Icarus's blog
Posted at 9:05pm on May 1, 2008 Putting the Limo back into Limousine Liberalism
By Icarus
WCBS in New York, via Matt Drudge, brings us this little nugget:
http://wcbstv.com/seenon/car.lease.us.2.713776.html
It appears that members of the House Of Representatives are allowed to lease cars on our tax dollars. Congressman Greogory Meeks believes you want him driving a Lexus LS460 for $998 per month. Charlie Rangle is quoted as saying that “constituents appreciate” him driving around in a Cadillac that for which we pay $774 per month.
Posted in Liberals — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:19am on Oct. 22, 2007 That Which Does Not Kill Us, Makes Us Stronger.
By Icarus
I’m not a student of German philosophers, and I can’t tell you anything about Friedrich Nietzsche other than this famous quote: “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.”
It’s a line I first learned during my first job out of college, when “corporate downsizing” was the mantra of the day, and 12-18 hour days, 6 days a week had replaced the 9-5 corporate world I thought I had gone to college to join. I adopted it as a mini-mantra at the time, and it sticks with me almost 20 years later.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:04am on Oct. 11, 2007 O.K., We're In The Huddle, And It's Time To Call A Play
By Icarus
I’m not the most regular of regulars at RedState, and I can’t say I’ve noticed much of the work of Ben Domenech before this week. That was before Ben called us into the huddle. Three Times.
If we’re in the huddle, that means one, and only one thing. We’re on offense. We have the ball.
Since at least 2006, and probably much before that, we’ve been on defense. We haven’t been trying to conquer new ground. We haven’t been trying to gain new hearts or minds. We’ve tried, and often failed, to protect our turf.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (19) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:09pm on Oct. 2, 2007 Top 10 Things I Would Rather Do Than Participate in Another RonPaul Blog
By Icarus
Seriously folks, it’s time for a break. I had dropped off for a while, after a series of Ron Paul diaries, but got sucked back in today by Cardinal Red and his Respectful Open Letter from a Ron Paul supporter. I recommended the post because it was presented in a sincere, public debate format. Then, on cue, the rest of the Ronulans appeared, and reminded us that, though they’re not political, they’re the base of the Republican Party, and we must listen to them. And of course, we’re stupid, ignorant, and unable to read if we don’t agree with them.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (60) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:47pm on Aug. 22, 2007 Tinfoil Alert: It’s The Messenger, Stupid!
By Icarus
O.K., I’ll play Carville for this moment of the primary season.
We’ve tried to reason with you people. (Wait, sorry, “you people” was Perot, not Carville.)
We’ve tried to explain in matter-of-fact, if not a bit snarkish, terms, that Ron Paul is not electable. There are many, MANY, reasons why this is true. Some of you even acknowledge this, but believe it is important to take a principled stand. The fact that taking This stand with This man would cost us 10 Senate Seats and about 50-75 Congressional seats appears lost on most of you, but I still applaud you for realizing that Ron Paul is a lost cause.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:15am on Aug. 21, 2007 U.S./Canada/Mexico "Merger of Equals" To Be Announced Before Opening Bell
By Icarus
AP – Lake Jackson, TX
A confidential source has revealed to the New York Times, CNN, Keith Olberman, and a guy on 53rd street with a sign reading “The World Will End Tomorrow” that George Bush will announce this morning a “merger of equals” between Canada, Mexico, and the States of America. (the source refused to refer to the U.S. as the “United” States of America, because the constitution didn’t specifically authorize that).
Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (26) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 8:53pm on Aug. 16, 2007 Tinfoil Troll Bait: Why Ron Paul is NOT Electable.
By Icarus
Blackhedd, Neil Stephens, and Mbecker908 (With Franz’s help, no doubt) have done yeoman’s work this week explaining the collapse in the sub prime and mortgage secondary markets, and the intervention of the federal reserve to repeatedly inject liquidity to calm very nervous markets.
While I have enjoyed the economic discussions and accompanying explanations, I want this diary to focus on one thing only: Ron Paul’s Electability.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (64) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 2:41pm on Aug. 7, 2007 Other things we’re not yet worried about, but should be
By Icarus
I’m generally an optimist. I’m not often mistaken for someone who either believes the sky is falling, all foods cause cancer, the stock market is just a sophisticated scam to steal money from the middle class, or a team of people with black helicopters and underground computer labs track my every move.
We’re about 15 months from the November 2008 general election. That’s at least two “eternities” in politics. Several major news stories will occur during this time, some expected, some not, that will force the best plans of highly paid political consultants (and anyone left who is still volunteering for John McCain) to change their strategies.
Posted in Economy — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:09pm on Aug. 5, 2007 Terror At The Pump
By Icarus
You have to LOVE Newt Gingrich. The man knows how to interject just enough hyperbole into a situation to generate a good headline, without injecting so much that his underlying thesis is immediately discounted.
This week, the Speaker accused the Bush administration of a “phony war” on terrorism. While the actions and results of President Bush will certainly be judged by history, I doubt “phony” will be a word that objective scholars will ultimately use when describing the global war on terror.
Posted in National Security — Comments (30) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:18pm on Jul. 29, 2007 What Happens When We Actually Try Enforcing Existing Immigration Laws?
By Icarus
Those breaking even more laws get deported:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/2007/07/29/deport_07...
A new Georgia state law took effect 1 July requiring law enforcement personnel to determine the legal status of immigrants charged with felonies or DUI. Much to the chagrin of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Cobb County Georgia has taken the new law one step further and is checking the legal status of all arrested immigrants.
Posted in Immigration — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:43pm on Jul. 26, 2007 FRED! may have a good reason to continue to delay
By Icarus
Yesterday, a conversation between current and former Fred!heads from PeachPundit spilled over to RedState. My good (on-line) friend, Dougie Fresh, cross posted a piece that expressed his frustration with continued delays from Fred! not formally getting into the race and mixing it up with other candidates.
By the time I got here to defend Doug from accusations of Troll!, Witch!, or Moderate! (which is worse, anyway?), he was already about 80 comments deep into complete blow back.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (26) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 2:19pm on Jul. 24, 2007 Georgia Roadbuilder Would Rather Give Up Government Contracts Than Illegal Workers
By Icarus
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, contractor E.R. Snell has told Gwinnett County, Georgia that it won’t bid on any new road contracts for the county because of a new policy that requires contractors to ensure that it is not hiring illegal workers.
http://www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2007/07/23/co...
Snell is one of the largest contractors in the county, which is one of the largest counties in the State, just northeast of Atlanta. Snell is currently completing contracts worth over $72 Million for the county.
Posted in Immigration — Comments (36) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:35am on Jul. 17, 2007 “I lost. The other side won. It is over.”
By Icarus
Roger Simon reports in The Politico this morning that Senator John McCain claims he will not withdraw from the Presidential race, but has given up on immigration reform.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0707/4981.html
“I lost. The other side won. It is over.” McCain is quoted as saying. This statement is simultaneously blunt and vague. Who is “the other side”, and what, exactly, “is over”?
Posted in Immigration — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:17am on Jul. 15, 2007 Ron Paul wants your tinfoil
By Icarus
Folks, you can't make this stuff up.
In response to a call to support a GA Ron Paul fundraiser on PeachPundit.com, I asked if Ron Paul would take donations of used tinfoil.
I actually got this response:
---------------------------------------------------------
IndyInjun // Jul 14, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Icarus wrote “Will the Ron Paul fundraiser accept recycled tinfoil?”
They would probably WELCOME it. Aluminum is soaring in price while the $US is falling like a rock. If you are looking for which one will hold its value, it ain’t the green printed paper.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:03pm on Jul. 14, 2007 Jesus Christ Not Running for Republican Nomination
By Icarus
AP - Washington
This just in, Jesus Christ is not running for the Republican Nomination for President. Sources close to the exploratory committee cited several underlying troubles for the fledgling campaign, including difficulty in fundraising.
“The sick and the poor are really tapped out right now. They’ve donated what they can, but they seemed to really be getting annoyed with our direct mail request for an additional $100 today” said one operative.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (17) / Email this page » / Read More »
