The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Jet Lag Blues

Posted on | June 3, 2014 | 17 Comments

— Wombat-socho


Apologies for the lack of Live At Five this morning, or even the token offering of In The Mailbox, but after being up since 0300 in order to make my 6 AM flight to Las Vegas, I was in no position to give either of those posts their due justice. However, before I saunter down Fremont Street to my doom at the Heart Attack Grill, I thought I should at least mention a few books that are worth your attention – or maybe not.


Matthew Harrington is probably best known for his contributions to various Man-Kzin War anthologies, and for his collaboration with Larry Niven, The Goliath Stone, which is an amusing story about nanobots, human evolution, space exploration, and a few other things. He has an anthology out, The Original Uncut SOUL SURVIVOR: and other stories in which he displays not just the quirky humor in evidence from his other works, but tenderness, passion, and a few other things you might not have expected if all you’d seen were the aforementioned stories about Kzin and mad scientists. Most anthologies, I’m happy if half the stories are good; this one runs considerably higher than that, and is a steal for $4 on the Kindle. Buy it now before he or his agent recover their senses! Better yet, borrow it first from the Amazon Prime Lending Library, and then buy it so he gets a double dip of royalties. 😉

In David Drake’s most recent RCN novel, The Sea Without a Shore, Adele Mundy moves beyond being the Deadliest Librarian in the Universe and develops her aristocratic/diplomatic talents to solve what at first seems like an impossible set of tasks, even for the Unstoppable Force of Daniel Leary and his signals officer. If Drake ever stops writing these, I may have to start reading the Aubrey/Maturin novels, which I understand they’re modeled on.

Also worth your time is an oldie but goodie, Steven Brust’s Brokedown Palace (no relation to the drug movie of the same name) which is an offshoot of his Vlad Taltos novels, which I started reading and then stopped for no good reason I can remember. Anyhow, it’s an interesting fantasy about four princes living in a decaying palace in an out-of-the-way kingdom, and well worth your time.

And then there’s Robert Conroy’s 1920: America’s Great War. This account of a German/Mexican invasion of California and Texas gets 4/5 from Amazon reviewers, but it left me cold; individually, each of the factors that leads to the book’s conclusion are plausible, but when you lump them all together, it blew out the suspension on my disbelief. Too many things go right at just the right time, and even the things that go wrong turn out not to be so bad in the end.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a Single Bypass Burger, or maybe two. Pictures will be posted in the burger post later this week. 🙂


Category: Books

Call Me Old-Fashioned, But …

Posted on | June 3, 2014 | 48 Comments

. . . as the father of six children, the standard method of procreation has always seemed to me both efficient and fun.

Others, however, consider the natural way of baby-making to be too messy and unscientific, and so Progress demands a Brave New World of “reproductive technology,” about which Alexis Madigral of The Atlantic enthusiastically cheers. Synthetic gametes? Excuse my skepticism, Doctor Frankenstein, but I still prefer the messy natural way.

 

Category: Science, Sex

Victor Davis Hanson Nails It

Posted on | June 3, 2014 | 26 Comments

by Smitty

Obama uses a host of emphatics (e.g., Period!, Let me be clear!, Make no mistake about it!) precisely because he seeks to accomplish in speech what he cannot do in fact.

Part of the recovery process for this country will be a renewed emphasis on seeing sermons, rather than hearing them.

Category: Barack Obama

‘Like a Plot Twist in a Faulkner Novel’

Posted on | June 3, 2014 | 25 Comments

ITAWAMBA COUNTY, Mississippi
Working from an enormous cabin in the middle of a 37-acre forest, it feels like I’m in a remote wilderness, although I’m actually just 15 miles from Tupelo. Our accommodations Monday night were graciously provided by a local Tea Party lady who knows Ali Akbar, and the mailing address here is Mantachie (population 1,107), but we’re outside the city limits, so the evocative “Itawamba County” was obviously a more appropriate dateline for my latest column:

State Sen. Chris McDaniel finished up an early morning campaign stop Monday by urging his supporters to “push like you’ve never pushed before” to get voters to the polls in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Polls show the Tea Party-backed challenger is neck-and-neck with incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran and turnout will be the decisive factor in a bitterly contested GOP fight that has drawn national attention.
“If we can unseat a 42-year incumbent, it will send shock waves through this country,” McDaniel told about 40 of his supporters who turned out for a breakfast meeting at Chick-fil-A in Tupelo.
The shock waves of a McDaniel victory would be a rebuke not only to the Republican establishment that has poured millions into Cochran’s re-election effort, but also to pundits who have been trying to write the obituary of the Tea Party movement. Regardless of the outcome Tuesday, the united effort of grassroots conservatives in the Mississippi primary have shown that the Tea Party is still very much alive, lifting up McDaniel — a young state senator previously unknown outside his district — to fight a down-to-the-wire campaign against a powerful incumbent with universal statewide name recognition. . . .

Please read the whole thing at The American Spectator.

Today we’ve got a four-hour drive back to Hattiesburg for what we hope will be a victory celebration tonight. Your prayers are most certainly welcome and, of course: Hit the freaking tip jar!

 

 

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Category: Election, Mississippi, Shoe Leather Fund, Tea Party

Can Chris McDaniel Close the Deal?

Posted on | June 2, 2014 | 47 Comments

TUPELO, Mississippi
About 40 supporters showed up at 8 a.m. to greet Chris McDaniel at Chick-fil-A here in one of the final stops of the conservative challenger’s campaign before Tuesday’s Republican primary.

“If we can unseat a 42-year incumbent, it will send shock waves through this country,” McDaniel told his supporters, encouraging them to “push like you’ve never pushed before” to drive turnout. And make no mistake: Turnout will decide the fate of that “42-year incumbent,” Sen. Thad Cochran. The latest polls show the race neck-and-neck, but the most important number is that no poll shows Cochran over 45% and, as every political professional knows, incumbents under 50% usually lose.

The fact that Chris McDaniel may be on the verge of victory in Mississippi is enormously frustrating to liberal Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, who can’t understand why the Cochran campaign couldn’t use the Weirdest Political Scandal Ever™ to sink McDaniel:

In short, Cochran’s team really should have been able to use this to bury McDaniel. And somehow they haven’t. Amazingly, McDaniel seems to have suffered little if any damage from it. The internals of the GOP poll clearly show that the reaction to the incident has been negative and that, when asked, people say it’s made them less likely to support McDaniel. But it just doesn’t seem to show through in the topline numbers.
Maybe Cochran’s time is just up. Perhaps the most telling number in the survey is “Do you support the goals and ideals of the Tea Party?” 55% say yes, 21% say no. That’s a very good number for McDaniel to work with.

Indeed, if a majority of Tuesday’s primary voters support the Tea Party, then McDaniel should win. After McDaniel’s event here at Chick-fil-A, Ali Akbar and I had a long talk with Tupelo Tea Party leader Grant Sowell. Like other McDaniel supporters, Sowell views the scandal — wherein a pro-McDaniel blogger sneaked into a nursing home to get video of Cochran’s invalid wife — as an unfortunate distraction from the real issues of the campaign. But speaking of real issues, there was (and is) a genuine scandal which the misguided bumbling blogger Clayton Kelly was trying to document, i.e.: Cochran’s relationship with his executive assistant Kay Webber.

No reporter in the mainstream media — either in Mississippi or nationally — will touch this story, although it seems to be something of an open secret that Cochran and Webber are living together in D.C., while Cochran’s wife vegetates in a nursing home. Matthew Boyle has reported that Webber accompanied Cochran on 33 foreign trips, so that we have the shameless spectacle of a married Republican senator abandoning his invalid wife and traveling the world with his reputed girlfriend.

And that, my friends, is a real scandal.

So if Josh Marshall or anyone else wonders why the Cochran campaign was unable to use the Clayton Kelly escapade to destroy McDaniel, the answer is: They couldn’t, because any serious reporting on the story would raise questions about Cochran’s rumored relationship with Webber. However, if somehow Cochran survives in Tuesday’s primary, then and only then would the mainstream media take a serious interest in that story. But I digress . . .

The real story is what Chris McDaniel said this morning to his supporters here at Chick-fil-A: “The most conservative state in the country needs the most conservative senator in the country” — and by any measure, Thad Cochran falls short of that goal.

Voters have been bombarded with a barrage of TV ads and, as usual in this kind of “nationalized” election — where big money and big media have swooped down on the state — most people are tired of the negativity and mudslinging and they’re just ready for it to be over.

Some of the naysayers in the comments on last night’s post were skeptical of McDaniel’s chances, but this election will hinge on turnout, and if Republican voters in Mississippi take their civic duty seriously, all the media spin and GOP Establishment money won’t be enough to save Thad Cochran. Pray for a McDaniel victory.

 

 

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Category: Election, Mississippi

LIVE AT FIVE: 06.02.14

Posted on | June 2, 2014 | 23 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Mixed Reaction To SGT Bergdahl’s Recovery For Those Who Consider Him A Deserter

Just how did Bergdahl wind up in the hands of the Taliban?

Anger in the ranks over his apparent desertion and the price paid to get him back
SecDef Hagel defends swap of terrorists for deserter

New EPA Rules Could Burn Coal State Democrats
EPA Proposes Cutting Power Plant Carbon Emissions By 30%


Co-Owner Of Philadelphia Inquirer Dies At 72
One of seven killed in Massachusetts plane crash



POLITICS
Hill Leader Vow Shinseki’s Resignation Won’t Dim Spotlight On VA

The Phoenix VA Medical Center – ground zero of the scandal

Bill to offer vets flexibility in health care

NSA Reportedly Collecting Millions Of Facial Images

California GOP Governor Primary In Dead Heat


Petition To Free Marine Sergeant Tahmooressi From Mexico Reaches 100K Signatures

Faux Activism: Recruiting Anti-Chevron Protesters For $85/Head

House Votes To Strip Funding From Justice Department’s “Operation Choke Point” That Targeted Legal Businesses

Minnesota GOP Endorses McFadden For Senate

Handel Endorses Kingston In Georgia GOP Senate Runoff



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Crude Falls On Month-End Profit-Taking: NYMEX $102.71, Brent $109.41
Asian Stocks Higher After Record Wall Street Close
Walmart Profits From Amazon Book Feud
PRC Manufacturing Rises To Five-Month High
100 Billion Clues That Small Business Lending Has Turned A Corner
Cheniere Energy Of Houston Signs LNG Deal With Spanish Firm
Google Gets 12,000 Removal Requests On First Day After EU Privacy Ruling
WhatsApp Returns To WinPhone Store With New Features In Tow
Google’s Smartphone Factory To Close During Sale Of Motorola To Lenovo
“Watch Dogs” Goes To Bollywood
Security Enthusiasts May Revive Encryption Tool After Mystery Shutdown



SPORTS
Kings Edge Blackhawks In OT 5-4

Marian Gaborik celebrates with Alec Martinez after scoring in the third period

Defending champs knocked out; Kings to face Rangers for the Stanley Cup

Spurs Eliminate Thunder, Rematch With Heat For Championship Looms

Jimmie Johnson Continues The Domination At Dover


Red Sox Win Seventh Straight, Blank Rays 4-0

Machado Ends Feldman’s Nightmare With Grand Slam: O’s Win 9-4

Twins Beat Robertson, Yankees In The 9th

Buehrle Is First In MLB With 10 Wins As Blue Jays Top Royals

Bourn’s Sayonara Shot Gives Tribe Win And Sweep Of Rockies

Roll Tide: #2 Alabama Upsets #1 Oregon At Women’s College World Series

McCutcheon Leads Pirates To 5-3 Scuppering Of Dodgers

Yu Did It: Darvish K’s 12 As Rangers Blank Nats 2-0



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Ann B. Davis Dies, 88

Good night, sweet princess

Best known for playing housekeeper Alice on The Brady Bunch

Police Investigating Another Break-in At Miley Cyrus’ Place

Video Emerges Of Justin Bieber Telling Racist Joke At 15, Everybody Loses Their Minds

Shock: Melissa Etheridge Marries A Woman

Infamous White Trash Shitlord Levi Johnson Spawns Again

Antoine Johnson: If My Son Is Gay I’ll Make Him Straight

Jason Kennedy Gets Engaged To Lauren Scruggs

Adam McKay Pulls Out Of “Ant-Man” Director Negotiations

Jaime Murray Marries Bernie Cahill

Tom Mison Marries Charlotte Coy



FOREIGNERS
Reserve Bank Of India Likely To Maintain Key Rate
Taliban’s Mullah Omar Celebrates Prisoner Swap Victory
Brussels Jewish Museum Murder Suspect Planned To Film Attack
Seven Dead After Russian Helicopter Crash Near Murmansk
Bomb At Nigerian Soccer Match Kills Forty
Sudan Backtracks On Promise To Release Woman Condemned To Death For Apostasy
Kuwaiti Emir Makes Landmark Visit To Iran
With Ukraine Crisis Cooling, Obama Sets Off To Soothe Europeans
Former Leftist Guerrilla Chief Sworn In As President Of El Salvador
Cameron Warns EU Britain’s Out If Juncker Gets Presidency
Junta Deploys Soldiers In Bangkok To Thwart Anti-Coup Protests
Hong Kong Protesters March In Advance Of Tienanmen Anniversary
Iraq’s May Death Toll Hits 800; Two-Thirds Of Casualties Civilians
Mary, Baroness Soames, Last Child Of Winston Churchill, Dies Aged 91



BLOGS & STUFF
III Percent Solution: Egregious Violation Of The Fourth Amendment
Boned Jello: Maybe The Most Viral Video Of 2014
American Power: Taliban IEDs Started Being Placed More Effectively After Bergdahl Desertion?
American Thinker: A Most Successful President
BLACKFIVE: Big Problems With Bergdahl Deal
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: More California Jobs Moving To…Canada?
Conservatives4Palin: Larry Elder – White People Be Playing The Race Card
Jammie Wearing Fools: White House Official On Bergdahl’s Possible Desertion – “Frankly We Don’t Give A S**t Why He Left”
Joe For America: History Teacher Suspended For Teaching History
JustOneMinute: Undercuts?
Pat Dollard: 3000 Muslims Enter Italy Illegally Within 24-Hour Span
Protein Wisdom: Obama Hits Suburbs After Election
Shot In The Dark: Mark Andrews’ Ninety Seconds Of Hate
The Jawa Report: Soldier Who Claims To Have Served With Bergdahl Casts Doubt On The Official Version
The Lonely Conservative: Where In The World Is Dan Maffei?
This Ain’t Hell: The Military Reaction To Bergdahl Is Not Charitable
Weasel Zippers: Rep. Tipton Accuses EPA Of “Greatest Water Grab We’ve Ever Seen By Federal Government”
Megan McArdle: Obama Blowing Smoke On New Emissions Rules


Category: Live at Five

Mississippi Update: Chris McDaniel Campaign Fights GOP Establishment

Posted on | June 1, 2014 | 36 Comments

HATTIESBURG, Mississippi
The final push of the Tea Party-backed fight to defeat Sen. Thad Cochran in the Republican primary brought big names to Mississippi this weekend in support of conservative challenger Chris McDaniel. Sarah Palin came to campaign for him Friday:

Had a great time today in the lovely Magnolia State rallying to elect Chris McDaniel to the U.S. Senate. It was wonderful meeting Chris’ beautiful family — and a special thank you to Chris’ son Cambridge for the gorgeous magnolia . . .
This Mississippi senate race is a clear case of We the People vs. the permanent political class in D.C. Many fellow conservatives like my friend Mark Levin have endorsed Chris because this is a crucial race for conservatives who know “the status quo has got to go” if we’re to get America on the right track. Chris is running for the right reasons with a positive conservative reform agenda to solve the problems facing our country. His priorities for government’s role in our lives are right on! Chris KNOWS we have to fight to put government back on our side, and he’s willing to fight for America as Mississippi’s new U.S. Senator!
The Mississippi primary is June 3rd, and the good people of the Magnolia State have the opportunity to remind America that we can and will restore our exceptional nation by electing conservative reformers like Chris McDaniel!
You can read more about Chris and support his campaign here: www.mcdaniel2014.com
– Sarah Palin

Matthew Boyle reports “a raucous audience of thousands” turned out for the Palin rally, where McDaniel took aim at the incumbent:

“Conservatives look at me for a moment, Republicans look at me for a moment: Name one fight that Sen. Thad Cochran has led against Barack Obama,” McDaniel said.
“Zero!” the crowd shouted, almost in unison. “None!” a woman near the front of the auditorium yelled.
McDaniel—feeding off the energy of the crowd—continued: “Sen. Mike Lee, he stands and fights for Utah. Sen. Rand Paul stands to fight for Kentucky. Sen. Ted Cruz stands to fight for Texas. Even a Governor from Alaska fights for us. It’s time for a son of Mississippi to stand and fight for us. I tell you, when Sen. Ted Cruz stood there that night and he laid his soul on the line for this government and for this country, we applauded him. When others joined him, Mike Lee and Rand Paul, we knew we had friends in Washington, D.C., finally. Reinforcements are coming.”
The thousands-strong crowd jumped to their feet to give McDaniel a standing ovation that lasted at least five seconds.
“Now it’s not that Sen. Cochran is a bad person,” McDaniel continued, cutting through the standing ovation. “I respect Sen. Cochran. I even like him, despite the attack ads. . . .”

Oh, yes: Attack ads — the Republican establishment is spending big money to smear Chris McDaniel, because destroying conservatives is what the Republican establishment is all about nowadays. Fortunately, conservatives are not easily deceived. The latest poll shows McDaniel with a narrow lead over the incumbent — 46%-44% — and Rick Santorum campaigned Saturday for McDaniel:

From the “sideline,” Rick Santorum had been keeping an eye on the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi and felt like State Sen. Chris McDaniel’s battle with six-term Sen. Thad Cochran looked like a fair fight.
“Then something happened here in the last few weeks that diverted attention away from that,” the 2012 presidential candidate said Saturday at a McDaniel rally in Diamondhead. “And when I saw that, I said you know what, they’re hiding the ball here. They’re hiding the ball and trying to make this race not about what’s important for our country and the next six years for the state of Mississippi, but they’re trying to make this about something else that has nothing to do with the two candidates.”
At that point, Santorum said he decided to jump in and back McDaniel with the primary just a few days out.

Yeah, the weirdest scandal in political history — caused by a blogger! — was an embarrassing distraction, but conservatives in Mississippi are still focused on “what’s important for our country,” and defeating Thad Cochran on Tuesday is the first step. How desperate is the incumbent? He’s running ads “explicitly calling on Democrats to cross party lines and vote in the GOP primary for Cochran.”

It’s time to beat these Establishment bastards. Beat the hell out of them. Tell ’em there is a limit beyond which we will not be pushed.

Got to be up early in the morning for a 4-hour drive to Tupelo.

 

 

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Category: Election, Mississippi

World’s Youngest Blogger Locates Something Many Thought Extinct

Posted on | June 1, 2014 | 25 Comments

Category: Barack Obama, humor, World's Youngest Blogger
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