Tag: government
An openly gay volunteer for a Republican running for Congress in Wisconsin was severely beaten in his home after receiving threatening and obscene messages from the husband of the Democratic candidate.
Democratic civility: An openly gay volunteer for a Republican running for Congress in Wisconsin was severely beaten in his home after receiving threatening and obscene messages from the husband of the Democratic candidate.
The Democratic candidate is also openly gay, and it was his husband who sent the messages, some of which are also include racial insults of the Republican candidate’s Mexican-American wife.
Democratic civility: An openly gay volunteer for a Republican running for Congress in Wisconsin was severely beaten in his home after receiving threatening and obscene messages from the husband of the Democratic candidate.
The Democratic candidate is also openly gay, and it was his husband who sent the messages, some of which are also include racial insults of the Republican candidate’s Mexican-American wife.
“He is incompetent, dishonest and not interested in the actual work of governing.”
Guess who: “He is incompetent, dishonest and not interested in the actual work of governing.”
Seems an apt and accurate description to me. And the man who wrote it was an Obama voter in 2008.
Guess who: “He is incompetent, dishonest and not interested in the actual work of governing.”
Seems an apt and accurate description to me. And the man who wrote it was an Obama voter in 2008.
The FAA has issued an experimental permit to SpaceX to test fly its Grasshopper reusable rocket booster.
The competition heats up: The FAA has issued an experimental permit to SpaceX to test fly its Grasshopper reusable rocket booster.
The competition heats up: The FAA has issued an experimental permit to SpaceX to test fly its Grasshopper reusable rocket booster.
“We will make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted.”
Guess who said this: “We will make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted.”
And the speaker was not an Islamic radical.
Guess who said this: “We will make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted.”
And the speaker was not an Islamic radical.
Reactions to the Italian conviction of seven earthquake scientists
Two reactions today to the Italian conviction of seven earthquake scientists:
- Italy’s top scientists resign their government posts after quake conviction.
- What’s wrong with punishing bad predictions?
In the first, scientists are appalled. In the second someone asks what I think is at least a reasonable question. Even if we agree that prison is an overreaction in this case, it does seem valid to me that scientists face some consequences for misstating risks in certain circumstances.
Two reactions today to the Italian conviction of seven earthquake scientists:
- Italy’s top scientists resign their government posts after quake conviction.
- What’s wrong with punishing bad predictions?
In the first, scientists are appalled. In the second someone asks what I think is at least a reasonable question. Even if we agree that prison is an overreaction in this case, it does seem valid to me that scientists face some consequences for misstating risks in certain circumstances.
The TSA is pulling its invasive X-ray scanners from the country’s busiest airports.
Good news: The TSA is pulling its invasive X-ray scanners from the country’s busiest airports.
Unfortunately, they aren’t getting rid of them, only moving them to less busy airports. Nonetheless, this action suggests that the refusal of many people (such as myself) to submit to these machines slowed things down enough that the TSA was forced to abandon them. This suggests that more people should refuse and force them to do as many body searches as possible. In the end we get rid of them all.
Good news: The TSA is pulling its invasive X-ray scanners from the country’s busiest airports.
Unfortunately, they aren’t getting rid of them, only moving them to less busy airports. Nonetheless, this action suggests that the refusal of many people (such as myself) to submit to these machines slowed things down enough that the TSA was forced to abandon them. This suggests that more people should refuse and force them to do as many body searches as possible. In the end we get rid of them all.
A Christian group has been banned at Tufts University for demanding its members believe in Christianity.
Freedom of religion for me but not for thee: A Christian group has been banned at Tufts University for demanding its members believe in Christianity.
Freedom of religion for me but not for thee: A Christian group has been banned at Tufts University for demanding its members believe in Christianity.
The filmmaker who made the anti-Islamic movie falsely blamed by the Obama administration for the Libya attack has now been in jail for a month.
Freedom of speech is so 20th century: The filmmaker who made the anti-Islamic movie falsely blamed by the Obama administration for the Libya attack has now been in jail for a month.
The movie had nothing to do with the Libya attack. And even if it caused the riots in Egypt, who cares? I thought there was something called the First Amendment, a law to protect the speech rights of U.S. citizens. Yet, Barack Obama and his entire administration have done everything they can to blame the movie, not their own foreign policies, while going out of their way to squelch this man’s freedom.
But remember those binders!
Freedom of speech is so 20th century: The filmmaker who made the anti-Islamic movie falsely blamed by the Obama administration for the Libya attack has now been in jail for a month.
The movie had nothing to do with the Libya attack. And even if it caused the riots in Egypt, who cares? I thought there was something called the First Amendment, a law to protect the speech rights of U.S. citizens. Yet, Barack Obama and his entire administration have done everything they can to blame the movie, not their own foreign policies, while going out of their way to squelch this man’s freedom.
But remember those binders!
The unreality of the past four years.
The unreality of the past four years.
For me, this unreality began during the Clinton years, continued during George Bush’s administration, and reached its height at the 2008 election. The country chose to be delusional, making its choices not based on facts but solely on emotion and good intentions.
The unreality of the past four years.
For me, this unreality began during the Clinton years, continued during George Bush’s administration, and reached its height at the 2008 election. The country chose to be delusional, making its choices not based on facts but solely on emotion and good intentions.
Ahmadinejad: “How long can a government with a $16 trillion foreign debt remain a world power?”
Ahmadinejad: “How long can a government with a $16 trillion foreign debt remain a world power?”
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Though even here, Ahmadinejad isn’t quite right, as the debt of the U.S. is not all foreign.
Ahmadinejad: “How long can a government with a $16 trillion foreign debt remain a world power?”
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Though even here, Ahmadinejad isn’t quite right, as the debt of the U.S. is not all foreign.
The federal government has spent $27 million teaching Moroccans how to make pottery.
Your tax dollars at work: The federal government has spent $27 million teaching Moroccans how to make pottery.
Your tax dollars at work: The federal government has spent $27 million teaching Moroccans how to make pottery.
A Texas judge is expected to rule today on whether cheerleaders have the right to quote the bible at high school football games.
A Texas judge is expected to rule today on whether cheerleaders have the right to quote the bible at high school football games.
And if he rules they can’t, I say they should go ahead anyway, as they have the right to express themselves no matter what a judge says.
Update: The judge has ruled in favor of the cheerleaders.
A Texas judge is expected to rule today on whether cheerleaders have the right to quote the bible at high school football games.
And if he rules they can’t, I say they should go ahead anyway, as they have the right to express themselves no matter what a judge says.
Update: The judge has ruled in favor of the cheerleaders.
The modern pathology of liberalism.
It’s not just a river in Egypt: The modern pathology of liberalism.
It’s not just a river in Egypt: The modern pathology of liberalism.
Threats to assassinate Mitt Romney exploded after last night’s debate
Leftwing civility: Threats to assassinate Mitt Romney exploded after last night’s debate.
Leftwing civility: Threats to assassinate Mitt Romney exploded after last night’s debate.
The Cuban government announced today that it will allow its citizens to freely visit other countries for the first time in over a half century.
The Cuban government announced today that, beginning January 13, 2013, it will allow its citizens to freely visit other countries for the first time in over a half century.
This quiet announcement reminds me of what happened in East Germany in 1991. The government then made a quiet announcement saying it would allow travel outside its country, and within days the Berlin Wall was literally being torn down by its citizens. Shortly thereafter East Germany ceased to exist, absorbed into Germany itself, and the communist bloc fell apart.
Hopefully, we shall see the same thing happen to the Cuban dictatorship.
The Cuban government announced today that, beginning January 13, 2013, it will allow its citizens to freely visit other countries for the first time in over a half century.
This quiet announcement reminds me of what happened in East Germany in 1991. The government then made a quiet announcement saying it would allow travel outside its country, and within days the Berlin Wall was literally being torn down by its citizens. Shortly thereafter East Germany ceased to exist, absorbed into Germany itself, and the communist bloc fell apart.
Hopefully, we shall see the same thing happen to the Cuban dictatorship.
The models are wrong
Today one mainstream newspaper finally caught up with the global warming skeptic community and recognized that a recent release of data from the United Kingdom’s Met Office shows that since 1996 the temperature of the climate has stalled. For the past sixteen years there has been no global warming, at all.
Three takeaways from this story.
» Read more
It now appears to be illegal to drive around in Dearborn, Michigan displaying Israeli flags on your vehicle.
The tolerance of Islam: It now appears to be illegal to drive around in Dearborn, Michigan displaying Israeli flags on your vehicle.
The [driver] involved was driving in front of the high school as it let out. He was backed up in traffic, a police car immediately behind him. He had Israeli flags on truck. When the students began their assault he rolled down his window asking them to stop. After they pulled him over the police used the rolled down window as a pretext to accuse him of instigating the altercation. While being questioned by the police in front of the high school the [driver] received death threats. The police denied hearing them though the individuals involved were only a few feet away.
The assault also included one high school student throwing a bottle at the car.
Damn, I wish I lived close to Dearborn. I would be organizing a large parade of cars with Israeli flags right this minute.
The tolerance of Islam: It now appears to be illegal to drive around in Dearborn, Michigan displaying Israeli flags on your vehicle.
The [driver] involved was driving in front of the high school as it let out. He was backed up in traffic, a police car immediately behind him. He had Israeli flags on truck. When the students began their assault he rolled down his window asking them to stop. After they pulled him over the police used the rolled down window as a pretext to accuse him of instigating the altercation. While being questioned by the police in front of the high school the [driver] received death threats. The police denied hearing them though the individuals involved were only a few feet away.
The assault also included one high school student throwing a bottle at the car.
Damn, I wish I lived close to Dearborn. I would be organizing a large parade of cars with Israeli flags right this minute.
The new blacklist
As columnist Maggie Gallagher pointed out during the furor over Proposition 8, “Targeting an entire business because one person associated with it made (in their personal capacity) a donation to a cause is brand new.” Some gay activists are one step away from claiming that if someone disagrees with them, they shouldn’t be allowed to work anywhere. The original Hollywood blacklist never went that far, but you won’t see any movies made about the current intolerance of supporters of traditional marriage. [emphasis mine]
Read the whole article. It very clearly illustrates the reality today that if you disagree with the gay movement in any way, they are increasingly demanding that you should not be allowed a job anywhere, and your career, life, and family should be destroyed.
That doesn’t sound like the actions of an oppressed minority, does it?
As columnist Maggie Gallagher pointed out during the furor over Proposition 8, “Targeting an entire business because one person associated with it made (in their personal capacity) a donation to a cause is brand new.” Some gay activists are one step away from claiming that if someone disagrees with them, they shouldn’t be allowed to work anywhere. The original Hollywood blacklist never went that far, but you won’t see any movies made about the current intolerance of supporters of traditional marriage. [emphasis mine]
Read the whole article. It very clearly illustrates the reality today that if you disagree with the gay movement in any way, they are increasingly demanding that you should not be allowed a job anywhere, and your career, life, and family should be destroyed.
That doesn’t sound like the actions of an oppressed minority, does it?
“This is not a fact.”
Catholic bishops to Joe Biden: “This is not a fact.”
Catholic bishops to Joe Biden: “This is not a fact.”
Telescopes of the future
Two stories were published on Thursday about two very different future space telescopes. Both are worthwhile, but the differences between them illustrate how the industry of space astronomy — like manned space — is evolving from Big Science and government to small, efficient, and privately built.
First there is this story describing how the nonprofit B612 Foundation’s project to launch an infrared telescope by 2017 had passed its first technical review.
» Read more
“A profound disdain for the Constitution.”
“A profound disdain for the Constitution.”
The article quotes numerous Constitutional scholars, cites numerous examples of abuse by Obama, and repeatedly makes this same point:
Multiple experts interviewed for this article cited the Obama administration’s willingness to disregard laws for the sake of his policy goals as evidence that the president is disregarding the Constitution.
The last thing a free nation needs is a leader who has contempt for the law.
“A profound disdain for the Constitution.”
The article quotes numerous Constitutional scholars, cites numerous examples of abuse by Obama, and repeatedly makes this same point:
Multiple experts interviewed for this article cited the Obama administration’s willingness to disregard laws for the sake of his policy goals as evidence that the president is disregarding the Constitution.
The last thing a free nation needs is a leader who has contempt for the law.
A new survey of 13,575 physicians had found that doctors are fleeing the field.
Finding out what’s in it: A new survey of 13,575 physicians had found that doctors are fleeing the field.
The survey also found that over the next one to three years, more than 50 percent of physicians will cut back on patients seen, work part-time, switch to concierge medicine, retire, or take other steps likely to reduce patient access.
But don’t worry, “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period.” Not!
Finding out what’s in it: A new survey of 13,575 physicians had found that doctors are fleeing the field.
The survey also found that over the next one to three years, more than 50 percent of physicians will cut back on patients seen, work part-time, switch to concierge medicine, retire, or take other steps likely to reduce patient access.
But don’t worry, “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period.” Not!
Conspiratorial Media Incest
The long list of links — social and political — that this article outlines between the Democratic Party and the journalists that dominate the media is downright appalling. No wonder they can’t report objectively. Too many of them have been activists trying to get Democrats elected.
The long list of links — social and political — that this article outlines between the Democratic Party and the journalists that dominate the media is downright appalling. No wonder they can’t report objectively. Too many of them have been activists trying to get Democrats elected.
Science vs religion
The anthropologist who led the research into the Kennewick Man skeleton found in the Columbia Valley presented his research to Indian tribal leaders yesterday.
First the science:
» Read more
Two Baptist-affiliated colleges today sued the Obama administration over its contraceptive mandate.
We’ve only just begun. Two Baptist-affiliated colleges today sued the Obama administration over its contraceptive mandate.
There are now 33 separate lawsuits over this odious attempt under Obamacare to impose contraceptives on those who do not believe it moral to use them.
We’ve only just begun. Two Baptist-affiliated colleges today sued the Obama administration over its contraceptive mandate.
There are now 33 separate lawsuits over this odious attempt under Obamacare to impose contraceptives on those who do not believe it moral to use them.
A dying woman, refused a private screening at a TSA checkpoint, was patted down in public and forced to remove her bandages.
Does this make you feel safer? A dying woman, refused a private screening at a TSA checkpoint, was patted down in public and forced to remove her bandages.
They also destroyed some of her medicine. Worse, she called ahead to make sure she was doing everything correctly in order to get past the TSA thugs as easily as possible. Obviously, it didn’t work.
Does this make you feel safer? A dying woman, refused a private screening at a TSA checkpoint, was patted down in public and forced to remove her bandages.
They also destroyed some of her medicine. Worse, she called ahead to make sure she was doing everything correctly in order to get past the TSA thugs as easily as possible. Obviously, it didn’t work.
To avoid the cost of Obamacare, companies are reducing their full time stuff and switching as many employees to part-time as possible.
Finding out what’s in it: To avoid the cost of Obamacare, companies are reducing their full time staff and switching as many employees to part-time as possible.
It is very simple. The regulatory cost of Obamacare is so high companies are doing anything they can to avoid it. It is for this reason that they stopped hiring almost the instant the law was passed, and are now scrambling to find other ways to survive outside its influence.
Finding out what’s in it: To avoid the cost of Obamacare, companies are reducing their full time staff and switching as many employees to part-time as possible.
It is very simple. The regulatory cost of Obamacare is so high companies are doing anything they can to avoid it. It is for this reason that they stopped hiring almost the instant the law was passed, and are now scrambling to find other ways to survive outside its influence.
The Obama administration had declared that a company whose sole business is to publish Bibles is not religious enough for an exemption to the HHS contraceptive mandate.
The Obama administration had declared that a company whose sole business is to publish Bibles is not religious enough for an exemption to the HHS contraceptive mandate.
The company has of course gone to court. The mandate itself is odious and unconstitutional. It is not the business of the federal government to decide who is religious and who is not. Nor is it that government’s business to force behavior on anyone that they do not believe.
The Obama administration had declared that a company whose sole business is to publish Bibles is not religious enough for an exemption to the HHS contraceptive mandate.
The company has of course gone to court. The mandate itself is odious and unconstitutional. It is not the business of the federal government to decide who is religious and who is not. Nor is it that government’s business to force behavior on anyone that they do not believe.