When a thing has been said and well,
have no scruple.
Take it and copy it.
Anatole France
Chart of the Day
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| Courtesy of an Investment Newsletter Publisher |
North Miami Mayoral Candidate Loses Despite Picking Up Big Endorsement
Remember when Bush 41 famously described supply-side economics "voodoo economics"? Apparently Miami politics go beyond economics:
Anna Pierre told NBC6 that she found candles, food offerings, and dolls with pins stuck in them in front of her office door over the last three months.Despite getting the personal endorsement of Our Lord and Savior, Ms. Pierre only picked up 56 votes, which she attributes to votes for the devil. Apparently He can multiply fish and loaves, but not Ms. Pierre's votes. Wait now--Venezuelan President Maduro called Obama the devil--I didn't know he was on the ballot.
My Choice for American Idol 2013
Candice Parker. I gave her the first (producer's choice) and third round (singer's choice: see above and the original, below) round, while I narrowly gave the second round (original song) to Kree Harrison. Candace's voice is richly textured with superb tone effortless runs and a superior range. Why Simon Fuller assigned Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" to Harrison is beyond me: why not just give everyone in the audience a laxative? I would have preferred to hear her do Janis Joplin or maybe Merrilee Rush's "Angel of the Morning" I do think the original song "All Cried Out" was a more commercial hit for Harrison. But to be honest, Harrison's performances had a couple of pitchy moments and sounded a little thin at spots, which contrasted to Glover's lustrous tone at the bottom and top of the scales. Parker has dominated the last several weeks and was in fine form tonight . I thought the competition was hers to lose, and she made no major mistakes.
You never can tell, though. To my ears, Kree's supporters seemed more vocal, and she has a way of intimately connecting with an audience; Kree is a sweetheart; I'm not a contemporary country fan, but no matter what happens tomorrow, she should have a highly successful career with any decent songwriters behind her. Candice, at least to me, comes across as somewhat shy: although her power vocals make her a force to be reckoned with, she needs to do a better job of connecting with the audience; perhaps the right songs or more experience singing in small, intimate clubs will help.
Political Correctness, Ideological Feminism, and Federal Censorship/Extortion
The socially inept nerd trying to ask the wrong coed out could find himself facing sexual harassment charges...
Peak Oil/Gas?
This blog is an advocate for free trade and free markets. I found this "peak gas" essay by Martenson, (yes, Virginia: there is a modern-day Malthus). Martenson is arguing that Obama is on the verge of approving natural gas exports (which I consider an important step in helping to narrow our trade deficit and bolster the dollar)--my complaint is Obama has been moving too slow, prices have dropped from $16 to $2, which makes new production unprofitable, recently rebounding to about $4 MMBtu. Porter Stansberry, an investment newsletter publisher, debunked peak oil here. David Blackmon in a Forbes column here extends the discussion. Mark Perry of Carpe Diem embeds a video here of Boone Pickens saying we would be absolute fools not to export.
Any argument not to export a specific product or commodity especially when global prices are higher discourages investment, exploration, and production--and the good-paying jobs that go with them. Artificially low prices, e.g., through a supply glut, discourage more efficient utilization of natural gas. Notice that because we lack pipeline access to most world markets, transportation costs are non-trivial and have to be passed on to foreign customers.In fact, we need more pipeline investments to accommodate newer development. Right now, for instance, we are using railroads to transport a lot of domestic crude, and Obama has been very slow, despite good paying jobs in this type of infrastructure development.
Political Humor
The heat wave is continuing. There are warnings this could be a long, hot summer and they are telling everyone to cover up. Believe me. You don't have to tell the Obama White House twice. They know all about covering up. - Jay Leno
[The Obama Administration went through 12 versions of talking points to the NOAA National Weather Service, including edits by Al Gore.]
It was just revealed that the Department of Justice secretly recorded the phone calls of AP journalists for two months. Obama promised reporters that the incident will be immediately investigated — by the Department of Justice. - Jimmy Fallon
[The AP got tipped off by an undercover agent whom identified herself as 'Deep Throat'.]
My Greatest Hits
I'm somewhat pleased to see my latest Grunwald column rant has drawn almost daily readers and has already tied my month-earlier one-off rant on politically correct feminism in pageviews.
- Michael Grunwald and the "GOP Road to Nowhere"
- Miscellany: 11/18/12
- Miscellany: 5/02/13
- Miscellany: 4/16/13
- Miscellany: 5/10/13
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| Courtesy of Glenn McCoy and Townhall |
Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, "Born in the USA". Probably the Boss' most eniigmatic hit, which no doubt has to do more with the song title and anthem-like arrangement, than the lyrics Maybe because I'm a writer I pay a lot of attention to lyrics; Bruce is not an artist whom, as Sir Paul might say, writes 'Silly Love Songs'. He often probes darker themes, and the song deals with a jaded Vietnam vet.
First Time I've Heard MSM Compare Obama and Nixon...
Maybe we should have known when Obama said that he had a secret plan to end the economic tsunami....
