Yuval Levin was a staff manager of the Bush-era “President’s Council on Bioethics”, a body widely derided for its almost comically right-wing leanings and gross intellectual malfeasance. Today he steps in it trying to say something all clever and sophisticated about the new authori...

Just got back from Smackdown in Glens Falls, N.Y. It wasn’t a televised event either. There were no cameras surrounding the ring like the usual and there were no announcer table. Do you know what that means? That means that this Smackdown show was a “House” show. A “houseR...

At ObWi: The problem with the modern GOP is that it takes an absolutist position on the role of government in terms of providing services to the people: government is the problem, and never the solution. Bobby Jindal even went as far as to critique disaster prevention provisions in his rebuttal last...

Coming back stronger than Gillberg, it's (*80's Vince McMahon voice*) RANDOMANIA 3!  Sorry about my absence last week, but I was too discouraged to write after the "Cancel" incident, then news happened that totally ruined a huge part of my rantings, so I decided to say "F it."  Hey. it's better t...

I keep wondering what the deal is with Megan McArdle. A more or less self-taught libertarian economics blogger who turned that into some big-league writing gigs, she shows much more facility with the technical aspects of the issues she discusses than most bloggers, which still leaves a lot of room f...

I have discovered what I believe to be an immutable law of physics. I’ve observed the law while debating economics, the financial meltdown and the subprime mortgage crisis here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, among other places. The law can easily be desc...

Nate Silver calls bullshit on George Will’s latest foray into scientific commentary. And he’s got a lot of good points in there. However, blog solidarity requires me to point out that pointing out Will’s stupidity and dishonesty on matters scientific is sooooo six months ago. UPDAT...

Who Does It Reflect? Pollack/Minghella -vs- Rudin/Weinstein This is an original essay by Movie Smackdown! contributor Joe Rassulo One always wonders, at least in the business of making films, how much difference a Producer makes if film is ultimately a director’s medium and ultimately a writer’s...

I’m sitting here Googling about, too tired to sleep, too bored to do anything productive. I notice a headline regarding how the jackass RNC Chair keeps issuing press releases demanding that Obama report to a press conference to answer all his questions about Blagojevich and whatever else he ca...

In a blog post, Dell VP Bob Pearson outlines his views on Apple's environmentally-focused MacBook ads, and dismisses Apple's claims as rhetoric rather than action. He also blasts Apple for their lack of transparency. Referring to this ad, Pearson throws down the gauntlet on Apple's commitment to the...