Author Archives: MichaelW

Quote Of The Day

You realize the two advisers who have gotten Obama in trouble are named “Austan” and “Power”. If there’s another adviser named “Danger” on the campaign, they might as well let him go, too. [Via: Instapundit] No this (i.e. QOTD) will … Continue reading

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Lightweight Punditry

The inscrutable and vainglorious Boi from Brazil weighs in to explain why Republicans find Obama’s candidacy “scary”: Conservatives love to claim that Obama supporters have excess reverence for their candidate and see him as some sort of transcendent messiah figure. … Continue reading

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There Can Be Only One

Two Messiahs. One Religion. McQ considers how this might become a problem for the Democratic Party: There is indeed a faction on the left who want a Gore presidency badly. And for a variety of reasons, one of which, of … Continue reading

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Hypocrisy Watch

Joe Tobacco notices some blatant ox-goring hyperventilation: Do y’all remember back in October of 2004, when The Guardian tried its ill advised letter writing project to Clark County, OH? Not just letter writing, mind you, but encouragement to donate to … Continue reading

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The Silly Season: A Continuing Saga

“Why are the letters ‘NIG’ on the child’s pajamas?” Asks a commenter — “Tom” — on my post about the new Hillary Clinton commercial, the one that shows several children sleeping and then Clinton taking a national security phone call … Continue reading

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Helping The NYT Find Media Bias

Story here [via: Instapundit] After reading the story, you will probably need a new one of these:

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Perverse Consequences

Does it strike anyone else as tragically ironic that, if indeed John McCain were declared not to be a “natural-born citizen” due to the locus of his birth, then an “anchor baby” could be elected President but the child of … Continue reading

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Citizen McCain

THE LATEST non-issue hyped by (who else?) the New York Times is that “some” people are questioning whether or not John McCain is eligible to be a sitting President: The question has nagged at the parents of Americans born outside … Continue reading

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Imagine

Two things you probably don’t know about me and one you probably do: (1) I’m a pretty decent musician and singer. (2) I love American Idol. (3) I hate John Lennon’s “Imagine” because of the message, even though I’ve always … Continue reading

Posted in MichaelW's Page, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Heh

“Next the Clinton camp will accuse Obama of fathering a black child in wedlock.” [Via: Glenn Reynolds, who’s back from outer space, whom I just walked in to find without that sad look upon his face … or wherever science-geek, … Continue reading

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Blog Of The Day

Casting about the intertubes landed me upon a delightful site called The New Centrist. Excellent posts abound. I highly recommend you have a look.

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Are You A Liberal Airhead?

I am, according to the F Scale which is intended to measure one’s susceptibility to fascism. [HT: Bob from Brockley]. At least I’m not a whining rotter, and thankfully, I have no troubles with lint on my black shirts.

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Looming NoKO Disaster

It’s not the one you might think. The most interesting observation: “Not to be overlooked is the massive economic cost of reintegrating an antiquated North Korean economy into the modern economic world. The contrast between a backward North and a … Continue reading

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New Addition To Hot Air

Ed Morrisey of Captain’s Quarters joins Michelle Malkin’s other blog, replacing Bryan Preston who left to join Laura Ingram’s radio program. It’s a good addition for Hot Air.

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The Politics of Personal Destruction

The Politico notes a rather amateurish effort from Hillary Clinton: Obama campaign manager David Plouffe accused the Clinton campaign Monday of “shameful offensive fear-mongering” by circulating a photo as an attempted smear. Plouffe was reacting to a banner headline on … Continue reading

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Historical Revisionism

Did you ever wonder what it would be like if The Beatles had written Stairway to Heaven instead of Led Zeppelin? Yeah, me neither. But the Australian tribute band, the Beatnix, give us some insight anyway [via: Marginal Revolution, and … Continue reading

Posted in Humor, MichaelW's Page, Music | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

JD Johannes Speaks With Fausta

Today at 11AM Eastern on Blogtalk Radio.

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The Sickening

A Cuban medical office with a sign reading “No prescriptions available.” Photo by: Dr. Darsi Ferrer [via The Real Cuba]. News of Fidel Castro’s retirement has elicited some interesting responses. Chris Bertram’s has to be one of the most arrogant … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Education, Foreign affairs, Health Care, MichaelW's Page | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Obama The Brave

Obama the Confident: Barack Obama’s campaign, riding a wave of 10 straight victories in the contest for the Democratic nomination after wins in Wisconsin and Hawaii, today urged Hillary Clinton to bow to the inevitable and accept defeat. Obama’s campaign … Continue reading

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Smearing McCain

I am not a fan of John McCain, but the rumor-based smear leveled at him by the New York Times is more than a little unfair. Early in Senator John McCain’s first run for the White House eight years ago, … Continue reading

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Language As Power

InstaPunk on Jane Fonda, Matt Damon, power, privilege and the last dirty words. The key ‘graph (edited to be SFW): Here’s the thing. Women don’t “hate” the word ‘c***’ any more than black people “hate” the word ‘n*****.’ Apart from … Continue reading

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Fed Games

For a couple of years now, Porkbusters has been on the warpath against wasteful spending in Congress, and although it has had some notable successes (e.g. the “Bridge to Nowhere”), it’s mostly been treading water. The latest battle, dubbed a … Continue reading

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Everything You Need To Know About Berkeley

If you are like me, and have trouble understanding the mindset of the Berkeley City Council, here’s an easy way to figure it out. In the City Council’s letter to the U.S. Marine Recruiting Center, why is the term “unwelcome … Continue reading

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If The Beatles Had Been Irish

My first thought was something along the lines of that soliloquy from The Commitments where Jimmy Rabbitte encourages his erstwhile band to internalize the thought “I’m black, and I’m proud.” Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the … Continue reading

Posted in Humor, MichaelW's Page, Music | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

An Argument Against Public Education

Via Glenn Reynolds, Wired posts an article describing the fight to include evolution in the science curriculum for students in Florida and Texas: Charles Darwin was born 199 years ago Tuesday, but the debate he ignited about the origins of … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Education, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, regulation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Where’s The Youth?

The current dust-up over the Cuban-Che flag (flags?) hanging in the Houston campaign office for Barack Obama (opened by supporters, with actual staffers intended to occupy by next week), has spawned some interesting commentary. Captain Ed advised: Oh, my. Barack … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Domestic Politics, Election 2008, MichaelW's Page, Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

“You grew up in freedom, and you can spit on freedom, because you don’t know what it is not to have it.”

For your viewing pleasure, watch Ayaan Hirsi Ali effortlessly dismantle the typical leftist tropes thrown at her in an interview with Avi Lewis (Naomi Klein’s husband). The quote serving as the title comes across as venomously pointed when read, but … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy, social science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Blood For Oil

Joseph Kennedy II supports blood for oil. In recent months, my TV has been bombarded with ads from Joe Kennedy promoting his Citizens Energy program, such as the following: The heating oil distributed by Citizens Energy comes from Venezuela on … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, energy, Foreign affairs, Hugo Chavez, MichaelW's Page | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Berkeley Backs Off

Probably a wise decision when up against Marines, although, as is usual with politicians, this decision is driven mainly by government largess (or the lack thereof): As six Republican senators devised a plan to yank $2.3 million in federal funding … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Candidate Without A War

Is the Iraq War hurting John McCain’s candidacy? By “hurting” I’m referring to his struggle to be the true conservative candidate who unites the party. Despite his clear lead in the primary race, McCain has not been able to capture … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Election 2008, Foreign affairs, MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

McCain and Paul Voters Throw WV to Huckabee

According to some people on the ground, Mike Huckabee won West Virginia’s primary on the second ballot, but some of the 18 delegates (uncommitted “super delegates”) will switch to McCain and Paul at the Republican Convention: Paul has been knocked … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Election 2008, MichaelW's Page | 2 Comments

Anti-FARC March in D.C.

John Lilyea has the goods: So I decided to add my voice to the millions worldwide from here in DC. I was really surprised that an ad hoc organization put together such a large demonstration in such a short period … Continue reading

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The Left and John McCain

In a post at QandO, Billy Hollis explains why John McCain will not be getting his vote. Essentially, McCain-Feingold and Johnny’s continued contempt for the Bill of Rights leaves Billy cold: This [McCain-Feingold] is THE main reason I cannot vote … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Election 2008, Foreign affairs, MichaelW's Page, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Michelle Obama Holds Court

Steve Newton reviews potential First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign rally at Delaware State. According to Steve, Mrs. Obama is every bit the charismatic speaker that her husband is: My overall impressions: Grade for the campaign in scheduling this event (location/audience): … Continue reading

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Ain’t No Sunshine

And now for an unscheduled musical interlude: Bill Withers wrote and recorded that song while he had a job installing toilet seats on 747′s. Apparently, he had intended to write more lyrics to replace the 26 consecutive “I know’s” but … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, MichaelW's Page, Music | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Republican VP Candidates

Despite Keith’s wise admonition, many Republican leaning (or formerly R-leaning) voters have resigned themselves to the fact that Sen. John McCain will be the Republican nominee for Election 2008. That does not sit well with more than a few. Personally, … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Election 2008, MichaelW's Page | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Mukasey on Waterboarding (UPDATED)

Attorney General Michael Mukasey sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the interrogation technique known as waterboarding. Mukasey remarked that it is not an authorized interrogation technique, and that it “is not, and may not be, used in … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Law, MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“We are tired of leaders who rather than asking what we can do for our country, ask nothing of us at all.”

That’s part of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ response to the SOTU last night. Jim Hoft’s reaction: “Huh?” and drawing the obvious comparison to another famous redistributionist. My first thought was: “Ask? Well I’d be much happier if they’d ‘ask’; that … Continue reading

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Gates Capitalism

Commenting on Bill Gates’ advocacy for “kinder capitalism,” Steven Bainbridge notes: But when did Bill Gates ever believe in capitalism? He’s an inveterate monopolist and has been since the beginning. Monopolists hate real capitalism, precisely because they hate competition. Monopolists … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, regulation | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Look Who Pays For Mitt-Care

As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney oversaw the implementation of state-wide universal health care, something that he touts as a major accomplishment on his campaign website. In fact, after signing the legislation into law, Romney penned a an Op-Ed for … Continue reading

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Fred’s Finished

Alas, poor Frederick, we hardly knew ye: Fred Thompson dropped his presidential bid Tuesday, after the former Tennessee senator and actor finished third in the South Carolina primary and was unable to score a victory in any of the early … Continue reading

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Politics and the “Hero-Victim”

Remarking on how the media narrative tends to frame stories, I once wrote: An interesting side effect of this framework is the emergence of the hero-victim — e.g. a martyr for her cause, or the modern equivalent of a noble … Continue reading

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Dumb Criminals: Got Cohones?

As yet further proof that guns don’t shoot people, criminals do, watch the video starring Derrick Kosch as both the criminal and the people getting shot: KOKOMO, Ind. — Police said a Kokomo man accidentally shot himself in the genitals … Continue reading

Posted in Humor, MichaelW's Page | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Parade of Fools

Behold the band of idiots. JENA, La. (Jan. 21) – The residents of this central Louisiana town, who watched their community turn into a battleground over the “Jena Six,” will watch out-of-towners doing most of the marching on the birthday … Continue reading

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Election 2008 Gut-Check

From the Anchoress. Do you know who you’re voting for? Be sure to check out the comments as well. For my part, I’m in the tank for Fred, and I honestly do not have a clue whom I’ll vote for … Continue reading

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Bloomberg Busted

From the “Holier Than Thou” department comes this interesting photo taken by Larry Fink for Wired Magazine. (link to larger photo) What’s that he’s reaching for with his right hand? Why, it’s a Cheez-ItTM! After gaining national media attention for … Continue reading

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Reason #1,980,254 To End The War On Drugs

Lawrence H. White recounts a personal anecdote that I’m betting is a familiar one to many: As I’ve mentioned, I had transplant surgery on Tuesday. After removing my IV lines, the doctors put me on the controlled substance Percocet for … Continue reading

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Get Well Soon, Tim

Überblogger from the land of Oz, Tim Blair, has been diagnosed with cancer:   Major abdominal surgery next week. If all goes well, the remaining non-cancerous section of me will be home by early-mid February. No idea yet how long … Continue reading

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Capitalism Primer

Courtesy of Bookwork Room comes this 1948 classic “Fun and Facts about American Business.” It’s a cartoon short that portrays the birth of an entrepreneur, and how bringing his idea to fruition through hard work pays off not just for … Continue reading

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The Smell Of Socialism

What does socialism smell like? At first blush I can’t be much more specific than “pungent and bad.” Luckily the enterprising Catalan Socialist Party has brewed up a concoction as a campaign stunt that promises to answer this confounding quandary: … Continue reading

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