Irony: Democrat begs for civility while attacking Republicans.

Double irony: the author called the piece “Their Own Worst Enemy.”  In a world where 58% of the population wants the Democrats to abandon their policy of freezing out the GOP on health care, Dan Gerstein writes an article with sidelong sneers like these:

…against the exaggerations and fabrications (which, no doubt, have been manifold and damaging)…

…But much as the Republicans have gamed the issue…

…listen to what the non-screaming skeptics are saying…

…is as much a canard as Palin’s phony claims about death panels…

…call it Bush’s revenge…

…so much of what has come out of Congress is every bit as partisan and one-sided as the last eight years…

…the main change has been to go from one extreme to the other…

…yes, they [Republicans] are being opportunists and obstructionists…

Triple irony: Gerstein will undoubtedly not understand why his ever-so-civil outreach will be unfavorably received by the opportunistic, obstructionist, extremist, Palin-loving, canard-screaming game-playing partisans that he’s trying to oppose.

Own worst enemy, indeed.

Moe Lane

PS: Yes, I’m often rude about my ideological opponents.  I’m also not trying to get anything from them, either.

Crossposted to RedState.

Rasmussen: 24% of voters want Democrats to go it alone.

You can say a lot of things about this Rasmussen poll on health care rationing (and, if you’re a Democratic politician, most of them will probably be scatalogical):

If Democrats agree on a health care reform bill that is opposed by all Republicans in Congress, 24% of voters nationwide say the Democrats should pass that bill.

But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% believe the Democrats should change the bill to win support from “a reasonable number of Republicans.” Nineteen percent (19%) are not sure what congressional Democrats should do.

…but here’s one thought that might escape notice: remember how, last year, there was a lot of confusion about which party was actually running Congress? Well, I think that we can safely assume that this is no longer an issue for the Republican party.  Which is funny, because trying to figure out how to make that fact of life clearer was a big problem for us last year…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

I suggest a radio collar.

It’s the only way to be sure.

Bolingbrook hiker rescued in Alaska — again — after journey into wild

[snip]

“If police see me (hiking) in the woods, they’re going to arrest me,” a rueful [Don] Carroll said during a cell phone interview Tuesday.

It was the second time this summer that Carroll had to be rescued. He got lost in June after climbing Mount Healy in Denali National Park.

“The chief ranger said he’s not going to come looking for me anymore,” Carroll said.

I don’t begrudge money to park rangers and/or rescue programs, but when you get lost in the woods for the second time through lack of planning you are, indeed, what @eddiebear said.  Hence the radio collar: because I don’t think that you can quite count on this kid to bring a GPS unit the next time he goes outside…

Moe Lane

My only (hopefully) comment on Kennedy’s death.

My father – who was a Boston Irish Catholic, union Democrat – once threw Teddy Kennedy out of a bar.  Not the absolute highlight to what was an adventurous and full life for Dad, but a memory that he would take out and admire, from time to time.  And probably embellish, as the years went on, but that happens with oral traditions.

Ouch, Glenn.

That is precisely the sort of one-sentence, mass review that Thomas Friedman – or any other author – never wants to see while eating his cornflakes.

Have I no shame?

What’s ‘shame’?

Moe Lane

PS: See how nice I was by not commenting on the underlying story?

Reward me for it.

Well, I guess that Wednesday is Demanding Day, here at Chez Moe Lane. At least until the coffee finishes brewing.

Pro-Obamacare fanatic attacks CO Democratic party HQ!

[UPDATE] Welcome, Instapundit readers.

That is me being charitable.  Because the alternative is that Maurice Schwenkler is an idiot whose idiocy is only matched by the Democratic idiots who sent him out to bust his own side’s window:

A 24-year-old arrested this morning on suspicion of smashing 11 windows at Colorado Democratic Party headquarters tried to conceal his identity while allegedly committing the crime, according to police descriptions.

[snip]

While [Maurice] Schwenkler does not appear in the state’s voter registration database, a person by that name in November 2008 received $500 from a political 527 committee called Colorado Citizens Coalition for “communications,” according to campaign finance disclosures.

[snip]

A Maurice Schwenkler also signed an online 2005 petition to free anti-war Christian protesters who were captured in Iraq.

More details here, here, and most assuredly here (the phrase “connected to ultra-liberal groups once investigated by the FBI for potential domestic terrorism incidents” features prominently) [and now here and here]: this Rootswire screenshot of the Colorado Citizens Coalition will also prove amusing.  Which leads to the next question: what does State Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak know about this?  She familiar with Schwenkler at all?  Or the guy that’s still at large?

At any rate, I think that it’s time that extremist fringe supporters of health care rationing stop using violence to accomplish their goals.  It’s not going to derail the democratic process, and it’s bad for the country in general.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

And what was wrong with Clash of the Titans?

Apparently Liam Neeson – who, again, did a great job in Taken – is going to be playing Zeus in the remake.  Why we need a remake of Clash of the Titans in the first place in not mentioned; I’m still scratching my head over that.

I mean, come on: that’s some fine stop-motion animation there. And you know that they’re going to CGI the new one, and you know that it’s going to suck, and you know that I just sounded like every other aging geek on the Internet, so I’ll stop now.