Overnight Open Thread (11-20-2014)

So I'm now in Day 4 of the most stressful week at work I've had in the past year or two. Which means I got almost nothing - except for these cast offs from lesser failed ONTs.

Quote of the Day

"Wer spricht von Siegen? Überstehen ist alles" - "Who speaks of victory? Endurance is everything"

-- Rainer Maria Rilke

Charles CW Cooke: Obama's Imperial Transformation Is Now Complete - The President Has Become Everything He Ran Against

If you liked the hubris, you're going to love the nemesis.

Barack Obama certainly gave the impression that he would. Noting in 2008 that he "taught constitutional law for ten years," and in consequence took "the Constitution very seriously," Obama determined that "the biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all." "That," the candidate assured his audience, is "what I intend to reverse when I'm president of the United States of America."

Remember the Wisdom of our Fathers: "Don't get mad. Get EVEN."

Chelsea Clinton, 'Woman of the Year,' Soon to be 'Mom of the Year'

You may recall one of my persistent gripes is the media's insistence that we treat Chelsea Clinton as if she's some sort of extraordinary achiever, when in fact she's "a young woman whose adult life consists mostly of stepping through doors opened by her parents' power and meandering through the highest levels of high society without actually doing much."

...This week Chelsea Clinton honored as one of Glamour magazine's "Women of the Year," and Katie Couric decreed, "I think it's safe to say, probably a 'Mom of the Year.'" As Carmine Sabia notes, she's been a mom for six weeks.

Four Court Cases to Watch

Steyn: A World Stripped of Contraries

Older lefties can still just about pay lip-service to that apocryphal bit of Voltaire about disagreeing with what you say but fighting to the death for your right to say it - a line that used to appeal to the progressive's sense of self-inflating heroism. As I say in the book, nobody needs you to "fight to the death" for it: a mildly supportive Tweet every now and again would do. But among the leaders of tomorrow even these rote nods toward the "principle" of free speech ask too much.

...You'd be surprised how non-deeply-held most cultural norms are once push comes to shove. This Zach Traynor chappie seems entirely unmoored from any himself. But perhaps I underestimate "the power of social media". After all, it seems to be doing a grand job in persuading Canadians and Americans and Aussies and Frenchmen to take up head-hacking for the Islamic State.

What Fuels ISIS?

Jihad, hate, and Red Bull apparently.

When Liberals Use 'Science' To Attack Conservatives, They Demean Science

Science! as used by most of its fans today is really a way to avoid thinking about a topic and just skip right to the appeal to authority.

For progressivism, "science" has become a safety blanket in which its adherents can swaddle themselves to avoid confronting alternative beliefs. It is a refuge from having to think too critically, either about your opponent's political convictions or the gaping holes in your own.

So How Long is a Running Race Course Really?

Just like measuring the true length of a coast line it's trickier than you'd think.

The Aliens Among Us

Or maybe just time travelers from the distant future when the Earth's rotation has slowed down quite a bit.

Eskimos May Have 40 Words for Snow but the Swedish Don't Have Even One for Female Masturbation

Miss Uganda and the Milking Part of the Competition

Riot Training Ends in Disaster: Cops Wreck 3 Cruisers, Deploy Tear Gas on Elementary School Students

Well on the positive side no one got burned or shot although the blues brothers did manage to escape in the confusion.

Principles of Clandestine Behavior

Principles of Clandestine Communications

Yahoo group. That is all.

Come on be a smartie and join the yahoo group party! For the children.

And my lo-fi Twitter spew.

Tonight's post brought to you by me too:

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Please e-mail overnight open thread tips plus $1 for S&H to maetenloch at gmail. Otherwise send your scraps to BizarroAce. Do not taunt happy-fun ball.

posted by Maetenloch at 10:12 PM

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