Month: February 2010

Tap-dancing.

When I was a kid, I always wanted to learn how: never got around to it.

That’s from Tap, and it’s 20 years old, depressingly. I remember seeing Sammy Davis Jr a few years before his death at a video awards show for something or other: they had just seen some younger folks perform, and it was his turn. The camera panned back, he looked down at his feet – and shouted down at them “WE’RE GONNA DANCE NOW!”  And damned if he didn’t.

That’s it.  I needed a break, and this will do.

Moe Lane

Then don’t put your photos on Flickr, Mr. President.

Via Instapundit, comes the latest slap in the face to Libertarians-for-Obama by the Obama administration.  Slashdot:

“US government policy is that photos produced by federal employees as part of their job responsibilities are not subject to copyright in the US. But Kathy Gill writes that after originally putting official White House photos in the public domain, since January the Obama White House has been asserting that no one but ‘news organizations’ can use its Flickr photos taken by the official White House photographer, who is a US government employee…”

You mean, like this?

obamareflection

Original here.  Relevant language on the Flickr account:

This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

A shame whoever wrote that didn’t read this (linked to by the White House Flickr account itself). Continue reading Then don’t put your photos on Flickr, Mr. President.

Whom the WH wishes to snub… #rsrh

…they send Joe Biden, according to Andrew Malcolm.  Andrew’s being perhaps the slightest bit unkind to the administration this morning – there may have been a legitimate reason for the President not to have attended the Vancouver Olympics himself, although the fact that Biden is combining the trip with a fundraiser for Patty Murray is diagnostic – but I’m more fascinated with the Vancouver logo than I am whether or not the President’s being more petulant than usual. I mean, look at it:

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About the only thing that you can say about it is that at least this one doesn’t look like it’s having sex.

Moe Lane

PS: And shouldn’t the arms be black?

PPS: I’m just going to give up entirely on the lack of capitalization, mind you.

I’m still digging out from 3 feet’s worth of RFK Jr’s ‘anemic winter’ …

…so people will understand that I’m about as interested as David Freddoso in being overly nice in pointing out his past bloviating. My back isn’t actually killing me, right now, but that’s only because I was being very, very careful about removing all that anemic winter from the car.  I’m going to be forty in a couple of months; I don’t bounce back from straining myself over anemic winters like I used to.

Three observations about our marvelous new technological paradigm:

  1. Everything in print gets recorded these days. Everything.
  2. Nothing ever goes away. Ever.
  3. The only thing that people are patient about when it comes to online matters is in waiting for just the right moment to demonstrate that someone is an idiot.

I would join David in suggesting that RFK Jr get out of the weather prediction/doomsaying business, only I can’t for the life of me think of anything else that he’d be any less incompetent at.  Ditch digging?  He could learn that on the job.

Moe Lane

PS: Just to reinforce the scorn: the plural of anecdote is not data; I am not obligated to accept your religious beliefs as being scientifically valid; and this is why political dynasties are a bad idea.

Enjoy your morning.

Crossposted to RedState.

IL LT GOV Candidate Scott Cohen (D) drops knife, out of race.

As always, Cohen was going to stick it out to the end, right up to the moment that he decided to spend more time with the members of his family that don’t currently have restraining orders on him.

Illinois Democratic Lieutenant Governor nominee Scott Lee Cohen announced Sunday evening that he is withdrawing from the race amid revelations about his personal history.

Cohen, a millionaire pawnbroker and cleaning supplies company executive who emerged the victor in last week’s primary, had been accused of holding a knife to the neck of his ex-girlfriend, a prostitute, in 2005.

It has also been revealed in recent days that Cohen had once been accused of abusing an ex-wife. Cohen has also acknowledged using steroids for a period of time.

Word is that the Democrats are trying to find a replacement – a bit of a surprise to second-place finisher Arthur Turner, but then ‘democratic Illinois Democrat’ is an oxymoron – and it is my devout hope that the questionnaire gets leaked to the press. Between this, the entire ‘avoid paying taxes’ thing, and the rumors that another major philandering scandal’s going to hit a sitting Democratic governor tomorrow, the party leadership may end up deciding that the best way to get halfway normal candidates is to raise them from birth in a big plastic bubble…

Moe Lane

PS: Jason Plummer for Lt. Governor. He doesn’t cut women.
Shoot, I was looking forward to running on that one, too.

Crossposted to RedState.

‘When Democrats Turn.’

Well, everybody’s turning – Congress is at 18/78 approval/disapproval, which makes you wonder about the four percent who can’t make up their minds – but the Democrats have gone from 45% to 30% in a month, which … well, is this not a pretty graph?

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Particularly that 15 point drop among Democrats, which is not so much a drop as a ‘dive.’  Unfortunately, the nature of graphs such as these cannot convey a sense of a tumbling, end-over-end, unpowered fall; not that I’m suggesting that anything happened in the last month that might have caused a catastrophic engine failure for the Democratic party.

Moe Lane

PS: For those Democrats wondering why no-one in their party leadership doesn’t seem to want to embrace this as evidence that Congressional Democrats should embrace the President’s agenda… look at the graph of independent support.  It’s been eroding over the last year… and started to steadily erode once the Democrats acquired their super-majority in July 2009.  For many Congressional Democrats, this is the only job that they’ve ever known; they get twitchy when people suggest strategies that might end up forcing them to actually have to work for a living.

Crossposted to RedState.

Oh, great: Arlen Specter messes up… wait. NOT. MY. PROBLEM.

Get yourself a glass of something nice before you start in on the article: it’ll heighten the enjoyment.

Even as he accepted the resounding backing of the Pennsylvania Democratic state committee here Saturday, party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter’s vulnerability was on vivid display as he botched the name of a key Democratic officeholder in his acceptance speech.

“I’ll be fighting hard for the entire Democratic ticket. Senator Andy. . . Andy . . .” Specter said, before pausing briefly, squinting his eyes.

“From Chester County,” he continued, losing his train of thought after clinching an emphatic 229-72 U.S. Senate endorsement vote from party regulars just minutes earlier.

“Dinniman,” the crowd responded almost in unison, referring to the state senator who represents West Chester. One committeeman seated in the audience dropped his head and shook it.

This should be an entertaining primary: Joe Sestak has 5.1 million dollars to play with, and is inclined to spend it – both because he wants the nomination, and because by now there must be at least a little desire for Blue-on-Blue revenge on Sestak’s part. Personally, I don’t see why either candidate is so eager to win the position of Being The Guy Who Loses To Pat Toomey, but they are, which is… nice of them, I suppose.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.