Quote of the Day...

From Defending Enterprise:

I find that a politician's syntax matters less when he cuts taxes.

Oh, yes indeedy!

This Is For Boston!

At a Muse concert last night, lead singer Matthew Bellamy called out “This is for Boston!” and then:


Maybe all is not lost...

I Am Ashamed of My State...

Again...

I Am Ashamed of My Congress...

Again...

I Am Ashamed of My President...

Again...

Political Correctness...

Abigail Esman is a writer who has written often about the horrors of female genital mutilation (FGM).  Recently she wrote an article in which she called FGM “barbaric” – and Amnesty International wrote her, saying (in part):

We try not to use this word. The use of the word ‘barbaric’ suggests that the people who do this are less than human, which isn’t so because they are being led by social pressure which is what needs to be fought. So we avoid using this word to not judge the people.

Ms. Esman doesn't think that's a good idea. Her conclusion:

These are the times I worry that we stand upon a precipice, and fear for the ideas and the ideals that form the fundament of civilization and democracy. We censor words and language, as Howard says, bending our knee to the tyranny of political correctness, concerning ourselves more with the sensitivities of the perpetrators than the lives and safety of the victims.

It was another British Home Secretary, Mike O’Brien, who famously said in 1999, “multicultural sensitivity is no excuse for moral blindness.” They are words we would still do well to heed.

Why Software Engineers are Pre-Disposed to Hate Product Managers...

Brilliant...

Lawyer Helps eBay Vendor Behave Badly...

Written like that, my headline sounds completely unsurprising, doesn't it?

Here's a case that just sounds outrageous – and also like one that should end in a crescendo of bad publicity for the vendor (and their lawyer!) involved.  The gist: the vendor sent a package to a customer with postage still due on it.  The customer left negative feedback for the vendor because of the postage due.  The vendor admits that postage was due.  The vendor is suing the customer for having left completely accurate negative feedback.

Popehat has issued a call for help, and Instapundit has linked to the story.  The vendor (Med Express) may not know it yet, but this is going to end very badly for them.  Which makes me feel pretty darned good!

Details here.  Here's the negative feedback, in all its glory:

Order arrived with postage due with no communication from seller beforehand.

As eBay feedback goes, that's pretty weak tea.  Here's the vendor's (rather lame) response, two days later:

Sorry- no idea there was postage due. This has happened alot from USPS lately.

Med Express, I have some advice for you.  Withdraw your suit.  Fire your lawyer, loudly and publicly.  Blame this behavior on him.  And make it up to your customer in some spectacular fashion...

Boston Marathon Bombings: Good Advice...

I read this entire column, nodding in agreement, before looking at the byline: Bruce Schneier.  The security sage is on the spot with some excellent advice:

As the details about the bombings in Boston unfold, it'd be easy to be scared. It'd be easy to feel powerless and demand that our elected leaders do something -- anything -- to keep us safe.

It'd be easy, but it'd be wrong. We need to be angry and empathize with the victims without being scared. Our fears would play right into the perpetrators' hands -- and magnify the power of their victory for whichever goals whatever group behind this, still to be uncovered, has. We don't have to be scared, and we're not powerless. We actually have all the power here, and there's one thing we can do to render terrorism ineffective: Refuse to be terrorized.

It's hard to do, because terrorism is designed precisely to scare people -- far out of proportion to its actual danger. A huge amount of research on fear and the brain teaches us that we exaggerate threats that are rare, spectacular, immediate, random -- in this case involving an innocent child -- senseless, horrific and graphic. Terrorism pushes all of our fear buttons, really hard, and we overreact.

But our brains are fooling us. Even though this will be in the news for weeks, we should recognize this for what it is: a rare event. That's the very definition of news: something that is unusual -- in this case, something that almost never happens.

Do go read the whole thing...

Agility Cat...

Yup, you read that right.  An agility cat.

Hmmm...

This surely would be a lot safer for Debbie than running a dog, eh?

This Could Be Our Dogs...