Send some good thoughts Skyward

Mark writes:

He’s been feeling poorly here of late.  Then, Saturday, he got boosted. All the good vaccines and stuff...

...So soon after losing Siamon, we’re (I hope understandably) paranoid.  It would be a mitzvah if you could keep him in your warm thoughts over the coming days.

Done.  Go and do likewise.

UPDATE 090422 14:18:  Encouraging words.

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Different because it’s different, you see...

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, on credit rating firms’ First Amendment defense against potential securities litigation:

The very nature of [their] so-called speech is very different from the classic First Amendment-protected expression.  It’s much more akin to an advertisement that mistates the price of an item on sale than a political candidate on a soapbox.

...because God knows how horrible it might be should disappointed voters be allowed to sue politicians who fail to live up to their promises!

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*Which* “Net Neutrality” are you talking about?

Steven Macklin over at Hold the Mayo linked a video by author and screenwriter Andrew Klavan about what is increasingly the liberal answer to conservative arguments: “Shut Up!”^[1]  (And while I can’t play videos, fortunately Steven did a transcript.)

Klavin’s topic is certainly familiar to anyone who has had dealings with the left:

The left has been making the “Shut Up” argument at least since the 70’s, when it became clear that all their other arguments had failed.  Since it was the only argument remaining to them, they had to invent different ways to say it.

...and he proceeds to list the ways. Most are familiar and accurate (characterizing opponents as “racists”or “fascists,” declaring some ideas as “hate speech,” then using the force of government or institutions to forbid expressing them). But one sentence rang false:

A book called “A Manifesto for Media Freedom” by my City Journal pal Brain C. Anderson and Adam D. Fhierer describes how high-level Dems also support a plan with another Orwellian name. “Net Neutrality” it’s called, that would try to force conservatives to “Shut Up” online as well.

I’ve run into this before, but I had discounted it as confusion or a lack of understanding of the issue.  But now that it’s popped up again (and since somebody has put this interpretation into a book), it’s time we define our terms to be certain of what we’re arguing about.  Because, if  misunderstood, argument over “Net Neutrality” could drive an unnecessary wedge between the libertarian geeks and the conservatives.

How, you say?  Read on...

more...

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So: The economy is in bad shape, the deficit’s gonna sextuple, North Korea is restarting its nuclear program, Pakistan is close to chaos...

USA Today:

Three months after taking office, President Obama will convene... a Cabinet that experts say is the most diverse in history. It will have seven women and nine racial and ethnic minorities among its 21 members — and only eight white men. Average age: 54.

“He has a majority-minority Cabinet,” says Paul Light, an expert on presidential appointments at New York University. “In terms of white males, they're in the minority now.”

And I though that the election of Barak Obama as President meant that the country had “moved beyond” race, that the ethnic scorekeeping would be over, and that we could finally begin tackling the more “important” stuff.

Silly me!

Looks like we’ll have to wait for the legacy media to complete its crash-and-burn. Which, IMO, can’t come any too soon.

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Solution? Obvious.

51% View Tea Parties Favorably, Political Class Strongly Disagrees

While half the nation has a favorable opinion of last Wednesday’s events, the nation’s Political Class has a much dimmer view—just 13% of the political elite offered even a somewhat favorable assessment while 81% said the opposite.  Among the Political Class, not a single survey respondent said they had a Very Favorable opinion of the events while 60% shared a Very Unfavorable assessment.

Tar.  Feathers.

LATER (090422 22:00):  Gary Varvel explains it visually at Crucis’.

Via: IP

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Another “Man-caused disaster”?

From Blair:

In the first three months of the year, 1,395 Pakistanis were killed in 1,842 terrorist attacks. At that rate Pakistan’s terror death toll will overtake the toll from Hurricane Katrina by the end of April. By the end of 2009, we could be looking at double the toll from the World Trade Center attacks.

It’s probably something to do with Presbyterians.

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Protectin’ the old home place...

I know now that if  I ever need to beef up home security, you don’t need any fancy electronics, big guns, or vicious dogs.  Just tape a simple handwritten sign to the doors...

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CNN comes out for “fair use” in reporting

More here (via Likelihood of Confusion via IP):

The purpose for Founding Bloggers’ posting of the CNN footage is crystal clear: to comment on and criticize CNN's reporting on the “Tea Party.”  Such a use is right in the heartland of the fair use doctrine; the statute specifically mentions “criticism, comment, [and] news reporting” as protected uses that are “not an infringement of copyright.”  17 U.S.C. § 107.  To quickly run through the four fair use factors as they apply here:

1. the use is transformative (for critical comment);
2. the CNN footage is factual, not fictional, and was previously broadcast;
3. the amount used is small in relation to the whole CNN broadcast; and
4. any effect on the market is minuscule (and if fewer people watch CNN because this video causes them to think less of its coverage, that's simply not cognizable harm).

Many fair use cases are difficult, close calls--but, given the facts as I know them, this is an easy one.

Elsewhere:

Related:

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Cats-ing up

(Technical difficulties on Saturday, then time spent pigging out on Ancient. Cantonese-American.Cuisine instead of blogging on Sunday => no posts.  Herwith, some cat-related items that have been waiting in the queue.)

Chasing down last weekend’s suddenly-discovered tax anomaly meant I missed Mark’s kitteh update (and pictures) at BabyTrollBlog.  Welcome Isabelle, Aqua, Jazz, and Schuyler!^[1]  (Don’t miss the pair of unlinkable pictures on the main page, either.)

Friday was Happy Tigger Day at Meyrl’s.

Speaking of Glorious Gingers, want one?  (Earlier.)  (Via Wildrun.)

And Bruwyn is getting bigger.

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That’s some high concept thinking there

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