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January 09, 2008

Good Riddance

Per the AP, ex-CIA officer Philip Agee has died in Havana, Cuba, after a failed ulcer operation. For further details, do see Wikipedia.

As Unicron said a couple of years back: Proceed on your way to oblivion.

Tip of the ol' Wisconsin hat to Mark Krikorian.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 08:44 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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January 07, 2008

Jack Kemp, Snicker Snicker

Lawrence Kudlow gushes with regards to the endorsement of Senator J.S. McCain, III, by former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp. Sayeth Mr. Kudlow:

Jack KempÂ’s endorsement of Sen. John McCain for president is both interesting and significant. Kemp was one of the founders of the Reagan supply-side tax-cutting movement. And of course, heÂ’s been a prominent free-market advocate for economic-growth policies for several decades.

Mr. Kudlow takes six paragraphs, more or less, to talk about how great this is. Mark Levin, on the other hand, takes a pair of sentences to shoot it down.

Ha ha. Either of Secretary Kemp's Levin-specified positions are sufficient to turn my opinion against him, but oh well.

The one thing I've never really sat down and analyzed about the former Secretary is his apparently legendarily bad performance against Vice President Gore in 1996. I remember watching it, but I can't concur off-hand in the judgment of, well, everyone else. It has been twelve years, after all.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 01:32 PM | Comments (334) | Add Comment
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January 04, 2008

Streamlines Shifts Its Stance

As far as repaints for Train Simulator go, Stream Lines has been one of the most restrictive payware companies out there. For whatever reason, they chose to ban the distribution of repaints on their models.

This is in stark contrast to Maple Leaf Tracks, which eagerly approved the distribution of repaints of its models, with an eye towards driving up sales of the base product. I have a friend who, while not really caring for modern Canadian National/Canadian Pacific routes, purchased MLT products to get access to the base models which wound up being repainted in NSR, CSXT, or other liveries. He is particularly fond of the SP/NS SD70M model as repainted for the Susquehanna, and regularly complains that a good F45 is not available.

The problem with the SLI policy was twofold: One, in that some people chose to ignore it and distribute repaints on the sly to their friends and two, some folks chose to continually show off their repaints of SLI models as if to say, "Look here what I have, and what you won't". One chap in particular took great pleasure in posting his SD70ACe repaints---such that I often wanted to tell him to knock it off, since he could only be in it for the self-aggrandizing adulation of the MSTS user base.

This all changed with the new year: SLI announced a change effective 01 JAN 2008, specifically allowing the creation and dissemination of repaints. This is a very good move in my opinion; not only does it restore them in my opinion, but it also makes me have a reason to look at their product catalog with renewed interest. (Set aside for the moment that I have no particular use for BN/ATSF/BNSF/UP merchandise.)

For an Eastern railroading fan, the SLI policy shift means that I can have

from this

If you're wondering, NS 2702 and CR 4106 are both EMD SD80MAC locomotives. The NSR currently has 17 of the 30 SD80MACs built on the roster, hauling coal and local traffic in Pennsylvania. CSX Transportation has the other 13 units doing various work on the Eastern end of the system.

I eagerly await the release of additional repaints to the model, and hopefully we'll wind up with all of the CR, NSR, and CSXT fleet in the near future. Want your own SLI SD80MAC? Get it here. If you're looking for the NSR repaints, NS 7202 and 7211 are available from Train-Sim.com as ns807202.zip and ns807211.zip respectively.

I'm told that the best sound configuration to use is the SD90MAC/43 provided with the MLT Rogers Pass route, with a Conrail-specific RS3L. Likewise, the SD90MAC/43 cab is reportedly the preferable arrangement.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 01:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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January 02, 2008

Dear Cadillac

I personally applaud the signing of Kate Walsh as your current pitchwoman for the Cadillac CTS sedan. It's certainly a better move than the "The Caddy that Zigs" line for the unlamented Catera.

That being said, your design studio failed. Like the proverbial poor marksman, you keep missing the target. If I had the income to consider a Cadillac sedan, I wouldn't. They're ugly, just like the entire Cadillac line has been for some time, and your continuing production of the Escalade is an affront to aesthetic design. If it can't go off-road, it's not a sport utility vehicle.

Anyways, the two ads in question:

To be totally honest, I'd listen to Kate Walsh read the phone book. I've never seen either of her ABC medical programs---and never will---but she's easily the best from either in terms of purely audio-visual appeal. Well, once you get past the fact that she is/was a smoker---either the lungs will go or the looks will, on an accelerated basis.

Kate asks, "[T]he real question is, when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?"

Even you and your voice couldn't get me to say 'yes' if the vehicle in question was a Cadillac of the current century. Bring me a vintage AllantÃ© in mint condition and overhauled to acceptable performance standards, a finalized divorce, yourself, and we'll talk of favorite things and starting cars.

---

Addendum: I didn't know that the Catera line managed to snare Cindy Crawford to pitch for it. All that, and it still was an eyesore. Good grief, Charlie Brown.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 10:04 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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More Kudlow versus Huckabee

I hold no particular regard for either John Edwards or Mike Huckabee. The former is a slimeball and the latter is a former Governor of Arkansas----the last one who was promoted to Pennsylvania Avenue was a disaster; thank you but no, Mr. Huckabee. That being said, Lawrence Kudlow writes at The Corner that,

Both are anti-business, anti-Wall Street, and anti-CEO. They would employ government regulation, and perhaps taxes, to work against free-market forces.
Both are anti-trade. Both are tax-and-spend. (Governor Huckabee has tried to inoculate himself against the tax charge with his Fair Tax national sales tax idea that would go nowhere in Washington.)

Oh darn. I am instantly reminded of what Ross Douthat said earlier in the week:

...many social conservatives don't give a tinker's dam what the Club for Growth thinks about Mike Huckabee's record.

Indeed. Why the animosity, you ask? Ross Douthat said it earlier in the piece:

[T]hat many tax-cutters and foreign-policy hawks, for instance, would happily screw over their Christian-Right allies to nominate Rudy Giuliani

I can't remember the last time I considered a CFG and/or Kudlow endorsement as a positive factor where any policy or candidate was concerned. They could largely care less about my particular issues, and the favor is returned.

---

N.B. I may yet be proven wrong about Huckabee. I am not, however, particularly expecting it.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 06:17 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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