Thought for Today

"The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it's so rare."

~~~~~ Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Thought for Today

"Decisions! And a general, a commander in chief who has not got the quality of decision, then he is no good."

~~~~~ Bernard Law Montgomery

Thought for Today

"When we build, let us think that we build forever."

~~~~~ John Ruskin

Thought for Today

"Among the things that people complain about under the present medical care system are the costs, insurance company bureaucrats' denials of reimbursements for some treatments and the free loaders at hospital emergency rooms whose costs have to be paid by others. Will a government-run medical system make these things better or worse? This very basic question seldom seems to get asked, much less answered."

~~~~~ Thomas Sowell

Thought for Today

"Among the most pathetic letters and e-mails I receive are those from people who ask why I don't write more 'positively' about Obama or 'give him the benefit of the doubt.' No one -- not even the President of the United States -- has an entitlement to a 'positive' response to his actions. The entitlement mentality has eroded the once common belief that you earned things, including respect, instead of being given them. As for the benefit of the doubt, no one -- especially not the President of the United States -- is entitled to that, when his actions can jeopardize the rights of 300 million Americans domestically and the security of the nation in an international jungle, where nuclear weapons may soon be in the hands of people with suicidal fanaticism. Will it take a mushroom cloud over an American city to make that clear? Was 9/11 not enough?"

~~~~~ Thomas Sowell

Thought for Today

"If you were going to have open heart surgery, would you want to be operated on by a surgeon who was chosen because he had to struggle to get where he is or by the best surgeon you could find – even if he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had every advantage that money and social position could offer?"

~~~~~ Thomas Sowell

In Memoriam: William Safire (1929–2009)

Photo: Fred R. Conrad/The New York TimesIn memory of the great William Safire, who just passed away, here are his "Rules for Writers:"

Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.

We'll miss you, Mr. Safire. We need you now more than ever. Rest well, sir; you have earned your reward.

Rabinowitz on Obama & Co.

The Wall Street Journal's Dorothy Rabinowitz is always worth reading. Her latest column, Obama’s Tone-Deaf Health Campaign, is a deadly accurate diagnosis of what ails the Obamessiah's health care reform campaign. Here's how she begins:

It didn’t take chaotic town-hall meetings, raging demonstrators and consequent brooding in various sectors of the media to bring home the truth that the campaign for a health-care bill is, to put it mildly, not going awfully well. It’s not hard now to envision the state of this crusade with just a month or two more of diligent management by the Obama team—think train wreck. It may one day be otherwise in the more perfect world of universal coverage, but for now disabilities like the tone deafness that afflicts this administration from the top down are uninsurable.

Consider former ABC reporter Linda Douglass—now the president’s communications director for health reform—who set about unmasking all the forces out there “always trying to scare people when you try to bring them health insurance reform.” People, she charged, are taking sentences out of context and otherwise working to present a misleading picture of the president’s proposals. One of her key solutions to this problem—her justly famed message encouraging citizens to contact the office at flag@whitehouse.gov if they got an email or other information about health reform “that seems fishy”—set off a riotous flow of online responses. (The word “fishy,” with its police detective tone, would have done the trick all by itself.)

These commentaries, packed with allusions to the secret police, the East German Stasi and Orwell, were mostly furious. Others quite simply hilarious. Ms. Douglass, who now has, in her public appearances, the air of a person consigned to service in a holy order, was not amused.

If our rookie president were to listen to such criticisms, learn from them, and modify his approach accordingly, he might actually get somewhere. Fortunately for the citizenry, he is far too arrogant, stubborn, and solipsistic for that. Or, as Dorothy Rabinowitz so eloquently describes him,

The president has a problem. For, despite a great election victory, Mr. Obama, it becomes ever clearer, knows little about Americans. He knows the crowds—he is at home with those. He is a stranger to the country’s heart and character.

By all means, go read the whole thing.

Thought for Today

"The quickest way to get money into this economy is not to take it in the first place."

~~~~~ Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) on today's Fox News Sunday during a discussion of the effectiveness of the Obama stimulus package vs. tax cuts and governmental spending discipline in ending the recession

Thought for Today

That liberals aren’t enamored of real freedom may have something to do with responsibility -- that cumbersome backpack which all free men have to lug on life’s aerobic nature hike. The second item in the liberal creed, after self-righteousness, is unaccountability. Liberals have invented whole college majors -- psychology, sociology, women’s studies - to prove that nothing is anybody’s fault. No one is fond of taking responsibility for his actions, but consider how much you’d have to hate free will to come up with a political platform that advocates killing unborn babies but not convicted murderers. A callous pragmatist might favor abortion AND capital punishment. A devout Christian would sanction neither. But it takes years of therapy to arrive at the liberal point of view.

~~~~~ P.J. O'Rourke

When You've Gotta Go...

Astronauts deal with flooded toilet in orbit.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The bathroom lines at the already crowded space shuttle and space station complex got a lot longer Sunday because of a flooded toilet.

One of two commodes aboard the international space station broke down, right in the middle of complicated robotic work being conducted by the two crews. The pump separator apparently flooded.

I have a suggestion...

One or the other of those men in the picture ought to be able to solve the problem. If the Obamessiah is so busy rescuing the economy, taking care of all our health needs, and cooling the planet that he can't take just a moment to wave his magic wand and send up a Royal Flush, then maybe Joe the Plumber could lend them a hand.

Further along in the article, we learn that:

Teams of specialists in Houston and Moscow hurriedly convened to discuss the problem. The Russian-built, multimillion-dollar toilet flew up on a shuttle last November.

What a surprise! No one could possibly have foreseen that a Russian-built toilet would break down just when it was needed the most. After all, isn't Russia known throughout the world for the quality and reliability of its plumbing?

As Instapundit likes to say, the country's in the very best of hands.

E85 Prices, Lunar Landings, and ObamaCare

What on earth do E85 prices, lunar landings, and ObamaCare have in common? Please indulge me for a moment.

Here in Lebanon, Tennessee, E85 is presently selling at 30¢ less than 87 octane regular grade ($1.999 vs $2.299). It's still no bargain, though, because most drivers find that they get about 30% lower mileage when they use it. Therefore, just to break even, when 87 octane is $2.299, E85 would have to sell for 69¢ less per gallon, or $1.539.

Keep in mind that the government that instituted E85 and the Flex-Fuel program is the same government that thought it was a good idea to save money by erasing and reusing the original videotapes of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. It's also the same government that now wants to take over all of our health care.

Is it any wonder that ObamaCare has become a bridge too far even for many of the members of Obama's own party?

Obama and the Peter Principle

Before our eyes, President Obama is demonstrating the validity of the Peter Principle as stated four decades ago by Dr. Laurence J. Peter:

"In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence."

While he managed to temporarily bedazzle a majority of the voters last November, more and more of his erstwhile supporters are coming to realize that they made a terrible mistake. As a result, we are now burdened with a President who continues to offer new proof every day that he is totally unqualified for the office he holds.


One indicator with a proven track record is Scott Rasmussen's Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. It shows that for the first time since his inauguration, Obama's Presidential Approval Index – the difference between the percentages of those strongly approving and strongly disapproving of his performance – has swung dramatically negative, to a value of -8%.

Perhaps of even greater importance is the fact that articles highly critical of Obama have begun to appear with some regularity in influential and respected publications which have heretofore been faithful Obama acolytes, such as the Washington Post. For example, consider this piece by former George W. Bush chief speechwriter Michael Gerson, Obama's Iceberg:

Around midnight on April 15, 1912, there were a few minutes when Capt. Edward Smith of the Titanic realized his ship was going down -- six watertight compartments breached, less than two hours to float -- yet his passengers slept in happy ignorance. A historical fate hardened while most of the participants dreamed on.

The jobs report last week opened a long gash beneath the waterline of President Obama's legislative agenda. Few realize it, but a scramble for lifeboats is about to begin.

Gerson goes on to state:

To pass his health proposal this year, Obama would first need to violate his word. As a presidential candidate, he pledged that "no one making less than $250,000 a year will see any type of tax increase" -- the most memorable number of the 2008 campaign. Taxing health benefits would certainly cross this very bright line and add to the public stock of cynicism.

By all means, read the whole thing.

The fact that the Washington Post ran this column, even if only as an op-ed, is quite significant. In the future, we may well look back upon this moment as the turning point when the majority of the public has finally realized that our clueless President has risen to his level of incompetence.

Thought for Today

"It is inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office."

~~~~~ H.L. Mencken

Thought for Today

"And who can doubt that it will lead to the worst disorders when minds created free by God are compelled to submit slavishly to an outside will? When we are told to deny our senses and subject them to the will of others? When people devoid of whatsoever competence are made judges over experts and are granted authority to treat them as they please? These are the novelties which are apt to bring about the ruin of commonwealths and the subversion of the state."

~~~~~ Galileo Galilei

Thought for Today

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

~~~~~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

Thought for Today

"The folly of mistaking a paradox for a discovery, a metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and oneself for an oracle, is inborn in us."

~~~~~ Paul Valéry

Thought for Today

"One of the most important talents for success in politics is the ability to make utter nonsense sound not only plausible but inspiring. Barack Obama has that talent. We will be lucky if we escape the catastrophes into which other countries have been led by leaders with that same charismatic talent."

~~~~~ Thomas Sowell

Hat tip: WorldNetDaily.com

Thought for Today

"If you put garbage in a computer nothing comes out but garbage. But this garbage, having passed through a very expensive machine, is somehow ennobled and none dare criticize it."

~~~~~ Anonymous

The First 100 Days

Hat tip: Michael Ramirez and Townhall.com