Joel Rosenberg's Personal LiveJournal

Happy Birthday, Ginny

2009-04-22T15:26:13Z

Today is Virginia Heinlein's birthday. That's her, with her husband. You may have heard of him.

If the world was a fairer place, Mrs. Heinlein would be 93, today, and in good health. A very nice woman.

Which reminds me of a story.

So, there I was, pounding away at the keyboard, when the phone rang. It was my daughter Judy's science teacher.

"Uh-oh," I said, and "hold one." I knew I was going to need at least one cigarette, and probably a drink. "What did she do now?"

"You're not going to believe this one."

It hadn't been a great year. Homework hadn't been done, or had been 'lost'. Classes skipped, authority constantly challenged -- well, that was okay, by and large, but . . . -- and then there was the series of excuses with my name signed to them, written in my style, and which I had nothing to do with. Catch Me If You Can wasn't supposed to be a training film, you know.

"Okay. Issue?"

"The usual. Her homework is not in. You're not going to believe her excuse this time."

I sighed. "Okay." Missed another connection at JFK? Fifth grandmother died? What?

"She claimed that she couldn't get to it this morning because she was too busy chatting online with Mrs. Heinlein. Virginia Heinlein. Robert Heinlein's widow."

"Well, she does have to do her homework, but, yeah, she was. They do that pretty much every morning. Mrs. Heinlein looks forward to it, she says. I know Judy does; first thing in the morning, she gets to Instant Messenger and they talk for awhile."

Long pause. "Really?"

"Yeah. She still has to get her homework done, but, yeah."

"What do they talk about?"

Asshole. "Would you eavesdrop on Mrs. Heinlein's private conversations with a young friend of hers?"

"No, of course -- "

"Me, neither."

"I mean, I, err, well, but, sheesh, and . . . "

"I know."

He managed to get off the phone, not completing a sentence. Understandable. I got on Instant Messenger. Mrs. Heinlein was on, and I ratted Judy out.

There was a long pause, and then . . .

May I still chat with her in the mornings? I so enjoy our conversations.

Of course, Ginny. (She had long before told Felicia and me -- among many others -- to call her "Ginny," and it was all I could do not to answer, "I'd be honored to call you Ginny, Mrs. Heinlein." She was like that.)

Thank you so much, Joel.

My pleasure, Ginny.

Talk turned to other things. I think that was the day I told her my Pournelle story, and she told me about how she's made Jerry's jaw drop by opening her pocketbook. (Other stories, for other days. Remind me.)

Every morning after, when Judy would sign on to Instant Messenger, a message would pop up.

Judy, is your homework up to date?

Yes, Mrs. Heinlein.

Every morning.

Agnostic that I am, I don't have any strong opinion about life after death and such, but it would be kind of nice to think that maybe, somewhere, she's reading this and thinking fondly of me and my kid.

We surely are thinking fondly of her, and not just once a year, either.

So: Happy Birthday, Ginny. Please pass along my respects to the Man Who Traveled in Elephants.

(Crossposted at Windypundit.)

Need a room for the Inaugural?

2008-11-12T15:19:00Z

Craigslist ad: (h/t getrich)

Room for Rent -- Inauguration Day/ObamaCon 2009 (map)

Reply to: hous-914613135@craigslist.org ^[?]
Date: 2008-11-11, 11:48AM EST

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Me: Heartless, greedy right-wing oppressive type looking to make a buck.

You: Obama's election was Christmas/your first kiss/May Day all wrapped into one. You dutifully wore his button -- which you have yet to remove -- contributed money to his campaign from your non-profit job and chanted "yes we can" as if it were the 11th commandment. A strange void now exists in your life and -- like an old hippie looking to recapture the spirit of Woodstock -- you are undertaking a pilgrammage to Washington for one last gulp of the Kool-Aid.

Along with my bedroom you will have access to the house's many amenities including cable television (not that you watch much TV) for viewing Keith Olberman's latest unhinged rants and CNN in high-def. Wireless internet means that the Huffington Post and DailyKos are only a click away on your MacBook. American flags and other patriotic paraphanelia in the room can be removed upon request.

The house is located in the diverse neighborhood of Adams Morgan with people of many different skin pigmentations that will allow you to revel in your tolerance. Rest assured, however, that this diversity does not extend to ideology and that you are sure to march lock-step with the prevailing sentiment ensuring that your most strongly held beliefs remain unchallenged.

Easily accessible subway and bus stops will help ensure a minimal carbon footprint while fair trade coffee is never more than a few steps away at any number of independently-owned establishments. Nearby non-chain bookstores similarly mean that tomes such as Mao's Little Red Book, Chomsky's latest masterpiece or additional copies of The Audacity of Hope can be easily purchased either for yourself or as early holiday shopping.

Rather than state a price I am requesting that you bid on this fabulous opportunity to ensure profit maximization on my part so that I can better weather the Bush Recession.

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it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 914613135

Well, there's change for you

2008-11-12T14:56:05Z

Obama's no-lobbyist commitments have, well, changed.

During the campaign: "I don't take a dime of their money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House." Well, the first one was a fib, as even the HuffPo noted. And the second statement is, well, no longer operative.

No question: that's change. Is that the sort of thing his supporters hope for?

ODS Watch: All the Other Kids Are Doing It

2008-11-11T17:44:44Z

Over at Windypundit, Mark's posted his first roundup of Obama Derangement Syndrome news. A fair number of conservative/libertarian folks have. Seems that some, well, nutcases have been pointing to evil symbolism in Michele Obama's dress, for example.

Okay, I'll play, too. Some rightwing nutcases are talking about how some Obamamaniacs are already promoting a national holiday for The One. Sheesh. As though.

Oops. Nevermind:

Plans are being made to promote a national holiday for Barack Obama, who will become the nation's 44th president when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20.
"Yes We Can" planning rallies will be at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the downtown McDonald's restaurant, 1100 Kansas Ave., until Jan. 13. The goals are to secure a national holiday in Obama's honor...

Let me try again. Gotta put down this ODS stuff. Now, this is rich -- this woman rants about how on January 20, Obama will "take power and begin to rule." [My emphasis.] Sheesh. Don't these rightwing nutcases --

Ooops. Nevermind.

Not a rightwing nutcase. Turns out to be Valerie Jarrett, co-chair of the Obamatransition team, and a leading Obamatron.

I'll get it, though. I'm chasing down a nutty rightwing rumor that Obama accepted the Democratic nomination on a stage made up to look like some sort of Greek Temple O'Bama...

Vero possumus.

Not to worry

2008-11-11T16:03:10Z

Omri Ceren points to reassurances to the nutroots not to worry, that, when it comes to Israel, Rahm Emanuel is one of those tame House Jews; I guess, after the DNC's disgracing itself, it was important to hand out some scorecards; gotta be sure that the nutroots know that he's not part of the Jewish cabal that so bothers the Democrats, eh?

I don't make this stuff up, you know. Or, for that matter, this.

Nothing to see, move along now . . .

2008-11-10T14:20:46Z

. . . it's just a guy being arrested for wearing a McCain t-shirt. I hope that kind of thing will change.

Listening to Juan Williams . . .

2008-11-06T20:57:18Z

. . . on MPR, this afternoon. He was, understandably, still kind of moist about the Obama victory, which wasn't a surprise. Me, I was thrilled to hear that Jack Markell was elected governor of Delaware, becoming the first Jewish governor there, and I only know a little less about Markell* than I think many Obama's supporters know about Obama's policies**.

What got my attention, though, was his take on the lack of the "Bradley Effect," where he said something very much to the effect of how we now knew that white people wouldn't "sneak" into the voting booth and vote against a black candidate that they said that they'd vote for.

I thought that kind of got it backward. I think the lack of the Bradley Effect shows that, by and large, white folks who are willing to vote against a black candidate -- or, at least, this black candidate -- or for a person of pallor running against a black candidate -- or, at least, this black candidate -- are willing to say that they are to an anonymous interviewer.

How far we've come.

_______________________
* I think Markell is a guy; I'm sure he's a Democrat and Jewish, and lives in Delaware.

** "Are you more for Obama's policy because he's pro-life? Or because he thinks [we] should stay in Iraq and finish this war?"

Something struck a nerve

2008-11-06T16:58:55Z

I just clicked back on the

"I want my money today! It's my money. I want it right now!" yelled one former campaign worker

story.

It looks like it struck a nerve:

Note: The comments tool has been disabled for this story. It is WTHR.com's policy to approve all comments before they are posted because we aim to maintain a civil dialogue on our site. However, because of the large volume of comments generated by this story, we do not have the time to approve them - therefore they have been turned off. We are sorry for any inconvenience. While our goal is to encourage interactivity on our site, in this case, we simply do not have the staff to devote the time to approving comments.

I can see why. On the specifics, it's a sad thing. The folks who were working for ten bucks an hour were almost certainly people who needed the money; wealthy Obamamaniacs who pounded the pavement (and I'm sure that there were at least some of those) almost certainly would have done it for free, or less.

But I think I can see why it caught on.

"I worked nine hours a day for 4 days and got paid half of what I should have earned," said Randall Waldon.

With the tax hikes coming, I think that'll have a lot of resonance for a lot of folks.

Make that "a Cornish Game Hen" in some pots.

2008-11-06T16:49:23Z

Let's see . . . first we have the biggest post-election drop, well, ever; then we find out that McCain's campaign wasn't really so dishonorable, that Obama's supporters should lower their expectations, including those who want to get paid . . .

I hope nobody tells Peggy Joseph.

Or Andy Young.

“Nothing would have more impact on the economy and the price of oil than his election as president,” Young said. “There would be a boost of 1,000 points on the stock market the first week after he’s elected. This would be better than a chicken in every pot.”

SSM defeated in CA

2008-11-05T17:11:59Z

Which sucks.

This is, err, not exactly my favorite election. Even the few races that seem to have gone my way aren't a lot of fun.

Pretty much over

2008-11-05T02:12:39Z

While the popular vote is very close, at this point, it'd take a miracle for McCain to win.

Pity. About the only good thing about it is that this puts an end to any reasonable discussion about anti-black racism in the US. The country is so anti-racist, on balance, that it apparently will put an inexperienced, corrupt, arrogant Chicago machine politician in the White House largely because he's black.

ETA: lots of the talking heads are suggesting that Obama is going to try to govern from the center, but . . .

. . . but I think that they're whistling in the dark.

Definitely time to gird your loins.

Election Guide for Dummies

2008-11-04T22:25:21Z

Very good, from Rick Moran, over at Pajamas.

A rule of thumb in these scenarios is the candidate who needs a lot of “ifs” and “buts” in their scenario is probably toast. So when I say “If McCain can win OH, FL, and PA but lose VA and CO, he can win the presidency,” you know that the Republican is in a world of hurt.
Conversely, if I were to say “Obama only needs to hold on to the states he’s leading in the polls now to win in a landslide,” you realize to your horror that the odds are very good that we will probably elect a president who is on a first name basis with 1) an unrepentant terrorist 2) a conspiracy mongering, bigoted preacher and 3) an incredibly corrupt Chicago political fixer convicted of fraud.
That’s what I call “hope and change” as in “I sure hope something changes before election night is over.”

Me, too. That said, I think it's about one in ten, right now. I'd rather be on the other side of those odds, but if you watch the World Series of Poker, you do know that inside straights do come in; we've still got some outs.

No News is Good News

2008-11-04T21:31:42Z

Over at NRO, they're not hearing about any leaked exit poll numbers.

Which means, I think, that the exit polls, so far, look better than expected for McCain. Not that the exit polls mean much; they're very unreliable.

But if the narrative was he can't win; there's no point in going to the polls, we'd be hearing it.

Electioneering at the polls...

2008-11-04T19:21:57Z

... isn't just uncool, but also illegal in Minnesota. (I'm not sure how that squares with the First Amendment, but . . . ) Visible campaign buttons, clothing, bumper stickers -- not allowed within 100 feet of the polling place.

So I wasn't at all surprised that there were some Obama Youth wearing Obama t-shirts, who had to turn them inside out. (And resented it, of course; the rules aren't for supporters of The One. Kudos to the election judges, who followed the rules.)

But I'm not sure what to make of the women who were wearing the PUMA gear . . . except that I smiled at one, and she smiled at me, and I don't think her choice in jacket was coincidental.

Well, yeah

2008-11-04T17:14:08Z

As Lileks points out, they really do look like a divorced couple reconciling at the kid's wedding.

That said, consider the text:

As the father of three daughters, I owe Senator Clinton a debt for inspiring them and millions of other women to believe nothing in this great country is beyond their reach. . . I share Senator Clinton’s goal of promoting women to more important roles throughout our government. By the end of my first term, I promise you will see a dramatic increase in the presence of women in every part of the government. You have my word on it. John McCain.

"You have my word on it." Which means, of course, that if we get a miracle and McCain manages to pull it off, it will happen. Obama picking up Peggy Joseph's mortgage payment and gas bill? Not so much. (Granted, he didn't actually say that he would . . . )

Another reason to vote for McCain

2008-11-04T16:27:32Z

Watching Olbermann reenact this scene.

I voted.

2008-11-04T16:24:19Z

I think that there's a chance that enough folks will have come to their senses and to the polls today that McCain will win, but not much of one.

Minnesota? Nah. While I didn't get into a discussion of candidates, it was pretty clear to me that the two hunters I was in line with this morning are voting for Obama. Which is sort of like black folks voting for David Duke because they heard that there's really better seating at the back of the bus...

So what? Vote anyway. And, if you haven't, yet, read this, please, and think about it.

Bethke nails . . .

2008-11-03T22:51:01Z

. . . the "Fairness" Doctrine.

All I got to say is, "well, yeah." Orwellian, indeed.

Racists for Obama

2008-10-30T16:28:56Z

An interesting set of endorsements, all in all. (h/t Glenn)

"Jobs that Americans Won't Do"

2008-10-30T13:37:23Z

Indeed.

"Make him steal it"

2008-10-29T17:47:18Z

Well, yeah. But there is another possibility, you know.

Just in case

2008-10-29T16:37:51Z

Dow Jones closes up nearly 900 points, gaining more than 10 percent.

2008-10-28T20:50:26Z

I dunno about you, but this sounds like good news to me.

I guess we'll see tomorrow. So far, during the, err, recent unpleasantness, the mob behavior has been to sell into every rally, turning it into a downturn.

Pick your "challenge"

2008-10-27T20:26:17Z

As Joe Biden -- pretty safely -- pretty much predicted, if Obama wins, there will be an attempt to challenge his so-far-undemonstrated (to be generous) national security credentials, and pretty quickly. And while Biden says that it'll happen within six months, I think he's being generous; some of it will come much more quickly. Depends who wants to count coup first, in part.

Ralph Peters lists more than a dozen possibilities. Let me handicap them; you see what you think. (Now, I'm not talking about whether or not these balloons will go up, but specifically whether or not they will within six months after a -- I hope theoretical, only -- Obama inauguration.) Let's either a: revisit all this a week from Wednesday and see how McCain stacks up, or b: revisit this six months after Obama's inauguration. If we're still around, that is.

Al Qaeda. I'll say no to #1, on the grounds that they're probably already doing that.
Pakistan. Pretty much a done deal.
Iran. 50-50. Depends no whether or not you believe that they'll have a testable "device" within the six months; they won't hide their nukes under a bushel.
Israel. Peters' scenario won't wait six months; at most, it'll wait for one of the others to launch.
Saudi Arabia. It's just more of the same; safe bet.
Russia/Ukraine. A huge risk. After Obama blew it, bigtime, after the invasion, the Russians have already "test[ed] his mettle" and found it to be, err, pot metal.
Georgia. The only way to kick the Russians out of Georgia is covert, and very, very messy. Not exactly hopey-changey, and they know it. Yeah, "our Georgian allies should dust off their Russian dictionaries."
Venezuela. I dunno. I think not meeting Chavez without preconditions could give Obama a chance to look tough and worldly, without a cost; ditto for ImADinnerJacket.
Bolivia. Probably not. Within the first six months, that is.
North Korea. Another done deal; the price will go up, and the verification will go down.
The Kurds. "An Obama administration will abandon our only true allies between Tel Aviv and Tokyo." Peters is wrong; finishing that off would take the full sixteen months. That said, expect an influx of the Kurdish equivalent of boat people.
Democracy activists. Let's not count this one, or his last two. It's not like the Iraqi and Afghani failures aren't going to go badly for democrats, women, and journalists, but it'll be more than six months before the Taliban start executing such troikas in stadia.

All in all, I don't see how we could get out of the first six months of an Obama administration without at least three of Peters' possibilities. And I'm not counting the last three.

Peters wraps up:

Sen. John McCain's campaign has allowed a great man to be maligned as a mere successor to George W. Bush. The truth is that an Obama administration would be a second Carter presidency - only far worse.
Think Bush weakened America? Just wait.

Looks like I'm not the only one keeping score.

Man Bites Dog

2008-10-27T00:18:59Z

The Star Tribune has endorsed Norm Coleman. (They also endorsed The Chosen One, but that's hardly news, after all.)