Slow Day Today - Have Some "Carolina" BBQ

Maybe it's the President's Day holiday, but today seems awfully slow. Accordigly, I'll link this list of top 10 BBQ places in the "Carolinas".

Most Accurate Map of South Carolina

I kind of dislike the use of "Carolinas" to lump North Carolina and South Carolina together, like we're all one place. We're not. If we liked each other, we wouldn't have split up back in the 1700s. Anyway, we haven't been one place for a long time.

"American Sniper" Breaks Super Bowl Weekend Record

Not everyone was watching the Super Bowl yesterday. At least some folks were still out there going to see American Sniper, because it's still breaking records.

This weekend, it broke the record for the biggest Super Bowl weekend gross ever.

@BryanCaskey I went, with my Dad, to see the movie again today. We chose the moment well -- we had our choice of seats this time...
— Brad Warthen (@BradWarthen) February 2, 2015

Anyone else go to the movies this weekend?

Democracy Never Lasts Long

I am tired of people repeating the phrase that "our immigration system is broken". It's not. What's broken is our enforcement system - it's as simple as that. We have an immigration system that allows over 1 million people to emigrate legally.We have an immigration system that allows for 250,000 guest workers and work visas.

That is not a system that is broken. What's broken are our "leaders".

I'm not even going to begin addressing the substance of the executive order, because I don't acknowledge it's validity. To address the executive order on its substance gives it more respect that it is due.

Quite simply, the President was unhappy that the Legislative Branch was not enacting his policy preference, so the President decided rather than to advocate for his policy preference, he was just going to enact his policy in direct opposition to the will of the Legislative Branch.

What's sad is that so many people support the President's policy, they're willing to just cast aside our well-settled checks and balances to achieve their goal. And there's a whole bunch of other people who are ready to use this new precedent to enact other policies, and push the boundaries just a little bit further.

Interesting Times.

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." - John Adams

What Every President Liked To Drink

Here's a sampling, a tasting, if you will:

John Adams
Adams loved alcohol, starting almost every morning with a hard cider. Then porter beer, rum and copious amounts of Madeira.

Teddy Roosevelt
Teddy liked Mint Juleps and used them to entice his cabinet to come play tennis with him at the White House. He used fresh mint from the White House garden:
10 to 12 fresh mint leaves “muddled” with a splash of water and a sugar cube
2 or 3 oz. of rye whiskey
¼ oz. of brandy
Sprig or two of fresh mint as a garnish

Lyndon B. Johnson
LBJ loved Scotch whiskey and enjoyed driving (at high speeds) around his Texas ranch while drinking it out of a plastic cup.

I'm only going to quote three, because four would be too much. Everything in moderation, right?

If you feel like consuming more, you can see the whole list here.

27 Maps That Explain America

Happy Tuesday. Hope all y'all enjoyed the weekend.

Here are some interesting maps. The one that totally blows me away is this one: Half of America's population lives in the blue-shaded counties. Half.

The next time someone advocates for getting rid of the electoral college, show them this map.

Another map that is particularly nice for South Carolina is this one. Apparently, people are moving here. Not good news for New York and Illinois.

Washington Monument Reopens to the Public

It's open again.

Huh. I didn't even know it was closed.

Playboy's 2014 Sports Cars of The Year

Via Jalopnik, the 2014 sports cars of the year (as ranked by Playboy) are topped by the US built 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.

The Corvette has always been America's sports car, but in the last twenty or so years, it's seen a drop-off in popularity relative to European rivals. Could this be the year that the Corvette comes back? Maybe.

All I know is that I like this Corvette. But not in a buy it and drive it around way. More like in the way a thirteen year old boy wants to buy a poster of it.

Obamacare and Touching the Hot Stove

Remember the Employer Mandate? The law says it shall take effect in 2014. It still says that. But that's just what the law says.

How did you learn not to touch this?

Last summer, the Obama Administration unilaterally delayed the Employer Mandate so that it wouldn't take effect until 2015. I'm not sure why Obama decided to delay implementation of such a great part of his super great law, but apparently, you don't need Congress to change laws or anything. So the Executive Branch just said Don't worry about the law, we're changing it. Because...well...nevermind.

So, 2014 is here. Time to start gearing up for the Employer Mandate next year, right? Well, actually no. Now that this year is here, the Obama Administration has decided that the Employer Mandate will be delayed again. They're going to implement it for some employers, but not others, and partially for some. Until 2017...or whenever, yo

Even though that's not what the law actually says.

Now, the real question is cui bono? Who benefits? Well, obviously the businesses who aren't faced with the massive costs of this imposing law benefit. But the White House isn't delaying the Employer Mandate to benefit the businesses. If they wanted to benefit the businesses, they wouldn't have passed the Employer Mandate at all. But they did. The law passed, and now we're seeing the President unilaterally walk it back, year by year. Why?

It's obviously to spare his friends in Congressional elections this fall the pain at the voting booth. It's a nakedly politically motivated violation of the law from the Executive Branch. Read that sentence again. Got it?

You know, if Republicans had any lick of sense, they would do do everything in their power to make sure the Employer Mandate hits this year. America elected a President and a bunch of politicians who passed this healthcare mess. But the same people keep easing back away from it. They know that everyone will feel tons of pain when the law actually goes into effect. So they keep delaying it. Maybe it's time to put the Employer Mandate into effect. Maybe it's time to feel some pain. Maybe it's time for America to touch the hot stove -- and burn its hand. 

When you burn your hand, you'll learn not to touch the stove again. Maybe next time you won't touch the damn stove when I tell you not too.

Go Army, Beat Navy!

One of college football's best games of the year is today. At 3:00PM today, Army and Navy meet for their traditional battle. This game represents everything good in college football: teamwork, sacrifice, and discipline. No one from this game will be going to the NFL next year. No one will be getting a big paycheck and driving a fancy car next year. They'll be going into harm's way.

All the graduating seniors (or first-classmen) will be going into their commissions as officers with either the Army or Navy. These boys play football because they love their school, and they love the game.

It's what college football is all about.

Army-Navy Program from 1945

For over a hundred years, West Point and the US Naval Academy have played each other. However, in the recent years, the series has been one-sided, with Navy winning the last eleven games.

Pretty much everyone in my family comes from the Army side of the military, so I'll be cheering for the Black Knights to break the losing streak today.

GO ARMY, BEAT NAVY!

Friday Open Thread (Slow News Day)

Happy Friday.

Not much for news out there, other than a "meh" kind of budget deal in Congress.

Not much is new with the complete failure of Obamacare, other than it's still a train-wreck. The most recent news is that HHS is requiring that insurers allow people until December 31 to pay for coverage that would start January 1. How in the world is that going to work? You've got to at least have time for people's checks to clear. Remember, insurance is a contract - you don't get coverage unless you pay.

This is shaping up to be a serious mess come January 1. In other related news that's depressing here are three reasons that today's teenagers can't find jobs. (And why this is really bad for America.)

If you want, you can keep up with my profile on the Farmer's Only dating website.

To All the Other States: Bless Your Heart

You know how South Carolina is always at the bottom of the state rankings when it comes to things like poverty, education level, obesity, and other related bad things? 

Well, whenever someone tries to throw that in your face, you can let them know that South Carolina is the top of the class in politeness, among all fifty states. Maybe if the other states were as polite as South Carolina, things would be better here in America. You know, more civil?

That's right, South Carolina is the most polite place in the United Staes. Numero uno. So next time someone tells you that South Carolina is first in heart attacks or something, just politely tell them to shove it.

And can you guess which state ranked at the bottom in politeness? The rudest state in our nation? I'll give you a clue: Lots of people from this impolite state come to Hilton Head, South Carolina.

The Strange Development Story of the Original Ford Mustang

There's a really interesting back-story on the development of one of America's most iconic sports cars. We all know the original mustang. Seeing the prototypes and variations in the development stage is like looking at an alternate universe.

For instance, I never gave a serious thought to which direction the emblem faces. Can you see it right now in your mind's eye? Which way does the galloping horse face?

It faces left, like this:

That looks normal, right? Apparently, the horse was made to gallop to the left because it's "going West" like America did. Whatever, right? However, I'm so used to it that looking at it the other way is strangely disturbing:

That top picture just looks wrong, doesn't it? I'm now trying to figure out why that the left-facing horse looks normal, since we Westerners read everything left to right. All I know is that right facing horse really creeps me out. Anyone else feel like that?

If you think that's weird, check out the article to see how really weird the Mustang might have been with other variations.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope y'all enjoy the holiday. Spend time with your family, and be thankful for the blessings you have.

I'll be hosting the extended family and smoking the turkey on my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Beer will be a delicious Cold Mountain Winter Ale from Asheville, NC.

What Books Should You Be Reading?

Happy Monday, y'all.

I was looking at my bookshelves this weekend and trying to decide how to best organize them. My house doesn't really have a great amount of bookshelves relative to the amount of books I've accumulated, so space is at a premium.

I'm pretty heavy into non-fiction, while Mrs. Permanent Press enjoys novels. You can pretty much go through our bookshelves with that in mind and figure out which books belong to whom. On Sunday, she and I were discussing which books that should be read in order to be a well-informed citizen to participate in our little constitutional republic as a reasonably informed person. We tried to come up with a top 5 list.

Obviously, there's the Constitution. That's kind of a gimme, like naming The Beatles in a list of top five bands. Barry from High-Fidelity wouldn't like it.

After some thought, here's what I came up with:

Top 5 Books You Should Read to be an Informed American

1. Democracy in America
2. The Federalist Papers
3. Capitalism and Freedom
4.  The Guns of August
5. American Rifle

Democracy in America made the list as it is an outsider's view of America shortly after the revolution. The Federalist Papers made the list because they are probably the best "companion" to the Constitution that you could have. On economic matters, I wanted to include a work from Milton Friedman, hence Capitalism and Freedom. I liked it, but your mileage may vary. The Guns of August is in the list as a cautionary tale of how countries plunge into war. I thought about including a book on the Civil War and/or WWII, but I wanted to stick with my limit of five. Finally, I put American Rifle in on the list because the development of the rifle through our history had a profound impact on our country. Again, your mileage may vary.

Anyway, it's impossible to come up with a perfect list if you're held to only five books, but it's fun to try. Anybody think they can come up with a better list?

This Day in Aviation History - Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier

On this day in 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier. However, because the project was secret, this achievement was not released to the general public until 1948.

Chuck Yeager in the late 1940s

In the years leading up to Yeager's flight, many had speculated that supersonic flight was impossible to achieve without tearing the aircraft apart. Men had died trying to reach "Mach 1". When Yeager went up  that day, he was doing something that many people considered to be extremely dangerous. Here's the scene from The Right Stuff, dramatizing the moment.

He broke the sound barrier, and he did it with broken ribs that he concealed from the Army, because he didn't want to get grounded by the doctors. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It...

President Obama had a press conference today in which he explained that he delayed the implementation of a law because he consulted with "businesses". Here's the full quote:

With respect to health care, I didn't simply choose to delay this on my own. This was in consultation with businesses all across the country, many of whom are supportive of the Affordable Care Act, but -- and who -- many of whom, by the way, are already providing health insurance to their employees but were concerned about the operational details of changing their HR operations if they've got a lot of employees, which could be costly for them, and them suggesting that there may be easier ways to do this.

Great. So let me see if I have this correct. Congress passes a bill and the President signs the bill. Therefore, the bill becomes law. Everyone still with me? The ACA (Obamacare) is now the law. I also specifically seem to remember the White House reminding everyone that the ACA is now the law.

Now, part of that law (the employer mandate) is politically inconvenient to implement because it's a giant mess, and it would cause all sorts of chaos if implemented on the schedule that the law requires. Oops! So the President decided to delay that portion of the law.

How, you ask? How could the President simply decide to delay enforcement of a law that has been duly passed by Congress? Simple. He did it "in consultation with businesses". Presto! Laws can now be done away with by consulting with businesses. Congress? Whatever dude, I've consulted with corporations, and they're good with this. Relax!

Actually, I really like this precedent. As soon as a Republican becomes President (It's eventually going to happen) he/she can just "consult with some businesses" who may not like other provisions of the ACA and delay more provisions.

Taxes: Don't like paying your taxes? No problem, I've consulted with businesses, and I've decided to delay the collection of taxes over 20% this year. You're welcome.

Vice: Officer, I did not break the law by hiring a prostitute. I only took action after negotiating with her pimp consultation with businesses.

Nothing like the random, selective, and arbitrary enforcement of our laws for political ends. Yet no one makes a peep. Freedom and liberty? Yeah, it's going to end not with a bang, but with a slow whimper of being devoured by a leviathan administrative bureaucracy.

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

                                                         -Stuff Thomas Jefferson said, Vol. III

Open Outcry Trading

I worked at the CBOE as a clerk in the S&P 500 options pit before I went to law school. There's nothing like working in an open outcry trading pit. It's amazing. The floor is full of guys who are all working hard, yelling, screaming, and physically pushing. It's an alpha male dominated society. I loved it.

It's the beating heart of capitalism. Watch these videos.

h/t Insty

9/11 Museum Curator Wanted To Exclude This Photo

Because it's too "Rah-Rah America". Seriously.

Finally, a version of this picture was included against his wishes. I don't even have words for this curator's mindset. I do know that I won't be going to his museum.

Open Thread - Fourth of July

Have a happy holiday. Some rare letters from John Paul Jones have been discovered in a Charleston library.

If You Like Motor Racing, Today Is Your Day

If you like racing, today is your day. The morning started with the Monaco Grand Prix, which might be Europe's most famous F-1 location. The race takes place along the streets of Monaco, and the turns are tight, and the elevation changes dramatically in places. It's also set in the glamorous setting along the seaside. It's a very European vibe:

How Europeans watch racing.

Later in the afternoon, the Indy 500 gets rolling down in the Midwest of the United States. It's probably the most prestigious race in the world, but it has a more workmanlike feel to it. There's no French models lounging on rooftops in Indy. The track is nicknamed the "Brickyard" due to the fact that it was initially paved with bricks. Even though it now has a more modern surface, there is still a section of the track that contains the original bricks. It's the gold standard for car races, and it's classically American.

If that doesn't satisfy all of your racing needs, NASCAR runs the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte at 6:00PM. If you still need more racing after that, go run around outside.