I'm going to have to stop reading VDH

He's too depressing (of course I won’t but this is becoming too prevalent) :

One wonders how the United States has come to the brink of nominating and probably electing someone with almost no experience as either an executive or national legislator, replete with ratings and rankings that suggest he will be about the most liberal Presidential candidate since George McGovern.

Last night's Austin Debate...

was attended by the oldest person (our runner, retired guy, former nurse I think) and youngest person (our receptionist, former Edwards supporter) in my office. Amazingly, they both won their entrances in a contest. Both thought Sen. Clinton was stronger in the first half and Sen. Obama stronger in the second. Both entered and left as Sen. Obama supporters.

Neither spoke in tongues.

New Age glossolalia

Ms Parker on the Obama fervor:

And apparently, Barack Obama is the new messiah.

Here's how a 20-year-old woman in Seattle described that Obama feeling: "When he was talking about hope, it actually almost made me cry. Like it really made sense, like, for the first, like, whoa ... "

This New Age glossolalia may be more sonorous than the guttural emanations from the revival tent, but the emotion is the same. It's all religion by any other name.

Re: Plaintiff's Lending

I wonder what the effective interest rates are on these Plaintiff's Lending loans. I assume them to be contingent loans...contingent in that the loans don't have to be repaid if the lawsuit is lost. I have to assume the rates are steep since if the suit is lost the loan need not be repaid. Do usury statutes apply?

Decline and Fall by Bruce Thornton

I read it several months ago and while very good, if one could read only one of the two I would recommend Mark Steyn's America Alone. Having said that, both are really rather short and both very readable. Thornton obviously more focused on Europe than Steyn so able to dedicate more pages to other reasons, e.g., declining religious fervor, beyond the demographics issue with which Steyn is so good.

Nice summary of Decline and Fall today by way of KLo's interview with Thornton (aka "VDH's toadie" as I saw on some website the other day) at NRO.

Fun this August in Denver

From an allegedly pro-Sen. Clinton website:

FACT: Florida and Michigan should count, both in the interest of fundamental fairness and honoring the spirit of the Democrats' 50-state strategy.

An important part of the debate over delegates is the role of Florida and Michigan. Hillary Clinton believes that the voices of 600,000 Michigan primary voters and 1.75 million Florida primary voters should be heard at the Democratic convention.

In the 2004 presidential race, the turnout in Michigan was only a quarter of what it was this year - and the 2004 turnout in Florida was less than half of what it was this year. With such dramatically increased turnout, Hillary won those two states and she did it with all candidates on an equal footing. In Florida, all presidential candidates were on the primary ballot and all followed the rules (except for Sen. Obama who broke the rules by running television ads in violation of his pledge to the early states and to the other presidential candidates). In Michigan, Sen. Obama voluntarily withdrew his name from the primary ballot to curry favor with Iowa. He was under no obligation to do so. However, his supporters organized a substantial vote for 'uncommitted' on the ballot, thus he is represented in the delegation. Hillary Clinton obeyed all the rules in Florida and Michigan and came out ahead. She had no intrinsic advantage over her opponents other than the will of the voters. The voters of Florida and Michigan should be heard and the delegates from Florida and Michigan should count.

This could be getting really fun.

Lunar Eclipse Tonight

For those blessed with good weather, there should be a nice eclipse of the moon tonight.

Nuclear Subsidies?

I may have made a terrible mistake in my thoughts (read support) about nuclear energy. I was confronted by my brother-in-law (for whom I have the greatest respect) this weekend with the assertion that "Nuclear Energy" is no better than biofuels from a market/economic perspective. In other words, it can't make it without subsidies. Is this right? I haven't had time to research yet.

I would have assumed some early subsidies but would also have assumed that by now they were honestly profitable. Any thoughts? Any sources?

I'm going to hate to eat this sandwich.

Plaintiffs Lending

I've been inundated with ads lately of lenders willing to fund loans based upon a plaintiff's claim in a lawsuit that don't have to be repaid if the suit is lost. I know it's a market niche and that deserving plaintiffs need cash, but something smells very bad in these.

Example here though I know nothing of the company and they may be strictly above board.

I predict a scandal.

Jonah Goldberg on Hugh Hewitt this Thursday...

discussing Liberal Fascism (linked at right). My impression was that it would be for all three hours since HH will physically be on vacation.

Sen. Obama floored me on the way home tonight...

in a good way. I just heard a blip during a top of the hour radio news broadcast so there might be more but I suspect it came from this:

...Obama called Clinton’s proposal to freeze mortgage rates “disastrous”.

“She says we need to freeze the monthly rate on existing adjustable rate mortgages for at least five years,” Obama said.

“That will reward folks who made this problem worse [emph. mine] and it will also reward folks who are wealthy and don’t need it - but it won’t target the struggling homeowners who need help most.”

Ok, kudos for the first part but reward the "wealthy?" What wealthy "folks" are opting for these silly adjustable rates? At least arguably, those who need help most are those that made the problem worse but still, I want to give credit where it's due.

The radio blip only covered the the "disastrous" and "made this problem worse" comments. I actually exclaimed aloud (again, in a good way) on the way home.

Michelle Obama says her Husband will fix my soul...

These messianic comments are really unsettling. I heard these (takes about 10 minutes) and thought that they really seemed to represent what his supporters say he stands for. I recognize that she said "we" have to fix our souls but the message was undeniable.

Brother SSJ'rs, is it permissible for me to vote in the Democrat Primary on March 4, 2008?

I participated in the old caucus process to try to thwart Gary Hart (before the whole Monkey Business/Donna Rice thing brought him down) when it appeared he might have a real chance of taking down Reagan. I supported Jesse Jackson in the caucus.

Can I vote for Hillary on March 4? If I can, I will if the Huck stays safely behind McCain.

(Not to mention the improper use of "fix." Fix means "to prepare," not "to repair," at least as the language is spoken in the south.)