HillBuzz Open Thread: Monday January 9th, 2012
[ Click above to embiggen: your guide to differentiating RuPaul -- ferocious glamazon -- from Ron Paul -- Fifth Dimensional imp ]
For those who don’t know who s/he is, RuPaul Andre Charles is a drag artist who hit it big in the 90s with the club hit “Supermodel (You Better Work)” — effectively becoming the world’s first drag supermodel and the first drag queen to really make it in the mainstream. He’s now in his fourth season of hosting “RuPaul’s Drag Race” on Logo; it’s a show where drag performers from around the country assemble to compete for the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar”.
When I lived in Rochester, New York in the mid-90s I used to see Drag Race contestant Pandora Boxx perform every Sunday at Club Marcella’s; in the upcoming season, Justin’s friend Dida Ritz is on the show. If you’ve spent any time at all on even the fringe of the gay club scene in any major city chances are you will know one of the queens who’ve been featured on RuPaul’s Drag Race (start your engines!).
Ron Paul is the Fifth Dimensional imp who came in a close third in the Iowa Caucus and who stands a solid chance of winning second place in tomorrow’s New Hampshire primary; there’s also solid odds he’ll take top prize in the dozen or so caucuses that remain on the Republican nominating calendar. His fans are much more committed than RuPaul’s and should not be underestimated in the slightest: they will show up and caucus for him and they will ensure that Ron Paul is well represented at the Republican convention in August.
RuPaul may be the queen of drag, but Ron Paul’s going to be a kingmaker in the GOP”s nomination battle.
So…you better work!
Sigh. I know I can’t be the only one who misses the days when supermodels ruled the world…and the First Lady of the United States looked better in a dress than a drag queen.
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What are people talking about in your part of the country?
What are the big stories you are following this week?
© 2012, Kevin DuJan. All rights reserved.
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Virginia Postrell makes the case for art history majors:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-06/postrel-…
"The commentators excoriating today’s students for studying the wrong subjects are pursuing certainty where none exists. Like the health fanatics convinced that every case of cancer must be caused by smoking or a bad diet, they want to believe that good people, people like them, will always have good jobs and that today’s unemployed college grads are suffering because they were self-indulgent or stupid. But plenty of organic chemists can testify that the mere fact that you pursued a technical career that was practical two or three decades ago doesn’t mean you have job security today."
That excerpt is key. I hear so many, especially on the right, claiming that if only today's students had just studied something practical, they'd have been fine. The one who comes to mind is Bill Whittle. (I know a lot of people here really like him, but I think he's an idiot.)
The fact remains that people who studied business, construction, medicine, nursing, architecture, teaching, law etc., are also struggling. And so many science and engineering jobs have been outsourced and given to immigrants that there's no real point in studying the subjects.
Treating all struggling graduates as feckless Wimmin's Studies majors ignores and alienates all the people who thought they were being practical, but who are being destroyed by Obamacare and Obamanomics. Yes, there is a very vocal, and very annoying, group of whiny leftist students. But the vast majority are open to conservatism and libertarianism. As long as we don't hold them in such contempt; blaming them for being screwed over by the Dems.
When these graduates come in for interviews, their main interests are how much vacation time and perks they will get and the corner office, forgetting that they are normally applying for entry-level positions. They don't seem to understand that they will not start out at the top.
My advice to those who are graduating or have recently graduated–come to an interview with something other than demands. As for outsourcing, no position I've seen in any company I have worked for has been outsourced although people have been actually fired for incompetence, shiftlessness, drug use, or violations of company policy.
But plenty of organic chemists can testify that the mere fact that you pursued a technical career that was practical two or three decades ago doesn’t mean you have job security today."
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I'm an analytical chemist and I've never been unemployed. It depends on whether one is willing to relocate, work in an associated field, or start out on the bench and work one's way up. There are many positions open for those who are willing to beat the bushes.
Do you also think that many people who are in college really shouldn't be there? Including some of those pursuing technical degrees? When I went to college (dinosaur days) there was a push to put as many bodies into higher ed as possible, especially those deemed "disenfranchised." As a result, SAT scores were fudged or outright ignored in favor of other criteria. Consequently, there were many people who were admitted and ended up getting degrees whose skill sets were not academic, and too many of them then ended up being mediocre performers in professional jobs (they interviewed well, however.) Employers by and large are reluctant to fire people, especially if the perception is that there are too few genuinely qualified applicants available. They outsource to other countries not just because wages are lower, but because academic standards are higher.
I tend to agree with you. When I graduated (1982), we had to be in class every day; we had to turn in every assignment on time; term papers were required; there was no grading curve; and unless one was on death's bed, finals were required.
Now that "equal outcomes" are expected, they have to dumb down the curricula.
Kevin, did you read this:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2012/01…
Thank you for pointing out the great positive of having Ron Paul remain in the race for the Republican nomination. Love him or hate him, having someone with the delegates to knock Mittens out of the crown is a good thing.
RuPaul's fashion looks way better than our current first bulldog. I remember a time when First Ladies looked beautiful, classy, and elegant. How we have fallen to angry, scowling, and ugly.
Sarah Palin And Her Family Will Appear Wednwsday, On Only In America With Larry The Cable Guy At 9:00 PM. This Wednesday. The History Channel Has More Details.
Imus In The Morning Guest Frank Rich
Frank Rich Obama’s Foreign Policy Hasn’t Been A total Failure, accuses Rick Perry of wanting to invade Iraq again VIDEO.
http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot…
A Bat Out Of Hell, that’s how I would describe our exit from Iraq. Unfortunately we left Iraq, without a Status Of Forces Agreement.
Obama’s Foreign Policy Hasn’t Been A total Failure
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No it hasn't. The Moslem brotherhood will now be able to re-carve the pyramids into balls and chains as a symbol of their new-found freedom and the rubble left over will be used to stone infidels and women.
Heckuva job, Barry.
Why don’t White House visitor logs report Hollywood Halloween guests?
Well, I’ve just finished scouring the White House visitor logs.
Regular readers know I seem to be one of the few in the media who actually does such a thing.
Regular readers also know that I’ve pointed out time and again that the logs are incomplete, misleading, obtuse, and designed to make it as difficult as possible to figure out who has visited and when.
So, it is no surprise that neither director Tim Burton nor actor Johnny Depp — hosts of the big 2009 Hollywood Halloween bash at the White House — show up in the visitor logs.
At least as far as I can tell.
Use the search function and look for yourselves.
http://michellemalkin.com/2012/01/09/why-dont-whi…
Michelle Malkin looked for names on the 31st. That’s not necessarily when the party was though. In 2009, Halloween was on a Saturday. More likely than not the party was on that day, but it could have been done on Friday the 30th too. It might have even been done earlier in the week. I’m sure it wasn’t on November 1st, but to be thorough she needs to check four or five days before the 31st to make sure the party was not held early.
Good thinking, Kevin.
I will pass your thoughts on to Michelle.