Thursday, January 25, 2007
Roger Federer consistently turns in unbelievable performances on the tennis court, pitilessly punishing his opponents and leaving them depressed and defeated. Brad Warthen proves that he can be just as ruthless in his war against logical consistency and the English language.Evidence:This governor showed virtually no interest in our schools in his first term, beyond leading an all-out campaign to undermine taxpayer confidence in the very idea of public education, and pay parents to desert it.
You can argue that Put Parents in Charge was a bad bill. You can argue that it had good intentions but wouldn't have worked. You can argue that it was the other way around. But unless you are deaf and blind, you cannot argue that Gov. Sanford ignored schools. Moreover, even the most skilled writer usually takes at least two sentences—and indeed often many paragraphs—to contradict himself. And yet Brad Warthen manages to contradict himself in the same sentence. I would say that Brad's blundering is magnificent but that doesn't do it justice. The guy is damn near superhuman.
Posted by Bill Smith at 9:43 AM |
2 comments
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
[I thought it might be helpful to shorten and clarify The State's latest editorial gem.]
Do you know what I hate about you, maggot? No, it's not your ugly face or your smelly feet; you can't help those things.
No, here's what I hate about you. It's how you live your life. Your stupid, little, pathetic life. Through your bad choices, you make your life even stupider and less worthwhile.You drink too much.You smoke too much.And you're fat, fat, FAT!Honestly, it is so disgusting to live in the same state as you people—you wretched, miserable people—that I am going to be forced to fight back. How? I am going to use the power of the state to make you change your life.
I know, I know. You like your precious wittle "liberty." You like having a cigarette to unwind after work or throwing back a beer or 12 on the weekends.
Well, you're gross. You make me sick. And I'm powerful. So you don't get to abuse your liberty anymore.
Now, if I crack the whip just so, you're going to look just like me and act just like me. And I won't have to look at your ugly butt anymore. Now shut up and obey, like a good little servant citizen.
[Today's State Editorial page has been translated from the original gibberish.]
Posted by Bill Smith at 3:12 PM |
1 comments
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Someone has to say it: The front page of La Socialista's website today couldn't be stupider, fluffier, or less informative. Way to go, guys.
Posted by Bill Smith at 5:14 PM |
0 comments
Monday, January 08, 2007
Sometimes it's hard to tell whether you're reading Warren Bolton's column on politics or a sermon from the pulpit. I'm guessing that Bolton's trying to cleanse my soul but by the end of the "column" I just feel dirty.Today, Warrin' Warren Bolton is doing his best not merely to chase the money lenders from the temple but in fact to strike out against usury in general—that's right, everywhere. I haven't heard someone thunder against unfair lending practices like this since I spent a little time thumbing through St. Thomas Aquinas on the doctrine of just price.Bolton doesn't like payday lenders. Neither do I. I also don't like Billy Ray Cyrus, pistachio ice cream, or Bulgaria. So I avoid them.But that's not enough for Warren. No, not enough for Bolton to avoid payday lenders, tell his friends and acquaintances of their dangers, or perhaps write some books or columns on the topic.Since Bolton doesn't like short-term loans, that means that nobody should be allowed to use them.Since some people get into trouble with debt, Bolton says no one should be allowed to take out some loans.Unfortunately, Bolton's arrogance and bossiness seems like they have a good audience here in South Carolina. Via the tyranny of the majority, we can expect something like Bolton's ban to be passed into law. And so it goes; we lose a little more freedom with every legislative session.
Posted by Bill Smith at 6:37 PM |
1 comments
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The next time that The State tells me that we don't have to reform education in South Carolina because it's already improving so fast, I hope they take the time to look back at their own newspaper. Money quote:Children born and educated in South Carolina are among the least likely in the nation to be successful in life, according to a report released Wednesday by an education trade publication. The state ranked No. 41 in the latest national evaluation of public school quality, policies and socio-economic conditions by Education Week.
I've gone and read the report; it's pretty interesting stuff. (Naturally, there was no link on The State website nor was there a pointer in the paper edtion.)
Posted by Bill Smith at 9:21 AM |
2 comments
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
I've always thought The State's opinion page was a bad joke, but this is ridiculous.Maybe it's because they're under the impression that South Carolina is in the Midwest. (Check the author bio.)
Posted by Bill Smith at 9:05 AM |
7 comments
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
More Money, Please. C'mon, you ign'ant taxpayer, give it up. That cash belongs to the gummint.
La Socialista rings in the New Year with a call for more funding for public colleges. The state gives our public colleges only half as much money per student as Georgia gives its colleges — and only a third as much as North Carolina gives its colleges. [...]
The answer isn’t to eliminate merit-based scholarships. It’s to strike a better balance. That means more needs-based scholarships — and more funding for our colleges, which will allow them to hold down tuition. That will cost money, which makes this yet another reason for lawmakers to abandon the parochial approach that has resulted in an inefficient non-system of 33 colleges spread over more than 80 campuses in our small, poor state.
The State knows that the technical colleges aren't going anywhere and that any increase in spending on colleges is coming straight out of Joe Irmo and Jane Aiken's next paycheck (and every one thereafter). I can't believe that the year is less than 48 hours old and The State is already advocating bigger taxes and smaller paychecks. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.
Posted by Bill Smith at 9:18 AM |
5 comments
