The Abolition Of Jack And Sarah

Power Line - He doesn't know Jack: "Almost everyone knows that C.S. Lewis, known to his friends and family as Jack, was a remarkable man of letters. For a serious writer of quality, he was incredibly prolific and incredibly popular. Almost everything he wrote is still in print, and almost everything he wrote is worth reading. Amazon lists 157 or 160 titles under his name. I mention here only a few items of interest.

Every high school senior should read The Abolition of Man. In it Lewis makes a powerful case for a version of natural law that belies the relativism in which students are inculcated in one way or another in school, especially in college. The problem is not strictly American or of recent vintage. Lewis was prompted to write the lectures that make up the book by a British high school English textbook. The Abolition of Man was published in 1943.

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Richard Wolffe is a charter member of the Obamamania media. He is the author of the Chronicles of Obama, now comprising the two books Renegade: The Making of a President and, most recently, Revival: The Struggle for Survival Inside the Obama White House.

In an appearance on Hardball last week (video below), Wolffe demonstrated his intellectual daring with critical words about Sarah Palin. Palin had cited C.S. Lewis as an author to whom she turns for divine inspiration. Wolffe thought this was absurd. Wolffe expressed incredulity that Palin turned to the author of children's books for inspiration.

Matthews interrupted Wolffe: "I wouldn't put down C.S. Lewis."

Moron.

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Junk Science Terror Tales

But don't worry, John Holdren has it right now with global warming.

Moonbattery: A Short History of Overpopulation: "The terror tales of Thomas Malthus and Paul Ehrlich have long since been discredited. Yet population bomb ideology lives on in the envirowacko movement. Obama's Science Czar John Holdren has even floated the idea of putting sterilants in our drinking water.

So long as there are progressives, there will be people who believe that there are too many of us, and that it's up to them to do something about it."

< BAD LANGUAGE DELETED >

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Children At Play

Moonbattery: Open Thread: "Via iOwnTheWorld, on a tip from TED."

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Bill Is Back!

... where he will head the Federal Government's Executive Branch!

Did Obama just quit? | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment: "All is forgiven, Monica. Bill is back!

I guess Obama abandoning his post is some sort of brilliant strategy. Or maybe he just doesn’t want the job anymore. Maybe he’s finally realizing that the more he talks, the worse things get for him.

Say what you want about Sarah Palin quitting her job, but at least she finished her own press conference.

(Hat tip: Hot Air)

P.S. Jon Ward: “In terms of Washington political drama, Friday was an instant classic.”

P.P.S. James Taranto: “I was at the 2004 Democratic Convention, where I watched Bill Clinton deliver a very effective, though completely wrongheaded, attack on the Bush tax rates. Today I turn on the TV to see Bill Clinton holding a White House news conference to endorse those same tax rates. It’s great to see him come around, even if his return to the presidential podium runs counter to the spirit of the 22nd Amendment.”

P.P.P.S. Iowahawk: “Ending weeks of speculation and rumors, President-Elect Barack Obama today named Bill Clinton to join his incoming administration as President of the United States, where he will head the federal government’s executive branch.”

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Imperious

Instapundit » Blog Archive » WALTER OLSON: Rise Of An Imperial City, Cont’d. “Even as most of the country remains mired in seri…: "WALTER OLSON: Rise Of An Imperial City, Cont’d. “Even as most of the country remains mired in serious housing recession, the capital has bounced back smartly . . . . The rise has been so dramatic that for the first time in five years, the average asking rent in D.C. is higher than in New York City, according to CoStar and a new report of third-quarter activity by commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley.” Plus this: “Even as veteran reporters elsewhere scrounge for work, talent and money continue to pour into Washington’s specialized news-gathering business, most particularly the sorts of newsletters that (for a subscription price in the thousands of dollars) will bring you fresh and fine-grained news of the doings of federal regulatory agencies in fields like energy, pharmaceuticals, securities and telecommunications.”"

But don't worry. Those Tea Party types are just innumerate hicks. Ummm, hmmm...

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Di-Hydrogen Monoxide, Part Dos

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Your Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaddies

John Stossel: Why do poor people remain poor? | Washington Examiner: "'Oh, yes. Of course. But let me tell you, bringing in the rule of law is no easy thing.'

De Soto started his work in Peru, as an economic adviser to the president, trying to establish property rights there. He was successful enough that leaders of 23 countries, including Russia, Libya, Egypt, Honduras and the Philippines, now pay him to teach them about property rights. Those leaders at least get that they're doing something wrong.

'They get it easier than a North American,' he said, 'because the people who brought the rule of law and property rights to the United States (lived) in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were your great-great-great-great-granddaddies.'"

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All Hat And No Cattle

Outcome of the Stimulus and the Burden of Proof | e21 - Economic Policies for the 21st Century: "Importantly, the results are also consistent with another recent analysis of government spending during Great Depression by economists Price Fishback and Valentina Kachanovskaya. During a period in which unemployment was extremely high and the costs of implementing a public works program were far lower than today, one might expect that fiscal stimulus might have proven more effective. Yet Fishback and Kachanovskaya find that a similar state-by-state analysis suggests that fiscal stimulus during the Great Depression failed to yield durable employment gains.

The burden of proof is now increasingly on the side of fiscal stimulus advocates. It is easy to point out possible flaws in each of the studies mentioned here — though the biases may end up either exaggerating or diminishing the estimates of the effects of the stimulus. But where is the evidence that the 2009 ARRA fiscal stimulus enhanced employment recovery in a cost-effective and sustainable manner?"

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Still Stux

FoxNews.com - Stuxnet Worm Still Out of Control at Iran's Nuclear Sites, Experts Say: "“The Iranians don’t have the depth of knowledge to handle the worm or understand its complexity,” he said, raising the possibility that they may never succeed in eliminating it.

“Here is their problem. They should throw out every personal computer involved with the nuclear program and start over, but they can’t do that. Moreover, they are completely dependent on outside companies for the construction and maintenance of their nuclear facilities. They should throw out their computers as well. But they can’t,“ he explained. “They will just continually re-infect themselves.”"

For the few of you nerds out there, this is what you'll take the rest of the night reading in rapt fascination. It's basically a reverse engineered view of what a "nation state" worm actually looks like.

The popular culture says that nerds aren't important and should be laughed at. And it's OK if we suck at science and math.

The popular culture would be the epitome of ignorance.

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Plus Ca Club

Well, folks, looks like it's time for a third party now doesn't it?

Power Line - Upton update -- House Republicans signal lack of commitment to conservatism: "Also telling is Politico's report that Rep. Joe Barton, who had been the ranking Republican on the committee, 'angered GOP leadership by allowing committee staff to circulate an internal memo pinpointing Upton's moderate voting record.' (Barton was a contender for the committee chair, though certainly not the only alternative to Upton).

In other words, the GOP House leadership is more concerned with etiquette than with ideology. It would rather have one of the most important committees in the House led by a moderate -- among many other things, Upton opposed extending the Bush tax cuts, opposed cuts to stimulus legislation, favored placing vast swaths of land off-limits to energy exploration, and co-authored the infamous ban on incandescent light bulbs -- than by a conservative who allegedly caused this sorry voting record to come more widely to light.

On this evidence at least, Speaker Boehner and his fellow old bulls seem more committed to preserving a club-like House than to pursuing conservative goals and principles steadfastly."

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The CPUSA Is Dead, Long Live The CPUSA!

Moonbattery: They're Socialists, All Right: "A favorite theme in horror/sci-fi movies is the demon or alien that can take over people's bodies. Once the villain has moved to a new host, the body it inhabited previously can be discarded. This is why the old Stalinist vehicle known as the Communist Party USA won't be needed for much longer. The fiend inhabiting it will soon finish its transition to a new host — the Democrat Party:

In [a Rasmussen] survey of 1,000 adults, nearly half of all Democrats, 42 percent, indicated that they believe the government should 'manage the economy completely.'

As for Americans overall,

In total, according to the poll, just 27 percent of Americans believe government should manage the economy."

See you at the Tom Wood's talk tomorrow for the antidote. 7pm 12/9 at the CSU (Fort Collins) Lory Student Center East Ballroom...

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Not Second

Great news: Shanghai teens destroy U.S. in respected international standardized test « Hot Air: "Follow the link for breakdowns of international scoring in science, reading, and math. I won’t spoil the surprise about where the U.S. placed, but here’s a hint: Not second."

Click through and weep. Note carefully the gap between Shanghai and whoever's in second.

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bOgus

Moonbattery: Obama's Federal Pay Freeze Is Bogus: "Congress is expected to approve Obama's proposal, which cancels only cost-of-living adjustments for two years. Regularly scheduled step increases for the 1.4 million General Schedule employees — who make up two-thirds of the civilian work force — will continue. The size of those increases ranges from 2.6 percent to 3.3 percent and by law kick in every one, two or three years, depending on an employee's time in grade.

Many government employees will also be getting promotions, which come with raises. Then there are performance bonuses. Even the hold on cost-of-living raises applies only to some branches, not to others."

With a capital "O". Or zero if you prefer. As in zero respect for you and me that he thinks he can get away with this buncombe.

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O How Civil

< BAD LANGUAGE DELETED >:

While his base rages, Obama faces tax-cut reality | Washington Examiner: "Obama had to abandon his goal of raising taxes on high earners not because Republicans opposed it but because not enough Democrats supported it. Pelosi couldn't summon up a majority on the issue back in September, and Harry Reid could get only 53 of the needed 60 votes this month.

Democrats, not Republicans, are responsible for extension of all the 'Bush tax cuts.'

Still, Obama in his surly statement Monday evening and his unusually brief press conference Tuesday afternoon was at pains to attack Republicans.

The president who first came to national attention for expressing respect for those with whom he differed insisted that he was eager to 'fight' Republicans and described them as 'hostage takers,' with the American people as hostages. Not much evidence of civility."

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11

This is Spinal Tap:

Examiner Sunday Reflections by Glenn Harlan Reynolds: Obama presidency turns government up to 11 | Washington Examiner: "President Obama's term so far has been compared to many fictional and non-fictional characters: Chauncey Gardener of 'Being There' is frequently invoked, along with the self-invented charmer Don Draper from 'Mad Men,' and of course there are the usual tiresome comparisons with Hitler that most presidents face these days.
But I have a different character in mind. The more I watch this administration at work, the more I think we're seeing the first Nigel Tufnel presidency.

Nigel Tufnel, many will remember, was the fictitious heavy metal guitarist in the fictional "rockumentary" "This Is Spinal Tap." In a classic scene, he displays his guitar collection and his special amplifier that -- unlike all other amplifiers in existence -- has knobs that go all the way up to 11, instead of just 10.

And that's what Obama has done: In his first two years as president, he's taken us to 11 in so many ways.

Under Bush and the Republican Congress from 2000-2006 federal spending was bad, and many people groused. But Obama has turned it up to 11, running up trillion-dollar-plus deficits that dwarf the worst we saw under Bush and the congressional Republicans, and producing open revolt from Tea Partiers and others.

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But here's where the analogy fails. In the movie, Tufnel's career was ultimately, saved by a surge of popularity in Japan. Obama, on the other hand, has pursued policies that seem to make America likely to suffer Japan's fate, a decade or more of economic stagnation coupled with massive growth in government debt.

For Spinal Tap, luck produced a happy ending to a humorous story of ineptitude and decline. Can Obama expect similar luck? Sadly, such happy endings are far easier for Hollywood than for Washington."

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Tilted

PowerLine nails it:

Power Line - Cartoon Common Sense: "Today the Democrats put on a tiresome theatrical performance in the Senate, posturing themselves as advocates for the 'middle class.' Actually, a family that earns $250,000 a year isn't rich; for most such people, it just means they live in a city and have two incomes. And I've been a little surprised at how few people buy the idea that raising someone else's taxes is somehow a big benefit to them. As someone said quite a few years ago, Democrats love employment but they hate employers. Which probably helps to explain why more people aren't Democrats.

Chuck Asay makes the point effectively; click to enlarge:

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Joblessness Made Simple

If you can't figure it out after watching this you never will. Skip ahead a bit until Stockman comes on of course.

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I'm Sorry Dave

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The Corrupt Genius Colorado Put In Office For SIX More Years

Good work morons. Way to evaluate talent. Go back to watching Simon Cowell or whatever else nice looking moron you're addicted to now before you do even more damage.

(Yes, of course he's right the Senate is rigged. Interesting we didn't hear a peep from Bennett about that during the election campaign. That means he's a corrupt bastard himself now doesn't it?)

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Let Them Eat Pie

The Simple, Two-Color Pie-Chart That Perfectly Illustrates the Fiscal Suicide of the United States of America: "Democrats can blame Bush, Greenspan, Reagan, Millard Fillmore and James Madison. But this year's deficit is on their heads alone.

Karl Denninger is using this chart to speak some truth to power: in a nutshell, the Democrats' era of vast unfunded, unconstitutional social engineering experiments -- Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor and hundreds of other bureaucracies -- is drawing to a close, like it or not.

The Pelosi-Obama-Reid Democrats just hastened their demise."

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