conservatism

Mitt Romney on June 3rd:

“I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that,” he told a crowd of about 200 at a town hall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire.

“It’s important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may be significant contributors.”

Mitt Romney on August 24th:

“Do I think the world’s getting hotter? Yeah, I don’t know that but I think that it is,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s mostly caused by humans.

“What I’m not willing to do is spend trillions of dollars on something I don’t know the answer to.”

Got it.

So, someone has been running a Google+ account in Paul Krugman’s name for quite some time now, but it really got traction when the account posted a public comment about the recent earthquake on the east coast:

People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.

Krugman got a little upset about it, even referring to it as identity theft:

So if you see me quoted as saying something really stupid or outrageous, and it didn’t come from the Times or some other verifiable site, you should probably assume it was a fake.

So, only when Krugman says stupid things coming from the Times should we believe they are authentic. What’s funny about this to me is that the fake comment is pretty tame for Krugman, and is just the kind of thing he would say. I’m not saying it’s ok to impersonate anyone, but I am saying this fake Google+ account hasn’t really changed his reputation at all. It’s not like someone has made him out to be something he isn’t:

If we discovered that, you know, space aliens were planning to attack and we needed a massive buildup to counter the space alien threat and really inflation and budget deficits took secondary place to that, this slump would be over in 18 months.

That’s Krugman on CNN. He’s a delusional left-wing head-case. Big deal.

As usual¹, John Gruber nails it:

Apple’s products are replete with Apple-like features and details, embedded in Apple-like apps, running on Apple-like devices, which come packaged in Apple-like boxes, are promoted in Apple-like ads, and sold in Apple-like stores. The company is a fractal design. Simplicity, elegance, beauty, cleverness, humility. Directness. Truth. Zoom out enough and you can see that the same things that define Apple’s products apply to Apple as a whole. The company itself is Apple-like. The same thought, care, and painstaking attention to detail that Steve Jobs brought to questions like “How should a computer work?”, “How should a phone work?”, “How should we buy music and apps in the digital age?” he also brought to the most important question: “How should a company that creates such things function?”

Jobs’s greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself.

Today’s announcement is just one more step, albeit a big and sad one, in a long-planned orderly transition — a transition that no one wanted but which could not, alas, be avoided. And as ever, he’s doing it his way.

So it goes.

Poornima Gupta and Edwin Chan at Reuters:

Steve Jobs resigns from Apple, Cook becomes CEO | Reuters: “Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs relinquished the reins at Apple Inc to right-hand man Tim Cook on Wednesday, after 14 years in command at a company he brought back from the brink and turned into the world’s largest technology corporation.”

Those of you who know me know that I’m a big fan of Steve Jobs and Apple. While it’s sad to see Jobs step down from his role as CEO, I am very excited for the future of Apple. Tim Cook is a very competent person and will make a great CEO. He’s handled his responsibilities with prowess and poise during Jobs’ medical leave of absence.

Whether you use Apple products or not, the company that Jobs defined has completely redefined nearly every industry it’s touched. We all owe Steve and Apple a huge commendation for the way they have improved our lives.

I wish Steve the best. He’s still the Chairmen of the Board, and I’m sure we’ll still see him around. No can deliver a keynote address quite like Steve.

Joe Biden commenting on China’s population control policies at Sichuan University:

Your policy has been one which I fully understand — I’m not second-guessing — of one child per family. The result being that you’re in a position where one wage earner will be taking care of four retired people. Not sustainable.

Brilliant observation by Doug Powers at Michelle Malkin:

Mass forced abortions is an entitlement sustainability problem but climate change is a moral dilemma? Sure, put Joe in charge of our health care!

I’m so glad you understand, Joe.