Saturday, October 27, 2012

Are Somalians committing voter fraud in Minnesota?

I doubt it. Or, I should say, Pics, or it didn't happen. I heard this same story in the 2000 election. Only in that case, it was supposed to be Haitian immigrants bused to inner-city Miami precincts, where they were handed multiple ballots and instructed to mark them Democrat. So this is either a Dem dirty trick of long standing, or an urban legend in a new guise. I must admit that I wouldn't be too surprised whichever one it is, given that Democrats committed voter fraud on national TV at their own convention.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Andrew Sullivan "Goes There"

But I doubt it'll stick. Mormonism is more nutty than malevolent. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, it neither slits my throat nor bombs my bus. I’d guess that black Americans have been more abused by Southern Baptists over the years than by Mormons–yet no one could seriously call Jimmy Carter racist.

No, the admittedly small percentage of black Americans who will be voting for Romney will do so because they believe his policies will revive the economy--not because they want to join his church, nor because they fear it. For many it may well be a distasteful compromise, but not so very different than others such that they've been compelled to make, in our nation's history.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Weekend ADHD Linklets

What killed Best Buy? Apple. Although this has been coming for quite some time, for some familiar reasons.

Trove of WW II-era Spitfires could be unearthed in Burma

Some people lived next door to the most totalitarian ideology in Europe and didn't learn a thing.

This is not the Droid they're looking for.

Remembering the Cuban Missile Crisis. Screw the revisionists, who after sheltering for half a century behind American freedom and resolve, claim that there was no difference between Kennedy and Khrushchev, and it didn't matter if nuclear missiles were in Cuba or not. What celestial grandstand do they imagine that they are sitting in anyway, watching events unfold from their Olympian perch?

This planet is a girl's best friend. Oops, was that sexist?

The challenges of translating humor to other languages.

All political commentary from now until the election is going to be weaponized, created for the sake of impact only, so I'm not going to bother writing any, let alone reading much of it. The campaign is like the NBA season: Too long, but only the last four weeks will matter. Still, Roger Kimball notes an interesting curiosity here: Will we have no October Surprise this time?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Cuba to end exit visa requirement

Any regime that imprisons and executes librarians is still scum.  However, this is a positive sign:


In a country of limits, it is the restriction that many Cubans hate the most: the exit visa that the government requires for travel abroad, discouraging all but the favored or fortunate from leaving the island.
Now that bureaucratic barrier is on its way out. The Cuban government announced on Tuesday that it would terminate the exit visa requirement by Jan. 14, possibly letting many more Cubans depart for vacations, or forever, with only a passport and a visa from the country where they plan to go.
The new policy — promised by President Raúl Castro last year, and finally announced in the Communist Party newspaper — represents the latest significant step by the Cuban government to answer demands for change from Cubans, without relinquishing control.

Plenty of progressives over the decades have wished for the United States to "soften" its position towards communist Cuba. This is because so many of the doddering old Reds were imprinted by El Jefe during their youth, invested so much hope in Che and Fidel and the communist dictatorship as a slap at the establishment/their parents/the system/etc. Now they can't bear to think that they will die unvindicated by history. Since the 80s, as European communism disappeared, and Chinese communism shifted gears, North Korean and Cuban communism became more merciless, although you'd never have known about Cuba, to read most news outlets. So, if a progg you know starts sighing over when will the U.S. ever "soften" its stance towards Cuba--or "the Cuban people" as he or she will likely put it--just ask in return: When will Cuba soften its position towards Cuba?

Romney Obama Debate Tonight

I've got a feeling that this election campaign is going to be like the NBA season:  only the last four weeks is going to matter.

Friday, October 12, 2012

The Biden - Ryan vice-presidential debate

A draw.  I say this after having slept on it overnight, and avoiding any post-debate spin or analysis.  These debates are intended to sway the undecideds, and the people who are only now starting to pay attention to the race.  Those folks will have a hard time choosing between the strong performances offered last night.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Random Rock Bloggage

Another cover of Foreplay/Long Time, by a kid who really has some fun with it.  If you enjoy this song, go ahead and spend the eight minutes on this.

Random Rock Bloggage

A really fun amateur cover of Boston's "Foreplay / Long Time" from 2009, for those who haven't seen it, in case either of you are interested.  Best enjoyed loud, or on headphones, or both.

Sunday, October 07, 2012

Yes, This Ad Is Offensive. But Free Speech Rides Public Transit, Too

Yes, This Ad Is Offensive. But Free Speech Rides Public Transit, Too

Meh.  If I have to put up with looking at leftist graffiti, other people can put up with looking at bought-and-paid-for anti-terrorism ads.

Friday, October 05, 2012

Teen Attacked By Teacher For Romney Shirt!

Yeah, likening a girl to the KKK is "just a joke".  Off to the rubber room with this teacher!

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

That allegedly racially incendiary Obama speech video from 2007

Drudge, The Daily Caller, and Hannity gave this video clip of a 2007 speech a big buildup.  It will soon be seen if it will have any effect on the undecideds.  Me, I think it gives a whiff of desperation to deploy it.  If this sort of thing was going to stick, it would have stuck in the '08 campaign.  Much better to instead slam O on his record in office.

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

"I’m Legally Blind, and I support Mitt Romney"

The Last Tradition: I’m Legally Blind, and I support Mitt Romney:

In response to the Obama campaign using a Down syndrome woman in an ad, this man went on the counter-offensive:

I’ve been a conservative since the days of the Iran Hostage crisis and my first vote for president was for Ronald Reagan.  He inherited a much worse economy from Jimmy Carter and never once blamed him for the mess he had to fix.  But, unlike President Obama, Reagan came into office having been a governor of a state.  He knew how to fix the problem with pro growth policies that helped create 25 million jobs.  Romney can do the same.  
President Obama is a Leftist ideologue who has no clue how the economy runs other than taxing the private sector to increase the size and scope of government.  President Obama measures America’s greatness by how many people get a government check as opposed to a private sector job.  That’s his vision and it’s wrong for America.  He prefers giving out 16 million free cells phones instead creating 16 million jobs. President Obama is not a leader. He’s an aggregator of government power who offers false hopes for the millions he misleads. People are hurting because of him and that’s why he needs to go. I may be legally blind, I see well enough to know he’s wrong for the country.