Overnight Open Thread
Open | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 10:59:00 pm PDT
The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.
— P. J. O’Rourke
Financial Meltdown: The End of a Bad Era
Business | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 8:19:11 pm PDT
A great piece by Michael Malone at PJ Media: The End Of An Era.
Living out here in Silicon Valley, the heartland of American innovation, it’s hard not to be appalled by the events taking place 3,000 miles away in the seats of American finance and government - and hard not to fall back on the ‘pox on both their houses’ attitude that polls say is increasingly common among American voters.
From where I sit, the United States government has embarked on two pieces of social engineering in the last few years. One was to make oil expensive as expensive as possible to drive people to greater use of alternative energy sources - because anything less would be irresponsible and destructive to the environment. The other was to enshrine home ownership (i.e., easy-to-obtain mortgages) as a new American right - because anything less would be unequal and racist.
None of us voted on these decisions - indeed, neither was even spoken about directly, much less debated. But nevertheless, both became national policy... and both have sparked national, now international, crises. Then, once they became crises, both were blamed on ‘greedy capitalism’, instead of what they really were: legislative interference into market forces.
Fine. We’ve been through this before, and no doubt we will see similar, government-induced crises again - inevitably accompanied by Administration officials and our elected representatives pointing at everyone but themselves.
But what makes this particular economic crisis so appalling, at least from this vantage point, is the sheer scumminess, corruption, short-sightedness and general incompetence of everyone involved. At least in the business world, especially in the take-no-prisoners world of high-tech that kind of venality and ineptitude either gets you fired or kills the company; by comparison, in Washington, it puts you in charge of the recovery effort.
Saturday Night Open
Open | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 8:03:08 pm PDT
A first day of the weekend open thread...
William Ayers Stepping on the US Flag in 2001
Politics | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 6:49:30 pm PDT
Just a reminder: in 2001, for an article in Chicago Magazine, Barack Obama’s friend William Ayers proudly allowed himself to be photographed stepping on a United States flag:
The article was appropriately titled: No Regrets, and I’ve saved a copy of it in case it suddenly disappears, as articles exposing Obama’s associates often do.
This disgusting photograph was first published at LGF in May of this year: Obama’s Employer Desecrated Flag.
Video: Barack Obama's Questionable Associates
Politics | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 5:54:43 pm PDT
Palin Dissenter Backpedals
Opinion | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 4:03:08 pm PDT
Following Sarah Palin’s debate performance, Kathleen Parker has crow for dinner: Bridge to Somewhere.
What did they do with the other Sarah Palin?
I mean the one who bases foreign-policy experience on the proximity of Russia to Alaska and who speaks cutely about Vladimir Putin poking his little head into American airspace. Where did they put her?
The Palin who performed so miserably in one-on-one media interviews was nowhere to be seen during Thursday night’s debate with Joe Biden. Instead, the affable, tough, determined pit-bull-hockey mom presented to the GOP convention was back with a jaw-jutting, happy-warrior vengeance.
So, yes, I am relieved. I had been concerned that she would stumble badly and humiliate herself. No fair-minded person wanted that. In fact, she managed to control the debate in many respects by bridging from the question asked to the talking point she wanted to hammer.
Palin Does What McCain Won't
Politics | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 1:05:12 pm PDT
Sarah Palin goes where John McCain refuses to tread: Palin Hits Obama on Ayers.
Our opponent though is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect, imperfect enough that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country. Americans need to know this. Talk about taking the gloves off, I too being that outsider and only being a part of this for 5 weeks now, I think ok we gotta get the word out. This is in fairness to the electorate we gotta start telling people what the other side represents.
I’m just afraid that the time to “take the gloves off” may have already passed.
The Inevitable OJ Convicted Thread
US News | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 9:26:35 am PDT
The last time we posted a thread about O.J. Simpson, it got a record rating of -265: The Inevitable OJ Thread.
So let’s go for another personal worst: Simpson convicted of robbing memorabilia dealers.
LAS VEGAS – Thirteen years to the day after being acquitted of killing his wife and her friend in Los Angeles, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room.
The 61-year-old former football star was convicted of all 12 counts late Friday after jurors deliberated for more than 13 hours. He released a heavy sigh as the charges were read and was immediately taken into custody.
Simpson, who went from American sports idol to celebrity-in-exile after his murder acquittal, could spend the rest of his life in prison.
UC Irvine Invites Muslim Brotherhood Leader to Speak
US News | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 8:44:23 am PDT
Coming soon to the most jihad-friendly university in America, UC Irvine: a leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, to spread disinformation about the Muslim Brotherhood’s efforts to achieve “democracy.”
It’s an odd form of democracy they want—the freedom to vote in a regime that would end voting forever.
And notice: this isn’t being sponsored by the Saudi-funded radical Muslim Student Union. It was organized by the UC Irvine Department of History and two UCI research centers.
What the hell is wrong with these people?
Title: Religion and Democracy in the Middle East
Office: International Studies
Event Date: 10/8/2008 - 10/8/2008
Details: The Department of History, Middle East Studies Student Initiative (MESSI), Center for Research on International and Global Studies (RIGS), and Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies (CGPACS) present:
“Religion and Democracy in the Middle East: A New Generation of the Muslim Brotherhood Takes the Stage”with Ibrahim El Houdaiby, leading young member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Cairo
Wednesday, October 8, 2008,
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Humanities Instructional Building, Room 135
El Houdaiby will discuss the history and current positions of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the situation of democracy in Egypt today, the rise of a new generation of secular and religious cyber-activists, the challenges and successes they’ve encountered in struggling for democracy, and the role of U.S. policy in furthering or stifling democracy in the Middle East.
Ibrahim El Houdaiby is a leader of the emerging generation of political and social activists associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest religiously-founded group of its kind in the Middle East. He is a board member of ikhwanweb.com, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Official English Website. A graduate of the American University in Cairo, he holds a B.A. in political economy, and is currently working towards an MA in Islamic Studies at the High Institute of Islamic Studies in Cairo. He is a freelance columnist and researcher, with published articles and research papers in Arabic and English periodicals and journals. His Arabic works were published on IslamOnline.net, IkhwanOnline.com, Weghaat Nazar Monthly, Contemporary Muslim Quarterly, Al Badeel Newspaper and Al Dostoor Newspaper. His English works were published in th Guardian, Daily News Egypt, Jewish Daily Forward, World Politics Review, CommonGroundNews.org, Conflics Forum and CEPS.
Gadahn Still Emitting Carbon Dioxide
World | Sat, Oct 4, 2008 at 8:31:20 am PDT
Unfortunately, reports of the death of chubby Al Qaeda traitor Adam Gadahn have been greatly exaggerated.
