What Annoying Song Is Stuck In My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

Heard the song at the grocery store, and the song is annoying.  The video most certainly is not, although it requires me to suspend some disbelief, because I have trouble believing record company execs, even in the late 80's, would have found this risque in the extreme.  Today, it barely registers as titilating.  Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, it just is.

As an aside, something I noticed for the first time while watching it again:  while the execs are obviously growing increasingly uncomfortable throughout the course of the video, the focus of the orchestra is awesome by contrast.  Sweet little things like that make for a good music video.



You're welcome.

Those Darned Elections

Earlier this week, we had former Obama OMB Director Peter Orszag extolling the virtues of less democracy.  Now we have an elected Democrat throwing out the same idea, and suggesting a good way to implement it...

Speaking to a Cary Rotary Club today, N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue suggested suspending Congressional elections for two years so that Congress can focus on economic recovery and not the next election.

"I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that," Perdue said. "You want people who don't worry about the next election."

The comment -- which came during a discussion of the economy -- perked more than a few ears. It's unclear whether Perdue, a Democrat, is serious -- but her tone was level and she asked others to support her on the idea.

The audio backs up the idea that she wasn't joking, which officially makes Perdue's suggestion dumber than Orszag's.  Let us coun...

1.  Orszag's a policy wonk; while those people sometimes run for office (see Warren, Elizabeth), they usually stay on the technocratic theorietical side of the world and avoid trying to get elected.  When they do, they often flounder because they say things that are as dumb as this (see Warren, Elizabeth).  But Perdue is a professional politician and elected official who's suggesting that we suspend elections.   This makes her statement, even if off the cuff, several hundred times dumber than Orszag's article.

2.  Perdue's suggestion doesn't even have merit as something that might work.  Since when does making politicians less accountable to the electorate lead to better policy?  Do dictatorships and the old Soviet model of Communism have a brilliant track record of giving the populace what they want?  Does Perdue really believe that our elected officials, if insulated from the potential to be voted out of office, suddenly bail on their principles?  If so, we're electing the wrong people to office.  If a policy is opposed by your constiuents but you think it's a good idea, your job is to vote for it and then explain (convincingly, you hope) why you voted for it.  If you can't explain why it's a good thing, then maybe it isn't (see Obamacare).

3.  Why do Democrats hate democracy so much?  Shouldn't the party change its name?

4.  Perdue's statement is telling of the problem Democrats have with regard to media bias.  If a Republican had suggested in the Bush years that we do something like this, they would have been filleted and forced to apologize, even if it was a joke.  But Democrats are used to the media covering for them, so they let loose with the inner thoughts they have about how the world would be a better place if they could just manage the country and the stupid citizens would just listen quietly and agree with whatever brilliant strategem the elite had developed.

5.  As a bottom line matter, this really comes down to Democrats suddenly running headlong into reality -- people are now opposed to bigger government, even if they like a lot of the goodies they're getting from it.  They don't want to pay for it.  The GOP base has adopted a simple position grounded in reality, which is that we need to cut back because we can't pay for it.  The Democrats keep pretending that they can raise taxes on the rich enough to cover the freight, when reality says they need to raise them across the board.  Perhaps if they didn't hold elections, they could raise more revenue through taxes to keep the big government they want to support.

6.  Hey, any excuse to post a classic Simpsons moment.  Apparently Homer agrees with orszag and Perdue...




7.  Here's hoping Perdue learns why democracy works next fall, when she's voted out of office.

Drafting Chris Christie

I'm serious when I say these two things:  If I were his political advisor, I would say Chris Christie should not run for President.  But as an American, I really wish Chris Christie would run for President.

Christie is, for better or worse, the flavor of the week in the GOP race.  If he got into the race, he would instantly take a lead, then spend weeks getting pummelled by his opponents on issues where he is vulnerable -- and they do exist.  The difference, at the end of the day, is that I'd expect him to handle the attacks far better than Rick Perry has done.

I watched his speech at the Reagan Library and the short Q&A that followed, and the experience was very similar to watching the Marco Rubio speech at the same venue a few weeks ago (new theory: put anyone in the Reagan Library, and they can deliver a kickass speech!), except it was Rubio in 6 years (with 100 additional pounds).  After watching him, I had one thought:  I want this guy as my President. 

I don't agree with him on some stuff, and I suspect he'll disappoint me at times, but the guy screams leadership and accountability at a time when both are sorely lacking.  He has executive experience, which Cain, Bachmann, Santorum, and Paul (and even Rubio and Ryan) all lack.  He's real and sincere, unlike Romney.  He's telegenic (which is weird to say for a fat guy) and capable of delivering an impromptu response to questions while thinking on his feet, unlike Perry.  He's not trying to lecture Republicans on how they're wrong on key issues, like Huntsman or Johnson. And while half the GOP would have reservations about him on issues from gun control to immigration to climate change, there's no one else who's worthy in the current field.  Yes, it's important that the next President be a conservative.  But it's also important that they be a competent conservative, and you can't sell me that anyone in the current field meets both qualities as well as Christie, at least with evidence of past performance.

If you don't have time to read or watch the speech, just watch the video here:

That lady's too worshipful of Christie; it's not on the same level as the stupid Obama-Messiah morons, but it's far too deferential to the idea that "only Christie can save us!"  The country doesn't necessarily need Chris Christie to run for President; it needs people who want to make America better to roll up their sleeves and work hard to make America better.  Our hope is that the next President is someone who makes that task easier rather than harder, but we're already working on that task, and we need to keep working on it after the election, even if President Obama is defeated.  Defeating President Obama is only the first step in making things better; whomever wins that election needs to be somebody who can follow through on policies that assist, but it's ultimately the efforts of the American people that will make or break America. 

When people seem as desperate as this woman, I worry that they're investing too much in an empty suit and putting into it what they desire rather than what's there (see 2008).  Electing Chris Christie or anyone else in 2012 isn't going to change anything overnight, except Prozac sales and therapy appointments for Democrats.  But Christie's response is pitch-perfect; he doesn't pretend to be anything other than what he is.  I appreciate someone who doesn't want this job, but may feel a calling to it; by contrast, I sense that Rick Perry decided he wanted the job because he felt like he could have it.

If Christie doesn't run, I feel like South Park's 2004 election parody (Douche and Turd) is what we're going to get in 2012.  A summary for those fools who haven't watched the show is available at the link,  but you're better off watching the whole thing than watching a Presidential debate next year if we end up with what I expect (besides, the episode features P. Diddy killing PETA members, which is fun to watch). 

I'm someone who's passionately opposed to the douche, so the Turd (whichever Turd it is) will get my vote.  But somehow, "Vote for the Turd -- It's Important" does not strike me as an inspiring campaign slogan.  And once he gets in office, he's still a turd.  But Chris Christie, if he ran and won the nomination and won the office, would not be a turd.

And he's not running.  Damn it.  Damndamndamndamndamn.

Oh What A Night

As a baseball fan, last night was a treat.  I don't just say that as a Phillies fan whose team was guaranteed a postseason berth -- how can you not enjoy a night where four different games are played that determine the last two playoff spots, three feature blown saves, three feature teams winning in their last at-bat, and two feature walkoff hits?  I'm not even sure it was a good idea for the Phillies to beat Atlanta -- facing a hot Cardinals team isn't exactly my idea of an easy first round series.  Then again, we'll take our chances.

And for the Red Sox fans out there... perhaps this is cautionary example for my fellow Phillies fans, but people outside New York actually enjoyed Boston's collapse this time.  I have a feeling a lot of people are mockingly referencing "Sweet Caroline" in emails, tweets, texts, and blog posts right now.  I'll refrain from posting the song, but I'm not feeling sorry for any city that won titles in all four major sports in the last 7 years. 

The Pizza Guy Is Closing In

It's only one poll, and he's still got a lead.  But if President Obama only has a five point lead on Herman Cain, the First Family may want to get a realtor on speed dial for January 2013.

Bad Moments in Fatherhood

I'm guessing this guy is out of the running for Father of the Year in Taiwan.  He also may need a divorce attorney.

Fixing Healthcare The Right Way

One more reason Paul Ryan is my favorite member of Congress (low bar to clear overall, but there are some standouts) is right here.  The Democrats are running political ads showing a Ryan lookalike pushing granny off a cliff because Ryan had the audacity to recognize that Medicare is going bankrupt and proposed a way to fx it which included (gasp) beenfit cuts for people who aren't retired yet.  The Democrats, of course, continue their fiscal policy of pretending there isn't a problem and then pretending it can all be fixed if we tax the rich to seize back everything the leprechans gave them. 

What does Ryan do?  He doubles down, with a plan to fix the healthcare system, one that's market-driven and makes sense (as opposed to pseudo-government-run and inherently contradictory, i.e. Obamacare).  And the best news -- if anyone can sell this, Paul Ryan can do it.

One More Jumps Off The Bandwagon

Ted Leonsis is the owner of the Washington Capitals, but he's also a supporter of President Obama who maxed out his contributions to the President in 2008 when he was running for office.  Which is why these words carry some special weight...

Economic Success has somehow become the new boogie man; some in the Democratic party are now casting about for enemies and business leaders and anyone who has achieved success in terms of rank or fiscal success is being cast as a bad guy in a black hat. This is counter to the American Dream and is really turning off so many people that love American and basically carry our country on their back by paying taxes and by employing people and creating GDP.


This is a bad move all designed by some pollster who said this is the way to get votes during the re-election. It should be stopped. We should be healing and creating teams NOT dividing and pitting people against one another.


I know the President isn’t speaking to me specifically when he talks but many times I hear stuff and I cringe personally. As a friend told me the other day who lives in China, “Every time your President talks of late, it costs us billions in market cap and in confidence in your country and your economy.” Why do we devalue success in the US when the rest of the world is trying to emulate what we have created as an economic system?

Read the whole thing.

To quote John McClane...



You're a little late, but we'll take all the help we can get in 2012. Just do us a favor and start realizing that this is what the Democratic Party is about -- you don't have to give money to the GOP, but stop funnelling cash to people who want to punish success.

Quality Should Be Job One, Not Bowing to Presidential Pressure

Let's start with noting that this ad almost made me want to go out and buy a Ford...



Seriously, that ad deserves all the airplay it can get. And for the record, I'm not buying any GM or Chrysler product anytime soon (not that it was likely to happen anyway). But then, the Detroit News noted that Ford pulled the ad, possibly in response to Obama Administration pressure...

As part of a campaign featuring "real people" explaining their decision to buy the Blue Oval, a guy named "Chris" says he "wasn't going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government," according the text of the ad, launched in early September.


"I was going to buy from a manufacturer that's standing on their own: win, lose, or draw. That's what America is about is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta' pick yourself up and go back to work."


That's what some of America is about, evidently. Because Ford pulled the ad after individuals inside the White House questioned whether the copy was publicly denigrating the controversial bailout policy CEO Alan Mulally repeatedly supported in the dark days of late 2008, in early '09 and again when the ad flap arose. And more.


With President Barack Obama tuning his re-election campaign amid dismal economic conditions and simmering antipathy toward his stimulus spending and associated bailouts, the Ford ad carried the makings of a political liability when Team Obama can least afford yet another one. Can't have that.


The ad, pulled in response to White House questions (and, presumably, carping from rival GM), threatened to rekindle the negative (if accurate) association just when the president wants credit for their positive results (GM and Chrysler are moving forward, making money and selling vehicles) and to distance himself from any public downside of his decision.


In other words, where presidential politics and automotive marketing collide — clean, green, politically correct vehicles not included — the president wins and the automaker loses because the benefit of the battle isn't worth the cost of waging it.

So, it appears that despite not wanting to run the auto companies, the President does appear sensitive to criticisms of his policies by those same companies. Mickey Kaus says Ford can't win here...

Poor Ford. They don’t go broke like their rivals. Then Obama White House props up and promotes those rivals. They try to point out their relative independence in an ad,** which then risks turning the Obama White House into an actual enemy. But when they pull the ad it only reinforces the point that they have to suck up to the Obama White House. Corporatism’s a bitch.

What's funny is that Ford is getting grief because they supported the bailouts of thier rivals (which was good business for Ford, as it preserved the businesses of their mutual parts suppliers) and also took a loan from the feds that propped the company up so they didn't later need a bailout. The latter is of course markedly different from participating in a bailout scheme that enriched the President's union cronies at the expense of the company's creditors, but we won't spend any time on that.

But any hypocrisy on Ford's part is irrelevant to a simpler issue -- the White House should not be involved in putting any pressure on a private company, even one receiving taxpayer assistance, to toe a mythical line supporting White House policies. Everyone involved here is denying such a thing took place, but Ford's decision to pull the ad before re-posting it has not been adequately explained, and we all know this White House has a thin skin when it comes to criticism.

Bottom line? I'm still not buying a GM product or anything made by Chrysler. Ford's now on probation.

What Annoying Song Is Stuck In My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

I attended Back To School Night for my daughter last night, which is still a surreal experience (beyond the basic "I'm really a parent" portion of the experience, there's also the moment when your child's teacher tells you things about your kid that you didn't know, like she's mastered calculus already!  Okay, just kidding on the last part... I think).  Anyway, they had a video montage playing that featured this song.

A couple things.  First, I hate Rod Stewart's music generally -- I just find it annoying, and this song's near the top of the list of Stewart songs I hate.  With that being said, I recall this song as being the theme song at my seventh grade dance, which wasn't all that bad as far as seventh grade dances go.  But it's kind of scary to think it's still in rotation for use as a crappy attempt to tug at your emotions 25 years later -- I mean, the song sucks almost as bad as anything by the Scorpions.



You're welcome.

Please, Andy, Can You Talk Some Sense Into Red?

You know, when he slammed the Tea Party as racist, I chose to ignore it, because Morgan Freeman is still Morgan Freeman.  But marrying your own step-granddaughter?  That might land in the top ten creepiest things I've heard of a celebrity doing.  How am I supposed to watch The Shawshank Redemption again? 

Apple's Alien Ambition

Apple's new proposed HQ has been drawing some buzz; even though the plans are shrouded in secrecy, stuff has leaked out...

Foster has proposed a gargantuan glass-and-metal ring, four stories high, with a hole in the middle a third of a mile wide. The building, which will house upwards of twelve thousand employees, will have a circumference of a mile, and will be so huge that you won’t really be able to perceive its shape, except from the air. Like everything Foster does, it will be sleek and impeccably detailed, but who wants to work in a gigantic donut? Steve Jobs, speaking to the Cupertino City Council, likened the building to a spaceship. But buildings aren’t spaceships, any more than they are iPhones.

So why is Foster’s design troubling, maybe even a bit scary? The genius of the iPhone, MacBook, iPad, and other Apple products is that they are tools that function well and happen to be breathtakingly beautiful. (Last year, I wrote about the design for the new Apple store on the Upper West Side.) A building is also a tool, but of a very different sort. In architecture, scale—the size of various parts of a building in proportion to one another and to the size of human beings—counts for a lot. With this building, there seems to be very little sense of any connection to human size. Flexibility is a hallmark of the iPad, and it counts in architecture, too, but how much flexibility is there in a vast office governed entirely by geometry? For all of Foster’s sleekness, this Apple building seems more like a twenty-first-century version of the Pentagon.

The Blog's Chief Architecture Correspondent, the Lord of Truth (and if you didn't know he was our Chief Architecture Correspondent, you are only about 24 hours behind him in learning this), had some thoughts...

Wow that’s a bold design if it’s actually true.  A lot of the comments I was thinking as I read were voiced by the author of the piece, so I guess I’m either not as snarky as I used to be or this is just really obvious.

I do think it’s pretty inefficient to make people move a half a mile in linear distance to reach the other side of the building.  I’m sure there will be some cool monorail or employees will be issued Segways or something, but that just seems kind of silly.  Elevators are efficient because they don’t take up much horizontal space, but a horizontal version would eat up a lot of that circumference.

I also find it ironic that Apple designs boxy computers and has really boxy stores, but seems to be opting for a building with no corners.  And I thought space ship too – but specifically the space ships from the original “V” series:

Perhaps Steve Jobs and other Apple execs eat mice for food and want to enslave us all.  Oh, but they already have. 

The most frightening thing?  I'm not sure if I'm opposed to Apple enslavement.

I'm Waiting For The Nixon Mascot to Show Up And Try Rigging The Race

Glad to see Jayson Werth did something worthwhile in DC this year.  Granted, his bloated contract would be a more apropos mascot for Washington, D.C. than any of the Presidents, but kudos to him for standing up for progressive icon Teddy Roosevelt.  Then again, like so many of Werth's efforts this season, it ended in futility.

I Went To Law School So I Didn't Have To Do This Math

The mere thought of doing this much math makes my head hurt.  Seriously, all that math to figure out the chances you were born, and he doesn't include a variable for misuse of birth control or too much alcohol?

The Secret Origins of ATTTTTTTTAAAACCCCCKKKK WAAAATTTTTCCCHH

I knew Hitler was secretly behind ATTTTTTTTAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKK WAAAAATTTTTTCCCCCCHHH.  Here's the proof, at long last...



"Toothless hillbillies with lizard brains?"  Hey, hillbillies would prefer to be called "Sons of the South!"

It's The Worst System There Is, Except For All The Others

Former Obama OMB chief Peter Orszag is annoyed that all the hoi polloi of democracy keep screwing up the brilliant vision of liberal technocrats, with an article with a sub-headline of "Why we need less democracy."  Peter Suderman at Reason does a nice job of taking apart Orszag's argument, which I can summarize with the help of Kent Brockman...



He might be right. After all, democracy led to the Presidency of Barack Obama.

Remember, It's Crucial To Confront Those Crazy People

James Fallows has an emailer who wants to know, based on 1-3 yahoos booing a gay soldier serving Iraq, when the GOP will start to "take a stand against their own crazies?"

I'll check, but only after Fallows and his erstwhile correspondent ask Barack Obama when he plans to condemn the folks in his party who call the Tea Party racists... or condemn his former Illinois Senate colleague Dick Durbin for comparing American soldiers to Nazis... or himself, for saying our troops were indiscriminately killing civilians in Afghanistan.

I guess they're not crazy.  Because as long as you believe in evolution, it's perfectly fine to refer to your political opponents as terrorists simply because they won't let you spend more money.

Maybe Bloomberg Can Get Them A Spot on Broadway

I don't say this often, but here's to Mayor Bloomberg...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told NBC News' David Gregory that he is troubled by President Barack Obama's rhetoric on the so-called 'Buffet Rule.'

On Meet the Press, Bloomberg criticized Obama for theatrics, pushing a tax law that would by the administration's own admission, impact just a few Americans.

"You can't define what is middle class, what is wealthy, what is poor," he said. "It's not fair to say that wealthy people don't pay their fair share — they pay a higher rater than those who make less."

Bloomberg actually does something here that very few people on the left are willing to do (and since he's a left-moderate, it's even more impressive).  Bloomberg recognizes that you're not going to close the deficit and address the looming entitlements crisis by raising taxes on the rich -- you have to raise taxes across the board.  Neither President Obama nor the Democratic Party wants to be honest about this.  And that's why Obama is patently lying about billionaires paying lower tax rates than their secretaries. 

It's okay, Mr. Mayor.  This administration is as bad at policy as they are theatrics.

What Annoying Song Is Stuck In My Head Today?

If I need to suffer with a song stuck in my head, why shouldn't you have to do the same? Sometimes they're good, most times they're bad... but no matter what, they make you suffer. So I like to share the suffering whenever it happens.

I ran the Navy Five Miler in Arlington yesterday, and actually made it through the entire race without collapsing, crying like a small child, or incurring any significant injuries.  Yes, I finished well back in the pack, but my goal was survival.  I like to keep things simple.

Anyway, this played as we crossed the starting/finish line during part of the race (the course doubled back in several places).  It's also a personal favorite, and helped make up for the silly announced rules of the race that said one could not wear an audio device while running (which was not enforced in any way at all).



You're welcome.

Who's Questioning Who's Patriotism Now?

You know what else is at odds with core American values, Mr. President?

1.  Forcing a massive, costly, and allegedly unconstiutional healthcare entitlement down the throats of Americans despite majority opposition, with a bill drafted behind closed doors after promising transparent negotiations that would be shown on C-SPAN.

2.  Having a federal agency supply a drug cartel with weapons that get used to kill an American border patrol agent.

3.  According to your 2008 campaign, leaving Guantanimo Bay open as a prison camp for enemy combatants.

4.  Advocating raising taxes on the wealthy in the interests of "fairness".  Even Bill Clinton thinks this idea is dumb.

5.  ATTTTTAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKK WAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTCCCHH.  Although maybe they've figured that out, since they're apparently not posting new stuff.

I'd list more, but I haven't got all week.  Plus, I don't want to overwhelm the ATTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCKKKKK WAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTCCCHHH servers.