Saturday, June 11, 2011

Chris Matthews' Arrogant Display

Matthews: Weiner in Trouble Because His Behavior Offends 'Culturally Backward' Christian Conservatives | NewsBusters.org: "They never get the Speakership back because the people in the rural areas of this country who are Christian conservative culturally - you can say backward if you want - but they don't like this kind of stuff at all. They're not part of that 56 percent in Brooklyn and Queens who say, 'okay, we can live with this guy.'" - Chris Matthews

But 56% of Brooklyn and Queens doesn't even come close to being a significant minority of the entire country. Life exists well beyond the five boroughs.

Maybe Chris ought to try getting out of the city for a while.

Friday, June 10, 2011

It Backfired

I was reading an article a couple days ago by a guy that decided to de-Google his life.  He is a tech writer, so he's a pretty tech savvy guy.   Part of his reasoning in making the change is that he didn't want one company to have so much data about him.  Another part of his reasoning was to test his ability to recover his data from Google without a lot of hassles.

The process worked mostly well for him.  The important stuff [Gmail, Google Docs, etc.] were exported almost effortlessly.  Some of Google's more obscure services required more hoop jumpery.

In reading the article, I was inspired....

....to try yet another Google service/feature.  This time I engaged the Google Reader service.  Reader is a service that allows you to follow RSS feeds from a variety of sources.  It is incredibly handy for blogs that don't get a lot of updates [ahem  MIKE!!!!!!!!       SHERWOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!] as I no longer have to visit those sites to see when they have posted something new.  It will just show up as an unread post in the Reader.

It is also handy for higher volume sites such as Instapundit and The Drudge Report.  I can flip through the new entries in a few seconds, mark any that might be interesting for later reading, and move on with my day.

The ability to mark articles is handy for blogging as well.  Previously, I had emailed from one Hotmail account to another Hotmail account whenever I found an article worth blogging about.  The list is long.  My email account is filled to the brim with fascinating stuff.  Most of which you never see.

Be thankful.

Now I can simply make a list in one place throughout the day and use...or more likely ignore...that information later on.

I am still new to the Reader, so I'm not sure if there is a way to link directly from Reader into Blogger or not.  If so, then perhaps y'all are doomed.

Reader also lets you follow RSS feeds from Usenet groups in the same way that you follow blogs and other sites with an RSS feed.  It is a handy tool for keeping up with all the RACSals.  You know who you are.

In any case, my brief experience with Google's Reader service has been quite enjoyable.  If you don't mind surrendering another piece of your digital life to the leviathan that is Google, then I heartily recommend Reader as a tool worth your time.

Jaw Droppingly Stupid.

I infrequently engage in partisan phrases like "Smart Diplomacy!" and "The country is in the very best of hands!".  That sort of thing feels good, but it isn't really the sort of substantive criticism that I prefer to offer.

The last time I checked, most people prefer ice cream and cake to brussel sprouts and liver pate.

In this case, both bits are partisan fluff seem most appropriate.  The Obama administration has supported a call by the OAS for Britain to engage in discussions with Argentina regarding the sovereignty dispute over the Falklands.

Again!

For the people of the Falklands, there is no dispute.  They are British.  For the UK, there is no dispute.  The Falklands are British and have been British for roughly 178 years.  The Falklands have been British for longer than Argentina has had its current constitution.

In adopting this position, Mr. Obama's administration is siding with anti-American dictators like Hugo Chavez along with other anti-American leaders such as Daniel Ortega.  Obviously, his administration is also siding against our long and close ally, Great Britain.  Somehow this is the sort of 'smart diplomacy' that we were promised during the campaign?

From the comments comes the non-sequitur that sums this fiasco up most appropriately:

The next president is going to have to engage in a serious apology tour.


The mind, it boggles.

Monday, June 6, 2011

And Then Some...

 Facts don't matter.....
Like a number of famous faux gaffes in American politics, the facts of the situation no longer really matter.

The initial impression was eagerly grabbed by so many, starting with the reporter and millions of others gleefully sharing the story that reinforced their beliefs and/or desires.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

It Is The Little Things That Count

I maintain that the American media is biased towards the political left.  Given a choice, they will always choose to be less aggressive towards a politician that is left of center.

The most recent example comes via my close personal friend[1], Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame.

It seems that Mr. Obama recently made a visit to Rudy's Hot Dog in Toledo.  While there he sampled the local cuisine.  And by "sampled" I mean that he stuffed two chili dogs down his pie hole.

That is what chili dogs were made for, so I hope he enjoyed them without any post-meal difficulties.  Us older dudes gotta stick together when it comes to chili dogs.  That is especially true when it comes to the women in our lives constantly telling us what we should or shouldn't eat.

Which brings us to Mr. Obama's lovely wife Michelle.  It seems that she unveiled new dietary guidelines for America within the last few days.  I haven't read them all, but thus far I cannot find "two huge chili dogs in one meal" anywhere in them.

Which brings us to the British media.  They promptly pointed out the apparent hypocrisy of Presidential consumption of two chili dogs given the recent national dietary hectoring provided by the First Lady.  With photos of said consumption.

Which brings us to the American media who said in a tersely worded statement, "Who us?"  The New York Times omitted all mention of the deeeelicious dogs.  The Washington Post mentioned the dogs, but offered no photographic evidence.  Nor did they mention the recently issued dietary guidelines.

A quick search via Google's News feature suggests that only a few obscure media outlets and non-leftist polemicists, such as yerz truly, have mentioned this crucial issue.

A Bing search includes a full blown USA Today story on the event, with photos, without mention of the dietary guidelines.

How might we rekindle the sort of carefree and open reporting practiced overseas?  Elect someone named George W. Bush?

[1] Not really.  But when one longs for an Instalanche, one does what one must.