Monday Links
Still recovering from a whirlwind weekend.
* RIP George Carlin. I’m of an age where Carlin only exists in Kevin Smith movies and funny book titles, missing out on all the fun from the 1970s. Still, this one hurts a bit. Definitely lost a great.
* George Will had a pretty decent article on crime this weekend, arguing in part about how the rising incarceration rate isn’t telling the whole story. There’s a few realities here Barack Obama should take notice on.
* Also, our image in Asia: not too shabby. While some of the results may need some more investigation, it still further calls into question the idea that the last few years have wrecked our overseas relationships. It seems to be one of those truisms that doesn’t hold up to closer scrutiny.
* Some catch-up from Friday: Obama not taking public financing for the general contest. My question is this - why did he have to lie about it? We all know that Obama’s essentially printing money at this point, so why does he have to lie about where the Republican funding is coming from? What benefit does this provide, especially when he’s going back on his original promise of taking the funding. I’m no fan of public financing of elections, but this is just an utterly fascinating turnaround.
* The other big news between posts was the FISA deal, which pushes the FISA “update” through while allowing for immunity for participating telecommunication companies if the federal government provides a certain type of evidence. This is being touted as a “compromise,” although it reads more like the Democrats knowing that they can’t win on this issue and trying to save face. I’m not against immunity - this whole issue was a giant bowl of idiocy on all sides - but there’s no reason to expand FISA at this point.
* Power Line dissects Obama’s statements about his comparisons between terrorists on trial, Nuremburg, and the reality of the 1993 bombings. I’m starting to wonder who Obama’s history adviser is.
* Did you know that Barack Obama outraised John McCain in May? Seems like a given, right? Barack Obama only beat him by $200k. It’s unlikely, but it’ll be interesting if that holds up.
* Oh, that whole thing about Obama and NAFTA, how things got “overheated?” His campaign still thinks that Obama’s committed to renegotiation/withdrawal. Anyone want to take bets on the campaign position this week?
* QandO asks “Where’s the outrage” in response to health care providers denying care to those who won’t benefit long term from it. Specifically, why it’s outrageous when a private company does it, but ignored when it’s the government.
* Speaking of international distaste with American foriegn policy, Europe is concerned about Obama’s Iran policy, which they fear would undercut the progress they feel they’ve been making. Change we can believe in, right?
* A great interview with Amity Shlaes with notes about the Presidential candidates. Her book, The Forgotten Man, is one of the better recent books about the Great Depression’s true economic impact, and when she says that Obama appears “unaware of the economic consequences of government expansion that happens under the New Deal name,” it’s worth listening to. The book is worth your time, too.
* This all brings us to a pretty interesting editorial from Michael Barone, about Obama’s refusal to allow the facts to dictate his policy slate. Considering that was/is a chief criticism of the Bush administration over the years…
* The Enumerated Powers Act is such a common sense law, it’s a shocker it’s not always in play, and it’s not the least bit surprising that it won’t get off the ground.
* Finally, baseball fun: What happens when a switch pitcher needs to pitch to a switch hitter? A great minor league baseball clip.