Month: May 2008

It strikes me as common sense that if you need nothing more than a magnifying glass to start a fire, there’s free solar power anywhere. Yet concentrating solar power in such a manner is not what ordinary solar collectors do. Until recently, that is. IBM seems to have figured out how to use the magnifying…

In today’s Inquirer, Rick Santorum characterizes the California Supreme Court’s legalization of same sex marriage as a “wake up call“: The latest distressing news came last week in California. The state Supreme Court there ruled, 4-3, that same-sex couples can marry. In doing so, four judges rejected a statute that passed in a referendum with…

H/T Juanita Gonzales at Stop Obama

What Presidential candidate is most up on fusion and specifically the Bussard Fusion Reactor Program. Interesting question. Which candidate was interested enough to have his staffers look deeper into it in August of 2007? The answer? John McCain. A week ago I attended a lecture given by Sen John McCain given to the Economic Club…

See what Senator Tom Harkin had to say about Vietnam about 5:55 into the video. Then listen to John McCain’s response. And the video that goes with it? Harrowing. Not for those faint of heart. There is no blood. No bodies. But you can imagine and that is the worst. BTW the Democrats revisionism re:…

I’ll be gone most of the day, but I highly recommend reading Kathy Shaidle’s excellent PJM post, “Mark Steyn vs. the ‘Sock Puppets’.” In Canada, where there’s no First Amendment, writers can be hauled before kangaroo courts and so-called “human rights commissions,” (Newspeak for what are censorship boards, and abused by activists who claim to…

While I have nothing but sympathy for blind people, I think the recent decision by the D.C. Court of Appeal that U.S. currency discriminates against the blind sets common sense on its head. Jonathan Adler quotes from the opinion: The current design of paper money springs from the world of the sighted. Upon casual inspection,…

I’m reprinting in its entirety a post from Black Box Voting. Because as Joseph Stalin was once reputed to have said: “It’s not the people who vote that count, it’s the people who count the votes.” == In this article you will find tools to help you analyze the numbers as they come in from…

There is a wonderful (if it can be called that) discussion of nuclear war going on at Talk Polywell. I’m not going to reprise the discussion. However, I’d like to give you some educational resources. First Wretchard’s Three Conjectures. Which discusses what a rogue attack (terrorist) with a nuclear weapon would mean in terms of…

I watched Obama’s Iowa speech earlier. Nothing new. Crowd chanted “Yes we can.” I tried not to fall asleep. Finally, I see that Obama won Oregon, which isn’t any more surprising than the fact that Hillary won Kentucky (although Hillary won by a much higher margin). I’m not sure, but I guess the speech in…

While it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Hillary Clinton win Kentucky, the fact that she won by more than a 2-1 margin (65%-30%, with 91% of the vote in) ought to send a shiver down whatever spine the Democrats have. It’s not a pretty picture for them, because the sharp, deep division means…

An Op-Ed in today’s Inquirer really caught my attention today, because the author (David Benkof, of GaysDefendMarriage.com) is a gay man with a contrarian view of same sex marriage. …the gay community shouldn’t be celebrating. This decision [legalizing same sex marriage] does next to nothing for California gays and lesbians, and causes real harm to…

I hate race. No really. I wish such things didn’t matter. I’ve often said that I think the sexuality of other people ought not to matter to anyone (except potential partners of a given individual). So, if the sexual interests of others ought not to matter, then why should race matter? Unfortunately for me, that’s…

From the YouTube notes: The song Desolation Row by Bob Dylan, accompanied by a slideshow. Due to the 10-minute limit I wasn’t able to place the complete video, which is 11:28. But I still think it’s worth watching…

Just in case you didn’t get the allusion in the title of this post, and should you be unfamiliar with what kind of house it was or what kind of politician I think Obama is you can get the details from the wiki in the section titled The real house.

I just learned from Duane J. Oldsen about a book by Jane Jacobs, Systems of Survival: A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politicswhich was published in 1992. It is a fascinating look at the two major systems of morality that we find in the world. Commercial Morality and Guardian (Political) Morality. Or…

In a piece with the irresistible title of “What Me Mullah?”, Roger L. Simon looks at Barack Obama’s wild inconsistencies on Iran, and foreign policy in general. On Sunday, Obama told the throng at Pendleton, Oregon: “Iran, Cuba, Venezuela — these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don’t pose a serious threat…

Obama has allied himself with the Axis Powers. Suggested by dre in a comment to Classical Values post Heroes locked under Plexiglas. Picture originally hosted by Power Line. Power Line suggests you look at this image in case the association is not clear.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, on Saturday I went to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Philadelphia Art Museum. Now, while I happen to think Frida Kahlo’s art is overrated as art and I abhor her and her husband’s Stalinist politics, I still find her art interesting. While she is not (despite what…

“Why don’t you care about the mercury?” So asks Ann Althouse in a post about CFL mercury dangers. I can’t resist why questions. Basically, my answer is the same that it has been to “Why don’t you care about the lead?” Because the dangers are overstated. But speaking of overstated dangers, I cannot help noticing…