I wonder if Instapundit followed up. One fourth of a mile isn’t that far to go. Hang on, I’ll ask him.
Because, perhaps due to the Tea Party’s influence, it has again become fashionable among Republican politicians to disapprove of taxes and government spending, and to advocate decreases in each.
Because my cynical side thinks they’re just kissing ass mouthing pieties and if they regain power they won’t actually make much of an effort, other than the token sort.
Because when it comes to politics in 21st century America, there’s no such thing as “too cynical.”
And because my non-cynical side (yes, I still have one) rather likes this Paul Ryan fellow. The cut of his jib, and all that. I lived in his district until just recently and he may be one of those politicians with “ideals” and “convictions” and whatever. He certainly hasn’t been just another go-along-to-get-along type in the House. And he’s the brainy type.
So here are my questions:
1) Does picking Ryan as his running mate mean that Romney is serious about cutting spending and getting the budget under control? And that he’ll really make those hard decisions once he’s in office? Not so sure.
2) Ryan is currently the chairman of the House budget committee. Is he going to be a more effective fiscal hawk as vice president? Not so sure.
3) Most importantly, am I the only one who sees this,
and thinks of this?
I can’t be the only one. I’m sure.
1) They live in Milwaukee;
2) They enjoy a nice porterhouse, medium rare with onions and mushrooms, house fries on the side and maybe some pie al a mode for dessert;
3) They’re having some Achilles tendon issues lately;
4) They both lost by 10 points tonight;
5) They secretly love Justin Bieber’s music.
Here’s a hint. Here’s another.
[Kind of bittersweet, I suppose. But you know what they don't have in common? The Brewers get another chance tomorrow.]
“Voorhees a jolly good fellow, Voorhees a jolly good fellow, Voorhees a jolly good ACK! Aauggh! Run! Save yourselves!!”
To hear some people talk, if the government doesn’t guarantee access to “free” birth control, it amounts to a ban on birth control. This is no more than statism thinly disguised [as usual] as compassion. Because we count on the government to take care of us.
Also [beside my point] go read those links and be treated to an astounding display of ignorance about how employer-based insurance really works. I’m going to have to assume they’re lying, just to preserve [these final pitiful shreds of] my faith in humanity.
On the other hand, you could read James Taranto’s column and get the idea that birth control is the root of all of society’s ills. You might even wish it had never been invented. This is not statism, necessarily; few people support illegalization, after all. [And that's totally a word.]
The widespread availability of birth control technology did coincide with a number of serious cultural changes in this country. But to claim that birth control made them happen is just confusing co-incidence with causality. [Good discussion here.] It occurs to me that my birth also coincided with the beginnings of some of these cultural shifts [close, anyway]; maybe Taranto would like to blame me. Bring it on, Jimmy, I could use the traffic.
Getting right down to it, birth control presented a set of options to women, and to men, that was different than the set of options available before. That’s all. Saying that birth control is itself responsible for declining marriage rates, increasing divorce rates, single-parent households, et cetera, is exactly like saying that outlawing guns will reduce crime. It’s saying that fast food causes obesity, that credit cards cause debt, that television causes illiteracy. It’s saying that human agency is inadequate; that people can’t be trusted to make their own choices.
Which, frankly, is not that far removed from saying that the government has to take care of them.
“State representatives on Friday advanced legislation to launch a study into what Wyoming should do in the event of a complete economic or political collapse in the United States.
House Bill 85 passed on first reading by a voice vote. It would create a state-run government continuity task force, which would study and prepare Wyoming for potential catastrophes, from disruptions in food and energy supplies to a complete meltdown of the federal government.
The task force would look at the feasibility of: Wyoming issuing its own alternative currency, if needed. And House members approved an amendment Friday by state Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, to have the task force also examine conditions under which Wyoming would need to implement its own military draft, raise a standing army, and acquire strike aircraft and an aircraft carrier.”
Instapundit: no particular comment of his own.
Althouse: “Frankly, I think all the states should have made plans like this a long time ago.”
An Instapundit reader: “When SHTF states matter more than the federal government.”
Mister Pterodactyl: What the fuck does Wyoming need with an aircraft carrier?
Cue Village People montage now
I’m glad to see someone thinking in what-if mode, but this is why I’m so skeptical of government at any level being useful when ‘SHTF’.
Yes, this is a (belated) reaction to Kathy Shaidle’s “Five Reasons Why Star Wars Actually Sucks,” from a couple weeks ago.
Shaidle admits to deliberately taking a nap during her first screening of Star Wars, and I’m guessing she never gave it another shot. That doesn’t actually disqualify her from having an opinion, but . . . . here’s a thumbnail version of Shaidle’s five reasons:
1) Star Wars was influenced by classic movies and cultural ideals. Also, Joseph Campbell.
2) George Lucas is kind of a douche.
3) Star Wars fans are worthless nerds – real men don’t have time for frivolous pastimes or hobbies of any sort.
4) A link to a wikipedia page about a William Shatner vanity project is better than one to a CS Monitor piece about holograms, bionics, and lasers.
5) Finally there’s a vague complaint about the cultural effects of the popularity of Star Wars. Vomit is involved.
To sum up, Shaidle hates Star Wars and anyone who doesn’t hate Star Wars. And those are her reasons why. But what’s missing from her list?
Think about it. I’ll wait.
Did you say “She didn’t actually say anything about the movies”? I bet you did.
Whining about the peripheral effects of a major popular-culture icon is like saying that Chris Christie’s shadow is “rotund”. So here, for your edification and delight, is my counter-list. Five reasons why Star Wars is actually awesome:
[I've got a bad feeling about this - Ed. Shaddap.]
1) If it wasn’t for the success and popularity of Star Wars, would we have gotten Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek TNG (and later incarnations), Babylon 5, Farscape, Firefly? maybe, maybe not. Not to mention The Matrix, the current fad for superhero movies, and insert your example here.
2) The special effects arms race. Before Star Wars, we had mechanical sharks and guys in rubber dinosaur suits. Now we get hobbits, terminators, and Na’vi. All because Star Wars made Hollywood realize that green screens are the color of money. And if Hollywood has gotten a little too fond of trilogies, summer blockbusters, and advertising tie-ins, it’s really a small price to pay.
3) Diversity! Remember the Mos Eisley bar scene? Of course you do. Bilateral symmetry is apparently quite common in that part of the galaxy, but otherwise no two patrons of that establishment were alike. Excepting the show’s protagonists, of course. Same for Jabba’s throneroom and the Jedi Council (almost). All speaking their own languages, too. In fact other than Admiral Ackbar, various Jedi masters, and that two-headed thing doing play-by-play for the podrace, every nonhuman spoke a language other than English. And everybody understood each other all the time.
4) Do, or do not. There is no try.
5) The Star Wars movies are endlessly fun to nitpick. Why can’t the Stormtroopers hit anything with those blasters? Was the Obi-wan/Darth Vader lightsaber duel shot in slow motion? Was the Death Star garbage smasher monster part of the crew, or what? EWOKS?? Does Jabba realize he’s that fat? Why don’t Jedi carry a spare lightsaber, since they seem to lose them so often? Why couldn’t Kenobi just force-push those buzzdroids off his ship? And for that matter how come he seemed so surprised when Anakin jumped back into the elevator car? Et cetera.
And was Jar-Jar really the most annoying thing about Phantom Menace?
No. No he was not.
Bottom line, if I want a movie with intelligent dialogue, three-dimensional characters, no space battles, and thoughtful well paced plotting, I can go see one. They’re out there, though they rarely inspire Lego sets.
6) [Did I say five? Well I have altered the deal. Pray I don't alter...oh, forget it.] Vader’s breathing, Yoda’s syntax, the sound of lightsabers being swung, C3PO’s whining, and dozens of other little things have become instantly recognizable metaphors for every occasion. And speaking of little things, Leia’s bikini has taken on a life of it’s own at this point.
Shaidle is undoubtedly not alone in her distaste for the movies and their long, long shadow. But when something is so widely loved, you might as well admit that there might be something to love, there. This notion has helped me to accept the existence of karaoke machines, Survivor, and sparkly-vampire movies, it can do the same for Shaidle and her ilk. Because fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to ill-considered, poorly reasoned rants that live forever on the internet.
I will give her this, though: George Lucas is kind of a douche.
