A brutal but accurate assessment from Bill Whittle.
PajamaBoy
How his defenders missed the point.
The ad campaign was just another layer of the onion of fail.
Rejuvenating Mice
This looks like a pretty amazing breakthrough.
The ObamaCare Chaos Strategy
We know they always wanted to get to single payer. They’ll do whatever they have to in order to push toward that goal. The question is whether or not the Republicans and voters let them get away with it. Of course, a few lawsuits would help as well.
Tar And Feathering
Everything you might want to know about it.
Particularly if you’re a politician. We probably should bring that one back, but I think we should bring back the stocks and public humilation, particularly for stupid officious school officials.
For Barack Obama
It’s been a pretty bad year for him. Here’s hoping next year is worse, but much better for the country.
Discussing ObamaCare
A conversation between Instapundit and Mickey Kaus. Don’t miss Glenn’s rant channeling Mark Levin.
A Good Start
Seventy public-employee unions have been dismantled in Wisconsin. One of the few things that FDR was right about was that they should have never been legal.
Of Ducks And Gays
…and tolerance:
The advantages of classical liberal market cosmopolitanism–the idea that it’s best to set aside peaceful differences of opinion and creed and worries about different races, nationalities, and genders when deciding how we interact with the world–has a great track record of making us all richer and happier.
The idea that that people should be punished with boycott or losing their jobs over having wrong beliefs hobbles the flowering of tolerant classical liberal market cosmopolitanism.
There may have been a good reason why classical tolerance of expression was summed up in the epigram: “I disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it!”
That has a different feel than: “I disagree with what you say, I think you are evil for having said it, I think no one should associate with you and you ought to lose your livelihood, and anyone who doesn’t agree with me about all that is skating on pretty thin ice as well, but hey, I don’t think you should be arrested for it.”
It’s a “heads I win tails you lose” situation, as it often is with the Left. As I noted at Twitter yesterday:
I despise hate speech. I won't say I hate it, though, because that would be hate speech. I think. #IAmSoConfused
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) December 20, 2013
I can't stand that intolerance exists. I won't say I won't tolerate it, though, because that would be intolerant. I think. #IAmSoConfused
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) December 20, 2013
As I also noted there, declaring someone a sinner does not justify bullying or assaulting them. There will always be bullies, but their existence is not a reason to suppress freedom of expression or religion.
[Update a few minutes later]
Joel Achenbach has a pretty amusing take: The Ducksters are the Flintstones.
[Update a while later]
The show is likely to be canceled. I noted yesterday on Twitter that A&E needed Duck Dynasty a lot more than the latter needed A&E. A&E can run whatever programs it wants, but I think that they’ll realize that this was a stupid business decision.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Thoughts from Jonah: Real rednecks.
Impeachment
Looking back, fifteen years later.
That episode was the point at which the Democrats lost me permanently, as a party of shameless corruption.