Pelosi Dumb?

Recently there has been a spate of articles asking if Rick Perry is dumb (and even one asking if Barack Obama is dumb). It is certainly a staple of American politics that anyone on the right is dumb. After all, George Bush certainly was, not to mention Ronald Reagan. The flip side of this assertion is that liberal politicians are smart. The arrogance and ignorance of those who actually believe such propaganda needs no explication. For these assertions are based not on any evidence, behavior, or activities, but on party label. In short, if you are a Republican you are dumb, and if you are a Democrat you are smart. I find this rather simplistic and somewhat lacking in empirical evidence as you might expect.

But, let’s apply the Forrest Gump standard: stupid is as stupid does. And let’s look just at Nancy Pelosi for the moment – onetime speaker of the house, and current minority leader. Let us also just focus on her most recent statement: the lack of a rebuttal is disrespectful to the president.

Really? Not providing an alternate view to the president is a sign of disrespect? Or is it that one doesn’t consider the president’s words needing a rebuttal? After all, disagreeing with the president we are told is racist. Now, not disagreeing with him is disrespectful. Exactly how does Nancy Pelosi view Barack Obama? It appears he is somehow above disagreement and above … response? I don’t get it. What is Pelosi after?

Does she want a Republican response highlighting how all of the president’s prior policies have made the economic situation worse? Or, does she want the Republicans to challenge the efficacy of Stimulus II? Does she want the Republicans to put forth their own agenda of tax cuts, lower regulation, repeal of Obamacare, and less government intrusion?

I doubt it. It seems to me that Pelosi is out for short-term political gain. A gain which will not materialize based on the last couple of years. And that makes Nancy Pelosi dumb.

Perry so Far

Right now I have to say I’m liking Rick Perry. Up to this point I was underwhelmed by the Republican field – though it is easy to say that I would prefer any of them to the present incumbent even Ron Paul (a kook IMO).

I need to know more, but it is a safe bet that I agree with Mitt Romney – any of those presently running on the Republican side would make a better president than Barack Obama. And right now for me, that means Rick Perry. I’ll watch his campaign with interest.

Iowa?

OK. I’m a conservative. I tend to vote Republican because that is the pragmatic choice for us conservatives.

However, I am a little irked by the attention paid to the Iowa straw poll. I mean, why does that matter more than any other state? Do Iowa conservatives really speak for the country?

Just askin …

A Further Thought About Debt

Now that the debt crisis is behind us, I would like to add some thoughts.

Firstly, I am pleased that the focus has shifted from spending to cutting. By no means does this bill cut enough spending, but directionally it is good. The democrats have been forced to accept that cuts are good and spending is too high. More needs to be done, but the national conversation has moved to the idea of fiscal responsibility.

Secondly, I very pleased to see that the Left is going absolutely apeshit over this deal. I wasn’t all that thrilled – thought it was as good as could be gotten – but not convinced it went far enough. The Left has convinced me – the comments I’m reading are positively unhinged.

But here is the thing I would like to change: this notion that we are cutting a trillion dollars, or cutting 2.4 trillion dollars. We are doing no such thing. These numbers are over ten years. I don’t know about you, but I budget in annual terms. So what we are really doing is cutting 100 billion or 240 billion – real money as far as I can tell – but nowhere near what it sounds like. Now, I expect this kind of obfuscation from democrats, but I’m disappointed to see it from republicans. Our deficit is running at 1.6 trillion a year, which means that 100 billion is less than a month’s overspending. When we’re cutting a trillion a year, we’ll be serious. Indeed, I wonder what the harm would be to roll back all spending to the level of 2008?

So I’m still happy. The Left is apoplectic, and that has to be a good thing. But in terms of getting the Federal beast under control, we have a long way to go.

Pass the Boehner Plan

I’ve been as agnostic as possible on the debt debate going on in Washington, but it is clear to me that doing nothing is not an option. That will result in the downgrade of the US credit which will raise the cost of borrowing for all Americans – not to mention being downright embarrassing.

Now it is very clear that it is the democrats who have brought us to this impasse. True, the republicans spent way too much from 2001 to 2006. They lost control of Congress because of it. But the democrats didn’t draw the right conclusion and since they have been in control have spent even more. When President Bush left office the debt was just under 10 trillion which he had basically doubled. It is important to note that at that point, the democrats had controlled Congress for two years. Meanwhile, under President Obama, we’ve racked up nearly 5 trillion in additional debt. In other words, Obama racked up almost the entire Bush debt in one quarter of the time.

In the short term, we clearly need to raise the debt limit in order to quiet the markets and prevent a downgrade of the US credit rating. (A VERY BAD THING.)

The Boehner bill is hardly perfect, but it appears to be the best that can be achieved while the democrats still control the senate and the presidency. To oppose it because it is not perfect is insane. Politics is the art of the possible.

Pass the Boehner bill.

Two Months With the iPad

So I’ve had the iPad for almost two months now and I can opine on it.

Um, I love it.

My expectations were in line I think with the device itself – I expected it to be an information delivery medium and it has delivered in spades. E-mail, news readers, reference, and personal information management have all been improved over my previous solutions. Futher, the smaller size of the iPad has meant it is very nearly always with me. I do not even feel the need to discuss the actual box. It’s an Apple product and its design, build quality, and tactile feel are all top notch.

In short, the iPad, far from being a toy, has increased my productivity, mostly by streamlining my daily information consumption and gathering. It also can serve as a content creation device, though that is clearly a secondary function. I recently took a trip and left my laptop behind. I didn’t miss it.

I do have a quibble. The big issue is Apple’s decision to stop selling screen protectors through the Apple Store. Big mistake. I get that they are trying to inculcate the idea with consumers that the iPad screen is durable. Of course it’s durable – it’s also glass! I first purchased a screen protector from Zagg (don’t) which I found fell short of the quality I would expect of a product designed for an Apple device. It was more than another month that I discovered that Power Support, the makers of great iPhone screen protection had an iPad screen. I ordered it. It has now arrived, it is on, but in so installing, I discovered that my iPad had somehow gotten a scratch on the screen. This does not happen to me – I am very careful about such things. Yet, somehow, a half inch scratch appeared on my iPad screen. If Apple had sold the PS screen protectors in the Apple Store, then this would not have happened as I would have bought one on the spot. Apple needs to get over whatever product angst it has and let consumers buy appropriate protection at the point of sale.

Apple’s screen hubris aside, the iPad is a fantastic product, far outpacing the putative competition.

Casey Anthony

I am deeply disturbed by the vigilante attitude towards the Casey Anthony verdict.

It’s unclear to me what really happened – I did not follow the case as it unfolded. What is clear to me is that the prosecution failed to prove its case, and that is what matters.

We live in a country where rule of law prevails – one is not convicted in the court of public opinion no matter how ‘obvious’ a person’s guilt appears to be. Talking heads on various networks who have no access to the facts are nothing short of idiots. Pay no attention to them.

We live in a country where EVIDENCE is what is needed to convict, and evidence is what was lacking here. Did Casey murder her daughter? Maybe. Is she an icky person? You bet. But the prosecution failed to prove a capital crime against her. They even failed to prove that Caylee Anthony was murdered. The jury had no choice but to acquit, and I (who have been on a jury) would have done the same. It doesn’t matter that Caylee was found duck-taped and gnawed – horrific though that is – it matters only what you can prove. The prosecution failed to prove motive, method, or even opportunity. That’s what is needed to prosecute a murder, and they failed on the basics. This is a prosecutorial team that needs to be fired as they clearly are incompetent.

What I find really scary is those who are now making noises about killing Casey because she “got away with murder.”

I find the lynch mob mentality terrifying. The rule of law is under siege.

Palin Derangement Syndrome

It seems Sarah Palin was in town this week. I missed it – she spoke at the Old North Church in Boston and I was only informed after the event. So it goes. But it seems those on the Left have made a very big deal out of it. I’ve even seen people on facebook threatening to unfriend people in the wake of the event.

Let’s stipulate at the outset that I am not a supporter of Sarah Palin for president, and I very much hope she doesn’t run. I believe she is a flawed candidate as I posted here. I further will not under any circumstances vote for her in a primary (and her endorsement will carry no weight with me). Should she run however, and should it come down to voting for her or Obama, I will vote for Palin. Reluctantly.

At the same time, I have observed liberal friends treat her Old North Church impromptu remarks as some sort of disqualifier. Astounding. I listened to them (you can find them easily – I won’t link). She butchered the history here – but not the concepts. I am amused by the liberal reaction – Palin bungled her words and this disqualifies her from the presidency. Uh huh.

So Obama wasn’t disqualified by thinking there were 57 states. From thinking Austrian is a language. From thinking ‘corpsman’ is pronounced ‘corpse-man.’

I’m no Palin fan, but if the libs want to put up their guy versus her in who is more ignorant, I say BRING IT ON!

Sarah Palin does serve a worthy cause however. The inestimable Dr. Charles Krauthammer coined the phrase Bush Derangement Syndrome and it seems Sarah Palin has inherited that mantle. If she serves as a lighting rod for liberal insanity, then she serves the nation far better than she ever could as president.

At least it seems to pay well.

Shame on You Scotland, Shame!

Scotland should be ashamed of itself. I am personally embarrassed about my own Scottish heritage – through which I trace my lineage to some fairly illustrious historical figures. But today I am ashamed of my Scottish blood for the first time in my life.

Scottish citizens might not be able to purchase English translations of Israeli masterpieces such as “A tale of love and darkness” by Amos Oz and “Someone to run with” by David Grossman, due to a boycott on Israeli books.

Two and a half years ago, shortly after Operation Cast Lead, the West Dunbartonshire Regional Council, located west of Glasgow, approved a bill that called to boycott goods produced in Israel.

According to the law, the council and all public bodies under its jurisdiction are forbidden to sell goods that originated from Israel.

Despicable. The full article is here. But for the first time, Scotland displays an anti-semitism of the sort which is more properly confined to Nazi Germany.

Shame on you Scotland. And until my Scottish cousins cease to support murdering terrorists because they are against the Jews, I will not buy another bottle of Scotch. I urge all of my readers to do the same.

Scotland wants to boycott Israeli goods? Then let the Scots feel the pain themselves. I will buy no more Scottish goods and I call for a boycott until they cease their despicable anti-semitism.

Update: While I’m at it, I’ll supplement my purchase of non-Scottish brown liquors with a search of some of these Israeli books that have Scotland so spooked. I hear some of them are pretty good novels.

MartiniPundit Adds an iPad

Well, some time ago I posted that I had added an iPhone. While I was not the earliest adopter amongst my friends, I was early enough that I had no concerns about my tech cred.

Not so this time.

Indeed, one of my long-term readers (perhaps the only one) beat me by nearly a year. Nonetheless, MartiniPundit has now joined the iPad ranks.

It was not easy. It was, in fact, ridiculous. I had decided to wait for the second incarnation of the device, and then there were a couple of months before I felt free to spend the money. The iPad 2 was released March 11th, and by the beginning of May, I was all set. I assumed I could walk into the Apple Store and buy one. What a fool I was.

I had decided to combine the iPad purchase with other errands. I finished my other shopping and then went to the Apple Store. Now, if you’ve been to an Apple Store you will understand that sometimes the experience is a little too intense. I walked in, and was immediately asked “What brings you to the Apple Store today?” I knew, but didn’t feel like sharing. “Do you need a reason to visit the Apple Store?” I replied. “Yes,” came the unlooked for answer trailing behind me as I tried to head to the back of the store where the accessories are kept. On my way there I had to endure two additional employees/goalies. Once past their clutches, I looked for my purchases. Consider me weird – I do research and always know what I’m going to buy. I don’t need the saccharine Apple Store employees to help me out. I love Apple products, and I recognize how critical the retail experience is to them, but I don’t find it all that edifying.

Thus, when I was ready to be helped, all I really needed was for them to retrieve my iPad of choice. I was not prepared for them to say “no.” They were sold out!

I was shocked, but then I went out into the mall and sat down. I pulled out my iPhone and fired up the Apple Store app. After calling virtually every store within the range of my fuel tank, I began to realize something was not quite right. There were no iPads to be had. After returning home, I used my friend Google and discovered that there were organized groups – mostly Chinese – who were buying up iPad 2s as fast as they were being delivered. This was an arbitrage opportunity since the devices were not available in the Far East but people there were willing to spend up to three times the retail cost in the US to obtain one. Apple – for better or for worse – was encouraging this activity by not requiring the iPads to be activated in store (something that had been true for iPhones) and allowing customers to buy two. I read an article about scalping which made me realize that the iPads were not so easily obtained. A strategy would be needed.

So I set out to scan the Apple Stores near me. I decided that Hingham – far off the beaten track – was a good shot. I got up early, drove down, and parked, arriving about 7:30am. No one was around. Was this a good sign or a bad? I didn’t know. I had brought a book, so I camped out on the bench near to the Apple Store and waited. The women who used the outdoor mall for an exercise course went by more than once, and then a man arrived and was admitted. Prior to this, the only person I had seen at the Apple Store was the window washer (they do have a lot of glass). Over the next thirty minutes other employees arrived, and I was intrigued to see that I had not witnessed all of then arriving. A back door? I think so.

Next, a man drove up in a big BMW, and was admitted. Now it should be said that the Apple Store did not officially open until 10 am. Yet here we were at 8 am with some serious foot traffic. Another woman, also driving a big BMW arrived. I’m thinking this is the Apple Store in the morning. Of course, in theory, iPad sales would being at 9. As the key hour approached, I moved towards the door to position myself as first in line. Others also arrived, bolstering my confidence that I was on the right track.

At about 8:50am the Chinese arrived.

Yep, the stories were true. A Chinese man and two Chinese women arrived and got in line (on the opposite side of the door from me – nothing doing I thought). I imagined them buying my iPad and sending it for resale to Beijing. I chatted with the woman next to me. She was on her third trip to an Apple Store to buy an iPad. Eventually the salesgirl came out, and after some elaboration as to who was first in line, she announced that they only had a couple of 16GB models in stock. Well, I was only interested in a 64GB, and I knew that there was another Apple Store at the South Shore Plaza but a few minutes away. I dashed to the car and made a beeline for the mall.

Once I got there, all was peaceful. A woman mopping the entrance told me the store was not yet open. I knew that. Yet, as in Hingham, there were people inside, people coming by, and all sorts of activity. The Apple Stores are more than retail outlets it seems: they are training and educational facilities. Apple’s retail strategy is far more complex than their competitors and seems an integral component of their success in gaining market share over the last decade.

And then it happened. The Chinese arrived again. The same Chinese man who had been in Hingham, and trailed by his same molls. At least I had beaten them here. Eventually, another employee came out, and I talked to him, learning that they had had no delivery that morning and were out of iPad 2s. I was beginning to think this was ridiculous. I called other Apple Stores in the region and got the same answer. As I drove home, I decided to swing by the Apple Store in Cambridge where I was told that they had no deliveries on Monday, but any other day of the week would be good. Okay, so I went home, and the next morning went back. There, two lovely Apple Store employees informed me that they had had no delivery of iPad 2s that day. As I informed them that I had been told in this very store not even 24 hours before that this would not be the case, I was told that they never knew when they would get them in. Astonishing.

In disgust, I went home, and ordered one off the Apple website – two weeks to delivery. And so I waited.

About a week later I called the store in Cambridge out of curiosity. They did have some iPad 2s at one o’clock – Verizon models only (they don’t work overseas).

Then, as it happened, I did a little more research a couple of days later and discovered that the model I had ordered (the non 3G model) did not have GPS capability. Well, that’s pretty important I think, so I canceled the order. Nothing left to do but try the Apple Store lottery again. Thus, the next morning I drove over to Cambridge, but I didn’t try to get there especially early. Indeed, I think I got there a few minutes after ten – the official store opening. I asked about iPad 2s, and was directed to a fellow outside the store. I spoke to him. He had a stack of little pieces of paper in his hand. I told him what I wanted. He had a slip! Here it is:

Whoa, I thought – I’m actually going to get one of these suckers. And so it came to pass. Apple Store employee Sarah (I should have taken her picture too) came out and escorted me inside. She brought me the sacred box. I handed over the credit card and relished the irony of paying Apple hundreds of dollars for the privilege of buying their artificially scarce device. Sarah asked me if I needed anything else today, and I suggested an armed guard to escort me to my car would not be out of place.

Since then, I’ve been enjoying my new iPad 2. It is a fine device, and it is doing everything I expected of it. Apple, interestingly, has sent me several e-mails asking about my buying experience. I don’t think they want to know.

We Got Him!

I hope.

Fox News is reporting that Osama bin Laden is dead, apparently killed by US bombs a week ago. We have the body (very important). President Obama will be speaking about this shortly.

It appears that this is part of the surge as lead by General Petraeus, copied from Iraq, and championed by President Bush. Both these men deserve some credit.

But so does President Obama for bucking his leftist constituency, staying the course in Afghanistan, and approving the surge there.

Osama now goes straight to hell, where I’m sure he will enjoy his seventy-two raisins. Thanks and kudos to the US military personnel who delivered this evil man to his just desserts.

Update: It looks like he was killed in Pakistan. It may not have been a bomb, but a ground operation. I hope so. I would much rather he saw it coming and knew the end was at hand.

Update II: As of 11:35 EST, President Obama is addressing the nation, and confirming that Osama bin Laden is dead. Hooray!

Update III: The President has confirmed that it was a ground operation, carried out by American forces. Good.

Update IV: Obama is here at his best. He took some credit – as he should – but he also mentioned President Bush positively, our military, our allies, and all those who have helped bring this evil man to justice. The President has affirmed that we will not be attacked with impunity and will be relentless, and I applaud him for it. He has also asked that God bless the USA. Thank you Mr. President.

Update V: An important lesson for those who would declare war on the United States as bin Laden did is that it does not matter that you outlast one of our presidents. Certainly, President Bush would have liked to have this happen on his watch, but he has already issued a statement that he is delighted it has happened. President Obama – who has frankly grown in the national security aspects of his office – has recognized that this is bigger than he is. Mess with the US, and don’t expect that all you need to do is outlast the guy presently in office. In one way, it’s good that this happened under Obama – a president who has apologized for the US, who has been less than jingoistic to put it mildly, and who’s own wife has admitted that she was not proud of her country prior to her husband’s nomination. President Obama has now demonstrated that our enemies cannot count on weakness on our part. Mess with the US, and you mess with the whole country for good and for all. There is no statute of limitations.

Update VI: It appears that the mission went down not last week, but just this weekend. The Navy SEALs carried it out and the self-proclaimed “strong horse” cowered behind one of his wives, using her as a human shield. It also appears that this day was long in the planning, at least back to 2007, a tribute to the military and intelligence professionals who spanned two administrations to bring this man to justice.

Royal Tea Leaves

What is it about Royals that causes people to become irrational?

It seems that there is an enormous amount of interest in the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and his long-term girlfriend Kate. So much so that the not even remotely new speculation that the Queen will step down silliness is back. I can understand the interest in the wedding which will in all likelihood produce the next head of state for the United Kingdom. Other than that …

For example, there is renewed speculation that the Queen will abdicate. This is the same sort of nonsense that we saw year after year with Pope John Paul II. It was driven by nothing other than the journalistic desire for change for change’s sake so that it could be reported. It is said that the Queen wants to abdicate so that Charles will have time on the throne before William succeeds. Huh?

Why would Elizabeth – arguably one of the most successful and popular monarchs in British history – want to step down? What would she do then? Why would anyone think it would be a popular move for her to abdicate in favor of Charles – an obvious airhead? Frankly, the best outcome for the British monarchy is for Elizabeth to outlive Charles and leave William as king after her. This is beyond the ken of your average journalist of course.

A word about Kate as she is endlessly compared to the late Princess Diana. The latter was a beautiful woman who possessed a heart of gold. She was also more of an airhead than her husband. As in, she was a moron. She captured the imagination of the world through her beauty and her novelty. She also had charm. Rumor has it the Queen Mum did not approve of her as a Royal bride. Looks like the old gal was spot on. Those who want to talk about her charitable works need to look to the entire Royal family. Crikey – that’s what they do.

But Kate looks to me like a different animal entirely. I think she’s got the Royals by the tail and not the other way around. As lovely to behold as her late mother-in-law (perhaps even more so), but far more savvy, I think she’ll go the distance. Indeed, I think she will be queen eventually, and will have the same influence and power that the late Queen Mum had. In my opinion, she may hold the future of the British monarchy in her hand – and it will be her children and her influence which see out the 21st century. After all, she’s waited eight years, and stood by loyally through it all.

Ironically, Kate may prove to be just what all the pundits thought Diana was going to be. Their comparisons will prove out, just not in any way they thought.

Leftist Tax Angst

Quite a few of my liberal friends have passed around a MoveOn list of companies supposedly not paying their taxes.

Wow – I am amazed they can actually do that with a straight face. After all, they certainly cared not a jot when Timothy Geithner (you know, the Secretary of the Treasury) turned out to be a tax cheat. Nor did they seem to care when Charlie Rangel (the guy in the House who wrote the tax code laws) also turned out to be a tax cheat. Certainly they were not heard when it was reported that many in the Obama Administration had sketchy tax histories.

Liberals believe taxes are for other people. Indeed, if you doubt this, then note that nearly 50% of American taxpayers aren’t. That is, they pay no tax. (For whom do they vote do you wonder?) Indeed the top 1% pays more than a third, and we are supposed to believe that the rich aren’t paying their fair share. What concerns me (I am not in the top 1% and never have been) is that the the so-called rich are the camel’s nose under the tent and the Feds will go after the rest of us once the principle has been established. You know the one. That’s where Obama says a group “can afford to pay a little more.” Except the principle is wrong – what we should really be saying is the Federal government can afford to spend a little less.

I do find it amazing that my liberal friends don’t get this. Of course, one is a PhD. who has never earned a non-taxpayer dollar in his life. He recently suggested we “eat the rich” (which would have included his father had he still been alive). This privileged, spoiled child of fortune has received one government grant after another and apparently hasn’t once considered that his very livelihood is due to the generosity of his neighbors. Another is the beneficiary of the success of a startup company. He certainly cashed the bonus checks, but considers corporations evil and avoids patronizing establishments that are corporate. A third has her own business touting France and is a fan of all things French. Not one of them understands that most people have to struggle to earn a living. Far left liberals all.

I do grant that GE (which apparently is paying taxes despite what the NYT may have reported) and other companies should pay their fair share according to law. That last is important – if the law allows you to avoid taxes you are not to blame, the law is. I don’t pay a penny more in taxes than I have to, and I wrote a check to the government this week that was much bigger than I wanted it to be. I am all for rationalizing the tax code, simplifying and eliminating loopholes, getting rid of tax credits for windmills and other starry-eyed shibboleths, and making the whole thing a level playing field. It is why I would like to see a flat-tax for both individuals and corporations. Liberals want taxes for you and not for them. They call that “fairness.” I call it selfish.

Spoiled Brats

I don’t know the reasons behind the impending NFL strike. I don’t give a rat’s ass.

War on Terror. Unemployment. Wisconsin. Mexican drug lords. Afghanistan. Tunisia. Egypt. Saudi Arabia. Libya. Rising Gas prices. Falling stock market. Excess housing inventory. A freakin’ 8.9 quake in Japan. 88,000 missing. Nuclear meltdown. The rest of us coping with life.

And I’m supposed to care about some overpaid football players? I don’t. They need to STFU. Play or don’t. I don’t care. They are irrelevant.

Journalists Attacked in Cairo

There have been many reports that journalists covering the events in Cairo have been attacked. This is the story of Greg Palkot of Fox News, talking about himself and his camera crew:

Within seconds Olaf and I were spotted as foreigners and attacked. They hit us with their open hands, their fists, sticks, bars, rocks, whatever was around, especially aiming at our heads. They grabbed us and punched us. Several dug through my pockets. All the while screaming madly in our faces. But still we pushed on.

And again, some kind Egyptians helped. A few guiding us forward and keeping the blood-thirsty mob at bay.

After several minutes of running a human gauntlet, Olaf and I reached an Egyptian Army personnel carrier. The soldiers standing on top didn’t immediately help us.

As they stood by, Olaf and I continued to be pummeled by the crowd. His shirt was off, he was writhing and was knocked to the ground twice. I somehow stayed upright but was losing strength fast and the hits were harder. Unable to make it over the high side of the vehicle, I thought Olaf and I were finished. A few more minutes in the crowd and it would have been all over.

Read the whole thing.

I’m glad they are safe, along with others reporting on this tragedy. While it is clear that from the US perspective, freedom, liberty, and democracy are paramount, it is of great concern that Mubarak’s fall may lead to another Iran, and prevent the very virtues we seek to inculcate throughout the world.

Overthrowing dictators sounds grand in principle, but is frought with uncertainty in practice. Greg Palkot and his team have learned this. Thank God they are safe.

Mubarak Watch

A friend of mine noticed that Hosni Mubarak has made a change on his Facebook page. Apparently he reset his dictatorship status to “it’s complicated.”

Ain’t it the truth.

Obama as Reagan?

Wow.

It seems there is a new idea developing in the media that Obama is somehow “Reaganesque.” Here is but one example from Time.

I have no doubt that Obama has looked into his predecessors. I have no doubt he wants to kick his game up a notch. But Reagan? Not likely.

Ronald Reagan – a great president – was vilified by the media, castigated by liberals, and dismissed as a lightweight by most of his political opponents. The principal reason he was great is that his beliefs served as the foundation of his presidency and he never hid them from the American people. In the end, his beliefs resonated with the country. Those beliefs ended the Cold War, brought prosperity, and returned the country to a sense of exceptionalism after the anemic Carter and the trauma of Watergate and Vietnam.

Obama, by contrast, has consistently hidden his beliefs, lied to the country and to the world, and employed a policy of subterfuge to enact his radical agenda. His beliefs resonate on college campuses, but in few other places.

Obama Reaganesque? I see that not as a long overdue paean to a great man, but a pathetic media attempt to hoodwink the people. Won’t work – whatever Obama is, he isn’t Reagan or anything close. My liberal friends will scoff, but then, they missed the point when Reagan was president. How ironic that liberals in the media are now trying to link Obama to a man they despise.

TSA Follies

One more post about the TSA. On my return trip, I passed through security, jacket off, shoes off, belt off, laptop out, small containers of toiletries in a ziploc bag out, and at the same time wondering about my colleague who had been whisked behind closed doors for special screening. Then I saw this:

I have to give the TSA credit – they at least saw the humor in the fact that they had clearly discombobulated us.

TSA Passes, Sorta

As in, they made no pass. Or what might have been had they done it. Which they didn’t.

In short, I flew out of Boston today, and passed through security ungroped, unx-rayed, and apparently undangerous.

I’m almost disappointed …

iPhoneymoon

About a year and a half ago, I noted that I had acquired an iPhone. Though it was a second generation device, and very nearly two years after the first iPhone, I was still among a small number of my friends and relations who had one. So, when I spent the first weeks nearly glued to the thing (a phenomenon that did not go unnoticed by others at the time), I paid little attention to it.

Since then, I’ve seen quite a few others gain an iPhone and go through the same experience. One guy’s girlfriend even broke up with him referring to herself as an “iPhone widow.” People who acquired iPhones seemed to change, subtly, as if they had undergone a life-changing experience (most of the latter in my circle are PC people). The iPhoneymoon seems an inescapable part of it.

So it is with some amusement (and chagrin), that I observe the iPhoneymoon again here at Villa MartiniPundit. We acquired not one but two for Christmas, and both of the other denizens of the Villa are blissfully on their iPhoneymoon.

What would the world be like without Apple? Poorer, to be sure.