September 23, 2005
Had to share this photo…
From the Wizbang! Weekend Caption Contest…
My entry:
(blonde): “Wow, those UN Peacekeeping troops were so nice to give us these beers!”
(off camera, male voice): “guys, the roofies should take effect pretty soon…”
Free lap dances for Katrina victims
QandO brings us this interesting story from the Times Online:
MANY PEOPLE think conservatives, especially the American kind, are a mean-spirited, selfish bunch of misanthropists, irredeemably opposed to public spending on anything other than tanks and prisons.
Yep. Although with more executions, and ending the “War on Drugs”, you can cut down on the necessary prison spending…
They should talk to Abby, bartender at the Baby Dolls Strip Club in Houston. A week after Hurricane Katrina had relocated thousands of New Orleans residents to Houston, Fema, the much-maligned federal agency responsible for dealing with the crisis, decided it would be a good idea to hand out debit cards with a value of $2,000 to the displaced to buy necessities.
There were virtually no restrictions on the use of the cards and so the definition of “necessities†acquired some latitude. Louis Vuitton did a roaring trade in handbags in the Houston area and a good deal was dropped, as it were, at some of the city’s finest adult entertainment establishments.
Interviewed by a reporter for the local TV station, Abby over at Baby Dolls said she had seen many clients using their debit cards. She had nothing but praise for this exercise in government largesse. “A lot of customers have been coming in from Louisiana and they’ve been real happy about the $1.75 beers and they’re really nice.†It was only fair, she added that they should get a little publicly funded help. “You lost your whole house, then, why not?†she said. “You might want some beer in a strip club. There are a lot of guys out there that like to do that.â€
Indeed. It may not be the kind of relief that most Republicans were thinking of when they voted through $50 billion in spending on the devastated region, but I can’t think of a more compassionate conservatism than one that pays for a Budweiser and a lap dance with somebody else’s money.
Wait. Katrina victims are getting lap dances with my tax dollars?
Now, I’m all for lap dances. But where’s my tax-subsidized stripper? I mean, watching the news coverage of Katrina has seriously hampered my mental health. And with Rita coming, I might just snap! What’s cheaper for the government, paying for my health care and welfare when I descend into stress-induced madness, requiring expensive antidepressants; or buying me the occasional lapdance?
Frankly, if it means I get some free lapdances out of the deal, I might just go along with JimmyJ’s socialized medicine deal.
Life has been stressful lately. If I don’t get strippers grinding on me sometime soon, I might just have to slap someone. And then I’ll end up making use of those prisons mean conservatives like myself wanted built…
Go, Chicken Little, GO!
Report says global warming could spark conflict
Rising world temperatures could cause a significant increase in disease across Asia and Pacific Island nations, leading to conflict and leaving hundreds of millions of people displaced, a new report said on Thursday.
Global warming by the year 2100 could also lead to more droughts, floods and typhoons, and increase the incidence of malaria, dengue fever and cholera, the report into the health impact of rising temperatures found.
You’re going to die due to diseases sparked by global warming. And if not? You’re going to die by wars sparked by global warming. And if not? You’re going to die by weather sparked by global warming!
You’re screwed. The sky is falling and Kyoto’s all we can do to stop it!!!
“Climate change will damage our health. People will get sick as a direct result. People will die in larger numbers as our earth, our world, our home, heats up.”
In Australia, Haikerwal said up to 15,000 people could die each year due to heat stress by 2100, up from about 1,000 a year at present, while dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases could spread as far south as Sydney.
Really. I’m sure by 2100, incredible new technologies like central air conditioning and nanotechnology will have even made it to Oz. Wait… You mean they already have central air conditioning?! I thought they lived in huts? I need a newer encyclopedia…
Internationally, higher world temperatures would increase the incidence of violent storms and droughts, and could lead to crop failures which could cause political and social upheaval.
“As stresses increase there is likely to be a shift toward authoritarian governments,” the report said.
“At the worst case, large scale state failure and major conflict may generate hundreds of millions of displaced people in the Asia-Pacific region, a widespread collapse of law, and numerous abuses of human rights.”
Wait. Most of the people who want Kyoto also want communist, totalitarian (but I repeat myself) governments. Now they’re claiming we’ll have those if we don’t change it? I’m so confused!
The report, titled Climate Change Health Impacts in Australia; Effects of Dramatic CO2 Emission Reductions, calls on governments to cut carbon dioxide emissions to limit the impact of global warming.
Yep. There it is.
September 22, 2005
Houston v New Orleans
If you’ve been hitting the conservative blogs today (i.e. Below the Beltway, which directed me to Michelle Malkin), you’d think that the Mayors of Houston and Galveston were the smartest, most prepared people alive, in sharp contrast to the bumbling fool in New Orleans, Ray Nagin. Now, let this not be a defense of Ray Nagin, who is indeed a bumbling fool. But can we evaluate the behavior of the leadership in Galveston and Houston on the same level as what mistakes were made in New Orleans?
The fact that the city of Houston is evacuating with buses doesn’t mean those folks are great elected officials. Let’s face it. Humans have a tendency to learn from others mistakes, at least in the short term. They tend to forget those mistakes as time passes, and repeat them in the long term, of course. Humans have a second tendency, the belief that “it won’t happen to me”. Three weeks ago, we got a big, big lesson in the latter. The preparations for Rita are an example of the former.
When your neighbor burns down his kitchen in a grease fire, all because he doesn’t keep a fire extinguisher, what’s the first thing you do after the smoke clears? You buy a fire extinguisher. Before the fire, you both knew you should have a fire extinguisher, but neither of you owned one. After the fire hits him, you buy one, and you might be ready in case it happens to you next week, but does that make you a smarter, more responsible homeowner than your neighbor? Nope, you just learned from his mistake.
Before either Hurricane, New Orleans had a plan to evacuate by bus. For whatever reason, Ray Nagin didn’t implement the plan, to his detriment, and putting many thousands of people in peril. Had the mayors of Galveston and Houston been the first ones to be hit by the Cat 5 hurricane, they very well may have performed better than Ray Nagin. After all, the leadership in New Orleans and Louisiana seems to have been uniformly atrocious. But to act like their actions NOW should be evaluated as if we hadn’t learned some very important lessons three weeks ago is just disingenuous. Frankly, after Katrina, if the mayors of Houston and Galveston didn’t over-prepare for Rita, we’d be holding their feet to the fire.
Below The Beltway linked with Katrina vs. Rita: A Study In Contrasts Part II
Black QB’s, is it a civil rights triumph?
Before we even get in to this discussion, there is one simple fact that has to be stated. Physically, on average, blacks and whites are different. I know that even saying that will undoubtedly make some people think I’m a racist. To those people, I would like to point out that in a nation where about 12% of the population is black, around 75-80% of players in the NBA are black. You can talk about cultural differences, etc etc, but simply put, there number of blacks with the physical abilities to play a game such as basketball far outstrip that of whites. So I’m not surprised to see this:
Minority QBs make gains as starters
College football’s scarcity of African-American coaches remains a sore spot. But the sport appears to be making strides on the field, where more than a third of the teams in the nation’s major conferences – including five of the top six in the USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll – currently start black quarterbacks.
Nine of the 22 top-rated quarterbacks in NCAA Division I-A, from Texas A&M’s Reggie McNeal to Virginia Tech’s Marcus Vick to Texas’ Vince Young, are black.
Football has gone through a lot of changes throughout its history. It is a constant battle between defense and offense, and the two are never equal. Years ago, football was a game of “3 yards and a cloud of dust”. This was before the time of the forward pass, when the game was an attempt by a quarterback or running back, through trickery and blocking, plays like the option and reverse, to gain yards on a defense. But the defenses got too fast, too quick, and the game bogged down. The forward pass changed that, putting the defense back on their heels. And then the speed of the defenses caught up. Additions of the shotgun, spread offenses, allowed offenses to again develop an advantage.
The two fight each other constantly, and are constantly trying to adapt and gain an advantage. For example, just 10 years ago, a college football team could be a primarily run-oriented, option team. The talent and speed of college defenses couldn’t quite keep up. That changed, and now the prevalence of spread offenses in the college game has been the result. The talent and size of defenses, especially at the higher levels of Division I-A football, have forced the offenses to open the game up.
Where does race come into play? Traditionally, blacks have been much more prevalent at the speed positions of running back, wide receiver, cornerback, etc. This has happened due to the nature of the game. As the game has sped up, you put your fastest players at the positions that require speed. In the early days of power football, blacks were put into a running back position, as outrunning defensive lineman and linebackers was their top goal. As passing became a greater and greater part of the game, a greater number of blacks became wide receivers, because speed and mobility were crucial factors at that position.
Blacks were never “kept” out of the quarterback slot, but typically were better used elsewhere. For a coach, if you have two players, who both throw the ball pretty well, and one is white and runs a 4.8 40-meter dash, and one who is black and runs the 40 in 4.45, you’re going to put the white guy under center, and the black guy at wide receiver. It makes the most sense to put the people at the spot they could do the most good for your team. And in a country where the vast majority of the population is white, you find that most blacks were pushed, by their coaches, into a speed position. This has always been a bigger issue at the college level, where you have 100 scholarship players, and a lot more variety of player to choose from. And, of course, this has led to few black QB’s in the NFL, because there were not a lot of black college QB’s to recruit.
This, of course, has not always been to a player’s advantage. In the college game, a black player in the past might be pushed into a running back or wide receiver position, when they have the talent to play quarterback. And because they’re not a pure WR or RB, they’ll end up playing well enough in college, but lose their shot at the pros because they’re not at an optimal position for their abilities. A player like Michael Vick would be a decent running back in college, but almost certainly couldn’t play running back in the pros. As a quarterback, however, he has a great blend of mobility and throwing ability, and has been quite successful. Fifteen years ago, he might not have been put under center at Virginia Tech, and probably never would have made it to the NFL, because he’s not well enough suited to be a pure running back.
But the game has again changed. Offenses have spread the field to gain an edge on the defense, and especially in college, you see them spread receivers 5-wide with an empty backfield. Typically that is a pretty strong signal to an opposing defense that a pass is coming. And with only 5 blockers for the quarterback, it makes him a very inviting target. To attack the defense, you need a quarterback who has many of the qualities of a running back. You need someone like Michael Vick in Atlanta, or Vince Young at Texas. It forces defenses to be worried about the quarterback throwing to a receiver or making 10 yards on a draw play against a defense spread across the field. Conversely, you can get by with someone like Ben Roethlisberger, at 6′5″, 241 lbs, big and strong enough to stand up in the pocket and ward off the 275-lb defensive end coming to take his head off. But I worry about players like Kyle Orton, former Purdue player and current Chicago Bears’ starter. He’s a great passer, but is simply not mobile enough to threaten defenses with his running ability.
But I don’t look at this as some incredible “triumph” for minorities. I look at it as a natural progression of the changing game of football. And it’s good for football, because it will only help the best players to get a chance to play at their optimal positions, improving the game overall. If that means that former Boilermaker Kyle Orton is doomed to a future of clock-cleanings by the defensive ends of the NFL, so be it. I’m a fan of exciting, competitive football, no matter what color* it is.
*the Old Gold & Black excepted, of course
The Unrepentant Individual linked with The Spread Option: Next Big Thing in College Football?
Quick ones…
New words from the Louisiana Libertarian.
Comb Spouts Off says Jabbar Gibson deserves a medal. I wholeheartedly agree.
Villianous Company brings us a great way to waste time. I warn you, it’s addicting!
I’m still playing NationStates. I welcome any fellow LLP’ers to join the region we’ve started, which already has Eric and Triggerfinger.
Get gas…
Prediction: By Sunday, gas will have gone up a minimum of $0.30/gallon nationwide. I’ve seen my local stations raise about 5 cents a gallon in anticipation of Rita, and it’s likely to keep going up. If you’re running low, or expect to need it by this weekend, buying today may save some money, and keep you out of lines if they develop by the weekend.
Faster
As many of you know, I’m a big fan of motorcycle racing. The movie Faster feeds my little adrenaline addiction every time I watch it.
But I’ve always thought that other people would simply not be interested in a movie like this. Nehring of Schadenfreude a while back talked about his disappointment watching the movie Dust to Glory, as it was little more than footage of racers and races that meant nothing to people unfamiliar with the sport of rally racing. It had some great footage, to be sure, and the trailer was prominently featured on a plasma TV in a booth at a recent tradeshow I attended, but the movie itself was devoid of any appeal to those outside the rally nuts. In response, I suggested Faster, as it really delves into some of the mental aspects, has a lot of interviews of the people in MotoGP racing, and seemed to answer all his objections.
Well, he agreed:
I know absolutely nothing about racing, cars, motorcycles or anything involving cylinders. That said, I do have a guttural interest in the sport of racing.
This film looks into moto-cross [sic] racing with outstanding visuals and an obvious respect for the sport. With Dust To Glory I was disappointed that it didn’t delve into the characters and their motivations in the sport it was documenting. This film feeds that need. I came to have an appreciation of the men who risk their lives for the sake of the sport and the unbridled love they have for their profession.
Ewan McGregor narrates the piece with an unobtrusive, patient tone. The producers are smart to bring him in but show themselves to be even smarter by not overusing him. The narration comes in only when absolutely critical for explanation, we are shown the heroes of the sport in their natural state without much interjection from the producers.
Where Dust To Glory seems somewhat posed, this documentary is organic and fascinating. Even if you’re not into racing, this is a well-done documentary worthy of your consideration.
That sounds like a great testimonial to me. For those of you who are into any sort of motorsport, or even interested in watching tales of men who are willing to sacrifice their lives at 200+ mph for the sole sake of winning, check out Faster. And since I don’t currently have a copy, I could use one as well.
If you have a Tivo, check out Long Way Round on Bravo. It is a documentary/reality show that chronicles a motorcycle journey by Ewan McGregor and friend Charley Boorman from London to New York – the long way. It is exactly what reality TV should be. It’s reminded me that I really need to make that trip to Alaska that I’ve talked about 
September 21, 2005
Don’t get stuck on stupid – bumper sticker
I’ve been planning on opening a cafepress store for a while now. But one little catchphrase threw me into it full-bore.
So announcing Unrepentant Merchandise, with an initial offering, the “Don’t get stuck on stupid” bumper sticker! (along with a bunch of other products)
Tell your friends, your neighbors, and your readers, because I’m open for business!
(For more Stuck on Stupid info, see the following: Radio Blogger, Left Brain Female in a Right Brain World, Below the Beltway, Dean’s World, PowerPundit, Comb’s Spouts Off, Coyote Blog, Instapundit, QandO, VodkaPundit, and Wizbang. And yes, this is a big attempt to trackback all of them and get publicity for the CafePress store.)
Left Brain Female . . . in a Right Brain World linked with Don’t Get Stuck on Stupid Tee
Darn globalization…
Marshall Field’s Name Change Upsets Some
It has always been much more than a department store. It’s the magical place where parents brought their children to see the windows at Christmastime, where those children grew and did the same with their kids — stopping, of course, to visit the one true Santa Claus.
It is Marshall Field’s. Or simply “Field’s” to everybody in Chicago.
For longer than anyone can remember, Marshall Field’s has been one of the few constants in an ever-changing city. With its famous clock, the store that was built in stages between 1892 and 1914 is as much a part of the city’s landscape as Wrigley Field and Sears Tower.
On Tuesday, Federated Department Stores Inc., said it is planning to change to Macy’s the name of all 62 Marshall Field’s, including the one on State Street that dates back to 1892. And if it seems like just another merger or name change that happens all the time with very little fuss — even in Chicago, there wasn’t much noise when the White Sox’s Comiskey Park became U.S. Cellular Field — to those who grew up with Marshall Field’s this is different.
“It’s so awful I can’t even believe it,” said Tracy Kepler, a 37-year-old attorney who can recall in vivid detail time spent at the store as a child, including the trip to see the windows every Christmas Eve day, followed by a meal in the Walnut Room.
So awful she can’t even believe it? I’m from Chicago, and this news does make me a little sad. Not so much about any Field’s outside the one on State Street, but it is a Chicago icon. But the real question is whether anything is really going to change? If you change the name to Macy’s, is the management still going to decorate the windows for Christmas? Yep. Are the clothes basically going to be the same? Yep.
I understand that “Field’s” is a part of Chicago. But this is asking for tradition for tradition’s sake. If you’re really that upset, let them know you’re upset and that you plan not to shop there if they change the name. If there is enough public demand to keep the Marshall Field’s name, they’ll do so. If not, understand that you’re simply standing in the way crying about how nobody’s catering to your demands.
Personally, I don’t shop at Old Navy, because their commercials are dumb. I don’t wear clothes prominently displaying “Abercrombie & Fitch” logos, because I feel that if I’m going to advertise for them, they should pay me, not charge me $30 for a shirt. Am I putting Old Navy or A&F out of business? Nope, I’m just not participating in something I don’t support. If you don’t like the name change to Macy’s, don’t shop there.
September 20, 2005
Discovery of “Governmentium”
From Wally Conger over at out of step:
A major research institution (MRI) has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical element yet known to science. The new element has been tentatively named “Govermentium.”
Govermentium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 225 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 313. These 313 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
Since Govermentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Govermentium causes one action to take over 4 days to complete when it would normally take less than a second.
Govermentium has a normal half-life of 2 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Govermentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Govermentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as “Critical Morass.”
The shoe is on the other hand now!
The Left in this country always seems to want us to be more like Europe. It seems when election time rolls around, however, Europe wants to be more like us!
Who will take Germany’s top office?
Europe’s largest economy is momentarily rudderless as both incumbent Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his challenger Angela Merkel claimed Germany’s top office the morning after one of the biggest election surprises in the country’s recent history.
The unexpected subpar performance of Ms. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and its sister party, the Christian Social Union, in Sunday’s election gave Mr. Schröder an outside shot at staying in office after reform-shy German voters refused to give either of the major parties a clear mandate. “I’m very pessimistic about the prospect for wholesale economic reform,” says Karen Donfried, senior director of the German Marshall Fund in Washington. “It’s very clear that’s not what Germans want.”
I guess the German vote-counting machines are about as reliable as my wife’s old VW Passat…
So what do we think will happen here? Recount? Selected, not elected? Who’s gonna steal this one? Is it all Rove’s fault?
Carnival of Liberty XII
The Carnival is up at Sunni’s Place. She took a slightly different line with this one, asking for a theme of “personal liberty”, rather than general LLP concerns in the political or economic realm. Overall, I think it worked out pretty well.
Check it out. Lots of great posts there.
Why Georgia drivers suck
We bought a new car last Saturday, and to get it registered here in Georgia, they needed proof that I held a GA driver’s license. Since I didn’t, and my CA driver’s license was about 2 1/2 months expired by that point (I’m a responsible citizen, yep), I had to go in and get it taken care of this morning.
I wait in line, get my number, fill out my forms, get called up to the window. I answer all their questions, and get both my automobile and motorcycle endorsements transferred. WITHOUT TAKING A WRITTEN TEST! No written test? How do they allow people to get licenses without a written test? Granted, I’m part of that 90% of drivers who consider themselves “above average”, so I don’t really need a written test, but that exception is only for good drivers like me!
I’ve thought, ever since visiting Georgia, that most people around here can’t drive. I’ve always said that in Chicago, we had skilled but aggressive drivers, in California we had skilled drivers but just too many of them, and in Georgia we have aggressive, inattentive, incompetent drivers. Now I know why. If they’re going to let people transfer an automobile and motorcycle endorsement from another state without either a written test or a road test, that explains how so many idiots populate the roads here.
September 19, 2005
On the Pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America , and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Much has been made recently of two small words in that pledge. Under God. Those two words have ignited a firestorm of controversy over the last few years. One side thinks that “under God” is the cornerstone of our very nation. The otherside thinks that “under God” is a tool of religious oppression and persecution. Both sides are irrational and mistaken.
Forward Biased linked with Carnival of Liberty XIII
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Brad, Hopefully they will learn not to just hand out “free” money. They should have had restriction on the cards. I think many of the people used the cards for much needed items, but it only takes a few ass holes (excuse me – apples) to ruin the whole bunch. I was in Wal Mart last week and saw several families purchasing food, toiletries, clothing and other much needed item. From what I could tell, they were very grateful for the money they had. It does infuriate me to see some of the others squandering what they were given. They will be some of the loudest to scream for more money later on.
Comment by Lucy Stern — September 26, 2005 @ 8:39 am