Moe Lane

Because, as @EdDriscoll notes, everything goes better with Tina.

Son Of A Preacher Man, Tina Turner

Although this one by the other Sarah Connor wasn’t bad:

Moe Lane

PS: This is the Sarah Connor, of course.

It’s dead during the term of this administration, and never mind what TPMDC thinks. I’d give credit for the Obama administration for at least not duplicating the public relations fiasco that the Clinton administration got itself into sixteen years ago, but do we really want to reward a lack of intestinal fortitude?

Frank: Democrats Punting on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Until 2010

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Thursday that Democratic leaders won’t push to repeal the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy governing gay service in the military until 2010.

“I believe we should and will do ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ next year,” said Frank, a co-chairman of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Equality Caucus. “We haven’t done the preliminary work, the preparatory work. It would be a mistake to bring it up without a lot of lobbying and a lot of conversation.”

(more…)

…Ace of Spades gets good traffic; the kind of traffic that justifies a little ad placement. People should throw some his way. Of course, they should also throw some advertising my way, too, but Ace has a brand loyalty that can spawn real-time meetups.

Just saying, that’s all.

…well, not quite yet, but give them time:

Obama administration works with headhunters to fill out key positions

The Obama administration has been working with some of the nation’s top headhunters to recruit candidates to join the executive branch.

Administration officials have privately expressed frustration that they are struggling to hire talented personnel for key slots across the federal government, noting President Obama’s tough restrictions on lobbyists working for him.

Over the last several months, Obama’s transition team and administration have had informal communications with major recruiters, including Korn/Ferry International, Russell Reynolds Associates and Heidrick & Struggles.

I suppose that I could really be mocking about this, but I shan’t. This is actually excellent news: after all, I presume that the companies listed above do credit checks of potential hires. It’ll be delightful to get some executive branch appointees who actually pay their taxes.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

…(“Did We Elect Borat President?“) as I’ve never actually watched Borat.

Because it looked stupid, that’s why. And not Death Race 2000 stupid, either.  I begrudge spending money on watching something stupid.

Moe Lane

But hey, if you want me to correct my error by having me rent it, or something…

Crossposted to RedState.

The signs are all there.

Of course, it’s Chris Onstad and Achewood – so you never know. If he is: my sympathies. It’s a heck of a thing to quit.

Glenn Reynolds published a note from a reader indicating that the RNC is not referencing the Tea Party movement in its latest fundraising materials. This may have something to do with the fact that the Tea Party movement itself has no interest in bringing in the RNC:

With regards to stage time, we respectfully must inform Chairman Steel that RNC officials are welcome to participate in the rally itself, but we prefer to limit stage time to those who are not elected officials, both in Government as well as political parties. This is an opportunity for Americans to speak, and elected officials to listen, not the other way around.

Speaking as someone who is simultaneously a supporter of both the Tea Party movement and the GOP: the door swings both ways on this. If it is made clear that someone is not being invited to participate, it seems a bit unfair to object when they take you at your word. While I perfectly understand the desire of the Tea Party people to keep the GOP from taking over, unless the movement plans to actually start a third national party it’s going to have to come to at least an alliance with one of the two existing ones. And starting a third party right now will – at best – merely ensure that the Democrats will retain power for at least the next three election cycles. That works out to at least nine years of more-of-the-same.

We may not have nine more years. I’m of the opinion that three years would be two too many.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Old, but still funny.

If you’re wondering who Uwe Boll is, let’s just say that among the video game community that name is an alternate form of ‘Anti-Christ.’

No, really.

Moe Lane

PS: On the other hand, any guy who can get Troma mentioned – favorably - in the New York Times may not be completely bad. If only by accident.

Or, why the Romans did that “Remember, thou art mortal” thing*.

Rep Peter Hoekstra of Michigan would like to remind people in general – and the White House in particular – that the events of the last eight years didn’t actually occur in a vacuum:

Congress Knew About the Interrogations

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair got it right last week when he noted how easy it is to condemn the enhanced interrogation program “on a bright sunny day in April 2009.” Reactions to this former CIA program, which was used against senior al Qaeda suspects in 2002 and 2003, are demonstrating how little President Barack Obama and some Democratic members of Congress understand the dire threats to our nation.

[snip]

It was not necessary to release details of the enhanced interrogation techniques, because members of Congress from both parties have been fully aware of them since the program began in 2002. We believed it was something that had to be done in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to keep our nation safe. After many long and contentious debates, Congress repeatedly approved and funded this program on a bipartisan basis in both Republican and Democratic Congresses.

Rep Hoesktra goes on with this shot across the administration’s bow: “I have asked Mr. Blair to provide me with a list of the dates, locations and names of all members of Congress who attended briefings on enhanced interrogation techniques.” That being, of course, the thing that the White House probably doesn’t want publicized.  It also doesn’t want it publicized that it doesn’t want it publicized, but that’s normal for administrations in the middle of an embarrassment.

(more…)

Step by step – sometimes almost painfully so – the Japanese are getting themselves back into the game:

Japan’s MPs back anti-piracy bill

The lower house of Japan’s parliament has approved a bill to allow the country’s naval ships to take a bigger role in fighting pirates off Somalia.

The bill will mean the navy can escort non-Japanese ships and use weapons for more than just self-defence purposes.

[snip]

Although the bill is likely to be rejected by the upper house, the government can still turn it into law.

Apparently the way that works is that the government, if it wants to, can have the bill reintroduced into the lower house of the Japanese parliament – which would then presumably pass it again.  (more…)

Dude.

I got nothing that can follow that.

Really? 

I think that was rather rude of you, considering that it’s 34 years too late to save the planet, or maybe 24/9, and the planet’s no longer suitable for human habitation, and the pollution’s long since killed us all, and of course the eight billion people that died of hunger for the last four decades, thanks to all the famines, and mass starvation, and how outside of Western Europe / North America / Australia’s everybody’s without food, and of course the gas masks that we all have to wear, not that we can see where we’re going because of the reduced sunlight from the increased pollution and nitrogen buildup, although we should be grateful that the air pollution only takes hundreds of thousands of lives, but we don’t have any resources left, particularly oil, and we lost 3/4ths of all species, and of course we’re in an ice age right now.

Yup.  Predictions from Earth Day 1970.  Via I Hate The Media, via Urbin Report, via Ed Driscoll.

And they wonder why the ‘threat’ of global warming isn’t having the punch that it used to have.  Or why it’s suddenly necessary to explain that away.  Although I really shouldn’t let myself get caught up in religious arguments, particularly when I don’t subscribe to that particular faith…

Moe Lane

PS: On the bright side, you can always buy Arrrbon Credits (I think H/T: Ed Driscoll). And yes, in point of fact I am taking the situation as seriously as it deserves.

Crossposted to RedState.