tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54344272024-03-09T22:41:17.407-05:00KaufmaNetThe braindroppings of the Kaufmans and selected others.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.comBlogger378125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-64907594413723767562009-06-22T15:44:00.002-04:002009-06-22T15:49:44.017-04:00Told you.I know I haven't blogged in a long, long time. That's mainly because, well, I've been on Facebook.<br /><br />However, I return to this venue to say that I told you so.<br /><br />In <a href="http://kaufmanet.blogspot.com/2006/01/next-big-thing.html">this post</a>, way back in 2006, I explained about my ability to predict new cool things (despite my relative lack of coolness and complete lack of ability to make money knowing these things, and noted the following:<br /><br /><blockquote>Now, nobody believes me when I say I saw these trends happening and wasn't merely a hanger-on, so I make my prediction, on a time-stamped blog, of the next fad:<br /><br />Snuff.<br /><br />That's right, I said snuff. The powdered, aromatic tobacco product that the aristocrats of the 19th century liked.<br /><br />So in a year or two, when there are snuff bars all over Manhattan, and there's a big glossy 300 page "Snuff Afficionado" magazine on all the newsstands, and you see a clip of Paris Hilton putting something in her nose that is (amazingly) not white, you will remember -- you saw it here first.</blockquote><br /><br />It took a few years, but take a look at <a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/06/snuff/">this article all about snuff</a>, from <span style="font-style:italic;">Wired</span> Magazine:<br /><br /><blockquote><br />One of history’s most esoteric methods of satisfying a tobacco jones is making a resurgence as a new generation of hipsters trade lungs full of smoke for a nose full of snuff.</blockquote><br /><br />Stay tuned for the next thing, as soon as I figure out what it is.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-65392920961603663732009-04-22T11:12:00.003-04:002009-04-22T11:25:43.883-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6KaMMS2i4_xbNIuFojhSQK-DGQtzCm_k-2X6VL5mg6IhCOUqexhh6_-0RcKfyAHdCBEyNtLzYgA99dmYYPU5NKh4mQn3JAdc9pjyZxH4UIojACetZTKANU17ZQE5XhamYpOLAQ/s1600-h/Rally+for+Human+Rights+and+Freedom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6KaMMS2i4_xbNIuFojhSQK-DGQtzCm_k-2X6VL5mg6IhCOUqexhh6_-0RcKfyAHdCBEyNtLzYgA99dmYYPU5NKh4mQn3JAdc9pjyZxH4UIojACetZTKANU17ZQE5XhamYpOLAQ/s320/Rally+for+Human+Rights+and+Freedom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327537224450683202" border="0" /></a><br />ACTION ALERT<br /><br />Rally for Human Rights and Freedom on May 3rd in Manhattan.<br />We urge you to participate and please forward this flyer to your contacts.<br />Stuart Kaufman<br />stuartk@mrgreatneck.com<br />All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Edmund BurkeStuart Kaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521835728534370744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-59854552353252176882009-03-20T09:52:00.002-04:002009-03-20T10:22:51.817-04:00AIG and Sharia Finance"...The nationalization of AIG is forcing the American taxpayer to support a very different kind of toxic asset. I refer to AIG's promotion of Sharia (Islamic law)...." www.jewishworldreview.com/0309/west032009.php3<br /><br />The Thomas More Law Center (bless them), in association with SANE (the Society of Americans for National Existence www.saneworks.us/), has filed suit against the Federal government for funding AIG in its business of insuring Sharia complant investments. These are investments that are ostensibly in compliance with the requirements of Islamic law. Although this might sound benign, it is, in fact, intensively subversive to the security of the United States. In addition to inuring us to the concept that Sharia Law should be acceptable to us, it is even more invidious as a practical matter. The structure of these investments puts in place “Sharia Compliance Boards” which among other things, require that the sponsoring institutions make contributions to certain sanctioned “charities,” which are not necessarily benign to the interests of the United States and the Constution. AIG has developed a substantial business in insuring these investments.<br />What is especially amusing is that “in its motion to dismiss, the Department of Justice claimed that the government does not control AIG….” (http://www.thomasmore.org/qry/page.taf?id=19).<br />Isn’t it past time for the people of the United States to wake up?<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><cite></cite><img src="data:image/png;base64,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" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; z-index: 2147483647; left: 652px; top: 79px;" id="kosa-target-image" />Stuart Kaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521835728534370744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-89302656434945801422009-03-19T15:48:00.003-04:002009-03-19T15:52:29.950-04:00Congressional ChutzpahIn light of the current state of what passes for Congressional action on the economic situation, I thought that it would be appropriate to cite some knowledge that ought to be “common,” but appears to be uncommon in the Capitol:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"No State shall… pass any pass any… ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts…." </span>US Const Art I, sec. 10<br />This basic precept of the Constitution (made applicable to the Federal government by Amendment XIV) seems to have escaped most of the Congressional worthies who are tripping over themselves to get to the cameras for the purpose of trying to force AIG to rescind the “bonuses” that have been promised to various of it’s employees. If AIG made a contract with its employees, the government has no authority to interfere (you could look it up). Furthermore, today, the House voted by a vote of 128 to 93 to tax 90% of the AIG bonus receipts (ex post facto law, anyone?)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators."</span> P.J. O’Rourke<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Politics is largely the process of taking credit for oneself, and putting the blame on others – regardless of the facts."</span> Thomas Sowell<br />Let’s consider some of the prime recipients of AIG cash: Christopher Dodd… what do you know???!!! Now we can begin to understand the basis for the “Dodd Amendment” to the “porkulus bill (which featured the ratification of the AIG bonuses). Just watching the machinations of Senator Dodd (who was pleased to take credit for the “Dodd Amendment” before the rest of us learned what was in it) twisting himself into a pretzel before his superiors ordered him to confess his responsibility for it, is enough to prove the wisdom of Thomas Sowell and P.J. O’Rourke (as if that were even necessary).<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."</span> Gerald Ford<br />Just watch some of those worthies: Barney Frank, Charles Schumer, Carolyn Maloney, threatening citizens with the invocation of confiscatory tax laws. Watch, my personal favorite: the Hon. Gary Ackerman, of the 5th Cong District of NY – my very own congressman. Watch this unaccomplished, undistinguished backbencher wax eloquent in his scolding of the captive Chairman of AIG (a man who is serving for no compensation while trying to clean up Congress’ mess). It would be infuriating, except that Ackerman (with his ever present lapel flower) makes me think of “Chuckles the Clown” whenever I see him. This turkey is making policy that will have dire consequences for my grandchildren. The most amazing thing is that he has the <span style="font-style: italic;">chutzpah</span> to call attention to himself in public.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Reacting to news Obama picked North Carolina to win the NCAA Championship, Mike Krzyzewski says, "the economy is something that [the president] should focus on, probably more than the brackets."</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/19/duke-coach-obama-worry-economy-ncaa-picks/</span><br />Let the President tend to his knitting. And let the members of Congress who are engaging in this Kabuki play, blaming everyone but themselves, slither back into the slime and leave us alone!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="data:image/png;base64,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" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; z-index: 2147483647; left: 847px; top: 763px;" id="kosa-target-image" />Stuart Kaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521835728534370744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-72439872409391685452009-03-17T09:25:00.002-04:002009-03-17T09:39:26.871-04:00Contrarianism re AIGI have been listening to the sewage that is being spewed about the AIG "bonuses" with increasing exasperation. Why, for instance, are we assuming that these "bonuses" are "performance bonuses?" In many instances, applying the word "bonus" to this type of compensation is misleading. Frequently, these payments represent nothing more than deferred compensation. Companies and employees (or prospective employees) agree to lump sum payments to be paid after a certain time, rather than partially paid over a period of time (i.e. bi-monthly salary checks). Furthermore, it should not be surprising that these "bonus" agreements exist in AIG's case. These types of agreements are frequently used by companies that are in difficulty, to induce talented people to work for them.<br />It appears obvious to me that the <span style="font-style: italic;">sturm und drang</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>that has ensued from the AIG "bonuses" is more a result of political calulations aimed at distracting attention from the true culprits (i.e., Congress), than from valid concerns.<br />The point of it all is that the government has no business in business. Providing public money for private companies is an invitation to the invocation of the Law of Unintended Consequences.<br /><img src="data:image/png;base64,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" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; z-index: 2147483647; left: 331px; top: 79px;" id="kosa-target-image" />Stuart Kaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521835728534370744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-5113563137803319602009-03-17T09:07:00.002-04:002009-03-17T09:19:26.526-04:00Self ProtectionSince the election (and, if truth be told, significantly before that), I have experienced an increasing amount of frustration, accompanied by acid reflux and much gnashing of teeth. My stepbrother-in-law suggested that I blog to relieve the pressures that build up in my system as a result of the continued assaults upon this county's future by those whom we (in our foolishness) have elected to govern us. So, I will try doing this as a method of self protection.<br />There is so much that is making me nuts. <br />The very existence of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd is sufficient unto itself to fill me with despair. This corrupt duo should be spending their lives in cells adjoining Bernard Madoff instead of in positions hat provide them with subpoena power.<br />.... What do you know!? Just being able to write that has made me feel better. I may try this again.<br /><img src="data:image/png;base64,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" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; z-index: 2147483647; left: 174px; top: 136px;" id="kosa-target-image" />Stuart Kaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521835728534370744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-61154329081091530492007-07-12T15:31:00.000-04:002007-07-12T15:31:57.855-04:00Seersucker revisitedI have, in the past, given my father significant amounts of crap for his seersucker suit predilection. <br /><br />However, in the interest of fairness I feel obligated to note that my opinion that seersucker is silly looking unless you are Mark Twain is evidently now the minority view.<br /><br />According to and <a href="http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/07/summer_fashion_poll_results.php">Abovethelaw.com poll</a>, a clear plurality, 42.9% of respondents, deemed seersucker suits a "classy summertime staple." So my father is slightly vindicated by people who have so little to do that they can take the time to answer dumb internet pools.<br /><br />The Starland Vocal Band is still considered terrible, though.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-15419166344307065122007-07-12T14:54:00.001-04:002007-07-12T14:55:34.283-04:00My Mother Responds...<div style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="036080418-12072007" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Still don't know how to post, so I'll just respond to you and if you want to post it on my behalf, feel free:</span></span></div> <div style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="036080418-12072007" style="font-size:100%;"></span> </div> <div style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="036080418-12072007" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">I'm obviously one of those rare people who have to admit I agree with the poll! I think a sense of humor is what you need to get through life. Of course, I admire most someone who appreciates MY sense of humor. I will readily admit that although I watch a ton of television, I rarely watch PBS -- except for the Britcoms and Mystery -- but I also don't watch any of the so-called "reality" shows, which I think are totally moronic and completely boring and cannot for the life of me understand their popularity. And that includes American Idol. Lately, I've been partial to the History Channel and the Discovery Channel, and when all else fails, there are always reruns of "Friends." Now, I'm not denying that looks are important -- my husband is a dead ringer for Sean Connery (just ask him) (my husband, not Sean) -- and marrying for money is always a good thing (although not very predictable if you're marrying young unless your fiancé is royalty). But looks and money are transitory. Money comes and goes. Men lose the hair on their head (although it returns on their backs, noses and ears), get a beer belly and snore. (Even women are known to get a little bit the worse for age, but that's a different story.) But your sense of humor is always with you. My husband and I share at least one really good laugh a day. Still. And we've been married for 39 [wonderful] years! </span></span></div> <div style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="036080418-12072007" style="font-size:100%;"></span> </div> <div style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="036080418-12072007" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Oh, and you did so date in high school!</span></span></div> <div style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="036080418-12072007" style="font-size:100%;"></span> </div> <div style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="036080418-12072007" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">David's Mom</span></span></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-70098758646435991652007-07-12T11:53:00.000-04:002007-07-12T11:55:01.348-04:00New TheoryI was discussing this at work with some colleagues, and I have come up with a new theory as to why, in all of the "Cosmo" polls, "Sense of humor" is inevitably listed first among qualities women look for in men, when as indicated by my high school dating record (or relative lack thereof), it is demonstrably untrue. (For those of you playing at home, I'm pretty sure "Wavy hair and a BMW" were the actual top answers for my high school.)<br /><br />It's like PBS. When asked by pollsters what television stations they prefer, people inevitably rank PBS far higher than its ratings indicate, because people don't want to admit that their favorite station is the WB (or whatever it's called now) and their favorite show is "Fear Factor," followed by "What About Jim." I think women are embarrassed to list "Looks like Brad Pitt" first on the list, so they put in "sense of humor," which is more "acceptable."<br /><br />Your thoughts?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1159969931575826602006-10-04T09:52:00.000-04:002006-10-04T09:52:11.590-04:00Freedom of Religion?OK, I know I haven't blogged in a little while, but this is absolutely absolutely Kafkaesque.<br /><br />The Spring Valley NAACP <a href="http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060915/NEWS03/609150344&SearchID=73257544949433">is suing an Orthodox Jewish-run medical clinic</a>, alleging that "the clinic's practice of remaining closed Saturdays in observance of operators' Jewish Sabbath, unlawfully imposes their religious beliefs on others."<br /><br />Evidently, "[t]hose who work — more than 80 percent of the clinic's clientele are Hispanic or black, according to a letter the clinic sent to the Human Rights Commission earlier this year — would find it convenient to visit their doctors on a Saturday when they had the day off, Trotman[, the director of the NAACP] said yesterday."<br /><br />What would you say is the bigger violation of religious freedom? The "convenience" of some clinic patients (who, presumably, can find another clinic on Saturday or go another day) or a governmentally imposed ruling ordering people to violate their religious beliefs?Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1143228389712172972006-03-24T14:26:00.000-05:002006-03-24T14:26:29.796-05:00ChutzpahI just learned about this. Evidently, while up for parole in 1982 for the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan <a href="http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/assassins/sirhan-sirhan/">advised the parole board</a> that:<br /><blockquote><br />"If Robert Kennedy were alive today, he would not countenance singling me out for this kind of treatment."<br /></blockquote><br />Wow, what bad luck for Sirhan Sirhan. The one guy who would have supported him, and he killed him!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1143044398681334202006-03-22T11:19:00.000-05:002006-03-22T11:19:58.763-05:00Just needs a little Velveeta...Ok, <a href="http://www.recipesource.com/main-dishes/meat/pork/spam/00/rec0004.html">this recipe</a> might conceivably be the most horrifying dish ever developed.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1142270116456062822006-03-13T12:12:00.000-05:002006-03-13T12:15:16.456-05:00Fresh, new look...OK, you may have noticed that I have changed the template of the blog. This was mainly motivated by the fact that our comments and trackbacks totally didn't work right. So, being a completely hopeless HTML coder, I used one of the stock Blogger templates and tried to bring back that which I could of the old template.<br /><br />Anyway, the comments work again, the trackbacks work again, and most of you couldn't care less that I did this. But I didn't want to let it go with absolutely no mention...<br /><br />Back to your regularly scheduled blog.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1139586720895390432006-02-10T10:52:00.000-05:002006-02-10T13:08:34.613-05:00Time to settle.It seems that Wal-Mart and a bike importer are being sued, on the basis that they've knowingly distributed "bikes whose front wheels have a tendency to fall off because of faulty quick-release levers.<br /><br />Well, Wal-Mart, as part of its defense, gave the jury a bike so that jurors could get familiar with the bike doohickey at issue. It seems that 5 hours after the jurors began deliberations, <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/09/BAGQHH57SI1.DTL"> the deliberations stopped as "the forewoman explained to a Marin County judge how a quick-release lever on a bicycle had broken off in the jury room</a>."<br /><br />Oops. On the other hand, it's fairly easy to argue that Wal-Mart didn't "knowingly" sell faulty bikes -- would you knowingly give a faulty bike to this jury?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE: </span>The jury found <a href="http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_041003941.html">in favor of Wal-Mart</a>!!!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1138643118147938282006-01-30T12:45:00.000-05:002006-03-13T11:56:31.930-05:00Deported Playmate tries to get back into the U.S.Evidently, a <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11046018/">deported former Playboy playmate is trying to get readmitted to the U.S.</a> under an "extraordinary ability" visa.<br /><br />Tucker Carlson interviewed her lawyer. My favorite lines?<br /><blockquote><b><strong>CARLSON</strong></b>: So that—you think that that‘s a valid criterion for entry into the country, having an extraordinary body, having a cute butt. That‘s sort of—you know, all the girls with the dumpy butts don‘t get in. But the ones with the cute ones do.<br /></blockquote><br />and<br /><br /><br /><b><strong></strong></b><blockquote><b><strong>CARLSON</strong></b>: Do you think—is there a porn shortage in this country, do you think? I mean, is there a lack of homegrown porn actresses? Is this a crisis?<p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span><b><strong>FELDENKRAIS</strong></b>: I do not believe it‘s a crisis. There‘s definitely a lot of talent out there. And but that doesn‘t stop us from...</p><p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span><b><strong>CARLSON</strong></b>: Why should we flood the market with cheap foreign imports, thereby forcing our own porn actresses out of work and oppressing their wages? </p><p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span><b><strong>FELDENKRAIS</strong></b>: I don‘t think we‘re flooding them. I think one person, two people. This is not an area where you‘re going to have 200 million people coming in as porn actresses. But you will have a select few, a very good few, that will be able to do what she does. And you‘re not necessarily letting the floodgates and allowing half a million people come in just because they have a cute butt. No.</p></blockquote><p class="textBodyBlack"></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1138039160399698782006-01-23T12:59:00.000-05:002006-01-23T12:59:20.443-05:00Email etiquetteApropos one of my points from <a href="http://kaufmanet.blogspot.com/2006/01/random-thoughts-and-rants.html">this post</a>, some nice person has compiled a list of <a href="http://www.emailreplies.com/#rules">email etiquette rules</a>.<br /><br />Read them. Live them.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1138038395367180922006-01-23T12:46:00.000-05:002006-01-23T12:46:35.436-05:00Worst day of the year.It's official. <a href="http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/newsevents/10592/index.html">Today sucks</a>.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1137716420481747042006-01-19T19:14:00.000-05:002006-01-19T19:20:21.823-05:00The Next Best Thing.... continuedAt the risk of sounding foolish (which has never bothered me before) David gets his prescience from me. I was wearing fedoras before everyone else (everyone else is now wearing fedoras.... right?). I was wearing suspenders before everyone else. I bought David's motor scooter to ride around town before every other old geezer starting riding motor scooters (every old fart is now riding motor scooters.... right?).<br />Yes, I can say without fear of contradiction that David got his ability to foresee fads from me (everyone else is now foreseeing fads.... right?).Stuart Kaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521835728534370744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1137701026148269342006-01-19T13:25:00.000-05:002006-01-19T15:03:46.226-05:00Random thoughts and rants...<ul><li>Everybody who is in front of me on the sidewalk -- walk faster, or get out of my way. Don't stand in the middle of the sidewalk like human cholesterol blocking the arteries of the city.<br /></li></ul><ul><li>Attention, blogosphere (and especially <a href="http://mowabb.com/ai/">blogs written by third year law students</a>): Domestic spying may be unconstitutional or otherwise illegal under existing law. But it's not that clear. Actually, this is good advice for most issues that are Supreme Court fodder -- if it was as much of a slamdunk as you think it is (on either side, guys) then it wouldn't be an issue before the Court. So stop it.</li><li>And the corollary to the previous point: Don't argue policy to me when you're talking about Constitutionality. Even if you're right in your belief that requiring parental notification for a minor having an abortion would cause a thousandfold increase in deaths of 15 year old girls, that doesn't mean that the requirement is unconstitutional. Argue that one to your legislator, not the Supreme Court.<br /></li><li>And, oh, yeah, another one I just thought of -- if the majority of this country is pro-choice then it doesn't matter who's on the Supreme Court because there won't be any laws against abortion. So don't worry about it. Or stop insisting that everybody's "pro-choice" the way you view it. Yes, most people believe that abortion shouldn't always be prohibited. But they also aren't really sanguine about abortion "on demand and without apology."</li><li>Last one about the Supreme Court: The Court is not here to protect you against stupid laws. That's the job of the legislative and the executive branches. Stop electing people who vote for stupid laws.<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Lost </span>totally freaks me out.<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Gray's Anatomy</span> is a great show.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The West Wing</span> used to be a great show.</li><li>I'm pretty sure you can get a communicable disease from just looking at a picture of Paris Hilton.</li><li>I'm sick of the term "<a href="http://www.jumptheshark.com/">Jump The Shark</a>." Will everybody stop using it? Or at least stop misusing it? (OK, that's mainly for people on the <a href="http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_West_Wing/">Yahoo West Wing Group</a>.)</li><li><a href="http://pbskids.org/jakers/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Jakers! The Adventures of Piggly Winks</span></a> is so good that I'm actually considering joining PBS this year. It's probably not sufficient to overcome the anti-Semitic rantings that PBS likes to put on except during pledge week (when, at least in New York, PBS mysteriously puts on all of the Klezmer specials and "History of the Jews" that languish in the drawer the rest of the year), but the fact that I'm even considering it tells you how good that show is. But I wish they'd move it to <a href="http://www.noggin.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Noggin</span></a> so it wasn't even an issue.<br /></li><li>While you're at it, move <a href="http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/">Sesame Street</a> off of PBS also. Why the show needs a public subsidy when they make zillions of dollars from sales of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007V63IU/qid=1137699920/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/002-4949461-7900811"><span style="font-style: italic;">Check Up Time Elmo</span></a> and all the other schwag is beyond me.<br /></li><li>Please don't use the word "myself" if "I" or "me" would work (e.g. "Would you like to go for a quick drive with Mary Jo Kopechne and myself?"). It doesn't make you sound smarter.</li><li>Email is great, and it's informal and quick, but have enough respect for the person you're emailing to at least make a stab at correct grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation, OK? I don't have the time to try and ferret out your meaning.</li><li>If you give me change after I buy something, don't put the dollar bills in my hand and then stick 83 cents in change on top of the bills so that I have no choice but to drop all of the change. Give me the change first, so it's firmly in my hand, and then give me the bills separately, OK?</li><li>Sometimes, when I'm at a class with my son, I look around at all of the other parents and think, "Each one of these parents thinks that their kid is the cutest kid in the world. Poor, self-deluded folk." See, even though everybody thinks their kid is the cutest, one of those kids actually <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> the cutest. And it's mine.<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.tivo.com"><span style="font-style: italic;">TiVo</span></a> is the greatest invention ever. Fire is also a very good invention, mainly because it led to the invention of <span style="font-style: italic;">TiVo.</span></li></ul><br />Updates as I think of more things to complain about.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1137686508370186742006-01-19T10:49:00.000-05:002006-01-19T11:47:59.526-05:00The next big thing...OK, let's talk coolness and fads for a moment, OK?<br /><br />I would not consider myself one of the "in, hip, crowd." When I left my last job, my goodbye party was held at 1 Little West 12th Street, which, in addition to being an OK restaurant, has an "in" bar scene (well, it was in at the time, I have no idea if it still is), velvet rope and all. I left to walk my wife home (I live around the corner) so she could put our son to bed, and when I came back, the guy wouldn't let me back in.<br /><br />That's right. I wasn't allowed back into <span style="font-style:italic;">my own party</span> until I reached someone inside to come vouch for me.<br /><br />Now, that said, I seem to be the harbinger of what will be cool.<br /><br />When I was in law school, I thought smoking cigars was kind of neat, and a year-and-a-half later, the cigar fad of the late '90s hit.<br /><br />I started talking to my wife about how cool it would be to get a scooter, and a year later, Vespas became the "must-have" accessory of the cool.<br /><br />We moved to our apartment roughly 4 months before the Meatpacking District exploded into the hippest neighborhood in NYC.<br /><br />I got interested in poker about 6 years ago, and look around you -- it's EVERYWHERE! (Almost annoyingly so.)<br /><br />Now, nobody believes me when I say I saw these trends happening and wasn't merely a hanger-on, so I make my prediction, on a time-stamped blog, of the next fad:<br /><br />Snuff.<br /><br />That's right, I said snuff. The powdered, aromatic tobacco product that the aristocrats of the 19th century liked.<br /><br />So in a year or two, when there are snuff bars all over Manhattan, and there's a big glossy 300 page "Snuff Afficionado" magazine on all the newsstands, and you see a clip of Paris Hilton putting something in her nose that is (amazingly) not white, you will remember -- you saw it here first.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1135886611273507692005-12-29T15:00:00.000-05:002005-12-29T15:04:50.400-05:00Cindy Sheehan ReduxYou know, I was pretty much done with Sheehan. She's nuts, right? Except I didn't realize just HOW off her rocker she is:<br /><br />In a <a href="http://moorewatch.com/index.php/weblog/pruneface_goes_to_england/">post over at Moorewatch.com</a>, Lee notes that Cindy Sheehan went to London to meet with a whole bunch of other wackjobs. OK, fine. But then he notes who the other speakers were:<br /><br /><blockquote>The scheduled speakers included Sheehan, who has become a focus of anti-war sentiment in the United States by camping outside the Texas ranch of President George W. Bush; Hasan Zergani Hashim, a spokesperson for Iraq’s radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr; and leftist British legislator George Galloway.</blockquote><br /><br />The usual suspects, right? However, did you notice in there that a spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr was speaking? Hmmm.....<br /><br />But wait --- how was <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0818-22.htm">Casey Sheehan killed?</a><br /><br /><blockquote>In the first 48 hours of fighting Sadr’s followers seized police stations and government buildings across the country including the Governor’s Office in Basra. At least 75 Iraqis and 10 American servicemen were killed, among them Army Specialist Casey Sheehan.</blockquote><br /><br />That's right -- Cindy Sheehan is sharing a stage with a spokesman for the guy who killed her son.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1133200988827178082005-11-28T13:02:00.000-05:002005-11-28T13:03:08.846-05:00Blogger seeks new ChurchThe "Emperor Darth Misha" over at the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, <a href="http://nicedoggie.net/2005/index.php/?p=1226">fisks (in typically low-key fashion) a relatively old (May 2004)</a> resolution from <a href="http://www.cmep.org/Statements/2004May_UMC.htm"> the United Methodist Church</a> and then cries out in despair:<br /><br /><blockquote><br />My grandparents fought Nazism, and I’m not about to piss on their sacrifices.<br /><br />NEVER AGAIN!<br /><br />What hurts me the most is that a church is issuing ignorant horse shit like that. You would think that they, of all people, would understand the Bible.<br /><br />You’d be wrong.<br /><br />So where to go?<br /><br />Are there any denominations left that actually believe in Scripture?<br /><br />Because I’m now a Christian without a church.<br /><br /></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1131399787789305782005-11-07T16:43:00.000-05:002005-11-07T16:43:07.876-05:00Why Italy is one of the few European countries that doesn't suck.<a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3163905,00.html">Grazie, Italia.</a> Molte grazie.
<br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1130426044108872322005-10-27T11:14:00.000-04:002005-10-27T11:14:04.430-04:00No Bid Procurement scandal! Not Halliburton? Yawn.The Wall Street Journal <a href="http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/cRosett/?id=110007463">carries an Op-Ed today</a> which reviews some particularly disquieting news regarding influence peddling and corruption in contracting over at the UN.
<br />
<br />Why isn't the left as furious over this stuff (which is far, far more documented and blatant) as it is over Halliburton?
<br />
<br />Never mind. Don't bother answering that.
<br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434427.post-1127402968591945142005-09-22T11:29:00.000-04:002005-09-27T16:08:11.563-04:00The recognition of a hero.The NY Sun carries a terrific story on its front page today -- <a href="http://www.nysun.com/article/20380"><i>The Long Ballad of Tibor 'Ted' Rubin</i></a>:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><br />On the evening of October 30, 1950, in the dark, early days of the Cold War, Red Chinese forces mounted a massive nighttime assault on American troops at Unsan, North Korea. As overwhelming numbers of communist soldiers attacked Americans throughout the night and into the next day, a rifleman with the Army's 8th Cavalry Regiment took up a 30-caliber machine gun at the south end of his unit's line, following in the footsteps of three other soldiers - all of whom had been killed at the post.<br /><br />When the rest of the American troops were told to withdraw, the rifleman never received the order, and continued "steadfastly manning" the machine gun until his ammunition was exhausted, according to Army records. The brave soldier's "determined stand" single-handedly slowed the advance of the enemy in his sector, allowing the remnants of his unit to retreat southward, and to safety.<br /><br />Fifty-five years later, the valor of the rifleman, Tibor "Ted" Rubin, is finally being recognized. On Friday, Corporal Rubin, who served in Korea from July 23, 1950, to April 20, 1953, will receive America's highest military accolade, the Medal of Honor, from President Bush in a White House ceremony.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Corporal Rubin, a survivor of the Mauthausen death camp, enlisted in the U.S. Army to, as he says, "express my appreciation to the United States - to the people who liberated us."<br /><br />In addition to surviving Mauthausen, he survived internment as a prisoner of war by the North Koreans, where, ironically and somewhat tragically, his experience at Mauthausen served him well:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><br />When his fellow soldiers, devastated by dysentery, could no longer muster the will to eat, Corporal Rubin force-fed them. When his fellow soldiers were filthy and injured, he bathed them and cleansed their wounds. When his fellow soldiers were infested with lice, he picked the parasites out of their hair. According to prisoners' accounts, when one soldier was wounded in the shoulder and infection set in, Corporal Rubin, recalling lessons learned at Mauthausen, jumped into the latrine to fetch maggots. He washed off the larvae and set them on the injured soldier's gangrenous flesh, leaving them to eat away the infection and removing them before they attacked the healthy skin - saving the soldier's arm, and his life.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />I can't understand why it took so long for this man to receive the Medal of Honor, but I am overjoyed that he is finally receiving it.<br /><br /><strong>UPDATE: </strong>The U.S. Army's site for Medal of Honor winner Corporal Tibor "Ted" Rubin is located <a href="http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/rubin/">here</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Further Update: </strong>Interestingly, the <a href="http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=7969">Army News Service</a> press release about the award contains the following paragraphs:<br /><br /><blockquote>Rubin was nominated for the MOH four times by grateful comrades. Fellow<br />Soldiers say Rubin might have received the medal five decades ago if not for a<br />sergeant who failed to forward recommendations because of Rubin’s Jewish and<br />Hungarian heritage.<br /><br />Rubin’s award is being made under the National Defense Authorization Act<br />for Fiscal Year 2002, Section 552. The act called upon the secretaries of each<br />military department to review the service records of both Jewish and Hispanic<br />American war veterans to see if they should have been awarded the MOH. Rubin’s<br />case was accelerated because of the wealth of eyewitness statements,<br />Congressional support and because earlier recommendations on his behalf did not<br />receive due priority.<br /></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05286522144946949144noreply@blogger.com0