December 31, 2010

Comments: December 2010

On Kamala Harris: here and here.

On Sarah Palin, George Bush, and Sherlock Holmes: here and here.

On respecting the female blogosphere.

On whether or not to respond to provocation by a wielder of the Victim Card.

On Obama's recent "bipartisanship".

On China: here and here.

On Mark Madoff's suicide.

On Nikki Haley: here and here.

December 30, 2010

Deflated Trial Balloon

Palin's latest book came out a couple of weeks after Bushes. I suspect that's not a coincidence.

If Palin had outsold Bush, we'd never hear the end of it from the Palinistas. As it is, we don't hear a peep.

December 25, 2010

On Leaving a Comment at a Blog

With apologies to Bill S:

When to this session of a blogger's thought
I wished to add my comment first and fast,
I could not form the bon mot that I sought.
You snooze you lose, and so the moment passed.
To tell the truth, my comment seems too lame.
If not ignored, can it survive the tolls
Exacted by those quick to blame and flame,
By moby's, and by narcissistic trolls?
I'm worrying whether strangers love or hate it!?
If they don't like it, so what? Laissez faire.
Why wonder how my offhand thoughts are rated?
Add hyperlink. Reread once more. I'm there.
Less than I hoped, more than I feared: my wit
Is what it is. I smile, and click 'Submit'.

(To be submitted at neoneocon's place.)

December 12, 2010

Palin and the Ryan Roadmap

She endorsed it.

That's not enough to reinstate my support for her, but credit is due where credit is due.

Iirc I've commented somewhere that I'd like to see Ryan become governor of Wisconsin and if successful, ideally in two terms, run for President.

December 11, 2010

Was This Was Expected All Along, or
Is Sarah Testing Our Faith?

Checking the bestseller lists, Amazon's in particular, I noticed that the latest book published under Palin's name isn't doing exceptionally well.

Now her blogosphere has noticed and gone into spin mode.

Btw, Palin's cover portrait on her latest reminds me of a stereotypical beauty queen smile[1]. (Or a Playboy Bunny's. Confirmation here: Palin gives the logo while Glenn Beck stands in for Hef.)
****************
[1] Come to think of it, the stereotypical beauty-contest smile may be designed to minimize the display of crow's feet around the eyes, and to minimize the disruption of pancake makeup--both of which are relevant to the image of a 46-year-old mother of five with a strenuous life.

December 8, 2010

Cultural Traps

During the European Age of Exploration, Westerners encountered many people who were capable individuals--but their societies were trapped into dysfunctional or corrupt political, religious and social structures.

Now, with the metastasis of the multicultural regulatory nanny state in the West, is the shoe on the other foot?

Encounter with an Entrepreneusse

While at the laundromat, I chatted with the Filipina who bought the place a few years ago and has been putting in eleven-hour days and seven-day weeks running it.

"What do you think about Palin?", I asked.

"Don't like her. Drama queen. Big mouth. Now, Hillary Clinton, she is smart. Educated. She is a lawyer."

I was not surprised at the direction of the response, but was surprised at its vehemence. This is the kind of person that Palin purports to speak for.

Maybe she is blowing a dog whistle to whites who are below the upper middle class.

Watch the Body Language

Here is an uncharacteristic photo of Vladimir Putin, looking overshadowed as he shakes hands with Wen Jiabao.

China and Russia have agreed to drop the dollar for bilateral trade and use their own currencies, whose relative values will be allowed to float.

This is a clever way for the Chinese to undermine the dollar. They are not attacking it overtly. Instead, they are setting up an arrangement which other economies, sooner or later, may request to join as a way to flee the dollar.