Althouse

At the Salad Garden Café...

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:17:00 +0000

... you can eat all you like.

"State and local leaders called Wednesday for independent audits of the Milwaukee Police Department's crime numbers..."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:05:00 +0000

"... citing a Journal Sentinel investigation that found more than 500 cases in which serious crimes were misclassified as lesser offenses."

"Bill Clinton's glamorous fundraiser called 'worst party ever' by angry guests."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Thu, 24 May 2012 02:29:00 +0000

The U.K. Telegraph reports:

Attendees complained the underground venue “stank”, with perspiration “dripping off the walls” and the rooms too crowded to even see the former president.

One, who called it the “worst party ever” described how “angry people” were waiting in the queue outside while high-profile guests were admitted, and another condemned the event as “unpleasant."

NYT digs back 3 years into the photo files to find something super-sentimental...

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:19:00 +0000

... in a touching effort at boosting the Obama reelection campaign.

Kudos, NYT! You've made it all very clear.

"Artist released after 'I Love NY' bags cause bomb scare."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:16:00 +0000

"'I am not sure they understood what it is,' said a beaming Takeshi Miyakawa, who was locked up last Saturday. 'They understood it's not a bomb at least.'"

"Would all jurors with last names beginning with the letters A through Z please turn in your forms?"

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:28:00 +0000

"Great moments in verbosity."

"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s latest squeeze, actress Cheryl Hines, had been flaunting their relationship online in the weeks before his wife hanged herself."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:40:00 +0000

The NY Post reports:

Hines also had struck up friendships with two of Mary’s best friends, Kerry Kennedy and Glenn Close, according to her tweets.

The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” blonde even tweeted about talking football with Mary and Bobby Jr.’s 11-year-old son, Aiden....

Throughout Hines’ Twitter tear, Mary was isolated in her Bedford mansion, drowning in sorrow, alcohol and debt....

“She faced losing her kids, and his relationship with Cheryl Hines was humiliating. At an event last month, he walked the red carpet with Cheryl as a couple and took the kids,” a source told The Post last week, referring to the Riverkeeper Annual Fisherman’s Ball in late April.

She didn't curb her enthusiasm.

Do you want Nik Wallenda to wear a safety harness when he does what is supposed to be a "death-defying" tightrope walk over Niagara Falls?

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:59:00 +0000

Because ABC is moderating the death-defiance thusly.

"No, the Supreme Court is Not Poised to Adopt a Radical Libertarian Agenda..."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:27:00 +0000

"... and Certain Commentators Should be Embarrassed for Suggesting Otherwise."

And from Randy Barnett:

President Obama’s two statements urging the Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act came the week after the vote was presumably taken by the justices in conference. Since then we have been subjected to a seemingly endless stream of pundits, professors, and politicians urging the Court for “nonlegal” reasons... to uphold the Act. All of these statements presuppose that the conference vote was to invalidate the mandate, or there would have been no reason to speak now. Hence, the specific pressure on Chief Justice Roberts by Senataor Leahy and Jeff Rosen is implicitly urging him to change his vote from that which he cast in the conference.

I think Randy is implying that the news of the vote leaked from the conference.

In Janesville, Wisconsin, an anonymous flier lists teachers' salaries and tells parents to ask for a "non-radical teacher" next year.

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:14:00 +0000

The flier names the 321 highest-paid teachers and tells readers to check on line to see if they signed the Scott Walker recall petition.

The flier angered teachers, who were already targeted by a flier earlier this year accusing them of having a "Marxist, globalist agenda," said Ted Lewis, regional union representative for Rock County teachers.

"It's trying to intimidate them and make them feel guilty for earning salaries," Lewis said. "They're creating this witch hunt for people who engaged in their civic duty."...

Chris Kliesmet, executive administrator of Citizens for Responsible Government, said his organization isn't responsible for the content of the flier, but said... "The question in the back of a lot of people's minds is, 'Are my children being indoctrinated?'"

ADDED: I've lost count of how many times pseudonymous lefties at the Isthmus forum have put up my name and my salary along with some argument that I ought to suffer some negative consequence. (Isthmus is the Madison, Wisconsin "alternative" newspaper.)

"Tom Barrett wants to spend $100 million on a trolley for Milwaukee..."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:05:00 +0000

It's the new Scott Walker video.

He's hitting the train button again. Here's his ad from August 2010, aimed at the high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee: "I will put a stop to this boondoggle the day I take office." This was the single issue that got my vote back then.

And Walker beat Tom Barrett and won his 4-year term. But we're back, less than 2 years later, deciding between Walker and Tom Barrett again. It's the boondoggle known as the recall, and it's costing Wisconsin taxpayers $18 million.

"I gave my word that I would treat the taxpayer’s money as my own," says Scott Walker in an op-ed published today in the Cap Times. He says a bunch of other things, making his case for June 5th election.

The Cap Times also has an op-ed from Tom Barrett, who says he is "pulling up a lawn chair and listening and talking with people" while Scott Walker is "flying around the country raising money and playing right-wing rock star to the extreme conservative elite."

Yeah, Scott, stop flying around and get into that lawn chair like Tom Barrett. And Tom, I know it's rough getting around without trolley or train-tracks everywhere you go, but come on... lawn chair?

ADDED: Please take the folksinger viewpoint into account:

"Investors File Suit Against Facebook, Underwriters."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:27:00 +0000

"The suit follows reports Tuesday that analysts at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut their revenue forecasts on Facebook amid the investor roadshow, a change that wasn't widely disseminated."

"[A]n innocent little girl pushing a doll stroller on a sidewalk on a Sunday afternoon... suddenly... almost mortally wounded by an arrow falling from the sky."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:24:00 +0000

"Aryanna's condition has been upgraded to fair, said John Densmore, the pediatric surgeon who removed the arrow from Aryanna during a 2 1/2 hour surgery Sunday at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin."

If there had been a difference in the trajectory of the arrow by 2 centimeters, "there could have been a very bad outcome....

"She could best be described as a 7-year-old bundle of strength... She was composed, she was calm and she was quiet."

Aryanna suffered wounds to her left lung, diaphragm, spleen, stomach and liver. All of her organs were preserved, and she is expected to experience no permanent dysfunction, Densmore said.

They haven't found out who shot the arrow.

"If I could turn back time, I would have not chosen Gloria Allred as my lawyer."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:15:00 +0000

Regret about choice of lawyer expressed in Cher lyrics.

Via Instapundit, who notes that the client Debrahlee Lorenzana learned what was always mind-crushingly obvious, that Gloria Allred is in it to get attention for herself.

But then, so was Lorenzano. It takes one to know one is not always true. Look at the photo at the first link. Was Lorenzano fired because of her looks or because she declined to dress in a manner appropriate to the business in which she was employed?

Teach your children that sex is "a beautiful thing, and it is magic, and it’s when you connect with somebody."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:03:00 +0000

Says Miley Cyrus — who's 19, and therefore able to display her insight into intercourse.

"For decades, Democratic politicians have found ways to win Catholic swing voters despite taking positions that are at odds..."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:58:00 +0000

"... with the Catholic Church’s views on abortion, same-sex marriage, and yes, contraception. But it will be considerably harder for this White House to win over those same voters if it seems to be picking a fight with American Catholicism as a culture — with the local Catholic hospital, the local Catholic soup kitchen, and yes, the Fighting Irish."

Says Ross Douthat, who is good at political analysis, but a bit slapdash about the law at issue in the suit that was filed by the Catholic bishops.

Whether [they] win in court will presumably depend on how the judicial branch weighs the public health concern involved. It’s true that religious institutions can’t be exempt from every regulation they don’t like, and maybe the courts will accept the argument that it’s worth sacrificing a measure of religious liberty in order to marginally expand the number of insurance plans covering contraception.

At least he says "presumably," and perhaps he's trying to express the view that the courts don't follow legal rules but approve of laws that seem like a pretty good idea in relation to how troublesome they are to people who like to think they have rights.

Google celebrates the 78th birthday of Robert Moog.

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:46:00 +0000

Play it!

More here: "Google Crafts Playable Bob Moog Synthesizer Doodle."

The playable doodle features his signature Moog synthesizer, with all the accompanying bells and whistles. A quick-start guide on moogmusic.com provides details on how to play the doodle, which also allows users to record their creations and share them with friends. A demonstration is also available in the video below.

So record something and tell us about it in the comments.

"No regulator in the United States has ever seen the information that Google’s cars gathered from American citizens."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:22:00 +0000

The NYT presents Google in a sinister light for its failure to open itself up to the government that wants to regulate it.

The tale of how Google escaped a full accounting for Street View illustrates not only how technology companies have outstripped the regulators, but also their complicated relationship with their adoring customers....

People willingly, at times eagerly, surrender this information....

Although Google thrives on information, it is closemouthed about itself....

“We don’t have much choice but to trust Google,” said Christian Sandvig, a researcher in communications technology and public policy at the University of Illinois. “We rely on them for everything.”

That reliance has built an impressive company — and a self-assurance that can be indistinguishable from arrogance. “Google doesn’t seem to think it ever will be held accountable,” Mr. Sandvig said. “And to date it hasn’t been.”

Google rivals government. Government would like us to willingly, eagerly surrender information, to have no choice but to trust it, to be relied on for everything, to never be held accountable... and — with all that — to be adored.

How frustrating for the government!

The Green Bay Packers win...

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:10:00 +0000

... "Dancing with the Stars."

"Natalia Juarez, a philosophy professor who is running as a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, rolled out a billboard recently showing her posing topless..."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:56:00 +0000

"... with six other female members of the party. The billboards were posted around Guadalajara, the mostly conservative capital of the western state of Jalisco and Mexico's second-largest city."

You say you want a revolution...

"[B]asically hallucinating... he kind of reached out to me, kind of in a zombie-like fashion."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:24:00 +0000

"At that point, there’s not a lot you can do for somebody that’s dying and frozen to death."

On Mount Everest, last Saturday, it was a "traffic jam" as 150 people tried to take advantage of a window of good weather. With the crowding, it took longer, and they hadn't carried enough oxygen. 4 died.

"Hot and smoky, almost irreverent"/"Distinctly bitter aftertaste"/"Bold and unrelenting."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:08:00 +0000

Entomologist samples 150 insect stings, describes them, and ranks them.

Do you think the worst is a bee, a hornet, a wasp, or an ant?

It's an ant!

The "flashed face" distortion effect.

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:54:00 +0000

Strange! Watch:

That video might get "picked up by tea partiers, maybe even [Nikki] Haley herself, to attack labor again."

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:39:00 +0000

"Do you think we can get this video pulled?"

It's not down yet: here.

In the Foxglove Café...

noreply blogger.com (Ann Althouse) — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:26:00 +0000

... it's a digital café and a digitalis café.

What do you think of Wallenda wearing a safety harness?
	Terrible. The whole point is to thrill us by making us face the terror of imminent death.
	It will still be thrilling enough and we don't want to have to think about him dying.
	It's good, because now I will be able to watch.
	It's great because now I won't feel tempted to watch it.

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