Moe Lane

David Paul Khun, in the course of writing a reasonably clear-headed analysis of the 2012 Democratic electorate (and why the Democrats are messing it up):

America is the only Western nation where the liberal party consistently loses the workingman (and woman). No comparable European democracy has seen the conservative party unfailingly win the Archies and Ediths for more than three decades. Now Democrats seem to be on the verge of resigning themselves to this trend.

There are myriad macro reasons for this exceptional fact of American politics: a center-right nation, the two-party system, the modern contest for identity blocs, the unusual eminence of cultural issues in American politics on both the right and the left.

It also doesn’t precisely hurt that, by and large, the Democratic Establishment kind of publicly loathes and despises middle and lower class white voters.

Well, it doesn’t precisely hurt us.

…to interfere in voter registration reform programs in America.

• As per Ed Morrissey, the UN does not have the authority to interfere.
• The United States does not particularly need any ‘help’ with ensuring fair elections.
• Even if we did, the UN’s core competencies do not extend to ensuring fair elections.
• And if we ever do need help in the UN’s core competencies – which is to say, raping children and screaming at Israel – I’m sure that we have the UN’s contact information around here somewhere.

That’s all.

Moe Lane

PS: It’s a freaking photo ID card.  You need one to buy cigarettes, drink beer, rent a car, and/or fly anywhere.  The Republic will survive requiring citizens having one in order to vote.

I got tipped this one by the Rick Perry campaign: surprised that I didn’t see this before.  Halligan is up for a judicial appointment to the US Circuit Court of Appeals for DC, and she’s… well, read [for some reason, the link didn't work the first time]:

Ms. Halligan’s confirmation has been vigorously opposed by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, and Committee for Justice. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously rejected her confirmation earlier this year. In 2003, as Solicitor General of New York, Halligan attempted to hold gun manufacturers liable for criminal acts committed with handguns. She filed briefs in federal court arguing for the unconstitutionality of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which the National Rifle Association described as providing “essential protection…for the Second Amendment rights of honest Americans[.]”

Halligan also filed an amicus brief in arguing that federal RICO laws should be used against pro-life groups. She repeatedly attempted to hijack the federal court system in order to impose her own political beliefs on the general public.

Halligan’s hostility to civil rights and life issues is in fact fairly well-documented; and the cloture vote is today.  Call your Senator if you want him or her to stand tough on this one.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

Black Velvet Band, The Dubliners

I’ve heard twenty-five different versions of this song, and most of them seemed determined to win the Screw up the protagonist the most contest.

I had a joke here originally: but it is unfortunately not currently a good joke, because it will hurt people’s feelings unintentionally.  Not that I am above hurting people’s feelings – quite the opposite – but I don’t like doing it except when it’s part of a deliberate campaign to administer a good kicking to the truly deserving. So I’ll just mention some of the geekstuff that I picked up, thanks largely to generous reader contributions.

In no particular order:

(more…)

http://weaselzippers.us/2011/12/05/pelosi-on-second-thought-maybe-i-dont-have-any-dirt-on-gingrich/

For those who missed it:

• Last Friday Nancy Pelosi told Talking Points Memo that she had all sorts of investigative dirt available on current GOP frontrunner Newt Gingrich. Specifically, “I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff.”
• So… Newt Gingrich responded today by thanking Pelosi for the early Christmas present and noting “…if she’s suggesting she’s going to use material that she developed while she was on the ethics committee, that is a fundamental violation of the rules of the House and I would hope that members would immediately file charges against her the second she does it.”
• Annnnnd now we’re being told (via Weasel Zippers) – it would be cruel* of me to use the word ‘frantically’ – that what the former Speaker of the House really meant by her comments to TPM was that there was plenty of public record information about Newt Gingrich available. Not that there was any private dirt. Nope. Not at all.
• Representative Pelosi then went on to reveal that the Red Sox had won the 2004 World Series and that Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been indicted on felony charges.

(more…)

Well… ankle.

Robbing a man who turned out to be an ultimate fighter proved to be a bad decision for a convicted felon, who is now in bad shape as he is held on bond.

Yeah, it didn’t end well: and I’d like to note that said ultimate fighter originally took the sensible view that when a man points a gun at you and demands money, well, you can always get more money.  But then the alleged robber ordered the ultimate fighter out of his car, and when that sort of thing happens you are suddenly now in a very different, and very dangerous, situation.  In other words, one where it’s not fighting back that makes you a damfool.

Speaking of different and dangerous situations: the alleged robber managed to shoot himself in the ankle while in the process of being disarmed, pinned, and having multiple lacerations and two black eyes administered to him.  Which I am sure is going to make for awkward social encounters while in lockup…

(Via Drudge)

(Via Instapundit) It’s kind of nice, that Mead can still believe that such a thing could happen:

President Obama and Vice President Biden must be deeply grateful that President Bush ignored his critics and went ahead with the surge; if they want to reduce the partisan polarization in Washington they could perhaps say something about it as our troops come home.

Completely impossible, of course: far too many progressives have based their moral center around a reflexive and habitual opposition to the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan for the President to dare risk telling them the truth.  For that matter, said opposition will make it equally impossible for the President to “make a peace,” as Mead’s article proposes.  The antiwar Left has never thought of Iraqis as being really people, you understand; and now that Iraq can no longer be used to target Republicans there’s simply no reason for progressives to care about what happens in that country.  The best that Iraqis can hope for at this stage is benign neglect.

Moe Lane

PS: I feel forced to note that Mead seems to think that the Bush administration ‘botched’ the administration.  I also feel forced to reply: ‘botched’ as compared to what?  I hate to break it to modern America, but the Iraq War wasn’t our bloodiest.  It wasn’t even our bloodiest occupation, frankly.  Pride: it really is an insidious sin…

Both Vodkapundit and AoSHQ are weighing in the apparent news that Pennsylvania is getting farther and farther away from the Democrats.  I bring this up not because I disagree with that assessment, but because I wanted to point something out: individual state assessments do not exist in a vacuum.  It is very difficult to envision a situation where PA is tilting to the Republicans, but FL, NC, & VA are still in play’ for that matter, it is impossible to envision a situation where PA is truly in play and IA, NH, MI, OH, & WI are not.

This does not mean that the GOP candidate is a shoo-in.  It does mean that the predictions of pundits who are relying too heavily on demographic trends should probably be taken with a grain of salt.  Or the whole shaker.

Heck, I never thought that I’d see this at all:

Astonishing accident involving eight Ferraris ‘world’s most expensive car crash’

A fleet of high-performance cars, including eight Ferraris, has been involved in one of the most expensive accidents in history after an astonishing multi-car pile-up in Japan.

Apparently, they weren’t even traveling in a pack or anything. They all just… happened to be on the road at the same time when everybody critically failed their Driving checks. Fortunately, nobody was reportedly seriously injured, but there was broken sports car everywhere…

…to scream “I told you so!” over and over again at this realization.

…ultimately I have to admit that my thinking has changed. I wouldn’t want President McCain in office, but having seen the damage that President Obama has done, we’d have been better off without him in office. In short, I should have voted for McCain, despite my serious reservations and dislike of the man. I was wrong.

Because screaming is not helpful.
Screaming is not helpful.
Screaming is not helpful…

Moe Lane

(H/T: Instapundit)

Jump In The Line, Harry Belafonte

Ah, capitalism.