They're Starting to Figure Out What We Already Knew All Along

A National Review journalist from New Jersey explains why the South is a nice place to live. Here's the money quote:

It's quite a story, actually. Americans, black and white alike, are moving in record numbers to a part of the country where taxes are low, unions are irrelevant, and people love their guns and their faith. And yet we heard hardly a peep about this great migration from out nation's public intellectuals. 

Why? Because their ideological prejudices won't permit them to admit the obvious. They'd prefer to focus their research on the pre-1970's South because they are more comfortable with - and more invested in - that old narrative, while this new one marches on right under their noses. And their keyboards.

Indeed. Read the whole thing.

Chicks With Guns (15 Million of them)

My son had his first check-up at the pediatrician today. Taking after his mother, he got a perfect score on all tests, and finished early. However, one thing was odd. On the "patient history" form, that I filled out it asked a wide-variety of questions about conditions in the house "smoking or non?"; "heat or no?" "is your water fluoridated?" which all seemed relevant to caring for the child and the child's health. These are all normal questions. The odd part was the last section, which asked whether there were firearms in the home, how many, and what kind?

Now, obviously unattended or lose firearms in the home can be a danger to children. But so can my power tools, painting supplies, cabinets with sharp corners, stairs, and a plethora of other things. Why the focus on firearms? I'm not sure. In any event, I refused to answer those questions out of general principle. Our pediatrician was cool with it and laughed it off. In any event, the issue reminded me of this article I read that had some interesting pictures of women (or "chicks" as they prefer to be called) with guns. Even if you don't read it, the pictures alone are worth a look. 

Here's my favorite.

Which one (gun or chick) do you like? By the way, Pamela (with the .454) is packing some serious heat.

Costs Don't Just Magically Disappear

Remember Dodd-Frank? It was the sweeping law passed after the housing bubble that was going to regulate the banks and prevent them from being "casinos". Well, one of the things it did was to limit how much the bank can charge retailers on debit-card transactions. Ok, so let's see if we can do some logic: Price of providing debit-card transactions to the bank stays the same. The fees they charged have now been reduced to about half. What does the bank do? Well, they try to not lose money. Legal Insurrection has a good post on this issue.

It's pretty simple to me. If you tell a business that it has to charge half price for a certain produce (debit card use) they're going to raise the price in a corresponding amount on a different product. Duh. Apparently, our legislature is shocked, SHOCKED that businesses want to make money.

It' a Great Day in South Carolina! Did You Get That Memo?

Apparently, our Governor has decided to issue a "directive" to state employees to answer the phone with the phrase "It's a great day in South Carolina."

This is idiotic. I kind of understand where she's coming from on this - she's always trying to market South Carolina to companies and get them to bring jobs here, so it's never bad to put your best foot forward. So I guess I can kind of see what her thinking is here, but it's not very well thought-out. The problem is that this doesn't move the needle at all. No company is going to think: "Gee, I just heard how great it is in South Carolina; let's open a factory there."

Worse, it smacks of the syrupy greetings that you hear at fast-food restaurants: "Welcome to Moe's!" and the like. It's just a style thing with no substance. On a practical side, if I was a state employee, I would HATE this. Nothing is as soul-crushing as having to say a canned line that has absolutely no meaning every time you answer the phone. It's also the thing that inept managers are going to harp on because they can. It's going to turn into this.

I know that our Governor wants to run our government "like a business" but this is something that she can leave out.

Awesome

Awesome is how I would describe Day Two with my son. On a side note of awesomeness:


[H/T to Andy Demetra for the video find]
[H/T to my awesome wife for having the cutest baby boy]

It's a Boy!

I would like to formally announce the birth of my son, Henry Lawson Caskey. He came into the world on the heels of a major thunderstorm that knocked power out at our house, but he's doing great and looking good!

New Blog on the "Required Reading"

If you're a Gamecock sports fan, you'll want to check out Inside the Chart. It's Andy Demetra's blog, which breaks down all sorts of stats, has interesting trivia, and is an all-around tidy place. Just keep your feet off the furniture if you go over there.

Why a $16 Muffin is Significant

At first, I thought the $16 muffins that our Department of Justice was buying was just a funny anecdote. The problem is, it would be funny if it wasn't my money. My taxes pay for this nonsense, and no one even thinks to say: 

"Hey man, our bad. We'll try to spend your money a little more wisely going forward". No apology. Nothing. They're not really even sorry.

And now you want tax increases? Quit wasting my money on crap, and then we can talk about raising your allowance.

Most of my readers are pretty savvy when it comes to money – i.e. you don’t go blow your money on worthless crap. That’s because it’s your money and you worked your ass off for long hours to earn it. That’s pretty much how everyone feels…I hope.

But anyway, one of the big problems with a big government in general (among many others) is that the government bureaucrat sees his account as just numbers on a page. He didn’t work for the money, it’s not his. It was just magically given to him from Congress, and he’s not going to spend it as carefully as you or I would – and that’s just human nature. It doesn’t make him a bad person, it’s just how it is. When I hear about folks at the DOJ spending $16 on muffins I think “WTF, would they spend $16 of their own money on a muffin”? Obviously, the answer is no.

So now the President is saying that we need to raise taxes. This is insanity. It’s like having a friend who spends all his money on cocaine and then doesn’t pay his mortgage comes to you for some extra cash. You know he’s a cocaine addict. Do you just give him more money in hopes that he does the “right thing” and pay his mortgage? You certainly don’t want him to be homeless. But you also know that if you give him a thousand dollars in cash, he’s just going to go buy an eight-ball on Friday night and still skip his mortgage payment. What does a good friend do?

You check him into a rehab clinic. Our entire Federal government needs to go to rehab. The spending is so over the top it’s really starting to piss me off.    

Les Miles: Politically Correct

[Shamelessly Taken from EDSBS]

I certainly want to be politically correct and not be against serving beer in Tiger Stadium. Certainly the athletic director and the chancellor would have to make that decision. But I promise you, we would enjoy playing in front of a Tiger Stadium that occasionally had a beer.

Les Miles, is not always sure of his words, but he knows a good thing when he sees it."Politically correct"? What are you talking about? I do not think it means what you think it means. As for the substance of the statement, we should definitely have alcohol at college football games if we're going to start paying the players anything. If the players are going to lose a little bit of their amateur status, by golly, the fans should as well.

Put Your Hand Down, Obama

We know you have the answer, but let's let someone else in the class have a turn.

Really?

For someone who's the "smartest guy ever" he certainly acts like a nincompoop a bunch.

Wounded Warrior Jerseys for USC

A reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) brings this to our attention:

Your fans would appreciate your thoughts on these jerseys on PP. Bonus points if you predict Lamar Scruggs will strike this pose after he catches a TD against Auburn.  -Devoted PP Reader

 Ok, so first things first. The Wounded Warrior Project is one of my top five charities. It's sole mission is to assist wounded service members. So having established that, let's get to the uniform.

It looks great. The semi-camoflague pattern is nicely done, and the best part is hidden in this picture: in lieu of names on the back, the players will have words like "Honor", "Duty" "Courage", "Service" etc. I believe last year Garcia had "Service" which would have been "Community Service" given how many run-ins with the law he has had. I was a little worried that the uniform would go crazy a la Nike Pro Combat, but Under Armour has done an excellent job of blending the Carolina look with the Wounded Warrior look. I'm not sure if they'll do something with the WR's gloves, but putting the logo there would be cool. Ultimately, I give this uniform 4.5 out of 5 stars. As anyone who's listened to Lattimore's post-game interviews, no matter how well you do, there's always room for improvement.

I hope that USC Athletics makes this a tradition that they keep. I'd love to see this for baseball, basketball, soccer, and other sports. Obviously, football gets the most attention, but there's no reason that each sport cannot do this once a season.

As for Scruggs, I don't think he'll get a TD against Auburn. The way our passing attack is looking (not his fault), he'll be lucky to get a few catches.

Inadvertently Awesome Taxidermy Commercial

[H/T rdbrewer at Ace's Site]



This is great!

Filing for a Separation When There's No Romance?

“In my opinion, public policy does not require parties live in separate residences in order to bring a separate maintenance and support suit. Instead, I would allow such a suit where the parties no longer have a ‘romantic’ relationship.”

Theisen vs. Theisen (Justice Pleicones, dissenting)

Opinion No. 27041 Heard April 5, 2011 – Filed September 19, 2011

The quote above is from the dissenting opinion from Justice Pleicones in an opinion that was just released today. Full text here. All respect to the Justice, but sometimes you need a "bright-line" rule for things. This is one of those times. I sympathize with his argument that some people cannot move out, but how is a trial judge supposed to figure out if the parties have enough romance or not? Luckily, this is not the law; it would have really made a hash of things.

Again, Pleicones has probably forgotten more about the law than I'll ever know, but I have to respectfully disagree with his dissent.

Shakespeare Said it Best

Now does he feel
His secret murders sticking on his hands;
Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith-breach;
Those he commands move only in command,
Nothing in love: now does he feel his title
Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe
Upon a dwarfish thief.




I think you know what I'm talking about.

Columbia's 25th Annual Greek Festival

Here's the website. This is one of the better festivals that Columbia has. The food is great, the proceeds go to a good cause, and it's always nice to get out of the office for a little while. You should go and check this out.

I went yesterday afternoon. I was joking with a friend of mine that the tip jars at the vendors went to bail out the country of Greece. The random guy sitting next to me struck up a conversation about how the USA is going to need a bailout soon, and he went off on a rant about Congress being unwilling to stop spending money. He also kept saying that the President "just doesn't get it" either.

There's a whole lot of frustration out there. If you thought the 2010 midterms were bad, wait for next November.

National Right to Carry Bill

Here's a quick run-down.

I'm very pro-carry, but this has some Federalism implications that make me leery. I like different states being able to take different paths. What may work in Wyoming may not necessarily work in Maryland. It seems like the best solution would be for people to pressure their respective state legislature to pass carry laws that they choose. Usually when the Federal Government gets involved, we get a "one-size fits all" solution. I think the mark of a true conservative is someone who is hesitant to use the power of the Federal Government for their own ends and beliefs. I am extremely pro-carry, but the Federal Government doesn't need to pass a law. The States can take care of this.

No state law should be so burdensome that it impairs my right to carry a firearm there anyway. That can be resolved through a constitutional challenge.

The Speech The President Should Have Given

And won the 2012 election in a single stroke.

[H/T Legal Insurrection]

Nikki Haley Trying to Unring a Bell

Talk about an unforced error. Whatever happened to "Don't pick fights with people who buy ink buy the barrel"? Stay on topic, Nikki. Quit doing things that make your job harder. If you want to insult someone, save it for Harpootlian.

Anita Hill to Speak at USC in October

Why should I be excited about this? Anyone? Has Anita Hill ever done anything important with her life since she accused Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual assault? I guess we'll hear a riveting lecture on African-American Women's law study. Sounds like a snooze-fest to me.

Obama Wants Congress to "Pass this Bill" (My Advice)

I've heard him say "Pass this Bill" about a hundred times. Ok, I get it. He's really excited about this new stimulus jobs bill. It looks like the strategy here is that Obama is betting that he can run against a "Do Nothing" Congress if they don't pass it. If they do, then the GOP takes some ownership of the economy.

I guess this is a better strategy than nothing, but it's not setting anyone on fire in support of it. If I were Boehner, I'd remind everyone that the Senate is where everything dies. There have been countless bills passed by the House that went nowhere in the Senate and died. I'd tell Obama that since his party controls the Senate, pass the bill (which I guess needs to be written first) and then we'll talk about passing it in the House. You know...when there's actually a written bill to discuss and debate.

The GOP line needs to be: Write down your bill on some paper, vote it through the Senate, and if it passes there, we'll look at what the proposal is and give you a vote. Rushing things through with no debate and thought isn't going to happen at this point.

9/11 (Ten Years Later)

Never forget.

Right Wing Newspaper Slams Obama

What are these crazy right-wingers thinking? Oh wait...it's the LA Times? Yikes.

Too Big To Fail...

...but not too big to sue? The US Government is suing the banks. Let me make sure I understand this: We had to save the banks, but now we want our money back for saving them?

Maybe we should have just let them fail.

Why Your Teenager Can't Use a Hammer

There's lots of talk about "rebuilding America" these days, but this article doesn't leave me with much faith in our young workforce.

When I was growing up (heck, still today) I work with my dad taking things apart, fixing them, and putting them back together. When I was little, my part consisted of fetching tools, holding the light, and observing. From this, I can change my own oil, perform basic maintenance around the house, and figure out when a contractor is doing a bad job.

I don't know if technology plays the role that the author makes it out to be, but there's definitely something wrong if you're holding the hammer up at the top. I know I'll be sure to have my son holding the light when it's his turn.

Texas Wildfires

I've been working a ton lately (multiple trials) and I haven't been plugged into the news as much as I should be, but I haven't seen anything about the Texas wildfires. Here's something that I found. Hopefully, the Texas firefighters can get it under control. If this video is a good reflection of the conditions, they're going to have their work cut out for them.

Athens Bound!

Mrs. Permanent Press (who is in the third trimester of her pregnancy) just made it into the finals for "Wife of the Year". She surprised me with two tickets to the USC/UGA game in Athens this Saturday. It looks like I've been doing ok around here with the "Father-To-Be" duties. In any event, my wife is awesome.

Hopefully, we can bring back a win from Athens.

Happy Labor Day

It's a wonderful American holiday - hope you had fun.

Friday Happy Hour

College Football is here my children. Feel its hearty embrace as all the cares of your work-week fade into oblivion when you watch your favorite team hit the field. For this sweetest of all Saturdays, don't get fancy. Just get the Permanent Press recommended drink and enjoy the pageantry.

2011 Clemson Tigers Football Prediction

Ok, I know that I promised a prediction for both USC and Clemson Football. As you may have seen from my earlier prediction for the Gamecocks, it was quite a long post. Accordingly, it has taken me awhile to do the Clemson prediction, as I'm not quite as familiar with the Tigers. In any event, my 2011 Clemson Tigers Prediction is below the jump:

Margaret Thatcher Is Still Relevant

It's nice to remember that the issues we face today are not different from the issues that people and governments (oops, I mean federal families) have faced in the past. By the by, it would be nice if the female GOP players were more like the Iron Lady rather than reality TV stars.

[H/T Ed Driscoll]

Playing Semantics

It's not the "Federal Government", it's the "Federal Family".


Great, now they're probably going to want to come over for the holidays.