The Other McCain

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

Al Bethke’s Baseball Philosophy

Posted on | April 13, 2011 | 3 Comments

In pursuit of answers to that Eternal Blogger Question — “How’s traffic doing today?” — I checked SiteMeter and saw that I’d been linked by Al Bethke, a Milwaukee Brewers fan who describes his blog thus:

If you are a believer in respecting [on-base percentage], throwing strikes, and keeping the ball in the park, you may have found the place you’ve been searching for. I don’t believe in paying a no hit/good field [shortstop] $7 million per year (Jack Wilson, I’m talking about you). I don’t think it’s a good idea to “play for a run” early in the game. Build up your minor league system, and watch success follow.

Which is to say, Mr. Bethke believes in common-sense fundamentals. His point about building up the minor-league system is on the mark.

This is the great secret (although it’s not really secret at all) by which Bobby Cox turned the Atlanta Braves into perennnial pennant contenders. Read more

Category: Sports

Conservatives: Relax About Boehner

Posted on | April 13, 2011 | 18 Comments

by Smitty

I’m totally with Red State on this one.

No, they shouldn’t. I think John Boehner is more conservative than Eric Cantor, who’d most likely replace him, but Boehner’s leadership has been crap lately. This deal that got us $38.5 billion in cuts, turns out to not only have gotten us $14 billion in cuts, but also raised the baseline on spending. That’s a fancy way of saying it will wind up costing us money to get these cuts and put the Democrats in a better position to begin the 2012 budget fight.

Boehner just seems off his game. He is advised by Barry Jackson, an amiable guy from the Bush Administration whose first major policy fight as Boehner’s Chief of Staff following the untimely death of Paula Nowakowski was to make sure support for traditional marriage got stripped from the GOP’s Pledge to Nowhere or whatever they called it.

Listen, ye Tea Parties: you did not give Boehner a veto-override majority in the House. You did not provide a GOP Senate Majority Leader.
You go to political war with the majority you have, not the majority you might want or wish to have at a later time, to paraphrase Rumsfeld. It’s all well and good to have people setting expectations low, and mocking the details as they leak out of the stinky diaper.
However don’t wear yourself out on the 112th Congress. This election was never more than a restraining order.
So yes, let us vent, but keep the blood pressure moderate. This Congressional rear-guard action, while tactically important, is strategically of less value than the 2012 election. We’re not fixing the deficit, much less the national debt, in a single Congress. It’s borderline miraculous to focus the discussion on hahrd things like the deficit, when people want to fret more important things like birth certificates.
So let’s keep up a measured pressure on the GOP, but not wear ourselves out on ground that simply will not be fruitful.

Category: Dan Riehl, GOP, Red State, Uncategorized

Huffy Arianna And The Circling Sharks

Posted on | April 13, 2011 | 10 Comments

by Smitty

Morrissey and the dextrosphere are all enjoying a good chuckle at the expense of the Huffington Post lawsuit.
Jonathan Tasini:

We’re going to make it clear that, until you do justice here, your life is going to be a living hell.

Justice? Really? How does Tasini’s notion of justice relate to things like contract law? Maybe he should confine himself to croquet or other games where the rules are made on the fly. Or maybe Jonathan Tasini is qualified to be a god, and craft justice on the fly continuously, and without error.
The really interesting question in all this, however, is whether this mugging will be sufficient to recast Arianna as a conservative.
More fun courtesy of Little Miss Attila.
And I think it’s fair to characterize Volokh as amused.

Category: Hot Air, Huffington Post, Little Miss Attila

‘Shared Sacrifice’ = Tax Increases

Posted on | April 13, 2011 | 4 Comments

Today, Obama will give a major speech on deficits and here’s an Associated Press video report in which the reporter uses the phrase “shared sacrifice” to describe the president’s plan to call for repealing the Bush tax cuts:

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that the plan Obama will outline on Wednesday at George Washington University would contain both spending cuts and tax increases. “The president believes there has to be a balanced approach,” Carney said. . . .
Carney said that the GOP plan drafted by Ryan is unbalanced “through it’s rather drastic reform of Medicare and Medicaid…That’s not the approach the president believes is the right way to go…The burden has to be shared by everybody.”

Now let’s think through this “balanced approach”: If you are receiving assistance from the government in the form of payment for your medical care, that money comes from . . . taxpayers.

But because we’re spending too much — more than the taxpayers actually pay — we need to balance the budget. So if you get less services at taxpayer expense, and the taxpayers have to pay more, that’s what is being called “shared sacrifice.”

Except the taxpayers are being asked to give up more of their own money, whereas the people on Medicare and Medicaid are merely being asked to make do with less money from the taxpayers.

Something about this “balanced approach” doesn’t seem so balanced to me, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Category: Barack Obama, Budget

The Excitement Is Killing Me

Posted on | April 13, 2011 | 22 Comments

Tim Pawlenty announces his presidential campaign:

PAWLENTY 2012: Because Politics Isn’t Boring Enough

Category: Election 2012, Tim Pawlenty

Daily Libya Update

Posted on | April 13, 2011 | 2 Comments

If this is Wednesday, the rebels are advancing:

AJDABIYA, Libya — This normally bustling city was nearly deserted Tuesday as rebel fighters pressed on to the oil port of Brega, taking advantage of recent NATO airstrikes that pushed forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi farther west. . . .
In Ajdabiya, rebels left behind a skeleton crew to watch over what were mostly shuttered businesses and deserted streets in a city of 130,000 residents. Rebel commander Awdea Misrati said the NATO airstrikes gave the rebels defending Ajdabiya some much-needed breathing room, but residents of the bullet-scarred city are being told to stay away until the situation stabilizes.
Misrati said weekend airstrikes fractured Gadhafi forces, leaving small pockets of men and weapons scattered along the desert road to Brega and within the city itself. Fighters reported sporadic gunfire within the city as rebels tracked government snipers left behind, and they fired rockets at a suspected group of government holdouts near the western gate.
The road to Brega is littered with the charred hulls of tanks and cars and where empty shell casings jingle underfoot.

From a briefing by NATO commander Brig. Gen. Mark van Uhm:

The situation on the ground is dynamic, fluid and changing constantly. In the east opposition forces retook control of Ajdabiya yesterday, two days after being driven to the northern edge of the city.
Regime forces withdrew towards Brega and deployed their lead elements east of that city. Opposition forces have deployed elements southwest of Ajdabiya. So the confrontation line is once again between Brega and Ajdabiya.

So the rebels are now back where they were last Thursday, before the panic-stricken retreat. And as to the situation on the ground being “fluid” — try not to step in that, OK?

Category: Libya

LIVE AT FIVE – 04.13.11

Posted on | April 13, 2011 | 2 Comments

TOP NEWS
Romney On Obama:”The Citizenship Test Has Been Passed”

Mitt Romney greets members of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Veags

“There are real reasons to get this guy out of office…but his citizenship isn’t the reason why.”

Stocks, Commodities Fall On Continuing Japanese Crisis; Swiss Franc, Bonds Gain
Oil, S&P index fall


Obama Calls Newly Installed Ouattara
Also, France agrees to $850 million stimulus for its former colony



POLITICS
Lawmakers Urge President To Accept Mandatory Spending Restraints

No fresh borrowing without spending restraint?

Congress anxious about impending debt limit vote

Border Agent Indicted In Arizona Marijuana Case

Texas Wildfire Conditions Akin To 2006 Disaster



Body Count Along NY Beach Highway Reaches 10

NC State Senate Pardons Governor Who Stood Up To Klan

DC To Offer First Internet Gambling In US

PRC National Accused In Army Recruiting Scam



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Cisco’s Flip Gets The Ax
Crude Falls For Third Day On IEA Growth Forecasts, Stockpiles
Foxconn May Spend $12 Billion On Brazil Expansion
Walmart Reduces Electronics Spaces, Reverses 2008 Decision To Cut Back Less Popular Items
Air & Space Museum Final Home For Shuttle Discovery
Space Station Crew Celebrates Yuri’s Night: 50th Anniversary Of Man’s First Space Flight



SPORTS
Hurt Hamilton Out 6-8 Weeks

Rangers CF Josh Hamilton

Rangers’ MVP center fielder breaks arm in play he describes as “stupid”

Reoriented Caps Face Rangers In First Round Of Playoffs

Giants Raise Almost $70,000 For Injured Fan

Devils Move Up In Draft

Malcolm Lee Done At UCLA, Declares For NBA Draft

Ramirez’ Return Fails To Flog Fish Across The Plate: Braves Win 5-0

Werth Goes Deep As Nats Beat Phillies 7-4

Dodgers’ Furcal Heads For DL With Broken Hand, Mentions Retirement



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Contrary To Rumor, Scarlett Johansson Not Pregnant

Scarlett Johansson: Clearly Not Pregnant (Or Out Of Shape)

“F’ing pregnant women, how do they look?” -The Superficial staff

Lindsay Lohan & Victoria Gotti Meet In NYC

Bradley Cooper In Talks To Star In “The Crow” Remake

Demi Lovato Has An Eating Disorder?

Ashley Tisdale, Bridget Moynahan Strip For Allure’s Naked Issue

Sneak Peek Of Josh Brolin Playing The Young Agent K In “Men In Black 3”

Beyonce Prepares For Battle In Sexy New Music Video


Retooled “Law And Order: LA” Fails To Spark Ratings

Kirstie Alley: There’s a Conspiracy Against Me On “Dancing”
Xenu loves ya, baby.



FOREIGNERS
Mubarak Hospitalized With Heart Problem During Prosecutor’s Interrogation
Libyan Rebels Reject African Union Peace Plan
Israel Solicits Turkish Help In Stopping New Gaza Flotilla
PM Harper Fends Off Attacks In Debate, Asks Voters For Majority In Canadian Parliament
BRICS Leaders Caucus, Eye Bigger Role On World Stage
Body Count In Mexican Mass Graves Rises To 116


BLOGS & STUFF
Tim Blair: Gore Store No More
Cubachi: Rand Paul Considers Filibuster Of Spending Cut Agreement
AmSpecBlog: Lies, Damned Lies, And Polls About Planned Parenthood
Riehl World View: Surprise! Boehner & Obama’s Historic Budget Deal Is A Sham
American Digest: Remember That Wage Gap? Me Neither.
Israel Matzav: Netanyahu Snubs Justin Bieber
Moe Lane: The Quiet Man
Just One Minute: As The Libyan Stalemate Gets Stale

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Category: Live at Five

Smoke, Mirrors, Some Assembly Required

Posted on | April 12, 2011 | 9 Comments

Some of the conservative pundits who were doing victory laps over Friday’s budget deal — and you know who you are — need to admit they were taken in by the D.C. spin machine:

Details of the $38 billion worth of spending cuts factoring in last Friday’s 11th-hour budget that averted a government shutdown have been released, but the cuts, while historic, were significantly eased by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand and going after programs President Barack Obama had targeted anyway. . . .
Many of the cuts appear to have been cuts in name only, because they came from programs that had unspent funds.
For example, $1.7 billion left over from the 2010 census; $3.5 billion in unused children’s health insurance funds; $2.2 billion in subsidies for health insurance co-ops (that’s something the president’s new health care law is going to fund anyway); and $2.5 billion from highway programs that can’t be spent because of restrictions set by other legislation.

As I said — while all the “smart” guys were popping champagne corks — the main question of the budget deal was “how many magic beans Boehner got for the family cow.”

And now we have the answer: Not enough.

UPDATE: “Mark Levin was right!” As usual.

Category: Budget
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