Hello everyone:

As of today, we’ve moved to our new address, www.federalistpaupers.com. In the next week or so, we should be uploading some new graphics and tweaking our theme. Any permalinks you had to an old snarkybastard.com post will still work as before, and will also be mirrored to the new site.

Everything else is exactly the same: the same eight bloggers (including Knut), the same political bent, the same curmudgeonly grumbles, and the same updates on the machinations of the Animal Menace.

If you encounter any bad links or need assistance, contact me or Apollo.

Tom posted this at 6:21 PM CDT on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 as Uncategorized

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I’d been drafting a post defending Sarah Palin, citing Camille Paglia’s take, amongst other things.

I took a break, browsed my favorite blogs for a bit, and then saw that Mrs. Scalia had made all my points, plus several others that hadn’t crossed my mind.  So I let my post vanish into electricity; go read her!

Hubbard posted this at 4:40 PM CDT on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 as Audacity of Hype, Excruciatingly Correct Behavior

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We’ve just discovered that here in Texas there are flying roaches. They launched aerial attacks on my wife this evening as she tried to read.

The flying roaches have now discovered that I have purchased some new weaponry, a hand-held bug zapper similar to this. 2300 volts says the handle (actually, says “2300V VOLTS,” whatever that means), “THIS IS NOT A TOY.” For $8 at Wal-Mart and a AA battery, plainly it is.

After I discovered the intruder, the first swat created a bright blue spark and left him walking in circles. Then I hit him with a second electrified swat, which left him largely motionless except for some twitches. Then I hit him again, which got him caught up in the webbing of my swatter and caused a funny smell. He was still twitching, so I pressed the shock button, which made him twitch differently. I’m not an expert on insect nervous systems, so I couldn’t tell whether his twitches were post-mortem or the result of continued life. Shock. Watch. Twitch. Shock. Watch. Twitch. Shock. Watch. Twitch. Shock. Nothing.

Then I took the opportunity to point out to Dorothy some of the things that distinguished him as being Blattaria. Rounded head, segmented abdomen, overlapping wings, all those spines on his back legs. Then he twitched. So he went down the hole.

Apollo posted this at 2:41 AM CDT on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 as Animal Kingdom Strikes Back, Vignettes

1 Comment »

According to Jonathan Martin, the Republican grassroots love Palin but the elites don’t like her. Considering where mainstream politicos in the Republican party have gotten us lo these last few years, I would not give the caudal portion of a Rattus rattus to find out what they think.

Every once in a while, the number of rotten apples exceeds the number of good apples, and the best thing to do is simply turn the apple cart on its side and start anew. I’m hoping the Palin pick is a sign that McCain sees this as one of those times.

Apollo posted this at 12:10 AM CDT on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 as Audacity of Hype

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A mediocre interview with the Palins and McCains, but a strangely enthralling two family portrait.

Moving left to right (in the picture):

• Bristol Palin: Clearly does not want to be there, and may well be embarrassed.
• Willow Palin: Excited to be there not because of the vice president thing, but because she reads People magazine. Also, I have that same red dress.
• Todd Palin: He’s the kind of guy who looks good in suits but hates wearing suits.
• Sarah Palin: This was at least the ninth take of this picture, and she’s hoping it’s the last.
• Trig Palin: Looks cute.
• Piper Palin: Knows something funny that we don’t.
• John McCain: More evidence that this was at least the ninth take. Though he’d look the same on the twentieth.
• Cindy McCain: Her mouth is smiling but her eyes are not.
• Meghan McCain: Everyone else in the photo is a mere accessory. She could do this all day.

Dorothy posted this at 8:46 PM CDT on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype

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I’ve seen several anti-Palin types deride her because she said she heard about the surge “on the news.” (See, e.g., here.) Well how else is she supposed to hear about it? Generally speaking, governors are not consulted regarding military strategy in distant theaters. I guess some people are so caught up in the politics of the federal government that it sometimes comes as a shock that there are politicians elsewhere. That she heard about it in the same manner as most other people doesn’t mean poop.

Of course, there’s a very obvious reply here. Gaging by how many times it was referenced at the DNC, I think it can legitimately be said that most Democrats haven’t heard of the surge at all. Both Obama and Biden heard about the surge while they were senatoring around, and neither had the wisdom to support it.

So lets have a discussion of the candidates’ knowledge of the surge. On one side, we have the leading proponent of sending more soldiers to Iraq in an effort to bring victory; on the other, we have someone who has been wanting to run away and surrender for years, and who opposed the policy that is now making victory possible.

Democrats will do very, very well not to mention the surge ever again, for any reason. But if they want another round of “party of victory” versus “party of cut and run,” I’m sure McCain and Palin are game.

Apollo posted this at 4:50 PM CDT on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype, Iraq

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Andrew Sullivan stoops lower and let’s his readers accuse Palin of being a bad mother since she works and her husband takes care of the kids (H/T).  Note that he lacks the backbone to come out and say it himself, letting an anonymous reader do so.  Note further that he doesn’t add any comment, giving himself wiggle room in case people complain—”Hey, I just report the reactions of people.  Not actually endorsing this kind of slur, but ya gotta respect how people feel.”

It’s a weaselly way of blogging.

Hubbard posted this at 8:04 AM CDT on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype, What Ever Happened to Andrew Sullivan?

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The prophet High Priest is flapping his arms so much about Palin that he’ll probably be airborne any minute now. It appears that every post he made today was an attack on her.

Among the more postmodern bits is where he tries to show that Obama is obviously so much more qualified than Palin that it’s “ludicrous” to compare the two. What experience does Obama have that Palin doesn’t? He’s run a presidential campaign, says the prophet High Priest. So running a presidential campaign is itself enough to qualify to be president. If that’s true, it means that there are no qualifications to be president, because even the least qualified person who gets elected president will have run a presidential campaign.

If you think that point is facetious, consider that Sullivan supported Obama before he had run a successful campaign, but now counts the success of that campaign as the distinguishing experience between Obama and someone he calls unqualified for the vice presidency. This is so circular that perhaps I should compare Sullivan’s arm flapping to a helicopter.

Since Palin will have run a vice presidential campaign before she becomes vice president won’t that make her qualified? And what about Joe Biden? It’s not only that he doesn’t have the experience of running a successful presidential campaign, it’s that he has run several unsuccessful presidential campaigns. Shouldn’t his repeated failures count negatively toward his qualifications?

Of course this is all Sullivan’s hackery. It’s comforting to see how badly he’s overreacting to Palin; he knows this pick has the potential to give McCain a decisive advantage. The facts of the matter are that Obama and Palin are both unqualified to be president, but Obama’s running for president and Palin isn’t; the more the Obamaniacs keep arguing that there’s a huge experience gap between the two, the more these facts will become obvious. When that happens, I expect Sullivan to move from arm flapping to pants soiling.

Apollo posted this at 12:49 AM CDT on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype, What Ever Happened to Andrew Sullivan?

1 Comment »

I haven’t watched the show in years; last I saw it, Ted Koppel was there. Tonight I wanted to see their reaction to Sarah Palin. During the story the reporter noted that McCain was old enough to be her father. After the story, one of few comments from the “anchor” was that not only was McCain old enough to be Palin’s father, but he was also older than Alaska. Wow, no wonder the anchor is overweight: she doesn’t have enough time to exercise because she spends it all sharpening her wit.

Next up was a story about whether New Orleans is prepared for the hurricane that’s coming. At one point the reporter discussed the possibility that more people may leave the city after this hurricane: “Will New Orleans become the next Atlantis?” Where’s a magic 8 ball when you need one???

Apollo posted this at 11:42 PM CDT on Friday, August 29th, 2008 as Journalism, Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be!

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Unsurprisingly, Sarah Palin is not above reproach: she’s spouted off some profound foolishness about Creationism, was a bit light on the resume going into the Gubernatorial election in 2006 year, a little too willing to appeal to female identity politics this morning, etc.

Then again, she is not only free but opposed to factional cronyism in a state famous for it, is able to articulate socially conservative positions without relying on Christianism and is devoid of its bigotries, and is willing to shake up the establishment and get proper government functions done.

But most importantly, she has already caused one liberal pundit’s head to explode in violent mixtures of irrationality, peevishness, and bitterness.  Fred, she is not, and I am on the record for believing that all parties would be better served by letting her finish at least term in Alaska.  But she will do.  But, my name is Tom Meyer, and I approve this nomination.

Tom posted this at 5:41 PM CDT on Friday, August 29th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype, Uncategorized

3 Comments »

There’s something about Obama’s speech last night that I haven’t quite resolved in my own mind.

It was perfectly good, but incredibly anti-climactic. Everything about this speech — the venue, the moment, the anniversary — screamed drama; what we got was a Clintonesque laundry list of spending programs. Did Obama originally plan to do another I-Am-The-Hope-And-The-Change, but change his mind after getting hammered with the celebrity and Moses ads?

If so, the positive spin should be that Obama has grown out of the cultish messianism. The negative take would be that he was forced out of it.

Thoughts?

Tom posted this at 1:33 PM CDT on Friday, August 29th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype

2 Comments »

If it’s true that Sarah Palin will be McCain’s VP, here are some quick thoughts:

• Well, there goes McCain’s Obama-is-too-inexperienced card.  A minus

• This is about as far from a DC insider as you can get.  A plus.

• I doubt that many Hillary die-hards will be won over, since Palin is almost the opposite of Mrs. Clinton in so many ways. But she reassures McCain’s base.  A plus.

• We’ll have a VP who’s strong on energy issues. A plus.

• She has more executive experience than McCain, Obama, and Biden combined. A plus.

• Would she have made the ticket if she was Samuel Palin?  Affirmative action strikes again. A minus.

• Still, the VP is the future of the party.  Palin is a much better future than Romney or Huckabee. A plus.

• I wish it had been Fred Thompson, but Palin works for me.  Overall, I think a net plus—assuming, of course, she doesn’t blunder.

Hubbard posted this at 10:41 AM CDT on Friday, August 29th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype

5 Comments »

Perhaps it is because I’ve moved to central Texas and visited his home, or perhaps it’s because he compares so favorably to our current crop of politicians, but I’ve developed a soft spot for LBJ. Wednesday would have been his 100th birtheday, and they gave away cake and bar-b-que at his presidential library, located at the university I attend. Twice daily I drive over a lake now named for his wife. Texans, above all else, like Texans. So take this for what it’s worth.

This post is a wonderful summary of what we’ve lost since LBJ died. He was a titan of liberalism in its finest, most idealistic form. The party he left behind now occupies only a portion of his shadow. They seek neither American greatness nor their own moral superiority; at best, they seek to continue only a few of a the programs he started, and to have America be only one country among many.

Whatever criticisms conservatives have leveled at the Great Society–they are both plentiful and salient–there is still something admirable about the man. He didn’t want to destroy the country and rebuild anew; rather, he wanted to build on the greatness that he already saw in America. Compared to the current crop of Democrats who only love America to the extent that they can envision something better, Lyndon Johnson is a breath of fresh air. He loved America for what it was and what it had been, for its values and its faults, while seeking to make it better in the future. That he was the last Democrat to seek to defeat the Communists should not be overlooked.

Before he died, he grew his hair long and devoted himself to cattle ranching; that was probably preferable to watching his party being taken over by New Left nitwits.

Apollo posted this at 1:58 AM CDT on Friday, August 29th, 2008 as Amer-I-Can!, Deep in the Heart of Texas, Ourselves

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Everyone’s applauding Obama’s speech but there’s some random guy who can’t put down his Blackberry.

Dorothy posted this at 9:54 PM CDT on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 as Uncategorized

1 Comment »

That’s who Barry just referenced. Who knew he had such admiration for those of us who participated in Operation Chaos!

Apollo posted this at 9:50 PM CDT on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 as Audacity of Hype

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