Monday, August 1, 2011
A Tea Party Triumph
This is why the New York Times editors are so pissed off.
At Wall Street Journal:the reviled teabaggers conservatives.
At Wall Street Journal:
If a good political compromise is one that has something for everyone to hate, then last night's bipartisan debt-ceiling deal is a triumph. The bargain is nonetheless better than what seemed achievable in recent days, especially given the revolt of some GOP conservatives that gave the White House and Democrats more political leverage.I've been really thinking about that this last few days. So much of current political dealmaking in the end depends on who wins in November 2012 and beyond. Republicans positioned themselves well for the upcoming campaign, and with 1.3 percent GDP growth and unemployment sticky at 9.2 percent, there's lots of reason for the Times to be even more pissed. It's another case of projection, of course. Progressives are mad. So they lash out, despite their own home-grown failures. Keep an eye out this week for more heated rhetoric from the left. Republicans might stock up on some choice quotes to run later in political ads. Democrats are really sore at losing this round, all the more so since their strategy of do-nothing obstructionism turned out to be a disaster. And we've got a presidential election as on the ballot as well. Boy, things are shaping up very well for
***
The big picture is that the deal is a victory for the cause of smaller government, arguably the biggest since welfare reform in 1996. Most bipartisan budget deals trade tax increases that are immediate for spending cuts that turn out to be fictional. This one includes no immediate tax increases, despite President Obama's demand as recently as last Monday. The immediate spending cuts are real, if smaller than we'd prefer, and the longer-term cuts could be real if Republicans hold Congress and continue to enforce the deal's spending caps.
Progressives Hell-Bent on Bullying Millions Into Silence
From Melanie Phillips, at London's Daily Mail, "Hatred, smears and the liberals hell-bent on bullying millions of us into silence":
The baleful effects of the recent attacks in Norway, where Anders Breivik bombed Oslo’s government district and then gunned down teenagers at a Labour party camp, murdering at least 77 people, have not been limited to that horrific carnage.Still more at the link.
For the atrocity has produced a reaction among people on the political Left in Britain, Europe and the U.S. that is in itself shocking and terrifying.
Former Norwegian prime minister and current chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee Thorbjorn Jagland has said that, in response to the violent attacks, David Cameron and other European leaders should use a more ‘cautious’ approach when talking about multiculturalism.
Cameron has said multiculturalism (the doctrine that gives the values of minorities equal status to those of the majority) has failed, and has also talked about ‘Islamist extremism’ as a cause of terrorism.
Jagland, however, said leaders would be ‘playing with fire’ if they continued to use rhetoric that could be exploited by extremists such as Breivik.
This is because Breivik’s so-called manifesto shows that he is violently against mass immigration, multiculturalism and Islamisation — and that he wants the forced repatriation of Muslims from Europe and the murder of all who have promoted multiculturalism.
But to connect such abhorrent ravings with Cameron’s comments is simply grotesque.
First and foremost, this is treating Breivik as if his words deserve to be taken seriously and at face value.
As of now, however, we don’t know whether Breivik is psychotic, a psychopath or under the influence of all the drugs he claims to have taken.
We also don’t know what part, if any, his political views actually played in this atrocity.
After all, since his target was his country’s Labour party one might just as well surmise that he was motivated by hatred of his father, who was a Labour party supporter and who was divorced from Breivik’s mother when the killer was a baby.
In any event, someone who travels to a teenagers’ summer camp and invites them all to gather round so that he can kill them all cannot be considered rational.
Yet the former Norwegian premier is treating Breivik as if he is a political terrorist whose words have the authority of a sane and coherent creed.
Sports Illustrated Hotties Pick Their Favorite Leading Men
The bikini babes prove they're hopelessy geeky:And in related Rule 5 news, at American Perspective, "Hot Sci Fi ladies: Leeloo, Storm, Mystique, Trinity," and Maggie's Notebook, "Rule 5 Saturday Night: Annie Ilonzeh."
BONUS: From Bob Belvedere, "Rule 5 News: 29 July 2011 A.D."
BONUS: From Bob Belvedere, "Rule 5 News: 29 July 2011 A.D."
Raunchy Women Highlight Summer Movies
I'm going to have catch some of these on cable, as we're behind on our summer movie-going, but this story made the front-page at yesteday's Los Angeles Times, so here you go: "In summer comedies, women belch just as well as men."
'Just Another Clown'
Sung to the tune of "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" (via Instapundit):
More punk fiscal conservatism at The Other McCain, "The radical punk-rock anthem of our age," and "Yeah, It’s Time For The Circle Jerks."
More punk fiscal conservatism at The Other McCain, "The radical punk-rock anthem of our age," and "Yeah, It’s Time For The Circle Jerks."
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