The Other McCain

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

Are You Thankful for Sex?

Posted on | November 25, 2010 | 11 Comments

You’re thinking that Holiday Traffic Suckage Season has gotten the best of me and that, in desperation prompted by Blogger Mood Disorder, I’m about to write a blog post so grossly distasteful as to offend everyone.

And you’re wrong. Read more

Category: Contraceptive Culture, Family, Marriage, Religion

Thanksgiving Day Traffic Suckage Alert: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Edition

Posted on | November 25, 2010 | 17 Comments

You should hit my tip jar today. Why? Because Thanksgiving marks the beginning of Holiday Traffic Suckage Season, which has been known to cause severe cases of Blogger Mood Disorder.

We bloggers live or die by traffic. When traffic is up, we’re happy. When traffic is down, we’re sad. Blog traffic goes in the toilet on Thanksgiving and doesn’t recover until January.

Why? Because about 70% of blog traffic comes from “Bored At The Office” (BATO) readers, goofing off in their office cubicles when they’re supposed to be working. When people take vacation and holidays and start trying to use up their personal-leave days before the end of the year, that translates to less BATO readership, and traffic suffers.

Well, good for you people enjoying your holidays — and bad for us bloggers. Our lives lose meaning and purpose. What’s the point of writing about politics, when nobody’s reading? Declining traffic leads to depression and depression leads to vicious flame wars. It can get ugly.

There is only one way to avert this predictable descent into the madness caused by Holiday Traffic Suckage Season. Just hit the tip jar, and my mood will instantly improve. It’s amazing how that works.

Obviously, Steve Bartin at News Alert is desperately trying to stave off seasonal traffic suckage. Why else would he feature this video of Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders?

You should probably go to News Alert and hit Steve’s tip jar, because he’s a great guy who provides a very useful service. But first hit my tip jar, before the Blogger Mood Disorder gets out of control.

Category: Blogging, Rule 5, Video

Hallie Miller: What’s Not to Like?

Posted on | November 25, 2010 | 9 Comments

You can blame Da Tech Guy for this one: Some commenter left a link on his site saying that she was in a modeling contest and asking people to vote for her.

Was this spam? Nine out of 10 bloggers would have instantly deleted such a comment, but Da Tech Guy investigated and discovered that it’s legit: Hallie Miller is a contestant in the Savvy magazine model search and you can vote for her online.

She’s also created a WordPress blog to promote herself. And guess what? She’s a conservative. Who knows where this may lead? Da Tech Guy tells a story of how seemingly random connections can be the most important connections of all.

At any rate, go vote for Hallie Miller. And Happy Thanksgiving!

Category: Da Tech Guy, Rule 5

Be Thankful . . .

Posted on | November 25, 2010 | 4 Comments

. . . that I wasn’t flying this weekend. Because you wouldn’t want to see me stripped down to a Speedo for a TSA security screening. Or would you?

Related: CBS reporter Peggy Fox taunts TSA protesters.

Category: Terrorism

LIVE AT FIVE – 11.25.10

Posted on | November 25, 2010 | 3 Comments

TOP NEWS

The Hammer Falls: Tom DeLay Convicted Of Money Laundering

Tom DeLay at the Travis County Courthouse, Austin Texas

Former majority leader could get 5-99 years

Administration Counting On PRC To Rein In Norks? Experts say PRC more often part of the problem.



“Opt Out Day” Protests Fizzle; Holiday Air Travel Gets Off To Smooth Start
Worst traffic problem turns out to be on I-95 at Delaware toll plaza



POLITICS

CA-11 Called For McNerney, Harmer Not Conceding

Congressman Jerry McNerney, D-CA

Lead widens to almost 2500 votes

Norm Coleman Calls On Miller To Stand Down; Also Expresses Interest In RNC Chair If Steele Steps Down

Bill Owens Not Supporting Boehner For Speaker After All

McClatchy-Marist Poll Says 48% Of Registered Voters Would Vote Against Obama



Obama Touts Chrysler Success In Kokomo, But Poor Economy Weighs On Him



THE ECONOMY, STUPID

Crackdown On Insider Trading Picks Up Steam

Black Friday Expands To A Week Of Discounts And Extended Hours

Discovery Delayed Into December

What You Need To Know When Buying A Tablet Computer



SPORTS

Magic’s Van Gundy Rips Jackson For “Ignorant” Comments On Heat Coach

Erik Spoelstra looks on as his much-hyped Heat struggles

Reacted to Phil Jackson’s speculation that Spoelstra could be fired & replaced by GM Pat Riley

Celtics‘ West Breaks Wrist; Rondo Still Out

Tom Brady 50/50 For Lions Game Today

Dez Bryant One Of Few Bright Spots In A Disappointing Cowboys’ Season

Boise State’s Kustra Returns Fire At OSU’s Gee For “Little Sisters Of The Poor” Crack

Titans’ Fisher Not Impressed By Texted Apology From Young



League, NFLPA Have Talks On Extending Season To 18 Games



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS

Kanye West Attacks Taylor Swift, Defends W At Album Launch

Kanye West (L), Taylor Swift (R)

West also none too fond of Matt Lauer. Grats, Kanye, you may already be a conservative. :V

Angelina Jolie Says Dumb Stuff About Thanksgiving

Big Surprise: Jessica Simpson Having Tofu Turkey Today, Other Vegan Abominations Also

John Travolta & Kelly Preston: It’s A Boy!

Cameron Diaz, Alex Rodriguez An Item Again

Christie Brinkley: Billy Joel Having Double Hip Replacement

NYPD Wants To Interview Denise Richards About Events Leading Up To Sheen Flipout



FOREIGNERS

PRC Opposes Force In Korean Dispute, Wen Jiabao Says

NZ Prime Minister Promises Investigation Of Mine Disaster

Pope’s Remarks On Condoms Sow Confusion Among Illiterates, Catholics Who Depend on Lamestream Media

Suicide Car Bomb Kills 17 Shiite Rebels In Northern Yemen



BLOGS & STUFF

Dennis The Peasant: Sarah Palin Ate My Hamster, Part 2

Matt Welch: “The Nation” May Want To Ask Someone What the “L” In ACLU Stands For

Jawa Report: Woman Claims She Was Singled Out For Pat-Down Because Of Her Boobs

Allahpundit: Palin Responds To Bushes’ Criticism – “No Offense, But They’re Blue-Bloods”

WSJ: The Desolate Wilderness…And The Fair Land
I’ve posted the last two WSJ links on my LiveJournal every Thanksgiving since 2004, because they say a lot about the people who started this here country and got the Thanksgiving thing going. If you haven’t seen them before, take a minute and read through them; if you have, no better time than now to remind yourself.


Hope your Thanksgiving is a happy one. See you Friday.


— compiled by Wombat-socho

Category: Live at Five

Total Security Absurdity

Posted on | November 24, 2010 | 2 Comments

Gropegate continues to make news and inspire commentary:

Ann Coulter, meanwhile, offers a relevant clue:

Tip for the TSA: When your agents are asking passengers for their autographs, you’re probably not on the verge of nabbing Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. . . .
If security guards at a big, fat terrorist target like the U.S. Capitol can be expected to figure out that members of Congress aren’t a threat, why don’t we trust TSA agents to figure out that little grandmothers, nuns and 8-year-olds aren’t a threat either?

And she mentions my pet peeve about flying:

But all those people have to take their shoes off, remove their computers from their luggage and be subjected to a pat-down because TSA agents are prohibited by the Homeland Security Department from using an ounce of common sense.

The whole security-screening process annoys me, but having to remove my laptop from my carry-on is the worst of it. I carry my laptop in a backpack that’s always crammed with newspapers, magazines and sundry other stuff. The process of taking out the laptop, putting it in a separate bin, then putting it back in after I’ve passed through the screening — a total hassle. And all because three or four years ago, there was some tip that al-Qaeda had figured out how to rig laptops as bombs.

There is never an end to it. Once something becomes part of the screening process, it remains permanently part of the process and, as Coulter says, it’s all because TSA is forbidden to use common sense: I’m not a terrorist threat.

The Middle-Aged Journalist Jihad has never been a serious danger to American air travelers. Of course, if common sense were allowed by TSA,  if they reserved the more intensive screening procedures for people who might actually be terrorists — people with names like “Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab” — this would be “discrimination.”

And so they’re going to keep hassling us forever.

Category: Ann Coulter, Terrorism

No Argument Here

Posted on | November 24, 2010 | 1 Comment

Whatever else you want to argue with on Alex Pareene’s list of America’s worst hacks — my original criticisms here — no one can possibly disagree with his choice for No. 1:

The Washington Post’s Richard Cohen has been a columnist since 1976. He’s good friends with Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn. He works one day a week. At a certain point, in that exceptionally privileged and cushy position, his brain disintegrated. . . .
That’s how we get work like “leave Roman Polanski alone!” and sending me mean e-mails is “digital lynching” and affirmative action punishes all white people and you stupid snot-nosed bloggers don’t get that Cheney was probably right to torture people and Barack Obama should read a newspaper instead of a BlackBerry because a BlackBerry is full of lies. All in the singularly smug, grating prose style of a man who knows he’s an immovable object in one of the most comfortable positions in all of journalism.

The real journalistic tragedy is that, in an age of shrinking newspapers, Cohen — a sloppy thinker and a worse writer — is permitted to waste 18 precious column-inches on one of the most valuable pages in America.

When I think of Richard Cohen, I have to repress a tear.

* * * * * *

EDITORIAL NOTE: I’ve just added to the sidebar two useful features — Archives and Search — that previously had been omitted. Some readers had complained about the absence of these features. When Smitty switched us over to WordPress, there was concern about the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) and we didn’t have anything to archive yet, so that got left off. Now we’ve got a full 11 months of stuff, the archives make more sense. Ditto the search function. We’ve managed to sling more than 2,500 posts so far this year, which makes for lots of stuff to search through.

Category: Journalism

‘Year of the Pro-Life Woman’

Posted on | November 24, 2010 | 5 Comments

Press release:

Today, the Susan B. Anthony List celebrated the election of the eighth pro-life woman U.S. Representative in the 112th Congress and a major upset in Ann Marie Buerkle’s defeat of pro-abortion incumbent Dan Maffei.
“Ann Marie Buerkle’s win is historic for women, the unborn and New York’s 25th Congressional District,” SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said. “A pro-life gain in this district – thought by many to be out of reach – affirms the wave of pro-life feminine leadership pouring into the 112th Congress. That wave, including Buerkle’s election, further confirms that 2010 is the Year of the Pro-Life Woman.
“As the first woman elected to Congress from NY-25, she brings years of experience speaking out for Life and feminine leadership harkening back to its roots in authentic pro-life feminism. At the same time, she replaces a consistently pro-abortion vote with dependable advocacy for Life on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.”
As a registered nurse and mother of six, Buerkle will contribute a unique medical background and a strong commitment to ending taxpayer funding of abortion to Congress.
In the weeks leading up to the November general election, the SBA List mailed nearly 23,000 households in NY-25 and bundled nearly $24,000 for the Buerkle campaign. The SBA List spent $2.3 million electing pro-life women to congressional and statewide office, resulting in a 70 percent increase in the number of pro-life women in the U.S. House of Representatives, an increase in the number of pro-life women governors from one to four and the election of the 112th Congress’ first pro-life woman Senator. SBA List-endorsed candidates won 83 percent of the time in SBA List-versus-EMILY’s List head-to-head races.

Where there’s life, there’s hope.

Category: Abortion, Ann Marie Buerkle, Election, New York
« 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