College Majors, for $200

Climate scientists with the integrity to stick to the narrative.

What is Political Science?

Ignorance is Strength

Garry sent me this on the big story regarding the hacked climate-change e-mails. Then I found this quote in the NY Times, via Instapundit:

Dr. Trenberth said Friday that he was appalled at the release of the e-mails, which he said were private discussions. But he added that he thought the revelations might backfire against climate skeptics. If anything, he said, he thought that the messages showed “the integrity of scientists.”

Does he mean the scientists were "honestly lying" or "lying honestly." Because THAT'S integrity.

Message in a bottle

Cool thing happened today. I received a reply to an email I sent almost 4 and a half years ago from one of the members of the family I stayed with as a law student in Tokyo. It was like uncorking a message in a bottle.

John Stossel's reading list

Okay, I haven't posted in forever and I was pretty sure no one had noticed, and then Garry insinuated that I was mourning my football team and Squeezer called me out for slacking off. Now that all three of this blog's readers are accounted for, I'll just skip over the U.S. House's vote on healthcare and the Ft. Hood attacks and instead go straight to some something that was uplifting. I'm fast becoming a fan of John Stossel, who ranks with the PJTV guys--Bill Whittle, Glenn Reynolds, Andrew Klavan, et al., as a favorite read (but nobody beats Mark Steyn). I read his article on spending being worse than taxes, and then linked over to his reading list, which I will recommend to myself and both of the other readers:

Describing his experiences as an investigative consumer reporter, Stossel said, "It made me want to learn more about free markets. I subscribed to Reason magazine and read Cato Institute research papers. Then Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek and Aaron Wildavsky."

Add those to the list-

Off the Chart

Old news, but I feel compelled to log this chart for posterity.

Incentives matter

Fascinating article at the Wall Street Journal regarding football helmets:

As obvious as the problem may seem (wait, you mean football is dangerous?), continuing revelations about the troubling mental declines of some retired players—and the ongoing parade of concussions during games—have created a sense of inevitability. Pretty soon, something will have to be done.

But before the debate goes any further, there's a fundamental question that needs to be investigated. Why do football players wear helmets in the first place? And more important, could the helmets be part of the problem?

"Some people have advocated for years to take the helmet off, take the face mask off. That'll change the game dramatically," says Fred Mueller, a University of North Carolina professor who studies head injuries. "Maybe that's better than brain damage."

Same goes for cars. People drive faster because cars are safer. *Place a pointed spike on the center of the steering wheel and direct it towards the driver's neck and see if they slow down!

*Not saying I'm in favor; I like to drive fast.

(h/t Kyle Smith)

Decline is a Choice - Part II

Decline, especially when it comes to blogging, is definitely a choice. For the most part I blame *Paul. I'll post later the other reasons this venture has taken a break.

(Mostly I was just tired of being negative all the time with respect to our national news. I can only take so much of this nonsense.)

Something, however, finally awoke me from my malaise.

We are dealing with cowards. Passing a sweeping mess of a bill that no one has read and no one outside of the circle of trust was allowed to see on a Saturday without any warning is just gross. These people are just incredible.

Anyway, it certainly woke me up, and hopefully others as well. We'll see if this gets anywhere.

*Just kidding. Paul has been in a little bit of a funk lately. Haven't spoken to him in a while. I hope he's OK.

Decline is a Choice

Charles Krauthammer:

The corollary to unchosen European collapse was unchosen American ascendancy. We--whom Lincoln once called God's "almost chosen people"--did not save Europe twice in order to emerge from the ashes as the world's co-hegemon. We went in to defend ourselves and save civilization. Our dominance after World War II was not sought. Nor was the even more remarkable dominance after the Soviet collapse. We are the rarest of geopolitical phenomena: the accidental hegemon and, given our history of isolationism and lack of instinctive imperial ambition, the reluctant hegemon--and now, after a near-decade of strenuous post-9/11 exertion, more reluctant than ever.

There is nothing holding America back but those who think they are fixing our problems.

Fear

Dan Miller:

On March 3rd, 1943 an air raid siren sounded in London. The citizens of London knew they were at war with Germany and that a retaliation attack was possible. But with nothing but the sound of the siren, panic and mass hysteria was the result. 1500 people tried to get down the steps of the Bethnal Green train station tunnel for protection. One lady, carrying her small baby, tripped on the stairs and fell. Within a few seconds 300 people were crushed into the tiny stairwell. The chaos lasted less than 15 minutes, but 172 people were dead at the scene, with one more dying the next day.

No German bombs fell that day. The largest number killed by any single bomb in the entire war in England was 68. The crush at Bethnal Green was the largest loss of civilian life in the UK in World War II. But bombs didn’t kill those people – fear did.

Nobel rhymes with cowbell

Well sort of. It at least gives me an excuse to post this picture:

(h/t Kyle Smith)

MSM to the rescue

Good thing CNN is out there looking out for the truth.

Insert my favorite phrase lately: good grief!

You know big O is in trouble when his defenders can't handle a little jab from SNL. (I didn't think it was that funny to be honest).

What is it with the thin skin? Perhaps the truth hurts a bit?

Remember, George Bush was a fascist, and yet Will Ferrell had a great career (and is still alive!).

Took a week off

Been a bit slack on the blogging. Busy week, and the world doesn't need another news aggregator.

We are almost to one hundred posts. So far it's been fun. But eventually we'll have to find a real direction for this blog other than just poking fun at the won.

But not yet!

Ignore the debates about whether the speeches Michelle and Barry gave to the IOC were any good (or harmful). I think that even if the IOC told them it was in the bag, one PRESBO decided to run to them he sealed Chicago's fate.

The IOC, despite the world's obvious love for Bammer, they had no choice but to use this as an opportunity to smack the U.S. down. How often do you get a chance to tell the leader of the free world NO? Too tempting.

Think Barry learned that lesson? I hope so.

The Obamanable Snowman

Did Jimmy Carter just say that racism is an "Obama-nable" circumstance? (towards the end of the video clip; h/t HotAir)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

On Bias

John Stossel is leaving ABC News for Fox:

When I announced last week that I was leaving ABC for Fox, some readers complained about my "bias." I replied: "Every reporter has political beliefs. The difference is that I am upfront about mine."

Refreshing. John makes some great points about reporting bias that I'm sure most reporters wouldn't see as bias:

The New York Times took its bias to an absurd length. Its page-one story on the big anti-big-government rally in Washington, D.C., referred to "protests that began with an opposition to health care. ..."

Apparently, in the Times reporter's and editors' view, opponents of the Obama health care plan oppose health care itself. (The online article was later changed.)

. . .

Most reporting on the "stimulus" package has the same flaw. Just to call it "stimulus" is to editorialize, since the idea that government spending can truly stimulate an economy is at best doubtful. Many good economists say it can't be done. After all, the money is taken from somewhere else. But the economists rarely are quoted.

In addition, reporters seem to think they've done their job if they merely describe the intentions behind the proposed "reform." But the burden of proof should be on the sponsors of regulation and spending. They should have to make a convincing case that their new rules are superior to the free market. Who cares about intentions?

I think a lot of people have forgotten that last part. The burden of proof for any proposal is on the one proposing it, not on the opposition.

Kind of like Presbo saying, "My plan . . ." when discussing healthcare reform (whoops - change). Mr. President, besides cramming whatever garbage congress comes up with down our collective throat, what is your plan?

Galt watch

Just watched this video mocking health insurance executives. Can you believe it, these people have the audacity to earn a profit. Well, in an area that is already so highly regulated, I won't go so far to assume that all the profits go to those who most deserve them, but who knows. What seems clear, though, is that the argument favoring government provided/subsidized health insurance is ignoring health care providers. How long will people put up with the ridiculous hours and sacrifices necessary to work as doctors and nurses only to have their rewards diminished by bureaucrats? How's this for an unintended (on its face, at least) consequence: make health care so cheap that no one wants to provide it.

Good Reads

On tonight's "2 most recommended list," the subject is: Government.

1. 1984
2. Animal Farm

A George Orwell sweep! Available here.

(I'll open up comments for this one; go ahead an enter your 2 most recommended books re: Government.)

Just as magical as Unicorn Dust

Lucky guy.



When asked about it later the reporter said, "I'm never washing this hand again!"

Healthcare system is a disaster...

Women and children hardest hit:

Michelle Obama said women are being “crushed by the current structure of our health care” because they often are responsible for taking care of family illnesses, arranging checkups and monitoring follow-up care.

Under Obamacare no more having to take care of your sick kids or spouses. Obama will arrange checkups, monitor follow-up care, probably even wipe those runny noses.

Remember this lady?



Add shuttling the kids to the doctor to that laundry list.

Speaking of laundry, if the dry cleaner is on the way to the pediatrician could they drop my shirts off too? You know, combine trips (global warming and all).

Thoughts from Lileks

James Lileks bleat from yesterday is just great.

On our recent bouts of national rudeness:

What I find amusing is how some believe that the death of civility is a new development. It started with Joe Wilson and was compounded by Serena Williams. Civility has been chained to a rock getting its liver picked out by buzzards since the golden children of the Greatest Generation were encouraged to let their freak flag fly, to use a horrid phrase.

Reasons for engaging the world, rather than avoiding (which is my default - and fault):

I’ve always thought it’s imperative to stay engaged with your times until your time, singular, is up. Otherwise your sense of the world calcifies, and your worst impressions become your default opinion. The glories of the imagined past become a means of self-admiration, because you were not only lucky enough to be there but smart enough to get it. Kids today, they don’t.

And some nostalgia:

It is to much to suppose that a wary code of mutually recognized and dimly comprehended male aggression kept things civil? That it was also predicated on horribly, terribly, oh-so-wretchedly sexist notions about behaving in front of women made men behave? It probably took ten years after the end of Hats to breed a certain respect out of men; it took another ten years of dealing with The Confusion of the Door (if I open it, I’m a chauvinist pig; if I don’t, I’m a selfish manchild who lacks social graces. What does she want? What does she expect? (Help me Hugh Hefner!)

The internet is incredible. I've never been to Minnesota. Never read a hard copy of their newspaper. But here I am in Atlanta reading their star columnist's personal musings, daily.

I don't think enough people appreciate the power we have right now.

I think I'll break out An Army of Davids for a second read.

Re: Project 915

Paul said..."seeing as how I was the law student, I think that makes me James O'Keefe, which must make you Hannah Giles"

I'm not pretty enough.

It is indeed incredible what these two have accomplished.

Hannity was promoting them today saying a fifth Acorn sting was to be released tonight (San Diego). That makes five now. You'd think one would be enough.