Month: July 2012

Just chewed through The Sword-Edged Blonde.

The full title is The Sword-Edged Blonde: An Eddie LaCrosse Novel; I picked it up as a result of this tweet from author Alex Bledsoe in relation to this Kickstarter (Bledsoe’s written a story for it). It’s a combination fantasy/pulp, less overtly magical than Glen Cook’s Garrett, PI series but with much the same aesthetic.  I liked it: good plot, if a bit too flashback-heavy; characterization was suitable for pulp; the author put in all the clues; and, finally – THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH –  all the characters had recognizable names.  I know that the fashion is to make ’em up, but unless you’re JRR Tolkien you probably don’t have the linguistic chops to quite pull it off.  Seriously, not having to constantly keep a mental list of who the [expletive deleted] was who made it a lot easier to read.

Worth it on the Kindle, at least.  I’ve got a little extra Amazon credit left; I’ll grab the next one in the series, and then go from there. Which is a pretty good endorsement, right there.

#rsrh …What the heck is Obama going to run on after Labor Day?

I mean, he might be able to coast until the conventions, but after that: all the expected stuff’s been used up already.  Sure, Obama can recycle existing stuff, but it loses its freshness quickly.  Not least because it usually didn’t really work the first time, either.

I’m almost keen to see what they can scrape up.  Emphasis on almost: the goal is to maximize chances for victory, of course.  Fair fights are for other people. Continue reading #rsrh …What the heck is Obama going to run on after Labor Day?

#rsrh My pointless attempt to explain things to Charles Blow.

“Pointless” because Blow must be phoning it in on this nonsense about oligarchy and voter ID and the rest; nobody’s this obtuse.  Well, nobody who writes for what is still a large metropolitan newspaper.  Still, just in case he’s being read by people who don’t get it, here goes: the reason why there’s no liberal ‘outrage’ over Voter ID is because there’s a difference between stuff that bugs you because it bugs you and stuff that bugs you because your side is against it.  Voter ID is a prime example of the latter; whether they admit it or not, most people will at least privately concede that if you need picture ID to buy booze, cash a check, drive a motor vehicle, or fly in an airplane, then it’s not unreasonable to need picture ID to vote.  They also subconsciously assume that city/county/state governments are all run by public sector union employees (read: Democrats) who will make sure that minority applicants will get their ID.

So… sure, rah-rah, Voter ID bad, where’s the phone?  I feel like pizza.

And that’s how it goes.  No conspiracy, no complacency, just a whole lot of humoring the paranoid.  Democratic party specialty, which is why I’m visibly disbelieving that Blow doesn’t know the score, too.

Moe Lane

(Via Hot Air Headlines)

#rsrh Jesse Jackson, Jr (D, IL) at Mayo. For depression.

I originally had ‘depression’ in scare quotes in the title, but what the hell…

Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who has been absent from Capitol Hill since mid-June, is receiving treatment for depression.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said the Illinois lawmaker had arrived at the healthcare center for “extensive inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues,” in a statement from the congressman, released late Friday by the clinic.

…it might even be true.  Won’t save him if the rumors about corruption are true… which is probably itself depressing for the man, come to think of it.

Moe Lane

 

How much longer can Claire McCaskill last in Missouri?

If you’re a Democrat, then the latest poll from Mason-Dixon should not be combined with alcohol and/or used in conjunction with heavy machinery: she’s not just losing.  John Brunner beats her 52/41; Sarah Steelman, 49/42; and Todd Akin 49/44.  And that’s registered voters.  These are the kinds of numbers that you’d expect to see from a challenger; an incumbent that far underwater needs an exit strategy, quick.  Guess the Democrats guessed wrong on how quickly McCaskill was going to fade.

Mind you, the person who should really be worried right now is Missouri governor Jay Nixon.  The Democrats have written off the state in the Presidential election; Claire McCaskill is starting to swirl the drain; and the DCCC seems to have decided not to really push at the three first-term Republican incumbents this cycle.  Nixon’s looking very, very alone right now.  Such a shame…

Moe Lane (crosspost)

(Via @TookieW)

PS: Primary’s August 7th.  McCaskill is, by the way, running unopposed in the primary.  …Oops?

:utterly bored tone: Bad Illinois cigarette smugglers. *Bad*.

No biscuit.

With Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois taxes all included, smokers now pay $4.66 a pack in taxes in Chicago. That’s the second-highest cigarette tax in the nation, trailing only New York City at $5.85. People looking to make quick cash don’t need to travel far to buy cheap cigarettes. Indiana’s tax is just $0.995 a pack, and Missouri’s tax is the lowest in the country at just $0.17. [Illinois Department of Revenue head investigator John] Chambers says cigarette smuggling is now as lucrative as drug smuggling, with much lower penalties.

Which is what they’re no doubt angling to change, largely because the point of raising cigarette taxes in the first place was to give the state of Illinois more revenue to waste. Instead, they’ve initiated a new generation of Illinois residents into the ancient and esoteric mysteries of the Gentlemen.  Brilliant move there, Illinois.  No, really: smuggling is one of those necessary professions that civilization doesn’t want to admit is necessary, mostly because it’s most necessary in those situations where civilization has temporarily broken down.  Keeping the skill set alive is probably for the best. Continue reading :utterly bored tone: Bad Illinois cigarette smugglers. *Bad*.

Going to California: a look at the CA House races.

Below is the general consensus of the competitive races in California’s House delegation.   Said races are – to put it mildly – the result of one of the most comprehensive shakeups in state-level redistricting that we’ve seen in a while.  Combined with a new jungle primary rule (basically: the top two vote getters in the primary advance to the general, regardless of party affiliation), the end result is, frankly, a headache and a half for people to forecast.  Stu Rothenberg and Charlie Cook have done their usual thorough job, but trying to get one’s head around the new maps is not easy.

CD Republican Democrat CoH 2Q PVI Cook
CA-03 Kim Vann John Garamendi GOP GOP D+1 Li D
CA-07 Dan Lungren Ami Bera Dem Dem R+3 Toss-Up
CA-09 Ricky Gill Jerry McNerney Dem GOP D+2 Lean D
CA-10 Jeff Denham Jose Hernandez GOP GOP R+5 Lean R
CA-16 Brian Whelan Jim Costa Dem GOP D+2 Li D
CA-21 David Valadao John Hernandez GOP GOP R+3 Li R
CA-24 Abel Maldonado Lois Capps Dem Dem D+3 Lean D
CA-26 Tony Strickland Julia Brownley GOP GOP D+3 Toss-Up
CA-36 Mary Bono Mack Raul Ruiz GOP GOP R+3 Li R
CA-41 John Tavaglione Mark Takano GOP GOP D+3 Lean D
CA-47 Gary DeLong Alan Lowenthal GOP GOP D+5 Li D
CA-52 Brian Bilbray Scott Peters GOP GOP D+1 Toss-Up

Incumbents are in bold: bear in mind that this is incumbent to Congress, and usually not incumbent to the district).  Also bear in mind that this list does not note the Democrats who will be facing other Democrats in the general election, the Republican who will be facing other another Republican in the general election, and  – in the memorable case of CA-31 – the Republican who will be facing another Republican in a district that was supposed to be a Democratic one.  Because I wasn’t joking when I said that this is a headache and a half. Continue reading Going to California: a look at the CA House races.

I wanted to say that there is no explanation for this.

“This” being, well, this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP3I8THfikI

But for once a YouTube comment explains it all:

A common situation, they are fleeing from a drunk bear.

…I have decided that this will be the answer.  They are fleeing from a drunk bear.  No further explanation is needed, or indeed desired. So mote it be!

Via @bdomenech.