Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Oscar season has the movies

Don't know why there's nothing that interests me on the big screen all year, and then they have to cram all the good stuff into one month.

I'm really looking forward to American Hustle, Her, Hobbit DOS, Catching Fire (actually already caught this one), Book Thief, Secret Life of Walter Mitty, August: Osage County, and the Invisible Woman.   

Of course, a bunch of these are probably films I can wait to see on video, but at least 3 (American Hustle, WOWS, Hobbit DOS) are big screen musts for me.

And speaking of the Wolf of Wall Street, Scott Foundras from Variety offers this enticing summation:
If some of the advance hype suggested that “Wolf” was going to be a kind of “Goodfellas” on Wall Street, in reality it’s more like the jittery, paranoid third act of that movie stretched out to three hours, starting at a fever pitch and heading toward the nuclear.
Saturday, November 23, 2013

Leaving the hunting cabin

Another year in the books for the boys. A successful one at that: two deer harvested.

Clean-up at the end is always a bit of challenge. All the gear needs to get organized, packed, and stored for another year. Plus the cabin has to be restored to the condition it was in before 10 guys got around to a weeks worth of hunting.

Those challenges can be amplified, however, for some of our members. As a fellow contributor of our blog put it, "I should have made a bigger distinction between the piles of clothes that are clean and those that are sh*t."

How to overcome this packing obstacle?

"I just smell every item," he explained.
Sunday, October 27, 2013

Here's a cool thought

I love "Money for Nothing" and Mark Knopfler. But I'd love to see it live with Sting (who sang background vocals on the studio track) on stage. Better yet if we could just get silly and have Phil Collins playing drums. And if we're just being stupid, might as well have Clapton join Knopfler on guitar.

Oh snap...

Monday, October 21, 2013

'This Week': Sen. Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush Interview on Government Shutdown...


Wednesday, October 09, 2013

James Woods

is pretty the much the man.   As if you didn't know that already, just from Lester Diamond.

But here he is IRL, living the creed "Country First."

Conservative actor James Woods: 'I don't expect to work again' - Washington Times
Tuesday, October 08, 2013

Libertarian Taxi

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Negotiations

Thursday, August 22, 2013

I'm pretty sure this a Rob Reiner mockumentary

and not an actual Democratic Congressman speaking on the record.



One more:


Friday, August 16, 2013

You're so cute when you're slurring your speech

There's nothing better than a pretty lyric. Particularly when it confirms the nobility of the human heart:

I once knew a girl 
In the years of my youth 
With eyes like the summer 
All beauty and truth 

But in the morning I fled 
Left a note and it said 
"Someday day you will be loved" 

I cannot pretend that I felt any regret 
Because each broken heart will eventually mend 
As the blood runs red, down the needle and thread 
Someday, you will be loved 

You'll be loved, you'll be loved 
Like you never have known 
The memories of me will seem more like bad dreams 
Just a series of blurs, like I never occurred 

Someday, you will be loved
Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Meet Alejandro

NCFOM QOTD

Some of the old time sheriffs never even wore a gun. A lotta folks find that hard to believe.

Jim Scarborough'd never carried one; that's the younger Jim. Gaston Boykins wouldn't wear one up in Comanche County.

I always liked to hear about the oldtimers. Never missed a chance to do so.
Friday, August 09, 2013

Aykroyd on Trading Places

I thought that all of you, but especially D.C., would appreciate this little video, in which Bloomberg "posits that this is the best movie ever made about American business." Aykroyd is just a cool guy. Bonus points for ending the clip with our favorite movie misquote.
Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Score one for SHK


I was looking back--way back--in the deep OccObs archives.   It was interesting to read some of the posts during the earliest stages of the race for the GOP nomination in the '08 cycle.  In the Fall of '06, I found Duncan Hunter an interesting possibility because he was beating the drum of protectionism;  I thought Brownback would be the best conservative option from an ideological perspective, but for his support of McCain/Kennedy (in hindsight, his support of McCain/Kennedy may have been his strongest recommendation); and I was commending Virgil Goode for insinuating all Muslims are the enemy.  What a clown circus.

SHK, OTOH, got one big prediction right. Unfortunately, the link in the original blogpost no longer works. I found this NYP story from the same date. Any idea if it was what you were referencing, SHK?

Here's the upshot of the article:
Some of Rudy Giuliani's fiercest city critics are set to launch "swift boat"-type strikes to inform voters around the nation about the former mayor's behavior before 9/11, The Post has learned...

...Here are six obstacles Rudy Giuliani will have to overcome if he expects to be president:

1) BERNARD KERIK - Former top cop imploded after nomination as homeland security chief raised ethical questions.

2) RUSSELL HARDING- Patronage pol pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $400,000. Investigators also found child porn on Harding's computer.

3) WARDROBE MALFUNCTION - Giuliani might get dressed down for wearing women's clothes on "Saturday Night Live."

4) WIFE STRIFE - First the cousin, later the mistress.Donna Hanover was the woman in the middle.

5) WHAT'S LEFT - Giuliani has liberal-leaning views on gun control, abortion rights and gay rights.

6) THREE'S A CROWD - Giuliani moved out of Gracie Mansion (right) and into a condo with two gay men and a dog.
Tuesday, August 06, 2013

NCFOM QOTD


Ellis:                    You can't stop what's coming.
                            It ain't all waiting on you.
                           That's vanity.


Sunday, August 04, 2013

This is How You Filibuster

I know this is old news already, but I don't watch Parks & Rec despite Caribou's insistence.  Excellent filibuster. 


Monday, July 22, 2013

I knew I liked this guy...

...on WEEDS to read article.

Why does anyone really have to be told this?

Link

Friday, July 19, 2013

NCFOM QOTD


W: This is just a deal gone wrong, isn't it?

ETB:    Yup. Appears to have been a glitch or two.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Deconstructing Reality and Zimmerman

Why does A.G. Holder continue to stoke to the fires of racial tension, when this case was, as even the prosecutors have admitted, not about race?  See link below for an excellent analysis.

Deconstructing Reality and Zimmerman
Monday, July 15, 2013

Early Read on the GOP Race for President

Over at Race 4 2016, I offered my early read on the '16 GOP race.

Figured I'd share with y'all over here:
Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Media vs George Zimmerman

Breitbart did a fabulous job putting a timeline to the "reporting" done on the Zimmerman trial by the MSM.   Misinformation, hyperbole, and slander were present a plenty, with each new bit of race-baiting built on the foundation of yesterday's falsehood.   Please give the Breitbart story a read here.

In this case, it is the loss of Trayvon Martin's life that is most tragic.  Prayers and best wishes to his family, who undoubtedly feel like the scabs have been ripped off these deep and still healing wounds.

That said, the public disservice done by the media in creating a fire storm, one that did not fit the facts of the case, may be the most disturbing.  One might even call it a high-tech lynching, available via streaming video and RSS syndication.    It went low-tech when Al Sharpton (of Tawana Brawley fame) led demonstrations that managed to intimidate the State Attorney's office into bringing charges the police had determined were unwarranted.

The press built this narrative one step at a time.  Rather than admit that there was no evidence as to who began the physcial altercation, the press "profiled" Zimmerman as a racist.   When Zimmerman said "these guys always get away,"  the press told you "these guys" meant "black people," not "burglars."

Thursday, July 11, 2013

"Camping Supplies"

Moss
You have camping supplies?

ANOTHER COUNTER
A clerk stares at Moss.

Clerk
Tent poles.
 
Moss
Uh-huh.
 
Clerk
You already have the tent?
 
Moss
Somethin like that.
 
Clerk
Well you give me the model number of the tent I can order you the poles.
 
Moss
Never mind. I want a tent.
 
Clerk
What kind of tent?
 
Moss
The kind with the most poles.
Saturday, June 22, 2013

A nice little bit on varieties of Rum

From Mansome:
Monday, June 17, 2013

An early indication that all is not lost for the GOP in 2016

Despite the CW being parroted around in the MSM that "Hillary!" is unbeatable in 2016, we have the following poll results in from Q:

Link

Remember this is a state that Obama carried twice.  Also, it is likely that the GOP candidates included in this poll, while not unknowns,  do not have the name recognition of the former FLOTUS/Senator/SecState.
Saturday, June 15, 2013

Jeb on "Non-traditional families"

This will, IMO, be a nettlesome issue for the GOP in '16.   No one will get nominated without earning the support of (at least a meaningful slice of) the evangelical/socially conservative wing of the party.  The leverage of SoCons in the early states, esp. Iowa, SC, FL is just too large.  That said, a message of "the gays are after your kids' minds" might fly in an Iowa GOP straw poll, but not in a general election (again, IMO).

How to negotiate these straits?

Sunday, June 09, 2013

Management that gets it

All credit to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who did a good thing by drafting a former blue-chip prospect, Cory Hahn, who was paralyzed from the chest down playing college baseball. A good decision that may also turn out to be a smart decision for the franchise, although to see why, you may have to "change your eye level" (to use some baseball terminology) and see the bigger picture.

Ultimately, they did this because they deeply respected Cory Hahn and his family, and wanted to pay him tribute. They selected him in the 34th round in honor of his jersey number (34). But this was not merely ceremonial. They also plan to try and employ him in the organization, in some capacity.

Hahn is already acting as an instructor for his former baseball team.  It's not hard to imagine that his words, example, his mere presence, will provide a massive dose of motivation to 18 and 19 year olds in the farms. Especially as the long grind to the show starts to wear on them.

Poor A-ball kid... Think you've got an impossible climb? Take advantage of your situation. 
Carpe diem. 

Kudos to the DBacks. Congratulations to Cory Hahn. And Solid Citizen awards to Ray Montgomery and Derrick Hall for allowing their hearts to lead them off the beaten path, to a decision that is good. In the moral sense. And may turn out to be good. In the utilitarian sense.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013

There are no words

I am stunned by the scope of the damage in Moore. The area impacted is just enormous. The utter destruction of the homes in the path of the tornado is worse than I'd imagine it in a nightmare.

Watched the video below this morning. A bit of warmth amidst all the sorrow.  I'm struck by how composed this woman is, at her age, despite being confronted by the complete destruction of everything she owns and knows:

"I know exactly what happened here. Exactly."

Friday, May 17, 2013

As Darth Vader once said,


"All too easy."

Link to Varvel cartoon

Woodward: Administration's distortion of truth on Benghazi similar to Watergate

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Hillary's role in Benghazi-gate

Karl Rove's Crossroads PAC dials it down to the essentials. And the details are still coming.
Friday, April 26, 2013

Stewart on the opening of the Bush (43) Library

Link.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013

PM Thatcher: There is no such thing as public money

Godspeed, Baroness Thatcher.  You will be sorely missed.



Monday, March 18, 2013

The EU is literally robbing people's bank accounts in Cyprus

Link.

“The EU previous stated that individuals will not be harmed, and they will not take money from pensioners. But here they have done just that. They are stealing money in order to support bond holders, which is of course hypocritical because all nations like Germany want to support their own banks who hold these bonds”,added Young.


EU has put the Cypriots in a very “appalling situation" argues Young. “What the Cypriots are being told is that if you are lucky you got a leaky lifeboat, but other than that no one is coming to your rescue”...


All the EU and IMF care about is to “make sure that the big‘euro ship’ can sail on entirely safely.”

...there are more austerity measures ahead, but ultimately, “the Cypriots have been left alone with a loaded revolver with all six barrels full and being told to go play Russian roulette.”

Rioting in Greece last year

Greek Riot Police

Cypriot Police Tank

Man threatening to bulldoze bank to get to his money in Cyprus.

Putin denounces EU confiscation of assets (which happens to include significant offshore Russian assets).


In summary:

"The Dark One is gathering all armies to him. It won't be long now. He will soon be ready."



Tuesday, March 05, 2013

A Book You Might Want to Read...

If you have an interest in leadership, group dynamics, politics, sports, or human interaction. Link
Thursday, February 28, 2013

I heart Benedict

and will miss him. God bless you in your retirement, Holy Father!

Biden is my kind of *ssh*le

Shoot first, look at your target later.  Link:


F&S: What about the other uses, for self-defense and target practice?

BIDEN: Well, the way in which we measure it is—I think most scholars would say—is that as long as you have a weapon sufficient to be able to provide your self-defense. I did one of these town-hall meetings on the Internet and one guy said, “Well, what happens when the end days come? What happens when there’s the earthquake? I live in California, and I have to protect myself.”

I said, “Well, you know, my shotgun will do better for you than your AR-15, because you want to keep someone away from your house, just fire the shotgun through the door.” Most people can handle a shotgun a hell of a lot better than they can a semi-automatic weapon in terms of both their aim and in terms of their ability to deter people coming. We can argue whether that’s true or not, but it is no argument that, for example, a shotgun could do the same job of protecting you. Now, granted, you can come back and say, “Well, a machine gun could do a better job of protecting me.” No one’s arguing we should make machine guns legal.
America! F*ck Yeah!

BTW: Is Joe always drunk, or is this just the way he talks? If he actually was sober, can you imagine how much fun it would be to get Biden in a hunting cabin for a week?
Thursday, February 21, 2013

Unpretentiousil -- this is great :)

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

And so it begins



Read this for more information.

Urgent: Maker's Mark to reduce proof

Read 'em and weep.

The WSJ on the Holy Father

Of the many articles discussing the Pope's resignation, this WSJ piece is worth discussing here, as it touches on the intersection of religion, culture, and politics, and makes some very important points about Benedict's agenda and the nature of Western Civilization:
Perhaps the most important religious development in our time is the rise of Islamist fundamentalism. Benedict courted controversy over Islam with his 2006 speech, "Faith and Reason," in Regensburg, Germany. He quoted the 14th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus saying uncomplimentary things about Islam, quotes that led to death threats against the pontiff.

Largely lost in that controversy was the Pope's purpose in delivering the speech—an insistence that Faith and Reason need not be antagonists. Their convergence, he argued, "created Europe and remains the foundation of what can rightly be called Europe."

You might also call it a defense of Western civilization, or simply the West. In the modern West, however, we have turned skepticism and tolerance into such pre-eminent values that we are in danger of rendering ourselves incapable of defending the virtues of the Western tradition. Pope Benedict refused to turn a blind eye when radical Islam suppressed freedom, notably freedom of conscience.

In the Middle East, China and elsewhere, Christians face persecution, expulsion, imprisonment or even death for cleaving to their faith. Coptic Christians in Egypt have suffered greatly after Mubarak, and in Iraq some of the oldest Christian communities in the world cling to a tenuous existence. Benedict's pontificate deserves to be remembered for the attention and energy he gave to the plight of Christians living in unfree conditions for religious practice.

On the resignation of His Holiness Benedict XVI

There is much to say, and for those who are interested, you can undoubtedly find pieces ranging from recaps of his Papacy, to analysis, to conspiracy theories, most of which are by writers with competence far exceeding my own. The only thing I wish to add are my personal feelings.

I am grateful to an incredibly learned, deeply prayerful man for accepting the call of the College of Cardinals, at a time in his life when he had lost a close friend, and had hoped to be peacefully resting in his native Germany. I am moved by his love of God (the theme of his first Papal Encyclical), and how that love filtered into a love for all doctrines and traditions of the Church, especially the Sacred Liturgy.

As far as the Holy Father's resignation, I am saddened to see him go. I have no standing to "analyze" it as a matter of institutional precedence. I have only hopeful belief that it is in the best interest of the Church and humanity, and the conviction that Benedict would not have chosen this path unless he believed it so.

Friday, February 08, 2013

Worth a listen-- Dr. Benjamin Carson's Amazing Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast wi...

Thursday, February 07, 2013

In an effort to save lives, where would you focus?

Or put another way, if you were focusing on the category with the smallest number, maybe saving lives isn't really your priority. ht: US News
Monday, January 28, 2013

Matt Lewis: Rand Paul should not run in 2016

The Daily Caller's Matt Lewis sounds like a fan of Sen. Paul, but throws up familiar caution flags w/r/t a Paul campaign:
Conservatives who witnessed how Mitt Romney was demonized (in a pretty similar manner as I predicted) must now realize that it is the goal of liberals to cast Republicans as crazy, evil, racists.

Fair or not, Paul would be easily cast in that negative light.

Some of it is his fault. His comments to Rachel Maddow about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 will be used against him. This, of course, would only confirm the negative narrative his liberal opponents (and their friends in the media) wish to perpetuate. (Note: I get that Rand Paul hates racism — and that his position is a nuanced one. But that won’t matter in our sound bite media culture.)

Some of it’s not his fault. It’s not fair to blame him for the sins of his father, but that won’t stop the media or Paul’s political opponents. It might not be fair for Rep. Ron Paul’s racist newsletters to impact his son’s presidential ambitions — but you know they will.
ICYMI, here are Sen. Paul's comments about the Civil Rights Act. His intent was to advocate for the right to free private association, but instead left himself vulnerable to the charge that he is indifferent to racial discrimination:
Maddow: Do you think that a private business has a right to say that 'We don't serve black people?'

Paul: I'm not in favor of any discrimination of any form. I would never belong to any club that excluded anybody for race. We still do have private clubs in America that can discriminate based on race. But I think what's important in this debate is not getting into any specific "gotcha" on this, but asking the question 'What about freedom of speech?' Should we limit speech from people we find abhorrent. Should we limit racists from speaking. I don't want to be associated with those people, but I also don't want to limit their speech in any way in the sense that we tolerate boorish and uncivilized behavior because that's one of the things that freedom requires is that we allow people to be boorish and uncivilized, but that doesn't mean we approve of it...

Maddow:... How about desegregating lunch counters?

Paul: Well what it gets into then is if you decide that restaurants are publicly owned and not privately owned, then do you say that you should have the right to bring your gun into a restaurant even though the owner of the restaurant says 'well no, we don't want to have guns in here' the bar says 'we don't want to have guns in here because people might drink and start fighting and shoot each-other.' Does the owner of the restaurant own his restaurant? Or does the government own his restaurant? These are important philosophical debates but not a very practical discussion...

Maddow: Well, it was pretty practical to the people who had the life nearly beaten out of them trying to desegregate Walgreen's lunch counters despite these esoteric debates about what it means about ownership. This is not a hypothetical Dr. Paul.

Taxes matter: Wall Street heads to Florida

From the NY Post:
Federal tax rates are the same in Florida and New York.

But there’s no state income tax in the Sunshine State. Compare that to New York, where the state and local governments took $14.71 of every $100 earned in 2010, according to state records.

The only state with a higher rate is Alaska...

The demand is so high that officials in Palm Beach County have set up an entire office to answer questions from city hedge-funders looking to relocate.

“We’re not doing a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign. We don’t need to,” said Kelly Smallridge, who heads the Palm Beach County Business Development Board, which set up the special unit to handle inquiries and marketing.

“They’re coming to us.”
Friday, January 25, 2013

Somebody better be tasting Mamet's food


Because Hollywood's gonna try to erase him if he keeps this up.  In the midst of a brilliantly written defense of the second amendment, one paragraph just jumped off the page.  Copied and pasted for your reading pleasure:

Healthy government, as that based upon our Constitution, is strife. It awakens anxiety, passion, fervor, and, indeed, hatred and chicanery, both in pursuit of private gain and of public good. Those who promise to relieve us of the burden through their personal or ideological excellence, those who claim to hold the Magic Beans, are simply confidence men. Their emergence is inevitable, and our individual opposition to and rejection of them, as they emerge, must be blunt and sure; if they are arrogant, willful, duplicitous, or simply wrong, they must be replaced, else they will consolidate power, and use the treasury to buy votes, and deprive us of our liberties. It was to guard us against this inevitable decay of government that the Constitution was written. Its purpose was and is not to enthrone a Government superior to an imperfect and confused electorate, but to protect us from such a government.

A real War on Women


I'm pretty sure that all but the most naive and passionate feminists understood the War on Women for what it was: a cynical ploy to gin up female votes for Obama.  After all, if a true "War on Women" was being waged by the GOP, wouldn't President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Reid be waging that war with abandon, seeing as it is (presumably) savaging its intended targets, who also happen to be half the country? Wouldn't the President move Heaven and Earth to end the onslaught?

Instead, since the election, it's (predictably) been tax increases, gun control, climate change.  Thanks for the votes, ladies.  We'll see you (along with some new sense of crisis) in about 3 1/2 years.  By then, you'll be taxed a bit more and making a bit less in real terms, but hey, that's just a political two-fer.  Our "War on Women" and "War on the Poor" narratives will both be coming straight at you.

In the meantime, if anyone's actually interested to see what a real War on Women looks like, here's a look.  It ain't pretty. 

Religious Liberty Clinic at Stanford Law School

Libertarians and conservatives alike can rejoice that Stanford Law School--an influential, top ranked School of Law--has created a clinic where students will be able to participate in cases with a "freedom of religion" component.

The NY Times describes the nature of the cases the clinic will pursue:
“In framing our docket, we decided we would represent the believers,” said James A. Sonne, the clinic’s founding director, explaining that the believers, rather than governments, were the ones in need of student lawyers to defend them. “Our job is religious liberty rather than freedom from religion.”

Mr. Sonne, who grew up the son of a psychoanalyst in a nominally Episcopalian home near Cherry Hill, N.J., converted to Roman Catholicism while a student at Duke University. He went on to Harvard Law School and later a professorship at Ave Maria School of Law, a Catholic institution. He acknowledges the political coloration of much of the religious-freedom debate but says he does not want his clinic to be seen as a program for conservatives.
The National Catholic Register went a bit deeper in explaining the cases they will take:
Based at Stanford’s Mills Legal Clinic, the training program will focus on two types of cases: plaintiffs seeking “accommodation” of religious beliefs and practices and plaintiffs engaging with the public square, possibly to secure access to public facilities or obtain approval for building houses of worship.

“Real-time" cases include a prisoner who converted to Judaism and now needs permission to be circumcised and zoning approval for a mosque. Sonne said that students would work on cases that were less likely to be entangled in partisan politics, avoiding, for example, legal challenges to the HHS mandate or free-exercise cases arising from opposition to same-sex “marriage"...

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has represented plaintiffs from many religious traditions, and Sonne suggested that the public interest group’s “vision fits in well with an academic environment that offers a different perspective: Whether you are representing a mosque or an evangelical church, the question is whether they have the freedom to act in accord with their conscience.”

Sonne added that the decision to select less incendiary cases for the clinic docket did not signal a retreat from a strong commitment to religious liberty: “We think that religious liberty is a natural right. The kind of cases we will handle will manifest that belief, regardless of the issue.”
I was genuinely (and happily) surprised that a part of the higher-education establishment would consent to this type of clinic. Perhaps there is still some hope that our most prestigious graduate programs, who have a great deal of influence in determining who among us will eventually access the most important levers of power, may be embracing a bit more ideological diversity. From the Times story:
Lawrence C. Marshall, the associate dean for clinical legal education at Stanford Law School [states] “My mission has been to make clinical education as central to legal education as it is to medical education. Just as we are concerned about diversity in gender, race and ethnicity, we ought to be committed to ideological diversity.” Mr. Marshall became a hero to liberals for his work to exonerate death penalty inmates when he was a professor at Northwestern Law School a decade ago.

[Bold face is my emphasis]
A welcome development indeed.

Jindal's way forward for the GOP



To summarize:

1) Stop looking backwards.  Be aspirational, not nostalgic.
2) Compete for every single vote.  Not 47%, not 53%, but 100%.
3) Reject identity politics.  A color blind society was and is a valuable goal.  Let Democrats pit Americans against each other.  The GOP should treat all as individuals, not members of a special interest group.
4) Stop being stupid.  No offensive and bizarre comments.
5) Trust the intelligence of voters.  Give details.
6) Quit "Big." GOP should not be the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street bailouts.  We need to be a populist party.
7) Focus on real people, get out of the beltway mindset.  Spend time talking about how the middle class can thrive in an opportunity society, where gov't doesn't pick winners & losers.
Friday, January 11, 2013

Reagan Warned Us About Obama

Follow This Example and Be Understanding with Your Wife


AddThis

Bookmark and Share

Always sniffing for the truth

Always sniffing for the truth

Blog Archive