Let the Democrats take the blame

President Obama has given the so-called Senate "Gang of Six" a pep talk to keep seeking a bi-partisan bill giving him what he wants for health 'reform': entree to a single-payer system down the road (no, of course he didn't say that! But you and I both KNOW that's what he means!). But, along with it, Axlerod -- the Chicago lieutenant/consigliere -- suggests that while bi-partisanship is in everybody's "best interest", a bill WILL BE passed with Democratic votes alone if necessary.

Well, I say, let 'em go at it! A year, two years, five years and/or 25 years down the road, we're not going to like it, so let's let the Democrats 'own' it!

I mean, in how many countries does single-payer health care have to fail before we learn a lesson? Jeesh! And in how many countries does it have to continue failing before we realize that once we go there, we can't go back?

New respect for Glenn Reynolds!!!

Man, how does the InstaPundit do it? Day after day, in addition to being a full-time law professor at a major university, Glenn manages to pore over and encapsulate -- with brief, witty, pithy commentary -- major news items of each day.

I'm finding it hard to get back to post anything of substance here even once a week. And I spent 25 years meeting a deadline!

Anyway, hat's off, and I'll just have to suck it up and do better. (Ya know, maybe it's the occasional island vacation he photo-blogs about that keep him fresh. Hmmm?..)

Equilibrium

I don't think much about the so-called 'birther' movement -- who claim President Obama is illegitimately elected because he wasn't really born in the U.S. -- but I also can't for the life of me understand why the president doesn't simply instruct the State of Hawaii to publish his original birth certificate. Does he think this continued foolishness somehow weakens political opponents? Not serious ones, I'd say!

On the other hand, even without validating the nut-jobs' argument, why IS it so unreasonable to require presidential candidates to submit a birth certificate with their candidacy, since I have to submit one to get a passport? Some bureaucrat somewhere apparently doesn't think I'm a citizen, either, unless I provide evidence. Should it be easier to become a presidential candidate (which, by the way, almost requires SOME foreign travel!) than to become a common, international traveler?

Skippy wants to teach, but won't learn

According to AP, Hah-vad professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. wants his recent run-in with law enforcement to be a lesson to us all about racial profiling:

"I am pleased that (President Obama), too, is eager to use my experience as a teaching moment, and if meeting Sergeant Crowley for a beer with the president will further that end, then I would be happy to oblige."

Now, if only he realized he's to be the student, as HE was the one doing the racial profiling!..

Bourbon: Older is better!

I'm sipping some bourbon tonight, as I am wont to do.

When I mix, as is often the case these days, I mix rye-flavored bourbon and straight rye with (diet) ginger ale, and wheat-flavored bourbon with (diet) cola. But, I often sip my whiskey "neat" -- no ice, nada, nothing but a glass -- before blending.

I opened from my 'bunker' a bottle of Old Heaven Hill Bottled In Bond (BIB) from (via bottle markings and strip-stamp seal) circa 1984 two nights ago. It is fabulous. So much so, that I am hesitant to mix it with ginger ale. So, today I went and bought some more modern OHHBIB (bottled c. 2004). Thus, these are the same whiskey, 20 years apart. Before mixing the latter bottle tonight, of course, I tasted it neat. Two things stood out:

• 1) Heaven Hill does a remarkable job of straight-lining their taste profile over decades. This is obviously the same whiskey;
• 2) the older bottle, almost certainly barreled at a lower proof (in c. 1980) than the modern bottle (barreled approx. 2000), has a richer, more refined finish. It is marginally better whiskey, though both are perfect for the way in which I use them -- as mixer.

Thus, confirmed again a thesis I have argued during my several years of bourbon appreciation: if a specific brand spans a significant number of years till today, older versions of it are better.

There are a multitude of exceptional-quality, and exceptional-value bourbons today -- my friend Chuck Cowdery, who literally wrote the book on bourbon ("Bourbon, Straight"), would claim today is bourbon's 'golden age' -- but bourbons which have a pedigree spanning, say, decades, were better before than they are now.

The good news is that they ain't bad now!

Rushed and ugly

NRO's Rich Lowry debates himself about whether or not it would be better for critics if the House of Representatives passes a health-care bill before their August recess, or not.

Pass a bill, I argue. To use one of Lowry's phrases, the passage of the particular form of health-care 'reform' that essentially is health-care overhaul that Democrats propose, they must do it "rushed and ugly" -- like the stimulus. If folks have a chance to learn what's in it, they will overwhelmingly reject it. The failure of the stimulus -- passed under similar circumstances to little avail, so far -- has made the public wary of such shenanigans. Still, it's the Dems' only hope...

New school year started

Sorry about the slow posting, but a new school year began this week -- if only for teachers -- and I've been swamped trying to both keep up with the new house and getting ready for a new classroom.

Hoping (not promising, though!) to do better...