Month: June 2010

On CNN.com: But scholars say Obama’s critics ignore a lesson from American history: Many white Americans don’t like angry black men. Oh good Lord, what a crock. Americans of all ethnicities love Samuel L. Jackson’s ferocity. Will Smith is arguably the biggest star in Hollywood, and he gets angry in every movie. Michael Jordan’s triumphant…

White flight. The term denotes racism, as it means that white people run away from black people. White flight is the sociologic and demographic term denoting a trend wherein whites flee urban communities as the minority population increases, and move to other places like commuter towns. The loaded term carries with it the implication that…

I don’t know why these things don’t make it into my local newspaper, but thanks to Memeorandum’s link to a post by Eugene Volokh, I learned that I am in a higher crime neighborhood than I ever imagined! In fact, based on the behavior that I witness regularly at drunken late night parties, many of…

Chairman Bernanke says no double dip recession. Sort of. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday he is hopeful the economy will gain traction and not fall back into a “double dip” recession. “My best guess is we will have a continued recovery, but it won’t feel terrific,” Bernanke said. That’s because economic growth won’t…

Watching Steve Jobs’ so-called “keynote meltdown,” I could understand the guy’s frustration, because no one likes to look foolish in public, and regardless of whether it was his fault that the WiFi was hopelessly overloaded, he’s Mr. Big — and expected to be some sort of magician. So even though what happened to him would…

While it’s not his fault because he didn’t know, I blame M. Simon for inspiring this post, which started innocently with a pleasantly haunted photo taken by me inside a former church: It was when I started to see reflections that I realized my initial effort to photograph what I thought I was photographing had…

Writing about the pervasiveness of what he calls “lawsuit culture,” Philip K. Howard noted in passing the demise of the jungle gym: Jungle gyms, diving boards, and seesaws seem relics of some past civilization. They really do. I can’t remember when I last saw a diving board (in the United States) or a seesaw. And…

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) did not melt down from an excess of energy production. It is melting due to budget excesses. It has been billed as the solution to tomorrow’s energy crunch, but ITER, a massive fusion experiment by seven international partners, is under serious threat from a present-day problem: the financial crisis.…

Patrick Dorinson has an interesting piece on the so-called Western “Watersheds” Project in which he touches on the plastic issue: …hidden behind the facade of planting trees or discussing the virtues of “paper or plastic” is a well-financed global group of dedicated radicals who are bent on changing the way we live whether we like…

It’s a Beautiful Day is the band. Led by possibly the finest rock violinist ever. David LaFlamme. I had the honor of seeing one of their concerts back in the day. On another related note: I play harmonica (Marine Band) and was rather good at it when I practiced regularly. My favorite was to do…

The government of the US is engineering a shortage of doctors. Read it and weep: … the Justice Department has unambiguously stated that refusal to accept government price controls is a form of illegal “price fixing.” The FTC has hinted at this when it’s said physicians must accept Medicare-based reimbursement schedules from insurance companies. But…

The Ann Arbor area suffered a torrential downpour last night — so bad that my yard looks like a swamp, and I’m having to take precautions about the possibility of more water: A state of emergency was declared in Dundee Township and the village of Dundee. A help line was set up for anyone who…

After an explosion, deaths, and months of oil spewing into the Gulf, 12% more people want the health care reform law repealed than are opposed to new offshore drilling.

The much-beloved (by the left and by Barack Obama) Helen Thomas is in the news for saying that the Jews should go back to Poland: The grande dame of the Washington press corps put her foot in her mouth with an answer at the White House last week, suggesting Jews should “get the hell out…

H/T commenter Chuck at Free Book Cross Posted at Power and Control

Another day, another heresy. California is on the verge of banning “single use” plastic bags in all stores. California would be the first state to ban plastic and most paper bags from grocery, convenience and other stores under a proposal that appears headed for a major legislative victory this week. Shoppers who don’t bring their…

From the YouTube site (or should that be sight?) of this video. July 28, 2009 — CORRECTION: The description originally stated that exposed film was to be used, but you actually have to use blank, developed film. A chemical used in the development process is what gives the film it’s visible light filtering capabilities. First…

I’m noticing a very peculiar trend in restrooms lately. In government buildings, I am seeing floor after floor in which there are two types of restrooms, labeled thusly: Women’s Restroom and Unisex Restroom While it’s not the biggest deal in the world, I find myself having no other choice than to use the unisex restroom,…

Riehl World View is discussing why the GOP online efforts will fail. One commenter is looking for: a leader that embraces conservatism instead of power. That will never happen until the majority of the “conservative” base gives up on social engineering. i.e. really embraces small government instead of paying it lip service.In the meantime we…