tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72594242011-12-23T07:42:49.642-08:00Ideas Hatched is dedicated to the proposition that a middle-aged man, living a life of no great importance and trying to occupy his minutes in a way that distracts himself from that fact, can start a blog and change all that. Call it a blogonoscopy for my midlife crisis.Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.comBlogger3911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-18699182793963368932009-02-03T06:14:00.000-08:002009-02-03T06:18:14.659-08:00

So it turns out that your average liberal grips his wallet with the white knuckle intensity that he otherwise only display when gripping the wheel while passing an eighteen wheeler on a mountain curve in a snow storm with his one baby (one must be sensitive to over-population, you understand) screaming from the discomfort of the soiled cloth diaper (reduce, reuse, recycle!) and the complete lack

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-81785777677334728272009-01-12T09:49:00.000-08:002009-01-12T09:58:06.167-08:00

Consider the following facts:The Clinton administration ushered in Nafta, balanced budgets, welfare reform, and occasional gratuitous bombings, and governed during a time that gave rise to massive corporate scandal. The Bush administration, in contrast, created a vast new prescription drug entitlement under Medicare, spent billions in foreign aid for Africa, signed campaign finance reform, and

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-84921604150248375412009-01-06T13:36:00.000-08:002009-01-06T13:39:57.659-08:00

So I’ve been reading a little Kierkegaard. Sounds like a really bad pick-up line meant to be delivered to a philosophy major coed, and of course it is. But it’s even a worse line for that purpose when you garble the pronunciation of the name. Trust me on that one. But I digress. Kierkegaard was an existentialist, but not a brooding atheistic one like Sartre; he was in fact a Christian.

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-20350582260414904972008-11-07T10:15:00.000-08:002008-11-10T04:07:18.184-08:00

Responding to some comments today:1) The left wanted the surge to fail: interesting statement, When in fact we BOUGHT peace. The surge is only a tiny reason there is less violence. Yes John, it was YOUR taxes and mine that bought the peace. THANK YOU FOR THE DONATION. So, I think it makes sense that you back an ideology that wants us there indefinitely. Its the only way to buy the peace. The

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-24460385464865765442008-11-05T06:38:00.000-08:002008-11-05T08:25:15.809-08:00

All right, well, it is what it is. That's democracy for you.Much to the chagrin of the people who are currently drinking the kool-aid, the world still is what it is, and despite what "change" will look like here, there is no fundamental change in the disposition of our enemies (although there will be in their strategy), nor more importantly in fundamental human nature. And fundamental human

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-60203224212184471812008-10-23T03:01:00.000-07:002008-10-23T08:16:58.605-07:00

Havana 11 queries about the propriety of the Hatcher voting against a Phillies fan during a World Series Run. I would ask the opposite of him - given what you know about Philly fans, does VP rank high on the list of things that they are generally qualified for?Anyway, winning game 1 of the World Series is very nice, but no Philly fan can avoid thinking "1983", when we took the first game and

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-63411051914041229402008-10-17T06:30:00.000-07:002008-10-17T06:34:17.963-07:00

The rich need to pay their fair share! OK, what is their fair share? How much of the total income taxes should be paid by the top 1 percent of income earners in the US? Before answering that question, let me give you some stats – in 2006, the top 1 percent comprised 1.357 million tax returns of 135.7 million. The minimum adjusted gross income for people in the top 1 percent was $388 thousand.

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-62859041570332404442008-10-09T04:10:00.000-07:002008-10-09T04:11:36.992-07:00

Truth be told, I don’t like when the economy is the news. You tell someone you’re an economist in days like these and ears perk up, and then I am immediately on the hook for saying something that seems to make sense. The fear of being found out! It’s downright primal. A proctologist never has this problem. “What do you do?” “I’m a proctologist.” End of conversation.So it’s like you feel a

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-73996751873316868422008-10-03T04:05:00.000-07:002008-10-03T04:14:18.627-07:00

What in the hell are Bozniaks? I kept picturing a cult of guys dedicated to following the ways of my buddy Boz, watching sports at any given chance, and sending witty rejoinders to Vegas Heavy-T’s hilariously pessimistic assessments of Philly sports teams within 30 seconds of receipt. Was Joe Biden really responsible for getting these guys to get along with the Croats and the Serbs? Do Croats

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-73514778683535305242008-09-24T05:52:00.000-07:002008-09-24T06:00:59.769-07:00

Man, hold onto your wallets …. Do you hear them? The speculators? Surely you hear them … they are coming for your wallets! They are going to be speculating, and the next thing you know your gas prices are going to speculatively leap, the value of your home is going to speculatively crash, your savings will flush down some speculative black hole of insolvent banks that have collapsed into

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-22012868768719069592008-09-16T03:37:00.000-07:002008-09-16T04:23:08.273-07:00

"Dad, can you buy a box of cupcakes for me to bring to school?""Well, I suppose I can Bill, but why do you need to bring cupcakes to school?""I am running for class president, and I want to give them out."Ahhh, wonderful instincts, give the people what they want. The difference between the goodies promised in a 3rd grade election and those promised in a national election is that the 3rd graders

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-31521205663857414082008-09-05T03:46:00.000-07:002008-09-05T06:23:08.570-07:00

I watched the speech last night - Palin's that is; I had it DVRd. I thought it was a good speech and it was interesting hearing it in its entirety after hearing commentary on it through the day. From what I heard, the typical press guys are characterizing it as taking the gloves off, etc. This is because, shocker, she had the audacity to mock the man with the audacity to hope. How can you

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-82600519176868036232008-01-11T10:52:00.000-08:002008-09-04T07:05:30.513-07:00

Not sure if repeated requests from the giant and snake to return marks a popular demand to come back, but here I am, like it or not. I actually wrote a post back after the New Hampshire primary, after my initial euphoria for Obama beating Clinton was crushed by her comeback win in New Hampshire (see below). But of course there has been some water under the bridge since then, so let's get into

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-16892044580900165602007-03-07T07:22:00.000-08:002007-03-07T07:23:21.546-08:00

Once upon a time I had put together a book proposal I unsuccessfully shopped to agents, with the subject being a line of academic psychological research into the psychology of political conservatives. It is quite a rich field of study in psychology departments, and I must say that it is not without its valuable observations, although it errs in narrowly applying them to political conservatives,

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-43179933298722300662007-01-24T09:33:00.000-08:002007-01-24T10:05:02.186-08:00

A recent speech by Bush taking the media to task for revealing classified information hasn't gotten much attention, but I thought it worthwhile to give you some of the excerpts. To me, the speech seems measured and accurate, especially in light of what one could say about the NYT, which has arguably published things that are downright against the interests of our security, with the only

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-86236923999038754812006-12-19T09:37:00.000-08:002006-12-19T10:00:16.608-08:00

The alternative, then, to the religious theory of the source of values is that evolution endowed us with a moral sense, and we have expanded its circle of application over the course of history through reason, knowledge, and sympathy. How can we tell which theory is preferable? A thought experiment can pit them against each other. What would be the right thing to do if God had commanded people

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-76929657666609034332006-12-07T12:38:00.000-08:002006-12-07T12:41:11.386-08:00

The Iraq Study Group’s report has been released. I love that name – the study groups I was a party to in college were effective in assuring a certain grade, but not through learning the subject well. Instead, it was all about making sure a significant percentage of your classmates were sitting around in a BS session, so that the average test score would stay sufficiently low. They were quite

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-61698568654881403232006-12-06T13:34:00.000-08:002006-12-06T13:35:47.527-08:00

A reader writes to me to say that he has been reading a lot about religion lately, and though he is loathe to admit, now holds the opinion that religion is the cause of a lot of humanity’s problems. Not days later Elton John states publicly that were he in charge of the world, he would ban religion and force all men to wear really flamboyant clothing (OK, the second part I made up). Not days

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1164885399140677282006-11-30T03:15:00.000-08:002006-11-30T06:33:29.370-08:00

Went to my 20th high school reunion last Friday night. Wife of Hatcher’s brother and his wife were visiting from Wisconsin, so I went stag. All the better for achieving the primary purpose of attending high school reunions – as people get older and more distant from their high school years, they are more willing to confess certain things to you that they felt those many years ago, or that they

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1164074139097614102006-11-20T17:54:00.000-08:002006-11-20T17:55:39.143-08:00

Well, that was a good old-fashioned a**-kicking during the election, and all I have to show for it is $30 in winnings. Should of bet the Senate race – much better odds there. Elections are funny things – very messy data that is tortured to no end to make completely unsupportable suggestions of their longer-term meaning. The Clinton election in 1992 was the death of the Republicans; the

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1162839068188808462006-11-06T09:42:00.000-08:002006-11-06T10:51:08.810-08:00

Bill and Joe got two goldfish a couple weeks ago, and within 10 days Bill's fish had effectively starved Joe's by hogging all of the flakes. Joe's fish goes belly-up, and we return to the store to get him another one. Joe doesn't want the typical little orange goldfish - he wants something a little different. We're at Petsmart, and luckily for me each bin of fish has a little card telling you

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1159817662430968722006-10-02T12:33:00.000-07:002006-10-16T10:38:48.826-07:00

Things are not looking good for the Republicans in Congressional elections. That's why I thought it was important to accustom my otherwise comfortable and well-fed kids to the coming realities by having them pose in the soup line statues at the FDR memorial in Washington, D.C. *****************************************************************************Meanwhile, if you haven't been paying close

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1159796774058427622006-10-02T06:21:00.000-07:002006-10-02T06:50:40.690-07:00

The picture to the left was taken by a Pulitzer prize winning Reuters photographer, so you know that it is authentic. That backboard is a bird killer. In an omen I thought would bode well for the Phillies this weekend, a cardinal flew right into the backboard and dropped dead to the ground. Billy went right out to taunt it - "Not in my house!" With a dead Cardinal in my driveway, I felt

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1159202350441862332006-09-25T09:25:00.000-07:002006-09-26T11:09:13.636-07:00

Good advice for your tenth grade son? "Have a drink, kid. No, not just one, make it a binge!" This will make the Chartreuse Alcoholic so pleased. Turns out that your future income is positively tied to binge drinking in your formative years, which goes a long way toward explaining Dusty Eggs. Here is the link: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12529. What is interesting is that it works only

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1158701044707948472006-09-19T13:52:00.000-07:002006-09-19T14:24:05.310-07:00

Joseph Shumpeter once said that the first thing a man is willing to do for his ideology is lie. It follows that when a man makes a fact-based statement that is consistent with his ideology, there is some probability that he is lying; but of course there is some probability that he is not. So when confronted with a portrayal of factual events that go against one's ideology, you have really two

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1158589870788180372006-09-18T06:57:00.000-07:002006-09-18T07:39:39.863-07:00

Suppose you had the following theory - that the Moslem religion has brought nothing new to the world except evil and inhumane acts. How would you set about convincing others that there may be some truth to it? You could read up on a lot of history, both recent and from times long ago, and write volumes on the subject; but of course, to be fair, it would have to be a comparative history showing

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1157730470043153312006-09-08T06:55:00.000-07:002006-09-08T08:48:57.956-07:00

Don't know if anyone is following the recent rantings of Dems who practically camped out to get tickets to see the DC premiere of Farenheit 911, but they're a tad upset that anyone would have the gaul to point out in a television series that Clinton and company were far too busy selling the Lincoln bedroom to power-loving celebrities and having intern-delivered pizzas to do anything about

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1157635288231840702006-09-07T06:09:00.000-07:002006-09-07T06:21:28.266-07:00

David Broder of the Washington Post says that many journalists owe Karl Rove an apology, but don't hold your breath: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/06/AR2006090601648_pf.html. Good for Broder, who proves that you can be a liberal without being completely ass over tea kettle insane. *************************************************************************************

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1157578180535616262006-09-06T14:25:00.000-07:002006-09-06T14:30:29.370-07:00

The current issue of The Journal of Economic Perspectives (run out and buy your copy now! - impress your friends and neighbors)has an economic test of the Moneyball hypothesis, put forward by Michael Lewis, that there were inefficiencies in the baseball labor market that enabled Billy Beane, the GM of the A’s, to exploit the inefficiencies and put a winning team on the field at a fraction of the

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1157136693801509632006-09-01T11:41:00.000-07:002006-09-01T11:51:33.866-07:00

Turns out the conspiracy to discredit Joe Wilson and mortally imperil our CIA activities abroad by disclosing the CIA identity of a woman with extremely poor taste in men, rather than reaching up to the highest levels of the White House, stops with a guy in the State Department named Richard Armitage who is no fan of the neo-conservative cabal, and at best a reluctant supporter of the Iraqi war.

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1156503282093027392006-08-25T03:54:00.000-07:002006-08-30T08:15:05.300-07:00

It sucks to be Pluto. The International Astronomers Union (or some such high fallutin sounding organization) has officially declared Pluto is no longer to be considered a planet. Damn Unions! According to the article I read, by the definition they agreed upon, Pluto failed to qualify because it did not "clear the neighborhood of its orbit", if I am remembering correctly. It seems it fails to

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1155921164716152502006-08-18T10:10:00.000-07:002006-08-18T10:12:44.756-07:00

Remember the partial hysteria in America over the militia “movement” in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing? I think it may have even nabbed a Newsweek or Time cover – fear the overzealous bigoted rural white guy! Of course there was no “movement” to speak of, but in any event I got to thinking back to those days in the midst of the Israel – Hezbollah war. Hezbollah is a terrorist

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1155747636534750852006-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:002006-08-16T10:00:36.730-07:00

I just finished that rare book, which has something in it to poke the pretensions of people of all political stripes. It’s called the White Man’s Burden, by William Easterly. He is an economics professor at NYU after a long career with the World Bank, and his book deals with the efforts of the West, through foreign financial aid, military aid, military intervention, imperial conquest and

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1154718557945897702006-08-04T12:06:00.000-07:002006-08-04T12:09:17.986-07:00

So the boys escaped with the Wife of Hatcher one afternoon on vacation, while I minded the baby. When Charlie woke up, I took him up to the boardwalk to do a few rides. Meanwhile, the kids were busy at some store making me a craft-related birthday surprise for the following week. I meet them on their way back to our rented condo, and Jake, the four-year old, comes running up to me proudly

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1154628794726567962006-08-03T11:12:00.000-07:002006-08-03T11:13:14.763-07:00

Today is the Hatcher’s 38th birthday. In New Zealand, when a guy has a birthday, it is his responsibility to treat his mates to libations. New Zealander’s understand incentives, and so everyone feels well-loved on their birthday, with a bar packed full of far flung acquaintances only too happy to lift a free pint to your health. In that spirit, I share with you today my list of essential

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1153322081463117742006-07-19T08:14:00.000-07:002006-07-19T08:14:41.513-07:00

There were a couple of back and forths late in the game between the Pulvarizer and me in the comments section of the last post. I didn't respond to his second comment, but will do so now to a portion of it at least, which ran like this:"So basically what you're saying is we had to invade Iraq, because some day, Saddam may have inflicted harm on US citizens. Then why haven't we invaded countries

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1152715851114988752006-07-12T07:19:00.000-07:002006-07-12T07:50:52.046-07:00

"Novak triggered one of the capital's most tangled investigations with a July 2003 column reporting that Plame had suggested sending her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, to Niger to investigate whether Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was trying to obtain nuclear material from that country -- an unsupported claim that was included in President Bush's State of the Union speech." (

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1151073035220513292006-06-23T07:14:00.000-07:002006-06-23T10:34:17.426-07:00

That there is my favorite picture I took from Kauai, looking down the valley to the Na'Pali coast. I don't think I've ever had a view so striking. And yet, there in the midst of paradise, as in many areas of America, there is apparently a large and growing chrystal meth problem. Why can't they just get high on nature, with great hikes like this to enjoy on the island? The answer comes from

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1150901236299977602006-06-21T07:19:00.000-07:002006-06-21T07:47:16.540-07:00

Three comments on the NBA playoffs:1) The NBA playoffs are a random walk, but the ESPN analysts are chartists - they look at the last day trend and extrapolate forever. Dallas handles the Heat easily in Games 1 and 2, and all you hear from Legler and Anthony are how Dallas is the greatest team ever, and that the Heat have nothing. Three games later it is nearly the opposite story. Same thing

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1150402331756788252006-06-15T11:53:00.000-07:002006-06-15T13:12:12.946-07:00

"For every bin Laden or Al Zarquawi we knock off, there are a thousand ready to stand in his place.""We still haven't focused on the main goal - killing or capturing bin Laden or other top leaders of Al Queda."Take your pick of Democratic talking points depending on the news of the day: if we manage to bag a big leader like Zarquawi, well he's just one head of the hydra. And prior to that

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1150298584211759752006-06-14T08:19:00.000-07:002006-06-14T08:23:04.253-07:00

There is a particularly annoying Volkswagen commercial getting significant airplay these days, wherein a young good-looking, and apparently self-actualized couple is driving around in their Passat, passing other German-branded car owners, each equipped with a megaphone, who say things like: “I am compensating for my inadequacies” by driving an expensive German-engineered car.The commercial asks

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1149865445236890562006-06-09T08:00:00.000-07:002006-06-09T08:05:10.540-07:00

Back again, in a separate Air France Lounge, on my way home. With only 2 days in Delhi, I effectively figured out how to beat what would otherwise be significant jetlag caused by a 91/2 hour time difference – I did it by more or less not sleeping at all – not on the flights to Delhi, not while in Delhi, and so far not on the way back from Delhi. Sure, I’ve got bloodshot eyes, and I don’t know

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1149794945577352582006-06-08T12:26:00.000-07:002006-06-08T12:29:05.623-07:00

Sunday, June 49:30 am Paris time, 3:30 am DC time, and I purposely did not sleep on the flight over. I’ll arrive in Delhi at 10:00 pm, which I think is like 11:30 am DC time. On my way to India for a quick two-day trip that seems ill-fated from the start. First, I decide to look for my passport on Wednesday, needing it Friday morning in order to get a visa from the Indian consulate. Go to the

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1149177769535972022006-06-01T08:46:00.000-07:002006-06-01T09:04:17.110-07:00

Day 1 surfing lesson in Hanalei Bay, location of the second most travelled-to wave on the planet among surfers in the know, on the island of Kauai. Kauai makes Maui look like Jersey City (I say this having never been to either Maui or Jersey City, but I know I am right). Hanalei Bay is home to 5 of the top 40 surfers in the world, and to the Hatcher for one day in May. The wave looks small,

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1147883713133180402006-05-17T09:34:00.000-07:002006-05-17T09:35:13.173-07:00

Hillary recently made the news for being critical of today’s young folk, for whom she says work is considered a four letter word. She then had to apologize to her daughter, who took umbrage at the notion that her generation considers work a four letter word. Hillary – a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley and a law degree from Yale. Chelsea – a bachelor’s degree from Stanford, and a masters

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1146791222638789972006-05-04T17:57:00.000-07:002006-05-09T11:23:08.590-07:00

Darwinism has a closer affinity with National Socialism or Marxism than with Confucianism or Buddhism. Darwin told the world that a "struggle for life", a "struggle for existence," a "battle for life" is always going on among the members of every species. Although this proposition was at the time novel and surprising, an immense number of people accepted it. Now, will any rational person

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1146653072641415762006-05-03T03:21:00.000-07:002006-05-05T06:58:54.110-07:00

Here's the deal. I have severe bloggers fatigue. When I first started reading blogs, there were a few I read almost daily, thinking I'd never get bored of them. But within a year invariably I did. I am approaching 2 years of blogging, and most on my list have been here that whole time, so I can only imagine the fatigue on your end. But beyond that, I think I'm bored of my own blog - my

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1145626569505086402006-04-21T06:14:00.000-07:002006-04-21T06:36:09.670-07:00

In a recent oped, Harry Reid and Hillary! together display those two traits I look for in Senators (especially of the Democratic stripe): tendentiousness and stupidity. Though on the opposite ends of the abortion debate, the point of their oped seems to be that they still hate Republicans, and you can too even if you are pro life. The Hatcher knows this from personal experience, because I have

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1145441952031164642006-04-19T03:01:00.000-07:002006-04-19T10:23:00.456-07:00

The current issue of Vanity Fair has pictured on the cover Al Gore, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as part of a cover story concerning their crusade against global warming. Which beckons the question: of the four, who has the biggest cause for complaint about being pictured with the other three losers? Answer: it is a trick question, because it is a four way tie. In

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1144439627819347322006-04-07T12:25:00.000-07:002006-04-11T08:44:23.013-07:00

Phil Mickelson wins his second Masters. Here is something interesting: on the site meter for Ideas Hatched, I (and I think you) can view the traffic on the site, and where it came from. Google searches often come up as a source of traffic to the site, and one that repeatadly leads to readers of Ideas Hatched is the string "Phil Mickelson illigitimate child." Now, I've never written that Phil

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1144343559887458232006-04-06T10:12:00.000-07:002006-04-06T10:12:39.893-07:00

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of our shining lights on the Supreme Court, recently gave a speech wherein she defended pulling legal arguments out of her ass, or if not out of her ass, from legal decisions made in more enlightened societies, such as the nations of Europe:... A mid-19th century U.S. Chief Justice expressed opposition to such recourse in an extreme statement. He wrote: No one, we presume

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1144097733861987972006-04-03T13:54:00.000-07:002006-04-05T06:01:39.906-07:00

The movie Basic Instinct 2 is bombing at the box office, and the most logical explanation coming from those who used to be able to bank on some good money as long as they produced a movie with a modicum of titillation in it is that the Republicans are banning the erotic. The target audience for movies is from 15-35, making Sharon Stone old enough to be a grandmother to a not insignificant

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1143112652900025152006-03-23T02:51:00.000-08:002006-03-23T06:13:54.286-08:00

Professor Vic:"The study seems like the usual crap that passes for in-depth pyschological research Berkely-style so far as I can tell from the article I read."You know, this sort of swipe at a scholar whose result you don't like is just ignorant. You have no basis for your accusation other than you don't like the idea that you might have been a whiny kid. In fact, the study's author, Jack Block,

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1143065522836639622006-03-22T13:31:00.000-08:002006-03-22T14:12:02.923-08:00

From an article in the Toronto Post:Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative. At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids from the Berkeley area that social scientists have been tracking for the last 20 years. The confident, resilient,

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1142621056701761542006-03-17T10:14:00.000-08:002006-03-17T10:44:16.783-08:00

Some readers may say it is to my eternal shame that I have no good St. Patty's day drinking story to share with you today, but one element of most great drinking stories is their unpredictability - you don't set out to have one. Call it the zen of drinking - if you want a drinking bout to produce a fond lifelong memory, the worst thing you can do is have that as a goal going in. Lacking any in

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1142509628334880272006-03-16T03:27:00.000-08:002006-03-16T07:49:44.513-08:00

Bill is learning about the distinction between wants and needs at school, and on one sheet had to fill in the blank on the following sentence: "My mom and dad want _____." His insertion: "mor mune." Phonetically to a kindergartner that is equivalent to "more money," but the mortified Wife of Hatcher tried to explain to his teacher that "munes" are like modern day indulgences that save you time

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1141645116479713242006-03-06T03:15:00.000-08:002006-03-06T09:42:39.940-08:00

I recently read that some art experts had verified the authenticity of some 50 paintings by Jackson Pollock, whose trademark works all involve canvases spattered with different colors of paint. Presumably because he didn't have the talent to make the dogs playing poker look lifelike. Anyway, these paintings were willed to the daughters of some photographer that used to be a friend of Pollock.

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1141246671769540692006-03-01T12:19:00.000-08:002006-03-01T12:57:52.070-08:00

It's March, and you know what that means ... Oscar's time! (And you thought I was going to say March Madness). Actually, I must confess I've never watched the Oscars, which come to think of it is less of a confession than a point of pride. I wish they had a movie awards show where the movies considered were only those with extremely sophomoric humor. This year would have been a good year for

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1140794235249277462006-02-24T07:08:00.000-08:002006-02-24T07:17:15.296-08:00

As the Super would say - true story - which was usually an indication that there wasn't a grain of truth in it. I thought this was apropos given the impending doom of Blackberry. These are excerpts from my personal diary, which I kept as a coping method through a very trying time:Day 1: I’ve looked everywhere – and I cannot find the Blackberry. It has been 10 minutes since I discovered it was

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1140632458271128092006-02-22T09:10:00.000-08:002006-02-22T10:20:58.310-08:00

I recently subscribed to the Economist, altogether an informative rag, but certainly with a liberal tilt in its editorials. One such editorial dealt with the Muslim rioting inspired over the Danish cartoons. I think they rightly criticized the stream of apologies coming from the West in connection to the cartoons, but for all the wrong reasons, foremost among them an obsession with their own

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1140470580694546892006-02-20T13:09:00.000-08:002006-02-21T08:10:41.536-08:00

I am sure I am opening myself up to the ignorance is bliss comment, but I read this recently (February 14th post on http://happinesspolicy.com/): The Pew poll mentioned below confirms a longstanding trend: Republicans say they are happier than Democrats. This year, 45% of Republicans said they were “very” happy as opposed to 29% of Democrats. That’s a big gap! This stability is interesting in

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1140022414752961992006-02-15T08:32:00.000-08:002006-02-15T08:53:34.843-08:00

You only get one shot at a joke, and as far as having Cheney singing 911 is a Joke, I thought I chose pretty good, but at some point I should have had him humming Johnny Cash's Fulsome County Blues, with the famous lyric "shot a man in Texas just to watch him die." The Washington Times today had an article with interviews of several hunters who unanimously say, based on their understanding of the

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1139916885857351522006-02-14T02:55:00.000-08:002006-02-14T06:06:54.490-08:00

An old college roommate of mine, who nicknamed himself the Sedentary Melon contra my Flying Tomato, has asked that I comment on Cheney's attempted murder of his hunting partner. Well, maybe it wasn't attempted murder, but you wouldn't know it from the hysterical reaction of the White House press corps. They want to know when Bush knew about it, and why it took so long to tell the press about it

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1139830518152247752006-02-13T03:05:00.000-08:002006-02-13T03:35:18.203-08:00

Back from vacation, rested and ready. I won $25 bucks on the Steelers in the Bowl off of a co-worker, but I had to take a shower afterwards because I just felt dirty. I guess lousy refereeing was the theme of this year's playoffs, and the Bowl brought that theme to a whole new level. If you bet the other side and feel extremely cheated, and need closure in some way through verbally abusing a

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1138211454230268002006-02-01T09:44:00.000-08:002006-02-02T03:14:14.366-08:00

Saint Cindy got herself bounced out of the State of the Union address the other day, fresh off of her trip being coddled by a Venezualan commie, and not long after her announcement that she is contemplating running for the Senate in California. Run, Cindy, Run! Having an actual position of authority within the Democratic party would be the greatest electoral gift ever granted to the Republicans

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1138015063744234242006-01-23T03:05:00.000-08:002006-01-24T08:26:50.946-08:00

The Chartreuse Alcoholic wants to know whether Chartreuse was intelligently designed or whether it evolved. Clearly it was designed, but maliciously so. The 130 herbs that comprise it certainly evolved, but would never have thought to maximize their biological fitness buy jumping into a bottle together and fermenting. And I don't want to hear any debate on this.And now for something completely

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1137880823158203452006-01-21T13:45:00.000-08:002006-01-23T08:12:49.353-08:00

PatB writes in a comment to the last post:Hatcher,BTW, here is something I find much more disturbing than the "success" of Brokeback Mountain:Most Americans do not accept the theory of evolution. Instead, 51 percent of Americans say God created humans in their present form, and another three in 10 say that while humans evolved, God guided the process. Just 15 percent say humans evolved, and that

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1137757260919964612006-01-20T03:21:00.000-08:002006-01-20T08:58:38.073-08:00

Professor Vic writes, rather humorously I might add,"As for the Golden Globes, I'm not really sure what the obvious message is other than that several good movies this year dealt with the topic of homosexuality and gender identity. I'm not sure you would say Hollywood has a "pro-Hobbit" bias just because Lord of the Rings won in 2004, or a "pro-Game Theory" bias because A Beautiful Mind won in

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1137519364352003992006-01-17T08:09:00.000-08:002006-01-17T09:36:04.386-08:00

Some of the best bets I've ever made on sports are the ones I wasn't able to place. I was hellbent early Saturday morning on buying a contract on Tradesports that the Pats would take the AFC championship, but for some reason related to the site I couldn't place it. It is a measure of my power to hex a team that all I have to do is want to bet on them - that discovery could save me a lot of money.

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1137161896661453642006-01-13T06:17:00.000-08:002006-01-13T06:27:23.356-08:00

Nye’s Polonaise Room is more than a bar – it’s an experience. Across the Mississippi from downtown Minneapolis on Hennepin Avenue, it borders the Northeast section of the city, which is gentrifying in the immediate radius of the bar, but which otherwise remains a working class neighborhood with several bars that betray the European loyalties of the different immigrant classes that settled in the

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1136807152435402672006-01-09T03:33:00.000-08:002006-01-09T03:45:54.573-08:00

"Sorry Santa, We couldn't risk the coal this year."That was the Christmas card this year for those of you didn't get one. It's a sequel from last years (go to the December 2004 archives and page down a ways), but can also stand alone. My opinion - overall a poor effort. I compromised my artistic integrity by bowing to the sensitivities of my liberal friends by not arming my kids with automatic

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1136289347856391362006-01-03T03:09:00.000-08:002006-01-04T08:40:25.396-08:00

We bought several Christmas related cartoons this year to entertain the kids, among them both Santa Claus is Coming to Town and The Year Without a Santa Claus. I never noticed this when I was a kid, but it is pretty obvious that the Burgher Meister who bans toys in his little German village in Coming to Town is the same actor as the Heat Miser in the Year Without. No Barney Rubble, that guy,

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1136161434964711792006-01-01T16:21:00.000-08:002006-01-02T10:13:29.870-08:00

“Dear Tooth Fairy,Gee, I know I’m bucking many many years of time-honored tradition here, but you see I just lost my first tooth – a bottom front – and I want to get something for that, but I also really want to keep the tooth itself. What I’m going to do is put the tooth in a plastic Ziploc, and place it under my pillow as proof that I lost it, and you can leave the usual goodies under the

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1134574233002647562005-12-14T07:15:00.000-08:002005-12-14T07:30:33.086-08:00

I know I've been derelict in my blogging duties of late. Traditionally, and it is a tradition that as far as I know goes way back to at least 2003, December is a month that many bloggers choose to take a step back from the day to day demands of blogging and, in the spirit of this holy season, reflect on what they want others to buy them for Christmas. The Hatcher is no exception to needing this

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1133880883352386222005-12-06T06:33:00.000-08:002005-12-06T06:54:43.426-08:00

I’m in the SF airport and Bill Clinton is being interviewed by Cooper Anderson about his efforts to combat AIDs in Africa. Now what do you want to bet that Clinton will add his celebrity to the cause to the point that those inclined to view him well will someday consider him a great champion of the cause, and that likewise they will think the opposite of Bush. Eight years as President, full

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1133497901622146262005-12-01T20:30:00.000-08:002005-12-01T20:31:41.640-08:00

If everything was determined by the common human condition, by social and cultural categories, and by chance, it would be useless to reflect on ways to make one’s life excellent. Fortunately there is enough room for personal initiative and choice to make a real difference. And those who believe this are the ones with the best chance to break free from the grip of fate.That is a quote from a

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1133177006927032752005-11-28T02:46:00.000-08:002005-11-28T09:14:58.676-08:00

I haven't said much of anything about the Alito nomination to the Supreme Court. So let me weigh in now. Alito, if confirmed, would be the fifth Catholic on the Court, along with Thomas, Scalia, Kennedy, and Roberts. Two more Catholics on the Court would open up great commercial possibilities of pitting the Catholics on the Court against the seven Swiss Jewish bankers who pull all the strings

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1132594777956289822005-11-21T09:12:00.000-08:002005-11-21T09:39:38.033-08:00

So the cover of Esquire magazine has Billy Clinton, and the title "The World's Most Influential Man Gets His Hands Dirty." World's Most Influential Man! A rather large title. There is no doubt he is very popular througout the world, but even Jerry Lewis is popular in France; it doesn't mean he influences anybody. He clearly is very respected for his intellect, and has the ear of the elite

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1132333238835600332005-11-18T08:56:00.000-08:002005-11-18T09:00:38.850-08:00

On Saturday I joined a revolution. The sleep revolution that is! All you have to do is lay out a couple grand for a Tempur-pedic mattress and you too can be a sleep patriot. The viscoelastic technology is originally NASA developed, so I hesitate to even call this a bed; doing so is tantamount to calling Tang a form of orange juice. Astronauts drink Tang and sleep on viscoelastic surfaces;

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1132009052198350412005-11-16T14:57:00.000-08:002005-11-16T06:34:51.286-08:00

First, to the important topics, like sports. The Eagles season - Done! I meant to write that in week 3, when it would have been a somewhat novel observation, but I've been very busy. 2 of their 4 wins - the comeback against the Chiefs and the absurd win against San Diego - show that even when they win it is a minor miracle. You could argue the Dallas game was kind of the opposite, so what

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1131546045323609952005-11-09T06:14:00.000-08:002005-11-09T06:20:45.346-08:00

On the heels of a rain shower last night, with an overcast November sky, a leaf-coated ground, and Indian (Native American, not the Vijay type) Summer temperatures, one cannot help reminisce about his glory days as a high school cross-country runner... the drugs, the women, the rock-n-roll. Anyway, work is quite busy so I have limited time to post this week, so I'll leave you with a story from

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1130940551232501252005-11-02T05:40:00.000-08:002005-11-02T06:17:13.570-08:00

The Sun King writes from outside Ft. Lauderdale after the Hurricane Wilma did a number on the Kulick compound, as seen in the picture he sent. This one just about sums it up. No power. No phone. No cell. Minimal water and all the beer is getting warm....where is FEMA? Which way to the Superdome?But the wireless internet connection was still in tact! Remember to thank Al Gore. Heck, I knew

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1130792325115473932005-10-31T12:46:00.000-08:002005-11-01T06:12:32.640-08:00

This is just too funny. Alito's family poses for a picture, and his young daughter is getting touched inappropriately by the Clinton portrait! Not only that, he has his other hand in his pocket. When will this guy stop? I know, I know, he can always invoke the famous Gloria Steinem defense, offered after Katherine Willey left the oval office visibly upset with shirt untucked - the President

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1130771924496229122005-10-31T07:16:00.000-08:002005-10-31T07:38:22.716-08:00

The twins are off to kindergarten today to celebrate “Fall Festival,” a multicultural event that does not involve any costumes. Dr. Hawes informs us that because many of the students in the school hail from foreign countries that do not celebrate Halloween, the school feels that is incumbent upon them to make sure that such students are never able to assimilate to American culture, as doing so

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1130428168691386092005-10-27T08:43:00.000-07:002005-10-27T09:29:14.740-07:00

Better write something about this before the hammer drops. There she is, our covert CIA agent and her patriotic husband, as originally shown in Vanity Fair, where Mr. Wilson actively speculated who would be cast in his role for the movie. Her name having been leaked, jeopardizing apparently every CIA agent in the field, they must have figured - what the hell, now that your very American

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1129836936662167202005-10-20T12:33:00.000-07:002005-10-24T08:00:49.850-07:00

Soccer. I'm not a big fan, sorry. Seems to me that there is a strong correlation between loving soccer and poor economic performance. Nonetheless, my twins have now started playing ... and they're good! Last Saturday they collectively scored a "Hatch-trick" - 2 goals for Joe on breakaways, 1 from Billy, kicking away from the sideline near midfield, clearing the other seven players, and making

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1129663154454539442005-10-18T11:36:00.000-07:002005-10-18T12:19:14.530-07:00

Here was my assessment of how Bush will be viewed with time and some perspective, made in a comment to the Al Gore gone wild post:How history treats him will depend exclusively upon what Iraq looks like in ten years. It is likely that other nations in the middle east will be similar, for better or for worse. I think it is too early to tell. But in the end, if he gets through his term without

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1129555283407364542005-10-17T06:21:00.000-07:002005-10-17T06:21:23.480-07:00

Yellow Belts for the Twins 

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1129503797167311492005-10-16T16:00:00.000-07:002005-10-16T16:03:17.176-07:00

Hatcher: “Hey, Mr. Myagi!”Master Yang: “That’s Master Yang.”Hatcher: “Myagi, Master Wang, whatever. Look, we need to talk. My kids have been taking karate now for some …”Master Yang: “Tai Kwon Do.”Hatcher: “God bless you.” (Offers a handkerchief). “Now, back to what I was saying, my kids have been taking karate now…”Master Yang: “Youw kids not take kawate, they take Tai Kwon Do.”Hatcher: “

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1129211132067116122005-10-13T06:04:00.000-07:002005-10-13T06:45:32.076-07:00

Al Gore was giving a talk in Sweden yesterday, and offered up some interesting comments about what would be different had he been elected. "We would not have invaded a country that didn't attack us," he said, referring to Iraq. He must have been referring to Iraq, because clearly Bosnia wouldn't apply. This is the same Al Gore who blamed Bush I for not finishing the job in Iraq back in 1991. Or

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1129036695201516972005-10-11T06:18:00.000-07:002005-10-11T06:18:15.273-07:00

Old-time Parenting! 

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1129038135547553532005-10-11T06:15:00.000-07:002005-10-11T06:42:15.573-07:00

It cost me $20 to see the Yankees go down; worth every penny. A post-season without either the Yanks or the Red Sox - whew, thank God! Although I don't see much reason to watch anymore. For all of you Bush-haters out there, let me point out that this makes 5 fall classics under the Bush admin, and zero Yankee world champions. The picture above is from historic Williamsburg. We had to go back

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1128615874332416282005-10-06T09:24:00.000-07:002005-10-07T11:32:47.936-07:00

First, a math/computer science joke that only balding men (some of which may have beards by coincidence) or women are likely to understand. There are only 10 kinds of people in this world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.********************************************************************************I found these comments about Miers very disturbing (from David Frum's diary on

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1128610361216323032005-10-06T07:16:00.000-07:002005-10-06T07:52:41.273-07:00

More reader uprisings, trying to dictate content here at Ideas Hatched, have once again proven successful. First, Tri-Cup, a recent employee of my firm who is now in law school, presses me for opinions on topics that matter.Are you for the Miers nomination? If so, why do you believe that she is the best candidate for the position? Many conservatives, both the blogging variety and mainstream, don

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1128447082889579982005-10-05T10:28:00.000-07:002005-10-05T06:51:04.376-07:00

Dear ACLU Mom,Boy, I have to say, Mom, that college isn’t providing me the opportunities I had hoped I’d have when I arrived. So far there has been nothing for me to protest; no issue where I could flaunt my comparative moral superiority. You don’t know how lucky you were to have Kent State back in your day.I mean, there’s just not a lot of potential out there these days. So far this school

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1128438833793405602005-10-04T08:08:00.000-07:002005-10-04T08:13:53.800-07:00

I took last Friday off from work, and so had the pleasure of walking the twins to kindergarten. As we are en route, Joey says out of nowhere that he is a genius. “Oh yeah, is that right, a genius?” says I.“Yeah.”“What makes you a genius?”“Cause I answer all the questions.”Ah yes, but you come to realize later in life that it is not just the ability to answer all the questions, but also the

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1127990491560554472005-09-29T03:41:00.000-07:002005-09-29T10:53:56.703-07:00

I’ve become obsessed with the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team. A couple of weeks ago we rented Miracle, and after seeing the movie I went and bought a recently published book called The Boys of Winter. Here are a few fun facts :* Nine of the twenty players were Minnesota Gopher Hockey players; no other college program had more than 2 represented on that team. Of course, Brooks was at the time

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1127840806683854692005-09-27T09:58:00.000-07:002005-09-27T10:27:13.220-07:00

Gee whiz, what does a guy have to do to get a comment these days? I put all of my reactionary rightwing rage into yesterday's post and I get nothing in return. In order to avoid the same fate today, let me pull the old comedian's trick of asking if anyone in the crowd today is from Philly? If so, like me, you are probably too numbed from years of doomed sportsfandom to have the particularly

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1127763150355511652005-09-26T12:31:00.000-07:002005-09-26T12:42:09.773-07:00

Most recent comment: ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz, how about more posts on politics?Give the people what they want, that’s my motto. Lucky for you, while on the brink of taking another nasty shot of Chartreuse this Sunday, I spied the Washington Post Op/Ed page and substituted reading that for more benign forms of self-abuse. Fortunately for me one Jennifer Moses, formerly of McLean VA, has spent the

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259424.post-1127399468110538792005-09-22T06:53:00.000-07:002005-09-22T10:23:45.990-07:00

Most recent comment received: "ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz Too political. How about more stories about drunken debauchery in Stone Harbor?"I am afraid I led with my best story of drunken debauchery in Stone Harbor, leaving it difficult to provide an encore. Besides which, there are many more instances of sober debauchery in Stone Harbor, but alas none of those involved me directly and this is, after

Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10534388187943529225noreply@blogger.com7