In Other News…

…The Russian judges give Russian team perfect scores.

Well, yes, 2012 is an Olympic year. And the big news about the Montana Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Judge Sherlock’s decision in the Western Tradition Partnership’s lawsuit challenging Montana’s prohibition on corporate political donations conjures up memories of those close competitions during the Cold War where the fate of US Olympians rested on the number of Russian judges.

The fawning media coverage of Steve Bullock’s “historic” victory is enough to gag a maggot. Like he was going to lose when the deck was so stacked in his favor. The fact that two justices had the courage to actually rule on the controlling law and/or the merits of the case was the shocker. There was no way in hell that Mike McGrath’s Court was going to hand the Democrat Party’s golden boy a big head-slap going into the gubernatorial election.

It isn’t the first time – and it won’t be the last time – that politics determines case law, so anyone who is surprised by either the timing or the decision is either terminally naive or fatally stupid. I would strongly urge anyone who falls into that crowd to take out extra life insurance. Your family will appreciate you for that anyway.

We’ll hear lots about this decision during the coming campaign — Captain Montana takes on the Evil Corporations and WINS!!!! If this case had been anything of a controversy, there’s no way Bullock would have shown his face in the courtroom, let alone argued the state’s position. But politically this was an ideal issue for the AG (Aspiring Governor) to showcase his legal expertise as well as his commitment to protecting the “ordinary citizens’ rights” from the mean, nasty 1%.

Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock (D) issued the following statement:

“For over 100 years, Montana has had an electoral system that preserves the integrity of the political process, encourages full participation, and safeguards against corruption. The Supreme Court’s decision upholds that system and is truly a victory for all Montanans.

The actual merits of the case are irrelevant – it’s a perfect “sound bite” issue, and even if WTP decides to appeal the decision, nothing will happen before the election that will make the front page of any Montana newspaper.

Don’t you just love it when the judges nail the landing?

Snippets

Christmas is for kids – we all know that. So the best part of my Christmas was the telephone call from Oregon this morning. The excited screams of two little boys interspersed with barely intelligible chatter as they were coaxed from their presents to the phone brought me from virtually comatose to wide-awake.

Nick, who is four and a half, was up at 0-dark-thirty: “Mom, it’s Christmas! Can we go downstairs now?” Mom: “Not yet. Micah’s still sleeping.” Nick: “I can fix that.” Let the day begin…

Micah, two years younger has a more practical take on things: “Grandma! It’s Christmas!!!” Me: “Did you get presents?” Micah: “I got my own underwears!”

I’m waiting for pictures….

Happy Hanukkah

No one will ever confuse me as an expert on Jewish holidays and traditions, having grown up in a town where the local synagogue building was owned by the Catholic Diocese and used as the Bishop’s office. Jews were a decided minority in my childhood – I think I only knew one Jewish family. And 1950’s elementary school Catholicism wasn’t exactly nuanced in its ecumenical approach to any other religions (“If you aren’t Catholic, you’ll fry in Hell for all Eternity.”) By the time I was in high school the demographics of the town hadn’t changed much. The little Jewish cemetery, located just a few yards behind the new Catholic high school, was more a favorite “secret” meeting place for hormonally-charged classmates skipping classes rather than a resource for the religion and culture of those interred.

I say all this as a preface to explain why this may not be the most politically (or religiously) correct Hanukkah greeting ever – but it is, nonetheless, a sincere and joyous wish that this Festival of Lights may be a harbinger of a bright future for all.

Happy Hanukkah!!!

By the way – did you know that Yorkshire terriers were Jewish? Me neither. Oy vey.

The Dictator is Dead, Long Live the Dictator

Guest Post by Loki

Kim Jong Il has finally died. And with his death the fatal flaw of all dictatorships is about to be played out on the world stage. A dictator whether good or bad is the lone leader of their country. And on their death a huge power vacuum is created. And politics does not allow a vacuum in leadership.

Kim Jong Un is taking over for his father. But he is an unproven leader. His father has bequeathed him the leadership role whether he is ready or not. He must prove his ruthlessness to maintain his power. This can prove very difficult. He has siblings. At least one sister who is also in a position of power may have her eye on the leadership role. Whether Un can maintain his tenuous grip of power or whether another family member forces their way to power will be decided very soon. And there is also the military. They hold no fealty to Un and some general may decide he is better than Un or the rest of the family.

So we have a dictator of a communist party about to try and prove his right to ascension with a probable military display while fighting for his control of the leadership from his siblings and the military. Things in North Korea could get very unstable and violent.

Then we have our own President Obama who while quite ready to take advantage of any crisis in America seems very tepid about doing the same against any communist country. Instead of taking advantage of a crisis I fear the crisis will be that he is taken advantage of and prove himself yet again inadequate for the job. Another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

Whatever the outcome it will be played out no matter whether our president decides to join the game or sits and complains about the difficulty of his job.

Friday Night Funny

From Loki’s email files….

This actually happened with some guys from Maine.
They dressed the truck up with the guy spreadeagled on the roof.
The driver and passenger put on Moose heads.
They went down the Maine toll road Interstate, causing 16 accidents.
They went to jail.

Yes alcohol was involved.

The F.L.E.A. Party

I really haven’t said a whole lot about the OWS “movement” because I find it to be inauthentic, hypocritical, manufactured, annoying, and obnoxious – among other things. But my friend sent me an email that finally explains the concept in terms I can understand.


Yep – that pretty well sums it up.
H/T Bridget

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Guest post by Loki

A novel from Stieg Larrson.

A little bit of a spoiler warning, some of the story will be revealed but the major plot will not be revealed.

Something a little different this time and not political. After hearing all the hype about this novel I decided to purchase the book. It has been lying in a pile of other books waiting to be read. Recently I saw the TV ads promoting the movie. I decided it was time to knuckle down and read the book before the movie ruined the novel.

I learned many years ago that books of about 150 pages make a good 2 hour movie. Any books longer than that can never be covered fairly in a movie. The upcoming movie will not even come close to covering this novel. I doubt a 10 hour mini-series could get close. This is not a simple book.

First off there are many plots and sub plots revealed. There are affairs, lawsuits, libel, jail time, mysteries and murders. And the large number of characters can have the reader racking their brains trying to remember which character is which. To add to the confusion most of the names are Swedish (it is a Swedish novel translated) and many assumptions are made that the reader is familiar with Sweden and local customs and values.

Although the book is touted as a murder-mystery-thriller at times it seems more like a character study of Swedish morals. The story follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist through most of a year. After publishing a libelous story and followed by a lawsuit conviction he is about to lose his job, his business and spend time in jail. He is approached by a rich patriarch seeking to have a decade’s old murder of his niece solved before his death.

The character is interesting and the plot is compulsive. And it is not a real mystery as the reader is not expected to try to solve the murder. But the most interesting character in the book is Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo. Yet she is only one of many main characters in the book. But she is by far the most compelling and interesting. She is an extremely damaged woman with what could be described as asocial behavior bordering on being a psychopath who may have Asperger disorder. A woman who has created her own moral standards while trying to live within societies confines and avoid consequences imposed by society. I found myself wishing to read more about her. But that I fear will have to wait for the second book in this trilogy.

I recommend that anyone interested in this book read it soon especially if you are planning on seeing the movie. For I fear the movie would ruin the book should you try to read it afterwards. Because the movie will be unable to even approximate the depth of the book. I give the book 3 out of 4 stars.

As to me, I have made myself a cup of hot chocolate and started reading “The Girl Who Played with Fire”.