Category Archives: Political Commentary

Support Trader Joe’s

I haven’t been able to shop at Trader Joe’s since we left California, because for some reason they have never opened up any in Florida (I’m guessing it has something to do with state laws — perhaps the restriction on hard liquor sales in groceries?). Anyway, here’s one more reason that I wish I could:

Very sadly, the tactic employed against Israeli products in Europe has now made its way to our own country, taking root in our own backyard and focusing its attention upon a grocery retailer that many of us patronize, Trader Joe’s. Only the difference is that in the United States there is a significantly larger Jewish population than there is in Europe and we now find ourselves in a position to make an immediate and very positive impact on Israel’s behalf.

I hope that this anti-semitic (and yes, sorry, that’s what it is) boycott helps them more than hurts.

Major Economic Downturn

Women, children, minoritiesMen hit hardest:

The senior economists listened attentively as Gandy and Smeal and other advocates argued for a stimulus package that would add jobs for nurses, social workers, teachers, and librarians in our crumbling “human infrastructure” (they had found their testosterone-free slogan). Did Furman mention that jobs in the “human infrastructure”–health, education, and government–had increased by more than half a million since December 2007?

One could pardon him for not being argumentative. His boss at the economic council, Lawrence Summers, had become a national symbol of the consequences of offending feminist sensibilities and had been opposed by feminists in his appointment to the top White House post. Gandy and Smeal found their circle partners to be engaged and curious and were delighted that they stayed longer than scheduled: “We left feeling that all our preparation would bear fruit in the form of more inclusion of women’s needs, and we were right.”

They were right indeed. Our incoming president did what many sensible men do when confronted by a chorus of female complaint: He changed his plan.

No one will ever accuse him of being a strong man. Or a sensible one, actually.

Getting Their Wish

The “social progressives” are always complaining because we’re not more like Europe. Well, they can stop whining now:

The US unemployment rate exceeded Germany’s rate in April and was very close to the rate in France.

Spreading the wealth around. And the poverty.

[Update a few minutes later]

A depressing chart of how hard it will be to recover.

[Update a few minutes later]

My piece on Munchausen’s Syndrome By Proxie is up at Pajamas Media (I wrote it a couple weeks ago, but Iran had kept it off the front page, and I have a feeling it will be relevant for a long time, unfortunately).

Unresponsive

The Constellation presenters at the Augustine Commission, didn’t even attempt to answer the mail:

The main objectives are faster support of the ISS (which I take to mean shrinking the ISS human spaceflight gap), going to the Moon and generally beyond LEO, stimulating commercial spaceflight (which I take to mean encouraging commercial spaceflight more than the status quo), and fitting the Administration’s budget. Safety, robotic support, international participation, and long-term ISS use are also factors.

The main thing that struck me about the Constellation presentation is that it simply doesn’t address the objectives. Follow this quick and to-the-point link; it captures my reaction exactly. Of the 4 main objectives, the only one it addressed head-on is “supporting missions to the Moon and other destinations”. On the other issues, it didn’t even attempt to present a solution. It didn’t pass or fail – it got an incomplete.

Well, this is the same gang that pretty much completely blew off the Aldridge Commission recommendations, so it’s hardly surprising. I’m pretty sure that Augustine et al noticed this as well. I don’t know what’s going to come out of the Augustine Commission, but it’s pretty hard to see how it will be business as usual, given how pathetic was the defense.