Month: May 2009

This video was described by Ann Althouse as “A beautiful, emotional anti-gun ad.” Which it is. See for yourself. One of the things I most like about Ann Althouse is that she fearlessly and unhesitatingly highlights the strengths and weaknesses of arguments on both sides, regardless of which side she and most of her readers…

M. Simon made the following observation about politicians last night: Politicians use words the same way squids use ink. To cover their tracks. I think that in the current political climate, most voters understand the above implicitly. A brief review of the current numbers from RealClearPolitics is in order: President Obama Job Approval RCP Average…

I can’t believe it, but it was six years ago yesterday that I started ranting in this blog. These days I often feel like I’ve run out of things to say, but then something will come along and annoy me enough (or amuse me enough) that I just keep right on as if there’s something…

In a comment on my post Green Energy Kills Jobs stressdoc had this to say about his experience with wind power. I am a mechanical engineer and quite knowledgeable about wind power and the reliability problems. They are many! Wind power has a longer history in the EU, but the experience has been similar. Wind…

Durango, Colorado is having economic difficulties. And what are they giving up to be able to pay for city workers? Green energy. For two years, the city of Durango, Colo., bought electricity for all its government buildings from wind farms. The City Council ended that program this year, reverting to electricity derived from coal-burning plants…

Politicians use words the same way squids use ink. To cover their tracks. Cross Posted at Power and Control

I’m trying to avoid the appearance of gloating over this report: WASHINGTON – Barack Obama warned Democrats in Congress against making a partisan cause out of the Bush administration’s harsh interrogation tactics. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ignoring him — loudly — and the party, from the president on down, may pay the price. Were…

In a remarkable piece titled “The Alinsky Administration,” Jim Geraghty demonstrates how the Obama administration is following the Alinsky model — with detailed line and verse examples. It’s a must read, and the bottom line is that this is not about ideology, but power: …an Alinskyite’s core principle is to take any action that expands…

Now that Glenn Reynolds has favorably linked Andrew Sullivan’s discussion of Barack Obama’s betrayal of gay rights, I’m hoping that Andrew will reciprocate (and without one of the snotty asides he usually directs towards Glenn). I notice that Andrew was surprisingly kind to Carrie Prejean not long ago, even linking Kathryn Jean Lopez’s column. Perhaps…

That is right. According to a Zogby Poll half of all Americans want pot legalized. A majority of Americans, in a poll released Wednesday, say it “makes sense to tax and regulate” marijuana. The Zogby poll, commissioned by the conservative-leaning O’Leary Report, surveyed 3,937 voters and found 52 percent in favor of legalization. Only 37…

You heard that right. And it is not tinfoil hat stuff. It is from reputable scientists. It makes intuitive sense that if superconductors can carry currents with zero resistance, then superconducting light emitting diodes might do their stuff with equally amazing efficiency. But superconducting LEDs are not only bright, they are brighter than anyone can…

Commenter Robert (to a post about parenting) supplied a link to a truly amazing piece titled “Gun Control Is a Reproductive Justice Issue.” Among other things, the author claims that gun control opponents are racists: In casting the gun issue as a matter of individual rights and responsibilities, the gun lobby only fuels the criminalization…

Sometimes I wonder whether things are getting a bit loopy on the libertarian side of the fence. (Either that or some clever agents provocateur are making it look that way.) Earlier today I received an invitation — from a libertarian Facebook friend I will not name — to join a group named “The New World…

Last night I did something I hardly ever do and flipped innocently through the TV channels. An annoying story caught my attention — involving some local high school kids who were caught horsing around with disposable cameras they’d modified into low-powered stun guns, and who now face felony charges Some of the comments I heard…

Rick Nebel, the head of EMC2 Fusion (Polywell), has a few words to say in the comments at Next Big Future about the progress he is making in understanding The Polywell Fusion Reactor and its chances for power production. rnebel I believe we will know the answer for the Polywell in ~ 1.5-2 years. I…

Eric at Classical Values says that what people want to read is weird and sensational stuff. A little humor never hurt either. My take is that if it includes sex and home improvement it ought to work even better. Popular Science meets the National Enquirer. So today I’m doing a short (very short) review of…

Sean Kinsell looks at a couple of pieces by Bruce Bawer on the repudiation of Pim Fortuyn by certain members of the European right wing. Warns Sean, Some of these people probably had contempt for Fortuyn all along but were willing not to repudiate him as long as he was one of the few high-profile…

The singing in the video is one of the best versions I could find on YouTube. I did like the dancing in this version better though. The version in the above video is very good. It doesn’t hold a candle to the version of Brush Up Your Shakespeare that was done by a traveling company…

The other day Glenn Reynolds linked a Reason piece about new federal rules for anyone running a yard or garage sales: Selling old kids books, anything with metal, paint, or plastic that a kid might use, old clothes or shoes with metal components that a kid might wear? You know, any of the stuff people…

“It’s great to have a private jet.” So says Oprah Winfrey (to a group of young and impressionable people). Yes, I’m sure it is just great to have a private jet. (And armed bodyguards too! How great is that?) What I think would be even greater would be if Oprah would just stop lecturing the…