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Monthly Archives: January 2007
Down The Road to Dicatatorship (Updated)
Hugo Chavez travels a bit further down the road to his ultimate destination – Supreme Dictator of Venezuela – with the help of his wholly-owned subsidiary,the “National Assembly”: Venezuela’s Congress on Wednesday granted President Hugo Chavez powers to rule by … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Foreign affairs, History, Hugo Chavez, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page
2 Comments
That didn’t take long- Biden sticks foot in mouth
I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,†he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man. -Joe Biden Did he really say he is the first such African-American? Michael … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Humor, Lance's Page, Media, Race
2 Comments
Joe Biden Announces End To Candidacy
Well, in a de facto sense at least: Mr. Biden is equally skeptical [as he is of Sen. Clinton's chances of being elected]—albeit in a slightly more backhanded way—about Mr. Obama. “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, MichaelW's Page
2 Comments
Nancy “The Blade” Pelosi Returns From Iraq
Less than 24 hours after telling Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki “Go forward. We are all with you.”, and with rapidity that would make even Janus blush, U.S. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, returned home to declare “What is … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, MichaelW's Page
5 Comments
Benchmark This
I think we, as semi-disenfranchised, Americans have a prime opportunity in the current debate over the perceived need for further benchmarks for our efforts in Iraq. What is desired in this debate from some quarters are, timelines, goals, and the … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Economics, Keith's Page, Law, Libertarianism
5 Comments
Nancy Pelosi, Democrats and the Rule of Law- Where is the outrage?
As I have stated many times, I have many concerns about our current President and his expansive view of Presidential power. I have also said that this is nothing new, and that I have seen no evidence that the Democratic … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Lance's Page, Law, Libertarianism
2 Comments
Update on PS3 Thief’s Death
Just a few updates on the story from December of a suspected Playstation thief who was killed during a raid to arrest the suspect.
Posted in Domestic Politics, Keith's Page, Law, Uncategorized
2 Comments
Who Reads This Stuff Anyway?
And why do we need more of it? What am I talking about, progress reports and benchmarks for our efforts in Iraq. Instapundit pointed me over to bizzyblog who has comments on Boehner’s interview with Hugh Hewitt. It seems Boehner … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Keith's Page, Media, Military Matters
2 Comments
NYT Policy on Reporter’s Opinions
The recent hullabaloo over the New York Times (NYT) cracking down on its ace war reporter, as covered by Lance below, raised the issue of whether the paper would issue similar admonishments to a reporter expressing an opinion that was … Continue reading
Posted in Media, MichaelW's Page
5 Comments
The Title fight in New Orleans
From my e-mail bag I found this amusing, though the problem of establishing title in Louisiana is real, I am sure the story is apocryphal:
Posted in Humor, Uncategorized
1 Comment
“Milton Friedman Day” Part II
Found this today over at the National Review with some important things to say about how Milton accomplished what he did. A lesson we should all take to heart in our quest for accomplishing change in our government. But now … Continue reading
As long as we are picking on the Times
I like this quote from KC Johnson on the performance of the major media versus that of the college media, in this case specifically the Duke Chronicle, from a post of Jim Lindgren’s: In fact, compare the Chronicle’s coverage to … Continue reading
Posted in Lance's Page, Media
2 Comments
More on Destructive Ineffectualism-Updated
SEN. COLLINS: Finally, I have to comment on your answer to my very dear friend, Senator Lieberman, about the impact of a passage of a resolution and whether that would — I believe the words were “demonstrate to the enemy … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Lance's Page
8 Comments
Yes, I am Questioning the New York Times’ Patriotism-Updated
Update: Michael has a nice post that looks at another incident to get a better gauge of what the Times past behavior has been. I clarify what bothers me a bit in the comments. ************************************************************************** This story from Newsbusters is … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Lance's Page, Media
6 Comments
“Milton Friedman Dayâ€
California and Chicago both declared today “Milton Friedman Day.†And PBS is going to air his biography, “The Power of Choice” tonight. Friedman’s impact on history isn’t limited to economic prosperity. Joseph Bast, president of the Heartland Institute, explains Friedman’s … Continue reading
Admitting the Problem – A Good First Step
Finally, someone in a position of some influence saying what many on the “not-left” side of the aisle have been saying since before the disastrous November elections. Now, if only Republicans would listen, and change their errant ways, the Republican … Continue reading
The Politics of Destructive Ineffectualism- Update
Update: Back from my weekend vacation I find that McQ sees this issue similarly. ******** General Petraeus has been confirmed 81-0. In a world of political conviction this wouldn’t have been the result. As I pointed out in my open … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Lance's Page
10 Comments
I think Kevin Drum and I should talk
I have said fairly frequently on this blog that it makes more sense to pay attention to those whom we disagree with who actually have something on the ball and to try and take on their arguments as they intended … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Economics, Lance's Page
16 Comments
An Open Letter To Our Senators: The difference between opposing and undermining
To our Senators, I have a brother who has been in Iraq and will probably soon be there again. We understand your indecision about the increased commitment of troops to Iraq. We do support making the commitment, but we understand … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Lance's Page
6 Comments
Rabbit Redux- the Carter Files
Over at QandO while reading the commenters having a jolly time making fun of Jimmy Carter, Tom Scott chose to rise up to defend the former President: Yeah, and you laughed at him when he was attacked by a rabbit. … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Humor, Lance's Page
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The Russell Amendment – How Times Have Changed
With the passage Wednesday of a Senate resolution rebuking the President’s planned “surge,” and the recent revelation that more than one fifth of Americans want that plan to fail, I couldn’t help but recall these inspiring words: In all of … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, History, Media, MichaelW's Page
8 Comments
Time to take score on reform-update
Update:Don Surber has a reaction and the Wall Street Journal weighs in as well. ************************************************* An argument has been going around that we should not be holding the Democrats accountable for standing in the way of reform because the Republicans … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Lance's Page
1 Comment
Big Tuna and the Democrats
The fight to raise the minimum wage is about to become a rout. Of course, as we noted earlier that fight doesn’t include American Samoa, and we still have no way to know exactly why. Actually, what I should say … Continue reading
The State of the Union and Jim Webb’s response
All in all a competent speech. I like the ideas on health care overall which was the high point for me on the domestic policy side. On the war in Iraq he laid out his argument better than he has … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, History, Lance's Page
2 Comments
Nobody’s Fault But The Blogs
I haven’t weighed in on the Duke rape scandal primarily because it’s been handled quite thoroughly elsewhere. However, today I read (via Insty) what can only be described as a model of supreme self-deception and insipid anlalysis:
Posted in Domestic Politics, Education, Law, Media, MichaelW's Page
5 Comments
Dinesh D’Souza and Responsibility
I haven’t addressed D’Souza’s new book The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, though Robby asked me to long before it was even out. I have meant to, but at this point it seems a … Continue reading
Virtual reality keeps becoming more real
The expansion of the influence of virtual worlds continues. From Blake Hounshell, formerly known on the internet as Praktike: Reuters will conduct a series of interviews with artists, politicians and executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Foreign affairs, Lance's Page, social science, Technology
2 Comments
Division and discord within Iran, an opportunity?
I don’t know what to make of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. On one hand he is one of the architects of the Islamic Republic, one time designated heir to Khomeini, a supporter of the seizing of our embassy at … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, History, Lance's Page, Media, Religion and theology
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The Diamond Age
Speaking of pumped, I should be, but I am less excited by the thought of Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age coming to the Sci-fi channel. However, having George Clooney behind it means maybe it will get the funding it deserves … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Culture, Lance's Page, Media
8 Comments
Song of Fire and Ice
Hat tip: Stephen Bainbridge It is being turned into an HBO series! The series will begin with the 1996 first book, “A Game of Thrones,” and the intention is for each novel (they average 1,000 pages each) to fuel a … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Culture, Lance's Page, Media
1 Comment
Religion in Academia
From Robin Hanson’s fascinating blog, Overcoming Bias, I found this: Last November we learned that the US public believes in God more than college professors, who believe more than professors at elite schools: Almost a third answered “none” when asked … Continue reading
Satire from Iran
Courtesy of MEMRI Prominent Iranian satirist Ebrahim Nabavi a known critic of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as of members of the Iranian religious establishment Takes aim at dear Mahmoud in an open letter posted on the reformist online … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Humor, Lance's Page
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I Am The Predicter
While my political prognostications may not be up to snuff, I could not resist pointing out a prediction that I nailed: It’s still early in the season, but I think a Chicago-Indy SB is the best bet, and my money … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, MichaelW's Page, Sports
2 Comments
From the Department of “You have got to be kidding”
The Nation of Islam has a sports blog (Hat tip: Three Sources) and it is a riot. I thought the nonsense at the Stormfront (not linking, I tired of their schtick when I linked to them last time) site was … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Domestic Politics, Lance's Page, Race, Sports
6 Comments
From the Department of “No Kidding”
I went to get a copy of my local paper today, and while I was there I glanced over at the cover of USA Today to see what they were reporting, and I saw this headline: Costs keep students from … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Economics, Education, Lance's Page
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Ah, the Paleocons
This is a nice example of why I take paleocons even less seriously than I take diehard, doctrinaire Libertarians. As some QandO commenters are fond of saying (in full snark mode), “It’s all dem Joos’ fault!” Here’s a post from … Continue reading
A Question of Patriotism
Via McQ at QandO we see from a recent Fox poll that at least some Americans are rooting against the home team: 19. Do you personally want the Iraq plan President Bush announced last week to succeed? ——————————– Yes —- … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Media, MichaelW's Page
14 Comments
Spending reform battle looming-Updated X 2
Update X2- First update at the bottom, but from around the blogosphere: Coverage at Government Bytes, Diane Feinstein calls the amendment impossible to understand! Ballots, amendments, they are all too hard to understand for Democrats. Mark Tapscott notes that “Sen. … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Lance's Page
1 Comment
There is a product to solve every problem
Curious? Satisfy it below the fold.
Posted in Culture, Humor, Lance's Page
1 Comment
Upon Meeting Jon Henke
I had the good fortune to meet up with Jon Henke this evening at the Hit & Run Happy Hour event downtown in D.C. You will be disappointed to learn that Jon is not some rabid libertarian fanatic, hell-bent on … Continue reading
Posted in Libertarianism, Media, MichaelW's Page
7 Comments
Free Speech/Grassroots Lobbying Under Threat
The Democrats wanted to end the excesses of the Republican administration. Hey, we don’t need to keep terrorists and suspected terrorists in Gitmo. We should always wait and get a warrant when suspicious calls are made to suspected foreign terrorists. … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Keith's Page, Law, Libertarianism
6 Comments
Spend More, Tax More (for Democrats business as usual)
Michael said the other day: Even so, it’s getting harder and harder for Democrats to lay any fiscal irresponsibility at the feet of tax cuts, when such cuts are at least partially responsible for the increased revenues, and federal spending … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Economics, Investing, Keith's Page
2 Comments
Roosevelt, Iraq and the Media: Waxing and Waning of Percieved Influence-Updated
During WWII the media is generally acknowledged to have behaved significantly differently than the media today. The government desired coverage as positive as could be reasonably produced. Losses, setbacks and other difficulties were consistently minimized or surrounded by other copy … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, History, Lance's Page, Media
1 Comment
Skepticism on the Surge
I daresay that those who have read my recent posts on President Bush’s new strategy for Iraq and my comments here, at QandO, and elsewhere believe that I am fairly gloomy in my outlook on the situation in Iraq. I … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
4 Comments
Random Observations, Second Thoughts and the QandO Podcast
Since starting this little project at A Second Hand Conjecture there have been many highlights, my first link to a post (talk about inflating the ego, it was from Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy on day one) our first … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Lance's Page, Libertarianism
5 Comments
QandO Podcast Features Lance
In case you’ve missed it, you can hear our fearless leader Lance pontificate in dolby on the weekly podcast for QandO. In this podcast, Bruce McQuain and Dale Franks speak with A Second Hand Conjecture’s Lance on the troop surge … Continue reading
Posted in Lance's Page, MichaelW's Page, Uncategorized
5 Comments
My Kingdom For A Statesman
Donald Sensing identifies, and then draws a big red circle around, the fundamental problem with the modern political leadership — i.e. a lack of leaders (h/t Insty): In my studies of American history, I cannot identify another time when both … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, MichaelW's Page
13 Comments
It’s A Surge!
In tax revenues! The federal deficit has improved significantly in the first three months of the new budget year, helped by surging tax revenue. In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Friday that the deficit from October through … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic Politics, Economics, Media, MichaelW's Page
1 Comment
Rotting fish in the Samoan sun-Updated
I am an opponent of minimum wage legislation, and one reason to oppose any regulation is that it is generally rigged to benefit someone somewhere who shouldn’t receive government help anyway. Ironically, one of the situations where minimum wage legislation … Continue reading
Dancing With The Devil
It seems that a number of insurance companies may fall prey to North Korea’s latest, rather ingenious, attempt to secure hard currency: Faced with concerns that it may be involved in international reinsurance fraud, the cash-strapped regime of North Korean … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Law, MichaelW's Page
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