The Other McCain

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

How Can Any Conservative Support Caylee’s Law?

Posted on | July 12, 2011 | 27 Comments

by Smitty

Newton’s Fourth Law:

For every tragic action, there is a correspondingly idiotic, bureaucratic jerk of the knee, whose only real effects are to throw liberty further off balance, and make it a still easier prey for lawyers.

From Volokh:

The recent controversial acquittal of Casey Anthony has stimulated efforts in many states to enact “Caylee’s Law” as a response. The law would require parents to report a missing child to the authorities within 24 hours, and the death of a child within 1 hour. If they fail to do either, they would be guilty of a felony (a federal one if the law is enacted by Congress).

Let this be a campaign point. Let a thousand attack ads flourish against any politician sponsoring legislation that is pure emotional pandering, and which is more despicable than the evil act which spawned the legislation.

Category: Uncategorized

‘An Emerging Awareness’

Posted on | July 12, 2011 | 28 Comments

The New York Times on the slippery-slope beat:

Kody Brown is a proud polygamist, and a relatively famous one. Now Mr. Brown, his four wives and 16 children and stepchildren are going to court to keep from being punished for it. . . .
On Wednesday, the Browns are expected to file a lawsuit to challenge the polygamy law.
The lawsuit is not demanding that states recognize polygamous marriage. Instead, the lawsuit builds on a 2003 United States Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down state sodomy laws as unconstitutional intrusions on the “intimate conduct” of consenting adults. It will ask the federal courts to tell states that they cannot punish polygamists for their own “intimate conduct” so long as they are not breaking other laws, like those regarding child abuse, incest or seeking multiple marriage licenses.

And the majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, as quoted in Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent:

“[W]e think that our laws and traditions in the past half century are of most relevance here. These references show an emerging awareness that liberty gives substantial protection to adult persons in deciding how to conduct their private lives in matters pertaining to sex.”

What can we say when such an awareness just suddenly starts emerging? And what possible objection can any liberal voice in the matter, without attempting to “impose morality” on Kody Brown and his wives?


Category: Marriage, Supreme Court, Utah

‘They Aren’t Sitting on Their Sofas Trying to Fill a Quota on a Content Farm’

Posted on | July 12, 2011 | 23 Comments

And “thank God” for that, says laid-off journalist-turned-blogger Susannah Breslin:

This is what the state of journalism is today: a mess.

Tell it, sister! The expression “content farm” would describe, inter alia, Demand Media, which reportedly pays as little as $15 per article for freelance contributions. At that rate, you could write 30 articles a month and collect $450. PBS did a story about “content farms” last year.

Yesterday, Ladd Ehlinger Jr. actually suggested we should create a different kind of “content farm,” after the model of HuffPo’s write-for-free deal to bloggers: Hey, kiddies, here’s your chance to be published on a big fancy name-brand site and “get your name out there.”

But I explained to Ladd that (a) I couldn’t stand the vast negative karma we would accrue by rolling that way, and (b) working with volunteer contributors brings with it the essential problem of all volunteer organizations, namely that you can’t fire anybody: “You’ve screwed up once too often! You’re fired! No more writing for free!” Read more

Category: Blogging, Journalism

LIVE AT FIVE – 07.12.11

Posted on | July 12, 2011 | 8 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho
TOP NEWS
Obama Presses, But Boehner Stands Firm

Pelosi, Boehner, Obama and Reid

House GOP unimpressed by scary talk about debt defaults; not going to roll over and “eat their peas” on President’s tax hike proposal, either



US Accuses Syria Of Unleashing Attacks On Embassies
Syrian troops stood by, did nothing


Secretary Clinton: Pakistan Must Cooperate To Ensure Military Aid
Could halt in aid push Pakis further into the arms of the PRC?



POLITICS
Gingrich: GOP Can’t Win Without The TEA Party

Newt Gingrich answers questions in Pella, Iowa

Says he’s in it to the end, but social conservatives are unimpressed by his refusal to sign Family Leader pledge

Proposal To Split California On Again


Court Tells Administration To Clarify Stance On Gays In The Military

FBI Probes How Stun Gun Got Onto Jet Blue Flight

Alan Grayson Running For Congress Again

Incandescent Bulbs Defended By House GOP Against Obama Opposition



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Euro Falls To Four-Month Low Against Yen On Italy Concerns
Shareholders Sue News Corp. Over Phone Hacking Scandal
Cisco May Cut 5000 Jobs In August
Crude From SPR Fetches Up To $109 A Barrel
Peoples’ Bank Of China Tries To Assuage Fears Over Local Debt In PRC
Dunkin’ Baking Up $461 Million Stock Offer
Amazon Seeks Ballot Measure To Repeal California Tax
HP Realigns PC Unit With Eye Toward Increasing WebOS Sales
Smell The Fear: Apple Sues HTC Again
AntiSec Claims To Have Stolen Military E-Mail Addresses, Passwords
Google Books Partners With An e-Reader: The iRiver Story HD



SPORTS
Yankees’ Robinson Cano Wins Home Run Derby

Robinson Cano celebrates his victory in the Home Run Derby

Edges Red Sox’ Adrian Gonzalez 32-31 in third round

US Women Making World Cup A Hot Topic Again, Just Like 1999

All-Star Game A Matter Of Pride For Kansas City

ESPN Sues Ohio State Over Public Records Request

Top Picks May Take Big Hit In Any NFL Deal

All-Star Game Dropouts Fuel Concern About Process



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
So Sarge, I Hear You’ve Got A Hot Date For The Marine Ball…

Yes he did - and Mila Kunis is going to the Marine Ball. 🙂

The original invitation
Mila says yes!

An Open Letter To LA Times Writer Patt Morrison

Brooke Mueller Back On Crack?

“Jersey Shore” Official Italian Portrait

Drunken, Jobless Actor Trashes Letterman’s Theater

“Celebrity Rehab” On Indefinite Hiatus

New Rebecca Black Single “My Moment” Release July 18

Sissy Spacek Approves Of Lindsay Lohan For “Carrie” Remake

Johnny Depp And Disney Team Up For “Night Stalker” Movie



FOREIGNERS
Russia Begins Investigation Into Volga River Cruise Disaster
As Ramadan Approaches, Libyan Rebels Worry About Mounting Odds
Drone Missile Spree Kills 30 Jihadis In Pakistan
Israel Airport Protest Fizzles; Twelve Await Deportation To UK



BLOGS & STUFF
Allahpundit: Boehner – Let’s Face It, Obama’s In Re-election Mode
Troglopundit: One Last Post About The Federal Budget (And The Payroll Tax In Particular)
PJ Tatler: The Collision Of Narcissism And Reality
JustOneMinute: Pretty Ambitious Kabuki
The Lonely Conservative: Michelle Obama’s 1500-Calorie Lunch
Moe Lane: We Shall Have Alan Grayson To Kick Around Some More
The Jawa Report: When Do We Start Bombing Pakistan Back To The Stone Age?
Verum Serum: Liberals Love Free Speech Like Fish Love Bicycles (Video)
Marginal Revolution: The Great Fiction
Weasel Zippers: Obama Says Job Losses “Evidence” The Stimulus Worked


UPDATE: Instalanche!

Category: Live at Five

Vadum: Obama Administration Gave ACORN More Than $500,000 This Year

Posted on | July 11, 2011 | 10 Comments

Investigative reporter Matthew Vadum is author of the new book, Subversion, Inc.: How Obama’s ACORN Red Shirts are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers, and he just broke another huge scoop. Having previously reported that ACORN got $80,000 in federal funding despite a congressional ban, it now turns out the actual number was much, much bigger:

I discovered Obama’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave ACORN another $461,086 in January. The funds were earmarked for ACORN Housing Corp. in January under HUD’s Self-help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), according to the government website USAspending.gov.
In order words, the Obama administration gave fraud-ridden ACORN nearly a half million dollars to be used on housing development.
The administration isn’t even trying to conceal the fact that it gave this money to ACORN.
USAspending.gov identifies the recipient as “ACORN Housing Corporation Inc.” even though that nonprofit entity filed papers last year legally changing its name to Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA).
The website also provides the address of record for ACORN Housing as 1024 Elysian Fields Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana. That’s the renovated funeral home that until recently served as headquarters for ACORN’s 370-plus shady affiliates.
This means the Obama administration has given at least $540,905 in taxpayer money to ACORN this calendar year alone.

Read the whole thing. And be sure to buy his new book!

Category: ACORN, Barack Obama, Corruption

Stupid Is Seven Feet Tall

Posted on | July 11, 2011 | 3 Comments

Yes, I’m talking about Troglopundit:

In 1988, I voted for Sen. Paul Simon (D-Illinois) in the Democrats’ presidential primary.

There are still a lot of dumb people in Wisconsin. But it was much worse before Sean Hackbarth moved to Washington, D.C.

Category: Troglopundit, Wisconsin

Democrat Janice Hahn’s Mother Dies on Eve of CA-36 Special Election
UPDATE: Poll Shows ‘Obama Fatigue’?

Posted on | July 11, 2011 | 28 Comments

Los Angeles Times:

Ramona Hahn, the wife of the late county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn and the mother of both former Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn and City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, died Monday at the age of 86.
Ramona Hahn’s death came toward the end of Janice Hahn’s race for Congress in Tuesday’s extremely contentious special election.

R.I.P.

UPDATE: Sacramento Bee:

“We understand that Janice needs to be with her family, but the campaign will move forward–as her mother would have wanted,” Hahn campaign advisor John Shallman said in a statement. “Ramona was very proud of and always supportive of Janice. She was looking forward to seeing her daughter sworn in as the next Congresswoman of the 36th District. We will work very hard to make that dream a reality.”

When Ladd Ehlinger Jr. called to tell me the news, my instant reaction was: “It’s over. Sympathy vote.” That’s a cruel, hard, cynical way to react to the death of someone’s 86-year-old mother, but politics is a cruel, hard cynical business.

The objective political reality is that the death of Ramona Hahn kills whatever hope there was that Republican Craig Huey could win this election. The local news broadcasts in L.A. tonight will feature stirring tributes to the life of Ramona Hahn, and it will be front-page news in tomorrow’s L.A. Times.

That’s just the way it is, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise.

UPDATE II: Now a Memeorandum thread.

UPDATE III: The Fightin’ Ewok:

But don’t throw in the towel — not a lot of public politicking was going to happen tonight, anyway. I hear it’s closer than advertised.
And see Turn Right for why this matters.

You can’t beat a Fightin’ Ewok. He doesn’t even know how to spell “defeat.” Mainly because he’s always been lousy at spelling, but . . .

UPDATE IV: Thanks to the reader who tipped me on an interesting item from a liberal poll about the CA-36 campaign:

Daily Kos/SEIU CA-36 Poll
Public Policy Polling, 619 Likely Voters, MoE 3.9%, July 8, 2011 – July 10, 2011
Do you approve or disapprove of President Barack Obama’s job performance?
ONLY 44 % Approve of Obama per liberal democrat poll in a Democrat +12 District & 64% voted Obama in 2008
Independent Approval of Obama @ 32%
Hispanic Approvalof Obama @ 44%
18 / 29 Approval of Obama @ 50%

Could it be that the failure of Obama to deliver on promises to his progressive base — as well as the moribund condition of California’s economy — has created “Obama fatigue” in CA-36?

If his approval number is only 44% in a district which he carried by 64% three years ago . . .

Well, it is a fact that Hahn’s cutthroat tactics against fellow Democrat Debra Bowen alienated many of Bowen’s liberal supporters:

“And [Hahn’s] campaign played rough with Debra Bowen,” Huey told HUMAN EVENTS, “and she has never endorsed Hahn in the runoff.”  The GOP hopeful went on to note that “we have more than 5,000 yard signs throughout the district, and many of them are in Democratic neighborhoods.” 

Not to encourage foolish hopes, but if Huey somehow wins this one, it would be a cataclysmic event.

UPDATE V: Linked by Penguin Pundit — thanks!

Category: California, Democrats, Election

Dying on Deadline: Fear, Loathing and a Frank Confession of Professional Failure

Posted on | July 11, 2011 | 65 Comments

Barbara Espinosa of American Freedom called Sunday evening, wanting to take out an ad for her “Hair on Fire” radio show on KFNX 1100-AM in Phoenix. She sent me the graphic, and when I saw it my thought was: Great. A two-column square.

Because I don’t have a two-column space anywhere on the sidebars, nor do I have the necessary code skills to customize the template and create such a space.

Failure. Again.

It was probably either Vince Lombardi or George S. Patton who said, “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you . . . a loser.”

Being an intensively competitive personality is a sine qua non of success in the news business, which is why every newsroom is a seething cauldron of thwarted ambition. Nobody goes into journalism aspiring to be the guy who proofreads obituaries, but somebody has to do that job, and if you don’t strive constantly to win, win, win in the news business, you’re gonna lose, lose, lose until one day you find yourself proofing obits.

Failure cannot be rationalized or excused or tolerated. If you are assigned a story and fail to get the story — if you miss the deadline — the time you spent pursuing that story cannot be retrieved. Your salary that day was just wasted money for the publisher. It therefore behooves you to avoid failure, to view every assignment as a do-or-die mission: Get the story, and get it in time, or get the hell out of the business.

Lately, the do-or-die has been more about dying than doing, and the question that has haunted me in recent weeks is this: Am I suffering from depression — a mood disorder — or is my sense of utter failure an objective assessment of reality? Read more

Category: Blogging, Journalism
« go back — keep looking »

    About

    This is an area on your website where you can add text. This will serve as an informative location on your website, where you can talk about your site.

    Subscribe to our feed

    Search

    Admin