(no subject)

[coldblossom.livejournal.com]

Polish President Lech Kaczynski Dies in Crash

WARSAW, Poland -- Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died Saturday in a plane crash in Russia, was a one-time anti-communist activist who teamed up with his twin brother to take his country in a nationalist, conservative direction.

Kaczynski, 60 pursued a strongly pro-U.S. foreign policy, in accordance with a cross-party consensus that has grown in Poland since the fall of communism. He was an enthusiastic backer of plans to build a U.S. missile defense facility in the country, the largest of the European Union's new eastern members.

[...]

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Kaczynski brothers were activists in the anti-communist opposition and went on to serve as advisers to Solidarity founder Lech Walesa.

What a huge loss. He and his have been staunch US allies in Europe and leaders in anti-Communist/Socialist movements. President Obama offered his condolences in a way I found to be particularly ironic. He said, in part, that Kaczynski "...was widely admired in the United States as a leader dedicated to advancing freedom and human dignity." That Obama can say that while he does what he does amazes me. It just left a sour taste in my mouth. But pushing that aside, Obama is absolutely right.

I am concerned for the impact this will have on our relations in the region. Poland was key to the missile shield and now the government is probably unstable, at best. Who knows what direction it will take now.

Taylor March on HuffPo: "Where's the Left's Sarah Palin?"

[dark-weezing.livejournal.com]

Liberal Pundit Taylor March is waxing on the Left's lack of a Sarah Palin-like figure, vis-a-vis, impact and popularity. It's Left navel-gazing, but good Left navel-gazing. Put forth your best theory as to why there isn't one..., yet, anyway. (Much can change in a few years.) Special thanks to Hotair.com.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/wheres-the-lefts-sarah-pa_b_531806.html

If you want a counter, Michelle Malkin has her own snarky take about the piece. She calls it as a "case of Strong Conservative Woman Envy." I can't say I disagree.

Link: http://michellemalkin.com/2010/04/09/snort-huffpo-writer-moans-about-lefts-lack-of-women-of-any-wattage/

Census on Campus

[bookwrm17.livejournal.com]

Some of you may have noticed that the census questionnaires explicitly instruct not to include college students as residents of the household. Instead, we fill out this form at school, which records all the same data about age and race. Question 6, however, asks "Do you live or stay in this facility [i.e. the college dorm] most of the time?" If the answer is yes (as it will be for most college students, because the academic year is about eight months long), then the address of the dorm is considered your residence.

Anyone else see the problem here?

By answering yes to that question, I'm being counted as a resident of the state of New York, because I go to school there, even though my permanent address is actually in the state of Connecticut. Last time I checked the Constitution, the purpose of the census was to determine the number of Representatives each state has. I'm registered to vote in Connecticut, where my permanent residence is. I should be counted in a Connecticut congressional district, not a New York one.

Most of the students at my school are from other parts of the country and likewise registered to vote in their home states. They're all being counted as New York residents, too. From what I can find at the census website, the official explanation for this seems to be that we're counted where we live most of the time because that's where federal resources will benefit us the most. But isn't the distribution of federal money a secondary purpose of the census? Shouldn't the accurate enumeration of congressional districts be the top priority?

I don't know, the whole thing strikes me as decidedly sketchy.

You Picked a Fine Time to Lead Us, Barack

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

Great song, cute guys.  It doesn't get much better than that.