Month: December 2009

Frankly, I was hoping for actual cheetahs in NYC.

That would be, like, cool and stuff: you can domesticate cheetahs (they were used as hunting animals in the medieval period, in fact). Obviously, they’re not as safe as a Golden Retriever, and I wouldn’t leave my kid alone in the same room as one – but they’re not really all that dangerous to an adult human.  Having them wander the alleyways of Manhattan would add a certain something (sayeth the person who would not be responsible for cleaning up the cheetah poop).

Unfortunately, it’s not about examples of Acinonyx jubatus literally wandering around NYC, more’s the pity.

NY GOP blamed for SSM loss in NY Senate.

Wait, what?

The New York Times is as predictable as the sunrise, frankly:

ALBANY — The State Senate defeated a bill on Wednesday that would legalize same-sex marriage, after an emotional debate that touched on civil rights, family and history. The vote means that the bill, pushed by Gov. David A. Paterson, is effectively dead for the year and destroys the optimism of gay advocates.

The bill was defeated by a decisive margin of 38 to 24. The Democrats, who have a bare, one-seat majority, did not have enough votes to pass the bill without some Republican support, but not a single Republican senator voted for the measure.

Actually, by definition the Democrats had enough votes to pass the bill in the state Senate: they just lost roughly 25% of their caucus to the opposition. Which is about the proportion that it looks like Democrats lost in the Assembly vote – but NY’s Assembly is more lopsidedly Democratic than the Senate, so it didn’t matter there.

Personally, I wish that they had passed the damned thing – but I’ll likewise be damned if I let the NYT blame the GOP for something that they ought to be blaming the Democrats for.  The GOP does not control the NY state Senate.  The Old Grey Lady can stop pretending that it does, thanks.   Even if it means admitting that the Democrats are rampaging hypocrites on gay right issues.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

How to have fun in Congress.

House version (Via Instapundit):

Congressmen John Carter[*] (R-TX) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) yesterday introduced the Geithner Penalty Waiver Act, requiring that the IRS assess the same penalty against U.S. taxpayers that came forward in the UBS tax fraud investigation as paid by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for failing to pay taxes on his IMF income — zero.

Pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it? I like Rep. Carter. And not just because of his name.

Senate version (Via Don Surber):

In their first shot at the measure this week, Republicans decided to try to strike at the heart of how Democrats plan to pay for the $848 billion measure by attempting to eliminate the proposal’s almost $440 billion in Medicare cuts.

But instead of offering a conventional amendment, they decided to use an esoteric procedural tactic that would send the bill back to committee with instructions to eliminate the cuts. If successful, the GOP’s gambit would force Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to use time-consuming procedures and hold another filibuster-killing vote on whether to restart debate on the bill.

That takes it off the floor, requires another committee vote, delays the bill, and ticks off Senate Democrats.  The ‘delays the bill’ part is probably the most important thing, here: health care rationing just isn’t popular these days.

Moe Lane

PS: Arcane procedural tactics are fun, but they’re no substitute for a Congressional majority. Reverse the Vote.

Crossposted to RedState.

Quote of the Day, Cr*p Tree edition.

This year I couldn’t find the Drunken Office Party Elves. My wife says she has no idea what happened to them. She says it in a way that makes me think she knows exactly what happened to them, and I will never see them again.

– Innocent Bystanders, on the war between what they call the ‘white lights’ Christmas people and the ‘colored lights’ Christmas people. Fortunately, both my wife and I are ‘colored lights’ sort of folks. That’s fortunately for me, because of course I would lose this particular argument if we were going to have it.

More time/brain/soul-eating content for Dragon Age.

Dragon Age Journeys:  it’s a Flash-based online game that Bioware’s put together to suck in more people to Dragon Age: Origins. Not that they particularly need to, seeing as the main game is seriously addictive.  DAJ is sort of a stripped-down version of DAO: I haven’t gotten to the point yet of finding out whether it duplicates the mass combat system, but so far it looks like a good introduction to the main game concepts.

Plus, if you play it you can unlock items.  Good news for people just starting the main game.

No need for ‘victory?’

Erick Erickson over at RedState wasn’t the only one who noticed that the President’s speech last night contained no use of the word ‘victory:’ Andrew Malcolm over at the LA Times’ blog observed that, too.

President Obama spoke 4,582 words in his primetime Afghanistan war speech at West Point last night.

He said “al Qaeda” 22 times.

He mentioned the “Taliban” 12 times.

And here’s how many times the Democratic chief executive used the word “victory” — 0.

That telling omission says more than anything about Obama’s 322d day in office when he gave his first major address as the United States’ commander-in-chief.

Mind you, I’m not particularly surprised. The ostensible audience for this speech – the cadets – already know more about victory than the President (or for that matter, me) could hope to tell them; and the actual audience (the progressive antiwar Democratic base) reacts to that particular word in much the same way that a traditional vampire reacts to a cross.  Apparently, that means that mentioning ‘victory’ would be superfluous in the first place, and contraindicated in the second.  At least to this administration.

All that being said: Saying “We have been at war for eight years, at enormous cost in lives and resources,” in front of a room full of people who have been taught about Shiloh and Okinawa?  There’s a Presidential speechwriter out there who could use firing.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D, MD) ‘proud’ to join convicted thief.

I have the pleasure – loosely defined – of being in Rep. Elijah Cummings’ Congressional District; and I have somehow found myself on his political spam list. Today I got an email that included this:

On September 23rd, I was proud to join Principal Joy Savage, Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Thad Allen, Mayor Sheila Dixon, Former Congresswoman Helen Bentley and State Senator Nathaniel McFadden (with students) to celebrate the grand opening of the new Maritime Industries Academy in Baltimore.

Sheila Dixon, Sheila Dixon, Sheila Dixon: where have I heard that name before?

Baltimore mayor convicted of 1 gift card charge
By DAVID DISHNEAU (AP) – 45 minutes ago

BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s mayor was convicted Tuesday on a single charge of taking gift cards from a program intended for the city’s poor children and using them to buy electronics, including an Xbox video game system.

The misdemeanor charge could eventually lead to Sheila Dixon’s removal from office, but she said after the verdict she would return to City Hall and her attorneys said they would begin an appeal.

Ah, yes. That Sheila Dixon.  Personally, if I ended up sharing a podium with a woman who was about to get convicted of stealing from children, I’d not bring it to anyone’s attention: but then, Democratic politicians have their little ways, no?

Moe Lane