Moe Lane

…he’s collecting examples of the President’s – and others’ – use of this rhetorical equivalent of “um, you know”… and, I have to say that even for a cliche “The time for talk is over” is a pretty semantic-free statement.  Aside from everything else, if there’s a section of the Constitution that says that the POTUS, the punditocracy, or my Aunt Eileen gets to be the Question Gatekeeper, I missed it.

Although maybe you need the special glasses.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

…by the time this is all over.  Having shoveled out the walk several times already, I’ve come to the conclusion that snow is a royal, if not epic, pain in the ass.  And lower back.  And shoulders.  Which meant that I was probably doing it wrong.

Also: having another Ice Age would really and truly suck.  But I knew that from reading Fallen Angels (watch that one never get made into a Hollywood movie)…

This takes skill – but apparently Reid’s amendment is up to the task.

The National Organization of Women:

We call on all senators who consider themselves friends of women’s rights to reject the Manager’s Amendment, and if it remains, to defeat this cruelly over-compromised legislation.

Planned Parenthood apparently agrees.

National Right to Life:

NRLC will score the upcoming roll call votes on cloture on the Reid manager’s amendment, and on the underlying bill, as votes in favor of legislation to allow the federal government to subsidize private insurance plans that cover abortion on demand, to oversee multi-state plans that cover elective abortions, and to empower federal officials to mandate that private health plans cover abortions even if they do not accept subsidized enrollees, among other problems.

In addition, if the final bill produced by a House-Senate conference committee does not contain the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, NRLC will score the House and Senate votes on the conference report as votes to allow federal mandates and subsidies for coverage of elective abortion.

And Rep. Bart Stupak (D) has or has not sent out his people to talk to or not talk to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R) people. Hard to say.

If your head hurts, don’t worry about it. That’s just the Great Old Ones eating your brain.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

I have to disagree with RS McCain on this one: Emanuel may not be telling the truth on the passage of health care rationing, but he’s correct in dismissing the netroots.

Turn off MSNBC. Tune out Howard Dean and Keith Olbermann. The White House has its liberal wing in hand on health care, says White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

[snip]

The comments may not endear the powerful White House chief of staff to liberal activists, furious that Senate Democratic leaders, at Emanuel’s urging, cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman to drop a federally run insurance policy option, then eliminate a Medicare buy-in proposal.

I’ve been involved with the political blogosphere since 2002 or so, and the next time I see the left side of its leadership stand up to entrenched Democratic party interests over something important will be the first. Compare their usual wish list with what they get; and consider that examples of the discrepancy go all the way back to 2004, and John Kerry’s nomination. Put another way: if they swallowed heavily and accepted being betrayed on FISA/rendition/same-sex marriage, they’ll accept whatever monstrosity that the current ruling party comes up with with regard to health care rationing.

Not that I’m suggesting either way that health care rationing will pass or fail, mind you; merely that its passage or failure to pass is going to be independent of the netroot’s collective opinion on the matter.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

They’re not happy:

He came, he saw, he disappointed.

As President Barack Obama arrived in Copenhagen on Friday morning for the last day of the U.N. climate summit, all eyes were upon him. Only Obama, the argument went, had the power and prestige to break the deadlock at this summit, widely regarded as humanity’s last good chance to preserve a livable climate. But hopes that the president would bring something new to Copenhagen, that the U.S. position would move closer to what science says is required to avoid catastrophic climate change, were dashed by the president’s surprisingly lackluster remarks.

Oh, did I say ‘right-wing rag?’ I meant to type out ‘Vanity Fair.’ Must have been one of those automatic writing episodes that Victorian/Edwardian occultists so loved.  Nonetheless, they’re still unhappy, unhappy, unhappy.  Not to mention fearmongering, but what can you expect of such notorious theocrats?

No, that last epithet wasn’t sarcasm.

Moe Lane

(H/T: Hot Air Headlines)

White Christmas, Bing Crosby

Close enough, really.

…sayeth the Roman Catholic of Boston Irish descent.

(Via Instapundit) Seems that Mr. Quiet Exultation has a bit of a problem with the Jews and Christmas:

And all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. Did one of our guys write ‘Grab your loafers, come along if you wanna, and we’ll blow that shofar for Rosh Hashanah’? No, we didn’t. Christmas is a Christian holiday—if you’re not in the club, then buzz off.

An interesting offer, but I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you turn up the volume on your computer screen all the way, Keillor – and then play this:

Listen very, very hard. It comes from this place we call America.

Sparky.

Moe Lane

PS: While we’re on the subject: my wife’s an Unitarian.  You don’t get to attack their tendency to rewrite hymns.  Only people who are nice get to make fun of their tendency to rewrite hymns.

Pretty much what it says.

More footage here. By the way: it’s a damn good thing that these critters don’t live very long. Or that you can’t really do most forms of combustion underwater. Although, heck, if they had longer lifespans we might actually get along.  Just because they’re multi-tentacled creatures from the darkest depths of the ocean doesn’t mean that they also wouldn’t be good neighbors.

God help us all: nobody in Dizzy City is capable of dealing with the concept of frozen sky-water piling up to levels like that.  And may I note that there’s something sad about the fact that a person from NJ can mock anybody about their reaction to bad weather?

Also, this much snow seems a bit much, given that it isn’t even officially winter yet.  Is Al Gore flying back from Copenhagen via Dulles?

Howard Kurtz:

That splashing sound you hear is liberals jumping off the health care ship.

Moe Lane:

That murmuring sound you hear is conservatives not giving a tinker’s dam.

And why should we?  This entire situation came about because Democratic legislators decided that their opposite numbers were worth neither respect, elementary politeness, nor influence in the Grand New Order of the Democrats’ projected two-generation dominance of the American political sphere. They instead concluded that the combination of their Congressional majorities and a secular Messiah in the White House would entitle them to do whatever they darn well pleased.  So the Democrats played cheap rhetorical games to placate their more addled cheerleaders and buckled down to the serious job of gouging money out of the budget for their own districts’ gain (H/T: Instapundit).

Elections may have consequences – but, then so does choosing one particular policy strategy over another.  It’d be nice if the Democrats stopped whining about the results, thanks.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

How long has the GURPS community waited for GURPS Vorkosigan Saga? Let me put it this way: the editor started off his acknowledgment by apologizing for the delay. This roleplaying game sourcebook was in production for five years.  There were probably bets made on when, if ever, this book would ever see the light of day.  The only reason why all of this didn’t end in a frontal assault on Steve Jackson Games is that Bujold fans tend to be kind-hearted souls without access to kinetic energy weapons.

…I kid.  This book was a bit of a Jonah; everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, and after a certain point you have to accept that sometimes that just happens.  And it’s nice to have a copy in hand.  But man, was this a wait.

Moe Lane

Heh.

Heh!

Heh-heh-heh!

Heh-heh-hEH-HEH!!

HEH-HEH-HA!!

HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!!

MWHAH-BWAH-HAH-HA-HAH-HAH!!!!! (more…)