gdp's Comments

The Hayride : Jindal Signs HB 1033 Into Law

Fri, 28 May 2010 14:15:26 +0000

I'm so glad. I've already commented on the importance of this in other threads, but I haven't mentioned how great it is to see LaTAAP meet its fate. LaTAAP was a joke -- no, it was worse than a joke, because it was a joke that required new teachers to waste a large amount of time going through the motions.

The Hayride : A bad day to be an incumbent

Wed, 19 May 2010 13:17:59 +0000

Devastating commentary about Blumenthal in Slate (of all places): http://www.slate.com/id/2254214/pagenum/all/#p2

The Hayride : Connecticut Senate Seat Likely Back In Play With NYT/Blumenthal Revelations

Tue, 18 May 2010 20:08:25 +0000

The shocking thing to me is that Linda McMahon's campaign did this now. Obviously, voters will make the contrast between Rep. Simmons (a decorated Vietnam vet) and Blumenthal. It also makes her look conniving and mean -- it's not appealing. She was likely heading for a primary win over Simmons, but this gives new momentum to Simmons' campaign and will help his fundraising (McMahon is self-funding) because Blumenthal is now beatable. There is no reason that McMahon shouldn't have waited until after the primary to feed this stuff to the Times.

The Hayride : Crist Bounce Over, Rubio Surges Ahead

Tue, 18 May 2010 03:19:14 +0000

The very few independent candidates who win usually do so as true outsiders, casting a pox on both parties and claiming the system is broken and can only be fixed by someone from outside it, someone uncorrupted by lobbyists buying favors, etc. Needless to say, Charlie Crist cannot run that kind of campaign. In fact, it's hard to find any rationale for Crist's campaign at this point. That's ultimately why he will lose -- there is no real reason to vote for him. But what about Joe Lieberman's victory as an independent, you might ask. Lieberman had the benefit of having no real Republican candidate in the race. He got about half the Democrat vote and all of the Republican vote. Crist won't have the luxury of getting to go head to head with Rubio. Lieberman also lost his party's primary very narrowly, instead of quitting because he was going to get killed.

The Hayride : Please Don't Get Rid Of Eric Holder, Mr. President (Updated)...

Fri, 14 May 2010 04:37:49 +0000

Thanks. I thought LaHood at least deserved to be nominated. :) Gates and Duncan are the only two in the cabinet deserving of any respect whatsoever, and that has to be heavily qualified.

The Hayride : Please Don't Get Rid Of Eric Holder, Mr. President (Updated)...

Fri, 14 May 2010 03:23:58 +0000

Holder and Napolitano are worthy nominees for worst current cabinet member, but your list ignored the top contender: Ray LaHood. “Today,” he wrote on March 15, “I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized." That's right, bicycles are the solution to traffic congestion. On Spirit Airlines' (a budget carrier with very low fares) very reasonable decision to charge fees for carry-on bags: "I think it's a bit outrageous that an airline is going to charge someone to carry on a bag and put it in the overhead. And I've told our people to try and figure out a way to mitigate that. I think it's ridiculous." LaHood adds "we're gonna hold the airline's feet to the fire on this. Because we have an obligation to do it and we have the ability to do it." His advice for Toyota owners: “stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.” Toyota's stock fell over 5% the next day, which was likely the point. From a public letter to his "fellow Republicans" urging them to vote for Obamacare: I supported Republican Sen. John McCain. I have always been — and still am — a fiscal conservative, an advocate for a smart, but restrained, government ... If I were still a member of Congress, I would proudly vote for the bill that President Barack Obama is championing and I would urge my colleagues to do the same, not because I don't believe in fiscal discipline, but because I do ...The bill will give families and small business owners greater control over their own health care. This is before we even get into the horrific mismanagement of the "Cash for Clunkers" wasteful debacle, the insane decision to fine airlines that get stuck waiting on the tarmac (airlines have now said that they will simply cancel the flights, causing more problems), the ridiculous new CAFE standards which will further hurt our domestic auto industry, the stupid "high-speed rail" boondoggles that he's pushing across America, and the thoroughly corrupt promoting of Government Motors lies about "paying back" its "loans." Scott, how could you possibly leave LaHood off your list of incompetent and ridiculous cabinet members?

The Hayride : Food (Or Drink) For Thought From The American Spectator

Fri, 14 May 2010 02:46:56 +0000

think I'm going to take the other side in this argument. For one thing, police officers usually cannot immediately measure the BAC of a suspected drunk driver. The BAC is usually measured after the suspect has been arrested and transported to the police station. Because of the time involved, a suspect who is impaired may sober up enough to slide under the .10 threshold. This can especially be true if the suspect is injured and must be transported by ambulance to the hospital. Blood may not be drawn for an hour after the accident. It's important to remember that police officers don't randomly test drivers' BAC. They need probable cause, and they have better things to do than test people they don't think are drunk and driving impaired. In short, I think .08 is just fine and I support even lower thresholds (like .04) for commercial drivers.

The Hayride : Muslim Attack Dogs Sic Swedish Artist

Wed, 12 May 2010 18:30:00 +0000

I can't draw at all and I'm going to contribute something. In the meantime, read this companion piece: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/what-did-you-say-abo... and follow the links to read about what Zakaria Botros is doing in broadcasting about the life of Muhammad and his teachings -- really amazing stuff.

The Hayride : Science or Ideology?

Tue, 11 May 2010 15:29:29 +0000

Great article, Mike. For any non-scientist who would like to understand the scientific issues involved in the climate debate, this 90-minute lecture is the best place to start. It's really good and easy to understand. http://www.climate-skeptic.com/phoenix

The Hayride : Dude, What The Hell? I Mean, WHAT THE HELL?

Tue, 11 May 2010 01:39:05 +0000

Oscar, that's cuz you live in a swamp (or is it a marsh -- I forget?) and you ain't been studying fashion. That dress is haute couture, and them's words is French French, not Cajun French. Don't you know that Michelle O is the new Jackie O, the queen of fashion? You jus' don't get it, do you? I bet you were one of them ignerent fools who looked at that crucifix in the jar of urine and couldn't even figure out that it was high art. Stupid rat.

The Hayride : Anarchist/Liberal Violence (Updated)

Mon, 10 May 2010 02:15:14 +0000

Actually, Scott, I think part of his point is that statistics can be used or misused to argue almost anything. That's valid. That's why statistics have to be paired with sound logic and common sense. Was the attacker a "typical white person," as the President infamously referred to his grandmother? No. Did white voters in New Orleans support John McCain? No, Barack Obama won the white vote in New Orleans, and by a comfortable margin if you take out the West Bank. So the fact that the attacker was white does not alter the probability that he was an Obama voter.

The Hayride : Will 2010 Make 1980 Look Like Child’s Play?

Mon, 10 May 2010 01:14:14 +0000

Mark, there's one very big difference between 2010 and 1980. In1980, President Carter was also on his way out. If the Democrats try that this year with major legislation, then President Obama will be giving up on re-election in 2012. They will push through a lot of liberal junk, no doubt, but I think it will most likely be small bills designed to avoid riling up a hostile public.

The Hayride : They Have A Word For This...

Sun, 9 May 2010 03:08:29 +0000

Thanks for this, Scott. It's time to get genuinely concerned about the rise of violence from the radical left. I posted about this topic last week. http://thehayride.com/2010/05/anarchistliberal-vi... If you spend any real time on leftist websites, you see plenty of calls for violent revolution. It's not a joke. They are serious, and we are headed very soon for the worst political violence in America since the '60s.

The Hayride : Anarchist/Liberal Violence (Updated)

Fri, 7 May 2010 12:41:24 +0000

I apologize for the slow response. I've been traveling for business -- you know, committing evil capitalism. Anyway, you've confirmed what I thought: that trust-fund college dropouts aren't enjoying their funemployment as much and are organizing into gangs of leftist violence that pose a very real threat. What happened in New Orleans and Santa Cruz reminds me of A Clockwork Orange. I'm not particularly concerned whether they are members of your particular collective. As for coordination, I wouldn't expect a paper trail with directives from anarchist leaders -- that seems quite against the point. But the fact that it occurred in conjunction with May Day protests across the country, and the slogans being shouted in the videos that I saw, tell me that there is a strong confluence with "liberal" goals of workers' rights and the push for illegal immigration.

The Hayride : Anarchist/Liberal Violence (Updated)

Tue, 4 May 2010 20:34:51 +0000

If SubRosa had nothing to do with the violence, why do comments such as this one appear under web postings by SubRosa: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/03/18646... Peaceful protest mainstains the violent social order i.e. capitalism & the state by anarchist Monday May 3rd, 2010 11:45 PM Society will be a lot better off after we rebel against their establishment and abolish the government that keeps it alive. Americans. They seek to wipe out the corruption of big business and government but when people actually take action to put a stop to it they get all upset and start defending the very system they hate so much. You are defending the new Rome. You know not what you do. PEOPLE WHO STILL HAVE MONEY DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO REVOLT UNTIL THEY LOSE EVERYTHING THEY GOT. THESE TYPES ARE NOT WILLING TO FIGHT FOR ANARCHIST PRINCIPLES OF UNITY & EQUALITY. THEY CARE ONLY ABOUT THEM SELVES AND LIVE ONLY FOR CAPITAL GAIN. ALMOST NO DIFFERENT FROM THE SOULESS CEO'S, BANKERS, AND PAWNS WHO PROTECT AND SERVE CAPITAL OVER LIFE IT SELF.

The Hayride : Anarchist/Liberal Violence (Updated)

Tue, 4 May 2010 20:33:01 +0000

I've never been to Santa Cruz. I look forward to the help that your local knowledge can provide to us. Is SubRosa denying that the first man arrested, Jimi Haynes, worked at the cafe for a year? Is it just a coincidence that anarchist symbols were among the graffiti sprayed in the attack? Since SubRosa proudly proclaims that it "challenges the commercialism and rampant capitalism of downtown Santa Cruz," why would it be unlikely for their members to attack said commercialism and capitalism in downtown Santa Cruz? Do the people in the Youtube videos belong to another anarchist collective? If not, what do you think was their motivation in attacking Santa Cruz businesses while spraying anarchist graffiti? Even if the violence were not perpetrated by SubRosa members, why does the collective deny any responsibility for the atmosphere it created by "challenging" the commercialism and capitalism?

The Hayride : 3rd District Congressional Race Changing Shape With New Poll

Mon, 3 May 2010 17:37:30 +0000

Landry is running in the right year. Normally, Downer would be considered a prohibitive favorite, but he has a lot of "moderate" votes in the legislature that will be difficult to defend in this year of Tea Parties and enthusiasm for smaller government. It's hard to see how Downer can regain the momentum now.

The Hayride : More On The Arizona Immigration Thing

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:45:31 +0000

Robert Costa had a great piece in National Review yesterday on how the Democrats have stopped construction of the border fence. It's really worth reading. http://article.nationalreview.com/432760/time-for...

The Hayride : Teacher Accountability Measure Clears Committee; Union Bosses Seethe

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:39:06 +0000

I've been meaning to write my own post on this bill for a while -- I'll get to it tonight, because this is the most important bill this session.

The Hayride : Quote Of The Day

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:35:16 +0000

The conservatives have tried to lose the race with a mealy-mouthed, "moderate" campaign, but Gordon Brown won't let them. I guess England will be better off under Cameron, but what I wouldn't give for a Conservative Party headed by Daniel Hannan. This takedown is still classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs