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Generic Confusion

When you leave, my blog just fades to grey
Nu ma nu ma iei, nu ma nu ma nu ma iei


News? Check. Politics? Check. Music? Check. Random thoughts about life? Check. Readership? Ummm.... let me get back to you on that. Updated when I feel like I have something to say, and remember to post it.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Impeach Governor Spitzer!

In case you didn't already know about Eliot Spitzer's history of questionable decision-making, with his self-promoting attacks on Wall Street and insurance companies, you must see this revelation from an article on the American Idol finalist, and champion of Vote for the Worst, Sanjaya:

"It was really weird because the governor of New York came up to me and said, `I'm a fan, I vote,'" he said.


Voting on American Idol? Being a fan of Sanjaya? Now, even the most ardent Democrat must admit that Spitzer is unfit to govern.

But American Idol also offers Governor Spitzer a shot at redemption. If he wants to show true leadership, he'll sue American Idol over its promotion of lower quality singers. The show bills itself as a talent competition, and to advance some lower-quality singers just because it makes for better television is surely false advertising, or some other offense a lawmaker can target.

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Monday, April 23, 2007

A jaw-dropping case of missing the point

If you saw yesterday's New York Times, you may have seen the following article in the Fashion & Style section:

Eco-Socialites Make Cleaning Green a Priority

In this article, we see a bunch of New York socialites attending a veritable Tupperware party. Lured there by the prospect of coverage in the New York Times Fashion & Style section, they sat and learned about a line of eco-friendly cleaners.

Let's see how committed these people, who don't need to do anything to survive, are to the green lifestyle.

These days Ms. Barnett, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan whom Women’s Wear Daily once profiled under the headline “Sloan Ranger,” is today a consumer reporter for KNTV, the NBC television affiliate in San Jose, Calif. She recycles and has tossed away her children’s plastic sippy cups. Concerned with carbon emissions, she is about to replace the Barnetts’ two family cars with hybrids. “I turn the water off when I’m brushing my teeth,” she said. “I’m always learning, I’m always trying to improve.”

Still, she has no plans to reduce the family’s significant carbon footprint by, say, selling the Manhattan second home. “I’m not a perfect person,” she said. “I’m not the greenest woman in America.” And there was scant indication that other guests, most of whom, presumably, knew their way up the steps of a private jet, were contemplating major lifestyle cutbacks. Glancing about the room, Ms. Barnett said, “We aren’t all going to move to one-bedroom apartments.”


And then there's this:

Some listeners took their instruction obligingly, while a few glanced at watches. “I’m feeling so guilty,” said one guest, Jennifer Creel, as she made for the door. She vowed to trade in the suspect detergents at home for eco-sensitive alternatives.

Ms. Seinfeld, who is married to the comedian Jerry Seinfeld, was prepared to clamber on board. “I’m a child of two parents who grew up in the ’60s,” she said. “I’ve been recycling since I was born.” Did she plan to reduce her own carbon footprint by selling off a few of her possessions? “What I have and what I don’t have is not something I talk about,” she said.


And next:

Ms. Rockefeller wanted four kits, one as a gift to her housekeeper. “I want to spread the word,” she said.

She plans to practice conservation, to a point. Energy-saving light bulbs are fine — for the utility closet, perhaps. In other rooms, “they don’t give a very pretty light,” she said.


Wow. All I can say is, wow. Have you ever seen such an example of do as I say, not as I do? None of these individuals is willing to live a simple life, or not even that simple a life. Consider living in one 4,000 square foot home and flying commercial to vacations. These two changes would make a significant impact on the environment, while still living a lifestyle finer than almost all Americans.

Every little bit helps, sure. But at best, the obese person who orders a double cheeseburger, cheesecake, and a Diet Coke is the punchline of a joke. Any honest person knows that, to lose weight, a lot more needs to be done than have a diet soda. And to be green, a lot more needs to be done than purchasing some overpriced cleaners.

(Via Instapundit)

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If you need a definition of bias....

Another Rovian Conspiracy highlights a MSNBC story on the Virginia Tech atrocity that quotes a retired ATF agent on hollow-point bullets.

"It's not something that you would need for home protection, because what you are trying to do is eliminate an immediate threat," [Joseph] Vince says. "The idea of killing is what this ammunition portrays to me."


But is this person speaking from experience, and not with a political goal in mind? Referring to him as a retired ATF agent would indicate that. However, the ARC conspirator did more reporting than the reporter, apparently. Google indicates that Mr. Vince is a member of a gun control organization, has worked for Handgun Control Inc., and supports lawsuits against firearm dealers.

Either the reporter is incompetent, or he was willing to try to pass off an activist as an unbiased source.

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

Very cool

Ziggurat Con, the first gaming (Dungeons and Dragons, etc.) convention to be held in Iraq, got a mention at Instapundit. The convention organizers are looking for donations of gaming goods!

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Monday, April 16, 2007

Gun-free is safe, right?

Back in January, some Republican lawmakers in Virginia introduced a bill to allow concealed carry permit holders to carry on college campuses. The bill died in subcommittee.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."


Today, no one felt safe on campus. A gunman shot his ex-girlfriend, then crossed campus, and shot students in a classroom. At least thirty-two people are dead. Trapped inside the classroom, perhaps the students could have rushed the attacker, but many would still have died.

During college, I visited the campus a couple of weekends for anime events hosted by VTAS. Those campus buildings seen on the news look very familiar.

PajamasMedia and HotAir have many updates and links. And here's a Virginia Tech messageboard.

UPDATE: Over at the Roanoke Times, Bradford B. Wiles, a student at Virginia Tech and a concealed carry permit holder, describes his experience being unable to defend himself.

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Sunday, April 15, 2007

Another fine mess Clinton got us into!

The Alternative Minimum Tax is an example of a poorly designed government program, a tax-for-social-engineering from 1969 originally designed to punish 21 millionaires who were able to avoid taxes under that time's tax system.

Soon, that tax could affect more than a million times as many people, most of whom aren't millionaires.

Where does President Clinton fit into this discussion? Well, the Alternative Minimum Tax was originally a 24% flat tax, but increased in 1993 to a two-tiered tax with rates of 26% and 28%. Without that increase, the number of people affected by this tax would be 2.6 million.

OpinionJournal.com has the statistics.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

The conspiracy the government doesn't want you to know about!

Maddox is speaking truth to power on the secret conspiracy...

WHO REALLY SUNK THE TITANIC?

Read all the links!

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Spring Weather

Tuesday: High of 74°F.
Wednesday: Snow flurries.

I know spring weather can be unpredictable, but this is ridiculous.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Commercial music

What's the last song you'd ever expect to hear used as a commercial jingle?

There have been a few surprises in the past, such as a commercial using a revised version of The Nails' 88 Lines About 44 Women, but one recent ad campaign has really surprised me.

Wendy's is using an instrumental version of The Violent Femmes' Blister in the Sun to hawk fast food.

What other odd music choices have you seen?

Update: AOL has their list of top 10 biggest commercial sellouts, and this song is #3.

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