Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Bringing in the Sheaves, Bringing in the Sheaves, Politicians Go Rejoicing Bringing in the Sheaves

"A proposed amendment to California’s constitution would give 16-year-olds a half-vote and 14-year-olds a quarter-vote in state elections."

From this article via VodkaPundit.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/09 at 07:26 AM
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A Little Handbook

Frank McGahon, over at Samizdata has posted some pointers under the title “Cultural Luddism for beginners." The first pointer.

"I’m an economic libertarian only”

This means: “I am not really a libertarian at all, but I quite like the idea of paying little or no tax. I am intensely relaxed about the prospect of a large intrusive government so long as it is large and intrusive in the furtherance of my own personal preferences about society”. The irony is that Cultural Luddites and Leftists from moderate to extreme subscribe to the same canard: That there can be a meaningful line drawn between economic and ‘other’ activity."

Posted by John Venlet on 03/09 at 07:11 AM
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"Schmaltzy Shamans" and a "Psychobabble Nation"

Also from the NYT, an op-ed written by David Brooks titled “Hooked on Heaven Lite." A short excerpt.

"All societies construct their own images of heaven. Most imagine a wondrous city or a verdant garden where human beings come face to face with God. But the heaven that is apparently popular with readers these days is nothing more than an excellent therapy session. In Albom’s book, God, to the extent that he exists there, is sort of a genial Dr. Phil. When you go to his heaven, friends and helpers come and tell you how innately wonderful you are. They help you reach closure."

Posted by John Venlet on 03/09 at 06:53 AM
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NYT Investigates Churchill Parrot Story

In a post here I mentioned a story published in Britain about Churchill’s parrot, which evidently swore like a sailor and hated Nazis.  Two commendable character traits for a sailor.  Well, it appears that the New York Times also caught wind of this story and has sent their crack reportor, Susan Lyall, since Jayson Blair is no longer available, to further investigate.  The story is titled “Parrot May Have Been Churchill’s, but She’s Not Saying." I wonder if Blair had done the story if he could’ve gotten a quote out of Charlie the parrot.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/09 at 06:42 AM
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A Nation of Builders and Realtors? Did He Forget the Mortgage Broker/Bankers

Robert Blumen, a software consultant, posits that the coming American economic engine will,

"Eventually, most of the US labor force will be employed in one of a few types of work: real estate developer, building contractor, appraisers, real estate broker, and real estate agent. Their work will consist of the construction, financing (and re-financing), purchase, and sale of residential real estate. Day traders who now trade NASDAQ issues may be able to day trade residential real estate if sufficiently liquid markets and continuous price quotes are available.

Housing will be more than the driver of the Housing Economy: it will be the only form of economic activity."

Maybe I should start another mortgage company.

From a piece at LewRockwell.com, penned by Blumen and titled “All Real Estate, All the Time."

Greg, what do you think?

Posted by John Venlet on 03/09 at 06:33 AM
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Dear Jane

"What is to be done for a 35 year feminist, or any other grievant, whose greatest aspiration is to victimhood and why must I consider that to be anyone’s problem, but their own? I wonder if it ever occured to the pampered feminists that the only gender-oriented oppression they experience originates internally, and thus, is not oppression, at all. The stumbling block to their success as whole human beings is, in fact, their own baggage, which they cling to like any air-headed diva would upon being informed that her 5-piece set of matching princess luggage does not meet carry-on criteria and must be checked at the gate."

Lynette Warren, at No Treason, on incomplete Jane Fonda.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/09 at 06:22 AM
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Monday, March 08, 2004

Just What Michigan Needs, Another Rich Guy Politician

And not just any rich guy, JonBenet Ramsey’s father.  Sheesh, why did he have to move to Michigan?

"John Ramsey, father of slain child pageant star JonBenet, is seriously considering a run for the Michigan House of Representatives.

Ramsey has established residency in Charlevoix, where he has long vacationed, and has indicated he wants to succeed term-limited state Rep. Ken Bradstreet, R-Gaylord, said Matt Resch, spokesman for House Speaker Rick Johnson."

And I’d wager big that the reason “local Republican officials” are urging Ramsey to run is for just this reason,

"Described as a wealthy businessman..."

The article is titled “JonBenet’s father may run for Michigan legislature."

Via Drudge.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 02:08 PM
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"Reality" is my stark preference."

The title to this post was taken from a piece posted by Jonathon Wilde at Catallarchy. Jonathon’s post is titled “Fool Me Two Hundred Million Times." Be sure to view the links Jonathon provided also.  Read it.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 12:35 PM
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U-1105 - The Black Panther

Why does Maryland have a “historic shipwreck preserve?” The Washington Post’s John Kelly answers this question in an article titled “Answer Man: Dive, Dive, Dive!" The submarine was a prize German U boat which the U.S. Navy got its hands on at the end of WWII.  Their interest was in the U boat’s sound silencing technology, which, of course, is extremely important when running around the world’s oceans underwater.  An interesting piece to read, with just a touch of humor.  It’s too bad the Washington Post has such an onerous registration process.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 10:24 AM
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Still Not Getting It

What follows is a quote, posted by Ken MacLeod, from Nahuel Moreno, an “Argentine Trotskyist.” The quote is taken from a long series of thesis by Moreno with titles like "It’s time to build mass Trotskyist parties, taking profit of the opportunities," or "Holocaust or Trotskyism. A coercive necessity: the conquest of the cosmos," from which the following was gleaned.

"Only Trotskyism, conducting the proletariat, will make it possible for mankind to enter into the stage of the conquest of the cosmos, that means, the creation of artificial satellites with a quality of life as good as on earth, that will collect solar energy and send it to earth by microwaves in order to have an energy nearly free of charge and in infinite quantity. Capitalism did have a progressive role because it meant the conquest of the whole planet, fundamentally America, Africa and Asia, for a new kind of production. It was a great challenge to which capitalism has given the response in its progressive stage. Socialist mankind has a still greater challenge, the greatest one ever hold by mankind: at the very moment when the continuation of the imperialist regime or of the bureaucratic regimes puts us in front of the holocaust of the human race, Trotskyism points out the possibility for the greatest jump made by mankind, the conquest of the universe by socialism."

Makes about as much sense as the Bush plan to go to Mars.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 07:36 AM
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What'd He Say?

"I’ve been on a bit of a Roman poet/philosopher kick the last year or so, and I was leafing through a biography of Seneca, the great Roman philosopher, by Paul Veyne, Professor of Classics at the College de France in Paris. I came across this little gem: Veyne describes the the “modernity” of Seneca’s writing style in the latter’s Dialogues: “short, clear, penetrating, telling sentences that can make difficult questions accessible by means of a sudden metaphor.” And then: “Despite his clarity, Seneca still must be taken seriously as a philosopher.” !!! That “despite his clarity” sort of sums it all up, no?"

Posted by David Post at The Volokh Conspiracy.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 07:26 AM
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True Enough

"Three Great Religious Truths

1.  Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
2.  Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian faith.
3.  Baptists do not recognize each other in the liquor store or at Hooters."

Via Diana Hseih via Tom McMahon via others.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 07:12 AM
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Consider Who Was Stunned and Who is Hailing

Here’s the headline, “Galliano Stuns with Cortege of Tattered Gypsies."

The first two paragraphs from the article.

"When British designer John Galliano showed shredded clothes inspired by homeless people four years ago, the media were enraged.

On Saturday, he unveiled a collection of tattered gypsy costumes held together with string and was hailed as a genius."

Now, take a look at Galliano’s “genius." I showed that photo to the lovely Melis.  Her comment “Isn’t that pretty?  A new way to carry your luggage?” The amount of sarcasm dripping from her comments is difficult to express in words.

Via Yahoo News.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 07:02 AM
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Heads or Heads?

"In the theory of probability, fair coin flips are the fundamental particles of randomness.  Mix them, string them together, put them in a list, and you can generate any distribution you like.  It’s an added bonus that they work so nicely on the playground or when you and a stranger have simultaneously claimed the last parking spot at the Cineplex.

At least it seemed that way.  But the renowned statistician Peter Diaconis has locked the fair coin flip in the ivory tower of abstraction, forever."

In a post by Chris at Signal + Noise. Chris includes links to a NPR report on this and abstracts on Diaconis’ talk on this subject.

Via Greg Ransom at PrestoPundit.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 06:49 AM
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Rand's Work Blooms in Russia

"The next printing of Atlas and Fountainhead in Russian is due out next week!"

Cool.

Click on over to Russell Whitaker’s site Survival Arts and take a look at the cover proof for Atlas Shrugged volume 1.

Posted by John Venlet on 03/08 at 06:30 AM
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