Contributed by: filbert Wednesday, December 30 2009 @ 07:00 AM CST
A new feature: CRISIS OF THE HOUR. With the sage advice to “never let a good crisis go to waste,” I intend to identify whatever it is that day about which we’re supposed to panic and rush blindly towards the loving arms of our caring and oh-so-competent government. Articles touching on the day’s CRISIS OF THE HOUR will be indicated by the word PANIC! after the article’s title. This could be amusing.
“When in trouble, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.”
CRISIS OF THE HOUR: WACKOS TRYING TO BLOW UP AIRPLANES WITH THEIR UNDERWEAR
Travel:
Facing long lines, Canada bans most carry-ons from U.S.-bound flights [*1] — PANIC!
Finally Flying Midwest, er Frontier, er Chautauqua (Trip Report) [*2]
New TSA Rules Actually Make the Liquid Rule Look Rational [*3] — PANIC!
New TSA security guidelines means no iPods one hour before landing [*4] — PANIC!
TSA: Sanity makes a comeback [*5] — STOP PANICKING!
AirTran to establish second hub in Milwaukee [*6]
Government Wants More Body Scanners for Airports [*7] — PANIC! — Is that a panty-bomb, or are you just glad to see me?
‘It’s No Problem. It’s More Control.’ [*8] — PANIC! — and once more, we see that it’s not about dealing with the problem, it’s about exploiting the CRISIS!!!
Breaking: Fox Reporting That CIA Was Tracking The Underwear Bomber Since August [*9] — “Houston, we have a problem . . .” — PANIC!
Separating Explosives from the Detonator [*10] with what really ought to be the final word on this PANIC!: “I wish that, just once, some terrorist would try something that you can only foil by upgrading the passengers to first class and giving them free drinks.”
2009 -or- the 2000’s In Review, and year-end lists:
Global Freedom Had Few Blooms: Why 2009 was a bleak year [*11]
Tax Vox’s Lump of Coal Award: The Worst Tax Ideas of 2009 [*12]
Facebook, Twitter top list of weird stories in 2009 [*13]
Best Libertarian Books of the Decade? [*14] “. . . He discovered that institutional costs imposed by governments all over the world are the main obstacles to reducing poverty. . .”
Judicial Watch’s ten most corrupt politicians [*15]
Not Quite the ‘Decade from Hell’ [*16] — No, not the Oughts–the Decade from Hell is likely to be the one we’re about to start, unless people pull their heads out of their collectivist posteriors . . .
Obama’s 6 Worst Policy Decisions [*17]
This Year’s Worst Reporting: A Look Back at State-Run Media’s Most Embarrassing Moments (Video) [*18]
Looking Back at the 100 Best Innovations of 2009 [*19]
Reason vs. Irrationalism:
High Court to Consider Government’s Low Tactics [*20]
The Hypocrisy of the Left [*21] — “Obama and his friends preach tolerance, but there is bigotry at their group’s core.”
Liberals terrorized by Americans [*22] — PANIC!
John Cassidy Fails in His Critique of Markets [*23]
How to Improve the Culture [*24]
Why the Tea-Party Movement Matters: ObamaCare Edition [*25] — Featuring the notorious Baucus (is he drunk on the Senate floor?) C-SPAN video
The Progressive Crack-up, Cont. [*26]
“Change you can believe in? More like bullshit you can take a bath in, if you ask me.” [*27]
16 Months From Hell [*28]
Politicized Justice: Official Who Signed Off On Voter-Intimidation Complaint Against Black Panthers Sacked [*29]
Tea partiers to GOP: Campaign on full repeal of ObamaCare [*30]
The Future of America [*31]
Question His Judgment [*32]
Sticking to the Official Narrative [*33]
The Right to Work [*34]
Bernie Quigley: Palin Will be the Nominee [*35]
Who’s To Blame for the Massive Deficit? [*36]
2010 and beyond [*37] — good enough to include a block quote:
We never wanted to become activists. We didn’t want to spend our days and nights in front of computers. We certainly didn’t want to become targets for hate mail, death threats, or other creative reprisals — all for speaking out against the madness in this Golden Age.
Invasion of the Election Snatchers: Urban Democrats are flooding rural districts to steal elections. [*38] Gosh. Democrats trying to steal elections. Knock me over with a feather.
The reality of Obama and the Democrat leadership as blithering idiots:
What a mess[*39] — The Obama Administration’s Afghanistan Strategy (Strategies) Of The Week, that is.
Obama at 10:10 am: I Shall Not Rest Until These Terrorists Are Captured . . . Obama at 10:40 am: Okay, Now Watch This Drive! [*40] — Obviously, we simply don’t understand the meaning of the phrase “I shall not rest” . . .
MUST READ: Regular Americans Turning Away From Democrats [*41]
‘I Am Not a Spendthrift’ [*42]
What Irony: Could Democrats Lose Kennedy’s Seat [*43]
Dodd cut aviation security funding in July [*44]
Ponzi Schemer Rothstein and the Democrats [*45] — this is actually more towards the category of “the reality of the Democrats as cynically corrupt and quite probably evil power-grubbing monsters” than mere blithering idiotry. . .
Rasmussen: Ben Nelson down 30 points to Heineman after health-care reversal [*46]
Ben Nelson (D-Free Medicaid For Nebraska) Trails Potential Challenger By 31 Points In Rasmussen Poll [*47] — from Ace of Spades HQ, which (sorry, Ed Morrissey) usually guarantees that it will be a more entertaining (if occasionally more scatological) take on the issue . . .
The Obama Way [*48]
Poor Obama: Being president is exhausting [*49]
Putin to Obama: Thanks for those missile-defense concessions but we’re going ahead with new weapons [*50]
Ashcroft v. Napolitano [*51]
Suddenly, Obama’s not so fluent any more [*52]
War and terror and diplomacy and peace:
Spin versus spool [*53] — PANIC!
What Went Wrong? [*54] — PANIC!
It’s not that we give up our Constitutional rights, but to whom? [*55] — I wasn’t entirely sure where to place this one . . .
Iran on Fire [*56]
Lawyers at war [*57]
“Why do we fail to detect or defeat the guilty, and why do we do so well at collective punishment of the innocent?” [*58] — PANIC!
Armageddon alert? Israelis convene meeting of diplomatic corps [*59]
Iran again [*60]
Inside Our OODA Loop [*61] — PANIC!
Obama’s Second Major Terror Failure in Two Months [*62] — PANIC! PANIC!
Iranian Officials Face Tens of Thousands of Protesters, Blame “The West” [*63]
Too good to check: Khamenei’s plane being overhauled in case he has to leave Iran? [*64]
“Global warming” aka “Climate change” — or should that be “Climate Reform?”:
CRU’s forecast: UK winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event” [*65] — file this one under WRONG!!!
The Arctic Oscillation Index goes strongly negative [*66] — file this one under UH-OH!!!
2,780 Climate Lobbyists and Counting [*67]
Censorship Threatens Truth on Climate [*68]
The Green Religion and ClimateGate: Interview With Steven Mosher [*69]
Global Warming and Melting Ice: The seas are rising, but you’ve still got time to enjoy your beach house [*70]
USGS: Arctic sea too warm for sea ice 3 million years ago [*71]
The Economy:
Will the Market Rise or Fall? [*72] — “The long-term outlook for the stock market is not good, and here is why . . .”
Media bias and/or incompetence:
In which the Strib arrives late to the case [*73]
The Left’s Blind Eye to the Obvious [*74]
John Yoo (of “torture memo” fame) brings teh funny in an NYT interview [*75]
Big Journalism’s Bronx Cheer For The Common Man [*76]
If Sarah Palin Had Done This [*77]
Too Much Decline For CNN To Hide [*78]
The Collapse of Professional Journalism, Cont’d [*79]
Health care “change” (called by some “reform”):
The Health Care Fight is Not Over [*80]
Health Care Reform – Left and Right [*81]
DO YOUR PART TO STOP HEALTHCARE RATIONING TODAY [*82] — caps in original
Health Care: Now’s the Hard Part [*83]
Aborting Health Care Reform [*84]
The Real Healthcare ‘Chart of the Day’ [*85]
Miscellany:
Delhi sex workers concerned over poor quality of free condoms [*86]
Itchy skin can be psychologically stressful [*87]
Projects that have changed Kansas City’s identity this decade [*88]
Broadcasters’ woes could spell trouble for free TV [*89]
Bristol Palin seeks full custody; no comment from ‘Ricky Hollywood’ [*90]
Coffee. Is there anything it cannot do? [*91]
University of Hawaii cuts faculty salaries [*92]
Alcohol substitute that avoids drunkenness and hangovers in development [*93]
SF and Writing:
Finding an Agent [*94]
Science Fiction is not about science [*95]
Best New Characters of the Decade [*96]
Science and space:
Decelerating at Alpha Centauri [*97]
The Problem with Warp Drive [*98]