by Smitty
This is way off:
Occupying Jupiter would take work, or something st00p3d like that. Via MNR.
Ironic: OWS Protesters Complain About Homeless Not Pulling Their Weight
Update: Paco-lanche!
Cain Seeks to Satisfy Foreign Policy Snobs
Alex Pappas and Jamie Weinstein of the Daily Caller report:
Almost every day, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is handed a one-page briefing from his chief foreign policy adviser on news from around the world.
It’s one of several things his campaign says the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, who has never held elective office before, is now doing to bone up on foreign policy — especially as he faces a big test in November at a GOP debate on national security issues.
“He’s really getting up to speed a lot more so than people give him credit for,” J.D. Gordon, Cain’s foreign policy and national security adviser who prepares the briefings, said in an interview with The Daily Caller on Monday.
When Alex sent me the article this morning, I replied: “Good Lord! A one-page briefing? Just read the NY Times at breakfast!” The article continues:
“I have no idea what Mr. Cain’s views are other than being generally pro-Israel,” said Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, who served as a deputy national security adviser for President George W. Bush.
“He needs to say a lot more to be a serious candidate for Commander in Chief,” Abrams said. “He has been far too casual about this subject and does not seem to be taking seriously his need to explain his views.”
This is what I’ve previously described as the Cult of Experts, “a widespread attitude within the foreign policy/national security elite that expertise is essential in all such matters.” Expertise being the foreign policy specialist’s stock in trade, he esteems others insofar as they are themselves experts, or else demonstrate a seemly deference to such expertise.
But how’s that workin’ for ya? It was experts like Ken Adelman who assured us Iraq would be a “cakewalk.” And as I’ve pointed out, John McCain brought a lifetime of national-security policy expertise to his 2008 campaign, and what good did it do him, politically?
Nevertheless, the thing is what it is, and Cain must therefore spend time acquiring sufficient awareness of these issues in order not to look foolish during the Nov. 15 CNN debate at sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and AEI. Let’s hope Cain’s briefings include the latest from Vanuatu, “Linchpin of the South Pacific.”
Rep. Allen West Ecstatic About Iraq Withdrawal–Oh, Wait: He Says It Sucks
by Smitty
He is categorically against pretty much everything BHO has done, except for greenlighting the snuffing of Osama. Pure, red, foreign policy meat.
Oh, and Rep. West isn’t a fan of #OccupyWallStreet, either. Can’t we all just get along, Rep. West?
Oh no Rep. West is not a 9-9-9 supporter. He wants reform, but more evolution than revolution. I disagree with Rep. West here: we need less taxing power in DC.
If you need a picker-upper, click to watch at PJTV:
Update: Surber-lanche!
‘Two Nationally Known GOP Insiders’
Thus does Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post describe Nelson Warfield and Curt Anderson, who have been brought aboard Team Perry in a campaign overhaul. Another money quote:
Perry’s original staff seemed not to appreciate that running for president was a fundamentally different task than running for reelection in a deep red state.
No duh. I noticed Rubin’s item because she cited my mockery of Anderson’s faux-populist rhetoric in August. Monday’s headlines about the attempt to restart the Perry bandwagon:
Perry shuffles campaign team
— Texas Monthly
Rick Perry ads start Tuesday in Iowa
— Politico
You could read those articles, or you could look at the latest polls:
Iowa …………………. Perry 6% (6th Place)
New Hampshire … Perry 2% (7th Place)
South Carolina ….. Perry 12% (3rd Place)
Florida ……………… Perry 3% (4th Place)
Nevada ……………… Perry 5% (5th Place)
Keep in mind that on Sept. 13, Perry led the Real Clear Politics national poll average with 31.8% — a 12-point lead over Mitt Romney. Can the Perry bubble be re-inflated? I dunno. You can buy a lot with $15 million, and even the MSM are finally noticing that Herman Cain’s campaign lacks anything remotely resembling an effective “ground game” in the early states. (But don’t get me started on that.)
So let’s suppose a mini-revival for Perry. Can he recover from single-digit poll numbers in so many early states? I don’t say that’s impossible, but I remind you of my Aug. 9 warning:
What I fear will happen is that Perry will spend several months sucking up media oxygen and burning through GOP donor cash, only to collapse early next year. This will have the effect of suffocating other conservative candidates, and thereby lead to … Romney 2012.
LIVE AT FIVE – 10.25.11
— compiled by Wombat-socho
TOP NEWS
NTC: Gaddafi Buried In Secret Desert Grave
Latest reports indicate the corpse was buried at dawn
Obama Mingles With Celebrities As He Steps Up Fundraising
Tapping star donors and pressing the flesh with the stars
Rescue Workers Work Against Time To Find Quake Survivors
Thousands still missing under rubble as winter moves in
POLITICS
The Fix Is In At The Boston Herald
Feckless hack takes one fundraiser and Perry’s party loyalty to represent GOP electorate
Judge Blocks Florida’s Welfare Drug Test Law
Voters With Housing Woes Giving Up On Politicians
Perry’s Plan Calls For Flat Tax With Some Popular Deductions For Those Under $500K
Cain Says Willingness To Admit Mistakes Is Presidential
Senate Terminates Farm Subsidies For Millionaires
Bachmann Fires Back At Accusations By Former Staffers
THE ECONOMY, STUPID
A Guide To Administration’s New Mortgage Relief Plan
Investors Jittery As Euro Debt Summit Approaches
Banks Clash With Lawmakers On Greek Aid As Bond Losses Loom
Netflix Subscriber Loss Worse Than Forecast, Shares Plunge
US Stock Futures Edge Up As Europe, Caterpillar Lift Sentiment
FedEx Plans To Hire 20,000 Seasonal Workers
Wall Street Merchants Say Protests Throttle Sales, Threaten Jobs
Steve Jobs Told Cook: Don’t Ask “WWSD?”
Assange Says Cash-Starved Wikileaks May Close
iPod Creator’s Next Quest: Making Thermostats Sexy
Happy Birthday! Windows XP Is Ten Years Old
Amazon Profit May Fall By Half As Kindle Fire Squeezes Margins
More Than Half Of Tablet Users Check The News On Their Devices, But Few Want To Pay
SPORTS
Rangers Power Through Game Five Slop To Take Lead In Series
Napoli’s double gives Rangers 4-2 win in game full of errors, misplays, goofs and miscommunications
NBA Set To Cancel Two More Weeks Of Season
Jagr Busts Out With Two-Goal Game For Flyers
Jaguars Hold The Line, Beat Ravens 12-7
NCAA Backs Plan To Pay Athletes $2000
India’s Inaugural F1 Race: Speeding Past The Poor
Missouri Not Quite Ready To Bid Big 12 Goodbye
FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Robin Williams Gets Married
Third time a charm for comedian?
Demi Visits Ashton On “Two And A Half Men” Set
Teen Bride Courtney & Hubby Kicked Out Of Pumpkin Patch
Ben Affleck To Direct Matt Damon, Casey Affleck In Whitey Bulger Mob Saga
Giuliana Rancic Returns To E! After Double Lumpectomy
SNL Star Darrell Hammond Admits Crack Addiction, Alcoholism In New Book
Rihanna Spends $1500 In Sex Shop
Madge’s Hobo Bro Wants No Help
Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter Offer “Akira”
FOREIGNERS
Hurricane Rina Grows Near Central America
US Withdraws Ambassador To Syria; Southern Strike Spreads
Thai Floodwaters Threaten To Overwhelm Bangkok As Levee Work Slows
Moderate Islamist Party Headed For Victory In Tunisia
EU Referendum: PM Cameron Loses Control Of Backbenchers In Biggest Tory Rebellion Over Union
Somalia’s President Says Kenyan Offensive Not Welcome
Kirchner’s “Eternal” Issue
BLOGS & STUFF
Rick Perry: My Tax And Spending Reform Plan
Jawa Report: Gadhafi Sodomized Before Execution
Weasel Zippers: #OES sympathizer Creates “I’m Getting Arrested” App To Help Protesters Avoid Police
NRO Corner: Romney. Perry Camps Spar Over Medical Benefits Given To Illegals
Gateway Pundit: 14-Year-Old Raped At OccupyDallas Encampment
Pat Dollard: Administration Approves Of Strict Sharia Law For Libya
Hot Air: In SC, Desperate Wasserman-Schultz Turns To “Little Democrats”
Jihad Watch: Libya’s NTC Lifts Ban On Polygamy, Bans Collecting Interest
American Thinker: Love, Or Something Like It, Blooms At The #OWS Barricades
SOTD: Hiroshima Mon Amour
The Other Smoker Chosen For Cain Ad: Small Animal Near Stacy Hardest Hit
by Smitty
Great ad, but the smoking at the end makes little sense, except to floutaunt the rules. And if you’re going to do that, why not play the Ladd Ehlinger card?
via HotAir.
Update: Sissy ‘Lanche!
Update II: Linked at The Camp of the Saints and Herman Cain PAC.
Update III: My genius recognized by Troglopundit!
The Non-Barking Dog Of Federalism
by Smitty
Why I can’t help but admire large swaths of Ron Paul’s ideas:
Ron Paul told host David Gregory that he would abolish federal student loans. . .
All of those students must claim a state for residency. Why. The. [Ahem]. are states not taking care of their own citizens? Well, clearly the federal government can cause money to appear much more readily. Given the moral hazards an unintended consequences of decades of this, it is high time that We The People call ‘nonsense’ on this.
Many miles away something crawls to the surface of a dark Scottish lake. . .
Mitt Romney defended his conservative bona fides today, insinuating that some mistook his lack of “outlandish … rhetoric” for a lack of conservative beliefs.
“I don’t know on which issue I’m not conservative,” he told Sean Hannity in a radio interview. Romney cited what he had done as governor of Massachusetts — balancing the state budget annually, increasing school accountability and education choice, and increasing the state’s rainy day fund — as proof he was conservative. “I think my record is as conservative as you’ll find,” he said. Alluding to the health-care program he signed into law, Romney noted that Newt Gingrich had conceded during the last debate that he had supported an individual mandate at one point.
And he pointed out that he had been elected in a very Democratic state: “I think people recognize that when you’re elected in a dark-blue state like Massachusetts … a conservative like me is playing an away game,” Romney remarked, noting also his efforts on abortion and traditional marriage.
Romney did identify one way in which he differs from some of his GOP rivals: “I may not be as incendiary or outlandish in rhetoric.”
Shag your rhetoric, mister: it’s your results that have people wondering if you’re packing the gear, or Yet. Another. Ruling. Class. Knob.
Instead of a 59 point plan to vulcanize a dead cat so that it bounces more, just tell us what federal agencies you plan to snuff. Because really, if you’re not whacking some bureaucracy with a Big Fancy Hammer, then you’re just shining us on.
Computer Scientist John McCarthy, RIP
by Smitty
Via Tech Crunch:
The creator of Lisp and arguably the father of modern artificial intelligence, John McCarthy, died today. He studied mathematics with the famous John Nash at Princeton and, notably, held the first “computer-chess” match between scientists in the US and the USSR. He transmitted the moves by telegraph.
McCarthy believed AI should be interactive, allowing for a give and take similar to AI simulators like Eliza and, more recently, Siri. His own labs were run in an open, free-wheeling fashion, encouraging exploration and argument. He won the Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery in 1972 and the National Medal of Science in 1991.
Lisp (List Processing) is one of those initial revolutionary ideas. Whoever does not understand LISP, is doomed to reinvent it, as they say. In my opinion, McCarthy was more important than Steve Jobs.
One anticipates a coffin consisting of a pair of giant parenthesis.
Heaven rest him.