As we discussed, my maternal
grandmother shipped me my late grandfather’s neckties. I spent a couple
of hours during Labor Day weekend sorting through them and removing the vichyssoise
stains with a cold wash liquid cleaner.1 I noted
the overlap in taste, although we only discussed apparel perhaps twice in
all our conversations, and that after I’d already figured out how I wanted
to dress.2 The difference
is in his cravat color choices: more maroon, burgundy and flax.
Petits Guignols
By chance, I encountered LP congressional candidate Matt Finkel in my neighborhood grocery.3 He wanted to know why I hadn’t been attending LP functions lately. He seemed to have trouble understanding my explanation, and what he did understand he resisted with standard talking points of the Libertarian “Reform” Caucus.
Finkel told me that he had trouble reading through the pre-Portland platform, which doesn’t speak well of his reading comprehension or his understanding of libertarianism. He’s a nice guy, but his arguments for the gutting of the platform, for example, were no more persuasive or substantive than anything on his Web site.4 He’ll fit in Congress just fine. In fact, the longer I think about our conversation, the less likely I am to vote for him in November. He’s too prone to going along to get along. If these people resisted the State half as much as they resist fixing the problems they’ve caused since the Portland convention, we wouldn’t have big government.
While its current dictator, that alcoholic ex-cheerleader nitwit,5 kowtowed to the Red Chinese financiers of his ruinous policies,6 the debt-ridden Democrats nominated Barack Hussein Obama in a garrison state version of Denver.7 So seven years into the undeclared War on Terror, a coke-snorting, red-diaper, crypto-Muslim foreign bastard from a screwed-up family has impressively become a serious contender for president.8 I mean, if we accept the current administration’s rationales, shouldn’t guards be doing to Obama what Jesse Jackson wanted, in some overseas detention camp, just to be safe?9 At least he's not Hillary Clinton.10
But his biggest problem, and one that’ll hurt both his presidency and us, is that he’s too wedded to the failed policies and paradigms of previous generations. If he were really about “change,” the way he’s yammered since the start of his campaign, he’d sound like a carbon copy of Ron Paul.11 In fact, the only thing I like about Obama is his age, which puts him in the same generation as me, according to the people who've done the research. Nevertheless, Obama’ll be a bigger disappointment to our generation than Nick Gillespie and his flunkies.12
So much for Obama’s good points. His running mate, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, is a fast-talking mick hustler prone to running at the mouth.13 In other words, members of the two most dysfunctional, disorderly, and improvident ethnies in America represent the Democratic ticket.14
(Disclaimer: The above commentary should not be inferred as a tacit endorsement of Mad Dog McCain, or for that matter, Bob Barr and his running mate, Wayne Allyn Schmuck.)15
Cultural Canapés
The Ian Fleming Estate has revived James Bond with a new author. In “Devil May Care,” set in the mid-‘60s, the archvillain rationalizes his archvillainy by talking like Noam Chomsky, only not as dull.16
Steve Martin – yes, that Steve Martin – co-wrote and produced “Traitor,” a serious thriller about some wild and crazy guys. It’s a good flick, even though the Muslim protagonist lives at the end.17
Austin Death Watch
Austin City Manager Marc Ott has concluded that a fourth of all City streets are in bad condition. He must get around.18
The University of Texas Accessibility Institute closed in late August – thereby becoming inaccessible. Spokeswoman Helen Keller was unavailable for comment.19
Neighborhood News
National Instruments has teamed up with Lego to create a robot that young children can assemble and program. WeDo will be available only to schools, probably because parents don’t want a cookie-sneaking automaton underfoot.20 From this, it’s just a baby step to the kids creating robots with a replicating rapid-prototyper.21
Complete Insurance Solutions has moved into the Gracy Farms Center strip mall.22
NOTES
1 Eisler, Mike. “Ties.” E-mail to Dan Eisler, 21 Aug. 2008.
2 Celant, Germano et al. Giorgio Armani. New York City: Guggenheim Museum, 2000; DiGennaro, Ron. “Spring Classics.” Esquire Gentleman Spring 1993: 217-224; Dyer, Rod, and Ron Sparks. Fit to Be Tied: Vintage Ties of the '40s and Early '50s. New York City: Abbeville Press, 1987; John T. Malloy’s New Dress for Success. New York City: Warner Books, 1988.
3 AD No. 96n5 (Feb. 6, 2007).
4 AD No. 113n11 (July 12, 2008).
5 Draper, Robert. Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush. New York City: Free Press, 2007: 40; Sammon, Bill. The Evangelical President: George Bush's Struggle to Spread a Moral Democracy Throughout the World. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 2007: 18-19.
6 Bovard, James. The Bush Betrayal. New York City: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004; Feller, Ben. “Bush Talks Politics and Religion in Beijing.” The Advertiser 11 Aug. 2008: 26.
7 King, Michael. “Denver Stakes.” AC 29 Aug. 2008: 15; Plunkett, Chuck. “Obama’s Big Stage Raises Issues of Costs, Security.” Denver Post 8 July 2008, final ed.: A1.
8 AD No. 113n15; Corsi, Jerome R. The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality. New York City: Threshold Editions, 2008; Obama, Barack. Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, rev. ed. New York City: Three Rivers Press, 2004: x, 93-94.
9 Danner, Mark. Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror. New York City: New York Review Books, 2004; “Jackson Dropped ‘N’-Bomb vs. Bam.” NYP 17 July 2008: 8; Suskind. The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11, rev. ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2007; The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib. Ed. Karen J. Greenberg and Joshua L. Dratel. New York City: Cambridge UP, 2005.
10 AD No. 22 (Nov. 16, 2000); AD No. 105 (Feb. 27, 2008); AD No. 106 (Mar. 7, 2008); AD No. 113n15, op. cit.; AD No. 114n19 (July 27, 2008); Aldrich, Gary. Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the White House, rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: Henry Regnery, 1998; Andersen, Christopher. Bill and Hillary: The Marriage. New York City: William Morrow and Co., 1999; Bovard, James. "Feeling Your Pain": The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years, rev. ed. New York City: Palgrave, 2001; EAD No. 7 (Aug. 1999); Klein, Edward. The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She’ll Go to Become President. New York City: Sentinel, 2005; Morris, Roger. Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America. New York City: John Macrae/Henry Holt and Co., 1996; Smith, Sally Bedell. For Love of Politics – Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years. New York City: Random House, 2007; Stewart, James B. Blood Sport: The President and His Adversaries, rev. ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
11 AD No. 98 (June 11, 2007); AD No. 113, op. cit.; Carbon Copy. First City/Hemdale/RKO Pictures, 1981; Paul, Ron. A Foreign Policy of Freedom: "Peace. Commerce, and Honest Friendship." Lake Jackson, Texas: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 2007; Paul. Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution After 200 Years. Lake Jackson, Texas: Foundation for Rational Education in Economics, 1987; Paul. Pillars of Prosperity: Free Markets, Honest Money, Private Property. Auburn, Ala.: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2008.
12 AD No. 106, op. cit.; Doherty, Brian. Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement. New York City: PublicAffairs, 2007: 576-577.
13 Cramer, Richard Ben. What It Takes: The Way to the White House, rev. ed. New York City: Vintage Books, 1993: passim.
14 Sowell, Thomas. Ethnic America: A History. New York City: Basic Books, 1981; Van den Berghe, Pierre L. The Ethnic Phenomenon. New York City: Elsevier, 1981: 22.
15 Passman, Aaron. “Libertarian Candidate for V.P. One of the Fold.” Jewish Exponent 4 Sep. 2008 <http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/16812/>.
16 Faulks, Sebastian. Devil May Care. New York City: Doubleday, 2008; Johnson, Paul. Intellectuals. 1988. Rpt. New York City: Harper & Row, 1989: 337-341; Schweizer, Peter. Do As I Say (Not as I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy. New York City: Doubleday, 2005: 16-38.
17 Traitor. Crescendo Productions/Mandeville Films/Overture Films, 2008.
18 Wear, Ben. “Get Ready to Pay: Ott Looking to Fix Rough City Roads.” AAS 1 Sep. 2008: B1.
19 Kreighbaum, Andrew. “Institute Closure Draws Woeful Response.” DT 3 Sep. 2008: 1A.
20 Hipp, Laura. “Nat’l Instruments Connects With Lego.” ABJ 25 Aug. 2008: 1+.
21 Boothroyd, David. “RPD Makes Itself Heard.” Eureka Jan. 2007: 14-15.
22 “Community Impact.” CIN Aug. 2008: 4.
Petits Guignols
By chance, I encountered LP congressional candidate Matt Finkel in my neighborhood grocery.3 He wanted to know why I hadn’t been attending LP functions lately. He seemed to have trouble understanding my explanation, and what he did understand he resisted with standard talking points of the Libertarian “Reform” Caucus.
Finkel told me that he had trouble reading through the pre-Portland platform, which doesn’t speak well of his reading comprehension or his understanding of libertarianism. He’s a nice guy, but his arguments for the gutting of the platform, for example, were no more persuasive or substantive than anything on his Web site.4 He’ll fit in Congress just fine. In fact, the longer I think about our conversation, the less likely I am to vote for him in November. He’s too prone to going along to get along. If these people resisted the State half as much as they resist fixing the problems they’ve caused since the Portland convention, we wouldn’t have big government.
While its current dictator, that alcoholic ex-cheerleader nitwit,5 kowtowed to the Red Chinese financiers of his ruinous policies,6 the debt-ridden Democrats nominated Barack Hussein Obama in a garrison state version of Denver.7 So seven years into the undeclared War on Terror, a coke-snorting, red-diaper, crypto-Muslim foreign bastard from a screwed-up family has impressively become a serious contender for president.8 I mean, if we accept the current administration’s rationales, shouldn’t guards be doing to Obama what Jesse Jackson wanted, in some overseas detention camp, just to be safe?9 At least he's not Hillary Clinton.10
But his biggest problem, and one that’ll hurt both his presidency and us, is that he’s too wedded to the failed policies and paradigms of previous generations. If he were really about “change,” the way he’s yammered since the start of his campaign, he’d sound like a carbon copy of Ron Paul.11 In fact, the only thing I like about Obama is his age, which puts him in the same generation as me, according to the people who've done the research. Nevertheless, Obama’ll be a bigger disappointment to our generation than Nick Gillespie and his flunkies.12
So much for Obama’s good points. His running mate, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, is a fast-talking mick hustler prone to running at the mouth.13 In other words, members of the two most dysfunctional, disorderly, and improvident ethnies in America represent the Democratic ticket.14
(Disclaimer: The above commentary should not be inferred as a tacit endorsement of Mad Dog McCain, or for that matter, Bob Barr and his running mate, Wayne Allyn Schmuck.)15
Cultural Canapés
The Ian Fleming Estate has revived James Bond with a new author. In “Devil May Care,” set in the mid-‘60s, the archvillain rationalizes his archvillainy by talking like Noam Chomsky, only not as dull.16
Steve Martin – yes, that Steve Martin – co-wrote and produced “Traitor,” a serious thriller about some wild and crazy guys. It’s a good flick, even though the Muslim protagonist lives at the end.17
Austin Death Watch
Austin City Manager Marc Ott has concluded that a fourth of all City streets are in bad condition. He must get around.18
The University of Texas Accessibility Institute closed in late August – thereby becoming inaccessible. Spokeswoman Helen Keller was unavailable for comment.19
Neighborhood News
National Instruments has teamed up with Lego to create a robot that young children can assemble and program. WeDo will be available only to schools, probably because parents don’t want a cookie-sneaking automaton underfoot.20 From this, it’s just a baby step to the kids creating robots with a replicating rapid-prototyper.21
Complete Insurance Solutions has moved into the Gracy Farms Center strip mall.22
NOTES
1 Eisler, Mike. “Ties.” E-mail to Dan Eisler, 21 Aug. 2008.
2 Celant, Germano et al. Giorgio Armani. New York City: Guggenheim Museum, 2000; DiGennaro, Ron. “Spring Classics.” Esquire Gentleman Spring 1993: 217-224; Dyer, Rod, and Ron Sparks. Fit to Be Tied: Vintage Ties of the '40s and Early '50s. New York City: Abbeville Press, 1987; John T. Malloy’s New Dress for Success. New York City: Warner Books, 1988.
3 AD No. 96n5 (Feb. 6, 2007).
4 AD No. 113n11 (July 12, 2008).
5 Draper, Robert. Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush. New York City: Free Press, 2007: 40; Sammon, Bill. The Evangelical President: George Bush's Struggle to Spread a Moral Democracy Throughout the World. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 2007: 18-19.
6 Bovard, James. The Bush Betrayal. New York City: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004; Feller, Ben. “Bush Talks Politics and Religion in Beijing.” The Advertiser 11 Aug. 2008: 26.
7 King, Michael. “Denver Stakes.” AC 29 Aug. 2008: 15; Plunkett, Chuck. “Obama’s Big Stage Raises Issues of Costs, Security.” Denver Post 8 July 2008, final ed.: A1.
8 AD No. 113n15; Corsi, Jerome R. The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality. New York City: Threshold Editions, 2008; Obama, Barack. Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, rev. ed. New York City: Three Rivers Press, 2004: x, 93-94.
9 Danner, Mark. Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror. New York City: New York Review Books, 2004; “Jackson Dropped ‘N’-Bomb vs. Bam.” NYP 17 July 2008: 8; Suskind. The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11, rev. ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2007; The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib. Ed. Karen J. Greenberg and Joshua L. Dratel. New York City: Cambridge UP, 2005.
10 AD No. 22 (Nov. 16, 2000); AD No. 105 (Feb. 27, 2008); AD No. 106 (Mar. 7, 2008); AD No. 113n15, op. cit.; AD No. 114n19 (July 27, 2008); Aldrich, Gary. Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the White House, rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: Henry Regnery, 1998; Andersen, Christopher. Bill and Hillary: The Marriage. New York City: William Morrow and Co., 1999; Bovard, James. "Feeling Your Pain": The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years, rev. ed. New York City: Palgrave, 2001; EAD No. 7 (Aug. 1999); Klein, Edward. The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She’ll Go to Become President. New York City: Sentinel, 2005; Morris, Roger. Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America. New York City: John Macrae/Henry Holt and Co., 1996; Smith, Sally Bedell. For Love of Politics – Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years. New York City: Random House, 2007; Stewart, James B. Blood Sport: The President and His Adversaries, rev. ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
11 AD No. 98 (June 11, 2007); AD No. 113, op. cit.; Carbon Copy. First City/Hemdale/RKO Pictures, 1981; Paul, Ron. A Foreign Policy of Freedom: "Peace. Commerce, and Honest Friendship." Lake Jackson, Texas: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 2007; Paul. Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution After 200 Years. Lake Jackson, Texas: Foundation for Rational Education in Economics, 1987; Paul. Pillars of Prosperity: Free Markets, Honest Money, Private Property. Auburn, Ala.: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2008.
12 AD No. 106, op. cit.; Doherty, Brian. Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement. New York City: PublicAffairs, 2007: 576-577.
13 Cramer, Richard Ben. What It Takes: The Way to the White House, rev. ed. New York City: Vintage Books, 1993: passim.
14 Sowell, Thomas. Ethnic America: A History. New York City: Basic Books, 1981; Van den Berghe, Pierre L. The Ethnic Phenomenon. New York City: Elsevier, 1981: 22.
15 Passman, Aaron. “Libertarian Candidate for V.P. One of the Fold.” Jewish Exponent 4 Sep. 2008 <http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/16812/>.
16 Faulks, Sebastian. Devil May Care. New York City: Doubleday, 2008; Johnson, Paul. Intellectuals. 1988. Rpt. New York City: Harper & Row, 1989: 337-341; Schweizer, Peter. Do As I Say (Not as I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy. New York City: Doubleday, 2005: 16-38.
17 Traitor. Crescendo Productions/Mandeville Films/Overture Films, 2008.
18 Wear, Ben. “Get Ready to Pay: Ott Looking to Fix Rough City Roads.” AAS 1 Sep. 2008: B1.
19 Kreighbaum, Andrew. “Institute Closure Draws Woeful Response.” DT 3 Sep. 2008: 1A.
20 Hipp, Laura. “Nat’l Instruments Connects With Lego.” ABJ 25 Aug. 2008: 1+.
21 Boothroyd, David. “RPD Makes Itself Heard.” Eureka Jan. 2007: 14-15.
22 “Community Impact.” CIN Aug. 2008: 4.