Unemployment is above 10%.  The first time since Ronald Reagan was President.  While watching This Week with George Stephanopoulos last Sunday, there was a bit of video that struck a very obvious contrast.

Reagan's policy:     Reduce government spending a… Read full post »

The Berlin Wall had existed for my entire life.  It was a symbol of failure for communism.  It was a symbol of evil.

The 1960's View 

As a kid, I learned of it from my older brother in only that way that older brothers can teach you something.  He elaborately described… Read full post »

Houston had another Tea Party on November 2, the day before this week’s election.  It was a Monday night and more than 10,000 people came out.  That’s a lot of people for a political rally in an off-year election with absolutely nothing major on the ballot in Texas.

Now, you may… Read full post »

Some of the threads are coming loose on the sweater that is PelosiCare.  Democrats have leaked to the AP that the actual cost is more likely to be $1.2 trillion, not the $894 billion that Pelosi claims.

These days, $300 billion doesn't always sound like a lot of money.  Look at… Read full post »

As a follow-on to yesterday's post, FoxNews is reporting that Republican Dede Scozzafava, who recently suspended her Congressional campaign in New York's 23rd district, is endorsing the Democrat, Bill Owens.

This makes it clear that Doug Hoffman was right to run on the Conservative Party ticket… Read full post »

In the closely watched New York 23rd congressional race, liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava has suspended her campaign and released her supporters to vote for who they want.  This comes after the third party campaign of Doug Hoffman earned the endorsement and contributions of many cons… Read full post »

I've been listening exclusively to the XM radio reggae station in the car for the last week or so.  Two days ago, a dancehall song called "Hold My Hand" came on by Sean Paul (again, reggae, not the rapper).

Here it is with lyrics.

Now, let's see how long… Read full post »

CBS news magazine 60 Minutes went off the Obama farm last night and did a story showing that government run healthcare is likely to be incompetent and rife with waste and fraud.  Here's the opening section with some running commentary from me:

Of all the problems facing the United States right… Read full post »

The ever eloquent (sarcasm) Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) has compared former Vice President Dick Cheney to a vampire.

This shows how out of touch Grayson is.  He doesn't know that vampires are cool these days.  He's inadvertently building up Cheney's street cred.

I w… Read full post »

A new poll provides some evidence that my analysis of the 2009 Houston Mayor’s race was in the ballpark.

• “Don’t Know/Undecided” continues in first place at 36%.  This is down from an early high of 70% and a more recent 40%.  As I wrote before, it would be nice/
… Read full post »

This article at the New York Times describes how some in California want to restrict the number of medical marijuana dispensaries by prosecuting ones that make a profit.  Here is a key section:

Carmen A. Trutanich, the newly elected (Los Angeles) city attorney, recently persuaded the Council to p… Read full post »

As described by the New York Times, President Obama exposed himself badly in answering a question from a New Orleans resident.

***

“Why is it four years after Katrina we’re still fighting for money to repair our devastated city?” asked Gabriel Bordenave, 29, a Loyola l… Read full post »

Houston mayors serve two year terms and the job is term limited to three terms.  So, once someone gets elected, all they have to do is not commit a crime and they stand a good chance of not getting too much opposition leading to two reelections and effectively a six year… Read full post »

Up to now, I have not written or commented on the Afghanistan War for a number of reasons.  It is complex and ambiguous.  Good news reporting is scarce.  I don’t have even a casual expertise in the military strategies that appear to be required in a country with the unique geogra… Read full post »

After laughing my way through the insults from the OS hoi polloi, serious OSer libertarius asked a sincere question that I elaborate on my two sentence post.  I now do so even though the explanation will likely deflate it of the teeny tiny amount of charm it does have.

After the announ… Read full post »

Today's announcement that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize confirms that Karl Marx was right when he said, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce."

Next year, the Nobel Prize for literature can go to the guys who created Twitter. Read full post »

In 1979, San Francisco punk band The Dead Kennedys released the song California Uber Alles protesting the nascent authoritarianism of the liberal policies of then governor Jerry Brown.  The band eventually aimed their anger at Ronald Reagan in a re-recording of the song but I think the subsequen/… Read full post »

Obama's no preconditions negotiation style has yielded its expected fruit: a quick kick out the door from the International Olympic Committee.  And why not?  IOC members were probably looking forward to Chicago's bid.  Third World countries are generally much more corrupt than the… Read full post »

Frustrated that the Hollywood Left (and others) think Roman Polanski should be left alone?  Here's a solution.  Ordain him as Father Polanski.  Instantaneously, he and everyone who has ever been seen on a public stage with him would be condemned.

Don't understand the con… Read full post »

Yesterday, Roman Polanski was arrested after being on the lam for three decades plus change from pleading guilty to a sex crime in the US in the late 1970's.  Imagine his surprise.  He thinks he is going to the  Zurich Film Festival for a tribute.  Instead, he is arrested.

Anne Ap… Read full post »

How much discussion has gone on between NBC and the White House about President Obama hosting Saturday Night Live?  Not much.  Some early ideas for sketches do not appear to help the President so this gets less likely by the day.

One idea would have had Obama playing an… Read full post »

The mind works in strange ways.  My work is very busy and stressful right now and while feeling exhausted and somewhat depressed, my mind flashed on "Give up!"... which means that this was quickly followed by an earworm from a song from the 1980's that represents some common OS themes… Read full post »

I did a quick search and noticed no one seems to have posted about Tom Friedman’s recent column praising the Chinese dictatorship.  Friedman makes the insane comment that the China is “led by a reasonably enlightened group of people” who give that country an advantage be/… Read full post »