Month: January 2010

Contributed by: filbert Sunday, January 31 2010 @ 11:21 AM CST

First, A Public Service Announcement

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Thank you. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Whip.

A (mostly) daily review of what’s out there that caught my attention. (Yeah, it’s possible I might have ADD . . .)

I surf the Web, so you don’t have to!

Section One: The Word:
An occasional comment, rant, or snark, brought on by the flow of events:
Behold my “Awesome Zelazny Riff” at Ace of Spades HQ here: Advice for Governor Palin. [*1] My comment is at #194, which you have to scroll down through the whole dull, tedious thing for, because for reasons I don’t understand, the direct link doesn’t work. Bummer for you, eh? No, seriously, go. It’ll be worth your while. Trust me! Have HOPE.

Lord of Light is, I think, my all-time favorite book. Of all time.

Oh, another thing that I just think is the funniest thing:
Guantanamo eyed for 9/11 trial [*2] — So . . . we . . . have to . . . close the prison there . . . so we can . . . hold . . . the trials there? Huh? WTF?

In other news, Mark Steyn speaks Truth to Power:

In the last 60 years, the size of America’s state and local workforce has increased five times faster than the general population. But the president says it’s still not enough: We have to incentivize even further the diversion of our human capital into the government machine. Like most lifelong politicians, Barack Obama has never created, manufactured, or marketed any product other than himself. So quite reasonably he sees government dependency as the natural order of things. And in his college-loan plan he’s explicitly telling you: If you start a business, invent something, provide a service, you’re a schmuck and a loser. In the America he’s building, you’ll be working 24/7 till you drop dead to fund an ever-swollen bureaucracy that takes six weeks off a year and retires at 53 on a pension you could never dream of. Obama’s proposals are bold only insofar as few men would offer such a transparent guarantee of disaster: It’s the audacity of hopelessness.

Hope! Change! Perpetual Servitude To Your Masters In Washington (who, of course, love you)!

More after the “read more” . . . Section Two: Things That Amuse Me:
2.1: Simians and other aminals*:
South American peacock bass are adjusting to suburban life in Florida[*4] — Animals . . . them’s good eatin’ . . .
PETA Proposes Robotic Groundhog For Pa. Festival [*5] — No, Bill (who sent me the link), it’s not just you who wonders about PETA . . .
*Yes, I know it’s “animals,” it’s just that I always found the childhood mispronunciation really, really cute . . .

2.2: Travel:
Not today.

2.3: Sports:
Turnovers spell doom at ORU [*6]
Clutch Collins carries No. 2 Jayhawks past K-State [*7]
Jacks fall just short at Oral Roberts [*8]
Southern Utah knocks off UMKC [*9]
Turnovers haunt SDSU women in loss [*10]

2.4: Science Fiction and Writing:
I’m watching soccer right now. It’s that kind of day.

2.5: Miscellany:
Miss America: Limbaugh Wins ‘Judge of the Night’ — ‘Variety’ Frets Over Political ‘Tinge’ [*11]
Reinvented Characters Give ‘24′ New Life [*12] — Too bad I totally gave up on the show last year then, huh?

2.6: Science, technology, and space:
Sunday. Fun day.

Section Three: The News, featuring Liberty And Its Enemies:
3.1: Strategy and tactics for defending human freedom and liberty:
Post-SOTU poll shows disbelief among most voters on Obama claims [*13] — A key strategy: Don’t buy the BS that Washington is trying to sell you . . .
More Bailouts? Forever? Not So Fast [*14] — Don’t go there, Democrats. Seriously. Don’t. Not if you want to remain a relevant political party beyond 2010.
Eric Odom on Tea Party Nation Organizers: They Don’t Know What’s Going On & Haven’t From Day One (Video) [*15] — See, the thing about the Tea Parties is that there are no leaders — rather — everybody is a leader. It’s a very–you might say it’s a uniquely–American way of political organization. The People Are The Power.
The Deficit of Trust [*16] “There is no logic in trusting a massive government that is the primary source of information about itself. There’s no wisdom in accepting the “sale” of irrevocable, unaccountable government programs on faith.”
Degenerate Democracy [*17] — “John Adams asserted, “Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”” That’s why the USA was not a democracy, but a republic.
Grassroots vs. Establishment Battles Shape GOP Primaries [*18]
Tea Partiers aim to remake local GOP [*19] — Reform . . . “Hope and Change,” if you will . . . begins at home, not in Washington . . .
Glenn Reynolds: More impact is what’s next for the Tea Party movement[*20]

3.2: The reality of Obama and the Democrat leadership as blithering idiots:
Stephen Hayes: “The President’s Claim That He Is Not an Ideologue Was One of His Single Most Ridiculous Statements” (Video) [*21] — No, Barack, dude, you’re an ideologue. Get serious . . .
Obama’s Deaf Ear May Cost His Success [*22]
Obama’s Stunning Admission [*23] — “Oh, yeah, that whole “you can keep your health care plan if you like it” thing? Oh, gee, sorry about that. I lied. That’s what you get for trusting a progressive collectivist. Your mistake, not mine.”
Hawai’i Democrats Kill Same-Sex Civil Unions [*24] — Hey, gay people. The Democrats Do Not Care About You. They just care about your votes, and more importantly, your money. You folks in the Black community–same thing. And you Hispanics? Yep. Labor union members? You guessed it. The Democrats don’t care about YOU, or your family, or your kids, or your life. They just want your vote, and your money. Why do you keep giving them both?
Talking Down to the Public Will Surely Work . . . [*25]
Obama Admits Partisanship at GOP Retreat; Forgets About Change.gov [*26] — Serial, shameless liar? Or just dangerously incompetent? I’m leaning toward liar.
In his finest hour, Obama manifests his greatest weakness [*27]
Obamacare = Stray Dog, So Says President [*28] — So, maybe it’s time to spay/neuter it?
Obama’s Bounce: Zero [*29] — Well, I was wrong. I thought he’d get a little bounce from the State of the Union address.
McCain smirks: Barack Obama discovers bipartisanship [*30]
President Obama goes to the GOP retreat and purports to promote the “absolutely essential… the process of disagreement.” [*31] — Would you buy a used car from this man? Really?
Obama: Healthcare as “Some Bolshevik Plot” [*32]
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D): Makin’ it rain [*33] — $101,429.14 over two years just for in-flight refreshments? What the ever-loving frack? What better illustration of the attitude of the Democrat leadership that “it’s our money and we’ll do with it as we please?”
Obama Gets Real with Republicans, Without His Teleprompter [*34]
Unreal… Obama’s Proposed Budget Will Increase Spending by 6% Over Last Year [*35] I really HOPE there will be CHANGE this November . . .
The Holder hangover (and whence it comes) [*36]
White House meddling in college football now too? [*37]

3.3: The reality of the Republican leadership as blithering idiots:
Ugh. Awful RINO Lindsey Graham Pushes Climate Policy Because “Congress Needs a Win” [*38] — No, Lindsay, Congress doesn’t need a win. The American people do. And they’ll get one this November.
Newt to Conservatives on NY23: “They Were Right” (Audio) [*39]
Armey tells House GOP: Win back the tea-partiers to win [*40] — Alternate title: Armey tells House GOP: Stop being blithering idiots . . .

3.4: Opposition Research: The enemies of human freedom and liberty:
Freedom vs. Safety [*41] — Their strategy: seize on a “problem,” get the public in a tizzy about it, then start passing laws restricting freedom and liberty. They do it because it works.
Leftist Astounded at Conservative Ascent Before FoxNews? [*42] — It really is difficult for rational people to think like leftists/progressives/collectivists do–to stubbornly insist that facts are whatever you, personally, say they are, despite any and all evidence to the contrary. Saying it, and saying it often enough, will make it so. This is exceedingly hard for people with an affection for the real world to deal with in a serious manner.
The GOP’s Tactical Mistake [*43]
left wing fat cat corporatist fesses up (and tugs at conservative heart strings) [*44]
Liberal Fantasies v. Reality: Can You Spot the Difference? [*45] — Video: “Klavan on the Culture”
More Washington: As Obama sees it, whatever the problem, the solution is more Washington. [*3]
Lech Walesa: ‘America Is Moving Toward Socialism’ [*46] — So says a man who knows a little something about socialism, so you can take your “oh, no, it’s not socialism” BS and stick it, OK?

3.5: Media bias–and incompetence:
The truth IS out there . . .

3.6: Fear The ‘Cuda–A spotlight on Citizen Palin, who really needs to find a better phrase than “Common-sense conservatism” to describe her philosophy:
Conservatives 4 Palin [*47] –Semi-permanent link for Palinmania . . .

3.7: “Global warming” aka “Climate change” — or should that be “Climate Reform?”:
IPCC chief hid glacier information for months [*48]
Minnesota wind turbines won’t work in cold weather [*49] — I need a “Greenie Global Warmingists as blithering idiots” section, apparently . . . HEY, YOU EINSTEINS, IT GETS COLD IN MINNESOTA. REALLY, REALLY COLD.
IPCC now in Bizarroland: Pachauri releases “smutty” romance novel [*50] — Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That . . .

3.8: Health care “reform” aka health insurance “reform” — or should that be health care “change?” Perhaps “Global healthing?:
Who’s in YOUR wallet?

3.9: The Economy:
This Explains A Lot [*51] — Don’t be too exposed to the markets this year–there’s no telling what economically disastrous bill the Democrats might manage to actually pass . . .
Jobs [*52]

3.10: Foreign affairs and National Security:
The World is a Dangerous Place[*53]

Contributed by: filbert Sunday, January 31 2010 @ 07:56 AM CST

From The Road To Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek, 1944, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 1994, The University of Chicago Press.

. . . the state can do a great deal to help the spreading of knowledge and information and to assist mobility. But the point is that the kind of state action which really would increase opportunity is almost precisely the opposite of the “planning” which is now generally advocated and practiced.

Excerpted under Fair Use for purposes of non-commercial education, discussion and comment. Any transcription or typographical errors are mine.

Contributed by: filbert Saturday, January 30 2010 @ 09:54 AM CST

A (mostly) daily review of what’s out there that caught my attention. (Yeah, it’s possible I might have ADD . . .)

I surf the Web, so you don’t have to!

Section One: The Word:
An occasional comment, rant, or snark, brought on by the flow of events:

OK . . . does anybody other than me detect the inherent contradiction reflected by this Reuters article title: Obama assails Republican foes, urges bipartisan effort[*1] ? Would it help if I pointed out that Obama waited ONE ENTIRE FRICKIN’ YEAR to have this meeting? Why shouldn’t the Republicans feel just a bit miffed–at least? Obama has spent the entirety of the last year demonstrating by his actions that he and his party didn’t give a rat’s ass what the Republicans wanted, and had absolutely no interest in talking to them, hearing what they thought, or even paying them the simple courtesy of respect. Anybody remember “I Won?” But now, all of the sudden, Obama wants to play Mr. Bipartisan, and oh by the way, you Republicans are the bad guys?

Who held all the cards for the past year, Mr. President? Who sat in the White House? Who had 60 votes in the Senate? Who had an unassailable majority in the House?

If the Congressional Republicans were smart they’d tell Obama to take his “Bipartisanship” and stick it where the sun don’t shine. This is your show, big guy, they would say, and it’s been your show for the past year. If you can’t do the job, it’s not the Republican’s fault.

Obama, you are headed down a road that will completely ruin the American economy. What you are doing has been tried before. It does not work. So yes, indeed, we hope you fail at that. You, sir, are not FDR, and this is not 1934. You are much more Herbert Hoover than you are Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it’s much more like 1930 than it is 1934, and a huge section of the American public knows it. (Oh, by the way, the New Deal was pretty much a disaster, too, extending the Great Depression by six long years (according to UCLA economists)–extending it by implementing precisely the same kind of policies you are inflicting on the country now. ) You don’t know the right things to do to heal the American economy, and the things you think will help will wind up causing much, much more damage, and much, much more suffering for the people you were elected to serve. That’s “elected to serve,” not elected to reign over, by the way. So pull your nose down out of the sky and stop trying to look (and act) like Benito Mussolini.

See you in November, Il Duce.

More after the “read more” . . . Section Two: Things That Amuse Me:
2.1: Simians and other aminals*:
Empty, again. Nobody likes simians any more.
*Yes, I know it’s “animals,” it’s just that I always found the childhood mispronunciation really, really cute . . .

2.2: Travel:
Cruise Line Cuts Antigua Calls After Passenger Murder [*2]

2.3: Sports:
Summit Points (Jan. 29, 2010) [*3] – Notes from the Summit League . . .
(2) Kansas (19-1) at (11) Kansas State (17-3) [*4]
High-stakes games await Jackrabbits: Oral Roberts, SDSU to clash in Tulsa [*5]

2.4: Science Fiction and Writing:
Oh. I wish . . .

2.5: Miscellany:
Obama Girl Tells Hannity ‘At Least I Wasn’t The Edwards Girl’[*6] — She had a really good point, there . . .
Moderately Overweight Elderly Live Longer? [*7]

2.6: Science, technology, and space:
Laser fusion test results raise energy hopes [*8]
The iPad’s Unexpected, Hidden Peek at the Future of Computing [*9]
Apple Source: Adobe’s Flash Is “Too Buggy” For the iPad [*10] — Actually, I can believe that. I’m not really that much of a Flash fan . . . it just seems too . . . intrusive for me to be completely comfortable with it . . .
White House: The new moon mission is canceled [*11] — Let Burt Rutan and Richard Branson do it.
Pundits On The iPad’s Closed System: It’s Doom For PCs, No It’s Great [*12]

Section Three: The News, featuring Liberty And Its Enemies:
3.1: Strategy and tactics for defending human freedom and liberty:
By the Way, Free Markets Are Free [*13]
Campaign Finance Reform: A Libertarian Primer [*14]
Time to Add on Official Judicial Response to the SotU? [*15]
Video: Nick Gillespie makes libertarianism look pretty good [*16]
Transparency and openness, finally: The GOP & Obama Q&A show [*17] — Assuming this ever happens again, I reserve the right to move future articles to the Enemies of Freedom section (a pox on both their houses) . . . because I’m pretty sure IT’S A TRAP!!!
Some thoughts on Obama, Alito, and the new war on the First Amendment [*18]
Obama to GOP: Don’t demonize me, teabaggers [*19]
Pull the Plug on This Program: No matter what happens in a State of the Union address, the opposition’s official response is going to feel pathetic. [*20]
Liberator Tony Blair Stands Tall at Iraq Hearing- Takes Jab at Obama & Brown [*21]
Palin is framing the debate. “my common sense v your bullcrap” . [*22]

3.2: The reality of Obama and the Democrat leadership as blithering idiots:
Sessions: Obama was wrong to assail Supreme Court [*23]
Sarah Palin Obliterates Narcissist in Chief’s SOTU Address [*24] — The term “evisceration” has been used. It’s pretty brutal, and richly deserved by Barack . . .
Cato Institute, Rush Limbaugh Critique Obama’s SOTU Lecture [*25]
Delayed Reaction to the State of the Union [*26]
Obama Letting It Ride on a Bad Bet [*27]
Try Googling It, Mr. President [*28]
Tit for Tat [*29]
A bit… petulant to cut 9/11 health funding, no? [*30] — Yes, it does seem very much like we elected a petulant teenager as President . . .
Has Obama become bored with being president? [*31] — President “Present.”
Obama Decries Divisive Rhetoric, Says Healing Can Happen if Opponents Stop Being Such Effing D-bags [*32]
Obama At House Republican Retreat [*33]
Bush’s Third Term [*34] — “CHANGE!!! . . . er . . . not so much, that is, if you can trust my words (which you can’t) . . . ”
Obama’s Lost Decade [*35]
CBS: You know, Alito was right [*36]
Letting You Know About Some “Better Solutions” [*37] — Another whack from the ‘Cuda’s Facebook nightstick . . .
Obama, Post-Partisan Blah-Blah-Blah [*38] — “Hey, let’s be non-partisan, and just agree, you guys suck and are being too partisan.” See The Word above. Yeah. That’s basically what his message to Republicans is . . . the question is, is the Stupid Party stupid enough to fall for this bullshit?
The Obamarang [*39] — Good enough for extended quotation (it is Victor Davis Hanson, after all):

All politicians fudge on their promises. But this president manages to transcend the normal political exaggeration and dissimulation. Whereas past executives shaded the truth, Barack Obama trumps that: on almost every key issue, what Obama says he will do, and what he says is true, is a clear guide to what he will not do, and what is not true. It is as if “truth” is a mere problem of lesser mortals.

. . .
Here are four brief reasons. They are complementary, rather than mutually exclusive.

What are the reasons? Heh heh heh . . . click on the article!
Conservatives Deliver Ideas, Again, to President Obama [*40] — Obama: the “don’t confuse me with the facts” President . . .
Nevermind All Those Opposition Solutions; Obama’s Opposition Has No Solutions! [*41] — On the other hand, The Emperor Has No Clothes . . .
FDR Knew Better [*42]
Well, This Would Explain a Lot [*43] — “The Globe” is no “National Enquirer” of course . . .
Scott Brown: ‘People Aren’t Stupid–And leaders should figure out they’re better informed now than ever.’ [*44] — Why hasn’t he taken his seat in the Senate yet?
The Center Can Be No-Man’s Land [*45] — I like his idea about “The Steel Law of Bureaucracy” . . .
Duncan: Katrina Was The “Best Thing” for New Orleans School System [*46] — Another argument for eliminating the Department of Education . . .

3.3: The reality of the Republican leadership as blithering idiots:
Scott Brown: Romney’s much cooler now than he used to be [*47] — Romney is looking positively George-Washingtonian in the context of Obama . . .
RNC adopts watered-down “purity test” for Republican candidates [*48] — Here’s my “litmus test”: 1) Do you believe that human freedom and individual liberty are the highest human political aspirations, and do you commit without reservation to supporting freedom and liberty in everything you do? 2) Do you interpret the U.S. Constitution by it’s plain wording and original intent? It is unclear if the Republican Party passes this test. But I know with certainty the Democratic Party does not.

3.4: Opposition Research: The enemies of human freedom and liberty:
Wolf seeks Panther case dismissal probe[*49] — Not about animals . . . well, possibly, in a sense, it is . . .
The Fannie And Freddy “Secret” [*50]
The Astroturf ‘Expert’ [*51]
Obama Switches High-Speed Rail to Fast Track [*52]
High-speed half-truths from Washington [*53]
Is High Speed Rail Stimulus Spread Too Thin? [*54]
Obama’s high-speed rail plan: Which states get the money? [*55] — Why yes, in fact, “high speed rail” is a collectivist boondoggle. If it made any rational sense at all, a private company would have already done it (assuming that the government had gotten the hell out of the way). The fact is that high speed rail makes ZERO economic sense in the United States. (It also makes zero sense almost everywhere else in the world it’s operating, but that’s collectivism for you–it sees a pretty, shiny thing, and it wants it!)
The Human Filth of Politics, as Conveyed in Two Book Reviews [*56] — You could say politicians and journalists deserve each other. Too bad they have to include the rest of us . . .
Too Late, SEIU [*57] — Trying to culture-jam the Tea Party movement . . .
Class War: How public servants became our masters [*58] — Corruption. Just another kind of corruption.
ANGRY Obama Lashes Out at House Republicans– Tells Them “I Am Not an Ideologue” (Video) [*59] — Then, Sir, STOP ACTING LIKE ONE.
The Power of Women and Life [*60]
Another good reason to use transparency rather than McCain-Feingold for reform [*61]
WSJ: Rumors Fly That Crist May Switch Parties [*62]
Selective Freedom of Speech on the Left and the Right [*63]
Variety’s Todd McCarthy: Why No Conservative Docs at Sundance? [*64] — Because they Don’t Fit The Narrative, that’s why . . .
TROLL DISSECTION 101: Can You Spot And Counter Troll Comments? [*65]
Broadband For All, or Bigger Government? [*66]
Confirmed: “Tea Party Is Over” Website Is Funded By SEIU [*67] — Another “false flag” operation from our lying bastard SOBs on the left . . . I guess lying about who you really are never gets old to these people . . .
On What Freaking Basis? [*68] — “Light rail” is as stupid an idea as “high-speed rail” is–and they’re both stupid.
“[P]eople ought to begin to understand that Obama is going to be a mediocre president–which means, in our time, a dangerous president…”[*69] — There are two schools of thought on Obama: One–he’s a blithering idiot; Two–he’s an ideological neo-Marxist collectivist. The two are not mutually exclusive and in fact are often found together. (Oh, there’s another school of thought–that he actually knows what he’s doing, but evidence does not support that assertion in the slightest.)
An Open Letter to Anyone Attacked By Trolls and PUMA Hunters [*70] — Another quote-worthy link:

We believe, as these connections are revealed, the parties involved in coordinating these attacks across state lines and national borders could be charged under RICO statutes. Anyone assisting them at the DNC would also be culpable. If anyone in elected office is in any way connected with personal attacks upon American private citizens, then voters need to know about this involvement before the next election.
If you are an Obama supporter who has called anyone a racist or engaged in attacks upon that person, and you are reading this, we suggest you take down everything you did to attack that person. If you are a regular at Daily Kos or DemocraticUndergrond, we suggest you advise your cohorts there to cease and desist their libelous attacks, lest they join Mr. O’Sullivan in Birmingham as a co-defendent as this case moves forward.

The Hillbuzz guys have declared open season on collectivist/leftist hate-mongers. And about time, too.
No plans for Hillary Clinton to attend another SOTU (until she delivers it herself) [*71] — I remain unconvinced that Hillary isn’t a collectivist, although she’s undoubtedly a much smarter politician than Obama is . . .
Question: is one of the world’s largest advertising firms being paid by the DNC to attack moderate Democrats? [*72]
Obama Turns On the N.Y. Banks [*73] — He and his kind turn on everybody, in the end . . . that is the sad lesson of history . . .
Why Elitists Fail[*74]
In Davos, regulators tell bankers new rules coming[*75]

3.5: Media bias–and incompetence:
Statement from James O’Keefe [*76] — The needle moves toward “Stupid, naive kid who was set up” . . .
Keith Olbermann has another meltdown — calls anyone criticizing Obama a RAAACIST! [*77] — Why does Keith Olbermann still have a job at a national cable network? Why hasn’t MSNBC fired him yet?
“The New Foundation” [*78] — They are coming for you and for everything you have and hold dear. Are you ready to hold them off, or will you welcome them with open arms?

3.6: Fear The ‘Cuda–A spotlight on Citizen Palin, who really needs to find a better phrase than “Common-sense conservatism” to describe her philosophy:
Conservatives 4 Palin [*79] –Semi-permanent link for Palinmania . . .

3.7: “Global warming” aka “Climate change” — or should that be “Climate Reform?”:
Climategate: The Shaming of “Scientific American” [*80]
Warmists Gain New Ally [*81]
Ice in Chinese ports “exceeding anything experienced in 30 years” [*82]
Full Disclosure [*83] — The SEC ruling that companies must disclose the risks of “climate change” could produce all manner of entertaining, unanticipated consequences for our Green/collectivist friends . . . shareholder lawsuits are a *censored* . . .

3.8: Health care “reform” aka health insurance “reform” — or should that be health care “change?” Perhaps “Global healthing?:
Health care moves to back burner [*84] It ain’t dead. It’s central to collectivist plans to control–well–everything.
Democrats’ Health Care Plans Come at High Cost to the Young [*85]
Congress’ New Secret Plan to Pass ObamaCare – The Nuclear Option [*86]
Mental Health Parity for Insurance [*87] — I don’t even understand what “Mental Health Parity” is, let alone why the government should be mandating it . . .

3.9: The Economy:
Fourth-quarter GDP 5.7% [*88] — Restocking inventories, mostly . . .
Obama unveils $33 billion tax credit to boost jobs [*89] — Small business hasn’t wanted to spend money, Genius, because you Democrats have utterly terrified them with your health care schemes and your spendthrift “Stimulus” irresponsibility . . . these cretins have absolutely no idea where wealth comes from . . . here, I’ll let an actual real live small business owner tell you in the next link . . .
Economic Stimulus [*90] — “If Obama really wanted to get small businesses to start investing again, he could announce that both cap-and-trade and the health care bill are dead-dead and will not be disinterred this year. These two bills affect nearly 2/3 of our company’s cost structure. ”
A huge fourth quarter for our economy [*91]
Big jump in GDP may veil weakness in economy [*92]
Obama’s State of the Union Address Dampens Hope for a Real Budget Action [*93]
Gov’t economic reports not designed for downturns [*94]
GDP Is Up, But Government Unions Ate Your Raise [*95]

3.10: Foreign affairs and National Security:
The George W. Obama Administration’s Foreign Policy [*96]
Momentum building for blocking terrorist trials? [*97]
Russian Stealth Fighter Takes to The Skies [*98]
A Shrinking Navy [*99]
Russia’s Military Shopping Spree Raises Specter Of Gunboat Diplomacy [*100]

Contributed by: filbert Saturday, January 30 2010 @ 07:55 AM CST

From The Road To Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek, 1944, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 1994, The University of Chicago Press.

In a directed economy, where the authority watches over the ends pursued, it is certain that it would use its powers to assist some ends and to prevent the realization of others. Not our own view, but somebody else’s, of what we ought to like or dislike would determine what we should get. And since the authority would have the power to thwart any efforts to elude its guidance, it would control what we consume almost as effectively as if it directly told us how to spend our income.

Excerpted under Fair Use for purposes of non-commercial education, discussion and comment. Any transcription or typographical errors are mine.

Contributed by: filbert Friday, January 29 2010 @ 08:43 AM CST

A (mostly) daily review of what’s out there that caught my attention. (Yeah, it’s possible I might have ADD . . .)

I surf the Web, so you don’t have to!

Section One: The Word:
An occasional comment, rant, or snark, brought on by the flow of events:
If you live where the government assesses a property tax, you do not own your property. The government does. You just rent it, and the government is your landlord. Emphasis on the “Lord” part, serf! Don’t believe me? Try not paying your property taxes. Something very, very like an eviction will happen to you.

Thought #2–if you’re big into gold, you might want to think about getting out–ore at least diversifying. Because George Soros is saying that “The next bubble is gold.” [*1]
And how he has made his billions is that he creates bubbles, and then he pops them–making money off both ends. That’s his game.

Anyway . . . “it’s just news. It’s just news! . . . ” (beware of laser beams)

How To Report The News (only one f-bomb, but what the heck, it’s kind of in context):

You have seen The Matrix, haven’t you? Haven’t you?
Boing Boing [*2] carries the humor to its logical Internet blog-based conclusion.
And now, the rest of the news . . . I n s p e c i a l E n g l i s h . . . (that visual joke was for the shortwave fans out there . . . )
(After the “Read More” of course . . .) 2.2: Travel:
No travel today. It’s snowing.

2.3: Sports:
Jackrabbits begin road trip at Oral Roberts [*3] — women’s basketball weekly release . . .
Bjorklund scores 20 to lead Lady Vols past Tigers [*4]
Hello, hoop world. It’s K-State [*5]
KU’s Self complimentary of Martin — but not out of altruism[*6]
Kansas State fans delight in their ‘Octagon of Doom’[*7]
Jacks complete Centenary season sweep [*8]
IUPUI Halts Oakland’s Record Win Streak in Thursday’s Marquee Matchup [*9] — Summit League men’s basketball roundup
Mississippi State stuns Georgia [*10] — SEC women’s BB . . .
College roundup: Sargent leads SDSU men to win [*11]

2.4: Science Fiction and Writing:
Freelancer’s Survival Guide: Professional Courtesy [*12] — not really about writing . . . just generally good advice . . .
Annihilating History: The Creative Engine of SF [*13]

2.5: Miscellany:
New Conventional Wisdom: Cable TV Bundling is Good for Consumers [*14]

2.6: Science, technology, and space:
McGraw-Hill Cut From iPad After CEO’s Loose Lips on CNBC [*15]
Antioxidants aren’t always good for you and can impair muscle function, study shows [*16]
Researcher Who Sparked the Vaccine/Autism Scare “Acted Unethically” [*17] — Be responsible and get your kids their shots, OK? And stop getting your medical advice from Coast to Coast AM.

Section Three: The News, featuring Liberty And Its Enemies:
3.1: Strategy and tactics for defending human freedom and liberty:
A Responsible Choice [*18] — school choice–it works . . .
A Blow for Free Speech [*19]
Breaking: Bachmann withdraws from Tea Party convention [*20]
Are Barney’s Days Numbered? [*21] — No, not the big purple dinosaur . . .
On “Ideological Purity” & the 2010 Elections [*22]
Going Rand (Paul) [*23] — The ‘Cuda is about to endorse Son Of Paul? (Way out there hyper-libertarian Ron Paul’s son Rand?) What’s that ’60’s song? “Somethin’s happening here . . . what it is ain’t exactly clear . . . ” If true, it’s . . . cool, man!
Moral relativism is bad enough without the moral lectures [*24]
A Citizen’s Guide to the Constitution [*25]
Reading and Watching: Sharp, An-gee-es-kee [*26]
Main difference between conservatives and liberals? [*27]

3.2: The reality of Obama and the Democrat leadership as blithering idiots:
Obama’s SOTU [*28] — “It wasn’t a speech. It was an excuse.”
The Disconnected President [*29]
Reading and Watching SOTU Reactions … [*30]
Is it over yet? [*31]
Well, at Least the State of the Union Address Was Televised on C-SPAN [*32]
Union Boss to Members: Shut the F*%k Up, You Motherf*%kers! [*33]
Obama’s Transparency [*34]
One Day After Obama Promises to Curb Spending – Dems Pass Largest Debt Increase in US History [*35] — Judge them not by their actions, but by their words . . .
What Was Missing from the SOTU Address [*36]
Cato video-fisks the State of the Union speech [*37]
CNN: Independents now reacting negatively to mere mention of “hope” by Obama [*38]
SOTU Fact Check [*39]
Obama Voted for, or Signed Into Law, Every Blessed Penny of 2009’s Spending [*40] — He was for it, before he was against it!
Rush to Obama: Let Me Be the Father You Never Had (Audio) [*41] — I think it’s probably too late, Rush . . .
BOOM! Taste her nightstick [*42] — The Response Of The ‘Cuda . . .
Obama’s Glass Jaw [*43] — I’ve noticed that “progressives” often have intellectual glass jaws . . . basically, they can dish it out but they can’t take it . . .
Obama To Ill 9/11 Rescue And Clean Up Workers: Screw You [*44]
Democrats’ new secret weapon in pushing amnesty? Lou Dobbs [*45]
POTUS Cites Wrong Founding Document [*46] — Oh, Lord . . . this guy is supposed to be a “Constitutional scholar?” He doesn’t even know what’s in the document–that is now clear and obvious.
Why ridicule is Obama’s Kryptonite [*47]

3.3: The reality of the Republican leadership as blithering idiots:
Lawyer: Phone Scheme Meant to Embarrass Senator [*48] — I feel kinda bad when there’s all that stupidity of the Dems on display immediately above, and relatively little from the Stupid Party to balance it out. But, I’m really not sure that the escapades of a 25-year-old muckraker really is in the same league as serially lying to the entire nation. Still . . .

3.4: Opposition Research: The enemies of human freedom and liberty:
Should Obama Just Pack the Supreme Court and Get It Over With? [*49]
Department of Education Exempt from Spending “Freeze” [*50] — Figures. One of the most useless of government entities is spared even the mildest of inconveniences under Obama and the D’s . . .
SEC to demand global-warming risk disclosure from public corporations [*51] — It’s almost like the Dems don’t know where wealth comes from . . .
Obama takes retooled agenda on road after speech [*52]
Blaming Whitey [*53]
Three Important Reasons Why Obama’s Demagoguery Will Fail [*54]
Mandating Higher Education Inflation [*55] — Because the Democrats care more about the education industry than they actually do about educating Americans, because truly educated Americans, capable of critical thinking, would see right through their ridiculous, contradictory socialism . . .
Leaders warn recovery could falter without help [*56] — The word “help” in the title should probably have had scare quotes around it . . . as in “We’re from the government and we’re here to help you” . . .
Why Is Senator Kirk Still Voting on Legislation? [*57] — Serious question: Is anything that passes the Senate that he votes “yes” on after the Brown election legally binding?
Judging Alito – Obama’s Ultimate Arrogance [*58] — One could argue that Obama’s “State of the Union” whine-fest was itself inappropriate . . .

3.5: Media bias–and incompetence:
Comedy gold: Breitbart and Shuster yell at each other over James O’Keefe; Update: Shuster lied to me to get to appear, says Breitbart [*59]
Keith Olberman Lies About Kenneth Gladney [*60] — Why does that guy still have a national cable “news” network primetime TV show?

3.6: Fear The ‘Cuda–A spotlight on Citizen Palin, who really needs to find a better phrase than “Common-sense conservatism” to describe her philosophy:
Conservatives 4 Palin [*61] –Semi-permanent link for Palinmania . . .

3.7: “Global warming” aka “Climate change” — or should that be “Climate Reform?”:
Climate Fraud Scientists Can’t be Prosecuted For Hiding Data [*62]
Lord Lawson calls for CRU Inquiry to be held in public [*63]
New paper in Nature on CO2 amplification: “it’s less than we thought” [*64] — And, considering that CO2 is the Holy of Holies in the Church of Climate Change, Global Warming Synod . . .
CRU’s Climategate finally makes the news in Norwich [*65]
The Science Is Settled, A Continuing Series: Disappearing Rain Forest Edition [*66]

3.8: Health care “reform” aka health insurance “reform” — or should that be health care “change?” Perhaps “Global healthing?:
Dem sources: Senate “fix” for ObamaCare could add another $300 billion to price tag; Update: Dems ready for reconciliation, says Kyl [*67] — It Ain’t Dead. Oh, no, friends, oh, no . . . it won’t be dead until the last Democrat is dragged kicking and screaming from Washington, dipped in the tar, and rolled in the feathers . . .

3.9: The Economy:
Economy likely grew faster in 4Q, but fears remain[*68] — “Likely???”

3.10: Foreign affairs and National Security:
Report: Obama Folds…Looks To Move Terror Trials Out Of NYC [*69]

Contributed by: filbert Friday, January 29 2010 @ 07:54 AM CST

From The Road To Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek, 1944, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 1994, The University of Chicago Press.

The power conferred by the control of production and prices is almost unlimited. In a competitive society the prices we have to pay for a thing, the rate at which we can get one thing for another, depend on the quantities of other things of which by taking one, we deprive the other members of society. This price is not determined by the conscious will of anybody. And if one way of achieving our ends proves too expensive for us, we are free to try other ways. The obstacles in our path are not due to someone’s disapproving of our ends but to the fact that the same means are also wanted elsewhere.

Excerpted under Fair Use for purposes of non-commercial education, discussion and comment. Any transcription or typographical errors are mine.

Contributed by: filbert Thursday, January 28 2010 @ 11:33 AM CST

A (mostly) daily review of what’s out there that caught my attention. (Yeah, it’s possible I might have ADD . . .)

I surf the Web, so you don’t have to!

Section One: The Word:
An occasional comment, rant, or snark, brought on by the flow of events:
Special State of the Union Address Review:

What the hell was THAT?

Section Two: Things That Amuse Me:
2.1: Simians:
This space unintentionally left blank.

2.2: Travel:
This one, too.

2.3: Sports:
No. 21 Vanderbilt beats No. 14 Tennessee 85-76 [*1]
UMKC women’s coach juggles basketball and baby [*2]
NFL will go through Texas for two from SDSU [*3]
More after the “Read More” . . . 2.4: Science Fiction and Writing:
Re-Write Wednesday: Structural Rewrite of Death. [*4]
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows of the Past Decade (Part 1) [*5]

2.5: Miscellany:
Draft law to jail dog eaters whets debate [*6] — Related: Clumsily worded headline writer found in Chinese stew pot
Dog washed out to sea has lucky escape [*7] — No relation to the previous story . . .
Leader slaughters goats to ward off evil? [*8] — Hey! Who doesn’t?
Exercise and the Brain [*9]
State universities want more students to graduate [*10] — Uh . . . DUH? If you want more students to graduate, then get better at teaching them, you idiots! Quit using every single damn thing as an excuse to cry for more money. If South Dakota can do it on the shoestring they do it up there on, then California has nothing at all to whine about. Do your frickin’ job!

2.6: Science, technology, and space (Mostly iPad edition):
remarks by Brian Roberts of Comcast at State of the Net [*11]
The iPad iBooks App uses free, open-source ePub format [*12]
Apple unveils iPad, bets on new device class [*13]
The iPad has 3G through AT&T, $29.95 unlimited, cancel anytime [*14]
$499 iPad: Awesome Over-Sized iPhone At An Undersized Price [*15]
Apple.com’s iPad page is online: WiFi in March, 3G in April [*16]
Really big iPod to lend new meaning to human existence [*17] — snort —
Opinion: The iPad Will Kill the Kindle, Netbooks and Even the MacBook Air [*18]
iPay More For My iPad: Pony Up For The Extra Stuff [*19]
Surprise, Suprise: Huge Geek Backlash Against iPad (But They’ll Be Buying Them Anyway) [*20]
NASA sets shuttle launch with future in doubt [*21]
Apple pitches $499 iPad, takes on Amazon [*22]
The iPad: Revolutionary or just another waste of money? [*23] — My early guess is “semi-revolutionary” . . .
iPad Will Make The Most Of Cloud Computing [*24]
The Giant iPhone [*25] — Joe Posnanski gets the final word on the iPad, today . . .

Section Three: The News, featuring Liberty And Its Enemies:
3.1: Strategy and tactics for defending human freedom and liberty:
Mark Twain’s Radical Liberalism [*26]
President Obama Is Right, We Have A Spending Problem [*27]
The Tiny Wings of Liberty [*28] — a silly idea. I like it . . .
Video: Why The Tea Party Is Great For America [*29]
This Week’s Column: A Blow for Free Speech[*30]
Do Americans Expect Too Much from Politicians? [*31] — A better question: Why do Americans expect ANYTHING but greed and corruption from politicians? That’s why we tried to hamstring the bastards with the Constitution. It worked, too . . . for a while . . .

3.2: The State Of Obama and the Democrat leadership as blithering idiots:
The state of Obama’s dis-union [*32]
Democrats fall as fast as Nixon Republicans in 1974 [*33]
Barone: This Isn’t 1994, It’s Worse Than That — Like Watergate [*34] — And it could be worse than Watergate if they don’t soon pull their heads out–which they won’t do, of course. Because THEY’RE RIGHT, DAMMIT (in their own minds, anyway) . . .
Pelosi: no healthcare bill not a possibility [*35] — See? They’re right, they think . . . and they’re not going to let a little thing like a peasant uprising dissuade them from their Correctness . . .
White House pre-SOTU talking points [*36]
Top Democrats at war – with each other[*37]
The medium is the massage [*38]
Obama’s First STFU Address Erupts Tonight [*39]
Obamanomics in Six Words [*40]
Obamaporta-prompta; Symptom of Distress? [*41]
“Is Barack Obama headed for some sort of meltdown?”[*42]
SOTU open thread: Blame the lobbyists! Fund high-speed rail boondoggles! Spending freeze plan met with near-silence, laughter; disses SCOTUS in front of SCOTUS [*43]
“not now” [*44]
ZONATION: Arrogance Cost Left Massachusetts [*45]
The State of the Union Speech [*46]
AT SOTU Obama Gives Congress Good Laugh on Climate Change Junk Science (Video) [*47]
“Not true”: Alito mouths words as Obama hammers Supreme Court [*48]
Wow…Alito Says “Not True” As Obama Attacks Citizens United Decision [*49]
Alito, to Obama’s Supreme Court Call-out: “No, that’s not right” [*50]
Very Good Obama, You Got Me Again. [*51] — A President who depends on the gullibility of his subjects-er-citizens, is a President who’s in deep, deep political trouble . . .
Two sharp responses to Obama’s SOTU [*52]
SOTU: A View From Inside The Chamber [*53] — “President Obama never acknowledged that Americans have been sending him a message or that he had bothered to listen.” We’ll just have to send the message louder and more emphatically next time, I guess.
Zzzzz: Two not-so-sharp responses to Obama’s SOTU [*54]
Not a double-down but at least a down and a half [*55]
I Will Micromanage Your Life [*56]
SOTU Speech Analysis (from a Guy Who Didn’t Watch The Speech) [*57]
FACT CHECK: Obama and a toothless commission [*58]
The Lesson of an Affirmative Action President [*59]
Barack’s Blue Blanket [*60]
State of the Union–A Personal Reflection [*61]
Obama & the Mythological Narcissus [*62]
SOTU Reaction [*63]
It’s the Economy, Stupid: Understanding Obama’s plummeting approval ratings [*64]
McCain Seen Mouthing “Blame It On Bush” During Obama’s Hyper-Partisan Attack Speech [*65]
What Did Obama Say in his State of the Union Address? [*66] — “First, at no point did Barack Obama acknowledge that the promises that he made in campaigning for the so-called stimulus bill have gone unredeemed. . .”
What a Phony [*67]
AP’s ten whoppers from the SOTU speech [*68]
Feingold in real electoral trouble in Wisconsin? [*69]

3.3: The reality of the Republican leadership as blithering idiots–Watergate II? Or Stupid Prank? Edition:
Standing Up For James O’Keefe [*70] — The possibility exists that the O’Keefe Affair was little more than a juvenile prank . . .
Washington Post Writer Makes Assumptions About O’Keefe That the Facts Don’t Cash — Again [*71]
Jawa’s Theory on O’Keefe: He Wanted to Discover if Landrieu Had Shut Off Her Phones to Prevent Her Office From Receiving Calls From Angry ConstituentsClose But Wrong; Real Intent Revealed (?) [*72] — Sometimes, stupid things are just stupid, and sometimes stupid things are against-the-law stupid . . .
Can Bobby Jindal now forever be forgotten as a presidential contender? Compare Bob McDonnell’s FANTASTIC speech to Jindal’s weird awkwardness. [*73] — No, not completely. I thought Clinton was finished after his disastrous DNC speech in ’88. I was wrong. (I know, you’re amazed. But it does happen.)
Was James O’Keefe Victimized By Tyrannical Government Police? [*74]
Obama Perpetuates the Myth of Bush as Free-Marketeer [*75]
CBS News and the L.A. Times Owe O’Keefe Corrections and Clarifications [*76]

3.4: Opposition Research: The enemies of human freedom and liberty:
Figures. Obama’s Socialist Advisers Are Behind His Push For Immigration Reform [*77] — Look, there’s good immigration reform, and there’s bad immigration reform. Given the track record of the people in power right now, which one do you think they’ll go for?
The Marxist Roots of Obama’s Economic ‘Pivot’ [*78]
Idiots: Oregon Voters Approve Income And Business Tax Hikes [*79] — There are moments when the people themselves are the enemies of human freedom and liberty . . .
LF and the Historians (and the “Historians”) [*80] — You can be a historian, or you can be an ideologue. Not both. Many in academe are the latter.
US Communists Admit Obama Win Was a Turning Point in Our History [*81]
“Trying to stifle debate on an important issue” [*82]
The state provides all [*83]
A Dangerous Dissent on Citizens United [*84]
UPDATE on today’s latest attacks on us at Daily Kos [*85]
QUESTION: WHAT IS SHE UP TO? [*86]
It’s official. We have our own gremlin, assigned to us by the DNC. His name is Eamonn and he likes watching Simpsons in his underoos while eating macaroni [*87]
Stunned Wall Street Firms Don’t Want War With Obama (Update1) [*88] — Unfortunately for them, it only takes one side to make a war, and the Democrats need a villain . . . again . . .
TROLL DISSECTION 101: How to break apart a concern troll’s posting like it’s made of astroturf and Legos [*89]
BARACK THE VOTE: A Who’s Who of Those Targeting Our Youth [*90]
Bagged by the Food Police [*91]
Wall Street shocked, shocked that former community organizer demonizes wealthy [*92]

3.5: Media bias–and incompetence:
Chris Matthews: “I Forgot He Was Black Tonight For an Hour” (Video) [*93] — Why does this guy have a job on a national cable TV network?
The McClatchy Co., the owner of The Kansas City Star, reports better earnings[*94] — When you’ve got (at least) $875 million in debt and you managed to earn $25 million in the fourth quarter, I can see that you have a problem . . . but at least you earned money . . .

3.6: Fear The ‘Cuda–A spotlight on Citizen Palin, who really needs to find a better phrase than “Common-sense conservatism” to describe her philosophy:
Conservatives 4 Palin [*95] –Semi-permanent link for Palinmania . . .

3.7: “Global warming” aka “Climate change” — or should that be “Climate Reform?” Whatever it is, this theory’s dead. It just doesn’t know it yet:
More Global Warming Claims Debunked [*96]
Heading for the exits [*97]
Obama Is No Kennedy: Redefines NASA’s Mission As Global Warming [*98] — Space exploration? That’s sooooo Twentieth Century!
Floating Islands [*99] — Or, No, CO2 is NOT responsible for Tuvalu and the Maldives “sinking.”

3.8: Health care “reform” aka health insurance “reform” — or should that be health care “change?” Perhaps “Global healthing?:
Health Care Reform Vaporizes Obama Presidency [*100]

3.9: The Economy:
It’s Time to Turn to Innovation, Competition to Spur Economy [*101] — Government programs won’t turn it around . . . the guy or gal in your mirror every morning will . . .
CBO Baseline Shows Staggering Debt [*102] — Maybe I should start a “We are Well and Truly Screwed” section . . .

3.10: Foreign affairs and National Security:
The Pundits Join the Revolution [*103]
U.S. Military Operations in Haiti: A Brief Synopsis [*104]

Contributed by: filbert Thursday, January 28 2010 @ 07:54 AM CST

From The Road To Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek, 1944, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, 1994, The University of Chicago Press.

If we remember why planning is advocated by most people, can there be much doubt that this power would be used for the ends of which the authority approves and to prevent the pursuits of the ends which it disapproves?

Excerpted under Fair Use for purposes of non-commercial education, discussion and comment. Any transcription or typographical errors are mine.