Moe Lane

…blah blah:

(pause)

Sorry: it’s just that I’ve just heard that tonight’s SotU is going to be a heck of a lot like last year’s SotU, and the only things of any kind of interest that happened at last year’s SotU were the two reactions to two damfool things that the President said.  Couple that with the fact that Enzio is STILL stuck in that stupid tomb in Assassin’s Creed 2, and the end result is that I am bored, bored, bored.

Scare quotes, because it’s DC Kabuki Time!  For those who are not ‘blessed’ enough to live within the Beltway – or downwind of it – this is that special time in the legislative calendar where federal politicians preserve the status quo by changing nothing at all and putting a big, red bow on the result.  In this particular case, the scenario is as follows: for some strange reason, certain progressives want to make it easier for Republicans to repeal Obamacare by making the threshold for a cloture vote less than the current 60.  Saner Democrats – which is to say, about a third to a half of the Senate Democratic caucus – don’t want this to happen, mostly because they can count, and they’re well aware of the minor detail that 2012 is shaping up nicely as a Senatorial bloodbath for their party.  So, it’s time for a compromise!

This is what they came up with:

Under the emerging deal, senators would still be able to put a “hold” on nominations and legislation — and therefore prevent quick votes on them — but instead of remaining anonymous for several days as current rules allow, the name of a senator who employs a hold would be made public right away. Supporters of this reform believe that senators will be less likely to drag out a dispute if they need to defend it publicly.

When asked about this, Senator Tom Coburn – who is easily the Senator most likely to call for a hold, and who takes an innocent, care-free glee in maintaining that status – responded by showing Senate progressives the Hawaiian good-luck symbol, and then going off to deliver another baby, in flagrant violation of Senate work ethics laws*.

So I think that you can safely assume that this is not actually going to be, well, relevant.  I won’t even go into the other two supposed provisions – reducing the number of nominees requiring confirmation, and banning reading the bills aloud – mostly because there’s no real confirmation that either ‘reform’ will be even adopted.  Even if they are, the odds that anything would have changed was… low.  Which could be seen as a pity: Democratic Senators worried about their reelection prospects stampede nicely.

Ach, well.

Moe Lane (crosspost) (more…)

I like the Tim Pawlenty 2012 campaign Courage to Stand: An American Story book video.

So sue me.

Moe Lane

That’s the title of this post by Dresden Codak webcomic author Aaron Diaz, and it’s… very readable, actually.  I’m not a graphic artist, but Diaz’s analysis of costume design, its goals, and its pitfalls was easy to follow along, and made a good deal of sense to even a non-initiate.  Quite worth looking at.

Now, if only he could manage to draw a darn comic more than once a month…

This is what Madison, Wisconsin liberal talk show host John “Sly” Sylvester said last week about Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch on WTDY (office line 608-273-1000; Program Director Rex Charger) :

‘Would you like to move to Wisconsin? Would you like to move CouponCabin to Wisconsin? I’m Rebecca Kleefisch. I performed fellatio on all the talk show hosts in Milwaukee. And they endorsed me and that’s how I became lieutenant governor. And then I got colon cancer and I ran around the state to help people. Even though I have government health care, screw everyone else.’

More via Michelle Malkin: yes, in fact, that was a liberal male accusing a conservative female politician of being a literal prostitute (and mocking her for being a cancer survivor).   The man later admitted that his remarks might have gone a little too far*, which suggests that his host WTDY (office line 608-273-1000; Program Director Rex Charger) may be getting some heat for yet another bout of misogyny.  Yes, “another:” would you be surprised to hear that there’s a history there?  – You see, back in 2004 Sylvester used racist language against conservative and Republican African-Americans.  And let’s not forget the rape fantasies that this guy has.  That one’s from 2005, by the way.  The man seems to have quite the fascination with conservative women, in fact; and not in a particularly… gentle… way, either. (more…)

Thanks to some bad (and mostly Democratic) decision-making over in Washington state, major dishwasher detergent manufacturers had to drastically cut its phosphate content; which is why your dishwasher recently and suddenly stopped working properly. You see, phosphates soften water, making it easier to clean… but it also promotes algae growth, and the city of Spokane was already facing a ‘crisis’ over their local phosphate levels in the water (which, thanks to a Sierra Club lawsuit, was hampering future growth). Rather than fix their problem, they simply had phosphate dishwasher detergents banned in Washington state. Rather than make two separate products, detergent manufacturers simply gave up and started making substandard dishwasher detergent. In other words: you can thank the Sierra Club, the city of Spokane, and the (mostly Democratic) Washington State government the next time you have to run the dishwasher three times to clean your dishes properly.

Both Erick and I ranted on this topic a while back, but I don’t think that either of us were aware how just how quickly it was going to get this bad. Repairing this will probably take some doing; in the meantime, I suggest that people start purchasing Finish Glass Magic Dishwasher Performance Booster: 16 OZ, as it is (I believe) still roughly 20% phosphates, and should thus supplement your regular dishwasher detergent handily. It costs more, true, but as compensation using it makes environmentalists cry – particularly if you make it a point to mention that you’re adding it at least partially to spite them.

Hey. They got rid of the phosphates in the first place mostly to spite you.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

(more…)

“The question asked me was, Should Martin Gaskell have been discriminated against for his religious beliefs?  Given that the answer is, unfortunately from my perspective, clearly “no” – it would have been very useful if Gaskell had been a young-Earth creationist, rather than a person who just sees the hand of God in the Big Bang – I will instead ignore the actual conditions of the case and instead construct reducto ad absurdiam straw man arguments about how flat-earthers should not teach geography and ‘stork theory’ medical doctors should not teach medicine.  Yes, I made up a pseudo-scientific movement that has no known adherents just to make a theological rebuttal.

“And if I ever read this summation – highly unlikely, to be sure – I will be quite put out at the suggestion that I am as guilty of faith-based thinking as are my putative opponents.”

Moe Lane (more…)

…asks Commentary.

Short, sarcastic answer? We dragged it out into a field, piled it all up in a heap, and set the heap on fire.

Longer, more thoughtful answer? Well…

As federal stimulus grants flowed into state- and local-government treasuries, borrowing by these same governments declined steadily. Instead of issuing more debt, state and local governments used most of the federal stimulus grants to finance their expenditures. To put it another way, the federal government borrowed funds from the public and transferred these funds to state and local governments, which then used the funds mainly to reduce borrowing from the public[*].

In other words: we dragged it out into a field, piled it all up in a heap, and set the heap on fire.

Moe Lane

*If this sentence did not make you wince, do the Republic a favor and STOP VOTING.  You are undoubtedly choosing… poorly.

I was sent the link to an ABC sit-down with former Secretary Rumsfeld about his upcoming memoir Known and Unknown (coming out February 8th),  mostly because it’s fairly well-known that this is one of the few political books that I’m actually looking forward to reading.  If for no other reason than because the man has a definite poetic impulse in there, lurking:

“Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because, as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know that we know,” he said. “There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know.”

Was it Slate who pointed it out, first? – Well, even if they did I remember that they were kind of sneering about it; but it’s not really justified.  The above makes perfect sense… if you bother to read it.

Moe Lane

They put this up last week as part of their celebration of the one year anniversary of the Citizen’s United decision – you know.  The landmark civil rights and free speech victory where some of the most patently unconstitutional provisions of McCain-Feingold were finally dragged out into a field and burned – and it’s worth watching in full.

I would like to point out, by the way, that there’s nothing stopping the Democratic party from embracing the notion that the American people have a right to express their opinions any damned way that they please.  Well, nothing except the Democratic party’s own special interest groups, of course: but then, those sorts have always been quietly embarrassed about the fact that they have everything that they need for a populist movement except for the minor detail of, well, the populace.

Via @Aaron_RS comes this report that hard alcohol sales rose 2% in 2010.  GEE, I WONDER WHY.

Anyway, I will respond with the traditional folk  music of my ancestors.

Jimmy Crowley, if you care.

…Some headlines write themselves. From Citizens United (via Hot Air) comes this instant classic:

Note the number of Democrats in that video who apparently still don’t ‘get’ that the statements that they make not only no longer go away: they are accessible to people who will be happy to use those statements against the Democrats in question, and in a fashion that is easy to disseminate widely.  And, hey! – They’re all still in leadership positions!

Umm… thanks?