It's true. As a general matter, if you look at two people arguing, and one's grinning, and the other is clenched in anger, you don't even need to hear the words to know who's winning.

Obama's done a great deal of damage to this country, and for that, conservatives are angry at him.

He's done, largely, what leftists asked of him. The left, however, is angry, and the reason for that is is that The dream is dying.

If this election turns out the way I think it will (and certainly pray it will, and yes, I'll use that word, pray), then Obama will be the most significant, transformational figure since Reagan, perhaps extending decades into the future.

Posted by: Ace at 08:18 AM | Comments (67)
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A big problem with this nomination is the position itself-- an ill-defined grab-bag of apparently limitless power. Republicans insisted on some checks and balances on the position; Obama refused. So Cordray was blocked, 45-53 (less than the 60 needed for cloture), and hopefully so will every other nominee.

Some background here. And more here.

Senate Republicans say they wonÂ’t confirm Cordray, or any other nominee, unless they get three reforms to the CFPB. Until the Obama Administration sits down with them to work out the details of reform, donÂ’t expect anyone to get confirmed to the post for at least 12 months.

The senatorsÂ’ main beef is that the CFPB was established as an independent agency with vast regulatory and no exposure to Congressional oversight. Conservatives view that as akin to giving a loaded gun to a child and then walking away.

Diane Katz of the Heritage Foundation writes that, if confirmed, the little known Cordray would overnight become one of the most powerful figures in Washington and in the financial sector. He would wield unparalleled powers with virtually no accountability.

President Obama, of course, thinks such regulatory hegemony will benefit consumers, but those who embrace a balance of powers within government know better. All of which is to say that Cordray ought to occupy himself in some other way until Congress remedies the bureauÂ’s structural flaws.

Posted by: Ace at 07:24 AM | Comments (129)
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Ron Paul's ad is kind of good.

The parody is pretty damn funny. more...

Posted by: Ace at 07:07 AM | Comments (53)
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But because you brazenly refuse to say why you mounted a massive covert operation to smuggle guns to Mexican killers (resulting, predictably, in 300 murders), some other people are going to keep leaning towards the only explanation put before them.

Holder Is Testifying... We're well into it (it began at 9:30) but you can view the rest of it online here.

Sensenbrenner threatened Holder with impeachment. The way he put it was that the impeachment procedure's power to compel documents and testimony is plenary and not subject to the department's claims of privilege, and if Holder won't start telling the truth, what choice does he have?

Now In Recess. I think questioning will continue at 1:15.

Posted by: Ace at 06:16 AM | Comments (326)
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It turns out that this computerized automated service-oriented society of ours still needs quite a few guys and gals who can handle a wrench and drive a lathe. Who knew?

A big reason for the demand is changes on the factory floor. At Ariel, Wright points out, the operator of a modern CNC (computer numerical control) machine, which programs repetitive tasks such as drilling, is running equipment that can cost over $5 million. A new hire in this position must have knowledge of programming, metallurgy, cutting-tool technology, geometry, drafting, and engineering. TodayÂ’s factory worker is less Joe Six-Pack and more Renaissance man.

A mail-bomb was sent to a Deutsche Bank executive in Frankfurt but was intercepted before it could be delivered. This is the kind of thing the Baader-Meinhof/Red Army Faction used to do back in the 1970Â’s.

Obama vs Capitalism. Barack Hussein Obama is (judging by his public utterances) as innocent of basic economic knowledge as a stone. Yet somehow this complete ignorance of a basic facet of daily life was no bar to achieving the highest office in the land. This doesnÂ’t reflect well on this poor debased Republic of ours.

ObamaÂ’s constant class-warfare rhetoric is finally starting to pall on an old Democrat stalwart named Jamie Dimon. (Dimon runs a little mom-and-pop financial outfit called JPMorganChase.)

It’s funny how often politicians echo Augustine of Hippo’s prayer: “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” Politicians also forget (as Augustine did not) that repentance is incomplete without atonement.

Victor Davis Hanson: Exceptional America.

That yawning chasm stretching as far as the eye can see? It's the debt pit, and we're on the cusp of taking a swan-dive into it.

Keith Hennessey provides a sort of beginner's guide to the European debt crisis. If you want a high-level, non-specialist explanation of the issues, this is a good place to start.
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Posted by: Monty at 04:55 AM | Comments (94)
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...according to one of the Occupy Boston "leaders", quoted in this Boston Herald article.

He's right. Ideas have no physical manifestation, so there's nothing to "evict".

The smelly Marxist hippie-wannabe over-educated "Conflict Resolution" and "Transgendered Samoan Studies" majors who make up the bulk of the Occupy movement? Definitely not "ideas", hence they are "evictable".

How ironic is it that the places where the Occupy Movement is grating the hardest on local governments are all Blue State Hellholes?

New York? Boston? Oakland? Not exactly the prefered habitat of your typical "bitter clinger", eh? Yet these are fast becoming the new cultural Stalingrads. Funny how that works.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 04:20 AM | Comments (76)
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It got cold again here, so I find it that much harder to get out of bed.

An Oregon judge has ruled that bloggers do not have the same First Amendment protections as reporters and don't come under that state's "shield law" for journalists. It seems that some animals are more equal.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 03:02 AM | Comments (118)
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No, I'm really not kidding. The link is here.

If I had the flaming skull, I'd give you the flaming skull. This will have to do:

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:05 PM | Comments (90)
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Remembering Pearl Harbor

On this date 70 years ago 2,459 US military members and civilians were killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Until 9/11 it was the deadliest enemy attack ever on American territory.

Sadly it might have been prevented if some warnings had been heeded:

While the debate over FDR's actions continues to rage, there is one incontrovertible fact: the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor could have been easily prevented, had President Roosevelt followed the advice of his previous Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral J.O. Richardson. During his tenure as CINCPAC, Richardson repeatedly warned of his fleet's vulnerability at Pearl Harbor, and requested that most of his ships return to their home port in San Diego. When FDR refused, Richardson stuck to his guns and paid a high price: he was fired as CINCPAC in early 1941 and replaced by Admiral Kimmel.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:28 PM | Comments (625)
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Pixy fixed that pretty darned quickly. Update: Okay, not quite up.

Update from Pixy: Fixed for reals now.

Posted by: Ace at 02:44 PM | Comments (418)
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