The Other McCain

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

Lindsay Lohan Out of Jail

Posted on | August 2, 2010 | 20 Comments

And into rehab again:

The 24-year-old actress was discharged from a suburban Los Angeles jail about 1:35 a.m. Monday. She served 14 days of a 90-day jail sentence for violating her probation for a 2007 drug case.
The “Mean Girls” star’s release doesn’t end her legal saga though. She now must go to an inpatient rehab program.

In other celebrity news, Antoine Dodson — whom you might recall from last week’s video — is now a bona fide Internet viral superstar. Of course, he’s from Alabama, land of viral superstars.

UPDATE: Not on Antoine, but on Lindsay:

If Lohan violates any rules during her treatment, the court could be notified and the judge could potentially throw her back in jail for violating probation, legal experts say.
She also faces a year of random drug testing. The actress must stay clean and sober until August 2011, when her probation term is over. She is, however, allowed to take a number of prescription medications.

BTW, I know that Lindsay is currently a blonde, but (a) I didn’t want to go to the trouble of downloading a new picture, and (b) how stupid is it for a redhead to go blonde? That’s like a cry for help, or something.

Category: Alabama, Celebrities

Sweet, Sweet Argument From Authority

Posted on | August 1, 2010 | 18 Comments

by Smitty

Via Memorandum, we have Steve Benen assuming the position for the Priesthood

One of the uglier strains of modern conservative thought is pervasive anti-intellectualism. As Faiz Shakir noted today, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) offered a rather classic example of “Fox News Sunday.”

Host Chris Wallace noted that “a number of top economists” believe that the nation, right now, needs “more economic stimulus.” Boehner replied, “Well, I don’t need to see GDP numbers or to listen to economists; all I need to do is listen to the American people.”

That’s actually kind of crazy — the “American people,” en masse, lack the qualifications and background needed to make sweeping decisions about complex economic policies. It’s why our system is built around the notion that voters will choose sensible representatives to do this work for us — evaluate a situation, consider the judgment of experts, and ideally reach a wise decision about the way forward.

In reply, one of the saddest of the slak-jawed Lefty poses is its fetishing of Argument from Authority. The general form is:

1. Source A says that p is true.
2. Source A is authoritative.
3. Therefore, p is true.

The current American political/economic form is:

  1. Over the last century, Washington DC has declared itself the sole source of all wisdom and power.
  2. If you have doubts, based upon the national debt, budget deficits, impenetrable legislation, non-grasp of Constitutional basics, &c, you might be a conservative/raaaaacits/terrorist.
  3. Shut up.

To quote Thoreau: “Simplify, simplify”. Complexity is something that creeps into all systems. It is fought vigorously by non-idiots, and espoused by (a) fools, and (b) those who stand to make temporary gains from complexity.

Of course, not having gone to their schools, I’m advised to stand in silence while these economists abet the picking of my pockets.

Category: Economics

Murder in Monroe County, Tennessee

Posted on | August 1, 2010 | 14 Comments

A couple weeks ago, Patrick at Political Byline called attention to the murder of Jim Miller in Monroe County, Tennessee. As it was reported July 19:

MADISONVILLE, Tenn. — Investigators are tight lipped, rumors are flying and a community is in shock by the discovery Saturday of a body that is widely believed to be Monroe County Election Commission Chairman Jim Miller, stuffed in the trunk of a burning car.
Late Monday afternoon, it was announced that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had become the lead agency of the four agencies investigating the case.

Because I was up to my ass in alligators at that time, I didn’t follow up, but the story is intriguing, because Miller’s death had the hallmarks of a mob-style assassination:

The homicide victim tentatively identified as Monroe County Election Commission Chairman Jim Miller had been shot in the head three times, according to authorities.
Tenth District Attorney General Steve Bebb said Thursday he has not seen the autopsy report, but has been informed of the head wounds by law enforcement officers.
“One shot in the back (of the head), two in the front,” Bebb said. “That’s what I’ve been told.”
Bebb told the News Sentinel that Monroe County Deputy Sheriff Kenny Hope, who has been placed on administrative leave in connection with the investigation, is not classified as a suspect.

Still more mystery:

Jim Miller’s friends in Monroe County remain puzzled over the many rumors and theories about who killed the successful businessman, farmer and Republican political figure. . . .
Anderson, Heuer and several others who knew Miller agree on two things: They feel it is highly likely that he was killed by someone he knew, and it probably took more than one person to commit the crime.
Miller was more than six feet tall, stout and strong, and would likely defend himself in a robbery or confrontation, they said.

Conspiracy theories are beginning to swirl, and Dan Collins at Piece of Work in Progress suggests that maybe I should solicit Shoe Leather Fund contributions to go report this story in person. Three problems: (a) I just got back from Vegas five days ago, (b) I just racked y’all for the Stogie Emergency, and (c) my heart was making my next trip to Delaware to cover the Christine O’Donnell campaign.

Nevertheless, so you can get an idea of what’s involved, it’s about 520 miles one-way from my house to Madisonville, Tennessee. At 20 cents a mile for a 1,040-mile round-trip, that’s $208. Throw in three days of meals at $15 a day, three days of cigs at $10 a day, plus a couple nights in a cheap motel at $50 a night — call it $400 total for the trip.

Shall I go to Tennessee? Or Delaware? Perhaps both? And will anyone hit the tip jar enough for either trip so that I’ll have a little leftover to sweeten up Mrs. Other McCain and also buy a few cases of fireworks?

Category: Crime, Shoe Leather Fund, Tennessee

Best Wishes, Chelsea Clinton

Posted on | August 1, 2010 | 15 Comments

Dear Chelsea:

You probably don’t remember when we met in West Virginia, but I remember how nice you were to my sons Jefferson and Emerson. Be that as it may, I’m very happy for you, and wish you all the best as Mrs. Marc Mezvinsky.

Your wedding was lovely, and it’s certainly not your fault that your folks kind of went overboard and pissed off Doug Ross’s wife:

“This damn wedding cost between $2 million and $5 million. . . . Here’s the spokesman (Clinton) for Haiti and he’s blowing ten grand on a cake? . . . And all of the liberals defending this extravaganza claim it stimulates the economy. Can you believe that? These are the same geniuses who tell us that trickle-down economics doesn’t work!”

Don’t let these complaints spoil your happiness, Chelsea. A girl as sweet as you deserves a shameless capitalist wedding. And in the spirit of true bipartisanship, please give my best regards to your Mom and Dad and tell them if they’re thinking about a Democratic primary challenge to Obama in 2012, I’ll be happy to start Operation Chaos II.

Sincerely,

Robert Stacy McCain

P.S.: It’s OK that you didn’t send a gift for my daughter’s wedding. We know you’re busy.

Category: Celebrities, Family, Hillary Clinton, Marriage

Democrats and Ethics: An Oxymoron

Posted on | August 1, 2010 | 2 Comments

As co-author of Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party, I am certainly not surprised to learn that Rep. Charlie Rangel and Rep. Maxine Waters have been less than exemplars of selflessness in public service.

What’s interesting is how, when Republicans get caught with their pants down and/or their hands in the cookie jar, the media depict the scandal-afflicted politician as tainting the entire party, as if philandering and graft are pervasive within the GOP and as if Democrats never have these problems. In fact — as readers of Donkey Cons know (see p. 36) — corrupt/criminal Democrats in Congress since 1975 have outnumbered crooked Republicans by a ratio of 3-to-1.

This is an area where political facts and political perception diverge primarily because of two factors:

  • Media bias — About which we need say little more, given the evidence that nearly 90 percent of Washington journalists vote Democrat. When a Democrat is caught in a scandal, this is usually portrayed in the press as an isolated incident (one anomalously bad apple in an otherwise wholesome bunch) whereas the media go out of their way to paint crooked Republicans as symbolic of some larger and uniquely partisan flaw.
  • Liberal “idealism” — Because Democrats posture as the party of the underdog — the oppressed, the exploited, the “little guy” — their graft and swindling gets excused by a sort of ends-justifies-the-means rationale. Oh, Ted Kennedy helped poor people, so who cares if he left a girl to die? This is but another example of how the “social justice” mentality operates. Being a liberal in good standing means that, no matter how corrupt you are, you’re never really guilty. By advocating putatively noble causes, Democrats thereby ensure they are forgiven all their sins in the eyes of the liberal congregration.

This points toward the fundamental corruption at the heart of liberal ideology — the Great Something-for-Nothing Swindle by which Democrats promise, “Vote for us and we’ll give you stuff.” It’s a chump’s play, as transparently crooked as a three-card monte game, and yet the people who elect the likes of Maxine Waters to Congress never seem to get wise to it. As Michelle Malkin says:

 Go back and look at my liveblogging of the TARP debate. Note how aggressive Waters was in taking a lead role pushing congressional black caucus members to swallow the crap sandwich. No disclosure of her own self interest in the matter. She’s just a Champion of The People, speaking Truth to Power.

I’m sure if you go talk to Maxine’s constituents, they still think of her that way. Their political worldview is impervious to facts.

Category: Congress, Corruption, Democrats

Rule 5 Sunday

Posted on | August 1, 2010 | 12 Comments

by Smitty

Rule 5 Sunday returns with delights aplenty. WyBlog poses the question of the week: Will Obama Pardon Snookie? R5S is fairly certain that this is a simple question of money. Cute is cute, but business is business.

On with the show. Read more

Category: Rule 5

Alvin Greene Rocks The House! New Ad Is A Scream

Posted on | July 31, 2010 | 21 Comments

by Smitty (h/t BlueGrass Pundit)

Full props to Greene. You’ve got a campaign so uphill as to be purely vertical, so what are you going to do? Prep for your follow-on gig as an entertainment mogul or hip-hop personality.

Maybe he and the Lonely Island can collaborate on some John Kerry work, for example.

Category: South Carolina

‘Family Values,’ 2010 Edition

Posted on | July 31, 2010 | 14 Comments

News from Highlands County, Florida: 

A Lake Placid man was arrested Thursday on allegations that he had sex more than once with a 13-year-old girl, which led to her getting pregnant.
Pedro Valladares Martinez, 27, of Sudburry Drive, Lake Placid, was charged with lewd and lascivious acts on a victim 12 to 16 years of age.
He remained in the Highlands County Jail Friday under a $50,000 bond.
Law enforcement was alerted about the two after Highlands County Courthouse employees called and said the girl’s family was trying to get a marriage license for her and Martinez, according to the Lake Placid Police Department.

OK, from a traditionalist perspective — and it is likely that both Mr. Martinez and his underage bride-to-be come from traditionalist cultures — you have to award Pedro some points for (a) not trying to get the girl an abortion, and (b) at least being willing to marry the girl.

However, these points should be awarded only after Pedro is sentenced to prison. Enforcing the law is also traditionalist.

Hat-tips: JENin140 and Drudge_Report on Twitter.

Category: Uncategorized
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