Month: December 2009

Rep John Tanner (D, TN) bails out.

For those keeping track: yes on ‘stimulus;’ no on cap-and-trade and health care rationing. Apparently, that wasn’t enough:

Rep. John Tanner (D-TN), a leading Blue Dog Dem, will retire at the end of his current term, Dem sources tell Hotline OnCall.

[snip: see below]

Tanner has begun informing key House Dems of his decision — one that will make his seat a prime pickup opportunity for GOPers. He has served 11 terms in Congress representing northwest TN, a district based around Jackson, Clarksville and Union City.

At least, not enough for TN-08 – which is a R+6 district, and was a Leans Democratic pickup possibility (I assume that this will improve now).  Rep Tanner’s claiming that he only stuck around to be President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly; which is why, of course, that he has no anointed successor for his seat and announced his retirement sans warning or initial explanation.  For that matter: Rep. Tanner claims to be a fiscal conservative, even though he voted for the ‘stimulus.’ So you can believe or not believe his explanation as you like.

At any rate: that’s the second one.  Meanwhile, the GOP’s excellent 2010 recruiting continues apace.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Climategate watch: Phil Jones to be peer-reviewed.

Took them long enough.

LONDON — Britain’s University of East Anglia says the director of its prestigious Climatic Research Unit is stepping down pending an investigation into allegations that he overstated the case for man-made climate change.

The university says Phil Jones will relinquish his position until the completion of an independent review into allegations that he worked to alter the way in which global temperature data was presented.

And one hopes that they do a better job with him than with what Jones produced.

H/T Instapundit.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin beer. 64 proof.

Not quite at the level of tequila, but you can see it from there.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin beats the previous world record of 31 per cent which was held by German beer Schorschbraer. It was placed in the Guinness Book of World Records yesterday after being tested by experts at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University.

The beer began as a 10 per cent imperial stout then was aged for 16 months in two different whisky casks.

It was then stored in a freezer at a chilly -20�C for three weeks to reach its massive alcohol level.

Almost fifty bucks a bottle (if that price was in British pounds: 45 if it was in Euros), so I think that the folks whining about this impressive bit of brewmastery should give it a rest. Doing this sort of thing without actual distilling going on is an accomplishment.

Via AoSHQ, I think.

OK, some structural changes.

I just had to clean out almost 1,400 comments from the queue – and if thirty of those weren’t spam, I’d be shocked. That probably means that I deleted some people’s comments; actually, it does mean that I did, because I think that I managed to unapprove a bunch of approved comments, too. Sorry about that.

I’m closing comments on two week and older threads from now on; it’s the only way to keep abreast of the spambots without constant vigilance. This will make contacting me harder, so I’m trying to think up an alternative to that, too.

Ah, housecleaning.

Moe Lane

Ohio state Senator racially slurred…

…but it’s all right: she wasn’t being a proper Democrat, anyway.

CLEVELAND, OHIO — A controversial editorial cartoon in the Call & Post, a weekly Cleveland newspaper with a large black readership, has increased the racial and political tensions surrounding Cuyahoga County government reform and one of its key backers.

The cartoon, which appeared on the front page of Wednesday’s paper, depicts State. Sen. Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima, the much-maligned vaudeville character and food-company logo that has become a pejorative symbol of a black woman who aims to please whites in authority positions.

Turner, who represents Cleveland’s East Side, was the only black politician to endorse Issue 6, the reform proposal passed by voters last month.

Continue reading Ohio state Senator racially slurred…

The November Rasmussen Public Trust Numbers.

I had actually put this together on Sunday, but: well, new baby. Rasmussen’s new trust numbers are out. The short version is: eight for ten for the GOP, and the Democrats’ free-fall from last month have been mostly reset back to September’s numbers…

Nov-09 Oct-09
Issue Dem GOP Diff Dem GOP Diff Shift
Health Care 42% 44% (2) 40% 46% (6) 4
Education 41% 39% 2 38% 43% (5) 7
Social Security 41% 41% – 37% 45% (8) 8
Abortion 38% 43% (5) 35% 47% (12) 7
Economy 36% 48% (12) 35% 49% (14) 2
Taxes 36% 47% (11) 35% 50% (15) 4
Iraq 38% 45% (7) 31% 50% (19) 12
Nat’l Security 37% 50% (13) 31% 54% (23) 10
Gov’t Ethics 31% 34% (3) 29% 33% (4) 1
Immigration 33% 45% (12) 33% 40% (7) (5)

…except for health care, of course.  The Democrats seem to have lost that particular automatic lead. And, on reflection: there’s not much to say about this, except that it’s amazing how quickly a new equilibrium can form in politics. Last year the GOP was trying to get itself more trusted on one out of ten, let alone eight…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.