Now what?

I urged, from the beginning, for Rush and his supporters to allow space for people actually in elective politics to distance themselves from his comment, because, well, you know, they need votes and stuff. It is not wise to demand that those who need 51% of the public behind them endorse and defend remarks applauded by only 30% or so.

If Newt's out of the club now -- insufficiently conservative or combatative -- well, this club is getting a bit too exclusive.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. We didn't need him anyway. He contributed nothing.

Posted by: Ace at 03:17 PM | Comments (1)
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She's using all caps so as to clearly indicate her responses in this email interview. Not to shout.

I find it curious that the NYT left them as all-caps.

A few of her better answers:

Have the events of recent years put a strain on your relationship with Bill[Maher], or do you still regard him as a friend (politics notwithstanding)?

I LOVE BILL, BUT I HATE HIS RETARDED MOVEON.ORG AUDIENCE ALMOST AS MUCH AS HE DOES.

...

Are they an attempt to foster more bipartisanship in the new Obama era?

YOU SEEM TO BE UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT OF “DEBATE.” THE IDEA, SINCE AROUND THE TIME OF, OH SAY, ARISTOLE, IS TO DERIVE TRUTH. I DO NOT BELIEVE THE POINT OF THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS TO “FOSTER MORE BIPARTISANSHIP.”

...

*Do you consider yourself as speaking for the conservative movement, or just someone who has attracted many conservative fans? Something else?

I THINK I SPEAK FOR ALL AMERICANS WHO THINK NEWSPAPER EDITORS WHO PRINT THE DETAILS OF TOP-SECRET ANTI-TERRORIST INTELLIGENCE GATHERING PROGRAMS ON PAGE ONE IN WARTIME SHOULD BE EXECUTED FOR TREASON.

Coulter and Maher are having some kind of debate on foreign policy. First I've heard of it.

Posted by: Ace at 02:02 PM | Comments (3)
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I (and Maetenloch) are calling the overdose suspicious. There's no word from the coroner that it's anything but accidental.

Ask the most hard-core baseball fan about John C. Odom and most likely youÂ’ll get a blank stare. Yet millions of people have heard of the slender right-hander.

He was “Bat Man” or “Bat Guy” or “Bat Boy,” the minor league baseball player traded for 10 maple bats.

It became a big joke last May when word of the unusual swap jumped off the sports pages, and the former San Francisco Giants prospect went from pitcher to punch line.

“People are like, ‘I’d kill myself’ and stuff,” Odom said at the time, dismissing any such notion.

Three weeks after the trade, he abruptly left the team.

Six months after the trade, he was dead.

The medical examiner said OdomÂ’s death in Georgia on Nov. 5 at age 26 was an accidental overdose from heroin, methamphetamine, the stimulant benzylpiperazine and alcohol.

In related news, someone just offered me a 30% controlling interest in GM for ten maple bats.

I refused the offer. I'm holding out for heroin, methamphetamine, the stimulant benzylpiperazine and alcohol.

Posted by: Ace at 01:50 PM | Add Comment
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When are women going to stop treating Steak and BJ Day as an internet joke?

It's not a joke, ladies. You don't even have to spend more than $30 or think about your gift. Steak and BJ. Pretty self-explanatory, really.

If you're on a budget, you can skip the steak. Macaroni and Cheese and a BJ is fine, too.

It's this Saturday -- in theory.

Thanks to someone. more...

Posted by: Ace at 12:53 PM | Add Comment
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Read it here.

No need for analysis on my part. Jeff uses his mouth purtier' than a $5 masseuse/model/escort, iffnyouknowwhatImeanandIthinkyoudo.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 12:24 PM | Add Comment
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From the Daily Mail, courtesy of Alana and someone:

"Meanwhile, there was anger directed at Barack Obama today after it emerged that the US President will stage a lavish Reception for ex-IRA chief Martin McGuinness on St Patrick's Day.

"Mr Obama also plans to hold two hours of talks with Mr McGunnness - just days after he was accused of snubbing Gordon Brown during the PM's visit to Washington.

"The President's move has reportedly infuriated Downing Street and diplomats are understood to be fuming."

Now, the "Real IRA" is, as I understand it, a violent splinter group which departed from the IRA when that organization turned, supposedly, to peace. I suspect the two play footsie and keep in contact, much like the terrorist organization Black September was supposedly separate from Arafat's PLO, which supposedly would seek a political path and refrain from terrorism.

Right.

Either way, Obama's meeting with an ex-IRA guy.

He sure seems to like violent revolutionary movements and despise former colonialist powers, eh?

Gee, it's too bad there was nothing in his record to alert us to such sympathies and antipathies.

Yes, as the joke goes, Obama's gift of 25 American cinema classics included such titles as Braveheart, In the Name of the Father, Michael Collins, The Patriot, Zulu Dawn (the one where the Zulus win), etc.

Visit on Hold: Bad timing, I guess, what with the Real IRA executions of two policemen and Gordon Brown preoccupied watching his super-awesome gift-pack of 25 DVDs:

"A planned trip to the US for a St PatrickÂ’s Day meeting with President Obama was put on hold by Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy Martin McGuinness."

Thanks again to Alana, this time for the follow-up.

Posted by: Ace at 11:03 AM | Comments (1)
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But it's just a tracking poll, you know. Has nothing to do with people's actual lives.

Besides, the profits and earnings ratios suggest this is a great time to buy.

Speaking of that:

For the cost of Obama's "stimulus" package and a couple hundred billion more, we could have implemented private social security accounts, paying the transition costs of this system rather than pissing the money away on studying turtle cocks. (Ah, remember the halcyon days when we thought $1.1 trillion in government spending was outsized and irresponsible? How young we were.)

Two big benefits:

A huge injection of capital into the markets, and

Millions of Americans would now have their own, owned retirement accounts, bought into the system when stock prices are near their bottoms.

Think about that last part. Investing in the markets when Bush proposed it turns out to have been a bad deal -- we would have been buying in at or near the top of the market. Now we'd be buying in near the bottom. (Only near, I fear; still, at 6500 points, the Dow blue chips have a lot of upside, and will probably go back to the 12,000 level within a decade. Not furious growth, but pretty solid.)

But Obama is rigidly ideological and won't even entertain such thoughts.

Posted by: Ace at 10:53 AM | Add Comment
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I'm so glad that we outlawed waterboarding. That has made the jihadis realize their own policy of torturing law-abiding citizens is outdated and declasse.

I mean, yeah, they tortured this guy. But they felt bad about it.

Nickless--

This kind of thing will just breed more investigators.

Posted by: Ace at 10:33 AM | Comments (1)
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A pair of quotes:

Obama Says Buffett Has “Shaped” His Ideas. “In last week’s final presidential debate, after Republican John McCain raised questions about his rival’s ties, Sen. Obama said, ‘Let me tell you who I associate with. On economic policy, I associate with Warren Buffett and former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker … who have shaped my ideas and who will be surrounding me in the White House.’” (Monica Langley, “Volcker Makes A Comeback As Part Of Obama Brain Trust,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/21/0

Obama Campaign On Buffett: “We Look Forward To Him Helping Out Our Efforts.” “‘Warren Buffett is a great friend and an important force in the global economic community. We look forward to him helping out our efforts,’ said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.” (Celeste Katz, “Buffet Of Praise, Cash For Hil At Buffett Dinner,” [New York] Daily News, 6/27/07)

The blessing of Warren Buffet, the so-called "Oracle of Omaha," was critical in reassuring liberal-leaning members of the capitalist class that it was safe to elect the socialist Barack Obama. Sure, he had a radical past, but Buffet assured his fellow capitalists he didn't mean all that crazy stuff, and that he was A Man We Can Do Business With.

Well. Apparently not so much. Buffet slams Obama's payoff to the unions:

“I think the secret ballot’s pretty important in the country. You know, I’m against card check, to make a perfectly flat statement,” Buffett said.

And Buffet also slams Obama for taking his eye off the economy to pursue secondary and tertiary liberal wish-list items:

"If you're in a war, and we really are in an economic war, there's a obligation to the majority to behave in ways to not go around inflaming the minority. If on Dec. 8, or maybe it was Dec. 7, when Roosevelt convened Congress to vote on the war. He didn't say, ‘I'm throwing in about ten of my pet projects,'" Buffett said.

Taking aim at one such issue, interviewer Joe Kernen replied: "You might not have fixed global warming the day after - the day after D-Day, Warren."

"Absolutely," Buffett declared. He also told Kernen that the Republicans should provide general support for the administration, but that the Democrats should not be pushing "contentious" policies that are not related to solving the nation's economic woes.

"Job one is to win the economic war. Job two is to win the economic war and Job 3," Buffett said. "And you can't expect people to unite behind you if you're trying to jam a whole bunch of things down their throats. So I would absolutely say, for the interim until we get this one solved, I would not be pushing a lot of things that, that you know are contentious."

Right. We're in a crisis the likes of which this country's never seen... which is why we have to further hamstring it by imposing a $640 billion tax increase on everything produced in America. Because, you know, in 150 years the Maldives Islands might lose a foot and half of shoreline.

The Oracle of Omaha became the Oracle of Obama, and can now count himself as handmaiden of the destruction of the once-potent US capitalist economy.

Posted by: Ace at 10:12 AM | Comments (2)
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I linked this "Obama Overwhelmed" article before-- but I missed this.

Get ready to cushion your falling jaws.

Mr Obama rang Mr Brown as he flew home, in what many suspected was an attempt to make amends.

The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key.

The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

Oh, my. Three points:

1) Smarter diplomacy is supposedly the stock in trade of this administration. Is this smart? Insulting our oldest ally? No, it's not smart -- it's left-wing score-settling against Britain for being "too right wing" for having supported Bush's efforts in Iraq, and perhaps for being a colonial power through the fifties.

2) They don't know what the fuck they're doing.

3) The quote shows the arrogance and thin-skinnedness of this administration. Utterly unable to graciously confess error and seek forgiveness, they instead dig their heels in and claim We meant to do that. They intended, it seems, for no particularly good reason, to alienate our most reliable and oldest ally. (Apologies to Australia which also can lay claim to that title.) That's their story -- we meant to let Britain know it was no more important to us than, say, Trinidad and Tobago.

Perhaps Obama's game -- in insulting Britain and selling out Poland and the Czech Republic to the Russian wolves -- is to teach all countries a lesson: Never, ever support a Republican President, for there will be a grim reckoning when we socialists get back into power.

Politics begins at the water's edge, now. A lot of things are changing. Hey, did you hear that dissent was no longer patriotic?

We live in an age of miracles and wonders, my friends.

Thanks to Entelechy in the Hot Air comments for highlighting this, which I'd utterly missed.

Posted by: Ace at 09:23 AM | Comments (2)
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