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Common Sense Junction
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  1. OBAMA REINVENTION EFFORTS FACE A PROBLEM: “Something more fundamental is going on here: Obama seems…

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 8:00 pm MST

    OBAMA REINVENTION EFFORTS FACE A PROBLEM: “Something more fundamental is going on here: Obama seems not to respect his fellow citizens — the uninformed rubes who crashed the health-care town halls — nor care what they think. All his energy now is devoted to disregarding their strong aversion to his idea of health-care reform [...]

  2. Buy Gold

    → Power Line | 12 Mar 2010 | 7:43 pm MST

    President Obama has appointed Janet Yellen, President of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, as Vice-Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Reuters reads the tea leaves:

    Yellen would replace Donald Kohn, a 40-year veteran of the Fed who announced earlier this month that he would retire on June 23. ...

    She is considered one of the most "dovish" members of the central bank's policymakers, meaning she is seen to lean toward policies that will boost growth and promote employment rather than those aimed at keeping inflation at bay. ...

    A top-flight economist, she has warned of "undesirably low" inflation and the prospect of a prolonged, sluggish recovery for the U.S. economy.

    "Even with my moderate growth forecast, the economy will be operating well below its potential for several years," Yellen said on February 22. "If it were possible to take interest rates into negative territory I would be voting for that."

    Policymakers are currently split among those who think persistently high unemployment calls for a prolonged period of easy money and those who worry that Fed's massive cash infusion into the financial system poses a dangerous inflation risk if the Fed does not soon begin to pull back reserves.

    This seems like a clue as to where the Obama administration intends to take the economy. If I'm not mistaken, Jimmy Carter did much the same thing: juice the currency, try to stimulate growth and worry about the inevitable inflation later. The problem, of course, is that the federal government's policies are doing just about everything possible to suppress economic growth. Nothing the Fed can do will make up for an anti-growth, anti-business administration. But it can create inflation, and here's betting it will. The moral of the story is, look for the dollar to decline sharply. Buy gold.



  3. OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Mickey Kaus’s campaign commences….

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 7:05 pm MST

    OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Mickey Kaus’s campaign commences.

  4. MARCH 16TH: The People Surging Against ObamaCare. Marching on Washington Tuesday. I’m told PJTV w…

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 6:47 pm MST

    MARCH 16TH: The People Surging Against ObamaCare. Marching on Washington Tuesday. I’m told PJTV will be covering it live.

  5. IMPORTANT dating advice for women….

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 6:27 pm MST

    IMPORTANT dating advice for women.

  6. Hugh Hewitt: Stopping Obamacare: Contribute To Tim Burns This Weekend

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 12 Mar 2010 | 6:06 pm MST

    Tim Burns has been nominated to run in the special election to fill the Congressional seat vacated by the death of John Murtha. Burns' homepage is here, but we need to raise him a lot of money this weekend.If...

  7. AT AMAZON, it’s the Friday Sale….

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 5:00 pm MST

    AT AMAZON, it’s the Friday Sale.

  8. THE COFFEE PARTY: Doing the research that CNN didn’t….

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:37 pm MST

    THE COFFEE PARTY: Doing the research that CNN didn’t.

  9. DAVID BROOKS applies for a job. …

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:30 pm MST

    DAVID BROOKS applies for a job.

  10. VACCINE UPDATE: Mercury-Autism Link Rejected….

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:17 pm MST

    VACCINE UPDATE: Mercury-Autism Link Rejected.

  11. TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN: Humans Outcompeting Killer Whales For Food….

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:17 pm MST

    TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN: Humans Outcompeting Killer Whales For Food.

  12. FINALLY: A Tiger Woods Love Doll….

    → Instapundit | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:10 pm MST

    FINALLY: A Tiger Woods Love Doll.

  13. Hugh Hewitt: GreatCommission2020.com and iUniversity

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:00 pm MST

    I was a speaker at Biola University's First Imagination Summit, and the presentations I listened to were extraordinary, including venture capitalist Promod Haque, Apple's Education Director Jason Ediger, and Walt Wilson...

  14. The shape of things to come

    → Power Line | 12 Mar 2010 | 3:55 pm MST

    Hanns Kuttner, at NRO's Critical Condition blog, offers a reasonably accessible explanation of how the Democrats plan to enact Obamacare. Kuttner says the House Dems will attempt to adopt a "self-executing rule" that, in one vote, passes the Senate health-care-reform bill and a reconciliation bill. If the Dems prevail on that one vote, the Senate health-reform bill would then be sent to the president for his approval. The reconciliation bill would be sent to the Senate for further action.

    It's a weird scheme and one that pushes constitutional limits. As Kuttner notes, though, the judiciary takes a generous view of Congress' authority to "determine the rules of its proceedings." Thus, it's likely that, if the House Dems prevail on their one vote, we will be stuck with some form of Obamacare.

    But what form? The reconciliation bill presented to the House via the "self-executing rule" scheme would contain "fixes" that maximize its chances of passage in the House. The Cornhusker Kickback would be eliminated, for example. In addition, it could contain language on abortion designed to assuage Rep. Stupak's coalition.

    House Dems who vote "yes" could then say they voted for the improved legislation, not the Senate bill. Of course, it will be the Senate bill that becomes law, pending whatever happens in the Senate on reconciliation.

    As to that matter, the Senate would, as I understand it, be able to make certain fixes, but not others. An abortion fix to its previously passed bill is against the rules and (perhaps more importantly in the current make-it-up-as-you-go-along environment) not desired by the Senate in any case. But other fixes would be permitted, and would require only 50 votes.

    Republicans could try to block them through procedural maneuvers. However, to the extent the fixes are aimed at eliminating or improving bad provisions, the Republicans risk assuming partial ownership of these provisions if they stand in the way of the fix.

    As I said, this strategy maximizes the prospect of getting the Senate bill out of the House. But will it succeed? It's not likely to win over hard-core anti-abortion Democrats like Stupak; they understand that the Senate will nullify the anti-abortion language. However, it may help erode Stupak's coalition.

    The abortion issue aside, even with the prospect of other fixes succeeding in the Senate, some House Dems must still be concerned that the slightly improved version of Obamacare will remain highly unpopular with their constituents. These members must also assess the extent to which the procedural manipulation the Dems are undertaking will deeply offend the folks back home.

    All things considered, I agree with Scott -- "we should be worried."



  15. Stupak's lament

    → Power Line | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:07 pm MST

    In case you're inclined to relax in expressing your opposition to the nationalization of health care, pay heed to the words of Bart Stupak, via Robert Costa's report:

    Sitting in an airport, on his way home to Michigan, Rep. Bart Stupak, a pro-life Democrat, is chagrined. "They're ignoring me," he says, in a phone interview with National Review Online. "That's their strategy now. The House Democratic leaders think they have the votes to pass the Senate's health-care bill without us. At this point, there is no doubt that they've been able to peel off one or two of my twelve. And even if they don't have the votes, it's been made clear to us that they won't insert our language on the abortion issue."

    According to Stupak, that group of twelve pro-life House Democrats -- the "Stupak dozen" -- has privately agreed for months to vote 'no' on the Senate's health-care bill if federal funding for abortion is included in the final legislative language. Now, in the debate's final hours, Stupak says the other eleven are coming under "enormous" political pressure from both the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). "I am a definite 'no' vote," he says. "I didn't cave. The others are having both of their arms twisted, and we're all getting pounded by our traditional Democratic supporters, like unions."

    Stupak also laments the mindset of Democratic leaders:

    What are Democratic leaders saying? "If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more. That's one of the arguments I've been hearing," Stupak says. "Money is their hang-up. Is this how we now value life in America? If money is the issue -- come on, we can find room in the budget. This is life we're talking about."

    I don't know whether House Democratic leaders believe in the fiscal desirability of federally funded abortion or think they have the votes to pass Obamacare -- consider this FDL News Desk whiip count as of noon today -- but I know we should be worried about it.

    UPDATE: The New York Times reports on the latest maneuvering by Obama and Democratic congressional leaders to push through a vote as early as the end of next week.



  16. Jeffrey Goldberg considers the Daily Ditch

    → Power Line | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:03 pm MST

    The Daily Ditch is my preferred name for Andrew Sullivan's Atlantic blog. Sullivan's almost unbelievable ignorance of history was my central thesis in "Obama veers into the Daily Ditch." Now comes Atlantic national correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg to note that that "Andrew Sullivan revises history (again)." The topic sentence of Goldberg's lead says it all: "Andrew Sullivan should be thankful that The Atlantic's fact-checking department has no purview over the magazine's website." Indeed.

    Goldberg has appended this update to his exposé of Sullivan: "When I implied above that a magazine with standards would not allow Andrew to misinterpret history, I should have stated that the Atlantic's website has no fact-checking standards, and not that it has no standards at all." Well, thanks for clearing that up, but the point stands. And anyone who bothers to read Sullivan's post will see that the Atlantic's website has no standards of taste either.

    I continue to find it shocking that one of America's premier magazines hosts and promotes Sullivan's ignorance and bile. it is gratifying that one of the Atlantic's national correspondents has had the temerity to speak up about Sullivan from inside the asylum.

    Via Republic.



  17. A Celebration of Bill Stuntz, March 26–27

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:39 pm MST

    On the afternoon of Friday, March 26, and the morning of March 27, Harvard Law School will be celebrating the work of Bill Stuntz, the Henry J. Friendly Professor of Law. The conference will be a bittersweet event. It will be sweet in that many outstanding criminal procedure scholars, together with many [...]

  18. “Obama Effect” Spurs Record Number of Nobel Peace Prize Nominations

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:38 pm MST

    The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama last year, despite the very modest nature of his success in actually achieving peace so far, has stimulated a record number of nominations for the prize this year: A record 237 people and organizations have been nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, with interest boosted [...]

  19. "With the goosebumpily gravel-voiced Alex Lambert and the adorably indie Lilly Scott inexplicably and tragically out of the running..."

    → Althouse | 12 Mar 2010 | 11:43 am MST

    "... this show is going to get so shark-jumpingly bad that it might as well be filmed on location at Sea World from now on."

    Oh, come on. It's not that bad. First, "jumping the shark" doesn't mean getting dull. It means doing something desperately weird and out of keeping with what was good about a show. That's not this. Second, Paige Miles survived, thwarting the theory that Americans are racist. Third, Alex Lambert and Lilly Scott were low energy and they're responsible for their own low vote tabulation. Fourth, we already had a Lambert last year. Fifth, it's "American Idol." It's always been in large part about being kind of bad and loving somebody who doesn't deserve it and failing to appreciate somebody else who was better.

  20. "They're professionals, musicians and housewives."

    → Althouse | 12 Mar 2010 | 11:26 am MST

    "They're frustrated liberal activists, disheartened conservatives and political newborns. They're young and old, rich and poor, black, white and all shades of other."

    It's the Coffee Party:
    Born on Facebook just six weeks ago, the group boasts more than 110,000 fans, as of Friday morning. The Coffee Party is billed by many as an answer to the Tea Party (more than 1,000 fewer fans), a year-old protest movement that's steeped in fiscal conservatism and boiling-hot, anti-tax rhetoric."

    This new group calls for civility, objects to obstructionism and demands that politicians be held accountable to the people who put them in office.

    "The government has become so broken that the will of the people has been lost in the political game," said Stacey Hopkins, 46, coordinator of the Atlanta, Georgia, chapter. "And the only voices you're hearing are the ones of those who are screaming the loudest...."
    So, an un-hot movement. Kind of almost the same as no movement at all. But it has more Facebook fans. I'm wondering how this works. Everyone sits around coolly at their computer or perhaps goes to a coffeehouse and hangs out with other people, and they are all very polite and placid.

    ***

    I'm so sick of getting email invitations to become a "fan" of a damned Facebook group. You get some Facebook friends and that triggers these endless, automatic invitations to become a "fan" of whatever group they join. If that's the modus operandi of the Coffee Party, I have all the more reason to think of these people as lame and their numbers — counted in Facebook fans — as consisting of people who friend too much and respond to meaningless prompting. Perhaps they do it to be polite. And, in that case, they have their movement that's about being civil. How very nice for them, and horribly meaningless for us.

  21. The oldest person in the world...

    → Althouse | 12 Mar 2010 | 11:12 am MST

    ... is a lot older than other oldest persons who've been identified as the oldest. 

    From the video at the link, I have gleaned some tips for hanging onto life as long as possible:

    1. Stay in bed, lying down, under thick covers.

    2. Have cute kids romping around you, kissing you, and bringing you flowers.

  22. "See, for example, the words of former Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska: 'If [the Pledge] was good enough for the founding fathers, its [sic] good enough for me....'"

    → Althouse | 12 Mar 2010 | 10:44 am MST

    Those words appear in Palin's Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire, Eagle Forum Alaska, July 31, 2006. In his dissenting opinion in the new 9th Circuit case upholding the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, Judge Reinhardt cited Palin's words in a footnote in support of the proposition that "some individuals" don't know their history:
    For many Americans, the current version of the Pledge is the only version they have ever known. Some individuals not familiar with our political history may even be under the impression that its language dates back to the founding fathers.
    Orin Kerr sees the hand of a smartass clerk:
    I think it’s notable when a federal court of appeals judge with a well-established political view picks up a meme from political blogs and pokes fun at a politician on the other side in a pretty gratuitous way. It also screams “law clerk idea.” If you don’t think that’s notable, then I suppose we’ll just have to disagree.
    A Kerr commenters defends Palin. DrGrishka says:
    Reinhardt’s citation is misleading. The question to which Sarah Palin responded read:
    11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
    The answer was
    Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance
    It could be that she gave a stupid answer in which the “it” referred to the Pledge itself. That would be historically inaccurate. But the “it” could have just as easily referred to the phrase “under G-d.” If so, the answer would be completely plausible as founding fathers used such phrases all the time.
    And Palin's task at hand was to be an effective political candidate, and that is not about parsing the question and saying the most technically correct thing. People who assume they are smarter than Palin need to perceive the contextual dimension of intelligence. Are you smart at doing the thing you are currently trying to do or smart in the abstract? Because life is not in the abstract, and the people who are smartest in the abstract are not the ones who win political power. Reinhardt/his law clerk was overconfident, perhaps, in his own intelligence and failed to pay attention to the context in which he was operating, a judicial opinion. Fortunately, the political process is pretty good at filtering out individuals afflicted with this form of stupidity. But if they have life tenure, as judges do, we are stuck with it. And yet, Reinhardt needed votes too, and here we see he is writing in dissent, having lost.

    Another commenter, footnoter, says:
    What a sad reflection on Reinhardt. When a judge gets to doing this, it’s past time to hang up the spurs.
    On the topic of a 133-page dissent with its own table of contents, on a rather simple issue, I’m reminded of EZ Rider’s dictum: “simple arguments are winning arguments; convoluted arguments are sleeping pills on paper. . . . when judges see a lot of words they immediately think: LOSER, LOSER. You might as well write it in big bold letters on the cover of your brief”
    [I]magine if Judge Bybee or Justice Scalia said “we have 50 states– a fact unknown to some Americans in power” with a footnote saying “see, e.g., President Obama’s remarks he had visited ’57 states.’”
    What if the other side had done the equivalent? That question pops up so often these days.

  23. Younger Americans are trending away from support for abortion rights.

    → Althouse | 12 Mar 2010 | 10:14 am MST

    According to this new Gallup poll:
    In the mid-1970s, when Gallup started polling on the issue, adults aged 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 were the most supportive of legal abortion under any circumstances, and those 65 and older the least, with 50- to 64-year-olds falling in between. That pattern continued through the late 1990s. Since 2000, however, all age groups with the exception of seniors have shown similar levels of support for broadly legal abortion....
    In the most recent period, from 2005 to 2009, the majority of all age groups favored the middle "legal only under certain circumstances" position. However, there was some differentiation in support for the more liberal abortion view, as roughly a quarter of adults aged 18 to 29, 30 to 49, and 50 to 64 -- versus 16% of seniors -- believed abortion should be legal under any circumstances.

    At the same time, young adults were slightly more likely than all other age groups, including seniors, to say abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.
    Why this new trend? It could be that young people are influenced by their parents, and parents who oppose abortion have been having more children, especially in the post-Roe period — when the 18 to 29 year olds were born.

  24. What has happened to our Hillary?

    → Althouse | 12 Mar 2010 | 9:59 am MST

    Hillary Rodham Clinton is — have you forgotten? — Secretary of State. And here we see her as the First Lady's sidekick at the 2010 International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony:


    This photograph almost enrages me. Michelle Obama laughs openly and Hillary covers her mouth like a geisha. The photographer doesn't even get a clear shot of the shrinking former First Lady. A fuzzy head blocks our view.

    Is Hillary Clinton some sort of special women's Secretary of State? Every time I see her, she's tending to some nurturing, women-oriented matter, helping people in the Third World and so on. Women of Courage... where's her courage? Or is her annoyingly modest posture a cover for a truly bold move in the offing? I hope so!

  25. Hugh Hewitt: Archbishop Chaput of Denver

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 12 Mar 2010 | 8:24 am MST

    My Townhall.com column this week reprints the speech with Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver delivered to the Cleveland Right to Life conference on Tuesday night.You should also read his address a week earlier at...

  26. Forgetful Eric

    → Power Line | 12 Mar 2010 | 7:39 am MST

    Senator John Kyl is skeptical of Attorney General Eric Holder's claim that forgetfulness explains his failure to inform the Senate of his role in a brief supporting the position of terrorist Jose Padilla. Kyl asks: "Are we expected to believe that then-nominee Holder, with only a handful of Supreme Court briefs to his name, forgot about his role in one of this country's most publicized terrorism cases?"

    It's not an easy thing to believe. I still remember the handful of Supreme Court matters I worked on, peripherally, as a government lawyer in the 1970s.



  27. Hugh Hewitt: Stopping Obamacare: Weekend Targets

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 12 Mar 2010 | 7:07 am MST

    Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher and I spoke to a crowd of more than 700 last night at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda. Most of the conversation was about Obamacare. I asked those who had contacted House...

  28. Despicable

    → Power Line | 12 Mar 2010 | 6:45 am MST

    Howie Carr's column on Rep. Patrick Kennedy asks a question that crossed my mind regarding Kennedy's rant on the House floor this week: "Is it perhaps time for the House of Representatives to install Breathalyzers in front of the podium?" In his rant Kennedy called out the national press as "despicable" for paying insufficient attention to Dennis Kucinich's goofy antiwar resolution.

    Carr has a serous point. He also asks: "[I]n the aftermath of Rep. Ambien's spittle-flecked harangue, why isn't anyone mentioning his utter lack of gratitude? I mean, when it comes to reporting on Patches' odious clan, the national press corps has indeed been despicable."



  29. Tracking Jihad Jane

    → Power Line | 12 Mar 2010 | 6:32 am MST

    ABC News gets around to telling the story of the investigation of the recently indicted Jihad Jane (Colleen LaRose). Where are the rest of the mainstream media? It's an inspirational story.

    The Jawa Report tells the story in the first person, where I originally read about it, in "I turned in Colleen 'Jihad Jane' LaRose." The ABC story also links to YouTube Smackdown and Quoth the Raven, which provide additional background.

    The heading of the Jawa Report post aptly harks back to "I Married a Communist," which itself harked back (as the linked New York Times capsule review notes) to the gangster films of the 1930's.

    Via Repubclic.



  30. A City Gone Mad

    → Power Line | 12 Mar 2010 | 6:16 am MST

    That would be Washington, D.C., as the Democrats continue their frenzied effort to ram government medicine down the throats of the American people. Michael Ramirez envisions Nancy Pelosi as the Mad Hatter; click to enlarge:

    RAMclr-031110-FULL.jpg

    Actually, he had several Alice in Wonderland characters to choose from.



  31. From Language Log to the New York Times Magazine

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 12 Mar 2010 | 5:35 am MST

    I’m pleased to say that Ben Zimmer, a contributor to one of my favorite blogs — Language Log — will be the New York Times Magazine’s new On Language columnist, replacing the late William Safire. The press release: The New York Times Magazine announced today the appointment of linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer as the [...]

  32. Sure The Health Bill Stinks, But Blame The Republicans

    → JustOneMinute | 12 Mar 2010 | 5:21 am MST

    Ezra Klein peddles the latest Dem spin should the reconciliation door slam shut on eager Democratic health care reformers: The thinkable has happened, and the Senate parliamentarian has ruled that the president must sign the health-care reform bill before the...

  33. Bloggers foresee big political benefits in health bill. Split Ax vs. Rahm

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:57 pm MST

    This week’s National Journal poll of political bloggers asked left-leaning political bloggers “If Congress enacts something close to President Obama’s latest health care reform plan, how would that affect the Democratic Party in the midterm elections?” The right-leaning bloggers were asked the same question about the effect on Republicans. On the Left, 40% said that enactment [...]

  34. "The president is a person, not a product. We shouldn’t be referring to him as a brand."

    → Althouse | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:31 pm MST

    What Axelrod supposedly said to Desiree Rogers, the former WH social secretary, after she talked to much about "the Obama brand."

  35. "I was an idiot. I was in the wrong. About the breakup. About the haircut story."

    → Althouse | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:44 pm MST

    "About so many things with her. Anything bad she says about me I can confirm."

    Great, great, fabulous response to the revelation that the "worst boyfriend" in that hilarious Lynda Barry comic strip was, in fact, the beloved radio personality...
    Ira Glass.

  36. Ezra Klein grasps at straws after the Senate parliamentarian rules that if the House passes the Senate bill, it must go to the Prez for signature, before any reconciliation bill.

    → Althouse | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:37 pm MST

    He says:
    If Republicans figure out some nuclear level of obstruction that could actually derail the reconciliation process, then they will effectively own the worst elements of the Senate bill, and Democrats can just spend their time hammering Republican obstructionism that has so lost touch with reality that they'd rather keep legislation they're against than let Democrats fix it. Or so goes the argument.
    "Or so goes the argument." Does that mean he buys the argument? Or is that just what others are saying? Because it's ridiculous to think that people won't hold the Democrats responsible for the bill they produce. Klein's readers are flaying him in the comments. E.g.:
    Ezra do they actually pay you for this drivel or do you get supplemental pay from Acorn or the SEIU? You are a complete shill for Obama and have lost all objectivity. What a worthless piece of tripe. Please start posting a warning label on your articles that people may actually lose intelligence after reading your it.

    To clarify, if the democrats ram this through with reconciliation they will be hammered in the November and 2012 elections. Trying to say the Republicans are responsible for this stupidity is so convoluted it is simply breathtakingly stupid....


  37. "60% Say Their Kids’ Textbooks Place Political Correctness Above Accuracy."

    → Althouse | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:22 pm MST

    A Rasmussen poll.

  38. Epic Stupidity

    → Power Line | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:06 pm MST

    This is one of the most appalling news stories I've seen in a long time. It's from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and it isn't a parody: "Study finds median wealth for single black women at $5."

    The "study" apparently was done by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, based in Oakland, California, with an assist from another Oakland outfit, the Closing the Gap Initiative. So blame them, not me, for slandering African-American women:

    In a groundbreaking report released Monday by a leading economic research group, social scientists turned a spotlight on the grave financial challenges facing an often overlooked group of women, many of whom could not take an unpaid sick day or repair a major appliance without going into debt.

    Or, if you believe them, buy a cheeseburger.

    Among the most startling revelations in the wealth data is that while single white women in the prime of their working years (ages 36 to 49) have a median wealth of $42,600, ... the median wealth for single black women is only $5.

    That's startling, all right. I don't think it's right, but to the extent that there is some kernel of truth there, what could the cause be? The Post-Gazette's last paragraphs--the most appalling of the piece--suggest an answer:

    Ms. Lui [director of the Closing the Gap Initiative] said the Insight report would be used to encourage the government to close the wealth gap and improve the outlook for women of color, just as it did for Americans who received land through the Homestead Act, and education through the GI bill.

    "If wealth was based on hard work, African-Americans would be the wealthiest people in our nation," she said. "It's not about behavior. It's about government policies. Who does the government help and who is it not helping?

    "Our government knows how to build wealth for people. They've done it for others and they can do it for all of us. They need to focus some attention on women of color. Look at the situation and see what we need."

    How about this for a revised headline: "Those who believe that government handouts are the only path to prosperity have median wealth of $5."

    Via Repubclic.



  39. Some Remarkably Cool Photos

    → Power Line | 11 Mar 2010 | 7:50 pm MST

    New York and Las Vegas, from the air at night, by photographer Jason Hawkes, via InstaPundit. Hawkes used a helicopter. I really like this one; click to enlarge:

    j03_00002182.jpg

    Here's another:

    j09_00003279.jpg

    From the sublime to the ridiculous, some would say, but hey: I like Las Vegas:

    j18_00000708.jpg

    Here's one more, of New York, taken by one of my nephews who is about to embark on a career as a photojournalist. He didn't have a helicopter, so he climbed high on a New York bridge to take this photo, which I think is pretty darned good:

    AndrewNY102.jpg



  40. Judge Reinhardt’s Dig on Sarah Palin

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 11 Mar 2010 | 7:47 pm MST

    From Judge Reinhardt’s 133-page dissent in the pledge-of-allegiance case, Newdow v. Rio Linda Union School District, the first dissent I have ever read that comes with a table of contents: For many Americans, the current version of the Pledge is the only version they have ever known. Some individuals not familiar with our political history may [...]

  41. “We Have to Pass the Bill So That You Can Find Out What Is In It”

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 11 Mar 2010 | 5:13 pm MST

    From a speech on health care by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (caught by The Wall Street Journal’s Best of the Web). Here’s the context: You’ve heard about the controversies within the bill, the process about the bill, one or the other. But I don’t know if you have heard that it is legislation for the [...]

  42. Ninth Circuit Upholds “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance,

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 11 Mar 2010 | 4:15 pm MST

    in a 60-page opinion (Newdow v. Rio Linda Union School Dist.) by Judge Bea, joined by Judge D.W. Nelson; Judge Reinhardt dissents, in a 133-page opinion. Thanks to How Appealing for the pointer. Copyright © 2010 This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. The use of this feed on other websites breaches copyright. If this [...]

  43. More on Information About Prostitution

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 11 Mar 2010 | 4:12 pm MST

    Above the Law comments, apropos the prostitution advertising case, “If you need advertisements to help point you in the direction of prostitutes in a state where prostitution is legal, then something is wrong with your wang.” And this reminds me of one of my favorite jokes. A man is on his first visit to Boston, and [...]

  44. “Christian Prurient”

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:41 pm MST

    From LaRue v. Matheney (S.D. W. Va. Mar. 4, 2010): Plaintiff’s original 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint in this matter sought reinstatement of certain privileges revoked by MOCC as a result of plaintiff’s refusal to comply with the requirements of the prison’s sex offender treatment program. Plaintiff had previously agreed to participate in MOCC’s Quality of [...]

  45. Senate Parliamentarian - Obama Must Sign On Dotted Line

    → JustOneMinute | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:19 pm MST

    Roll Call reports hard news for the Dem strategists hoping to reconcile a bill that hasn't been passed: The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress’ original health care reform bill before the Senate can act...

  46. The First Amendment and Advertisements of Legal Prostitution

    → The Volokh Conspiracy | 11 Mar 2010 | 1:08 pm MST

    In today’s Coyote Publishing, Inc. v. Miller, the Ninth Circuit upheld Nevada’s restrictions on advertising legal prostitution; the opinion is long and has much interesting material, but here’s the heart of the analysis: Increased advertising of commercial sex throughout the state of Nevada would increase the extent to which sex is presented to the public as [...]

  47. What Is He Waiting For?

    → JustOneMinute | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:15 pm MST

    The NY Times runs a guest op-ed by Prof. Richard Schmidt, who tackles the question of sudden acceleration in Toyotas. Prof. Schmidt studied the sudden acceleration problem for Audi in the 80's and has some thoughts: THE Obama administration has...

  48. Global Warming, Local Skepticism

    → JustOneMinute | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:53 am MST

    Gallup tells us that public belief in global warming is fading; Charlie Martin at Pajamas Media tells us that the independent data sets demonstrating global warming may not be that independent. I have several objections to the Gallup article. First,...

  49. James O'Keefe Back For More

    → JustOneMinute | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:38 am MST

    Patterico tells us that ACORN nemesis James O'Keefe may have targeted HUD as well.

  50. Thoughts on the State of the Republic

    → Blog O'Stuff | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:50 am MST

    I had a couple of interesting conversations with coworkers over the past two days regarding the state of the Republic.

    The first was with a moderate who leans a bit to the left, and who voted for Obama.  Quoting him, "I have lost all faith in government."  This is largely due to the partisan politics in D.C. and the way that the Democrats aren't behaving any better than the Republicans were (in his view) when they were in power.

    The second was with moderate coworker who maybe leans a little to the right (I don't know if he voted for McCain or Obama).  I have a TV at my desk playing Fox News (yes, it's work related).  There was an onscreen blurb about how the Democrats were meeting behind closed doors yet again about the healthcare bill.  "I thought one of Obama's key points during the campaign was transparency," he said.  He also offered the opinion that the politicians will never do anything to make things better.  On top of that, he feels that until someone finally gets fed up enough to start shooting politicians, things won't improve.  Yes, this was a politically moderate, educated man saying that the only possible solution to our political ills is armed insurrection.

    Bottom line:

    If generally politically moderate Americans are saying this kind of stuff aloud (especially number 2 above), we are in really bad shape and in for some rough times ahead.  If the Democrats keep pushing an agenda which is diametrically opposed to what the American people want, the people will decide that the government isn't legitimate.  At that point all bets are off.

    I pray that the Democrats in D.C. are unable to move forward with their agenda until November.  Hopefully they will then take a drubbing even worse than they did in 1994, and then don't ram something down our throats during a lame duck session.


  51. Hugh Hewitt: The "N/Y" Democrats

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 11 Mar 2010 | 7:39 am MST

    When and if a House vote is taken on the Senate version of Obamacare, all Democrats will have sorted themselves into one of four boxes --Y/Y, N/N, Y/N and N/Y.A Y/Y Dem will have voted for Obamacare in the fall and...

  52. Hugh Hewitt: The Impact of Obamacare on the Number of Doctors

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:17 pm MST

    Read this report from the website of the New England Journal of Medicine.[# More #] Key graphs: The results from the survey, entitled "Physician Survey: Health Reform's Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of...

  53. Snowflakes in Hell: NRA Board recommendations

    → Of Arms and the Law | 10 Mar 2010 | 2:37 pm MST

    Here are Snowflakes in Hell's recommendations in the ongoing vote for NRA Board members.

    [Oops. Deleted the double posting!]



  54. Ohio Supreme Court to hear pre-emption case

    → Of Arms and the Law | 10 Mar 2010 | 11:26 am MST

    Story here. Cleveland adopted a bar on open carry, maintaining that the legislature's pre-emption statute violates its home-rule powers, under the State constitution. The Court of Appeals agreed with that, but the Ohio Supreme Court, after being petitioned by the state's Attorney General, has agreed to take the case.



  55. Scott Rasmussen Explains The Polling On Health Care

    → JustOneMinute | 10 Mar 2010 | 10:09 am MST

    Scott Rasmussen has a good article in the WSJ explaining the steady public to ObamaCare. His Big Finish: The reason President Obama can't move the numbers and build public support is because the fundamentals are stacked against him. Most voters...

  56. The Very Complicated Health Care Reform Process

    → JustOneMinute | 10 Mar 2010 | 9:54 am MST

    The Times and the WaPo explain that the reconciliation process seems to require reconciliation of an existing law - Congress can't reconcile talk and good intentions, as Keith Hennesey explained recently. That means the House has to pass the Senate...

  57. Report from Ohio State University campus

    → Of Arms and the Law | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:56 am MST

    Reader Mark Noble emails his thoughts in relation to yesterday's shooting at OSU:

    I’ve been very disappointed in OSU PD’s handling of public safety. The campus is surrounded on 3 sides by some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Columbus. When I’ve talked to the Columbus Police Community Liaison officer at on-campus safety events they blame the victims for getting assaulted and robbed in the neighborhood. Many of the robberies happen to students walking in pairs or groups (which are no match for one or two armed attackers) and the Police parrot the same advice “walk in groups”. To discourage car and apartment thefts they advise OSU students to carry all of their valuables on their person – this just leads to juicier unarmed targets.

    I watched the 11:00a press conference from OSU PD. Important facts from the conference.

    OSU “takes safety very seriously”.
    OSU PD arrived exactly two minutes and one second after the situation was over.
    OSU PD heroically captured the suspect who had shot himself and lay dying.
    OSU heroically notified students of the danger a half-hour after the threat was over.

    Reporter: Are you satisfied with the way that everything worked?

    OSU Director of Public safety: I'm extremely satisfied and I'm also very appreciative of not only the way that the staff responded in terms of notifying us - taking cover - but also I'm very pleased with the response of our police and law enforcement personnel and also the EMS personnel who responded fairly quickly.

    SOURCE: 6:50 into this video.

    Other incidents on campus involve multiple armed robberies on the gun-free campus. One very close to the scene of today’s shooting in the same building with the police station. Several shootings have happened at the University Hospital nearby where state prison inmates are brought for treatment and occasionally try to escape.

    Because of fears of “drunken college students” misusing handguns, my mom and brother who work in adjacent buildings to this fatal shooting are prevented by their employer and state law from defending themselves at work. My brother is a concealed handgun licensee. My wife, an OSU student frequents another part of campus where a woman was raped the other day. A few days prior, a student with a golf club disrupted an earlier attack attempt in the same area – yet my wife, an NRA Certified Pistol instructor cannot be trusted to defend her own life because she’s a “college student”.



  58. Hugh Hewitt: "Zach Space Voted For The Cornhusker Kickback, the Lousiana Purchase, a Half-Trillion Dollars in Medicare Cuts and Taxpayer Funded Abortion. Fire Him."

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 10 Mar 2010 | 7:20 am MST

    Zach Space is one of those Democratic Congressmen being asked by Nancy Pelosi to vote for the Senate version of Obamacare.If he does, the headline of this post will be the narrative of the ad that runs against him from...

  59. Looking For The Reset On The Reset Button

    → JustOneMinute | 10 Mar 2010 | 6:11 am MST

    Obama continues to discover that bering The One ain't all it's cracked up to be:Delay on Arms Pact Slows Reset of U.S.- Russia Ties By PETER BAKER and MARK LANDLER WASHINGTON — When President Obama got on the telephone with...

  60. This Is Your Life

    → JustOneMinute | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:07 pm MST

    As storage gets relentlessly cheaper, everything will be commemorated: PITTSBURGH — On a cold, wet afternoon not long ago, Aron Reznick sat in the lounge of a home for the elderly here, his silver hair neatly combed, his memory a...

  61. Article on standards of review in 2A cases

    → Of Arms and the Law | 9 Mar 2010 | 4:55 pm MST

    By David Kopel and Clayton Cramer, here.

    Hat tip to reader Joe Olson...



  62. Background to Chicago handgun ban

    → Of Arms and the Law | 9 Mar 2010 | 4:49 pm MST

    Some background, at The American Thinker.



  63. Because It Feels So Good When They Stop?

    → JustOneMinute | 9 Mar 2010 | 11:47 am MST

    It's not jobs, jobs,jobs, and it's not even health care - Nancy Pelosi has allowed Denis Kucinich and some like-minded anti-war Dems three hours to debate their bill to force a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The bill would not have...

  64. Hugh Hewitt: The Head Count: Helping Stop Obamacare

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 8 Mar 2010 | 10:48 pm MST

    Hotline's Reid Wilson has a very good list of House Democrats who will decide the fate of Obamacare.This is a period of three weeks in which every bit of effort must be made to contact and persuade these Democrats of...

  65. Bonus for registering for National Firearms Law Seminar

    → Of Arms and the Law | 8 Mar 2010 | 6:43 pm MST

    The National Firearms Law Seminar is the annual Continuing Legal Education seminar put on in connection with the NRA Convention -- the next one is at Charlotte, on May 14. Here's the program.

    This year, registration has a bonus. The first 150 to register will get a credit, equal to their registration fee, toward setting up an NFA Gun Trust, courtesy of gun trust lawyer David M. Goldman. Here's his webpage.

    You can register online, or use a pdf linked to that page to register by mail, or call 877-NRF-LAWS. For more info, email LawSeminar@nrahq.org.



  66. Mayor Daley doubles down

    → Of Arms and the Law | 8 Mar 2010 | 6:29 pm MST

    While awaiting the result in McDonald, Mayor Daley is lobbying for additional gun laws. ""The aggressiveness of the gun advocates is just one reason it's more important than ever that we work for common-sense gun laws..." He demands "changes to state law that would require background checks for those buying a gun in a private sale, ban assault weapons, require that gun dealers be licensed and limit the number of handgun purchases to one per person per month, plus micro-stamping and making it a felony to sell a gun to a known gang member (the last has major void for vagueness problems).



  67. Starbucks and the Supreme Court

    → Of Arms and the Law | 8 Mar 2010 | 7:35 am MST

    Bob Barr has thoughts on both. Personally, I may buy a terribly overpriced cup of coffee, for the first time in my life.



  68. Hugh Hewitt: Obamacare and Self-Government

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 8 Mar 2010 | 7:31 am MST

    My new Washington Examiner column looks at the rush to pass a massive bill that no one has actually even seen.Frank Luntz fills in for me today as I argue a case before the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th...

  69. Hugh Hewitt: Counting Heads on Obamacare

    → Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog | 8 Mar 2010 | 7:29 am MST

    Jay Cost at Horserace Blog is doing a very good job, and the MSM should take note of what reporting looks it..

  70. Interesting article on an aspect of the Tiahrt Amendment

    → Of Arms and the Law | 7 Mar 2010 | 3:40 pm MST

    I knew that the Amendment bans release of gun trace data to cities seeking to sue firearms dealers, but I didn't know that it also declares any such data admissible in evidence. This article argues that the latter restriction, as applied to State courts, is unconstitutional. I wonder, however, whether the fact that the restriction pertains to data originating in Federal investigations, with an allegation that its release might compromise those investigations, doesn't make this more of a "necessary and proper clause" case than a commerce clause case.



  71. PSL-54C Range Report

    → Blog O'Stuff | 7 Mar 2010 | 3:36 pm MST

    Today I got the chance to shoot a PSL-54C rifle I picked up a couple of weeks ago.  The PSL is a Romanian made sharpshooter's rifle chambered for 7.62x54R.  It feeds from a 10 round detachable box magazine and comes with both iron sights, and a 4x24mm LPS scope.  The semiautomatic action is based on a scaled-up Kalashnikov design.  In the USA the PSL is frequently mis-advertised as a Dragunov, but other than the cartridge for which they are chambered, and their intended roles, the PSL and the SVD have nothing in common.

    Other names which the PSL has been advertised under in the US are "Romak III" and "SSG-97."  My rifle, which was made entirely in Romania, is marked "PSL-54C."

    Click the thumbnail for a full sized picture of my PSL.

    PSL-54C Rifle

    I ran about 80 rounds of 7.62x54R light ball (147 grain) through it using a couple different magazines.  Some of the ammo was early 1960s Soviet surplus, while the rest was mid-1970s Hungarian.  I experienced no malfunctions and the rifle's action locked back every time it ran dry.  Unlike most AK variants, the PSL has a last round bolt hold-open.

    I started at 25 yards to get the rifle on the paper.  The iron sights were pretty close while the scope required more adjustment to get on paper.  Once I had a rough 25 yard zero I moved over to the 100 yard range.

    The PSL has a fairly light, somewhat whippy barrel.  Supposedly groups string vertically when the gun heats up, but I didn't really notice it doing so.  At 100 yards it looks like it's a 2 to 2.5 MOA rifle with milsurp ammo.  Using the iron sights at 100 yards it's easy to keep all the rounds inside of the bull of an SR-1 target.  I can do that with my Yugo AK and irons but the longer sight radius of the PSL makes it much easier.

    The 4x24mm LPS scope has very clear optics although there is a slight amber or yellow tint.  At 100 yards I was able to resolve .30 caliber holes if they were in the white.  That's good performance from a 4x scope.  The Dragunov reticle allows for precise aiming and with illumination should be visible in field conditions.

    I am glad that I put an FSE recoil pad on the stock before taking it to the range.  This isn't so much for the recoil as to lengthen the stock.  Had I not done so I might have wound up with "scope eye" from the ocular bell hitting my eyebrow.

    Compared with a Mosin-Nagant firing the same 7.62x54R cartridge, the PSL is much more pleasant to fire.  The gas operated action of the PSL soaks up quite a bit of the recoil.

    Even though the stock is shaped for a right hander I had no problems shooting the rifle portside.  However, the scope is offset to the left and I think I want to replace it with a centered optic, which will be more comfortable.  A centered optic also will avoid the necessity to adjust for windage when shooting past 100 yards, due to the offset of the LPS.

    It's just one range session but I am very happy with this purchase.  The PSL is accurate, reliable, and pleasant to shoot.  Right now I think it's the best deal going in a semiauto centerfire rifle chambering a full power round.


  72. Pictures from the McDonald v. Chicago argument

    → Of Arms and the Law | 6 Mar 2010 | 11:11 am MST

    Here are some that I got that day. Understand, we began waiting at 5 AM. Ahead of me were Sarah Gervase and Frederick Jones, who'd been waiting since 4:15 AM, I think he said. He's Otis McDonald's nephew, and a member of the Supreme Court Bar, and was taking no chances on missing his uncle's Supreme Court case. Here are the pictures:

    Some of us waiting in the predawn darkness (on the left is Frederick Jones, Mr. McDonald’s nephew.)

    Otis McDonald and Alan Gura after the argument.

    Mr and Mrs. McDonald coming down the steps.

    Here's the crowd outside after the argument,

    and the Second Amendment Foundation’s reception that evening.



  73. Several Recent Updates to The Shooters' Bar

    → Blog O'Stuff | 6 Mar 2010 | 9:07 am MST

    Recently I've made a number of updates to The Shooters' Bar, my list of pro--RKBA attorneys.  If you are in need of a lawyer who shares pro-Second Amendment views (not just a "firearms lawyer"), TSB is the oldest and largest such resource on the Internet.


  74. About that Global Warming...

    → Blog O'Stuff | 16 Feb 2010 | 1:14 pm MST

    Lake Erie almost completely frozen over for the first time in 14 years.


  75. No Global Warming Since 1995

    → Blog O'Stuff | 15 Feb 2010 | 7:03 am MST

    Hey Al Gore, how about this inconvenient truth?

    The academic at the centre of the ‘Climategate’ affair, whose raw data is crucial to the theory of climate change, has admitted that he has trouble ‘keeping track’ of the information.
    Colleagues say that the reason Professor Phil Jones has refused Freedom of Information requests is that he may have actually lost the relevant papers. 

    The dog ate my homework?  Really?

    Professor Jones also conceded the possibility that the world was warmer in medieval times than now – suggesting global warming may not be a man-made phenomenon.
    And he said that for the past 15 years there has been no ‘statistically significant’ warming. (Emphasis added.)
     
    Think about this the next time someone tries to sell you "green" technology or wants to implement "cap and trade" legislation.  Right now, anthropogenic Global Warming (AKA "AGW") as a theory is as valid as the "OMGWTFBBQ11!! We're all gonna die in an ice age" hysteria of the 1970s.

    "Green" legislation is about people control, not helping the environment.  It's time these charlatans were kicked out of serious scientific circles.  AGW belongs in the dustbin of history right next to epicycles.



  76. Snowpocalyspe Gear Review

    → Blog O'Stuff | 11 Feb 2010 | 4:57 pm MST

    I posted a Snowpocalyspe Gear Review, here.


  77. My New Home Server

    → Blog O'Stuff | 4 Feb 2010 | 5:56 pm MST

    Back on January 24th I mentioned that I'd ordered the components for a new home server.  I received the parts from Tiger Direct in a timely manner and the box has been up and running for around a week now.  The server consists of the following components:

    • Intel D945GCLF2 Atom motherboard, with a 1.6 GHz dual-core Atom 330 CPU
    • Apex MI-100 ITX case
    • Kingston 2048MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz RAM
    • Western Digital 320 GB hard disk
    After putting it together I first installed 64 bit CentOS 5.4.  I found it to be a bit unstable when running X11, so I blew away the disk and installed 32 bit Debian Lenny.  I figured that with only 2 GB of RAM, having a 64 bit OS wasn't going to offer any significant advantages.  I'm pleased with Debian.  So far it's been stable and its package management is top shelf.

    To get the OS installed I used an LG USB DVD burner.  You could also make a bootable Linux USB stick for the install on similar hardware.  See Unetbootin for an easy way to do that.

    I named the new machine shoebox.davemarkowitz.net, due to its size and shape.  Compared with the MSI Wind barebones system I was also considering it's a little noisier, but not what I'd call, "noisy."

    Currently, shoebox is setup as a LAMP box hosting The Shooters' Bar, my list of pro-RKBA attorneys, as well as a "parking" page for Flintlock.org.  I've also used it as an SFTP site for a project at my gun club.  It's handy having an Internet-accessible server at home again.

    Shoebox's small ITX format is great for my needs.  I currently have it on a separate IP space from the rest of my home network, but a similar box, maybe with two hard disks in it, would be a good choice for a SOHO file server/NAS box.


  78. Canada's Health System As A Model for The USA

    → Blog O'Stuff | 2 Feb 2010 | 7:45 am MST

    Ahem.

    Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is set to undergo heart surgery this week in the United States.

    CBC News confirmed Monday that Williams, 60, left the province earlier in the day and will have surgery later in the week.

    The premier's office provided few details, beyond confirming that he would have heart surgery and saying that it was not necessarily a routine procedure.

    Deputy Premier Kathy Dunderdale is scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday morning.
    She's expected to provide more details about Williams's condition, as well as how the provincial government will function during his absence.

    CBC reporter David Cochrane said Williams appeared to be in good health recently. He described the premier as "fairly active," playing pick-up hockey at least once a week when work permits.

    Socialized medicine is just for the proles.


  79. Watch the Economy Implode

    → Blog O'Stuff | 2 Feb 2010 | 7:12 am MST




    Direct link.


  80. SCCSFA Smokin' Spring Thing

    → Blog O'Stuff | 1 Feb 2010 | 7:52 am MST

    My gun club, the Southern Chester County Sportsman's and Farmer's Association, is running a black powder shoot with prizes on March 27, 2010.  Rain date is April 3, 2010.


    Details of the even may be found here.


  81. More Self Defense in Texas

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 5 Sep 2009 | 1:18 am MDT

    [Guest post by DRJ] Two Texas teens were killed and a third was injured in a San Marcos home invasion that appears to be a clear case of self-defense: “About 2 a.m. Friday, when a San Marcos resident heard a commotion outside his bedroom, he grabbed his .40-caliber Glock pistol and opened the door, police said. When [...]

  82. Rick Santelli Not Welcome at the White House

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 5 Sep 2009 | 12:32 am MDT

    [Guest post by DRJ] In February 2009, CNBC business reporter Rick Santelli vigorously objected to Obama’s “spread the wealth” policies in a rant that many believe inspired the Tea Partiers: “On CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Feb. 19, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor reporter, along with several traders, expressed his outrage about President Barack Obama’s plan to “spread [...]

  83. Oregon Football Player Suspended for Season

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 4 Sep 2009 | 11:50 pm MDT

    [Guest post by DRJ] Oregon tailback LeGarrette Blount has been suspended for the season for punching a Boise State player in the jaw after Oregon lost to Boise State: The video shows Blount was shockingly out-of-control after the punch. I can see why Oregon made the decision to suspend him. – DRJ

  84. Unbiased Media Quote of the Day

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 4 Sep 2009 | 10:31 pm MDT

    [Guest post by DRJ] Great quotes from two TV anchors (I believe they are from CNBC but I’m not certain) commenting on Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ explanation regarding why the White House uses a pre-selected list of reporters to be called on at Obama press conferences instead of taking random questions: Anchor 1: “I do [...]

  85. Van Jones: A very special kind of crazy

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 4 Sep 2009 | 3:01 pm MDT

    [Posted by Karl] Sure, you have heard that Pres. Obama’s “green jobs” czar is a communist-sympathizing 9/11 Truther who belongs to the “Free Mumia” school. But wait… there’s more! I cannot imagine why Jones was not selected for a job requiring Senate confirmation.   Mickey Kaus claims the bus is warming up for Mr. Jones.  The faster, the better [...]

  86. AP Publishes Photo of Dying Marine (Updated x2)

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 4 Sep 2009 | 2:06 pm MDT

    [Guest post by DRJ] The AP has published a photo taken August 14 of Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard after he suffered severe leg injuries from a rocket propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Bernard died a short time later on the operating table. The photo was released despite objections from [...]

  87. Diagnosing Obama’s problems is not rocket science

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 4 Sep 2009 | 11:22 am MDT

    [Posted by Karl] Charlie Cook writes that Pres. Obama and the Democrats are “bleeding independents,” with potential effects on the 2010 midterm elections: Listening to two briefings — one by a Democratic pollster who had just conducted a survey for a group favoring health care reform, the other by a Republican pollster more skeptical of the reform [...]

  88. U.S. Threatens Not to Recognize Results of Honduran Election in November

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 3 Sep 2009 | 10:44 pm MDT

    [Guest post by DRJ] The Obama Administration is threatening not to recognize the results of the Honduran Presidential election scheduled for November: “Based on conditions as they currently exist, we cannot recognize the results of this election. So for the de facto regime, they’re now in a box,” said State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley. “And they [...]

  89. Van Jones Open Thread

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 3 Sep 2009 | 8:57 pm MDT

    [Guest post by DRJ] Van Jones is profane about Republicans, but he says he’s sorry for it. Van Jones is a truther, but he says he didn’t mean it. Van Jones is Obama’s green jobs czar, but some say he won’t be after Monday. H/T Hot Air. UPDATE 9/4/2009: Van Jones is a “Free Mumia” supporter? If [...]

  90. Police Officers Take Over a Town

    → Patterico's Pontifications | 3 Sep 2009 | 8:27 pm MDT

    [Guest post by DRJ] Remember President Bill Clinton’s promise to add 100,000 new police officers? Seven of them may have ended up in Jericho, Arkansas but, if so, it didn’t work out that well: “Now the police chief has disbanded his force “until things calm down,” a judge has voided all outstanding police-issued citations and sheriff’s [...]

  91. Excommunicate Kristol

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 8 Dec 2008 | 12:41 pm MST

    William Kristol is one of the people who got the conservative party into its current mess. He was wrong about the Iraq war and, as his latest column proves. he’s wrong about domestic issues too: … conservatives should think twice before charging into battle against Obama under the banner of “small-government conservatism.” ... It turns out, in the real world of Republican...

    [continued on site]


  92. Apple War versus Orange War

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 8 Dec 2008 | 12:29 pm MST

    Jeralyn: So you think the new President will end our involvement in foreign wars? I never did, I just thought he’d trade one war for another, Iraq for Afghanistan. ... No change here, other than one of geography. Whatever happened to “Bring the Troops Home?” Guess that went out of fashion after Vietnam. Huh? Iraq and Afghanistan are apples and oranges. The war against Iraq...

    [continued on site]


  93. Why the emerging auto bailout sucks

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 8 Dec 2008 | 12:03 pm MST

    AP report: A bailout plan for the failing U.S. auto industry could include a Cabinet-level oversight board and a provision to withdraw the money if the overseers decide the companies are failing to take steps to overhaul themselves. The plan would draw the emergency aid from an existing loan program meant to help the automakers build fuel-efficient vehicles. The size of the package...

    [continued on site]


  94. US Attorney Hiring and Firing

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:14 am MST

    A lot of people got very worked up when George Bush fired some US Attorneys for political reasons. Now some of those same people are exercised over the refusal of a Bush-appointed US Attorney to resign so that Obama can replace her. I don’t think you can have it both ways. Either the US Attorney job is a political one or not. The tradition of having US Attorneys resign when a new...

    [continued on site]


  95. Who decides how much your life is worth?

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 4 Dec 2008 | 5:28 pm MST

    Ezra Klein focuses on the question of how much we should spend to keep people alive: What is six months of your life worth? And don’t say priceless. It’s not priceless. Not if you’re not paying. So let’s sharpen the question: What should six months of your life be worth to your insurer, be that insurer the government or Aetna? Which is another way of saying, what should...

    [continued on site]


  96. Is the Constitution a “frivolous technicality”?

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 4 Dec 2008 | 2:21 pm MST

    From The Week: There’s an obstacle between Hillary Clinton and her secretary of state job: the U.S. Constitution, said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial. As “a few legal eagles” have noted, the Constitution’s “Emoluments Clause” prevents senators from taking federal jobs whose salaries have been raised during their current term. In January, President Bush bumped the secretary...

    [continued on site]


  97. The Indecent Intervals at Slate

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 3 Dec 2008 | 5:07 pm MST

    There was a time when people in public life who disgraced themselves, their office, and their families did the honorable thing. Or, at least, they did so in fiction. In Dorothy Sayers’ novel, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, all Lord Peter Wimsey and Colonel Marchbanks need do is to inform Dr Penberthy that Marchbanks has left a loaded gun in the club library, being correctly...

    [continued on site]


  98. Senator Jeb

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 3 Dec 2008 | 1:03 pm MST

    Jeb Bush is thinking about running for the Senate. In an interview with Politico immediately after November’s election, the former governor said the Republican Party should take four primary steps to regain favor with voters: Show no tolerance for corruption, practice what it preaches about limiting the scope of government (“There should not be such a thing as a Big Government...

    [continued on site]


  99. The Justiciability of Hillary’s Ineligibility

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 3 Dec 2008 | 12:13 pm MST

    The fallout from the 2008 election is raising some very interesting justiciability questions. Yesterday, we mentioned the question of whether the Supreme Court could review Senate decisions pursuant to Article I, Section 5, when the senate is acting as a judge of the elections of its members (an issue that may come up in the Coleman-Franken fight). Today’s justiciability question is raised...

    [continued on site]


  100. The Financial Crisis: What Really Happened?

    → StephenBainbridge.com | 3 Dec 2008 | 11:51 am MST

    In a Cato Unbound essay, Lawrence H. White, the F.A. Hayek Professor of Economic History at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, argues that the housing boom and bust, and the resulting meltdown of financial markets, cannot have been the result of a laissez-faire monetary and financial system, since we never had one. Nor can deregulation have been the cause, since the most recent relevant...

    [continued on site]




-- Finis --