The Decline And Fall Of The American Empire
A few months before last February’s citywide elections, Hal Baskin’s phone started ringing. And ringing. Most of the callers were candidates for Chicago City Council, seeking the kind of help Baskin was uniquely qualified to provide.
Baskin isn’t a slick campaign strategist. He’s a former gang leader and, for several decades, a community activist who now operates a neighborhood center that aims to keep kids off the streets. Baskin has deep contacts inside the South Side’s complex network of politicians, community organizations, and street gangs. as he recalls, the inquiring candidates wanted to know: “Who do I need to be talking to so I can get the gangs on board?”
h/t EBD
It’s Probably Nothing
Dwain Lingenfelter: Just Visiting
From left, FMC’s Robert Simpson, QC, MRU’s Pam Simpson and Rubiela and Dwain Lingenfelter at Sien Lok Society of Calgary’s Chinese New Year Banquet.
(h/t Doug)
The World Is Being Run By Crazy People
The Thomas de Quincey school of Canadian gun control. (h/t Kevin)
Y2Kyoto: The $ierra Club
The Sierra Club disclosed Thursday that it received over $26 million from natural-gas giant Chesapeake Energy Corp. between 2007 and 2010 to help the group’s campaign against coal-fired power plants.
Let Me Fix That Headline For You
JDL Rally For Freedom
With Paul Weston from the New Freedom Party in England.
Following in the footsteps of *Geert Wilder’s *Freedom* Party* of the Netherlands, Mr. Weston’s goals are to counteract the spread of fundamentalist Islam in Britain.
Event will be Monday, February 20, 2012 in Toronto. More info here.
Great Moments In Socialism
As has been exhaustively explained everywhere, including this blog, Greece is currently running a primary deficit–meaning that even if they defaulted, their budget wouldn’t balance. And since defaulting would cut off the flow of credit, they’d actually be worse off than with almost any of the austerity plans proposed by their creditors. So watching them threaten to walk away is somewhat reminiscent of that famous moment from Blazing Saddles.
Reader Tips
When the summer’s over and the winds begin to blow, what do we want? Football.
The comments are open for your Reader Tips.
#Hashtag Of The Botox Generation
Honey, I Finished The Internet
Sand, close up.
Simple Test to Determine if You’re a Racist
Duluth, Minnesota Mayor Don Ness insists that there’s now a simple test you can conduct to determine if you’re a racist:
Step #1: Remove all face coverings, including but not necessarily limited to niqabs, goalie masks, and motorcycle helmets.
Step #2: In a well lighted room, stand in front of a mirror.
Step #3: Carefully look at your face.
If you determine yourself to be white aka Caucasian, honkey, cracker, gweilo, haole, hakujin, and/or macamba then YOU ARE A RACIST!!! It matters not what you think, nor how you treat others, you are forever guilty of racism!
QOTW
“The only thing that sets them apart from the Muslim extremists is that Sun Media will be charging you admission.” – John Miller, the Jack Kevorkian of journalism.
One gets the sense that traffic there’s a little slow.
Come back Luftwaffe, all is forgiven.*
Pranab Mukherjee and other Indian ministers tried to terminate Britain’s aid to their booming country last year – but relented after the British begged them to keep taking the money, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
“There was a horrified silence.”
Christopher Monckton of Brenchley;
When I visited the House of Lords’ minister, Lord Marland, at the Climate Change Department a couple of years ago, I asked him and the Department’s chief number-cruncher, Professor David Mackay (neither a climate scientist nor an economist, of course) to show me the Department’s calculations detailing just how much “global warming” that might otherwise occur this century would be prevented by the $30 billion per year that the Department was committed to spend between 2011 and 2050 – $1.2 trillion in all.
A Special Message From The Canadian Auto Workers
In a letter sent to the Premier of Ontario…
CAW Women’s Program Director Julie White called on the provincial government to actively consider the establishment of a long gun registry and to take a “principled and public stand” against the Harper government’s proposed legislation (Bill C-19) to dismantle the registry and demand the existing records be maintained.
Via James, who notes that you can thank CAW President Ken Lewenza here for their efforts to simplify your car shopping.
CHRYSLER
Dodge Caravan (minivan) Windsor, ON
Chrysler Town & Country Windsor, ON
Chrysler 300 Series (car) Brampton, ON
Dodge Challenger (car) Brampton, ON
Dodge Charger (sport sedan) Brampton, ON
FORD
Ford Edge Oakville, ON
Lincoln MKX Oakville, ON
Lincoln MKT Oakville, ON
Ford Flex Oakville, ON
Ford Crown Victoria (car) St. Thomas
Lincoln Town Car St. Thomas
GENERAL MOTORS
Chevrolet Impala (car) Oshawa, ON
Chevrolet Camaro (car) Oshawa, ON
Chevrolet Equinox (SUV) Ingersoll, ON
Buick Regal Oshawa, ON
GMC Terrain (SUV) Ingersoll, ON
INTERNATIONAL TRUCK
9200 Series Chatham, ON
LoneStar Heavy Duty Truck Chatham, ON
ProStar Heavy Duty Truck Chatham, ON
PACCAR
Kenworth Medium Duty Trucks Ste. Therese, QC
Peterbuilt Medium Duty Trucks Ste. Therese, QC
Reader Tips
Since 1895 London has been home to an annual series of summer concerts, spread out over the course of eight weeks from July to September, called the Proms. Originally staged in public spaces (promenades) with the intention of educating English commoners about the pleasures of classical music, the Proms have since become a more widespread cultural tradition. In tonight’s selection, from the 2009 edition of the most popular concert in the series, the traditionally looser, almost giddy annual finale known as The Last Night of the Proms, throngs of jolly pink revelers join the rather impressively attired Sarah Connolly in a rousing performance of Rule Britannia.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
Pick-A-Dick
h/t Edie
Honey, I Finished The Internet
Twenty cats in sinks. (h/t Mike)