Read it.

They didn’t get any help from the Vatican, either. I’m astonished they forgot to mention that.

Read it.

The nannification of public education proceeds apace.

Hooker [the principal] explained to parents in a letter this month that tag had become a game “of intense aggression.”

Read it.

So when has that ever stopped the government?

It must be pretty bad if even the Washington Post is noticing.

Read it.

Fine in theory, but the practice is the sticky part. Somehow, what constitutes “affluence” keeps working its way down the income chain.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Read it.

It’s For The Children, of course.

Is there no notion so absurd that Congress won’t make it the basis of legislation? I haven’t heard of one yet.

Read it.

There’s this widespread delusion that what government agents do is ipso facto superior to what individual citizens can (or can be trusted to) do because government agents represent the “best and brightest” expertise available.

Anybody who’s ever dealt with the government knows this to be horseshit. On average, government employees are dumber and more arrogant than most private sector employees, and the reason for that is not hard to find: They and their bosses aren’t subject to the discipline of the market, so they have less incentive to work for their “customers” (us) than for themselves.

The essential flaw in such nanny-state institutions as Child Welfare agencies is that it attracts the sort of know-it-alls who think that they know better how to raise other people’s children than the people themselves do — and that “expertise” gives them, not just the right, but the moral obligation to interfere whenever they choose.

There may perhaps be a case to make that in some portion of the available situations they’re correct. But that still doesn’t authorize them to act as high-handedly as they do. Just because I may know better than you what you ought to be doing doesn’t authorize me to tell you (much less force you under color of law) to live your life my way.

And there’s always Jerry Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy lurking in the background.

Read it.

The New Mexico Human Rights Commission has ordered a Christian photographer to pay $6,600 for declining to photograph a commitment ceremony between two lesbians.

A small U.S. version of what people are undergoing in Canada in its full glory.

Read it.

I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked.

Read it.

I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Read it.

My, what a surprise. Aren’t you surprised? I’m sure surprised.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

We’ve heard of the U.S. Postal Service losing packages before, but not one containing human remains — in this case, the ashes of a longtime Washington-area resident who was to have been interred with U.S. Navy military honors last Friday at the Quantico National Cemetery. 

Guess they should’ve used FedEx.

“We did everything as we usually do,” a representative of Wilke-Clay-Fish said Friday. “We transported the ashes to the post office and sent them registered mail. I could not believe the answers we were getting from one woman at the [Austin] post office who kept saying, ‘They’ll be arriving the next postal day; they’ll be arriving the next postal day.’

“I told her a lot of good that answer’s going to do the DeKay family, which has a funeral scheduled. But she kept repeating, repeating, repeating the same answer.” 

Read it.

“This is an absurd situation to be in. If another country was doing this, we’d call them a banana republic,” said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, one of the leading watchdogs.

Especially ironic, considering that Democrats are holding up the show.

But Obama also is leading Democratic objections to the FEC nomination of a controversial former Justice Department lawyer, Hans A. von Spakovsky, whom Democrats accuse of exerting political influence over voter fraud and election law decisions. A recent inspector general’s report cleared von Spakovsky and other Justice officials of censoring a bipartisan commission’s examination of intimidation of minority voters, but Democrats remain steadfastly opposed to his FEC nomination.

Don’t confuse is with facts, our minds are made up.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Inside the Ring.

Read it.

‘Name and Shame’ is the first step on the road to getting this crap under control. Voters are easy but they aren’t cheap.

The top three “porkers” identified in the “Pig Book” all were Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee: ranking member Thad Cochran of Mississippi with $892 million, Ted Stevens of Alaska with $469 million and Richard C. Shelby of Alabama with $465 million.

Somebody beat Ted Stevens? That’s a shock.

Read it.

It always comes as such a surprise to these bozos when they have to obey the law just like everybody else.

Read it.

Surprising that they actually published that.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Steve Sailer is not afraid to ask the hard questions.

Read it.

It would appear that all these movies in which Sinister Government Agencies have all this high-tech gear that works perfectly and allows them to keep on top of the Hero And His Plucky Band is all hot air.

The bureaucrats rarely have the latest gear, and what they have doesn’t work all that well, when it works at all.

I am comforted by that realization.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Read it.

Just in case you were wondering. I know I was.

And this is worth more column-inches in the Washington Post than good news from Iraq.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Read it.

My, what a surprise. Aren’t you surprised? I’m sure surprised.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Read it.

My, what a surprise. Aren’t you surprised? I’m sure surprised.

Read it.

Can you spell “ethanol mandate”? I’m sure you can.

Remember the Third Big Lie: “We’re from the government, and we’re here to help.”

Read it.

Well, if (a) the government didn’t require babies to have Social Security Numbers and (b) businesses didn’t insist on using them as unique identifiers (contrary to law, by the way), then it wouldn’t be a problem.

Moral: Government causes more problems than it solves. And we’re paying for it all.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Read it.

“Public” (i.e. government ownership) causes more problems than it solves. But you knew that.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Read it.

Democrats have principles except when then can profit by surrendering them.

Read it.

In general, any proposed legislation that contains “Consumer Protection” and “Community Empowerment” in the title is a scam. In this case, it’s an attempt to buy votes by kicking phone companies, whom nobody likes anyway.

Read it.

Remind me why the government is paying for everybody’s health care. Food is just as important — why doesn’t it buy my food?

Read it.

Note that the search for more competent spies has degenerated into just one more “Let’s enrich their lives” entitlement program.

No wonder our foreign policy sucks and our deficit is measured in trillions.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway. 

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway. 

Read it. This is what comes of letting the government run the schools. Note that Detroit has been run by Democrats time out of mind.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Inside Politics.

Read it.

Research suggested that such a copyright would effectively kill the fashion industry.

Hm. Is that a bug or a feature?

To any right thinking person, it should be clear that no copyright is needed. And, yet, Congress moves forward with the effort.

And that about sums up everything you need to know about modern American politics.

Read it. I guess some pigs are more equal than others.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.

Inside the Ring.

Read it. I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked.

Inside Politics.

Inside the Beltway.