Some Links

All your beach are belong to us?

Women: God wants you to be silent.

NASA - Shuttle Silhouette

Very cool pic from NASA.

Click for larger image.

Kennedy won't run for re-election in RI

Kennedy won't run for re-election in RI

Yeah, that Kennedy. The farewell message was notably un-funny but Beth Lindstrom is rumored to be laughing her ass off anyway.

Once his term ends early next year, no one from the storied Kennedy family would hold political office in Washington for the first time in more than 60 years.

I'll take things that warm the cold, shriveled conservative heart for 500, Alex.

Sometimes I am amazed at what people manage to get paid for

Up today is Paul Krugman with his op-ed America Is Not Yet Lost over at NYTimes.com. Now, Krugman is upset. He is looking out over the sad, barren fields that a year ago he thought had been seeded so well by a Progressive movement that had won control over all levels of the federal elected government. House, Senate, Presidency... all theirs. The people were with them and although you aren't really supposed to count your chickens and all that... just look - it's obviously in the bag. Finally they would be able to follow through on their vision. Health insurance 'reform', cap and trade, green energy, war... they were gonna fix it all. Yes we can. And we can because we know how. We know how things should work and so don't you worry - we're just gonna take care of it. In the process we'll drag the bitter clingers across the finish line - against their own will if we have to - because that's how awesome we are.

But nothing has panned out like it should have. And so the finger pointing ensues. Who is to blame for this travesty? Well, Krugman has the answer: Republicans, of course. You see, even though Republicans up until Scott Brown's victory have not been able to do anything, practically speaking, to stop the Obama movement - they are still to blame. This requires a singular perspective on the universe: Democrats could have passed anything without the need for a single Republican vote. It was, of course, moderate Democrats that caused the trouble - since the Democrats needed every vote, Democrats like Landrieu and Nelson could play the ol' Washington Pork Hustle and get some goodies for their states. Despite the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it rush, people took a look at what was being proposed and didn't much care for it. They started putting heat on their representatives. Elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusett[e]s made moderates carefully consider the new political tailwinds.

I'm not going to get into that here but suffice to say that 'the people' are not terribly thrilled with how things are going. So what does all this mean? Well, let the man earn his (considerable) paycheck:

We’ve always known that America’s reign as the world’s greatest nation would eventually end. But most of us imagined that our downfall, when it came, would be something grand and tragic.

What we’re getting instead is less a tragedy than a deadly farce. Instead of fraying under the strain of imperial overstretch, we’re paralyzed by procedure. Instead of re-enacting the decline and fall of Rome, we’re re-enacting the dissolution of 18th-century Poland.

A brief history lesson: In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Polish legislature, the Sejm, operated on the unanimity principle: any member could nullify legislation by shouting “I do not allow!” This made the nation largely ungovernable, and neighboring regimes began hacking off pieces of its territory. By 1795 Poland had disappeared, not to re-emerge for more than a century.

Well. We're doomed, apparently. Republicans have gone and killed America. By his example I guess we might have a century or so to sort this problem out... But we are simple people; what hope do we have of solving this immense problem? Help us Dr. Krugman!

Today, the U.S. Senate seems determined to make the Sejm look good by comparison.

Phew, emergency averted. Rejoice, the country is saved! Maybe you do deserve your money, Krugman. You dirty capitalist swine, you. Krugman: Saving civilization as we know it... for profit.

So, the Senate is the problem. See, the Senate has all these little pesky rules. And those rules are standing in the way of reform. Reform that will save the Empi... err, Republic. Which rules? Well, the filibuster, to be precise. And so the filibuster must go:

The truth is that given the state of American politics, the way the Senate works is no longer consistent with a functioning government. Senators themselves should recognize this fact and push through changes in those rules, including eliminating or at least limiting the filibuster. This is something they could and should do, by majority vote, on the first day of the next Senate session.

Now the obvious ploy is to point out that in 2005 Dr. Krugman had a slightly different take on the filibuster:

But the big step by extremists will be an attempt to eliminate the filibuster, so that the courts can be packed with judges less committed to upholding the law than Mr. Greer.

Yes, so in this regard Krugman is like the politicians; he's a bit of a hypocrite. No doubt he would claim that he meant it would be extremist to end the filibuster to appoint non Krugman-approved justices. But nixing the fili' to pass health insurance reform? Divine. Onward:

Today, by contrast, the Republican leaders refuse to offer any specific proposals. They inveigh against the deficit — and last month their senators voted in lockstep against any increase in the federal debt limit, a move that would have precipitated another government shutdown if Democrats hadn’t had 60 votes. But they also denounce anything that might actually reduce the deficit, including, ironically, any effort to spend Medicare funds more wisely.

And with the national G.O.P. having abdicated any responsibility for making things work, it’s only natural that individual senators should feel free to take the nation hostage until they get their pet projects funded.

Nevermind the embarrassing lie about Republicans not offering any specific proposals and the justification of pet pork. The key to his thinking is: Goverment "makes things work". That's all you need to know, really. It justifies everything he says. Krugman looks at American Government like it's the engine in your car. Without it we are "paralyzed". The country will simply not function without the Government doing... well, something. But most of the time it is Government action that precipitates the very problems that people such as Krugman cry out for Government intervention to fix. Health insurance is a great example. We stifle competition and don't allow insurance policies to be purchased across State lines. We have tied health insurance to employment. We mandate what insurance companies must cover. Through these and many, many other regulations we have caused the price of health insurance to go up.

All of these problems were caused by the Government. How shall we go about fixing this? More Government, obviously. We will add even more layers of bureaucratic and government regulation or incentive which will, this time, fix the problems caused by the previous layers. Prior regulatory 'setbacks' (failures) are simply evidence of the need for further reform (intervention).

If you were an overpaid New York Times columnist you would understand.

Medina, truther?

I have a special interest in this as a Texas resident. Apparently she went on Beck's radio show and well, here's the audio:



I like Beck's comment about Perry.

Ace has more.

The Fallacy of "Fairness"

Sowell - The Fallacy of "Fairness"

White farmers urged to lobby Senate ag panel

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The head of the National White Farmers Association is urging Caucasion farmers to strongly lobby lawmakers to get them to approve a $1.15 billion discrimination settlement.

The proposal to pay claims filed by the farmers who say the U.S. Department of Agriculture discriminated against them was included in the budget President Barack Obama sent to Congress last week.

NWFA founder John Boyd Jr. told about 200 supporters at a rally in Little Rock on Saturday that supporters now need to make sure the plan gets through.

He urged them to "light a fire" under Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat and the new head of the Senate Agriculture Committee, who faces a tough re-election campaign this year.

The what kind of Farmers Association?

Entitled joke

Patrick Kennedy: Scott Brown's candidacy 'a joke'.

This is especially funny considering the multiple controversies Patches has himself been involved in:

"Sometime around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol complex believing I needed to vote," he said. "Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication."

Yeah, we who are not entitled Congressmen - who got elected to office because of our last name - call that medication "whiskey".

In his defense though, when you're that shitfaced everything is funny.

Blog spotlight gets impersonator arrested

When I first read about this I thought for sure it was a hoax -- nobody could really be this retarded democrat.

I'm not sure what to hope for here: some guy with a mental illness or that we have people living in America that might think this would be a funny stunt.

CDR Salamander: BG McSoulpatch arrested by FBI

Latest Right Wing Conspiracy: People fleeing NJ because of.... taxes.

From the Ace sidebar:

N.J. loses $70B in wealth during five years as residents depart - - NJ.com

“This study makes it crystal clear that New Jersey’s tax policies are resulting in a significant decline in the state’s wealth,” said Dennis Bone, chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and president of Verizon New Jersey.

Only $70B?

Snooki was unavailable for comment.

Government in action

Fire Department Bills for Basic Services Horrify Residents, Insurance Companies - ABC News

Sometimes you read a story that really shocks you

Today, this is that story.

OSLO — Arni Hole remembers the shock wave that went through Norway’s business community in 2002 when the country’s trade and industry minister, Ansgar Gabrielsen, proposed a law requiring that 40 percent of all company board members be women.

...After months of heated debate, the measure was approved by a significant majority in Parliament, giving state-owned companies until 2006 to comply and publicly listed companies until 2008.

I'll pause and let that soak in. Yes, Norway passed a law mandating the percentage of women occupying the board positions in companies. Why did they stop at 40 percent, you ask? Well, I guess they figured 50 percent would have been too fair.

So, how has this journey into enforcing social justice results turned out? Well, you can probably guess since I'm linking it... but as they say: read the whole thing.

The article also includes this quote which stuck out to me:

“Power is not something that is given, it is something that you have to take,” said Benja Stig-Fagerland, a Danish economist who in 2003 helped lead an effort by the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, the country’s main business lobby, to find female leaders.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a female oversell her capabilities,” she said.

Now, I really have no idea who Benja is. I have never heard of her before in my life. I would like to think that she's being a bit humorous here, you know, women are "all powerful", nudge-nudge, wink-wink -- but I doubt it. I think she's being serious and if she wasn't the author of this piece certainly misrepresented her. No, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that Benja is ... well, overselling here.

Obligatory exit questions: If you are a woman put on a board recently in Norway, given the difficulty in reaching the required 40% mark, how would you view your position on the board? How does that impact your interaction with the rest of the board?

In other news, in Norway there is such a thing as the "Equality Ministry".

H/T: VC

Interactive ideology map

Over at Gallup. Pretty neat. You can see how people line up in a state by state fashion according to (self described) Party (Rep/Dem) or Ideology(Con/Lib/Mod).

More on Citizens United

From Reason:



And Ilya Shapiro over at Cato @ Liberty has more.

And the counter-point: Democrats consider constitutional amendment to combat Supreme Court decision on campaign finance.

Well that's just unfair to retards

Emanuel apologized for 'retarded' remark

Danny Williams is getting heart surgery

Instapundit points out this bit of interesting news. Danny Williams is a Canadian Premier (similar to a US Governor). But he's coming to the US for heart surgery...

Hmmmmmmmm.

What is reconciliation?

What is reconciliation? Keith Hennessey explains.

Budget round up

The Obama Administration released the FY 2011 budget. Reaction from around the tubes:

The President’s bigger budget | KeithHennessey.com

U.S. Deficit to Hit All-Time High - WSJ.com

How does Obama's 2011 projected deficit compare? - latimes.com

What Obama's budget plan may mean for California - latimes.com

Obama budget: Record spending, record deficit - Yahoo! News

Budget Would Raise Tax Rates on Wealthy, Limit Deductions - WSJ.com

The WSJ has an interesting interactive tool that lets you see details for revenue and spending here. That's where I stole the graphic below; hit the link to see more.

 

Reason has the footage of the budget actually being delivered on the Hill. It would be interesting to take a survey on how people feel watching this video. What other event does this remind you of? For me, something along the lines of a funeral. -- A famous person died and the reporters are morbidly snapping away as the casket goes by...

The rise of Private Spaceflight

Alan Boyle reports over at Cosmic Log.

No, the biggest shift had to do with who would be in charge of providing the successors to the space shuttle fleet, which is currently due for retirement by the end of this year. Instead of having its own human spaceflight program to service the space station, NASA said it would buy rides in private-sector space taxis. In Nelson's words, "the commercial boys" would be in the driver's seat.

"If the commercial boys don't work, then we are stuck for upwards of a decade relying on the Russians ... and that is not a good position to be in," the senator said.

Never fear, Senator. I'm sure Washington will ensure the proper regulation and oversight is in place so that private interests are able to compete with... the Russians.

Remember that 'War for Oil'?

How's that turning out anyway? Hitchens writes about a subject somewhat missing from MSM coverage...