Archive for the ‘Not America’ Category
American-European Relations Won’t Change No Matter Who Becomes President
Thursday, October 30th, 2008Dr. James Joyner has an excellent piece at The New Atlanticist. He rightly notes that circumstance dictates relations more than personality. Personal interest and state interest will trump even the most obnoxious personality.
I would note this, however. Dr. Joyner quotes Sir Christopher Meyer who makes the comment that Obama would be considered more conservative in Britain than the most conservative over there because even Obama isn’t calling for nationalized medicine while nationalized medicine is a given in Britain. The problem with using this example is that health care is already nationalized in Britain. Socialism is stubborn. Once a “benefit” is given, it isn’t taken away. It’s “reformed”. So, Obama, were he in Britain would be for expanding services and protecting bureaucracy. So I beg to differ: Obama would most certainly not be a Tory if he were in Britain.
The main substance of the argument, though, is a good one.
Sweden: The Canary In The Socialist Landmine
Sunday, October 19th, 2008This post, over at Brussels Journal is an excellent primer on how to ruin a Western Democracy. I’m excerpting a snippet, but please go read the whole thing:
“As political and economic freedom diminishes” said Aldous Huxley’s in Brave New World, “sexual freedom tends compensatingly to increase.” This fits perfectly with Huntford’s description. The state strips away your personal, economic and political freedom, yet grants you sexual freedom in return, boldly hailing itself as your liberator. Sweden in 2008 is a society with no real freedom of speech if you deviate from the ruling ideology. The more crushing ideological censorship and political repression become, the more frantic the displays of “sexual freedom” get. Sex is freedom; freedom means sex, and only sex.
State authorities present this as liberation of women and sexual liberation, but it is actually about breaking down rival sources of power: The traditional Christian culture and the nuclear family. This leaves the state more powerful since it can regulate all aspects of life and, most importantly, can indoctrinate the nation’s children as it sees fit, without undue parental interference. The state replaces your family, raises your children and cares for your elderly.
Meanwhile, the country is in the midst of the most explosive rape wave in recent history, largely caused by immigration. While Swedish girls are called “whores” by immigrants, Swedish boys are told to be as “gender neutral” as possible. Traditionally, a nation has been defended by masculine men who take pride in their heritage. By removing cultural pride and any sense of masculinity among native men, the country is rendered effectively defenseless. And maybe that was the intention?
In Western Europe, great emphasis is placed on destroying the heritage of the native population and instilling whites with a guilt complex and shame designed to alienate them from their own history. They are supposed to abase themselves in front of immigrants and tell them how worthless and evil their culture is, or alternatively how much they lament the fact that they don’t have a culture.
Americans wrongly believe that this sort of thing can’t happen here. Watching European nations stumble, one-by-one into cultural annihilation–Sarkozy says that Arabic is the French “language of the future”–it is pure hubris to think America is immune to the softness inbred by post-modern, relativistic, nihilistic, anti-Christian, politically correct thought.
Barack Obama’s Advisors, Not His Past Associations, Tell You How He Feels About Israel
Saturday, October 18th, 2008Read this editorial by David Bedein, and I’ll tell you why you should care about Israel after you’ve finished:
Yet there is a way to gain insight into Sen. Obama’s policies towards Israel. Not by tabulating votes on the Senate floor and not by counting how many superlatives that he uses on Israel.
Instead, by paying attention to the three high ranking former U.S. State Department officials whom the Senator has hired: Martin Indyk, Dennis Ross and Daniel Kurtzer. The policy which characterizes all three of them is their consistent promotion of the PLO as a supposed peace partner with Israel for the past 20 years, no matter what the reality was.
This is the threesome that defined the PLO as a peace partner even after the PLO would not ratify the Oslo “declaration of principles” in October 1993.
This is the threeesome that attested to the fact that, in 1996, the PLO had cancelled its covenant to destroy Israel, when it had not done so.
This is the threesome who insisted on arming the PLO to fight Hamas even though the PLO made it clear from the outset that it would never engage Hamas in any full-scale war
And this is the threesome who promote a PLO state, come what may.And this is the threesome who main committed to mobilizing Jewish Americans to support a PLO state, come what may.
From Sen. Obama’s appointment of Martin Indyk, Dennis Ross and Daniel Kurtzer, it is easy to discern where the Senator stands - for the renewal of the Oslo process once again, this time with the teeth of an American administration that would impose a Palestinian state, even though it remains at war with the State of Israel.
The role played by Daniel Kurtzer has not been forgotten - as the man who wrote tough speeches for former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker when he pressured Israel 20 years ago.
What about Sen. Obama’s sensitivity to the consquences of Arab terror?
After all, during his visit to the shell-shocked Israeli town of Sderot near Gaza, he met families whose homes and lives have been devastated by Arab missile attacks.
It was in Sderot where Sen. Obama looked into the eyes of each of these families and told them that he would never forget the consequences of what terror had done to people in Israel.
Yet on the very next morning, Sen. Obama addressed a crowd in Berlin in which he depicted how nations around the world had suffered from the consequences of terror. The senator named each of these nations. Yet he forgot to name Israel.
A short term retention span which deleted Israel as a nation whose people suffered the conseqeunces of terror could not have been a coincidence.
Sen. Obama gives prepared speeches.
The time has come to put aside platitudes and to stop judging Sen. Obama’s attitude towards Israel from those who have endorsed him. His choices of advisors speak for themselves.
Indeed.
But why should an American care about what an American president thinks of Israel? Israel is the lone democracy in a region of the world plagued by dictators and tyrants. Israel promotes things like freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion. Israel stands for these freedoms in the face of unimaginable odds. America was attacked on her own soil once, on September 11, 2001 in a spectacular an horrifying way. Israel is attacked every, single, day with little fanfare and even less world interest and yet soldiers on in the dogged pursuit of freedom when they would be well within their rights to obliterate Gaza and those who fund the terrorists there and be done with it.
When an American president pretends that there is equivalence between Israelis and the PLO, say, it reveals his moral compass. It reveals, in fact, that he lacks one. When an American leader views the terrorist organizations as the victims of Israel instead of the arm and tool in the hands of surrounding Arab states who victimize Israel, it further reveals his lack of judgment. And it also reveals how he will view the enemies of America.
If an American president blames Israel for existing and therefore inciting the non-stop terrorism, what will his reaction be to American’s being attacked? Wait, we already know the answer to that. When Americans fight back against terrorists, this is how Barack Obama responded:
Mexico’s Nepotism Problem And What It Means For America
Monday, October 13th, 2008In America, only rich people have school choice, such is the stranglehold the union has over education. Poor and middle income people find themselves stuck with what they get. When it comes to education, the Teacher’s Union is not pro-choice. They are for salaries disconnected from performance and they are for guaranteed employment.
The Mexican Teacher’s Union makes America’s Teacher’s Union seem positively pro-rigorous standards. The Houston Chronicle reports:
At the heart of the conflict is the “Alliance for Quality Education,” a national plan to professionalize teachers and hold them accountable for their students’ performances. The plan was ratified in May by Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Elba Esther Gordillo, the leader of the country’s 1.6 million-member National Education Workers Union, and sent to Mexico’s 31 state governments and Federal District for approval.
Changing the system
The protesters accuse Gordillo, who recently declared herself the union’s leader for life, of striking a deal with Calderon to retain her grip on power — at the expense of decades of hard-fought labor gains.“We’re fighting to guarantee jobs for our kids,” Oscar Miranda said as he helped teachers stage a protest in front of the governor’s office in Cuernavaca, the capital of Morelos.
“Throughout history,” Miranda said, “the sons of carpenters have become carpenters. Even politicians’ children become politicians. Why shouldn’t our children have the same right?”
So the teachers in Mexico fight for nepotism. How progressive!
I have written before, and can’t find the post now–it was at the old blog, about the lack of American acculturation by Mexican illegal immigrants and further about how this one particular aspect of Mexican culture is troubling because it is at odds with an essential element of being American. That is, that family trumps merit.
Essentially, families handle relationships en mass. Jobs are kept within the family and disputes handled through parents or the patriarch or matriarch. This tradition works at direct odds with American culture where a family connection might get a person an interview and maybe even a job, but where gross incompetence will not be forgiven based on family name. Now, I recognize that this does happen, but it is rare and usually confined to family businesses.
In Mexico, where there is no middle class to speak of, people keep power by keeping family in power. And now, the Teacher’s Union wants to do the same thing. This is not a good development for the country, but it is revealing.
Immigrants to America should understand that it’s not family name, but accomplishment that means success. There are individual freedoms that get lost in a nepotistic system. To be included as part of the family can mean sublimating a gift. I had a Mexican friend who was going to college in private for fear of her family’s response.
At any rate, legal immigration is fine. People have to work hard for a long time to earn their American citizenship. And it is something people should have to earn. Illegal immigration where thousands of people bring aspects of a culture that run exactly counter to what America stands for is not fine. It is destructive.
Considering that both John McCain and Barack Obama support some form of Amnesty, I think it would be wise to ponder what that would mean for American culture.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
Live Blogging Hurricane Ike From The Woodlands, Texas
Friday, September 12th, 20084:10 AM CST Going to try to sleep for a bit. Wind is whistling. Actually thought one of the kids was crying, but it’s the wind. Raining still. Still have power. Truly. Astounding. I didn’t think we’d still have it at this point, not that I’m complaining. Much of Houston is out of power by all accounts. Next update will be around 7:00 AM CST, or sooner, if I can’t sleep. And there’s a good chance of that. I am sitting here sans caffeine. I’ll pay tomorrow though. Wind is really beating up the trees. Branches are off. Just turned on the outside light. Yard is a mess. It will be delightful cleaning all this up.
3:40 AM CST By predictions below, right now, for the next 30 minutes will be the worst here. So far, I’d agree. Non-stop winds right now. Raining finally and that blue lightning. I’ve never seen anything like it. The wind is constant and then it gusts. After this half hour passes, I’m going to try to sleep for a bit. The worst should be over by 8:30 AM CST, for us in The Woodlands. Still have power and it hasn’t been surging like it was. Much of Houston has lost power, though.
3:15 AM CST High Tide hits at 3:23 AM. I thought I’d relink the Surge Data page. Holeee Cow. Check out Port Arthur and Clear Lake. Clear Lake is heavily populated. It’s going to be awful tomorrow morning.
Here in The Woodlands, there is heavy duty wind and the occasional blue lightning which is very strange.
3:00 AM CST I don’t know how much longer we’ll have power. The wind is incredible. Gusts are really something. My mom noted something interesting–maybe the reason we don’t have huge media coverage with big names is because they’re covering the “real” hurricane: Sarah Palin. Poor Alaska, being swamped by those guys. I’d almost rather have the gusty wind. The Big Media windbags are full of hot air and may not destroy your homes, but I’ve heard rumors that they suck your soul.
2:55 AM CST: Eric Berger is the other guy still blogging and still awake here. He has an update and says this (he has pictures):
The latest wind speed forecasts also suggest that most of Harris County, outside of the county’s southeastern quarter, may not see sustained hurricane-force winds as Ike moves inland and up the western edge of Galveston Bay. There will be hurricane-force gusts, of course, and these are already occurring in some areas.
Chambers and Liberty county have a much better chance of seeing sustained hurricane-force winds.
While hurricane-force gusts will be enough wind to knock power out to most of Houston — the total of those losing power is approaching 75 percent of all metro area customers — it shouldn’t be strong enough to substantially damage a significant number of inland homes.
The wind is worsening. The gusts are impressive. And by impressive, they would push me across the backyard if I was standing in it, just to give you an idea.
Right now, Galveston is experiencing high tide just as the back side of the eye wall hits. I fear for the people who stayed. The leaders just didn’t have enough urgency about this storm. Grrrrr…..
2:30 AM CST Winds are really picking up here in The Woodlands. Turned off the exterior lights, so don’t know if it’s finally raining. Where is the rain? This storm is so insanely weird. Huge, huge gusts right now. Yikes!!!! Haven’t lost power yet.
2:15 AM CST Wanna watch something funny while you’re riding out the storm? Sure you do.
1:36 AM CST Can’t sleep, live around Houston and want to add your information to the record? Go here. Twitter is an amazing tool, folks. People are reporting from all over the city. Tomorrow, it will be invaluable. Want to know where power lines are down? Want to know what’s open and not? Twitter will be your friend.
A note on technology: Between the internet and phone connection, it’s almost impossible to fathom going through this without the connections. Friends living in Poland and Australia have been emailing and IMing me. Family and friends all around the country keep in touch via text, IM, my blog and Twitter. It is amazing. In addition, Galveston was destroyed in the Great Hurricane of 1900–and the people were lost during that first devastating hurricane. The weather predictions this time have been so accurate. Lives have been saved–if the people listened.
1:00 AM CST Wind coming and going. John Little reporting that historic Brennan’s Restaurant burned to the ground. Dang! That was on my to-do list. John is also reporting this:
Fire between smith and brazos.HPD dispatcher just said “HFD is sending everything they got” not sure what that means but it sounds bad.
Okay, this is just nuts. One of my blog heroes, Jim Hoft, aka Gateway Pundit, linked to me. Do you know how many times I’ve linked this workhorse of a blogger? He is amazing. Thanks, Jim! You totally rock.
For the doofuses still in Galveston and thinking you’ve “escaped”. Um, hello, people! High tide is still coming and the storm surge is not done, yet. The worst comes on the back endfront of the storm. That starts two hours from now. The eye wall, back side, seems to be hitting Galveston, or beginning to at 2:00 AM CST.
Going to get a snack. Blood sugar crashing.
12:30 PM CST Hardly any rain. Weird. Still windy. Huge fire reported by FOX down town Houston. Not. Good. No way to stop it. Note to people: In case you’re considering it, don’t get in your car and go anywhere. The wind gusts will blow you off the road.
Here’s the tidal predictions at NOAA.
Brendan Loy is calling this “The Great Galveston Hurricane of 2008″. Catchy. He has more good information.
Here is the latest from my Exxon-Mobil insider. Please note: This is for The Woodlands, TX 77382:
Sustained winds
25+ mph already happening — duration: 19+ hours
39+ mph already happening — duration 14+ hours
58+ mph starting at 0034 CDT — duration: 8 hours, 35 min.
74+ mph starting at 0342 CDT — duration: 0 hours, 21 minutesGusts up to 116 mph at peak around 0400
Point of closest approach of center: 13/0700 CDT — 11 miles
12:20 PM CST From my mom via IM, “Do we really need to witness the last moments of Geraldo’s life. And where’s Anderson Cooper?” I’m howling. See where I get my smart ass sense of humor?
Via Twitter, the Hospital District is reporting flooding. During Tropical Storm Allison, they flooded badly and lost a lot of very important research being conducted in the labs. The hospital district has a vast underground tunnel network. Only Texas Children’s had flood protection doors built however many years ago that was. I’m hoping they’ve built more now.
Winds are Ka-razy now.
12:05 PM CST We have a huge, maybe 60 foot tall pine tree in the front yard. And then some other trees, too. Everyone in this planned community has tons of trees. It’s called The Woodlands for a reason. Tomorrow, there will be loads of downed trees and branches. If the clanging on my roof is any indication, there will be lots of new roofs needed, too. I’m trying to fathom the insurance bills from all this.
11:50 PM CST Disturbing pictures and more info here. Here’s the Twitter Disaster Watch Feed.
11:30 PM CST Just showered. Large scale exfoliation and smooth legs. I’m going into Ike smelling like a rose. Not sure I’ll come out of it the same. Sorry, for the pun. I’m getting tired and punchy.
Electricity browning out right now. Not sure how long I am for this blog. Watching Geraldo being blown into a palm tree. One of these days, a storm is going to suck him into the waves and he’ll be a goner. And will he have a huge wake? Okay, I’m sorry. That’s bad, too.
Strong gusts. John Little reports 600K without power. Might lose it here, too.
11:01 PM CST More at Texas Rainmaker who says “guess we picked the wrong hurricane to ride out.”
Here’s my thoughts as of now–Tomorrow and maybe the next day, people will try to get out because there won’t be power and it will be hot as hell, except that there won’t be anywhere to go. Misery. And there will be misery in shelters, too, of a different kind.
10:45 PM CST Michelle Malkin linked here. Thanks, Michelle. She and I met at the AFP Conference in Austin. Yes, she’s as nice in person as she is in writing. She has a good round-up.
Winds coming and going. Some people have asked because they have family here, where exactly, I am. I live in the Village of Panther Creek which is about four miles off of I-45. I’m near McCullough High School, for what it’s worth.
We have many friends and contacts within the oil industry and they feed me information every so often. I think people need to understand how profoundly the refining being down is going to affect the nation. Even if the refineries could get back going the minute the storm passes, it will take at least a week to get going again. And, it should be noted, the refineries will not get going the minute the storm passes. America needs to build more.
The Houston Chronicle is liveblogging and reports that Humble is under curfew.
10:30 CST The winds are BAD and it is nowhere near the worst time. The worst is supposed to be here (The Woodlands, Texas) at 5 AM. See below for the details.
More from LawHawk. He thinks it was a “huge mistake” that Bill White didn’t do a large scale evacuation. I 100% agree and have been saying so for two days. Scroll down for my own comment on the subject.
I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight.
10:16 PM CST There’s always a smartass. Watching the wind blowing Geraldo around on Fox. Hearing more huge branches come down. Shizen! Don’t like that. (Oh, huge gusts. 110 mph sustained winds on Galveston.)
Okay, here’s more info via Rorschach who also is here in Texas says about the 20% number I said earlier about refining:
eh, yes and no. yes you are correct but it is a little more complex than that. it takse an average of 3 days for refineries to shut down safely. and another week to come back on line. once a shutdown starts, you have to follow it through to full shutdown before you restart. so refineries that are in the cone of uncertainty at three days prior to landfall must make a decision to shutdown before they know where the storm is going to go. so all the refineries from corpus to NOLA shut down.
For what it’s worth, here’s Rorshach’s credentials:
full disclosure, a division of my company has an industrial nitrogen division which services the refineries to help “inert” the chemical reactors at the refineries. They have been busier than one armed paper hangers.
I hope they got the job done.
10:05 PM CST Structural damage to homes and businesses in Galveston, via FOX. HUGE wind gusts now in The Woodlands. Looking at the satellite, the eye of the storm is nice and firm. Horrible timing for Houston. The hurricane is strengthening as it hits land. Yikes.
Here are the economic consequences. Reports of $6.00/gallon gas in Tennessee. Just a reminder: 20% of refined oil comes from Houston. What happens here, affects the whole country.
9:45 PM CST Instalanched!!! Thanks for the link, Glenn. He says:
Watching TV a bit earlier, the Insta-Wife commented that politicians aren’t making a big deal about Ike the way they did about Gustav. That’s true.
I think everyone has been in la-la land. I’m wondering if it’s New Orleans bias or just political expedience. I think it might be the former because the government officials have been more relaxed in their demeanor, even here in Houston. It has been absolutely mind-boggling to me. This storm is huge and powerful and the Houston area has nearly 6 million residents. Only 1 million evacuated. The potential for loss of life is huge.
As of this writing, the wind is kicking up and much worse than we experienced during the entire Rita hurricane.
Waiting on the NHS to update. John Little is still going for now.
9:21 CST Brendan Loy angry about the 24,000 people likely still in Galveston. Yup. That’s what I’ve been saying. Wholly irresponsible. And I’m sorry, since taxpayer dollar go to saving them, if they’re even savable, they should be forced to leave.
9:12 CST Fox reporting a levee went in Louisiana flooding “hundreds” of homes.
9:02 CST Houblog estimates the numbers about who stayed behind and what it could mean:
Good Lord. That’s twice what I expected. [40% of residents stayed rather than evacuate.] If that proportion is the same for for zones A and B (areas that “never flood”)…
US Census: Galveston county popuation, 283,551, for both island and mainland. Clear lake is 65k. Power’s getting iffy again, can’t research more.
Toss in southern Harris county near the bay, Chambers county and so on, if that % holds true, there could be 300,000-500,000 people at risk.
Here’s a page Brendan Loy created about the surge problems.
8:38 CST Huge wind pick up. I’m thinking we’ll eventually have to bring the kiddos downstairs. Report of a fire on Galveston Island on the West end. There’s no way to get to them to see what is going on. Also, 200,000 without power via Centerpoint Energy. Back down to 105,000. That’s good. Flickering here.
At 9:00 CST Galveston shuts down. Police have been having to order people off the seawall. I do believe people have a suicidal impulse. What the heck? A whole psychological study could be done on people denying reality and willing to die rather than move out of fantasy land. Sheesh.
Also, dear reader Burnside sent me kind wishes and also this link, which I agree is the BEST storm tracking site I’ve seen: StormPulse.com
If one more talking head says HUNKER DOWN, I’m smashing some pumpkin heads. The phrase makes me feel violence. That’s it. I’m counting the times I hear it. Three times in the last minute.
8:16 PM CST Power just surged. Stink. Don’t want it to go this quickly. The wind is gusting. It’s dark, so I can’t see, but I can hear. The wind is steadily blowing now.
A commenter at Brendan Loy’s place explains what happened to Navarre Beach, an island similar to Galveston near Pensacola (I can personally attest to his report as I have been by there nearly every year, including the year of the hurricane):
In response to “how long will Galveston Island be down?” question you mentioned from Eric’s chat: During hurricane Opal Navarre Island and Pensacola Beach in FL endured a similar flood. Although they had no sea wall to protect from the frontal assault, the water and power infrastructure was completely wiped out - and I’ve recently heard on local Houston TV that the city/county officials expect Galveston’s infrastructure to be similarly destroyed. This is not a matter of simply stringing power lines back up - as will be necessary inland. Sewer and water lines will need to be completely re-laid (if possible). Parts of Navarre Island had no power and water restored for up to a year or more, and in many, many areas along the Gulf Coast there, the damage is still horribly present more than 10 years on. Channels scoured through the barrier islands are still barely above the high tide line. Highways, bridges and causeways that were ‘bulldozed’ by Opal (and later Ivan) took years to replace. It’s also important to note, as Dr. Masters does, that the seawall only protects against some amount of the frontal inland thrust of the water - when it begins to flow outward again the wall will not impede the rapid outflow of the same water. Hope and pray for the best but, in the worst case, the barrier islands in the path of greatest surge may be significantly altered for the foreseeable future.
As an aside, I am going to complain, again, about the evacuation. I think the fact that many people got stuck on I-45 for hours evacuating after Rita made officials nervous about doing a large-scale evacuation. I have said, and I’m saying it again: THEY MADE A MISTAKE. Let me tell you what is worse than having to pee on the side of the road because you’re stuck for a while: being stuck in a city that is flooded, with no electricity, not enough food and downed power lines. When everyone wakes up tomorrow, they are going to wish to high heaven they are anywhere but downtown Houston.
I hope I am wrong about all this. I want to be wrong. Time will tell.
Also, there is now a Tornado Watch on here. That’s unsurprising. What I don’t know, is how the difference between gusty winds and a tornado. We’ll see.
7:21 PM CST Just got the mail and got a nugget of goodness: Veranda Magazine. Did I tell you people that in addition to pop musack, I like shelter magazines? Well, I do. So, as long as I have electricity, I’ll be blogging, freezing (turned the A/C down in anticipation of the power going out), watching the news, and now, reading my magazine.
Oh, wanted to remind you. You can follow my tweets, which are short blurbs and blogs under 140 words. If the power goes, I will continue to tweet from my iPhone. So go here and sign up.
Big gusts of wind and a beautiful pink, puffy clouded sunset. Surreal.
7:00 PM CST Off to bed for the kids. I hope they sleep through the whole thing. I don’t have enough batteries, but I’ll use my iPhone as a flashlight, which I do all the time anyway. Hey, it works perfectly! Not too much blaring light. Just enough.
Wind is kicking up seriously, now. It is starting. No rain yet.
6:28 PM CSTI’m putting the updates at the top–contra-flow if you will. It will be easier to read, if you’re coming back. From Instapundit:
MORE ON IKE FROM BRENDAN LOY, who says a storm surge catastrophe is likely. Meanwhile in Knoxville we’ve got storm-generated gas shortages, but there are no lines. In fact, I drove by an Exxon station a little while ago that looked deserted, and I wondered if it was because they were out of gas. But no, they had gas — at $4.69 a gallon. Pricing signals work . . . .
I’m wondering about the contempt the coasts feel about refineries. You know, a damaged Texas coast will be damaging their pocketbooks shortly. I can’t say that I feel that sorry, except it affects my pocketbook too.
Right now the wind is gusty. This is only the beginning. To remind everyone:
Here’s the advisory for The Woodlands, Texas again:
Hurricane Ike Wind Profile for 77382
Issued: 1100 CDT 12 Sep, 2008
Wind profile graph
Expected First Onset and Duration of Sustained Winds
Wind Start Date / Time Duration End Date / Time
25+ mph 12/1126 CDT 30 hours, 15 minutes 13/1741 CDT
39+ mph 12/2029 CDT 17 hours, 32 minutes 13/1401 CDT
58+ mph 13/0058 CDT 8 hours, 36 minutes 13/0935 CDT74+ mph 13/0401 CDT 0 hours, 54 minutes 13/0456 CDT
Point of Closest Approach of Center:
13/0800 CDT — 4 miles at Azimuth 262.0 degrees (SW)The eye of the storm will pass 4 MILES from zip code 77382. I’m in zip code 77381 and the eye is predicted to pass directly over here.
Geraldo is reporting a family roped together on a roof down by the coast. I cannot even tell you how bad this pisses me off. He is rightly saying that, “the dark will mask the horror”. It was clearly doom. What is wrong with people? The arrogance and ignorance displayed here. And again, I’m not sure who is the bigger problem–the officials for letting people stay and not telling them to get out at gun point or the people for being so completely moronic.
6:09 [18:09 Military Time] p.m. here. There is cloud cover, no rain and lots of wind. The Hurricane will hit as a Category 3, not that it makes a difference. Unfortunately, people seem to be putting too much stock in the Category level rather than the damage that can be done because of the storm surge. The “worst case scenario” is happening in Galveston.
John Little is reporting looters on the Houston scanner–people taking equipment from a construction site. A pox on all their houses. These people are the lowest forms of scum. He is also reporting high winds and says that things are “deteriorating fast”. Follow his tweets at Twitter here.
Hurricane Ike Already Overwhelming Galveston Island–UPDATING UNTIL I START LIVE BLOGGING TONIGHT 6 CST
Friday, September 12th, 2008Like I told you peeps before, I’m north of Houston. So far, sunshine and breeziness. Galveston succumbs to the surging gulf as I write this. (Here’s a link for the webcams.) Here is what an Exxon-Mobile insider wrote me (they have their own forecasting methods and they have to be accurate because of their rigs):
Now, the forecasters say to expect 25+ mph sustained winds beginning today @ 1403 CDT, and lasting for 27 hours, 8 minutes.
Of that time, we can expect 39+ mph sustained winds beginning at 1909 CDT, and lasting 17 hours, 32 minutes.
Also, of that time, we can expect 58+ mph sustained winds beginning late tonight @ 2308 CDT, and lasting for 9 hours, 26 minutes
This category is new — 74+ mph sustained winds beginning tomorrow early @ 0127 CDT, and lasting for 2 hours, 43 minutes
The expected highest sustained winds are forecasted to be about 81 mph., with gusts up to 118 mph.
Lastly, the eye of the storm is expected to pass within 20 miles of our zip code tomorrow morning @ 0600 CDT
Please note: This forecast is specifically for the zip code 77381. That is in The Woodlands, Texas. And that is as of an hour ago. So, it is constantly adjusting. As I learn more, I will share it.
The Woodlands and areas north of Houston will have to deal with wind damage and spin-off tornadoes.
Here is my concerns going forward:
1. Too many people. I am alarmed that more of Houston hasn’t evacuated and it’s not because of the storm itself, which will be bad enough. It’s because of the aftermath. Without power, people will be hot. Without power, people can’t cook. Without water, stores can’t be open. People will be stuck in their homes while crews try to clean up the mess.
2. Complacency. I noted this before. People just aren’t taking this storm seriously and I don’t get it. It’s massive. It is directly hitting the fourth largest city in the United States. New Orleans is the fraction of Houston’s size. So, the people left have been kinda lax. I hope they are well-provisioned. I’m not sure they’ve taken enough care.
3. Trauma fatigue. Houston has been in the helping position for a long time. Now, they’re going to need help. People are weary. I’ve said this before. But a lot of energy has been expended here over the past couple of years helping others in their time of need. People are worn out. This is not good. I include myself in this. A person cannot stay hyper alert forever. So, alarmingly, I’m still seeing Galveston residents finally waking up and leaving. Finally.
Far too many people are staying in low lying areas of Houston. What in the hell? People need to get out. They’re not doing it. They don’t want to drive. They don’t want to go anywhere. They’re tired. Well, I fear too many people are going to be dead tired before this is all over.
I don’t know if it’s the newsmedia or the city leadership or what, but there doesn’t seem to be enough urgency about this storm. I don’t get it. The media seems to be smitten with New Orleans and every other American city can just suffer, I guess. What the hell?
New Orleans has the historic French Quarter. That’s all well and good. Houston is full of people. Lots of them; nearly six million of them. In addition, Houston refines America’s oil. You know those distasteful things called refineries that Californians don’t want? Well, they get their gas from Texas. Everyone should be concerned about the safety of oil rigs and refineries. If they haven’t been, they will be soon.
Brendan Loy has a lot more. As the storm comes up, I’ll be live blogging it. Most of the night. Right now, I think I’m going to take nap, so I can stay up late. The wind is starting to blow and the sky is cloudy. Nothing big yet. The dogs are still outside and not freaking out. They usually go crazy when bad weather comes.
You can follow me at Twitter, too. I’ll update there. That’s easier. Short and sweet tweets! As long as I have power…….friends north of here have a generator. We might be visiting them if the power goes out!
UPDATED: My friend John Little is live blogging the hurricane from downtown Houston. You can also follow his tweets on Twitter here. He is about 20 miles closer to the coast than I am here.
More from Houblog who is in Houston and is boarded up:
No traffic out there. Great time to evacuate, people.
As one reporter pointed out last night, the storm surge is going to arrive tonight in the dark, after power has failed. And as I put it, your current opinion of the foolishness of evacuating is going to be pretty damned cold comfort, when you’re standing in chest deep water, trying to shove granny on the roof in 95mph winds (and waves). Hint: it ain’t happening. You’re toast.
Personally, I’d like to urge the folks in Zones Coastal and A who chose to remain behind to follow these instructions:
Instead of relying o n a “Good Samaritan” policy - the fantasy in New Orleans that everyone would take care of the neighbors - the Virginia rescue workers go door to door. If people resist the plea to leave, Mr. Judkins told The Daily Press in Newport News, rescue workers give them Magic Markers and ask them to write their Social Security numbers o n their body parts so they can be identified.
“It’s cold, but it’s effective,” Mr. Judkins explained.
I hear hammers. Someone else is boarding up. Not like I can look out my window to see who…
EVACUATE NOW! If you are in low lying areas of Houston, if you live in rickety homes anywhere, get out, now. The roads are clear sailing to anywhere you want to go and you can still beat the storm. There is no reason to go down with your house.
Ok, enough preaching. Time for sleeping. I’ll be back in a bit to update. Winds have died down again. It comes in gusts.
UPDATE:
Here’s the advisory for The Woodlands, Texas again:
Hurricane Ike Wind Profile for 77382
Issued: 1100 CDT 12 Sep, 2008
Wind profile graph
Expected First Onset and Duration of Sustained Winds
Wind Start Date / Time Duration End Date / Time
25+ mph 12/1126 CDT 30 hours, 15 minutes 13/1741 CDT
39+ mph 12/2029 CDT 17 hours, 32 minutes 13/1401 CDT
58+ mph 13/0058 CDT 8 hours, 36 minutes 13/0935 CDT
74+ mph 13/0401 CDT 0 hours, 54 minutes 13/0456 CDT
Point of Closest Approach of Center:
13/0800 CDT — 4 miles at Azimuth 262.0 degrees (SW)
The eye of the storm will pass 4 MILES from zip code 77382. I’m in zip code 77381 and the eye is predicted to pass directly over here.
There will be sustained winds of 74 mph for an hour tomorrow morning around 5 a.m. At this point, I’m just hoping the kids sleep through it.
My biggest concerns up here are two-fold: flying debris and branches breaking windows due to wind and no power. There’s a good chance we’ll be without power for a couple days. It is 95 degrees here. After the storm and no power, we’ll be in the car and visiting our friends (if they don’t flood) who have a generator. We’re not fair-weather friends. We’re bad weather friends!
Also, for the tools still holding out on Galveston. You do realize that when someone has to rescue your sorry ass you’re putting someone’s son, brother, friend, at risk, right? I just heard on Fox a Galveston commissioner staying on the island with her family. WTH? Downed power, fires, electrocution, there are many ways to die during this thing and drowning is not the least of them.
Heather Mallick: Another Reason Canada Does Not Deserve To Be The 51st State
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008So some female Canadian journalist Heather Mallick waxes elephant about the plebe Sarah Palin. I read this at Rachel Lucas first. Her response is full of “picque”. You might have to be French Canadian to understand that word.
Rachel also goes after the idjits who feel that a random judge has more sense than the constitution. Jeff Goldstein delves even deeper into the constitution-Obama follower-stupid triangulation, that and the Sarah Palin equals a Muslim terrorist equivalence. Rachel writes about that too. [These are two of the greatest minds on the internets, by the way. I've mentioned this before but you should be reading their work every day.]
Still my favorite screed of the day is by James Lileks who goes after the Canadian tarte who manages to shove every stereotype about the right into one verbose article. This is a long quote, but I promise you, there is so much more goodness in his writing you have to read it all. Ditto Rachel. Ditto Jeff. Why would anyone want to be a liberal? The true literary artists are on the right. Says Mr. Lileks:
It’s possible that Republican men, sexual inadequates that they are, really believe that women will vote for a woman just because she’s a woman.
Consider the joy that would reign if someone wrote that “Democrats, racial guilt-mongers that they are, really believe that African-Americans will vote for an African-American just because he’s an African-American.” Of course Republican men don’t believe that women will vote for her just because she’s a woman. It’s surely a factor, but there’s the possibility that they will vote for her because she is not a woman like Heather Mallick.
You have to love the “Sexual inadequates that they are” line as well; if there’s one thing that’s amused me in the last two weeks, it’s the screechy distaste of Ms. Palin coming from men who embodied the Modern Alda Paradigm of masculinity, which is to say they are nervous around cars, think guns are icky, had their own Snugli, have wives in corporate jobs who make more money than they do, and still get dissed behind their backs because they can’t figure out how to make the bed. The Lost Boys, if you will. Now, some women can’t stand Sarah Palin for their own reasons, personal or ideological; same with men. Some men, however, are made deeply uneasy by her, because she’s the one who ignored the sensitive poet-guys in high school for the jocks, and didn’t seem to grasp the essential high-school truth that it’s cool to be a loser. But that’s rank psychoanalysis, and we won’t stoop to that.
She continues on the women-voting-for-women thing:
They’re unfamiliar with our true natures. Do they think vaginas call out to each other in the jungle night? I mean, I know men have their secret meetings at which they pledge to do manly things, like being irresponsible with their semen and postponing household repairs with glue and used matches. Guys will be guys, obviously.
It’s funny, because it’s true! Bronze that paragraph; if nothing else, it’s the death of PC, and license for guys to say anything. At least she’s honest about the idea of female solidarity – it matters only if the ideological stars have aligned – no, if the ideological cycles have synced, to use terms she’d probably employ. Or has already. It’s not about whether Sarah Palin is a woman, it’s whether she’s the right kind. She’s supposed to restrict snow machines, not ride them or for God’s sake get knocked up by some slopey-brow dullard who rides them. (Competitively! Gawd) Nationalize oil companies, don’t make deals. Have one or two children, not five – Good Gaia, woman, are you trying to make overstuffed congested Alaska top the one-million-citizen mark all by yourself?
It gets better. It occurs to me that elitism isn’t a college degree. It isn’t a zipcode. It isn’t a gender. It isn’t a profession. It’s an attitude.
There are plenty of loaded people who live humbly and wouldn’t presume to condescend and try to tell some dude how to live his life. One of my favorite liberal friends not only refused to shower with soap but also had never paid taxes in his 32 years on the planet. He felt more than entitled to tell other people how to live when it was clear he had trouble taking care of himself.
This impulse to control other people, the lessers, the plebes, the stupid ones, the other, is why average people bristle at being “helped”. It’s not charity. It’s not kindness. The government is one big bludgeon to control everyone’s life. A helping hand? Right. More like a smack across the face.
About Those Nut Crackers–UPDATED
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
A disgruntled lefty comments here:
By Will Bartlett on Sep 4, 2008 | Reply | Edit This
That hurts right? How about when you guys and girls called Hillary Clinton a Nut Cracker and all those obscene things, and even John McCain did not even spare her daughter - pimping?
Face it, republicans have said the worst things things about democrats all along. Obama has been pussy footing til now. This pussy footing has haunted Kerry and others.
So how about more articles on the whoring, pimping Palin’ family please.
And now, it sounds like Hillary Clinton’s people acknowledge the sexism, too. (Via Instapundit)I had to laugh, though. In the article talking sexism, the writers at the Politico offer this gem:
A choice that was intended to shake up the race did so with more ferocity than McCain ever intended. The mother of five — with one pregnant teenage daughter and an infant son with Down syndrome — has joined a parade of personalities from Anita Hill to O.J. Simpson to Monica Lewinsky to become a cultural flash point.
Note to you guys, does it seem sexist to analogize her with these characters? The point here is that a man would not be given the same treatment. Would Tim Pawlenty, for example, be compared likewise? Here’s a hint about sexism that goes both ways, “Would I ask a man/woman that question if roles were reversed?” No doubt, Todd Palin, as husband will do interviews, too. The Press should just go straight off their first lady scripts, just to be safe. No condescending questions about his ability to father “all these kids”.
Back to the nut crackers. Big shock, the press and the left and the old-boy-network is sexist. It’s not going to be easier on the world stage. It’s a fact of life and here’s how I hope Governor Palin will handle it.
1. Let the bloggers and her surrogates deal with it, while subtly making humorous comments herself, here and there. Otherwise, be above it. Bloggers have been fierce and will continue to be so in defending her and pointing out the hypocrisy and just plain insanity of the left and media.
2. Don’t. Cry. Just don’t. I’ve written about this before, and maybe it’s just my 50% English and stoic upbringing, but I am so not interested in seeing a public servant emote. Ditto athletes. I don’t want to see GW cry. When Hillary Clinton wept in self-pity, it pissed me off as a woman. Way to throw us back a couple decades. When Brett Favre bawled like a baby, I wanted to take him by the collar and smack him around. The second in command, or, the first for that matter, should not cry in public. Suck. It. Up. A leader sets the tone. A leader has to be brave to encourage followers to be brave.
3. Have a sense of humor. And here’s where those nutcrackers enter. When those came out and the feminists howled, I just rolled my eyes. And if the women of our party got their g-strings in a wad over something so trivial, it would irritate me, too. Have some perspective. A nutcracker is funny. Embrace it. If Hillary weren’t so sensitized and defensive, she would have bought up boxes of the nutcrackers and given them out as party favors at Christmas. Those things are awesomeness. I HOPE Palin is a nutcracker. I would love for someone to manufacture those. I want world leaders to see her, learn her reputation, and be afraid. And I want her to be so comfortable with herself that she can laugh. The vitriol is a sign that she’s winning. Her humor in the face of their fear will terrify them further.
A woman leader faces a tough balance. She needs to be feminine (not too butch) but tough. She needs to be empathetic but not soft. No one (well leftists anyway) seemed bothered by Clinton’s lack of emotional control. For better or for worse, Sarah Palin won’t be granted the same sort of slack. But here’s the thing, Clinton shouldn’t have either. Sarah Palin, thankfully, has a model: Margaret Thatcher. She made women and men admire her strength, smarts and humor.
So bring on the nutcrackers. Mmmmmmm……nuts.
UPDATED:
And her teleprompter broke!
“She’s like a moose going after a cabbage!”:
Crowded into Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill on Parks Highway, her friends and most ardent of supporters, many of them wearing ‘Go Sarah!’ T-shirts and badges that read ‘The Hottest Governor of the Coldest State’ watched the entire performance at full volume on flatscreen televisions, alternatively cheering, whooping, clapping, dabbing at their eyes, and, finally, giving her a standing ovation. Around them, hockey memorabilia hung from the walls - a reminder of Palin’s ‘hockey mom’ background.
Still wearing his blue Postal Service uniform after a long shift, David Parcha, 47, told The Times: “I’ve seen this coming for four years, man. When she was inaugurated as governor of Alaska, I told my teenage sons, ‘go to the ceremony, this is going to be historic.’”
“Our Mama Beats Your Obama” and other fun slogans. And to buy stuff, go to Cafepress.com Oooh, I love this one. “Keep the change.” Yes!
UPDATED AGAIN:
Cassy Fiano: “I am Sarah Palin.” Make your own and upload it.
And if you ask the media elites if they were unfair, the answer is predictable. But Mark Steyn, thanks them for all their help, giving “credit where credit is due”:
I would like to thank the US media for doing such a grand job this last week of lowering expectations by portraying Governor Palin - whoops, I mean Hick-Burg Mayor Palin - as a hillbilly know-nothing permapregnant ditz, half of whose 27 kids are the spawn of a stump-toothed uncle who hasn’t worked since he was an extra in Deliverance.
How’s that narrative holding up, geniuses? Almost as good as your “devoted husband John Edwards” routine?
I trust even now Maureen Dowd is working on a hilarious new column mocking proposed names for the Governor’s first grandchild. Perhaps Richard Cohen can just take the week off and they can rerun his insightful analysis comparing the Palin nomination to Caligula making his horse a consul. Whereas we sophisticates all know that if McCain were as smart as Obama he’d have nominated a dead horse to be his consul. No wait…
From the Weekly Standard on Reid’s comments that Palin was “shrill” (wow, that’s said about men ALL the time!):
If the McCain campaign wants to reach out to disaffected Hillary supporters and undecided women, it seems to me that they should play up Harry Reid’s attack on Palin. Wouldn’t Gloria Steinem have to defend her? Nevermind.
Sarah Palin’s Daughter “Punished With A Baby”–UPDATED, And Punished With Hot Future Husband
Monday, September 1st, 2008It turns out the Palins like punishment. That was already established. Who in their right mind goes into politics these days when one is assured of being attacked non-stop?
It also turns out that Sarah Palin’s 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant:
“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,” the Palins’ statement said.
“Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support,” the Palins said.
The Palins asked the news media to respect the young couple’s privacy.
“Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media, respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates,” the statement concluded.
Punishment. If only Bristol’s last name were Obama, she wouldn’t have to be punished:
“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old,” Obama said. “I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information.”
It turns out that the Palins made the wrong decision twice. First, Sarah, pregnant with a Down’s Syndrome baby didn’t abort. Second, their daughter got pregnant while unmarried and didn’t abort. Oh, and there’s a third mistake, but it has yet to happen: Teen daughter will get married to the baby’s father.
As a sensible person, teen pregnancy is obviously, not a good thing. It happens, though. Even Christian kids have sex, sometimes without birth control or even with it, and get pregnant. It will make Bristol’s life harder, to be sure, but she won’t be alone. She’ll have love and support. She’ll have to grow up sooner. And she won’t be the first person this has happened to.
Update: And no, this news will not hurt her with evangelicals.
And yes, Jeff Goldstein is exactly right, again when he writes in Breeders Breeding Breeders:
The left, as it has now been shown in one of the ugliest incidences of McCarthyite bullying I can remember, has no core belief in privacy, or even an investment in actual “choice” for women — unless the woman in question falls in line with their particular orthodoxies, that is. Anyone else is an “anti-woman” woman, and as such is subject to public exposure and ridicule.
The ironic thing is, Bristol Palin’s political beliefs aren’t even known, beyond (I assume) her support for her mother. But hey: all is fair in love and war, and suddenly, the progressive left seems quite unconcerned with “collateral damage” and “the children!™
Hopefully, any real feminist — not the kinds of second wave “establishment feminists” who have eschewed the end game of equality for the politically charged power politics of identity group activism and grievance pimping — will be so appalled by what has transpired over the last several days that they will run screaming from the “enlightened” base of the Democratic party: totalitarian “progressives” who have devoured Alinsky like he was a particularly plump and inviting veggie burger.
They are what they pretend to despise. And in the quiet moments between attacks, I suspect many of them recognize this, and secretly curse what it is they’ve become.
There’s more at the link. Go read the whole thing.
Updated again:
Michelle Malkin says, “Bristol Palin Chooses Life, Now Leave Her Alone.” Can we get an amen?
Oh, and Todd Palin had a DUI 22 years ago. Not relevant, but then, this news isn’t about relevance.
Updated again:
As one who would have a woody if I possessed wood, I resemble Rachel Lucas’ assessment. In addition, her assessment of the left is also accurate:
And who can doubt that the announcement that 17-year-old Palin daughter Bristol is preggers will drive certain leftists completely off the deep end in an orgy of impotent joy that now they can drag a minor into the election combat zone? This is the best news they’ve heard in weeks so you can’t blame them for their ecstasy. The only thing that might make them happier is if she had an abortion.
Hope! Change!
Rachel is also receiving leftist lovenotes. Mine die in moderation–well, most do. Some I let through for your entertainment. Rachel posted her favorites. She’s in love. Rupert’s a goner.
Updated again:
Ann Althouse on the sexism, again. Good grief, you could swaddle the left in their hypocrisy and spank their bottoms and they wouldn’t get it (this is a very long quote, my apologies to Ann, but it is so good. Also, go over to her site because the comments really capture the essence of this mess):
MadisonMan said:
I think the way to support a child through a pregnancy is to be there for them, not to embark on a national campaign — sure, it’s “only” 2 months — that will shine the spotlight on the child. Anyway, that would be my reaction as a parent.
Oh, that looks like a meme. Sarah Palin must stay home with her special needs baby. Sarah Palin must stay home with her about-to-be-married, pregnant daughter. Ladies: Put your career on hold until everything in you’re family stops happening. I know, MM is a man and he’s saying he’d stay home too, but would he? Would a man forgo his career to be there for a family member who is experiencing an important life transition?Remember when John Edwards decided to go on with his campaign after his wife got a diagnosis of inoperable cancer? Now, I think Elizabeth Edwards was probably excited about the campaign and wanted to go on with it. In that light, why are you assuming that Bristol Palin isn’t excited about her mother’s campaign? Unlike Elizabeth Edwards, Bristol is not facing her last days. She’s just starting out — all caught up in life. Presumably, she’s intense and positive about her pro-life beliefs, her love for the baby’s father, her impending wedding, and the new baby on the way.
I imagine her eager to run around with the campaign, spreading the pro-life message to young people. Why should you think she would prefer to mope around the house, feeling ashamed, absorbing maternal comforting? On the campaign trail, she will be a loved and praised pro-life heroine, and she — and her mother — are likely to convert others to the pro-life side, with their glamorous and very positive image. Pro-choicers beware.ADDED: In the comments Randy quotes my “Would a man forgo his career to be there for a family member who is experiencing an important life transition?” and says:
Ann, Joe Biden talks about facing that question when his wife and daughter were killed, and his sons injured, in that car accident. I can’t recall anyone ever criticizing him for making the decision to remain in the US Senate and commute from Delaware to DC.
Again, these criticisms would simply never be lobbed at a man. Have you even heard once, even one time, how hard on Obama’s girls it must be to have their father gallivanting around the country during their formative years? I challenge you to find it.
Updated again:
Patterico is actually communicating with Andrew Sullivan. And Andrew Sullivan still cannot believe the baby is Sarah’s. He’s a fact-checker, that one.
Updated:
Here’s Bristol’s fiancé. When you read the article, note how sensible the people there seem to be.
Updated again:
Ed Morrissey over at Hotair, like many parents, faced this situation. His story is touching and not unique in America:
Our son and daughter-in-law had just started their senior year in high school when they became pregnant, and I use that pronoun deliberately. The two of them formed their own unit and held each other up during a terribly stressful year. Meanwhile, we parents had to support them as best we could, and make sure they knew we loved and supported them through it all. In return, we discovered two wonderful adults who had just been children shortly before, and when the Little Admiral came, two wonderful parents as well.
None of this was easy, and we certainly all had our moments during this stressful time. However, we took each day as it came, and we discovered that it really didn’t bring the world to an end or stop the two of them from pursuing their dreams Like Bristol, our son and daughter-in-law got engaged shortly afterwards, and this month celebrated six years of marriage. Both of them graduated from college this year, and my son will start graduate school this week. It took them a little longer, but they achieved their goals.
Bristol Palin will be okay. She will face challenges, but who doesn’t?
UPDATED AGAIN:
Good grief, I’m excited about getting linked by the New York Times for the first time and then I read the comments about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy and my heart sinks. Ostensibly, Times readers are sophisticated and worldly and not the same kinds of people who would frequent a Kos forum, but it looks like I might be too optimistic. I won’t high-light them here, but you can go read them for a taste of hate.
Still waiting on “liberal bloggers” takes on John Edward’s confirmed affair and weird-ass cover-up of his alleged love-child. He was a candidate. Bristol Palin is the kid of a candidate. Get the difference?
And another thing, my mom was married a month and 19 when she got pregnant with me. Young parenting is only abnormal now because it’s customary to delay parenthood and adulthood these days, but women have been having babies at young ages for a long time and survived. Good grief. This is not a tragedy. It’s a poorly timed pregnancy.
UPDATED:
A picture is worth more than 1,000 words.
RS McCain: “Levi Johston: Sex on Skates”
Best McCain Ad
Thursday, August 28th, 2008Keep in mind that I’m not a huge McCain fan. I’m voting for him for the very reasons elucidated in this advertisement. Obama’s inexperience in the face of these world crises and his moral ambivalence in the face of tyrants adds up to such a troubling picture.
H/T Instapundit … Ann Althouse calls the ad “devastating“. I agree. This argument is what nags at the back of every American, including the Democrats soaking it all in in Denver. Ed Morrissey says:
“Presidential candidates get lots of criticism about policy stances during primaries that can be replayed as negative ads by their opponents. This, however, is different. It underscores Obama’s unreadiness, his unqualified status to assume the highest office in the country — and Obama himself makes that case.”
Dr. Melissa
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