Global Golf Tournament Predictably Socialist...Did anyone watch the Presidents Cup yesterday? For those of you who don't know, this is the golf event that's been set up to pit the US vs. The World. It's like the Ryder Cup, only more socialist countries get the chance to beat America. Anyway, the US was way behind coming into Sunday. But, as in the 1999 Ryder Cup, they came roaring back via an improbable rally. The teams were all square with only the Woods/Els twosome left. Those guys went into a sudden-death hole-by-hole playoff which lasted 3 holes. Both golfers made long, incredible putts under the axe of letting their entire teams down. It was fantastic to watch.
But then, the team captains (Nicklaus and Player) decided that it was getting too dark to continue, so they conceived the bright idea of calling the tournament a draw. At the last second, Nicklaus casually mentioned that "the US, as defending champions, would retain that title until the next Presidents Cup." Well, the Socialists didn't like the sound of that one bit. Els and Co. said: "Well, we'll just play then, we've got nothing to lose". In other words: "Since we won't be receiving something unearned, as is our custom, we might as well actually continue competing". Eventually, the US (a country that really seems desperate these days to prove to the world that it can be socialist too) conceded that they would be "co-victors".
In a final stroke of collectivist feel-goodism, it was decided that the two teams would "share the trophy" with each getting it for 6 months. Awwwwww.
I think this sends a terrible message. They kept spouting meaningless platitudes such as "No one deserves to lose" and "It would be a shame for one guy to have to putt for his whole team's victory". Please. What is this, Little League? I mean, the US is the defending champion. Not only were they not unseated, but they overcame a severe, last-day deficit to ensure that the loss of the trophy did not happen. And what was the result? Everybody is a winner.
posted by Nick 11:43 PM
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Send Rush Limbaugh Straight to Prison...I like Rush. I have listened to/read him since I was in high school back in the early 90's. Like most Americans, I started my political life with a fierce anti-drug bent. No words were demeaning enough to describe drug-users and no penalties were harsh enough to punish them, at least in my nascent estimation. This was due, in no small part, to having parents with wildly distorted and hyperbolic views about the destructive nature of drugs. Commentators like Rush made it easy to continue with my stupid outlook. He was a prominent person reinforcing just what I thought (or at least what I THOUGHT I thought).
Well, here we are in 2003, and I still have yet to take a single drug in my life. I am also virulently pro-legalization for every single substance which is currently illegal. And what do you know? Rush has a fall from grace because he's addicted to painkillers (but he admits that he liked the euphoric effects too). He has broken several laws hundreds of times.
I feel bad for Rush. He obviously didn't ask for what happened. But he still did it. I think that the only principled step for him to take is to get his attorney, go to the law, and demand that the book be thrown at him. Any attempt for him to get out of a single day of jailtime is hypocritical and lame.
As a libertarian, I think we need people like Rush on our side. Let him stew in jail for 10 years for non-violent drug offenses which hurt exactly ZERO people that weren't named Rush Limbaugh. And maybe, just maybe, a significant percentage of his army of Dittohead drones will begin to re-think their Draconian ideas on drugs and the law.
posted by Nick 12:24 PM
To welcome myself back, I couldn't help re-posting my all-time favorite:
From July 2, 2003
"Diverse" Student Sighted on Michigan Campus by WASPy Co-Ed
Special to The Ranting Rationalist
University of Michigan sophomore Nelly Highbottom had her summer semester unexpectedly enriched when she spotted a black person across the quad on Monday. "I originally assumed that it was just a visitor to campus or even a worker from the physical plant", Highbottom told reporters, "but when I asked around, I found out this black person was, in fact, a student just like me. I was shocked. I know I don't even have to tell you how much this black-person sighting has meant to my overall educational experience."
Incidents like the one experienced by Ms. Highbottom underscore the continued need for "diverse" students on our college campuses. All too frequently, a white student will come to campus with only his "white experience" in tow. Often, this can lead to a very narrow college experience. As a remedy to this obvious problem, the Supreme Court recently ruled that sprinkling American campuses with "diverse" students represents a compelling government interest. Liberal activists point out that, particularly in the fields of science and engineering, a "black viewpoint" is vital. "How can a white student feel as though his Thermodynamics class is complete unless he has the opportunity to view it from a 'diverse' perspective?", asks Joe Jumus of leftwing think-tank Actions Divorced From Consequences. "Until we are all able to calculate complicated equations from the position of a human being who contains greater-than-average skin pigmentation, then how can we even call science 'science'?".
When asked for their opinion on being used as curiosities on campus for the enrichment of white students, several black students spoke very highly of the plan. "I think it's great", said high-pigment, diverse student Darius White. "There's nothing I like more than being employed as a patronizing means to an offensive end. I came to Michigan precisely in order to advance the cause of relieving the festering guilt of white academia. In many ways, my own educational enrichment is not even a priority of mine."
Ms. Highbottom, however, has no plans to get to know the black student she spotted. "They tend to congregate in the black dorm and hang out a lot at the Black and Latin Student Union. I figure they have about all the diversity they can handle."
Newest Pet Peeve- The Whole Canadian Prescription Drugs Deal...First of all, this whole "issue" is basically based on an urban legend. "Drugs" are not cheaper in Canada than in the US. Name-brand drugs are "cheaper" because of Canadian price controls which allow our northern friends to free-ride off of our robustly innovative pharmaceutical industry. But when it comes to generics, Canada is actually more expensive than the US.
Anyway, the entire issue is extremely disheartening and annoying because almost everyone involved is wrong. There is no price that drugs "should" be. Nor does anyone "deserve" any drugs. It's simply one more example of the flogging of capitalism and the seemingly unrelenting belief that socialism will somehow work this time if we do it just right and our intentions are good enough.
posted by Nick 12:18 AM
OK, 3 Months Is Long Enough to Have Been Off...The Ranting Rationalist went off and got married to a wonderful girl from Poland. The wedding was a huge success, as the guests were treated to a post-reception cruise around Manhattan and New York Harbor. The honeymoon was in Hawaii (yawn). Thanks for caring.
posted by Nick 12:03 AM
