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LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSIONPosted by Ron Coleman on August 18, 2007
The Stout Republican is waiting for Fred Thompson to fish, or cut bait: “[Y]ou’ve toyed with me enough Fred.”
There’ll be more of this. If Fred gets the nomination, I’ll support him over almost anyone I can imagine heading the Democratic ticket. But I can’t take him seriously at this point.
UPDATE: It’s getting trickier, too.
Posted in Politics and Poker | 5 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 17, 2007
No one’s surprised, of course, but it’s still sad — as is the relative silence among the chattering classes.
The Stout Republican keeps tabs on the depressing replay of dictatorship, complete with a cult of the personality, quoting this item:
As Mr. Chávez, 53, settles into his ninth year in power, images of him have become impossible to avoid here. On billboards, posters and murals, he is seen hugging children, embracing old women, chanting slogans and plugging energy-saving Cuban light bulbs into sockets.
They must be pretty efficient, seeing as how until Payaso Boy starting taking the place of the Brezhnev Charity Barge, Cuban electricity was mostly produced by gerbils running around in little wheels. It’s sad, but hey — these folks reelected this guy while they still had a choice, when all he was running on was hating America. They’re getting every bit of totalitarianism they deserve.
UPDATE: And they’re not the only ones.
Posted in Oppression, Past is prologue | 1 Comment »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 17, 2007
The Federal reserve cut the discount rate to ease the credit crisis, and not surprisingly, Wall Street — at least for today — is relieved.
Not everyone thinks this is a good thing. There are economic reasons to be for or against such a move. But the concept that this is some sort of offensive intervention in the free market is preposterous. Here’s what a fellow named George Zachar wrote to Glenn Reynolds:
I’m the Park Ave/Hedge fund guy who’s corresponded with you in the past.
It’s true that some Street crybabies are testing Bernanke to see if he’ll blink and elevate the level of moral hazard in the financial markets. But it’s not true that “all Wall Streeters” are doing so. Some of us, amazingly, want a robust self-regulating system that can operate with minimal government intervention. But there are no headlines in silence and maturity.
If that’s what George Zachar wants, he’s hedging on the wrong economy. “Silence and maturity” are not “hands off” policy decisions in a highly regulated economy — they are deliberate policy choices. It’s the Fed discount rate the central bank lowered, get it? The Fed already provides liquidity to the banking system; it’s already in the markets; the “system” isn’t remotely self regulated. I don’t think even George Zachar wants to live in a world where that went away over the weekend.
Now we’re only negotiating about the price.
Posted in Gelt | 1 Comment »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 17, 2007
Posted in Lex scripta | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 17, 2007
AP: “US troops fight militants in Iraq mosque.”
It’s true what they say: General Petraeus seems committed in fighting to win.
Posted in Orient, Stragety | 1 Comment »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 17, 2007
Baby Stalin has ordered the resumption of long-range nuclear bomber patrols by the USSR Russia, basically because for a change there’s enough money in the kitty that he can, and because it makes him and his subjects feel mighty that they do.
Are those the only reasons? Well, he says no, of course not:
“Starting in 1992, the Russian Federation unilaterally suspended strategic aviation flights to remote areas,” Putin said. “Regrettably, other nations haven’t followed our example. That has created certain problems for Russia’s security.”
Security problems since 1992 — 15 years — sounds pretty severe. What happened then? Did Amurka bomb Russia back to the stone age? Did we ring Russia with missiles? Did we send troop across the Bering Strait? Someone find me a link!
Meanwhile, I’m awaiting condemnation of Putin’s brinksmanship from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Posted in Stragety | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 16, 2007
Thanks to franchise law!
Posted in Americana | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 16, 2007
Originally uploaded by Ron Coleman.
The City is beautiful to look at, especially when you look up. Actually, mostly when you look up.
Posted in Metropolis | 3 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 15, 2007
How interesting. We’ve been indexed, or sumpin’, by the ABA Journal‘s online “blawg” (law
blog) listings. Why “welcome back”? Because I used to be a freelance feature writer for the ABA Journal. (I’m actually not an ABA member.)
I didn’t know Likelihood of Success was a “blawg” just because I’m a lawyer. It’s just the same as how I didn’t know this was a “Jewish blog” just because I’m a, you know — a lawyer.
But most of all: I have a real “blawg” right here — and it gets an order of magnitude more traffic than this blog does! (It’s not listed on their “trademark blog” listing — Marty Schwimmer isn’t even listed, nor is John Welch. I’m prejudiced, but I think those are the leaders in the field. So, you know — for all that’s worth.) Can’t win for, er, winning.
Posted in Blogophilia | 7 Comments »
Posted by Ron Coleman on August 15, 2007
Let’s not take anything for granted, okay: Does anyone do it better (almost every day) than James Taranto? Just today:
In order to win her case, Vaughn would at least have to convince a jury that one could reasonably construe the comment as a factual claim.
This depends on context, and Imus has a strong defense inasmuch as he is a jerk. That is, his shock-jock idiom is heavy with insults, which, although obnoxious, have little if any factual content. The damage that Imus’s own reputation suffered as a result of the Rutgers episode–damage that, we hasten to add, he fully deserved–further diminishes the likelihood that anyone mistook his statement for a fact.
And:
Pelosi rejects the notion that she must be careful where she treads. “There aren’t enough days in the month to go to all the districts I’m invited to,” she said in New Hampshire.
Which means, this being August, that she has been invited to at least 32 of the nation’s 435 congressional districts.
And:
I am the one who convinced him that it would be a great idea to put him in a dress, soften him up, and help him get the gay vote,” Cuker says. “And, ultimately, it was his biggest bonus, because he got the gay vote–and the conservatives…. It was a home run for him, and he got national attention. It showed that he had a sense of humor.”
And, as we noted above, Giuliani carried Queens by a wide margin.
Taranto does what no one else does, and very well, by quite a wide margin.
Posted in Medialites | Leave a Comment »
