So it has been written, and so it shall be!
Consider this an opportunity to get some early Christmas shopping done.
(Hat tip: Whipped Cream Difficulties.)
Today is National Ammo Day!
November 19th, 2009Kentucky’s Tax Dollars At Work
November 18th, 2009From the fine folks over at The Corner comes this wonderful, two-part story of tax dollars at work.
It seems that the Louisville African American Think Tank wanted to put on a two day “urban health summit,” and applied for, and received, a government grant. Except there seems to be a few tiny problems:
- The “think thank” in question wasn’t tax exempt, having been dissolved by the state in 2005 for failing to file annual reports.
- The board of the think tank had a, ah, “colorful” history:
- “Treasurer Theron Dunn has been arrested for theft and burglary.”
- “Secretary Terell Stoner has two full pages of charges including sexual abuse, armed robbery and assault.”
- “Yancy Davis, a director, has been arrested for drug violations, carrying a concealed weapon and child abuse.”
- Think Tank Director Rev. Gerome Sutton was once on the “Louisville’s Most Wanted” list for forging his ex-wife’s signature on her car title and failing to pay more than $30,000 in court-ordered alimony, and was also arrested for allegedly threatening to kill his ex-wife.
- Best of all: The initial $10,000 check from the state was cashed at a liquor store.
And this was from a state government. Just think: If Rev. Sutton had only applied for some of that sweet stimulus money, he’d still be receiving checks…
Half-Blind Squirrel Finds Acorn (not ACORN)
November 18th, 2009I’ve often fantasized about being elected President. (I suspect I’m not alone among political pundits in this regard. But I have a cunning master plan. <strokes white cat>Soon, my precious, soon!</strokes white cat>. One thing I’ve thought about is answering that question: “What will you do to facilitate the Middle East Peace Process?” To which I would reply: “Stay as far away from it as possible. It’s a scam and illusion and it only makes things worse.” Shock! Outrage! How dare you criticize our beloved emperor’s splendid new garments?
However, Thomas Friedman beat me to the punch:
“The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has become a bad play. It is obvious that all the parties are just acting out the same old scenes, with the same old tired clichés — and that no one believes any of it anymore.”
I would be lying if I said I knew exactly where to place Friedman on the political map. Since (like everything else in the New York Times) I don’t read him on a regular basis, only when one of his columns gets linked to by someone else, my impression of him (a squishy moderate with a “globalization will solve everything” outlook, a healthy distaste for jihad, and an occasional a voice of reason on foreign policy) could be woefully mistaken. But to have someone who was previously a big peace-process backer in the heart of NYT-dom turn around and call it for the sham it is, that’s a huge turnaround.
The penultimate paragraph:
“If we are still begging Israel to stop building settlements, which is so manifestly idiotic, and the Palestinians to come to negotiations, which is so manifestly in their interest, and the Saudis to just give Israel a wink, which is so manifestly pathetic, we are in the wrong place. It’s time to call a halt to this dysfunctional ‘peace process,’ which is only damaging the Obama team’s credibility.”
Actually, I don’t think the Obama Administration has any credibility left to lose, especially on foreign policy, but that’s a quibble. Sadly, I also think there’s very little chance of Obama and his foreign policy team taking Friedman’s advice…
You know who else hated Christmas?
November 17th, 2009(Actually, the whole “War on Christmas” thing isn’t of great concern to me (except as an example of the much larger and deadlier problem of general political correctness), but I couldn’t resist a one-word Godwin, especially since Mike Godwin is on my Facebook friends list, since we argued with each other way back in the dim, misty days of the Austin BBS community…)
Turning America into California (and not in a good way)
November 17th, 2009This article by Dennis Prager nicely summarizes how left-wing policies has brought California to the verge of bankruptcy…and how Obama’s policies threaten to do that to the rest of the nation.
“The left wants America to abandon its defining commitment to individualism and replace it with a European-style nanny, or welfare, state.”
Indeed.
The Stimulus is creating jobs like crazy in Fredonia!
November 16th, 2009The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota brings the rocking news that the stimulus is creating jobs like mad in Minnesota!
According to the report on Recovery.gov’s own website, thanks to the Stimulus there have been 35 jobs created in Minnesota’s 57th congressional district, 6 jobs in the 14th Congressional District, 5 jobs in the 13th Congressional District, but only a measly half a job in the 11th congressional district.
Too bad Minnesota only has eight congressional districts.
Then again, maybe it’s just an honest error, and the Obama Administration accidentally included congressional districts from one of the 56 other states…
(Hat tip to Powerline).
Update 1: And Missouri.
Update 2: And Arizona.
Update 3: And New Mexico.
Update 4: And California. (The last from fellow science fiction writer Dafydd ab Hugh.)
Update 5: And New Hampshire.
Problems Presented by the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Trial
November 16th, 2009There’s an interesting article up by George Friedman at Stratfor discussing the difficulties of trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court of law:
“Imagine that in addition to stating that the United States was at war with Japan, Franklin Roosevelt also called for bringing the individual Japanese pilots who struck Hawaii to justice under American law. This would make no sense.”
But, of course, terrorist members of al Qaeda are not soldiers under international law. Friedman spells it out quite clearly:
“International law is actually not particularly ambiguous about the status of the members of al Qaeda. The Geneva Conventions do not apply to them because they have not adhered to a fundamental requirement of the Geneva Conventions, namely, identifying themselves as soldiers of an army. Doing so does not mean they must wear a uniform. The postwar Geneva Conventions make room for partisans, something older versions of the conventions did not. A partisan is not a uniformed fighter, but he must wear some form of insignia identifying himself as a soldier to enjoy the conventions’ protections. As Article 4.1.6 puts it, prisoners of war include ‘Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war.’ The Geneva Conventions of 1949 does not mention, nor provide protection to, civilians attacking foreign countries without openly carrying arms.”
“Under the Geneva Conventions, [Mohammed]’s actions in organizing the Sept. 11 attacks, which were carried out without uniforms or other badges of a combatant, denies him status and protection as a POW.”
Clear, succinct, and what conservatives have been saying for the past eight years, which pretty much ensures that no one in the Obama Administration will read it.
“The real problem here is international law, which does not address acts of war committed by non-state actors out of uniform. Or more precisely, it does, but leaves them deliberately in a state of legal limbo, with captors left free to deal with them as they wish.”
The article goes on at length to explain taht it is equally impossible to try him under civilian law in a “fair” manner, and how international law has woefully failed to keep up with the realities of modern warfare and terrorism.
Read the whole thing.
Fun With Lawsuits
November 14th, 2009Step 1. Journalist accuses National Iranian American Council (NIAC) of lobbying for the Iranian government (a no-no under federal law)
Step 2. NAIC sues journalist.
Step 3. Journalist files discovery motion against NAIC.
Step 4. Discovered emails prove NAIC is an Iranian front group.
Step 5. D’oh!
Premonitions of a Democratic House Slaughter in 2010?
November 13th, 2009Next year is shaping up as potentially disastrous for House Democrats. Especially given:
- The extraordinary unpopularity of ObamaCare.
- Unemployment looks to be headed to at least 12% (or higher)
- The unusually high number of Democrats in seats that went for Republican candidates.
I hope to take a further look at some of the most vulnerable Democratic House members who voted for ObamaCare in greater detail at some point in the not-so-distant future.
College Station Red Light Followup
November 13th, 2009TXGunGeek posted this link to his blog to my two recent red light camera posts, and I thought it was important enough to bring up in a separate post.
A restraining order has been filed to prevent College Station from removing the red light cameras, ostensibly over the question of whether the issue got on the ballot as an “initiative” or as a “referendum.” Who filed the lawsuit? Well, by an amazing coincidence, it’s been filed by the law firm that did work for the pro-red light camera PAC American Traffic Solutions used as a front group.
Golly, what are the odds?
So there’s another reason to avoid red light cameras. In addition to causing accidents and transferring money from taxpayers to government, they’re also a gateway drug for deeper corruption of bureaucrats and elected officials.