The Last Ephor

Would Ron Paul have fared worse or better than McCain if he had been running against Obama?

Emanuel Was Director Of Freddie Mac During Scandal New Obama Chief of Staff, Others on Board, Missed "Red Flags" of Alleged Fraud Scheme Going uber-meta: Here's this guy talking about that guy . One thing I'll add; the people who talk about "magic" in the real sense not in the Doug Henning "iluuuuuuuusion" sense are always ardent, militant atheists. Truly, those that do not believe in something believe in anything. Three prescient observations about the upcoming administration. Key excerpt: 3. Liberals and conservatives will continue to try and define everything in terms of right and left when the proper lens, now more than ever, is choice versus control. Precisely. I am in favor of the former for virtually everything. The left and right want to control things so that they're in their favor. Neither of them really wants an unfettered electorate. Aprapos of absolutely nothing here is a list of handy DIY tips to make your life easier.

I'm pretty much with this guy: From here via here . I don't have Hope(tm) that things will Change(tm) for the better but I have to believe that we're not going to tear ourselves in two as some on the fringes seem to want.

Black Pope could follow Barack Obama's election, says US archbishop : "The election of Barack Obama as the first African-American US President could pave the way for the election of the first black Pope, according to a leading black American Catholic." Except that we've had three black Popes already. The last one was 1700 years ago. You'd think he know that. I knew we had them in the past. It took me all of .000048 seconds on Google to find that out.

"Civilization...exists only because the world has barely enough of two kinds of people: those who are able to build with a trowel in one hand, a sword in the other; and those who believe that in the beginning was the Word, and will risk death to preserve all books for the truths they might contain." -Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

via email: Difference between an Investment Banker and a Pizza? A pizza can still feed a family of four. This is worse than a divorce. I've lost half my net worth and I still have a wife. How can you tell if a banker is an optimist? He irons five shirts on Sunday.

So here’s my take on things. (I know you were dying to hear it) The Good: Congratulations to President Elect Obama. He deserves our respect and I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I hope he leads our country well and makes us safe and enables us to be prosperous. Expect me to be the loyal opposition without all the derangement we’ve seen from the other side of the aisle. This election sends a message to every minority person in the country that yes, they too can be president. We are not a nation of bigots or racists (contrary to what John Murtha would have you believe). If anything white people voted for Obama because of his race rather than against it. The visceral weight of this election for African Americans is something I can’t really process but I can see it. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the rest of the Race Hustlers are going to be unemployed. Good riddance. This woman lived long enough to see an African American president Obama won not onl...

New York Fed Names New Senior Vice President in Bank Supervision - Federal Reserve Bank of New York I am gobsmacked. This bullshit bailout was a disaster from day one and now they're piling mistake upon mistake. Who is this Alix guy? "Most recently, Mr. Alix worked for the Bear Stearns Companies, Inc., where he served as chief risk officer from 2006-2008 and global head of credit risk management from 1996-2006." Is everyone taking crazy pills? What, praytell, gives the Fed the idea that this edjit is someone who should be in any way in a position of authority in finance? Those two job titles alone should preclude him from managing anything larger than a corner store.

I'm going to post about the election later. My brain is going a million miles an hour and I'm all over the place. Give me some time to get a coherent thought together. What happens when you order a live monkey from a comic book? Wish I had tried that one. Here are some breathtaking pictures of space. The post is a bit dated but the pictures are worth your time. I found the eruption on Io fascinating. Makes me think of Clarke's 2010. Staying with the astronomy theme, here are some fascinating and puzzling things about space that we don't understand. Makes you appreciate the limits of human knowledge. How about a battery powered F1 race? It would be strange to hear a race without the howl of the engines. All rushing air and tire noise. Sure, why not?

This guy is dressed for confrontation. His outfit is no less confrontational or intimidating than a Klan hood. I mean that. The Black Panthers have a very violent history. He is not there to prevent voter suppression he's there to create it. The two of them should be arrested immediately.

Last thing about it today, I swear. No matter who wins I want it to be decisive. I do not want any legal challenges of any kind. Just let it be done. Update: I'll add one addendum. Any network or news outlet that reports any exit polls before they close should be tarred and feathered. The lot of them. If it were up to me there would be no exit poll data released before the polls closed on the West Coast (sorry Hawaii and Alaska).

but I had a lump in my throat when voting today. I was on line thinking of what people around the world would give for the opportunity to pick their leaders. Even if we don't like our choices, at least we have them. P.S. I refused to vote for anyone who was unopposed.

‘It’s Too Early. He Hasn’t Done Anything Yet.’ I giggle with glee and realize this will not be reported anywhere. I'd love to ask her what he had accomplished between 04 and 08.

From my position... On the way! : "I believe a self-righteous liberal with a cause is more dangerous than a Hell's Angel with an attitude."

Barack Obama discovers a leak under his sink, so he calls Joe the Plumber to come and fix it. Joe drives to Obama's house, which is located in a very nice neighborhood and where it's clear that all the residents make more than $250,000 per year. Joe arrives and takes his tools into the house. Joe is led to the room that contains the leaky pipe under a sink. Joe assesses the problem and tells Obama, who is standing near the door, that it's an easy repair that will take less than 10 minutes. Obama asks Joe how much it will cost. Joe immediately says, "$9,500." "$9,500?" Obama asks, stunned. "But you said it's an easy repair!" "Yes, but what I do is charge a lot more to my clients who make more than $250,000 per year so I can fix the plumbing of everybody who makes less than that for free," explains Joe. "It's always been my philosophy. As a matter of fact, I lobbied government to pass this philosophy as law, and it did pass...

Roger Kimball joins me on the crazy couch with an article entitled: Thoughts on the instinct of self-preservation or, Why I still, even now, believe John McCain will be moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20 I may be going to hell in a bucket but at least I'm enjoying the ride.

U.S. rejects GM's call for help in a merger I have an immediate family member who works for Chrysler who asked me not to say anything about this until after November 1st. (This is not some world wide exclusive or anything but he just wasn't sure how much to say publicly at first.) Here's the deal: Chrysler is offering buyouts to every single salaried employee in the company with no upper limit on how many can take the package. Packages consist of cash based on term of service, a $25,000 voucher for a car (or you may keep the company car you are currently issued) and 6 months of health coverage. So he's taking the package. They are giving out the packages on Monday before Thanksgiving and they must be signed and returned on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. For those of you in Sussex county that means they will reopen on Monday the 24th without the slightest clue how many salaried employees they have . Some plants are expecting 80% of their salaried employees to take...

The Rationales Each Party Will Give If They Lose The Election Ha! Awesome.

Champ Lewis Hamilton purrs over Pussycat Nicole as the world's hottest couple celebrate his F1 title with night out | Mail Online : "Okay...so he's only 23, a multimillionaire, a world champion, got an appartment in Monte Carlo and is going out with lead singer from the Pussycat Dolls...but is he REALLY happy....?" "Politicians are like God. No one believes in them, they haven't done anything for ages, and they give jobs to their immediate family"

DelawareLunatics get very upset when they find out people are voting for McCain as that is contrary to their own self interest. That is, McCain is for EEeevil Rich people and the rest of us lumpenproles should vote for Bread and Circuses Barry. Assuming I believe Obama's plan will work (which I don't) why would I vote for a tax cut for wealthy people? Reproduced in full is a letter from one of those rich people which explains it. The man made money by working his ass off and taking the risk of doing it himself. DL crows that it is patriotic to pay taxes. It isn't. Not when those taxes are used frivolously. The government has so completely outgrown it's mandate that it has become the solution to everything. It isn't and it shouldn't be. Anyway, read the whole letter. A letter from another Evil Rich Person: Mr. Obama, Given the uproar about the simple question asked you by Joe the plumber, and the persecution that has been heaped on him because he dared...

Here's how I'm calling it for tomorrow

I can't believe that with stories like this and this the race is as close as it is.

Cape Girardeau woman kills man who returned to rape her second time The most important sentence in the entire piece: "She tried to call 911, but couldn't because the power was off." He cut the power to the house after he broke in. Granted this is not the norm but the point is this: You cannot (and should not) rely on 911 to save you. They won't get there fast enough and they do not even have the obligation to help you. "I will not be filing any sort of charge against this 57-year-old woman, who was clearly justified under the law in shooting this intruder in her home," Swingle said. Wow. Color me unimpressed. You should be giving her the key to the city.