Brian Riedl of The Heritage Foundation has ten questions about the “Economic Stimulus Bill.”

#10 Mayors have pledged to spend stimulus funds on items such as a mob museum in Nevada, a polar bear exhibit in Rhode Island, and curbing prostitution in Dayton, Ohio. As National Review asked, how come one Bridge to Nowhere is a national embarrassment and 1,000 Bridges to Nowhere are a “stimulus?” Given the 11,000 annual earmarks, why should taxpayers trust politicians to spend this money better than they would spend it themselves?

# 8 The economy sank because people over-borrowed for houses they couldn’t afford, and financial institutions over-borrowed for investments they badly misjudged. Washington’s solution is to borrow $800 billion that it cannot afford. How will adding $800 billion to the national debt (which will also raise interest rates) solve a recession created by imprudent borrowing? And who will bail out the American taxpayer when the bill comes due?

Why can’t we solve our current debt/economy problem by doing something reasonable, like selling California to private investors? (via World)

I swear before Heaven and earth that I heard a young man say the following today, in the Men’s Room at the Bible School:

“I’ve been reading this book called The Faery Queene. I heard it’s where Shakespeare got some of his ideas. It’s really good.”

Somewhere, C. S. Lewis smiled.

As Phil noted below, Patrick McGoohan died yesterday (Ricardo Montalban too, but I have less to say about him). McGoohan is most famous for his roles in the TV series, Secret Agent (known as Danger Man in England), and The Prisoner. Also for his one-dimensional but massively entertaining portrayal of King Edward I of England in Braveheart.

I watched both Secret Agent and The Prisoner when I was a kid. Can’t say I was a big fan, though. Secret Agent, in my opinion, didn’t have enough pretty girls, and The Prisoner was all style, no actual story (and again, not enough pretty girls).

It turns out the lack of pretty girls was purposeful. According to McGoohan’s Wikipedia entry he accepted the leads in these programs partly on the condition that he do no kissing. Apparently he had moral objections (like Kirk Cameron) to kissing a woman who was not his wife. Continue reading RIP The Scarecrow, and other maunderings →

Having seen the imminent (eminent?) demise of personal blogging, I have decided to post my random musings for the day, adding to them as the day drags on. Feel free to join me by adding your own musings. Perhaps we will amuse ourselves a bit. Ha, ha! I crack myself up.

I like French Onion soup. A while back I had a great bowl of it at Big River Grill, which used one of their microbrews in the recipe. Yummy, heart-warming, reminding me of all the French matrons in my life who have urged me to have another helping of Marengo Veal Sauté or Tomates confites. I also had a bowl of Campbell’s Caramelized Onion Soup on Monday, and it could not compare. There’s something different with Campbell’s Select soups lately. They don’t taste as good as they used to.

I didn’t remember that Richard Montalban was Khan. I guess that means I am not a trekkie, even if I wanted to be. How could a fan forget something like that?

I see that it’s 25 below in Lileks neck of the woods. Continue reading Personal Random Musings →

Did someone ask for flying cars? Let’s drive to Timbuktu, baby!

UPDATE: A much better link here with video of an interview with the inventor and of the car flying on the beach.

Here’s a little story which explains everything. I’m hiding it behind the fold because it contains some bl**ped profanity. Continue reading Parable →