Sunday, May 10, 2015

Better than fancy vacations

PJ Media gives space for a stay-at-home mom - with no regrets.
Sure, I could have had an epic career of my own and our family could have had new cars and fancy vacations. But I would have missed out on the privilege of spending those 17 year raising a pair of snotty-nosed babies into amazing, godly men. Nothing I could have achieved in my career could rival what I accomplished — with God’s help — in those 17 years and I have not one regret for the sacrifices that accompanied the decision my husband and I made all those years ago. I don’t feel like I missed anything — although if you ask my husband, he’ll probably tell you that he still misses that ’68 Cougar.

Trust the international community

When Republicans complain about the potential Iran deal, we're told to trust the international community.
Shouldn't progressives trust the international community when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
There's no need to check the details.
Trust the Obama team and the international community will follow along.
Get with the program, Elizabeth Warren.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Anything good on TV?

Don Surber tells the tale of woe for network TV - fewer people are watching.
I mostly watch sports and the Big Bang Theory.
I may not be the prime demographic for TV ad buyers, but there are plenty of people like me out there.

Saturday song

Frankie Valli has today's word.


Facebook quote of the week

Maybe, just maybe, I will learn to keep my thoughts & opinions to myself someday.....but I doubt it.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Otter be ashamed of yourself

Dustbury has a great commenter - who like the story about an otter destroying a phone supposedly protected by an OtterBox case.

They rode the wave. The other side got cocky

Via Instapundit, a look at how the British elections turned out differently than expected.
In a sign of his turn of phrase, Labour got cocky - and then stunned when the results rolled in.
On economic matters at least, Britain – with the obvious exception of Scotland – remains a small-c conservative nation; conservatives just don’t like to shout about it. Leftists, on the other hand, wear their hearts on their sleeves, and their domination of the arts, academia and the media gives them influence out of all proportion to their numbers, and creates the illusion of a vast popular movement. And they believe their own hype – no wonder the left was in denial as events unfolded last night, with such luminaries as former Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock suggesting the British public were too stupid to know what’s good for them.

Weekend watchdog

The PGA tour hits one of its most famous golf holes this weekend - the island green at the 17th at TPC-Sawgrass.
NBC has coverage of the Players Championship starting at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Why is the hole surrounded by water?
During construction, they found sand needed for other areas of the course around the proposed 17th green. The course architects decided to expand the water hazards to completely surround the hole - except for the walkway.
The NBA and NHL postseasons continue their second rounds this week. There's a pair of Game 3s Friday with the Cavaliers clashing with Chicago at 8 p.m. and Rockets-Clippers on ESPN.
The Wizards host Atlanta Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN, with Golden State visiting Memphis at 8 p.m. on ABC. LeBron and the Cavaliers have Game 4 against the Bulls Sunday at 3:30 p.m., and it's Rockets-Clippers on TNT at 8:30 p.m.
On ice, the Capitals and Rangers return to New York Friday at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports network followed by the Ducks at Calgary. Montreal tries to stay alive Saturday at 7 p.m., facing Tampa Bay on NBC Sports network.
If the Rangers or Flames win on Friday, there will be ice hockey Sunday.
The Orioles have a weekend set against the Yankees on MASN, while the Nationals host the Braves on MASN2. Saturday's game at 4 p.m. will also be on FoxSports1.
The Tigers meet the Royals Saturday at 1 p.m on FoxSports1, and they close the weekend on ESPN Sunday at 8 p.m.
On the college diamond, Pittsburgh faces Georgia Tech on Comcast Saturday at 1 p.m. Coastal Carolina clashes with Liberty Sunday at 1 p.m.
NASCAR visits Kansas this week, with the Sprint Cup race on FoxSports1 Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The truck series races goes Friday at 8:30 p.m. on FoxSports1.
NBC Sports network has the Spanish Grand Prix Sunday at 7:30 a.m. There's qualifying Saturday at 3:30 p.m. after practice Friday at 8 a.m.
Everton faces Sunderland Saturday at 7:45 a.m. on NBC Sports network, with Newcastle United-West Bromwich Albion at 10 and Crystal Palace against Manchester United at 12:30 p.m. It's Chelsea-Liverpool Sunday at 11 a.m.
D.C. United battles Kansas City Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast. Toronto takes on Houston Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 and it's a battle for New York on FoxSports1 at 7 p.m.
FoxSports1 offers an international friendly between the United States women and Ireland Sunday at 3 p.m.
Comcast carries the ACC softball tournament semifinals Friday at 1 and 3:30 p.m. ESPN has the final Saturday at 1 p.m., and the SEC championship Saturday at 8 p.m.
The American Athletic Conference title matchup will be Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2, then Oklahoma State faces Oklahoma at 3 p.m.
The United States faces Denmark in the hockey championships Friday at 2 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
The Tour of California cycling race starts Sunday at 5 p.m. on NBC Sports network.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Fighting the good fight

Pamela Gellar stands strong after a week of criticism over her group's "Draw Mohammed" gathering.
Islamic law as it’s interpreted by extremists forbids criticism of Islam, the Quran, and Muhammad. If they cannot be criticized in the United States, we are in effect accepting Islamic law as overriding the freedom of speech. This would establish Muslims as a protected class and prevent honest discussion of how Islamic jihadists use the texts and teachings of Islam to justify violence.

Tar Heel money

Over at DaTech Guy, Liberty Lady lances Democratic complaints about North Carolina's budget surplus.
On Wednesday, the news broke that some of the budget and tax policies put into place by the Republican held legislature and Governor Pat McCrory have yielded a $400 million dollar surplus.
A lot of heads, like that of the ‘Moral Monday’ crowd, must be exploding.
‘Moral Monday’s’ main shtick has been to whose mission has been to call the Republican held Legislature “regressive”. That same crowd, along with Democrat legislators warned of gloom and doom befalling North Carolina. Gloom and doom like a predicted shortfall of $270 million did not come to pass.
Makes me want to visit North Carolina soon.

Walker vs. poverty pimps

Don Surber likes how Scott Walker irritates liberals.
Liberals are alarmed. Scott Walker decried poverty pimps and wants -- Holy Cow -- government to protect individual civil liberties, instead of steamrolling our right in the name of some boutique special interest group.
“I think government needs to do more to give people freedom back, and I think that’s true across the board, but particularly on this topic in that I think for too long — and I’ll say this, this is a fairly aggressive term — but I think there are too many poverty pimps in our society. Too many government officials who rely on poverty as a way, a means of political control, too many community-based organizations who rely on their existence by perpetuating the cycle of dependency,” Scott Walker said.
If there's not poverty pimps, they would be happy to be working their ways out of a job.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Incompetent at best

The experts have found much to question about the indictments of six Baltimore police officers.
The Baltimore Sun lets someone the state's attorneys office in the city take a whack.
In the long run, Ms. Mosby may be undermining the cause of justice rather than promoting it. She has created an expectation of guilt and conviction. If that does not happen, many will blame the system as unfair or unjust, when it may have been Ms. Mosby's own lack of competence and/or arrogance in bringing charges so quickly.
And she has created a new expectation in the city: that police officers who arrest without what she considers to be probable cause (a subjective standard) are subject not just to civil action (the current norm) but criminal action. Mere mistakes, or judgments exercised under duress, can land them in the pokey.

What is hate speech?

Anything said by Chris Cuomo is hate speech in my book.
If First Amendment activity depends on not offending anyone, then I'm offended by Cuomo.
He needs to be quiet.

Birth is a beautiful and gory thing

Ace of Spades co-blogger CAC tells the finish of his wife's amazing pregnancy tale.
And shares some tips he learned.
Freebies are something to keep an eye out for. Those coffee vending machines, for example. When it says “staff only”, remember that you are going to be paying out the nose for this little adventure and dammit it feels good to break the rules and avoid paying 75 cents for cheap coffee. Fight the power. Also, as far as I can tell, the diapers, pads, covers, pillows, IV machine, sofa pillows, and bathroom shampoo are all under the “hotel” policy: take everything that fits into your bag. You never know what you'll find useful (if a nurse fits in the trunk, take one of them too- you can't walk two feet without running into one).

You call that a knife

Reason tries to sort out the type of knife that is legal and the type that's illegal.
If police and prosecutors cannot agree on whether Gray's knife was legal, of course, it is hardly fair to expect the average citizen to know, let alone subject him to criminal penalties (a fine up to $500 and up to a year in jail under Baltimore's ordinance) for guessing wrong. Furthermore, the fuzziness of this ban, like the fuzziness of offenses such as loitering and disorderly conduct, invites arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. The Christian Science Monitor's Patrik Jonsson makes that point in a story that asks, "Should it really be illegal to carry a knife in the city?"

The picture from Garland

DaTech Guy offers the winning picture from Garland - what provoked the two gunmen to attack.
This is the drawing that won the contest in Garland, it is a perfect representation of what free speech is all about.
Not a single one of the networks have shown this image and asked the obvious question:
“Would a reasonable person be offended by this image?“

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Promote equality - ignore your kids

Powerline comments on something burning up the internet - an Australian reporter wondering if reading to your children promotes inequality.
The evidence shows that the difference between those who get bedtime stories and those who don’t—the difference in their life chances—is bigger than the difference between those who get elite private schooling and those that don’t,’ he says.
This devilish twist of evidence surely leads to a further conclusion—that perhaps in the interests of levelling the playing field, bedtime stories should also be restricted.
Never knew those times reading "Goodnight Moon" would be hurting civilization.

On and on

Dustbury has problems with reincarnation.
I do not, generally, endorse the notion of reincarnation. (Nor did I when I was here last time.) 
But the reason is obvious.
One of the problems I find with the concept is that its most fervent believers tend to assert that they were someone notable in a previous life; scarcely anyone claims to have been a serf who perished at twenty-two of some hitherto unnoticed disease.
I followed his link to Slate, which culls Wikipedia for famous people you can claim to be.
Hey, I got General Pulaski from the Revolutionary War.

Hillary doesn't listen to me anyway

Does money given to the Clinton Foundation influence Hillary Clinton's decisions?
Depends if Hillary listens to Bill.
She's ignored plenty of what he's done through the years.
Time to read "Clinton Cash."
And read between the lines.

Monday, May 4, 2015

No sizzle there

MSNBC asked three of its hosts to put together a collection of their best stories.
They are still searching.

How they draw in Texas.

A gathering to show drawings of Mohammed drew two guys intending to do harm.
And they learned other people in Texas can draw - their guns - pretty quickly.
No more drawing for those two.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Cinco de Meow

If there were no Facebook, how would I know this cat was being tortured with a sombrero?


Billions served the word of God

The Gideons surpassed a milestone last week - two billion Bibles or testaments distributed since its founding in 1909.
They has given 1 billion scripture portions since 2001, and 84 million last year - 12 million in India alone.
The word spreads.

What's the carbon footprint?

Lot of private planes clogged the Las Vegas airport before the big fight Saturday night.
How many people who flew in fuss about global warming?

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Passing the blame

The Baltimore Sun's media critic takes a shot at people criticizing the coverage of the Baltimore riots.
The terrible images of cars and buildings burning through the night, as looters crawl through the shattered windows and doors of businesses, are indelibly etched into my mind along with those of millions of viewers worldwide.
But don't blame the media. They didn't light the fires and loot the stores. They just showed what was happening in Baltimore to the world. That's what we do.

Saturday Derby song

It's Derby Day, time for Dan Fogelberg.

Facebook quote of the week

Facebook strikes again! As of today, I've been unable to add my thoughts to things that I share. Grrrrr.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Reality says

Ace wonders about CBS news.
It's the "Critics Say" headline.
On the internet, you're not space-limited with your headline.
Hix
Pix
Flix
On the internet, your headline can be long.
And meaningless.
And contradicted by the first paragraph.

Looking at the indictment

Legal Insurrection's Andrew Branca gives his opinion on the indictment of six police officers in Baltimore.
But he saves the best line for the end.
Frankly, it strikes me as even less of a foundation for the charges brought here than was the evidentiary foundation for the second degree murder charge brought by Florida Prosecutor Angela Corey against George Zimmerman in the self-defense shooting of Trayvon Martin.
And we all remember how that ended.

Weekend watchdog

It's the weekend for young horses to race for immortality.
And NFL teams to stock their rosters with young talent for next season.
Churchill Downs hosts the 141st Kentucky Derby, with coverage starting Saturday at 4 p.m. on NBC.
After two minutes around the track, one horse will have a chance to win the Triple Crown.
NBC Sports network has coverage of the Kentucky Oaks Friday starting at 12:30 p.m.
ESPN and NFL Network told you the first round of picks Thursday. The second round starts Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 and the final day kicks off Saturday at noon on ESPN.
Enjoy your weekend of Mel Kiper Jr. insights from Chicago and sleeper picks later Saturday afternoon.
After three series sweeps, the NBA postseason will move into its second round Sunday when Golden State hosts Memphis on ABC at 3:30 p.m.
A few series remain to complete the first round. The Nets and Hawks meet in Game 6 Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN, with a Game 7 Sunday at 1 p.m. on ABC if necessary.
The Clippers and Spurs have their deciding game Saturday at 8 p.m. on TNT.
The Nationals visit the Mets for the weekend, starting on MASN. The Orioles take their show on the road, playing in Tampa Bay against the Rays on MASN2.
FoxSports1 has the Angels and Giants Saturday at 4 p.m., followed by Reds-Braves. The Yankees and Red Sox battle on ESPN Sunday at 8 p.m.
On the college diamond, Louisville meets Clemson Saturday at 1 p.m. on Comcast.
Montreal hosts Tampa Bay to start their second round series Friday at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports network, followed by Wild at Blackhawks at 9:30 p.m.
NBC has Game 2 between the Rangers and Capitals Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
NBC Sports network brings the Canadiens against Lightning Sunday at 6 p.m., and the Wild-Blackhawks at 8:30 p.m., and CNBC has the Ducks and Flames at 10 p.m.
On the international stage, the United States faces Finland Friday at 10 a.m. in the world championships on NBC Sports network. The Sledge Hockey gold medal game will be Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
NASCAR hopes to avoid raindrops in this weekend's trip to Talladega. Fox has the Spring Cup race Sunday at 1 p.m., after the Xfinity Series goes Saturday at 3 p.m.
NBC offers the WGC Match Play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
D.C. United hosts Columbus Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast. Sporting Kansas City takes on Chicago on ESPN2 Sunday at 5 p.m. and Seattle faces New York City at 7 p.m. on FoxSports1.
Leicester City meets Newcastle United Saturday at 7:45 a.m. on NBC Sports network. Chelsea clashes with Crystal Palace Sunday at 8:30 a.m., followed by Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester City at 11 a.m.
Comcast has a semifinal of the Ivy League women's college lacrosse tournament Friday at 7 p.m. The final is Sunday at 11 a.m., and the CAA tournament final will be Sunday at 1 p.m.
ESPN has a pair of SEC softball games Sunday - Kentucky against Tennessee at 1 p.m. followed by Auburn meeting LSU at 3 p.m.
The college rugby Varsity Cup championship will be on NBC Sports network Saturday at 4 p.m.