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April 28, 2009
Needed: A New Culture
Until recently, I had not heard of author Andrew Klavan. After watching this video, I picked up "Dynamite Road," and was hooked from the first paragraph: "Killing the girl was worth forty-nine points. In a lot of ways, it was the easiest job the man called Ben Fry had ever had." It's not a book for everyone, as it contains some strong language and violence, but if you like books about gritty private eyes, it's a great read.
Klavan is a rare creature - a conservative who works in the entertainment industry. He also writes a column at Pajamas Media, and his latest is thought provoking.
We need to build a New American Culture, and turn our backs on the culture of the state. We need to stop according respect or credence to reviews and awards that are used as social engineering tools to force the culture into anti-American state worship. We need to build an infra-structure of funding, review attention and awards to give praise, purpose and prestige to those artists who stand outside the MSM’s climate of opinion.Klavan's words remind me of a quote by C.S. Lewis who said something along the lines of 'what we need are not more Christian writers, but good writers who are Christian.' I don't quote that to suggest that only good art can come from believers, but I like the sentiment behind the statement. Too often, conservatives and Christians tend to isolate themselves from culture or create art that is too overtly political or religious while ignoring the fact that art needs to be good on its own merit in order to effectively communicate whatever message the artist is trying to send. As the abject failure of anti-Iraq war movies shows, preachiness doesn't work.It would be wrong to say too much about what such a New American Culture would look like. Individualism is the very essence of both conservatism and art. But I think we can say that such a culture would reflect and uplift the values and perspectives that made the west and America the greatest and freest places on the globe; it would put forward an image of man as our founders knew him to be, flawed and sinful yet capable of striving toward dignity and salvation through self-reliance and sacrifice.
Of course, the left will attempt to deride such an endeavor with the tired caveat they always use - creative people are free thinkers, and for that reason cannot help but be liberal...conservatives are simple thinkers while liberals are abstract...blah, blah freaking blah. The sad attempts to tie creativity to ideology are almost too transparent and desperate to take seriously. My three-year-old daughter has the ability to copy pictures she sees quite well, which I guess makes her liberal. But she also hates to share her toys (take that, socialism!) and her response to watching a wolf take down a baby caribou on Planet Earth was to say "The wolf is getting a snack," which of course means she's going to be a conservative.
Or perhaps I could just realize that trying to stuff my daughter into an ideological category based on her likes, dislikes and abilities is absurd. Artistic ability is not dependent upon one's feelings on taxation or social issues. Some people can draw, sing, write or play instruments, others cannot. Such abilities have nothing to do with one's particular views on political issues, nor should they.
What I like about this article is that Klavan understands culture matters. Art matters. It's time to re-engage and just maybe, start to gain ground and eventually win.
Cross-posted at the Greenroom.
Posted by slublog at 08:32 PM | Comments (81) | TrackBack
April 27, 2009
MCLU: Sex Offenders Deserve Privacy, or Something
The Maine Civil Liberties Union pats itself on the back for all the wrong reasons.
PORTLAND, Maine — The Augusta lawyer who is challenging Maine’s Sex Offender Registry law will receive the Maine Civil Liberties Union’s annual prize next month.The MCLU is the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, a group that seems more interested in protecting the rights of sickos who violate the innocence of kids than protecting actual civil rights enumerated in the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Noticeably missing? The rights granted by the second and the tenth amendments, both valued by conservatives. Go figure.James E. Mitchell, 67, who lives in Vassalboro, will be honored at the annual Scolnik Dinner to be held on Wednesday, May 6, at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport...
He said last week he is “very honored to be singled out for the award.”
On Good Friday 2006, Mitchell filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Maine Sex Offender Registry. Two days later two men who were listed on the registry were murdered by a 20-year-old Canadian man who committed suicide less than 24 hours after the killings. Neither of the men was Mitchell’s client.
Personally, I think the registry should consist of the offender's name, the crime he or she committed, the town lived in and a picture. If anything, we should edit the registry, not eliminate it. For the most part, I want the registry to ensure that those who committed crimes against kids are not given a job or volunteer position where they're given an opportunity to be around kids.
The constitution should protect rights, but those who commit crimes should be aware that the nature of their offenses have consequences.
Posted by slublog at 11:21 PM | Comments (29) | TrackBack
April 23, 2009
If Baghdad Bob Wrote for "E&P"
The results would probably look something like this column - "They will surrender, it is they who will surrender!"
NEW YORK Enough already. Partial facts and misinformation about newspapers are distorting the view for everyone, including readers and advertisers.Let's see...what do newspapers base their advertising rates on? What do potential advertisers look for when trying to figure out how to spend their money? What is the connection between revenue and audience? Yeah, that's a real stumper she's got there.Let's set the record straight: Newspapers still enjoy considerable readership and deliver strong results for advertisers. More Americans read printed newspapers than watch the Super Bowl. More Americans read printed newspapers than own dogs. Newspapers and their Web sites reach a larger audience than ever before.
The crisis facing newspapers is not an audience problem. It is a revenue problem.
Barrett's true Baghdad Bob-ishness is revealed in her desperate comparisons. Number of daily newspapers? 1,422. Number of Super Bowls? One, once a year for five hours or so. A more relevant comparison would be number of newspaper readers versus...say...number of hits per day on the Drudge Report. Something tells me that comparison would not work as well for Barrett.
Not content to simply refuse one acknowledgment of reality, Barrett doubles down:
There is no shortage of other theories on why newspapers are hurting. Most come from those without direct responsibility for the financial health of a newspaper. Some popular explanations:In other words, no, newspapers aren't losing readers because of liberalism, technology issues or the internet! Why not? Shut up, that's why not. Let's examine each of those issues separately.1.) Newspapers are too liberal and drive off readers as a result.
2.) Newspaper publishers are slow to embrace new technology.
3.) Newspapers are losing readers to the Internet.As my father used to say, they don’t know what they don’t know. In reality, none of these theories is responsible for newspapers' woes.
1.) Newspapers are too liberal and drive off readers as a result.
I'll let Vanderleun handle this one. Short answer? It's hard to make money in a highly competitive market when you alienate half your audience on a daily basis. Example? This headline, from my hometown paper.
2.) Newspaper publishers are slow to embrace new technology.
Part myth, part truth. Newspapers did jump onto the internet pretty quickly. The problem was that they simply dropped their printed content onto the internet, and then either put those stories behind irritating registration walls (I'm looking at you Washington Post) or tried to charge for it. Not exactly the best strategies when dealing with a medium known for providing content that's both free and accessible. The best example of a newspaper that understood the internet was the Wall St. Journal. They provided their content online, but also provided significant value-added features.
3.) Newspapers are losing readers to the Internet.
This one is undeniable. Of course print newspapers are losing readers to the internet. In an age when news is broken, analyzed and forgotten in the time it takes to post it in HTML or talk about it on cable, the idea of 'breaking' news on paper hours after it has been thoroughly dissected by the networks and the blogs is ridiculous. More often than not, the headline on the front page of most newspapers is always old news.
What's killing newspapers is pretty simple - they are a product of the industrial age. Every day, a newspaper takes a huge staff, enormous machines and a lot of money to produce. I think the future of newspapers is local. By the time our local paper runs national news headlines, the news in question has already been reported by cable news and digested, analyzed and in some cases deconstructed by blogs and online news outlets. Local news, however, has not.
The newspapers that understand that reality will survive. Those that do not, will not.
Cross-posted at the Greenroom.
Posted by slublog at 09:35 PM | Comments (19) | TrackBack
"Analysis:" AP-Speak for "Hagiography"
Ron Fournier and Trevor Thompson have done what I once thought impossible - they have actually broken new ground in media adulation for the president.
Behold, the new gold standard:
WASHINGTON (AP) - For the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is headed in the right direction, a sign that Barack Obama has used the first 100 days of his presidency to lift the public's mood and inspire hopes for a brighter future.Now, this is marked 'analysis,' which I suppose makes reporters think they can put stuff like this in a story, instead of scrawling it on the backs of their reporter notebooks encircled by hearts.Intensely worried about their personal finances and medical expenses, Americans nonetheless appear realistic about the time Obama might need to turn things around, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. It shows most Americans consider their new president to be a strong, ethical and empathetic leader who is working to change Washington.
Nobody knows how long the honeymoon will last, but Obama has clearly transformed the yes-we-can spirit of his candidacy into a tool of governance. His ability to inspire confidence — Obama's second book is titled "The Audacity of Hope" — has thus far buffered the president against the harsh political realities of two wars, a global economic meltdown and countless domestic challenges.In a previous life, I worked in public relations. The first few paragraphs of this story are more gushing than even the most shameless PR hack would write on behalf of his or her employer. It's certainly not what one should reasonably expect from two professional reporters. And no, I don't mean that last sentence to be ironic - journalism is a profession, and I think we should expect professionalism from those who practice it. The founders of this country felt a free press was so vital to our republic that they gave it constitutional protection. Watching the modern press eagerly debase that right in their transformation from watchdog to lapdog is disheartening.
The excessive happy-talk seems especially egregious when they actually start discussing the details of the poll:
*While there is evidence that people feel more optimistic about the economy, 65 percent said it's difficult for them and their families to get ahead. More than one-third know of a family member who recently lost a job.Considering the lopsided partisan mix of those polled (D+18), some of the numbers in the poll (full results here) seem a bit soft for The One.
* More than 90 percent of Americans consider the economy an important issue, the highest ever in AP polling.
* Nearly 80 percent believe that the rising federal debt will hurt future generations, and Obama is getting mixed reviews at best for his handling of the issue.
But Fournier and Thompson don't spend much time on those icky details before getting back to their "analysis."
So far, Obama has defied the odds by producing a sustained trend toward optimism. It began with his election.I know many have become immune to this sort of thing, but we shouldn't be. The press is too important to be ignored, and when the AP churns out a story this over-the-top in its praise for a political leader, their lack of professionalism should be pointed out. The founding fathers intended the press to hold politicians accountable, not sing them hosannas.
Cross-posted at the Greenroom.
Posted by slublog at 07:37 PM | Comments (15) | TrackBack
April 21, 2009
Dan Brown ready to Inflict New Book on America
Robert Langdon will grin again.
NEW YORK (AFP) — A follow-up by writer Dan Brown to his hugely popular conspiracy thriller "The Da Vinci Code" will go on sale in September, the publishers and author said Monday.The "Da Vinci Code" was a decent timewaster, but a terrible book. A lot of Christians were offended by the ideas in the book. Personally, I was more irritated by the two-dimensional characters and the wooden dialogue. Each character seemed to exist only as a conduit for Brown's philosophy. Langdon represents the seeker/scholar; Leigh Teabing is the expositor; Sophie Neveu is the innocent who asks all the right questions at oh-so-convenient times; and Silas is the voice and representative of the evil Catholic church."The Lost Symbol," featuring Da Vinci Code protagonist Robert Langdon, will go on sale with an initial print run of five million copies on September 15, Brown said on his website.
"This is a great day for readers and booksellers," said Sonny Mehta, chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
"The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown's prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book. This is one of the most anticipated publications in recent history."
I wonder what harebrained theory Brown will come up with in this book?
Posted by slublog at 08:52 PM | Comments (21) | TrackBack
'Future of the GOP' really seems to dig anti-GOP entertainment
I haven't written a lot about Meghan McCain because to me, she seems like a pleasant enough kid with some really bad ideas. My only comments on her have been to express my hope that her attempts to remake the GOP in her image fail. Despite my strong disagreement with where she wants to lead the GOP, (and because I'm the father of two girls), it does bother me to see the litany of nasty comments about her weight or appearance whenever her latest irritating statement is mentioned on a conservative blog, since expressing such sentiments seems pointless and unnecessary. In truth, I actually agree with some of her moderate positions.
Still, regardless of any sympathy I may have for her as a person, I grow increasingly weary of the disconnect between her calls for us to be more tolerant while she feels free to embrace and celebrate entertainment that shows intolerance for the party's "radicals."
First there was her proclamation that Russell Brand is "freaking hilarious." Brand, of course, is the slovenly 'comedian' who used his MTV hosting opportunity as an anti-Palin megaphone. Next was "the funniest thing" she's ever seen. And now today comes her confession that she's always had a crush on Eminem, and that she believes he "still looks hot" in his new music video. And yes, that would be the music video in which Mr. Mathers expresses his desire to "nail" Sarah Palin.
It's clear that McCain considers herself the future of the GOP and has made no secret of her disdain for conservatives who hold views contrary to her own. However, it's also clear that McCain, for all of her expressed desire for a big tent GOP, lacks the ability to see how her love of entertainment that insults so many of us in that party feeds into our distrust of her. If McCain truly desires to be a leader, she's got to show a willingness to lead and go against the flow instead of simply embracing the bland, tired GOP bashing that passes for entertainment in an effort to look "hip."
Cross-posted at the Greenroom.
Posted by slublog at 08:33 PM | Comments (23) | TrackBack
April 16, 2009
Attention Media, This is what Astroturf looks like
The Service Employees International Union says Mainers will deliver the pies Thursday to all 17 district offices of Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree.In the BDN's article about the Bangor tea party, the reporter felt obligated to quote representatives from both the Democrat party and the Maine People's Alliance (a liberal 'activist' group). No one other than the SEIU press release is quoted here. Go figure.In its announcement urging support for President Obama’s health care reform proposals and the Employee Free Choice Act, the SEIU said “good jobs and affordable health care are as American as blueberry pie.”
Over 300,000 Americans attend tea parties? They're right-wing, gun-loving, astroturfing puppets of Fox News. 235 union members/supporters deliver pies to Congressional offices? They're activists.
Cross posted at the Greenroom.
Posted by slublog at 09:21 PM | Comments (48) | TrackBack
April 15, 2009
Stimulus Fund Update
How are your tax dollars being spent in Maine?
Retrieving lost lobster traps. Yes, really.
Fishermen and lobster industry regulators have accepted such gear loss, but the slow accumulation of lost traps on the bottom has attracted the interest of officials because of the potential impact the traps could have on underwater habitat. Though lost, traps can continue to catch lobsters that eventually die because they cannot get back out.The federal government: stimulating the economy one rescued sea-cockroach at a time.To deal with the problem, the State Planning Office is proposing to use federal stimulus money to pay for a $2.3 million, 18-month project that would retrieve some of these lost traps from the ocean depths. The federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expected to announce next month whether it will fund the project, which would run from May of this year through October 2010.
State officials say they do not know how many lost traps are in Maine waters but they do know how many replacement tags they issue each year. Each year lobstermen in Maine are allowed to buy up to 800 tags apiece, which they then fasten to their traps to identify themselves as the owner of the gear.
Carl Wilson, chief lobster scientist for the Department of Marine Resources, said Tuesday that to make up for lost traps, the department allows fishermen to replace 10 percent of the number of tags they buy each year. DMR sells about 3.2 million trap tags annually, he said, so with that 10 percent replacement figure, it could be estimated that 320,000 traps are lost every 12 months. Over a few years, that quickly would add up to millions of traps littering the ocean bottom.
Cross posted at the Greenroom.
Posted by slublog at 10:11 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Blue State Tea Party
This afternoon, I attended the tea party being held in Bangor, Maine. This is not a big city - the population is just over 30,000. It's also not a particularly conservative city in a very liberal state. Barack Obama received 59% of the vote in this city. I've lived here for close to two decades, and I cannot remember a time when conservatives held any sort of protest.
So as I walked over to the protest, I honestly thought there would be maybe three dozen people with flags and signs. Instead, by my estimation, there were at least 300 people there, if not more, at the peak. Not a huge crowd by DC standards, perhaps, but certainly bigger than I expected given the time of day and the largely inaccessible location close to downtown with limited parking. The mood was jovial, and there were no counter-protests. A few participants tried to engage the crowd in a chant of 'USA,' but thankfully, no one was in a chanting mood.
The plan for the day was to wave signs and flags for awhile near the federal building and then walk down to the river that flows through town and dump tea into it. Being polite conservatives, the organizers called the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and asked whether that would be okay. The verdict? Loose tea, but no tea bags. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the party started marching, but I heard it went well.
My favorite sign of the day? "Went to bed a conservative, woke up a threat to national security."
Cross posted at the Greenroom
How did the media react to the tea parties? Not that well. In fact, disgracefully.
Posted by slublog at 09:29 PM | Comments (29) | TrackBack
April 14, 2009
Newsweek Finally Concerned About Obama Campaign Promises
On guns. In this particular bit of advocacy, Michael Isikoff and Suzanne Smalley practically beg the administration to reinstate the assault weapons ban. After recounting the story of cop-killer Richard Poplawski, the reporters get to the meat:
In the past, national political leaders might have raised troubling questions about how such an unstable character could obtain easy access to high-powered weapons. They might have been even more motivated given that Poplawski's cop-killing spree was part of a near epidemic of mass homicides that have left 58 people dead over the past month. Or given that Mexico's insanely violent drug cartels are arming themselves with high-powered assault weapons purchased at U.S. gun stores and later smuggled south of the border. Yet many past champions of stricter gun-control measures are silent. These include top Obama White House officials who have squelched any talk within the administration about pushing further gun-control measures."It's weird," says Peter Hamm, the communications director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "When you see people like [Attorney General] Eric Holder or Hillary Clinton or [White House chief of staff] Rahm Emanuel become muted on this issue, you feel like you want to call up a friend and say, 'What's up?'"In the first sentence, you can practically hear the thoughts of the reporters as they struggle to understand why the template that worked so well during the Clinton administration seems to be falling on deaf ears now. It's interesting to note how delicately the reporters dance around the issue of guns from Mexico, no longer using the thoroughly-debunked 90% statistic. They're still using the same language, though - anyone here ever heard of a 'low powered' assault weapon?Running for president in last year's Democratic primaries, Barack Obama promised to restore a federal ban on certain semiautomatic assault guns—a position that's still on the White House Web site. The ban was originally passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress in 1994 and lapsed five years ago. In recent years the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has also lifted virtually all restrictions on imports of foreign-made assault weapons, permitting a flood of cheap Romanian, Bulgarian and other Eastern European AK-47s to enter the country, according to gun-control groups. "There's been an absolute deluge of these weapons," says Kristen Rand of the Violence Policy Center.
But Obama and top White House aides have all but abandoned the issue.
The barely disguised advocacy and confused tone continues throughout the story, until the reporters show their hands at the end of the last paragraph. They quote a woman who saw Poplawski's rampage, then add to it:
"Something is very, very wrong with the system," she says. That might sound like a sensible refrain. But you'll struggle to hear a leading Democrat repeat it these days.She's right, you won't. And there's a very simple explanation - it was the price of winning back the House of Representatives. The reporters quote a 'Blue Dog' Democrat (after noting he has a "stockpile" of guns) who states the obvious: gun control cost Democrats control of Congress in 1994 and the presidency in 2000.
The recent mass shootings in the United States have been horrifying, and I find it sad but typical that reporter-advocates like Isikoff and Smalley are using human tragedy as data points in their ideological argument. In their zeal to wave the bloody shirt, these advocates never take the time to note that such tragedies are remarkably rare in a nation of 300 million that contains an estimated 200 million firearms, and 80-90 million gun owners. My state, Maine, has a large number of gun owners (40%) and a concealed carry law and our 2007 murder report is one page long, with only eight homicides committed by firearms. Isikoff and Smalley ignore the fact that gun control simply doesn't work as a deterrent against crime. In fact, you know what does deter crime? Guns. Turns out criminals don't like being shot at. Who knew?
I haven't always felt this way about the Second Amendment. In fact, one could call me a recent convert to the cause. A blog series I wrote about my experiences with a pistol safety class showed me that the most ferocious advocates of gun safety are those who own guns. It's too bad Isikoff and Smalley are too invested in their advocacy to note it.
Cross posted at the Greenroom.
Posted by slublog at 07:13 PM | Comments (84) | TrackBack
April 13, 2009
Boom, Bust, Repeat
The American Recovery and Investment Act is doing exactly what some conservatives predicted: giving the government more to spend money on in the future.
Little by little, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- better known as the economic stimulus package -- is having an effect on college campuses. While the biggest ticket items, such as tens of billions in research and state stabilization dollars, are not yet flowing in any meaningful way, colleges have begun to take advantage of separate provisions in the new law designed to make it easier for them to borrow money to finance capital projects.Universities and municipalities across the country will pour the sudden influx of money into infrastructure projects that they would not otherwise have been able to afford. And there's the problem. Given the economic realities many states face, is it really wise to use one-time funds on projects that will have continuing costs? I don't want to pick on Minnesota, but since they're mentioned in the story, let's use them as an example.The University of Minnesota announced Friday that it would become the first college in the country to use the new Build America Bonds, which were created in the stimulus legislation to help state and local governments (and related entities) raise money for building projects by making it significantly cheaper for them to issue taxable bonds.
The University of Minnesota has five campuses spread throughout that state. Although the construction costs will be paid mainly with the available one-time funds, the taxpayers of Minnesota would be responsible for keeping any new buildings in the system maintained, powered, and heated. Since it's unlikely that another structure would be destroyed to maintain some sort of financial equilibrium, a new building will add a few dollars to the budgets of educational and/or government entities.
Stories like this show that the long-term cost of President Obama's stimulus will be measured not just in how much it adds to the federal government's deficit, but what all of that "free money" will do to the state and local tax burdens across the country, and in the case of universities, the cost of higher education.
Higher federal taxes. Higher state and local taxes. Higher tuition bills. All made possible by the generosity of the Obama administration.
Cross-posted at Hot Air's Green Room.
Posted by slublog at 09:35 PM | Comments (94) | TrackBack
And Now for Something Completely Different
Michelle Malkin recently opened up her website to give (as of now) a dozen Hot Air commenters their own posting privileges in the "Green Room," a new section of the site.
I'm one of them, so come join the conversation. As I said in my first post on that site, I'm very grateful to Michelle, Allahpundit and Ed for giving me that opportunity.
And yes, I'll still post here for the half-dozen of you who read my quasi-daily thoughts.
Posted by slublog at 01:27 PM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
April 12, 2009
Happy Easter
Hope all of you are having a good holiday.
Posted by slublog at 03:33 PM | Comments (49) | TrackBack
April 10, 2009
How to Tell You've Smoked Too Much
(CNN) -- Woody Harrelson defended his clash with a photographer at a New York airport Wednesday night as a case of mistaken identity -- he says he mistook the cameraman for a zombie.Heh. Understandably.... Harrelson, who is being sued by another TMZ photographer for an alleged assault in 2006, did not deny his involvement.
"I wrapped a movie called 'Zombieland,' in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character," Harrelson said in a statement issued Friday by his publicist.
"With my daughter at the airport I was startled by a paparazzo, who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie," he said.
(h/t: WBAustin Twitter)
Posted by slublog at 10:26 PM | Comments (32) | TrackBack
Good Friday
In 1986, a group of physicians and theologians wrote a paper about what Jesus endured, medically speaking, on Good Friday.
It's hard reading, but makes me appreciate the extent of His sacrifice.
Posted by slublog at 12:30 AM | Comments (57) | TrackBack
April 09, 2009
A Suggestion for the GOP
No more McCains, ever. Meghan McCain, the daughter of our failed 2008 nominee, is trying to make herself the future leader of the party. Here's a sample of her winning strategy:
Thank you so much Mary, yes we have to take back our party from radicals! xoxoExcuse me? "Our" party, Ms. McCain? Those are awfully
Based on her writings and media appearances, though, she's simply a younger version of her father - a Republican who realizes the easiest and best way to achieve media adulation is to speak out against all of us conservative 'radicals' who make up a good percentage of the party.
To quote Rush Limbaugh, I hope she fails.
Posted by slublog at 10:22 PM | Comments (84) | TrackBack
"It's good for us..."
Veterans.
They're so politically useful, aren't they?
Posted by slublog at 10:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Unions Not Giving Up
Tonight, during "CSI," I saw a commercial sponsored by unions asking me to encourage my representatives to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
While I'm glad to see unions pour money into a lost cause, they should probably just give up on this one. It's dead. Eliminating the secret ballot isn't all that popular among anyone but power-hungry union thugs.
Go figure, huh?
Posted by slublog at 09:48 PM | Comments (86) | TrackBack
April 08, 2009
German Feelings vs. Honoring History
You have got to be kidding me.
Barack Obama, concerned about offending Britain and Germany, rebuffed strenuous attempts by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to persuade the new American president to make a trip to Normandy this week.I'm not sure how visiting the site of a major WWII battle in which tens of thousands of American soldiers participated and thousands gave their lives to free Europe could be seen as offensive, or why it should matter.White House officials travelled to France at the start of March to discuss a visit by Mr Obama to Omaha Beach, the site of the American Cemetery, established in 1944 just after D-Day and where 9,387 American personnel are buried. Among them is Theodore Roosevelt Jr the eldest son of the 26th US President.
French officials and senior American military officers walked with White House staff through the cemetery discussing how the two presidents might follow the same route. But even before their trip, the White House had decided that Mr Obama would not travel there this week.
What a disgraceful decision, one that will be compounded if Obama does not visit in June. (h/t: dpud)
Posted by slublog at 09:21 PM | Comments (80) | TrackBack
April 07, 2009
From the "Wait...in Maine?" File
Prostitution ring busted in Brewer.
BREWER, Maine — Police investigating a suspected prostitution ring used Craigslist and other online advertising sites to order six female escorts last Thursday and arranged to meet them at an undisclosed Wilson Street motel.Maybe they just intended this as an homage to Bangor/Brewer's history of being a place loggers would come to 'relax' after spending weeks in the woods.The prostitution sting resulted in charges against six local women and Michelle Powers-Jenkins, 42, of Orland, who is the owner and operator of an escort service called Cinnamon’s Sweets, which until recently was located on North Main Street in Brewer. All seven women were charged with promotion of prostitution, a Class D misdemeanor.
Posted by slublog at 10:12 PM | Comments (66) | TrackBack
April 05, 2009
So...
Thanks to Dan Simmons, I haven't been reading much other than this today. Blogging may suffer as a result.
Posted by slublog at 09:45 PM | Comments (19) | TrackBack
April 02, 2009
Defending Mike Huckabee
So, does Terry McAuliffe think we're just going to forget all the nasty stuff he said in the 90s?
Guess so, if he's pretending to be OUTRAGED!!1! about jokes like this.
Posted by slublog at 11:40 PM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste
Geithner: We may have to fire more CEOs.
Posted by slublog at 12:49 AM | Comments (25) | TrackBack
April 01, 2009
Republican Leader Eschews Leadership
"Present?" Seriously, Representative Cantor? That's leadership?
And what on earth is "excessive" compensation and where does Congress find the right to regulate pay in the Constitution?
Posted by slublog at 11:19 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
The Creative Nuts at Think Geek
An annual April Fools day tradition at ThinkGeek is to post fake products for sale. It's too bad this one isn't real.
Update - The people have spoken, and they want their Tauntaun sleeping bags. Looks like ThinkGeek is going to try and make that happen.
Posted by slublog at 10:47 PM | Comments (23) | TrackBack
Baby Steps
Today, President Obama and his wife met the Queen of England. It seems he has learned something from the embarrassment of giving PM Gordon Brown a few DVDs in the wrong format. The Obamas presented the queen with a songbook signed by Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame, a classy gift for a music lover.
The other gift? An iPod. With, um, his own speeches pre-loaded.
The iPod also included a selection of American show tunes. A decent list of songs, although I have to take issue with using Aretha Franklin's terrible version of "I Dreamed a Dream" instead of the original, or even the Mandy Patinkin version. Aretha has a great voice for R&B, but introspective ballads aren't really her thing.
Without the speeches, the gift of an iPod would have been just a bit tacky. Including the speeches makes it unbelievably so.
Heh - It's comments like this that make me wish Dave at Garfield Ridge were still blogging.
Posted by slublog at 10:02 PM | Comments (21) | TrackBack