Patterico's Pontifications

6/7/2009

Up

Filed under: Movies — Patterico @ 11:49 pm



Ed Morrissey has an excellent review of the new Pixar movie Up. I can’t add anything, except to say that this is one of the best movies I have seen in recent years. Ed is exactly right about the Spencer Tracy and Kirk Douglas likenesses.

Newsbusters Busts AOL Politics Daily Chief Editor Melinda Henneberger

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 10:14 pm



Henneberger says:

Does it make a lick of sense to you that I would fire anyone for standing up for women, or for taking on that disgusting story in Playboy?

Once you’ve read the whole Newsbusters post, you’ll have a hard time reaching any other conclusion.

This lady has a lotta ‘splainin’ to do.

Another Way to Live

Filed under: Economics,Government — DRJ @ 10:01 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Stafford, Texas, is a 7 square mile community located near Houston that is home to 20,000 residents. Stafford residents pay county and school taxes but they haven’t paid property taxes in 14 years. Instead, city services are funded by an 8.25% sales tax:

“Relying on sales tax revenue alone, Stafford has managed to pay for city services, lower its debt, accumulate a reserve of about $10 million, construct a new convention center and build a police and fire complex in the past six years.”

Stafford benefits from its proximity to Houston and careful management from leaders like Mayor Leonard Scarcella, who has served as mayor for 39 years:

“Many residents credit Scarcella for the city’s prudent fiscal management. He was a law student when the city hired him to help establish its property tax system in 1965. He became mayor four years later and eventually helped to eliminate the tax system.

Councilman Cecil Willis says the mayor watches every penny. It’s not unusual for a city employee to wear several hats or for council to debate the purchase of pencils and light bulbs, he said. The city also has adopted a pay-as-you-go philosophy for projects to avoid debt, he said.

“We’re just living within our means like most families,” Willis said. “We don’t buy extravagant things, and the staff has bought into that and so have residents. It’s a partnership.”

It seems one of the biggest problems Stafford has is too many tax-exempt churches. Refreshing, isn’t it?

— DRJ

The NBA Finals: Lakers vs Magic, Game 2

Filed under: Sports — DRJ @ 6:57 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Anyone watching the game?

— DRJ

Seeking Advice on Patio Furniture

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 12:50 am



We’re about to buy a few things for the patio. A dinner table and chairs. A couch and chairs. A grill. And I’m looking for advice.

There are four in the family. We will grill the occasional steak and piece of fish. We will have one or two guests, typically.

What should we look for in patio furniture?

Your advice is welcome.

L.A. Times Gushes Over Obama Date Night

Filed under: Dog Trainer,Obama — Patterico @ 12:49 am



Faye Fiore, the official gusher of the L.A. Times, gushes over Obama’s New York date night, in an article called First Couple’s date night a fascination and inspiration:


Awww!!

Let the adulation begin!

[T]he impossibly elegant Obamas — he was sleek and tie-less, she wore black — have only raised the bar with a third date night since Inauguration Day.

They flew to John F. Kennedy International Airport in a mini Air Force One, (who knew it came in mini?) helicoptered into Manhattan, ate organic in a chic Greenwich Village restaurant (known to elicit “ecstatic whispering about the quality of summer peas”) and saw a play that didn’t even have show tunes.

This opened a floodgate for detractors, mostly Republicans, who squawked that the First Couple’s motorcade had inconvenienced much of New York and blown a wad of taxpayer money just as General Motors was going belly up.

Damn squawking Republicans!

“Oh, please,” said Chaya Kennedy, a 31-year-old office manager who is divorced, but ever hopeful. “Would we rather he’d be like other politicians and spend it on a prostitute? At least he spent it on his wife.”

Sure, Barack Obama may have spent thousands on a frivolous date night in the midst of an economic crisis. But oh please! What are you going to do, criticize him?

After all, this isn’t a guy who tolerates a schlock affair. He will have his waygu steak. And he will set his thermostat high enough to grow orchids.

And if a car exec dares to fly in a private jet, he’ll have his head!

You got a problem with that? Faye Fiore says: oh, please!

Then again, Faye Fiore is the same person who gushed over Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer: The editors knew exactly what they were doing when they assigned this “story” to her.

Tee hee! Date night is the greatest!!


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