Archive for July, 2012

OUCH: Calling BS on Reid’s Bain tax claims. “Harry Reid is either a liar or a lousy critical thinker.”

Like Nancy Pelosi, if you were to cast Harry Reid as the villain in an Ayn Rand movie, people would think you were being unrealistically heavy-handed.

No word on the truth or falsity of those Harry Reid pederasty rumors, though.

LIFE AMONG THE BARBARIANS: Illinois Governor Proposes State Assault Weapons Ban. “Illinois could ban assault weapons under a plan proposed Tuesday by Gov. Pat Quinn, but any gun control regulation would have to clear major hurdles even with a renewed nationwide debate. The Chicago Democrat used his amendatory veto power to gut a bill related to ammunition sales and add language prohibiting the manufacture, delivery, sale and possession of semi-automatic assault weapons and attachments. Illinois lawmakers could accept or override the changes, or not call a vote at all.”

Given that even with their Naziesque gun control, Chicago is the murder capital of the world, maybe they should try a different approach. Or ban Chick-Fil-A, whatever.

LOOK FOR THE UNION LABEL: Former SEIU Leader Indicted. “Not long ago, Tyrone Freeman was a rising young star in the national labor movement, already the head of California’s biggest union local and a force in Democratic politics from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. Freeman’s quick climb up the ranks of the powerful Service Employees International Union burnished his reputation as an effective advocate for the disadvantaged, a man who helped improve the lot of about 190,000 workers paid about $9 an hour to provide in-home care for the infirm. On Tuesday, however, Freeman was indicted on federal charges of stealing from those workers to enrich himself, including by billing the union for costs from his Hawaii wedding. . . . Citing records and interviews, The Times reports showed that Freeman, 42, funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars of his union members’ hard-earned dues to his relatives and lavished similar sums on golf tournments, expensive restaurants and a Beverly Hills cigar club. Last month, his wife pleaded guilty to an income tax charge in connection with more than $540,000 she received in union consulting payments at Freeman’s direction.”

Who could have imagined such a thing?

BRYAN PRESTON: Ted Cruz Rises To Victory In Texas Senate Republican Runoff. “Cruz’s win puts a conservative, Tea Party advocate in Washington and also reflects the changing face of the state’s Republican Party. The Texas GOP is far from the caricature of a typically white southern GOP, but Sen. Cruz will be a banner-carrier for the state who happens to carry Hispanic heritage. For a key Republican state that is already demographically majority minority, the significance of this should not be lost. . . . The Tea Party picked up other GOP runoff wins in Texas, notably Dr. Donna Campbell in the state Senate race 25. She is a leader to watch. Former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams has fought off a runoff challenge in Texas Congressional District 25. But Cruz’s win is the star, and it is comprehensive. He won all across the Lone Star State, in the large cities (except liberal Austin) and in the rural areas. He won comfortably, with about 53% of the vote. Cruz’s win is a strong sign that the Tea Party is capable of backing a strong candidate against a stronger candidate, at least on paper, and back that candidate to a resounding victory.”

KEVIN WILLIAMSON: Milton Friedman: An Economics Of Love.

Friedman’s libertarianism was based on an economics of love: for real human beings leading real human lives with real human needs and real human challenges. He loved freedom not only because it allowed IBM to pursue maximum profit but because it allowed for human flourishing at all levels. Economic growth is important to everybody, but it is most important to the poor. While Friedman’s contributions to academic economics are well appreciated and his opposition to government shenanigans is celebrated, what is seldom remarked upon is that the constant and eternal theme of his popular work was helping the poor and the marginalized. Friedman cared about the minimum wage not only because it distorted labor markets but because of the effect it has on low-skill workers: permanent unemployment. He called the black unemployment rate a “disgrace and a scandal,” and the unemployment statute the “most anti-black law” on the books with good reason. He talked about two “machines”: “There has never been a more effective machine for the elimination of poverty than the free-enterprise system and a free market.” “We have constructed a governmental welfare scheme which has been a machine for producing poor people. . . . I’m not blaming the people. It’s our fault for constructing so perverse and so ill-shaped a monster.”

I knew what he was talking about, because I had seen the monster up close.

Read the whole thing.

WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR TEXAS RUNOFF RESULTS.

UPDATE: According to Prof. Jacobson, above, the AP has called the race for Ted Cruz. That’s a big Tea Party win if it holds up.

CREEPY POLICE: Cop Harasses Dad for Holding Hands With Daughter, Demands Gratitude. Why don’t we know the cop’s name?

UPDATE: Alex Bensky writes:

I’m a bit confused. A father working along the street with his daughter (who from the story seemed not to be dragging or forcing her) and it’s assumed he’s a pervert.

Then the DoJ requires universities to institute a sexual assault legal process that seems to be inspired by Andrei Vyshinsky, denying men even pro forma due process.

Why isn’t this a war on men?

Who says it’s not?

OUT: Worries about obesity. IN: Worries about “toe-besity.” “New York-based Dr. Oliver Zong, who specialises in slimming down people’s feet, told Good Morning America that a growing number of people are beginning to obsess over smaller details of their feet, like the width of their toes.”

BUZZFEED: The Strange Devolution Of Obama’s Campaign Emails, 2008-2012. “Is it me, or have they gotten dumber?” It’s not you. “The poll numbers and strategy videos are gone. Now, the campaign’s emails are often hectoring, manipulative and full of angst, and there are just way more of them.”

HEY, WAIT, I THOUGHT THOSE WERE FIGMENTS OF DICK CHENEY’S IMAGINATION: “Britain will help the Iraqi government dispose of what’s left of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons, still stored in two bunkers in north of Baghdad, the British embassy in Baghdad announced Monday. . . . Saddam stored the chemical weapons near population centers so that he could access them quickly, despite the danger to his civilian population.”

HAPPY TO HELP: Reader Joanna Fuchs writes:

Love the InMotion elliptical I bought through your link.

I bought the under-the-desk InMotion mini-elliptical machine, and I love it. It assembles very quickly, fits nicely under my desk and pedaling is very smooth. I pedal all the time I’m at my computer because it’s so easy and enjoyable. Thanks for the tip!

Glad to help. And that reminds me that I owe readers a review of the FitDesk, which I promised a couple of weeks ago. It’s a pretty cool gadget. Helen uses it almost daily, I use it on non-gym days. The laptop fits neatly on the built-in foam desk (I’ve just left an old MacBook Pro as a permanent addition) and it’s easy to pedal and browse or blog. The pedal action is adjustable and pretty smooth, and the seat is comfortable and wide — not narrow like a bike seat. My only complaint is that I wish the seat adjusted one notch higher than it goes. I keep it on the top setting, and it felt like it was a bit short, but so far I’m not getting any knee pain or anything so I guess it’s enough. But if you’re taller than me (6’3″) you might give it a pass. Helen and I have each lost about a pound, but whether that’s the desk or something else, who knows?

DON BOUDREAUX: Milton Friedman, a centennial appreciation. “Note that Friedman would heartily agree with President Obama that no one prospers in today’s economy exclusively through his or her own individual efforts. Where Friedman would disagree – and disagree strongly – is with Obama’s suggestion that the main source of help that each of us gets from others is government. While government might supply some necessary pieces, such as highways and law courts, the vast bulk of what society supplies for each person’s sustenance and success comes not from government but from the ongoing private efforts of millions of individuals acting in free markets.”

DRINKING WHILE PREGNANT: A DEBATE. There’s no real evidence that modest amounts of alcohol do any harm at all. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is associated with quite heavy drinking.