Via tee bee, I see that Illinois’s corrupt governor is rapidly losing the support of his own party.
I have a theory that the most corrupt places are those where one party is dominant, but not to the extent that party members are comfortable with the idea of taking on incumbent office-holders.
When parties are closely matched, […]

The snowbank in front of the mailbox is down to a couple feet, the daffodils are poking out of the ground, the robins have been here for a while, and tomorrow is Opening Day.

A pretty good rule of thumb when it comes to analyzing proposed ideas: when the government rolls out a plan to give X wide new power, it’s a bad idea, regardless of the plan or the identity of X. Plans like this come about because the people in charge don’t know what to do; […]

Genius.

George Bush last week:
Just as we trust Americans with their own money, we need to earn their trust by spending their tax dollars wisely. Next week, I’ll send you a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 wasteful or bloated programs, totaling more than $18 billion. The budget that I will submit will keep America […]

Aside from petulantly insisting that Congress “must” do things, he has absolutely nothing to say. At least his opportunities for inflicting his oratory on a country that long ago stopped listening are rapidly running out. He’ll have a speech at the GOP convention, and he’ll probably gin up an “important” announcement from the Oval Office […]

Yes.
I’m not really in the target market, but wow, that’s a good-looking commuter laptop. I’m continually impressed with Apple’s ability to hit a price-point a couple hundred dollars more than what one is looking to spend, but with quality and design good enough that, after a little deliberation, you buy the thing anyways. And you’re […]

Jay asks if The Golden Compass is worth seeing.
Yes it is, and the book is definitely worth reading as well.
The film is absolutely gorgeous: the atmosphere and the scenery are amazing. It would be worth watching even with the sound off, just to see Phillip Pullman’s universe brought to life. The daemons and panzerbjorn, […]

I’m still confused as to how on earth “Stacks” made it through even the most rudimentary quality assurance and usability testing, but three cheers for Leopard’s 10.5.2 update.

The Poinsettia Bowl kicks off tonight, starting a pre-New Year’s gauntlet of lesser bowl games with ridiculous names (*), and also initiating the annual ritual of bellyaching from ESPN about how the BCS sucks (true), about how we need a playoff (not true), and about how the Big Ten and the Pac 10 are to […]

For the first time in 24 years, an Illinois football season is going to end the way we all hope, back in September, that it will end: with a trip to the Rose Bowl.
Forget the BCS. Forget all the different proposals for a playoff system. If I were the king of the world, we’d play […]

“But I never knew why it had to have a trash compactor — that’s about the dumbest thing in the universe, when you think about it.”

Ross Douthat offers an interesting theory on the future of small government conservatism, but it misses the mark here:
As rich countries get richer, the demand for state services - and particularly middle-class entitlements - may naturally rise, because people increasingly feel like they can afford the pinch of taxation that comes with, say, lavishing more […]

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. I was on vacation, but now I’m back. Of course, there are pictures of Victoria, and Olympic National Park.
Also, long-distance Amtrak travel is vastly under-rated and under-appreciated.