Pious Agnostic

Geldof and Bush: Diary From the Road

I gave the President my book. He raised an eyebrow. "Who wrote this for ya, Geldof?" he said without looking up from the cover. Very dry. "Who will you get to read it for you, Mr. President?" I replied. No response.

The Most Powerful Man in the World studied the front cover. Geldof in Africa — " 'The international best seller.' You write that bit yourself?"

"That's right. It's called marketing. Something you obviously have no clue about or else I wouldn't have to be here telling people your Africa story."

An amazing article by Bob Geldorf.

The New York Times: How Low can they Go?

You'll get no argument from me if you want to contend that American young people could be better educated. All I need to convince me is their strong support for vapid, empty, unqualified presidential contender/cult leader Barack Obama. Indeed, if rumors of their stupidity are true, then their support seems to confirm Obama as ignorance personified. The carcinogenic influence of teacher unions and bureaucracy and political correctness is definitely something we should address.

No argument, that is, unless you are the New York Times. Then I'll call you a far bigger idiot than the worst of those you purport to criticize.

Read it all.

I like big butts, and I cannot lie...

Note: I isn't me.

Paul Mirengoff writes about Magic Obama:

It goes without saying that Barack Obama will end the hardship and "struggle" in our daily lives. Under the Yes We Can Man, folks ... will be able to quit their second jobs, the price of gasoline will plummet, and Ivy League grads will never again have to work for hedge funds to pay off their college loans.

Nor does Obama's magic end at our borders. Last night, he said he would solve our immigration problem in part by improving the economy of Mexico to the point that illegal immigrants will have no need or desire to enter the paradise Obama will create here.

Most magically of all, Obama will fix Mexico's economy even while refusing to trade with Mexico unless it complies with U.S. labor and environmental standards.

He goes on to comment that: "Obama may turn out to be the most intellectually dishonest Democratic presidential nominee of my lifetime."

Imperial History of the Middle East

Who has controlled the Middle East over the course of history? Pretty much everyone. Egyptians, Turks, Jews, Romans, Arabs, Persians, Europeans...the list goes on. Who will control the Middle East today? That is a much bigger question.

It's pretty cool: shows all the empires rise and fall over the past 5000 years.

Friendship Between Women:
A woman didn't come home one night. The next day she told her husband that she had slept over at her girlfriend's house. The man called his wife's 10 best friends. None of them knew about it.

Friendship between Men:
A man didn't come home one night. The next day he told his wife that he had slept over at a buddy's house. The woman called her husband's 10 best friends. Eight of them confirmed that he had slept over, and two claimed that he was still there.

Zombie reports on the Berkeley Marines Protest

I've long suspected this:

Homework is of little benefit to students from junior kindergarten to Grade 6, say the authors of a just-released Canadian study, who also found it is often the source of stress and burnout in children, as well the cause of conflict – even marital stress – for many families.

In the first-ever look at the homework load in this country, the study by two Toronto professors found homework rates vary wildly from student to student, and from grade to grade, with some Grade 2 students spending less than 10 minutes a night, while others log more than 45 minutes.

Celebrities Suffer From Pain, Too

Really? I didn't know that. Isn't there something we should be doing to prevent that?

This on-line story has ten pages!

Wow! Can you imagine what the headline would have been if this Times story had been about, say Romney?

Friendly? Indeed.

It's all over the web, but Patterico has as good a post as any about Romney's speech:

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention … I’d forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I’d be making make it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win,” Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Frankly, in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

***

“This isn’t an easy decision. I hate to lose,” Romney said Thursday, as many in the crowd booed the decision. “If this were only about me, I’d go on, but it’s never been only about me. I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America in this time of war, I feel I have to now stand aside, for our party and for our country.”

Patterico comments: "Mitt Romney is a man of principle in a party that used to stand for principle."

McCain, huh?

Well, these words by Bill Quick puts things into perspective:

After seven years of watching and fighting against Americans who wish to see the country suffer so that they can get at George Bush, the last thing I wanted or expected to see was conservatives saying they would rather see the country suffer than support John McCain over Clinton or Obama, so that they can "get the blame."

A retreat before victory is assured in Iraq cannot be undone in 2012. And mandatory, single-payer, universal health care, once established, will not EVER go away either.

I am not impugning anyone's motives. I believe I have a reasonable understanding of principled behavior. But if your goal is to see the country punished because---

You can stop right there. If your goal is to see America punished, and her people open to attack and/or ruined financially in order to prove a point for any reason, then you do not deserve politial power nor are you likely to achieve it. A party is a compact. It is, essentially, a pleage of mutual support. As a matter of fact, it's nothing more or less than a promise.

A political party is a series of personal compromises in order to achieve a goal unattainable by the perfect political party: one's own self. If McCain is the legal and lawfully selected nominee, and Republicans decide to walk away from their party in droves, what makes them think they will be able to count on those who, you know, actually went out and voted Republican either joyfully or through clenched teeth, in order to prevent The Deluge?

If your idea of any political party is one that means unlimited support for your personal values if your candidate is ascendant, while you in turn owe none to those you dislike or even disdain, you might be in for a surprise in future elections.

Speaking as a FredHead myself, I am bitterly disappointed that I did not even have the chance to vote for a man I admired, and am more distraught still to find myself in the position I now occupy. I see many, many worrisome things about John McCain, but being tough on terror and spending are not among them. We could do worse. Two names come to mind immediately.

Much is said about principles, and since I am not able elect anyone BY MYSELF I have entered into this pact with the group of people who I feel most comfortable with in terms of values. If they, as a body, choose a candidate who is not my first, second, third or fourth choice, then I can look to the Democrats. There I find views so antithetical to everything I believe that I realize there is indeed something to this idea of party loyalty.

And I cannot help but think that such a kind and practical man as Ronald Reagan would be amazed that his name was being invoked so frequently in order to insure that the most liberal, socialist, power-hungry statist in my living memory is elected. I'm glad he's not here to see this because if he knew the consequences of what was being done in his name, I believe it would kill the man.

Update: Well, now that Romney's out you should really take these words to heart.

Following this precedent, expect it soon to be legal in Great Britain to topple walls onto homosexuals.

Bill Quick has 10 reasons not to vote for John McCain.

It's worth reading, even if you like him.

Most people know (or should know) that an Appeal to Authority is considered a logical fallacy.

Who told you so, and why did you believe them?

Good news about the Writers Strike?

Let's hope so!

Frankly, it would be strange if one wasn't found there.

Don't like McCain? Neither does Rachel Lucas, but that doesn't mean she won't vote for him.

Because the alternative is worse.

Follow the link, but beware of her tendency to strong language.

Bill Clinton (finally) speaks the truth...to a Truther!

Click here