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Great summation of tomorrow's Spanish election
2008-03-08 05:17:00
Spain will elect a new government tomorrow. Brussels Journal has a great article explaining the issues.Powered by b2evolution.
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Who was better: Dan Marino or Brett Favre?
2008-03-07 23:49:00
Choice please: Brett Favre or Dan Marino ? Tough one!Powered by b2evolution.

On the conservation of blasphemy
2008-03-07 23:47:00
Or, the continuing desire to punish blasphemy, to be precise. Although leftists have initiated most efforts to control society since the twentieth century, the totalitarian impulse isn't exclusive to them. England is replacing one of its last non-left efforts to control speech by eliminating its blasphemy laws. Or are they: In practice, the law has seldom been used, and in 2006 a new law making it a crime to incite religious hatred was adopted as a more equitable alternative. The last time anyone was imprisoned for blasphemy was in 1922, when a man was convicted after comparing Jesus Christ to a circus clown. LA Times Put another way, the English transferred their outrage at insults directed at Christ to verbal or written offenses against any group except Christians (de facto- for proof, read Lionheart. He seems legit, though he may be a loon. The point is that he's being charged, essentially, with blasphemy.). The impulse to control is still the same; it's the target that's...
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Does McCain have a better chance with Hispanics?
2008-03-07 21:14:00
Raul Reyes of USA Today admits that McCain has an opportunity to grab a significant chunk of the Latino vote this year. I agree. In formulating a successful Hispanic strategy, McCain needs to realize that the issue isn't necessarily "the issue." Let's discuss immigration: I don't think the Hispanics able to vote have tons of family in other countries waiting for the "OK" to come over or are harboring their illegal relatives in their garage. Many non-ideological Hispanics just feel uncomfortable with immigration talk that, frankly, sometimes veers close to disparagement of Hispanics in general. I'm not calling people who want to enforce borders "racists" -I know most of it is simple frustration, but such misunderstandings are inevitable. One group comes over, communities change in a way that the native population doesn't like- it's easy to deduce that the change is at least partly due to "who" and not just "why." As mentioned in the article, McCain goes out of his way to make...
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Random song of the day: Detroit City: Bobby Bare
2008-03-07 17:46:00
Shuffle All; what it plays nobody knows. And the winner is Bobby Bare 's Detroit City . It's a "story song" about a man who goes North for work, but misses the South (At least my primary vote counts in the Ohio!), exactly the opposite migration pattern from the eighties- on. "I want to go home" is a great hook. It's also interesting how country music is popular in the "near-South like Ohio and Missouri. Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies (And More)Powered by b2evolution.
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Cuban Love Song addendum: Nosotros
2008-03-07 16:58:00
Concerning my Cuban Valentine special, Eduardo Tavel wrote: I believe you should have included "Nosotros' a beautiful love song. I found several instances of the song. The first is from Elena Burke, a sixties singer whom I have to admit to not liking very much. It's not that she's a bad singer; I just don't find any of her songs particularly interesting- they have a sort of lounge-act feel to them. I'll put it here anyways in case that's the one Mr. Tavel was talking about. 100 Canciones Cubanas Del Milenio Better is the Cha cha-bolero from Orquesta Aragon. Rival Cha cha group Fajardo has a live version. Mambo Inspiracin Fajardo: The only albums my mother owned were by Lucho Gatica, a Chilean singer popular in the fifties. He sings in the hyper-romantic Latin-American style distinguishable by its breathiness. A nice, guitar-driven song called Nosotros showed up in my search. Coleccion SupremaPowered by b2evolution.
More About: Love , Song , Addendum , Love Song

Blogging Vegas: Strippers, salesmen, and swordplay
2008-03-07 08:49:00
Look at the third guy from the left: He's a frickin' magic user! Las Vegas : I went, I saw, I blogged: Many people know Vegas by one of its sobriquets, "Sin City" or "The Entertainment Capital of the World." Well, I went with my wife and three children so sinning was out of the question. As for entertainment capital: A billboard announced that Carrot Top won comedian of the year. On the other hand, if your tastes run towards some variation of strip tease, Las Vegas is the place for you. There's Zumanity where good-looking people move like animals- thin, good-looking animals; Bodies: The Exhibition where naked bodies don't move at all; and Prive', a strip show that claims to have "perfected sexy" (Darn! Somebody beat me to it.). I'm not exactly sure how Prive' differs from "flawed sexy" strip shows, but the video billboard suggested that it has to do with moving slowly. Eight more Democrat super-delegates abandon Hillary for Obama. The advertising screens at the hotel prom...
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The Teacher's View - Part 2
2008-03-07 05:44:00
Last time I wrote about this, someone left a comment, something about the "burned out teacher". It might have been something else, but it was that sort of tone. Any teacher out there will be able to relate to this. But if you're not one, this might be interesting anyway, just to peer behind the veil of another point of view. There are certain lines of work that most people think they know something about, but they really don't. Fashion, entertainment, comedy, cooking, how to treat the common cold. They're all like that. Let's take the first. Look, it might be that I used to think I knew something about fashion. But then I saw and read, "The Devil Wears Prada," and I can tell you for sure, without a shadow of a doubt that I know only enough about fashion to know I know nothing whatsoever about it. I'm sure the same is true about real cooking, I mean gourmet. And the rest of the list is the same. But it's not a problem to a chef that his customers know nothing ...
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Liberal Fascism: California court wants to ban homeschooling
2008-03-07 01:54:00
Parents who lack teaching credentials cannot educate their children at home, according to a state appellate court ruling that is sending waves of fear through California 's home schooling families. Advocates for the families vowed to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court . Enforcement until then appears unlikely, but if the ruling stands, home-schooling supporters say California will have the most regressive law in the nation. It's funny. About a month ago, I was trying to make the point that many liberals have a totalitarian impulse, and I used the example of homeschooling. I offered as evidence this testimony from a home schooler about how the state harasseses her for preferring her own loving care over state care and this example from France . I was careful not to say that the the American left wanted to ban parental education so as not to overstate the case. Well, in my caution, I actually understated the case. To paraphrase H.L. Mencken, liberal fascism is the haunti...
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Steve Chapman's folly-filled criticism on McCain and Iraq
2008-03-06 17:38:00
My reply to this dumb article on Real Clear Politics. OK, ready: McCain has been consistent about Iraq , in the sense of being consistently wrong... 1. When Army Gen. Eric Shinseki forecast that more troops would be needed for the occupation, McCain didn't fret. Shortly before the invasion, he said, "I have no qualms about our strategic plans." McCain never said he was clairvoyant: He just insists that he has better judgment. If the plan hadn't failed yet, why would he have said anything? 2. But McCain didn't declare "no confidence" in him until a year and a half after the invasion. And let's not forget the day he took a stroll through a Baghdad market, guarded by attack helicopters and 100 soldiers in full combat mode, to prove how safe Iraq was. The following day, 21 Iraqis were abducted from the market and murdered. That would be 2004. Very much ahead of almost anybody and a full two years before Rumsfeld left. Chapman has quite a high standard. As for his trip: I don't...
More About: Steve , Criticism

Phil chosen as Reform party super-delegate
2008-03-06 16:39:00
Phil's brother in law, "Pinky," provides security for Phil. After meeting for hours in a "tobakee-filled" room, Reform Party of America officials , chose Phil of Raytown, Missouri as it's lone Super -delegate. After experimenting with horseshoes, arm wrestling and other selection techniques, the Reform party will move to an American-idol format. Callers will choose the candidates after the candidates give their speeches at Danner's Veterinary Hospital and Grill. Since a dry run (not literally, as you'd guess if you've ever been to Danner's) produced no phone calls, the party chose Phil as a super-delegate. "Well, people might not remember the number. It's one of them '888' ones. Everybody just dials '800.' Anyways, we got Phil now. Hell, maybe we can just get rid of the number and buy everybody Slim Jims instead." Asked why party leaders chose him, Phil replied with, "I bought the first round. Besides, I got a cell phone." A brief controversy followed the announcemen...
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It's So Hard To Decide...
2008-03-06 07:59:00
You gotta love the Democratic side of the election. As someone who can safely say he'll probably never vote Democratic again, to me it's kind of amusing, this fight between Hillary and Obama. But just for fun, let me try to deal with (giggle at) their dilemma. "Man, Obama is so awesome.... Just so dreammmy... ahhhhhhhh," I say to no one in particular. But after the weekend, I was reminded that he doesn't really know anything. That he's never really done anything. Could that be a problem? Ummmm. I don't know. Um.... That's not such a good thought. Damn... Well, on the other hand, there's always Hillary. "She's solid," I say almost confidently. "She's been there. She seems prudent. She knows how to get things done." "Except... that.... I kind of hate her. She's so annoying. So unbearable. So much the Lady Mao type." (I say this not as myself of course, but as the imagined conflicted Democratic voter. Myself... well she annoys me too. lol. ...
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Nelson Guirado and Curious George
2008-03-06 07:23:00
Forget Obama, man. Check this out. I know Nelson . I know to a lot of you, he's this faceless, superhip, clever dude who supplies you with your daily entertainment. But I know him. I work with him. (and he's no Jack Kennedy...right? No, sorry, accidentally channeled Lloyd Benson. Forget I said that.) Nelson, dude, you do look like Curious George . The weird part is, I mean it as a compliment. Who doesn't like Curious George? He was cute, and friendly, and handsome in a monkey-esque kind of way. Anyway, Nelson, I have no idea if I've insulted you tonight, or made your day. But I was just trying to agree with you. I hope that counts for something.Powered by b2evolution.

Democratic convention preview
2008-03-06 01:05:00
One possible scenario presented below. Howard Dean is Michael Jackson: Powered by b2evolution.
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Dumbest Gygax headline
2008-03-05 20:59:00
Fox News used one of its "Brittney boxes" for Gary Gygax today. It's headline: "Who gets his HP?" Earth to Fox: In Dungeons and Dragons, people don't bequeath their HP to anybody. When characters die, their HPs go with them. Who wrote that line, anyways: Greta van Susteren?Powered by b2evolution.
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Thoughts on Super Tuesday 2
2008-03-05 07:56:00
1. Hillary will win Pennsylvania and lose North Carolina. She could win Indiana. It's really anybody's guess as to who'll be the nominee. 2. Hillary's speech was bad, but Obama's speech rang hollow. An uninspirational Obama is not a pretty sight. 3. Huckabee wouldn't have embarrased himself if he was "in it to win it." Instead, he never attacked McCain or even presented anything remotely contrasting. What was the point? If he thought that highly of McCain, he should have just endorsed him. 4. Rush Limbaugh had a greater impact on the Democratic primary than the Republican one. Rush, how come the media could nominate McCain and not Obama? 5. I can't say that I'm sorry to see the Democrats in such a bloody fight, but Hillary did land some effective blows against Obama during the last week. Arguing whether this will make either of them a tougher opponent for McCain- through innoculation- or a weaker one would be just blind speculation. 6. How mad do you think Obama is ...
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Rush Limbaugh and Curious George flap
2008-03-05 07:46:00
This caught my eye. A Limbaugh caller said that her daughter thought that Obama looked like Curious George . Rush apologized- as is appropriate, considering the sorry history of blacks in this country (and around the world, for that matter), but that's not why I'm mentioning it. Some of you know that a fraternity's "brothers" choose a nickname for each of their pledges. Well, mine was "Curious George," proving, I guess, that non-blacks can look like our less-evolved cousins. At the time, I hadn't known who Curious George was as well.Powered by b2evolution.
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Why it's tough to figure out Democrats- and whining
2008-03-05 03:46:00
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primarie s/results/epolls/#TXDEM As I've mentioned before, it's tough to predict Democratic voters. I don't remember more roundly criticized debate performances than Hillary's' in Texas- the one in which she almost tearfully conceded to Obama at the end- and Ohio- the one where she whiningly complained about getting the first question. Yet, in Texas exit polling, Democrats who watched the debates preferred Hillary. Again, when predicting Democratic voters, don't discount the Oprah effect.Powered by b2evolution.
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Hispanics and/or Latinos break for Hillary
2008-03-05 02:29:00
For Democrats, Latino voters in Texas make up 32 percent of the vote in that state and they were breaking 64 percent for Clinton to 35 percent for Barack Obama. Broken down, Obama captured younger Hispanics by double digits, while older Hispanics preferred Clinton 2 to 1, according to the polling. From here. For reasons why, go here.Powered by b2evolution.
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Perfect storm for Clinton?
2008-03-05 01:07:00
One can get a good sense of the race by monitoring the expectations game. In recent days, Team-Clinton has suggested that Obama is in trouble if he loses any one of today's primaries, by which they mean, of course, "We expect to lose, but want to keep our options open." Today, however, the Obama camp is saying that Hillary has to get double-digit wins in order to justify her campaign from here forward, suggesting that Obama's pollsters are predicting a late surge for Hillary: It is clear that narrow popular vote wins in Texas and Ohio will do very little to improve their nearly impossible path to the nomination. If they do not win Texas and Ohio by healthy double digit margins – and they led by healthy double digit margins as recently as two weeks ago - they will be facing almost impossible odds to reverse the delegate math. Well, Hillary will never have a better chance to do something than today. The Rezco and NAFTA scandals combined with good demographics for Clinton ("w...
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Will Obama negotiate with the FARC?
2008-03-05 00:13:00
Obama has already expressed his desire to sit down with anybody, anytime and work the Mojo that he knows on the world's most murderous leaders. With that in mind, here's an interesting little bit recovered from FARC laptops (Note to FARC: Try encryption software like Password Protector or Folder Lock- or just a better password- What did you use, Marx's birthday?). It says that the FARC was going to meet with "gringos" (No diversity training at FARC training camp?) who assured the FARC that an Obama presidency would be more open to negotiations. I wonder if that's the same guy who talked to Canada about NAFTA? 6. The gringos called for a meeting with the minister to ask him to tell us they are interested in talking about several topics. They claim they new president in their country will be Obama and that these people are interested in their fellow citizens. Obama will support neither Plan Colombia nor the signature of the Free Trade Agreement. In this regard, we replied we a...
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Gary Gygax dead.
2008-03-04 23:32:00
(Or "unalive," if you prefer and it's not disrespectful.) R.I.P. Steve from Troll Lord Games reports that his friend, Gary Gygax, died in his home today. Gary Gygax is responsible for 30% of my mis-spent youth (10-15% of total youth). Some of the concepts that he popularized such as the division of intelligence and wisdom continue to influence my thinking, and his Dungeons and Dragons has allowed me to impress more than a few non-nerds with pseudo-scholarly references (A succubus is a...) over the years. Here's a tribute to D&D I saw on the Corner. I'll respond at greater length later.Powered by b2evolution.
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Why can't liberals be patriotic?
2008-03-04 18:23:00
This is my first official post in the "reasonable liberal" category. This isn't the "liberals who agree with me or hate other liberals" section. These are reasonable arguments coming from declared liberals that I may or may not agree with. The first guy, Gregory Rodriguez, asks why liberals can't be seen as patriotic. It really has to do with the feeling that if one side likes something it has to be bad. Thus, conservatives who condemn granola. Oh, and patriotism can bring together and separate like anything else (economics, religion, sports, sex, etc.), ever. It's up to wise people to use its power for good and filter the bad chunks. Article. Powered by b2evolution.
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Chavez supports terror- helps the poor of Venezuela
2008-03-04 02:09:00
Wow! Does Sean Penn know about this? I'm sure the Venezuela n people, especially the poor ones Chavez helps by taking other Venezuelans' money, would be very happy to learn that in this time of petro-plenty, Chavez has given away billions of dollars to terrorist and Communist-fascist dictators; and spent more billions on fighter planes that would last about 20 minutes against his stated enemy, us. Read more »Powered by b2evolution.
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Will Republicans put Hillary over the top?
2008-03-04 01:46:00
Polls indicate that Hillary is gaining steam in both Ohio where she's ahead and Texas where she's now tied. The reason is clear: If you sell yourself as a new-style politician free of special interest influence and supra-political, then Chicago machine, Rezko scandal smoke and winking dismissals of American rubes to Canadian officials are far more likely to hurt than if everybody already knows you as a corrupt DOB. It's like dating a girl because you think she's a "nice," googling her name, and finding out she's in Ron Jeremy's Facebook list. Finally, if the polls linked to above survey likely Democratic voters and meddling-minded Republicans vote for Hillary instead of the inevitable McCain, Hillary has a good chance of winning by a significant 5 points or so. The only question is if Republitons outnumber Obamacans.Powered by b2evolution.

"Poor Thing...
2008-03-02 20:18:00
That Poor girl." That's what I always think these days when I hear Britney's name. Think about it. This girl started working when she was like 8 years old. I don't even see how that's legal. Really. How is it legal for a child to work? A little girl can't get a job at McDonald's, or in the coal mines. Wasn't that the rallying cry back in the day? We've got to help these poor kids in the coal mines. Well, Britney may not have Black Lung, but she may have a problem just as bad. Trust me, when the tabloids start to take bets on when you're going to croak, you've really got problems. And it seems obvious that a lot of her problems stem from being a child star. How is it illegal for a kid to flip burgers but not to be on the Mickey Mouse Club? The principle is the same, isn't it? In any event, obviously between being a child star, and... let's say her parental shortcomings, it appears that this once pretty, sweet young girl has now just about... lost... her...
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News Flash: Prince Harry Hates England!!!
2008-03-02 19:53:00
Generally speaking, I don't use stuff from other blogs. It's a time-tested totally ok blogging technique, stealing the ideas of others, that is. So, it's not that I have anything against it. I just haven't done it much lately. But when I saw this on Drudge today, I just had to borrow it. Check it out: "I generally don't like England that much," said Prince Harry . "And it's nice to be away from all the press and the papers." Now, let's just get on his case. He's the Prince of England, and he's said he doesn't really like his country that much. Truthfully, I can't blame him. It's kind of rainy. But the kids at home, blimey, they're probably going to be kind of ticked. I can't help it. It's hilarious. Let me just say this. If you're English, don't be too tough on him. I say stupid stuff every day, and the only reason, I don't get in big trouble is that I'm not being followed around by cameras. I'm sure he didn't mean it. England's his home. ...
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Asymmetric growth
2008-03-01 19:29:00
Watch out Kos, here I come. Traffic is up 650% for the year. At that rate of increase, I should surpass Daily Kos in two years and Yahoo in about six years with over 4.9 billion page views per month. Powered by b2evolution.
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Hagee and McCain: The dumbest criticism of all time
2008-03-01 06:39:00
McCain... campaign issued the statement after two days of criticism from the Democratic National Committee, the Catholic League and Catholics United. This is the single most hypocritical thing I've ever seen in a campaign. The Catholic League always complains, but Democrats griping about disrespect for religion? So, Democrats, you don't think candidates should accept support from people who criticize or distort the record of the Catholic Church? Have you read what some of your secular supporters say about religion and churches in general? The Catholic church in particular? Such an anti-anti-Catholic policy would leave out about 50% of support for the Democratic party. Please Obama, in addition to rejecting Farrakhan, denounce Hollywood, most college faculty, etc. Oh wait: I get it. The only people who can't criticize Christians is other Christians. Pathetic.Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Time , Criticism

Movie Review: Semi-Pro- Fully awful
2008-03-01 05:39:00
(+1 for the Tropics girls) Semi -Pro is the unfunniest comedy since Delta Farce and Will Ferrel's worst movie to date. He plays Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder who purchases an ABA basketball team, the hapless Flint Tropics. When the ABA commisioner informs Moon that he plans to merge four ABA teams into the NBA (All of the teams except the Flint Tropics were real ABA teams.) and that the Tropics won't be one of them, Moon becomes upset. In a drawn-out boardroom scene, Moon convinces the commissioner to let the teams with the four best records merge. Moon then trades a washing machine for a washed-up point guard called Monix (Woody Harrelson) who gives the Tropics enough "hap" to compete with the rest of the league. Besides the main story, there's a completely pointless romance between Monix and a newly-married ex-wife. I'll just say that the plot leaps higher logically than the players on the court do physically. Like fireworks that launch in the air only to disappear with...
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