Month: May 2009

‘Watchmen on the wall of world freedom.’

A quote from Kennedy’s last, undelivered speech – and one quoted by Florida Senatorial candidate Marco Rubio as part of his farewell speech to the Florida legislature.

Via And So it Goes in Shreveport. No transcript yet, sorry.

I’ve been personally staying out of the entire Crist/Rubio NRSC endorsement brouhaha, mostly because we’re going to have Senatorial candidates that are going to need the NRSC’s help – but I do have to ask: does Charlie have anything that can beat that?

Seriously. Does Crist play at that level? – Because if he doesn’t, this is going to be an interesting primary.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

I’m linking to this MoDo piece on a Cheney/Rumsfeld “conversation”…

…(care of the much more interesting Jen Rubin) for two reasons.  One, people like Dowd really do think that we think and talk like this:

“I hear Poppy Bush is furious at you,” he says. “He’s telling folks he put Junior in your care and you stole his presidency and destroyed the Bush name and derailed Jeb’s chances to ever be president, and P.S., you wrecked the country and the Atlantic alliance to boot. He has it in for Lynne, too. Thinks she spun you up, like she did in high school with her flaming batons. He thinks you got loopy from all the heart procedures. And Colin’s mad at you.”

“He can go to yoga with Pelosi for all I care,” Dick growls.

Bizarre to contemplate, but true. There are people out there who apparently just can’t function in life unless they’ve convinced themselves first that the opposition has a Deep, Dark Conspiracy in place. I suppose that it’s a motivation exercise, or something.

Moe Lane

PS: The second reason? I thought that I’d give whoever she might have ripped off to write this piece a better chance of seeing it.

Crossposted to RedState.

I’m doing a radio interview tomorrow with Rob of Say Anything.

May 20, 2009: 10:30 AM EST, 9:30 AM Central time. AM 1100 “The Flag,” serving Fargo/Moorhead. The podcasts can be found here, and the topic will be the recent credit card legislation. As I am not an expert on the subject by any stretch of the imagination, this should end up being highly amusing.

(Say Anything may be found here.)

Crossposted to RedState.

Democrats refuse to limit future gas prices to $5/gallon.

The Republicans over at the House Energy and Commerce Committee have been watching a lot of their amendments to the latest monstrosity of an energy bill get shot down on party-line votes. That’s what happens when you let one party dominate Congress – particularly when it’s a party that doesn’t like cheap energy – but this one still requires special notice:

The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall annually prepare and certify a report to Congress on the average retail price of gasoline in the United States. If the Administrator determines that the average retail price of gasoline (all grades) sold to retail customers in the United States during the prior year exceeds $5 per gallon, including taxes (in 2009 dollars), as a result of implementation of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall cease to be effective.

Seems like a reasonable amendment, right? After all, that’s an even higher cap than last summer’s exceptionally inflated prices, and everybody knows that gas that expensive would do horrible things to our economy. Went down in flames anyway, 31/24.

What does Waxman know that we don’t?

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Gitmo closing not to be funded.

“The rule is – jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today.”
– Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

Fresh from Senator Webb’s decision to play bellwether – or Judas goat? – on the retreat from Gitmo (see also here) we have this latest word on the Matter of Gitmo:

AP source: Democrats won’t fund Guantanamo closing

By ANDREW TAYLOR – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison until the administration comes up with a satisfactory plan for transferring the detainees there, a top Democrat said Tuesday.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo is not dead — only that the funding will have to wait until the administration devises an acceptable plan to handle the closure and transfer the detainees. Obama has promised to close the military prison by January.

[snip]

It appears to be a tactical retreat. Once the administration develops a plan to close the facility, congressional Democrats are likely to revisit the topic, provided they are satisfied there are adequate safeguards.

Continue reading Gitmo closing not to be funded.

Schoolhouse Rock: ‘Elbow Room.’

Because it’s never too early to indoctrinate your kid.


“Elbow Room,” Schoolhouse Rock

Once you have them smiling and clapping at the phrase “Manifest Destiny,” you’ve got them inoculated until at least the eighth grade.

Moe Lane

PS: Yes, I have heard of Schoolhouse Rock: Earth. As far as I can tell, it has gone precisely nowhere in sales. Shame.

For all your further ‘Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octupus’ star needs.

If you’re like me, you have been waiting for this day – the day that Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus came out, direct-to-video – for two years*. You have, of course, pre-ordered it – but what happens once it’s arrived, and you’ve watched it six times? What will you do then?

Why, you’ll go pick up some of the other works that the stars and director have done, of course. Continue reading For all your further ‘Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octupus’ star needs.

Paying for other people’s bad credit card habits.

Bluntly? Somebody else can do that. I’m not interested.

Credit Card Industry Aims to Profit From Sterling Payers

Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and penalties on those late with their payments, the best customers racked up cash-back rewards, frequent-flier miles and other perks in recent years.

Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit.

Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups.

Bolding mine, and the day that my credit card company does that specific activity is the day that the credit card gets canceled and my household switches immediately to a straight debit card / check / cash system. It will mean a little more in the way of pre-planning the month ahead of time, but it’ll be worth it not to pay the fees. Heck, we’ll end up saving more, what with having to stop and think about all those incidental little purchases that we really didn’t need anyway. It adds up.

Besides, I see no reason why I should be soaked because other people can’t learn to pay their credit card bills in full and on time. It’s a lesson that I had to personally and painfully learn myself, so they can darn well learn the same thing.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.