It’s Like She Was Saying All Along

Shorter Megan McArdle:

Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

  • Derek Lowe continues to swat down the canard that all the real drug research is done in academic labs, while drug companies unfairly reap the rewards:

    Not a canard is that a lot of drug research is done in academic labs, while drug companies reap the rewards…


‘Shorter’ concept created by Daniel Davies and perfected by Elton Beard. [Hanx! Sadly, Cambridgeport]


Bonus Shorter McArdle:

Eek

  • When I suggested that America’s car culture might boost fertility rates, what I meant all along was ‘culture’ — like, the income to buy big cars, not actual roads or driving on them or anything.
 

Stuff that’s actually important

Jim Webb is my homeboy:

Matt Stoller has compiled a useful list of Senators that need called in order to get critical support for Webb’s troop rotation amendment. If you have some time this morning, be sure to give ’em a call and tell them you’ll totally beat their sorry butt if they don’t vote the right way:

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
DC: 202-224-6665
Anchorage: 907-271-3735

George Voinovich (R-Ohio)
DC: (202) 224-3353
Cleveland: (216) 522-7095

Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina)
DC: 202-224-6342
Raleigh: 866-420-6083

John Warner (R-Virginia)
DC: (202) 224-2023
Roanoke: (540) 857-2676

Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)
DC: 202-224-2541
Louisville: 502-82-6304

Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania)
DC: 202-224-4254
Harrisburg: (717) 782-3951

I think McConnell’s a hopeless loser, but Voinovich and Snarlin’ Arlen can probably be persuaded with a few well-placed calls. Go, my flying monkeys, go!

 

Come Along, Cinnamon

Via Big Boy Jammies, your source for news that’s not worth getting out of bed for, comes this exciting article by a dessert beverage known as Cinnamon Stillwell.

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The delicious ice cream topping/floor cleaner has taken a tip from everyone’s favorite Libertarian lumberjack and reviewed a book before she’s actually read it: In this case, the highly dignified-sounding Schmoozing With Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal Their Global Plans–to a Jew! by Aaron Klein. Mr. Klein’s particular gimmick is hunting down dimwitted terrorist wannabes and cajoling them into saying that they love Democrats; et voila — proof indisputable that voting donkey places you in league with the butchers of 9/11. Of course, one could argue that this is the exact same argument as finding some unhinged, basement-dwelling cranks who call for the nuclear destruction of Mecca and implying that this “proves” that Republicans are objectively pro-genocide, but where would one be able to find such examples? Nowhere that I can think of.

The tasty and versatile table spice isn’t above naming names, either:

And guess who the terrorists endorse, above all others, for president? That’s right. Hillary Clinton…they base their support on the belief that Hillary will pick up where her husband, former President Bill Clinton, left off, in regards to the failed Oslo Accords, thereby assisting them in their goal of annihilating Israel.

And guess who the communists endorse, above all others, for president? That’s right. Harry Truman…they base their support on the belief that Harry will pick up where his master, former President Franklin Roosevelt, left off, in regards to the failed Yalta Conference, thereby assisting them in their goal of subjugating Europe. The old arguments never stop being relevant, do they?

They also base it on the understandable assumption that Hillary will effect a premature withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, which, they note, would be seen as an American defeat. In the process, the jihadists make a very strong case (at least for those are aren’t on their side) for not following their advice.

I will personally buy a martini for the first person who can explain to me what in the name of hickory that second sentence is supposed to mean.

Indeed, one would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to have detected the daily exhortations to surrender emanating from our nation’s capital, not to mention the streets and salons of cities such as my very own San Francisco.

Indeed! Why, who can forget when Harry Reid said “You know what? I think we should just surrender to the terrorists, is what.” Or Nancy Pelosi’s famous “Let’s Lay Down for Saddam” speech, who didn’t hear that? I was personally in attendance the day that Gavin Newsom gave Osama bin-Laden the keys to the city of San Francisco and asked if he could be of any help in rounding up innocent babies to be sacrificed to bin-Laden’s bloodthirsty moon god. Lousy Democrats!

The terrorists interviewed in Klein’s book also prove useful in the presidential candidates they oppose. And at the top of their list is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. While Giuliani’s tough-guy defiance would seem to be their prime motivation, it is, in fact, a specific incident that inspired their ire. That is, in 1995, when Giuliani kicked out late Palestinian terrorist leader Yasser Arafat from a Lincoln Center concert marking the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, telling the incredulous press (to say nothing of the liberal Jewish establishment), “I would not invite Yasser Arafat to anything, anywhere, anytime, anyplace. I don’t forget.”

Hey, wasn’t Giuliani the mayor of New York when it got attacked by terrorists? I can’t remember, because I’m a liberal. I forget what point I was making here, but I think it had to do with the fact that the UN are a bunch of filthy appeaseniks.

Giuliani took a similarly heroic stand soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when he told Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal where he could put his $10 million “disaster relief” check, which was contingent, of course, upon accepting the claim that U.S. support for Israel led to the atrocities.

Actually, the $10 million was contingent upon nothing, and the prince merely urged the U.S. to reconsider its Israel policy, which isn’t even remotely the same thing. But, on the other hand, it is!

When it comes to Giuliani’s choices for foreign policy team, his campaign stands out from the pack. It includes many of the more perceptive minds of our time, particularly in regards to the Middle East. Norman Podhoretz, Martin Kramer, and Daniel Pipes (full disclosure: I work for Dr. Pipes’ Middle East Forum), to name just a few.

Wow! Talk about a Dream Team! That’s some level-headed, pragmatic foreign policy thinking right there. You trusted them on Iraq, now trust them triple-much on Iran!

The terrorists have spoken. Maybe it’s time we started listening.

Indeed. In other news, Osama bin-Laden urged Americans to convert to Islam or die. Since forcible conversion has also been a favorite tactic of the Catholic Church, I believe this constitutes definitive proof that the Islamicist terror brigades are in thrall to the vile Papists of Rome, as will be revealed in my forthcoming book, Bakhshish With Benedict: From the Vatican to My Neighbor’s Van, Counter-Reformationists Reveal Their Global Plans — to a Non-Religious Half-Arab! Look for Megan McArdle’s review, two weeks prior to my finishing the book.

 

But The Rain Didn’t Dampen His Spirits

Confederate Yankee bounces back from the recent tragedy* by furiously searching the Internet for dirt on Pvt. Scott Beauchamp:

Fabulist, Junior?

According to his web page, Scott Thomas Beauchamp and his wife, The New Republic fact checker Elspeth Reeve, are apparently expecting a child.

The TNR fabulist/Army private has the following posted on his MySpace page:

“”SCOTT BEAUCHAMP CLAIMS TO DESIRE THE BABIES OF ELSPETH, HIS SUPPOSED WIFE!””

He includes as his interests “raptors having babies.” His wife, TNR fact-checker Elspeth Reeve uses a raptor (a kind of dinosaur) as the avatar for her MySpace page.

Beauchamp first came to light when a story he wrote entitled “Shock Troops,” alleging the barbarity of his fellow soldiers, was challenged on July 18 by The Weekly Standard‘s Michael Goldfarb.

Since that time, the U.S Army has denounced the claims made in “Shock Troops” as fiction, and Franklin Foer, the editor of The New Republic, has failed to release the findings of the magazine’s internal investigation into the veracity of the stories.

Bob, maybe we can make a deal here. Stay away from the pregnant lady and somebody might get a…

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Above: Bran-new spankin’ char-coal grill!


* See here for other cities and landmarks that are scientifically proven to be stupid, and that should be allowed to fall into the ocean.

 

Shorter Dennis Prager

‘Why the Left Has Changed Journalism, Education and the Courts’

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Above: Dennis Prager (artist’s conception) coolly regards
some hippies trying to restrict his right to free expression

  • Liberals have infiltrated our most cherished democratic institutions in a misguided attempt to change society for the better. Conservatives stand opposed to their efforts.

‘Shorter’ concept created by Daniel Davies and perfected by Elton Beard.

 

SADLY, NO! EXCLUSIVE: Secret Conspiracies Revealed!!!11!

Teh Gay PatriotWhy are pigs smarter than Gay Republicans? Because pigs have more sense than to blog in favor of bacon and baloney.

On the other hand, we have the self-proclaimed “Gay Patriot” (aka Bruce Carroll Jr.) the Pajama Medias blogger who runs a bizarrely off-kilter blog where he kisses the butts of right-wing, gay-hating Republicans and disses the butts of the Human Rights Campaign and other gay advocacy groups.

Bruce’s latest delusion is that teh gay groups like HRC were secretly behind that traitorous Moveon.org ad criticizing General Petraeus.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist [And Bruce is no rocket scientist – ed. note] to figure this one out…. but even I was surprised at the extensive web of money connections between MoveOn.org and America’s top gay organizations: Human Rights Campaign, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Log Cabin Republicans.

So how does Bruce document the connection between the Human Rights Campaign and Moveon.org? Does he get out his super-duper right-wing bloggers’ special kerning measurement ring to reveal that a memo from Moveon.org was really typed on a typewriter at HRC? Uh, no, it’s worse:

Andrew Tobias who is one of the Human Rights Campaign’s biggest political and money supporters … is listed as one of the top individual contributors to MoveOn.org from the 2004 cycle. Tobias has given to MoveOn.org since the 2004 elections as well.

Hmmm. And just how much has “one of the top contributors” given to MoveOn. Er, $14,600. And how much has “one of the Human Rights Campaign’s biggest political and money supporters” given to HRC. Er, $12,750 since 1986.

Two can play this game. Did you know that the Republican National Committee is secretly supporting Hillary Clinton? Well, John Mack, the chairman of Morgan Stanley, is a one of the top contributors to both. And don’t forget that both Barack Obama and Jose Padilla have shopped at Marshall Field’s in Chicago. Oh, and Nancy Pelosi and Osama Bin Laden have both been in Saudi Arabia. This is much more fun — and much more educational — than playing that silly “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game.

 

Weather Woes

Well, thanks to this we might continue our fund-raising efforts for a few more days weeks.

We haven’t been outside to check the damage to any great degree yet, but know that the straight-line winds in our area were strong enough to damage homes under construction within view of our house, down trees, and lift our rather substantial picnic table into the air and toss it near our neighbor’s yard. We’ll retrieve it tomorrow, but our guess is that it’s utterly destroyed.

If anyone hasn’t donated a few thousand dollars or a million dollars yet and could, we’d appreciate it.

table1.jpg

We really loved that table.

Update: Picture added above. For us, that’s all we lost, and for that I’m very thankful.

Talking to folks in the area and surveying the damage, it appears our area took a hit from a very minor nor’easter or sou’wester (there were a total of six in the area, all going in different directions). Not a lot of damage in our neighborhood, but there was in the older neighborhood nearby where there were far more mature trees, a lot of which lost branches, and several large piles of leaves that were totally ripped apart.

OMG! One of our garbage cans was lifted straight into the air and dashed onto the pavement!

can1.jpg

Nobody got seriously injured or killed, and that is what really matters.


[Hanx! Ahem]


Update:

grillwyeth.jpg


[Hanx! objectivelypro]


Clif adds:

In case you doubt that it was our trash can that was knocked over by devastating winds, here’s irrefutable proof. We will pick it up tomorrow. But in the meantime, please send us as much money as you can afford.

Tragic Damage to S,N World Headquarters

 

Thank God The Tongs Were In The House

Shorter Confederate Yankee, August 29th, 2007:

Rebuilding New Orleans: A Continuing Mistake

  • Rebuilding New Orleans is a folly that America should not have to pay for, because whose stupid idea was it to put a so-called major city in such a stupid place where a hurricane could get it?

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Above: Hard-eyed realist


Shorter Confederate Yankee, September 14th, 2007:

Weather Woes

  • Hayulp! Hurry-cane Humberto done knocked ovah mah charcoal grill! Ever’body gimme sum munnah!

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Above: Tragedy on an epic scale


‘Shorter’ concept created by Daniel Davies and perfected by Elton Beard.


[Largely stolen from D. at Lawyers, Guns, and Money.]

UPDATE by Clif:

Well, it seems I’ve found the original picture of Confederate Yankee’s fallen grill that he claims is now rendered useless for grilling pig’s feet, pork butt, and other staples of CY’s diet. And that does not look like the house of someone who needs to beg for money to have the tornado-induced chip repaired. Or maybe that’s not his house. Or his grill.

Real Picture of Fallen Grill
Above: The grill, shortly after it was knocked over by, allegedly, a vicious tornado.

Gavin adds:

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Acepalooza: A Good Time Was Had By All

Morons on Parade

So, whether due to our fearless leader’s cluelessness or lefty black ops, Acepalooza almost collapsed before it began. However, we’re all now successfully drunk and posting like the losers we are, so if you have any comments for us, post away.

As it happens, we found ourselves perambulating down Boylston Street at approximately this time, and indeed found ourselves outside Lir, the disco-poundy meat-market bar with a giant line of college students outside that had, for some reason, been chosen as the site for Acepalooza. So we decided to launch a lefty black op.

There would be three major components to this operation: 1) Standing next to Ace and a few other weird-looking people as they hung out on the sidewalk smoking cigarettes, 2) Making fun of them while their backs were turned, and 3) Looking innocent when they turned around.

Of course, that’s pretty much what we do here every day. Except the ontological strangeness of cracking on Ace and his fans while they were actually standing there, making doop-dee-doop faces in actual real life, was a lot like this:


Read the rest of this entry »

 

Pathetic whiners

I’ve said before that Bill Belichick was a cheating slimeball who deserved to be suspended for at least three games and fined the maximum amount of money from the NFL. But the more whining I hear from the super-kewl New York sports media (I’m spending the weekend in Long Island and have been reading all the assorted boo-hoo-hooing from Newsday, the Post and the Daily News), the more I start to agree with The Editors’ position in this matter: in other words, HAAAA-HAAAAA-HAAAAA EAT IT NFL, LOL!

Take a look at this heaping pile of garbage from the Post:

Play the game over. The Patriots didn’t beat the Jets fair and square. In other words, the Jets wuz robbed. This strikes at the integrity of the games.

Puh-lease. The Patriots got busted for cheating in the middle of the damn first quarter last week. Even after the Pats’ super-important-they-couldn’t-possibly-succeed-without-it tape was taken away, they managed to slap the Jets silly, 38-14.

Memo to Jets fans: your team is bad. Your new running back, the prized acquisition of your offseason, is averaging 2.9 yards per carry today. As I type this, I see that your defense has allowed Kyle Boller to throw two TD passes. Oh, and your super-awesome back-up quarterback Kellen Clemens just completed a pass for -3 yards to Nick Mangold. Mangold, I needn’t remind you, is your center. I’ve never seen such crappiness exist in such a pure, distilled form. And another thing- if “Mangenius” discovered that Belichick was taping his signals in the first quarter and then made absolutely no effort to switch them up then he simply deserved to lose. This has nothing to do with having your signals taped. It has everything to do with you having a very bad football team.

Also: