Climate Change Endgame In Sight? | Power Line

Climate Change Endgame In Sight? | Power Line: "That day appears to have arrived.  The new issue of The Economist has a long feature on the declining confidence in the high estimates of climate sensitivity.  That this appears in The Economist is significant, because this august British news organ has been fully on board with climate alarmism for years now.  A Washington-based Economist correspondent admitted to me privately several years ago that the senior editors in London had mandated consistent and regular alarmist climate coverage in its pages."

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"So, how much do your co-workers drink, Mr. Selley?" - Small Dead Animals

"So, how much do your co-workers drink, Mr. Selley?" - Small Dead Animals: "After all, in this day and age, a reporter is little more than a person who wants to shape public policy without going to the bother of getting elected."

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Video: Planned Parenthood Official Argues for Right to Post-Birth Abortion | The Weekly Standard

Video: Planned Parenthood Official Argues for Right to Post-Birth Abortion | The Weekly Standard: "Florida legislators considering a bill to require abortionists to provide medical care to an infant who survives an abortion were shocked during a committee hearing this week when a Planned Parenthood official endorsed a right to post-birth abortion."

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AP's Maryclaire Dale: Gosnell 'An Elegant Man' Who 'Smiled Softly' in Court | NewsBusters

AP's Maryclaire Dale: Gosnell 'An Elegant Man' Who 'Smiled Softly' in Court | NewsBusters: "Maryclaire Dale really ought to let us know why she considers Gosnell "elegant." Is he "refined and dignified"? Does he move gracefully? Does he demonstrate "refined taste"?

Has anyone ever seen a defendant in a murder trial described as "elegant" in a report describing his or her appearance during a trial? And I'd really like to see a photo of the "soft smile" Ms. Dale identified."

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The ‘Science’ of Same-Sex Marriage | The Weekly Standard

The ‘Science’ of Same-Sex Marriage | The Weekly Standard: "In all aspects of gay marriage, Kass and Mansfield write, the “body of research .  .  . is radically inconclusive.” There’s good reason for this, aside from the suspect motives and methods of the researchers themselves. Same-sex marriage and child rearing by self-defined same-sex couples are recent innovations. Whatever effects may flow from these unprecedented arrangements, good or bad or neutral, they are scientifically unknowable until gay marriage and child rearing are widespread enough to yield large samples that can be studied according to a rigorous methodology. “Large amounts of data collected over decades,” write Kass and Mansfield, “would be required before any responsible researcher could make meaningful scientific estimates of the effects.” And on these issues disinterested researchers are hard to come by."

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The ‘Science’ of Same-Sex Marriage | The Weekly Standard

The ‘Science’ of Same-Sex Marriage | The Weekly Standard: "They note pointedly that two generations ago, the “scientific consensus,” as represented by the American Psychiatric Association, was that homosexuality was a “mental disorder.” The consensus was publicly reversed in 1973, and science, to paraphrase Mae West, had nothing to do with it: Both positions, before and after, were determined by political and cultural considerations. "

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Moe Lane » Please, Democrats: go ahead and embrace Obamacare.

Moe Lane » Please, Democrats: go ahead and embrace Obamacare.: "The problem with Obamacare is not that it is being badly presented; the problem is that there is a limit to how well you can present a law that is this bad.  It’s like trying to put a positive spin on having your leg bitten off by a shark: sure, yes, in the long run you’re going to see a 50% saving on socks, but that’s not exactly comforting news while you’re watching the water around you go pink…"

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Scott was also a past-master in self-justification of his crimes and misdemeanours: “The people I burgled got rich by greed and skulduggery. They indulged in the mechanics of ostentation — they deserved me and I deserved them. If I rob Ivana Trump, it is just a meeting of two different kinds of degeneracy on a dark rooftop.”

Home > Publications >

Home > Publications >: "Far from effecting any departure from past practice, DOMA merely reaffirmed and made crystal clear what Congress had always meant by the term "marriage" in provisions of federal law: a male-female union. DOMA doesn't intrude at all on a state's authority to regulate marriage under state law. It doesn't nullify or prohibit any marriages, or in any other respect preempt the operation of state law. On the contrary, it leaves the states free to define, or redefine, marriage as they please. That point is illustrated by the fact that nine states (as well as the District of Columbia) have adopted same-sex marriage since DOMA's enactment."

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The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "But surely, living a principled life has to go deeper than “how I feel,” or “what’s in it for me.” If we all “tailor our consciences to fit this year’s fashions,” as playwright Lillian Hellman once put it, our lives will become like flotsam and jetsam driven by the winds of emotion and currents of expediency."

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Instapundit

Instapundit: "I used to think that all property was theft, but that was before I had anything worth stealing."

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The Corner - National Review Online

The Corner - National Review Online: "A district judge has banned a Kentucky teenager from saying “bingo” for half a year, after the youth repeatedly and falsely yelled the game-ending exclamation at a local hall, upsetting patrons. The officer who cited 18-year-old Austin Whaley referred to an opinion from the 1919 Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States to explain why the troublemaker had to be brought to justice: “Just like you can’t run into a theater and yell ‘fire’ when it’s not on fire, you can’t run into a crowded bingo hall and yell ‘bingo’ when there isn’t one.”"

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Bench Memos - National Review Online

Bench Memos - National Review Online: "Will contends that “[b]y striking down DOMA …, the court would defer to 50 state governments.” But beyond the fact that federalism, properly understood, means that the states have no authority to dictate to the federal government what marriage means in provisions of federal law, the real effect of striking down DOMA would be to compel federal taxpayers in states with traditional marriage laws to subsidize same-sex marriages in other states. It’s a very strange misunderstanding of federalism that would compel such a result."

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Adrian Dantley, ex-NBA star, says crossing-guard job is meaningful way to fill his days

Adrian Dantley, ex-NBA star, says crossing-guard job is meaningful way to fill his days: "Adrian Dantley still doesn’t quite understand why everyone was so stunned to learn he’s working as a part-time crossing guard in Silver Spring these days. Hey, even independently wealthy former NBA stars need a meaningful way to fill their days."

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Why Are Lawyers So Unhappy? - Lawyers With Depression

Why Are Lawyers So Unhappy? - Lawyers With Depression: "There is an emotional cost to being part of a win-loss endeavor. In Chapter 3, I argue that positive emotions are the fuel of win-win (positive-sum) games, while negative emotions like anger, anxiety, and sadness have evolved to switch in during win-loss games. To the extent that the job of lawyering now consists of more win-loss games, there is more negative emotion in the daily life of lawyers."

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Why Are Lawyers So Unhappy? - Lawyers With Depression

Why Are Lawyers So Unhappy? - Lawyers With Depression: "Thus, pessimists are losers on many fronts. But there is one glaring exception: Pessimists do better at law. We tested the entire entering class of the Virginia Law School in 1990 with a variant of the optimism-pessimism test. These students were then followed throughout the three years of law school. In sharp contrast with the results of prior studies in other realms of life, the pessimistic law students on average faired better than their optimistic peers. Specifically, the pessimist outperformed more optimistic students on the traditional measures of achievement, such as grade point averages and law journal success."

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The Unmourned - By Mark Steyn - The Corner - National Review Online

The Unmourned - By Mark Steyn - The Corner - National Review Online: "Moton sobbed as she recalled taking a cellphone photograph of one baby because he was bigger than any she had seen aborted before. She measured the fetus at nearly 30 weeks, and thought he could have survived, given his size and pinkish color. Gosnell later joked that the baby was so big he could have walked to the bus stop, she said."

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Kermit Gosnell on Trial for Abortion "House of Horrors" | SBA-List

Kermit Gosnell on Trial for Abortion "House of Horrors" | SBA-List: "Today is the second day in the trial of Kermit Gosnell, the infamous Philadelphia abortionist charged with murdering seven newborn babies and one young woman in a botched abortion due to overdose of anesthesia. Gosnell killed the babies with scissors after they had been born – and he wasn’t the only one."

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Was the Iraq War About Oil?, David Henderson | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

Was the Iraq War About Oil?, David Henderson | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty: "But you can do something with motive x even if motive x doesn't make sense. Which brings me to the sense in which the war wasn't about oil: From a narrowly selfish point of view, it didn't make sense to fight war for oil. Here's where economics kicks in. There is a world market for oil. There is no danger that a country that wants to keep the United States from getting oil can do so simply by restricting sales to the United States. The reason is that it will then want to sell its oil elsewhere. That means that someone who buys that newly freed-up oil will then want to buy less from his suppliers. Those suppliers then have oil to sell and Americans can buy that oil. It's a game of musical chairs in which the number of chairs equals the number of players. The game would be awfully boring, but in international trade, boring is good."

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One Reason Women Stay Home: Because It's Easier on Everyone - The Daily Beast

One Reason Women Stay Home: Because It's Easier on Everyone - The Daily Beast: "Gay couples I know who've adopted children generally report that one parent ends up as "Dad" and one parent as "Mom".  One person ends up in charge of the doctors appointments, the playdates and the ballet recitals; the other may help, but only one is the executive.  And I gather that it's not just because we have some sort of social expectation that someone will be "Mom"; it's because the costs of sharing the duties outweigh the benefits. "

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'The Walking Dead' Really Shouldn't Show Us What's Behind That Door - Jeffrey Goldberg, J.J. Gould, and Scott Meslow - The Atlantic

'The Walking Dead' Really Shouldn't Show Us What's Behind That Door - Jeffrey Goldberg, J.J. Gould, and Scott Meslow - The Atlantic: " Did you happen to notice that the Governor, in preparation for war, orders all the guns collected from the citizens of Woodbury? Wayne LaPierre could have written this episode."

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Althouse

Althouse: "CUOMO: Where is Pope Francis on the issues that matter most, issues about contraception, women priests?

BREAM: Pope Francis is staunchly orthodox on the issues of abortion, contraception, and same-sex marriage.

BURNETT: He opposed same-sex marriage in Argentina. He opposed free contraception.

LOPEZ: He follows a conservative line. He opposes, uh, same-sex marriages. He is conservative on birth control.

PIERS MORGAN: He is known to be, duh, anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage.

MARIA TERESA KUMAR: He has been against contraception. He's been against marriage equality.

PIZZEY: ...a conservative and opposes abortion!

IFILL: So this is not a pope or a papacy we were gonna see any kind of change when it comes to things like abortion or gay marriage."

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Althouse

Althouse: "It is now well-established that women of minority sexual orientation are disproportionately affected by the obesity epidemic.... In stark contrast, among men, heterosexual males have nearly double the risk of obesity compared to gay males."

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Assuming most heterosexual men prefer thin women, the normalization of "minority sexual orientation" bodes well for for straight men. With skinnier homosexual males looking for other males, and heavier lesbian women looking for other women, straight men will have a to be matched up with comparatively skinny women. Straight men win again.

A Rough Guide To The Papal Conclave : The Two-Way : NPR

A Rough Guide To The Papal Conclave : The Two-Way : NPR: "The selected candidate is asked if he accepts the post. He can, theoretically, refuse, though this is extremely unlikely. (Pope John Paul I is said to have come close, muttering, "No, oh, please no" when he was asked.)

He chooses his new name, the cardinals pledge obedience, and the new pontiff is then dressed in his white robes with the help of a tailor. Three sizes have been prepared: small, medium and large."

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Where Are the Jobs, Mr. President? - By Peter Kirsanow - The Corner - National Review Online

Where Are the Jobs, Mr. President? - By Peter Kirsanow - The Corner - National Review Online: "By most historical measures, the jobs picture remains bleak. Sure, the unemployment rate ticked down. But as I noted Friday, if  today’s unemployment rate were measured against the same labor participation as when President Obama took office, it would be 10.7 percent.

But wait a minute, say Obama supporters, 260,000 jobs were created in February! Yes, seems encouraging. Until you realize that even more people — 296,000 — dropped out of the labor market entirely."

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Americans for Tax Reform : Tax Bite Leaves Flacco Second Best Paid in NFL

Americans for Tax Reform : Tax Bite Leaves Flacco Second Best Paid in NFL: "By choosing to remain a Raven, Flacco is now set to pay a combined marginal income tax rate of 51.98 percent. This overwhelming tax rate is composed of the federal, Maryland, and Baltimore County income tax rate, as well as the Medicare tax. And that’s excluding his “jock tax” liability for away games – play the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, pay Massachusetts income tax on earnings for that game - and other taxes levied against him such as Maryland’s property tax."

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The Volokh Conspiracy

The Volokh Conspiracy: "I just caught the last few minutes of The Bourne Ultimatum. At the end (spoiler alert), Bourne successfully exposes everything, and we catch a glimpse of MSNBC, reporting on a secret CIA assassination program “which in several cases may have even targeted U.S. citizens.”

In the movie, it appears that MSNBC believes this to be some sort of scandal."

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Sic et Non —

Sic et Non —: "Among the strongest motivations for hoping that there is an afterlife is to see such disparities rectified."

Amen

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Quotation of the Day…

Quotation of the Day…: "Back in my teaching days, many years ago, one of the things I liked to ask the class to consider was this: Imagine a government agency with only two tasks: (1) building statues of Benedict Arnold and (2) providing life-saving medications to children. If this agency’s budget were cut, what would it do?

The answer, of course, is that it would cut back on the medications for children. Why? Because that would be what was most likely to get the budget cuts restored. If they cut back on building statues of Benedict Arnold, people might ask why they were building statues of Benedict Arnold in the first place."

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