Archive for 2011

DODD HARRIS: REAL DOCTORS, FAKE NOTES. And the crowd at the eponymous Crooks and Liars blog tries to run interference. “One understands the impulse to discredit a narrative that harms one’s cause. But if the era of blogging, Twitter, and omnipresent video has proven one thing, it’s that it’s better not to jump the gun. Whatever credibility you have is destroyed when you’re proven wrong.” Luckily for them, the Crooks and Liars folks don’t have that much at risk!

Related: Naming Names. Plus, will Wisconsin’s Qui Tam law allow third-party lawsuits for sick-leave medical fraud?

UPDATE: Big Government’s Mike Flynn Confesses Elaborate Sting.

KIDS? EDUCATION? THE HELL WITH ‘EM: Madison schools will close again on Monday — the 4th school day in a row — to accommodate teachers protesting at the Capitol. They don’t care about your kids. They care about themselves, and about money, and political power.

UPDATE: Related thoughts from a high school teacher who feels differently.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Teachers get personal with Scott Walker’s kids. Fire ’em all and institute vouchers.

ANOTHER ONE OF MIKE BLOOMBERG’S “MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS” IS A CONVICTED CRIMINAL: “The mayor of one of New York City’s largest suburbs resigned Friday, two months after his conviction on domestic violence charges brought by his wife. White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley, who is appealing, said he had to spend more time on the case than he expected, and more than a mayor can afford.” Maybe we need a Gun Owners Against Crooked Mayors group?

And how long before Bloomberg is in trouble for associating with known criminals. . . ?

ANDREW SULLIVAN THINKS IT’S ODD that many on the right don’t share his enthusiasm for the revolutions in the mideast, but rather worry that they will turn out like Iran in 1979. Well, as I’ve said before, I think the United States squandered its momentum in 2005, and that now we look like the weak horse, and the Islamists look stronger. Of course, we can hope that the forces of bourgeois moderation win out, and I do, but is that how to bet? “Google executive Wael Ghonim, who emerged as a leading voice in Egypt’s uprising, was barred from the stage in Tahrir Square on Friday by security guards, an AFP photographer said. Ghonim tried to take the stage in Tahrir, the epicentre of anti-regime protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, but men who appeared to be guarding influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi barred him from doing so. Ghonim, who was angered by the episode, then left the square with his face hidden by an Egyptian flag.” And certainly the ineptitude of our government’s response hasn’t helped.

UPDATE: Reader Bob Ayers quotes Vince Lombardi: “There are three things that can happen when you put the ball into the air, and only one of them is good.” I thought that was Bear Bryant, but yeah.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ayers emails that he was invoking Lombardi, but not quoting him. And several readers say it was Woody Hayes, while other coaches get credit from some, too, but so far no authoritative souces. The truth of the statement, however, is indisputable.

MORE: Reader Alan Herrington says it was Darrell Royal, and he sends a link. Prof. Stephen Clark says it started with Gen. Robert Neyland, but doesn’t send a link. Which is too bad, because I’d like it to be Neyland.

MADISON CITY WORKERS supporting anti-Governor protests while on the job: “Obviously, we taxpayers pay for the salt trucks and the employees who drive them and we expect those trucks to be used to make the streets all over town safe, not to circle the Capitol Square for other purposes.” Well, that’s what you think. Actually, they take your money — to which they’re just entitled — and then they do whatever they want with it, and you’re not supposed to ask any stinkin’ questions.

FAMOUS KNOXVILLIANS: Reader Zack Garcia emails: “I know NASCAR isn’t one of your passions, but Knoxville hit a grand slam today. Our very own Trevor Bayne became the youngest winner, by far, of the Daytona 500. He’s currently the top Google search. Daytona was just his second race ever on the top circuit.” Congratulations, Trevor!

WHY THEY’RE SO ANGRY: Politico: GOP Govs Strike At Heart of Democratic Power. “Yet another element of the legislation could have even greater political consequences. The Republican would end the automatic deduction from their workers paychecks and make the unions collect the dues themselves, a move that would almost surely result in less cash flowing into labor coffers. It would block unions from collecting money from consenting workers’ paychecks for political operations and it would force annual elections on whether state workers even want a union, a lethal threat to public sector labor.”

See this from John Fund, too. Losing the check-off and having to actually work for members’ money would be a crippling blow, and would destroy the iron triangle in which unions take members’ money and use it to elect politicians who give more money to members.

Related: Battle Of Wisconsin Threatens Unions’ Political Might.

WILL WE BEAT AGING BY 2045? If so, I hope we can roll it back, since I’ll be kinda long in the tooth by then.

LIBYA LAUNCHES HARSHEST CRACKDOWN ON REBELS: “We are not afraid. We won’t turn back.”

UPDATE: Uprising in Libya; Qaddafi Out? Unconfirmed: “Among other unconfirmed reports out of Libya right now, one is that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has left the country for exile in Venezuela. Another is that Qaddafi’s sons, Muatassem and Saif al-Islam, fought each other, with the former shooting the latter. It’s hard to know much right now, since media coverage out of Libya has gone virtually black.”

MORE ON POTENTIAL COMPLICATIONS from those bogus doctors’ notes in Wisconsin.

And some further thoughts from a physician. “If I was an employer who received one of these sick notes, I would demand proof of a billing statement from the doctor’s office before I would let it slide. There is no place for this in the work place. And those doctors should be sanctioned by their state certifying organizations for not having adequate documentation of their confidential patient interactions. To make matters even worse, what we have here is theft of state taxpayers’ money.”

THIS WEEK in the future.

DEALING WITH ADULT RESPONSIBILITY. This reminds me of something my sister-in-law once said: “Our ancestors settled a continent, but we get upset if we have to go to the bank and the dry-cleaners after work.”

GOOGLE’S LUNAR X-PRIZE gets real. “Today the organizers of the Google Lunar X Prize announced the final roster of teams competing in a $30 million race to the lunar surface. And much to their surprise, 29 teams have signed on to the mission, more than they ever expected.”