Not Talking and Talking

One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies, Best In Show:

Lincoln on Welfare

"You cannot help men permanently by doing for them
what they could and should do for themselves."

BrainyQuote.com

The Answer is Not Blowing in the Wind

According to this Reuters report, Texas had a power grid emergency on Tuesday. What caused the emergency? Well, let's just say it doesn't always blow in Texas:

A drop in wind generation late on Tuesday, coupled with colder weather, triggered an electric emergency that caused the Texas grid operator to cut service to some large customers, the grid agency said on Wednesday...

[Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)] said the grid's frequency dropped suddenly when wind production fell from more than 1,700 megawatts, before the event, to 300 MW when the emergency was declared.

In addition, ERCOT said multiple power suppliers fell below the amount of power they were scheduled to produce on Tuesday. That, coupled with the loss of wind generated in West Texas, created problems moving power to the west from North Texas.

Here's an idea. Build a few nuclear power plants.

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

As usual, the Left-stream Media has failed to bring this story to our attention. This past Sunday morning, airport security at Tampa International Airport found a box cutter hidden in a hollowed out book in the backpack of a 21 year old man from Clearwater, Florida.

After Baines was read his rights, he said his cousin had cut away the pages to make the hollow section in the book. Later, reports state, he said he had hollowed it out himself to hide money and marijuana from his roommates.

Baines told officers he was moving to Las Vegas and forgot the cutter was in the book. Officers found books in the backpack titled "Muhammad in the Bible," "The Prophet's Prayer" and "The Noble Qur'an." He also had a copy of the Quran and the Bible.

Oh, yes. There is one more thing. The title of the hollowed out book was Fear Itself.

Thanks to Hugh Hewitt (and James Lileks who gave Hugh the "heads up" on this story) for bringing this story into the light.

Castro Steps Down

Oh, shut up. You know you were thinking the same thing.

The Eyes Have It

Michael Medved has looked into the eye color of our Presidents from George Washington to Bush 43. The results may surprise you.

Ten Years After

September 30, 1930 - February 16, 1998


I miss you, Dad.

Translated Video Reveals Jihadist Plot

Canada's National Post reports on a potentially new weapon of Islamofascist Jihadists: Snowballs.

HT: Jihad Watch

Obama Offices Display Che Guevara Flags

Little Green Footballs has reported the display of Che Guevara flags at two new Obama campaign offices in Houston as well as Obama's response to the "inappropriate" flags. While no one really believes that hanging the flags was Obama's idea, it does help to understand those who are actively supporting his candidacy and that should be disturbing enough.

The Morphing of AQI

In his post, The Morphing War Against Al Qaeda in Iraq, Douglas Farah suggests that the recent reports of the beating Al Qaeda in Iraq is taking at the hands of American and Iraqi forces, should not be overstated. AQI is in trouble, but they are not yet defeated. Farah believes that AQI may be changing their strategy:

One of the fundamental truths of dealing with networks, terrorist or otherwise, is that they will morph quickly to survive and adapt as the environment around them changes...

...The strategy [of AQI] may now be to move outside Iraq and wage a different type of war from surrounding countries.

Farah recalls the South American drug wars of the 1980s and 1990s as an example of the difficulty in defeating a network that is intent on survival.

HT: Counterterrorism Blog

Happy Birthday Abe

February 12, 1809

Lincoln on Being Remembered

"Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best
that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower
where I thought a flower would grow."

BrainyQuote.com

Something Fishy

The following video by comedian Tim Hawkins is a spoof of Carrie Underwood's Grammy Award winning song Jesus Take the Wheel.

Cletus Take the Reel

For those who aren't familiar with Carrie Underwood's version...

Jesus Take the Wheel

How McCain Might Win

John Fund explains how John McCain can win in November in his Wall Street Journal article, Getting to 270.

HT: RCP

Staring at the Sun

The Investor's Business Daily reports that some scientists are predicting a period of global cooling. Is the cause air pollution? A lack of carbon dioxide? The "Evil Trinity" of Bush, Cheney and Rove? Not exactly. The scientists (obviously paid off by Big-Oil and Big-Carbon Dioxide) think it's *gasp* the sun:

Solar activity fluctuates in an 11-year cycle. But so far in this cycle, the sun has been disturbingly quiet. The lack of increased activity could signal the beginning of what is known as a Maunder Minimum, an event which occurs every couple of centuries and can last as long as a century.

Such an event occurred in the 17th century. The observation of sunspots showed extraordinarily low levels of magnetism on the sun, with little or no 11-year cycle.

This solar hibernation corresponded with a period of bitter cold that began around 1650 and lasted, with intermittent spikes of warming, until 1715. Frigid winters and cold summers during that period led to massive crop failures, famine and death in Northern Europe.

You can read the entire article here.

Steyn & Coulter at CPAC

Townhall.com has video of Mark Steyn at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference). The you can enjoy the wit and wisdom of Mr. Steyn here.

Ann Coulter was also at CPAC . . . sort of. In this video on Townhall.com she rips into John Edwards (of course) and discusses why she said she would join Hillary's campaign before voting for John McCain. It's Ann at her verbal-bomb throwing best. She even accepts a marriage proposal from one of her fans . . . with a few conditions!

Chesterton on Drawing Lines

"Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere."

The Quotations Page

Happy Birthday, Ronnie

February 6, 1911

Civilization & Its Ignorance

What do Winston Churchill, Richard the Lionheart and Spiderman have in common? Read Jonah Goldberg's article Western Civilization and Other Fairy Tales to find out.