiana bayou: these are the strands that are woven together by The Birdpeople as it documents a passionate fixation."
Tom Lehrer's "The Elements" As sung by the great Tom Lehrer with charming animation by Private Hand.
Lehrer's CDs here.
Kerry says he "re-read the New Testament the other day" and guess what? The New Testament is a Democrat. I can't believe this jerk. Nobody on earth "re-read the New Testament the other day." Story here. Not fun being an MD in Iraq. The problem isn't lawyers - it's armed relatives. Yes, it's from Al Jazeera, but it rings true. They have to throw in some true stuff once in a while. Egyptology: Where is Egypt headed? Interesting. Save the Tasmanian Devil. A sad story, in the NYT. Why the Tom Delay story will go away. Here. Oregon goes Canadian. Maoism arrives at the University of Oregon, and the faculty doesn't like it. But ain't it always this way - they want to do what they think is best for YOU, but hate it when it applies to THEM. Cuz they're virtuous - right? And you are evil, right? Love is powerful. Hmmm, gee, well, if the scientific studies say so, maybe it's true. Correcting the Blacklist Myth: Always thought they got more mileage out of being listed, than the other way around, in the end. A new book, noted by Simon. Lame Duck? Say it enough times, and, in DC, it becomes "true." Hey, Karl Rove - vacation's over. It's the ideas, stupid. Hawkins joins the truth squad on the left's political problems. GK Chesterton: Took a peek into that website posted yesterday. This guy could write essays. An excellent role model for all bloggers. Try this one: A Piece of Chalk
Tuesday, May 31. 2005
 Proud of Buddy
Buddy, the son of my dear friends, has just graduated from his Navy Seals training. From the tales I have heard, it is tough beyond imagining. There are two kinds of men - Seals and regular guys. Buddy is a tough kid. Good going, big guy. America needs you.
Ambulance Chasing Lawyers converge on Gitmo. This is the kind of thing that gives them a bad name. Who has deeper pockets than the US Treasury? From LGF.
The Cochin Harbour Terminus Station and the Train of Hope This is one reason the internet is so enjoyable: more bare, ruined choirs. From The Hindu: As you make your way through the deserted parking lot and step inside this old structure, a foreboding silence acknowledges your presence. The only sound that greets you in this vast building is the echo of your footsteps. Memories of another day, when this structure once represented the lifeline of Cochin sweep past. One of those memories, quite vivid, of me dragging my mother through the hustle and bustle to the Higginbothams book stall (that stood by the entry to the platform) coaxing her to buy me the latest Enid Blyton, while following hastily the porter, laden with our luggage to board the Madras Express, remains etched.
The Mess at St. Paul's Ongoing problems at the once-excellent school, but it's had troubles since they eliminated daily chapel, and whatever other traditions went along with that - in my opinion. Banning Kitchen Knives This is what nanny liberals in a nanny state will get you - a movement to ban kitchen knives because people are being killed with them. But of course, dopes - if they can't have guns, what's the next best thing? How long until the Brits have a movement to ban axes and hammers? Did they ever hear of "people kill people?" Or do they prefer not to believe that? In Confederate Yankee. "Banned in Boston" - Banning Spanking Soon?
And, as if to compete with the Brits in insanity, Boston - well, the prosperous Boston suburb of Brookline - has issued an anti-spanking advisory. Does this include not spanking terrorists, I wonder. No doubt it does. In Brookline, next time your 5 year-old runs into the road, show respect and understanding, OK? Right Thinking has a little piece.
Route Irish Still, sadly, dangerous. Despite Chrenkoff, Baghdad is not yet in full control. Like Israel, Iraq may have to adjust to a long period of trouble.
Surfin in NYC Guess what? New York has better beaches than Hawaii. All you need is a wet suit in the winter.
Art News
The great moguls have been the collectors and patrons of art since the Renaissance, at least. Now we have a bunch of newly-minted moguls, from the hedge funds, who are making sure those prices stay well beyond my reach. From Institutional Investor:
Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors (whose earnings of $450 million put him at No. 4 on our top 25 list) has rapidly assembled a serious collection of contemporary and modern art. He reportedly paid $52 million for a Jackson Pollock, $20 million for a Manet and $25 million for a Warhol. Cohen also shelled out $8 million for Damien Hirst's Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a 14-foot tiger shark entombed in formaldehyde. ARTnews has named Cohen one of the world's top ten art collectors for the third straight year. Kenneth Griffin of Citadel Investment Group (No. 8 on our list, with $240 million) made the ARTnews ranking for the first time last year, after plunking down an undisclosed sum for a Cézanne still life, Curtain, Jug and Fruit Bowl; it sold for $60.5 million in 1999. At least eight hedge fund managers were among the magazine's 200 top art collectors in 2004. Institutional Investor
Monday, May 30. 2005
EU Constitution is Dead (for the moment) Northwest Harbor, Me: The Editor discourages weekend political postings in a worthy effort to reduce weekend agitation, but I just want to say that France was, for once, right - but for the wrong reason - in rejecting the EU Constitution. Their reason was that they did not want more capitalism sauvage imposed by Brussels. But, on the the larger issue, they were correct: France didn't want to sacrifice its autonomy (even if their motives are in error and their understanding of economics is infantile). That is good. That represents an aspiration for freedom and a healthy distrust of distant government. Didn't they have an ugly revolution about that kind of thing? Watch the Netherlands vote "no" too - another weenie nation headed straight towards third-world status. Why have these nations no faith in the energy, productivity, responsibility, self-sufficiency, and ambition of their people? They have become nations of infants, voting for milk in baby-bottles. Pathetic. Bill Kristol in The Weekly Standard: It's hard for Americans to appreciate just how out-of-touch the establishment (and it really is a single establishment) of Paris, Berlin, the Hague, and Brussels is. Its arrogance almost beyond belief. Former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the father of the 448-article constitution, early on in the campaign dismissed complaints about the document's opacity by assuring his countrymen, "The text is easily read and quite well phrased, which I can say all the more easily since I wrote it myself." As Ivan Rioufol of Le Figaro, writing in the Wall Street Journal, commented, "The French didn't know whether he was simply cynical or unaware of the absurdity of his statement. And so he became a caricature of the self-obsessed, aloof politician."Now, watch for calls for a re-match. Hey, EU, how about best of 3? That's enough. I am off to the boat, and God Bless America and protect our brave men at arms.
Proclaimed in 1868, and originally known as Decoration Day, 
Memorial Day was slow to catch on in the South, which, understandably, had their own day to memorialize their war dead. We must honor them too - they were fighting for freedom, as they saw it. How easy it is to forget the meaning of the holiday - the day to remember fallen soldiers, and to decorate their graves - unless you have lost one recently, or saw pals die in battle. In that case, it's easy to remember. It shames me to think how much of what I take for granted has been bought with blood, sweat, and tears. How do you thank the dead, other than with remembrance and prayer? A detailed history of Memorial Day here.
Friday, May 27. 2005
Put me in, Coach: Macho Coach Drops Trousers Pray, not Prey, Pastor: Pastor-Investor Pleads Guilty Caffeine and Hyperactivity, Here Saudis and Homosexuals. From Gay and Right Poll says 60% say country on wrong track, CBS gleefully reports
Russert and Dean: From MSNBC Transcripts: MR. RUSSERT: Let me stay on your rhetoric. January, I mentioned that "I hate the Republicans, what they stand for, good and evil, we are the good." In March, you said, "Republicans are brain dead." You mentioned you're a physician--and this is April. "[Dean] did draw howls of laughter by mimicking a drug-snorting Rush Limbaugh. `I'm not very dignified,' Dean said." DR. DEAN: Well, that's true. A lot of people have accused me of not being dignified. MR. RUSSERT: But is it appropriate for a physician to mock somebody who has gone into therapy and the abuse for drug addiction? DR. DEAN: Here's the point I was trying--as most of these things are taken by the Republicans, spun around Washington saying this in a one sentence, which I generally had said. But then they're sort of manipulated around, saying this is the kind of thing he said. The Rush Limbaugh comment was one that I made about Rush Limbaugh, and I also said something about Bill O'Reilly. The problem is not that these folks have problems. They do, and they have problems in the case of a drug addiction. That's a medical problem. And I respect those who clearly, in my profession, who are trying to overcome their problems.The problem is it is galling to Democrats, 48 percent of us who did not support the president, it is galling to be lectured to about moral values by folks who have their own problems. Hypocrisy is a value that I think has been embraced by the Republican Party. We get lectured by people all day long about moral values by people who have their own moral shortcomings. I don't think we ought to give a whole lot of lectures to people--I think the Bible says something to the effect that be careful when you talk about the shortcomings of somebody else when you haven't removed the moat from your own eye. And I don't think we ought to be lectured to by Republicans who have got all these problems themselves.Rush Limbaugh has made a career of belittling other people and making jokes about President Clinton, about Mrs. Clinton and others. I don't think he's in any position to do that, nor do I think Bill O'Reilly is in a position to abuse families of survivors of 9/11, given his own ethical shortcomings. Everybody has ethical shortcomings. We ought not to lecture each other about our ethical shortcomings.
Thursday, May 26. 2005
Monkeys alive and well in Kansas - More curriculum monkey business. The downside: They make religous folks look dumb. The upside: It's a free country. Being free to be dumb is better than not being free, and subject to the "experts." Think about it - how often do those "experts" turn out to be wrong? In this case, the expert theory is probably more right than wrong, but still... Child welfare dept. drops the ball again: WATERTOWN, N.Y. -- State and local authorities are investigating how a convicted rapist from Oregon failed to register as a sex offender in New York and was allowed to serve as a foster parent in an upstate county for four years before it was discovered.
"We are treating this matter very seriously," said Brian Marchetti, a spokesman for the state's Office of Children and Family Services. "Children's' safety and well-being are always our top priority. Every child deserves to be protected from sexual predators." Click here: Newsday.com: Authorities probe how convicted rapist became foster parent
I think this is a Mississippi River Channel Catfish. This is about as big as they get, Captain Ahab . Editor: Then tonight I get an email from Curt, saying "Is this a bait fish?"
Teach the Constitution in school, you must be kidding. From the Federal Register: SUMMARY: The Assistant DeputySecretary for Innovation and Improvement announces that, pursuant to legislation passed by Congress,educational institutions receiving Federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution onSeptember 17 of each year. This notice
implements this provision as it appliesto educational institutions receiving
Federal funding from the Department. "The rule puts into effect a provision that was inserted in the final federal-spending bill for 2005 by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat and the Senate's unofficial constitutional scholar. The Chronicle: Daily news: 05/25/2005 -- 03 ." "But many university presidents remain concerned that Senator Byrd's provision could establish a precedent for Congress's setting curricular requirements," said Becky Timmons, director of government relations at the American Council on Education. "Federal law prohibits the Education Department from establishing a national curriculum. Our members find it very intrusive," Ms. Timmons said. "They are concerned about the precedent it holds for Congress telling them what to teach."
It is inconceivable that the American Council of Education believes that teaching the Constitution is opening the door to Congressional edicts regarding curriculums at the elementary, high school and college level. It makes common sense to teach the Constitution of the United States if you are educating Americans who have the right to vote and decide who leads their city, state, and country. Isn't an informed public the best safeguard for Democracy? I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that Ms. Timmons is a card carrying ACLU member. People are always looking to pounce on anything remotely patriotic. It's a good thing Senator Byrd is a Democrat or we would be reading the how President Bush changed the American History curriculum. Editor's Note: I beg to respectfully disagree with the learned and honorable Opie. Of course, every kid should have a civics course in grade school and in high school - but that is the responsibility of the local school systems. I know it's getting late to close the barn door, but keep the Feds away from our schools. The real problem is that the schools want the Fed $, so they have to give up their own authority and judgement to get it. That isn't good.
Hedgies: Brother, can you spare a dime? From the NYT: ON average, according to Institutional Investor's most recent survey, the 25 best-paid hedge fund managers each took home $207 million in 2003, about double what they made a year earlier. That's $207 million in cash - not in equity or stock options. Meanwhile, the nation's 25 highest-paid chief executives each made an average of $37 million in total compensation last year, including options granted (but not those exercised), according to Business Week. Most hedge fund managers do make money for their investors. But even if a hedge fund manager doesn't make a cent for his investors, the manager invariably makes a fortune for himself. Think about it: just for showing up to work, the manager of a hedge fund with $1 billion in assets is guaranteed to earn $20 million a year in management fees alone. Why should he take any risks? Why should he alienate his cautious investors? If we add in his 20 percent cut of the gains, and assume that his returns last year were just average (in line with the S.& P. 500) he would have grossed a total of $41.8 million." Gunslingers No More: The Cautious Cash In - New York Times
Where the rich put their money: Not in hedgies, right now. A Blog: The UN: One World United Under a Global Dictatorship Walking away with Birkenstocks? Here. Another Blogger for ya - from California: Thompson at Large Another Blog: Pave France - The British Need More Parking Stanley Kunitz Turns 100 this summer. McCain vs. Frist? McCain is running for sure. Bad Taste Humor - as bad as above item: A Michael Jackson cartoon. The Latest on Soros - Click here: Accuracy In Media - AIM Report: CNN's George Soros-gate - May B :The latest campaign by the Soros-funded operatives is to "save PBS" because Kenneth Tomlinson, the new Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), is demanding that public TV and radio adhere to federal law requiring fairness and balance in programming. The New York Times sparked the controversy when it reported that Tomlinson had authorized monitoring of the liberal bias on the Moyers PBS show and had backed a PBS show for Paul Gigot and members of the Wall Street Journal's editorial page. Lincoln Bedroom: Sorry - donors still sleep there.
The Siege of Western Civilization A DVD, by Herb Meyer. This 40 minute chat is getting around by word of mouth. Thanks, Right Thinking, who reviews it here.
Wednesday, May 25. 2005
Hack's Memorial Service: Here. A Connecticut guy who gave a hell of a lot more than most of us ever will, and kept on giving.
Big Fish - Mississippi Catfish - story here.
A Cape Cod Day We have been having a Cape Cod day today, and, in fact, a Cape Cod week in New England. What that means is low 50s, 40s at night, strong wind, rain, clouds and fog. It is for hearty folks. Got a fire going right now, in late May. What a wonderful world.
A Chinese Blogger for Justice- Audio-visual in the NYT
Seafarer's Friend. A worthy Yankee charity.
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