Conservative And Cool
I apologize from the top. I’ve long said, (and no doubt been oft quoted), Conservatives (Big C) cannot, cannot, CANNOT do cool. No matter how they try, they just don’t get the notion. And we’re not even going to start talking about humor. You thought Clint Eastwood’s schtick was funny? You . . . what?...
Paying Attention In Kindergarten
Okay, I confess. I’m a Redistributionist. (I know, so was Robin Hood.) The fundamental difference between me and Mr. Hood, (never mind the green tights and the arrows), is that Robin was a Post-Tax-Redistributionist. I however — and by notable contrast — am a Tax-Based-Redistributionist. Big difference. Most of us learned about redistributionism while we...
Caution – Fat Lady Singing
Well, it’s time to roll out the ol’ “One bad apple” aphorism again. Apparently there exists a recent study from a small group of researchers connected to Stanford University — an otherwise somewhat reputable institution — that raises more than a few eyebrows everywhere. What were they thinking? In case you blinked, these researchers...
Mispronunciations When Everybody Wore Hats
Again I peruse the nifty little book my oldest son gifted me, 18,000 Words Often Mispronounced, and again I’m reminded that most errors of this sort would take care of themselves if people practiced something I learned in flight school: Attention to detail. In other words, if people would actually pay better attention when...
Double, Double Toil And Trouble
I want to highlight something from this recent New York Times article: “Thirty years ago, when Forbes published its first Forbes 400, a net worth of $75 million would get you on the list. Today it takes $1.1 billion. In the last year alone, the cumulative net worth of the wealthiest 400 people, by Forbes’s...
Punctuation
My oldest son reminded me recently, “There are three kinds of people in the world: Those who can count, and those who can’t.” Now reminded, let me add, “There are two kinds of punctuation in the world: The kind that helps, and the other kind.” I was having a discussion about punctuation a few...
The Federal Teat
Mr. Romney (and his minions) like to portray all the non-tax-payers as moochers and sponges, sucking on the Federal Teat? Thank you, Ayn Rand, for showing us the Way. Interesting. Let’s have a quick look, shall we, at where all those teat-sucking moochers live? A test: The vast majority of tax modifications that resulted...
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep
Sleep. A bit of background. I can’t remember the last time I slept for eight hours straight. Or six. Or even four. I generally get 1 ½ to 2 hours at a time, (long story, old injury), but I almost always wake up feeling completely rested. I don’t nap during the day, but I...
Mitt & His Gosh Darned Taxes
Mitt Is Overpaying His Taxes – For Now, by Josh Barro. “Today, the Romney campaign released a summary of Mitt Romney’s tax returns since 1990 and his 2011 tax return. The most striking part of the announcement is that Romney chose to forego $1.75 million in charitable deductions available to him in 2011 in...
GOP Politics . . . The Spectator Sport
This has been a really tough week for Mitt Romney. And it’s only Tuesday. Oh well. I have to agree with Shrum, in this article, about the GOP coming off their political rails. Think about this for a moment. The people currently in charge, (i.e. Tea Party), are rabidly conservative. They actually don’t disagree with...
Missed Opportunity
Four Americans killed at the temporary American consulate/embassy in Libya this week. Mitt Romney — ever the class act — in the midst of the attack, but before the deaths, attacked the President of the United States and condemned the actions of the Obama Administration. Not exactly what I’d call statesman-like behavior. Quotes For...
Function 920
Welcome to the Congressional Budget. No, I’m not a government policy wonk. Truth be told, crunching through congressional budget numbers is one of my definitions of hell. That being said, it’s worth noting that there are folks in and about Congress who anticipate citizen apathy toward all things budgetary, and they plan accordingly. Actually, when...
Rugged Individualism
Rugged individualism. Way back long ago when I listened to Rush Limbaugh … yes, I was a Conservative (Big C) once, damn my eyes … I would hear that phrase quite regularly. Rush likes to think of himself that way. Rugged, and an individual. Doing things his way. Ruggedly. It’s funny, but I tend...
Shooting An Elephant
When the white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom he destroys. Shooting An Elephant, by George Orwell. Amazing, isn’t it? Intellectual tyranny. That is, the disconnect between what some profess and truly think their Reality belief is, and the real Reality they embrace by practice and behavior; the stuff that burbles and oozes...
Why It Matters
— I occasionally choose to exhume older posts, simply as a reminder. This one is from April 18, 2011 — Most of you reading this post … I’m assuming a few of you actually do read this … are too young to be personally concerned with things like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. But you...
Take the Fork in the Road
For those of you with a philosophical turn, I’m passing along an interesting read about two veils: Opulence and Ignorance. One could substitute veils with a fork in the road, I suppose; the point being, having to choose between two, different but unknowable outcomes. Imagine . . . Road #1: A mighty wizard whisks...
Living in Interesting Times
There’s an old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. I mention this because of our old pal, Willard. He, for the very first time since announcing he wants to be CEO … President of the United States, has finally, at long last, made our times quite interesting by making a substantive statement....
