Analytics

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Miscellany: 4/07/16

Quote of the Day
I do believe that man is a rope between animal and superman. 
But the superman I'm thinking of isn't Nietzsche's. 
The real superhuman, man or woman, is the person 
who's rid himself of all prejudices, neuroses, and psychoses,
 who realizes his full potential as a human being, 
who acts naturally on the basis of gentleness, compassion, and love, 
who thinks for himself and refuses to follow the herd. 
That's the genuine dyed-in-the-wool superman.
Philip José Farmer

Tweet of the Day
Congratulations, Trent Harmon, American Idol 2016!

Oh, well, I ended with a losing streak of picking winners; over the 15 seasons, I picked 5 losers, including the final two: most prominently I picked Bo Bice over Carrie Underwood. At least to my ears, Trent's voice was not better, but this is a democracy. Outstanding series finale; almost all the past winners and/or runners up were there (Kelly Clarkson, pregnant with her second child in late term, had a previously recorded segment). It was great to see Simon Cowell make a cameo appearance.  I almost turned the show off when it started with a Barry Obama clip, who used it to promote voter registration. Seacrest laid a hint of a post-Fox run when he signed off with a "goodbye--for now".

La'Porsha Renae "A House Is Not a Home" (American Idol 2016 Finale)



Image of the Day


Students and Socialism



Trump in Mean Girls



 True Love Decades Apart



Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Henry Payne via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Donna Summer, "Hot Stuff". Her second #1.

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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Miscellany: 4/06/16

Quote of the Day
You have it easily in your power 
to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. 
How? 
By giving a few words of sincere appreciation 
to someone who is lonely or discouraged. 
Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, 
but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.
Dale Carnegie

Tweet of the Day
My Choice for American Idol 15/2016
I'm waiting for American Idol to upload tonight's videos to Youtube. If and when, hopefully by tomorrow's post, I'll embed a performance. I particularly liked La'Porsha's cover of a Dionne Warwick classic.  La'Porsha is competing against Trent for the title. To vote, simply Google for American Idol Vote

Image of the Day


Epstein on ObamaCare



No, Bernie, Socialism Almost Destroyed Northern Europe



Facebook Corner

(Politico). Ben Stein on polls saying Donald J. Trump is the best GOP candidate on the economy: 'Shear idiocy'
Ben Stein is right. Trump is an ill-tempered, unprincipled, incompetent, unqualified, economically illiterate Know Nothing. What the economy needs is less interference and plundering from the State, not more. (Clinton and Sanders are professional political whores also who are economic illiterates.) Trump has simply exploited the corrupt, incompetent State.

Choose Life: Daddy/Baby Cuddle



Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Steve Breen via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

 Donna Summer, "Heaven Knows"

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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Miscellany: 4/05/16

Quote of the Day
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
Edmund Hillary

Tweet of the Day
Image of the Day


Young Women Debate Liberty vs. the State



American Idol Swan Song Week

To be honest, I have not watched since the top 10 elimination round. I did find Mackenzie Bourg compelling but he was eliminated from the final four. Tonight Fox ran a series retrospective; I will probably watch the final two shows this week. I read a recent interview with the series producer; he seemed to suggest that the show will probably be revamped and shopped to different networks. If you remember my past commentaries, I had suggested a hiatus before this season. They did put some interesting wrinkles in this season, like duets with past season performers and doing away with the annoying weekly results show. But the show had annoyed me with indulgent song selections I didn't recognize, and I liked to see performers tackle different genres of music.

It's difficult to say exactly how to retool a future competition. I've never really liked how the judges were marginalized down the stretch and contestant popularity often trumped performance. I do think some sort of fusion voting plus song metrics (think of how diving or gymnastics judging involving the difficulty of execution) would be an improvement. The Voice's team format could also be adapted, with interteam and intrateam pairwise duels.

Why Baseball Is the National Pastime



 Choose Life: Wake Up, Daddy!



White Lion Family



Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Ken Catalino via Townhall

 Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Donna Summer, "MacArthur Park". I loved the Richard Harris original cover of a Jimmy Webb classic. This remake was Donna's first #1 on the Hot 100 and the first of 7 consecutive Top 5 hits.

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Monday, April 4, 2016

Miscellany: 4/04/16

Quote of the Day
What was hard to bear is sweet to remember.
Portuguese proverb

Tweet of the Day
Image of the Day

 Congratulations, Villanova, NCAA Basketball Champions!

Simply one of the greatest basketball game finishes ever. North Carolina mounted a furious comeback to tie the game with an unlikely 3-pointer with 5 seconds left, only to see Villanova come back and drain a last-second shot. I totally get NC fan disappointment because I still haven't gotten over UH's last-second loss to NC State during my graduate school days.

Worse President Ever



Baseball Is Back--Check to the Taxpayer



Political Humor



Political Cartoon

Courrtesy of Robert Ariail via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Donna Summer, "Last Dance"



Trump and Hannity Sitting in a Tree


I got Trump, babe.
I knew Hannity and Trump had gotten close, but this is getting out of hand.
Posted by Ben Howe on Tuesday, March 29, 2016
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Sunday, April 3, 2016

Miscellany: 4/03/16

Quote of the Day
One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent.
Epictetus

Tweet of the Day
Image of the Day

I miss Texas in the spring. I would drive home to San Antonio from Houston
every Easter. I could smell the bluebonnets while stopping at a rest stop.
via Campaign For Liberty
A Republican Mayor To a California Desert Town: Legalizing/Taxing Pot

I do not advocate producing/consuming marijuana, but I don't believe in pursuing victimless crimes.



 A 5YO Hero





Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Ken Catalino via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Donna Summer,"I Feel Love"

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Saturday, April 2, 2016

Miscellany: 4/02/16

Quote of the Day
It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.
John J. McCloy

Tweet of the Day
Image of the Day

How the FCC Screws Up the Internet Through Net Neutrality



Political Humor: The Imperial Presidency



Facebook Corner

 (IPI). BREAKING: Chicago Public Schools files charges against Chicago Teachers Union for 'illegal' strike http://illin.is/1Rqx4gi
Why is this strike illegal but CPS closing schools last week and telling the teachers and students not to show up was legal?
Moron doesn't understand the difference between administration discretion and illegal union actions.

 (Acton Institute). “ISIS is committing genocide — the “crime of crimes” — against Christians and other religious groups in Syria, Iraq and Libya,” says a joint report by the Knights of Columbus and In Defense of Christians. “It is time for the United States to join the rest of the world by naming it and by taking action against it as required by law.”
The US government has been committing genocide in Muslim nations for decades. What is surprising about retribution? It is unfortunate that it is directed a Christians rather than politicians and arms merchants.
Don't be a RETARD, OP. I happen to be a non-interventionist, but arguing, outside of isolated incidents which have been prosecuted, the US has engaged in genocide is morally offensive and wildly out of line with the facts. We are not talking about blowback to the West--we are talking about genocide of religious minorities.

 (Cato Institute). "What Donald Trump doesn’t want you to know about his plan to build a 'Great Wall' between the U.S. and Mexico: He’d need to steal private property from Americans to build it."
 Does CATO imply that a land owner would prefer to be a passageway to the traffic than have a fence? Good fences make good neighbors. By the way the browser couldn't find your link.
 http://www.cato.org/.../great-wall-trump-would-be...
No, if the landowner wants fences, the government shouldn't subsidize them. And if I'm a landowner and don't want an eyesore at my property line, the government has no right. If I don't mind Mexican neighbors visiting, it's my business, not yours. Plus there is no legitimate public use to my land. Does the government have a right to burden my coastal beach property--even if foreign ships could navigate it?
(The Hill). "Knowing that Trump won on [immigration], it should empower you to go ahead and ask the candidates, 'What the heck are you thinking, candidates? What are you thinking when you're going ahead and actually asking for more immigrants, illegal immigrants, welcoming them in, even inducing and seducing immigrants with gift baskets of teddy bears and soccer balls?' " Sarah Palin said.
Knowing that Donald Trump has never won a single contest to date with a clear majority, even now his opposition has shrunk to 2 candidates, and knowing that in each and every contest immigration has placed LAST in voters' priorities, Sarah Paliln should shut up about immigration until she sees Russians on her front porch.

Love Blossoms From Tragedy



Political Cartoon
Courtesy of Henry Payne via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Donna Summer, "Could It Be Magic?". My favorite Manilow tune goes disco.

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Friday, April 1, 2016

Miscellany: 4/01/16

`Quote of the Day
Intuition is the source of scientific knowledge.
Aristotle

Tweet of the Day
Image of the Day

The sad thing is I've heard similar garbage from Trumpkins
via WAC

Eminent Domain Abuse By Zoning



Facebook Corner

 (Pro-Life Libertarians). The LP debate is tomorrow night! What question do you hope they will ask, and why? ‪#‎ProLife‬ ‪#‎Libertarian‬
How would you deal with a hawkish, profligate opposition Congress?

Lemonade Stand With a Twist of Honey



A Touch of Human Kindness



Taylor Swift Copies My Dance Moves



Cruz Rickrolling Trump





Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Gary Varvel via Townhall

Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Donna Summer, "Love to Love You, Baby"



Man Up, Trump!


Trump: My Life Is So 'Unfair'! [Montage]
Trump: My Life Is So 'Unfair'! [Montage]https://news.grabien.com/story-trump-my-life-so-unfair-montage
Posted by Grabien on Thursday, March 31, 2016
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