WELL, NOW THAT OBAMA’S THROWN ALL THE GAINS AWAY, WHO COULD DISAGREE? Majority now say Iraq War not worth it.
Archive for 2014
June 25, 2014
WE NEED CRIMINAL PENALTIES, AND CIVIL LIABILITY FOR INDIVIDUAL OFFICIALS WHO VIOLATE THE LAW: Patrick Leahy, John Cornyn introduce much-needed FOIA improvement bill, but still no penalties for violating public’s right to know.
IN WASHINGTON, D.C., a yoga tax.
NOT EVEN A SMIDGEN? IRS Admits Wrongdoing, to Pay $50,000 in Leaking of Marriage Group’s Tax Return.
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA takes sides in the war on Uber.
CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: ‘It stinks’: Democrats criticize White House over meeting with billionaire Tom Steyer.
PRIMARIES: Thad Cochran upsets Chris McDaniel in Mississippi stunner. An incumbent who pays attention to the home folks is hard to beat.
FEDERAL JUDGE: Federal No-Fly Lists Are Unconstitutional.
UH HUH: ‘Zero tolerance’ for corruption at Ex-Im bank, says White House. If so, that would be the only place.
CLAIRE MCCASKILL endorses loopy sexual consent definition. So apparently the Dems are all-in on this “all men are rapists” stuff.
IT’S COME TO THIS: Van Jones: I Won’t ‘Defend All of the Bureaucratic Shenanigans at the IRS.’
ANN ALTHOUSE ON THE LEFT’S ASSAULT ON GEORGE WILL:
I think what is happening is more nefarious, because it focuses on the person. It’s not just an idea that is put off limits (such as questioning the veracity of a woman who accuses a man of rape), it’s the person who dares to say it. You are to be regarded as toxic. It’s this fear of being regarded as toxic that inhibits many people from speaking.
The problem isn’t merely that the debate is chilled — that people don’t get to hear the arguments on different sides — but that people are also influenced to choose their side out of a psychological need to be accepted by others and not shunned. Even if, in a chilled-debate environment, you sought out information and arguments on your own and even if you saw the value in them, you might still choose your position out of a desire to be thought of as one of the good people. So the argument “George Will is toxic” works even on people who think George Will makes a persuasive argument.
I’m using the word “toxic” — the poison metaphor — because I see it a lot, and because to me — someone who has lived and worked in a liberal environment for a long time — it expresses the threat of shunning so well: You are afraid that if you associate at all with the toxic person — if you offer one good word — you will have toxin on you, and others will have to avoid you lest they become toxic.
So lefties are basically like Evil Amish, then.
JACOB SULLUM: Burned Babies And The Militarization Of American Policing. This is, basically, the result of a conclusion that officers’ lives are more valuable than citizens’.
June 24, 2014
KEVIN WILLIAMSON: Shut Up, Have A Cheeseburger. “You want to bend the cost curve down, you don’t consult Congress — you consult McDonald’s.”
Related: A while back, I had lunch at Gyrene Burger. Today, I had lunch at the UT Strip’s other USMC-themed burger joint, Burger Fi. The burger was good, the service was so-so. Ben Barton ordered the Brisket Burger, which they were for some reason unable to produce. I had their version of a double-double and it was fine.
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DAVID BERNSTEIN: Here’s how the smear machine works–courtesy of Michelle Dean and Gawker. Gawker wants clicks. Michelle Dean wants to bully people into not expressing disagreement. When it came to targets, however, she chose poorly.
THE GOLDEN RICE OF BANANAS: Scientists Ready to Test ‘Super Banana’ on Humans.
BRYAN PRESTON IS FOLLOWING ALL THE PRIMARIES FOR YOU at The Grid.
FASTER, PLEASE: New Surgery Gives Mobility To Paralyzed Man.
AT AMAZON it’s the Kindle Daily Deal.
THEIR GUACAMOLE IS TO DIE FOR. HIM, NOT SO MUCH. Obama visits Chipotle, other customers ignore him.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: That Big Study About How the Student Debt Nightmare Is in Your Head? It’s Garbage. “So let’s see: people with college debt saw their debt double, and also the number of those households with debt more than doubled. That is not exactly undermining this supposedly fake narrative of the increase of student debt! What’s more, the Times notes, tuition and fees at public colleges are up 50% in the last ten years.”
THE PERILS OF “RELATIONSHIP OCD.” “While this is a defined disorder, it also describes pretty much every blog or magazine aimed at women in the western world. Seemingly every week there is a new Cosmo quiz to determine if your man is (still) the right man for you. Newspapers around the world warn women that they might be trapped in a semi happy marriage. Divorcedmoms.com has thoughtfully created a separate section just for moms Thinking About Divorce. This important resource warns women everywhere that they may be settling for less than they deserve in a relationship. The Huffington Post helpfully republished the same article to warn their own readers of this hidden danger. In another article divorcedmoms.com offers tips on deciding if you should divorce, including this nifty graphic. I could go on at length, because entertainment aimed at women is drenched in this. This isn’t just a secular problem either. Every modern Christian’s favorite movie on marriage Fireproof is a story about a woman who has to decide if she should divorce her husband for the doctor she works with. She doesn’t have a Cosmo quiz to help, but with the help of the Book of Oprah she is able to determine if she loves him or not, and if he loves her enough for them to stay married.”
Ruminate less, try more.