Seeing Robbie Fulks at Jammin’ Java

Seeing Robbie Fulks at Jammin’ Java

posted 1 day ago

Comments (View)


Dan Bern’s Economic Stimulus Plan

posted 2 days ago

1 note | Comments (View)


My favorite songwriter just released a thirty-eight song kids’ album.  It’s downloadable for only $7.00 at the link.

posted 2 days ago

Comments (View)


Auto-Tune the Ads: Sony. Justin Timberlake. Peyton Manning

posted 3 days ago

2 notes | Comments (View)


Crowdsourcing Comedy on Amazon Reviews - Pogue’s Posts Blog - NYTimes.com

posted 3 days ago

1 note | Comments (View)


"We must have respect for the law. We must! An undercover cop enters a bridal shop run by City Councilwoman Judy Wilkinson in West Point, Georgia, and nabs her in the act of serving gratis mimosas to her customers, in violation of both city and state law. She is cuffed and taken away in front of her customers, and ultimately gets away with a mere 30-days probation. (The cops also confiscated 16 bottles of the contraband champagne, current whereabouts unknown.)"

posted 4 days ago

4 notes | Comments (View)


posted 1 week ago

4 notes | Comments (View)


"In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often, that was no accident. Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies… . . Asked about the Congressional statements, a lobbyist close to Genentech said: “This happens all the time. There was nothing nefarious about it."

In House, Many Spoke With One Voice - Lobbyists’ - NYTimes.com

The scandal isn’t that these Congressmen used the lobbyists’ words in their speeches.  It isn’t even that they used lobbyists’ language in their bill.  The real scandal is that these Congressmen (in both parties) don’t have a clue about what was passed, and that they aren’t smart enough to converse intelligently about it on their own.  No, actually . . the real scandal is that all of these politicians will be reelected.

posted 1 week ago

9 notes | Comments (View)


Sympathy for the Bedeviled

complicatedshoes:

The three of them [Joe the Plumber, Prejean, Palin] all have one thing in common. The left has decided they need to destroy them… .

That’s true.  Each of these people were mistreated by the left.  Prejean articulated Obama’s position on gay marriage, and was crucified for it.  Joe asked Obama a question, and was crucified for it.  Palin … well, what Andrew Sullivan alone has said about her is disgusting and shameful.

Because of this, the three of them deserved sympathy.  But instead, they were elevated to some sage-like status.  They have all, for example, written books.  That’s insane.  They have all appeared on Fox News about a billion times.  That’s insane.  They have exploited their situation to become celebrities, and that’s fine … if they want to be cast-members on the next Surreal Life on VH-1, let them.  But to elevate them because of their victimhood to some greater exalted status?—isn’t that what conservatives usually rail against?

posted 1 week ago

89 notes | Comments (View)


"The Prejean story is not merely the story of a sad woman who has a need for being in the limelight, even if she has to destroy herself to do it. This is also a story about what is so seriously wrong with the contemporary conservative movement in America. Conservatives once again have egg on their face because they were so quick to claim Prejean as a great spokeswoman for their cause. Clearly Prejean is no intellectual. But the Right is no longer an intellectual movement. Prejean never showed herself to be a good advocate for any genuine conservative values of substance. She was not embraced because she espoused conservative values in any coherent way. Her credentials are based on one thing, and one thing only, that she went public attacking gays. That would seem to indicate that the contemporary Right has a very low threshold for membership. It apparently puts anti gay views ahead of everything else because those views, and those views alone, were sufficient for them to make Prejean a cause and give her a book contract."

Classically Liberal (via azspot)

This is, sadly, correct.  Too many on the right are so eager for any voice of agreement that that they’ll take any voice of agreement.  Joe the Plumber, Prejean, Palin—none of these people should be the voice of the right, but all of them have played that role in the past year.  This pains me, because we really need to have credible and reasonable people opposing this administration.

posted 1 week ago

89 notes | Comments (View)


More in U.S. Say Health Coverage Is Not Gov’t. Responsibility
There are no libertarian leaders in power.  There are no libertarian thinkers with an influential platform.  And yet people are becoming more libertarian.
The lesson:  There is no better advocate for limited government than incompetent government.

More in U.S. Say Health Coverage Is Not Gov’t. Responsibility

There are no libertarian leaders in power.  There are no libertarian thinkers with an influential platform.  And yet people are becoming more libertarian.

The lesson:  There is no better advocate for limited government than incompetent government.

posted 1 week ago

12 notes | Comments (View)


"The libertarian [Bill] Maher even attracts opinionated people from both sides of the aisle."

11 late-night TV shows: The good and the bad- msnbc.com

Note to MSNBC:  wanting to legalize pot and prostitution does not make you a libertarian.

posted 1 week ago

Comments (View)


"Scientists in Australia say they’ve developed an apple that can stay fresh at room temperature and, if refrigerated, can last for months. The apple for now is called RS103-130, but I think it’s safe to assume they’ll come up with a catchier name for it. The fruit’s developers (that sounds weird, doesn’t it?) say taste tests indicate that it is “the world’s best apple."

posted 1 week ago

1 note | Comments (View)


"[W]riting for a porno mag is an important American literary rite of passage, like getting into a feud with Norman Mailer."

posted 1 week ago

3 notes | Comments (View)


"Abstract: This Article explores what limits the Thirteenth Amendment’s prohibition on involuntary servitude places on the government’s use of informants in criminal investigations. Informants are a crucial part of all law enforcement efforts and a keystone in the investigation and prosecution of organized crime syndicates and “victimless” crimes, such as narcotics trafficking, prostitution, and gambling. While many informants merely provide previously-obtained information to the police, others take more active roles in assisting law enforcement, engaging in controlled drug buys, wearing wires, or infiltrating criminal organizations. This latter group of “active informants” is the most useful to law enforcement because they work under police direction to obtain hard evidence of criminal conduct. Though active informants cooperate for many reasons, most assist the police out of fear that if they refuse, they will be subject to criminal prosecution or more severe punishment. This Article argues that by compelling these “coerced informants” to work under such a threat, the government violates the Thirteenth Amendment’s prohibition on involuntary servitude… ."

SSRN-Coerced Informants and Thirteenth Amendment Limitations on the Police-Informant Relationship by Michael Rich

Mike Rich (a good friend) wrote this fantastic article about the problem of coerced informants.  It’s a growing problem—for example, there’s what happened to this poor woman who had unpaid parking tickets.  If you care about this issue, follow Mike’s informants twitter.

posted 1 week ago

3 notes | Comments (View)




eXTReMe Tracker