May he rest in peace. He and his great voice shall be missed.
Updates from February, 2009 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Jehuda
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Jehuda
Will Shepard Fairey end up suing another artist for allegedly infringing on the Obey Andre Giant design?
Kinda silly if true, especially after how Fairey might have ripped off an AP photo in that Obama poster of his.
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Jehuda
The WSJ says layoffs mean more trucker job applicants.
Incidentally, the late 70′s – aka the Carter Years – were a time when screens were alive with the likes of Convoy, Smokey and the Bandit
, and – on TV – BJ and the Bear. Yes! There was actually an audience for this stuff back then. Coincidence? Nah. So put this one in the Welcome Back, Carter! file.
But if you already got the t-shirt, maybe you’d like to try a bumper sticker with a similar – but more hopeful – message.
Then again, here is perhaps the perfect emblem for this developing trucker trend.
Yes, I’ve actually seen all of the above except for Convoy; but I know I’ll see it someday because Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson are in it.
(Thanks to Dr. Fiancee for the sticker and emblem tips)
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Jehuda
Ha! Well, law students are a fascinating species: Law School in the Mist: A Field Study.
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Jehuda
Via Instapundit: Barely a day has passed since Obama revealed his massive welfare state budget under the pompous title of A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America’s Promise; and now it comes out that the White House’s own lawyer - Obama’s chief vetter – has tax problems of his own.
I guess it’s “A New Era of Responsibility” unless you work for the administration. Then you get a pass, but the rest of us need to endure new taxes and new rules to “rebuild America”.
It’s going to be a looong four years…
UPDATE: At Australia’s Herald Sun: Obama has surrounded himself with “spivs and chancers” (via Instapundit).
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Jehuda
By Jonah Goldberg. Watch out for the spoiler warning as you scroll down.
I – like Goldberg – want to like the show. Don’t know that I’m a Whedon fan, although I watched Buffy loyally for most of its run and even followed it from the WB to UPN. But I gave the second episode a good effort and I just couldn’t “connect” with it. Hopefully it will fare better than Drive, the pilot for which I actually enjoyed quite a bit.
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Jehuda
A federal appeals court in San Francisco has dealt a blow to the Obama administration’s “state secrets” argument in a wiretapping lawsuit against the federal government.
Of course, this is a development that most in the current administration would have celebrated only a few months before the last presidential election. But it sucks when you are the one fighting the War on Terror, doesn’t it?
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Jehuda
Doesn’t make sense, but I guess it’s another sign of the society we live in: $80,000 in damage and a week’s suspension?
Lame. I just knew that’s what NYU would do. And here I thought suspension meant getting kicked out of school.
Via JWF.
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Jehuda
Disappointment Uptick: Obama to extend Iraq withdrawal timetable, 50,000 troops to stay.
In fact, it’s no longer disappointment. It’s feeling “upset”:
“The plan to leave as many as 50,000 troops in Iraq after August 2010 upset several top Democrats in Congress, who want far fewer troops left after the August date.”
And seems in the aggregate the disappointments have been enough to stimulate the creation of a new PAC to move Democrats further to the Left.
Further??
(Via Drudge)
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Jehuda
Biden may be master of the Gaffe-o-matic, but Dick Morris thinks Obama is spreading panic every time he opens his mouth.
It’s hard to argue with that contention. Is it intentional? I think it might be in some instances. Can’t let a good crisis go to waste, remember?
Related: Jonah Goldberg on the politics of fear.
Funny how Hope turned out to have an expiration date.
UPDATE: Larry Kudlow on Obama’s war on investors, entrepreneurs, businesses and more.
I think the administration keeps forgetting that the investor class includes many a member of the middle class. Didn’t Obama give some answer at one of the debates during last year’s campaign to that effect?
ANOTHER UPDATE: At theWSJ, will the wealthy stay in Obama’s corner?
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Jehuda
I wish to thank CulperRing355 and Demimasque for their terrific contributions to this blog as guest bloggers while I was out of town. Today, control of The Rhetorican’s content reverts back exclusively to yours truly.
Turns out I was able to post a few blog entries during my travels after all (and I also scheduled a couple of posts before I left town), (More …)
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Jehuda
Have you come across your local Mexican drug gang yet?
H/T: The Corner
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Jehuda
Palpable pathos, this time at the College of New Jersey. Will student protesters ever be non-pitiful again?
With video links!
Via Hot Air.
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Jehuda
What do you know? It was the man-crush man himself!
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Jehuda
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demimasque
This says it all:
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culpering355
CBS News reports: Mexico’s federal AG seems to think so, although more than 1,000 people have been killed in the first eight weeks of this year.
In an interview with the AP, Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said “the world’s most powerful drug cartels are ‘melting down’ as they engage in turf wars and fight off a nationwide government crackdown.”
Wishful thinking?
Cross posted at culpering355.wordpress.com.
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culpering355
Via the Hollywood Reporter. Warning: The words, “nihilistic”, “campy”, and “lackadaisical” were thrown around. Apparently, there’s also “third-rate Chandler-esque narration by Rorschach.”
I dunno, doesn’t sound so bad to me.
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Jehuda
And we thought Biden was simply the administration’s Fredo: now that he’s running the Stimulus he does look more like a Raymond Shaw, doesn’t he?
I guess that makes Obama analogous to Angela Lansbury’s character?
I know. Doesn’t quite match the movie, but still scary every single way you look at it…
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Jehuda
[T]he impact of violent Mexican criminals stretches far beyond Mexico itself. In recent weeks, Mexican criminals have been involved in killings in Argentina, Peru and Guatemala, and Mexican criminals have been arrested as far away as Italy and Spain. Their impact — and the extreme violence they embrace — is therefore not limited to Mexico or even just to Latin America.
RELATED (Via Instapundit): Oh, and what is your role in all this? Endure more gun control! Eric Holder wants a new assault weapons ban.
You know. Because all those weapons in the hands of the Mexican drug cartels can’t possibly come from anywhere else, can they?
Lame…
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Jehuda
The network that gave us an anonymous and derisive “Oh, God!” at the sight of Governor Jindal now gives us racial code language about Indians: “outsourcing”.
Shame on you, Mr. Matthews! Shame of shames!
OK, so I’m reading too much into it, but what happened to political correctness all of a sudden? Does it end at the aisle’s edge?
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Jehuda
“According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. and a pair of top-tier production banners — including the one owned by Leonardo DiCaprio — are currently in the early stages of a reboot of the 1980s children’s fantasy classic The NeverEnding Story
.”
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Jehuda
And from a Marine: Taking Chance Delivers Moving Tribute.
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Jehuda
Don’t take Joey Behar seriously. She lives in a world of her own…
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Jehuda
Was it Olbermann who muttered “Oh, God” with what sounds like a blend of contempt, irritation, and disdain just before Bobby Jindal responded to Obama’s State of Misery Address from last night?
Whoever it was, not very professional. But such is the state of the profession formerly known as journalism.
What is it? No man crush on Jindal for anyone at MSNBC?
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Jehuda
Why the music industry hates Guitar Hero.
I still haven’t played it or Rock Star, but I had the feeling the recording industry would be a little jealous…
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Jehuda
The exclamation point is for alarm, not excitement: Biden forgets URL of website for tracking Stimulus spending.
Yes, the same Stimulus spending he’s in charge of overseeing.
Good to know he’s running things over there…
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culpering355
The NYT reports:
The City of Chicago has linked its street cameras via a CAD system to its 911 network. Well, yeah, so?
This means that, as soon as someone dials 911 to report a crime, as long as “the 911 caller is in a location within 150 feet of one of [the] surveillance cameras”, the live feed of the 911 call locale is captured from the street cameras and broadcast to the dispatch center. The dispatcher can view the live feed, then pinpoint the suspect or location based on the initial call info and direct the officer who shows up at the scene where to go and who to nab.
Now, Durham, NC has recently tested out a program where six cameras (originally 13) were linked to its 911 system. While there were some good results, the overall ratings were reportedly less than satisfactory because of an outdoor wireless system and bandwidth issues.
However, this technology “was paid for with a $6 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security.” and “has been in use since a trial run in December.”
Let’s see how this plays out.
What’s especially interesting (pay attention, those of you who have issues with your Big Brother):
In addition to the city’s camera network…the new system can also connect to cameras at private sites like tourist attractions, office buildings and university campuses.
Twenty private companies have agreed to take part in the program…and 17 more are expected to be added soon. Citing security concerns, the city would not say how many cameras were in the system.
Cross-posted at culpering355.wordpress.com.
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Jehuda
Congress does something nice for a change: a resolution recognizing Paul Newman’s achievements.
Via BigHollywood.
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Jehuda
Roger Simon: Duking it out on Air America.
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Jehuda
Gawker has posted video of the unraveling of the “Take Back NYU” “occupation”, aka the NYU Revolt. Yes, it is ridiculous. Painfully so.
As an NYU alumnus myself, I found the whole incident – from beginning to end – embarrassing. But much of my embarrassment also comes from the fact that it evinces that a segment of our society has had its brain rearranged into mush by 20+ years of politically correct drivel that is all about form but largely lacks substance (which seems to be a theme of the Obama era).
Yes, activism can be perceived as a package deal by both Left and Right wing activists, but it is not the multiplicity of wide-ranging demands that lends incoherence to the students’ pronouncements. It is the use of language beyond its meaning that is the problem. It makes them sound incoherent because their choice of words has become a substitute for a grasp on reality.
“Negotiate”. “Consensus”. “Democratic process”. “Collectively decide”. Those terms have meanings that did not apply in the context of their then-existing situation. These kids had no leverage to negotiate anything; and whatever they decided through any democratic method or collectively was irrelevant because at the time they lacked the power to apply or execute any decisions: it was game over.
Likewise, throwing the terms “brutality” and “force” around as if they were magic charms of protection is downright comical if not pathetic. History shows that no camera and no magic words will stop the determined use of force. Only opposing force can do that; but then, these are Lefties.
At any rate, no wonder Obama carried so much of the youth vote. Form trumps everything with this crowd. Even a grasp on reality.
(H/T: Instapundit)
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demimasque
Perhaps it’s necessary, perhaps it’s not, but is it really appropriate to beg China to buy American debt, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did on Sunday, in public?
But perhaps this is inspired diplomacy; after all, China has been nursing the resentments of about 150 years of history of humiliation following the apex of the Qing Dynasty, marked by its arrogance, exemplified by its insistence that Western diplomats kowtow before the Dragon Throne. Perhaps giving China a faux sense of superiority may assuage its frustrations. Certainly there would be no surprise if the state media spun it as a return to the heyday of Chinese power. Perhaps such smugness will slow down China’s haste to increase its defense spending.
Besides, I’m sure it more than makes up for remarks her husband made in 1992 about the “butchers of Beijing”.
I guess it’s not just evil conservatives who cynically sell out human rights for national interests.
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Jehuda
Via Instapundit: Greenwald screamed “Unconstitutional!” for almost 8 years and after a mere few weeks of similarly chastising the Obama administration he is switching to TV criticism? Makes it look like his thing was rank partisanship the whole time. Doesn’t it?
And here I was thinking he had developed some objectivity. How foolish of me…
UPDATE: Uh, I’m being facetious, just in case you were wondering (but only a little).
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Jehuda
Defamer merging into sister site Gawker.
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Jehuda
The #1 spot goes to Tyler Perry, who’s cleaning everyone’s clock with Madea Goes to Jail. Taken, He’s Not That Into You, and Friday the 13th are still in the Top 5, though.
Who knew Taken would have such legs? Not bad for a French action flick, eh?
Steve Mason has the figures and analysis.
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Jehuda
BigHollywood is on it, right now.
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demimasque
Bernard Goldberg, author of Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News
has come out swinging hard at Chris Matthews as only one example of the distorted way in which members of the purportedly “objective” media let their biases get in the way of good journalism.
It has become one of MSNBC host Chris Matthew’s most infamous lines of the 2008 presidential election:
“I felt this thrill going up my leg,” Matthews said the night Obama resoundingly defeated rival Hillary Clinton in the Virginia and Maryland Democratic primaries.
And former CBS News Correspondent Bernard Goldberg, who has long alleged liberal bias in the media, highlighted that line as indicative of the media’s “slobbering” press coverage of candidate Obama during his campaign for the White House.
“That’s not commentary, that’s a man-crush,” Goldberg declared on CNN’s Reliable Sources Sunday.
Chris Matthews has a man crush on Obama? No! The devil you say!
Fortunately, most normal people, even those who otherwise share Matthews’ political views, can see this. That’s never been the problem. The problem is when such infatuation gets in the way of good journalism, such as hard-hitting pieces on the subject of a journalist’s adoration, tough-but-fair interviews, or even just taking the time to compare the perspectives of the idol to others–in this case, Hillary Clinton.
Not only does this idolization lead to unrealistic expectations that even Obama can’t meet, in addition to the cult of personality that seized many Obama supporters with a religious-like fervor; but it also makes a mockery of the profession, and of Matthews himself.
And they wonder why FOX News was able to find a niche.
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Jehuda
WSJ: Cyber war is “an area where the U.S. lacks the dominance it enjoys in traditional military arenas.”
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Jehuda
They told me that if I voted for McCain the War on Terror would keep eroding constitutional rights…
And in this instance they were wrong, but because the rights are not merely eroded, they’ve been eliminated completely!
Via Hot Air.
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Jehuda
The economy is a serious matter, but there’s already a casual game online on the topic: Trillion Dollar Bailout.
The point of the game is to field a number of requests from business and homeowners for federal money. You decide who you bailout and who you ignore. A live graph (the “economy bar”) zig zags up and down based on your decisions’ effects on the economy.
Now, I wonder if there’s a hidden small government message to the game, because when I started doling out cash to certain pork projects while ignoring troubled mortgagors and troubled corporations, the economy tanked.
But the second time I played, I did nothing. I handed out zero government cash. And this is what resulted:
H/T: GamePolitics
