The Other McCain

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

Kevin Drum, Rube

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 11 Comments

A left-winger admits his complete gullibility:

If it had been my call, I wouldn’t have gone into Libya. But the reason I voted for Obama in 2008 is because I trust his judgment. And not in any merely abstract way, either: I mean that if he and I were in a room and disagreed about some issue on which I had any doubt at all, I’d literally trust his judgment over my own. I think he’s smarter than me, better informed, better able to understand the consequences of his actions, and more farsighted. I voted for him because I trust him, and I still do.
For now, anyway. But I wouldn’t have intervened in Libya and he did. I sure hope his judgment really does turn out to have been better than mine.

In other words: “I’m such a chump, I still trust the guy, even though he’s doing something which seems utterly wrong to me, because I acknowledge myself to be so ignorant I don’t trust my own opinions.”

Category: Barack Obama, Libya

April Is Sexy Polka-Dot Bikini Month

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 9 Comments

Because of my gratitude for all the readers who hit the tip jar during our March End-of-the-Month Bonus Fundraiser, I’ve decided you deserve something special. But this is only for the 0.014% of readers who hit the tip jar, and the other 99.986% can’t look. Read more

Category: Rule 5

The 10′ Fairy Sculpture At The Mark Center: A Jim Moran Symbol?

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 9 Comments

by Smitty (via Memorandum)

Rep. Jim Moran symbolically atop the taxpayer.

It all began as a sadly typical Military-Industrial Complex boondoggle back in the salad days of September ’08 (emphasis mine). Read more

Category: Jim Moran, Patrick Murray, Progressivism, Virginia

California Babylon: Teen Girls Lie About Sleepover, Caught Pole-Dancing in Bar

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 8 Comments

Welcome to the 21st century, where parents have more reasons than ever to worry about their kids:

MODESTO — A Modesto bar could face fines and loss of its liquor license after police say they found underage pole dancers and drinkers along with other illegal activity at the establishment.
Acting on complaints, police and officers with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control raided Los Limones bar at 241 S. Seventh St. on [March 11] . . .
There were five pole dancers in all, and officers called the parents of those who were underage, [police spokesman Sgt. Rick] Armendariz said. The two, described as being in their teens, had told their parents they were at a sleepover. . . .
Arrested were Abel Rodriguez, 35, and Alicia Moran, 41, both of Modesto.
Rodriguez was charged with a parole violation and resisting arrest. Moran was arrested on suspicion of possessing narcotics and providing a false name to officers.
A security guard was cited for furnishing liquor to minors or allowing them to drink inside the bar. Two girls younger than 18 were cited for being in the bar, and a third girl younger than 18 was cited for consuming alcohol . . .

Via KTXL-TV, we learn that the youngest of the jailbait pole-dancers were 17, but concerned parents everywhere will breathe a sigh of relief to learn that the girls weren’t actually naked: “They were found dancing for customers while wearing lingerie.”

Nothing to worry about there, Mom and Dad: Just your 17-year-old daughter in lingerie shaking her moneymaker for bar customers.

Stop being so uptight. Mellow out. It’s California!

Category: California, Crime

Keynesianism and the Economics of Envy

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 9 Comments

We today find two Keynesian economists excoriating the Republican Party as an engine of organized greed, responsible for the suffering of the downtrodden at the expense of the evil rich.

Paul Krugman accuses the GOP of embracing the policy prescriptions of Herbert Hoover’s Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon. And while Krugman notes that the story of Mellon demanding “liquidation” may be apocryphal, he neglects to mention that Hoover did not, in fact, follow Mellon’s advice.

Joseph Stiglitz bemoans the growing wealth of the “top 1%” and declares: “Lax enforcement of anti-trust laws, especially during Republican administrations, has been a godsend to the top 1 percent.”

These are the stories that Keynesians tell themselves to justify the continuation of Keynesian policy. Read more

Category: Economics

Writer’s Block. Of Granite.

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 3 Comments

by Smitty

will_stacy_fire_me_for_the_buzzkill

Related:
heh

Unrelated:

Not unrelated to unrelated above:
USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah:

“We estimate, and I believe these are very conservative estimates, that H.R. 1 would lead to 70,000 kids dying,” USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah testified before the House Appropriations State and Foreign Ops subcommittee.

All in all, April Fool’s promises to be an ordeal for the Administration. We only get one more of these opportunities before the next election. Give ’em. . .[something].

Category: Barack Obama

Dan Collins, Beauty Pageant Truther

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 10 Comments

by Smitty

Piece of Work in Progress, noted hotbed of all things conspiracy-related, is pointing to allegations that Dalia Fernandez may have showed the judges the money, in addition to the swimsuit, to secure victory.

Could this be a nefarious face?

Other contestants were devastated at the notion that something as grubby and sinful as money may have disturbed the platonic contemplation of the judges:

Competitor Evi Siskos, poolside, was flattened by the results, although she managed to affect a stunning pose nonetheless.

Stay glued to POWIP for updates. Dan is the dedicated sort of blogger who will work tirelessly to uncover the facts. He’s a taking-care-of-his-readers kinda guy.

Category: Piece of Work in Progress, Rule 5

New Ideas For Funding The Government

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 5 Comments

by Smitty

Apparently there is nothing the Dutch hate like not prosecuting Geert Wilders, notes Volokh. But does this prompt ideas for fixing the fiscal mess left by George W. Bush?

  1. Taxation on freedom of expression. Not only could we cut down on spam email by taxing that, we could tax blog posts, and streamline hate crime legislation by explicitly calling the legal fees associated with sharing a viewpoint taxes. You say you like liberty, and I point out that, after years of Orwellian effort, ‘liberty’==’hate’, due to liberty’s proven tendency to value itself over the Holy State. With the ObamaCare precedent, the State can have you both ways, and tax you for hateful attempts to mind your own business. Sullenly.
  2. Taxation on the right to be an employee. We’re already soaking anyone with the temerity to run a business. But is that enough? We may need to get rid of the right-to-work notion of not being in a union. You really should understand the need to enjoy the warm embrace of the union, which will funnel money to the correct politicians to keep that embrace snug and cozy for ya. You’re welcome.
  3. Taxation on the right to privacy. Individualism is at the root of most of the problems in America today, most visibly the Tea Parties. However, there are many other problems, e.g. raaaaacism and the notion that the unborn matter, which fester in hidden corners. By making the costs of these problems clear through taxing privacy, greater government funding is attained, while minimizing a pressing threat to the State. Privacy is for the rich anyway. Call it a twofer.

Developing these ideas will be a boon to funding our Brave New World. So let’s get out there and crush some individualism!

Category: Progressivism
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