I Came To Casablanca For the Waters

… I was misinformed:

  • As I type, it's looking like the "DISCLOSE" campaign finance bill will be successfully filibustered in the Senate. Bradley Smith reminds us why that's good news.

    President Obama [claimed] that the bill is simply about disclosure.

    "Nobody is saying you can't run the ads--just make sure that people know who in fact is behind financing these ads," he said.

    Actually, Democrats are saying you can't run the ads: if you're a company with a government contract of over $10 million (like more than half of the top 50 U.S. companies) or if you're a company with more than 20 percent foreign shareholders, you can't even mention a candidate in an ad for up to a full year before the election. What's remarkable is that these provisions would prohibit speech that was legal even before the Supreme Court decision. There are no similar prohibitions for unions representing government contractors or unions with foreign membership.

    Emphasis in original. Roger Pilon is also on target:
    But perhaps the greatest irony of all concerns the conflict of interest that pervades such legislation. Here we have a party that will assiduously sniff out any conceivable conflict of interest that a business might have calling for more regulations, the effect of which will make it harder for opponents to challenge their incumbency. Talk about a conflict of interest -- incumbents writing the rules under which challengers and their supporters may speak in upcoming elections. The First Amendment -- "Congress shall make no law ..." -- was written to prohibit that kind of self-dealing.
    Although the official DISCLOSE acronym is something else, Pun Salad continues to believe it really stands for "Democrat Incumbents S**t on Constitutional Liberties, Offer Sanctimonious Excuses".

  • The sharp-eared Geraghty chronicles another grating example of Barckrobatics, the defining moment.

  • Since I'm not a Twit, I missed Sarah Palin's "refudiate" scandal. But professional linguist Ben Zimmer does an admirable job of word exploration. Obviously, it's a word that needed to be invented.

    Should Sarah make a habit of freelance word-coinage, I'll need an equivalent of "Barackrobatics" for her. I'm leaning toward "Palintrope". What do you think?

  • The headline at the HuffPo (as I type) screams:
    Sarah Palin's Endorsement BACKFIRES
    It refers to a recent poll conducted by Public Policy Polling in New Hampshire on the US Senate race, pitting Republican Kelly Ayotte against Democrat Paul Hodes. The linked article, however, is a little less definite:
    Sarah Palin's Endorsement Of Kelly Ayotte May Have Hurt Senate Candidate's Campaign (POLL)
    The pollster's press release has the actual numbers: Ayotte led Hodes in April 47-40%. This month's poll has her up 45-42%.

    The other two polls reported at Real Clear Politics show Ayotte with a 12-15% lead over Hodes. And PPP is a Democrat-affiliated outfit. So, grain of salt.

  • Every so often I feel the need to live up to my blog's title. So check out this "Surprising Excursion Through the Astonishing World of Math." (Via the Agitator.)

Last Modified 2022-10-05 3:59 AM EDT