Tuesday chuckle

Roberta X on  Ideas: Good, Bad

Posted by: Old Grouch in Linkage at 20:30:51 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Wrongheaded

Right or wrong?

“We may hate high fuel prices, but they’ve been driving us in the right direction when it comes to fuel economy,” said General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, the company’s leading cheerleader for its $500-million program to develop an electric car, the Chevy Volt. “If we suddenly went to $1 or $1.50 a gallon, that would be really bad.”

...only if you think that maintaining an artificially high price for a fundamental economic input is a good idea.

Because we’ve had artificially high oil prices since the advent of OPEC. And a big reason those prices have been maintained is the connivance of the no-drill Democrats (and the Saudi-captive Republicans) in Congress.

Lutz, of course, argues from the standpoint of General Motors: A failing company that has spent a lot of money on electric car technology; technology that may not have a market if oil prices come down. High prices created a protected space, falling prices might destroy it.^[1] And, of course, he’s joined by the environmentalists.

But one suspects that their concern comes as much from elitism and social engineering as from conservation. Consider these comments (excerpted) from AutoblogGreen

10-14-2008 @ 8:34AM | ryan said:

...it would be unfortunate if gas were to get cheap again. Americans have really short memories, and would jump into hulking trucks again in no time.

10-13-2008 @ 12:05PM | Kevin said:

Should every Tom, Dick, or Harry be allowed to go out and buy a 5000-6000 pound vehicle just because he has a driver's license?

10-13-2008 @ 2:13PM | rsbell said:

... Most people are more concerned with their immediate experience: the money in their pocket. “Big picture” thinking doesn't apply to most people.

10-13-2008 @ 4:06PM | Noz said:

Most old habits haven't changed....you'll still find plent...I mean PLENTY of douchebags out in the San Fernando Valley, Simi, etc.. who are living in their burbs house with 2-3 Denalis, Excursions, etc...

(Yep, things would be great if it wuzznt for all them goobers with their big SUVs and short memories.)

One would think that cheap energy would be a great thing for this country. But, of course, cheap energy would solve problems, not exacerbate them.

The trail starts at Instapundit.
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Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 20:20:58 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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The new rules of engagement

“...if Obama wins, I plan on giving him as much of a chance as the Democrats gave George Bush.”

Related: “Gripped by insane rage”

Posted by: Old Grouch in Linkage at 04:34:39 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Need’s more Apostrophe’s

You know, it’s difficult taking someone seriously who writes sentences like this:

The point is, Sarah Palin and her hockey mom’s, grandpa’s and second cousins, don’t want her to be authoritative.

Just sayin’...

(Note:  As of 21:27, the errant apostrophes have been expunged.)

Via: Althouse

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 21:30:46 GMT | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Palin and “Tasergate”

Given the prevailing tenor of this blog’s previous Sarah Palin posts (see “Previously,” below), I suppose I should say something about the Branchflower report (released yesterday) on Palin’s actions in re: the firing/reassignment of Alaska’s Commissioner of Public Safety.  Fortunately, better minds than mine have already examined its 263 pages, and found it wanting:

Gov. Palin’s so-called “firing” of Monegan (it wasn’t a firing, it was a re-assignment to other government duties that he resigned rather than accept) can’t simultaneously be a violation of the Ethics Act [the Report’s “Finding 1” - o.g.] and “a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority.” [the Report’s “Finding 2”]

Unsurprisingly, lapses in logic are simply too nuanced for our in-the-tank press to notice (especially when drawing attention to them might get in the way of the Official Narrative):

The New York Times and other media outlets, like CNN, MSNBC, Washington Post, etc., all claim the same basic headline - that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power in the allegations that she fired a state trooper...

My own reaction:  If the investigation had uncovered something substaitial, this could have been big.  But it turns out there’s no “there” there.  People who have been paying attention (rather than using the controversy as a “gotcha”) already suspected this, and will be unsurprised.  Others– including most of the mainstream press– will take advantage of the report’s internal inconsistencies to spin it to match their agenda.  Also unsurprising.

Beyond that, it’s not worth wasting a lot of time over.  But, if you insist, start with Bill Dyer’s post, then skim the report itself.


Elsewhere:

Previously:

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 20:00:27 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Latest Palin scandal... whoops, never mind!

So Gawker’s Nick Denton continues his webpage’s race to the bottom by posting a scan of “Sarah Palin’s SAT scores” yesterday afternoon.

...This document which is floating around the web... purports to represent the high-school grades of one Sarah Heath of Wasilla, Alaska, now the Republican running mate.

Less than twenty four hours later, Max Torque, posting on the Straight Dope forum, identifies the exact image used to create the fake.  (Turns out it belongs to Dawn Eden.)

Hey, it’s on the internet.  Use something you find there to create a forgery, better bet that someone else has seen it.  And is now laughing at you.

More:  Seems that Denton has an issue with Eden.  I wonder if he’ll try to blame her that he got fooled?

Previously:  URGENT STOP PRESS PALIN LATEST

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 01:38:46 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Google gives up on “wisdom of crowds,” goes with establishment journalism

Google CEO Eric Schmidt:

In a world of disinformation, which is the future, brands are the solution.  Brand affinity is hard wired and fundamental to the human condition – who you trust and who you don’t.  People want real value, real information, real leadership and messages of hope.

Jeff Goldstein:

What Schmidt is proposing... is a potential collusion between the major search engines and the “quality” purveyors of information — those who present the “correct” lessons in the “proper” narrative form in order to save us from the “cesspool of disinformation” that is likely to corrupt our opinions and direct us away from the golden road of progressive epistemology...

In other words, search engines will direct readers to the very kind of journalists who they’ve rejected in print, and, perforce, reinforce the hidden narrative biases that people have gone to the internet to escape.

What’s more:

...When asked where the industry ends up if there aren’t outlets willing to pay journalists to create quality content, Mr. Schmidt... [said^[1]] that he didn’t have an answer but one thing to look at is whether journalism should be a for-profit enterprise.

Meaning: If the public won’t pay for the kind of “journalism” that meets Schmidt’s approval, they should be forced to subsidize it.  (And remember, a tax exemption is still a “tax expenditure!”)

Funny how progressivism always comes down to compulsion.

(HT:  Protein Wisdom (RTWT), “happyfeet” for the AdAge quote.)

Related:  This discussion at BuzzMachine, in which journalists say, “It’s not our fault,” and reader after reader replies, “It’s your bias, stupid.”
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Posted by: Old Grouch in The Press at 17:19:37 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Wal-Mart announces DRM reprieve

It’s still alive!

Based on feedback from our customers, we have decided to maintain our digital rights management (DRM) servers for the present time.  What this means to you is that our existing service continues and there is no action required on your part.  Our customer service team will continue to assist with DRM issues for protected windows media audio (WMA) files purchased from Walmart.com.

Slashdot commenter “myxiplx” observes:

...You can bet that Wal-Mart execs are not at all happy about having to pay for and run a bunch of servers that are no longer making them any money.  You can bet that just opened their eyes to the downsides of DRM, and that some people at the top are now asking the music labels some tricky questions, namely “how long are we supposed to keep paying to run these damn things now?”.

Wal-Mart will not want to be left in this position again...

Earlier:  This time it’s Wal-Mart

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 14:53:22 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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There was a little lady, and she had a little gun

So-close-but-yet-so-far department:

Elizabeth writes:

How did Newsweek convince Gov. Sarah Palin to pose with a rifle for its cover?

Simple. It didn't.

Instead, it used an archive (fancy speak for old) stock photo of her taken back in June 2002...

However, to the magazine’s credit, it did not try to hide the fact that it’s a stock photo...

So that makes it OK.

Right? Or maybe not? What do you think?

Hey, is that even the right way to hold a rifle? Can’t you shoot your foot off like that?

Just wondering.

(Yeah, Ace has already linked this one, but I had to, too.)

Below the break, preserved for your amusement: The LAT’s comment thread!

more...

Posted by: Old Grouch in The Press at 19:18:14 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Blog bleg - anybody seen this?

UPDATED 081011 01:58:  Identified. Thanks, Pete!

Sometime in the last five days (or so, most likely last Sunday) I came across a blog, new to me, whose author is involved in some restoration work (window cleaning/repair?) at a grand mansion (actually the “summer house”) on an estate somewhere in (IIRC) the northeast U.S.  His description of the place is amazing: Built (probably) around 1900, grand staircase, skylit bathrooms, heavy doors (over 100) with solid brass hardware, enormous attic full of many years’ worth of treasures, two-foot thick walls, stone lions out front... you get the idea.

At the time I viewed the site, the author had already put up three posts about this project, one of them including an historic picture of the front of the place.  The posts are fascinating in their wealth of detail... really great link fodder!

But... I was interrupted while reading, and only got to skim them.  So there’s a lot I don’t recall (like the name of the house, and the blog’s author. My bad!).  I had intended to bookmark it, figuring I’d get back later to finish.

Well, it appears I screwed up.  There’s no bookmark, and I just spent a couple of hours trying to find my way back, to no avail.^[1]  At this point, I can’t even remember how I got there in the first place– I might have followed a link from a comment the blog’s author made in a thread at someone else’s site, or maybe I came in via a link to an unrelated post.

Anyhow, I know that some of the folks who drop by here seem to surf pretty widely.  Does any of this sound familiar to you?  Can anyone point me to the mystery site?


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^[1] Yes, I checked my history file.  One of the few known issues with my version 1.02 browser is its occasional failure to get everything visited into the history list.  Irish cabbage (Murphy Slaw) strikes again!
(And search engines didn’t yield anything, either.)

Posted by: Old Grouch in Meta at 17:27:48 GMT | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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