Burj Khalifa: Pinnacle of Vanity?

From the Stephen Bayley at the Telegraph:

Paradoxically, Burj Khalifa is not a truly modern building. It is a hangover of a demented spending binge. It is a subprime Great Pyramid. It is queasy nostalgia for a version of the future that looked old-fashioned a generation ago. It is kitsch retro fantasia, a glassy memorial to something not so much forgotten as never known.

The whole article does nothing but berate the architect and naysay the very idea of this building.  America has long been the country where dreamers and over achievers could accomplish amazing things despite naysayers like Steven Bayley.  Sadly it seems like that atmosphere is being lost here in America, and if it takes some moderate Muslim country halfway around the world to pick up the torch and ensure that the human race still progresses into the future, so be it. 

Don’t feel too bad about it though, I’m sure most of the money spent to build it originated from Americans buying oil, and the architect and the firm that built it were both American.  It’s just a shame they had to go there to find someone with enough balls to see a project like this come to fruition.

Disclosure:  I’m a huge fan of The Fountainhead.

Technorati Tags: Burj Khalifa,Dubai,Stephen Bayley,Burj Dubai

U.S. Marine Captain: Aussie Women Dress Like Sluts

From Fox News:

The captain's letter to the editor was published in the Northern Territory News yesterday.

It raised eyebrows among many Darwin women, including nightclub dancer Lana Sandic, 19.

"He's got some guts to say that," she said. "Most Territory girls would say 'Put it where the sun doesn't shine'."

But Capt Campbell was adamant. "Ladies have been conned into thinking that just because you have it means you should flaunt it," he wrote.

"Come on ladies, don't send us mixed messages. That's what you do every time you dress with less than nothing on."

Translation:  “I am angry that I went out to a club in Australia and was surrounded by beautiful women who dressed like they should be easy but I still couldn’t get lucky.”

Now, I’m no Fox News hater, but you really have to wonder sometimes why they consider this stuff news. 

Technorati Tags: U.S.,Marines,Australia,Aussie,Slutty Women

Tort Reform Could Save $54 Billion Dollars

This from Reuters:

Limiting medical malpractice lawsuits could save the U.S. government $54 billion over a decade, congressional budget analysts said on Friday in a report that could boost a Republican push to include lawsuit reform in President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul.

Still, I wouldn’t hold my breath.  Democrats have flat out admitted they’re too afraid of trial lawyers to include tort reform in any bill.

Technorati Tags: healthcare,reform,tort

No Flu Shots For Me, Thanks

 

Let me just say that I’m not totally anti-vaccine.  However, I do think that we may be going a little overboard with it.  It is now mandatory that my kids get the chicken pox vaccine!  I don’t think they should be vaccinated against something that they can recover from easily and that makes their immune systems stronger.

As for the H1N1 vaccine, no way.  No way am I going to get vaccinated with something that was rushed through testing that quickly. 

Technorati Tags: vaccine,vaccination,swine flu,H1N1

Confirmed: Nobel Peace Prize Absolutely Meaningless

 

Unbelievable.  Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

I woke up to this:

Rather than recognizing concrete achievement, the 2009 prize appeared intended to support initiatives that have yet to bear fruit: reducing the world stock of nuclear arms, easing American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthening the U.S. role in combating climate change.

Luckily I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. 

The committee chairman said after awarding the 2002 prize to former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, for his mediation in international conflicts, that it should be seen as a "kick in the leg" to the Bush administration's hard line in the buildup to the Iraq war.

I’m pretty sure Bush didn’t give a crap about winning the Nobel Peace Price, he seemed a little more interested in preventing Iraq from obtaining nuclear weapons and kicking the crap out of terrorists.

Technorati Tags: Nobel Peace Price,Obama

The Obama Propaganda Machine Now in Full Gear

Evidently Obama is not content with having CNN “fact checking” SNL skits for him and having schoolchildren on to literally sing his praises, or the hour long infomercials on ABC. Obama has now decided to declare war against even those rare stories critical of him that manage to make into the mainstream media. 

This is from Time:

…a new White House strategy has emerged: rather than just giving reporters ammunition to "fact-check" Obama's many critics, the White House decided it would become a player, issuing biting attacks on those pundits, politicians and outlets that make what the White House believes to be misleading or simply false claims…

This is just more evidence of the gigantic Obama ego.  He takes everything personally.  I think this might backfire on him, though.

Technorati Tags: Obama,media,bias

Better Late Than Never

Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder were in Chicago on Wednesday to discuss the issue with local officials, students and victims' families.

Gee, maybe he should have done something like this when he was the head of the Chicago school system and 34 students were being killed in one year.

Crony!

 

What other reason would cause Obama to appoint a man in charge of a school system that had 34 of its students murdered in one year to be in charge of the school systems of the entire country?

Technorati Tags: Arne Duncan,Chicago,Obama

Drill Here, Drill Now

It’s an old topic, I know.  It doesn’t seem so urgent now that gas prices aren’t quite so high, but with recent talk of a plot to replace the dollar in oil transactions, this article in CNN Money says it should be.

Honestly, I’ve never understood the argument against drilling in ANWR and other protected places.  Let’s say we eventually run out of oil. Do these environmentalists think they are going to be able to stop the public clamoring for oil from ravaging these places to get every last drop as quickly as possible? 

Why not do it now while the need is not quite so urgent and the people worried about the effect it may have on the environment can have some say in the way it’s done. 

Technorati Tags: ANWR,drill,oil,gas

Supreme Court to Hear Cross Case

A lawsuit filed by the ACLU wants to remove a cross in California which has been on federal lands for 75 years because the National Park Service recently refused to erect a Buddhist symbol. 

Surprisingly, the Obama administration defends the cross and thinks it should stay.  I agree.  While I don’t think religious symbols should be popping up all over federal lands in this day and age, the cross was erected 75 years ago and has historical value. 

If I had to put money on it, I’d bet the Supreme Court lets it stay.

Technorati Tags: cross,religion,church and state

Buy Local!

So many people have started growing marijuana here in the United States, it’s starting to cut into the profits made by Mexican drug cartels.

Even the most hardcore anti-legalization people surely can’t help but feel a little good about this news.

Technorati Tags: marijuana,medical,legalization

No Surprise: Gitmo Closure Won’t Meet Deadline

“It's going to be difficult for us to make the Jan. 22 deadline," Holder told a group of reporters on Tuesday. "But I do think that it was the right thing to set that deadline. ... [It] has a way of fousing people's efforts, their attention, and giving people a goal.”

I guess you could look at it that way.  Or you could see this for what it really is: another idealistic promise made by Obama mugged by reality. 

Technorati Tags: Guantanamo Bay,Gitmo

Why can't I get a credit card? - MSN Money

 

Why can't I get a credit card? - MSN Money

This guy’s sense of entitlement when it comes to getting credit cards is half the reason the economy is in the mess its in now.  Why do people think they have some kind of right to borrow money?  Whether it’s borrowing money for a house or borrowing money in the form of credit cards, it’s not a right. 

If you make it a “right” to borrow money, then you must necessarily take away someone’s right not to lend money. 

Technorati Tags: money,credit cards,entitlements

Cry Me A River

Evidently we are supposed to feel sorry for this shitbag who took great pleasure in abusing and humiliating prisoners, tarnished the image of the U.S. at a time when it was most vulnerable, and provided a slew of images to further galvanize anti-american and anti-war sentiment. 

If no one wants to hire her, can you blame them?  Who could ever trust this woman?  This is exactly the type of person who would be smearing boogers on your pizza.

Technorati Tags: Abu Ghraib,Lynndie England,Iraq

This Woman Has Guts!

When a gay judge (Perez Hilton) asked Miss California about her views on gay marriage she flat out said she thinks marriage should be between a man and a woman.  Wow!  She had to have known it would cost her big time.

I’m somewhat ambivalent about the issue personally, but I have to applaud her adherence to principle. I never thought I’d admire a beauty pageant contestant.

Why the hell is a gay guy judging a female beauty pageant anyway?  Also, the audience seemed to overwhelmingly approve of her answer… interesting.

See the video here.

Technorati Tags: Gay Marriage,Miss USA,Miss California

Best Bumper Sticker Ever

In general, I think the idea of displaying your opinions on politics, religion, etc.  to people who for the most part don’t give a damn is pretty ridiculous.

However, my wife called this morning to tell me about this one she on the way to work this morning:

Even I had to chuckle at that one.

Technorati Tags: Obama,Economy,Bumper Sticker

Here We Go Again

North Korea is once again attempting to use the threat of developing nuclear weapons as a bargaining tool with the west.  I’ll never understand why we took such drastic action against Iraq, but we don’t do anything about North Korea and Iran who seem much more blatant about their quest for nukes. 

Well, if we do decide to something about either one of them, I hope we just blow up a few facilities not stick around to rebuild their entire country.

Technorati Tags: North Korea,Nuclear Proliferation

Haha, Very Funny YouTube

All their videos are upside down; April Fools prank?

If it is, it’s a dumb one.  I won’t be watching any videos until they fix that crap.

Technorati Tags: YouTube,April Fools

Someone Wrote A Song About Obama!

The crazy thing is that it was written in 1989.

Does Anyone Really Care What Meghan McCain Thinks?

Well, I guess someone does because she has her own column at The Daily Beast.  I most certainly do not.

It really irks me when she talks about “our generation” and how Republicans need to reach out to them.  What the hell does she know about our generation?  She’s separated from most people in our generation by the pampered lifestyle she’s lead since she was born.  The average person in my generation could no more relate to her than they could to Paris Hilton.  Sure, she has her circle and I’m sure she can speak for them, but please stop claiming to speak for “your generation” like you know anything about them other than something you may have seen on TV.

I do think she’s hot though, and it was pretty crappy for Laura Ingraham to call her fat.

Technorati Tags: Meghan McCain