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Archive for November, 2003

Verdon On Healthcare

November 30th, 2003 by Timothy

He’s at it again, this time with some links to a thread about the problems with the Canadian system. Only a few MRI machines in the whole country? Jesus, there are a few MRI machines in Oregon.

Pristine What Now?

November 30th, 2003 by Timothy

Nothing better than an article in Science debunking the environmentalist claim that Europeans caused destruction of the American and South American forests.

… And You, Sir, Are No Jesus

November 30th, 2003 by Bret

The esteemed Jesse Jackson, referring to being booed down by blacks in Chicago:

They lashed out at Dr. King, they lashed out at Nelson Mandela, they lashed out at Jesus, so all of those who fight for change become the object of frustration.

More to the point was one of Jackson’s non-admirers:

What has he sacrificed for his beliefs? Us. We’ve been sacrificed. On the altar of his political ambition our people have been destroyed.

It wasn’t “cool” that JC Watts called him a race-hustling poverty pimp, but apparently many in the black community are finally getting fed up with Jackson and his band of shakedown artists. Hopefully more will continue.

On The Riot Behavior

November 29th, 2003 by olly

“When you get that much alcohol consumption in a concentrated environment, you get a synergy going on that creates a dynamic when they could go into the riot behavior.”

– EPD Lt. Chuck Tilby, discussing University Commons residents in the R-G. First it’s the synergy, then it’s the dynamic, then we start setting fire to mattresses. Break!

Friedman in ’06: Why The Hell Not?

November 29th, 2003 by olly

Kinky Friedman, acclaimed spoof-noir novelist and former frontman of the Texas Jewboys, is contemplating a shot at the governorship.

I wouldn’t bet money on the campaign materializing, much less being successful – I’m not sure how “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore” would go over on the trail – but I’m going to reread God Bless John Wayne over winter break to be on the safe side.

Late Night Misc. Bloggery

November 29th, 2003 by Timothy

This is currently the picture on Drudge, I couldn’t find a link, so I decided to upload it:

Now, I am pleased to announce, the OC Mr. The Duck Caption Contest! That’s right, the best caption for this picture of Mr. The Duck wins a prize of some sort. I’ll get the winner something, cash value not to exceed £1.25.

Late Night Econobloggery

November 29th, 2003 by Timothy

If I were a gallery, I would certainly be filled with penuts. However, Don Luskin is actually praising Paul Krugman for something. Apparently Herrdocktorprofessor (as Robert Musil would say) has gotten it right on trade. Good, even in anti-Bush guise it’s nice to see some serious econ-talk in the NYT:

Yet I keep coming back to the big good news of the past 25 years: in a world with more or less free trade, development is possible. We are not, it turns out, condemned to live forever on a planet where only a small minority of the global population has a decent standard of living.

I can’t believe Krugman said that. There’s also Steve Antler on “EconoEquivalence” (Newer Post Here). And Steve Verdon demonstrates the idiocy that is DailyKos.

UPDATE: Verdon on Health Care, here and here. Per a discussion with Oliver.

Least Justified Comparison With Nazis Ever!

November 28th, 2003 by olly

In the comments section below, Nathaniel points us at this letter of fun from UCLA’s Daily Bruin. The author appears to be an extraordinarily sensitive man:

In my mind, the implication of the sign [“THIS PROTEST NEEDS SOAP”] was that the progressive students were unclean and therefore subhuman.

Aw. Here‘s a response. The whole thing seems like a bit of an eyeball-roller.

Everyone Knows It’s Easier To Chase Ambulances After You’ve Had A Couple

November 28th, 2003 by olly

This sounds really stupid. (Link courtesy of Hit and Run.)

Coors and Heineken are named in the suit, but – as the Volokhs emphasize – Miller is not, despite its recent lowest-common-denominator mud-wrestling spots.

As ever, my legal analysis runs out of steam immediately after the statement concerning the, um, stupidity and stuff. But I stand by the headline.

Don’t Go To Bed At 7pm

November 28th, 2003 by Timothy

Just because your girlfriend must in order to get up for her opening shift, you’ll wake up at midnight. She’ll be up in about an hour or so, to get ready, so she can catch the bus. I’m still awake, and so there will be blogging…oh yes, there will be blogging:

ONWARD!

I was thinking about socialism earlier. Why is it that some folks seem to think an equality of results is achievable, not to mention preferable? I’ve long said, in a half-serious manner, that it’s some sort of mental disorder. Of course, the obvious answer is laziness. Laziness and mental disease, however, are not adequate to explain such a pervasive and organized world-view.

My conclusion is this: Socialism springs from a fundamental sense of entitlement and a belief that people’s choices (or merit) have nothing to do with their value. This insidious combination of perspectives leads to the belief that people deserve compensation simply for being alive and that the successful should therefore be forced to support those who fail. This misunderstands motivation to a large degree, and at this date completely ignores the last 100 years of human history. It also assumes that people have no control over their own destiny; the successful ended up on top by no effort of their own, through some sort of third party mechanism, and that the same is true of those who fail. That’s quite amusing, given that it reeks of Calvinism and that most socialists are atheists or other non-Christians. In some sense, socialism is the newest form of Calvinism: Our fate is decided, no matter what we do, but we should still be good for whatever reason. It seems that condescending paternalism will never go away, it will just make The Capitalist its new boogie man instead of God.

Happy Thanksgiving

November 27th, 2003 by olly

Yes, there is an echo in here.

And at this time of year, I think it’s appropriate to say a little prayer. (Plucked from the gooey, delicious center of this installment of Filler.)

Happy Thanksgiving

November 27th, 2003 by Timothy

That is all.

Women Get All the Luck

November 27th, 2003 by Chris

I can’t believe no one is volunteering for this. And for that matter, why do women get this device? What makes us males incapable of handling a device that allows us to pleasure ourselves at the touch of a button? Err…hmmm…ok, maybe that is self-explainatory, but still, us males deserve this device as well!

Emerald Thanksgiving Columns II: Electro-Shakra Blues

November 26th, 2003 by olly

If you think I’m being too kind to Bechard in my previous post, I invite you to sit through this instead.

Thank you, all poets, philosophers and anarchists of the night. Thank you to colorful leaves falling from trees — colors that I dare not name because doing so would diminish the beauty they bestow upon me.

With apologies to Colin, whose joke this is, allow me to fill in some of the blanks. ORANGE! RED! BROWN! ORANGEY-BROWN! BURNT SIENNA! AUBURN! TAN! RUSSET! UMBER!

I hope that the beauty is not too terribly diminished.

Meanwhile: blah dumpster divers, blah red beans and rice, blah cultivating conversation over convenience (if hippies gave management consultancy seminars, that’d be a real winner – it’s so catchy!) blah. However, I must commend our reigning favorite columnist for getting in a mention of sleep. You just know that’s where he’s a viking.

Emerald Thanksgiving Columns I: Credit Where It’s Due

November 26th, 2003 by olly

If it’s November, it must be time for another one of these goddamn articles, which Joe Bechard could presumably write in his sleep by now.

Blah blah consumerism, blah materialism, blah American culture sucks blah. Our take-take-take lifestyles, selfish quest for luxury, insatiable thirst for more, needless accumulation of possessions, and search for the holy grails of convenience and status have led us to gorge ourselves into food-induced paralyses [sic], flail desperately to live the good life, become wasteful and improvident beings, and get more than enough food in our faces.

Meh. Some people just can’t stop with the self-flagellation for even five minutes, can they? But this time it’s all in the service of something, namely the last paragraph:

And that is why, while everyone else is sweating a gravy funk and dodging flying rivets from splitting pants, I’ll be spending this Thanksgiving cold, naked, shivering and sobbing in my empty bathtub.

Whereupon I sprayed coffee out of my nose. This raises an interesting question: Has Bechard been parodying himself all this time? Did we just fail to notice? Maybe that’s a stretch, but I’m feeling generous. That’s a great ending. Joe Bechard, I salute you.