Month: October 2010

H/T commenters at Hill Buzz Our very own Tall Dave, in the comments here, suggests this video too.

Damn it I hate definitions — especially when the definitions lurk within definitions. In yesterday’s post about the definitions of work and the work ethic” I fell into a trap of my own inadvertent creation by treating the word “society” as almost a synonym for government. the weaselly phrase “the work ethic” avoids taking sides…

If you want government to leave you alone you must leave others alone. It is a hard lesson to learn. And painful. Because there is so much evil in the world. And having government guns at your side to confront it is so comforting. Until the government turns its guns on you. Our socialist friends…

I had hoped by voting for Bush in 2004 that the situation in the Middle East would be so set that even an unsympathetic President couldn’t undo what Bush had done if he did a good job in the Middle East. Bush did a good job. The price he had to pay to the Democrat…

According to A. O. Scott of the NYT, homophobia has a sneaky way of making itself acceptable by allowing its own ridicule: …lampooning homophobia has become an acceptable, almost unavoidable form of homophobic humor… Why those sneaky homophobes! I find this development deeply worrisome. That to ridicule something is to encourage it? Put aside homophobia…

Seriously. I’ve always suspected this but to get a lefty to say it out loud? It must be desperation time. Maybe the end of the line? One can hope. Except my friends on the right seem determined to over reach. Starting the cycle all over again. “This isn’t about President [Barack] Obama,” Rendell said on…

I absolutely will not be drinking three beers in short order, followed by smoking a blunt for this report. The contest I’m speaking of is the alcohol lobby versus the pot legalizers in California. The California Beer & Beverage Distributors disclosed it donated $10,000 to defeat Prop 19 — which would regulate and tax marijuana…

From the tide is turning files. …John Dennis. The San Francisco Republican – a frequent attendee of Tea Party events who is waging a perhaps quixotic war to unseat most-powerful San Franciscan Nancy Pelosi, to whom he has referred as a “wicked witch” – made a campaign stop Sunday at the Cow Palace, where the…

In light of the recent discussions of John Galt and his refusal to work pursuant to the demands of society, I’ve been thinking about the definition of work, especially in the context of the work ethic. Is work personal and individualistic, or is it social and based on what’s good for the community as a…

His latest column (safe link, goes to HotAir) begins with an offhand premise (not even an assertion, mind you, just an assumption) that the Tea Party wants to re-enact Birth of a Nation, the KKK-celebrating silent film of 1915. Fine, let me respond in kind. Paul, you may think you’re re-enacting Triumph of the Will…

From time to time I need to explain why being a libertarian sucks, and it is not a state I would wish on anyone. Because of the nature of the ruling political dichotomy, for me being a libertarian reduces itself to an equation which is very emotionally unsatisfying. I am against the left more than…

Of all the reviews of Atlas Shrugged I’ve ever seen, this one has the maximum ratio of words to sense, which is quite a feat given the competition. I salute you, sir. Of course, it probably helps to miss the point when you make it a point to skip all the “rants.” (Given recent pronouncements,…

No. Not that kind. (Although if I got an invitation from some nice people I might consider it pending the first mate’s approval. But you already know how that ends.) What I am is your quintessential libertarian swing voter. A proud member of the Leave Us Alone Party. So I’m having discussions at Power and…

Abortion has come up and as usual the discussion gets abrasive. Well I like being abrasive as much as the next guy. So let me start with a fragment of a recent comment well tied to the zeitgeist. Your attitude reminds me of that recent 10:10 adverting campaign. You know, where they blow up the…

Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms should be a convenience store not a government agency. Yeah. I have posted this before. Consider it an oldie but goodie suitable for the election season.

Villainous Company is looking at some studies on the effect of daycare on children. And comes up with this stunner: It’s amusing, in a way, to see the very same arguments being arrayed against Science that have been used for centuries to argue against Religion. In both cases, essential truths about human nature are too…

Senator Jim DeMint recently spoke at an event billed as the “Greater Freedom Rally.” The goal of the rally was “to close the chasm between ‘economic and social conservatives.’” If what he said constitutes “closing the chasm,” I’d hate to think about what he would say if he wanted to open it: DeMint said if…

Over the weekend I saw a photograph taken at Saturday’s “One Nation under Ed Shultz” rally, and because I like to know what people are thinking (and if possible why), it continues to fascinate me. Fox News is “unconstitutional”? Initially, that made me laugh, and it seemed so absurd on its face that I thought…

The latest Gallup poll results are in, and the president’s approval ratings remain low. Right now he’s hovering at 45% approval — just a hair above his all-time-low of 44%. In their endless quest to indict racism in America, liberals are focusing on the huge approval differential between black (91%) and white (36%) voters. If…

Eric is looking at the pictures of the number of people on the Washington Mall for the “Steal America Blind” rally yesterday to try and figure out how many people were actually there. I think the discrepancy in the numbers was caused by some people missed by the people counters: And if you judge by…