MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Obama is achieving his goal of higher energy costs.
Archive for 2011
December 22, 2011
WHERE’S THAT “SMART DIPLOMACY” WHEN WE NEED IT? “Fascist Zombies” From Hungary Threaten EU. “We already have 1930s style economic problems in much of Europe; is fascism next? If the current Hungarian government gets its way, maybe so. The government of Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz Party, is pushing the country away from democracy and toward authoritarian nationalist rule with anti-Semitic undertones. A draconian media law severely restricts free speech, cultural leaders like the head of a prominent theater have been dropped in favor of extremists and openly anti-Semitic friends of the Party, and a new constitution going into effect on January 1 threatens to slash the power of the independent Constitutional Court and the central bank. Oh, and the economy is headed off the cliff.”
ARE “ALL SEASON” TIRES really good enough for the snow?
INSTAVISION: My Mark Rippetoe Interview is now on YouTube. We talk about the new edition of his book, Starting Strength, about workouts, and answer InstaPundit reader questions.
Check out his website at StartingStrength.com, too.
RADLEY BALKO ON the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Have we reached the point where it’s parental malpractice to enroll your kids in public school?
HAVEL, KAFKA, AND US: “So he came from the wrong sort of family, didn’t have the credentials to ensure literary or intellectual success, and was singled out for punishment and repression by a very nasty regime. Yet he was one of a handful of people who changed the world by fighting totalitarian Communism and then, having defeated it, inspired his people to rejoin the Western world, embrace capitalism, and support democratic dissidents everywhere.”
SOME PEOPLE MISS THE NAZIS, TOO. Remember, some still miss the Soviet empire.
ED MORRISSEY: Is Obama Betting On Another Iffy Company? “What happens when crony capitalism isn’t enough?”
IN RUSSIA, a lost generation of science. “For the past decade, Russia has been pouring money into scientific research, trying to make up for the collapse of the 1990s, but innovation is losing out to exhaustion, corruption and cronyism. . . . the result has been like a great deal else in this country: expensive, flashy and largely hollow. Shot through with back-scratching and favoritism, the government’s science program has tripled its spending in the past 10 years — and achieved very little.” Hmm.
AN ICONIC MOMENT: Obama At Store Register: “Let’s See If My Credit Card Still Works.” Video at the link.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LEGAL EDUCATION EDITION: The Evidence Exam at Harvard Law That Requires No Evidence to Pass.
THE BLESSING AND CURSE of being a Millennial.
IPADS AND THE EMBARRASSMENT FACTOR.
GALLUP: 2011 Is The New 1979. Plus this advice from Don Surber: “The economy will win the presidency for Republicans in 2012. Republicans should talk about nothing else, and should avoid troll questions by any reporter who tries to distract them. It’s desperation time.”
SUSANNAH BRESLIN: 3 Ways To Kick Start Your Career In The New Year.
IN THE MAIL: Hell on High: Devil’s Point: Book 3.
INSTAVISION: I talk with weightlifting expert Mark Rippetoe about his new book, Starting Strength, 3d edition, about what Arnold doesn’t know, and about how weight work can promote fitness for people of all ages. Plus, he answers InstaPundit reader questions.
And check out his website, StartingStrength.com, too. Lots of discussion in the forums.
UPDATE: A reader emails: “I was procrastinating, putting off a trip to the gym, and loaded up Instapundit. Your interview with Mark Rippetoe was all it took to get me off my duff and out the door to the gym.” Well, good.
MORE PUSHBACK ON ROMNEY: Moon Mines: Visionary or Senseless?
UPDATE: Reader Rosie Moore writes: “As we mining folk say, ‘Earth first: we’ll mine the other planets later.'”