Dec 16, 2010

Style note

I shall henceforth require my correspondents to use word frobnicate from time to time. As, for instance, threatening: "If those damned statists keep frobnicating the Constitution, I am going to kick their incrementalist arses."


I know.  All geekish young readers are already aware of the term, but my South African pal Wouter has this morning bestowed the lovely gift of discovery on me. He had to frobnicate this and that to make a new computer battery work.

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On a related note, I am pleased to see reduced  media usage of the horrible and unnecessary wordoid "bling." Thank you all for heeding its official prohibition by the authoritative TMR.
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Passages: The Heater from Van Meter

Bob Feller of Van Meter, Iowa, gun captain aboard the USS Alabama (BB 60) and baseball player, dies at the age of 92.

He rode Alabama through her stint in the North Atlantic as part of the British Home Fleet, then through the Canal to the Pacific where, from the Gilberts to Tokyo, he and his shipmates  didn't miss many of the major campaigns.

He was not a draftee.

He is the only USN chief petty officer in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dec 15, 2010

My second day of Christmas

It's hard to be snarky when wrapping Christmas gifts. This one goes to a good lad who shows  interest in small arms; I decided he should at least be aware of St. Ackley.

Probably the first Christmas card of my very own.

 Dec. 4, 1944

  "Dear Jimmie ... Merry Christmas and Love, Uncle Amzie"  
(Corporal, AUS, combat engineer)

Dec 13, 2010

Unconstitutional

A federal judge says the federal government does not have the authority to require  you to buy health insurance.  That element of Obamacare is, therefore, unconstitutional.

The pleasure here has nothing to do with health care, and little with Obamacare.

Break out the Templeton Rye and toast U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson of Richmond for simply pronouncing what should be a self-evident truth: There are some things governments have no privilege  to do.