From B&L&F&R: Most estranged couples would find New York and Arkansas far enough apart for comfort. Not this couple. W
[June 24, 2000]
Lyn is stalking me. First, she swoops down from Ithaca, NY, to find an apartment literally three blocks from mine. I could throw things - not even aerodynamic things - at her soon-to-be abode from my window. Now, she wants to join my gym. Creepy. W
What do Louis Freeh, Chalres LaBella, and Robert Conrad have in common? All three are Clinton-appointed officials in the Department of Justice who have recommended a special counsel investigate Al Gore for violations of campaign finance law. What makes these recommendations important? They are a sign that these charges - not from the RNC or Congressional Republicans, but the Clinton-Gore administration itself - will nip at Al Gore's heels for the rest of his political career unless he can satisfactorily explain his involvement. The "iced-tea" defense and "no controlling legal authority" just won't cut it this time. W
[June 23, 2000]
If Wendell had been following here, he would have noted that I gave credit where credit is due. W
John Lott, professor at Yale Law School, writes on Patriotic self-defense. W
[June 22, 2000]
A real and true AP headline: Democrats, Gay Officials Eye Lazio. No word on whether Lazio eyed them back. W
Sorry, PRC, your kind aren't welcome here:
State Department sources say some officials want to block the sale, which was concluded June 15, on national security grounds.
Maybe jb won't have to move after all. W
The lovely missus and I are planning on going to the Florida State vs. Maryland football game on September 28. We'll probably get a group together, and seats are only 23 bucks a pop, I believe. Would anyone else like to join us and see the defending NCAA National Champions in action? You can read more about the Noles at Warchant.com. W
[June 21, 2000]
I've read the discussion on MeFi about PayPal, the service that lets you send money via email, and the notion of, for lack of a better word, tipping the authors of your favorite web sites. I don't think I'd ever use PayPal to do that. If I want to let someone know I appreciate their work, I'd much rather email them and express it in words. Heck, I might even call their voice mail. But a quarter? That seems almost insulting. W
If you have any doubt about how much the political landscape has changed in the last eight years, steel yourself: Al Gore has proposed large exemptions for the death tax. I'm not all that surprised to see Gore grasping at popular straws to try to shore up his badly flagging campaign, but was such a proposal even imaginable eight years ago?
There's one very important dynamic at work here. Ever since the stock market took off in the wake of the Republican takeover, more and more American are independently wealthy, and increasingly subject to the death tax. The tax hurts most for those who are rising into prosperity for the first time, since they often don't know how to plan for it. "QTIP" trusts, generation skipping transfers, inter vivos trusts - all these tax avoidance devices are reserved for those who can afford lawyers. As more and more Americans die wealthy, more will deeply resent the government's toll booth into the afterlife.
This story is notable for one other important reason: Al Gore clearly promises: "I will never launch a personal, negative attack on [Gov. Bush].'' What he probably means is that he'll have surrogates do the attacking for him. But either way, we'll hold him to this promise. W
Today is the first day of summer - enjoy it while it lasts! W
There’s a very interesting dynamic on fuel prices going around today. As prices top $2 per gallon in the Midwest, all the players desperately need someone to blame. Al Gore, whose only shot at the White House rides on the economic prosperity of that very region, has called for a Federal Trade Commission investigation of oil companies. Republican leaders heaved a blame-bomb at Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, accusing him of being asleep at the wheel – campaigning for Gore instead of protecting our national interests in the labs and the oil fields. Some state governors struck out at the tax regime, suspending fuel taxes. The oil companies, not wanting to warm the bench in the blame game, fingered Al Gore and the EPA of driving up prices by imposing clean-fuel regulations in the region, with Congressional Republicans chiming in as well.
Everyone is playing their designated role – Democrats blaming business, Republicans blaming Democrats, business blaming government at large. Conspiracy buffs would love this one. Are oil companies driving up fuel prices in the election-crucial Midwest to support their favorite Texan? Is this simply an example of government malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance spiraling out of control? Will rocketing fuel prices crush the Midwest economy and drive all those swing states into the Bush column come the fall?
One thing I’ve always wondered – what if gas stations were required to advertise the pretax price of a gallon of gas? Boy, would people be pissed off when they realized how much money the government skims off the top. W
Now is the time for mandatory registration and regulation of these dangerous instrumentalities - manholes... and this title may be a wee bit too graphic for a family newspaper: Utilities Probing Manhole Blasts . Think about it. W
[June 20, 2000]
Thank God for Metafilter. I've been searching for this link all afternoon. W
From B&L&F&R: Most estranged couples would find New York and Arkansas far enough apart for comfort. Not this couple. W
[June 19, 2000]
The last paragraph says it all - House Democrats Urge Fed Not to Raise Rates:
Democrats are counting on the strong U.S. economy to provide support for their party during the election in November, when Americans will vote for the next President as well as some Senators and all of the House of Representatives.
It's not about the issues - it's about the Fed. W
Here's a search query from the referrer logs that I truly don't get: bikini firearm W
From overlawyered.com:a doctor fought back against the lawyer who filed a frivolous lawsuit and won!
After a six-day trial, a Jefferson Circuit Court jury concluded on April 25 that Radolovich had maliciously prosecuted Guarnaschelli and ordered him to pay $72,000 in damages, including $60,000 in punitive damages.
Take that, scumbag... Any of you on the receiving end of frivolous cease-and-desist orders will want to remember this case. W