Office of Naval Contemplation

The word "marriage"

2008-05-15T20:54:15Z

My take on the California Gay Marriage ruling.

Given the position I'm taking, I probably shouldn't be using my usual politics icon for this post. What the heck, I'll do it anyway.

maniakes @ 2008-05-14T22:18:00

2008-05-15T05:19:40Z

EX TER MI NATE DESU

(hat tip)

It ain't over till it's over

2008-05-14T18:42:52Z

I analyse Hillary Clinton's path the to nomination

Irena Sendler, 1910-2008

2008-05-13T21:37:50Z

http://www.deanesmay.com/2008/05/13/irena-sendler-1910-2008/

Some assertions on my flavor of libertarianism

2008-05-13T18:47:29Z

http://www.deanesmay.com/2008/05/13/some-assertions-on-my-flavor-of-libertarianism/

Scary Poppins

2008-05-12T05:17:03Z

I have a theory

2008-05-11T09:06:20Z

The Will It Blend people are actually an Al Qaeda sleeper cell. Their sinister nature will be revealed in a dramatic and tragic hostage standoff after hundreds of loyal fans are tricked into climbing inside a specially build 100-foot-tall BlendTec model on the (technically accurate) pretext that they will be participating in a groundbreaking special episode of the series.

Bleg

2008-05-10T17:23:03Z

Is there a third movie where Yul Brynner has played a monarch? (The first two being The King and I and The Ten Commandments)

Don't eat what you won't kill?

2008-05-08T18:24:38Z

http://www.deanesmay.com/2008/05/08/dont-eat-what-you-wont-kill/

Police use intelligence test to target suspects for arrest

2008-05-05T18:35:10Z

QFT

2008-05-01T22:08:31Z

see more song memes

Too cute not to repost

2008-05-01T00:13:49Z

Quote of the day

2008-04-30T19:43:21Z

It's a pity Crouch didn't invite the Rev. Jeremiah Wright into the studio for a three-way conversation. It would have elevated the tone.

-- John Derbyshire of NRO, on Ben Stein's recent interview with the Trinity Broadcasting Network

The Volokh Conspiracy answers the deep questions

2008-04-30T04:53:20Z

Why is "Happy Birtday to You" still copyrighted if it was first published in 1893?

But it leaves an even more important question unanswered: who owns the copyright to the alternate lyrics?

Happy birthday to you
You belong in a zoo
You look like a monkey
And you smell like one, too

Fun fact of the day

2008-04-28T20:18:24Z

The following statement is true:
c == c++;

Caption Contest XC

2008-04-28T20:05:47Z

Caption Contest Winners

2008-04-28T20:05:09Z

The winner of Caption Contest LXXXIX is rustycoon:

Cue "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" by Tomoyasu Hotei.

First runner up is parzanese:

Mr Brown, Mr Blue, Mr Orange, Mr White, Mr Blonde, and Mr Pink.

Second runner up is sailorrogue:

MiG: Men in Gray

Adventures in Suburban Agriculture

2008-04-27T22:03:45Z

My birds like pet grass, but $5 for 9 square inches of @#$%ing grass is absurd. I'm off the the garden store to see about buying a couple tiny pots and some seed wheat.

Update: The garden store seems to have gone out of business, and Home Despot Garden Center only carries Scott's Turf Builder, which is not what I want

I can has legal precedent?

2008-04-26T19:44:57Z

Where lolcats fall in the heirarchy of authority in legal briefs

The Civil Debater's Creed

2008-04-24T17:19:03Z

http://www.deanesmay.com/2008/04/24/the-civil-debaters-creed/

Grrr...

2008-04-24T05:10:43Z

A butler is either the head servant of a household, or the servant in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry staff of a household whose overall head servant is a majordomo or castellan. A "gentleman's gentleman" who is the sole manservant of a small household or the personal attendant of a man of a larger household is a valet. Jeeves, although he could "buttle with the best of them" if necessary, was Bertie Wooster's valet, not his butler.

While we're on the subject, a podium is the platform the speaker stands on. The thing the speaker stands behind and puts his notes on is a lectern. And decimate means to kill one in ten, from the Latin "deci" (a tenth) and "-mate" (to remove).

This is not a caption contest

2008-04-24T01:44:24Z

Trivia contest

2008-04-23T21:31:55Z

There is one specific type of rock which humans eat on a regular basis. Is this rock classified as igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic?

Credit where it's due

2008-04-23T18:55:03Z

I congratulate the Transportation Security Administration on doing certain things right.

Tax-funded campaign idea

2008-04-23T17:42:01Z

I think I've come up with an idea for public campaign financing which I don't hate.

Currently, on your income taxes, you can check a box to designate $3 of your taxes to go towards the presidential campaign matching fund. That money funds all the qualified candidates who accept the matching funds. I leave that box unchecked because I want the likes of Mike Huckabee and Bill Richardson to pay their own ways.

My idea is that rather than that checkbox diverting into a shared fund, you instead have a portion of your taxes saved up, and 3 months in advance of each election you have the option of saving it for later, abandoning it into the public treasury, or designating it to candidates of your choosing.

The first variation I came up with was a $10-20 fee each election cycle to register to vote (waived if you're below a certain income threshold), which (after deducting administrative costs) is paid to the campaign funds of the candidates you designate while registering. This variation won't work, as it's unconstitutional for good reason.

In either proposal, additional contributions and independant issue advocacy are absolutely permitted. The purpose of this proposal is to increase the portion of campaign finance which comes from the broad electorate, thus diminishing the relative influence of large donors, which is the primary goal of public finance proposals.