URLs du Jour

2018-02-03

J0 - the master definition of 'A
Job' and the acid test for 'Full Employment'

■ At first glance Proverbs 16:25 would appear to be a top candidate for the "Least Helpful Proverb Ever" award:

25 There is a way that appears to be right,
    but in the end it leads to death.

Or could this just be the Proverbialist's macabre method of reminding his audience that all ways eventually lead to death? Might as well pick the one that appears to be right. Right?


■ Hey, how about that memo. Looking for sensible commentary? YMMV, but I'll go with Nick Gillespie at Reason: If You Think The Nunes Memo Will 'Discredit' FBI and DOJ, You Haven't Been Paying Attention For the Past 50 Years.

[Ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee Adam] Schiff [D] is claiming that [House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin] Nunes [R] is acting only out of political interest, a charge that mirrors what Nunes is saying about the FBI and the Department of Justice. They are both almost surely correct. But those of us who actually care about proper governance would do well to think back to, I don't know, a few months before the 2016 election, when then-director of the FBI James Comey, appointed by Barack Obama, laid out a devastating case against Candidate Clinton...before saying he wouldn't recommend bringing charges against her.

As Gillespie pointed out, Comey admitted at the time that normal Americans would likely be strung up for the actions he was letting Hillary skate by.


■ At NRO, Jim "Indispensable" Geraghty has thoughts on the recent Koch brothers confab and The Inadvertently Libertarian Trump. Main point: those who despise both Trump and the libertarian Kochs have serious difficulties in distinguishing between them.

The Koch agenda aligns with Trump’s on the surface, but strongly contradicts it in some key policy areas. The Kochs fought the proposed Border Adjustment Tax tooth and nail last year, criticized the so-called Muslim ban, and aren’t supportive of reducing future levels of legal immigration. Charles Koch periodically refers to the need to recognize the dignity in all human beings and to treat them with that dignity. Whatever you think of the Trump presidency, it is safe to declare that “treat everyone with dignity” is not its mantra.

Geraghty points out that Trump, no doubt "inadvertently", has been a more libertarian president than any libertarian dared hope. [But not appearing in the article: Jeff Sessions.]


■ And the Valley News was not amused at a recent poor turnout in Concord: Too Many No-Shows at N.H. Statehouse Harassment Seminar.

Credit New Hampshire House Speaker Gene Chandler, a Republican from Bartlett, for finding the time to attend Wednesday morning’s sexual harassment prevention training session for state lawmakers in the House chamber — something close to 90 percent of them failed to do.

Alternatively: credit the no-shows for having the sense to avoid a time-wasting harangue that assumes they need instruction from their moral superiors about how to behave decently toward the opposite sex.

Ah, but:

In fairness to those hundreds of lawmakers who did not attend the hourlong training seminar, it was optional — as befits the Live Free or Die state, we suppose. Other hurdles to attendance included a starting time of 8:30 a.m., an hour before most legislators usually get to the Statehouse; a full legislative calendar that day; and too-short notice (House members learned of the session in an email the Friday before; senators received their invitation only the day before).

Ah, yes. If not for LFOD, we could make these secular sermonizing sessions mandatory.


■ An amusing video showing (otherwise) smart contestants going 0-for-5 in a recent Jeopardy! football category:

Not to boast—and it wouldn't be that much of a boast anyway—but I knew every correct response in that category. Even the last one, thanks to my minor fanhood for the Minnesota Vikings in my youth. As Mrs. Salad will attest, I was yelling at the screen. "Put me in, coach!"


Last Modified 2018-12-27 4:41 PM EDT