Unless you saw it on the 26th.
Archive for May, 2011
Lots to do this weekend and fun to be had, part of which is remembering those who made this fantastic life of ours here in the States possible.
While I am lucky to be born here, I know it hasn’t been luck to kept this country worthy of being born in….
Thanks to those who make it so.
VDH writes today on what a world might look like if/when we decide to step back.
In short, the old pre-American world was as unstable and dangerous as would be a new post-American update. But both retrenchments were choices that an unsure and depressed United States made — not symptoms, then or now, of inherent weakness or inevitable decline.
Whether we choose to back away or stand up, it’s our fighting men and women who allow this choice to happen.
You will not be forgotten.
And no worries. He’s now a Canine Good Citizen (certified) so you know his flag will be out for Memorial Day!
UPDATE: Oh wait – HERE’s a good Friday blog!! (ht JK)
1) Researchers are surprised to learn that changing demographics from farmers to monitor viewers might be contributing to the rise in obesity.
2) While those in the know gain in the stock market from insider information, the media is surprised to find that big D Democrats REALLY take advantage compared to the “known rich” Republicans.
Despite the GOP’s reputation as the party of the rich, House Republicans fared worse than their Democratic colleagues when it comes to investing, according to the study. The Democratic subsample of lawmakers beat the market by 73 basis points per month, or 9 percent annually, versus 18 basis points per month, or 2 percent annually, for the Republican sample.
“Given the almost folkloric belief that Wall Street invariably favors Republicans, the superior performance of trades made by Democratic representatives may seem surprising,” the study authors said.
Conclusion….the GOP just isn’t bright enough to take advantage of their positions.
One theory is that Democrats were the majority for most of the years under review and thus held more leadership posts, giving them greater access to nonpublic information. Once they took power in 1995, Republicans may have limited their ability to profit from the perks of political power because of their lack of leadership experience.
3) Those who believe in global warming (yes, warming, not climate change) are aghast that anyone would actually want to review their research.
Mann on Wednesday derided efforts to discredit his research.
“I think its very unfortunate that fossil fuel industry-funded climate change deniers … continue to harass U.Va., NASA, and other leading academic and scientific institutions with these frivolous attacks,” he said.
The speech was spectacular.
This link to Ace has the highlights along with a link to the whole thing which is well worth 47 minutes of your life.
UPDATE: My sincere apologies to Mr. Strauss-Kahn. Wow – did I ever jump to conclusions here. However – I do like that the American system of justice was willing to listen to what we thought was poor maid. Nevermind that she is a master manipulator.
I know, I know, innocent until proven guilty, but this DSK dude is a pig. And his fans are also pigs. Actually – no. That’s an insult to pigs.
One thing the family/friends/fans of DSK don’t realize is that sometimes, in fact many times, the American justice system works.
You can pay that maid’s family off and convince her not to testify, but here when a person is abused it’s a crime against the state.
The DA’s office has warned local family members not to accept calls from associates of Strauss-Kahn. Even without the maid’s testimony, however, prosecutors claim they have plenty of damning evidence to prosecute Strauss-Kahn, including her videotaped statement, grand-jury testimony, statements from fellow hotel employees and semen samples found on the hotel room carpet.
Apparently the French think this maid is part of a big “plot” against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Yeah – right.
UPDATE: Link fixed.
This editorial in the NYTimes today gave me a chuckle.
It’s about how Mitt Romney’s health reform in MA really, really worked.
That’s gotta be good, right?
the program he signed into law as governor has been a success. The real lesson from Massachusetts is that health care reform can work, and the national law should work as well or even better.
……
Since reform was enacted, the state has achieved its goal of providing near-universal coverage: 98 percent of all residents were insured last year.
Ok – got that. 98% insured. Well, yeah – it’s a requirement now. A mandate.
Other quotes:
Small businesses are complaining that their premiums are rising faster than before, although how much of that is because of the reform law is not clear.
Insuring more people was expected to reduce the use of emergency rooms for routine care but has not done so to any significant degree. There is no evidence to support critics’ claims that the addition of 400,000 people to the insurance rolls is the cause of long waits to see a doctor.
What reform has not done is slow the rise in health care costs
Lesson learned: If all you want to do with legislation is make certain more people are insured, then sure….require insurance.
If the object of the game is to keep health care costs in line, give better care, and keep businesses lucrative………….well, who knows.
According to the NYTimes health reform in MA worked because 98% of the people there are insured. duhdoh
For those of you paying attention to the CDC and their recommendations on preparedness for zombie invasion, may I recommend
Fantastic book.
From Kim Strassel: (ok – I’m taking a few paragraphs for content, but the QOTD is in bold)
Look at the rising Republican stars, those who have excited voters: Mr. Ryan, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. What do these men have in common? None are what the press likes to classify as “militant right-wingers,” who whip up the base with gay marriage or abortion. Most aren’t even particularly big talkers or partisan firebrands. Even Mr. Christie, who can verbal with the best of them, directs most of his volleys at entrenched interests—not political opponents.
These politicians are, instead, getting marks as the party’s “doers,” the guys making things happen. They lay out the ugly problems and then lay out the tough solutions—despite political risk. The press initially declared each of these individuals clinically insane for taking on Medicare, Social Security, public-employee unions. Yet it has been precisely their willingness to do so that has won them some measure of admiration from a public that is in the mood for action.
