As noted in an earlier post, this country has likely already had a gay president, or at least a bisexual one, in James Buchanan. Of course, that's back when sexuality wasn't even talked about, let alone celebrated. If anyone had known about Buchan's sexual nature, he wouldn't have gotten near the White House.
Startling news from the school choice front:
A Department of Education report indicates the cost of Indiana's private school voucher program jumped from $16 million to $40 million during the past school year.
The Indianapolis Star reports about 29,100 students received vouchers during the recently completed academic year, up from about 19,800 the year before.
[. . .]
There’s a new poll out that shows that the political problems created for Mike Pence by his handling of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act linger.
The poll shows that only 32 percent of Indiana voters believe that Pence deserves re-election. 54 percent believe it’s time to give a new person a chance to do a better job.
[. . .]
This essay about couples who are childless by choice doesn't come right out and call them selfish. But it throws around the term "hedonists" a lot, suggesting that the couples put their own pleasure ahead of everything else in life. But what if they're wrong, and in the end realize there should be much more to life?
Dismissing Donald Trump as a buffoon would be a mistake:
1. Donald Trump has sufficient personal assets to outspend every single presidential candidate on both sides.
2. Donald Trump because of his funds has the ability to hire enough people to make sure he is on EVERY primary ballot before the convention.
The peope is from Latin America, birthplace of Marxist liberation theology, and at times he's sounded like he's trying to sneak up on that theology. Now, he seems to be jumping in with both feet:
Well, now we should feel special, guys. Michelle Obama thinks we are "useful."
During a conversation with students in the United Kingdom, First Lady Michelle Obama told them that men were “useful” for promoting the idea of more education for girls.
“We’ve got to send different messages about the importance of educating our girls.”
Two views of the Magna Carta, the 800th anniversary of which was yesterday. One, hey, let's stop revering the stupid thing. For one thig, it didn't actually work. For another, it wasn't actually "the first of its kind," but one of many documents from that era codifying limitations on government power. Finally, it wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of liberty, considering it protected only men of the noblity and wasn't exactly kind to Jews.
Jeez. I was sorta hoping "compassionate conservatism" was dead:
As part of announcing his 2016 presidential candidacy, Jeb Bush released a video entitled "Making a Difference." The video spotlights how Bush's work as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007 affected four people: a low-income student, a low-skilled worker, a mother whose child is disabled and a woman who was the victim of domestic violence.
I was surprised (but realize I shouldn't have been) to hear on TV this morning that the manhunt for those two escaped killers is costing $1 million a day. There's a reason for that:
Strange old world just keeps getting stranger:
Why is Caitlyn Jenner treated as a groundbreaking cultural hero and Rachel Dolezal condemned as a charlatan? If it’s okay to be transgender, what’s wrong with being “transracial”?
[. . .]
Enough with the fast-food experiments already! I'm as adventurous as the next guy, and some of the innovation efforts have hit the mark. The Stand, out on Bluffton Road, for example, has something called the Waynedale Dog, which is basically a chili dog with cole slaw on top. And whoever at Taco Bell who thought up the taco with the Doritos crust is a genius.
Oh, brother. Or perhaps that should be oh, person. "You guys" is now on the "stop saying it, it's creeping sexism and offensive" list:
The New York Times must think Marco Rubio is the greatest threat to Hillary Clinton, because they've come out with a series of hit pieces on him so cartoonish that even other members of the liberal mainstream media are making fun of the paper. (Here's Jon Stewart, just asolutely savaging the Times,) He has a "luxury yacht" that turns out to be a fishing boat.
Interesting words encountered while wandering through the blogosphere.
interlocutor (in-ter-LOCK-yuh-ter), n. -- a person who takes part in a conversation or dialogue; a persons who questions; interrogator, as in: When reading the responses to my blog posts, I am disappointed to discover insults from trolls, but heartened when I encounter interlocutors who advance the coversation even when they disagrre with me.
It was outrageous when nancy Pelosi did it, no less so when Paul Ryan did:
Chief Obamatrade proponent House Ways and Means Committee chairman
Strange times for the First Amendment. In one story, we have the Supreme Court pretty narrowly defining what is a threat and being generous with free speech:
In a closely-watched case about free speech online, the Supreme Court on Monday overturned the conviction of a man whose online rants landed him in prison.
So, there are three kinds of political hate. There is, based on the kind of anger that has you yelling at the TV screen. And there is :cool hate," based on contempt, whose adherents express disgust for another person through sarcasm, dismissal or mockery. Finally, there is anonymous hate:
Yeah, this is a gun I have here. You gotta a problem with that? Say hello to my liitle friend, which I call the Second Amendment:
