Author: Dave

This really says it all. Do Muslims have a constitutional right to build a mosque or Islamic center there? Sure, and under our Constitution one could hold a Japanese Pride Parade down the streets of Nanking. But no one should confuse either notion with any semblance of decency, especially coming from an imam with undisclosed…

And if they can, do we still live in a free country? What’s more, the paper says, taxpayers are on the hook for Medicare and Medicaid. “In that respect, health insurance is unlike virtually all other consumer products. Americans are affected by its influence over the healthcare system even if they don’t have policies.” Finally,…

Tim Cavanaugh has a devastating cite from just-retired Obama economic adviser Christina Romer: The generally precise Romer spells out the difference for us: Using this approach, the estimated multiplier for monetary policy is 0.823 and the estimated multiplier for fiscal policy is -0.233. You don’t say. Gee, that would have been nice to know a…

It sure looks that way. Ed Morrissey cites a Center for Public Integrity report that finds the Coast Guard, whose budget was slashed by a third under Obama, so badly botched the response to the explosion (not even following their own guidelines for such responses) that their actions probably caused the rig to sink, which…

Great summary of recent events from the DC Trawler: The joke was on everyone as the Sherrod chainsaw howled to life. She announced that Fox News was just using her as a “pawn” to “take us back to where we were many years ago. Back to where black people were looking down, not looking white…

So, Obamacare had a provision saying insurance companies cannot refuse to sell insurance policies on children who are already sick. Much as they might stop selling fire insurance if required to cover people whose houses are already aflame, insurers have responded by no longer issuing any individual policies for children, with the result that more…

Shirley Sherrod says this about Andrew Breitbart: On Andrew Breitbart: I know I’ve gotten past black versus white. He’s probably the person who’s never gotten past it and never attempted to get past it. I think he would like to get us stuck back in the times of slavery. That’s where I think he would…

After all their support, do they really deserve this?

Housing starts fall again. We may not see a rebound for a long time — and if we do see one soon, that may actually be a bad thing. Both Dems and the GOP created a housing bubble by encouraging lenders to make loans to people who weren’t good risks through policies at Fannie, Freddie…

For the first time in my life, I lost a hard drive last night. I had backups, but it’s still very irritating (and perhaps it’s only transhumanist conceit, but its passing faintly echoes to me intimations of my own mortality). I’ve sent the drive, which still emits a healthy hum and is even sort of…

Glenn Reynolds has an enormously potent piece up on the Second Amendment and how activism overturned the conventional wisdom, with lessons for the Tea Party movement at a time when the expansion of government seems not just inexorable and deeply entrenched in our political culture, but at times a sort of immutable natural law.

Artist’s interpretation of the fate WaPo blogger Dave Weigel wished on Matt Drudge the WaPo blogging career of Dave Weigel.

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…

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.

Interviewer: But under your philosophy, it would be OK for Dr. King not to be served at the counter at Woolworths? Paul: I would not go to that Woolworths, and I would stand up in my community and say that it is abhorrent, um, but, the hard part–and this is the hard part about believing…

Has Tom Friedman heard? There’s always been a fundamental error in the notion of “growing” a “green economy” — you don’t create efficiencies by purposely introducing inefficiencies, you destroy them, reducing productivity and by extension GDP. Contra Friedman’s longstanding premise that “green technology” is some sort of burgeoning new growth sector, these programs are virtually…

This is why I subscribe to Reason. In the face of murder and violence and threats against the practice of free expression, the only acceptable answer is defiance. In unrelated news, multiple sources report hearing a clanking sound from Nick Gillespie’s pants when he walks.

Glenn Reynolds spots something intriguing: “RASMUSSEN: 55% of Colorado Voters Favor Immigration Law Like Arizona’s. Once again, I think this is a sign of media-narrative weakness, given the overwhelmingly negative coverage given to Arizona’s law.” That’s a very good point. I can’t remember seeing an issue like this where media was so against and public…

The cost of inaction: Rudd has created a Department of Magnificent Uselessness in response to a crisis that never existed and against which he will take no action. This is absolutely beautiful. Hey Tim, just be thankful you aren’t paying Gavin Schmidt’s salary too.

It’s that time again. I was surprised to see my own entry here. Can CV readers spot my contribution to keeping the Earth out of an ice age? Remember folks, much of the world gets dangerously cold every year. If you’re not doing your part to help, you’re no better than some lunatic stuffing people…