Throwback...

Instead of any political commentary, today I would like to offer up several TV show theme songs. The first two are from cartoons that make me nostalgic for when I was about 5-7:

Dashing and daring, courageous and caring...Gummi Bears! I always wanted to have some of that gummi beary juice when I was a kid, but alas, I'm still a white kid with a three-inch vertical. Did you know "the fight for what's right is whatever they do"? You should watch these guys.





The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. So, I didn't watch this show a whole lot actually, but the song is one of those I recognize from when I was about that age... Apparently someone has made some version of Winnie the Pooh in which Christopher Robin's SISTER has become the main kid character. Bah! Change! Bah! This blog stands athwart PC remakes, shouting, "Stop!"





Here are some more mature theme songs, in the sense that they aren't for shows rated "Y." They're also from the first and best decade of my life. Enjoy! The first is the show where Michael J. Fox got his start playing staunch Republican Alex P. Keaton.





The next one is another fantastic theme song brought to you by Alan Thicke--writer of the theme to the fantastically terrible show The Facts of Life--for a show starring himself! Also a young Kirk Cameron, if that means anything. Not as good as some other Eighties shows, but it lasted long enough that the characters grew on you.






Lastly, the best TV theme song in history. No one can beat it. No one. Don't try, because you can't. (By the way, I also found the full version of this song from the first season, but it's strange. Listen if you like.) *drumroll*





Ahh, the old days...before I was, you know, conscious of anything...

William F. Buckley, RIP

(Via Hot Air)

I have just learned the sad news that William F. Buckley has passed away at the age of 82.

Mr. Buckley, probably the man second-most personally responsible, directly through his writings and indirectly through his influence, for my own political beliefs, founded the great National Review and hosted the show Firing Line. He nearly single-handedly drove the bigoted, anti-Semitic paleoconservatives out of the mainstream conservatism and helped nominate Barry Goldwater for president in 1964. And without him, the conservative revolution by Ronald Reagan, which ended decades of failed statist policies, would never have been possible.

For now, here is the New York Times article about the life of one of the greatest champions of freedom our nation has known in its entire history.

Maybe Soccer Isn't SO Bad...

My continuing conversion to soccer fan-dom has, thus far, included subscribing to the hilariously titled and informative Arseblog, a blog, obviously, dedicated to The Arsenal, my chosen Premier League team. I have even posted about a disappointing draw in the UEFA Champions League against A.C. Milan. And now, I have resumed activity on a fantastic online soccer manager: Hattrick.

Basically, you go through some registration stuff to get your own team; you then choose a name for the team and for your arena and a location. (They prefer you to choose the region you're actually living in, but you can be anywhere in the world.) The site gives you a small supporters' club, a team with a fairly poor coach and twenty or so horrible to mediocre players and places you in the lowest series in your country's league. There's an economic model in which you pay players and coaches per week, buy and sell them on the transfer market, upgrade your arena, hire assistant managers and scouts, pull players from the youth squad, and receive money from sponsors and game attendance.

It's pretty cool (in a very nerdy sort of way). If you want to start a team or already own one, I'm the Newaygo Lions in USA Series VI.

MSU "Liberals" Attempt To Restrict Free Speech

This morning, I stumbled across this post on RightMichigan.com by "amanda zaluckyj." The writer notes efforts by Michigan State's student government to restrict "hate speech" on campus and ties it to the campus visits of U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo and Chris Simcox, leader of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (not to be confused with Jim Gilchrist's Minuteman Project.) Here are some videos pertaining to those events, both of which the RightMichigan.com writer provides:

Tom Tancredo:





Chris Simcox:





Now, neither Tancredo nor Simcox are racists, murderers, or any of those other things those people were shouting. Tom Tancredo is simply a U.S. Representative who wants the nation to enforce its own immigration laws; pretty reasonable, right? Chris Simcox is the same; he founded the Minutemen to protect the nation's borders, which sounds radical and militant until you discover that volunteer Minutemen are required NOT to approach or confront those crossing borders, and merely report crossers to the authorities. Neither preaches death to Hispanics or any other ethnic or racial group. In fact, Simcox's group often provides material aid when its border patrols discover people in need.

Using this article from the State News, "amanda zaluckyj" quotes "Elfaki" (that is, Osman Elfaki) and incorrectly identifies him as the President of the Student Assembly. (In reality, he is the vice chairman for student programming of the Student Assembly.) Nevertheless, she is right about one thing: From the article, this definitely seems to be an attempt to shut down the ability to bring conservative speakers to campus. Who will rescue us from the depredations of a student government gone authoritarian? The SN article gives an answer:

MSU spokesman Terry Denbow said although it’s important to discuss the topic, the university does not have the authority to change rights granted by the First Amendment.

“Asking us to define or regulate speech would be asking us to come up with rules and regulations for when to lock the gate to the open marketplace of ideas,” Denbow said. “There shouldn’t be a lock in (the) first place, but if there were, we should all have keys.”

Compared to many American colleges and universities, Michigan State's administration is very good regarding speech issues and students' freedoms.

MSU's student population, on the other hand? Not so much, from the videos above. Isn't it interesting that the riotous, violent, screaming, anti-speech thugs are almost always from the Left? Just who is engaging in hateful speech here? If you're still in doubt, you must not have watched the videos.

Kids Say The Darndest Things!

I'm not going to have much time to post very often this week; hooray for midterms!

But, I shall leave you with this tidbit. Since www.freep.com has changed its format, apparently requiring me to re-register and still not allowing me for some reason to look at the message boards, plus they hate Michigan so they only kept the story about State beating us 5-2 at the Library and cut out the story about the drubbing the Blue gave them the following night, I'll have to do this from memory and without attribution...my apologies.

A poster on the Michigan message boards wrote that he was sitting in front of a Spartan fan with his young son at the Joe last Saturday. Sparty was skating around the ice holding up one finger (and not the one State fans are normally accustomed to holding up), when the kid asked, "Dad, who is that?" The man replied, "That's our school's mascot, Sparty." And the kid asked, "Daddy, why is Sparty wearing a dress?"

Indeed. From the mouths of babes...

Like The United States, Only With Less Freedom

(Via Michelle Malkin.)

Ezra Levant, the Canadian former editor of the now-defunct Western Standard magazine who decided to publish the Danish Mohammed cartoons, was sued for religious hatred by imam Syed Soharwardy and the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities, brought before the Alberta Human Rights Commission, and won. The right-wing blogosphere, notably Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs, was instrumental in publicizing this injustice and infringement on free speech rights perpetrated by the government of Canada. Now Levant is being sued again:

Just before the weekend, I received an e-mail from Richard Warman, the former investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission, who quit the commission in 2004 to become the commission’s biggest customer. Approximately half of all complaints filed under the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s section 13 “idea crimes” provision have been filed by Warman. The CHRC has a 100% conviction rate under that section, and besides ordering the poor shleps Warman complains about to pay fines to the government, they’re often ordered to pay thousands of dollars to Warman himself, too, for his “hurt feelings”. Unlike the paycheque he got when he used to work there, the cash he gets from commission fines is tax free.

The videos of Levant being interrogated by a representative of the Human Rights Commission can be found on Ezra Levant's YouTube page. Watch them; Mr. Levant is very good.

And Speaking Of Vice Presidents...

...the prolific Captain Ed writes today about the men many consider McCain's top two potential picks, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and South Carolina governor Mark Sanford:

Both men have received quite a bit of attention from those making early VP predictions. Both have recently won re-election as governors, and both have been at least center-right in their governance, with Sanford probably more reliably conservative and Pawlenty dealing with a more opposition-dominated legislature. Both governors are relatively young and potentially good candidates for a later presidential run for the GOP.

Conservatives have expressed a great deal of hesitation in climbing aboard McCain bandwagon, mostly on the basis of the two issues York mentions. They may find themselves energized by the addition of a running mate willing to dissent on McCain's positions on immigration and on the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, better known as McCain-Feingold.

I'm cheered to see that Mark Sanford is gaining serious consideration for the VP spot, but Pawlenty's inclusion is a downer. As Jason Lewis has highlighted repeatedly on his excellent radio show on KTLK in Minneapolis--whose podcast is featured on the left sidebar of this blog--Tim Pawlenty has been a big disappointment to conservatives on the serious issue of global warming. And that can't be chalked up to an opposition legislature; he is regularly absent from the business of governing the state of Minnesota in order to attend global warming conferences calling for more restrictive legislation to curb our freedoms for the sake of bogus and highly politicized science.

If McCain believes that Pawlenty will deliver Minnesota, which has been relatively close in recent elections, for him, he's mistaken. The Republican Party there has had serious problems with their governor, and his choice as VP will not only likely turn the governor's office over to the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the name for Minnesota's Democratic Party), but will also reinforce conservatives' disaffection for the Arizona senator.

But conventional wisdom says that if you want to win an area of the country that your party struggles with, you choose a running mate from that area. I expect Pawlenty to be chosen over the Southerner Mark Sanford, whose conservative credentials are unquestionable.

Captain Ed's words about a future Pawlenty presidential run are also worrying, since a definitive McCain Caucus has been taking shape, including many members of the Conservative Eye-Poker Caucus like Lindsay Grahamnesty (R, Mexico City) and, of course, Tim Pawlenty (R., Scandinavia). If a McCain presidency were to be followed by a Pawlenty nomination, fears that the Republican Party is moving in a new, more statist, direction will be confirmed.

Ronald Reagan was the right man at the right time; so, I believe, was Dubya. Where is our right man this time?

The Theme Of The 2008 Prez Race: Ugh

I haven't made it much of a secret that I don't like the idea of voting for John McCain this November. But this is a fantastic post written by Captain Ed Morrissey on the subject; here's an excerpt:

The election will present American voters with real choices on policy, especially on taxation, foreign policy, expansion of government, and national security issues, despite the complaints of the disappointed. It also provides a stark choice on the direction of the judiciary.

At least two Supreme Court justices will likely leave in the next four years, both of them from the Left, John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The election will determine whether the court continues to turn in a more constructionist direction, forcing policy back to Congress where it belongs, or whether activists can outlast the constructionists. Jurists nominated by Obama or Hillary will have a much different idea of the Supreme Court's role than those nominated by McCain.

Captain Ed generalizes all anti-McCainiacs into the Coulter camp who believes that Hillary is to the right of McCain or that McCain and the Dems have no real policy differences, and that's unfortunate, since it leaves no room for those who oppose McCain for tactical reasons, like me. However, the post highlights one reason to vote for McCain that's hard to ignore: the positive direction in recent years of the Supreme Court.

The fact that Stevens and Ginsburg could leave soon makes a vote for John McCain very tempting. The Supreme Court was originally designed to be the guardian of the Constitution, and has instead tried to rewrite that document, much for the worse. Two new young originalist judges would solidify the constructionist majority for years; even a second FDR would have trouble packing the court, since there's no way for him to hold office for thirteen years. A wholesale shift in the way the Supreme Court treats legislation--using the Constitution less as a "living document" and more as a foundation for freedom and limited government--could potentially dampen or counteract whatever negative effects McCain could have on American conservatism.

However, that assumes that McCain's appointments to the bench would be constructionists. As I've written before, I think there has to be some skepticism about McCain's willingness to fight Senate Demcrats intent on interpreting the "advise and consent" clause as carte blanche to pick Supreme Court justices instead of the president. Still, the "Gang of Fourteen" issue may have been a bit overblown, and it certainly is a plus that we still have the power to filibuster now that Republicans are in the minority. The "nuclear option" would be a terrible irony right now for Senate Republicans.

I think I shall still wait and see whom John McCain picks as his running mate. Whatever happens this election season, we need to make sure that there's a good conservative leader to run in 2012 or 2016.

Icers Smack Spartina Around, Edge Closer to CCHA Title

The University of Michigan hockey team destroyed Michigan State last night, again dominating in shots but this time dominating in goals. They scored the first three goals of the game--from Tim Miller to break a year-long drought, from Aaron Palushaj, and from Brandon Naurato--and then let State back into it in the second period, with Sauer allowing a bad backhand shot from Chris Mueller and State getting a power play goal from Tim Kennedy. Max Pacioretty extended Michigan's lead back to two with a deflected shot in front of Lerg at the end of the second period; Tim Miller sealed the win with an easy empty-netter in the last minute of the game.

Great win for the Wolverines, and especially for the freshmen. Berenson mentioned in his Free Press interview that the freshmen often don't really have a great understanding of the rivalry, and Michigan has a very young team this year. (This is the first time since 1998, incidentally, that Michigan has had two 30-point freshmen. Michigan won the NCAA title that year.)

We also knocked Spartina out of contention for the CCHA title and put ourselves in great position against Miami: we just have to make sure we win one or tie two against Ferris State.

Red, The Heart Of Blue

In honor of tonight's crucial hockey game between the Wolverines and Spartina at the Joe, here's a nice USCHO.com article about Red Berenson's journey to become one of college hockey's top coaches.

GO BLUE!

U-M B-ball Liveblog -- Illinois

Another Michigan basketball liveblog! I know I'm excited. As usual, posts will read downwards in reverse chronological order.

GAME SUMMARY: Well, the last game I live-blogged, Michigan lost an awful game to Minnesota at home. The team has come a shockingly long way since then, but still has a VERY long way to go, and not just in talent level. Manny Harris is a talented offensive player but needs to improve his decision-making--however, he IS a freshman, so these things are somewhat to be expected. Somewhat. Michigan's gotten a lot better at just about everything except shooting, and it's paid off as they've won 4 of their last 5 after losing 9 of their first 10. People are starting to show up at the games--and yes, not just the seemingly unavoidable opposing student section--and I think Michigan's generating at least a small amount of optimism for the future. Beilein has to be happy with the contributions from C. J. Lee, who started this year as Michigan's 18th string guard, and Ekpe Udoh got more blocks than I think I've seen anyone get in a game. Grady was also clutch down the stretch, and that's a happy development. All in all, a tough game to watch most of the way, and incredibly angering toward the end. (I love ya, #3, but...wow.) And in the very end, another solid win.

6:00 -- Great block by Udoh, Michigan grabs the ball, and C. J. Lee makes the wise decision not to go for the fast-break and just slow down. The clock runs down.....

5:59 -- Okay, no harm done, I guess. Michigan gets a 6-point lead back as Udoh hits 1 of 2 FTs.

5:57 -- Grady, who has been great today and has 12 points, hits two clutch FTs to restore Michigan to a 5-point lead. Whew.

5:55 -- Manny Harris gets the outlet pass, then notices there's a three-on-two and tries to go coast-to-coast. Two misses, Illinois gets it back, then hits a three plus a foul. Terrible, terrible decisions. I'm incredibly bitter about that. And Brock mercifully misses the FT. 46-43, U-M.

5:54 -- Illinois puts Manny Harris on the line, which pays off...he only hits one, uncharacteristically. 46-40 Blue.

5:52 -- Sims not having a good game, but he gets his 6th and 7th points on free throws to give Michigan a 7-point lead.

5:50 -- Meacham takes a shot while Illinois gets called for the foul in a scrum. "He thinks he's in East Lansing." Why, because it's such a painful place to be? I get it.

5:49 -- Illinois commits the offensive foul away from the ball. The announcer mentions that Illinois has scored 3 points in the last 11 minutes--all free throws. Incredible.

5:48 -- Now after a missed Meacham free throw--definitely a gift--Harris drives and draws the foul. That was key. He makes both to put Michigan up by 5, 43-38.

5:47 -- Harris makes another spectacular move to score, 41-37.

5:43 -- Clutch jumper by Grady to break the deadlock. 39-37.

5:41 -- Michigan continues to play good defense in the post, but Manny Harris continues to make poor decisions.

5:39 -- One of the announcers mentions that Michigan has 11 offensive rebounds. Craziness.

5:38 -- Manny Harris hits a ridiculous runner to give M the 2-point lead!

5:35 -- Sims wastes the possession with a crazy shot right off the inbounds pass.

5:34 -- Anthony Wright, great hustle play to get another possession somehow!

5:31 -- Another turnover by Harris. *sigh*

5:30 -- Lee draws ANOTHER offensive foul. He's stepping up on defense.

5:29 -- Good dish from Harris to Sims on the fast break for the first points since I last posted...seriously. Tie game at 35!

5:20 -- Illinois's defense has really stepped up in the second half, but so has Michigan's. Both are now creating turnovers rather than lucking into them through bad offense. 35-33 Illinois.

5:19 -- GIBSON! A spectacular rebound and putback...Illinois leads by 2.

5:16 -- Grady hits a J to stop a small Illinois push, after a good defensive play by M. Illini by 2.

5:13 -- Jalen Rose has been fighting to get the Fab Five back to Michigan; good for him! He's here on behalf of the Jalen Rose Foundation, by the way, and does a lot of charity work.

5:10 -- Harris nails the three to tie!

5:09 -- Good ball movement and Ekpe Udoh...hits a three? Nope, a long two. Wow. Illini by 3.

5:07 -- Michigan loses another perimeter shooter and they capitalize. Illini by 3.

5:06 -- Harris draws the foul and hits Michigan's first two free throws of the game. Wow.

5:05 -- Very good defense by Michigan starting out, with a turnover and a severely harried shot.

HALFTIME UPDATE: I'm reconsidering my earlier statement. Illinois's defense has been good, but nothing special. Michigan isn't hitting shots and is committing bad turnovers, especially Manny Harris. That's starting to worry me. Michigan's defense, except for the holes I mentioned earlier, has been good; Udoh's gotten an absurd number of blocks--it's no fluke that he leads the Big Ten--and we've apparently, according to the halftime guys, held Illinois to about 2/3 of their average points at the half. Huh.

HALFTIME: Well, Michigan started very strong, on the whole. They were running the offense and passing and rebounding well. They then reverted to their old ways, committing turnovers and taking bad shots. Their defense seems extremely vulnerable to dribble penetration and three-point shots, probably because of their lack of perimeter athleticism and numbers; not much can be done about that. The Blue will have to continue to rebound well, because Illinois's defense is much better than Michigan's. Ugly first half by the way; neither team shot better than 40%. "Not exactly a scoring explosion," says the BTN halftime guy. They're on pace to score 92. Combined.

4:48 -- Dang. Illinois responds with a drive-and-kick for a wide-open three. We'll go to the half with Illinois up 2, 24-22.

4:47 -- OHHH!!! DeShawn Sims hits the three at the shot-clock buzzer!

4:44 -- Meacham makes an amazing shot, then Wright puts another three in and out. Illinois's up by 2.

4:40 -- C. J. Lee draws the offensive foul! He's playing well today.

4:39 -- FOURTH block of the day for Udoh; he's producing so many blocks that pretty soon the Democrats will have to tax him.

4:38 -- It was a good thought, but Harris's pass turns into a turnover. Tie game at 19.

4:35 -- Oh MY goodness! Jevohn Shepherd with the ridiculous rebound put-back and one. But he missed the free throw: 19-17.

4:31 -- Turnover by Illinois, but before that Frasier hit a long, long three and Meacham hit a fast-break 1-on-2 lay-up. It's tied at 17.

4:29 -- GREAT hustle play, then great pass from Harris to Udoh for the assist! 17-12 Michigan.

4:28 -- Wright nails the three to take the lead!

4:27 -- Coast to coast for Manny Harris! That was fantastic! 12-12.

4:25 -- Great defense...until allowing a bad, easy lay-up for Tisdale. Then a turnover by Mich. 12-10 bad guys.

4:21 -- Michigan succumbs to a bad inbounds pass allowed, but Illinois misses the and-one. Tie game. Uuugly.

4:18 -- "Move over and let the BIG dog eat!" That's NEVER going to get less annoying.

4:14 -- ANOTHER THREE FROM GRADY! And a nice pass to him from Sims. A bad start on both ends turns around...on both ends! Michigan, 10-6.

4:13 -- DEEP three from Grady! And a beautiful block by Udoh before that. *contentment* 7-6 good guys.

4:11 -- Beautiful shot by Udoh after another Illinois three. 6-4.

4:10 -- CLANG. Bad-looking three from Sims. 3-2 Illini.

4:09 -- Harris botches a three badly, then gets a beautiful feed from Wright. Illinois responds with a three--typical.

4:08 -- Illinois wins the tip. Illinois misses a contested lay-up, then out of bounds to Michigan.

4:06 -- Another large-ish crowd, by the way, because Jalen Rose is in attendance. Some students are wearing "Jalen" T-shirts. I like this.

4:03 -- Michigan starts Wright at the 4 rather than DeShawn. Interesting. Otherwise, Grady at 1, Coleman at 2 (he hasn't been playing well lately), Harris at 3, and Udoh at 5.

Some pre-game notes: We've been playing relatively well lately, just didn't shoot well at Minnesota. Manny needs to work on this whole trying-to-drive-against-the-whole-other-team thing, because he had a bunch of turnovers against the Gophers, and C. J. Lee is going to have to step up, as Michigan is basically down to three guards. Illinois's Brian Randle is out, so that might give Michigan an advantage. Winnable game for us, so, geez...we'd better win. Because those only come around so often...

The Secretest Administration

Gabriel Schoenfeld wrote an excellent column yesterday for The Wall Street Journal about the Bush administration's supposed historically high level of secrecy. Here's a part:

As in the Nixon era, America today is a country deeply divided over a controversial war. Today, as then, there is no shortage of disgruntled present and former government employees willing to dump secret documents into the public domain. Today, as then, these malefactors are aided by a press eager to glorify their actions.

But things have fundamentally changed in the decades that have elapsed, and for the worse. The Vietnam War documents that former Pentagon and State Department official Daniel Ellsberg provided to the New York Times in 1971, however sensitive, were all historical in nature. Not one page in the multi-volume collection of classified documents was written after 1968.

Today, the secrets that are routinely leaked to the press typically concern operational intelligence, i.e., secrets about ongoing intelligence programs. The New York Times's publication in 2006 of details of the joint CIA-Treasury program to monitor al Qaeda financial transactions is one of the most egregious cases in point. But one could cite many other damaging leaks.

The CIA's war against George W. Bush is probably the most underreported story in Washington. But who would report it, when every outlet wants to be the next one to get an exclusive story about classified information? From the bogus Plame-Wilson case to the leaks about the NSA surveillance program, the entrenched interests at the CIA have done everything they can to fight back against a president who wants the most effective intelligence-gathering organization we can get to defend our country against attack.


As Schoenfeld notes, every president has reserved the right to keep information classified, and especially during times of war. In fact, it's absolutely essential. The United States also happens to have a particularly good system of checks and balances through specially assigned intelligence courts and through Senate and House intelligence committees. And the fact is that we are in the middle of a war right now, and specifically a kind of war in which information may be the most crucial element of all.

And speaking of which, John Hinderaker at PowerLine Blog reports on the letter sent from Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell and Attorney General Michael Mukasey to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Democrat Silvestre Reyes, about the NSA surveillance bill passed by the Senate; read it, it's a devastating indictment of the way House Democrats have been playing political games with our nation's security.

Why I Am Not A Conservative

That great book by F. A. Hayek was brought to my mind the other day while musing about a discussion I had with one of my friends about universal health care. In it, the great classical liberal thinker explained that the people Americans call "conservatives" are actually in the liberal tradition, since they believe in voluntary associations and lack of government coercion. Modern "liberals," meanwhile, are really in the socialist tradition, since they favor government coercion for the purpose of enhancing equality; they consider themselves liberals because they believe that freedoms can only be delivered through social and economic equality.

This is an excellent Wikipedia article on the subject, from which I learned much to write this post.

The main distinctions are, as I see it, that the classical liberal believes that rights are inherent in man and negative in nature; that is, that one has the right not to be coerced through violence. (The right not to be coerced through violence is a tricky one, and I shall probably take it up in another post.) By contrast, the modern liberal believes that rights are delivered to man by government and are positive in nature; in other words, that a government can guarantee many different rights, including the right to health care, the right to food, the right to housing, the right to free speech, etc.

Much like the Utilitarianism and Social Contract Theory we're studying in my Ethics class, I find modern liberalism to be too compatible with social engineering for my taste. In my view, classical liberalism respects the dignity of each individual human being--after all, we are made in imagine Dei--and thus is far the more liberal view.

I'm not really a conservative--I'm a classical liberal. But it's probably too late to reclaim that word, tarnished by long association with an illiberal American left wing.

The McCain Attack and Switft Boat Vets

Back from a busy morning schedule!

Michelle Malkin has had a few posts about the relationship between the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the John McCain hit piece by The New York Times.

I once saw a cartoon posted on someone's door here at Michigan State that had Karl Rove trying to convince Plato that something was true if it was repeated over and over again. I think that more accurately applies to the MSM.

Remember the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth? They were a 527 committee comprised of former swift boaters who revealed the truth about John Kerry's military record. Despite the fact that their claims could not seriously be disputed, they were castigated as vicious political hit men with an agenda. In reality, the MSM was trying to cover for a politician who lied to Congress about what he actually did in Vietnam.

The drive-by of John McCain is of a totally different quality. Why? Well, first of all, it was shoddy reporting. There's really no evidence that John McCain ever had an affair with the woman in question. Second, it was released by an allegedly major news institution at exactly the time when it would deal the most damage, even though they had the "story" for three months. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth told just that: the truth. And in this a 527 committee outdid The New York Times, which instead resorted to hearsay and rumors, more fitting for a tabloid than an objective news source. The Grey Lady is losing circulation, and this isn't a step in the right direction.

On Facebook

Since I'm not one of those "cool" or "knowledgeable" bloggers who understand how to make it so only people who have "registered" can "comment" on "my" posts, I decided to start a Facebook group so I could get a feel for who reads my blog and give y'all another place to discuss whatever I'm writing, how bad it is, or whatever.

So if you're on Facebook and you glance at this blog sometimes, join my group! I guarantee you aren't in enough groups already. Speaking of which, coming soon: The Wandering Wolverine Facebook Application! (Self-Deprecation Alert)

Again, the website is here, and there will also be a link on the sidebar. Thanks!

The New York Tabloid

This is all over the Blogosphere, but I got it from Powerline Blog.

Remember those rumors that the news media knew that one of the presidential candidates was having an affair, but they didn't want to release it because it was kind of a cheap shot? Well, it appears as though they found out when they should use it; right when the alleged adulterer won his party's nomination. I wonder which party? The evidence isn't even all that great; this is just plain old bad reporting by a once-great national news institution.

The media's backstabbing of media-friendly John McCain is one of the most predictable stories of the election. They will always, always, always back whichever candidate is more liberal, and hopefully that's always the Democrat. It certainly will be this election.

Star Wars Missile Defense--In a Galaxy Not So Far Away

(Captain's Quarters has the story. Original site for video: Eyeblast.)

This is just absurdly cool:





Democrats were willing to believe that embryonic stem cells were not just the only way to advance medical technology, but that they would make people in wheelchairs get up and walk--all this while no treatments had ever been developed using embryonic stem cells, but many had been through adult stem cells. Then we discovered that ESC research was needless. Now we see that, after years of hearing Democrats call the program a fantastical piece of science fiction, SDI missile defense technology can not only work but, as Captain Ed points out, bring us into a new and perhaps less terrifying era of warfare free from long-range ballistic missiles. (Next up on the Democrats' science agenda: global warming. How do you feel about their track record now?)

The Democrats don't respect science. They simply manipulate it as best they can to advance the same agenda they've always had: reduce the dignity of humanity and subordinate individuals to state authority.

Video: Spongebama and Patrick

(Via RightMichigan.com)

Apparently Barack Obama has taken a little bit more from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick than I realized:





Classic.

Anyway, this is really a minor issue. The real issue is that Obama is friends with this guy. Deval Patrick has been a complete joke since the time he set foot on Beacon Hill. Like Obama, he promised change (interestingly, after Romney left). According to Dean Barnett, the change mostly consisted of being exposed in outright lie after outright lie and using state money to live more luxuriously. Also interesting: Patrick is a Bill Clinton prodigy. PowerLine's Scott Johnson noted more similarities between the Obama and Patrick campaigns a month or so ago.

Change! Hope! A new direction! Away from responsibility and reality.

Recruiting Round-up by MGoBlog

Brian at MGoBlog has in-depth reports on each recruit this year, though not all of them are published quite yet. Here's what he does have:

Defensive Backs.

Offensive Linemen.

Wide Receivers.

Runningbacks/Quarterbacks.

Tight Ends.

These are thoroughly researched and include many highlight videos of various players, including offensive linemen. I don't think I've ever read a post on MGoBlog that was not interesting and hilarious, so if you're an M fan, visit!

Socialized Health Care Supporter Rations Logic

One of my friends posted this on their Facebook, and I thought I'd respond briefly, since I don't have time to delve deeply into the issue. Here's an excerpt:

Government-run health care is inherently less efficient -- because governments themselves are inherently less efficient.
If anything could finally put the lie to this old conservative canard, the disaster that is our health care system is Exhibit A.

America spends about 15% of its GDP on health care. Most other industrialized countries (all of whom have some form of universal care) spend about 11-12%. According to the WHO, Canada spends a bit over 9% -- and most of the problems within their system come out of the fact that it's chronically underfunded compared to the international average.

Any system that has people spending more and getting less is, by definition, not efficient. And these efficiency leaks are, almost entirely, due to private greed. There is no logical way that a private system can pay eight-figure CEO compensation packages, turn a handsome a profit for shareholders, and still be "efficient." In fact, in order to deliver those profits and salaries, the American system has built up a vast, Kafkaesque administrative machinery of approval, denial, and fraud management, which inflates the US system's administrative costs to well over double that seen in other countries -- or even in our own public systems, including Medicare and the VA system.

After years of failed socialism, after years of economic theory consistently debunking collectivism, after seeing the wonderful job government does in postal service, departments of motor vehicles, and the Walter Reed military hospital, you'd think we wouldn't have to put up with this stuff anymore. But you'd be wrong. Government creating inefficiency in the market isn't a "conservative canard"; it's a time-tested truism. And it's so obvious! Think about it: you lower the cost to zero--not the price tag, mind you, but the cost--and quantity demanded skyrockets far beyond the market equilibrium. That creates shortages, something we invariably see in states using nationalized health care, including Canada, Britain...and Japan. Those who believe they can take a vacation from the laws of economics are likely to take a vacation from prosperity. There's a reason why massive numbers of economists oppose socialized health care vehemently. (By the way, whenever someone starts talking about "private greed" and "delivering care, not profits," you can be sure that she has no clue what she's talking about where economics is concerned. Just thought I'd mention it.) Should we choose a system that relies on the beneficence of government employees rather than on the strictures of a competitive market in which profit depends on delivering satisfactory service? Both practice (history) and theory (read up; try Thomas Sowell or Walter Williams) tell us that the latter is preferable, and not just by a little bit.

Cluelessness Alert: This woman asserts that fraud will vanish if we get the government involved.

Really, collectivism IS what's wrong with American health care right now. Government needs to get out of the job of regulating health care--no one should be required to ensure employees, people should be able to buy health insurance from other states, etc.--and market forces should be allowed to deliver health care in the most efficient possible way.

Besides, no one who advocates a program which everyone has to join or else go to jail should be able to talk about liberty, like this woman does. That is an affront to real liberty.

In conclusion: if you want socialized health care, go to Canada, the U.K., or France. Don't drag me into it. I'm begging you.

Video: Barack's Resume?

Okay, I'm back already. What brought me down? Arsenal outplaying A.C. Milan for an entire match and having Adebayor miss a point-blank header at 3:50 of stoppage time to give us a 0-0 decision. AND it's the only match I get to watch on TV.

Well, okay, also because this is hilarious:



Trouble down the road? We'll see.

(Via PowerLine Blog)

Wandering No More?

TW2 is unspeakably excited to be able to mention that his application to the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor has been formally accepted. He awaits news of financial assistance there.

I shall write on this page again after this news has sufficiently sunk in and I have become calmer. So, just in case, Happy Fourth of July!

David Merritt: Thank You

David Merritt, a senior walk-on guard with the University of Michigan men's basketball squad, put up seven points against a fierce Ohio State defense in the first half. A packed house cheered him on as he kept us in the game, an unexpected hero, an underdog on a team of underdogs who kept fighting.

He was never meant to really play; he was just there in case something happened to all the people in front of him. Then K'Len Morris left. Then Jerret Smith left. Michigan went from a bad team with a large rotation to a bad team with a small rotation. Merritt was pressed into heavy service, and as the team began a historic slide, one foolish blogger noted that Michigan wasn't going to win anything playing guys like David Merritt.

Then Ohio State came to town. The house was packed, because the new football coach was speaking at halftime. OSU formed its own visitors' student section. But when Michigan, which has struggled at home this year more than on the road, began to falter, it wasn't Manny Harris that sparked us. It wasn't DeShawn Sims. It was senior walk-on David Merritt, who sunk a three-pointer with seconds to go on the shot clock and who scored on a killer drive through the Buckeyes' big men. He continued to play well in the second half and contributed in a big way to Michigan's biggest win of the year against a major rival; the fans who rushed the court hoisted him onto their shoulders and sang The Victors at the top of their lungs. At least, that's how it should have happened.

In reality, Merritt was injured and had to spend much of the second half in the locker room. Now, the Free Press is reporting that our unexpected hero's season, and his career, is done, as he has torn the medial meniscus in his left knee and requires surgery.

Thank you, David Merritt, for what you gave Michigan. In a forgettable season, true Michigan fans will always remember how much you did for the team.

Those Who Know Ron Paul Best...

...are currently not too enthralled with him, either, according to John Hinderaker of PowerLine Blog:

Paul is facing a strong challenge from an accountant and city councilman named Chris Peden, who currently leads Paul by around ten points in the polls. Roger Simon interviewed Peden and posted a podcast, along with an interesting summary of the interview. Not surprisingly, one difference between Peden and Paul is that Peden supports the administration's national defense efforts. Peden also questions the racially charged, and otherwise controversial, newsletters that Paul sponsored for many years.

His was an interesting voice for economic freedom in the presidential debates, but the nature of his support and his own debate rhetoric suggested that he represented an older and more insidious strain of the right wing. This article in the New Republic about his bigoted, paranoid newsletters over a period of a couple decades confirmed it, although many still clung desperately to another messianic figure. He'll stay in until the convention and his supporters will try to manipulate the delegate system to cast delegates pledged to other candidates for him, but he will quickly fade into obscurity--one hopes--after Minneapolis crowns the next bearer of the Republican mantle.

Expect The Expected

Chris over at Apologies Demanded notes that Fred Thompson has endorsed John McCain for President of the United States.

You had to figure that was going to happen. FDT was our hero for a short time, the only true conservative in the Republican primary. John McCain, on the other hand, had joined ranks with the likes of Republican Senate colleagues Arlen Specter and Trent Lott in the Conservative Eye-Pokers Caucus. However, no conservative (I think) really believes that John McCain won't be the better of the two major candidates running. And either John McCain or his eventual Democratic nominee, whether that is the Obamessiah or Hillatrix LeStrange, must win the presidency. For many Republicans, that is a convincing enough argument to vote for McCain, even if they disagree with him on many issues. And that's okay; we should respect that. We don't differ in substance, but in strategy. I think that four years of a socialist Democrat in the White House might be worth it if conservatives can send a strong message to the Republican party that they need to be respected.

It isn't interesting that Fred endorsed McCain, based on their friendship and Fred's predictable and honorable unwillingness to help the worse candidate win. The people to watch will be Mark Levin and Michelle Malkin. If they (and especially Michelle Malkin) relent and embrace McCain, it will be a sure signal that any conservative ploy to skip the election will fail miserably.

Dutch Soccer Prank

Passed on to me from my buddy Matt:



Ahh, that European obsession with Communist football. Nobody best be doing this during the NCAA Tournament in two years when Michigan is playing in the Final Four. (Irrational Optimism Alert.)

Al Qaeda In Iraq's New Strategy

(Via Captain's Quarters Blog.)

Kill our own people! Yeah! That'll take them by surprise! CNN.com reports:

Video provided to CNN shows an al Qaeda in Iraq firing squad executing one-time allies -- fellow Sunni extremists -- who were not loyal enough to the terror organization, coalition military analysts said.

In the video provided by coalition military officials, armed men wearing masks are shown standing behind nine kneeling men, all of whom are wearing blindfolds or hoods with their hands presumably tied behind their backs. The video shows the men being executed.

AQI's executing its own members can only mean one thing: More of them are helping Coalition forces or becoming sympathetic to reconciliation efforts.

Political progress at the national level may be slow, although I think it's moving quickly, all things considered. But plenty of real progress has been made at the local level in terms of mixed ethnicity and religion neighborhoods finding peace, refugees returning, increased cooperation with U.S. military forces, and a growing sense of national identity. That nation is growing more stable, not less, with each passing day, and AQI is hurting because of its increasing alienation from the people they depend on for shelter, information, and recruits.

They should probably make a new investment: Barack Obama for President!]

Hope for Cuba: Brutal Dictator Retires

(Via Captain's Quarters Blog.)

Today should be a day for celebration: Fidel Castro, the brutal Communist dictator who has held Cuba in thrall and charmed idiotic American celebrities for 49 years, has officially stepped down as Cuba's leader:

The announcement ends the formal reign of a man who, after seizing power in a 1959 revolution, not only outlasted nine U.S. presidents but his communist patrons in the former Soviet Union as well. Prior to the Soviet Union's collapse, support from the Kremlin sustained Cuba as a socialist outpost on the doorstep of the United States, and placed Castro and his country in the middle of events central to the Cold War, including the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis.

Aww, how nice. Outlasted nine U.S. Presidents, what a resilient guy! (What's that? Presidents are term-limited and have to run for re-election because we live in a democracy?) Apparently being a Communist is enough in terms of charm and charisma to overcome the fact that you missed the decade when military fatigues went out of style.

At least we have a president who has the courage to use the words that murderer's reign really deserves:

President Bush, asked about the news in a public appearance during his trip to Africa, said: "The question really should be what does this mean for the people in Cuba. They are the ones who suffered under Fidel Castro."

Bush said he hoped this would be "the beginning of a democratic transition for the people of Cuba . . . An interesting debate will arise. Some will say let's promote stability. In the meantime, political prisoners will rot . . . This should be a transition to free and fair elections. And I mean free and fair. Not these elections that the Castro brothers rig."

How much longer will we have a president who calls evil by its name? Anyway, hopefully this can begin a transition for Cuba away from oppression and slavery and toward freedom and democracy. I hope the United States will support such efforts, no matter which party holds the Capitol and the White House.

Obamessiah Watch

(Via Powerline Blog.)

Michelle Obama should probably consider staying quiet for a while. John Podhoretz gives us the scoop:

Michelle Obama today said that “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction."...

Mrs. Obama was speaking at a campaign rally, so it is easy to assume she was merely indulging in hyperbole. Even so, it is very revealing.

It suggests, first, that the pseudo-messianic nature of the Obama candidacy is very much a part of the way the Obamas themselves are feeling about it these days. If they don’t get a hold of themselves, the family vanity is going to swell up to the size of Phileas Fogg’s hot-air balloon and send the two of them soaring to heights of self-congratulatory solipsism that we’ve never seen before.

The truth is that some of these liberals don't really like the United States all that much. They see America as a sort of Babylon of capitalism. Anyone who takes note of the fact that capitalism (a.k.a. economic freedom) leads directly to greater prosperity for everyone--such as John Stossel (via Hugh Hewitt)--sees America rather as a Jerusalem of capitalism, but no matter. America is the great polluter (despite the fact that Europe's CO2 emissions levels are decreasing significantly less swiftly than America's), the great mistreater of the poor (our poor live as well as most people in Europe), the great theocratic world empire (laughable on its face).

Considering that these folks seem to see America as a sort of Gomorrah, do we really want to give Barack Obama the job of defending us from people who sorta agree?

Kwame Update

Over the weekend (on Saturday, to be precise), the Detroit Free Press reported (but I did not) on Kwame's latest antics:

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick took his text message scandal to the Michigan Supreme Court on Friday, urging justices to strike down decisions from two lower courts to provide the public with secret documents he used to settle police whistle-blower lawsuits last year for $8.4 million...

City Council members said they were disappointed.

Councilman Kwame Kenyatta said in a statement, "Either the mayor has something to hide or he's buying packing time."

Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins said, "I'd like this to be over. For me, this is just dragging it out longer and longer and longer. The city needs to get back to the business of governing."

Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel expressed concern that the scandal, which sprang from a Jan. 23 Free Press report revealing the contents of damaging text messages between Kilpatrick and his then-chief of staff, Christine Beatty, is turning into "a continuing drama."

"At some point this is going to be a drag on the forward progress of the city," she said.

Legal experts gave Kilpatrick slim chances of winning.

Any port in a storm, but this is highly suspicious. Loved the comment about "packing time," though. Even better is the "drag on the forward progress of the city" bit; just what exactly is a drag on the forward progress? The rampant crime and poor law enforcement? Or, you know...enforcing the law?

It isn't looking too good for Mr. Mayor. Of course, we've all known for a long time now that this man is incredibly corrupt, but the question really is this: what's going to happen to him? You know what? No matter what happens here, I'm betting he keeps his spot. But that's not the tragedy. The tragedy is that all Detroit needs is good governance to clean up crime, but the city is just going to keep on electing the criminals.

Anyway, the Freep has an article about the growing importance of the city's auditor general:

Detroit Auditor General Loren Monroe has spent his first two years on the job in relative obscurity, but that's about to change in a big way.

The City Council has ordered Monroe's office to audit every financial transaction made by Kwame Kilpatrick's office during his six years as mayor and all legal expenses it incurred.

The audit is part of the council's investigation into the text message scandal involving Kilpatrick...

Monroe's quiet approach is opposite that of his predecessor Joseph Harris, who would speak frequently on the state of the city's budget and clash publicly with Kilpatrick and council members.

Harris said he was on hand when Monroe presented the budget report to the council in 2007, and his performance confirmed what he said former colleagues at the office had been telling him about problems with summarizing and answering questions.

"The first thing that came to mind was that he wasn't presenting," Harris said.

Despite his criticism of Monroe's skills, Harris said he has confidence in the work of the staff in the auditor general's office.

"That's where the report comes from," said Harris, who is not involved in Detroit government anymore. "My guess is that you'll get a very good report."

Where is someone who "clashes publicly" with a corrupt mayor when you need him? Anyway, the Detroit City Council members are really growing on me:

In 2007, when he presented the auditor general's annual assessment of the mayor's budget recommendation, some council members criticized him for relying on his prepared text and delegating most of the council members' questions to his staff.

At the time, Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said he expected Monroe to have command of all the information in the report and be able to answer most questions on his own.

Cockrel said if Monroe's staff had been hit by a bus that morning, "this probably would have been a five-minute presentation."

Hehe.

Give Them a State! (Sarcasm Alert)

(Via Michelle Malkin)

Those wacky Palestinians are at it again, demanding blood for the irreverant cartoon published by Danes exercising their right to free speech:

In the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, a leader of a militants’ umbrella group called on Muslim faithful to attack Danish embassies and diplomats.

“Blow up the Danish embassies and kill the ambassadors,” Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), said at an open-air news conference in a Gaza square, where PRC members burnt a Danish flag.

“We urge (Islamist fighters) to track down those who printed the cartoons, those who drew them and those who published them and slaughter them immediately,” he said.

Haha! Oh, come on, they're obviously only joking! There is nothing to fear but fearmongering Republicans!

Danish police arrested two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan descent last Tuesday, accusing them of planning to kill a cartoonist who drew one of the images.

Err...oh. Well, at least the kids over there in Denmark seem to be having fun; it's the eighth night of rioting by Muslim youths in Denmark. Gateway Pundit has the story and video.

Manny Harris Grabs Weekly Big Ten Honor

(Via UMHoops Blog)

The Big Ten has named Michigan freshman Manny Harris the Big Ten Player of the Week:

Harris was a key contributor to U-M's first three-game win streak of the season. For the week, Harris averaged 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 94.7 percent from the free-throw line and 57.1 percent from long range. The Detroit native posted his 21st and 22nd double-digit scoring performances of the season with 15 points at Iowa and a career-best 27 points against Ohio State. At Iowa, after the Wolverines scored just 16 points in the first half, Harris was an integral part of a second-half Wolverine run. He scored all 15 of his points in the second stanza, helping Michigan post an 18-point turnaround in a 60-52 win. Harris' eight-of-eight free-throw performance down the stretch helped seal the come-from-behind victory for Michigan. He also added three assists and three steals against the Hawkeyes. Versus Ohio State, Harris closed the game with a career-best 27 points. He was seven-of-19 from the field with three long-range baskets, adding a 10-of-11 free throw performance, including seven-of-eight in the final 2:41. He also added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in the win. This is the first career weekly accolade for Harris.

This is a great end to one of the more exciting weeks in Michigan basketball in recent years. M needed some buzz and some excitement, and hopefully this will be just one more springboard for a growing program. And while everyone contributed nicely to this little streak and the huge upset over OSU, Number 3 deserves this award for his clutch play in his first year in D-I at a struggling program. Way to go, Manny, and hopefully this will be only the first of many such awards.

Why the LAT is SOL

("Sorry Out of Luck," that is, as my friend Mike Stein would put it.)

Captain Ed Morrissey comments on the absurd editorial in the LA Times today. Here's a sample from that editorial:

Ironically, all this good news might make it harder to get American military personnel out of the country. The better things go in Iraq, the less likely it is that U.S. generals (or politicians) will want to risk jeopardizing their hard-won gains by drawing down. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has agreed to a request by Gen. David H. Petraeus to return to the pre-surge level of about 130,000 troops by August, and then allow a "strategic pause" to evaluate whether more can come home.

Battlefield commanders know best how many troops are needed to keep the country stable, but as a political and economic matter, U.S. forces must leave Iraq eventually -- sooner, if voters choose a Democratic president, much later if the president-elect is Republican John McCain. Either way, the United States needs a logical, orderly exit strategy that minimizes the risk that civil war will resume when our troops leave.

Where to begin? Captain Ed notes that we're still in South Korea and Germany, and no one complains about that. Come to think of it, isn't there a lot more strategic importance to keeping a troop presence in Iraq than in Germany? After all, the most dangerous forces in the world today are in the Middle East, including Iran's pursuit of nuclear arms and Saudi Arabia's funding of jihadist madrassas across the globe. Disengagement from that area after a hard-fought victory is folly, and shows that the Los Angeles Times and the Democratic Party do not understand and are not prepared to fight the war against Islamic jihadism.

By the way, you can just taste the disappointment of the editorialist. What they most want is American failure and retreat, not victory, which would almost certainly mean a small, long-term troop presence to remain involved in an extremely important region of the world. Make no mistake; it may sound extreme, but they want us to lose. Progressivism, you've come a long way.

The Day They Laid Thad Matta Away...

Bob Wojnowski reminds me today of why I like the Detroit News sports reporting better than the Freep:

The Buckeyes just wouldn't shut up. There was Michigan's new football coach, Rich Rodriguez, trying to address the crowd at halftime Sunday, and a horde of Ohio State fans way up in the rafters kept interrupting with chants and jeers.

It was rude, in a distinctly Buckeye way. But it also was helpful, a needed primer for Michigan's new basketball and football coaches, who must turn up their own noise, while turning around the rivalry.

The Michigan fans responded with "Beat the Buckeyes!" and Rodriguez said, "Amen, I hear you, I appreciate that." And then the strangest thing happened.

The Wolverines actually went out and beat the Buckeyes.

This weekend really was perfect, in a number of ways. The hockey squad beat LSSU firmly into the ice with double 4-2 wins to solidify their national rankings, Pairwise, and CCHA leads while our number one competitor, Miami-Ohio, got swept by Ferris State. New head football coach Rich Rodriguez had a big get-together for all the alumni of Michigan teams past and connected well; his speech at halftime was a big success. And as for the Ohio State hecklers? Well, they weren't shut up by Coach Rod. They were shut up by, of all people, the Michigan basketball team, who outscored the Buckeyes 42-32 in the second half to end a seven-game skid against those fat idiots from south of the border. (Whew, geez, excuse me. I think the correct term is "proportionally-challenged graduates of THE Ohio State University".) That was the most fun I've had watching Michigan basketball since the glory days when we won an NIT title. (*sigh* I'm starting to ruin it for myself...)

Seriously, though, there's no way these events could have played out better. Coach Rod addresses the Michigan faithful as their head football coach for the first time, filling Crisler Arena with the promise of his appearance. The Michigan basketball team shows up, gives us the most exciting game of the year, and shows toughness and poise--despite playing their lone senior for only 15 unproductive minutes. This game was truly satisfying, because this whole year we've been reminding ourselves that this year is really about next year, that even though we're losing games we're learning and improving and building. And this game WAS about learning, improving, building; but, for the first time, it was also about right now.

That's Rich

Frank Rich offers up his usual drivel:

Though Mr. Bush ran for president on “compassionate conservatism,” he diversified only his party’s window dressing: a 2000 Republican National Convention that had more African-Americans onstage than on the floor and the incessant photo-ops with black schoolchildren to sell No Child Left Behind. There are no black Republicans in the House or the Senate to stand with the party’s 2008 nominee. Exit polls tell us that African-Americans voting in this year’s G.O.P. primaries account for at most 2 to 4 percent of its electorate even in states with large black populations.

First, note the eternal Democratic penchant for seeing everything in terms of demographic groups. Don't like Mr. Obama because he's a socialist? Racist! Wait, you're a Republican even though all Republicans are old white guys? If this is change...

Rich is right that the Republican Party doesn't have a lot of blacks or Hispanics, but he suggests that the reason is that the Republican Party is mildly racist. Hilariously, he does so by talking about the struggles of a Republican governor of Virginia who supported busing (which, unlike eliminating mandatory segregation, was a terrible idea anyway), ignoring the fact that Southern Democrats were the major opponents of the civil rights movement (think current Democratic Senator from West Virginia, former Klan leader Robert Byrd) and that Republicans played a major role in most important civil rights legislation from the Sixties.

Honestly, though, the real reason why the Democratic Party is so overwhelmingly supported by the African-American population is that they discovered long ago that they could keep entire demographic groups dependent on them through grievance mongering and race baiting. Frank Rich's column only illustrates this fact. Not only do the Democrats focus on race and sex rather than issues, they actually perpetuate racial divisions and seek to codify them through affirmative action. The Republicans, on the other hand, actually support policies that would help African-Americans and that African-Americans support by wide margins: school choice, restricting abortion, and ending homosexual marriage.

The fact that African-Americans are overwhelmingly Democratic speaks more to the Democrats' manipulative and base tactics than to Republicans' admittedly poor job of reaching out to them.

YES!

The Wolverines of Michigan just defeated THE Ohio State University, 80-70, in Ann Arbor.

The boys were inspired today. Everyone played well; Sims, Harris, Udoh, Grady, Merritt...it was amazing. Whenever we needed a bucket, someone had it. The threes were falling; the defense was energetic and created turnovers, especially a clutch stolen pass by Kelvin Grady.

Their confidence is growing. Another few years or so with Beilein, add in Cronin, Lucas-Perry, and Douglass, and we've got a decent team.

*satisfaction*

What Is Fascism, Again?

Fascism is not corporate cronyism, it is not legislating Christianity or any other established religion, it is not an aggressive foreign policy. By definition--do some reading; Mussolini, perhaps--it is a religion of state. It is not having the government endorse a particular religion; it is the making of government INTO a religion. Which party offers us something closer to this?

Well, Captain Ed Morrissey has an answer. The messianic fervor of Obama's supporters has been unnerving for a long time, and it is important to note that it is being encouraged by Obama himself, along with his campaign. Fix Iraq? No, we'll fix souls! We'll fix reality! Now THAT's the kind of hubris we need in our next president. No more meddling abroad with wide-eyed optimism, the world hates us enough; let's bring that meddling home! By the way, if you think America is divided now, just wait until Obama unleashes an enormous tide of new spending; almost a trillion already proposed.

Political divisions exist for a reason. I guarantee you that what Obama's lofty rhetoric really means is this: We'll tear down political divisions, and you'll shut up and do things our way.

Unexpected Good News on the Athletics Front

I know I'm bad about posting on weekends...but seriously. I have homework.

Anyway, just a weekend sports update. Michigan has a winning streak in the Big Ten in basketball for the first time since last year: the Wolverines beat Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye, 68-60. They scored 44 in the second half to Iowa's 25, which is phenomenal against Iowa's stingy defense. The boys play Ohio State at home tomorrow at 1 PM on CBS, and Coach Rod will be speaking at halftime.

In hockey, Michigan beat Lake Superior State 4-2, with senior Chad Kolarik scoring all four goals (!); meanwhile, Ferris State upset No. 2 Miami-Ohio (YESSSS!) to give Michigan a lead of 3 points in the CCHA. Spartina recovered from last weekend's hilarious and satisfying rout at the hands of lowly Northern Michigan (outscored 6-1 in a weekend series, anyone?) to defeat Western, the worst team in the CCHA, 3-0 at the Library (i.e., Munn Ice Arena); the Aggies remain five points below Big Brother.

Tragedy

Yesterday, or two days ago now really, a man walked into a classroom at Northern Illinois University and started shooting.

My good friend Tom, a graduate student there, is fine, as is his sister, who also attends the school; I was extremely glad to discover that. My current boss, Sny-Phi Complex Director Nitin Goil, worked at Northern Illinois for several years before this one; today was a hard day for him, as well. Keep them in your prayers.

Events like this sadden me immensely, but they rarely shock me. Humanity is a fallen race in a fallen world, and only the constant grace of God in our lives makes this sort of thing the exception rather than the rule. And so, in light of God's power and control over every situation, use the greatest weapon we have, our right as children of God to approach His throne in prayer, to pray for that campus, the students and staff there, and the families of the victims and the shooter.

Walking The Walk

(Via Captain's Quarters.)

The House Republicans staged a walk-out today after Democrats insisted on playing games with the new bill, recently passed by the Senate, regarding the warrantless wiretapping program that has been so successful in the past few years.

This whole thing is mind-numbing. The program's constitutionality has been repeatedly affirmed by the court system. Several important arrests have been made through the program. It is less intrusive than many other past wiretapping or surveillance programs. There is basically no good reason to oppose this, but for Democrats and their constituents the name of the game is to bash on Bush as much as possible, and national security be hanged.

Absolutely appalling.

CapQ has John Boehner on video urging the walk-out.

The War At Home: The Budget

No, not between Republicans and Democrats, really. Between taking responsibility and fixing a difficult problem or ignoring the problem until it balloons to disastrous proportions.

Several news and blog items have appeared in the last few days that indicate different sides of a serious problem that will likely only get worse. First, as Robert Samuelson points out:

The only way Bush could balance the budget would be by not following Bush's policies. The most telling figures in his budget involve his proposal to eliminate or dramatically reduce 151 programs, for savings of $18 billion. That's six-tenths of 1 percent of federal spending. What's telling, though, is that Congress will probably reject even many of these proposals.

Based on campaign policies, none of the major presidential candidates would do much better. Sen. John McCain, the Republican front-runner, and Democratic rivals Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are alike in not addressing the central budget issue: baby boomers' retirement costs. Already, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are 44 percent of federal spending. In 2007, these programs cost $1.2 trillion, more than double all defense spending.

Yikes. Captain's Quarters then links to a report by USA Today:

The cost of government benefits for seniors soared to a record $27,289 per senior in 2007, according to a USA TODAY analysis.

That's a 24% increase above the inflation rate since 2000. Medical costs are the biggest reason. Last year, for the first time, health care and nursing homes cost the government more than Social Security payments for seniors age 65 and older. The average Social Security benefit per senior in 2007 was $13,184.

Double yikes. Here's what Captain Ed had to say:

George Bush tried tackling the easiest and least expensive of the three major entitlement programs in 2005. Congress rebuffed him, ostensibly because he proposed private-sector solutions and reforms, but mostly because they wanted to avoid the political consequences of facing the coming disaster. Instead of going away, however, it now appears to be growing almost exponentially.

It will only get worse. In three years, the first of the 79 million baby-boomers will begin to retire at 65. The senior population will start increasing dramatically from that point forward, both in terms of percentage and in real numbers, and fewer workers will remain in the system to support their benefits.

In short, we're looking at a mild form of the problem Europe faces now, and it will get worse quickly.

And even better, Rasmussen Reports gives the results of a survey about the public's knowledge about the budget:

Given four choices as to the size of the federal budget presented by the President last week, 39% of American voters did not offer any answer, 36% guessed wrong, and just 24% knew the answer--$3.1 trillion dollars.

Nineteen percent (19%) said the budget presented totaled $301 trillion annually while 10% thought the proper answer was $301 billion. Seven percent (7%) thought it was only $3.1 billion.

Thirty-four percent (34%) of men knew the proper answer along with 15% of women. Voters under 30 and over 65 were less likely to know the proper answer than those between 30 and 64.

The good news is that when these hideous social programs blow up our budget and destroy our currency, there will still be a place to go where they already learned their lesson in this area. Europe.

A Good Freep Sports Guy?!?

I enjoy reading Jamie Samuelson's blog on www.freep.com. Here's another golden entry.

Here, he muses about the scandal surrounding Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the most well-known college football player who has never been a college football player. (You know the guy.) His thoughts? "Kilpatrick will skate and Pryor will go to OSU."

No arguments here. Won't stop me from rooting for the exact opposite outcomes...

Starbucks Aids Gitmo Torture.

(Via Michelle Malkin.)

Disgusting.

Michigan State should really take a peek around Club Gitmo to get an idea of how to serve their students better in the residence halls.

Iraqi Parliament Passes Another Important Benchmark

(Via Captain's Quarters; Yahoo! News has the story.)

See for yourself:

Iraq's parliament on Wednesday passed three key pieces of legislation that set a date for provincial elections, allot $48 billion for 2008 spending, and provide limited amnesty to detainees in Iraqi custody.

The three measures were bundled together for one vote to satisfy the demands of minority Kurds who feared they might be double-crossed on their stand that the budget allot 17 percent to their semiautonomous regional government in the north.

The vote came a day after the Sunni speaker of the fragmented parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, threatened to disband the legislature, saying it was so riddled with distrust it appeared unable to adopt legislation.

So, the second of eighteen benchmarks is away.

There are two points that strike me here. First, listen to the Iraqi lawmakers; they don't sound like feuding warlords, but like American lawmakers trying to represent their constituents, drawing lines, but coming to compromises that everyone can find acceptable. Even the Sadrist parliamentarians, a little more than ten percent of MPs, although they walked out for the debate for the Kurdish funding, came back for the second debate and the vote. No calls for blood and violence.

Second, when you consider the history of the region and the hatreds that exist between all three groups, this sort of progress is incredible. Two major benchmarks passed in a period of only a few months! And the progress is even more remarkable at the local level, as Sunni and Shi'a coexist peacefully--for the most part--as neighbors and even welcome back Christian refugees from earlier in the war by helping to rebuild and clean up their churches. Iraq is already a more tolerant nation than almost any surrounding it.

Yahoo! News puts as gloomy a spin on the story as it can, but this can only be seen as remarkable progress for the surge, our troops, and the President's plan to fight global jihadism.

Primaries End; Woman, Substance Hardest Hit

Actually, that little "Substance Hardest Hit" part might be true in more ways than one, as I'm sure there was plenty of some kind of "substance" going around at HRC HQ. The Chesapeake primaries are in and...DANG. Obama's the man (as it were).

The hopeful, audacious, changerific Illinois senator won overwhelming victories in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia of 23%, 51%, and 29%, respectively. (Minor development: John McCain wins victories of 26%, 51%, and 9% respectively in those same states. Adios, Huck.) (Hilarious development: Ron Paul defeats Mitt Romney, who dropped out last week, by 2% in D.C., by less than 1% in Virginia, and is narrowly defeated by him in Maryland. LOLs all around.) Obama now has a lead even when superdelegates are taken into account.

A nightmare scenario now enfolds for the Republicans. Instead of getting to run against Hillary Clinton, widely hated because of alleged ties with a disgraced former president, we have to run against a candidate who promises change, hope, and audaciousness, and whose last birthday party featured a clown and "Pin The Tail On The Elephant." Meanwhile, our presidential nominee will be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday this summer by bemusedly shooting fireworks at party guests Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, and Mark Levin and then angrily cursing out conservatives who are unsure about voting for him even after all the wonderful things he's done for them.

This Was The Danger

I'm on a tear this morning! Well, anyway.

This was always the danger, really. If we invade Iraq, whether it's successful or not, once things start settling down there, will Americans forget about the wider war on terror?

Americans need to remember that the Iraq War is not meant to be an isolated action by the United States. It is just one part of a larger battle against an ideology currently sweeping the globe. (By the way, one thing is for sure: although I have serious disagreements with John McCain about other things, he is dead on in the War on Jihadism.) The strategic strengths of an Iraq invasion were these: 1) it is a nation with large populations of both Shi'a and Sunnis. A functioning, moderately pluralistic democracy here would be a dagger in the heart of Sunni-Shi'a sectarian battles. 2) It, like Afghanistan, borders Iran. With a large naval presence in the Persian Gulf, we now have the capability of initiating a debilitating blockade against Iran if the necessity arises. What's better, the Iranians know that option is on the table for us. 3) It has a large Shi'a majority. Militant Shi'a theocracy has a very short tradition; the Iranian Revolution of 1979 played a major role in its advancement, and an allied Iraqi democracy could do serious damage to that movement. 4) Eliminating the Hussein regime took away an important safe haven and source of funding from jihadist militants. Moreover, an allied Iraq gives us an important base of operations for moving against other jihadist safe havens and sources of funding.

Islamic terrorism is difficult to keep fighting politically, because when you're winning, the problem seems to have gone away. It's only obvious when you're losing. We need to keep reporting what Mark Steyn wrote about in his important book, America Alone (Buy at Amazon.com): around the world, madrassas teaching violent Islamic radicalism are raising a generation of jihadists against Israel and the West. In many Western nations, Muslim immigrants are becoming less assimilated to their adopted nations' cultures and demanding enforcement of shari'a law. Parisians' cars are burning, and it isn't because of global warming activists.

Che Wiz! Part Two

So, Barack Obama responded to the Che Guevara flag incident, which you might remember from here. His words? It was "inappropriate." (From PowerLine and Investor's Business Daily.) Well, there you have it. As John Hinderaker points out, politician with American flag pins on their lapels are "hypocrites", while election volunteers who display Che Guevara and the Cuban flag are acting inappropriately. Curiouser and curiouser.

As Hinderaker also points out, Obama recently voted against granting immunity to telecom companies who participate in the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program (whose constitutionality has been upheld many times). This, of course, overwhelmingly failed; if immunity is not granted to such telecom companies, those who want to shut down the program could repeatedly sue those companies by alleging any breach, substantiated or not. In other words, Obama voted to wreck a program whose constitutionality, the ACLU notwithstanding, has been repeatedly upheld, information from which has been crucial to a number of terrorism arrests around the world. He joined only twenty-nine senators in voting for this.

This man could be the next President of the United States.

"Champion Factories"

So, I wonder which, according to Forbes, is the best university for producing professional athletes?

That would be...the University of Michigan, with 68. The Ohio State "University" has produced, by contrast, 62 professional athletes, second-most among American universities.

Here's the top ten:

1. University of Michigan
2. The Ohio State "University"
3. University of Miami
4. University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
5. (tie) Florida State "University"
5. (tie) University of Notre Dame
7. (tie) University of North Carolina
7. (tie) Louisiana State "University"
7. (tie) University of Florida
10. University of Tennessee

Michigan is also the number one school for producing NHL players, notably Dallas Stars and Canadian Olympic team goaltender Marty Turco.

Helprin Barges Clumsily In

J. C. Watts's reasonable, somewhat pro-McCain column is followed by this piece of garbage from Mark Helprin.

This is perhaps the worst part:

Along comes John McCain, who has an 80% positive rating from the American Conservative Union but who as a truly independent soul does not fit, at the margins, some of the transient notions of what makes a conservative. Because of his independence and flexibility, he is the only Republican candidate who has a chance of winning, and thus preserving the core principles of conservatism, in relation to which he is unimpeachable. They are national security (in particular the strength of the military after Iraq and vis-à-vis China and a resurgent Russia), Constitutionalism (as in individual vs. collective rights), and the economy (free markets vs. government industrial policy).

...although his words for talk radio are absurd, as well. (Still..."transient notions." Ugh.) Mr. Helprin's column is by a wide margin more vitriolic and angry, and simultaneously contains less depth and erudition, than the average monologue from Rush or my personal favorite Rush stand-in, Jason Lewis (whose show podcast you can listen to on the sidebar over on the left). It's the same Old Media trope: those crazy people who don't write for newspapers or appear on network news! Thinking they have a right to comment on issues! This cannot stand! This is just more evidence that McCain represents the old, country club wing of the party: all the old-timers and conventional-media pundits are telling everyone else to shut up and get in line.

By the way, Mr. Helprin, conservatism's core principle (singular) is this: freedom at home, strength abroad. How exactly do restrictive global warming measures and an open-borders policy advance those goals?

Most absurdly, he talks of Huckabee as talk radio's savior against John McCain. Incredible.

The Change of Audacity. Err...The Hope of Change!...Erm....

Are all these words more than just cliches to sell a book? (Ahem.) Not according to former U.S. Representative J. C. Watts, one of the all-time greats. (We'll forgive him for having been a star football player at the Oklahoma "University".)

Until we have the political courage to take on mandatory spending reforms -- which not many presidents are going to be willing to do -- there will never be change.

President Bush took a stab at reforming Social Security and got stabbed right back by Republicans and Democrats alike. So we continue to waste good money in bad models of delivery.

The number one threat to our economy in the coming century is going to be the huge government entitlement programs that will spin out of control with far greater fury than military spending. Social Security transfers money from twenty- and thirty-year olds and delivers it to the single wealthiest group of Americans: the elderly. Medicare crowds out private insurance and drives up the cost of health care by artificially reducing demand. Don't even ask about the bureaucratic mess both of these programs entail, which also costs significant cash and will only get worse as more people retire. These programs, which Rep. Watts notes are on "auto-pilot" (because entitlements are mandatory, not discretionary, spending), are the real budget busters. We need someone who will stand up against that. And Rep. Watts says we aren't getting it.

Incidentally, Watts decries conservatives who reject McCain, and on the points he brings up, he's right. McCain has certainly been good on spending and life issues. However, the global warming hoax he embraces should be an automatic no-go for serious fiscal conservatives--and the same goes for Huck--since it threatens much more serious and lasting economic damage to the United States.

Che Wiz! (Updated and Bumped)

Here's an interesting look at a campaign office for Barack Obama in Houston, Texas.

Yes, that's right, it's a flag featuring infamous Communist and murderer Che Guevara. From one agent of change to another, I suppose. Come to think of it, Che's another guy who had the audacity to hope.

Now, the good senator doesn't dictate to his local offices what their decor should look like. Even so, doesn't it reflect badly on a candidate if his (or her, I suppose) most ardent partisans are admirers of a man who famously murdered to advance the cause of collectivism? I would tend to think so.

Barack Obama may very well win the presidential election this November. If he does, we'll wish for either Clinton a hundred times over before he's through.

UPDATE: I forgot the link and apparently the source, as well: I got it from Captain's Quarters, not Michelle Malkin. And...done.

What World Temperature?

(Interesting tidbits from the excellent presentation of Christopher Horner, Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and best-selling author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming. (Buy at Amazon.com.) (Yes, I am trying to make up for the fact that I posted virtually nothing new over the weekend.)

Does it make sense to think about a global temperature? Does NASA just stick a giant thermometer into the Earth's rectum (located in Columbus, Ohio) and get a read on what the temperature of the Earth is?

It turns out there are over 2,000 temperature stations in the United States, where the best temperature records are kept. (By the way, the Siberian stations were largely shut down after the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s. What effect do you think THAT had on global averages?) Want to look at a few of them? Try www.surfacestations.org.

Here are some samples:







Hmmm. No problems there. Increased temperatures ARE due to man's interference!

Unfortunately, of course, it seems to be a different sort of interference than greenhouse warming. Take a look at the map on the website's main page. The surface stations are, for the most part, in urban areas that have been seriously built up in the last hundred years. Ever heard of a micro-clime? We have one in Michigan; it's called Detroit. There's a reason it isn't in my hometown of Newaygo.