The Last Ephor

It's 1941 all over again. When the right wingers were decrying Iran for being run by fascists, the Left told them they were hot headed and excitable. It's all just gamesmanship and so on. Are they still going to make that claim?

How Celebrities Go Bankrupt . I've always wondered about this. Artists rarely have any sort of pecuniary acumen but I thought they'd be clever enough to put the money with some reliable investment bank with a long history like BBH, JPMC, or Solomon or something.

Blogs are unreliable. They don't have editors and they don't check their sources. Not so the MSM . Right?

Mothers Day Picture . It's funny because it's true.

Tell me again, which party is the Party Of Hate? Yes, I know this is just one example of one kook who doesn't represent the party, blah blah blah.

Cameras set racial poser on car crime . So....let me get this straight. A computer system is being investigated for racial profiling? Riiight. I read stories like this and I have to believe there's something in the water over there. What lunatic would investigate this? How could you possibly ascribe any motive to a computer system?

Stephen Colbert was the media darling for taking shots a the President at the Press Dinner. I thought he was hit and miss. Some of it was funny and some of it rang hollow. (Disclosure: I generally like him and his show) Meanwhile, this video shows that nobody skewers the President better than he skewers himself. Very well done.

This is getting a bit derivative but given these guys are probably really bored, who can blame them. Watch Lazy Ramadi

Mammoth Extinction Caused by Trees . Stupid trees always ruin everything. Truly this is an environmentalist nightmare. Do you kill the trees to save the Mammoths?

Meyers blasts private celebrities . Finally, someone says what we've all been saying for ages. Be careful what you ask for, you might get it. Let's see how long this attitude lasts. That said, there has to be quite a bit of fatigue associated with people hanging on you all the time. If you're famous and you don't fall all over yourself being nice to your fans, you're going to take a hit. That's just the way it is. Being famous isn't all sunshine and roses but it isn't the hardship they imagine it to be.

Aries Spears rapper impressions . He's a funny guy. Some of these are dead on.

Autism Advocacy Community Applauds U.S. Senators Santorum (R-PA) and Dodd (D-CT) for Introducing Combating Autism Act of 2005 . This one hits close to home as my eldest is autistic. It's a growing epidemic and one that we igore at our peril. I say this not only for my son but for the thousands that will follow after him if we don't find a cure or a cause. One thing people don't realize (and certainly, I didn't.) is how much hidden cost is associated with disabled children. Special diets, very expensive medicine every 20 days on and on and on. The bill above seeks to alleviate some of these costs. It's probably going to sound driven by self interest but it's not. This is vitally important for those with autism. Early intervention and therapy is the only way these people are going to be self sufficient, functioning members of society. If we ignore them at the outset, we're going to be carrying a larger burden in terms of societal cost down the road w...

Of course guns rile men up says Jonah. I'm inclined to agree. I think they also missed the point. What about men who use guns every day? Cops and soliers? Do they show the same spike? What about women? Give the guy a Playboy and board (bored) game I'd bet you'd see the same result. Is there no end to the anti-gun hysteria?

One of the old saws that some people claim Bush's tax cuts gave money to the rich at the expense of the rest of us. Not so. Not by a long shot. Joint Economic Committee Releases Tax Cuts Make Tax System More Progressive . Will one of the naysayers please explain how we can possibly make the system more progressive? While we're at it, please explain why it is fair to put such an enormous burden on one group of people?

Read George Will's broadside against McCain's Constitution . George is the unwavering paleocon and I believe he wields quite a bit of clout with the Reagan wing of the party. If he keeps this up he can seriously damage McCain's chances in the primary.

Quagmire update. (No, not Family Guy Quagmire.) We've lost I tells ya. Cut and run, pull out now! /sarcasm

Affluence and Its Discontents : "In 1954 defense accounted for 69.5 percent of federal spending and 'human resources' (programs such as Social Security, Medicare, job training and food stamps) only 18.5 percent. In 2005 defense was 20 percent and human resources 64.2 percent." Wow. Forget about the war on drugs, we need a war on entitlements! Read the whole thing for a fishbarreling of Galbraith.

Poll Gives Bush His Worst Marks Yet . Wow. He's down to an all time low. Don't worry though, Kerry is still lower; The political situation has not helped some of the more prominent members of the Democratic Party. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who was Mr. Bush's opponent in 2004, had a lower approval rating than Mr. Bush: 26 percent, down from 40 percent in a poll conducted right after the election. Great thing about Kerry. He still makes Bush look good and he's going to run again.

Lesbians' brains respond differently from those of heterosexual women . Further along the trail that tells us sexual preference is often innate and not environmental. I've always maintained that sexauality for women is more fluid than for men. Women are more emotive and sympathetic. Even more touchy-feely. Not that this leads to lesbianism or what have you but it makes it more likely that women will try it out for size. There are also strong cultural drivers here. Lesbian chic as they say has been on the upswing in the last few years. This isn't really news but it is a quantum leap from how things were in my day [/old coot voice]. I understand the fear that gay people have with identifying the physiological component that drives sexuality. They fear some sort of prenatal test will lead to abortions or reparative solutions. That's likely a valid, if overstated, fear. We're quickly approaching a post-gay world where people are gay and it's not a big de...

Centcom has released transcipts of analysis by terrorists in Iraq as to the state of affairs. The bolded portions make it clear they know they are losing and losing badly. Further, they state they cannot defeat the Americans militarily and trying to do so is fruitless. They stress this is a media war and the only hope of winning lies there. If they win the media war, they win the day no matter what the actual outcome is. I just wish the MSM would think strategically on this one.