Is Morale a Waste?

October 13, 2010

As a former Army bandsman, I am not just a casual observer of Walter Pincus’s column in the Washington Post suggesting that we don’t need military bands.  His argument, if it can be dignified as that, mostly boils down to there being too many of them. And so this comment on the Post’s site seems [...]

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Following Up on Toyota

September 28, 2010

Power Line tells the story of a killer let out of jail because of the media hype surrounding the supposed sudden acceleration of Toyotas. The driver who plowed into traffic at high speed got a new trial based on the possibility that Toyotas really do just suddenly run away with their drivers. The prosecution eventually dropped the charges. [...]

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ABA Narrows Its Appeal

August 13, 2010

The American Bar Association is now officially in favor of same-sex marriage. In the 90s, it came out squarely in favor of abortion. Periodically I get calls from the ABA suggesting that I re-activate my membership, and I try to explain that I no longer support their organization or its goals. They respond by telling [...]

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Monks in the Dock

August 12, 2010

Not to take anything away from the more serious issue presented here, but the ending credits say the choral performance is by the Monks of Saint Joseph Abbey.  I can’t imagine why someone decided to mix jungle drums with chant, but the monks take no credit for that.

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Disestablishing Religion

July 16, 2010

Put up a Nativity scene on public property, and the courts will likely make you take it down.  Display the Ten Commandments in a courtroom, and expect to be labeled as a bigot.  But do a little anti-Christian kitsch and the Sacramento County Law Library might just welcome it to their collection. Jeri Wyrick created [...]

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Driver Error, Among Others

July 15, 2010

I said in the middle of the “sudden acceleration” hysteria that I wanted a Toyota.  Sad to say I did not get one.  The news now is that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will release findings that point to driver error. The U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota [...]

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A Poem for Friday

July 9, 2010

Beer George Arnold (1834-1865) Here, With my beer I sit, While golden moments flit: Alas! They pass Unheeded by: And, as they fly, I, Being dry, Sit, idly sipping here My beer. O, finer far Than fame, or riches, are The graceful smoke-wreathes of this cigar! Why Should I Weep, wail, or sigh? What if [...]

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Streisand and Brolin Encounter Conservatism

July 7, 2010

And they like it! Of course, they probably never heard a congent explanation of conservatism, but relied instead on caricatures of conservatives meted out by Hollywood. At the Aspen Ideas Festival, Harvard business and history professor Niall Ferguson offered a critique of Obama’s disastrous economic policies: Ferguson called for what he called “radical” measures. “I can’t [...]

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Popular Patriotism

July 3, 2010

I confess to being ignorant about a lot of pop music.  There are works of some merit in that broad genre, but the effort to cull them out is not very rewarding.  They will be culled out soon enough as time and ennui overtake the vast majority.  Six months is often sufficient. But I would [...]

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Buying Off the NRA?

July 1, 2010

People on the left have often attacked the NRA for taking extreme, uncompromising positions on gun control. But, according to Redstate, the NRA is about to put that argument to rest once and for all. By endorsing Harry Reid: Reid has a lifetime rating of “F” from Gun Owners of America (who Ron Paul once [...]

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