On the bright side, the President’s speech did not reference SkyNet.

Rob Rosenberger is perilously close to becoming my new guru…

…with this title and subtitle alone:

Obama (!) spouts an urban legend in his cybersecurity speech
…and we’ll achieve cyber superiority with the space alien technology we’ve been hiding at Area 51

(Via Hot Air) Although I’m sure that I’d find something about him to dislike, or he’d find something about me to dislike. That being said: the above 2009 mockery is as nothing to the 2008 mockery that it draws from – and as we all know, there is no mockery like the mockery of people who work in the field of computers*.  Not that Vmyths and BOFH are related, although they probably read each other.

Moe Lane

*Wow. They should consider doing reprints.

Crossposted to RedState.

Breaking: Mahmoud Abbas claims USA committed to ending West Bank settlements.

Is this correct, Mr. President?

A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ will do.

‘Obama committed to ejecting Jews from Judea-Samaria,’ says Abbas

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday told reporters in Cairo that he is convinced that US President Barack Obama is firmly committed to finally ejecting the Jews from Judea and Samaria.

Abbas spoke to the press after briefing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on his visit to the White House late last week, during which Obama apparently agreed with his guest that existing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria must not even be allowed to experience “natural growth.”

(Via Fausta) While I am willing to believe that there may have been either a breakdown in communications somewhere – or that yet another Palestinian leader is willfully never missing a chance to miss a chance – there needs to be some clarification on this issue. Israel is not going to even freeze settlements in the West Bank, let alone dismantle them.  Meanwhile, the Palestinians apparently expect that the settlements will be removed, because that’s what the USA has decided to do.  The two positions cannot be reconciled.  This really does need to be addressed: if the President goes to Cairo without everybody involved already knowing precisely where his administration stands on this issue, the President’s Cairo speech will fail.  And by ‘fail’ I mean ‘start up another round of violence.’

Which will not be the President’s intent, but that won’t matter.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Virginia DMV bans smiling on driver’s licenses.

Turns out that even after you go through the regular bureaucratic hell that is the average DMV, some people will still reflexively smile for the camera*.

Can’t have that!

Via Reason Hit & Run. I’d say more, except that I took a header on some water on the floor about a half hour ago, and the left side of my body hurts like nobody’s business**. Nothing broken, but it’s going to be a fun bruise or three tomorrow.

Moe Lane

*(Checking) Goodness gracious, I’m one of them!

**If you’re feeling bad for me and want to cheer me up… I dunno. Buy Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!, or something. If you want to mock my pain as you think that I have mocked yours… buy Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!, or something. That’ll show me.

Crossposted to RedState.

Illinois state tax increases killed.

Amazing what a little fiscal intransigence can do:

The Illinois House overwhelmingly rejected a temporary income tax increase Sunday, moving the state closer to massive spending cuts that critics called a “doomsday” budget.

The House’s Democratic leaders didn’t even try to pass a larger, permanent increase that was approved by the state Senate a day earlier. Lawmakers said there was little support for that plan during private Democratic discussions.

Instead, the House considered a measure that would have bumped the state’s 3 percent personal tax rate to 4.5 percent for two years. House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, said it would have produced about $4.5 billion for a state government drowning in red ink.

The Senate version is described here: essentially, while the Illinois Senate apparently was willing to ignore Republican objections (the truly strange term system that the Illinois state Senate has may have something to do with that), the Illinois House was apparently a little less happy with ending up ratifying significant tax hikes, particularly since the GOP was making no secret about the fact that it wasn’t involved in the process of making this budget in the first place. At least, that’s about the only reason that I can see for having a legislature that’s nearly 2-to-1 Democrat/GOP go so thoroughly the other way on this vote.  At any rate, the Illinois Republicans are indicating that they’re willing to participate in the future budget negotiations.  Assuming that the Democrats are willing to let them, that is.

No rush.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Lindsey Graham wounded by Sotomayor’s hurtful remarks.

Senator Lindsey Graham goes there:

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told “FOX News Sunday” he wasn’t buying President Obama’s attempt to walk back his Supreme Court nominee’s controversial statement from 2001. Obama said Friday that given the chance Sotomayor would have “restated” that comment, and that she was merely trying to express how her experiences give her perspective on others’ hardships.

“She didn’t say that at all,” Graham countered Sunday, suggesting Sotomayor’s statement raises questions about her objectivity.

“What she said is that based on her life experiences is that she thought a Latina woman, somebody with her background, would be a better judge than a guy like me — a white guy from South Carolina,” Graham said. “It is troubling, and it’s inappropriate and I hope she’ll apologize.”

Continue reading Lindsey Graham wounded by Sotomayor’s hurtful remarks.

‘Maybe by this summer, Obama will finally admit out loud that George W. Bush had it right all along.’

Maybe Ed Morrissey is even more of a brazen optimist than I am. Having this President openly acknowledge that Gitmo serves a useful purpose and should be retained would be like having the Pope come out and declare ex cathedra that Hell was actually a pretty cool vacation spot, down to the likely reaction of certain members of the base.

Which is not to say that Gitmo is going to close. People just need to… forget that Gitmo was supposed to close, that’s all.

Moe Lane

PS: I get the impression that the Uighurs are turning into one of those convenient complications for this administration.

Crossposted to RedState.