Not really an -ism

I read this column from the Daily Telegraph over in the UK. It's a pretty good review of what capitalism really is, and what it isn't. The G20 summit is starting over in London, and as one would expect, the socialists and communists are out in full force, trying to convince the general public that a command economy is the way to go. Clearly these are less than heady times for those of us who believe in free markets, but at the same time people need to realize how big of a mistake it would be to go to a more centrally-planned system.

Here's the thing: You can't equalize outcomes. Any system that tries is doomed to failure, and as history has shown us, causes a lot of loss of life along the way.

Anyway, give it a read, and let me know what you think.

Heh-heh....ha ha ha...

...bwwahahahahahaha!!! Bwaaaaaahahahahaha!!!

Warning!!

I think this checklist pretty much has everything covered as far as consumer product warnings go....because, you know, everything is bad for you.

H/T: Lakeshore Laments

The countdown begins...

One week from now, I will be well on my way to the East Coast, specifically the Mid-Atlantic region (not to be confused with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge). Ultimately, I am going to the Frozen Four in Washington, DC. Along the way, we are stopping in Cleveland to take in some of the festivities surrounding the induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of some pretty good acts (listed here). We are also going to the Phillies season opener, an Orioles game, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Gettysburg, and an Indians game on the way back. This is a very ambitious trip, but I am really looking forward to it. If time permits, I will hopefully blog along the way. Hopefully I will have some stuff to post about beforehand as well.

The 2 percenters

Listening to President Obama's press conference, the stat that 1 in 50 children are homeless was trotted out. I have to ask, has anyone questioned the validity of this? It would stand to reason that if 2 percent of children are homeless, that means at least 2 percent of adults are homeless, right? By my count, that means there are a minimum of 7.5 million homeless people in the US. I am sorry, but this does not pass the smell test. I remember these sorts of stats trotted out when I was in high school debate, and I remember that these were pretty easily debunked. Honestly, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I am going to do some research on this. Like I said, that does not pass the smell test.

UPDATE: I watched the conference on CBS, and I wonder if anyone else noticed the way Katie Couric gushed at the conclusion of the press conference? "That's President Obama doing what he does sooo well, taking his case to the press and the American people." Folks, she...was....gushing!! To be fair, I bet Brian Williams and Charles Gibson gushed too, but I didn't hear them.

Where's The Fonz when you need him?

This guy is in a hip-hip video with Jaime Foxx.

This kid is in a video featuring T-Pain, possibly the least talented person in the music industry.

Here's a link. I would highly recommend muting your speakers before clicking the link. This song is terrible, and the video is the most pretentious video I have ever seen. But, it's like a bad car accident...you can't help but watch.

Geez Fonzie, can't you smack some sense into Richie Cunningham? Please?!!

My God, the apocalypse may be upon us...OPIE IS IN A JAIME FOXX/T-PAIN VIDEO!!!!

Bracket time!!

Once again, it's time for the NCAA basketball tournament. This year, Minnesota is in!! I am pretty happy about that. Anyway, I just want to look at at matchups of personal interest:

(7) Texas vs (10) Minnesota: These two teams have both been inconsistent down the stretch, but both have a couple of impressive wins (Texas beat Villanova and UCLA, while Minnesota beat Louisville in Arizona and swept Wisconsin). Texas can play uptempo really well and has a great coach in Rick Barnes. Minnesota is going to have a tough time with Texas, but if they can score consistently and not have their customary drought, they have a shot.

(6) Marquette vs (11) Utah State: Marquette was bound for the 2 or 3 line before losing Dominic James. Their quality of play has clearly suffered (4-6 in their last ten). Utah State is the champion of the WAC, and is 30-4. It doesn't matter what conference you are in, going 30-4 is impressive. But, Utah State didn't exactly play a tough schedule. Marquette can play uptempo, and is much more battle-tested. But, Utah State can play.

(5) Florida State vs (12) Wisconsin: Wisconsin was surprisingly a lot closer to being NIT-bound than a lot of the bracketologists thought. Most conventional wisdom thought Minnesota was in more trouble than UW, but when you go 19-12 and make an early exit in the conference tournament, perhaps you should be on the bubble. Florida State isn't necessarily a good matchup for them either. FSU is 6-4 in their last 10, with two of those losses being to Duke, and one of the wins was against North Carolina.

(3) Kansas vs (14) North Dakota State: NDSU is a great story. 5 years ago their former coach redshirted the entire freshman class knowing that they would be eligible for the tournament for the first time this year. They plugged away, and won the Summit League tournament this year. Now, Kansas should win this game going away, but there are two minor problems for the Jayhawks: NDSU is better than a 14 seed, and the Metrodome is going to be incredibly pro-NDSU. Kansas was not done any favors by being placed in this regional and this game.

I will make some picks a little later this week.

Next five songs

While trying to figure out my next real post, here's the next five songs on my iPod:

"My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" by Neil Young and Crazy Horse - I have the live version, I believe off of "Live Rust." I prefer this to "Hey Hey My My."

"Knights" by Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles is an electronic band that features what seems to be the sound card from an Atari video game system circa 1983. A friend from work introduced me to them last year. Very synth-oriented. Some songs are flat-out noisy, but they do mid-tempo stuff well..."Knights" falls into the latter category.

"Just" by Radiohead - Off the 1995 album "The Bends." Time and place song for me. I heard this on the old Sunday night alternative music show Planet X on WIXX, a Green Bay top-40 station. This show was surprisingly ahead of its time. I heard songs on that show in September that I didn't hear again until I moved to Minneapolis to start school (January...long story). "Just" is simply a good song that fits well into its time.

"My Sister" by Juliana Hatfield - Kind of a typical early-to-mid 90s angst-ridden song with contradictory lyrics about Juliana's sister. But, Juliana Hatfield has kind of a cute voice, so it works.

"Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down - This song grew on me back in 2000. Good hook, lyrics tied to Superman, what's not to like?

Parlez vous MOB?

Sorry for the lack of posting...just haven't had a lot to write about of late. But, a couple of things are going on with me (which will explain the title of the post).

1. At work, we are starting to deal with Canada. For many of us here in the States, it is sometimes easy to forget that due to British concessions to the French population in Lower Canada in the Treaty of Paris and Quebec Act, Canada is bilingual. I get reminded of this every year when I flip through the channels during the free preview of NHL Center Ice and find myself entranced by the French-language broadcasts of Montreal Canadiens hockey. And, Quebecers are pretty serious about maintaining their French language. For crying out loud, they made up a word for email because they didn't want to use the word email because it was "too English." Hence, courriel. Anyway, since I am going to be doing some work with our Canadian friends, I am going to learn some French. It will be my third language, as I took Spanish in high school and college. I don't expect to become fluent, or even all that proficient. I just want to be able to read it as I will encounter a good amount of French-language papers. I knew for awhile that I wanted to learn at least one more language in my life. I just thought it was going to be German, Mandarin, Japanese, or something else. Alas, it is French. Thanks Canada!

2. Tomorrow, I will be hanging out with my brother at Keegan's, with a bunch of MOBsters. I have a decision to make. The Minnesota Organization of Bloggers is a group of mostly right-wing bloggers. One of the few criteria for becoming a MOBster is going to a MOB event. So conceivably, I could be a part of this group. This could potentially increase my readership. However, I have to be sure my stuff is up to snuff. So, I will go and see how it goes. Will I join the MOB? I don't know. I just hope I don't have to get hazed via beating.