Monthly Archives: October 2011
October 24, 2011 — Steven Hayward
As we continue to fixate on the inchoate but plainly radical demands/desires of the lefty-losers Wall Street Occupiers, this passage from Hayek’s famous chapter in The Constitution of Liberty on “Equality Value, and Merit” hits the spot dead on: When we inquire into the justification for these demands [to equalize all outcomes], we find that they rest on the discontent that the success of some people often produces in those
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October 24, 2011 — John Hinderaker
Via the remarkably good Say Anything, a North Dakota-based blog, a hilarious news story about Occupy Wall Street protesters in Toronto who really want to take a stand against “greed,” only…they’re too lazy: “It’s weird protesting on Bay Street. You get there at 9 a.m. and the rich bankers who you want to hurl insults at and change their worldview have been at work for two hours already. And then
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October 24, 2011 — Scott Johnson
In his statement marking the death of Muhammar Gaddafi last week, President Obama inserted a mystifying passage: “[T]he Libyan people now have a great responsibility — to build an inclusive and tolerant and democratic Libya that stands as the ultimate rebuke to Qaddafi’s dictatorship….” “An inclusive and tolerant and democratic Libya.” Can we mull that over with a glass of wine at the faculty club? Obama added this — it
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October 24, 2011 — Steven Hayward
The usually supremely sensible Robert J. Samuelson has a curious column out this morning in the Washington Post, calling for former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to link arms and embark on an “apology tour,” admitting their failure to tackle entitlements while in office and forming a bipartisan truth squad to create an opening for compromise in the middle: They would say things that would offend their political
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October 23, 2011 — John Hinderaker
The long-overdue death of Muammar Gaddafi–now that he is finally gone, can we agree on how to spell his name?–has prompted two main reactions, both of which strike me as misguided. The first is the claim by many newspaper reporters and other liberals that Gaddafi’s demise demonstrates the great success of President Obama’s Libya policy. This is often coupled with criticism of conservatives for failing to join in acclaiming the
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October 23, 2011 — John Hinderaker
This “occupier” in Dayton, Ohio, is a typical lefty in his unfocused rage, his inarticulateness, and his hatred for everything that most people consider normal. The video was shot for Breitbart TV:
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October 23, 2011 — John Hinderaker
Today the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran a flattering profile of Alida Messinger, the top supporter of liberal causes and political candidates in Minnesota. Ms. Messinger was born Alida Rockefeller and inherited an enormous amount of money. At one time she was married to department store heir Mark Dayton, now the Governor of Minnesota. Neither of them has ever held what most people would consider a job. Despite their divorce, they
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October 23, 2011 — Scott Johnson
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United States, numbering at least 25,000. If it takes a village, we have a couple. Yet we know amazingly little about the Somali community, probably because we are afraid to ask the relevant questions. We know they are mostly Muslim — we can see the hijabs, we are familiar with the many local controversies to which their faith has given
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October 22, 2011 — John Hinderaker
The Wall Street occupiers, like their brethren in other cities, are a combination of crackpots, misfits and crazies. But some are crazier than others. Today in New York, a contender for the title of “craziest occupier” emerged: Dylan Spoelstra, 24, from Toronto, Canada was brought to Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric evaluation after voluntarily surrendering to the NYPD. Spoelstra, who had been ticketed by the NYPD for public urination at 3:14
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October 22, 2011 — Scott Johnson
I may well have erred in taking President Obama’s statement on our impending withdrawal from Iraq at face value, as I did in “The big bug-out.” It is impossible to take Obama’s declaration of victory in the statement seriously, particularly in the context of Obama’s evident failure to secure the immunity deal from the Iraqi government that would have allowed some American forces to stay put. In his statement announcing
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October 22, 2011 — John Hinderaker
Who is Barncat Jones? I have no idea, except that I recently started getting emails from him. This is his latest production–Elvis sings “The Solyndra Song,” to the tune of “Love Me Tender.” It is pretty funny, and not a bad Elvis impression, either:
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October 22, 2011 — Scott Johnson
By September 1970, President Nixon thought he had the left where he wanted it on the subject of the American commitment to Vietnam. “All they’ve got left to argue for is a bug-out,” Nixon told Henry Kissinger. Nixon was on to something. When the Democrats nominated George McGovern as their candidate for president to run against Nixon in 1972, McGovern frankly make the case for the big bug-out. Although the
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October 22, 2011 — Steven Hayward
We’ve been kicking around the idea of upgrading the Power Line “DC Bureau” with some specials, like short videos and interviews with notable people. So here’s one such early effort, a short (2:45) interview with Bill Voegeli, author of Never Enough: America’s Limitless Welfare State. If you haven’t bought it, then order it now — as the guest foreword says, “William Voegeli has produced a work that achieves a rare
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October 22, 2011 — John Hinderaker
It hadn’t happened since WWII, when an unexploded bomb was found in the garden, but the Occupiers achieved it yesterday–they forced the closure of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London: It seemed a gesture of Christian tolerance when a clergyman at St Paul’s Cathedral told police to allow anti-capitalist protesters camped outside to continue their demonstration. But the alliance appeared to be faltering yesterday as St Paul’s closed for the first
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October 22, 2011 — Steven Hayward
Caught up with this one from one of the conservative legends of DC: A Communist, a Muslim, and an illegal immigrant walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey Mr. President, how’r ya’ doin’?” Ba-dump-bump. Meanwhile, here’s some old print ads we’re not likely to see ever again.
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October 22, 2011 — Scott Johnson
A long-time reader writes to point out that the Washington Post’s attack on Marco Rubio (the subject of this post by John) was not the only partisan rant that appeared on the Post’s front page yesterday: The Rubio story is a credible contender for lame hit-piece of the year. But in the absurd Obama cheerleading category, the Post likely has a runaway winner with its preposterous attempt to exalt the
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October 22, 2011 — Steven Hayward
For sheer comic relief, it seldom gets any better than to take in the thoughts of the internationally renowned political theorist Benjamin Barber. How do I know Barber is “internationally renowned”? Because his own website tells us so. Clearly he doesn’t suffer from low self-esteem. (In this week of dramatic events in Libya, it may be worth recalling my observations about Barber’s toadying to Kadafy in National Review a few
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