Symptomatic

Reading the exchanges among local bloggers - especially leftybloggers - regarding Michele Bachmann's overt, "out" evanglical Christianity, I'm reminded of exactly how wide the gulf in perception between people of faith and people of unfaith (people who for whatever reason...
Posted by Mitch on November 03, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Absence of Grace

It started so well. Bob Collins - MPR's webmeister and proprietor of the network's "Polinaut" blog - wrote excellent piece on remembering, in this heated, uncivil political season, what the important things are. The piece was in reference to Learned...
Posted by Mitch on October 28, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (35) | TrackBack

Fear Factor

I found this, digging around the Shot in the Dark historical archives:POINT: WINSTON CHURCHILL: "Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the...
Posted by Mitch on October 23, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (17) | TrackBack

Let's Make It Official

Here's where school security is going:Each morning, the 16,000 students in the Spring Independent School District in suburban Houston swipe their ID tags as they climb onto the school bus. A radio frequency tag tracks them, as it does when...
Posted by Mitch on October 11, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Fingers Crossed

You could perhaps predicted the Strib's exultation over this story, in which an Episcopal dioceses is discussing pulling the diocese out of the marriage business:The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is considering a solution to the gay-marriage issue that commends itself...
Posted by Mitch on October 11, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

The Coming Repeal of the First Amendment

The Democrats want to protect free speech... ...as long as you're an "artist" who works in the medium of religious icons suspended in urine. Or a pr0n merchant whose market is web-surfers in public libraries. Or an American who regularly...
Posted by Mitch on October 03, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Your Tax Dollars In Action

Swiftee on all that bleeding-edge biology going on at U of M Morris....
Posted by Mitch on September 29, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Lileks 73, Olberman 0

Just read it, and ponder the tragedy of a nation that gives Keith Olberman a responsible job....
Posted by Mitch on September 20, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Danger! Danger!

Madonna plans to do her stupid crucifiction stunt on national TV:In the show, Madonna, wearing a gittered crown of thorns, descends on a suspended mirrored, disco ball-type cross singing her hit 'Live To Tell.' Expect rioting Christians to loot and...
Posted by Mitch on September 19, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Sharia Fairness Doctrine

Brian Maloney reports on CAIR's pressure tactics to stifle talk-radio criticism of Moslems:CAIR has targeted talkers at ABC and Clear Channel stations over the past year, having an especially easy time mowing over executives at the former. In fact, it's...
Posted by Mitch on September 19, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Ed At Mac

My radio comrade Ed Morrissey did a little shindig at Macalester College in St. Paul on Monday night. Ed did a good job, and was, as usual, gracious about his hosts:I'm glad to report back that no one got devoured...
Posted by Mitch on September 13, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Attention, Ashcroft Libertarians!

You know who you are; you're one of those people who thought Libertarians were quaintly silly, and that libertarian beliefs were vaguely off. Then John Ashcroft was sworn in as Attorney General, and suddenly you were...well, not a Randian, but...
Posted by Mitch on September 09, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (13) | TrackBack

The Censorship Doctrine

Reading about the flap over ABC's caving in to pressure from former Clintonistas, it's hard not to worry just a tad about the future of democracy. For starters, let's drop the comparisons with The Reagans; conservatives were up in arms...
Posted by Mitch on September 08, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (20) | TrackBack

No Big Loss

Miller Brewing busted giving $30K to a group that demonstrated in favor of illegal immigrants:In March, Miller Brewing--pressured by illegal alien activists incensed over the company PAC's past donation to leading pro-immigration enforcement proponent GOP Rep. James Sensenbrenner, author of...
Posted by Mitch on September 04, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

A Thousand Amens

Elder:Why is it not okay to talk about terrorism to advance your political situation, but perfectly acceptable, in fact laudable, to talk about a natural disaster to achieve the same goal?...It's revealing to note that while the good folks at...
Posted by Mitch on August 30, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Question

To: Pat Buchanan From: Mitch Berg Re: Huh? Pat, You said:Who would benefit from these endless wars in a region that holds nothing vital to America-save oil…Who would benefit from a 'war of civilizations' with Islam? Who other than these...
Posted by Mitch on July 25, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (20) | TrackBack

Event In Search Of A Metaphor

Gay-marriage poster couple on the skids. No, I'm not rejoicing over it. But given that the first thing that most pro-gay-marriage people say is "It can't hurt marriage any worse than divorce does", I'd be very interested in seeing what...
Posted by Mitch on July 21, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (34) | TrackBack

Hands Off!

Display Jesus Christ in a jar of urine? No problem. Burn a flag? Don't you dare call them unpatriotic! Hack Americans to death? Screw 'em! But for Allah's sake, don't harm the Quran! Yes, it is apparently a federal case:...
Posted by Mitch on July 11, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Blogswarm Update

All of you involved in the blogswarm: I intend to run the result of the blogswarm at the end of next week, when people have had time to do the work (ahem) and I'm back on the case....
Posted by Mitch on June 30, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (23) | TrackBack

Unamerican

I am pretty demonastrably the biggest free-speech guy I know; indeed, my commitment to all ten amendents in the Bill of Rights is pretty unimpeachable. And what I'm about to say doesn't change that fact one bit. And I'm not...
Posted by Mitch on June 09, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (45) | TrackBack

About Liberty

I was going to write about the seeming contradiction between being a defense conservative and a small-l libertarian. Swiftee did it better. . A printable part that so much of the left and media (pardon the redundancy) keep forgetting:Clinton's attack...
Posted by Mitch on May 15, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (24) | TrackBack

Well, Sort Of A Right...

The DFL attack machine is spooling up for a summer offensive against Michele Bachmann - a social-conservative state senator who is out front in opposing gay marriage, and the GOP's new nominee to run for the Kennedy seat in the...
Posted by Mitch on May 15, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (46) | TrackBack

Attention, Outraged "Libertarian" Democrats

It's terrible that the NSA might be surveiling Americans' phone calls. Assuming, of course, that this is happening without a duly-obtained court warrant. Which, naturally, you're all assuming. Now, let's not mince words; I know most of you didn't start...
Posted by Mitch on May 12, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (28) | TrackBack

Chickenlogicians

I'll start with a tangent. It's a good thing I have Cap'n Ed and King on the air with me on the NARN show. They are both very diligent in reminding me that when I slag on leftyblogs that there...
Posted by Mitch on May 01, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (22) | TrackBack

My Favorite Cheap Thrill...

...is watching writers for boutique freebie-zines getting beaten senseless with clubs. The above is intended as satire, just like this bit here. But to be fair, I think Steve Perry might have figured out something that some of us have...
Posted by Mitch on May 01, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Pro-Dictatorship

As protest season starts up, and the Twin Cities' streets fill with the aroma of patchouli oil, and the clattering of angry baby-boomers' walkers, and the adenoidal shrieks of Macalester students chanting, it's worth going over one of the key...
Posted by Mitch on May 01, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Same Goes For the U Of M

(Via Blackfive)...
Posted by Mitch on May 01, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Oversold?

Gay marriage is one of those issues that I could personally scarcely care less about. Oh, I think "marriage" is a necessarily mixed-gender thing, and furthermore I think of it as a religious rather than civil or legal construct. As...
Posted by Mitch on March 30, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Attencion, Immigrantes

Y'all came so close. So close. I am not one of those Buchanan Conservatives who fulminate for closed borders and mass deportations (indeed, few conservatives are). I support a combination of real border security and, perhaps, a form of guest...
Posted by Mitch on March 29, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (47) | TrackBack

Announcement

Hencefoth, the following are forbidden to be displayed in front of the Berg household:Beer.All references to the Guinness FairyAny protests that would involve people putting any of same on my porch.That is all. (With a sweeping hat tip to Sisyphus)...
Posted by Mitch on March 29, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

A Very Good Thing

A few weeks ago, a regular commenter asked me what I thought about a pending federal bill that would consider blog commentary as a "campaign contribution". Then as now, I thought it was a stupid idea. We have a First...
Posted by Mitch on March 28, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Truth That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Perhaps you have to be a lefty to get away with saying what Christopher Hitchens said on the Hewitt show last night. They were talking about Iraq - and, most importantly, domestic reaction to the war. The interview tripped into...
Posted by Mitch on March 23, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Disconnected?

On the one hand, anti-war rallies over the weekend around the US and world fizzled: The protests, like those held to mark each of the two previous anniversaries of the March 2003 invasion, were vigorous and peaceful but far smaller...
Posted by Mitch on March 20, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (49) | TrackBack

Furious George's Fantasy Life

George Clooney is proud to be a "liberal". No word on "delusional", "paranoid" and "overdramatic"....
Posted by Mitch on March 14, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (27) | TrackBack

The Universe Taunts JB Doubtless

Woman gets beer from her kitchen faucet in Norway:It almost seemed like a miracle to Haldis Gundersen when she turned on her kitchen faucet this weekend and found the water had turned into beer...By an improbable feat of clumsy plumbing,...
Posted by Mitch on March 13, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Ketchup As Sacrament

Lileks this morning, kicking off with a "foodie" quote: “Sharing food is with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.” M. L. K. Fisher. Criminey. Look, I like a good meal as much...
Posted by Mitch on March 03, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Contest!

Two of the following snarks are completely made up, with the explicit intent of satirizing mocking people who, say, write letters to the Strib or write overheated leftyblogs. One of the three is legit. Can you guess which one? Here...
Posted by Mitch on February 27, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (19) | TrackBack

G-d Hates Jags

What if we got together a group of open-minded, freedom-loving people who believe in civil discourse, and got them together... ...to go out and machine-gun jagoffs who protest at military funerals?On her way into the church where the funeral was...
Posted by Mitch on February 24, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (30) | TrackBack

Benzos and Hos

Syl Jones on the marketing of gangsta culture:Sad to say, instead of achieving what the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once called "the Beloved Community," the pernicious fantasy of gangsta rap now projects the universal image of a besotted community....
Posted by Mitch on February 17, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Decay

What happened to Spencer's Gifts? I don't hang out in malls much - and I don't recall having been in a Spencer's more than a couple of times, ever, the most recently being probably ten years ago. As I recall,...
Posted by Mitch on February 16, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (13) | TrackBack

Smackdown

Check out Scott Johnson's preview of his upcoming debate with the Strib's Eric Black at the Tocqueville Center. If I'm not mistaken, Scott's going to be joining us tomorrow on the NARN to discuss the event. Tune in!...
Posted by Mitch on February 10, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

PaulaCorettapalooza

Jay Reding - long one of my favorite regional blogs, and a guy who deserves ten times the traffic he gets - is getting double the traffic he doesn't deserve via a well-deserved Instalanche today... ...re a post about the...
Posted by Mitch on February 08, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (33) | TrackBack

Like, Totally Bummer

Irritating, relentlessly left-of-center icon "Rock The Vote" is circling the drain:...as it moves into its 16th year, Rock the Vote itself is being rocked by crisis. Saddled with about $700,000 in debt, the group has cut its staff from more...
Posted by Mitch on February 07, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Instant Kanye's Gonna Getcha

Kanye West poses as Christ:Kanye West, with a crown of thorns atop his head, poses as Jesus Christ on the cover of the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone.Rolling Stone loves it, of course. I bet if he'd posed as John...
Posted by Mitch on January 25, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Smoking Bans: More Collateral Damage

The problem with monomaniacal activists - the kind that give you things like smoking bans and .08 Blood Alcohol limits - is that they rarely if ever consider unintended side effects. Mark "Marcus Aurelius" Wernimont is a good friend of...
Posted by Mitch on January 03, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Disproprotionate

There's a classic cartoon that appeared about forty-odd years ago in New Yorker that showed a map of the United States drawn from a New Yorker's perspective. Manhattan was huge, taking up over half of the map. The other boroughs,...
Posted by Mitch on January 03, 2006 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Crosshairs on the Easter Bunny

Via Savage Republican, a story that I knew was only a matter of time; a teacher slags Santa in front of a group of elementary school kids: Theresa Farrisi stood in for (Jamey) Schaeffer’s regular music teacher one day last...
Posted by Mitch on December 28, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Another Lefty Hoax

Via KVM, I caught this piece by James Taranto:It’s Mao or Never “The UMass Dartmouth student who claimed to have been visited by Homeland Security agents over his request for ‘The Little Red Book’ by Mao Zedong has admitted to...
Posted by Mitch on December 28, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Attention, Linguistic Death Squad: Your Orders Are In

Elder (and Katie) want to excise at least one idiomatic saying from the English language - or at least the version used on the blogosphere:I think there's something that we can all agree on: the use of the term "slippery...
Posted by Mitch on December 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (16) | TrackBack

It's About Time

Andrea Mitchell on the Today show this morning:Americans are worried about too much government intrusion into their civil liberties.The story, naturally, was about the Wiretap "scandal", and it was pretty much wrong... ...but it was the remark itself that caught...
Posted by Mitch on December 21, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (63) | TrackBack

Flash: Katrina Killed Whitey, Too

Hurricane Katrina's casualties were not disporportionately black or poor, says the New Orleans Times-Picayune:Of the 380 bodies from New Orleans that have been formally identified, a moderately disproportionate number are white. New Orleans' population was 28% white, yet 33% of...
Posted by Mitch on December 19, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

As If On Cue

If there's one thing you can count on, it's Syl Jones - playwrite, consultant, and Strib columnist - parrotting some assortment of ultra-left bromides or another as he takes his gratuitous racists swipes at whitey. So too with today's column...
Posted by Mitch on December 13, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Goodnight, Sanity

One of my favorite parts about having kids was reading "Goodnight Moon", the forties-era classic by Margaret Wise Brown, with the gorgeous illustration work of Clement Hurd... ...who was pictured on the original book sleeve holding a cigarette. According to...
Posted by Mitch on November 30, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Not In My Name, MoFo

Remember "Not In Our Name"? The most narcissistic pro-dictatorship protest (among many contenders) before the Iraq War, NION even drew fire from the left for its gaping, overweening sense of self-importance. All that, and then to add insult to injury...
Posted by Mitch on November 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Do You Know The Way To Center?

I'm involved - mostly as a bemused lurker - in a Saint Paul Politics email discussion group. Now, from my perspective - as a Republican in a largely moderate-DFL city with a large, overly-influential radical element that thinks Paul Wellstone...
Posted by Mitch on November 11, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (31) | TrackBack

Dalai Lama Opens Can of Whoopass

Well, not exactly. But as First Ringer notes, the Dalai Lama came out in support of the Just War doctrine at an appearance last week:The allied victory in World War II "saved Western civilization," and conflicts fought in Korea and...
Posted by Mitch on November 07, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

The Chickenhawk Debate: The Logical Result

I've been thinking about the "Chickenhawk" craze that so many of the less-bright leftyblogs are knotted up about - perhaps too much, since the whole thing (as commenter Marty in the post below correctly notes) is a purely ad hominem...
Posted by Mitch on October 14, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (35) | TrackBack

Good News, Bad News

There's good news and bad news in this story on Teen trends. Good news: "Teenagers are turning from hip-hop ..." Bad news: "to prep". Worse news: "The runaway leader in teen fashion is Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Co., which also...
Posted by Mitch on October 06, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Another Reason Elections Matter

On The World Wide Rant (Via LGF) - the BBC polled people to get their votes for a hypothetical (?) world government. The winners?1 - Nelson Mandela 2 - Bill Clinton 3 - Dalai Lama 4 - Noam Chomsky 5...
Posted by Mitch on October 03, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

JB Doubtless: Slave to Marketing

I heard this conversation before a meeting the other day:Chuck: "I like Coca Cola". Barry: "I did - until I saw Pepsi's can." Chuck: "Er, whaddya mean?" Barry: "What color is Coke's can?" Chuck: "Er...red and white?" Barry: "Exactly. Pepsi...
Posted by Mitch on October 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

In Case You'd Wondered...

...yes, there is indeed a handbook for Hooters waitresses....
Posted by Mitch on September 19, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Question

One of the left's more irritating tropes is the "chicken hawk" slander - whereby the opinion of anyone who supports the war but didn't, for whatever reason, serve in the military is attacked with a pavlovian fury by people who,...
Posted by Mitch on September 12, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Society

My post yesterday about the guys in New Orleans who got together, armed themselves, and secured their neighborhood against looters raised the hackles of one of my semi-regular commenters, "Cleversponge". Like many on the left, he is repulsed by the...
Posted by Mitch on September 02, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (10) | TrackBack

So Why Is It...?

...that when Pat Robertson makes idle threats against foreign dictators, he's a wackjob... ...but when he calls down God's wrath against Red States...: In 1998, Republican icon Pat Robertson warned that hurricanes were likely to hit communities that offended God....
Posted by Mitch on August 31, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Sheehan: Follow The Money

A Bay area TV station followed Cindy Sheehan through a day at Camp Casey:Cindy Sheehan kneels before a cross with her son's name on it, touches his picture, wipes her tears. It's an outpouring of emotion that is part of...
Posted by Mitch on August 26, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

What's In A Label

One of the far left's problems is that, for all their "I support the troops!" rhetoric, many of them really don't like military people all that much. Having a meeting of the minds between, say, a Marine NCO and an...
Posted by Mitch on August 19, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Hallmarks of Decay

Cap'n Ed noted a troubling new comment-via-market on our society; cards for people having affairs:Cathy Gallagher has ensured that with her new line of greeting cards for cheating spouses, romantically named the Secret Lover Collection. This product line emphasizes the...
Posted by Mitch on July 18, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Veterans: Payback?

Theory: Veterans have longer memories than the public at large. Exhibit A: Blackfive with the long-term ramifcations of Durban's slander (remember that?):I knew that Durbin's comments would keep reverberating throughout the military community. For all of you that wanted to...
Posted by Mitch on July 06, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

We Apostates

As I pointed out yesterday, it's we libertarian-conservatives (and the few remaining libertarian Democrats; I know there are a few of them left) who are the real liberals - or at least, the people who believe in what used to...
Posted by Mitch on July 06, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Picking and Choosing

The Strib is all about liberty. As long as it's an outrageous liberty:That logic is straightforward: Amending the Constitution to allow the outlawing of flag desecration is, plain and simple, limiting liberty. It is limiting one of the most precious...
Posted by Mitch on July 05, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

I, Liberal

"Bruce Brooks" left a comment in a thread about Independence Day:One other point - our founders were extremely progressive and liberal. It does them a great disservice to cast them as conservative since had they been so, we would still...
Posted by Mitch on July 05, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Systematic Torture!

The Army is torturing people! People who have no choice but to sit there and take it! In this case, army recruits whose drill sergeants got tired of behavior regulations:The recruits of Echo Company stumbled off the bus for basic...
Posted by Mitch on June 28, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Fisking Prager

Dennis Prager is one of my favorite talk show hosts. I've been honored to fill in for him once, on his national program, in September of 2004. It was an unforgettable experience. He's an impeccably gracious and supremely witty man,...
Posted by Mitch on June 27, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (22) | TrackBack

Performance Art

Powerline refers us to the story of former Cubs outfielder Rick Monday, who famounsly rescued the American flag from a couple of flag burners. After seeing the thugs douse the flag with lighter fluid, Monday reacted:He reached them about the...
Posted by Mitch on June 26, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Looking Out For The Little Guy

Orin Kerr on Clarence Thomas:3. The next time someone insists that conservatives like Justice Thomas will do anything to defend corporate interests against the powerless — and particularly against powerless racial minorities — feel free to point them to Justice...
Posted by Mitch on June 24, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Where Were You When They Sent Dred Scott Back To His Owner?

The five liberal members of the Supreme Court gang-raped property rights yesterday:Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, said New London could pursue private development under the Fifth Amendment, which allows governments to take private property if the land...
Posted by Mitch on June 24, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (28) | TrackBack

Flag Burning

Dumb Idea: Banning Flag Burning. Better idea: Calling "Extinguishing Burning Flags" a form of "Performance Art", and making sure dozens of "artists" attend all moonbat rallies, bearing fire extinguishers. It's all for art, dammit!...
Posted by Mitch on June 23, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (28) | TrackBack

Conventional Wisdom

They found Brennan Hawkins, alive and pretty darn well:"I turned a corner and there was a kid standing in the middle of the trail. He was all muddy and wet,'' from walking over wet ground, said Nunley, who dialed 911...
Posted by Mitch on June 22, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Geldof Will Never Do Lunch In Hollywood Again

I've always admired Bob Geldof - although there were times I didn't know it. Geldof was, of course, a great seminal punk rocker, the leader of the Boomtown Rats; while the Rats were never huge in the US ("I Don't...
Posted by Mitch on June 20, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Rangel's Holocaust of the Language

I worry about the English language. In 1984, one of Big Brother's aims was to reduce language into a tool of government. Parts of the left seem to be working on that very idea. Yesterday, I commented on Amnesty International'...
Posted by Mitch on June 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Boys Will Be...?

According to "industry insiders", the man of the future looks like this. Say the "insiders":Macho man is an endangered species, with today's male more likely to opt for a pink flowered shirt and swingers' clubs than the traditional role as...
Posted by Mitch on June 08, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Love and Cynicism

Wow. What a week it's already been. Monday's dustup with the lead-paint-chip crowd in my comment section seems to have more or less blown over; the hordes of anonymous cranks would seem to have moved on to greener pastures, perhaps...
Posted by Mitch on June 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Making Illegality Legal

A new proposal in Richfield (a first-ring 'burb of Minneapolis) would "It would "codify" an already unwritten policy where the police do not ask the immigration status of people reporting crimes," says Jerome, author of SD63 (Senate District 63, deep...
Posted by Mitch on June 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Issues

I'm wired to try to find solutions to things, especially when the "thing" is "nasty disputes between people". For example, I'm pretty much disposed to believe that reasonable people should be able to reach reasonable solutions to the issues that...
Posted by Mitch on May 30, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Leaving The Left

Cigarette Smoking Man, from "Cancer World" (which is, by the way, one of my favorite unknown local blogs) has piece by Keith Thompson on "Leaving The Left". CSM notes:This article deserves more than just a link and a passing blogstyle...
Posted by Mitch on May 30, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

The Pause That Enrages

Much of the blogosphere is up in arms over Pepsico's CFO Indra Nooyi's remarks at Columbia Business School. I say "Welcome to the party, slowpokes". I'm not one of those people who thinks all roads lead back to the Second...
Posted by Mitch on May 20, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

The Sacrament of "Look At Meeeeee!"

The "Narcissism Monologues" incident at Winona High School a few weeks back - in which a group of high school kids learned learned that combining a facile, skin-deep interest in gender feminism with an adolescent desire to draw huge attention...
Posted by Mitch on May 16, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (32) | TrackBack

Questions

For the purposes of argument: Pharmacists have a legal duty to fill doctors' prescriptions (and, their employers might add, to not turn away legal business). Their own moral qualms about the prescriptions have no place in the equation. Right? OK....
Posted by Mitch on May 05, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (35) | TrackBack

Horny Dilemma

The whole flap over pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control which we touched on yesterday was, as one commenter noted, not necessarily one of immediate blacks and whites....
Posted by Mitch on May 04, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (16) | TrackBack

It Just Doesn't Seem That Complicated

In what the local hysterical left is calling "an assault on birth control", some local pharmacists are refusing to sell birth control on moral grounds. I'm not sure what the code of ethics for pharmacists includes; I wonder whether selling...
Posted by Mitch on May 03, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (45) | TrackBack

The UnSecular Activities Committee

Anti-religious bigotry is the new McCarthyism....
Posted by Mitch on May 02, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Hate Speech

Since 9/11, we've established that one can not call dissenters from American foreign policy - even the most wacked-out dissenters, people who actively support our enemies - "Anti-American". Indeed, as the bumper sticker says, "Dissent is patriotic". Fine. Could we...
Posted by Mitch on April 29, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (20) | TrackBack

Turn This Off, Pallie

I don't watch a lot of TV. I even get a little snooty about it sometimes; other than the occasional Simpsons rerun, a couple epis of Veronica Mars a month, and the rare late-night exhaustion-induced bout of Family Guy, Most...
Posted by Mitch on April 26, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Loggerheads

Doug Grow illustrates a couple of the most irritating lefty conceits of late; "I just don't get it!"...
Posted by Mitch on April 20, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Cooler Than Thou

Some people wonder how I ever became a conservative at all. Let's start with three bits of background. First: I've been doing music much, much longer than I've been doing politics. I started on the cello when I was 10....
Posted by Mitch on April 15, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Ye Shall Know Thy Market by Its Villains

Pious Agnostic has an observation about the new Michael Crichton book, State Of Fear:It's a pretty good adventure story, and the ending had enough punch to give me a little frission of horror, though there are some things in this...
Posted by Mitch on April 15, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Function Follows Form

The WaPo checks in with stern criticism of John Bolton, Bush's nominee for UN Ambassador. It's heavy duty stuff, the kind of stuff that makes you say "thank goodness we have a mainstream media, and don't have to rely on...
Posted by Mitch on April 15, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Never Satisfied

Last weekend saw one of those pointless, senseless tragedies that make you stop and ponder the seeming randomness of life. Ann Ford Nelson swerved off River Road, above the Mississippi, on Sunday, and smashed into a tree, killing herself and...
Posted by Mitch on April 13, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

What's Love (And Divorce) Got To Do With It?

Via Joe Carter, Dennis Prager holds forth on a non-sequitur frequently trotted out in support of gay marriage. I might just tackle my own, while I'm at it....
Posted by Mitch on April 13, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (17) | TrackBack

She Said, She Said

So what really did happen in that rest room in Scandia after Senator Michele Bachmann's speech? The accounts vary - if you read the comment section for this post, you'll read several versions of it. The name-calling has started. So,...
Posted by Mitch on April 12, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (18) | TrackBack

My Lunch With Sid

Sid Lashkowitz is an old acquaintance of mine - we did some stuff in an improv group back in the nineties. He's an assistant district attorney from Long Island. We had lunch yesterday, and talked about the Schiavo case....
Posted by Mitch on April 01, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Schiavo

Terri Schiavo passed away within the past hour or so:Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged woman whose 15 years connected to a feeding tube sparked an epic legal battle that went all the way to the White House and Congress, died...
Posted by Mitch on March 31, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (41) | TrackBack

Curb Your Enthusiasm

For the last couple of days, the left has been all atwitter about the case of Tom DeLay's father. "Hypocrisy", they giggle as they grin like toddlers that just made a good pants. Two crucial differences:The senior DeLay was on...
Posted by Mitch on March 29, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Regeln über Alles

I have an apparently long-running argument with a long-standing acquaintance on the Schiavo case. My acquantance, a lawyer, seems to believe that since the courts have decided, the entire burden of determining what is right and wrong in the greater...
Posted by Mitch on March 28, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Heart Over Mind

From what I've seen - and I'll admit up front that I haven't seen enough, and wouldn't know what to do with much of what I saw if I did see it - I doubt that even if they fed...
Posted by Mitch on March 26, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (24) | TrackBack

Death By Dehydration

Atomizer has a harrowing piece on the effects of death by starvation and dehydration - which is what the pro-death crowd has in mind for Terry Schiavo....
Posted by Mitch on March 20, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (21) | TrackBack

Whitewash

Over at the City Pages - our local freebie lifestyle handout - they seem to start young writers out on the "Facile Stereotype" beat. Molly Priesmeyer is the CP writer perhaps best known to us in the NARN. She appeared...
Posted by Mitch on March 13, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

News You Need for a Nation At War

The WaPo on Condi in Europe:Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield on Wednesday dressed all in black. She was wearing a black skirt that hit just above the knee, and it was topped with a...
Posted by Mitch on February 25, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Isn't It Ironic?

Sing along with me:A starlet and former child star, who hates the go-ver-nment, and opposes the war, The artist, a jagged li'l pill, has now moved to, the land of George Will. And isnt it ironic? I really think a...
Posted by Mitch on February 17, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Beneath Contempt

Are you, like many Minnesotans, tired of having your taxes jacked up endlessly by a legislature that cares more about feeding the state bureaucracy than about your family's bottom line? Did you send a buck or two to the Taxpayer's...
Posted by Mitch on February 09, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Ships That Pass In the Night In Detroit

"Terry" left a comment in yesterday's post about people wanting to emigrate from the US because they just can't handle any more George W. Bush:I ran across this story yesterday on the web & because they never mentioned the immigrant...
Posted by Mitch on February 08, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Leaving the Sandbox

Some of the overly-emotional Democrats that felt their worlds had been yanked from under their feet with the election are, ostensibly, following through with their plans to emigrate....
Posted by Mitch on February 07, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Their Own Petard

The left - and a fair chunk of the right - is distrurbed that one in three US high school students would seem to approve of one kind of censorship or another:The survey of 112,003 students finds that 36% believe...
Posted by Mitch on February 02, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Spring Cleaning: All Your Eggs In One Basket

Abstinence is an excellent, preferred option in sex education. But it's not the whole answer to what ails our society, as much as some pundits would like it to be.

Posted by Mitch on January 07, 2005 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

In Your Heart...

Carl Albing - local blog fan and an author you should support if you're a programmer - is dabbling in campaign art:...
Posted by Mitch on October 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Common Decency

Hugh Hewitt's Weekend Symposium question is a good one: "How deep a hole have John Kerry, Mary Beth Cahill and the Edwards dug for themselves? How lasting the damage? Before I answer this, I have to ask myself a question:...
Posted by Mitch on October 15, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (28) | TrackBack

The Politics Of Recreation

I went to a meeting this morning in downtown Minneapolis. In the elevator up to the branch office, I stood next to a couple - a very well-padded late-fortysomething woman wearing a Kedwards button on her coat (which looked like...
Posted by Mitch on October 15, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Freedom of Religion

An extremist Moslem cleric in Britain has endorsed the targeting of women and children:Omar Bakri Mohammed, the spiritual leader of the extremist sect al-Muhajiroun, said that holding women and children hostage would be a reasonable course of action for a...
Posted by Mitch on September 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Notify JB Doubtless

Nothing is too wierd....
Posted by Mitch on September 02, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Pressure Group

Western standard has the new clout figured out....
Posted by Mitch on September 01, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Appropriation

Via Memeorandum, I noticed one of the more irritating traits of the left; they're irritated by Bush "appropriating" 9/11 at the GOP National Convention... ...because they think it's theirs to appropriate....
Posted by Mitch on August 31, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Promises, Promises

Mark Gisleson - with whom I've unaccountably agreed to debate via email - left this comment in a thread that started late last week....
Posted by Mitch on August 31, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

O'Rourke on Social Movements

P.J. O'Rourke once noted that you can tell which social movements are the most in vogue; look where all the really babe-o-licious women are. By that standard, I think Kerry is in trouble. You be the judge....
Posted by Mitch on August 30, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

No Joy In Mudville

Mudville Gazette may be the milblog with the best coverage of Kerry's Swift Boat flap. I liked this bit:This remark gets relocated to the main post from the comments:I remember Kerry surrounding himself with 'veterans' testifying to war crimes, many...
Posted by Mitch on August 21, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Viable

I could probably never win elective office; many of my views would never fit into a seven-second sound bite. For many of them, I'd be insulted if anyone asked me to. Abortion is one of them....
Posted by Mitch on August 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Put Down Your Books, Pick Up A Gun

Remember the Clinton Administration? Clinton dodged the draft - but to the left-wing pundosphere, it was OK; he really belonged at Oxford, and soldiers were all icky anyway. E.J. Perkins of the Arizona Republic has published a side-by-side comparison of...
Posted by Mitch on August 09, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Robin Leach for SecState

This piece, at Foreign Policy.com, illustrates the real "Two Americas" - serious and silly....
Posted by Mitch on August 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Priorities

The "War on Drugs" has killed more Americans than the Vietnam War - and thus, fifty-odd times as many Americans as the Iraq war. And unlike Vietnam and Iraq, none of those Americans died to make anyone free. In fact,...
Posted by Mitch on August 02, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Choked With Hate

This is sad. Or sick. I can't quite decide:A South Florida woman who died this week had an unusual last request. Instead of flower or contributions in her name to a charity, she asked those who loved her to try...
Posted by Mitch on August 02, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

I'll Take The Bus

I never really liked Subway's sandwiches; the limp fillings, the tasteless frozen-dough bread, the supernationally-sour pickles, the relatively steep price for what is essentially a baloney sandwich. When I am in the mood for a sandwich like that, I'll go...
Posted by Mitch on August 01, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Not A Bad Idea

Jason Goray is a local (area?) guy I've known for about eight years. The guy wears "counterculture" like some of us wear "clothes"....
Posted by Mitch on July 30, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Health Is Death, Winston

So when Whoopie Goldberg and Rosie O'Donnell and Linda Ronstadt face public disapproval for their political statements, it's a "chilling" descent into "fascism". So what is this?Curves International, America’s fastest-growing fitness franchise, is devoted to women’s health. But its founder’s...
Posted by Mitch on July 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Polarization Index Rises Through Roof

You know things are getting bad when I start defending Michael Savage. That's what it's come to....
Posted by Mitch on July 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Ugly Europeans

Europeans show their nuance and sophistication: Vile....
Posted by Mitch on July 23, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Dog Days

A week or so ago, I reported on a story that an anti-Bush person had kicked a dog at a Fourth of July parade in Edina, MN. The story was picked up on Free Republic, so I got a zillion...
Posted by Mitch on July 19, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Buy This Book

It's Hugh Hewitt's new book, If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat: Crushing the Democrats in Every Election and Why Your Life Depends on It. Buy it. You'll be glad you did....
Posted by Mitch on July 18, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A Thousand Words

Via Powerline and Dean Esmay: Don't forget to tune in the Northern Alliance Radio Network tomorrow; we'll be talking with Robert Gallucci about North Korea - and then Mike Nelson, formerly of MST3K. Noon to 3PM on AM1280....
Posted by Mitch on July 16, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A Maggot Who Eats The Dead

Michael Moore ripped off footage of a soldier's funeral. The family of U.S. Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone was shocked to learn that video footage of the major's Arlington National Cemetery burial was included by Michael Moore in his movie...
Posted by Mitch on July 15, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Just (Lo-Cal) Desserts

Slim-Fast done up and dumped Whoopi Goldberg, child!...
Posted by Mitch on July 15, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

White City Bickering

Before there was Springsteen, before the Clash and the Pistols and the Houserockers, Pete Townshend and the Who were the artist and band (along with Ray Davies of the Kinks) that spurred my imagination. Townshend lights up Michael Moore diplomatically...
Posted by Mitch on July 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Back to the Future

Further proof that too much of the left is lost in the sixties:Walking the parade route with his mom, younger siblings and politically conservative friends, Jason heard words from the crowd that felt like a thousand daggers to the heart....
Posted by Mitch on July 12, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Malkin, Irritated

Michelle Malkin goes after Ted Rall over his latest strip (to which I will not link), in which he calls Condoleeza Rice a "House N****". It's delicious.Rall is not the far Left fringe. He gets away with this pen-and-ink-stained excrement...
Posted by Mitch on July 08, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Celsius 250

This piece, "Celsius 250: The Temperature at which Fat Burns", has certainly made the rounds. Deservedly so....
Posted by Mitch on July 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

College Radio, 2004

I listened to Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder on Air America last night. They were interviewing some learned-sounding legal scholar, talking about Antonin Scalia's contribution to the Supreme Court. They played a clip of Alan Dershowitz calling Scalia a "fascist"....
Posted by Mitch on July 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Skool Daze

I don't really remember my college graduation speaker. At the cash-strapped (at the time) little college I went to, the speaker was usually some poobah who'd given the school a load of money. Our year was no exception. I don't...
Posted by Mitch on July 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Love The Art. Ignore The Artist.

It's no secret. I'm a longtime, huge Bruce Springsteen fan. Since I was 15 and discovered Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Springsteen's music has been the soundtrack percolating in the background of my life; Darkness illuminated many of the...
Posted by Mitch on July 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Hollywood Remembers?

The other day on Tacitus, Democritus asked in an open thread what were peoples' favorite Cold War movies. I had to think about it; there are quite a few choices, from the highbrow (Dr. Strangelove, Killing Fields, Burnt By The...
Posted by Mitch on July 05, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Michael Moore Is A Stupid White Liar

Brendan Nyhan writes an essential piece, yet another in a long series assailing Moore's veracity. Reading comments on lefty blogs, there seems to be a consistent refrain: "At least Moore's movie is the truth". Depends on what the meaning of...
Posted by Mitch on July 05, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Why Is America Great?

Jay Manifold lists four reasons you may not have thought of. And they're good....
Posted by Mitch on July 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Burn, Baby, Burn

Brendan Nyhan provides an extensive, exhaustive, point-by-point evisceration of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. It's long, it's incredibly detailed - and it's an essential read. Especially if you haven't learned not to take Moore seriously....
Posted by Mitch on July 02, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

EBay for Leftists

Commerce and the left are frequently at odds (except when making Michael Moore obscenely wealthy is concerned). Saint Paul from Fraters mentions that Ruminator Books has finally slid down the drain it's been circling for years. Owner Dave Unowski's business...
Posted by Mitch on June 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5)

Move On?

Coulter notes that while the Dems were urging us to "Move On" during the impeachment, they're having trouble with the idea these days....
Posted by Mitch on June 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

In A Nutshell

I've skirted the whole Clinton bio story. I have no intention of buying or reading it. But Mark Steyn sums the whole thing up in a nutshell:If geopolitics is the Super Bowl, Mr. Clinton is Janet Jackson, complete with wardrobe...
Posted by Mitch on June 28, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Saletan: Hack.

Will Saletan's been getting a lot of flak lately. After this piece of bilge about the Ryan case, it seems clear he deserves it. This piece is so vacuously...words fail...stupid on so many levels, it makes you wonder - did...
Posted by Mitch on June 24, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

Standing on the Bellies of Giants

Christopher Hitchens wonders out loud who will be the liberal Buckley, the liberal Limbaugh. He's found that, and much more:With Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, however, an entirely new note has been struck. Here we glimpse a possible fusion between the...
Posted by Mitch on June 22, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (4)

Accept No Imitations

The Onion thinks they're being clever (check out the bottom item). They're just a little late. No, later than that....
Posted by Mitch on June 21, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Great Liberator

One of the great errors - or depending on the agent, slanders - against the memory of Ronald Reagan was that he wasn't responsible for the fall of the USSR. But the fact is, while allowing that every administration from...
Posted by Mitch on June 15, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Battle of the Flags

This is a film that I'd like to see. It's about a working-class black neighborhood's fight against gentrification - by gays and lesbians: "Flag Wars"follows the stories of two blacks and a white lesbian Realtor. Linda Mitchell, a black woman...
Posted by Mitch on June 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Party of Love and Tolerance

Good thing they're there and I'm here. Although decency bids me to say I'd fight for these vermins' right to do this, let's just say I'd fight a little less hard than I might for some other peoples' rights......
Posted by Mitch on June 11, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7)

Oh, That Liberal Media

I'm watching CNN's coverage of the service for President Reagan at the Rotunda. One of the commentators - the color man working with Wolf Blitzer, whose name escaped me - commented on Vice President Cheney's eulogic remark that Reagan won...
Posted by Mitch on June 09, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (1)

First, He's Dishonest. Next, He Lies

Michael Moore's dishonest editing of MN Congressman Mark Kennedy's comments during an ambush interview are back in the news....
Posted by Mitch on June 09, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Fair Comparison

Andrew Sullivan got me into blogging. He also got me to think a lot about my assumptions about gay marriage. I still oppose it - but for different, and thanks to Sullivan, better, reasons. It's a shame watching him descend...
Posted by Mitch on June 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8)

Things That Would Get Me Thrown Out Of A GOP Meeting

I've joked in the past that I have beliefs that'd get me drummed out of any party caucus. And by any, I mean "Republican, too". Let me explain....
Posted by Mitch on June 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

As Long As We're Focusing On The Important Stuff

Ladies night is toast in New Jersey:The state's top civil rights official has ruled that taverns cannot offer discounts to women on "ladies nights," agreeing with a man who claimed such gender-based promotions discriminated against men....
Posted by Mitch on June 03, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Or To Put It Another Way...

I like this quote....
Posted by Mitch on May 31, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Out There

Whiskey at Captain's Quarters refers us to a John Podhoretz piece on Algore's speech, courtesy of MoveOn.org, yesterday....
Posted by Mitch on May 27, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

Site of the Day

Let's get one thing straight: I am no baby boomer. Some people say the baby boom ended in 1964, a year after I was born. Rubbish. Baby Boomers are the children of people who were of child-bearing age at the...
Posted by Mitch on May 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

This Just In

I just got this off the AP wire:Boston (AP): The Massachusetts Supreme Court has just ruled that men may give birth. The ruling - brought by a group seeking full equality for men - means that for the first time,...
Posted by Mitch on May 19, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5)

Unintended Consequences?

Christianity is now illegal - at least in Massachussetts. Let the Chicago Boyz explain....
Posted by Mitch on May 18, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (8)

All The Wrong Reasons

Leave aside political and religious beliefs for a moment. I worry about some of the gay couples that are currently saying their vows in Massachussetts....
Posted by Mitch on May 18, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (5)

Line of the Day, Issue of the Year

Scott "The Big Trunk" Johnson at Powerline has the money quote of the day, perhaps for the whole blogosphere, in re the Massachussetts Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage....
Posted by Mitch on May 17, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6)

The Slime Among Us

I got this bit of commentary from Indymedia, a lefty "alternative" media organization. It's by a "King Daevid MacKenzie, for IndyMedia Radio, from America's Heartland". Quick: Spot the bizarre priorities!...
Posted by Mitch on May 13, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (7)

Michael Moore is a Grossly Obese Liar

Surpise, Surprise:Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney...
Posted by Mitch on May 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

Ted Rall: Pustule

I try to avoid inflammatory rhetoric. I really do. I try to avoid letting my baser side have free rein. Ever. But sometimes, it's just not easy....
Posted by Mitch on May 03, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (3)

Medved

I had the pleasure of meeting not only Michael Medved last night at the Patriot Forum - I also got to meet a lot of Patriot listeners for the first time. What a blast!...
Posted by Mitch on April 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (2)

Let's Mess Things Up

Let's Mess Things Up - Yesterday, Fraters uncovered this rather bald-faced leftist ploy to generate anti-Bush propaganda - an "election" open to the whole world. They got this via email from one of their readers, who said:A far-left group feels...
Posted by Mitch on April 05, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Stuck On Soros

Stuck On Soros - Ukranian protesters splatter Liberal Billionaire and MoveOn.org sugardaddy George Soros with water and glue.The US billionaire and philanthropist George Soros was splashed with water and glue in Ukraine's capital Kiev by two young Ukrainians who burst...
Posted by Mitch on April 01, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Turf War

Turf War - Twin Cities black ministers push back at the comparison between gay marriage and the civil rights moveement:"There's no parallel between the African-American struggle to win civil rights and the campaign for gay marriage, said a group of...
Posted by Mitch on March 26, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

A Rare Point

A Rare Point - Michael Savage had a good one last night. The same liberals who are exercised that Bush hasn't yet taken out Osama Bin Laden... ...are the ones who are condemning Israel for killing a guy who -...
Posted by Mitch on March 23, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Passion and Prejudice - A

Passion and Prejudice - A couple has drawn big yuks for coming to blows over the movie 'The Passion of Christ': "The two left the movie theater debating whether God the Father in the Holy Trinity was human or symbolic,...
Posted by Mitch on March 23, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Is Sullivan Losing It?

Is Sullivan Losing It? - I know what it feels like. The political party that you thought reflected your views, at least in most areas, betrays you in some other areas that also matter a lot to you. I was...
Posted by Mitch on March 23, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Frivolity

Frivolity - Jeff Fecke left this comment in my "Wages of Appeasement" post yesterday. I'm highlighting it because it spotlights so many of the fallacies that inflate the left today:The terrorists did not win in Spain. Democracy did.Right. It also...
Posted by Mitch on March 16, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Blame Ashcroft

Blame Ashcroft - You know somebody will when this sort of thing happens:Two Dutch political parties called Wednesday for laws prohibiting sex with animals after a man suspected of having sex with a pony was set free. Wearing nothing but...
Posted by Mitch on March 12, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Voter's Choice

The Voter's Choice - Sullivan notes the real "two Americas":Yes, there are two different countries within a country right now. But it's not red and blue exactly. It's not even secular and religious. Or north and south. More accurately, as...
Posted by Mitch on March 12, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Moderate Humor

Moderate Humor - I'm trying to imagine the furor if a conservative commentator were to write something like this:Senator and authoritarian martinette Hillary Clinton (R - Hell) is in the hospital for pancreatitis brought on by a gallstone. She is...
Posted by Mitch on March 08, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Seven Words You Can't Say

Seven Words You Can't Say On Radio - ...apparently turn up with great regularity on the John Kerry website....
Posted by Mitch on March 08, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Sullivan Bottoms, Bounces?

Sullivan Bottoms, Bounces? - In today's Dish:It struck me as a strong one on domestic issues. On energy independence, and protecting the Constitution, it was a winner. He looks like a potential president. But it was deeply worrying in one...
Posted by Mitch on March 03, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Tort and ReTort -

Tort and ReTort - Jeff Fecke's not a bad guy. But reading his blog, you can tell he cut his political teeth on Bill Clinton. He wrote a long response to my Open Letter to Gay Marriage Supporters yesterday. He...
Posted by Mitch on March 03, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Sullivan's Descent

Sullivan's Descent - Sullivan notes in response to an email yesterday:If you take seriously the fact that this country is headed toward fiscal catastrophe in the next decade, then restraining spending and raising some taxes in the next four years...
Posted by Mitch on March 02, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Open Letter to Gay Marriage

Open Letter to Gay Marriage Activists - Mitch Berg here. I'm a conservative, a Christian, a divorced guy, and someone who's been on both sides of the gay marriage issue. I may be the least anti-gay Christian Conservative you will...
Posted by Mitch on March 02, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Open Letter to Andrew Sullivan

Open Letter to Andrew Sullivan - Andrew: I owe you a bunch. I had never heard of blogs before reading your site - and I didn't read any other blogs until after I started this one. And while I disagree...
Posted by Mitch on March 01, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

All About Oscar

All About Oscar - The Oscars are going on (not that I'm watching or anything), and according to Yahoo News, the producers are "worried" about activist stars hijacking the ceremony for a political stump. Soooo worried: The Academy Awards (news...
Posted by Mitch on February 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Simple Way To Filter Your Argument

Simple Way To Filter Your Argument - Brian at Boviosity directs us to this Tim Blair bon mot:Lately, I’ve taken to employing the Patrick Cook gambit: He merely asks: "Do you believe we are at war?" An affirmative answer indicates...
Posted by Mitch on February 27, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Death Cult

Death Cult - While part of Hollywood (presumably the part that's not busy counting receipts) is busy yammering about the "gore" in the Passion of Christ, another part of Hollywood seems to be quite blind to bloodshed. "Monster", starring Charlize...
Posted by Mitch on February 27, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

FMA, Part III

FMA, Part III - Jay Reding commented on my post from yesterdayIn 2000, 2 million evangelicals stayed home on Election Day. That margin would have been enough for Bush to have easily captured the popular vote and would have cemented...
Posted by Mitch on February 26, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

FMA, Part II; the Rope-a-Dope

FMA, Part II; the Rope-a-Dope Continues - Just One Minute thinks the whole FMA fracas is a disposable part of the Bush rope-a-dope.So, Bush is half right idea on process - we want to keep this away from the courts...
Posted by Mitch on February 25, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Right Thing?

The Right Thing? - Gay Marriage is one of those things, like abortion; I have an opinion about it, but the issue intersects with my day-to-day life so rarely that it seems to be of only academic interest. But of...
Posted by Mitch on February 25, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Uncommon Pusillanimity

Uncommon Pusillanimity - We all remember the POW/MIA movement, back in the eighties and early nineties. "Never forget", they exhorted us. The evidence seemed, at the very least, interesting:What was the body of evidence that prisoners were held back? A...
Posted by Mitch on February 25, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

From The Fringe

From The Fringe - The left-wing media is fond of one particular stereotype - the right-wing "Freeper" conspiracy theorist, tirelessly cranking out feverish theories about the liberal plots - conspiracies, dammit! - that make the world such an awful place....
Posted by Mitch on February 23, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Poison Harpoon

Poison Harpoon - Brainstorming points out this superb response by a retired Navy commander to Robert Byrd's specious criticism of the President's visit to the USS Lincoln. The whole thing is great, and you need to read it all. I...
Posted by Mitch on February 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The O'Hair Paradox

The O'Hair Paradox - Reason's Tim Cavanaugh tells us why Christians need to be thankful for the legacy of Madeline Murray O'Hair. One of many money quotes:She chased religion into the private sector, and there it flourishes, through homeschooling, through...
Posted by Mitch on February 20, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Snark Not

Last week, Joe Carter of Evangelical Outpost noted the Pepsi Superbowl ad that highlighted a group of kids that the RIAA had prosecuted for downloading music.Since the ethics of music downloading have always perplexed me, perhaps someone can explain it...
Posted by Mitch on February 09, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Happy Reaganmas!

We're on our way out to celebrate the family's annual Reaganmas holiday. So may the spirit of the holiday prompt you to win one for the Gipper!...
Posted by Mitch on February 06, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Coming Soon to Minneapolis -

California's State Assembly is pondering a resolution that would encourage feng shui in building codes.The resolution, which has yet to pass a committee vote before going to the full Assembly, is meant to encourage planning agencies, building departments and...
Posted by Mitch on February 04, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Reaganmas, '04

Every year, my kids and I celebrate Ronald Reagan's birthday, February 6. We go out to dinner, and I bring some little treat or another in to the office (assuming I have an office) to share with my co-workers. This...
Posted by Mitch on January 29, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Enemy Down The Street

It's signally depressing to read Speechcodes.org, a site that digest speech codes on our nation's campuses. MacAlester College is the lead story today. Their harassment policy says:MacAlester's "freedom of expression does not include the right to intentionally and maliciously aggravate,...
Posted by Mitch on January 28, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Zvi Mazel Tov

Israel's ambassador to Sweden goes berserk, smashes art exhibit: "The art installation, called Snow White and located in the museum's courtyard, featured a basin filled with red water, designed to look like blood. A sailboat with the name Snow...
Posted by Mitch on January 19, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Fire In The Hole

Fire In The Hole - Powerline has had the O'Neill/Suskind flap completely dialed in - with the best coverage I've seen of those whole rhubarb. Read here, and here, and here, and here and here and finally [as this is...
Posted by Mitch on January 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Ode To Tommy

I got my degree in English. I read my share of Kipling - it's a fascinating artifact of the Empire. A Brit blog new to my acquaintance, "Free Market Fairy Tales", written by a Mr. Free Market (any relation to...
Posted by Mitch on January 14, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

With Failures Like These... -

Yesterday, we discussed the Strib's declaration that "abstinence only" sex education is a "failure". I had a quibble or two with the conclusion. So did Joe at Evangelical Outpost, who points out a British observation on the subject:In the past...
Posted by Mitch on January 13, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Propaganda Only

Back in seventh grade, a couple of my friends and I went to see Rocky, the classic American underdog movie. If you're one of the ten people that's never seen it - Rocky, a palooka club boxer from Philadelphia, fights...
Posted by Mitch on January 12, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Tolerant Liberal Alert!

Friday morning on the KQRS Morning Show, comedian Jim David was in the midst of a rant about the "stolen election" in 2000. Tom Barnard asked him about how conservatives and liberals got along. "Oh, Ann Coulter...", he hissed. "There's...
Posted by Mitch on January 12, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Ode to Frivolity

Ode to Frivolity -The Strib's Kim Ode has a piece - inevitably headlined Oops! What does Britney's joke say about hetero marriage? - in today's edition. The piece digs for the social "significance" of the Spears "marriage" last weekend. Unfortunately,...
Posted by Mitch on January 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Whiny Liberals

Whiny Liberals - You've heard the story - MoveOn.org ran a contest to generate anti-Bush ad designs from its stellar, intellectual audience. Powerline has the goods - trashing the campaign the most eloquent way possible, by showing its results and...
Posted by Mitch on January 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Found Art

Found Art - Heard in passing on a TV show in the background ("Family Guy", I think): Other Guy: "Guns only cause trouble" Peter Griffin: "Yep. And when that trouble happens, guns let us blow its' head off"...
Posted by Mitch on January 07, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Sacred Vows

I can see where a gay marriage advocate might see some inconsistency in our society, where many of the same people who oppose gay marriage will be chuckling at the news of Britney Spears' 14.5 hour marriage. Sullivan, naturally, is...
Posted by Mitch on January 05, 2004 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Brain Food

Brain Food - This piece made me spit coffee on my monitor yesterday:Sales of America's dietary staples--cow spinal fluid and brain tissue--dropped significantly last week after the discovery of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or 'mad cow disease')...
Posted by Mitch on December 31, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Puritan Alert

With America's annual anti-alcohol witchhunt only hours away, it's worth visiting the DUI Gulag to poke a few holes in some of MADD's myths that are circulating today....
Posted by Mitch on December 31, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

So Which Is It?

On the one hand, Andrew Sullivan is citing this American Family Institute poll. In the meantime, the Times/CBS poll tells a different story:Attitudes on the subject seemed to be linked to how people view marriage itself. A majority of respondents,...
Posted by Mitch on December 23, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (6)

We're Very Different People -

It's become an trite observation; "these people just don't see things the way we do". When I hear people say - or read people blog - things like "capturing Hussein doesn't make us safer", I am at a loss for...
Posted by Mitch on December 23, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

You Mean, 10,000 Hack Pundits and Moron Comics Can Be Wrong?

The Admnistration's "Drugs Support Terrorism" public service spots last year drew a lot of flak from the righteously indignant. "Why, that's just paraoid!", they bellowed from columns and blogs and guest chairs throughout the land. Understandable - if drugs...
Posted by Mitch on December 22, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

Chaitred Revisited

According to HughHewitt, Jonathan Chait has referred to the Powerline gents and I as "drooling right wingers," and "incoherent right-wing knuckle draggers." Hewitt says:What is curious, however, is why Peter Beinart is allowing a much respected magazine to be hijacked...
Posted by Mitch on October 01, 2003 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)

The Babs Test

Rachel Lucas got this petition drive in the mail. Supposedly it has seven thousand signatures.The HUSH Petition (Help Us Silence Hollywood, or, more informally, Up Babs') We, the undersigned, being of sound mind and strong viewership, would like to petition...
Posted by Mitch on November 22, 2002 | Read Whole Post | Comments (0)