Content by mikefisk
Posted at 2:35pm on May 12, 2008 Are we about to see a McCain / Huckabee ticket?
By mikefisk
If US News' source is to be believed, then yes.
I see this positioning as a bit of a "lesser of two evils" expand-the-electoral-base strategy... McCain's trying to get the Evangelical base to not sit at home on Election Day while hoping that he doesn't drive off business and free-market-oriented voters, who could very well vote for Bob Barr, Wayne Allyn Root, or whoever ends up winning a wide-open Libertarian Party race (or, like the aforementioned Evangelicals, they might stay home as well).
Overall, this proposed ticket has several advantages, as well as several drawbacks.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (116) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 4:26pm on Mar. 9, 2008 Hey! Teacher! Leave Those Kids Alone!
By mikefisk
As some of you may have heard, the judicial system went off the deep end in California yet again. Not that it comes as a surprise to anyone, but this seems stunningly ill-conceived.
To wit, an appeals court has determined that parents do not have a Constitutional right to homeschool their children, meaning that, if the ruling stands, parents who wish to homeschool will be required to go through the same certification and licensure process required of K-12 public school teachers. The argument made by the court is that they believe there is a public interest in making sure that all California citizens have equal access to educational opportunity, apparently not noticing the Los Angeles Unified Public School District, where many urbanites are trapped in one of the worst school systems in America (not holding a candle to Detroit, Washington D.C., or Philadelphia in terms of total ineptitude, but still well below the norm).
Posted in The Courts — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 5:13pm on Mar. 8, 2008 So much for a Senator Huckabee...
By mikefisk
(hat tip to The Hill)
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee announces that he has a "total lack of interest" in running for the US Senate to unseat Mark Pryor... dashing one of the better hopes for the GOP to pick up the seat.
My best guess is that he doesn't want to be one of 100 in the Senate and is waiting for 2012 to run again for President, but that's just me. I understand that he has run a long and arduous campaign for President, but his seeming disinterest in running for Senate makes me wonder if he will be able to curry enough favor with the party to make another Presidential run on his part viable. After all, the GOP and the people of Arkansas need him to unseat Sen. Pryor, and all he has to say in response is "There’s a greater chance that I would dye my hair green, cover my body with tattoos and go on a rock tour with Amy Winehouse."
Posted in Archived — Comments (107) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 2:44pm on Dec. 11, 2007 The Debates: A Sporting Proposition (What can ESPN teach us about debates?)
By mikefisk
Okay, since the pesky rules about not being allowed to drink on the job are still in place, I guess it's back to the blogger's chair for me. (Kids: I'm just joking; my anti-drug is caffeine. Have a 16-ounce can of Rockstar Punched and a grande double Caramel Mocha from Beaner's in front of me, so if this degenerates to a stream of random punctuation and l33tspeak before this is all said and done, you know what's to blame.)
I got started on this idea after the joke that was the CNN YouTube Republican Presidential Debate, or, as I call it, "theatre of the absurd passed off by CNN on the American people as serious discourse." After the whole bit with the gay retired colonel (who works for the Hillary Clinton campaign and has appeared as a guest on CNN numerous times before), I realized the whole farce had completely jumped the shark, and was looking to figure out what could be done to improve the spectacle of these debates before the next one ends up being moderated by Jon Stewart (which, admittedly, would probably be better than Anderson Cooper).
But first, it was time for some much-needed channel surfing to expunge the horrors of the debate from my mind. After six clicks, I found my refuge, and a possible source of solutions for the political debates... ESPN.
Yes, that ESPN. You know, the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Why not? After all, political discourse in this country ceased being about the issues years ago (if it ever really existed at all). Today, it's all about the numbers, the standings, the personal rivalries, the personnel moves... or, in other words, it's basically what ESPN does every night on SportsCenter (and, might I add, with a better overall presentation than any of the network news programs). So, what could CNN, or any other news channel, learn from the ESPN experience in terms of creating a more engaging debate?
Posted in Elections — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:30pm on Nov. 12, 2007 The Beeb is getting it, why isn't our mainstream press?
By mikefisk
It, of course, being the painfully obvious: Iraq is getting safer.
Rocket attacks across Iraq are down by 50% in the past year, and have experienced a 75% drop in Baghdad since June. The number of Iraqis killed in October was 55% fewer than in January. Prime Minister al-Maliki reported roadside bombings in the past few months have dropped by 77%. And, hearteningly enough, the establishment mouthpiece of the European media gets it; the surge is working.
Posted in War — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 4:36pm on Nov. 5, 2007 War On Christmas Starts Early; Fat Police Zero In On Santa
By mikefisk
We're used to seeing the typical multi-cultural, pluralist, post-modern types going after symbols of Christianity, especially around the holiday season, going after symbols, songs, greetings, even the name of the holiday we celebrate every 25th of December to honor the birth of our Lord and Savior. We've even been somewhat astonished to see some of the secular symbols of the holiday targeted by the politically-correct forces in society, who don't particularly get that they aren't religious in any substantiative sense.
This, however, needs to be put into the "really flipping weird" file.
Posted in Culture — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 11:17am on Oct. 12, 2007 Venezuela's Theatre, er, Concert Venue, of the Absurd
By mikefisk
We've all read the stories on Venezuela under President Hugo Chavez here in the past, about the government's seizure of farms, telecommunications infrastructure, and natural resources, about their imposition of price controls leading to food shortages, cracking down on domestic dissent, et cetera, et cetera.
This most recent effort, however, seems to about defy description.
Read more...
Posted in Contra Tyrannum — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:22pm on Sep. 5, 2007 Confession Time - Why I Call Myself A Liberal
By mikefisk
There are people in the tent of the active political right who aren't even necessarily "conservatives", but see Republicans as the last best hope of being able to stymie the progressive Left's noxious agenda. I would be considered as one of these individuals. I’m not one who would be considered a “true believer” in any cause; I leave such belief to my religious devotions.
As I've said before, I have libertarian leanings, and, even though it's not popular to do so on either side of the aisle (and especially not on the right), I do call myself a liberal (although in the sense of Hayek, not of Marx or McGovern). I do this for a whole host of reasons, including, but not limited to, the ones below.
Posted in Liberals — Comments (27) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:09am on Aug. 3, 2007 From YearlyKos - Do Bloggers Need a Union?
By mikefisk
No, for the record, I'm getting the basis for this from a third party, as I'm pretty sure that, even as a libertarian-minded individual, I'm not exactly welcome among the Kossites.
That being said, at McCormick Place in Chicago, one of the topics being discussed has been the means and benefits of having bloggers join a union.
I wish I were joking with you, but some things you literally can't make up.
Posted in Technology — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:26pm on Jul. 17, 2007 To all those critics of missile defense...
By mikefisk
This is not a happy day for you.
One of the critical elements to the proposed missile defense shield has been the design of laser-equipped aircraft that could be scrambled to intercept a missile. After all, in addition to being able to place such planes almost anywhere, it also has the practical advantage of being reusable (unlike rocket-based interception systems). Today, the Pentagon has announced the results of the first preliminary steps towards a full-fledged directed-energy missile interception device.
They were successful.
Read on . . .