Monday, November 30, 2009

Obama's Decision On Afghanistan Troop Levels: Wrong

Of course, we don't know what decision he has made yet.

But we already know it's wrong, wrong, wrong.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Obama To Allow Terrorist Supermen To Wreak Havoc On American Criminal Justice System

As we know, our criminal justice system cannot handle al Qaeda's terrorist supermen. Even were our courts able to withstand their mind-control powers and abilities to manipulate legal technicalities, we know that they would be able to break out of even specially-made anti-super-terrorist super-prisons and even super-duper-super-max prisons. [Fig. 1]

What our president is thinking is beyond me. His pre-post-9/11 mentality will certainly be the death of us all.

God help us.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Harrison Barnes to Carolina

Totally sweet.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veterans Day

Thanks to those who have served.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Funny Venn Diagrams

Actually funny (though some are actually Euler diagrams, and others are incorrectly drawn).
The Weekly Standard, Where It's Always Good News For Republicans

Jonathan Chait at TNR.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Bad Day For the OD
McDonnell, Bolling, Cuccinelli Win

Ugh. The red team wins the races for governor, lt. governor, and attorney general.

Lean times ahead for the beleaguered VA state university system coming up.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Deeds for Governor

The case for Deeds over McDonnell is clear and compelling.

Deeds is a reasonable centrist, McDonnell is a far-right conservative. Deeds has been up-front about the fact that the OD has little choice but to raise taxes to help solve its transportation problem. McDonnell wants to take the money out of the education budget...and, let me tell you, we don't have any to spare. (I'm the first to admit that Va universities have to do their part in hard times...but we're operating on virtually nothing as it is.)

Deeds is a moderate who's got a demonstrable record of finding a middle ground between reasonable liberal policies and the conservative positions held by many Virginians. Deeds is obviously a smart bet for governor; one can't really say the same thing about McDonnell.
Nations Are Not Brands
Nations Do Not Have Brands

This is the proximate cause of my current irritation on this front. (See also: this.)

This is not a difficult point to understand. Are people so conceptually impoverished that they have to understand everything in terms of buying and selling? The United States is built upon certain ideas and principles, and associated with certain orientations and projects. These things are far more important than the frivolous business of marketing. We are not a cereal, we are not a shiny new car, we are not a pair of jeans. The great American project, flawed though it is, is not analogous to some mere money-making scheme. The Constitution is not the Nike swoosh, nor is it similar to it in any interesting sense. Nor, even, is the flag, though there is at least a minimal similarity there.

Shut up about the brad BS already. "Branding" is not a word, unless its something done to cattle.

There's normally no good reason to harp on words, but the mindless assimilation of everything human to selling lurks in the background of such misuses of 'brand' and its cognates, and that is not only confused but otherwise pernicious as well.

Two seconds of thought is enough to see why it's past time for this irritating piece of lackwit jargon to go.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Paranormal Activity

Scariest new movie I've seen in a long time. Really well done. Probably could have been 20 minutes shorter, but that's a pretty minor complaint. Not for those with a low tolerance for hand-held camera effects.
Personal Locator Beacons, Stupid Hikers and Unnecessary "Rescues"

Not only are rescue crews risking their lives on this ridiculous BS, but the rest of us are paying for it.

Here's one case:
Last month two men and their teenage sons tackled one of the world’s most unforgiving summertime hikes: the Grand Canyon’s parched and searing Royal Arch Loop. Along with bedrolls and freeze-dried food, the inexperienced backpackers carried a personal locator beacon — just in case.

In the span of three days, the group pushed the panic button three times, mobilizing helicopters for dangerous, lifesaving rescues inside the steep canyon walls.

The Grand Canyon’s Royal Arch loop, the National Park Service warns, “has a million ways to get into serious trouble” for those lacking skill and good judgment. One evening the fathers-and-sons team activated their beacon when they ran out of water.

Rescuers, who did not know the nature of the call, could not launch the helicopter until morning. When the rescuers arrived, the group had found a stream and declined help.

That night, they activated the emergency beacon again. This time the Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter, which has night vision capabilities, launched into emergency mode.

When rescuers found them, the hikers were worried they might become dehydrated because the water they found tasted salty. They declined an evacuation, and the crew left water.

The following morning the group called for help again. This time, according to a park service report, rescuers took them out and cited the leader for “creating a hazardous condition” for the rescue teams.

Morons. If I'd have pulled this kind of crap even once I'd never be able to look at myself in the mirror again.

I understand the reasons that states are hesitant to make such people pay for their own rescues, but surely the worst offenders could be charged for them.

Vatican Condemns Halloween as Anti-Christian

Because fake zombies are more dangerous than actual pedophilia.