Take Five

1. It's only January and I think we already have a winner for Unctuous Blowhard Post of the Year. Apparently, an anxious electorate breathlessly awaits the endorsement of Rob Huddleston. (Psssst, Rob, you have their phone numbers too, right? Who died and made you Ted Welch?)

2. Yes.

3. 24.

4. From Heather McDonald:

Noonan warns Obama that “radical movement on abortion” would rouse the “sleeping giant that is American conservatism.” Maybe so. But many conservatives are just as worried that a Democratic Congress is about to give government an all but permanent role in the economy, thus impairing the dynamism and entrepreneurship that is America’s greatest economic asset.

5. Heh: "Juicebox Mafia."

Take Five--Titty Ho Edition

1. For your inner 12-year old.

2. Special elections. Can't trust 'em.

3. Darn. No Senator Caroline Kennedy. And she had so much to offer. Like, er, her last name. And, well, other stuff that I can't think of right offhand.

4. Black: the new black.

5. Big Hollywood.

English Primarily

I am no longer a Nashvillian, but if I were I would vote against the "English Only" amendment, or whatever those crazy kids are calling it these days. I have a lot of reasons, but here are a few off the top of my head:

1. It is unnecessary. I don't about you, but every time I go into Nashville, everyone still seems to be speaking English, just as they they were when I lived there. Not the King's English, necessarily, but English just the same.

2. It's a waste of time and money. We already had to waste time and money having a special election to fill Ronnie Steine's seat way back when. This is equally appalling. Actually, it's more appalling, because at least then you got the psychic thrill of watching Steine, never one to shy away from turning up his nose at people he considers inferior beings, get whacked around a bit.

3. Even Buck Dozier thinks this is a stupid idea. Buck Dozier.

4. Telling people they have to do something is often the least effective way to get them to do it. Immigrants will learn English for the same reason they always have, because they have to function on a day-to-day basis. They're not going to learn it because there's some law written somewhere saying so. There are a lot of speed limit signs on the roadways, too. How are those working out?

5. It smacks of the worst kind of political fetishism that has infected segments of the right over the past few years. It's small, narrow-minded and with no big picture perspective. And ultimately pointless.

But what do I care? I'm a Williamson Countian now. Maybe over lunch I'll head over to Nissan headquarters and ask them their opinions on passing similar "English Only" mandate over here. I'm sure they'd really appreciate it. After all, they need us more than we need them, right?

Take Five - One Week's Pay Edition

1. I knew all about this, really I did, because I know everything that's going on at the state legislature, unlike you mere mortals who are completely out of touch, but I chose not to say anything until right now, because, well, um, I'll think of something...really I will...

2. Question: this incident was apparently well-known (and, apparently, just one of many such "notorious" incidents in the legislative cesspool), so, er, where was the Capitol Hill media on this (not to mention the other incidents?

3. Female Democratic Rep. Janis Sontany was privy to one of the more lurid occurrences reported in the memorandum. Democratic Rep. Janis Sontany voted for Kent Williams to be Speaker of the House. Discuss.

4. Democratic Speaker Jimmy Naifeh knew about all of these allegations, yet pulled all of the strings to make Kent Williams his personal Mini-Me. Discuss.

5. "Discuss" somewhere else of course. FITP remains a one-man show.

Yup II

"But may I add a small sigh of relief at once again having a president who can actually, you know, speak in public? It has been SO painful for the last eight years."

-- Charles Murray

Yup

Mickey Kaus reporting from Washington:

Conservatives I've met in D.C. so far have been near-ebullient, not downcast or bitter. Why? a) They know how unhappy they'd be now if McCain had won; b) Obama has not fulfilled their worst fears, or even second-to-worst fears; c) now they can be an honest, straight-up opposition.

Wow, This Is Indeed Truly Creepy

I guess it took having a new President to get these people to do things are nice.

Question: what were they doing before? And how pathetic is it that you allow the vagaries of presidential elections to dictate how you operate?

Here it is:

Historical Question

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers."

Has a president ever publicly acknowledged (in a neutral fashion) the existence of atheist Americans? Just wondering. Seems like a pretty major thing to me, historically speaking.

Attention Lame Democratic Partisan Types In Washington

When even Keith Olbermann thinks you're being disrespectful, you're probably being disrespectful. Just saying. You won. Act like it.

Judging From The Election Results in Tennessee, Their Parents Didn't Vote For the Guy Anyway

Katie Allison Granju apparently thinks the purpose of school is to sit around watching television news.

P.S. One wonders if she would have written this post if John McCain has been elected instead of Barack Obama. I somehow doubt it. And note this laughable comment from one of her readers:

"We were planning to keep ours home today in order to ensure a complete, uninterrupted viewing. The middle school announced they would not be viewing it, and the elementary school announced it was up to individual teachers".

"Complete, uninterrupted viewing." Uh-huh. No parental propagandizing there!

Bloody Idiots

Take Five -- Inaugural Edition

1. Most interesting and exciting inauguration since Reagan's first in 1981. I may actually watch this one (I think the last one I watched was Bush I in 1989). And for my fellow Republicans who are bent out of shape, get over it. Face it: we're just jealous we don't have a guy with his particular skill set right now. Same way the Democrats were a little jealous of Ronald Reagan way back then. And if your problem is that the mainstream media's ridiculous heavy-handed fawning over the new president makes you physically ill, well, that's what Fox News is for. Avoid Chris Matthews like the plague. And most of the others as well.

2. I decided back in February of last year or so that it would make no significant difference in my life of either John McCain or Barack Obama were elected president. I liked them both then. I still feel that way now.

3. Wow, I thought President Bush was just like Adolf Hitler. You know, megalomanical, power-mad and so forth. And yet everyone seems to be saying how well his transition team is working with the incoming folks. In fact, this is quite possibly the most seamless presidential transition we've had in decades. sure, Obama's an all right chap. But it takes two to make a transition. Bush deserves some credit here, right? He's certainly doing a much better job than the sainted Jimmy Carter did in his last days.

4. Our Savior. (Not really.)

5. Presidential approval ratings.

Indeed

Wisdom from the Economist:

The most effective repudiation of the Bush years would be a successful Obama presidency. John Conyers, Paul Krugman and the rest should recognise that.

Forget This Judas Stuff

Yeah, yeah Kent Williams is "Judas," Benedict Arnold," whatever. Come on, those are cliches. This is all you need to see. The first minute tells the entire story.

Take Five

1. Meet the Vichy Speaker.

2. No, I'm sticking by this. As I said to a Tennessee lefty friend of mine yesterday, progressive cheering of yesterday's debacle is akin to the Allies cheering for the Soviets overrunning the Nazis in 1944-45. Sure, seems great while it's happening. But now what are you going to do? What exactly is your next move? The Republican takeover the House was the very thing that was going to encourage the old farts to leave office, making room for people a little more like you. So, now what?

3. Bob Krumm wasn't surprised. I confess to being surprised. I would have thought any cracks in the coalition would have broken well before yesterday.

4. I can't completely resist being a pain in the butt here: could we now please stop pretending that Stacy Campfield, David Oatney, Rob Huddleston, et al have any idea what the hell's really going on on the Hill. I mean, where was all the inside scoop we're always supposedly getting? Let's face it: it's really just a handful of like-minded folks talking to each other, a conservative activist blogger echo chamber Why, here's Oatney just yesterday, right before the collapse: "Jason Mumpower still says he's "on top" of the Williams situation, and Williams was notably cheery when I saw him in the hall today."

Wow. Evans and Novak this isn't.

5. Well, I wouldn't worry about trusting the man's "word" anyway. He's not the one running the show anyway.

Attention Progressive Tennessee Democrats UPDATED

Yes, yes, get it out of your system. Have a good ol' hardy-har-har at the expense of those wacky hapless Tennessee House Republicans, the Charlie Brown to the Democrats' Lucy Van Pelt.

And then, stop. Be careful what you're applauding here. Just because these people have "D"s next to their names and just because they pulled a fast one on the "R"s doesn't mean they're on your side. Not even close. In fact, you probably would have been better off with the Mumpower Republicans in charge, because at least then you have known what you were getting: your enemy--and the battle lines--would have been clear. Now, you've just got the same bunch--a somewhat corrupt bunch no less--who had no use for you before back in charge of things, while you have no avenue for political recourse. After all, what power vacuum is there now for progressivism to fill? The Democrats are back in charge. What do they need you for?

Yep, like you, the Naifeh gang is laughing their asses off at the Republicans. But what you don't seem to understand is that they've nailed you to the wall as well. And there you are, enjoying yourselves.

UPDATE: Some seem to believe my inner Republican is showing. This post is supposedly all sour grapes. Nah. Don't really care all that much. In all, I'm actually pretty amused by the whole thing.