tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33775332010-02-09T05:36:33.815-06:00"The purpose of all war is ultimately peace." --Saint AugustineChadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comBlogger5000125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-63360073921246891572010-02-09T04:30:00.003-06:002010-02-09T05:36:33.824-06:00

Over the many months of a presidential campaign, it's usually difficult to pinpoint the precise moment when the balance was tipped decisively in favor of one candidate and the outcome all but decided. However, the 2008 contest between Obama and McCain was an exception. When you look at the weekly polling data--either through most of the individual pollsters or especially in aggregate--you can

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-5103644017201778272010-02-08T21:42:00.005-06:002010-02-08T22:12:03.075-06:00

People, please stop calling every major snowstorm to hit the east coast a blizzard. Words mean things and blizzard means a snowstorm with wind speeds at or above 35 mph. Just because a 30" of snow falls does not mean there has been a blizzard. It simply means that a lot of snow fell on Washington DC.And, frankly, just because a lot of snow has fallen in DC doesn't mean the rest of the world

Atomizerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258490804319216493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-64901988404260051802010-02-08T11:02:00.002-06:002010-02-08T14:00:10.457-06:00

This year's Super Bowl ads were a decidedly mixed bag. A few were actually inspired. Some were simply awful. And the rest (the majority) were mundane and mediocre. It's easy to make too much of these ads and overstate their importance or what they say about the state of our society. However, there was a thread that ran through a number of them that I found disturbing. That was the apparent

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-49138483314507223312010-02-07T20:50:00.001-06:002010-02-07T20:57:33.768-06:00

Updated and Bumped after seeing the commercial.Audi of America will be airing a Super Bowl ad featuring their A# TDi clean diesel. Their message is a supposed environmental one, that driving an Audi is a friendly environmental choice. Hypocracy aside, the most interesting aspect of Audi's decision is their hiring of Cheap Trick to re-record their hit "Dream Police" to air in the

Nihilist in Golf Pantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14363439123292045651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-65408236920560030902010-02-06T14:17:00.001-06:002010-02-06T16:02:37.158-06:00

The left's seething hatred of the new conservative movement (regretfully, in my opinion, labelled as the tea party movement) continues to permeate the mainstream media. The latest example comes from yesterday's Washington Post (via today's St. Paul Pioneer Press). In describing events at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville yesterday, Post reporter Philip Rucker writes:Former Rep. Tom

Atomizerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258490804319216493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-41051730229550084832010-02-06T10:17:00.002-06:002010-02-06T10:38:00.971-06:00

So far my "do the opposite" system for picking NFL playoff games has not fared well. Going 4-6 in the games leading up to the Super Bowl is hardly a stellar record. And the matchup between the Saints and Colts doesn't really present any obvious opportunities for bucking convention and past history. But if you look hard enough there's always an angle that can be played. Heading into tomorrow's

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-6810010515059881612010-02-05T11:39:00.000-06:002010-02-05T11:41:30.535-06:00

From the Seinfeld episode The Opera: INSIDE JOE DIVOLA'S APARTMENTJerry: (answering machine) leave a message and I'll call you back, thanks.JOE DIVOLA: Jerry, Joe Divola. *Pbt* *Pbt* *Pbt* I have a hair on my tongue, I can't get it off, you know how much I hate that? Course you do, you put it there. I know what you said about me Seinfeld. I know you bad mouthed me to the execs at NBC, put the

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-77405169928079826172010-02-05T10:47:00.005-06:002010-02-06T08:18:07.054-06:00

An August 1, 2003 statement from Nancy Pelosi chastised President Bush for failing to create jobs:The fact is that President Bush's misguided economic policies have failed to create jobs. Since President Bush took office, the country has lost 3.2 million jobs, the worst record since President Hoover. And today we learned that in July nearly half a million people gave up looking for a job.Fact:

Atomizerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258490804319216493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-57019311345549783812010-02-05T10:33:00.001-06:002010-02-05T10:44:09.361-06:00

This edition of Beer of the Week brought to you by the fine folks at Glen Lake Wine & Spirits who are always glad you came and, if you go there often enough, where everybody will know your name. You never know who you're going to run at the store either. Just this past Wednesday, I happened to bump into Johnny Roosh of Shot in the Dark renown. Mr. Roosh is apparently something of a regular and

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-22650984650704617682010-02-05T10:00:00.007-06:002010-02-05T10:30:48.867-06:00

In the post the other day about sitcom appearances of Mahler's "Songs on the Deaths of Children" and my claim that Cheers never used this particular comedic crutch, Tim writes in with a correction:It's from "Rebecca Gaines, Rebecca Loses", originally aired June 5, 1993. Here's the recap:Rebecca is pleased to learn that she and Mr. Gaines have similar interest in classical music. She uses this to

Saint Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-43561019891399756402010-02-04T08:50:00.001-06:002010-02-04T08:52:58.555-06:00

There has been an abundance of rumors, idle chatter, unfounded speculation, and bizarre conspiracy theories circulating to explain why our web site had recently gone dark. And that was just around the water cooler here at Fraters Libertas world headquarters. In the interests of transparency and full public disclosure, the Top 11 Real Reasons Fraters Libertas Was Off Line for the Past 10 Days has

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-63398414606699915322010-02-04T00:02:00.001-06:002010-02-04T00:16:31.026-06:00

When a lifelong, committed liberal zealot like Roger Ebert makes an argument against political interest, you have to pay attention. Excerpts from his review of the new documentary "Waiting for Superman":"Waiting for Superman" studies the failing American educational system. Oh, yes, it is failing. We spend more money per student than any other nation in the world, but the test scores of our

Saint Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-39205636882954547862010-02-03T14:16:00.002-06:002010-02-03T17:14:45.357-06:00

John Derbyshire pitches a sitcom in a post on mood music at The Corner on National Review Online:Kindertotenlieder means "Songs on the Deaths of Children." The immortal Kathleen Ferrier gives the general idea here.I'm sure I remember Die Kindertotenlieder featuring in an episode of (of all things!) Cheers. Can't find a clip on YouTube, though. Is my memory correct, anyone know?I have likewise

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-47707130902757709552010-02-03T12:48:00.003-06:002010-02-03T13:42:06.367-06:00

Last night's precinct caucuses turned out fairly well. Turnout was a little lighter than what I had hoped to find, but there was a lot of enthusiasm and it's always interesting to find out which neighbors share your ideological views (like the woman who's kitty-corner across the street from us). I also ran into a couple of gents who recognized me from blogging and the NARN radio show which was

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-18304660427294241102010-02-03T09:52:00.002-06:002010-02-03T10:12:16.156-06:00

How have your last ten days gone? It's been a bit of a rough ride here at Fraters Libertas world headquarters. To begin, we had to suffer through the agony of the Vikings loss. Then, we were unable to update the site for a week while our hosting provider went through an upgrade. Followed by sitting through president's pedantic petulance during the SOTU speech. After the hosting upgrade was

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-67340328314378131022010-01-31T11:14:00.000-06:002010-02-03T11:15:31.161-06:00

ESPN's Paul Lukas came to town last week for a sports filled weekend that included pond hockey, curling, and watching the Vikings at Bunny's. He also got a generous dollop of Minnesota nice. The opening: As it turned out, the weather did present some challenges, but not the ones I expected. And pond hockey was just the tip of my sports weekend iceberg. Here's how it went down:Thursday, Jan. 21,

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-29480876918067114652010-01-29T11:00:00.001-06:002010-02-04T19:36:49.550-06:00

Another edition of Beer of the Week brought to you by the shiny, happy people at Glen Lake Wine & Spirits who can help you throw your love around and remember that there is no time to cry. Cynic--Definition and More from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Main Entry: cyn*ic Pronunciation: \*si-nik\Function: noun Etymology: Middle French or Latin, Middle French cynique, from Latin cynicus, from Greek

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-42018200761585860872010-01-26T11:10:00.000-06:002010-02-03T11:11:39.445-06:00

Now that the finality of the Vikings season ending in New Orleans on Sunday has sunk in, it's possible to look back at what was and ahead to what be might (and stop obsessing about what might have been).We have to start of course with Mr. Favre. Much of what I said about Favre when he signed proved to be almost completely wrong: The other group of Viking fans are cool-headed and rational enough

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-40499113965677469642010-01-24T15:53:00.003-06:002010-01-30T08:25:37.467-06:00

Play at yesterday's National Pond Hockey Championship was sloppy and soggy. Rain made the ice soft and by early afternoon the rinks were covered with half an inch of water. Hardly ideal conditions. Still it was fun in a twisted sort of way and definitely will be remembered by all who experienced it. There's always a sense of camaraderie among the pond hockey players since we're all dealing with

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-44366919148583438412010-01-22T15:07:00.001-06:002010-01-22T15:24:55.631-06:00

In yesterday's WSJ, Allen Barra--snugly ensconced in a myopic East Coast elitist bubble--penned a piece whining about all the suffering that Jets fans have had to endure through the years. To Mr. Barra and other Jets fans here's a message from the frigid north of fly-over country: cry us a freakin' river. You know nothing of suffering because of your football team. Are we supposed to feel sorry

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-15805387883013377862010-01-22T07:54:00.015-06:002010-01-29T21:44:30.494-06:00

The nomination deadline for the 2009 Pulitzer Prizes is February 1. No word on whether the Star Tribune has nominated any of its work (nothing Pulitzer-worthy comes to mind, but then I don't read the Strib as closely as I used to). But even if they do come up with something, this could be a tough year to break out of their 19 year Pulitzer slump.Barry Levine, the editor of the National Enquirer

Sisyphushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06212947050651046226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-70350114843748250462010-01-22T00:04:00.005-06:002010-01-22T14:48:13.280-06:00

Another glorious edition of Beer of the Week brought to you as always by the cheerful chaps at Glen Lake Wine & Spirits who can help put the hop into your step. The states of Minnesota and Michigan have developed a bit of a rivalry over the years. I suspect much of it is based on how much they actually have in common. They both share borders with Canada, Wisconsin, and a four letter state to

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-40620750673833245722010-01-21T22:05:00.009-06:002010-01-22T14:49:17.402-06:00

Where will you be on January 22, 2010? If you share the same values as I do, which I hope is the case, you will be headed to a rally that is as important as any you will attend in your lifetime. We all need to do our part tomorrow to try and reverse an injustice that has been forced down our throats by people with lofty titles and questionable morals. We have suffered under the indignity of

Atomizerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258490804319216493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-84734884566302618482010-01-21T13:25:00.002-06:002010-01-21T13:48:25.952-06:00

Yesterday's WSJ contained a special section called State of the Nation: A year into the Obama administration, we asked Americans how they're feeling about the president and politics. We found a lot of weariness, a few glimmers of optimism, and not much good news for Democrats. The section was broken down into various areas such as the economy, health care, national security, etc. and polling

Chadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03781053410876242483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377533.post-71858524747161358172010-01-21T11:47:00.003-06:002010-01-21T14:23:42.347-06:00

In yesterday's WSJ editorial page, I read someone again making the point that Chevy's Nova did not sell well in Spanish speaking countries because no va means "No go" in Spanish. Once and for all, it's a myth people. It didn't happen. http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp Snopes lays out all of the salient points. The whole idea is so damn stupid it's annoying. They are two

JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228486535363352996noreply@blogger.com