Oct
31
Is he trying to help or hurt Obama?
October 31, 2008 | Comments Off
Doug Kmiec’s descent into madness has been one of the most awful spectacles of the election season. Evidently, he ain’t done yet. A top advisor to Barack Obama says, if elected president, the Democratic candidate will look to appoint Supreme Court justices in the mold of Justices Stephen Breyer and David Souter. “Of course, he’s [...]
Oct
31
Why the very rich like progressive taxation
October 31, 2008 | 3 Comments
Interesting take on why those in the very high income categories don’t mind high taxes. The ugly truth is that the really wealthy can manipulate the political system to their own ends better than ordinary people. They can lobby for specific tax breaks that only they can take advantage of. They can get government trade [...]
Oct
31
Another defector
October 31, 2008 | Comments Off
Awesome parady from Iowahawk. H/t: Dale Price.
Oct
30
Technically I was on the right track
October 30, 2008 | Comments Off
Now that I am packing up for the big move I’ve come across some of my old tests and papers – yes I am a bit of a pack rat. Anyway, I just located my very first college exam. This was Political Science 101 – the basics. So how did Paul Zummo, now a Ph.D. [...]
Oct
30
Presidential rankings
October 30, 2008 | 5 Comments
The Times (UK) is in the middle of compiling a ranking of all the US Presidents, and I have to say, they are doing a better job of it than the US papers. I would rank Carter and Andrew Johnson much lower. And are they honestly saying Lyndon Johnson is in the top 22? They [...]
Oct
30
Today might be the greatest day in the history of Fire Joe Morgan. Then again, Rick Sutcliffe would not be much of an improvement. And speaking of sprts, well, err, umm, congrats, to, ugh. Ugh. Excuse me. Congrats to the Phillies. There. I said it. The Eagles still suck though. By the way, let it [...]
Oct
30
George Will: Clueless
October 30, 2008 | 4 Comments
The meltdown of George Will into a bitter, angry scold has been one of the saddest things to witness over the past few years. Every now and then he has offered constructive criticism, but it is clear that he is a shell of what he once was. The latest example is this article. From the [...]
Oct
30
Is this really surprising?
October 30, 2008 | Comments Off
Yet another non-conservative is jumping on the Obama bandwagon. The author of the End of History makes the latest awful argument for Obama. When Fukayama actually gets something right, then maybe I’ll consider what he has to say. Not only was his thesis in The End of History wrong, the book was just riddled with [...]
Oct
29
Multitasking
October 29, 2008 | Comments Off
You mean it’s not such a good idea to talk on the phone and check email at the same time? While multitasking may seem to be saving time, psychologists, neuroscientists and others are finding that it can put us under a great deal of stress and actually make us less efficient. Although doing many things [...]
Oct
29
Rethinking Sarah Palin
October 29, 2008 | 1 Comment
Now that I have finally earned my Ph.D. and am officially a part of the Inside the Beltway intellectual elite, it’s time I reconsidered my support for the McCain/Palin ticket, especially because of the presence of the intellectual lightweight Sarah Palin’s on the ticket. I don’t know that I can support a Vice Presidential candidate [...]
Oct
28
That’s Doctor Crankycon, thank you
October 28, 2008 | 18 Comments
I didn’t go through seven years of evil graduate school in order to be called Mister. Ahhhhhhh, it is finally done. Now I think I will go celebrate.
Oct
27
Redistribution and the Court
October 27, 2008 | 4 Comments
Well here’s an interesting bit of audio from 2001. “If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court. I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed people, so that now I would have the right to vote. I would [...]
Oct
27
Eerily prescient
October 27, 2008 | 2 Comments
The other day Jay Anderson put forward the theory that perhaps – perhaps – Mitt Romney was behind the anti-Pailin whisper campaign among conservatives. What needs to happen for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential aspirations to remain viable? Primarily, at least 2 things: (1) McCain needs to lose, and (2) Sarah Palin has to be seen [...]
Oct
24
Final weekend
October 24, 2008 | 4 Comments
My dissertation defense is four days away, so this weekend will be spent in final preparations for the big day. I am not really nervous, and in fact feel that I might be over-preparing just a tad. Well, better that than the other extreme. Anyway, it strikes me that this will be the last weekend [...]
Oct
24
Unconstrained vs. constrained vision
October 24, 2008 | 2 Comments
Peter Robinson discusses his interview with Thomas Sowell, where Sowell elaborates on his 1987 book, A Conflict of Visions. Robinson sums up the book’s major thesis: Then there is Thomas Sowell, the economist and political philosopher. He prefers an older way of looking at American politics–a much older way. In his classic 1987 work, A [...]
Oct
24
Lying liars
October 24, 2008 | Comments Off
I believe there should be a rather hot space reserved for people who lie about being the victims of crime. It turns out Miss Ashley Todd completely made up her story about being attacked by an Obama supporter. This is why I usually don’t post such stories until they’re confirmed. Silly me, I thought I’d [...]
Oct
24
Thanks, Starbucks
October 24, 2008 | 4 Comments
For 31 years I have lived without a really thorough, proper tutorial on how to wash my hands. Luckily the Starbucks near my office (well, or the third closest one, or the closest one to my immediate northeast) has step-by-step instructions on hand washing in their bathroom. This is so incredibly helpful. No longer will [...]
Oct
24
Oh, but I thought restricting abortion didn’t make a difference
October 24, 2008 | 1 Comment
It turns out legal restrictions on abortion do in fact lead to a decrease in the number of abortions. Gee, who woulda thunk it? h/t: Ramesh Ponnuru.
Oct
24
Krauthammer for McCain
October 24, 2008 | Comments Off
Despite his less than enthusiastic reaction to Sarah Palin, I don’t think Charles Krauthammer’s vote was really ever in question. Still, it’s good to see him take it to some of his fellow conservative journalists. Contrarian that I am, I’m voting for John McCain. I’m not talking about bucking the polls or the media consensus [...]
Oct
23
Who is being partisan?
October 23, 2008 | Comments Off
One of the funny things about the post below regarding the Knights for Obama is that they whine about partisanship, and yet I think a fairly good argument can be made that is they who are engaging in blatant partisanship. First of all, as Baron Korf writes in the comments below: Tacit Endorsement = Bad [...]