A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SKEPTICAL ABOUT BLACKLIGHT POWER’S CLAIMS: One of them was Derek Lowe, who received a response from the company. Lowe’s skeptical, but hopes his skepticism turns out to be wrong.
Archive for 2008
October 24, 2008
CANADIAN KANGAROO COURT UPDATE: A New Low for “Human Rights:”
The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) kept its head down during the recent federal election. With no less than four ongoing investigations into its conduct, it wisely stayed beneath the radar. But with the election over, it’s back at it, with its most egregious violation of our civil rights yet.
In Saskatchewan, the CHRC is prosecuting a former Member of Parliament for politically incorrect mail that he sent to constituents five years ago.
Really, things are out of hand in Canada, and Canadians need to take matters in hand and do something about it.
HMM: POR (Pelosi-Obama-Reid) Congress the Most Profligate of Bush Years. Bush was never any prize on spending, but Democratic control of Congress certainly didn’t help things. You can’t really blame Obama, though, as he was running for President the whole time and barely even there.
A SUDDEN DROP IN FUNDRAISING for Obama? What could account for that?
HMM: Oil below $65 despite OPEC decision to cut 1.5 million barrels a day amid slumping demand. Some of this is just the bursting of a bubble, and it’s a good stimulative force for the economy at the moment, but it’s still probably a bad sign as to where things are going.
UPDATE: At least it’s hurting Hugo Chavez. And Iran. They’ve had less money to throw around in support of their various causes lately. I hope that continues.
MORE: Jay Caruso emails:
Where are all the people now who wanted to hang the speculators, re: oil? There are probably a good deal of speculators making gobs of money considering the price of a barrel has dropped nearly 55% in a little over a month.
Funny though. I don’t see anybody out there on television lambasting speculators who are helping to drive the prices down.
Yeah, go figure. Though if you watched Venezuelan or Iranian TV you might see some Jack Cafferty-type grousing.
MY PJTV SEGMENT is now free to nonsubscribers, without even registration being required.
MEGAN MCARDLE: “I was at a friend’s birthday party last night, and another financial/political journalist and I were marvelling at the way that Obama has been able to get away with complaining about deregulation while sharing a ticket with The Man from MBNA. Why haven’t journalists pointed this out?”
SARAH PALIN INSPIRES MEDIA LUST: “As campaign managers for Sarah Palin plot last-minute tactics to get her elected, Hollywood bigwigs are convening strategy sessions of their own. Their goal: finding the ideal on-air vehicle for the vp candidate if and when she exits politics.” I wouldn’t hold my breath. Yeah, she gets record ratings wherever she appears, but I don’t see her as the next Oprah.
A PEW POLL STATES THE OBVIOUS Most Voters Say News Media Wants Obama to Win: “Voters overwhelmingly believe that the media wants Barack Obama to win the presidential election. By a margin of 70%-9%, Americans say most journalists want to see Obama, not John McCain, win on Nov. . . . In the current campaign, Republicans, Democrats and independents all feel that the media wants to see Obama win the election.”
Well, you know, that’s because it’s true.
AN OLD-MEDIA BAILOUT IN THE OFFING? “The reason the press are going to such shameless lengths to drag Obama across the finish line is because he’s their last best hope at restoring the old media environment, including a new Unfairness Doctrine for radio, and regulation of the Internet.”
HMM: L.A. police chief warns of attack. “Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton announced Wednesday that he believes al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden might try to influence next month’s U.S. presidential election through a terrorist attack or some less-dramatic tactic.”
October 23, 2008
I’M SUDDENLY GETTING LEFTY EMAILS blasting me for not mentioning a case of GOP voter fraud in California. This probably means that some lefty blog is making an issue of that. Of course — like most of what you read about InstaPundit on certain lefty blogs — that’s wrong. I blogged it days ago, with this observation: “I almost hope we’ll see more of this, as it’s the only way to get the press to pay serious attention to the issue . . . .”
PATRICK RUFFINI: BarackObama.com’s Lax Security Opens Door to Online Donor Fraud. Plus, an explanation of what’s going on.
ABC NEWS: Palin Guarantees Win in Pennsylvania. Reader C.J. Burch emails; “If they do they win it all, and pretty comfortably. Those internals must be looking pretty good. Likewise, the frenzy in the press makes it pretty clear Obama is beginning to sweat.” Well, nobody should be comfortable at this point.
MICKEY KAUS: “I don’t think the Ayers and ACORN attacks should be especially effective. I doubt they are especially effective. But poll numbers like this don’t tell us one way or another. They’re manufactured news designed to give the impression that lines of attack the MSM doesn’t want to work aren’t in fact working.”
MILITARY VOTES being tossed in Fairfax County, Virginia.
POLL: Who has been the fairest network so far? Note the winner. But they didn’t include PJTV! Well, it’s still in beta . . . .
BOY, THIS IS TRUE: “Ever walked into a room or a friend’s home and smelled a stench so powerful that you gasp for fresh air? Often, we become so immune to the smell of our own home that we don’t notice odors that may be offensive to others. Pet owners are particularly susceptible to having malodor in the home and detecting pet odors is no easy task.”
DO CARS STILL NEED fuel additives for winter?
MCCAIN VOLUNTEER ATTACKED AND MUTILATED IN PITTSBURGH:
A 20-year-old woman who was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield was also maimed by her attacker, police said. . . .
Richard said the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim’s car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter “B” into her face, Richard said.
This is so serious that I predict it will get almost one-tenth as much national coverage as something some guy may have yelled at a Palin rally once.
UPDATE: Phyllis Chesler: “I knew things were going to get ugly and so they have.” Like me, Chesler had some initial doubts, but the police seem to have confirmed this story. Stay tuned.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Questions from Michelle Malkin and Ed Driscoll.
MORE: A big roundup at Hot Air, plus this: “I’m not going to blame people for keeping a healthy skepticism on this case, but so far, the two media reports appear to check out.”
STILL MORE: The Anchoress says I’m half right, above: “Glenn Reynolds has it half-right. If the story checks out and is deemed credible, it will quickly be buried. If, however, this young lady has perpetrated a political hoax? The press will milk it nonstop; it will be all you’ll hear and read about, 24/7, for the next two weeks.” Yeah, it’s like there’s an agenda or something.
MORE STILL: Ann Althouse joins the crowd suspecting a hoax, and adds: “And even if it did happen, what would it mean? There are violent attacks all the time, for all sorts of reasons, and if you want to assert that they say something about anybody other than the attacker, you’ll need to prove that too. Bottom line: This is the stupidest distraction in the whole history of this crazy campaign season.”
A commenter agrees, but adds: “But, were it a black woman with an ‘M’ carved in her cheek, we’d be getting 24/7 coverage.”
MORE ON PROBLEMS WITH ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES: You don’t need a conspiracy to have problems.
I’M PRETTY SURE that Congressional immunity doesn’t go this far.
PARADISE LOST: “The 1960s dream of ‘make love, not war’ does not work for Bonobos. Even though bonobo societies are characterized by promiscuity and a lack of male dominance the males still hunt and kill other primate species.” As Patton famously observed, the drives to make love and make war are not exactly independent.