Month: March 2009

Results for the IL-05 primaries: Pulido, Quigley, some Green.

The general election is in April, but the majority of reporting is assuming that the winner of the Democratic Party is a shoo-in for the general election. So noted.

Moving along, on the Republican side anti-illegal immigration activist and Minuteman member Rosanna Pulido has won the nomination. Speaking as a pro-“amnesty” anti-immigration squishy-soft moderate, I sincerely congratulate her on her victory and wholeheartedly endorse her in the general election; she’s going into this swinging, and her presence at the Chicago Tea Party is something that more and more conservative candidates and officials need to start doing.

On the Democratic side, Mike Quigley is the Democratic candidate. Running on a strict reputation for reform, Quigley defeated SEIU shill Sara Feigenholtz and Illinois Combine pick John Fritchey. Suggestions that his candidacy was linked to Rod Blagojevich’s old organization via Billy Weinberg and Doug Scofield were, of course, dismissed immediately by the candidate. I congratulate SEIU and the Daley Machine on their loss, and thank them for all the money that they wasted in pursuing it.

On the Green side… eh. Progressives. Nobody really cares. I don’t know why they bothered; they’re all going to vote for the Democrat anyway.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

The traditional “Why blogging will be light today” post.

Mostly because I’m traveling up to NJ for a week so that my kid can spend a few days with his grandmother while I: help around my mom’s house; catch up with some friends Saturday; and be one of the two RedState bloggers covering the 2009 International Conference on Climate Change. I expect to be focusing mostly on the political aspects of the climate change debate, because that’s my motif these days.

Feel free to hit the tip jar to help pay for gas, tolls, whatnot: as it stands I’m only getting away with this because my wife thinks that my mom needs some grandson-time right now.

The latest Darths & Droids explains it all.

[UPDATE]: Fixed.

This comic is clearly therapy for David Morgan-Mar.  Because he so desperately needs Attack of the Clones to make sense, somehow.

Personally, when I get a moment of Lovecraftian existential horror at the meaninglessness of the universe that is exemplified by the prequel trilogy, I just imbibe tequila until I’m no longer in the Bad Place. It’s even good for me! As a friend of mine once said: “Sure, drinking kills brain cells – but only the weak ones!”

We dodged an asteroid, there.

Brother Pejman of RedState emails to inform me that we almost got hit by an asteroid yesterday. TheSydney Morning Herald estimates it at about 120 feet wide, and that it came within 37,000 miles of Earth (I’m translating into real units of measurement), which was more or less the size of the Tunguska* whatever-it-was. If it had hit, that probably would have, if we were very lucky, smacked the life out of a large section of the Australian desert (several hundred square miles, if we’re scaling by Tunguska); if we were lucky, destroyed a random city in the South Pacific; and if we weren’t lucky at all, dropped into the South Pacific and started a tidal wave for which we’d have maybe 24 hours to prepare for.

And the only practical way to stop these things? Orbital missile defense systems.

Sleep tight!

Moe Lane

*Yeah, geeks love Tunguska. Apparently, so do video game designers. Yes, there is significant overlap.

Some observations about our country’s economic situation.

Are you involved in any aspect of the financial industry?

Are you, in fact, in any way, shape, or form dependent on the stock market for your retirement, supplemental income, future expenditures, children’s education, or just disposable income?

Heck, is your household making more than 75 grand a year?

Yes?

THEN IT IS NOT IN YOUR CLASS INTEREST TO VOTE FOR ANY DEMOCRAT IN THE 2010 ELECTION.

Continue reading Some observations about our country’s economic situation.

It is unwise to use “Omnivore” as a vehicle name.

(Via Glenn Reynolds) It’s simply not… comforting.

From the first use of aerodynamic ground-effect on Formula 1 race-cars, to pioneering the use of extruded aluminum for lightweight automotive construction, Lotus has been at the forefront of automotive innovation for almost 50 years.

We’ve covered Lotus’ a bit of innovative history and involvement in Chrysler’s ENVI electric vehicle program before, but this release might the public’s first glimpse of the innovation new technology behind the revolutionary hybrid this Financial Times article says Lotus will be revealing at next month’s Geneva show.

Called the Omnivore, this new kind of engine takes aspects of a conventional 2-stroke, and adds a few neat tricks to that proven technology to create an engine truly flexible enough to run on almost anything, from 87 Octane to Cabo tequila to VP Nitromethane.

As an examination of the relevant research materials would suggest*. Also: in light of this if I find out that they’re working on a model that can metabolize hemoglobin I will lead the pitchfork-and-torch-carrying mob on the factory myself.

Fair warning.

Moe Lane

*Oh, thank God. For a really bad two-minute period I thought that there was, or was going to be, a sequel to that one.

Hi, Sasha, Malia. Got a second?

I hope that you’re enjoying the White House, by the way.

It’s a pretty cool place for people your age, from what I’m told.

Anyway, I just thought that you should know: do you know Sarah & James Parker? They go to your school.

Yeah, them. Are they nice? I’ve never met them, so I don’t know. I do know that their parents really can’t afford to send them to your school without assistance; it’s called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, and it lets over 1,700 poor kids in DC get scholarships every year. It’s often called a “voucher” program, although people who like school choice wouldn’t agree: they want everybody to have the chance to pick the best schools for their kid, instead of just a small number. Still, this program is helping people who are usually making about half of much as the federal poverty level; it’s hard to dispute that it’s a good one. I’m sure that Sarah & James think that it’s a good program.

Unfortunately, Senator Dick Durbin (D, IL) wants to throw them out of your school. Continue reading Hi, Sasha, Malia. Got a second?

To those interested in the Flight 1549 lawsuit thing…

…presumably because of reports like this:  honestly, I don’t think that there’s been anything new since I commented on it last time.  The story first broke in January, and doesn’t seem to have changed.

Hope that helps.

Moe Lane

PS: Also, here’s an interesting post on Sullenberger’s recent Congressional testimony on airline safety.

Gregory Craig arranged for lobbyist William Lynn pick?

And he’s the guy doing the vetting now?

Forward Observer is pretty blunt, here:

In 1988, Gregory Craig and William Lynn worked together as legislative assistants for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. Back then, Craig earned $37,375 a year and Lynn $23,734.

This year, President Obama appointed Craig as his White House counsel, a job which paid $172,200 a year during the Bush administration.

One of Craig’s first official acts as White House counsel was to recommend that Obama waive his ballyhooed rules against employing lobbyists in his administration so that Lynn, Craig’s old Senate colleague and a former registered lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon, could become the deputy secretary of defense at $177,000 a year under inherited pay scales.

So much for Obama’s vows during his presidential campaign to break up the old boy network in Washington and not bring lobbyists into his administration.

Continue reading Gregory Craig arranged for lobbyist William Lynn pick?